Mexican president signs landmark energy reform bill

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed here Friday an energy-reform bill that amends the constitution to allow private investments in oil production and electricity generation. The legislation initiates a new phase for the country's development and advanced legal framework, which will convert the energy sector into a true source of national development, Nieto said at the signing ceremony. With the energy reform, the indebted country will have more financial resources from the private sector and technologies to exploit its vast energy resources, he added. The reform will maintain and ensure the state's property rights on the Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), while opening new opportunities for private investment, the president said. The bill was approved by both parliamentary chambers last week, and is supported by a majority of Mexico's state legislatures, a condition needed for any constitutional changes. But the reform is opposed by the Left, especially the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) which seeks to stop the initiative through a public consultation to be held in 2015.