Energy Reform in Mexico–and U.S. Pushback

Monday, December 5, 2022 - 1:00pm
CST
Kurt Hackbarth

If the greenwashing rhetoric of the international media and corporate PR machines is to be believed, AMLO is a lover of dirty energy, a 70s throwback, coal-and-oil addict who is thrusting Mexico irresponsibly into a fossil-fuel future. In truth, what he is trying to do is reclaim Mexico's sovereignty over its own energy resources--the "original sin" of any country from the imperial perspective. In doing so, he is taking on multinational energy monoliths like Iberdrola and Eni, the hedge funds behind them such as Black Rock, and the governments of Spain, the US, and Canada, the latter two of which are threatening to attempt to block the president's reforms through the arbitration mechanism of the USMCA agreement. Kurt Hackbarth will review AMLO's reforms, which attempt to walk back elements of the 2013 energy privatizations of Enrique Peña Nieto, and give some indications of where Mexico is heading in energy terms.

 

UPCOMING TOURS

June 15, 2025 to June 25, 2025
Join us in an exciting visit to Cuba--a country committed to building socialism. We will learn about Cuba’s stunning accomplishments such as free health care and education, its collective production in agricultural and urban cooperatives, We will dialogue with leading thinkers about their visions... Read more
March 3, 2025 to March 7, 2025

We will depart from San Miguel early in the morning to Patzcuaro, where we will spend three days. We will visit the most important buildings and churches in Patzcuaro and also visit a number of nearby indigenous villages:

Upcoming Forums & Films

Monday, February 3, 2025 - 1:00pm
CST
José Alfredo Gutiérrez Falcón
Location:
Join in person at the Hotel Quinta Loreto Community Room

While much of the world is shifting to the right, Mexico is moving in a progressive direction. In 2018, the electoral victory of Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA party) initiated "The Fourth Transformation" which is working, against entrenched opposition,... Read more

Monday, February 17, 2025 - 1:00pm
CST
Joe Belden
Location:
Join in person at the Hotel Quinta Loreto Community Room

Manifest destiny was the belief that westward expansion of the US from 13 Atlantic colonies to the Pacific was natural, predetermined, and even divinely ordained. But were Indians, Mexicans, and the buffalo just in the way? This lecture will briefly examine and discuss such events as our expulsion and removal of Indian tribes; the US... Read more

Monday, March 3, 2025 - 1:00pm
CST
Omar S. Dahi
Location:
Join in person at the Hotel Quinta Loreto Community Room

Omar S. Dahi is Professor of Economics at Hampshire College and Founding Director of Security in Context, a research network on peace, conflict, and global affairs. He was born and raised in Syria and currently lives with his wife and two children in Amherst. Dahi has served as a lead expert on the United Nations Economic and Social... Read more