AMLO thanks U.S. ambassador to Mexico for supporting his energy reform

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on Friday thanked U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar for supporting his energy reform initiative

"I am very grateful for the words of Ambassador Ken Salazar. The government of President [Joe] Biden has been very respectful. It seeks to work together in greater coordination," said the Mexican president at a press conference.

López Obrador claimed that Salazar knew the importance of constantly reviewing legal frameworks because of his previous position as a U.S. senator.

"He knows that it is necessary to review the legal framework constantly because we live in a changing world, the realities are new. When that energy reform was approved six or eight years ago, there were other conditions... the public function was expected to disappear, there were no public companies or public banks, no public oil industry, no public electricity industry," he said.

The U.S. ambassador to Mexico said on Thursday that the energy reform of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador "is necessary."

"The president's reasons must be understood" to carry out this project, he added.

"In the forums, the reform will be better understood and in the end we will be very close," he claimed after meeting with members of the board of directors of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies.

However, his comments were not well received by the opposition.

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox accused Salazar of "interfering" in the politics of the Latin American country.

Dear ambassador Ken:
I would love to know who is your advisor in Mexican affairs?
Who authorized you to directly intervene in Mexican Politics?
I understand as a basic principle in international Relations and Diplomacy is to Respect internal affairs of other Nations...

— Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) February 4, 2022

“Dear Ambassador Ken: I would love to know who is your advisor on Mexican affairs? Who authorized you to intervene directly in Mexican politics? My understanding of the basic principle of International Relations and Diplomacy is to Respect the internal affairs of other Nations...", the former president tweeted on Thursday.

The energy reform has become a controversial issue within the country's political and energy spheres. Therefore, it was decided to hold an open parliament in which independent experts could participate in dialogue with legislators.

On Thursday, the president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), Carlos Salazar Lomelín, warned deputies about the misleading use of figures without economic support by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to endorse the reform presented by Lopez Obrador.

The Mexican president's initiative seeks to strengthen the government's control over the production and distribution of electricity. To do this, he proposes to remove a large part of the private sector from the Mexican energy market to guarantee that the state company CFE controls a majority portion of the market.