Regulatory Developments In The Mexican Power Sector–Chapter 4: Amlo Strikes Back

As a follow-on to "Chapters 1, 2 and 3" in our series regarding regulatory developments in the Mexican power sector during 2020 and 2021, in this note we explore the proposed Constitutional amendment (the "Presidential Bill") presented to Congress on September 30, 2021 by the Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (hereinafter, "AMLO" and his administration, the "AMLO Administration"). Enactment of the Presidential Bill would result in the unwinding of Mexico's 2013 Energy Reform,¹ which had significantly increased private investment in the Mexican power sector.

As detailed in Chapters 2 and 3, most of the executive actions taken to date by the AMLO Administration to tip the regulatory scales in favor of the Federal Electricity Commission (Comisión Federal de Electricidad—CFE),² have been vacated or suspended by the Mexican judiciary in response to claims brought by industry players and other non-governmental organizations, such as Greenpeace. As a