Mexican government to present energy reform next week

Mexico's president said Thursday his government will present a reform plan for energy giant Pemex next week, setting the stage for a major debate over the state monopoly's future. Overhauling Petroleos de Mexico, know by its acronym Pemex, is one of the most politically sensitive reforms being pushed by President Enrique Pena Nieto since he took office eight months ago. "The government will present in the coming days, I expect next week, my initiative on this issue," Pena Nieto told Radio Formula from a hospital room, a day after he underwent a successful surgery to remove a benign thyroid nodule. Pena Nieto did not provide details, but he said the reform aims to "increase productivity and competitiveness, generate jobs and secure cheaper energy" for Mexicans and companies. Critics say Pena Nieto aims to privatize Pemex, which was founded when the oil industry was nationalized 75 years ago, but the Mexican leader insists it will remain a state-run company. Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century and returned to the presidency in December, has struck a landmark pact with the leftist and conservative opposition to enact structural reforms. The conservative National Action Party (PAN) proposed its own energy reform on Wednesday, aiming to open the door to more private investment in the oil sector in Latin America's second biggest economy. The so-called Pact for Mexico has led to major reforms in education and telecommunications. Pena Nieto said he intends to push a tax reform this year too. The 47-year-old Mexican leader said he was still working despite undergoing surgery on Wednesday, using a "red telephone" and other means to do his job. Pena Nieto said doctors expect to release him on Friday and that he would then rest at his presidential residence over the weekend before resuming his public activities on Monday. The operation has not affected his vocal cords and the nodule was confirmed as being benign.