SourceMex Economic News & Analysis on Mexico back issues from May 2002:
SUPREME COURT SAYS PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX'S PLAN TO ENCOURAGE PRIVATE SALES OF ELECTRICITY TO STATE VIOLATED CONSTITUTION.
May 01, 2002 ... In a milestone decision, Mexico's high court (Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion, SCJN) handed a defeat to President Vicente Fox's plan to further privatize the country's electrical-power industry. In an 8-3 vote, the high court ruled that Fox had violated the Mexican ...
MEXICAN AFFILIATES OF SPAIN-BASED BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA ARE AT CENTER OF CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION.
May 01, 2002 ... Spanish authorities are investigating whether the Mexican financial subsidiaries of Spain-based Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) were used for illicit purposes. The investigation of the Mexican institutions is part of a broader probe of allegations that BBVA used subsidiaries in ...
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES APPROVES PLAN TO ALLOW A SMALL PORTION OF WORKER RETIREMENT FUNDS TO BE INVESTED OVERSEAS.
May 01, 2002 ... In late April, the Chamber of Deputies approved changes to the Ley del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (SAR) that allow worker retirement funds to be invested in foreign markets. The pension-fund managers (Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro, AFORE) already invest billions of pesos ...
FORECASTS FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY THIS YEAR MASK DIRE STATISTICS FOR JANUARY-MARCH QUARTER.
May 08, 2002 ... Private and government economists are beginning to project a recovery in the Mexican economy later this year, but the optimistic forecasts are masked by extremely dire statistics for the first quarter of this year. Many of the optimistic forecasts are based on projections for a ...
MEXICAN CONGRESS APPROVES LEGISLATION TO OPEN GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS TO GENERAL PUBLIC.
May 08, 2002 ... The Mexican Congress has approved a freedom-of-information initiative that allows private citizens to gain access to government documents that until now had been off limits. The legislation was approved unanimously in both chambers of Congress. The only restricted documents are those ...
INDIGENOUS GROUPS, ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ASK NAFTA COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE IMPORTS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN.
May 08, 2002 ... A handful of environmental organizations have joined forces with indigenous groups in Oaxaca state to ask the Montreal-based North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to intervene in the controversy concerning Mexican imports of genetically ...
FINANCING OF CAMPAIGNS FOR VICENTE FOX, FORMER GOVERNING P.R.I. UNDER INCREASED PUBLIC SCRUTINY.
May 15, 2002 ... Mexico's governing center-right Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) and the former governing Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) are facing increased scrutiny over alleged illegal expenditures during the 2000 presidential election. In early May, the federal electoral court ...
MEXICO, EUROPEAN UNION REACH AGREEMENT TO EXPEDITE ELIMINATION OF SOME TARIFFS.
May 15, 2002 ... Mexico and the European Union (EU) have reached an agreement to expedite the elimination of tariffs on certain products traded between them. The decision was reached during scheduled consultations between EU and Mexican officials in Brussels in mid-May. The Mexican delegation ...
BANCO DE MEXICO EXPANDS LIST OF ITEMS USED TO CALCULATE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX.
May 15, 2002 ... The Banco de Mexico (central bank) has expanded the list of items used to calculate Mexico's monthly and bimonthly consumer price index (Indice Nacional de Precios al Consumidor, INPC) to better reflect the country's consumption patterns. The list now includes 36 new items such as ...
MEXICO CONDEMNS INCREASE IN U.S. AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES.
May 22, 2002 ... The Mexican government and other US trade partners have protested the US decision to boost agricultural subsidies in the recently approved farm legislation. The six-year farm bill was drafted by Congress and signed by US President George W. Bush in mid-May. The legislation contains close ...
ANTI-MONOPOLY COMMISSION RULES AGAINST MERGER OF PRIVATE RAIL COMPANIES.
May 22, 2002 ... The government's anti-monopoly commission (Comision Federal de Competencia, CFC) has ruled against a proposed merger between Ferrocarril Mexicano (FERROMEX) and Ferrocarril del Sureste (FERROSUR), Mexico's second- and third-largest private rail companies. FERROMEX is a subsidiary of mining ...
RESULTS IN CIUDAD JUAREZ MAYORAL ELECTION FACE CHALLENGE.
May 22, 2002 ... Election authorities may have to throw out the results of the mayoral election in Ciudad Juarez for a second time because of disputes regarding the results of a very close race. The initial results show Jose Alfredo Delgado of the center-right Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) won the race ...
SUPREME COURT GRANTS REQUEST TO HALT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S PLANNED BUDGET REDUCTION FOR SAN LUIS POTOSI STATE.
May 22, 2002 ... Mexico's highest court (Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion, SCJN) has granted a request that the federal government suspend a planned reduction in funds for San Luis Potosi state this year in connection with damages due to be paid to US company Metalclad. A ...
FOX ADMINISTRATION URGED TO INVOKE EMERGENCY MEASURES TO DEAL WITH DROUGHT IN MUCH OF MEXICO.
May 29, 2002 ... Several government entities and agriculture organizations are urging President Vicente Fox's administration to declare a national state of emergency because of the impact of severe drought on as many as 17 states in Mexico. The drought has killed tens of thousands of head of livestock and ...
GOVERNMENT-OWNED INSURANCE COMPANY SOLD TO U.S.-BASED METLIFE.
May 29, 2002 ... President Vicente Fox's administration has concluded the privatization of Aseguradora Hidalgo (AHISA), reaching an agreement to sell the government-controlled insurance company to US-based MetLife Inc. for US$962 million. The AHISA sale, concluded in late May, is the first ...
SPECIAL COMMITTEE AGREES ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO DATE, FORMAT FOR PRESIDENT'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS.
May 29, 2002 ... A special committee in the Chamber of Deputies has approved changes to the State of the Union address that would change the date and format of the annual speech. Under the norms approved by the special committee on state reform (Comision Especial para la Reforma del Estado), the address ...