Mexico's Presidential Candidates Debate: And the Winner Is...Energy?

The first Mexican presidential debate for the July 2006 elections has helped to bring energy issues to the forefront again. The candidates of Partido Alternativa Social, Democráta y Campesina, Partido Nueva Alianza, Partido Acción Nacional, and Partido Revolucionario Institucional dedicated more time to energy policy than to other critical topics in Mexico's agenda. The candidates depicted a struggling energy sector with numerous problems suggesting that the status quo is unsustainable.

* Overall, the recent debate has had a positive effect on both public awareness and in understanding how four of the five candidates will likely deal with this highly strategic sector for Mexico's economy and for government revenues.
* All debating candidates recognize the need for changes in the energy sector and call for more private sector participation as a strategy to confront the energy challenges. This shared platform suggests that prospects have improved for building a majority to support changes in the industry and more opportunity for the private sector post-2006.
* However, the proreform ideas displayed in the debate were not confronted with the much more traditional stance that rejects legal changes and further private sector involvement. The absence of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática candidate meant the divergence in opinions regarding energy reform, still prevalent in Mexican society, was not represented.

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