The Politics of Mexico’s Oil Monopoly

The paper addresses various questions that need to be taken in consideration in any discussion regarding the privatization of the federally-managed Mexican oil company, Pemex. In the first part of this essay, the author provides a brief history of Pemex in order to emphasize the circumstances under which the oil sector in Mexico was nationalized. In the second part, he discusses Mexico-United States relations regarding oil because the United States is currently the major consumer of Mexico’s oil. The third section looks at the current problems that Pemex needs to address as soon as possible if it wants to maintain its status as an oil exporter