posted on May 10, 2003 11:23:29 PM new
Mexico City, May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican Economy Minister Fernando Canales said the state oil monopoly would never be opened to foreign investment after some U.S. Republican lawmakers called for Mexico to open up the oil company in exchange for increased rights for Mexican migrants, Reforma reported.
The U.S. House of Representatives foreign relations committee voted Friday to recommend that any future agreement granting increased rights to Mexican citizens should be tied to allowing foreign investment in Petroleos Mexicanos, which controls all oil field exploration and development in Mexico, the paper said.
The committee vote, which was the lead story in the five Mexico City daily papers that published today, is likely to strengthen the widespread view among Mexicans that U.S. foreign policy is designed chiefly around obtaining oil resources. The committee recommendation, introduced by North Carolina Republican Cass Ballenger, would require several more votes to become law, the paper said.
Mexico's President Vicente Fox has sought legal status for 3.5 million undocumented Mexican workers in the U.S., an increase in U.S. work visas for Mexicans and the creation of a temporary work program. Mexico nationalized its oil industry in 1938, creating a state oil company that accounts for about a third of all government revenue.
