Government will continue to analyze the benefit of Daylight Saving Time; AMLO ruled out economic factor as decisive

On the morning of April 4, 2022, Mexico's constitutional president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), confirmed that comprehensive analyses are being carried out on energy savings and health impacts, to decide whether or not to continue Daylight Saving Time in Mexico.

The president assured that the international economic context is important for the decision, however, it is not the main thing, since his administration aims to “govern for the benefit of the people”; this, referring to the adjustment that the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) made in 2019 to advance its auction session by one hour for the time change in the United States in order to remain homologated with the New York market,

In that way, he considered that his Government should devote itself to other circumstances.

López Obrador has repeatedly reiterated that he is addressing the opposition's “unease” and his questions about the energy saving claims he has sustained since he was head of government in the now defunct Federal District (DF).

“Since we were in the opposition, there is discomfort in the people because there was no consultation, there was talk of savings but it was not shown that electricity was really saved, now we want to see if those savings exist and compare with damage that may be caused by schedule changes”

He commented after being questioned last month by the resolution issued by the United States Senate to make daylight saving time permanent from 2023 to ensure more daylight hours for its inhabitants.

But this is not the first time that AMLO has sought to eliminate the aforementioned temporary change. During his tenure as Mexico City Head of Government from 2000 to 2005, he sought to promote a decree to prevent change from taking place.

His arguments were that it should not be changed because of the negative effects on the health of the inhabitants of Mexico City, as well as nationally and internationally, and that it jeopardized the security and economy of society. On that occasion, he did not have the support of the federal government and, in contrast, he denounced that it was an arbitrary measure that only responded to the interests of finance.

Moreover, López Obrador is not the only one who has proposed something similar. Other officials have expressed their approval of the proposal, including the deputy for the Labour Party (PT), Gerardo Fernández Noroña, who recently proposed a initiative before the Chamber of Deputies to eliminate daylight saving time.

In his initiative, he proposed repealing articles 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the Law on the Time System in the United Mexican States, as well as repealing the decree establishing seasonal time in the national territory. The deputy has demanded that the measure remains in the country despite the “popular, scientific and even legislative voices” that have demonstrated to eliminate it.

In his document, he emphasized that there are plenty of reasons for the elimination of the measure.

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