Martí Batres celebrated SCJN ruling on the Electricity Industry Law: “True sovereign power”

Faced with the controversial decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), the Secretary of the Interior of Mexico City, Martí Batres, expressed his support for the ministers' decision.

Last Wednesday, with many ministers against it, the Electrical Industry Act (LIE) was validated in the SCJN. Seven of the eleven ministers were against it, stating that it was unconstitutional because it did not comply with the statutes of international treaties.

Similarly, some of the ministers agreed that the project did not give way to free competition as the LIE seeks to give priority to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) plants in the production of electricity.

But despite the votes cast by Luis María Aguilar Morales, Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo, Alberto Pérez Dayán, Javier Laynez Potisek, Norma Lucia Piña Hernandez, Juan Luis González Alcántara Carrancá and Ana Margarita Ríos Farjat, they were not enough, since there were eight to pass the unconstitutionality of the Act.

On the other hand, the ministers who voted in favour were: Arturo Zaldivar Lelo de Larrea, Loretta Ortiz Ahlf, Yasmin Esquivel Mossa and Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena.

Faced with this situation, there was an immense amount of criticism against the ministers who have been said to be dependent on the presidential power, specifically Arturo Zaldivar.

But several people who are part of the cabinet of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), applauded that decision. This was the case with Martí Batres.

He congratulated the four ministers on the grounds that they had not been able to cope with them the influence of the powers that be and the interests of transnational economic power.

Along with the message, there was an image showing the ministers who voted in favour of the LIE. This led to different criticisms from Internet users who did not wait to raise their voice in dissent with the performance of the SCJN.

“Only a fool thinks that the CFE belongs to everyone”, “Mexico is lost with Morena and the 4th”, “Paleros put by the dictatorcito...”, among other comments of the same kind that showed their displeasure.

Likewise, the Chief of Government, Claudia Sheinbaum, welcomed the Supreme Court's decision by posting on her official Twitter account where she said that she had voted for its constitutionality.

While AMLO said he was very happy about this fact. He called this action “historic, patriotic, for the benefit of the people of Mexico, for the benefit of the nation” during his morning conference.

He also commented that hydroelectric plants that are available to the CFE can now start generating electricity, since he argued that the Energy Reform of the last six-year period only qualified wind and solar energy as clean energy, which benefited private companies.

But despite the president's enthusiasm, United States Ambassador Ken Salazar issued a letter in which he said he was concerned about the approval of the LIE, saying that it opened the door to endless litigation that could affect investments.

In turn, he mentioned that there would be an “impact” on competitiveness with the United States. Finally, he argued that it should ensure investment in clean energy so that the northern region could be at the forefront of the fight against climate change.

To which the president stated that “There is no violation of any treaty. We are very respectful of freedom of expression, even in excess.”

KEEP READING: