Monday, October 13, 2025

López Obrador rejects senators’ initiative to control ratings agencies

President López Obrador and the Morena party’s leader in the Senate said today there will be no attempt by the government to control the operations of ratings agencies in Mexico.

“We are open to international scrutiny in our politics and our economy. Mexico is a free country and we do not have anything to hide; we are in favor of transparency. What the ratings agencies do is their job and we respect that — we are not going to limit their ability to function.”

Senator Ricardo Monreal also told reporters that the measure would not be presented and that fellow Morena Senator Salomón Jara, who argued in its favor yesterday, had accepted the decision.

However, Jara told reporters later that he was going ahead with it. “We have rights as senators to present our own initiatives, our proposals.”

The initiative would give the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) authority to revoke ratings agencies’ permission to operate “when evaluations or qualifications do not adhere to the principles of independence, objectivity, rigor, authenticity, truth, integrity and transparency or attack in a deliberate manner the financial stability of the markets or a business . . . .”

It was triggered by Standard & Poor’s credit rating outlook downgrade on Monday for Pemex, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and many businesses and financial institutions, and another downgrade of Mexico’s credit outlook last Friday.

The president suggested that the agencies take corruption into account as an important factor in the their ratings.

“I believe it would be a good idea for the ratings to include the corruption levels of governments around the world in their evaluations because it’s a variable that distorts everything. A country could have the best economic model comparatively, but if corruption is allowed to reign unchecked in a country, when everything is said and done the economy will not grow and it will trigger a financial crisis.”

He said he believed that his administration’s anti-corruption measures would generate large savings in the economy over the long term as well as restore confidence for investors, regardless of ratings agencies’ scores.

Source: El Financiero (sp), Publimetro (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
A giant 2026 World Cup ball was installed at the Terminal 2 entrance of the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) this week.

Mexico’s week in review: CIBanco collapse and Banamex bid shake financial sector

0
Other headlines included several positive developments in the Sheinbaum administration's fight against violent crime and tax evasion.
News quiz

The MND News Quiz of the Week: October 11th

1
Lemon Pie, licensed tequila and lost beaches: Have you been paying attention to the news this week?
trash

Mexico City’s new waste management strategy will require trash separation starting Jan. 1

2
The plan seeks to get 50% of the city's waste either recycled or reused, an ambitious goal given that only 15% of the capital's 6,400 tonnes of daily trash is separated correctly.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity