Thursday, January 2, 2025

AMLO confirms Mexico to supply electricity to Belize, despite increased energy demand

Blackouts recently affected many parts of Mexico as demand for power increased amid hot weather, but the country will nevertheless supply electricity to Belize, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced Tuesday.

“We just had a meeting with the prime minister of Belize and there is an agreement with them to help with electricity even with this special situation due to the heat,” López Obrador told reporters at his morning press conference.

“We’re going to fulfill the agreement … so they don’t lack electricity in Belize,” he said. “… We are neighbors and we have to help each other.”

López Obrador didn’t say how much electricity Mexico would supply to Belize, when cross-border transmission would commence or whether the government of the small Central American country would pay for the power it receives.

Belize borders the state of Quintana Roo, from where electricity will presumably be transmitted to Mexico’s neighbor.

López Obrador met with Belize Prime Minister Johnny Briceño in Mexico City on May 7, and energy was one of the issues they discussed, according to a government statement.

López Obrador looks at a map of the national grid
Last week, the president discussed the stability of the national grid, which he reiterated on Tuesday is “in good shape.” (Lopezobrador.org.mx)

Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena said the same day that Mexico was willing to sell electricity to both Belize and Guatemala. That remark came just hours before blackouts occurred in more than 20 states after the National Energy Control Center declared a state of emergency in Mexico’s electricity system.

On Tuesday, López Obrador noted that there were no blackouts on Monday despite high demand for electricity that coincided with the commencement of the third heat wave of the year.

“Yesterday was a day of high energy usage, but fortunately there wasn’t a suspension of electricity service,” he said.

Despite what “some people” say, the national electricity sector is in good shape, the president said, insinuating that Mexico was in a position to supply power to Belize without compromising domestic service.

He asserted that his government took action as soon as it took office to strengthen the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), a state-owned utility.

With reports from Reforma, El Universal and El Financiero

2 COMMENTS

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum standing at the presidential podium during her press conference. Her mouth is open in speech and her eyes are wide and round and she's gripping the podium.

Sheinbaum disputes NYT fentanyl report: the mañanera recapped

4
Sheinbaum's Thursday conference questioned a New York Times article claiming that fentanyl cookers in Sinaloa had developed immunity to the drug's deadly vapors.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stands at a podium at her morning press conference, where she discussed a recent New York Times report on fentanyl production in Sinaloa

Sheinbaum casts doubt on New York Times fentanyl report: Monday’s mañanera recapped

13
Sheinbaum also discussed Morena senators' response to Trump's plan to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist groups.
A forensic expert in blue protective gear and wearing a surgical mask and gloves in a city street in Chilpancingo puts down two yellow plastic marker signs on the ground to mark evidence in a crime scene. A dead victim lies sprawled on the sidewalk behind the expert.

Poll: Mexicans divided regarding idea of US intervention against cartels

36
A new Reforma poll revealed that 46% of Mexican respondents supported Mexico working with the U.S. to combat cartel violence.