Among the issues President Claudia Sheinbuam spoke about at her Thursday morning press conference were a “voluntary” price cap for gasoline, the importance of investment promotion and a political memoir she has written.
Here is a recap of the president’s Feb. 27 mañanera.
Price of gas to be capped at 24 pesos per liter for 6 months
Sheinbaum noted that later in the day her government would formally enter into an agreement with gas station owners to cap the price of regular gasoline (Magna) at no more than 24 pesos (US $1.17) per liter for six months.
“It’s for six months initially,” Sheinbaum said, adding that there will be a review of the gas price cap once the agreement expires.
On Thursday afternoon, Sheinbaum said on social media that the government had signed “a historic agreement with gas station owners to voluntarily establish a maximum price of 24 pesos [per liter] for magna gasoline.”
“We protect families’ finances,” she added.
Investment promotion a ‘fundamental task’ of the Economy Ministry
Shortly after the CEO of Home Depot México announced that the company would invest US $1.3 billion in Mexico over the next four years, Sheinbaum told reporters that promoting investment is a “fundamental task” of the Economy Ministry, headed up by Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard.
She also noted that the recently-announced Plan México economic initiative “establishes a series of incentives to invest in certain places” based on the specific “characteristics” of different parts of the country.
A company that uses a lot of water can’t open a plant in the north of the country, “where there is no water, or in areas that have shortages of potable water,” Sheinbaum said.
She stressed that the government is seeking to spread investment across Mexico, including via the establishment of new industrial corridors spanning all 32 federal entities.
Not all investment should go to the north, “as was the history of our country,” Sheinbaum said, adding that the government continues to promote investment in the historically disadvantaged south and southeast, as did the government of her predecessor, former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
“This is a permanent job of the Economy Ministry. … It’s not just investment for investment’s sake but rather investment that creates good jobs, well-paid jobs,” she said, adding that her government is also committed to the development of infrastructure, healthcare facilities and housing in the new industrial corridors.
The previous federal government shut down Mexico’s international trade and investment agency, called ProMéxico.
Sheinbaum’s remarks about investment promotion and Plan México came two days after the Economy Ministry reported that Mexico received almost US $37 billion in foreign direct investment last year.
Sheinbaum hopes to publish a book within 2 months
A reporter noted that Sheinbaum has been working on a book about the transition of power from the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador to her administration.
The president said the book is called “Diario de una transición histórica” (Diary of a Historic Transition) and is currently “under review.”
She said she was looking for a publishing house, and hoped it would be available in “one or two months.”
Sheinbaum was sworn in as Mexico’s first female president on Oct. 1, four months after she became the second Morena party candidate to win a presidential election in Mexico. She says her government is building the “second story” of the so-called “fourth transformation” initiated by López Obrador.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
