by the El Reportero’s wire services
Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) prepares as of today to carry the load of the Budget cut deciuded by the government to face the adverse world economy environment and the devaluation of the peso.
At its worst moment and despite the energy reform introduced by the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto, the Mexican oil company will have to reduce its budget in over five billion $600 million.
This is one of the many regulations announced by the Secretary of Finance and the Bank of Mexico (BdM), that discounts over $7 billion from the public expense plan for this fiscal year.
The head of Finance, Luis Videgaray, informed that the budget of the federal government cuts by 0.7 percent the Gross Domestic Product, accompanied by the dismissal of 25 thousand employees, of which 10 thousand will come from Pemex.
Together with this, Agustín Carstens, governor of the BdM, saiud that institution agreed to raise by half a percentage point the preferential interest rate that is today at 3.75 percent.
With this he expects to put a break on the transfer to inflation and the expectation on the future performance of prices of the peso devaluation to the dollar.
Also, the Exchange Commission suspended the almost daily auctions of $400 million from the international reserve, a measure he could not prevent from the constant depreciation of the national currency.
The adjustment in Pemex, said Videgaray, will be in the administrative part and projects that at the present value and the prices so low, are not profitable.
Last week, Peña Nieto named a new director of Petróleos Mexicanos, Jose Antonio Gonzalez, who presided until now the Mexican Institute of Social Security.
Evidently, the first task of the new director general is to scissor-away the Budget of that state productive enterprise, another bad news for Pemex, affected by low crude prices for the export market.
Costa Rica President Visits Guatemala with Integration Purpose
Costa Rica president, Luis Guillermo Solis began today a visit to Guatemala with an agenda marked by an integration perspective and the wish to strengthen bilateral relations.
During his stay, scheduled until Saturday February 20, the president will meet with representatives of the government branches and in particular with President Jimmy Morales, with who he will discussed an urgent draft to the Central American Integration System.
The plan conceived for the meeting between the two leaders includes possible coordinated strategies aimed at expanding trade exchange, promote and fight organized crime in the area.
Solis and Morales will also address the humanitarian, safe and orderly exit of Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica, according to sources from the Guatemala Foreign Ministry.
To this day, the first president who is making a state visit to his Guatemalan counterpart planned to attend in the Changing of the Rose of Peace at the National Palace of Culture and to the plenary session of the Congress of the Republic.
The rule of law, democracy and regional integration are some of the main issues around which the visitor with the representatives of the Unicameral parliament are expected to talk.
Subsequently, Professor of History and Political Science of 58 years old, will give a lecture at the Museum of the University of San Carlos entitled ‘Central American Integration: the role of Costa Rica and Guatemala.
