BusinessFILE - Pemex oil workers set the drill on the Centenario deep-water drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico, Nov. 22, 2013. The 1938 nationalization of Mexico's oil sector from U.S. and British companies is a point of pride for millions of Mexicans.– Mexico's taking control of its oil sector from U.S. and British companies is taught in schools and celebrated every year.
Gálvez did say she wants Mexico to produce half its energy from renewable sources within six years and that Mexico once again become known for cheap energy"thanks to private sector participation.” “It would be costly for her to move away from that official line,” said Oscar Ocampo, energy and environment coordinator for IMCO.
Julia González Romero, a lawyer specializing in energy sector regulations with the law firm González Calvillo, recalled that she was taught in elementary school about the oil expropriation and said it’s understandable that the debate over public versus private in the energy sector is heated. Gálvez has said she prefers to rely on the private sector to drive renewable energy investments. The tech entrepreneur has also proposed Pemex pivot toward geothermal, but touts a proposal to make it easier for people to install solar panels on their properties across the country to access more affordable electricity.