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MEXICO’S dependence on the US economy is hindering its fight against neoliberalism, a former member of the Mexican government has said.
Raul Zepeda Gil, director general of legislative affairs at the Ministry of Economy between 2018 and 2019, told the Star this left democratic-socialist president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (Amlo) with little room for manoeuvre.
His remarks come as commentators criticise the alleged secrecy surrounding Amlo’s deal with US President Donald Trump to lower oil production in both countries as part of a push to stabilise global prices in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Mexico has recorded more than 6,200 cases of Covid-19, with almost 500 deaths.
Mr Zepeda Gil said: “It’s quite complicated to end [neoliberalism], it is structurally embedded in the Mexican economy.
“For example, the most important industries are manufacturing, such as car making, which is pretty much linked to the US market, so it’s hard to untangle neoliberalism in Mexico.”
Earlier this week Mexico initially refused to agree to a request by the Organisation of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) and its allies that it cut oil production by 350,000 barrels per day (BPD).
Amlo won concessions to cut only 100,000 BPD following US help, with Mr Trump claiming that Mexico had agreed to “make up what we are doing [for them] at a later date.”
Lourdes Melgar, the former under-secretary of energy in Mexico, reacted to the development with extreme concern.
“When I heard about this deal, it gave me the creeps. We Mexicans need to know the nature of this deal,” she told Al-Jazerra.
Amlo denied any secret arrangement had been struck, describing his relationship with Mr Trump as a “friendship.”
Mr Zepeda Gil told the Star: “Some things have changed. The government decided to double the minimum wage [in 2018], and there is also a commitment to raise it by 10 per cent every year.
“We had a recent labour reform to have democratic elections in unions [to end the] long history of authoritarian unions in alliance with government.
“In the labour part of the government programme we are untangling neoliberalism policies, but in the economic sense we cannot change much due to our relationship with the United States.”
