It is rare for the CEO of a company to admit to being anxious. But when, on October 9th, Octavio Romero, head of Pemex, Mexico’s national oil company, appeared before lawmakers, he came close to doing so. Mr Romero confirmed the substance of a letter leaked in September, in which Pemex informed Mexico’s treasury that it was unable to pay over $500m owed to three suppliers, one of which has started a dispute-resolution process.
“The problem is Pemex is still Pemex,” says an oil executive who has spent decades working with the company. But it is not just Pemex’s huge debt that makes it impossible for Mr López Obrador to resurrect the oil behemoth to its former state. Mexico is no longer an oil economy, and does not need to be, thanks to its successful manufacturing base, which accounts for around a third of GDP. In 2021 oil receipts accounted for just 16% of government revenues.