Mexico's opportunity: the oil boom

Journal Article · · Foreign Policy; (United States)

OSTI ID:5166995

Grayson, G W

Mexico's economy has been floundering, but Lopez Portillo and his key advisers presently believe the discovery of oil deposits as large as those in the Middle East will restore health to its economy. Mexico's desperate need for foreign exchange and the United States' accelerating demand for foreign oil commend the exchange of U.S. dollars for Mexican petroleum. But four circumstances complicate this overtly sensible interchange: (1) a history of foreign exploitation of Mexican resources before the 1938 take-over of the major oil firms, (2) the constraints placed upon increased production by Mexico's national oil company and the union that dominates it, (3) Mexico's relations with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and pressures to ship refined products to a diversified market, and (4) the imperative of Washington's pursuing a policy that combines sensitivity to Mexico's sovereignty with an understanding of how Mexican oil can resolve problems confronting the two nations. Pemex will manage the development of the Mexican oil, but many constraints exist. Factors on immigration control, trade policy, population growth, tax reform, energy conservation, and energy diversification are discussed in view of policies that will advance Mexico's economic interests. (MCW)

• Research Organization: Coll. of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
• OSTI ID: 5166995
• Journal Information: Foreign Policy; (United States), Journal Name: Foreign Policy; (United States) Vol. 29; ISSN FRPLA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020700 -- Petroleum-- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
294002 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Petroleum
530100 -- Environmental-Social Aspects of Energy Technologies-- Social & Economic Studies-- (-1989)
530200 -- Environmental-Social Aspects of Energy Technologies-- Assessment of Energy Technologies-- (-1989)
AGREEMENTS
COMMODITIES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
EMPLOYMENT
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
FOREIGN POLICY
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT
INDUSTRY
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
MARKET
MEXICO
MONOPOLIES
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
POPULATION DYNAMICS
PUBLIC RELATIONS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
TRADE
USA