(Reuters) Mexican laws that lay out the fine print of a landmark energy sector overhaul approved last year should be passed by lawmakers in early August at the latest, a ruling party senator said on Tuesday.
The so-called secondary laws are key to implementing a constitutional reform aimed at luring private investors into Mexico’s oil and gas sector, which is dominated by ailing state oil company Pemex.
Passage of the laws has been delayed by bitter debate over telecommunications legislation, which conservative opposition lawmakers insisted precede any discussion of the energy laws.
The telecommunications laws were approved by the Senate last week and have now been sent to the lower house for final approval, clearing the way for lawmakers to take up energy legislation, ruling party Senator David Penchyna said.
“I trust that this process will reopen today … and once this major telecommunications reform is approved, we can aspire to do it in July,” said Penchyna, Senate energy committee chairman, referring to passage of secondary energy laws.
He added that both houses of Congress would have approved all the energy laws, “no later than the first week of August.”
Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) President Enrique Pena Nieto has pushed a host of structural reforms through the country’s congress in a bid to boost flagging growth in Latin America’s No. 2 economy.