Opinion | Mexico’s Congress stands up for common sense on energy

All of which makes it doubly remarkable that the Mexican Congress dealt Mr. López Obrador a richly deserved defeat Sunday on a major policy priority, one with consequences for all of North America and indeed the world.

At issue was Mr. López Obrador’s proposed constitutional amendment to undo a 2013 reform to Mexico’s energy sector. The measure, spearheaded by his predecessor, President Enrique Peña Nieto, loosened the Mexican state’s long-standing control over the production and distribution of electricity, opening the sector to foreign investors. This had resulted in both lower costs and more wind and solar power. To this apparent win-win outcome, Mr. López Obrador objected reflexively that it left “market dominance in the hands of private companies, mainly foreigners.” His plan would have guaranteed 54 percent of the market to Mexico’s state-owned utility, in contrast to the 62 percent private companies now provide.

Mexico’s Congress, however, refused to provide the two-thirds majority needed for ratification, as other parties refused to join the simple majority of Mr. López Obrador’s followers. This is a victory not only for Mexico’s economy, but also — as proof that checks and balances work — for Mexico’s democracy. Indeed, it bodes well for congressional rejection of Mr. López Obrador’s next dangerous idea, an overhaul of the national electoral tribunal that would politicize that crucial impartial arbiter.

Another winner is the Biden administration, which had warned Mexico that changing the rules for its energy sector could run afoul of commitments Mexico had made under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Given the state-owned utility’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels, the measure would also have been a setback for global efforts against climate change. A 2021 study by the U.S. Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimated that a measure such as the one Mr. López Obrador advocated could increase Mexico’s carbon emissions by a minimum of 26 percent, and a maximum of 65 percent, relative to the country’s current trajectory.

Mr. López Obrador characteristically blasted the vote as “treason.” More likely, it demonstrates that, while still strong, Mr. López Obrador’s hold over Mexican public opinion has weakened after three years in office. The Congress that refused to deliver his constitutional amendment is the product of June 2021 midterm elections in which voters reduced the pro-López Obrador majority. More recently, only 18 percent of Mexicans voted in a recall election Mr. López Obrador had staged as a demonstration of his support. He won 90 percent — meaningless, since the low participation rate rendered the result not legally binding. Undaunted, Mr. López Obrador on Monday pushed for the nationalization of Mexico’s supply of lithium — a key input for electric-car batteries — through Congress by a simple majority. Instead of taking revenge, this president should learn to take a hint.