Mexico left eyes new street protest over oil sector

MEXICO CITY, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Mexican leftists, who paralyzed the capital with election protests in 2006, will go back to the streets this weekend to fight any attempt to let private capital into the oil sector.

But a top senator said on Thursday the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution is willing to hold talks in Congress about an energy reform sought by President Felipe Calderon, possibly blunting the impact of street protests.


Hundreds of thousands of people went on marches in 2006 to support losing presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s claims that Calderon stole the election by fraud.

Now Lopez Obrador hopes to rally his supporters outside the headquarters of the Pemex state oil monopoly on Sunday to protest at what he sees as plans to privatize the company.

Reuters