Mexico: Socialist will only veto future contracts with Odebrecht

The AMLO government will veto Odebrecht; will cancel current contracts

Javier Jiménez Espriú, next Secretary of Communications and Transport, announced that the new administration will cancel contracts with the Brazilian construction company involved in bribes to officials.

MEXICO CITY - Contracts with Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction firm accused of millionaire bribes in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, will be suspended. This was stated by Javier Jiménez Espriú, proposed to head the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) in the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

To an express question on whether the contracts with the company would be canceled, Jiménez Espriú replied: "absolutely". This was at the end of the meeting held by the virtual president-elect of Mexico with engineers from the country, which included Carlos Slim.

Last February, the Public Function Secretariat (SFP) disabled the construction company to participate in contracting processes or to enter into contracts with agencies and entities of the federal administration.

This was the last of the eight procedures that the SFP has undertaken against Odebrecht following the revelation in 2016, which granted bribes for 10 million dollars to Mexican officials in exchange for contracts.

However, the sanction only applies to future contracts and not for those that are currently underway, such as the Etileno XXI plant in Veracruz or the Tula refinery in Hidalgo.

In reference to the corruption that surrounds the SCT, who will lead the secretariat said that they will clean the dependence on corrupt, if they are located. "There is a lot of corruption and we are going to solve that problem," said engineer Jiménez Espriú.

Rocío Nahle, proposed to head the Energy Secretariat (Sener) in the AMLO government, agreed with Jiménez Espriú and pointed out that they will not allow "more Odebrecht" in the new administration.

The future Secretary of Energy endorsed López Obrador's idea that priority be given to domestic and foreign companies, whose governments are from honest countries, because it is a way to end corruption.

"Both inside and outside we are going to eradicate corruption in all sectors, but this is one of the sectors, of construction, of energy, that there have been embarrassing scandals and that we have to eliminate this," he said.

In the event, López Obrador reiterated his 25 priority strategic projects to promote development and the economy in the country, and said that the works of the current government, such as the Mexico-Toluca Train, will not be left unfinished.