As President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo began her First State of the Union ceremony, business leaders from the states of Campeche and Tabasco demanded, for the umpteenth time, that Pemex pay debts worth millions, now exceeding 430 billion pesos. They warned that if this situation persists, they will be forced to take drastic measures, although they did not specify what they would entail at this time.
According to a publication on the Política Peninsular website, they also stated that in Campeche alone, the oil company’s nonpayment has led to the loss of more than 20,000 jobs this year.
Rubén Rosiñol Abreu, president of the Association of Businessmen and Women of Ciudad del Carmen, and various business leaders expressed their displeasure to the federal president and urged compliance with the payment.
The Sheinbaum administration has yet to pay us, so the debt has increased irrationally for the 45 companies affiliated with the Mexican Association of Petroleum Service Companies (Amescap). We haven’t received any payment from Pemex. On the contrary, the debts continue to rise, and by the end of 2024, the figure will exceed 430 billion pesos, lamented Rafael Espino de la Peña, president of Amescap.
Of the total debt, approximately 19% corresponds to companies affiliated with Amescap, he estimated, and refuted President Sheinbaum Pardo’s statement, who claimed that payments to Pemex suppliers had already begun.
Espino de la Peña called on the authorities to catch up on payments as soon as possible, as the situation in the oil-producing states is critical, where hundreds of staff have been laid off and national oil production is being affected.
“Many Amescap companies are multinationals, with operations in more than 120 countries, and sadly, they see Mexico as the country that delays payments the most, which could affect international competition,” he warned.
In a joint statement, the business leaders pointed out that Pemex’s lack of payments has also led to the closure of multiple supplier companies, the flight of investment, and the inability to access bank loans.
They reiterated their call for the oil company to urgently address this problem, which, they affirmed, not only affects local businesses but also thousands of families who depend on this production chain in the southeast of the country.
Present at the presidium were José Encarnación Cajun Uc, president of the Carmen Business Coordinating Council; Ileana Herrera Pérez, leader of the Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels of Carmen; Olimpia Álvarez, secretary of the CCEC; Gonzalo Hernández Pérez, vice president of the CCEC; Eustacio Pérez García, president of the Broad Front of Oil Services in Tabasco, along with Rubén Rosiñol and Rafael Espino de la Peña.
Rosa Irma Reyes Compañ also spoke, demanding payment compliance to reactivate the island’s economy.
For his part, businessman Eduardo Badillo was forceful in criticizing the Mexican oil company’s non-payment and called for unity “from below,” including among workers who lost their jobs, to demand payment.
Source: tribunacampeche
