Center for Latin American Studies

Mexico—the sixth biggest oil producing nation in the world and one of the three main oil exporters to the United States—would appear to have reached a peak oil scenario in which oil output levels are likely to decline sharply in the near term. Meanwhile, the company, which enjoys monopoly status in the Mexican market, suffers from a crisis situation in many aspects, running from major indebtedness to corporate governance to aging infrastructure. The next Mexican president has a number of reform options to choose from, none of them easy.