"Lopez Obrador wants to de-emphasize production of crude oil and focus instead on refined products."
I suspect that what he wants to do is increase Mexico's manufacturing base, rather than shipping all the crude to the US, where we do the manufacturing. More refined products produced in Mexico, fewer illigals?
Mexico is very resistant to foreign economic intervention. Years ago when I studied there I was surprised to discover that foreigners could not buy beach front property. You had to have a Mexican partner to get around that one.
Perhaps Mexico will be able to expand its sugar cane production like Brazil to achieve less dependence on petroleum for transport. Does anyone know the potential for that?
My wife and her late husband got sucked in on that one. They bought property in Baja CA, with a local as "front man," then lost it all during a currency devaluation. No way I'd ever invest a penny in Mexico.
It does not make much sense to build refineries with a declining production base unless they anticipate cutting off exports of crude oil, and then not much. If they cannot feed the refineries, what good are they? Are they going to import crude, refine it, and export products? Something here isn't making a heck of a lot of sense to me.