Mexican budget watchdog group Fundar is using RWI support to monitor the operations of Mexico’s state-owned oil company PEMEX and strengthen congress’s oversight capacity. Fundar is:

• • Analyzing whether PEMEX’s existing contract bidding and awarding processes comply with Mexican law and presenting the results to company officials.
• • Organizing meetings with legislators to discuss the importance of full contract disclosure and generally publicizing the rationale for making contracts publicly available.
• • Researching national and international frameworks for regulating the social and environmental impacts of oil extraction activities and presenting the resultant policy recommendations to congress.

PEMEX holds a monopoly over oil production in Mexico, one of the largest oil producers and exporters in Latin America. The government implemented reforms to allow external participation in managing and monitoring PEMEX, but in practice PEMEX retains near total control of its operations. PEMEX does not make public its contracts with subcontractors, making it very difficult to know whether they include clauses that protect the public good. 

Fundar’s project originated in 2003, when RWI partner the Open Society Institute commissioned a study to asses the opportunities for public monitoring of oil, gas and mining revenues in Mexico, Peru and Brazil. Fundar’s analyses and communication strategies have resulted in PEMEX enacting key provisions for making resource allocations more transparent, and space has now opened up for dialogue and advocacy with legislators and staff. Though the state retains its historical monopoly over the upstream oil sector, PEMEX has undertaken reforms in its taxing status and management to improve its efficiency, autonomy and accountability. Fundar has remained a strategic partner to RWI over the last several years.

Fundar works to achieve full transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources in Mexico with a focus on monitoring PEMEX.