Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wasn’t able to change the constitution to favor state firms Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), but he remains determined to leave his mark on the energy sector before he leaves office in 2024.

AMLO

In his daily press conference on Tuesday morning, López Obrador, or AMLO, said that by the end of next year 65% of the nation’s power would be generated by CFE. The move would mark a win for the AMLO administration after years of efforts to get that figure up to 54%.

The president said the recent CFE purchase of 13 generation plants – 12 of which are combined cycle powered by natural gas – from Spanish firm Iberdrola would close in 45 days. After this, the Mexican utility would now control...