Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said last week that the government waived four months of tax obligations for state oil and gas producer Petróleos Mexicans (Pemex) in an effort to free up cash flow for the debt-saddled company following a downgrade by the credit agency Moody’s. 

The credit rating for Pemex — which is the world’s most indebted oil and gas company — was downgraded by Moody’s on Feb. 9 by two notches, from B1 to B3. The credit rating agency explained that Pemex is likely to face increased financial stress in the next two to three years as the company has a $10.9 billion debt payment due this year with another $13.7 billion in notes set to mature in 2026. At the conclusion of 2023, Pemex had $107 billion in debt, according to company...