Reeling From Job Cuts, Mexican Oil Country Pins Hopes on a Rebel
- Poll leader AMLO vows to revive ghost towns in his home state
- Investors worry he’ll roll back landmark energy reforms
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In the wetlands of Tabasco in southeast Mexico, indigenous farmers stand guard outside oil wells. They have no official status -– but anyone who wants to do business there has to pay to get past.
At Well 144 in the massive Sen field, for example, owned by state-run Pemex, service companies say they have to pay off two such groups, who claim to represent local communities and landowners. In some areas there are as many as ten. They charge fees that can reach 50,000 pesos ($2,670) a month for the larger international firms.