, Columnist
A Mexican Oil Scandal in the Making
Mexico plans to set up an economic development fund using revenue from its oil industry. It will be a tempting pot of money for corrupt politicians.
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Mexican movie maker Alfonso Cuaron -- fresh off winning the Oscar as best director for ``Gravity'' -- recently put a critical question to Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto: Given the decision to open the energy business to foreign investment, how will you distribute the resulting oil wealth among the citizens? Peña Nieto's answer -- an initiative to save the money in an economic development fund -- shows what's wrong with Mexico's energy reform.
On its face, Mexico's plan may seem conservative. But it will be easy for the nation's notoriously corrupt politicians to exploit. Here's a better idea: Mexico should give its citizens -- ideally, the very poor -- a check every year from the gains of the fund.