Dear activists,

October 25, 2006

Mexican president-elect Felipe Calderon will be in Ottawa tomorrow and Friday in advance of his meeting with U.S. President George Bush in Washington on Thursday November 9, 2006.

The Prensa Latina article below notes that, "Mexico's governing PAN party (Accion Nacional) confirmed on Monday that opening the Mexican energy sector to private investment will be one of the priorities for the government of President-elect Felipe Calderon...PAN will foster the reforms needed in the current legislature to allow private investment in electricity, gas, and oil" and that it "will be one of the issues to be discussed with the Canadian government."

We will develop more analysis on the significance of this, but you will note that, in their words, "creating a sustainable energy economy for North America" is a key objective of the deep integration-driven Security and Prosperity Partnership.

The Council's trade campaigner Jean-Yves Lefort highlights that, as we reported in February 2005, a confidential document from the Task Force on the Future of North America discussed "contentious" issues such as "Crafting a North American 'resource pact' that would allow for greater intra-regional trade and investment in certain non-renewable natural resources, such as oil, gas, and fresh water."

Jean-Yves also notes, "What the U.S. wants most from Mexico in the context of the Security and Prosperity Partnership is the privatization of PEMEX, the national oil company."

Those leaked minutes also revealed that, "members pointed out that (this) is likely to meet with stiff resistance..."