KEYPOINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE

April 5-11, 2023

Political Agenda

• Commercialization of cannabis: Mr. Lopez Obrador pointed out that the director of the Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS) conducted an investigation, which determined that COFEPRIS granted 63 permits to commercialize cannabis products, most of them to companies linked to the Fox family, indicating that the investigation is still in process.

• People with disabilities: Regarding the Program to support this social group, the President indicated that 14 states have already joined, and 6 more states will soon sign it, in order to support people between 30 and 64 years of age who were not receiving the benefit. The agreement is for the state governments to voluntarily cover 50 percent of the benefit and the federation to support the rest, thus attending all the disabled people in those states that participate in the program.

Energy

• Purchase of 13 power plants from Iberdrola: The Federal Executive informed that the agreement for the purchase of 12 combined cycle plants and one wind energy plant with Iberdrola is aimed at guaranteeing that electricity prices do not rise and

KEYPOINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE

strengthening the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE); with this purchase, the Commission went from a 39% to a 55% share in the national electricity sector. Thus, he will seek to leave conditions for the next government to maintain the same price policy in the following years. He emphasized that within the purchase plan, it was considered, as an option, to go to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) to denounce Iberdrola’s preponderance in the electric sector, but given the national political context, a different strategy was chosen, to buy the plants and avoid legal proceedings.

• Iberdrola: President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador explained that it is estimated that due to the actions being implemented by his administration, he calculates that by next year they will have 65% of all electric power generation. He mentioned that Jose Ignacio Sanchez Galan, president of Iberdrola and his team understood that the electricity industry should not be left in the hands of the market alone, which guarantees that the price of electricity for consumers will not increase.

International

• Judicial Process against Donald Trump: The President indicated that he is against the legal process against former President Donald Trump, as it is a political-electoral issue rather than a legal one. He emphasized that there are smear campaigns and they would seek that D. Trump does not participate in the 2024 electoral process.

Economy

• Trade: Regarding the exchange of products through the “Ferrobuque”, President Lopez Obrador commented that it is a private company that allows this trade between both countries, which will have the facilities to connect with the works of the Isthmus. He indicated that he will contact the Secretary of the Navy to discuss the issue and provide more information. In this sense, he indicated that an agreement was reached with Grupo Mexico for part of the railroad concession to return to the State and continue with the Isthmus Project.

• Remittances: The head of the Federal Consumer Attorney’s Office (PROFECO), Ricardo Sheffield stated that, according to information from the Bank of Mexico, in February 2023 a total of $4,348.4 million dollars were received in remittances, a figure that has increased with respect to the last few years. The official stated that the best option is Unlink, which delivered $6,275.50 for 300 U.S. dollars; while the worst option is Sigue, which gave $5,870.87 for the same amount of dollars.