Peña Nieto: wants greater transparency.
In a surprise move late yesterday, President Peña Nieto rejected the decision to award the high-speed Mexico City-Querétaro train to a Chinese-led consortium. And in another move that appears to have been motivated by public opinion, he has cut short a 10-day visit to Australia and China.
Transportation Secretary Gerardo Ruiz Esparza said last night that bidding would be reopened after Peña Nieto called for greater transparency in the process and the participation of more bidders.
The government had come under criticism this week, particularly in the Senate, where the opposition pointed out connections between both Peña Nieto and former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari with some members of the consortium. Four Mexican firms teamed up with the China Railway Construction Corp. to submit a 50.82-billion-peso bid on the 210-kilometer passenger rail service.
Several major companies with experience in rail projects had asked for an extension on the 60 days that had been allowed for bidders to to analyze the project and submit their proposals. The Transportation Secretariat declined to change the time allotment with the result that the Chinese bid was the only one received.
That bid was officially accepted on Monday.
The Transportation Secretary said last night that more time would be allowed for the submission of bids, and that the process would be restarted within either the next few days or the next few weeks.
Earlier in the day, in response to questions by senators, Ruiz Esparza had expressed doubt that any change could be made. “I think it would be illegal,” he said, adding that “no one seems unhappy with the result.”
It appears that the president himself wasn’t happy, no doubt due to the poor optics created by the management of the bidding process.
Equally poor optics were being created by the prospect of the president leaving the country during what many see as a serious crisis: the disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students.
Peña Nieto leaves Sunday for Beijing, China, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and meet with Chinese leaders. He will then travel to Brisbane, Australia, for the G-20 meeting November 15 and 16.
The Senate suggested a week ago that the trip be shortened from 10 days to seven due to the crisis over Iguala, Guerrero, where police are accused of killing six people, wounding 25 others and being complicit in the disappearance of 43 students, who remain missing.
No comments:
Post a Comment