29 replies to this topic

[bjdephillips]

http://climateandene...king.net/?p=433

[Mainecoons]

Pemex and CFE are big liabilities for this country. Pretty hard to have a first-world economy when you have a third-world energy industry dominated by incompetence and graft.

Too bad. They have plenty of oil and the potential to be the greatest solar producer in the world. Neither potential will be realized as long as these critical functions are in the hands of corrupt management and "labor."

[Viajero-Tiempo]

My better judgement kept me from asking the obvious questions of MC about his knowledge of the complex subjects mentioned above.

[Mainecoons]

I read a lot. Do you?

http://www.ecoi.net/.../308024_en.html

According to media sources, Pemex has a history of corruption (El Diario de Coahuila 10 July 2011; Contralínea 20 Feb. 2011). The Ministry of the Public Service states that Pemex is the [translation] "most corrupt entity" of the federal government (ibid.; Milenio 15 July 2010). According to Agencia EFE, a Spanish-language news agency, a Pemex Deputy Comptroller stated that between 2006 and 2010, within Pemex's largest unit, Pemex Exploración y Producción, there were 153 cases of fraud detected (Agencia EFE 5 July 2011). Of these cases, 57 occurred in 2010, and 14 cases occurred in 2009 (ibid.). The corruption reportedly includes: inflating multimillion dollar contracts, giving contracts in exchange for favours, and giving contracts without a license to friends (El Diario de Coahuila 10 July 2011). Agencia EFE also reports that contracts were given to unqualified firms (3 Feb. 2011). Other media sources indicate that Pemex employees have helped criminal groups to steal fuel (Reuters 25 July 2011; LA Times 6 Sept. 2010).

http://latino.foxnew...tate-oil-giant/

Mexico City – Mexico's SFP audit agency announced disciplinary measures against 12 employees of state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos for improperly awarding 38.9 million pesos ($3.1 million) in contracts to firms that were unqualified to perform the required tasks.

The abuses occurred during the process of repairing hurricane damage at Pemex's Escolin petrochemical complex in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, the SFP said in a statement.

Audits uncovered "partiality and favoritism ... toward certain firms in the direct awarding of six contracts," the statement said.

The head of Material Resources at Pemex Petroquimica was fired and banned from public employment for five years. Also dismissed was the PPQ maintenance superintendent.

Four other supervisory personnel were suspended for periods ranging from three to six months, while the other six employees received a "public reprimand," the SFP said.

Auditors reviewed contracts totaling 60 million pesos ($4.9 million) and found more than half of them were awarded without any bidding process to three "companies without the experience or financial solvency to execute the contracts."

The offending companies were each fined 783,000 pesos ($64,180) and barred for 2 1/2 years from doing business with the Mexican government.

The audit enabled Pemex Petroquimica to save $1.2 million, the SFP said.

Mexico's biggest company has been the focus of several recent probes by the SFP, which announced last week that it imposed a total of $427 million in fines on 14 Pemex executives for irregularities in awarding contracts.

Some of those executives were found to have paid as much as 35 percent above market rates to rent tanker ships, costing Pemex more than $23 million, while other cases involved awarding contracts without applying the proper criteria and rigging the bid process to favor selected firms.

http://online.wsj.co...4118709426.html

The alleged bribery began as far back as 1997 but came to light only last year after one of the companies involved, Swiss electrical engineering giant ABB, ABB +2.55%alerted U.S. prosecutors that some of its employees had possibly violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it illegal for any individual or company that operates in the U.S. or is registered there from bribing foreign officials.

Plenty more where these came from. Maybe you should spend more time reading and less time posting thinly veiled personal slaps that fool no one. For example, you might quicly learn that something like 1/3rd of CFE's production is stolen. Think that happens in the U.S. or Canada?

[bigd]

Do'nt believe everything I read. Do You??

[Viajero-Tiempo]

I read a lot. Do you?
..............

So I don't thinly veil anything....
I see one reference is from Foxnews and another from the WSJ (now owned by your good friend Rupert).

There are houses near me without meters but with electricity.
CFE doesn't always have working meters available.
I've seen tradesmen hook-up before the meters to weld, etc.
Necessity - not corruption!

BTW,
I worked for a major oil - they bribed everyone in sight to get or to keep contracts. Or to be allowed to do business/etc as they chose - not as the laws of the hosting country (those from whom the major took the oil) specified.

Slightly more info than reading - huh.

[Mainecoons]

I suggest again that you do your homework. There are numerous references, in both English and Spanish as to the problems with CFE and Pemex. You must be the only guy in Mexico that doesn't know of this. BTW, Nieto is proposing once again to privative Pemex. Why do you suppose he would do this? Why does TelMex for all of its flaws operate far, far better than it did when run by the government? Ask a Mexican about that one if you are in denial about that too.

Why do I know so many people that have had to bribe CFE people to get basic service, including myself and my neighbors and a lot of the people I know?

All you've offered is a couple of personal anecdotes--big deal.

[PV Kids]

So I don't thinly veil anything....
I see one reference is from Foxnews and another from the WSJ (now owned by your good friend Rupert).

There are houses near me without meters but with electricity.
CFE doesn't always have working meters available.
I've seen tradesmen hook-up before the meters to weld, etc.
Necessity - not corruption!

BTW,
I worked for a major oil - they bribed everyone in sight to get or to keep contracts. Or to be allowed to do business/etc as they chose - not as the laws of the hosting country (those from whom the major took the oil) specified.

Slightly more info than reading - huh.

OK, who did you work for, how high up were you, and exactly who did they bribe? Do you really have this knowledge or are you just giving yourself the "border promotion" that so many Lake Chapala residents do? Inquiring minds want to know.....

[Viajero-Tiempo]

A major.
I was not high up, but was in an area that regularly bribed to do business as they wanted.

[PV Kids]

A major.
I was not high up, but was in an area that regularly bribed to do business as they wanted.

I rest my case, a "border promotion" appears likely, probably a private or a corporal because a major would have never made the wriitten allegation you made. If you don't want to be specific, being general has no gravitus.

[Ajijic]

How do some of you get away with making so many personal attacks? Like a pi$$ing contest amongst children.

[PV Kids]

Why on earth would you see this as a personal attack? Or worse, a pi$$ing contest? I simply asked a poster to validate a serious allegation he made against another poster. If he did not care to reveal his sources all he had to post is something to the effect that his post was something he happened to believe as opposed to what purported to be "fact". He is welcome to believe whatever he wishes but is not doing anyone a favor by posting as fact something he is unwilling or unable to back up. As someone who used to live at Lakeside, you of all folks know full well how much some people inflate their previous position NOB. As former innkeepers there, we surely are aware of it. No offense intended to anyone, but as they used to say in Oregon, "'I'm calling Bull****".

[Viajero-Tiempo]

Well PV Kids,
I didn't make any serious allegations about MC or anyone else.
I barely questioned his sources since he seemed to "know" things about oil and unions and Mexico.
I now understand he has no credentials in those areas but that he "read a lot".

As to a border promotion, I never said how high I was and it doesn't matter.
I didn't make the bribes.
I was able to do work as a result of them.

Enough said from me.

If you, PV, have personal knowledge that international companies don't bribe, why don't yyou tell us more.

[Mainecoons]

Yes, at least one of us here has read a lot. And the other has offered nothing but personal anecdotes in lieu of same. I would be happy to post more links from credible national and international sources discussing the problems of corrupt management and featherbedding labor in both Pemex and CFE but there is no point since the fellow with the anecdotes doesn't appear to believe in reading a lot.

[bigd]

There are some people who post on this board who seem to enjoy quoting full pages of someone else's opinion then expecting everyone to join them in thinking that the person quoted is "the whole truth and nothing but the truth". Dueling quotes would clog this blog forever. Just because you read a lot doesnt always make you right.

[Mainecoons]

So prove me wrong. Hint: Opinion doesn't cut it. I posted links from credible sources backing up my point of view. So far, all we have in response is unsupported opinion and subtle sniping. Is that the best you can do?

I find it interesting that some folks who present themselves as "liberal" see nothing wrong with Pemex executives and its employees stealing millions via corruption and featherbedding, thereby diverting money from the national government that could be used for things like improving education and infrastructure in this country. 38 percent of the national budget comes from Pemex. Stealing from Pemex is stealing from the people, either by diverting money or causing gasoline prices to be higher.

Think about it.

[johanson]

Hey folks. Sorry this has turned into such a battle. I used to write Tech Talk for the Guadalajara Reporter and had to check my data many times over, so that I would not be corrected.

I've learned over the years when posting something technical on the forums that some folks would question what I wrote. Now when I write something technical I find it much more simple to post a URL or two, for the doubting Tom.

And yes, it's good that we question those who post things that don't sound right. Because we have the occasional troll and border promotion expat that posts things to show off when what they posted to show their intelligence turned out to be very wrong.

The charts that Mainecoons showed in his posts are the ones I have seen, especially in the offices of photo-voltaic panel venders to help us understand why the cost of fuel oil is going to go up, in spite of the fact that it hit a new low Thursday. I think that in general it will continue to go up. And because CFE generates about 75 to 80% of its electricity from fossil fuels the projected future costs of elelctrical energy are going up rapidly as well. Some esitmates show an increase of about 12% per year.

I sure wish we wouldn't fight as much, although after a drink or three the moderators have had to warn me to back off. Hey, have a good night all; it's almost midnight up here in the cold north and I can hardly get back to Ajijic.

Oh, talking about the increasing cost of electricity, my electrical bill has gone up 50% during the last two months. Yes, two months ago my CFE bill after the government subsidy was 81 pesos. This time, I saw on line that it's gone up to $121 pesos. 50% is a big jump in 2 months

I just had to say that, brag, brag, brag, but then one of you smart guys, will ask, How much did you pay for all of your photo-voltaic solar panels and what is the payback period? I refuse to answer other than to say that it cost way too much in 2008 and that the payback period would be quite long if I hadn't sold stocks to pay for the panels right before the big stock crash in 2008.

Have a good night, day, or whatever. And I, for one, appreciate what Mainecoons posts.

Note: what I wrote above looks like a first draft and needs to be cleaned up which I will try to do later, But it's time to go to bed.

[Griffin]

I rest my case, a "border promotion" appears likely, probably a private or a corporal because a major would have never made the wriitten allegation you made. If you don't want to be specific, being general has no gravitus.

To know that bribes are paid or any hanky panky within a company, one doesn't need to be high up in a company. A secretary (executive assistant) can be fully aware of what the bosses are doing. Many whistle blowers were not executives but had access to information.

I don't connect "border promotion" with having some knowledge of what is going on within a company.

[johanson]

Talking about border promotions, I had a great deal going for me. Back in about 2001, if you were to do a Google search under my name, up popped many hits. There was some other guy, with the same name, at that time who was active in the computer world who was getting a lot of good press and therefore showed up quite a bit in Google.

And I was writing about computers, software etc., at that time for a local newspaper. And when people would ask if this other person with my name was me, I would always say NO. And the more I said no, the less some of my friends would believe me. I loved it. Sadly, he doesn't show up much these days with something new, so his name isn't all over Google. And I don't write for this paper anymore.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted

[Mainecoons]

Pete, at this point in time, looking at your total investment in solar, what is the calculated time to payoff? Are you including any maintenance cost in that calculation?

You're a real pioneer in local solar!