The president of Mexico is trying to achieve what others have tried to do and failed. That is, reform the country’s oil industry to allow more foreign investment.

Energy reform might not sound like a big deal in this country. But in Mexico, it’s downright revolutionary.

Oil money laid the foundation for Mexico’s economic independence. And many Mexicans see the commodity as a national heritage that should be passed on to future generations, and not an asset to be sold-off to foreign companies.

Nonetheless, president Enrique Peña Nieto has proposed a constitutional amendment to allow foreign companies more direct investment in the oil industry. That could shake things up at Mexico’s state-run oil company, called Pemex.

via Mexicans guard oil wealth jealously | Marketplace.org.