Oil prices impact Mexico's budget

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Mexico's Chamber of Deputies speaker urged those dissatisfied with the president's 2010 budget to present options not based on high oil price projections.

El Universal reported Thursday that Speaker Francisco Ramirez Acuna of the Partido Accion Nacional suggested that legislators who disagreed with President Felipe Calderon's proposed 2010 budget offer options not based either on an increase in debt or high expectations regarding oil production and sales.

Mexico's state-owned petroleum company Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the world's 10th largest oil company, is responsible for the country's hydrocarbon production. Mexican production has been stymied by falling oil prices due to the global recession, increased investment for expansion and corruption. PEMEX's annual production has been in decline since 2004.

Ramirez Acuna said, "So far we have been told that (Calderon's budget proposal) is the only option, so it is important that we all listen to each other to determine whether there are any other alternatives not based on the indebtedness that we have known over the past 40 years or on oil revenue."