As a new Mexican Government takes office in December, the debate over Cintra's future continues.
The bank protection institute, which holds most of the government's stake in Cintra, is hiring financial advisors to help it split Cintra and offer Aeromexico and Mexicana shares separately, but Mexico's House of Delegates is still debating Cintra's future. Cintra is the government holding company for Aeromexico and Mexicana.
In a government commission on communication and transport, a legislator from the PRI party, which controlled Mexican politics until the last election, introduced an initiative opposing Cintra's break-up and part-privatisation. He called instead for formation of a Mexican "flag carrier" in which the government would retain control. Representatives from several other parties expressed support.
That, as well as the controversy surrounding the Cintra case and loud objections from labour unions, prompted legislators to ask all the key officials involved to appear before the commission, including Fernando Sánchez Ugarte, president of the Federal Competition Commission that ordered Cintra's break-up.
Sanchez told the legislators there was no turning back on the decision to split Cintra, and he warned that any law seeking to reverse it would violate Mexico's constitutional ban on private monopolies. He also criticised the flag carrier proposal. "Most countries have concluded that aviation is a business, a sector to develop, but nothing else," Sanchez said. "It cannot be a flag, standard, or even a medal. That is a totally obsolete concept."
Another official told legislators that the government would consider raising the foreign ownership cap on airlines from 25 to 49%. Juan Manuel Duarte, head of the joint commission, stresses that his 60-member group will not necessarily back the "flag carrier" initiative, but is considering all issues. Analysing the future of Mexican aviation, he says, is "complex", but he hopes the commission could reach a consensus after another round of meetings.
The government wants to sell Cintra to help reduce its debt.
Source: Airline Business
