Our oil…

With a PRD/PRI compromise to reform PEMEX looking more likely all the time,  it might be worth remembering that Mexico’s “radical” Consititutional Article 27 (which defines underground resources as belonging to the nation) — in reality a modern intrepretation of both indigenous and medieval Spanish law — is not nearly as radical as it seemed back in 1917.

That other mostly Catholic agrarian country with a powerful English-speaking Protestant neigbhor dependent on remittances (Ireland) adopted much the same principal towards their own natural resources, after thowing off British control in 1927.  France and Italy, as well as most Latin American nations (and, later the Arab and African nations) also in one way or another reserve natural resource exploitation for nationals.

Although the concept took a beating over the last several years in the name of globalization and neo-liberalism, its coming back into fashion — even in occupied territories.  The Malvinas/Falklands are getting a constitution:

Mercopress (Montevideo, Uruguay):

It is also proposed, and agreed by the British Government, that given the persistent claim to the sovereignty of the Falklands by Argentina the proposed new draft constitution sets down the right to self determination in accordance with the charter of the UN in the body of the constitution rather than in the preamble where it used to be.

This section also confirms unequivocally that the mineral rights (and the rights to exploit other resources) in the Falklands belong to the Falkland Islands and its people and not to the United Kingdom.