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Compact ·Future-gazing

Mexico’s Oil Strategy is Paying Off

by Germán S. Díaz del Castillo

Published 2026-06-26 11:00:48+00:00

If global markets can no longer be trusted, how does a country keep its gas tanks full?

0:00 / 6:26 · Narrator Algieba

Context

In 2017, Mexicans waited in miles-long lines for gas despite sitting on massive national oil reserves. Published on 26 June 2026, this piece from Compact asks a question free-market economists usually dismiss: why build expensive domestic refineries when buying foreign oil is cheaper? The answer has everything to do with fragile supply lines and sudden price shocks. Mexico's stubborn push for energy independence offers a concrete preview of how nations are adapting to survive the end of peak globalization.

Show notes

An analysis of Mexico's recent push for energy self-sufficiency under presidents Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum. The strategy marks a shift away from relying on imported US fuel toward modernizing state-owned refineries and building new facilities. Contrasting this domestic production model with decades of free-trade policy, the argument positions Mexico as a case study in how nations are adapting to fragile global markets.

Read on Compact →