The state-owned company lost 271 billion pesos in 2024 alone, a pattern that repeated throughout the six-year term
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The year 2024 was marked as the worst in the recent history of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). Under the management of Manuel Bartlett, the state company not only suffered historic financial losses, but also aggravated the credibility crisis weighing on the Morena government.
According to the financial report presented to the Mexican Stock Exchange, the CFE recorded a net loss of 271,574 million pesos in 2024. That represents an increase of 118% compared to what was initially reported.
Manuel Bartlett, ex titular de la CFE
To gauge the collapse, in 2023 the CFE had obtained net profits of 96 billion pesos. This collapse was not an isolated event: throughout the entire term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the CFE showed a persistent trend of losses.
In 2022, the company lost 15 billion pesos; in 2021, 106 billion; and in 2020, 85 billion. All this contrasts with the years prior to Morena, when the CFE caused significant profits.
Among the reasons for the financial collapse are the sharp depreciation of the peso against the dollar, which caused exchange losses of 169 billion pesos. Also the change in the tax regime driven by the 4T administration, which forced the cancellation of 174 billion pesos in deferred ISR.
La CFE reportó pérdidas durante todo el sexenio de AMLO
Bartlett, corruption, and rumors of fleeing from U.S. justice
The poor management of the CFE is compounded by the long history of corruption of Manuel Bartlett. He has been accused of owning numerous properties throughout the country and accumulating a fortune of dubious origin.
Recently, strong rumors began to circulate that Bartlett may have left Mexico. This in light of the possibility of being required by U.S. justice due to his alleged involvement in the torture and murder of former DEA agent, Enrique Camarena.
Bartlett está implicado en un caso de asesinato
CFE: from strategic company to symbol of failure.
The Federal Electricity Commission, which for decades was seen as a strategic pillar for Mexico's development, now faces its greatest financial and reputational crisis.
The project to "rescue the CFE" promised by AMLO ended in disaster. The Morena administration left Mexicans with a bankrupt company, unstable electricity rates, and a network that can't be modernized to face the challenges of a more competitive world.
Bartlett's tenure at the CFE will be remembered as one of the darkest chapters in the country's energy history.
