Pemex, which had financial debt totaling nearly $108 billion at the close of last year, pays a profit sharing rate (DUC) - effectively a tax paid to the government - of 40%. Delaying Pemex's payment of the DUC should give the oil giant some $2 billion in cash flow, said Yorio. "We can do this quickly to provide liquidity to Pemex, not through a capitalization, but by allowing it not to immediately pay the royalty, the profit sharing rate," said Yorio. Separately, Yorio said Mexico would not need to issue debt to finance its $6 billion deal to buy 13 power plants from Spanish energy company Iberdrola (IBE.MC). Lopez Obrador has described the deal, which will boost state power utility Comision Federal de Electricidad's (CFE) market share to nearly 56% of Mexico's total power generation from about 40%, as a "new nationalization".

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