Mexico stands by power company closure

Mexico's conservative government stood by its decision to close a
state-run power company Friday, even after at least 150 ,000 people
marched in protest the previous day. Some 44 ,000 active workers and
22 ,000 retirees were affected by Sunday's surprise closure by
presidential decree of Luz y Fuerza, which served more than one fifth
of the country. Leaders of the company's powerful union, the Mexican
Union of Electricity Workers, met with government officials Friday in
a bid to reverse the shutdown. But the government said the meeting
would only discuss compensation for the workers. "There's no step
backwards," Labor Minister Javier Lozano told Televisa television,
adding that the decree "is not negotiable." Police took over the
company headquarters shortly before the decree was issued. The
government said it had to close the company because it had been
losing around 30 percent of electrical supply due to defects in the
system, at a cost of around 25 billion pesos (1.9 billion dollars)
per year.