The governor of Coahuila, Mexico's eighth-largest economy, told workers at steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) that negotiations between potential buyers of the company and the federal government to restructure some of the debt continue to move forward. However, he asked for his support to unlock the entrances so that investors can visit the facilities.
“Governor Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís asked the workers of Altos Hornos de México to lift the blockade so that the new partners can enter the steel plant and see what situation the steel plant is in,” published the local newspaper El Siglo de Torreón.
Since March, investors led by Argentem Creek Partners trying to buy AHMSA have asked the federal government to restructure. In May, the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that he would support the steel company if Alonso Ancira Elizondo sold the company.
After seven months, only Riquelme Solís has publicly reported the progress of the negotiations. Information sources related to AHMSA commented that the negotiations were advancing but very slowly.
Although López Obrador entrusted the negotiation to the head of the Ministry of Finance (SHCP), Rogelio Ramírez de la O, he appointed the Fiscal Attorney of the Federation, Félix Arturo Medina Padilla. Since September 15, SteelOrbis asked the SHCP spokesperson, Eduardo Marín, for a position on the progress of the negotiations.
Today, October 16, one month after the request, Marín responded to SteelOrbis in a message on WhatsApp: “They have not sent us anything.”
Since the beginning of the year, AHMSA suspended activities due to insolvency. Since then, the steel company's nearly 14,000 direct employees have not received salaries or wages. The situation worsens if indirect jobs related to the steel industry are considered, totaling 60,000 workers.