reform
Oil Nationalization — PEMEX Created
President Cárdenas nationalized the oil industry, expropriating 17 foreign oil companies (Standard Oil, Royal Dutch Shell) after they defied a Supreme Court labor ruling. The nationalization was the most popular act of Mexican statism — citizens donated jewelry to pay the compensation. Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) was created as the national oil company. March 18 became a national holiday.
Sources
- T1 Diario Oficial de la Federación, March 18, 1938 Official
- T3 Lorenzo Meyer, Su Majestad Británica contra la Revolución Mexicana, El Colegio de México Institutional