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By Dave Graham
MEXICO CITY, June 19 (Reuters) - Political wrangling inMexico means Congress is unlikely to approve before Julylegislation to complete an energy overhaul at the center ofPresident Enrique Pena Nieto's economic agenda, lawmakers saidon Thursday.
The ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, hadhoped to pass in June the so-called secondary laws for a reformthat will offer oil production and exploration rights to privatecompanies, ending a state monopoly that dates back to 1938.
Pena Nieto hopes the reform will revive Latin America's no.2 economy, which has underperformed regional peers for years.
The PRI lacks a majority in Congress and has relied chieflyon support from the center-right opposition National ActionParty (PAN) to muster votes for its energy reform.
Wary of public opposition to the reform, however, Pena Nietohas also tried to keep the main center-left opposition Party ofthe Democratic Revolution (PRD) at the negotiating table, whichhas become an awkward balancing act for the government.
The energy laws have been a bargaining chip for theopposition, and both PRD and PAN lawmakers have staged walkoutsfrom talks over the reform in the last few days to applypressure on other ongoing political discussions in Congress.
As a result, both PRI and PAN lawmakers say approving thesecondary laws, which set out details of how the new energyregime will work, no longer looks feasible in June.
"With the legislative set-up as it stands, we hope theenergy reform will be finalized in the first few days of July.That's the impression we all have," said Ernesto Gandara, a PRIsenator on the energy committee in the upper house of Congress.
The secondary laws to oversee the industry in the world's10th biggest producer of crude are being closely watched by oilmajors such as BP Plc and Exxon Mobil.
Jorge Lavalle, a PAN member of the Senate energy committee,blamed the hold-up on delaying tactics by the PRD, which plansto hold a national referendum in 2015 to overturn the reform.
"If all goes well, we could be in a position to be approvingthe reform in the first ten days of July," Lavalle said.However, if disputes continue, it could take longer, he added.
As Congress debates, the government faces a mid-Septemberdeadline to determine which oil fields remain with state-runcompany Pemex, and which will be up for grabs by private firms.
Lawmakers are also seeking agreement on the secondary lawsfor Pena Nieto's 2013 reform of the telecommunications andtelevision markets, which aims to curb the power of tycoonCarlos Slim and dominant broadcaster Televisa.
Those laws have also been held up, but senior legislatorsare hopeful that they can be put to a vote this month. (Reporting by Dave Graham; editing by Gunna Dickson)
