Mexican production of crude oil has declined continuously since reaching a peak in 2004. Since then, the government has tried to bring back production while keeping revenues steady. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has embarked on a new quest to rescue Pemex, whose waning revenues have been needed to help develop Mexico for the last seven decades. We spoke with Marco Cota, a former Pemex executive and now head of Talanza Energy, a Mexico City consultancy, about Pemex's chances to become the engine for economic development that the government wants, as well as the impact on Mexico of the USMCA free trade agreement and a renewed US focus on clean energy.