RTRS-Supreme Court kills Mexico City's daylight savings

[Scott Harrington]

MEXICO CITY, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Mexico's Supreme Court on Tuesday declared
that daylight savings was unconstitutional in Mexico City, creating the
possibility the capital will be in a different time zone from the rest of
the nation next year.

The high court ruled President Vicente Fox usurped powers from Congress
when he decreed Mexicans' clocks had to move ahead an hour on May 1.

But because the challenge to the decree was filed only by Mexico City's
government, the Supreme Court's ruling only applies to the capital's
Federal District, home to over 9 million and part of a greater urban
sprawl of some 18 million.

The Supreme Court's ruling takes effect at 2:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Sept.
30, when Mexico is scheduled to revert to standard time. "This is so
residents of the Federal District are not subject to unexpected time
changes," a statement from the court said.

Nevertheless, if Congress does not reenact daylight savings in the
capital, or if it is not scrapped in the rest of the country, Mexico City
might find itself in its own time zone next Spring when clocks change
anew.

Mexico adopted the time change in 1996, in order to save electricity and
to put the country in tune with its northern neighbor and biggest trading
partner, the United States.

But daylight savings has never been popular here. Many argue it forces
children to walk to school in the dark. In congressional debates last
year, one legislator even argued that the clock change inhibited morning
sex.

((Mexico City newsroom +525 282 7153 mexicocity.newsroom at reuters.com))

Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:13:13
RTRS [nN04205687]