When Carlos Navarrete, leader of Mexico’s leftwing Democratic Revolution party (PRD) in the Senate, stood up in Congress at the end of last week and pronounced: “We won we won,” most of the country’s political analysts could only agree.

After a two-week occupation of the speaker’s platform, Mr Navarrete and his followers had just managed to negotiate a “national debate” on the government’s proposal to reform the ailing energy sector.