Mexico president presents bill to eliminate daylight saving time

FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Lopez Obrador attends daily news conference at the National Palace
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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's president on Tuesday said he was sending a bill to Congress to eliminate daylight saving time, with the government saying the time change was unpopular and did not generate many benefits for the country.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has long spoken out against daylight saving time, which was adopted nationwide in 1996 to closely follow the time change in the United States.

The proposal includes an exception for towns along the northern border with the United States, Energy Minister Rocio Nahle said at the president's regular news conference.

Nahle said a majority of citizens polled on daylight saving time were against it, and that the energy savings derived from the adjustment were negligible.

"There's no (benefit) preventing us from eliminating daylight saving time," she said.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry)