UPDATE 1-Mexico's lower house postpones budget vote

Mexico's lower house of Congress on Tuesday pushed back a vote on the revenue section of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's 2019 draft budget after it was quickly approved by the finance committee.

Lopez Obrador's leftist government only unveiled the budget proposal on Saturday night. It met with a positive initial response from financial markets, with investors warming to his commitment to keep a lid on spending.

The president's National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) and its allies dominate Congress, having won the first outright majority in more than two decades.

The revenue section was approved by the finance committee without changes. But opposition lawmakers strongly criticized the proposal's cuts to a wide range of areas and demanded a reduction in gasoline prices.

The revenue section reached the floor of the lower house on Tuesday, and discussion is expected to continue on Wednesday. Once approved, the revenue budget proposal moves to the Senate.

The budget is a major test of Lopez Obrador's credibility, which was shaken when he said on Oct. 29 he was scrapping a partially built $13 billion airport for Mexico City on the basis of a referendum that was widely panned as illegitimate.

The leftist leader changed course on Tuesday and said there would be no cuts to university budgets, as the proposal originally called for.

"That mistake will be repaired and the universities will be given what corresponds to them," he said at an event.