Deputies apply cuts to other agencies, but increase their own spending

This 2024, that legislative body realized that money is needed for the maintenance of its buildings, in the Legislative Palace of San Lázaro, that it must settle various labor awards, and that it does not have, for example, a fund to face unforeseen events such as the death of legislators, arguments with which he authorized its increase.

The coordinator of the Morena deputies, Ricardo Monreal, admitted that they realized when the president of the Senate board of directors, Ifigenia Martínez, died last October. “There were no resources for funeral expenses (…) In the Senate there is a fund for that, there is even insurance for major medical expenses,” he declared as proof.

The same thing happened this week, after the murder of the Green Party (PVEM) deputy Benito Aguas Atlahua, which occurred on Monday, December 9, and for whose funeral there were no specific resources to provide support, according to Monreal.

The truth is that from 2019 to 2024 the Chamber of Deputies has accumulated cuts of 3,042 million pesos, although, of them, 1,361 million pesos are downward adjustments only in relation to what was budgeted and is not an amount less than what was exercised. the previous year.

The clearest case was that in 2021 that Chamber had 1,206 million nominal pesos more than in 2020.

For that year, an expense of 8,377 million pesos was projected, but only 8,282 million remained, which appeared as a cut of 95 million pesos, when in reality the increase was 14.5% in relation to the previous year, without considering the inflation.

What will the deputies spend on?

According to Monreal himself, there will be no increase in the salaries of federal deputies, but there will be an update in accordance with inflation, although on this issue the same legislator had ambiguous positions.

Publicly, the deputies report income only from their per diems, which amounts to 75,609 pesos per month, already without taxes.

However, they receive at least another 120,000 pesos or more, depending on the strength of their caucus, the decision of the caucus coordinators, and the commissions they preside over.

This is because 45,786 pesos per month are added to their diets for “legislative assistance”; 28,772 pesos for “citizen attention” and resources for transportation and lodging (ranging between 7,000 and 28,000 pesos depending on the entity of origin of each one), plus aid for the submission of legislative reports, of 28,000 pesos.

This, however, is not recorded in Annex 23 Remuneration of Public Servants of the Federation of each year’s budget.

In the case of 2025, it is established that the Total Annual Net Remuneration of each of the 500 deputies is 1.1 million pesos, already tax-free.

This sum is made up of 1.2 million pesos gross annually as a base salary and benefits of 309,000 pesos.

In addition, they have a bonus of 140,504 pesos and enjoy 64,587 pesos of “other benefits”, consisting of the refund of Income Tax (ISR) on the bonus, which according to the law is not taxed, but they receive the amount as a benefit and this is how it appears in the PEF.