Inside and outside the INE they stop inspection of campaigns

Fabiola Martínez

La Jornada newspaper
Thursday, August 7, 2025, p. 5

The National Electoral Institute (INE) must have 21st century tools, to supervise campaigns (policies) of the 21st centurysaid counselor Carla Humphrey Jordan, when presenting a project for reforming the Audit Regulations.

The plan is to modernize the mechanisms for the surveillance of the income and expenses of parties and candidates, including a review of the risk models. For example, how and what to deal with a politically relevant person or when there are money laundering suspicions.

Although the objective is to have tools in the face of new propaganda trends, such as that elaborated with artificial intelligence, the project – he pointed out – faces internal and external resistances.

It is an important issue and we are again in the face of resistance to change, even internal, in the institute itselfcommented to The day.

He argued that it is the right time to make this modernization and delve on preventive strategies, more than corrective.

The incoming year there will only be elections in Coahuila, hence it considers that it is time to plan the reform of the regulation.

Although at the end of 2026 the transfer will begin to a very complex process, in 2027, both ordinary and extraordinary (again there will be judicial choice), for now there is a time margin available for this type of adjustments.

Thus, it is more risky to wait for an electoral reform and in what terms it occurs; If the reform touches the issue of inspection – he added – because the adjustments will be made, but it is time to address issues of communication, artificial or speed intelligence to know the transactions of the obligatory subjects.

Humphrey has insisted on modernizing different electoral aspects, such as voting credential and even moving towards electronic or online suffrage.

Recently it has mentioned relevant issues such as the gaps to which counselors and magistrates related to digital networks and virtual assets have faced, among other technological aspects such as applications to capture economic contributions.

In that context, it also planned changes so that INE and Mexico can solve international commitments in the fight against money laundering; In this matter an option would be to move towards a novel scheme to identify risks in obliged subjects, especially political parties and their suppliers. It is necessary to have much more clarity in the vulnerable activities that could incurhe said.

In general, he said, the Supervisory Regulation must be modernized, because it still contains, for example, resources of collection of resources that no one uses as the telephone 01-800.

Humphrey stressed that the inspection must be faster, with better tools and, above all, waiting for greater cooperation of the different authorities (such as financial).

The INE – and in general the country – must comply with transparency standards in operations, due diligence of the client and other ways to stop money laundering, aspects to attend to electoral campaigns.

It takes place so that at this time we can refine and fulfill as INE but also as part of the Mexican State to tackle the commission of these crimes and, on the other hand, to have greater clarity and opportunity in the registration of income-egresses and the amount of each of the contributions, also specifying the way in which they can verify contributions, with what documentation and in what deadlineshe explained.

In sum, the counselor explained, it seeks to modernize, transparent and have data opportunity, international and even inter -institutional collaboration. Also, move towards doing lighter The control processes, with a more agile reading.

The most recent experience in the field was the inspection of almost 8 thousand candidates of the judicial election, both federal and local, that is, a world of documents, especially since the INE did not have the files since the beginning of the extraordinary process; Until February 12 he received the list of names of candidates, who did not have public financing (unlike the rest of the elections where there are prerogatives and donations in cash and in kind) and they were forbidden to receive money from other sources and/or hire any type of propaganda spaces.