The president of the Political Coordination Board, Adán Augusto López, commented that this trust was initially used to purchase the land for the new headquarters of the Upper House, and then it was to build and equip it.
“Now in terms of current legislation and since it has already fulfilled the purpose for which it was created and which was subsequently modified, we ask the trustee to terminate the Trust. It has already been extinguished and the resources will be at the disposal of the Treasury,” commented the Morenista.
He mentioned that these resources, according to the law, can be integrated into the budget of the Upper House this year, but maintained that they made the decision to deliver, in two parts, these resources to the Treasury of the Federation.
“Some money is going to be required for the reconstruction of the states affected (by the rains); it has to be of some use instead of that money being inactive,” commented the Morenista.
In 2023, legislators disappeared 109 funds and trusts, arguing that these resources are used discretionally; However, the Senate maintained its trust and two years later they decided to eliminate it.
They plan to donate fortnight
The president of the Senate, Laura Itzel Castillo, proposed to the senators to donate a fortnight of their diet (salary) to the people affected by the torrential rains in Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro and Veracruz. Morenistas, PANistas and PTistas have already joined the plan to deliver part of their resources.
“In an act of solidarity and commitment, the Political Coordination Board agreed that we senators donate an amount equivalent to up to 15 days of our income to contribute to relief and reconstruction efforts,” said the senator.
The president of the Upper House commented that with the resources donated, basic tools and equipment will be acquired that will be delivered to the Secretariat of National Defense for direct distribution in the affected areas, guaranteeing transparency and efficiency in the management of support.
The senators’ allowance is 131,874 net pesos, so a fortnight is equivalent to 65,937 pesos. That will be the maximum amount that legislators can donate.
Given this, the coordinator of the PAN in the Senate, Ricardo Anaya, commented that the PAN legislators are willing to support with resources, but specified that each legislator will decide the amount to deliver.
“We have talked and in the PAN parliamentary group we are in a position to show solidarity, to support everyone to the extent of our possibilities. It is not something we want to do a caravan with, because it is a grain of sand,” he mentioned.
Senator Gerardo Fernández Noroña said that he will give 15 days of his salary to the victims.
In the discussion about what happened in the five states affected by the torrential rains, the PRI criticized the fact that the population had not been alerted and requested that there be an independent investigation to clarify civil, administrative and criminal responsibilities.
“The governors of Veracruz and Hidalgo have not paid the insurance premium, because they say it is very expensive. I believe that it will be cheaper for them to rebuild the states and even more so under these conditions,” claimed legislator Carolina Viggiano.
The coordinator of the Morenistas, Adán Augusto López, asserted that although it was known and warned in advance that atypical rains were coming, no one imagined the magnitude of the tragedy.
“A tragedy of this magnitude is unpredictable. I speak from my experience as governor (in Tabasco) in 2020, it was the first exercise of direct application of the resources available to the federal government to address an emergency of such size,” he declared.
PAN member Lilly Téllez mentioned that Morena “stole” the Fonden resources, which was a public financial instrument to address natural phenomena.
“You bunch of thieves, you used up every last penny from Fonden, you stole it and there you sit as if nothing had happened, you want to avoid the issue, you don’t want people to talk about it, because you are guilty, disgusting thieves,” he said.
Given the criticism from the PAN member, Senator Cinthya López Castro pointed out that she should stop looking for culprits, as she said that the last thing people want is to see how politicians fight and look for culprits.
“You are ashamed as a senator, because what people expect is that you go to help, donate your salary for what is happening, stop looking for culprits and stop being inhuman, we already know that a tragedy has never happened to you, that you have lived in opulence all the time,” mentioned the Morenista senator.
