Victor Ballinas
Newspaper La Jornada
Monday, May 16, 2022, p. 7
A Senate study reveals that in the Federal Expenditure Budget (PEF) for 2023, the Pension for the Welfare of Persons with Permanent Disabilities will have a real budget increase of 44.3 percent; the Pension for the Welfare of Older Adults, of 22.8 percent; subsidies for the implementation of the Labor Justice System Reform, an increase of 18.3 percent, and Victim Assistance, 5.9 percent.
The foregoing is highlighted in the analysis carried out by researchers from the Belisario Domínguez Institute (IBD), of the Senate, to the Economic Policy Pre-Criteria for the preparation of the PEF 2023, which the Ministry of Finance sent to the Congress of the Union.
In contrast, the study points out, the National Reconstruction programs, Branch 15 Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development; of vaccination, of Branch 12 Health, and Railway Projects for Freight and Passenger Transport, of Branch 09 Communications and Transportation, would observe real annual reductions in the budget allocation of 14.8%, 4.8% and 3.8%, respectively.
Additionally, the 2023 Pre-Criteria estimate GDP growth of between 1.4% and 3.4% in 2022, and for 2023, between 2.5% and 3.5%.
According to the SHCP (2022), growth forecasts for 2023 reflect an increase in public investment due to the advancement of infrastructure projects that will boost the south-southeast region and help to further integrate the internal market; In addition, it highlights the announcements of private sector investments that seek to take advantage of Mexico’s comparative advantages, the country’s strategic geolocation and the various trade agreements, the document details.
In order to reverse the historical trend of falling public investment in infrastructure, the SHCP (2022) proposes a policy focused on projects that had not been invested in around 30 years and that include investment in the south-southeast region , highlight the researchers.
In this way, it is projected to reach an amount of public investment equivalent to 3.1% of GDP by 2022. In this sense, the Expenditure Criteria in Economic Policy 2023 establishes the following as priority investment projects: construction of Dos Bocas and modernization from other refineries, which means adding the processing of 340 thousand barrels per day (mbd) of 100 percent Maya crude oil and increasing the production of the National Refining System (SNR) by 173 mbd of gasoline and 125 mbd of ultra-low sulfur diesel; fertilizer production plants and distribution programs in states with intensive agriculture, as well as investments to improve connectivity and facilitate trade within and outside the country.
