TEPJF reduces its budget request for 2023 to 3 thousand 15 million

Fabiola Martinez

Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, September 25, 2022, p. 6

The Electoral Court of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF) requested 3 thousand 15 million pesos for the coming year, of which 93.1 percent will go to fixed operating expenses, including the remuneration of 1,500 permanent employees and about 300 temporary.

The magistrates receive risk bond as part of the vast benefits granted to the leaders of the Judicial Power.

The 3 thousand 15 million include resources to attend the trials related to the elections of the state of Mexico and Coahuila and for the beginning of the 2024 contest. That year, in addition to the Presidency of the Republic, the members of the Congress of the Union and in other concurrent processes: nine governorships and 19,909 positions at the state and municipal levels.

Years after episodes of waste disclosed in the press, the TEPJF launched a plan to rationalize spending and savings, although for now the savings are still marginal.

However, directors of the TEPJF affirm that the budget request for the coming year is responsible and no absorbs the inflationary impact of 7.7 percent forecast by the Ministry of Finance.

Among the adjustments to move towards rationality, representation expenses have been prohibited for administrative personnel, but not for magistrates. Renovations for aesthetic purposes were also suspended. The saving obtained from different sources will be redirected to investment projects.

Thus, of the 3 thousand 15 million, current spending will remain at 2 thousand 935 million and investment at 80 million.

As has been reported, the INE requested 24 billion from the Chamber of Deputies, including 6.3 billion to finance national political parties.

Meanwhile, in the TEPJF the objective is to weigh the investment for open and digital justice and the protection of rights (the new Electoral Public Defender will operate from next year). Efficiency in spending is attempted, without generating new permanent positions, while promoting the administrative career service.

The still modest rationality of spending is evident because during 2022 only 17.3 million pesos have been saved, and it is proposed that next year spending on cell phones, food for workers and allocation of vehicles for general managers, among other items, will drop.

The requested budget for 2023 was designed based on the principles of economy, honesty, transparency, efficiency, austerity and budget disciplineis indicated in an internal document of the highest electoral court in the country.