▲ The general council of the National Electoral Institute will vote tomorrow on the proposal for Councilor Claudia Zavala to chair the temporary commission that will outline the financing of the body for 2023.Photo Roberto Garcia Ortiz
Fabiola Martinez
Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday May 8, 2022, p. 6
The National Electoral Institute (INE) will appoint a temporary commission tomorrow to outline the agency’s budget for 2023.
On April 28, President López Obrador sent a Draft Decree to the Chamber of Deputies amending, repealing and adding various articles of the Constitution on electoral matters.
Although in the explanatory memorandum and in the public statements on the occasion of the presentation of the initiative, the possibility of achieving savings of 24 billion pesos was discussed, the sum could be 33 billion pesos, according to a calculation that has circulated among the promoters of this reform.
Beyond the fate of this proposed change, the INE management would seek to increase its annual budget. In 2022, an item of 19 thousand 736 million pesos was authorized to the agency.
Regarding the savings related to the eventual approval of the Executive’s initiative, an expansion of this analysis shows the following numbers: the elimination of the 32 local electoral tribunals represents a saving of one thousand 962 million pesos and 11 thousand 473 million for the local electoral institutes (local public electoral bodies, known as Oples). Likewise, a saving of 170.7 million is calculated due to the cut from 11 to seven INE directors.
The National Palace proposal also considers eliminating the ordinary expenses of political parties (around 5,249 million each year) and local political parties (6,865 million), as well as 18,401 million less due to the reduction from 500 to 300 deputies and from 128 to 96 senators.
Cut to local congresses
In the same way, it is projected to lower the spending of local congresses (about 316 million pesos) and 7 billion less if it is taken into account that the number of members of the municipalities would also be reduced.
Therefore, according to estimates, the total savings would be 33 thousand 129 million pesos.
The initiative does not specifically mention the operation of the Federal Register of Electors (RFE), responsible for the construction of the register, today made up of 95 million 427 thousand 701 citizens (the nominal list has the data of 93 million 832 thousand 484 citizens in possibility to exercise their right to vote), as well as citizen service modules, among other functions.
This executive direction of the RFE was given a general budget of 4 thousand 88 million pesos in 2022.
Sources consulted by this newspaper explained that the issue of the RFE would not be modified because in the Senate there are already initiatives aimed at changing the Population Law, based on which it is intended to generate an official identification for Mexicans based on technological mechanisms, in instead of using for that purpose the voting card with photograph.
For now, in an extraordinary session, the INE General Council will vote tomorrow on the proposal for the Temporary Budget Commission to be chaired by the Minister Claudia Zavala, in which her counterparts Norma de la Cruz, Carla Humphrey, Ciro Murayama would also participate. and Jaime Rivera.
