Deputies endorse PEF 2023; make only four modifications

After four days of debate and the release of more than 2,000 reservations, the Chamber of Deputies approved the 2023 Federation Expenditure Budget (PEF) on Friday night, which contemplates an expense of 8.29 billion pesos.

With 270 votes in favor, 219 against and one abstention, the legislators of the Lower House specifically approved the PEF 2023, with which it was sent to the Federal Executive after a discussion in which the deputies did not miss an opportunity to show their differences in rostrum.

The session to debate the PEF 2023 began on November 8 and concluded on November 11, with a total duration of 40 hours, three minutes and 38 seconds. To present a total of 2,264 reservations, 386 speakers from different benches went up to the rostrum.

Only four reservations were approved, of which one was presented by the Labor Party (PT) and the rest by Morena. These reserves have to do with the National Guard, the School is Ours, indigenous peoples and infrastructure.

The first reservation accepted reduced the budget for the Federal Judicial Council by 1,000 million pesos, which will be used to resolve the commitments for the constitutional reform of the National Guard.

Meanwhile, the reserve on the School is Ours defines the amounts of resources that will be allocated to each component: infrastructure, extended hours (this may be up to 21% of the approved expense) and food service.

The other two reserves consisted of resources labeled for the infrastructure of the states and municipalities, coming from the sub-exercises that they may present, while it was also approved that the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) can issue an opinion on the rigorous redistribution of the resources to grant the necessary means to the dependencies whose actions are focused on promoting the economic, social and cultural development of the indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities to combat poverty.

The PEF 2023 proposes a total net expenditure of 8.29 trillion pesos for the following year, an increase of 11.6% per year, in real terms. Of the changes made regarding the proposal of the Federal Executive, and that were approved in the opinion, were budget reallocations, where the big loser was the INE, while the Ministry of Well-being obtained more resources for pensions.

Screams, mockery, and “the mornings”

For four days the deputies clashed. The use of the platform was used not only to present reservations, but also to express their differences on different issues, especially what refers to the INE.

“Some defend privileges, as has been the cut that was made, of more than 4,000 million pesos, to the INE. And they defend it because, without a doubt, there is an interest in maintaining those privileges, in maintaining that model of a democratic political system that only acted in a tendentious, dishonest, and anti-democratic manner and that has led the country to have government models that They have only affected the people. And a second vision of government, a vision of government where we take the money from those privileges from the INE and give it to the people,” said PVEM deputy Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca.

The opposition parties expressed their concern about the INE, and classified the decrease in the budget requested by the institute for the following year as a blow to democracy, and repeatedly chanted: “The INE will not be touched.”

Other recurring complaints were the expense for government flagship programs and works, classified as patronage.

“While we in the PAN fight so that the needs of this sector are met, you lie and pretend to continue destroying it. All with the sole objective of fattening their patronage programs, the funds for their campaigns, their useless works and the whims of the one who charges as President. I remind you that your mockery and offenses against the people of Mexico today may be approved, but never forgotten. They will be in everyone’s memory as a dark chapter in Mexican history, the most taxing, disastrous, dictatorial and autocratic,” said PAN member Rodrigo Sánchez Zepeda.

On the other hand, the majority of Morena took advantage, as in other years, of the moment to sing the morning to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose birthday was yesterday Sunday.

ana.martinez@eleconomista.mx