More than 50% of corruption complaints are dismissed

The Ministry of Public Function (SFP) reported that it has received, between December 1, 2018 and until August 2, 2022, during the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, some 370 complaints for alleged corruption and irregularities in the acquisition and distribution of medicines and supplies at the federal level.

Of these complaints, the federal agency indicated that, as of the same cut-off date, 217 had been concluded, that is, 58.6%, while 134 were under investigation, equivalent to 36% were under investigation.

Another 17 (4.6%) had accumulated, that is, they had been integrated into other files while, finally, there were two complaints that were classified as “recruitment” which means that they had not yet been processed; These last two complaints were related to the services offered by the Welfare Secretariat.

The complaints came from more than 30 public institutions ranging from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS); Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex); the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena); the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris), among others.

Among these organizations, the case of the IMSS stands out, to which 108 of the 370 complaints received in total by the SFP were linked, through the Comprehensive System of Citizen Complaints.

It is followed, with also 108 complaints, by the ISSSTE in its different locations such as Nuevo León, Michoacán, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, the State of Mexico, Tabasco, among others.

Causes to close the files

According to the data released by the SFP, derived from a request for information filed by a citizen, with folio 330026522001994, the 217 citizen complaints were concluded for three reasons: “file due to lack of elements”; “incompetence” and “turn to responsibilities”.

Of these, the one that groups the largest number of cases, with 90%, equivalent to 197, was the “file due to lack of elements”, which is equivalent to 53% of the 370 complaints received in total.

In second place was the “turn to responsibilities” with 14 (6.4%), while in third place, with six (2.7%), was “incompetence”.

Reported conduct

On the other hand, among the most frequently reported behaviors in general, among the 370 complaints registered in the term of President López Obrador, there is 196 (53%) cases of non-compliance with laws, regulations and other normative provisions regarding the acquisition of medicines and medical supplies.

In turn, there are another 45 complaints that have to do with abuse of functions; bribery, conflict of interest; diversion of public resources, illicit enrichment; nepotism, embezzlement, influence peddling and improper use of public resources.

Of these 45 cases, 24 had been discharged as concluded due to lack of evidence, while in another 17 they remained under investigation and four had accumulated.

The institutions that had records of investigations opened for the referred cases are the ISSSTE, in different regional headquarters such as Sinaloa, Chihuahua and Tabasco; the Sedena; the IMSS, specialty hospitals, Cofepris and the Prevention and Rehabilitation Body.

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