After more than two years of intentions to implement a social security program for artists, creators and independent cultural agents in the country and, subsequently, after reiterating in appearances, conferences and interviews that there have been talks with the Mexican Institute of Insurance Social (IMSS) to carry out this task, but without giving any details about dates, models or even feasibility, this Wednesday the federal Secretary of Culture, Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, and the Undersecretary of Cultural Development, Marina Núñez Bespalova, confirmed that yes, finally It will happen and it will be this year when the details of the program are announced.
“We are about to publish this first exercise. The Telar platform has grown a lot in terms of this enormous diversity of cultural agents that exist in the country and we will soon have results and news on the subject. Together with Zoé Robledo (director of the IMSS), we are going to summon you (the press) to make it known”, announced the head of Culture.
Núñez Bespalova, for her part, added that “this is a model that has been in the works for a couple of years, it is an innovative model for self-employed workers that gives them all the benefits. For the first time we go beyond medical insurance, there are other things, there is talk of leave, talk of licenses, it is even a model that allows retirement insurance. Additionally, he confirmed that this has already undergone pilot tests and that its contributions will be accessible to the beneficiaries.
The labor lag
On the issue of service provider workers, contracted under the Chapter 3000 regime, another of the great pending issues to be resolved by the public administration in labor matters, according to the heads of agencies such as INAH and INBAL, Frausto Guerrero declared a brief way that we work on planning with the different areas of culture so that “we can regularize. That is our battle and our bet. Obviously the pandemic was not kind to anyone, not even at this level, but our commitment is not to fire people who work in the Ministry of Culture, it is to preserve work and give workers the best conditions we can.
“The lag in labor matters at the secretariat is no secret or an issue that can be resolved as quickly as we would like, but we are on that path and we are very committed to improving the conditions of those who work for the Ministry of Culture in any of the ways they do it”.
He shared that of its little more than 13,985 million pesos earmarked for fiscal year 2021, Federal Culture closed the year with a budget increase that left the annual expenses of the branch at 15,477 million, that is, almost 1,500 million pesos of increase, same that were used for requirements from different areas, but all for dependencies such as the INAH, which began with a budget of 3,820 million pesos and closed with 5,032 million pesos, “to attend to everything that was pending reconstruction by the Fonden.”
Inali Integration
The head of federal Culture defended the initiative for the integration of the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (Inali), dependent on the Ministry of Culture and with a budget for this 2022 of 71 million pesos, to the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI), a non-sectorized entity with 3,819 million pesos, and guaranteed that this operation will not put any job at Inali at risk.
“The administrative simplification and reorganization of the public administration does not imply layoffs (…) it does not mean a weakening of the institute,” he said, adding that as long as this process cannot be completed, “we will continue working with Juan Gregorio (Regino, director of Inali) and his team because the cause is the same”.
New film law
In this same meeting, the filmmaker María Novaro Peñalosa, director of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Imcine), announced that a new update for the Federal Cinematography and Audiovisual Law is ready, whose first version was rejected at the close of the last legislature. in the Senate of the Republic, largely due to the rejection of private investment in the face of exhibition restrictions in commercial cinemas, and hopes that the discussion for the reform of the law will resume shortly.
“We work very hard on this proposal hand in hand with the community, in direct contact with the Academy and other sectors. Everyone is aware of the result. The initiative is ready, it has been since the end of last year and now it will correspond to the Executive’s proposal so that it reaches the chambers. It is already reviewed by the legal department of the Ministry of Culture”, confirmed the official.
In addition, Novaro reported on the resources used by the Mexican Film Promotion Program (Focine) IN 2021, one year after its creation, which had a bag of 110 million pesos to finance 75 production projects and 45 exhibition projects. He highlighted that for the first time resources were allocated for 14 projects of restoration and preservation of film material.
About Chapters 3000
The Ministry of Culture announced to the press that it is working on the hiring of service providers for fiscal year 2022, which are carried out through the Acquisitions Committee and will take place on the last Friday of this month. Until the closing of this edition, the dependency did not specify how many temporary INAH and INBAL workers will be rehired for this period.
The Focine in its first year
110 million pesos budget
75 production supports
45 props to the exhibition
14 supports for preservation.
ricardo.quiroga@eleconomista.mx