INE contractors barred Sheinbaum, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Raquel Buenrostro Sánchez, secretary of Anticorruption and Good Government, said authorities are investigating whether companies supplying the National Electoral Institute (INE) hold contracts with the Federal Public Administration. She said that in the review conducted so far, no evidence has been found that the companies are federal government suppliers.
At a press conference at Palacio Nacional, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo stressed that these companies would not take part in federal government contracting. “But obviously they do not want to be hired, in the administrative part they must do their part in accordance with the law,” she warned.
The secretary explained the sanctioning process against companies when an investigation detects irregularities or acts of corruption. Asked whether the companies of the Hernández Casillas brothers may bid for federal public administration contracts and whether they have already been sanctioned administratively by the Secretariat of Anticorruption, she said such procedures begin with a contracting process and a contract, followed by an investigation.
She said the brothers have concentrated on supplying electoral materials. However, the government is reviewing whether any contracts exist within the public administration, and so far none have been found.
She added that companies cannot be disqualified merely for misconduct elsewhere, in this case at the INE.
Buenrostro said agreements in place with the Auditoría Superior de la Federación allow companies to be disqualified if they committed an irregularity. “Suppose the Auditoría Superior de la Federación says, well, we have agreements, who can disqualify it is the Auditoría Superior de la Federación, and with the agreements we have, we disqualify them here.
But the investigation procedure is at the Auditoría Superior, and through agreements we can take up the disqualification,” she said.
