Mexico 2027 Federal Budget Committee Approval and Cuts to INE Electoral Institute, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): After the 2027 Federal Budget of Expenditures (PEF) draft already trimmed the resources proposed for the National Electoral Institute (INE), amendments approved during committee discussions removed even more funding from the autonomous body. The Budget and Public Accounts Committee approved the PEF 2027 dictamen with 30 votes in favor, 13 against and no abstentions, sending it to the full chamber in San Lázaro, which will begin debate the following Monday.
During the reservations discussion, which lasted about four hours, lawmakers from several parliamentary groups presented their reservations, and only one from the PT and three presented by Morena were accepted, some of which subtracted more resources from the INE. The committee’s dictamen already contemplated a cut of 5,000 million pesos from the INE’s proposed budget, which was redistributed to the SEP, Semarnat, SICT and Segob.
The first accepted reservation, presented by Jorge Armando Ortiz of the PT, removes 618 million pesos from the INE to fund a program for expanding early childhood education. Merilyn Gómez Pozos of Morena presented three reservations that were approved.
The first aims to clearly and disaggregate allocations to the Judicial Branch to improve oversight of public spending. The second and third reservations reduce INE resources: 20 million pesos reassigned to the Secretariat of Tourism for promoting tourist destinations, and 361 million pesos reassigned to a comprehensive welfare program for women.
The modifications approved in committee sparked debate between ruling-party and opposition lawmakers, particularly following the corruption scandal involving Guadalupe Taddei, former INE president. Morena lawmaker Rafaela García Romero argued that those responsible should be punished, referencing former INE leadership.
Opposition parties repeatedly stated that Taddei was part of Morena and that further cutting INE resources at a time when the institution has lost its reputation is a self-inflicted blow.
In the PEF 2027, the Finance Ministry proposes spending of 10 trillion 636,488 million pesos, representing real growth of only 1.1% compared with what was approved for this year. Of this amount, 1 trillion 585,561 million pesos will go to social programs and priority infrastructure works, meaning nearly 15 of every 100 pesos spent next year will go to these items.
By functional classification, social protection will receive 2.5 trillion pesos, education will stand at 1.26 trillion pesos after the changes made in the dictamen, and health has been allocated 1.1 trillion pesos. Investment spending is projected at 1.13 trillion pesos, of which 1 trillion will go to physical investment and the remainder to financial investment.
