2022 Budget/Electricity Reform

2022 budget. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that he would hold a meeting with deputies to thank them for the approval of the federal budget for FY22. He said that the approval of the budget would help provide support for 25 million families in Mexico. “The Decree of Expenditure Budget of the Federation for Fiscal Year 2022 was approved, in general, and in particular, and sent to the head of the Executive Power for constitutional purposes,” López Obrador said.

Congress approved the budget on Sunday by a vote of 273 to 214. The total MX$7.8 trillion (US$374.5 billion) budget represents an 8.6% increase over last year’s budget and includes controversial cuts to the National Electoral Institute’s budget.  

Pandemic status. Deputy Minister of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo López-Gatell said the pandemic has continued to wane in Mexico, with a reduction in total cases and hospitalizations for 16 straight weeks. It was also announced that next Friday, Nov. 19, vaccine registrations will be opened for all minors between 15 and 17 years old, even those who do not have comorbidities. Minors are being given an opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine even though they are not at risk of death from COVID because the government has now covered the most vulnerable sectors.

Meeting with Canada. Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard said that he would meet with his Canadian counterpart to refine details on the North American Summit between López Obrador, US President Joe Biden and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Today, I am going to receive the Canadian foreign minister and refine our positions regarding COVID-19. One of the main topics is cooperation to deal with COVID and the health security of the three countries to face the consequences of the pandemic and prepare for the immediate future,” Ebrard said.

Commitment to migrants. López Obrador announced that his government would support older migrant adults who wish to return to Mexico. “If they are older people who want to return to their villages, to their communities, we would help them. How? Well, by granting them loans, mostly housing support, and they would be included in the pension program.” He also congratulated President Biden for the commitment he has shown to support migrants.

Fraternity plan. López Obrador said that more than 100 countries have shown interest in participating in the World Fraternity and Welfare Plan proposed by the president during his participation in the UN Security Council. “They were interested that same day, as soon as they learned about the approach, beyond those who are members of the council. …  (We have been asked to) present the concept document to all the countries. At this moment, we have more than 100 countries that are interested in participating and contributing.”

Electricity reform. López Obrador said that the government would initiate a media campaign to inform the public about the Electricity Reform promoted by his administration. He said the move was aimed at preventing manipulation and misinformation on the subject. “Now we want people to be informed that there is no manipulation because these corrupt people raised the banner of clean energy to do dirty business and we are going to clarify that.” López Obrador recalled the stage in which he did everything possible to keep former President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Energy Reform from winning Congressional approval and asserted that he “lacked people” to prevent the reform from going forward.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish