Sheinbaum Proposes Federal Digital Transformation Agency

Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's president-elect, presented a plan to create a Digital Transformation Agency within the federal government. Announced during a recent meeting with the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), this initiative is scheduled to begin operations on Oct. 1. It aims to centralize and enhance digitization efforts across the government, streamlining procedures, reducing costs, and strengthening transparency.

Sheinbaum emphasized that the Digital Transformation Agency will not entail additional operating costs for the government. Instead, it will focus existing resources to drive a comprehensive national digital transformation. Expected benefits include greater efficiency in public administration, reduced corruption through more transparent processes, and improved interaction between citizens, businesses, and government entities.

According to IT Masters Magazine, the new agency aims to consolidate disparate digitization efforts across different government entities. This mirrors Sheinbaum's model implemented in Mexico City through the Digital Agency for Public Innovation (ADIP). Under her leadership as head of government, ADIP reduced the number of procedures from 2,500 to 500 during her tenure.

Martí Batres, former chief of government, highlighted in an August press conference that Mexico City has developed the country's most advanced Digital Administration System, increasing digitized procedures from 10 in 2018 to 112 by 2023. Batres noted that ADIP's efforts saved the local government MX$2.2 billion (US$120 million) by cultivating a skilled digital workforce.

Merino Peña, ADIP's former director, reported that currently 40% of government procedures are conducted online, with plans to digitize 300 procedures by the end of the administration, accounting for 80% of interactions. He also outlined ADIP's technological innovations, including the LLave CDMX app, a transaction engine that reduces procedure development time and costs, a Software Factory for procedure digitalization, the cdmx.gob.mx portal for centralized services, and the Locatel chat service.

During the presentation, Sheinbaum stressed that digitalization will be a crucial source of resources for her administration, specifically mentioning the potential improvement in tax collection through greater efficiency in the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and customs. These efforts align with the National Digital Strategy, which seeks to coordinate IT policies and projects across the country.

Sheinbaum's initiative, according to El País, addresses the need to modernize the Mexican public administration by following successful  international examples of digital service consolidation.

Addressing the business representatives of the CCE, Sheinbaum reaffirmed her commitment not to implement a tax reform, opting instead to increase the internal efficiency of the government through digitalization. This strategy, she said, will not only benefit large companies but also support entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who have historically faced greater obstacles in their dealings with the government.