The forums of the Open Parliament in the Chamber of Deputies in order to discuss the constitutional reform in electoral matters sent by the presidency of Mexico are confused, profuse and diffuse. The lack of clarity and forcefulness is worrying in the discussion of such a transcendental issue for the political life of the country. Greater promotion and inclusive participation of all political fronts is urgently needed, otherwise Mexico’s democracy will be at risk.
On April 28, the Presidency’s office sent the reform initiative that, among other points, seeks to save 24 billion pesos and proposes the creation of the National Institute of Elections and Consultations (INEC), electoral centralization through a single legislation, the federalization of electoral processes and the disappearance of local organizations, reduction of advisers, elimination of plurinominal deputations, reduction of financing and political time in the media.
Although the proposal contains successes in terms of budget savings and process simplifications, the main risk lies in the democratic electoral centralization of the federal government in turn by taking advantage of its operational, financial and media exposure capacity at the national level.
It is precisely for this reason that, in order to generate a space for discussion and debate, 22 Open Parliament forums were scheduled in the Chamber of Deputies from July 26 to August 25 (similar to those organized for the purpose of the constitutional reform initiative in energy matters), so that our representatives in Congress make an informed and timely decision on the proposed changes.
However, these discussion spaces have started off on the wrong foot. Beyond putting aside the so-called Republican Austerity due to the onerous scheduled cost of 20 million pesos; the lack of organization clouded the start of the exercise in its first work table by barely registering a quorum to start it, in addition to the fact that, in the absence of the opposition, only opinions in favor of the initiative were given by the morenistas.
On the other hand, the Va Por México coalition began its own forums on the first weekend of the month, which included the presence of former IFE presidents José Woldenberg and Luis Carlos Ugalde; as well as the current president of the INE, Lorenzo Córdova. So far, five alternative forums organized by the opposition are contemplated.
An exercise that should be enriching and inclusive becomes a missed opportunity. Various opinions agree that the organization of these forums is more of a political simulation than a serious analysis exercise since an agreement will not be reached in the Chamber and therefore in Consultores Internacionales, SC®We anticipate that the presidential initiative that seeks to eliminate the National Electoral Institute will hardly be approved, with or without changes.
Among the most redeemable issues of the reform is the reduction of councils and the budget ceiling on financing. Currently there are 500 councils of which the elimination of 200 plurinominals is proposed; In principle, it is an adequate contribution in terms of savings and speed of legislative processes, but it is also true that in many of these councils there are representations that are better prepared academically. There is no saving that justifies the lack of preparation and professionalism of our representatives, that must be a priority.
On the issue of financing, in 2022 the amount of 5.54 billion pesos was approved in the budget for political parties, something exorbitant, but beyond tens of millions more or less, the focus that must be deepened is in the legality of the campaigns and the transparency in the exercise of the budget, but above all in the origin of the resources. Obscure financings must be terminated to avoid yellow envelopes from friends and family.
The greatest risk is undoubtedly the lack of democratic plurality and the greater electoral centralization. Although it is true that the existence of various political parties that only seek to maintain registration and contribute little to plurality should be analyzed, what should not be allowed in any sense is electoral centralization for all reasons, not only because it implies less capacity in infrastructure that would result in the insufficiency to develop such broad electoral processes, but also because it contributes to the opacity of the process and a greater control in the result.
The electoral reform and its discussion forums are a topic that presumes to be so confusing and so far from the citizens that they will have little use for the strengthening of democratic life, even more, they can become a serious setback, if they allow the shortcomings and approaches centralists disguised as budget savings. It is not going to be how they say that by saving a few cents they end up spending the pesos.
The author is president of International Consultants, SC®