Congress expenditures in Mexico lack transparency

Despite the federal budget cuts envisioned for 2017, which amount to $239 billion pesos, federal congressmen and legislators from the 63th Legislature received and spent over a billion pesos in their first year at office.

From these expenditures, the eight political groups in the Lower Chamber approved “extraordinary subsidies” which amounted to $197,857 million pesos from September 2015 to September 2016.

The party receiving the most subsidies in said term was the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) with $75 million pesos, followed by left-winged Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) with almost $43 million pesos, the conservative National Action Party (PAN) with almost $36 million pesos and the Green Party (PVE) with over $15 million pesos.

The rest of the “extraordinary subsidies” were received by National Regeneration Movement (Morena) with almost $13 million pesos, the Citizens Movement with over $9 million pesos, New Alliance with almost $4 million pesos and Social Encounters with almost $3 million pesos respectively.

The so-called “subsidies” are resources given on a yearly basis to the different political groups that make up the Lower Chamber. It is believed that legislators in the Chamber of Deputies manage subsidy resources in opacity as their use for this income is discretionary and does not require itemization, regulation or any audit by law.