People’s Mañanera August 4

ByPedro Gellert

Every day, President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning presidential press conference and Mexico Solidarity Media posts English language summaries, translated by Mexico Solidarity’s Pedro Gellert. Previous press conference summaries are available here.

Historic Support for Agriculture and Corn Producers
President Claudia Sheinbaum reported on the agreement with 100,000 producers to address the fall in corn prices. In Sinaloa, almost 4.57 billion pesos (US$262.39 million) are being distributed to 26,800 producers. “When the price is very low, the government supports the producer,” she stated.

More Transparency, Less Secrecy
The President signed the decree to strengthen transparency and guarantee the people’s right to information. The decree eliminates discretion over what information is issued, strengthens the National Transparency Platform, and expands the release and circulation of public sector contracts, Pemex and CFE data, audits, and oversight.

Less Bureaucracy, More Transparency
Sheinbaum noted that National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data Protection (INAI) costs over 1 billion pesos (US$57.47 million) annually and was plagued by corruption cases, and had an unstable web page. Now, transparency is concentrated in the Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Ministry, with less bureaucracy and greater public access to information.

Audience Rights Strengthen Access to Truthful Information
The guidelines, still under public consultation, will require media outlets to have and adhere to a code of ethics, an audience ombudsman, and a complaint mechanism, in addition to distinguishing between advertising, information, and opinion. “We have never censored anyone, nor will we do so,” the President affirmed.

Mexico Changed Because the People So Decided
The President presented a video in which journalist and political analyst Sergio Sarmiento states that media outlets can “deliberately lie” and she reiterated that “they can use the morning press conference (however they like)… what they don’t want is for the government to do the same with the media.” She also exposed the hypocrisy of the PRI, which charges that the measures taken by the National Electoral Institute (INE) against slanderous publications represent censorship, while party leader Alito Moreno Cárdenas sought an injunction to prevent the dissemination of corruption allegations against him aired during Campeche Governor Layla Sansores’ “Martes del Jaguar” program.

End of Plush Pensions to be Consolidated
The elimination of plush pensions has generated savings of nearly 5 billion pesos (US$290 million). A constitutional contradiction was corrected so that no pension can exceed the president’s salary, doing away with retirement payments of up to one million pesos (US$57.47 million) per month. Furthermore, a reform will be promoted to legally codify this limit.

Construction of 1,000 CECI for Children is Advancing
The President explained that, following President López Obrador’s decision to end outsourced daycare services to private providers, the construction of 1,000 Childhood Education and Care Centers (CECI) is now advancing. These centers will be directly operated by Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and the ISSSTE (Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers), ensuring safer, more decent spaces offering better care for children.