1. Javier Jiménez Espriú resigns as Secretary of Communications and Transport, replaced by Jorge Arganis Díaz Leal

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador accepted the resignation of engineer Javier Jiménez Espriú as Minister of Communications and Transport, citing differences related to who should manage the country’s 49 customs offices. The Chief Executive was confident that, in the context of corruption and insecurity, the administration should oversee the Ministry of the Navy; while Javier Jiménez stated that the Ministry of Communications and Transport should be responsible. 
 
The new Secretary, Jorge Arganis Díaz Leal, is a civil engineer graduated from the Faculty of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He was Director General of Public Works of the Government of Mexico City, when the current president served as Head of Government. Jorge Arganis appreciated the appointment and stressed that the development of infrastructure, maintenance and conservation of priority projects is fundamental in the context of the current pandemic.

El Universal: AMLO acepta renuncia de Jiménez Espriú en la SCT

2. Mexican government submits proposal to restructure retirement savings system

During the presidential morning press conference last Wednesday, the federal government and the private sector unveiled an initiative that aims to reform the Retirement Savings System. This proposal seeks to increase the number of workers who will be able to access a higher pension.
 
The main changes include a 40% increase in the replacement rate for workers making minimum wage and 54% for workers with five times the minimum wage, a 15% increase to tripartite contributions of a worker’s salary, and a reduction to 750 weeks of contribution to receive a guaranteed minimum pension.

El Financiero: Gobierno e IP lanzan reforma a pensiones

3. Chamber of Deputies appoints four new directors for the National Electoral Institute

With 399 votes in favor, five against and five abstentions, the Chamber of Deputies approved the agreement of the Political Coordination Board, which appointed four new members of the General Council of the National Electoral Institute. The new directors will be in office from July 27, 2020 to July 26, 2029.
 
The new advisors are: Norma Irene De la Cruz Magaña, Master in Peacekeeping Management, from the University of Turin, in Italy; Carla Astrid Humphrey Jordan, PhD in Government and Public Administration from the Complutense University of Madrid; José Martín Fernando Faz Mora, Master in Human Rights and Democracy from FLACSO in Mexico; and Uuc-kib Espadas Ancona, PhD in Communication from the University of Seville, in Spain.

Excélsior: Diputados eligen a 4 nuevos consejeros del INE

4. National Institute of Statistics and Geography reports inflation of 3.59% during the first two weeks of July

During the first two weeks of July, the National Consumer Price Index, presented by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, showed a 3.59% increase. Despite being the highest figure since the first two weeks of March 2020, inflation falls within the target range of the Bank of Mexico, whose target is 3% +/- 1%.
 
The price increase was mainly influenced by a 6.52% increase in air transport, 5.91% for potatoes and other tubers, 3.03% for low-octane gasoline and 1.21% for domestic LP gas. However, there were products that recorded declining prices such as serrano chili, grape, chayote, green tomato, and guava.

El Financiero: Inflación en primera quincena de julio se ubica en 3.59%; es su mayor nivel en cuatro meses

5. 10,351 SME closures recorded due to pandemic; Secretary of Finance says there will not be tax support

The Mexican Social Security Institute notes that between April and June, 10,351 employer registrations of SMEs have been eliminated, defined as companies with 6 to 250 employees. In this sense, large companies, defined as companies with 251 to more than a thousand employees, have also suffered the elimination of 871 registrations.
 
On the other side, the Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, Arturo Herrera, mentioned that no new debt will be contracted that would allow tax support to be granted to companies in the context of the pandemic caused by COVID-19. The Secretary justified his decision by noting that Mexico has little capacity to acquire debt, so this capacity should be managed cautiously over the next few months.

El Financiero: Cierran 10,351 Pymes en tres meses debido a pandemia