Mexico

June 18, 2021

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1. President Lopez Obrador plans three constitutional reforms

During his meeting with the Mexican Business Council, President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador reported that his office will not present reforms to increase taxes; however, he will propose three constitutional reforms, on electricity, elections, and the National Guard.

The first aims for users not to pay more than companies for electricity. The second will seek to give “total autonomy” to electoral authorities, reduce the costs of the National Electoral Institute (INE), the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Power (TEPJF), and political parties, as well as to eliminate multi-member legislators. The latter states that the National Guard will become part of the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA), so that it does not “adhere to any institution that could spoil it.”

El Financiero: AMLO anuncia tres reformas constitucionales que enviará al Congreso.
Milenio: AMLO alista reformas eléctrica, electoral y a la Guardia Nacional.

2. Mexico and U.S. seek reopening of border to jump start economy

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, visited Mexico, where he discussed the reopening of the border which would serve as a catalyst for economies that depend on the border. In a meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, the creation of a multilateral mechanism to address migration in the region was reviewed as well as to keep migratory flows regular and orderly.

Mayorkas met with the head of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), Alejandro Gertz Manero, to discuss future cooperation on binational security and law enforcement. Finally, he met with Arturo Herrera, head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), who explained that Mexico seeks economic recovery by maximizing the opportunities it has with the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada (USMCA).

La Jornada: Apremia México a EU a reabrir la frontera para reactivar la economía.
Milenio: Embajador Esteban Moctezuma confía en acuerdo México-EU para reabrir frontera

3. Omnibus tax bill to be presented for 2022

The head of the Mexican Tax Service (SAT), Raquel Buenrostro, anticipated that in September, along with the 2022 economic package, the government will present a “tax reform” that will be similar to an omnibus tax bill. It “will not touch” employee wages nor will it increase taxes. Among the proposed changes, there will be administrative and digital facilities to make it easier for the taxpayers to pay their taxes. Likewise, it will include modifications to strengthen legal criteria and thus avoid tax interpretations.

With this, the government expects to obtain revenues of MXN $200 billion (USD $9.8 million) additional to this year, which is equivalent to 1% of GDP. For its part, the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives, despite considering the announcement as positive, declared that the reform could be insufficient to promote the reactivation of investment in Mexico.

El Financiero: Anticipa Buenrostro reforma fiscal para septiembre.
El Economista: La reforma tributaria sería una Miscelánea Fiscal: Raquel Buenrostro y Reforma fiscal podría no ser suficiente para reactivar la inversión: IMEF.

4. Mexico City’s government to hold discussions with the companies that built Line 12 of the metro

DNV, the company tasked with investigating the collapse of Mexico City’s Line 12 metro, issued its preliminary findings. It indicates that the incident arose as a result of a structural failure associated with poor construction. Eckhard Hinrichsen, director of DNV, reported that this is the first of three phases and that the results are not yet final. The second part of the report will be presented on July 14 and the third on August 30.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum reported that she will be in contact with the construction companies of Line 12 of the metro, which were ICA-Carso-Alstom. Carso indicated that it will not comment on this first stage. For his part, Mario Delgado, president of Morena, pointed out that he is only responsible for financing this transport and not for the construction.

El Economista: Mala construcción, la causa de la tragedia de la Línea 12 del Metro de la CDMX: primeros resultados DNV.
Milenio: Sheinbaum buscará diálogo con empresas que construyeron Línea 12.
La Jornada: Carso afirma que no se pronunciará sobre el dictamen de la Linea 12.
Forbes: Mario Delgado se deslinda de la construcción de la Línea 12 del Metro

5. Zaldívar Law to consultation; opposition prepares unconstitutionality recourse

Arturo Zaldívar, Minister President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), presented a request for consultation so the Plenary of the Court can rule on the constitutionality of its term extensions and the position of advisers of the Federal Judiciary, which is known as the “Zaldívar Law.”

Opposition deputies will expand the unconstitutional action for said law. Among the most relevant points in this action are: 1) the Minister President would have the power to change assigned judges; 2) the concentration of cases to the head of the judiciary; and 3) new mechanisms for evaluating judges as well as the rules for suspending them. The unconstitutionality recourse must be presented before July 10.

El Universal: Corte admite consulta sobre Ley Zaldívar; la turnan al ministro José Fernando Franco.
Animal Político: Diputados amplían acción vs ‘Ley Zaldívar’, pedirán revisar facultad de cambiar y evaluar jueces.