May 3rd, 2024
1. INE holds second presidential debate; the most watched in history
As part of the 2023-2024 Federal Electoral Process (PEF), the National Electoral Institute (INE) held the Second Presidential Debate 2024 which, for the first time, included videotaped questions from citizens. With a total of 16.1 million viewers, the democratic exercise reached the highest rating in television history.
Representatives of the presidential candidates acknowledged that the flexibility in the format facilitated a more effective exchange of ideas and allowed the candidates to specifically target their constituencies.
Central Electoral INE: Realiza INE Segundo Debate Presidencial 2024 en Estudios Churubusco.
Excélsior: Segundo debate presidencial fue el más visto de la historia con 16.1 millones de seguidores: INE
2. Last period of Congress ends; Morena could call an extraordinary period
The last Ordinary Period of the Senate of the Republic in the LXV Legislature was held from February 1st to April 30th, 2024. This concludes the legislative work that began on September 1st, 2018, mainly dominated by the National Regeneration Movement (Morena).
The reason for seeking an extraordinary period is that some of the recently approved reforms are those of Amparo and Amnesty, as well as that of the Welfare Pension Fund, which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF); however, there are still some that were recently sent by the Ministry, such as the transfer of the National Guard to the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena), increasing the minimum wage by law every year and above inflation, lowering the retirement age to 60 years, as well as reforms to the Judicial and Electoral Branches.
El Universal: Posible que haya periodo extraordinario para abordar iniciativas de AMLO: Ignacio Mier
3. Mexico prepares for USMCA review in 2026
The Ministry of Economy (SE) held a private meeting with the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) and the so-called Fourth Meeting to review the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The Joint Room is a consultative body that provides the authorities with technical positions, as well as information to the negotiating team on each of the issues covered by the treaty signed between the North American partners.
“In the midst of the nearshoring boom, we are going for quality jobs and high-value chains for Mexico and North America,” the Ministry of Economy posted.
Milenio: Revisar el T-MEC en 2026, crucial para México: Secretaría de Economía.
4. AMLO and Joe Biden order their security teams to work on illegal migration
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, ordered their national security teams to work together to implement concrete measures to significantly reduce the illegal crossing of migrants.
The two leaders discussed how to manage hemispheric migration, strengthen operational efficiency at the shared border, and thereby improve the security and prosperity of the citizens of both countries more effectively.
El Universal: AMLO y Joe Biden ordenan a sus equipos de seguridad trabajar de manera coordinada para evitar migración ilegal.
5. Profitability of the SAT grows 3.75 times with AMLO
In the first quarter of this year, the last quarter of the current six-year term, for each peso that the Tax Administration Service (SAT) invested in auditing acts, it earned 201.6 pesos, 3.75 times more than what was obtained in the same period of 2018.
The cost of auditing against what is recovered in the audits is the profitability achieved by the SAT. This profitability has skyrocketed in the current six-year term year after year and for example, in the first quarter of 2019, the first year of the federal government, it recovered 68.8 pesos for each peso invested.