The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) warned on Tuesday about the effects that would be caused by the disappearance of autonomous bodies, in the context of the fact that this week the reform that seeks to eliminate seven bodies and transfer their functions to other agencies will be discussed and, if necessary, approved.
In a statement, the IMCO warned that the implications of the possible elimination of the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) and that its functions be transferred to the Ministry of Economy , as well as the eventual elimination of the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) and that its functions go to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) , is that there is a risk that competition decisions , when originating from the Executive Branch , lack the necessary impartiality that their nature demands .
“This may erode the investment climate and companies’ certainty about the existence of bodies that issue rulings based on technique and not on particular interests. In addition, the elimination of the bodies may result in Mexico’s non-compliance with its trade obligations, since Chapter 18 of the Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) requires the existence of a telecommunications regulatory body that is independent and impartial,” said IMCO.
He also indicated that the possible elimination of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) and that its functions be transferred to the Ministry of Energy (Sener) , as well as the probable disappearance of the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) and that its functions be assumed by Sener , would bring the risk that the Executive Branch be “judge and party” in decisions on permits and rates in energy markets to benefit State actors .
“In addition, Chapter 22 of the USMCA includes a provision on the need to ensure that state-owned enterprise regulatory bodies – in this case Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) – exercise their regulatory obligations impartially.
In the event of the elimination of the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI) and the transparency guarantee bodies, it would affect the accountability capacity of the government and its officials .
“Transparency in the exercise of public functions is a key element to achieve the commitments of the USMCA on anti-corruption, included in Chapter 27. In addition, it would impact the participation of civil society, given the limitation to make requests and the lack of a guarantor body,” the organization indicated.
Regarding the possible disappearance of the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) and the transfer of its functions to the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (Inegi) , the IMCO noted that without a rigorous evaluation of social programs, the constitutional principles of efficiency could be affected .
Regarding the possible disappearance of the National Commission for the Continuous Improvement of Education (Mejoredu) and the transfer of its tasks to the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) , the organization stated that it will imply difficulties in identifying infrastructure needs , the state of learning in the country , among other indicators that are key to drawing up an actionable plan in long-term educational policy.
In light of this, the IMCO proposed guaranteeing the technical, operational and management autonomy of the decentralized or decentralised bodies or administrative units, establishing in detail the type of autonomy of each one in the subsequent modification of the corresponding laws.
He also proposed establishing a legislative control mechanism that requires the appearance of the heads of the units or institutions that absorb the functions, in order to monitor the progress of the administrative change and an evaluation of the performance of their functions to ensure the independence of their decisions.
Among other points, he proposed maintaining the perspective of collegial decision-making , which is currently done through government bodies, in order to avoid the concentration of interests. In addition, including within the Commission for Monitoring the Implementation and Review of the T-MEC in the Senate of the Republic a team in charge of monitoring possible breaches of the trade agreement.
Comment and follow us on X:@GrupoT21
