Lawmakers Pass Bill Overhauling the Structure of the Mexican Government Patrick Ferguson - The News
go to original December 14, 2012

The Chamber of Deputies passed the president’s bill with 423 in favor, 38 against and four abstentions. Pres. Peña Nieto is expected to sign the initiative into law. (The News)

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Congress passed a bill Thursday to fold the Public Security Secretariat (SSP) into the Interior Secretariat (Segob), President Enrique Peña Nieto’s first move to change the country’s direction in the fight against organized crime.

The bill overhauling the structure of the Mexican government, which Peña Nieto started pushing before he took office, puts the SSP under the Segob and is part of his plan to better coordinate the fight against criminal organizations and efforts to cut Mexico’s homicide and kidnapping rates in half.

The Chamber of Deputies passed the president’s bill with 423 in favor, 38 against and four abstentions. The Senate passed the bill earlier this week.

After the bill becomes law, Mexico’s new interior secretary, Miguel Osorio Chong, will head the 36,000-strong Federal Police, which the president plans to expand by another 35,000 officers.

A larger Federal Police force isn’t Peña Nieto’s only idea. The president said on Tuesday that a militarized agency will replace Navy and Army forces deployed on Mexico’s streets, but did not give a timeline.

The bill also dissolves the Public Affairs Secretariat (SFP) and creates the National Anti-corruption Commission, which will report to the Finance Secretariat.

The new commission will have expanded powers to investigate and sanction corrupt public servants and private citizens.

It was the first of Peña Nieto’s campaign promises and will consist of five councillors appointed by the executive branch.

The idea of doing away with the SFP is nothing new. Amid the chaos of the 2008-09 financial crisis, former President Felipe Calderón suggested closing it down to cut costs.

The bill also transforms the Agrarian Reform Secretariat (SRA) into the Agriculture, Land and Urban Development Secretariat, which will be in charge of regulating land use.

In related news, the Senate passed the Chamber of Deputies’ nearly 4 trillion peso 2013 income budget on Thursday after the Joint Committees on Finance and Legislative Studies sent the bill to the floor. On Wednesday, the Chamber passed the budget after adding 25 billion pesos to the executive branch’s proposal and raising the projected price of oil to $86 a barrel from $84.90. Profits from state oil monopoly Pemex account for at least a third of Mexico’s revenues, so the price of oil has a direct impact on government spending.

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