Mexico: Restrict Governors Congress and President Calderón

PORTFOLIOS

* ANOTHER DEFEAT FOR CALDERON ... modernize the country

* WIN STATE SOVEREIGNTY: THE PRESIDENTIAL LOSES

* THE "BIG BROTHER" LEAVE TO SUBMIT TO STATE GOVERNMENTS

OF JOSE A. PEREZ STUART

The budget that allows spending to the states without central government control, is a carom in two bands:

1 .- It is another defeat for the Mexican government of Felipe Calderón and

2 .- Hit the presidential deadly waste that had benefited from the current Mexican administration to subdue the opposition governors.

Indeed, in the first minutes of Tuesday 17 November, the Mexican Congress approved the new Expenditure Budget of the Federation for next year. And the most politically relevant is that there was a positive step to end up in Mexico with the president maintained control over state governments, providing them economic resources, year after year, subject to controls which were the real loss of sovereignty, independence of the entities forming the so-called Federal Charter.

By the old way of contributing resources, the Mexican state governments seemed more like offices under the President of the Republic acting as the allocation of money was converted into a kind of gift, still subject to a strict regime not allowed to use it works really necessary.

Thus, under the old scheme were assigned beforehand to the states on certain items which could not diverted to priority areas, made under penalty of punishment inmates. Thus the President of the Republic retained control over state governments, as through audits conducted by the federal government's own offices, they could punish the governors of the Republic.

Most of the time, resources were directed to sectors that were not essential but were previously provided as well, could not buy something in areas where it was indispensable.

Now governments no longer btendrán "Big Brother" behind them, and their subjection to pressure.

Particularly in the hours before the Mexican Comgreso make changes to programs of income and expenditure for next year, federal officials pressured the state governors so that they would influence among the deputies for approval of the proposed economic 2010, as had been outlined by the team of Felipe Calderón.

However, acting together, legislators and governors dealt a new political defeat for the government of Mexican President Calderon, to amend the draft and free, once and for all, governments of political and economic pressure the executive branch.

Of course, once the new program was approved for next year, and state governments achieve a substantial improvement over the former Mexican presidential unbridled power, politicians close to Calderon reform was considered as negative.

But the truth is that is positive.

Allows fatally injuring presidentialism, which has done much harm to Mexico.

The so-called "federalism" is strengthened with a determination of that nature, which allows states to gain in sovereignty.

Remember that unlike what happened in the U.S., in Mexico there were no states at the consummation of independence from the Spanish crown. There was "provinces." To operate in Mexico but officials outline power-favoring Republican, imposed a foreign model that included the creation of states, as allowed for the development of a strong political weight to the consolidation of the presiding officer, entered a process of constant tension with the central government.

What is now happening in Mexico is historical, but beneficial and healthy for true federalism, which in theory should be founded on the sovereignty of states. In practice this was not. Now up to state legislatures the power to supervise local rulers, for the healthy use of public money.

Some people are demanding that the Mexican President Calderon to make a veto on reform. It would be unfortunate, because only show that the model wishes to pursue "presidential" based on the submission of Congress and state governments to the dictates of the President in turn.

So there has been a healthy step in the modernization of Mexico. But be atentospara see who are the enemies of it.