pension reform

Mexico City. The Senate of the Republic approved this morning, in general and in particular, the minutes with the reforms to various laws that create the Pension Fund for Wellbeing and turned it over to the federal Executive for its promulgation.

Thus, the controversial reform concluded its legislative process after nine hours of acrimonious debate and despite the opponents’ strategy of stalling for time, of trying to break the quorum during the discussion of reservations to various articles of the Social Security Law, the Law of the Institute of the National Housing Fund for State Workers, the Law of Retirement Savings Systems and other legal modifications.

There were almost nine hours of an acrid debate, characterized by the confrontation between the Morena group and the opposition, in which the cherries defended the creation of that Pension Fund for Wellbeing and legislators from the PAN, PRI, PRD and Grupo Plural insisted in which the federal government only intends to confiscate and seize the 40 billion pesos of accounts inactive for more than ten years of workers over 70 years of age.

The opponents reiterated both in the general discussion and in the discussion of reserved articles that the federal government is going to steal workers’ savings to use them in electoral campaigns and the Morenistas, including Mónica Fernández Balboa and Omar Holguín, responded that they are only lies, because in reality what they defend is the interest of the bankers and businessmen who own the Afores who now benefit from “riding” those 40 billion pesos.

“This reform is not intended to steal anyone’s savings, only inactive or unclaimed accounts aged 70 or older will be managed; these inactive accounts represent 5.5 percent of the total Afores,” highlighted the PT coordinator, Alejandra León Gastélum. .

He stressed that “in the event that the owner claims said funds, he or she can do so whenever he or she wishes, with everything and interest, their accounts are imprescriptible.”

The government can only touch these resources for one purpose, which is to improve the standard of living of millions of Mexicans. If they prefer that the Afores, the bankers, continue to benefit from this! Say it!”, stated the senator from the cherry, Ernesto Pérez Astorga.

However, PRI member Beatriz Paredes highlighted that “thousands of workers are considered objects, confiscated, deceived, because it is not guaranteed that these resources will go to the workers because there is no transparency, because there is no consistency, because there is no a structural reform of the pension system.”

He even presented a reservation to modify the first transitory article of the reform and so that instead of the 60 days given to the federal executive to issue the decree with the guidelines with which the public Trust operated by the Bank of Mexico will operate that will administer the Welfare Pension Fund, the period is extended to 120 days and in that period search for each of the owners of the inactive accounts, to notify them of the resources they have.

The reservation, like 47 others presented, was rejected by the majority of Morena and its allies.

Surprisingly, Senator Alejandra León Gastélum, who left the ranks of the 4T two years ago, returned to Morena and was one of the last speakers to defend the ruling and maintain that it will benefit 28 million workers who will be able to count on a decent pension. She concluded her intervention with cheers for the candidate Claudia Sheinbaum and with the shout: “it is an honor to be with Obrador.”

The PAN member José Alfredo Botello, in turn, maintained that Xóchitl Gálvez will win the presidency of the republic.

Around one in the morning, the president of the board of directors, Ana Lilia Rivera, reported that with 69 votes in favor, 41 against and two abstentions the minutes by which various provisions regarding the Fund are reformed, added and repealed of Pensions for Wellbeing, was approved in particular.

He sent it to the federal executive for publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation, amidst applause and shouts of joy from the Morena senators and their allies.

However, the discussion continued because Rivera Rivera announced that legislative technical adjustments would be made to the opinion. Immediately, the PAN coordinator Julen Rementería demanded that they return to committees and Germán Martínez, from Grupo Plural, warned that there will be a criminal complaint in case modifications are introduced to the approved minutes.

Coordinator Ricardo Monreal claimed “such absurdity” of threatening the Parliamentary Services staff headed by Dr. Arturo Garita. He explained that in any legislature adjustments to legislative technique are carried out.

Senator Rivera offered to strictly adhere to what is established in the Internal Regulations of the Senate.