CHAPTER 7
Mexico’s last best hope is an honest government. Honesty is a treasure. Fostering it will help us grow. It will allow us to invest in the development of our people and combat the misery unleashed by the “harsh but necessary” measures that have been imposed to benefit an elite few.
Corruption, as we’ve seen, is the driver of inequality and suffering in our nation. Dishonesty both by governments and by powerful elites has led to a stark deterioration of public life in Mexico; these crooks have tarnished our reputation and blatantly stolen public goods. Nothing has harmed Mexico as much as corruption. For over two decades, according to Transparency International, Mexico has had a constant and systematic corruption problem. This is confirmed by the Corruption Perception Index, where Mexico scored a mere thirty-five points out of 100.65
Thanks to the elites, the problem of corruption is not debated or addressed in public discourse. We speak of structural reforms across the board, but the grave issue of corruption is not viewed as a priority. While countries like New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden rank high on the list of the most honest countries, Mexico finds itself plagued by corruption. Ethical nations, as should be obvious, have a stronger middle class; they have largely eradicated poverty, instability, and violence.
When corruption is prevented, the state is able to promote development and meet its social responsibilities. Norway is the third largest exporter of petroleum in the world, and petroleum revenues are administered by the state for the benefit of the people. In states where democracy is robust, human rights are respected; universal access to the internet is guaranteed, and the welfare state alleviates inequality and aids social justice. In Denmark, for example, the population receives free comprehensive education, free medical care, old age pensions, rent assistance, six months’ maternity leave, and free access to libraries and recreation centers. We, in Mexico, could accomplish the same if we root out corruption, and make the most of our wealth of natural resources and our hardworking people.
Honesty is not foreign to our people. It is central to Mexican society. Although things may seem thoroughly corrupted, the history of our people is built upon a bedrock of honesty. By nurturing our moral fiber, Mexico as a nation can harness our collective will for the benefit of all.
For this reason, our primary goal is to elevate honesty as a national virtue. Thankfully, the people of Mexico have a rich legacy in the Mesoamerican civilization, and we have a deep well of principles which can serve to revitalize our public life. We have communities where crops are stored openly in the fields, and where no one thinks to take what is not theirs. Until recently, many rural localities could not even conceive of theft. One anecdote comes to mind: recently, a young associate of MORENA66 forgot his wallet aboard a flight and days later received a call from a migrant farmer from California to let him know that it had been found. The farmworker, hailing from Veracruz, mailed it to his home. My young associate asked the migrant, who barely spoke Spanish, why he did it. The man replied that his parents had taught him to do good with no eye to whether there would be a reward.
Only when we return to our historic roots of honesty and fairness, and make them central tenets in our government, can we revitalize Mexico. When we are in power the perpetrators of systemic corruption will find no safe haven, nor will they benefit from unearned privileges. Such an ethical approach will allow us to redirect resources, today lost to corruption, toward the development of our nation and the well-being of our people.
Flying the flag of honesty will require the participation of public servants. Leading by example will be their most important role. Corruption is largely a top-down issue, and in combating it we, as leaders, must act transparently. A president committed to the fight against corruption will accomplish much more if the public servants around him or her share the same values.
We must have zero tolerance for those who believe they are above the law. Upon receiving the mandate of the people, I will reform the Constitution to ensure that everyone in power is held accountable, no matter his or her position. I will abolish the precept that the head of state is exempt from charges of corruption. This proposal stems from Article 103 of our 1857 Constitution: “Representatives of Congress, the Supreme Court and the Secretary General will be held accountable for any crimes, offenses, and omissions during their time in office. Governors of the States shall be equally accountable. The President, too, but during their term they may only be accused of treason, violation of the Constitution, attacks to electoral freedom, and other grave offenses.”
As the Mexican Revolution raged, borne out of demands for justice and democracy, the Constituent Congress of 191767 enacted important social protections and strengthened our sovereignty. Unfortunately, they eliminated the 1857 precept that made the president of the Republic accountable for attacks on electoral freedom, and upheld the provision granting him immunity from prosecution for acts of corruption. As the end of President Manuel González’s term neared, Porfírio and his delegates accused him of corruption. Once González accepted Porfírio’s re-election, these same representatives absolved him, with the ruling that as per Article 103 of the Constitution, the president can only be judged for treason, express violation of the Constitution, attacks on electoral liberties, and grave offenses. Today, just as in the past, this ruling stands, save for protections against voter suppression and violation of the Constitution; these provisions were recklessly eliminated in the Constitution of 1917.
As undemocratic reforms were implemented and widespread criminal impunity took hold, the corrupt presidentialist regime found its footing in post-revolution Mexico. Our tolerance for corruption is a grave embarrassment when one considers how other countries deal with it. Look at Guatemala: their ex-president was imprisoned for fraudulently appropriating 40 million pesos (US$2.1 million), while in Mexico, heads of state have stolen far more than that without any meaningful consequences. This former president of Guatemala is a mere pickpocket when compared to our own band of corrupt politicians. With this in mind, we will put forward a proposal to amend Article 108 of the Constitution in order to hold the head of state and other higher-ups accountable under the same laws that they profess to enforce.
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The enormous task of transforming Mexico will only be addressed by men and women with moral and political authority. We need genuine public servants, guided by values higher than ambition, who are capable of understanding that power is only virtuous when it’s wielded in the service of the people. Our selection of cabinet members will be based on this criteria, with no eye to political affiliation.
The government must lead by example if we are to combat corruption. Public servants must be steadfast in their honesty; no one who intends to fill private coffers with public funds will find a place in our administration. Participation in government must not be seen as an opportunity to do business and enrich oneself at the expense of the state. We must repair our poor public image. Once freed of corruption, the federal government will be able to command moral and political authority on the world stage.
In sum:
The eradication of corruption depends fundamentally upon the moral authority of the state, and a leader with the political will to pursue such a task. If our public servants act with integrity, and nepotism is outlawed, an efficiently managed budget will benefit society as a whole. But if shady associations between politicians and private industry continue to be tolerated, corruption will continue to be the hallmark of Mexican society. In January of 2015, the Diario Oficial published the 2016 budget and two months later, the treasury secretary, without any justification, increased the budgets of eight projects whose contractors had ties to federal officials. These projects had originally been approved by Congress with a budget of 189.3 billion pesos (US$10.3 billion). This was then increased to 286.1 billion (US$15.6 billion), an increase of more than 50 percent. One standout example was the case of the new Mexico City airport, which had been approved at 104.3 billion pesos (US$5.6 billion), and then increased to 180.1 billion pesos (US$9.8 billion), a 72.5 percent increase.
Three months later, in June 2016, the treasury secretary made cuts to public spending of 31 billion pesos due to the severe financial turmoil caused by Brexit. These cuts did not touch the aforementioned projects. Instead, it was public welfare programs which paid the price. Public health insurance, support for indigenous communities, farmers, scholarships and public education, the Prospera anti-poverty initiative, science and technology funding, water treatment and small business grants—all were cut.
The same is true of the 2017 budget—social programs were again the first to suffer. This state of affairs cannot go on. Ridding ourselves of the scourge of corruption would save up to 10 percent of the national budget—some 500 billion pesos (US$27.2 billion).