Luxuries and privileges in federal agencies

From December 2012 to August 2018, the current federal government spent almost a million pesos every day , MXN $860,000, on the salaries of 7,275 chauffeurs , who work for public servants from 25 ministries, institutions, and autonomous organisms. During that period, the number increased up to MXN $1,783 million.

The information published by EL UNIVERSAL today is another proof that the privileges the high-ranking bureaucracy has enjoyed in the last years; those benefits pushed the citizens to vote for those who proposed to cancel the luxurious benefits and to end with the wastefulness in a country where half of the population lives in poverty .

PEMEX

is the organism that has spent the most money on chauffeurs: out of the MXN $1,782 million, 64%, MXN $1.147 million, was spent by the oil company; out of the 7,275 chauffeurs required by the federal government, 40%, 2,945, work for PEMEX.

How many chauffeurs ended up working for public servants' wives or children? An old tradition, quite common in the federal government.

In the last weeks, the approval of a law that will limit the salaries of high-ranking public servants to MXN $108,000 per month, the salary earned by the next President , has divided opinions about the feasibility that the limit is maintained in areas that require a technical expertise.

There's the possibility that some exceptions are made in federal offices, with the argument of hiring qualified personnel for the proper performance of public administration.

PEMEX or Inegi could be the exception. What would be unacceptable is that they try to maintain their privileges and luxuries, which have marked the high-ranking bureaucracy. The oil company, for example, shouldn't be the office with the largest number of chauffeurs available for its officials.

The incoming government has revealed that it will implement an austerity policy, which includes, among other things, the cancellation of chauffeuring services for public servants. At the same time, they should also reevaluate the operation of public administration, among other things, to get rid of the duplication of several positions inside the federal government, as well as ending with the hiring of counselors, bodyguards, and chauffeurs.

To limit the salaries will be useful when the Republican austerit y begins, but what could generate more savings would be the end of excess that has sparked off indignation among millions of Mexicans who live with limited means.

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