Mexican Presidential Candidates Proposals

Mexicans will go to the polls this July first to elect their new presidential candidate, and polls opinion points out that Enrique Peña Nieto who embodies the opposition party PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) enjoys a huge electoral votes advantage.

Below are presented some presidential proposals from the three main political blocs and coalitions in Mexico: PRI, PAN and Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD).

PRI – Candidate: Enrique Peña Nieto.

·         Economy:

Fiscal Reform that increase the taxpayer main-body; that unifies the Tax Income (ISR) with the Flat Rate Business Tax (IETU) and that decrease the oil incomes dependence.

Evaluate the possibility that the Bank of Mexico contributes with employment growth besides controlling inflation rates

Strengthening Telecommunication’s Regulatory Body and Antitrust Body in order to stimulate competition. Provide more autonomy to the Energy Regulatory Body.

Promote an Energy Reform so Private Equity can be entitled to participate in the Federal Oil Company PEMEX, but maintaining the hydrocarbon State Property.

This Reform should increase efficiency on exploration as well as on hydrocarbon exploitation, shale gas among them, and to give a boost to the Refining System restructuring.   

Stimulate National and International tourism, diversifying offers and updating new popular destinations.

-          Security

Keep Armed Forces carrying out Public Safety tasks until evidence of withdrawal conditions.

Create a unique State Police that avoids Municipal Police fragmentation. 

Create an intelligence Center that holds the necessary information against organized crime.

Enhance cooperation between countries to stop gunrunning and cash smuggling, as well as consolidating people and merchandise borders controls.   

Stimulate a Combating Crime Police professionalization and specialization such homicide, kidnapping, extortion and human trafficking.

Fight money laundry by implementing more vigilance for Financial System and seeking for international cooperation.

-   Social Policy

Create the Universal Social Security System which would be financed by taxes. The main objective is to increase public access to medical and social insurance.

Create a universal pension mean to elderly. Minimum income guaranteed in case of unemployment to people who reach the legal age.

Stimulate the public spending and mortgage loans, mainly in low incomes sectors.

Widen good quality education range, besides teaching education. Move forward towards University from middle education.

-          Foreign Policy

Take up again discussions with the United States about migration with a sharing responsibility approach as well as human rights defense.

Intensify Multilateral Economic Institutions; strengthen agreements and promote strategy cooperation on the scope of Security; fight against organized crime, drug trafficking and gunrunning.  

Contribute with the new architecture of main multinationals institutions changes. Actively participate on G-20 decisions.

Strengthen cooperation with the North America Free Trade Agreement, in which participate Mexico, USA and Canada.

Keep a workers program with Canada.

Renew linkages with Latin America and rebuild relationship with Cuba. Strengthen linkages with Brazil in the fields of Politics and Trade creating this way a bridge towards Mercosur and the Andeans Community of Nations.  

PAN – Candidate: Josefina Vazquez Mota.

-          Economy:

Reach an economic growth bigger than 5 percent annually, based on private and public investment

Keep the Bank of Mexico autonomy.

Stimulate job creation with new hiring options that allows flexible working days.

Create a unemployment insurance scheme as well as keep providing social security benefits in case of unemployment, within limited periods.

Stimulate Tourism, promote new destinations and infrastructure projects and stimulate medical tourism.

Reform Telecommunications Federal Law as well as Radio and Television Law in order to stimulate competition.

Increase production and acceleration of restitution of hydrocarbons reserves, promoting more investment on the sector.

Stimulate the natural gas conventional and unconventional reserves potential.

-          Security

Standardize State penal codes regarding compurgation crimes. Increase vigilance on judges and magistrates and promote their professionalization.

Look up for a penal justice reform that covers management and civil fields which speed up the exercise of justice.

Set up a national program against violence and delinquency which will be evaluated by civil society.

Intensify police officers purging within public securities bodies, improve their social benefits.

Tighten up sanctions and even punish public workers, with life imprisonment, that collude their selves with organized crime.

Develop a Scientific Police Force for criminal matters at the Federal and State levels.  

-Social Policy

Stimulate modifications on the Labor Law to schedule flexible hours as well as the possibility of carrying out housework, paternity leave and extend the access to male childcare.

Extend school day to at least 6 hours daily per 200 working days by year to improve education quality and therefore allow women introduce their-selves into the labor market.

Increase high school education coverage.

Keep health access programs, strengthen obesity prevention strategy.    

           -Foreign Policy

Reinforce international cooperation against organized crime; look for agreements in order to stop gunrunning.

Tighten up human-trafficking crime punishments; create a migrants’ crimes specialized prosecutor.

Actively participate in regional trade and political mechanisms like OEA and Mercosur.

Stimulate financial Regulation and the conclusion of the International Monetary Fund restructuring; keep Mexico’s presence on the G-20.

Support a United Nations integral Reform that guarantees its capacity reinforcement. Look for a United Nations Security Council Reform to make it more democratic and representative.

PRD – Candidate: Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

                -Economy:

Reach a 6 percent grow annually during the six-year presidential cycle.

Promote a monetary policy that generates grow.

Fight against monopolies and goods and services high prices.

Revitalize PEMEX empowering the State´s role in industry.   

Create 3 oils refineries within 3 years so México stops importing gasoline and thus create its own.

Cut to half president wage and seniors officers’ as well.

Create State Television and radio networks to offset Televisa and TV Azteca dominance in the domestic market.

Pass biggest tax implications to enterprises instead of individuals.

Mobilize in order to find strategies to force foreign mining companies pay more taxes and better salaries.  

               -Security

Withdraw military forces from the streets within six months.

Fight crime through a special investigative commission

                -Social Policy

Increase education investment and provide grants to low incomes students so they can keep studying.

                -Foreign Policy

Increase cooperation with the United States in social and economic projects and move away attention related with security matters.

Renegotiate NAFTA, especially in the agriculture field.

Written by Lizbeth Díaz and Adriana Barrera
Translated by Daniel Osorio