La Jornada: More than 92 thousand million pesos were saved in the last six-year term due to austerity measures

Savings due to austerity measures in the last six-year term amounted to 92,440.2 million pesos, reported the Center for Public Finance Studies of the Chamber of Deputies, in a review of the policies that were applied in the matter from 2019 to 2024.

This is an amount that represents 0.2 percent of the public spending accumulated in the six-year period, which amounted to 42.6 billion pesos.

In the document, he detailed that according to the federal public treasury account for the period 2019 to 2024, the austerity measures generated savings in public spending of 71 thousand 15.2 million pesos in the first year of the last government, mainly due to the reduction of operating expenses.

Of the amount for that year, 64 thousand 76.7 million pesos corresponded to the powers of the Union and the autonomous entities, and the rest to the federal government agencies.

The study center recalled that the spending reduction measures are provided for in the Federal Republican Austerity Law, which obliges not to increase the budget allocated to concepts such as fixed and mobile telephony, photocopying, fuel, leases, travel expenses, food, office remodeling, telecommunications equipment, computer goods, tickets, congresses, conventions, exhibitions and seminars.

Also, for public entities to adjust their organic and occupational structures in accordance with the principles of rationality and republican austerity. The contracting of savings insurance for civil servants or special retirement, individualized or collective separation schemes, as well as private medical, life or pension expenses, is also prohibited.

He explained that starting in 2020 the amount of savings due to austerity measures decreased, which in that year was 3,744.2 million, in 2021 it increased to 5,980.9 million and in 2022 it dropped again to 3,85.5 million. In 2023 it reached 4,443.7 million and the last year ended with 4,170.8 million.

He detailed that of the 92,440.2 million not spent in the six-year period, 74,530.1 million corresponded to the savings reported by the structures of the three powers and the autonomous entities, and of this amount, 5,252.8 million corresponded only to personal services, while 2,304.1 million, to investment spending.