Background on Coneval and its Importance
The Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social (Coneval) is a vital independent organization in Mexico, responsible for evaluating the country’s social development policies. Led by Juan José Sierra, Coneval ensures that these policies are technically sound, impartial, and specialized. Its role is crucial in assessing the effectiveness of social programs and providing data-driven recommendations to policymakers.
Coparmex’s Rejection of Diputados’ Decision
The Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana (Coparmex), representing the country’s business sector, has strongly rejected a recent decision by diputados (members of Mexico’s House of Representatives) to dissolve Coneval and transfer its functions to the INEGI (Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography).
Coparmex’s Concerns
According to Coparmex, this move represents a “grave retrocess” in the technical, impartial, and specialized evaluation of Mexico’s social policies. They argue that it is not merely an administrative restructuring but rather a deliberate attempt to eliminate the evaluator to avoid any unfavorable outcomes.
Coneval’s Relevance and Impact
Juan José Sierra, Coneval’s head, highlighted the organization’s significance in documenting social progress. For instance, in 2021, Coneval reported that 3.8 million more people had fallen into poverty. Two years later, when the government claimed a reduction of 9 million people out of poverty, Coneval had already been weakened. Now, with the proposed dissolution, it confirms a pattern of silencing independent evaluators who contradict the official narrative.
Broader Context: Attacks on Autonomous Institutions
The decision to dissolve Coneval is part of a larger offensive against autonomous institutions in Mexico. Coparmex warns that weakening these institutions only serves to concentrate power and silence dissenting voices. They argue that there is no technical or financial justification for this move, as Coneval’s operation accounts for only 0.05% of the federal budget.
Consequences of Dissolving Coneval
Coparmex emphasizes that defending Coneval’s technical autonomy is equivalent to safeguarding citizens’ right to know the truth. They firmly state that they will not accept any retrogressions disguised as reforms.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is Coneval? Coneval is an independent organization in Mexico responsible for evaluating the country’s social development policies, ensuring they are technically sound, impartial, and specialized.
- Who is Juan José Sierra? Juan José Sierra is the head of Coneval, leading the organization in its crucial role of assessing social programs and providing data-driven recommendations to policymakers.
- Why is Coparmex against dissolving Coneval? Coparmex argues that eliminating Coneval represents a “grave retrocess” in the evaluation of Mexico’s social policies, as it would silence an independent evaluator and avoid unfavorable outcomes.
- What are the broader implications of this decision? The dissolution of Coneval is part of a larger offensive against autonomous institutions in Mexico, which Coparmex warns will concentrate power and silence dissenting voices.
