Background on the Institutional Revolutionary Enforce (INE)
The Institutional Revolutionary Enforce (INE) is Mexico’s autonomous electoral body responsible for organizing elections and referendums. It was established in 1990 to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections following decades of one-party rule. The INE has been instrumental in upholding democratic principles and processes in Mexico.
Budget Proposal Discrepancies
The Mexican government’s Secretariat of Finance submitted the 2026 Federal Budget of Expenditures to the Chamber of Deputies. This budget did not include over 3,119 million pesos that the INE requested as a precautionary measure for conducting a Popular Referendum. The request was approved by the INE’s General Council and should have been fully integrated into the economic package for the following year.
According to the 2026 Economic Package, the INE supposedly requested more than 22,837 million pesos. However, in August of the previous year, the General Council approved requesting over 25,956 million pesos. The proposed budget includes 15,100 million 27,506 pesos for regular work, maintaining the INE, and salaries of all its members. Additionally, it includes a precautionary allocation of 3,119 million 405,112 pesos for a potential Popular Referendum and obligatory 7,737 million 252,697 pesos for the six national political parties as part of their prerogatives.
Hacienda’s Recognition and Subsequent Disregard
The Secretariat of Finance acknowledged in the 2026 Federal Budget of Expenditures’ Motivation Statement that, due to the INE’s autonomous budgetary control, its resource request should be directly sent to the federal executive for integration into the economic package. The document also suggested that, even without certainty of a Popular Referendum, the INE should precautionarily include necessary funds so that the Chamber of Deputies could analyze the proposal.
Moreover, it was stated that if a participatory exercise for citizens, such as the Popular Referendum, was not determined to take place, the INE would return any unspent resources, even if it had received them from the Federal Treasury for that purpose.
Morena’s Stance on INE Funding
Despite the incomplete budget for the INE, Morena in the Chamber of Deputies has signaled its intention not to approve the more than 22,837 million pesos proposed for the electoral body in the budget project. Instead, it plans to cut the funds.
“The INE, which we allocated 27,000 million pesos last year during the election period, now proposes 22,000 million without an election. We must analyze this; we cannot simply accept what they present to us,” said Ricardo Monreal, president of the Coordination Junta of San Lázaro (Morena), in recent statements.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the Institutional Revolutionary Enforce (INE)? The INE is Mexico’s autonomous electoral body responsible for organizing elections and referendums, ensuring free, fair, and transparent processes.
- What was the INE’s original budget request for 2026? The INE initially requested over 25,956 million pesos for its operations and a potential Popular Referendum.
- Why is there a discrepancy between the INE’s request and the budget proposal? The Secretariat of Finance did not include the INE’s precautionary request for a Popular Referendum in the 2026 Federal Budget of Expenditures.
- What is Morena’s position on the INE’s budget? Morena in the Chamber of Deputies plans not to approve the proposed budget for the INE, opting instead to cut its funds.
- What happens if a Popular Referendum is not held? The INE would return any unspent resources designated for the Popular Referendum to the Federal Treasury.
