Mexican Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López Hernández. Photo: Plumas Libres

By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

One day after Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE) asked the Finance Secretariat (Hacienda) for 1.739 billion extra pesos to carry out the controversial and non-binding revocation of mandate, Interior (SeGob) Secretary Adán Augusto López Hernández on Thursday, Jan. 13, told the INE that it has no available resources to dispense to the institute.

“In the first place– and this is not in response to any request made by the INE — the Federal Electoral Court has ordered the INE to carry out a budget review and has the possibility of requesting resources. But there is no precedent for a budget extension to be granted to autonomous bodies,” López Hernández said during the daily presidential press conference at the National Palace.

“However, we are going to wait for the request to arrive officially, although we maintain that the federal budget is very restricted.”

Later in the day, officials from the Treasury and the Public Function Secretariat presented an austerity exercise for the INE, which would leave the currently available 2.972 billion pesos for the institute to carry out the revocation referendum.

The Treasury said that the INE could obtain additional funds by cutting its internal expenditures such as cellular phone costs, fuel, leases, travel expenses, food, telecommunications equipment, stationery, conferences and conventions.