Photo: Presidencia

By KELIN DILLON

The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense’s (Sedena) spending ballooned 29 percent above its allocated budget in 2023, says a new report from daily Mexican newspaper El Financiero.

The Sedena was given a 120 billion peso budget for 2023; however, the secretariat reportedly spent 144 billion pesos during the calendar year. 

Despite having no money apportioned for the construction of the Tren Maya, which the Sedena was put in charge of in September 2023, the Sedena spent 10.1 billion pesos on the project – without congressional approval – during the year.

Likewise, the secretariat reportedly spent 873 million pesos on the state-run airline Mexicana, another initiative without any spending approved by congress.

“At best, this demonstrates a lack of planning and, in any case, it weakens the country’s budget credibility,” Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency information coordinator Aura Martínez told El Financiero. “The lack of budget credibility makes the country’s financing more expensive and weakens its economic institutions.”

The Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) also surpassed its 2023 budget by 37 percent, spending 57.5 billion pesos compared to its allocated 42 billion peso budget.