Parties that lose registration take years to return money

In Mexico, losing the registration of a political party means continuing to receive public money until the end of the year of the election in which the minimum number of votes was not reached and, in some cases, litigating with authorities and creditors, which means years of labor, commercial and criminal trials.

The General Council of the National Electoral Institute (INE) received the most recent report on the status of the ongoing procedures for the extinction of parties such as the Humanist Party, which lost its registration nine years ago and the litigation that would allow closing that chapter and returning to the treasury at least part of the assets generated with public financing has not yet been concluded.

Also in the process are the Social Encounter Party (PES), declared extinct in 2018; Encuentro Solidario, in 2021; the same as Progressive Social Networks (RSP) and Fuerza por México.

The most recent case is that of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), whose deregistration will be officially declared at the General Council session on September 19, but from now on an auditor is in charge of controlling bank accounts. It is presumed to be a long process due to the years of operation of the PRD, founded in May 1989. In all cases, these political forces did not reach 3 percent in any national vote.

Councillor Jorge Montaño, who until last Thursday was president of the Oversight Committee, summarized the report for the first half of 2024.

First of all, he stressed the importance of transparency in the use of resources given to the parties, which are considered entities of public interest not only during their term of office, but also after it, so that citizens have the right to know the destination of the money (prerogatives) they received.

He added that after the declaration of extinction, the INE and the auditors assigned to each party work together in the liquidation processes.

He explained that the Humanist Party (created by an amalgamation of former PRI and PAN leaders, most notably Ignacio Irys Salomón and Javier Eduardo López Macías), which only competed in 2015 and lost its registration, is still facing 18 labor lawsuits.

Regarding the PES (founded by Hugo Eric Flores Cervantes, who originally supported the PAN and years later the left), Montaño stated that the work plan for the sale of assets, responses to requests for information from various creditors, a balance of assets and resources of the defunct party and legal procedures were presented. There are records of seven ongoing lawsuits, of which five are labor and two are commercial.

Regarding the Encuentro Solidario party (successor of the previous one, in a second attempt by Flores Cervantes, who only competed once), Montaño said that actions were carried out to safeguard the assets of the defunct party, the attention of debts and transfer of assets to local parties that obtained their registration. This second PES has 20 procedures under the judge (19 in labor matters and one commercial matter).

For RSP, founded by José Fernando González, son-in-law of Elba Esther Gordillo, former leader of the teachers’ union, the INE reported that the assigned intervenor is working on the recovery of assets and the payment of debts and the publication of the second list of creditorsThere are also records of four ongoing civil trials.

From Fuerza por México, founded by union leader Pedro Haces, debts are being addressed, recovery of resources spent without authorization from the auditor, to safeguard the assets of the former party and to transfer the assets to local political parties that obtained their registration (with the same initials)This defunct party has seven trials underway: two in civil matters, two in labor matters, and three in criminal matters.

Both Flores Cervantes and Haces are currently federal deputies.

Regarding the PRD, it was indicated that on June 19, the inspector was selected, a specialist who agreed with the Technical Unit of Oversight and the party representatives on the mechanisms for the control of expenses. Therefore, information was requested from him on the party’s accounting and a space was requested in the PRD so that the inspector’s staff could carry out their supervisory work.

Thus, Montaño added, Citizens are informed about the proper use of resources by the obligated subjects until the assets have been duly liquidated or returned to the nation’s coffers..