The Court invalidates the rule that allowed AMLO to decide the destination of savings

For the second consecutive day, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) dealt a setback to the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

This Tuesday, the plenary session of the highest court in the country decided by majority to invalidate a rule that allowed the president to decide on his own the destination of the resources resulting from savings produced by austerity measures.

The provision —declared unconstitutional by nine of the 11 ministers— was in article 61 of the Federal Budget and Treasury Responsibility Law.

For the majority of the ministers, this norm must be invalidated because it gives the president an attribution that violates the exclusive power of the Chamber of Deputies to decide the destination of public spending.

The article in question states: “The savings generated as a result of the application of said measures must be allocated, under the terms of the general provisions applicable to the programs of the executor of the expense that generates them. As far as the Federal Executive Power is concerned, said savings will be allocated to the programs provided for in the National Development Plan or to the destination determined by Decree by the Holder.

The majority of the ministers considered that the latter is contrary to the Constitution.

“The Court established that this last normative portion violates the exclusive power of the Chamber of Deputies to decide the destination of public resources in accordance with article 74, section IV, of the General Constitution, since our constitutional design deposits exclusively in that Popular Representation the power democratic way of choosing the destination of public resources,” reported the SCJN in a statement.

The provision that empowered the head of the Federal Executive to decide the destination of the public resources generated as a result of the implementation of austerity measures is invalid, for violating the exclusive power of the Chamber of Deputies. pic.twitter.com/GjecLVgL3q

– Supreme Court (@SCJN) April 5, 2022

The issue came to the SCJN as a result of an action of unconstitutionality promoted by senators and senators.

Just this Monday, the SCJN invalidated a rule, promoted by López Obrador and Morena, which forced former officials to have to wait 10 years to occupy positions in the private sector.

This Tuesday morning, in his daily press conference, President López Obrador considered that this resolution of the SCJN is “an aberration”.