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Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador in Monterrey on October 19, 2018, during his thank you tour to his supporters. REUTERS / Daniel Becerril
Mexico, which has the sad reputation of being one of the most corrupt countries in the world, must wait until December 1 to see its new president elected, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, take the reins of the country. But by then, his transition team is working hard to put in place the first reforms announced throughout the election campaign. And one of the first to emerge is the one concerning the remuneration of civil servants and the head of state. This week, the Official Gazette of the Federation publishes this new law which implies the end of retirement pensions for former presidents of the country.
First measure announced: the decline in the salary of the president. If up to now the head of state earned just over 209,000 Mexican pesos a month, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has decided to cut his salary by half and will only get 108,000 pesos, that is to say little more than 4,700 euros per month.
Moreover, this presidential salary will now be the highest in the civil service as stipulated in the new law on the remuneration of civil servants published on Monday in the Official Journal.
Another big change is the end retirement pensions for former presidents, while until now they received just over 10,000 euros in monthly allowances.
The other major reform aimed at putting an end to questionable practices is the capping of benefits in the event of dismissal or early departure. Allowances that were hitherto negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will henceforth be framed.
This law, published on Monday, could take effect immediately according to lawmakers, but by mutual agreement it seems that it will be applied only from the taking office of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador . A law that is already criticized by the opposition, which considers it poorly drafted and threatens to challenge it.
► (Re) read: Mexico: a new era opens with a Parliament firmly anchored on the left