Mexico to Spend $2.23M USD in Pensions for Former Presidents; Calderon Next to Join Raul Ponce de Leon Curmina - The Yucatan Times
go to original November 27, 2012

Former Presidents Luis Echeverria Alvarez, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon and Vicente Fox Quesada cost the Mexico Federal Government $2.23 million USD in pensions each year, shortly Felipe Calderon Hinojosa will be added to this list with a pension of $19,000 USD per month, which will increase the country expenditures substantially.

To establish a reference point, the City of Merida receives a Federal yearly budget of 1.7 million USD to operate and to provide all public services to almost half a million inhabitants, compared to the amount spent to support just a handful of people. Former presidents in Mexico receive pension revenues that exceed any former president of Latin America, U.S. and Europe.

Household and maintenance expenses of these four individuals increased with the deployment of a large group of soldiers assigned for the presidential staff as bodyguards, also secretarial support, food and lodging.

This display of public resources spent to maintain the status of each of the former occupants of the presidential seats is viewed by many Mexicans as a lack of respect for Mexicans and some leftist politicians agree.

Although, it is said that Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon declined his right to receive a pension from the Federation approved by the House of Representatives, there is no evidence of this.

The large pension benefits to each of the former presidents also benefits their families, for an average of more than 100 people working for each of them, as gardeners, chefs, maids, drivers, etc,. Such benefits were originated by two presidential agreements enacted by Luis Echeverria in 1976 and Miguel de la Madrid in 1987.

The list keeps growing, more benefits enjoyed by former presidents are: health insurance, housing occupancy in properties that are part of the Mexican state property, free water, free electricity, armored cars, at least three cars for bodyguards, maintenance to the all of their transportation units, car insurance, safety and emission and gasoline among others. All these expenses are paid with treasury funds collected through taxes, i.e. the people’s money.

Regarding air transportation, airline tickets are also under public monies, the use of telephone service are free of charge for Luis Echeveria, Carlos Salinas de Gortari (also it would be for Ernesto Zedillo), Vicente Fox and thus it will also be for Felipe Calderón.

Such imbalance between the pension revenues of former presidents and the average income of workers in Mexico, have led to various initiatives in Congress to limit these privileges.

Recently, it was proposed that former presidents must join as faculty or research members at any public university in Mexico, preferably in the field where they can offer the greatest benefit to education, society and national development, being explicitly prohibited to incorporate their party preferences and militancy in their teaching.

In the proposal presented on 21 December 2010, the PRD Deputy Jaime Sánchez, commented that such services do not generate salaries for the former presidents, and their only income would be their established pension.

The pensions would last a period of three years, after that they could work or collaborate for private companies, Mexican or foreign institutions.

If this initiative is approved, the former presidents could generate their own economical resources and the amount of their pension will be reduced by 60 percent, this would also include secretarial support and security staff, the suspension of major medical insurance as well as life insurance.

These proposals have not been approved or reviewed by the previous legislation, if so, they would represent significant savings for Mexicans, that could be redirected to the people and indigenous cultures most in need of these funds i.e. minimum wage increases, tax cuts, etc.

Source: La Jornada

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