A bill proposed by the independent lawmaker Pedro Kumamoto to dramatically cut the funding of political parties in Mexico was approved by the Jalisco Congress back in June.
Kumamoto’s bill, “Sin votos no hay dinero” (Without votes, there’s no money), would see funding allocated to parties cut in half and based on the actual results of elections rather than the number of people with an INE (voter credential).
“This means if 50 percent of the electorate vote, the parties are going to receive 50 percent less money,” Kumamoto said after the vote.
With 46 pesos currently allocated for each existing voter credential, political parties received just over four billion pesos ($US221.6 million) in 2015.
“Today, if you vote or not is not important,” Kumamoto said. “You’re still giving the 46 pesos to the political parties. This is perverse, since the system doesn’t generate any incentives for people to vote. Under my formula, people will have a direct say on where the money goes. If you believe in what parties are doing then you will vote and money will be allocated accordingly.”
That Kumamoto is targeting the funding of political parties comes as no surprise. Remarkably, the 27-year-old independent won his Guadalajara congressional district by a landslide in the 2015 state elections with a tiny budget – 242,900 pesos ($US13,630) – that was dwarfed by the spending of the major parties.
Under his new bill, parties would have pocketed 1.8 million pesos in 2015 – 60 percent less than what they actually received.
Federal approval
Despite the bill passing through the Jalisco legislature with relative ease, it must be ratified by the federal Congress, since funding of political parties is directly addressed in the Mexican Constitution.
While Jalisco’s Congress is much less partisan nowadays thanks to the emergence of figures such as Kumamoto, the federal Camara de Diputados remains as sectarian as ever, and the effort to pass a bill threatening parties’ funding would need to be herculean.
A complication is that the PVEM (Partido Verde Ecologista) recently requested that the Supreme Court review the constitutionality of the reform passed in Jalisco. This move is perceived to be a stalling tactic by one of the PRI’s closest allies and might scuttle the reform given the tight congressional timetable.
“The Supreme Court will most likely rule the reform unconstitutional,” explained Daniela Carvajal, a lawyer and founder of POLITIFY, a humoristic political website. “A vote could only happen after the Supreme Court’s ruling and it would also have to happen before the electoral process starts in October.”
Nonetheless, Kumamoto remains optimistic. For starters, his bill is widely popular, not only in Jalisco but nationwide. Support has risen in almost every state, he has confirmed.
“We will not stop pushing. We are 120 organizations from 27 states, and the goal is to pursue other avenues as well,” he said.
The timing of the bill is also important, with the presidential election – as well as many state and local contests – looming in July 2018.
“The political value of such proposals must not be underestimated as elections approach. Citizens want a major change in the way the country is being run and attacking the funding of the establishment represents one of many the changes they’ve been waiting for,” Carvajal said.
Although support has gradually risen among some political parties, the efforts of the PRI and its allies, who posses a comfortable majority in both federal houses, could ultimately end Kumamoto’s dream for reform.