Federal funds allocated for Jalisco in 2021 will shrink by 4.6 percent, a move that represents “a harsh blow” for this state, Governor Enrique Alfaro said.
Although some sources suggest the cuts are closer to three percent, the austere federal budget announced last week reflects the entrenched position of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that spending must be tightly controlled, and debt avoided, despite the damage the Mexican economy has endured as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
By failing to provide funding for infrastructure projects such as Guadalajara’s fourth Tren Ligero line, or highway maintenance, the federal government “missed an opportunity to regenerate Jalisco’s economy,” Alfaro charged.
Federal contributions for Jalisco’s health and public security have also been cut in the budget, the state government says.
Alfaro accused federal authorities of showing “deep contempt for the states and municipalities.”
Rubén González Uyeda, coordinator of Jalisco’s Industrial Chambers, said he was confident that federal legislators will rectify the anomalies before rubber stamping the president’s budget.