Mexican citizens living in Jalisco will be asked to vote in a referendum on whether the state should remain in the “Pacto Fiscal,” a four-decade-old measure in which sales taxes from Mexico’s 32 states are put into a fund, supposedly to be redistributed more “equitably” by the federal government.
Governor Enrique Alfaro has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the pact, arguing that Jalisco is getting a “raw deal” from the measure, and even suggesting that the state is being “punished” for criticizing the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The vote will be held at the end of November. Alfaro defended the referendum’s estimated 22-million-peso cost, stressing that “billions and billions of pesos for Jalisco are at stake.”
Children over the age of seven will be able to participate in the consultation, but only the votes of people aged over 18 will be valid.
The question that will be asked of Jalisco voters is:
“Do you agree that the terms of fiscal coordination and the way in which the Federation distributes taxes is reviewed every six years, so that Jalisco can decide if it (wishes) to remain or leave the fiscal pact?”