1. Irma Eréndira leaves the SFP due to administrative adjustments

President López Obrador replaced Irma Eréndira Sandoval Ballesteros with Roberto Salcedo Aquino as the head of the Secretariat of the Civil Service (SFP). The president indicated that he invited Salcedo Aquino to join his cabinet because he is “an honest man,” in line with his policy of zero impunity. He added that he will carry out an administrative reform to maintain an austere government that does not tolerate corruption at any level.

The president thanked Sandoval for her support in the fight against corruption as well as for applying his republican austerity policy. Roberto Salcedo previously served as the Undersecretary of Oversight and the Fight against Corruption, and asserted that he will continue to work with the same efficiency as Sandoval did.

El Financiero: Adiós a Irma Eréndira Sandoval: AMLO anuncia que la sustituye en Función Pública por Roberto Salcedo.
El Economista: López Obrador quita a Irma Eréndira Sandoval de la Función Pública; la reemplaza con Roberto Salcedo.

2. Omnibus tax bill should include spending issues

Following the announcement of the omnibus tax bill for 2022, analysts indicated that the administration is missing the opportunity to approve a comprehensive tax reform that correctly addresses the needs that exist in the Mexican tax system. Similarly, by focusing on revenues, spending is put aside, which could be more efficiently allocated to generate jobs and growth in investment that, in turn, could spur greater economic growth.

The Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) announced that it will explain to Rogelio Ramírez de la O, the next head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), that the tax reform should include an approach to increase tax collection and reduce informality. Carlos Salazar, President of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), indicated that they will propose various ways to facilitate compliance with tax obligations, especially for micro, small and medium-sized companies.

El Economista: AMLO perderá la oportunidad de aprobar una reforma fiscal integral: analistas.
El Financiero: Reforma fiscal debe incluir combate a la informalidad, pide la IP.

3. Metro Line 12 will be back in operation in less than a year

A few days after the release of the results of DNV’s first report on the causes of the accident on Line 12 of the subway, President López Obrador, Claudia Sheinbaum, Head of Government of Mexico City, and businessman Carlos Slim, met in the National Palace.

The President declared that Slim, who owns Grupo Carso, one of the companies in charge of the construction of said line, has the will to rehabilitate Line 12 as soon as possible. In addition, he asserted that it will be operating again, at the latest, in a year and that its rehabilitation project is an initiative of the Head of Government of Mexico City, supported by his administration.

El Universal: AMLO será el único en informar sobre acuerdos de la línea 12: Sheinbaum.
Milenio: A más tardar en un año estará operando la Línea 12 del metro de la CDMX, dice AMLO.

4. Mexico-U.S. relationship: border and USMCA

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the extension of non-essential travel restrictions to Mexico until July 21 with the aim of reducing the spread of COVID-19. Access will only be allowed for work or business reasons. The announcement was made following a meeting between U.S. National Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard, where they agreed to accelerate the rate of vaccination at the border to help reactivate the economy.

On the other hand, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Office of the Trade Representative detailing two irregularities in the enforcement of Chapter 23 of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The first indicates that any action carried out before the publication of the final procedural regulations of the labor chapter of the USMCA would be inappropriate and unfair for defendant companies. The second indicates that the labor complaints filed under the labor mechanism are based on scenarios prior to the entry into force of the agreement.

El Financiero: EU y México extienden restricciones en la frontera a viajes no esenciales hasta 21 de julio y Cámara de Comercio de EU detecta dos irregularidades de México en materia laboral.

5. President meets with Morena governors-elect

President López Obrador received the 11 newly elected governors from his Morena party. David Monreal, elected in Zacatecas, indicated that the meeting was an opportunity to propose to the solutions to problems in each state, such as insecurity and violence. The president indicated that Samuel García, elected in Nuevo León, and Mauricio Kuri, elected in Querétaro, have already requested a meeting with him.

For their part, the PAN, PRI, and PRD, either in alliance or individually, have presented annulment appeals for the governor’s elections before the local Electoral Courts of Campeche, Chihuahua, Tlaxcala, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Michoacán, Colima and Guerrero. Among the reasons for contesting the results are having exceeded the campaign spending cap, omission of advertising reports, and the fact that the election was “atypical” in some regions of the states.

Expansión: AMLO se reúne con los 11 gobernadores electos de Morena.
El Economista: Impugnan 8 resultados de gubernaturas.