In recent days, the Chamber of Deputies approved the Federal Expenditure Budget (PEF) for 2022. From what INE originally requested, deputies cut approximately 4.913 billion pesos, which is almost 20 per cent of the original figure. This is particularly relevant in a year in which the recall vote is likely to take place for the first time. The electoral arbiter required 3,830 million 448,91 pesos specifically for the organisation of such an exercise, but the Chamber of Deputies approved only 830 million 573,799 pesos. In other words, the Chamber of Deputies granted only 21.7 per cent of what INE requested.
This budget cut to INE has generated a lot of controversy. On the one hand, electoral councillors have stated that the organisation of the recall election is in question. On the other hand, the President of the Republic and his party have called for a reduction in the salaries of the Institute's officials so that the money can be used for the process.https://5c275c5a5c51c5f1e51c98c8f045c35f.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
However, is it true that a reduction in the salaries of the electoral councillors would be enough to organise a popular consultation such as the one that INE is obliged by law to carry out? The answer is no. According to public figures, the 11 INE councillors receive a monthly gross salary of 262,634 pesos, so even if they were to give up their entire salary for the whole of 2022, INE would have a reduction of 34 million 667,668 pesos. Thus, the waiver of all the councillors' salaries would amount to only 0.9 percent of what INE originally requested.
However, the Federal Law on the Revocation of Mandate (LFRM) establishes that INE must install the same number of polling stations as on the previous Election Day, taking into account the corresponding update of the nominal list. In other words, according to the election day that took place on 6 June, at least 160,000 polling stations should be installed in the recall vote.
