Sheinbaum’s scalpel: fewer councilors and doors closed to the family
President Claudia Sheinbaum sent her so-called “Plan B” to the Senate, a reform of constitutional article 115. Its stated objective is to make the municipal structure lighter and put a lock on political dynasties.
The play? Reduce councilors to only 15 in the more than 2,500 municipalities in the country. And by the way, drive a stake against nepotism: relatives of acting mayors will not be able to aspire to the same position immediately.
The details that matter (and those that are left silent)
The initiative says that each town council will be made up of a municipal president, a trustee and seven to fifteen councilors. Fewer jobs, supposedly less spending.
But the juicy thing is in the fine print against compadrazgo. It is prohibited to participate if you have a close family relationship with the person who already holds the position. This includes marriage, concubinage, relationship by blood or affinity.
“In no case may participate… the person who has or has had in the last three years… a bond of marriage or cohabitation or de facto union… with the person who is holding the position”
Sounds good, right? A direct blow to local political sagas where the last name is a requirement. The obligatory question for any cynical prosecutor: and how is this going to be monitored in the thousands of municipalities where the electoral roll is a joke?
The other leg: state legislatures
The plan also targets local congresses. It proposes that its annual budget not exceed 0.70% of the state’s total spending. And here comes another nail: prohibits the immediate re-election of local deputies.
An owner cannot be a substitute for the next period, and vice versa. The same anti-family rule applies: no close relative of the current deputy can run for that seat.
It is a reform that smacks of major surgery against local chiefdoms. Sheinbaum, with his history in the capital, seems to want to export a more austere and, in theory, more transparent management model.
But we already know how these stories end in this country. The best laws drown in the sea of local impunity and narrow loyalties stronger than any penal code. We’ll see if this “Plan B” is a scalpel or just another hammer for the same worn-out nail.
