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Mexico

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 120 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

35

Budget Oversight

59

Transparency

82

Open Budget Survey 2019

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – affect how equal a society is and the well-being of its people, including whether the most disadvantaged will have real opportunities for a better life. It is critical that governments inform and engage the public on these vital decisions that impact their lives.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions such as the legislature and auditor in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 7th edition of the OBS covers 117 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 232.56 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 1.37 MB
82 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in Mexico compared to others

Global Average
45
OECD Average
66
Mexico
82
Dominican Republic
75
Guatemala
65
Honduras
59
Costa Rica
57
El Salvador
46
Jamaica
42
Nicaragua
41
Trinidad and Tobago
30
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Mexico’s ranking: 4 of 117 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Mexico changed over time?

52
2010
61
2012
66
2015
79
2017
82
2019
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in Mexico

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2010 2012 2015 2017 2019
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that Mexico makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
Scroll
Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2019 78
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2019 81
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2018 95
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2019 83
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2018 100
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2018 74
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2017 81
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2016 67

Mexico’s transparency score of 82 in the OBS 2019 is near its score in 2017.

What changed in OBS 2019?

Mexico has increased the availability of budget information by:

Increasing the information provided in the Mid-Year Review.

Recommendations

Mexico should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Increase information on fiscal risk in its Executive’s Budget Proposal.
35 /100

Transparency alone is insufficient for improving governance. Inclusive public participation is crucial for realizing the positive outcomes associated with greater budget transparency.

The OBS also assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

Mexico has a public participation score of 35 (out of 100).

Public participation in Mexico compared to others

Global Average
14
OECD Average
22
Mexico
35
Guatemala
35
Dominican Republic
31
Honduras
17
El Salvador
13
Costa Rica
9
Jamaica
7
Nicaragua
7
Trinidad and Tobago
7
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

For more information, see here for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

20
/100
Formulation
(executive)
33
/100
Approval
(legislature)
67
/100
Implementation
(executive)
33
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Mexico's Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público  has established public consultations during budget formulation and e-consultations during budget implementation but, to further strengthen public participation in the budget process, should also prioritize the following actions:

Expand mechanisms during budget formulation that engage any civil society organization or member of the public who wishes to participate.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

Mexico's Congreso de la Unión has established public hearings related to the approval of the annual budget, but should also prioritize the following actions:

Allow any member of the public or any civil society organization to testify during its hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.
Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the Audit Report.

Mexico's Auditoría Superior de la Federación has established mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit program. It should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in the budget process:

Establish formal mechanisms for the public to contribute to relevant audit investigations.
59 /100

The OBS also examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The legislature (Congreso) and supreme audit institution (Auditoría Superior de la Federación) in Mexico, together, provide limited oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 59 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
50
100
limited

Audit oversight

0
78
100
adequate
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Mexico's Congreso de la Unión provides adequate oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during the implementation stage. To improve oversight, the following actions should be prioritized:

The legislature should debate budget policy before the Executive’s Budget Proposal is tabled and approve recommendations for the upcoming budget.
A legislative committee (la Comisión de Vigilancia de la Auditoría Superior de la Federación de la Cámara de Diputados) should examine in-year budget implementation and publish reports with their findings online.
In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive shifts funds specified in the Enacted Budget between administrative units; spends any unanticipated revenue; or reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls during the budget year.
A legislative committee (la Comisión de Vigilancia de la Auditoría Superior de la Federación) should examine the Audit Report and publish a report with their findings online.

To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by the Mexico Auditoría Superior de la Federación, the following actions are recommended:

Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

Mexico’s independent fiscal institution (IFI) is the Centro de Estudios de las Finanzas Públicas de la Cámara de Diputados. Its independence is not set in law, and it reports to the legislature. It publishes an assessment of the official macroeconomic and fiscal forecasts produced by the executive.

*The indicators for IFIs are *not* scored

Methodology

  • Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2018 were assessed in the OBS 2019.
     
  • The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:
    Carlos Brown
    FUNDAR - Centro de Análisis e Investigación
    Cda. Alberto Zamora 21, Coyoacán, 04000 Coyoacán, CDMX, México
    [email protected]
  • To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert, and in Mexico by a representative of the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público .

 

Past reports
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Questionnaire EN
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Questionnaire EN
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