It's the elections, stupid: 55% rise in social spending proposed in Mexico State

For a state that still holds the highest number of people in poverty - seven million - that Mexico State should want to increase its social spending should on the surface be good news - hadn't it been for the timing and unprecedented jump in the suggested spending for next year's budget, which strongly hints at naked electioneering: In 2011, the successor to itting Governor Enrique Peña Nieto will be elected. What better way to buy some support than to crank up social spending 55 (!) percent?

Raúl Murrieta Cummings, Peña Nieto's secretary of finanze, handed over the proposed fiscal package for 2011 to the state congress that includes a whopping 55 percent jump, from 2 to 3 billion pesos, in social spending. 

Also of note: The state Electoral Institute (IEEM), on which the Ley Peña drastically reduced the representation of opposition parties - while before all parties participating in a coalition would have their own representative, now they will only have one for the entire coalition - has been proposed a budget of 1.637 million pesos - a 224 percent jump from the current year. 

Also of note: Of the recently approved federal budget, Mexico State will receive 118.441 billion pesos. Mexico State will only bring in 15.563 billion of their own money, or 12.8 of their total budget. It is quite stunning that despite the diversification in Mexico State's economy, more than 87% of its income still come from the federal government. 

There are persistent rumors of a massive budget hole cover-up in Mexico State; should the opposition against all odds win against the PRI candidate in 2011, we might be in for some interesting reading on how much and where Peña Nieto spent the state's money.