Meade calls for dialogue to adjust spending and help earthquake victims

The secretary of the Treasury offered to accompany federal lawmakers in the necessary adjustments to the economic package for 2018, said that the economic reality of the country and the needs of Mexicans - after earthquakes and hurricanes - has changed.

Finance Secretary Jose Antonio Meade offered to accompany federal lawmakers in the necessary adjustments to the economic package for 2018, saying that the economic reality of the country and the needs of Mexicans - after earthquakes and hurricanes - has changed.

"Since we introduced the package, the environment has changed. Nature crashes have left their presence felt causing serious damage. Earthquakes and hurricanes have fractured families and destroyed wealth. This presents us with the challenge of working together so that the many Mexicans who wake up with hope, but without the certainty of what tomorrow will bring, can re-create their lives. "

It is expected that during the discussion of the PPEF 2018 the resources allocated to the Natural Disaster Fund (Fonden) could be increased.

When she appeared before the full Chamber of Deputies, Meade recognized the youth, women and men, soldiers, sailors and policemen, doctors and nurses, brigadistas and volunteers who participated in the search and rescue of people who were trapped under the rubble of buildings and collapsed housing.

For this reason, the Secretary of the Treasury offered the federal deputies accompaniment to elaborate and modify the draft Budget of Expenditures of the Federation for 2018.

"As on other occasions, I would like to reiterate the willingness to accompany the process of analysis of this sovereignty to give the economic package relevance and validity in 2018. Remember that beyond numbers and projections, there are faces and lives that are waiting for relief," he said. .

In his first presentation to the House plenary, the official said that the country's "fiscal architecture" today allows "mitigating the effects and responding to the presence of natural disasters."

He affirmed that this will not be the first time that the analysis of the economic package demands adjustments, because he said that also was demanded in the past after the hurricanes Wilma; Stan; Jimena; Alex; Ingrid and Manuel.

Economy grows despite the environment

Secretary Jose Antonio Meade said that despite the unfavorable environment, Mexico grows because it has "balanced, resilient growth and whose benefits reach a greater number of Mexicans."

He said that during the current administration there was a reduction in oil production, which is beginning to stabilize, he said.

"Our economy accumulates 30 consecutive quarters of positive growth. In the last decade, our economy has managed to grow 22 percent. If we consider the lowest point after the crisis of 2008, today the economy is 29% larger. The expectation of growth at the end of 2017 is now more than 30% higher than it was at the beginning of the year, "he said.

José Antonio Meade said that the country has shown an increase in job creation, since in the last five years, 3 million jobs have been created.

He added that in the first eight months of 2017, the amount of exports grew 10.1 percent per annum, and debt ratings are preserved high and its outlook is now more stable.

In terms of fighting poverty, the official said that, "today are 2.2 million less than the beginning of administration."

"We have focused spending on programs that have been shown to contribute to poverty reduction. In 2015, 4 out of 10 pesos of social spending went to priority programs; today the proposal is to allocate 7 of each 10 pesos, "he argued.

He asserted that, at the beginning of the current administration, of every 100 pesos of public revenue, almost 40 came from oil, and today there are only 16.

He said that almost 1 in 3 taxpayers joined the tax scheme, and there are already 18 million new taxpayers.

"Mexico is the country of the OECD that has increased its tax collection as a percentage of GDP since 2012. The percentage of debt to tax revenues is 20% lower than 5 years ago," he said.

Finally, he said that the economic package of this year will allow a primary surplus, and by the end of the year the debt will be 48% of GDP.