Mexico City.- With 71 votes in favor, 36 against, and two abstentions, the Senate of the Republic approved the reform to the Infonavit Law on February 13. This initiative will allow the government to access workers' resources to allocate them to housing construction.
With the approval of the reform, Infonavit will be able to build up to 500,000 homes. Additionally, it grants the Board of Directors the authority to annually approve the investment budget in this area.
El Senado de la República aprobó la Ley del Infonavit
Furthermore, within 30 days of its publication, Infonavit must consolidate a subsidiary construction company to carry out the housing projects.
Opposition: "It's the robbery of the century"
PAN Senator Karen Michel González described the reform as an "unprecedented plunder," claiming it is "a bigger heist than Segalmex."
"Morena is about to commit the robbery of the century. They are going to steal the money you have saved in Infonavit to buy a house," stated Senator Lilly Téllez.
La senadora panista Lilly Tellez
The opposition argues that the government will "expropriate" workers' money to build homes and then rent them out, without the consent of the beneficiaries.
They also warn that the creation of a subsidiary company within Infonavit will facilitate the discretionary management of resources, without oversight or accountability.
Another state business failure
The history of poorly managed state companies concerns opposition senators. They cite Segalmex as an example, a state food distribution company that recorded a shortfall of more than 15 billion pesos.
La Megafarmacia del Bienestar, sin medicamentos.
Another case is the Megafarmacia del Bienestar, created by the government to combat the shortage of medicines. However, it only fills 2.7 prescriptions daily due to a lack of supplies.
They also mention Pemex, considered the most indebted oil company in the world, and the Maya Train, a megaproject that so far generates only 1% in revenue and is unlikely to recover the initial investment.
Viviendas particulares en Ciudad de México
An uncertain future
The reform was approved without considering the opposition's proposed amendments. This has raised doubts about its effectiveness and transparency.
With the history of state company management, many question whether this new project will truly benefit the workers or end up being another financial failure.
