Mexico’s President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador
prioritizes seven projects for marginalized areas in the National territory , to which he will destine an investment of 500,000 million pesos at the beginning of his 6-year term .
At a press conference, in company of his soon-to-be Secretary of Finance Carlos Urzúa and who shall serve as his Undersecretary of Expenditure, Gerardo Esquivel , the President-elect enlisted his most pressing projects: The consultation and verdict of the New Mexico City International Airport (NAIM) , the Isthmus of Tehuantepec project to connect Asian countries with the United States ’ east coast, the Mayan fast train from Cancun to Palenque , and the construction of 300 rural roads in the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca to generate 50,000 jobs .
In addition to these projects, López Obrador intends to extend internet access to a larger percentage of Mexicans and keep an online record of the investment for reconstruction and damage repairs after the earthquakes of 2017 , as well as a support programme for people living in marginalized areas.
At a meeting with his financial, tourism, environment, communications, and transports team, it was decided that the Expenditure Burget of the Nation (PEF) 2019 would destine 500,000 million pesos to finance priority programs.
“These resources will be pooled together with savings obtained from wage cuts for high officials. The government will be austere, with consolidated purchases,” he explained.
In the following months, the president-elect will decide on the number of beneficiaries, resource availability and allocation in the PEF 2019. He emphasized that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the border region were a top priority.
As for the reconstruction of communities affected by last year’s earthquakes, López Obrador has repeatedly criticized the current administration for handling the situation in an extremely inefficient way, which is why “it will be up to us to carry out the reconstruction program while taking into account what has already been accomplished and reviewing previous reports on the resources invested.”
He mentioned that the reconstruction would be made with public funds and that there would be no need to apply for credits, since this would only increase public debt.
With regard to the construction of 300 rural concrete roads , he stressed that he would conduct a labor-intensive operation in order to generate 50,000 jobs, specially in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero , where most municipalities don’t have proper roads leading to municipal centers.
According to the leftist politician from Tabasco, only 25% of the population in marginalized areas have internet access, which is why he intends to expand its availability.
López Obrador claimed that he would avoid at all costs to increase the national debt , which has already risen to 10,000 million pesos due to President Enrique Peña Nieto ’s reckless administration.
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