Morena Slashes Election Agency's Cash Before 2027 Vote

Mexico's lower house just took about 6 billion pesos, roughly US$320 million, out of the budget of the agency that runs the country's elections. The Chamber of Deputies passed the 2027 spending plan by 352 votes to 130 after a session of nearly 20 hours. The total comes to about 10.64 trillion pesos. The National Electoral Institute, known as INE, will run the 2027 vote with far less than it asked for.

Who Has the Power

The budget committee first proposed cutting 5 billion pesos. Then it added another 1 billion at the request of lawmakers from Morena, the governing party, and its ally the Labor Party (PT). The committee approved its draft by 30 votes to 13. The PAN and the PRI voted against. INE had asked for about 47 billion pesos, a figure that included money for political parties. After the knife, it keeps about 36 billion pesos, though reports differ on the final number, from about 35 billion to 37 billion.

President Claudia Sheinbaum had called INE's request excessive on 5 August. On Wednesday 11 November 2026 she said that, from the government's point of view, the 2027 elections are guaranteed as far as the budget goes. The Commission on Budget and Public Account argued the new amount would let INE organize the 2026-2027 concurrent federal electoral process and preserve party prerogatives. Deputies defended the adjustment on the argument that it would not affect INE's operation. INE had not publicly responded to the final figure.

Who Gets Crushed

The people who will feel this are the ones who actually make an election happen. INE trains poll workers, runs the voter registry and installs polling stations. It must organize a vote on Sunday 6 June 2027 that renews all 500 federal deputies and 17 governorships, with more than 19,000 local posts in play. Staff in the agency's service modules are already demanding better working conditions. Electoral councillor Carla Humphrey said the priority now is to guarantee the 6 June vote and attend to those conditions, with polling stations installed on the day. The General Council will launch an institutional review once the Chamber notifies it, to figure out how to do the work despite the reduction. The Rio Times says it has not seen INE's own statement on which activities will be dropped.

None of that was decided by the people who staff the modules. Part of the money cut from INE was moved to other programmes, among them education, the search for disappeared persons, services for women, the environment, aviation, early childhood and tourism.

What They're Calling "Order"

The cut lands while INE is led by an interim council president, Blanca Cruz. Guadalupe Taddei resigned as head of the agency on 26 October, about two weeks ago as of 12 November 2026. Infobae reports a corruption scandal involving suppliers who allegedly obtained contracts irregularly through shell companies, invoice mills and subcontracting schemes. The federal anticorruption ministry is investigating INE contracts worth over 2,600 million pesos and has flagged possible simulated competition. Liability has not been determined. Earlier reports followed the freezing of 40 election supplier accounts.

INE's answer is more paperwork. Under Agreement INE/CG728/2026, approved on 5 November, public tender becomes the rule and direct award the exception. A technical working group will tighten rules for 2026-2029, and staff must report conflicts of interest and refuse undue benefits.

Edmundo Jacobo Molina, former executive secretary of INE, rejected the claim that corruption began before Taddei. He asked Sheinbaum and Morena to take responsibility for the condition in which, he said, they are leaving the institution after three years. "No me voy a esconder como Guadalupe Taddei. Aquí estoy y aquí voy a seguir," he said.

The Trap of the Ballot Box

Polymarket priced Morena at 89.0% to win the legislative election at 1:12 a.m. ET on 12 November, with PAN at 5.0%, PRI at 2.5% and Citizens' Movement at 2.4%. The governing party trims the budget of the body that counts its votes, and the market already knows who wins.

INE keeps registration open until 7 December for electoral supervisors and assistant trainers. Applicants need a birth certificate or naturalization letter, a valid voter credential, proof of address, proof of studies, RFC and CURP, and must not belong to political parties. Ordinary people will do the work of staging the vote, as always.