LatinNews Daily - 29 May 2024

*Opposition lawmakers in Mexico have initiated a constitutional challenge against the reform that created the Fondo de Pensiones para el Bienestar (Welfare Pension Fund). Representatives from the centrist Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), the right-wing Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), and the leftist Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) – the three parties making up the opposition Fuerza y Corazón por México coalition – filed the complaint before the supreme court (SCJN) on 28 May, arguing that the reform, which reallocates funds from inactive retirement accounts to the new pension fund, violates private property rights. The reform, passed by the ruling majority in congress in April and hailed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador as being pro-worker, aims to increase payouts to low earners and ensure that workers receive 100% of their final salary during retirement up to M$16,777 (about US$1,000) a month. In a press conference, opposition leaders expressed confidence that the SCJN will rule in favour of protecting citizens’ rights and highlighted the urgent need to address pension issues without compromising individual savings. The PRI’s coordinator in the lower chamber, Rubén Moreira, and the PAN’s coordinator in the lower chamber, Jorge Romero, emphasised that the challenge seeks to prevent the government from seizing funds without notification or legal justification. They also raised concerns about the lack of transparency and potential misuse of the fund.