The inadequate decisions on the matter, adopted by López de Santa Anna, were tragically reaped by his successors, who headed governments that could hardly face, with that burden, social demands, let alone establish order or promote conditions of stability. The ineffable legacy put Juárez in severe trouble, which prevented the structuring of public policies that would put the republic on the path of growth.
Without delving further into the national chronicle, we must simply say that the country’s history can be told, narrating the evolution of public debt. In the last third of the last century, the word crisis occupied a stellar place in the life of Mexicans, and it all originated in the inadequate decision-making of public financing, a problem that worsened after the bank nationalization.
The bank bailout, whatever one thinks, finds its origin in the abusive political management of the nationalized banks, given that, for a decade, it served as an irresponsible checkbook to finance all kinds of political adventures. The made-up, but bankrupt banks, were privatized in dilapidated conditions, once again weighing negatively on the treasury, when the deceived buyers threatened to ask for their payment back. When the balance sheets were professionally reviewed, they simply didn’t pass the laugh test.
Today we once again take the reckless and frivolous path of irresponsibly borrowing, putting aside the Constitution, which, after harsh lessons that put the country on the brink of moratorium, today requires that debt contracting be done by identifying the source of payment, with the exception of monetary regulation operations and refinancing operations. The federal government, before the unconditional parliamentary submission, and the lack of professionalism of the Superior Audit of the Federation, has incurred in increasing the liability without complying with the mandate of the constituent. The result, once again, will be devastating.
Editor’s note: Gabriel Reyes is a former federal prosecutor. The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
Consult more information on this and other topics in the Opinion channel