Mexico City – From the Treasury room of the National Palace, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) on Monday announced that the verification for automobiles established by NOM-236 SE 2021 will not be carried out at a cost of 900 pesos, because his government is not going to “pickpocket the people”.
On May 3, the Ministry of Economy published NOM-236 SE 2021, a new inspection requirement for light vehicles over four years old that would include things such as their bodywork, seatbelts, lights, brakes, wheel alignment, suspension and engine, and was set to take effect in November.
The new regulations followed international standards developed to promote road safety in the interest of public health, but AMLO rejected it due to the cost to motorists, saying that the requirement announced by the SE would have to be reviewed.
“I had no knowledge [about it]. There are decisions taken by the ministries without consultation,” he said.
Referring to his intention to scrap the planned inspection requirement, the president said his government wouldn’t “pick people’s pockets” as its predecessors did.
“Now we’re making sure that everything that is detrimental to people’s finances is discussed. The government was a mess before because each ministry did what it thought was its role or responsibility [without discussion],” López Obrador said.
“We’re in a processes of change, of transition. We’ve made a lot of progress, but we still have some technocratic conservative thinking [in the bureaucracy] that we have to put to one side, not by imposing [our way of thinking] but by persuading, convincing … Establishing this new form of government takes time … we have to educate the public servants,” he added.
The rising cost of living is a major concern for the president, with inflation hitting a two-decade high of 7.68% in April. He said late last month that his main concern as president was to control inflation because of the impact it has on family budgets.
Sources: Diario El Mundo • Reporte Indigo
