At the morning conference on January 7, 2021, the President of the Mexican Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, stated his intention to present a reform initiative to eliminate several autonomous agencies, including the Federal Telecommunications Institute (“IFT”) and the National Institute of Access to Public Information, in order to reduce public spending.
With respect to the possible disappearance of the IFT, the President mentioned that the functions currently performed by the IFT could be absorbed by the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (“SCT”) and openly questioned the actions and results of the IFT, accusing the commissioners of being “closely linked” to the preponderant and foreign companies. The President finally indicated his intention to present in February an initiative to eliminate the IFT.
From our perspective, the disappearance of the IFT would imply, in principle, the following:
- An important reform to the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, since it provides for the existence of the IFT, as well as the manner in which it is integrated and its board members are elected, among other things;
- An amendment to the New Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada, since Chapter 18, specifically Article 18.7, provides for the existence of an independent telecommunications regulatory agency; and
- A total reorganization of the SCT to assume the functions and attributions of the IFT, considering that the Sub-Secretariat of Communications and Technological Development recently disappeared.
Notwithstanding the above statements, on December 16, 2020, the President sent to the Permanent Commission of the Congress a request for Sayuri Adriana Koike Quintanar and Laura Elizabeth González Sánchez to be ratified as new commissioners of the IFT, in place of former commissioner Gabriel Contreras and the still commissioner Mario Fromow, who will leave office this year.
