Mexico. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that his government is working on a project that seeks to suppress some autonomous organs of the State, among which are the Federal Institute of Telecommunications, IFT.
The IFT was created in 2013 after a constitutional reform in the field of communications, after collecting national agreements and suggestions from international organizations. Its management and structure have been internationally recognized for their autonomy for the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors.
That is why the intention to eliminate it and be absorbed by the Secretariat of Telecommunications, has generated in the country voices against the project. The Institute itself pointed out that it has established itself as "an institution not only independent of both political bodies and regulated entities, but also specialized and professional, capable of issuing cutting-edge regulation on the basis of disciplines or technical rationalities."
The IFT communication highlights that "To disappear or undermine the autonomy of the Autonomous Constitutional Bodies, such as the IFT, is to weaken the Mexican State, its specialization and technical rigor. It also represents a setback in the construction of democracy in our country. Additionally, it must be considered that any change in this regard would imply reforms both at the constitutional level and in the same Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), in which the independence of the telecommunications regulator was agreed by the Mexican State in its chapter 18. This establishes the autonomy that this regulatory body must have vis-à-vis the Executive Branch."
We will have to wait for the final decision that the Mexican government will make regarding the IFT.
