President López Obrador announced today that all government social program funds will be delivered directly to beneficiaries to avoid theft.

“No [financial] support will be given to any social organization, civil society or non-governmental organization. Resources for the benefit of the people won’t be transferred through intermediaries. It will all be direct, from the federal treasury to the beneficiary,” the president told reporters at his morning press conference.

“With this we’re going to generate savings of 30% because it’s proven that the full support didn’t get [to beneficiaries]. We have proof.”

The president charged that social program funds were given to civil organizations that used the money to pay staff and rent office space, among other expenses, resulting in some or all of the resources not getting to the intended beneficiaries, such as senior citizens.

López Obrador also said it had come to light that daycare centers had illegally diverted resources they received from the federal government. As a result, their funding will be cut and the money distributed directly to parents.

“There are around 300,000 children enrolled in daycare centers, and it was found that there are doctored reports [that inflate enrollment numbers] . . . and other kinds of irregularities,” López Obrador said.

He explained that parents will be given 1,600 pesos (US $85) every two months for each child in daycare. The bimonthly outlay for the government will be 480 million pesos (US $25.1 million).

“All children at daycare centers will be protected. Direct support will be given to the mothers and fathers, not to the daycare centers . . .” López Obrador said.

The president explained that parents could choose to remove their children from daycare and instead give the money to relatives to look after their offspring.

“Grandfathers and grandmothers can help single mothers, let them get help from their parents to look after their children, that’s family . . .” López Obrador said.

The president also said that the government’s “well-being census” will soon be completed, adding that it has already identified 25 million people who will receive financial aid. The beneficiaries will be issued with a personalized card with which they will be able to access government funds.

Federal Treasurer Galia Borja Gómez said that 300 billion pesos (US $15.7 billion) has been allocated to fund social programs this year.

Source: El Economista (sp), El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)