President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo described as offensive the million-peso pensions received by former officials from the neoliberal period at Pemex and the now-defunct Luz y Fuerza del Centro in Liquidation (LyFCL). She announced that a constitutional reform is being considered to establish fair amounts and prevent abuses of public funds.
During her morning press conference, the president noted that some former employees receive up to one million pesos per month, surpassing even the net salary of the head of the Federal Executive. She indicated that those currently receiving such pensions may voluntarily approach the Secretariat of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance to reach an agreement and accept more modest amounts.
Raquel Buenrostro Sánchez, Secretary of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance, reported that LyFCL allocates 28.07 billion pesos annually to a registry of 14,073 former workers; of these, 9,457 (67%) receive between 100,000 and one million pesos, and 3,504 earn more than the president. In Pemex, 24.84 billion pesos are spent annually on 22,316 retirees, 544 of whom earn more than the head of the Executive, and 618 exceed even the salary of Pemex’s general director.
In response, inter-institutional working groups have been set up with the Office of the Legal Counsel to the Executive, IMSS, ISSSTE, INDEP, Pemex, CFE, and the Ministry of Finance to review the legality of these pensions. In addition, authorities announced the standardization of registries, agreements with civil registries and Renapo, and new regulations on survival proof requirements to improve transparency in retirement records.
At the same time, Secretary Buenrostro stated that the Government of Mexico maintains zero tolerance for impunity in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice against two former Pemex officials. She explained that one of them, Mario Alberto Ávila Lizárraga, had already been disqualified in past administrations for favoring Oceanografía contracts, and that the current administration had launched audits and canceled irregular contracts since 2020.
