KEYPOINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE

with the local police is fundamental to fight crime. He criticized the position of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation in declaring unconstitutional the transfer of the National Guard to SEDENA, pointing out that its decision was based on conservatism and politicking.

taxes for gold and silver extraction, resulting in the period where the most gold and silver has been extracted from Mexico. Concessions granted in public-private partnerships to hospitals are being studied, and the payment of tariffs for gas pipelines and private prisons was reduced, which represented a savings of 10 billion pesos. We are also continuing to review issues related to the electricity and oil industries.

Security

• Violence in Guerrero: The President mentioned that the construction of barracks for the National Guard is important to occupy territories where local security forces are not present and assured that 280 of the 500 that are intended to be built have already been completed. He emphasized that the National Guard and the Army are present in all regions of the country, and that their collaboration

• Transfer of the National Guard to the Ministry of Security: The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) declared unconstitutional the transfer of the National Guard to the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA), which was criticized by President Lopez Obrador as a decision based on political criteria. The President announced that he will not abide by the ruling until January 2024 and that he will increase the salaries of National Guard agents to avoid their desertion. He also announced that he will present a new constitutional reform in September 2024 to consolidate the changes sought within the National Guard. The President highlighted the problems of corruption in the Federal Police, which would justify his decision to keep the National Guard under the control of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC).

• Supreme Court Ruling and the National Guard: The President accused eight ministers of the Court of acting politically against the interest of the people, after they rejected the transfer of the National Guard to SEDENA. The President stated that he trusts that the Congress that will be integrated in September 2024 will have a qualified majority with legislators linked to the Fourth Transformation and will present a constitutional reform initiative to insist that the National Guard will depend on SEDENA. The President informed that he would keep David Cordova Campos as commander of the National Guard and that the military will maintain their salaries, as public safety is a government priority.