Plenty of complaints but no action

Most of the complaints, 260, were filed between March 2014 and September 2016.

The ASF’s list has the state of Veracruz at the top with 56 complaints, 53 of which correspond to the administration of its governor-on-leave and on-the-run, Javier Duarte.

The ASF oversees more than just the financial performance of state governors. Since its creation in 2000, it has filed a total of 723 complaints against federal government secretariats, parastatal organizations and decentralized government agencies, as well as individuals who have been allocated federal funds by Congress.

Last week, the head of the ASF was critical of the Attorney General’s office (PGR) for its lack of action regarding financial issues in Veracruz. Chief auditor Juan Manuel Portal complained that his office had revealed the mismanagement of resources in the Duarte administration but the PGR ignored the reports and did nothing.

He told the newspaper Milenio that similar cases occurred with the states of Michoacán, Jalisco and the State of México.

“It was clear what we found in Veracruz, but nothing was done in response. We’ve been filing complaints since 2014 . . . and will continue to do so,” said Portal.

The chief auditor lamented that the number of public prosecutors isn’t enough to deal with the over 8,000 observations and reports his office issues every year.

Portal also said that authorities should go after all public officials accused of committing acts of corruption.

ALSO FROM MEXICO NEWS DAILY

 Durango joins states under the microscope

 Former Durango governor Jorge Herrera Caldera joins Javier Duarte of Veracruz, César Duarte of Chihuahua and Roberto Borge of Quintana Roo, all of whom have been accused of mismanaging public funds, putting the states’ financial records under the microscope of the Federal Auditor’s office (ASF).

The probe into the possible embezzlement of state funds by Herrera’s administration has already resulted in the detection of irregularities involving more than 4 billion pesos (just under US $200 million). Also during the governor’s six-year term the state’s debt increased by 224%, bringing the total owed to more than 15 billion pesos.

The budget allocations affected by Herrera’s alleged mismanagement include key sectors such as health, explained the ASF. Between 2011 and 2014, payments reported as doctors’ salaries were received by people who were not in fact doctors.

Diversion of resources and under-spending were also common practice, along with murky bidding processes, poor control over the purchase of medications and event management, and unexplained delays in transferring resources.

The practices often led to poor medical care because the state’s hospitals often reported shortages in medical supplies and drugs.

Resources allocated to security were also affected: over 7.4 million pesos was spent in 2014 on purchasing weaponry that only exists on paper. An additional 5.7 million was also spent on arms,, but no documents exist to back up the purchase.

The new state comptroller, Rosario Castro, has detected even more irregularities and has summoned over 30 officials of the previous administration, including Herrera.

The governor and those officials have filed for amparos to give them legal protection against any process that could be launched against them.