The ruling party Senator Nancy Sánchez Arredondo presented a bill to reform the Federal Law for the Promotion of Activities carried out by Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in order to prevent economic resources coming from abroad or third parties from being used to intervene in “matters that are strictly the responsibility of the State in any of its powers and levels”.

Sánchez Arredondo proposes that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) registers and controls the donations received by CSOs from foreign sources. In case of failure to notify the FIU, the organization could lose the authorization to receive income tax deductible donations. In this way, it “intends to avoid the interference of foreign private interests in the public and political life of Mexico”.

Weeks before, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) had requested the U.S. government to stop financing the organization Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI in Spanish) for considering that it is in fact an opposition political actor. This financing was described by the President as an “interference in the public life of Mexico, which is an independent, free and sovereign country”.

The bill was referred to the Senate’s Finance and Public Credit and Legislative Studies committees for its treatment. However, no progress is expected in the coming months since Congress will be in recess until early September.