The General Council of the National Electoral Institute (INE) approved on August 18 a draft budget of 31,431 million 887,800 pesos for the 2027 elections. The figure, reported by El Sol de México as roughly 50% higher than the previous federal electoral process, arrives at the opening of the electoral cycle as the Interior Ministry (Secretaría de Gobernación) calls on the institute to align with austerity criteria.

The draft budget was approved by the General Council in its August 18 session and will be sent to the Executive for consideration within the 2027 Federal Expenditure Budget (Proyecto de Presupuesto de Egresos de la Federación 2027), according to Infobae México. The institute states that the amount covers the resources needed to fulfill its responsibilities during the 2026-2027 federal electoral process, per the INE's official communiqué. The electoral budget is a recurring point of contention between the electoral authority and the Executive: in parallel, the Interior Ministry called on the institute to adhere to austerity criteria, while the INE expects to reach an agreement, as reported by El Sol de México. The figure sets the opening position in negotiations over the cost of the next federal election.

The draft includes public financing of 10,842 million 653,927 pesos for national political parties and independent candidacies under Article 41 of the Constitution, and 47 million 275,990 pesos for campaign expenses of independent candidacies, as detailed by Infobae México. In the same session, the Council approved a precautionary fund of 4,736 million 121,734 pesos for a potential popular referendum or mandate revocation process during 2027. Councillor Carla Humphrey also proposed updating the financing formula in place since 2007, replacing the electoral roll with the nominal voter list as the reference point, and increasing from 3 to 6 percent the resources that parties must allocate to women's political leadership.

The draft budget now rests with the Executive for inclusion in the 2027 Federal Expenditure Budget. Negotiation of the final figure will be the first concrete signal of how the cost of the 2027 federal election will be resolved.

This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.