Mexican Congress approves budget after protests

Mexico’s lower house of Congress has approved the 2020 federal budget after protests and blockades by farm groups forced legislators to meet at a Mexico City convention center

Mexico’s lower house of Congress has approved the 2020 federal budget after protests and blockades by farm groups forced legislators to meet at a Mexico City convention center.

At issue was President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s policy of giving money directly to farmers and poor families, rather than distributing funds through groups that claim to represent them.

The farm groups often build autocratic fiefdoms in the Mexican countryside, forcing members to participate in protests in order to receive benefits.

In the budget approved Friday, Lopez Obrador’s Morena party instead focused on direct transfers and farm subsidies to prevent such groups from skimming aid money for themselves.

But opposition legislators also criticized Morena for cutting funds for regulatory and watchdog agencies the president has tangled with.