One of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's campaign promises with the fishing and aquaculture sector is the restructuring of social support programs. 1 We have seen that this year there has been a radical change in fishing subsidy programs: out of more than 12 support components that existed in 2018, now fisheries policy has focused only on one, Bienesca. It remains to be seen who the beneficiaries of this support have been and how they are distributed. However, it can illustrate us to analyze what happened with distribution in the first year of government in 2019.
Commissioner Raúl Elenes, during his first statements as head of Conapesca, stated that during the first year of government the same subsidies would be granted to the fishing sector to be put to the test, but that they would be implemented in an efficient and honest way 2. With the available lists of beneficiaries, what changes were there in the distribution compared to the previous administration?
First, 2019 was the year with the lowest budget for fishing subsidies, 41% less than in 2018. $1,291 million pesos were dispersed under the modality of 10 support concepts 3. The Fishing Effort Reduction component was not included in the Operating Rules, however, the Inspection and Surveillance component was incorporated, although there were no beneficiaries of it. In total, there were more than 51,000 beneficiaries (47% more than usual than
in the previous administration). The components of Bienesca and fuels were the ones with the highest budget.
Secondly, the percentage of the budget for which Conapesca was accountable was 96%, in comparison, in 2018, only the beneficiaries and support concepts of 65% of the budget were made transparent.
Thirdly, regarding the distribution between beneficiaries, the most notable changes are that there was greater support for female fishermen and aquaculturists, who went from 1.5% to 19% of the standard. There was greater geographical dispersion of the beneficiaries. The South Pacific was the region with the highest increase in support, going from 8.8% in 2018 to 15.1% of the budget in 2019. Beneficiaries were located in more locations, 23% more locations than in 2018. In addition, of these, more localities with a very high level of marginalization were supported, which translated the budget into a change from 0.8% to 1.5% for localities with a high level of marginalization.
Finally, this information can guide us on how this new administration is implementing fishing subsidies. As for the effects of the changes in the Operating Rules and on the decision to leave only one component for the entire sector, there is still no information available to analyze it. The authority needs to be transparent about the new register of Fishermen and Aquaculturists, as well as the final beneficiaries. Without a doubt, we hope that this information will be public soon and that by 2021 there will be improvements in the budget and in the operation of the program to ensure that resources reach the most vulnerable fishermen and women.
1 To learn more about the follow-up to the proposals, visit Marine Amlometer, available at: https://amlometromarino.polimeter.org/
2 Statements made on 20-03-19 in the Senate of the Republic, available at: https://www.canaldelcongreso.gob.mx/voda/reproducir/0_mvx4h480/Comision_de_Agricultura%2c_Ganaderia%2c_Pesca_y_Desarrollo_Rural
3 To learn more about the distribution of fishing subsidies visit: www.pescandodatos.org
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