Mock audits?

After a six-year term, the motto remains unchanged: combating corruption and impunity remains the main objective of the Fourth Transformation.

At the start of the second phase of the Morena project, the reality is undeniable: "Currently, there are no areas of government that can be considered 100% free from the scourge of corruption," concludes a study recently released by the Citizen Participation Committee of the National Anti-Corruption System.

The areas related to the procurement of materials and the execution of public works are the most vulnerable to misconduct, confirms the report, signed by Rafael Martínez Puon, one of the three members of the civic organization.

But there are also other areas that, without necessarily managing financial resources, are equally vulnerable. Whether they manage human capital, intellectual property, technological resources, or statistics, all of them have a common characteristic: "the management of these resources gives them power and control."

Accountability, Martínez Puon discovered, can also open the door to malpractice in the areas of auditing, complaint investigation, and liability determination, functions concentrated in the Internal Control Bodies.

“In the last year of operations of the recently concluded six-year administration (2018-2024), the then Secretariat of Public Service, through its heads, directly “instructed” the Internal Audit and Management Improvement areas to carry out permanent “accompaniments”, which consisted precisely of supporting the audited areas of each department or entity, through “forced negotiations”, of all those observations that represented a negative impact, either for the Public Treasury or for the political image and reputation of those departments or entities and their officials”, he describes crudely.

According to this investigation, the OICs were ordered to "record" such "accompaniments" in the various audit control and monitoring systems of the Secretariat itself, which resulted in a simulation of audits, in which everything observed by these reviewing bodies had to be resolved in "accompaniment" by the same auditing authorities that observed them.

In the areas of Complaints and Investigations, they also detected simulations. "When a public servant in these areas does not conduct themselves in accordance with the principles that govern public service, it is common for information to leak, or, during investigations, there is a tendency to distort or skew the elements and evidence of the facts under investigation, with the aim of eliminating or mitigating potential misconduct in which a public official could be involved, especially if the official is high-ranking or if the investigator has some connection or relationship with the person under investigation, or if he or she receives "superior instruction."

In October of last year, the governing body of the SNA requested a study to identify the areas and positions most at risk for corruption within the Federal Public Administration. The task was entrusted to Rafael Martínez Puon, who methodologically drew on current and former public servants from various levels, areas, levels, and careers; individuals from civil society and international organizations; business leaders; expert consultants; and academics. Thirty participants from six focus groups identified 20 high-risk areas and positions.

The 32-page study was presented by Martínez Pous to the full Citizen Council on Wednesday, the 22nd. Among the top five positions most susceptible to corruption, those surveyed by Martínez Pous included personnel from the areas of procurement, public procurement, and public works; from law enforcement and administration, prosecutor's offices, and public ministries; from immigration; from customs; and from internal oversight bodies.

The latter are a strategic area in the fight against corruption, according to the expert, who was able to identify—based on the testimonies of focus group participants—the areas with the greatest impact: Audit; Complaints and Investigations; and Accountability. Positions include auditors, department heads, deputy directors, and area directors in the three areas mentioned.