4T “Steamroller”: The political strategy behind the death of CONEVAL

The dissolution of CONEVAL, approved during an extraordinary period, is more than an administrative change; it's a political move that consolidates the power of the 4T (T Fourth Transformation) and redefines the rules for government evaluation, generating accusations of authoritarianism from the opposition.

The disappearance of CONEVAL isn't just the news of the day; it's a symptom of a profound reconfiguration of political power in Mexico. The way the Fourth Transformation's "steamroller" carried out the measure in Congress reveals a calculated strategy to centralize authority and, according to its critics, erode the democratic checks and balances that took decades to build.

"Steamed and on Knees": A Questioned Legislative Process

The reform was approved during an extraordinary session, a mechanism usually reserved for matters of national urgency. The speed of the process provoked the ire of the opposition. Former presidential candidate Ricardo Anaya accused Morena of legislating "hastily and on its knees," a phrase that denotes a lack of in-depth debate, technical analysis, and consensus-building.

This haste, the opposition argues, is no coincidence. It suggests a political decision made by the executive branch and executed without hesitation by its legislative majority, a pattern they claim has become the norm. Their criticism is not only of the "what" (the elimination of CONEVAL), but of the "how," a method they consider an assault on parliamentary deliberation.

The Strategy of Controlling the Narrative

The opposition's central argument is that this move has a clear objective: total control over the narrative of government success. CONEVAL, with its autonomy to measure poverty and evaluate social programs, represented an independent voice that could potentially contradict the official narrative. By eliminating it, the government ensures that the evaluation of its most emblematic policies—the social programs—remains in the hands of an entity, INEGI, over which, while autonomous, the Executive branch has considerable influence in the appointment of its top officials.

PRI Representative Rubén Moreira went further, accusing Morena of "building an authoritarian state" by systematically dismantling the organizations that hold it accountable.

A Pattern of Dismantling Autonomous Bodies

The concern becomes more acute when looking at the bigger picture. The elimination of CONEVAL is not an isolated incident. It joins a list of actions and legislative proposals that point in the same direction: the centralization of power. Also on the agenda of the 4T are the proposal to eliminate the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information, and Protection of Personal Data (INAI) and the intention to reduce the autonomy of the attorney general's offices.

This pattern suggests a governing philosophy that views autonomous organizations not as pillars of democracy, but as bureaucratic obstacles or, worse, as political adversaries. Morena's justification for eliminating CONEVAL, accusing it of spreading a "lie" about health coverage, is revealing. Instead of debating the data, they chose to eliminate the source of the data.

This transforms the nature of public debate. The discussion no longer centers on the effectiveness of a policy, but on a battle over who has the authority to define reality. When the government arrogates to itself the power to declare what is true and what is false, eliminating independent arbiters, it crosses a line that, for many, jeopardizes the balance of power and the health of Mexican democracy.