La señora Hortencia liquidó hace dos años el préstamo de 6 mil pesos al que tuvo acceso con el programa Microcréditos para el Bienestar —mejor conocido como Tandas del Bienestar—. El dinero le sirvió para surtir la tiendita de abarrotes que tiene en Celaya, Guanajuato, de donde es originaria; con esos recursos, compró todo lo que pudo, confiando en que, al tener más variedad de productos, aumentaría sus ventas.
Although he was allowed to pay the loan in a year - 600 pesos every month, starting in the third after receiving it - Hortencia hurried and liquidated his credit in the middle of the time, since he was informed that, when returning the 6 thousand pesos, could have access to 10 thousand, then 15 thousand and finally at 20 thousand pesos.
The operating rules of the program detail that “if a beneficiary advances their reimbursements covering the total of their batch may request subsequent support from the seventh month after the collection of their support”.
In an interview with Animal Politico, the woman states that the 6 thousand pesos served her, although not as she would have wanted.He explains that he would have liked to buy more merchandise and make arrangements to his business.But he did not discourage, because he trusted to access a major loan, however, 24 months have passed since he liquidated the 6 thousand pesos and it is date that he fails to benefit from the credit of the 10 thousand pesos.
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It is not an isolated case.Animal political confirmed, reviewing the Single Business Register, the reports of the Superior Audit of the Federation (ASF) and collecting testimonies, which in two years and four months of operation - until April 2021 -, the Program Microcredits for well -beingHe has delivered any support exceeding 6 thousand pesos, despite the fact that one of its main objectives is to offer credit options, without interest, to people with limited resources who do not have access to bank credit so that with these resources they will draw their businesses..
But not only that, for this 2022 the program is not considered in the Executive Budget project that the Executive sent to the Chamber of Deputies for analysis and approval on spending for the following year.
In 2019, well -being batches had a budget of 3,033 million pesos, a year later there were 2,500 million pesos and for this 2021, 1,500 million pesos.In the last two years less resources were assigned because the reimbursements that the beneficiaries should make are contemplated.Until March 2020, these amounted to 3,420 million pesos, as reported at the morning conference of March 5, 2020.
Animal Politico sought from September 8 to the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Welfare to know why the program is not considered in the 2022 Expenditure Budget project, if it disappeared or if a budget was not assigned because it will operateexclusively with the reimbursements received.
The Ministry of Welfare did not respond, while Economy only said that, since February of this year, this program "is no longer operated by the Ministry of Economy".
They are excluded by the bank and the government forgets them
Welfare batches is a program aimed at people who initiate or have a micronegocio and are excluded from banking financial systems.The government offers interest -free loans that must solve in a year.
Rocío Mejía Flores, then program coordinator, reported on March 5, 2020 that according to the figures of the Welfare Census, 5 million 274 thousand 182 people were eligible to access the support, however, until April 2021 they had barely benefited 959 thousand622 people, as stated in the Single Business Register, which was obtained by a copy via requests for public information.
In 2019 - his first year of operation - this social program only covered 22% of its target population.
“In 2019, the target population of the program amounted to 1,575,563 people and the original goal was to serve 100% of the population registered in the register, but only 22 was reached.2% of the target population, equivalent to 350,371 people with micronegocios, 77.8 percentage points less than the original goal, being pending to attend 1,225,192 people included in the register, ”revealed the Superior Audit of the Federation (ASF) in its third report of the 2019 Public Account 2019.
As stipulated in the rules of operation, the general objective of well -being batches is “strengthening the productive and entrepreneurship capacities of microentrepreneurs who live in marginalization conditions through support through financing, advice and training”.
The beneficiaries would begin receiving a loan of 6 thousand pesos, which they had to pay in a year paying 600 pesos per month, with three months of grace.When liquidating it, they were eligible to access one of 10 thousand pesos with the same logic: 10 monthly payments of one thousand pesos.The third credit they could access was one of 15 thousand pesos and the last one - once paid in its entirety the previous ones - would be 20 thousand pesos.
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The support of 20 thousand pesos was incorporated until 2020 and 2021, since in 2019 the operating rules only contemplated a maximum support of 15 thousand pesos.
On January 15, 2019, during an event at the Mayor's Office of Iztapalapa, in Mexico City, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador revealed the first details of what this new social program would be like that sought to serve microentrepreneurs in the country.
“There are also loans for those who have their small businesses.I will advance it here, in Iztapalapa, I had not said it, I will anticipate that we are going to start a program that is going to be called: Welfare batches, ”he said during his speech in the delivery of comprehensive development programs.
“He who has a business, little, a little store, a workshop, any productive activity that needs a loan will receive that credit to the word, without interest.And I talk about batch because you will pay month by month without interest.The year ends, fulfills and pays, you have the right to ask for more, and to continue paying, thus, little by little.How many credits do we already have?For a million small merchants, small entrepreneurs, owners of workshops.There we will start ".
Before the ad, the welfare batches were already underway.
Mrs. Hortencia remembers that at the end of 2018 - before López Obrador gave protest as president - he came to offer all the social support that the elected president would offer during his six -year period.
Remember that they proposed the pension of the elderly, but she was not eligible because at that time she was 52 years old.There were no minors at home either, so they could not write it down for any scholarship.It was so that they offered a loan of 6 thousand pesos, because they warned that he had a grocery store.
Without much thinking he accepted and delivered the papers that asked him.They left and did not have news again.He acknowledges that he thought it had been pure lie, but about six months later, already in 2019, these crews returned to his home and informed him that they would give him the batch.
When the money was deposited, some products for his store and each month made the payment of the 600 pesos of the reimbursement,.Knowing that I could ask for major credits motivated her to pay in less time.
“They had said that at the end of paying the first batch in automatic we were given a batch of 10 thousand and successively we were increasing to 10, 15 and until we reached 20 (thousand pesos) which right now because there has been no news of the10 thousand pesos batch.The Welfare Bank went again to ask, we have been talking on the phone and they tell us that there is no date, that there is no date and that there is no date ”, shares horidity in an interview.
"We are waiting, I have already finished paying the 6 thousand batch and we have no news ... well, we are several (women) of the colony that we enter and have not news of the 10 thousand batch".
On March 5, 2020, it was reported that until that date 175 thousand people who had already paid their 6 thousand pesos credit would receive a second credit, this time for 10 thousand pesos.From the second week of March, the Ministry of Economy was detailed - then in charge of the program - would begin the delivery of 453 thousand 565 batches for the well -being planned in that year, however, it did not happen.
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After a request for public information, the Ministry of Economy confirmed that in the first two years of operation of the Welfare Bases program 851 thousand 902 supports - 357 thousand 357 during 2019 and 494 thousand 145 in 2020 were delivered -, all of them for the amount6 thousand pesos, each.
In addition, in the Single Beneficiaries, updated to April 2021, 257 thousand 072 supports delivered are reported.When reviewing the database, it was confirmed that practically all are support of 6 thousand pesos.
“Right now with the pandemic that batch would fall wonderfully because I tell you, it is 3 months in which you do not pay and in those months one manages to move, swear that money and that the payments come out of the same business and give you chance that inThose three months lift yourself, ”says Mrs. Hortencia who offers the telephone interview while attending her business.
"Hopefully President López Obrador already puts the shirt and motivate, move that project because apparently they have it stagnant.".
No diagnosis or design
The deficiencies of the Welfare Tandas Program are not limited only to the fact that they are not delivered to those who have already paid the first loan and thereby fulfill their objective of meeting the need and demand for financing of microentrepreneurs who live in municipalities of high marginality, but of origin it was considered that all beneficiaries required 6 thousand pesos.
For example, Mrs. Fernanda who lives in Acapulco, Guerrero, is a beneficiary of this program.More than a year and a half ago that he received support and is date on which he has not been able to settle it.
He details that formally she did not ask for support, but that personnel from the Ministry of Welfare who collected her data informed her that she had "out of the" out "and that they would provide 6 thousand pesos.
When his batch deposited, he explains, he allocated the money to put a dinner post outside his house.He sold for a few months minced, tacos and enchiladas, but then the Covid-19 pandemic arrived and was forced to close his business.Months later he also lost his job in offices where he cleaning from Monday to Puertes.Now it is unemployed and still owes half of the batch.
"We have an information problem facing the government and I think that is the first thing that should have established: Who do I give the credit? Do you have the ability to pay? Is the business to survive?", Says theDoctor Jorge Feregrino, academic of the FES Acatlán.
“They suppose that launching or creating credits will automatically sue, but it is not so.For a loan to work first there must be a credit demand ”.
Rosa Leyva, who lives in Cunduacán, Tabasco, keeps asksewing.
The woman explains that in November 2020 she requested for the first time the support of 6 thousand pesos and that in August 2021 she finished paying it.Like Hortencia, he hurried to pay the first credit that, although he did help him buy some raw materials such as fabric and threads, it was not his goal because the sewing machine he needs to give his business a push costs more than 10A thousand pesos, however, you don't know how long will you have to wait to give you credit.
“The different businesses have different needs and for something like a microcredit or a batch to serve you for those objectives you needThe company and others, ”said Alejandra Macías, research director of the Center for Economic and Budget Research (CIEP).
“There is a lack of design, planning, what is the objective of your program because again, if it is only to deliver money, it is that, to deliver money, but if you plan to attack other things you must have a deeper design, aplanning, an operational body that has also been affected with the so -called austerity of this administration ”.
On the problems in the design of this social program, the National Council for Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) has also been manifested in the design evaluation with field work of the Microcredit Program for Welfare 2019-2020.
“While no beneficiary declared that it would have been desirablethat a small interest rate could be charged and a larger term is granted.These types of demonstrations were seen above all in production turns (such as manufacturing) and services (such as aesthetics, workshops, restaurant-banquets) in which the microentrepreneur referred to the need to invest in capital goods (machinery and equipment) such)that would allow you to raise your production and sales capacity, ”reads the report.
“In other beneficiaries, the participating observation of the evaluators also allowed to identify, business turns with precarious production and productivity for which, the first amount of 6 thousand pesos was perhaps superior to the need for the business.Specifically in this case are the small businesses offered on the street or in a part of the garages of the houses ”.
Opacity and duplicate beneficiaries
The Microcredit for Welfare program was operated in 2019 and 2020 by the Ministry of Economy and from this 2021 it moved to the Ministry of Welfare.
In the Third Report of the 2019 Public Account, the Superior Audit of the Federation (ASF) presented the 2019-0-101000-07-07-0361-2020 performance in which it analyzed the operation and results of this social program, which waspresented as one of the priorities of the federal administration.
Not only confirmed that in his first year he barely reached 22% of the target population, but also detected that there is no administrative unit in charge of public policy to ensure compliance and goals of the program;Irregularities were detected in beneficiaries, such as some received more than one social program, and the almost non -existent training work was revealed that, as part of the program, it was supposed to receive the beneficiaries.
For example, of the 350 thousand 371 beneficiaries in 2019 only 7 thousand 968, the 2.3%, they received training because courses and advice were not in due course to strengthen their business capacities.
“Situation that is explained by the lack of a diagnosis that allowed the identification and targetExecution, in order to meet the objectives and goals of this program.”, Exposes the ASF.
The lack of a metric and more information, is explained in the report, did not allow to prove the impact of the results on the population attended with subsidies and implied that it was not possiblesuch as the generation of new and better jobs, of the microentrepreneurs who live in the areas of average, high and very high marginalization.
Diana Mejía lives in the Mayor's Office of Milpa Alta and for a year and a half that finished paying its microcredit of 6 thousand pesos, it is also waiting for the support of 10 thousand pesos.
For more than ten years he has a stationery and sale of uniforms that in pandemic times has been severely beaten because their sales have gone to the ground.
He says that all the savings he had and that the only hope he has to not close their business is over is that children have more activities in school.The 6 thousand pesos he received barely reached him to buy some notebooks, pencils, geometric games, cards and other supplies.
In your business you need a showcase and I would like to have more shelves, but it is not enough because it is not possible to supply the business and buy furniture.
“The Ministry of Economy lacked a precise diagnosis of microenterprises and their situation in the national economy, so the problem was not clearly defined, the objectives, goals and benefits to be obtained;Its operation began without a responsible unit or a specific beneficiary register;The promotion, training and advice programs for the beneficiaries were not prepared;And the monitoring and verification systems of the beneficiaries and the delivery of subsidies were non -existent, ”concludes the ASF.
