Early Saturday morning, Morena’s senators approved in “fast track” the new General Law on Humanities, Science, Technology and Innovation, which orders the elimination of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) and the creation of a new body to be led by representatives of the federal government, who will not be required to have experience in the scientific field.
As happened with Insabi, which after its elimination its functions were transferred to IMSS-Bienestar, scientific research in Mexico will be in charge of the new National Council of Humanities, Sciences, Technologies and Innovation (Conahcyt), which will have a more social and humanistic approach, according to the Fourth Transformation.
“But they didn’t care about science, they didn’t care about technology, they didn’t care about the so-called technological innovation; what they cared about was stealing the money in the construction of the buildings,” the president exposed this Friday, before his party’s senators approved the legal change.
Although on the surface the change only implies the addition of a letter in the name of the new organization, in reality its form of government will be different, since the Governing Board will be made up of the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Welfare, Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation, Culture, Economy, Public Education, Energy, Finance and Public Credit, National Defense, Environment and Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs, Navy, and Health.
As of these changes, only these representatives of the federal government will have voice and votes, while the voices of scientific researchers and academics will only be heard if the Governing Board so requests.
Morena passed the reform in fast track
On the night of April 28, the legislators of the 4T endorsed without discussion or analysis the reform that recognizes the human right to science and charges the Mexican State with the duty to promote that training, research, dissemination and development of projects in the humanities, sciences, technologies and innovation be carried out under the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
The document was approved in the session held at the former Senate headquarters with 58 votes in favor, two against and six abstentions. It details that the State must guarantee a favorable environment for the promotion, development and communication of the humanities, sciences, technologies and innovation.
In view of this situation, researchers from all over the country called for a 24-hour strike next Tuesday, May 2, in support of Conacyt. Despite the demands of the scientific community, the ruling bloc in the Senate approved the reform without major setbacks.
In accordance with this transformation, measures will be adopted to promote the technical quality of research, social readiness and universal access to humanistic and scientific knowledge and its social benefits in all regions of the country, as well as the cultural appropriateness and human and environmental safety of its technological applications.
The Federal Government must formulate and publish the Special Program on Humanities, Sciences, Technologies and Innovation, including the proposals submitted by the agencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration that promote, carry out or support research activities in accordance with the National Development Plan in charge of the National Council.
The draft decree was sent to the Federal Executive for its promulgation in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
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