Montserrat Caballero Ramírez, the mayor of Tijuana, assured to people that the total public debt settlement won't affect resources of the 2024 Fiscal Year.

After the announcement made on January 10, 2024 at Casa de la Cultura Altamira, the mayor confirmed that this 2.32 billion peso debt will be paid based on Article 31 of the General Budget Criteria of the Public Municipal Administration.

In addition, the mayor underscored that the money used for this payment will be taken from their own resources that by law are classified as free to use and which originated from the economies of the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years.

A report made by the Municipal Treasury led by Raymundo Vega Andrade stated that this resource is added to the accumulated amount of the public lighting right that hadn't been taken since 2017. In addition, he said that for this total payment, surplus from property taxes, property purchase taxes (ISAI), and interests created by these taxes were all contemplated.

Caballero Ramírez said that at no moment there is a penalty from creditors due to the advance payment of the debt acquired in 2001 that began with 350 million pesos. From 2007 to 2010, with Jorge Ramos Hernández, who wants to govern again, it increased to 1.5 billion pesos.

The municipal treasurer explained that to pay this debt, three amounts were contemplated. The first one was taken from expenditures of their own resources from 2021 to 2022 which amounted to 1.531 billion pesos; the second one was taken from the right to public lighting which hadn't been taken from 2017 to today which amounted to 629 million pesos; and the third one from financial performances prior to January 2024 which amounted to 160 million pesos.

This money available in the budget will be applied to pay for the following lines of credit. For one of the contracts with BBVA Mexico, 1 billion pesos, associated with the Immediate Program of Economic Reorder (PIRE), will be paid.

For the second contract with BBVA Mexico, 620 million pesos, also associated with PIRE, were contemplated. The third one, a contract with Banorte, there are 750 million pesos, associated with PIRE. The fourth one, which is a contract with the National Bank of Projects and Public Services (BANOBRAS) is for the amount of 262 million pesos, associated with BRT (SITT).

During the broadcast of Despierta La Esperanza, the mayor explained how the financial process for the payment of municipal public debt will be after the administration decided to pay it. The bank will generate the notification form, MONEX (the trustee) notifies the banks of the payment, and then the payment is made.

She said that the first payment, which will be made in January to BBVA, will be of 1.341 billion pesos. The remaining two payments, one for 744 million pesos to Banorte and another one for 212 million pesos, will be made in February so that the debt is settled.

"In this administration we decided to do something different. We thought it was going to take us three years, but we did it before that. We wish we could pay faster but financial institutions have their dates and we are waiting so that they can tell us when we have to make each payment," the mayor explained.

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