Mexico’s Supreme Court Centralizes Transparency and Audit Powers, Overturning State Rules

Overview

• In coordinated decisions, the Supreme Court struck down provisions in Zacatecas, Yucatán and Veracruz that let state bodies police access to information and personal data for political parties and unions.
• The Court said the National Electoral Institute is the sole guarantor for transparency and data issues involving parties, including local parties, and that federal labor authorities handle those same duties for unions.
• In Veracruz, justices left in place a transitory rule that orders the quick handover of case files from the state transparency institute to the state comptroller so records move to the competent authority.
• In a separate case from Tlaxcala, the Court voided a state audit of federal contributions to the Contla municipality and reaffirmed that the federal Audit Office is the only body that can review federal funds unless a coordination pact exists.
• The decisions put into practice the 2024 constitutional overhaul and 2025 general laws, forcing states to revise statutes, transfer archives, and limit local audits of federal money to cases with a valid agreement.