The Secretary of Education (SEP) spent 1,108,999,994 pesos to purchase 13,792 gold and silver medals and silver rosettes (ornamental motif), under contract DGRMYS-DGRHYOAR-T2-001-2026, for the delivery of the National Antiquity Award in the Public Service.
The spending on medals is almost equal to budget that the Undersecretary of Higher Education will exercise this year (1,74 million pesos), that of the National Pedagogical University (1,148 million pesos), or the last budget of the extinct Inai in 2024, which was 1,097 million pesos.
Other agencies will also acquire medals and rosettes to recognize their employees via 70 contractsbut none has an expense as onerous as that of the agency it directs Mario Delgado Carrillo.
Secondly there is the Mexican Social Security Institutewhich will buy 5,598 silver medals for just 11,983,000 pesos. In contrast, the Executive Secretariat of the National Anti-Corruption System will only spend 2,195 pesos to buy a medal and a rosette.
“The consolidated acquisition of medals and rosettes is required for the delivery of the National Award for Seniority in the Public Service for the agencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration, for the fiscal year 2026… taking into account the principles of economy, effectiveness, efficiency, impartiality, transparency and honesty, which ensure the best conditions of hiring for the State”, details the technical annex.
In the direct award to the Mexican Mint, it is specified that the medals and rosettes must comply with the Official Mexican Standard NOM-033/1-SE-2020, which establishes that gold objects must be at least 10 carats and silver objects must be 92.5% pure (925 thousandths).
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Of the more than 13 thousand medals that the SEPwill award 1,437 silver medals and rosettes for 25 years of seniority, 1,961 silver medals and rosettes for 30 years, 246 silver medals and rosettes for 40 years, and 11 gold medals and silver rosettes for 50 years.
The latter are minted in gold law 0.900, with a weight of 20.18 grams, a diameter of 32 millimeters, circular coin-like shape, and engraved on the obverse the legend: Award for 50 Years of Service and on the reverse the National Coat of Arms.
The agency will also deliver 1,924 Master Rafael Ramírez medals made of 0.925 sterling silver, weighing 28 grams and a diameter of 38 millimeters. On the obverse the effigy of the image of Master Rafael Ramírez is engraved with the texts To Merit, Master Rafael Ramírez, Order and Public Education Secretariat. There is no image on the back.
It will also deliver 8,213 Maestro Altamirano decorations minted in 0.900 Law gold, with a weight of 42 grams and a diameter of 38 millimeters and with a circular coin-type shape. On the obverse engraved the effigy of the image of Master Ignacio M. Altamirano, with the texts Ignacio M. Altamirano, Order and Secretariat of Public Education.
In November 2024, pro-government legislators in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic approved the federal Executive’s proposal to eliminate seven autonomous organsunder the premise of applying austerity. These were Inai, Coneval, Cofece, IFT, CRE, CNH and Mejoredu.
However, the expenditure of 1,108 million that the Ministry of Public Education will make on medals and rosettes is higher than the last budget exercised by the majority of said entities.
For fiscal year 2024, the approved budget for Inai was 1,97 million pesos.
For that same year, the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) exercised a budget of just over 700 million pesos; The Federal Telecommunications Institute spent 1,600 million pesos. And the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) spent 434 million 306 thousand 156 pesos.
Even the purchase of medals exceeds the budget of the Undersecretary of Higher Education, which is 1,74 million pesos for 2026 or similar to what it cost to print free textbooks in 2023, since the total expense for production and distribution was 1,112 million pesos.
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It is also greater than what the SEP will allocate this year to the Elisa Acuña scholarships for the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), which will be 903 million 801 thousand 53 pesos or 546 million 473 thousand 819 pesos for the same scholarship awarded to students of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN).
Of the other contracts signed by agencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration, none is as onerous as that of the Ministry of Public Education, for more than one billion pesos.
In the list with the highest amounts, second place is occupied by the Mexican Social Security Institute, which will pay 11 million 983 thousand pesos for 5 thousand 598 silver medals. Thirdly, the Federal Educational Authority in Mexico City will spend 8 million 664 thousand 735 pesos for 3 thousand 395 medals and rosettes.
In fourth place is the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature, which will spend 5 million 843 thousand 575 pesos for 445 gold and silver medals and rosettes; In fifth position, the Ministry of Health will spend 2 million 956 thousand pesos for 1,555 silver medals.
In sixth place, the National Pedagogical University, which will spend 2 million 4 thousand pesos for 15 gold medals; Seventhly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will disburse one million 840 thousand 451 pesos in 841 medals and rosettes.
In eighth place is the Hospital Juárez de México, which will pay one million 610 thousand pesos for 847 silver medals; In ninth place, the Tax Administration Service, which will spend one million 565 thousand pesos for 657 medals and rosettes.
In tenth place, the General Hospital of Mexico Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, which will pay one million 197 thousand pesos for 630 silver medals; and in eleventh place, the National Institute of Cancerology, which will spend one million 161 thousand pesos for 382 silver medals and rosettes.
On the other hand, the entities that paid less to acquire medals are the Executive Secretariat of the National Anti-Corruption System, which spent 2,195 pesos for a medal and a rosette; Secondly, the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, the Administration of the Altamira National Port System and the Board of Works and Facilities of the National Polytechnic Institute, which spent 4,390 pesos each on six medals with rosettes in total, two for each entity.
In third place, the National Energy Commission and the Mexican Youth Institute, which spent 6,585 pesos each in six medals and rosettes; In fourth place, the National Commission of the Retirement Savings System (four medals and rosettes) and the Federal Attorney for the Defense of Labor (four medals and rosettes) spent 8,780 pesos each.
In fifth place, the Institute for the Protection of Bank Savings spent 8,192 pesos on four medals and rosettes; sixthly, the National Institute of Geriatrics spent 10,975 pesos on the purchase of five medals and rosettes; In seventh place, the National Metrology Center bought seven medals and rosettes for 15,365 pesos; In eighth place, the National Institute of Genomic Medicine spent 15,208 pesos on eight silver medals.
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