Mexican soldiers will get a pay raise after elimination of oversight agencies, president says [Video]

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s president said Monday that much of the money gained by eliminating independent oversight and regulatory agencies will go to the army to fund a rise in soldiers’ pay.

The announcement by President Claudia Sheinbaum is the latest in a a series of new and unusual funding sources to pay for the country’s increasingly influential military.

Last week, Mexico’s Congress approved charging every cruise ship passenger a $42 immigration fee, with much of that money also going to the armed forces.

Under Sheinbaum’s Morena party, since 2019 the military has been given powers to build and run everything from railways, airports and airlines in Mexico, and some of those projects appear to be losing money.

For over a century before, Mexico’s armed forces were …