Natural Resources, Energy Law, and Public Finance Concepts
Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
Natural resources: All those elements provided by nature which humanity uses to meet their needs.
Sustainable development comprises three elements: covering basic needs in this generation, ensuring the capacity of natural systems to achieve coverage, and meeting the needs of future generations.
Energy Regulation and Power Systems
Regulatory framework for the oil industry:
- Law of the Energy Regulatory Commission, 31 October 1995.
The Commission is a decentralized body of the Secretary of Energy, possessing technical and operational autonomy. It seeks to promote the efficient development of:
- The supply and sale of electric energy to public service users.
- The generation, export, and import of electricity.
- First-hand sales of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.
National Power Reserve and System Planning
The power reserve is located as an exclusive area under Article 27, covering:
- The provision of services, including public power.
- National electricity system planning, generation, transmission, processing, distribution, and sale of electric power.
- Realization of all works, installations, and work required for the planning and maintenance of the national system.
Nuclear Industry Definition
The nuclear industry refers to the exploitation, refining, and nuclear fuel cycle, including the design, manufacture, and use of nuclear reactors and radiation sources (Section 11).
Land and Fiscal Management
Land Law (26 February 1992): Lands are divided into land for human settlement, land for common use, and parcels of land.
Public Finances and Budgeting
Public finances are core to defining or establishing an economic system.
Budget: According to Malcolm, the budget is the program of action of political forces that govern the state, whose ideas manifest in the amount and nature of expenses versus revenues. According to Gerloff, it is the starting point for any economic consideration. Finance, in the economic and political-economic context, involves knowing that some available resources in an economy must be used to meet public needs.
Stages and Features of the Budget
Stages of budget:
- Preparation or processing.
- Sanction or approval.
- Execution.
- Control.
Features include:
- Exclusive jurisdiction status.
- Rule of law.
- Annual budget.
- Budget unit.
- Complex legal nature.
- Principle of universality.
- Principle of non-allocation of resources.
- Cost specification.
Articles 73 and 74 IV VII of the Budget Law mandate reporting. It is the annual report where the executive pays the Chamber of Deputies, reporting the results of financial management and the limits that state regulatory action has had on the country's economic and social development.
Monetary Policy
Monetary policy is a part of economic policy, representing the conscious action or deliberate inaction undertaken by monetary authorities to change the amount or availability/cost of money to achieve basic economic policy objectives.
Individuals responsible for implementing this policy are:
- The central bank.
- The government (Ministry of Economic or Financial Officer).
The purpose of the central bank is to provide the country's national currency.