Mexico declares agency the king of red tape

Here was a contest no Mexican bureaucrat wanted to win.

A months-long quest to identify the most nightmarish examples of Mexico’s famously nightmarish red tape ended Thursday with a verdict: The nation’s social security agency reigns supreme among government bureaucracies that drive Mexicans nuts.

President Felipe Calderon bestowed the dubious honor on the agency as part of a contest to find the country’s most useless tramite, or bureaucratic process.

The contest, run by the federal comptroller’s secretariat and judged by an outside panel, drew more than 20,000 nominations from Mexicans who endure long lines and lug reams of required paperwork to accomplish seemingly straightforward chores, such as getting a passport or a building permit.

The winning entry came from Cecilia Deyanira Velazquez, 34, who complained about the rigors of getting her son’s medication through the Social Security Institute.

Millions of Mexicans have regular dealings with the sprawling institute, which pays pensions and runs public hospitals and clinics nationwide.

Velazquez, of Mexico City, said that for four days each month she must stand in line after line to gather the stamps from government clerks required to receive gamma globulin for her 7-year-old son’s immune system disorder.

“This tramite goes through eight hands,” Velazquez said during an awards ceremony at Calderon’s residence. “They say it has to be done this way, that there is no other option.”

The institute’s director, Juan Molinar Horcasitas, was in the audience, according to news reports. He was quoted, in brief remarks, as saying improvements were “achievable.”

Two other residents won for offering examples of red-tape-laden procedures in state and municipal bureaucracies: fixing errors in birth certificates and getting a proof-of-residence document that is often needed -- you guessed it -- to complete other government processes.

Officials acknowledge that slow-moving bureaucracies and often pointless requirements hamper the country’s productivity and competitiveness -- and routinely leave residents feeling that only bribes make government work.

The center-right Calderon government says it hopes to reduce the number of federal tramites from 4,200 to 3,000 by the end of the president’s term in 2012.

“We won’t allow citizen complaints to go in vain,” Calderon promised Thursday.

Velazquez took home a prize check for about $26,000; the other two winners each got $8,000 checks. There were no details on what red tape might be involved in cashing them.

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ken.ellingwood@latimes.com