Complex Laws And Ignorance: The Obstacles That Hinder Citizen Participation In Mexico
Date
2/27/2023 2:25:59 PM
(MENAFN- Swissinfo)
Español
(es)
mecanismos de participación ciudadana en méxico, 'con cerrojos' (original) It is late afternoon on December 17, 2019, in downtown Zapopan, in the Mexican State of Jalisco.“We are about to complete the 518 signatures needed to submit the city council's decision to a plebiscite!”
These were the words of university student José Martínez, the main instigator of the petition for a plebiscite to prevent the construction of a series of apartment blocks, a hotel and a shopping centre in Plaza Los Arcos in Zapopan.
“We oppose this decision by the city council because this is public space. 86% of this area belongs to the municipality. It belongs to the citizens,” the young man emphasised.
The university student, wearing a white shirt and straw hat, held a placard that read“No to the property deal in Plaza de Arcos”, as he collected signatures together with many other local residents. The issue was pressing. They had only 30 days to submit signatures in support of the plebiscite against the government's decision to hand the public plot over to private hands.
On December 23, 2019, José delivered 707 signatures to the Electoral and Citizen Participation Institute (known by its Spanish acronym, IEPC) of Jalisco, for it to check that they complied with the rules and that the plebiscite procedure could thus begin.
Of the 707 signatures that the young man handed in, 641 were valid, meaning that the petitioners had received more than the requisite citizen support of 0.05% (518 signatures) of the electoral roll in Zapopan municipality.
On July 14, 2020, the Jalisco IEPC established that the documentation complied with the legal requirements and referred it to Zapopan's Municipal Council for Citizen Participation – which, after almost nine months of analysis, decided that the plebiscite petition was inadmissible. Meanwhile, building work on the site had progressed significantly and the project had been modified, according to José, who is still upset about the decision today.
MENAFN27022023000210011054ID1105662050
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.