Mexico City, July 27, 2022
Press release UTCSyD-124
- Master Conference “Democratization of power: Citizen participation and social changes”
“It is essential that the State maintain the balance of powers, because force must not be removed from the judicial power and the executive power must not be manipulated, because without a doubt, one of the achievements of the most advanced democracies, such as the one we have in Mexico, is the existence of autonomous constitutional bodies that serve as a balance and, above all, a counterweight to the exercise of power.
The foregoing was pointed out by the Counselor of the Electoral Institute of Mexico City (IECM), Carolina del Ángel Cruz, during her Keynote Conference: “The Democratization of Power: Citizen Participation and Social Changes”, within the framework of the Diploma: ” Mexican Political System”, organized by the Chamber of Deputies and the Disruptive Political citizen project.
In her speech, she, also the President of the Commission for Civic Education and Construction of Citizenship of the IECM, affirmed that democracy in Mexico has been achieved through struggles and movements, has cost blood, and continues to be perfected.
He said that one of the social ills that afflicts mature democracies are the enormous inequalities, because “we cannot speak of democracy in countries with such great inequalities, when there are still peoples dying of hunger and with wealth accumulated in a few people.”
He argued that the permanent construction of democracy is not exclusive to Mexico, and this political and social construction is not without detractors and threats, which is why democracy has been on the defensive for many years and in serious trouble to respond to various problems those he faces.
He said that in Mexico there are three types of institutions that serve as a counterweight to the exercise of power in matters of democracy, and these are the electoral authorities, the institutes of transparency, access to information and accountability, and human rights bodies. “It is necessary that these three types of institutions exist, but that they continue to function as autonomous constitutional bodies, that do not withdraw or bend before any of the three traditional powers,” he emphasized.
On the other hand, he assured that in Mexico we live in a democratic system, with representative characteristics and in which elections are held every three years, “this characteristic of democracy is basic, to hold periodic elections, so that citizens choose , through suffrage, to the people who will be their representatives, who will be in charge of making decisions for the benefit of the country”.
In addition, Minister Del Ángel Cruz highlighted that in Mexico, from a constitutional level, there are exercises of direct democracy, such as the referendum, the plebiscite or the popular consultation and, at the local level, there is a Citizen Participation Law. that includes various additional figures of direct democracy that facilitate the interaction of citizens with the governing persons.
He argued that citizen participation, through direct democracy, is a social decision-making mechanism that works for local development, in addition to promoting participatory democracy, creating community and strengthening social cohesion.
Similarly, he made an analysis of the aspects that contribute to democracy and citizen participation. He emphasized that transparency and accountability are essential elements for this. “Democracy continues to consolidate, but it requires citizen action and vigilance”
At the meeting, where she responded to the doubts and concerns of the audience, which amounted to more than a thousand participants, according to data from the organizing staff, the IECM Counselor invited the participants, as well as the general public, to reflect on the attributes of democracy and monitor the authorities to continue paying for the construction of citizenship.
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