By Carola Rico
The National Electoral Institute (INE) of Guanajuato held the State Consultation Meeting in San Miguel de Allende. This was in order to provide free information to indigenous people and communities to become self-aware, and to learn how to nominate candidates for federal positions during the popular election of the 2023-2024 Electoral Process.
The State Consultative Meeting was attended by 64 people from the original Otomí, Chichimeca-Jonaz, and Náhuatl peoples. They came mostly from the municipalities of San Miguel de Allende, Comonfort, Valle de Santiago, Apaseo el Grande, and Acámbaro.
Indigenous people were invited to the meeting through calls, or through community representatives from all over the state. They were asked to share their opinions on how to verify qualified self-registration, which means providing proof of residence in the community in which they intend to apply for a vote. Executive Member of the INE in Guanajuato, Jaime Juárez Jasso, explained the duties of the Institute as an autonomous body. It has, within the scope of its constitutional and legal powers, the implementation of necessary measures to guarantee national multicultural recognition. This, therefore, allows indigenous citizens and communities to be heard. It affords them the opportunity to get the political representation they desire. It also means the issuance of various agreements and regulations which then contribute to creating a more egalitarian and inclusive democracy.
“The harmony in the protection and maximization of the rights of indigenous people, in charge of the INE, provides legal certainty to the participants in the electoral contest, with the sole objective of ending the conditions of historical inequality that indigenous communities have faced. [This is done] in order to comply with the constitutional mandate and with the international commitments to which the Mexican State is a party to, to make effective the equality of the entire population in the exercise of their political-electoral rights,” added Juárez.
He stressed that the focus of this meeting was gender perspective, inter-cultural and inter-sectional connections, and human rights. It also assures the following principles: self-determination, participation, good faith and transparency. «With this, it seeks to guarantee that the people elected by this affirmative action will truly represent the interests of the indigenous people and communities,” he added.
During the event, work tables were set up and people consulted, answered questionnaires, exchanged opinions, and came to agreements on the objective and pertinent elements regarding self-interests. In this way, INE obtains truthful and objective information on how indigenous people and communities are recognized by others.
The information will be analyzed so that, where appropriate, the proposals, suggestions, and observations gathered can be addressed. If the proposals or suggestions are not appropriate, the INE will explain the reasons why they were not considered, through a document offering an official opinion regarding this. Once the analysis and assessment of the opinions issued by the indigenous people and communities has been completed, the INE will proceed to prepare and approve the Agreement of the General Council. This summary of the opinions will be presented, and the Guidelines will be sent to verify the fulfillment of qualified indigenous self-identification.
On July 15, the District Consultative Meeting was held in the municipality of San Luis de la Paz, during which indigenous people from the northeast region participated.
This last consultative meeting was attended by Margarita Rionda Salas, President of the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of the State of Guanajuato; Juan Carlos López Ruiz, General Director of Political Coordination of the Government Offices of the State of Guanajuato; León Rodríguez García, Director of the Coordinating Center for Indigenous Peoples of the National Institute for Indigenous Peoples; León Benito Silva Velázquez, Office Manager of the Executive Committee of the Executive District Board 02, as well as accredited observers for the consultation and representatives of electoral authorities, human rights, and political parties.
