By Francisco Peyret
On March 2, the state governor, Diego Sinhue Rodríguéz Vallejo, delivered his fifth Government Report at the Bicentennial Park. About 3,000 guests representing all social sectors attended, including the last six former governors of Guanajuato, governors of other states, municipal presidents, business people, public officials, members of the National Action Party, and citizens. All the crowd filling the great, spectacular stage were very enthusiastic. Although this is not the governor’s last report, and the battle call is coming up for the elections of 2024, when the president of the republic, senators, deputies (federal and local), governors, and municipal presidents will be elected, it was like the closing of a cycle.
Guanajuato’s governor recounted the last 30 years of PAN governments. This party arrived in the governorship for the first time when Carlos Medina Plascencia (1991-1995) was elected state governor. Since then, Guanajuato state has followed a political line that the current governor defines as a humanist government.
During the report’s presentation, beneficiaries of government programs in health, education, and social development gave live testimonies and interacted with the governor and his guests. «This results report is focused on people. It is the people of Guanajuato, the heads of household, the entrepreneurs, the students, and the workers who must tell their own experience, their story of achievements and satisfactions. The Greatness of Guanajuato is in its people,» said the governor.
Diego Sinhue Rodriguéz pointed out that «30 years ago, some women and men set themselves the task of planning what the Guanajuato of the future would be like. Today, we are the sixth largest economy in Mexico.»
The governor recalled that three decades ago, the state exported products valued at some 300 million dollars, with a mainly agro-industrial vocation. Today, the state exports some 30 billion dollars and has the most important automotive sector in all of Latin America. Guanajuato was one of the Mexican states that best rode the wave of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that Mexico signed with the United States and Canada in 1994.
Next, the governor informed the audience that the Guanajuato state’s investment in security grew 300%, while there was a decrease in crimes such as intentional homicide and femicide. He highlighted that the public forces were supported, and the number of state police has «increased by 336% in the administration.»
The governor’s achievements in health came through the continuity given by his party’s governments.
Next, Rodriguéz Vallejo highlighted that access to higher education in the state has increased since there are more than 32 public universities and one hundred private educational institutions. In the early nineties, the only university was the University of Guanajuato. Today, the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the National Political Institute (IPN) also operate in the state.
More than hard data, the governor presented general results on the strategic lines that comprise his government program: Security and Social Peace; Economy for All; Social and Human Development; and Orderly and Sustainable Development. Once again, the attraction of productive investment, health, and education stand out as policies that the PAN governments have promoted as development axes.
Guanajuato state is distinguished by its Higher Education Institutions (HEI) quality, as verified by official sources. Thus, according to the Inter-institutional Committees for the Evaluation of Higher Education (CIEES) A. C., the state ranks second nationally.
Like Mexico as a country, Guanajuato is a state that has grown and improved in many economic and social sectors since Mexico’s incorporation into the Free Trade Agreement and the consolidation of neoliberal policies that have been established in Mexico since the 1980s. No one can deny that the volume of the economy has grown, and a large part of the population is accessing education to improve their quality of life. However, continuity has not prevented Guanajuato from remaining one of the five states with the highest migratory flow to the United States. Economic inequality and insecurity continue to hit hard. In public health, although Guanajuato is the sixth largest economy in the country, it is currently on the cusp of the most insecure states in Mexico.
More than 30 years ago, Mexico bet on attracting investment, which continues to work. A few days ago, the announcement came of the arrival of Tesla in Mexico. The question that jumps out at us Mexicans is why this development model is not entirely successful. In 1986, Mexico and South Korea signed their entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was like entering the major leagues of international trade. Since then, Mexico has put its best efforts into attracting investments to generate employment. South Korea, for its part, opted for an educational model focused on technology transfer. Today it is enough to go to a shopping mall to realize where we stand. The intellectual property of technology distinguishes developed countries from developing countries.
Finally, the governor announced that Guanajuato would promote two important projects this year to continue strengthening the state’s development, the Silao-San Miguel de Allende highway and the Libertad Boulevard connecting Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel.
