It is always an intellectual joy to listen to the INE President Councilor, Dr. Lorenzo Córdova, speak. The scene of his particular crusade in defense of democracy in Mexico, this time was the port of Mazatlán, where he was last week closing with his participation the work of the First National Congress on Gender Equality and Inclusion, organized by the Electoral Institute of the State of Sinaloa (IEES). Faced with the crisis of credibility that political parties and parliaments are going through, he pointed out “I am not going to be the one to speak ill of the political party system, I am not going to join this irresponsible logic that has been feeding political discourse for twenty years to speak of the party and speak ill of legislators and speak ill of Congress. Without parliament and without parties there is no democracy, and it is enough to be building this narrative that the parties are bad and that the citizen is pure. Parties are made up of citizens. Politicians are citizens and every citizen who intervenes in public affairs does politics, in the best of the senses”. Of course, after this blunt statement, he made a fierce but valid criticism of the contradictory role played by political parties in Mexico in achieving parity: as legislators they built over 29 years the legal framework that requires them to run women in conditions of equality and guarantees that the government bodies are integrated on a parity basis, but as parties in electoral competition to occupy public office they have violated compliance with said framework at every step, that is why the electoral authorities have had to be both administrative as well as jurisdictional who, through affirmative actions, sanctions and sentences, have made it possible for today the Mexican Congress to be made up of halves of men and women. Those are the counterweights that we all have to defend, because democracy is running out and because, in particular, Mexican democracy is not experiencing its best moment.
We cannot ignore the fact that as women have been gaining power spaces, violence against them has also intensified. The eradication of political violence against women based on gender is the most urgent challenge we have as a society. The central role in the construction of a democracy with equality will be played by citizens, participating in politics, appropriating public affairs, voting and giving their opinion, but, above all, being part of the cultural change that ends with the macho culture and allows a more inclusive society, a society that respects the rights of women and that encourages and values their participation in public life.
There were two intense days of discussion and debate around (1) the effectiveness of affirmative actions and inclusion measures to increase the political participation of women and other disadvantaged groups, (2) the role played by the teaching of justice with a gender perspective, (3) assertive communication from the media and institutions as a measure to eradicate political violence against women based on gender, (4) the contribution of the TEPJF and the Legislative Power regarding equality substantive, and (5) the current challenges of the national electoral authorities in terms of equality.
In short, a brilliant event that allowed the presence of exhibitors and a select audience to recover to a great extent, but that you can consult in full on the IEESinaloa YouTube channel. That said, I join in the public recognition of the careful teamwork carried out by the presidency, councils and technical staff of IEES in the planning, organization and conduct of this first congress on gender and inclusion, which has its own name to highlight, thank you teacher Gloria Icela García Cuadras, for imagining it and for making it possible. As a society, we need this strong, united, dialoguing IEES that weaves networks and builds bridges to ensure that Sinaloan women do not cost their families and lives in politics.
And although the spotlight was on this great event in Mazatlán, it was a parallel event in Culiacán that brought together the four great allies of Sinaloan women: Dr. Teresa Guerra Ochoa, head of the Women’s Secretariat, Deputy Almendra Negrete Sánchez, president of the Commission for Gender Equality and Family of the H. Congress of the State of Sinaloa, Dr. Eneyda Rocha, president of the DIF Sinaloa System and Rosa Elena Millán, undersecretary of Substantive Equality and Gender Perspective. The Colegio de Sinaloa was the host of a round table in which it was discussed, what in my opinion is the core point in the change of social paradigm longed for by all “The role of culture in the elimination of violence against women In Sinaloa”. It was a rich dialogue between women who speak up front and without artifice and who do not shy away from the historical commitment that they have to assume. We’ll talk about that next week.
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