Mexico City is one of the largest human conglomerates in the world. I’m talking about the big city of Mexico including the so-called metropolitan areas, although I know that the Federal District is practically half of everything. Governing this entity is a titanic task. The main job of the government is to serve the citizens and serve them well, fully. Demands must be listened to, addressed, solutions sought and applied. Until then everything must be natural. That is the job of the ruler. To serve he is hired and for this purpose he must give himself. Throughout several six-year terms, the inhabitants of this macrocity that encompasses the great valley of Mexico have had various administrations. I can’t say that they have been good administrations because I would bite my tongue. I wouldn’t even claim that they have been regular. But the problem is that there have been several. Since when?
Possibly since Ernesto P. Uruchurtu, who held the position for 14 years, a change began in the structures of public places and services of the then still small city. By the way, Uruchurtu kept the permits to build subdivisions under lock and key. And from there, the capital’s administrations have blatantly failed to fulfill their functions. Who are they? Many. So many that the prisons of thought would not reach to preserve them.
How much we could write and write about the great problem of the Federal District. Countless volumes that would be masterpieces of a list of uselessness. I want to make it clear and established that I recognize that Mexico City has public services that flow more or less, that is, in a large part of the territory of its jurisdiction, garbage is removed, water is delivered, public lighting is provided, they function more or less. Except for the traffic lights, the road signs are complied with, and I think nothing more. But the balance leans more, considerably, towards what is missing; and I don’t have space to relate it.
The main demand of citizens, not only in the Federal District but throughout the country, is security. And to have security, justice must be applied. The concept of justice has not changed nor will it change. Justice is today, above all, the most necessary virtue for the well-being of the State. Justice is the process of preventing or remedying that which will excite the sense of injustice.
In a few months, Mexico City will have new authorities. The Legislative Assembly and the Delegational Headquarters will be renewed. With the assembly members we will have the hope that better legislation will be legislated and above all for the benefit of those who have the least; difficult work due to those great interests that move, not only the city, but also the neighboring entities. These new local deputies, from their seats, must develop rules for the best treatment of victims, the disadvantaged, those with different abilities, those whose rights have been violated. It is advisable to reconsider the much-used Constitution of the DF, which will turn this city into another state of the Federation.
Given that insecurity continues to devastate the inhabitants, those responsible will have difficult tasks to carry out, especially in terms of creating a Culture of Prevention, which apparently has passed by by far to the enforcers of order until now. Insecurity has an ancient and complex origin, it is known and therefore nothing will prevent them from acting to eradicate it.
I was proud to occupy the General Directorate of Crime Prevention in the then Attorney General’s Office of the Federal District. And since we had excellent information on Criminal Statistics, we had prepared very good Crime Prevention Manuals (I still have some), and so we toured the city organizing monthly meetings with our own Delegates of the Attorney General’s Office, with the Political Delegates, with the Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Sector of the DF Police, with representatives of the Neighborhood Associations, and the Ministry of Public Education. I personally kept a list of complaints from neighbors and school directors, and at the next monthly meeting I asked the authorities to respond to the complaints. I worked in the PGJDF for 13 years and I already had a prominent presence and was very respected. And for this reason, Attorney Bernardo Bátiz appointed me in charge of the Public Information Office. And just in case I didn’t have a job, I began to receive requests for information from journalists, communicators, and representatives of political parties, who wanted to know how much the Attorney General earned, how many bodyguards the Attorney General had, and thus, the requests for information did not stop; I stopped first and left the PGJDF, tired but very satisfied.
I hope that the new Delegates continue to fail to comply but not to this extent; Its auxiliary police officers, together with the proximity police, must, with their mere presence, prevent the commission of illegal acts: they are called preventive police officers. Why is that? And part of these are traffic and roads; When they arrest a violator of order, they take him around the corner to chat freely without being caught by video surveillance cameras. Why is that?
This big, vast city in Mexico deserves better luck than it has had in the last 20 years. Who will be the brave one to take her out of her prostration?
Founder of Notimex
National Journalism Award
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