By April Torres
“Present childhood” was the phrase that resonated on May 4, 2023 when the current governor of the State of Mexico, Delfina Gómez, signed the Pact for Early Childhood in front of a crowd of girls, boys, fathers, mothers, and organizations of civil society that make up the collective and media. But what does it mean that teacher Delfina has signed this Pact? It means that she committed to ensuring that children under 6 years of age are a priority issue in her administration, that is, that children are present in all the actions of her government.
Likewise, it is pertinent to ask how to make this possible? First of all, it is necessary to foster the appropriate conditions to have a lighthouse that guides the path of these actions in favor of girls and boys. This lighthouse is known as the State Development Plan (PED), which in simple words, is the document that plans what will happen during the six years of government in a state. In the Pact that teacher Delfina signed, the first of the conditions to which she commits is “Include in the State Development Plan, special and sectoral programs, the impact indicators, objectives, strategies and lines of action necessary to advance in the fulfillment of the Goals of the Pact.”
To carry out the State Development Plan, the Constitution of the State of Mexico and the Planning Law of the State of Mexico and Municipalities indicate that the opinions and contributions of society must be taken into account. This is why the Planning Committee for the Development of the State of Mexico (COPLADEM), in November and December 2023, organized the Popular Consultation Forums for the preparation of the Development Plan of the State of Mexico 2023-2029. The member organizations of the Pact for Early Childhood collective participate in these forums, making proposals aimed at the transversal Axes: Compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals, Construction of Peace and Security, and Social Well-being.
The above forces us to ask ourselves, when should the State Development Plan be ready? The aforementioned Planning Law of the State of Mexico and Municipalities indicates that it will be formulated, approved and published within a period of six months, counted from the beginning of the constitutional period of government. Considering that teacher Delfina Gómez began her administration on September 16, then the deadline to have the State Development Plan for her administration is March 16 of this year.
The girls, boys, dads, moms, member organizations of the Pact for Early Childhood collective, all those present and the citizens who followed the signing event of the Pact, we are waiting for the governor to fulfill what she promised to tell with that radiant beacon that will guide the path of government actions that meet the needs and promote the comprehensive development of the million and a half Mexican girls and boys who are in their first years of life and, in this way, make the State of Mexico is the best place to be born.
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* Abril Torres is Regional Coordinator in the State of Mexico and Mexico City of the Pact for Early Childhood | @Covenant1aChildhood