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Mexico’s incoming government
will hold a national public referendum on Nov. 24-25 for residents to voice their opinion on 10 key policy proposals ranging from a new rail line and oil refinery to reforestation and free public internet initiatives.
The new referendum comes on the heels of another informal consultation that called for canceling the construction of a partially-built $13 billion new airport for Mexico City .
President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador
used the results of that consultation to say his administration, which takes office on Dec. 1 , would halt the airport project. The decision left investors fretting over how he would manage the economy, with the peso currency and stock market reeling .
López Obrador claimed that the new referendum was made as a response to conservative groups who asked -with irony- for every action proposed by the upcoming government to be subject to referendum. “We decided to make this referendum because our conservative adversaries asked me to consult with the people and ask about everything. They were upset about the airport and they think that the referendums are only a mechanism that we will use for our convenience,” he stated.
However, he claimed that in this particular case, he would not remain impartial towards the referendum, since he intends to defend the projects that he proposed during his presidential campaign.
At a press conference in company of Enrique Calderón, chairman of the Rosenblueth Foundation , Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, soon-to-be spokesman of the President , explained that the referendum to decide on 10 key policy proposals would come with a cost of 1 million 800 thousand pesos (USD$89,243, as per the existing rate) , all of which will come out of the pockets of both federal and local legislators. More than a million Mexicans are expected to participate .
Ramírez Cuevas explained that a total of 1,102 polling places would be installed in the territory
, though the referendum would prioritize the southern region of Mexico , given the location of the Mayan Train project .
The ballot shows a list of ten yes-or-no questions that briefly explain the nature of each proposal: The first question is for the Mayan Train; second is for the development of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region ; third is for the construction of a new oil refinery in the state of Tabasco ; the fourth question is for the sowing of 2.47 million acres of fruit and timber-yielding trees ; fifth is for the increase of pensions for senior citizens ; sixth is for the grant of scholarships and job training to 2.6 million young people ; the seventh question is for the grant of scholarships for students of secondary and higher-level education ; eighth is for the grant of pensions for people with disabilities ; ninth is to grant medical attention and medicine to people who don’t have access to health services , and the last question is for the provision of free internet coverage throughout the country .
Enrique Calderón claimed that the results of this new referendum could be made available on the morning of November 26 , once the citizens’ votes have been counted.
Readers may consult the full document in Spanish here .
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