The Culture of Peace, Starts in the year 2023

The one that has to be different is you, not the year.

Mafalda

We live in a tiny blue dot in the Universe that is the Earth, home of life and humanity. Mexico -our home- is at that blue point and is the result of natural evolution and society in the world; of history; political and geographical divisions. Here lie our ancestors, it has been the cradle of great cultures that later merged with the European, transforming us into what we are today. We have built a great Nation of institutions, which has not been exempt from setbacks or unfortunate setbacks.

For the year that begins and for the last few more than 20 months of the current administration, it is desirable that the President of the Republic -finally- comply with the provisions of various sections of the National Development Plan 2019-2024 of his government, such as the objective to undertake the construction of peace and the promotion of the culture of peace and, therefore, endorse the values, attitudes and behaviors that characterize them. More and more voices insist, like ours, on the urgent need for the government to build and apply a far-reaching public policy that is characterized by dialogue, harmony and respect for the Constitution. Sadly, these ideals have not found an echo in the last four years, neither in the president nor in his co-religionists. They have not realized that the best means of exercising power and encouraging progress are harmony and the culture of peace.

It is urgent to stop the speeches, measures and other actions that polarize society, because throughout the political and government management of this administration we have detected that its idea of ​​governing consists of breaking relations in our social fabric and encouraging Let us Mexicans confront each other, let us hurt each other, without stopping before the sowing of negative emotions and feelings as an evil way of concentrating power and provoking acts of violence.

Just as it has been possible to weaken the social fabric and people through negative and relentless actions, such as permanent polarization, it is also possible to empower and inspire us in the construction of a culture of peace and harmony and, therefore, head towards its restoration. This, as we have argued, is only possible with a positive contagion that generalizes the practice of dialogue in all spheres of social interaction.

The president has not honored his oath – upon assuming the Presidency of the Republic – to comply with and enforce the Constitution, nor have his collaborators or his blindly loyal legislators. This has been demonstrated on several occasions by proposing and approving legal provisions that violate the Constitution, the latest in electoral matters that make up the so-called Plan B, which we reported on in recent installments.

As this is an election year, registered voters in the states of Coahuila and Mexico will have the responsibility and the challenge of going through their respective electoral processes in peace. Not only on election day, but also during the campaigns, the counting of votes and all the actions that the process contemplates. As well as simple voters, candidates, party members and polling station officials. An effort must be made so that reason and cordiality prevail and -mainly- participate by going to vote.

Although there is still uncertainty regarding the electoral legislation that will be applied, let us hope that the current one will prevail, which, among other things, prohibits the president and all public servants from supporting or disqualifying candidates, political parties, alliances, and coalitions. They must avoid positioning and be neutral in the electoral process.

It is foreseeable that after the legislative process of Plan B in electoral matters is completed, actions of unconstitutionality will be presented before the Federal Judiciary. There is confidence that the election of Minister Norma Lucía Piña Hernández as President of the Court will prevent ministers, men and women, close to the president, from achieving that these provisions -violating the Magna Carta- are varnished as constitutional, as happened with the electrical legislation.

The Minister President -as faithful to the balance- will have to ensure that the majority in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation does not lose sight of the fact that collaborating with the pro-government movement in this arbitrariness in electoral matters would be suicidal and would imply subordinating the Judiciary to the will of the agent. The Minister President has announced that she will defend the independence that corresponds to the Federal Judiciary and is clear that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation is the highest constitutional court in the country, whose fundamental responsibility is the defense of the order established by the Constitution.

At the beginning of the year 2023, let us remember that hatred is opposed to the culture of peace, that it is our duty to address such a delicate issue and insist on the danger involved in fostering it and on the need to mitigate it.

Given the forthcoming visit of the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada, it is not possible to ignore the inconvenience and impertinence of the president continuing to try to implement models from the last century that were applied in completely different circumstances at the national and global level than have caused, among many other inconveniences. Such is the case of the dispute settlement panel with the United States and Canada for violations of the TMEC in energy matters, due to breach of contracts to the detriment of companies from those countries, which could translate into significant trade sanctions that Mexican exporters would pay.

Let’s start this 2023 with expectations seasoned with good wishes, hope and solidarity individually, family and community. Also, do not lose sight of the fact that we are obliged to prevent authoritarianism, brutality, inequality and savagery from continuing to advance in the country where our children and grandchildren will live.

The more united we are, the stronger we will be and the more divided, the weaker.

*The author is a lawyer and professional mediator.

phmergoldd@anmediacion.com.mx

Twitter: @Phmergoldd