Mexico: AMLO Reveals 10 Policies for National Consultation

On Friday, Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) urged citizens to participate in a new national consultation, which will be held late November.

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"Why are these questions asked? Because this is done with the Federal government's budget, which is, in the end, financed with citizens' resources. The questions are asked to know if the population agrees with using national resources for those proposals," Enrique Calderon, president of the Arturo Rosenblueth Foundation, which is responsible for the public consultation's logistics of the polling stations, stated.

AMLO made public, through his website, the details of his government proposal. On the citizen's consultation day, Mexicans will express whether they agree with the proposed government projects or not.  

1. Build the Mayan train that will connect the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo
2. Build a train that will connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans
3. Build a refinery in Tabasco to refine the national oil
4. Plant trees in 1 million hectares to create 400,000 permanent jobs
5. Increase the retirees' pension to double
6. Grant scholarships and job training to 2.6 million young Mexicans
7. Grant scholarships to all students attending public high schools
8. Grant a pension to 1 million people with disabilities
9. Guarantee medical attention to the population that does not have health services and grant free medicines in public institutions
10. Provide free internet access on roads, public squares, health centers, and schools.

The incoming AMLO administration will set up 1,102 polling stations across Mexico where residents will be asked to fill out a form and answer "yes" or "no" on 10 policy points.

On a related issue, Mexico's president-elect said that mining projects will also be summited to citizen consultation. AMLO made the announcement during a 'Thank-You tour' for his constituents in La Paz, Baja California Sur, a state that has witnessed protests against several mining projects.

"We'll respect the rule of law and follow the entire procedure. We are going to consult the citizens. It will be very simple. I will send a survey in Baja California Sur and the people will decide on this matter. But not here, we will define it with a consultation to give it all the legitimacy," AMLO told those who expressed their disagreement with mining.