The citizen participatory budget campaigns “Design your City” began to promote the projects proposed in the neighborhoods and Comisarias of the Municipality, where Mayor Alejandro Ruz Castro highlighted that this support of society towards its authorities, is reflected in the application of 411 properties, of which 295 were admitted for the development of citizen proposals, and 177 projects were received with registration and 149 were viable according to the evaluation of technical and legal feasibility, economic and social established in the call and approved by the Technical Committee.
In Mérida we work on public policies, programs and actions with the participation of all sectors of the population, which help us to continue promoting citizen participation mechanisms that allow us to improve neighborhoods, subdivisions and Comisarias for the benefit of the entire population, said the President. Municipal.
“Mérida conceives the citizen as a fundamental piece in the development of the city, participating through municipal mechanisms oriented to public value, where creation and innovation that does not necessarily have its origin in authority is privileged.”
He added that of these 149 projects approved to participate in the public consultation on January 28, 2024, results will be available between January 29 and February 2, so he invited all citizens to prepare to vote for their projects.
Accompanied by the Municipal Secretary, Julio Sauma Castillo, the Mayor added that citizen participation encourages civic collaboration and the construction of a city model, where democracy is not just another concept, but its application promotes trust in committed authorities and citizens involved in its consolidation.
In the event that took place in the Silvio Zavala Vallado auditorium of the Mérida Cultural Center “Olimpo”, Ruz Castro mentioned that citizen participation reinforces society’s trust in its authorities, hence the Participatory Budget program “Design Your City”, has been from the beginning a coordinated work mechanism between municipal government and civil society, to continue building a city in constant growth.
“Mérida has made progress in recent years on the issue of public spaces with innovative actions such as: the Participatory Design program, 37 parks designed with the help of citizens, and recently awarded by the Federal Government and the International Parks Congress, as well as the implementation of the Park Ranger program,” he explained.
In turn, Marisol Puerto Acevedo, in charge of the Secretariat of Citizen Participation, commented that the Participatory Budget program “Design Your City”, is in phase 5 in which the citizens of each district have from December 8, this year until January 27, 2024, to promote the proposed projects among their neighbors, which, he said, according to what was established in the call, it is now the responsibility of the applicants to carry out their campaigns with their own resources and means in their respective neighborhoods, subdivisions and Comisarias, to receive the support of the citizens.
Likewise, propaganda must be aligned with the Urban Image Regulations of the Municipality of Mérida and may be carried out in three modalities: Neighborhood Assemblies, dissemination in digital media and dissemination in print media, suggesting that they privilege digital media.
Puerto Acevedo also reported that, among the proposed projects, 28 were not viable because they did not comply with the technical, social, economic and legal feasibility established in the call. Such is the case of eight projects that resulted in possible archaeological remains on the property, which would warrant intervention by INAH that would not allow the development of the project in the time required for 2024.
She commented that, among the proposed projects, 116 are focused on improvements in parks and 33 on sports spaces.
During the event there was also a space to answer questions and comments from the participants about the process and they were invited to keep an eye on the official media of the City Council as well as various media outlets, where the call will be announced for the voting process as well as the locations and times where all citizens with a valid Mérida credential will be able to vote for projects by District.
Source: Quadratin
