Proposal to Mexico:

Without taking into consideration gender, social condition, or activity, we Mexicans should consider ourselves as one family which at this time finds itself confused, disoriented and depressed. This is the moment for reflection and rediscovery; to begin with the most facile in order to reunite as one large, collective assembly, beautiful, sociable, and composed of harmonious artistic, productive and tranquil fundamentals.

The residents of Tlacotalpan, San Miguel de Allende, Valle de Bravo, and many other such communities in Mexico, cooperate and serve one another without envy, but rather with pleasure, with respect and dignity; the social classes do not resent nor compete with one another, each has a function, and in this way they bring about days that are happy and harmonious.

We are politically bankrupt.

The politician should communicate without rhetoric, in simple terms, untainted and without embellishment, using words of everyday speech, without alluding negatively and refuting every proposal of opposition candidates.

Government must not be personalized, because we run the risk of returning to past dictatorships, notwithstanding they will be limited to a six year turn in office.

Every candidate´s promises only serve to separate us by always seeking to demonstrate the inefficiency of their political rivals, unconcerned for the interests of the citizenry.

Intending to be positive, and having consulted with responsible citizens, permit me to suggest several proposals that come to mind:

1- Invite the participation of society as a whole, using the mass media to do so in a positive manner. The citizens should inform, by borough or municipality every deficiency, from the most elemental, such as a hole in the street, a missing or erroneous road sign, the lack of services, street lighting, and even matters of personal security.

Respect for everyone’s preference, including their clothes, music, food, and harmony (culture and tradition).

2- Accept proposals on how to recuperate the streets, the visual aesthetic, and the traditions of even the smallest village, through ideas and the participation of architects, historians, urban planners, painters, sculptors, and poets, both local and national.

3- Create a model home for street children - not the diverse assortment of ideas and services proposed by well intentioned people who are financed by corporate foundations, society matrons, political parties, or celebrities with ethics and moral values. Design a home deliberately planned by experts, the best available internationally; employ specialists, and once the goal is achieved, duplicate it throughout the country.

4- We can also achieve model prisons, run by anonymous, unidentified corporations, perhaps international, in an agreed upon exchange, providing physical areas and services adequate for their function, employing expert personnel that can be dismissed from their duties, to be located in strategic sites away from urban areas.

5- Modify the general architecture of the nation, starting with those which are called housing projects for the popular classes, in accordance with the regions, in the most simple, harmonic, aesthetic, ecological form, employing human dimensions, establishing rules, styles, services and gardens. This should be accomplished with the participation of architects, urban planners, historians, poets, painters and sculptors.

6- In places where there is the probability of civil discord, all government facilities and offices where public business is conducted should be situated outside of the city, providing areas there for public manifestations where those who are so inclined can stage their protests. These areas for expressing public disapproval of government policy should be provided specifically for this purpose in order to avoid the negative effect on the daily life of non-participatory citizens.

Within the Federal District, the above proposal would pave the way for recuperating the most significant historic area on this continent. By relocating the functions of government, such as the National Palace and the Mayor´s Office, we can recover the Zocalo Square and its environs, by planting trees, building hotels, opening restaurants, and residential and commercial areas as is now being planned; imposing the necessary order and tranquility vital to this area.

7- Private foundations provide solutions to certain needy sectors of society, but it is necessary to unify the direction of their actions. We should propose to these foundations that they paint exterior walls, create contests for the design of exterior balconies, create seasonal festivals, and borough festivals in which the citizenry can participate, with attendant economic stimuli and accolades.
Provide workshops and housing for artists, support them, stimulate their efforts, listen to their opinion, and put them to work creating and beautifying; producing work that is economically well compensated.

8- Communicate amongst ourselves the examples that have fashioned positive results in other countries which we could simply copy, subsequently adapting them to our culture (garbage, rural areas, housing projects, reforestation, water conservation, etc.).

9-In order involve ourselves in the industrial and technological development of the modern world, we could create a Latin American Hong Cong by taking advantage of our privileged geographic location. For example, in Baja California, utilizing already existent international examples, and offering the same conditions (and even superior ones), considering land use, ecological respect for industry, urban development for both tourism and industry, and of course available human resources, in order to attract international and national corporations that are seeking strategic areas in which to locate their business, with access to prime materials, marketplace and tax benefits.

We must never forget that we are responsible to one another, to ourselves, and to a higher and much simpler truth.

We must look beyond politicians and politics, we are in the midst of a competition where if we don´t take stock of ourselves, and if we don´t question ourselves, even he who wins will ultimately be a loser.

Salvador Riestra

www.loscontemporaneos.com.mx
Constitución 18
Colonia Escandón
México 11800 D.F.
55150899
52761159