Morena deputy proposes 20% of candidacies for youth

A federal deputy from the Morena party has proposed reserving 20% of political candidacies for young people, aiming to institutionalize affirmative action and ensure greater democratic representation. The initiative, presented by Claudia Rivera Vivanco on International Youth Day, seeks to amend the General Law of Electoral Institutions and Procedures.

Rivera Vivanco argued that while electoral bodies have issued administrative criteria for youth representation, a permanent legal framework is necessary. She highlighted that young people constitute nearly a third of Mexico's population and 30% of the electoral roll, yet their participation in public decision-making remains marginal.

“

The youth quota cannot continue to depend on temporary agreements or the circumstantial will of the parties, but must be an obligation set in law to consolidate true democratic representation.

The proposal aims to move beyond temporary agreements and the fluctuating will of political parties, establishing a legal obligation for youth inclusion. Current data shows a stark underrepresentation in the Mexican Congress, with only 4.6% of the Chamber of Deputies and 3.9% of the Senate occupied by individuals aged 21 to 30.

This lack of institutional representation, the deputy contended, discourages political involvement among younger generations. Evidence from the 2023-2024 federal electoral process indicated a drop in participation among 20 to 24-year-olds to 48%, significantly below the national average. The initiative proposes a minimum of 20% for candidacies to the Union Congress and 15% for municipal slates, also seeking to prevent tokenism by requiring young candidates in winnable districts.

“

We are not going to continue with a regulatory model that is exhausted and suffers from the permanent legal certainty that only a reform to the formal law can grant.