The New Roles of States and Territorial Scales

The evidence of the exhaustion of this governability model based on an authoritarian presidential system is increasing. Given this reality, the organisations of the Public Observatory Council for State Reform aim to promote a wide process of transformation in the State institutional structure of Mexico, in order to facilitate democratic governability and to introduce a new model with room for State - Society relations.

By law, the Executive Committee for Negotiation and Building of Agreements (CENCA), should have acted according to the guideline of reaching agreements based on the widest general consensus possible. In practice, however, and contrary to the rule of obtained the widest consensus possible, the political parties understood the work groups to the quasi legislative bodies and, rather than seeking to obtain consensus, developed strategies to veto possible agreements.

The specific dynamics of reaching agreements has not evolved in line with what had been set out in the Law on State Reform. Based on this observation it is essential to decide which strategies should be adopted by citizens’ organisation in order to promote their ideas and move discussion and negotiation beyond political party logic.

The authors of this paper, from the stance that State reform is also the responsibility of the people, propose the creation of a space for reflection and generation of public opinion, directed at strengthening the influential capacity of civil society. The purpose should be to promote a reform to the Union Congress Law in order to set forth the recognition of civil society as a party with the right to express and promote their points of view and proposals.