Background on Key Figures and Relevance
Recently, Monterrey welcomed two federal cabinet members: Rosa Icela Rodríguez, the Secretary of the Interior, and Samuel García, the Emecista governor of Nuevo León. Rodríguez led a public hearing on the electoral reform, which García attended to publicly distance himself from a proposal to modify local legislation for all-female candidates in 2027.
Who are the key figures?
- Rosa Icela Rodríguez: Secretary of the Interior, responsible for overseeing public affairs and electoral matters.
- Samuel García: Emecista governor of Nuevo León, a state in Mexico known for its industrial and economic importance.
The Current State of Electoral Reform in Nuevo León
The electoral reform process in Nuevo León has temporarily paused. García Sepúlveda personally addressed Secretary of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development, Edna Elena Vega, who met with officials responsible for property and cadastral records. These officials were present in San Pedro Garza García under the regia host.
Financial Health and Infrastructure
In Nuevo León, the financial health and investment in infrastructure are tied to punctual predial payments. This model has been attractive for other entities but does not resolve the contradiction between these systems nor contributes to property security.
Vega Rangel and Griselda Martínez’s Vision
Vega Rangel and Griselda Martínez, the Subsecretary of Urban Planning, advocate for a more inclusive model that increases revenue while expanding social benefits. The modernization of registries and cadastral records has federal resources and international financing.
Previous Attempts at Modernization
The Fourth Transformation previously attempted to modernize cadastral systems in 2020 under Román Meyer Falcón’s leadership at the Secretariat of Urban Development, Sustainability and Housing (Sedatu). This task was challenging due to historical lag and the complexity of the institutional system, along with contradictions in public property registries and cadastral records.
Current Landscape of Registries and Cadastral Systems
According to Sedatu records, there are currently 50 organizations responsible for registral and/or cadastral functions in Mexico. In a third of the country, 12 institutions integrate both functions; while in 20 entities, there are 20 registral and 18 cadastral institutions, totaling 38 specialized bodies covering these systems separately.
Challenges Facing Modernization
- Inadequate infrastructure
- Limited budgetary resources
- Lack of consistent professionalization and career public service programs
- Uneven development among institutes responsible for these functions
The Second Tier of the Fourth Transformation
The Second Tier of the Fourth Transformation could provide continuity to a persistent issue: the lack of public policy direction. Over the past two decades, its design has changed hands every six years, moving from the Secretariat of the Interior in 2007 to Sedatu in recent years, which has allocated nearly 200 million pesos for local system modernization.
New Agency’s Role
The newly established Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications will address remaining issues, such as technological obsolescence, underdeveloped systems, and insufficient staff training in state and municipal treasuries.
Secondary Effects: Conclave
More than 200 officials from the 32 local public bodies—including presidencies, councils, and executive secretariats—attended a meeting in Mexico City to share diagnostics and key proposals for strengthening electoral processes. INE’s Presiding Conjuror, Guadalupe Taddei Zavala, and her colleagues, Norma Irene de la Cruz Magaña and Jorge Montaño Ventura, participated in debates. The remaining INE councils had “more urgent matters” to address, highlighting the need for federalism in electoral processes through action rather than words.
