Amnesty International Sees Worrisome Lack of Clarity in Mexico Crusade Against Hunger Emir Olivares Alonso - La Jornada
go to original January 25, 2013

Amnesty International (AI) expressed its concern about the "lack of clarity" for how the National Crusade Against Hunger, launched on Monday by the federal government, is to be implemented.

It considered that the announcement of a strategy against hunger and, therefore, against poverty, is "a step in the right direction for putting an end to this grave and urgent crisis."

However, because of its scale, this scourge is one of the most profound human rights problems facing Mexico and must be addressed as such by the authorities, in order to truly benefit the affected communities.

It recalled that previous Mexican presidents had pledged to eradicate poverty, but figures from the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy show the opposite: a substantial increase in the number of people in poverty between 1990 and 2010.

"The federal government should clearly state the actions that it will take in the short, medium and long term to serve all these people," AI emphasized in its statement.

AI's statement added that while the plan announced by Enrique Peña Nieto emphasizes a non-welfare and inclusionary approach to those living in poverty, [nonetheless,]

"this organization is concerned about the lack of clarity regarding how these objectives will be achieved, and how existing institutions will be capable of achieving them by the simple fact of improving coordination. Furthermore, the absence of specific budgets dedicated to implementation of this plan in the Federation's Expense Budget is worrisome, as it will be carried out with resources that were already planned for programs like Opportunities."

AI noted that beyond the commitments, "effective" actions are needed to demonstrate that this struggle is truly a priority for the new government.

"The measures announced so far fail to meet certain basic conditions for success of the strategy."

Therefore, AI believes that the government strategy must contain six key points in order to function well:

1. Identify and address the structural causes of poverty and not just its consequences through short-term policies;
2. Guarantee that the people who will benefit have ways to participate in decision-making that affects their lives;
3. Consider fully the range of deprivations that constitute poverty, including access to security and justice;
4. Define clear minimum objectives with specific dates for fulfillment;
5. Rely on adequate enforcement mechanisms that enable beneficiaries to sue the authorities to fulfill these objectives and respect their rights; and 
6. Construct effective accountability mechanisms.

See Spanish original

Posted by Jane Brundage at Mexico Voices

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