Brugada Condemns Violence That Ended Coyoacán Planning Forum
Mexico City's head of government condemned the shouting and shoving that ended a forum on a metropolitan planning program in Coyoacán on Tuesday.
Mexico City’s head of government, Clara Brugada, condemned the violence at a public consultation forum on Tuesday in the Coyoacán borough, where shouting and shoving led to the cancellation of the event, according to El Universal. The forum concerned the Programa de Ordenación de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México (POZMVM), a planning program for the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico.
What happened at the forum
The session was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at the Utopía Elena Poniatowska, a community center in Coyoacán. For about two hours, speakers from the city’s Secretaría de Planeación, Ordenamiento Territorial y Coordinación Metropolitana (Metrópolis) tried to begin the presentation. Attendees interrupted them, demanding to enter the auditorium and complaining that they could not hear.
The confrontation grew between two groups. One chanted slogans in support of the head of government, and the other cheered for Ricardo Rubio, a deputy from the PAN party. They exchanged shouts, pushing and pulling, and the meeting was canceled.
What Brugada said
At a news conference, Brugada rejected the use of violence, intimidation and aggression in consultation spaces. She said differences should be voiced through arguments and proposals, and called on people to raise the level of debate, singling out the opposition.
She said anyone who disagrees with the program has the right to give opinions, offer alternatives and try to persuade residents, but not through shouting and shoving. In her words, intimidation and pushing “are not debate.” The source describes her remarks as aimed in particular at opposition figures.
What this means for residents
The forum was one of the places where residents could comment on a program that affects planning across the metropolitan area. Its cancellation means the planned presentation and exchange did not take place that day. The source does not say whether the session will be rescheduled.
Residents who want to follow the program can look for new dates from the city’s planning secretariat, which ran the session. No change to the consultation process has been announced.
It also does not say who started the confrontation, and it reports the account of Brugada’s press conference rather than statements from the groups involved.
Source: El Universal
