Election day in Mexico is June 6. Millions of voters will choose their legislative representatives. Many of these voters no longer live in Mexico, but they are still demanding to have their voices heard.
Migrants from Mexico who live abroad will have the opportunity to vote for a council member who will represent them in the Mexico Congress.
Mexico City is not only the capital of the country of Mexico. It is also its own state.
Electoral Advisor Mauricio Huesca of the Mexico City Electoral Institute says the election of a new migrant council member marks an important step in Mexican democracy.
“This is the first time that people from Mexico City (living around) around the world (will have) this opportunity to elect their own representative,” Huesca said. “For the first time, they will not only vote for the Mexican elections, but vote for someone who comes from abroad and (represents) their interests.”
Electoral Institute of the City of Mexico
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Huesca said the council member will be one of 66 members serving in the Mexico City Congress.
Rodrigo Cervantes, Mexico City bureau chief and reporter for KJZZ in Arizona, said the migrant council member will be going back and forth between his country of residence and the Mexico City legislature.
“It just speaks to you about the nature of a globalized world,” Cervantes said.
He said the election underscores “the importance of giving a voice to those who, while actively participating in the economy and culture of two or more nations, also deserve a space to participate in democracy and to building a better society for the places they come from.”
Of the approximately 500,000 Mexico City residents living abroad, only a small percentage have the right to vote in the upcoming elections.
Huesca said about 100,000 migrants from Mexico City had voter ID cards allowing them to vote remotely.
Eligible Mexico City residents abroad have until June 6 to submit their virtual vote. Mail-in votes must be received by June 5.
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