A Decree with a Flavor of Justice (and We Will See)
In an act that will undoubtedly go down in the annals of what is protocolally correct, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has led the delivery of more than 3 thousand hectares in the majestic and conflictive Sierra Tarahumara to the Ódami people. With this gesture, which some would dare to call restitutionary, the federal government adds a whopping 6,026 hectares “returned” to indigenous peoples since what they pompously call the Second Floor of the Fourth Transformation began. Because, of course, transformations also need their attics.
The president, in a display of historical synthesis, declared: “It is about giving you what was always yours, but that had not been recognized.” A pearl of legal truism that makes us wonder, how many things “always belonged to someone” without the State deigning to recognize it? The delivery, they tell us, is part of the Justice Plan for the people of the Sierra Tarahumara. A plan that, we hope, includes more justice and less brochures.
Promises, Potholes and a Nursing School
And since there can be no government act without a shower of future commitments that sound wonderful on a microphone, everything was announced. The inhabitants will be incorporated into the Sembrando Vida program (because what is life without planting, or without conditional government support). The potholes will be addressed, in coordination with the Government of Chihuahua. Great news! The epic fight against holes in the road finds new allies. Health centers will also be expanded, work will be done on the supply of medicines (a classic of the promising genre) and a Nursing School will be built next to the Guachochi Hospital.
This last one, a gem of planning: training nurses in their native language. An idea so sensible that one is surprised it is news. The Ódami representative, Antonio Ayala Loera, thanked the announcement made through the IMSS. Surely he awaits with excitement the moment when the blades hit the ground, not just the headlines.
After listening to the community, the Chief Executive, in a fit of scheduled agenda, committed to addressing the needs of road infrastructure, electrification, connectivity and new schools… for next year. And the best thing: he promised to return to monitor progress. A perfect story ending, where the heroine returns to see if what was promised was fulfilled. The script, of course, will be written by reality, that chronic killjoy.
In short, a great day: land returned (or recognized, which is the fashionable euphemism), promises of development thrown to the mountain wind and the hope that, this time, the territorial justice chapter will not remain only in the brilliant prologue of a speech. Because the Ódami, and all indigenous peoples, have been waiting for centuries not only for recognition, but for the effective materialization of their rights. Time, that implacable judge, will tell if this act was the beginning of something substantial or just another photo for the album of government good intentions.
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