1st Article
The Human Rights Approach: Mexico’s Implementation of the Plan Nacional de Desarrallo
By: Hanna Jaff Bosdet
As is it is now well known, at least in the realm of those who study economics and development, some if the most recent approaches towards human rights is to reconcile the concepts of economic goals and human rights. The latter in a sense of now perceiving human rights as goals or as instruments of economic development, but rather as a separate concept that is very well linked to the former. It may seem as quite a complex theme, and this might explain why economists and development academics still have trouble reconciling their standpoints. Notwithstanding, for the purpose of this article, it is fair to say that it is very much possible to reconcile the economic goals of a country with the respect of human rights.
Most countries (it can definitely be argued that all countries) have some sort of document that expresses what is necessary for development for a certain period of time. This paper will focus on Mexico and how its Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (National Development Plan) is implemented, and whether or not, as a developing country, it represents a human rights approach. Provided that Mexico is a developing country, it would be safe to assume that said document would emphasize human rights. Mexico’s Plan Nacional de Desarrollo, at least under President Felipe Calderón’s administration, albeit plagued with economic rhetoric, includes a wide perspective on the newer approaches of development, particularly that of sustainability and human capital, which are consistent with the approach towards human rights perceived as a set of choices or capabilities.
First and foremost, it is imperative to clearly define what should be understood for the concepts of development and human rights. The former can be defined as or generally perceived as “a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy”[1]. This latter definition basically entails that development, or as economists would refer to it, economic development, results in people having more choices to fulfill their needs. From an economic standpoint, this basically means that as a result of an increase in income, people should have a larger array of options from which to choose. From a human rights standpoint, freedom is having this set of choices, thus freedom is a measure of development. Consenquently, human rights, for the purpose of this paper, will be understood as the minimum amount of a set of choices, or capabilities, that people should have.
Mexico’s Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (PND), which was enacted to be implemented from 2007 to 2012, has five general sections, most of them purely economic, which proves how the human rights approach is basically lacking. Included are: Estado de Derecho y seguridad (Rule of Law and Security); Economía competitiva y generadora de empleos (Competitive economy and job generator); Igualdad de oportunidades (Equal opportunities); Sustentabilidad ambiental (Environmental sustainability); and Democracia efectiva y política exterior responsable (Effective democracy and responsible foreign policy).[2] The PND is enforced as a law, provided that the Mexican Constitution establishes that the federal government, in its pursue to map out the country’s direction (in an economic sense), must include the specific means by which the country is headed towards development. Moreover, all sectors of the economy and the government participate in its drafting, so as to have their needs met accordingly. Like so, each administration has the legal obligation to enact this plan, draft it, and enforce it as a federal law.
According to the Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos (Organization of Iberoamerican States), the current Plan Nacional de Desarrollo in Mexico has the basic premise of seeking sustainable human development.[3] This premise actually does reconcile economic goals with human rights needs, and furthermore, it incorporates more recent approaches to development issues, insofar it includes the general theme of sustainability. In this manner, the PND has the chief foundation of seeking a permanent process of expanding capabilities and freedoms that will enable all Mexicans to have a life worth living without compromising future generation’s well being.[4] Further portraying this newer approach to development, in particular, the notion of human capital, the Plan Nacional de Desarrollo establishes that Mexico’s people are its greatest asset and source of wealth.
The PND dedicates an entire chapter to explain what should be understood for “Sustainable Human Development”, which represents the current administration’s focus not just on the very popular sustainability theme, but also on human capital and how it fuels development of the country. It certainly shifts the traditional economic approach towards a more human and more “global” stance. Some may say that, as many developing countries do (especially a country like Mexico that is continuously struggling to be respected in the international arena), a document that boasts all these newer themes and approaches might do so only to meet with global standards. Be that as it may, the real issue is that the Mexican central government has publicly established how development is really human-centered, and not just economically-driven.
Thus, there has been some shift in the PND’s rhetoric towards a human rights approach, yet it still remains to be seen how well this translates into actual governmental action, both in the federal and local spheres. A clear example of the government’s goal of eliminating gender inequalities is the fact that all 32 states have included domestic violence against women as a legitimate cause for divorce in their local legislations. Furthermore, President Calderón issued the Programa Nacional para la Igualdad entre Mujeres y Hombres (National Program for the Equality Among Women and Men) in 2009, which is binding at the federal, state, and municipal spheres. The latter basically imposes positive obligations on the government so as to assure that women are given the same opportunities as men are: civil, social, and political rights. This also proves how the shift in rhetoric in the PND has actually translated into proactive changes to benefit women, giving them freedom, which leads to the country’s development.
In sum, the current PND has a human rights rhetoric, in the sense of understanding human rights as the set of capabilities, and the choice people have of fulfilling their needs. Mexico perceives its people as human capital, and the importance of improving their situation so as to better the country’s overall development. The fact that the PND combines sustainability and human development into a single concept shows how there has been a considerable shift from economic-centered policies to more human capital and human development strategies; strategies that are slowly trickling down to the state and municipal governments.
Sources cited
México – Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007-2012. Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos. Retrieved from http://www.oei.es/noticias/spip.php?article1632 (Accessed 7 February 2010).
Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007-2012. Poder Ejecutivo Federal. Retrieved from http://www.oei.es/quipu/mexico/pnd_mexico_transformacion_educativa.pdf (Accessed 7 February 2010).
Sen, Amartya. Development as Freedom. New York: Borzoi Books, 1999.
[1] Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (New York: Borzoi Books, 1999), p. 3.
[2] Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007-2012. Poder Ejecutivo Federal. Retrieved from http://www.oei.es/quipu/mexico/pnd_mexico_transformacion_educativa.pdf (Accessed 7 February 2010).
[3] México – Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007-2012. Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos. Retrieved from http://www.oei.es/noticias/spip.php?article1632 (Accessed 7 February 2010).
[4] Id.
© 2010, Hanna Jaff. All rights reserved.
