In depth: The Comprehensive Plan for Eastern Edomex and its challenges

The "Comprehensive Plan for the Eastern Zone of Edomex" promises a transformation with 121 programs and 75 billion pesos. We analyze its structure, its ambitious goals, and the enormous coordination and transparency challenges it will face to achieve it.

Mexico City.- The announced "Comprehensive Plan for the Eastern Zone of the State of Mexico" is, on paper, one of the most ambitious regional development strategies in the country's modern history. With a projected investment of 75.786 billion pesos, 121 specific programs, and the participation of 17 federal and state institutions, the plan seeks to be a watershed for 10 million inhabitants. However, its structural complexity represents both its greatest strength and its main weakness.

The initiative, promoted by President Claudia Sheinbaum and Governor Delfina Gómez, adopts a holistic approach, recognizing that the region's problems—poverty, insecurity, lack of water, and mobility—are interconnected and cannot be solved with isolated actions.

The plan is coordinated by seven state secretariats and ten federal institutions, including giants such as the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), the Ministry of Health, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS-Bienestar), and the National Water Commission (Conagua).

The specific programs reveal the magnitude of the intervention:

* Education: 10,200 new spaces will be created for high school students, and new Rosario Castellanos University campuses will be built, seeking to reduce the educational gap.

* Health: The goal is to strengthen 180 medical units and reactivate 57 operating rooms in 17 hospitals in the eastern region, dramatically improving access to health services.

* Social Programs: More than 1.1 million people are projected to benefit from an annual investment exceeding 30 billion pesos through pensions for senior citizens, scholarships for students (including the Rita Cetina Scholarship for high school), and support for people with disabilities.

* Housing and Infrastructure: The plan includes 97,000 housing improvement grants and 20 basic community infrastructure projects, such as parks and sports facilities, in addition to the renovation of drainage and drinking water networks.

While the plan's ambition is laudable, its success will depend entirely on its execution capacity and the implementation of rigorous oversight mechanisms. The history of major government projects in Mexico is littered with examples of good intentions that get lost in a labyrinth of bureaucracy, a lack of inter-institutional coordination, and, in the worst cases, corruption.

"Together, we make up more than 50% of the State of Mexico's population... we're approximately 10 million people; we're a very important force for the country and the state." – Azucena Cisneros, Mayor of Ecatepec.

The main challenges that the Comprehensive Plan will face are:

* Interinstitutional Coordination: Getting 17 secretariats and agencies, each with its own operating rules and priorities, to work in a synchronized manner is a monumental challenge.

* Transparency and Accountability: With a budget of more than 75 billion pesos, it is imperative to have real-time transparency portals and citizen audits to ensure that every peso is spent correctly.

* Trans-six-year continuity: The plan is designed for the entire six-year term. Ensuring that programs and projects are not halted due to political or administrative changes will be essential.

The Comprehensive Plan for Eastern Mexico has the potential to positively transform the lives of millions. But to ensure it doesn't remain a campaign promise, it requires impeccable execution and constant oversight by the media and, above all, the public, who will be the primary auditors of this historic project.