Calderón's Column

Here's roughly the last 1.5 percent of it, after Calderón laid out the details of each portion of his ten-point proposal for political reform:

In summary, this initiative seeks to create a new relationship between the society and the authorities, between the three branches of government and different realms of government. In the coming days, Congress will be discussing and analyzing in a responsible way these and other proposals. That's why it's fundamental that citizens get involved in the debate about the political reform initiative; it's vital that society's voice is heard with clarity and force.

As with every initiative, what we have presented is perfectible. And that's why it would be very positive for diverse political actors, academics, and the civil society to be putting forth some proposals to enrich the debate. All of them will be welcome, because the initiative that we have sent to Congress can and must be improved with the pluralizing contrast of ideas and projects.

That's why the federal government has been convoking the participation of citizens and their organizations to the debate over political reform and it will continue to do so during the coming weeks. For the society, the Political Reform in favor of the Citizens initiative represents an opportunity to turn dissatisfaction into participation. This can't be a reform created, debated, and approved only by politicians, by the parties, and the governing class. It's vital that we listen to the voice of the citizens, especially because it's with regard to widening their rights and the realm of political participation.

That's why I invite organizations from civil society, academics and specialists, workers, students, students, businessmen, activists, and members of all the political parties, those who participate in the so-called social networks of the internet and all of the citizens to participate in the discussion of the political reform in different forums of opinion and expression that are being established.

The citizens are the true actors of the political reform. In this year of the fatherland [it's Mexico's bicentennial in 2010] let's open the debate to all of the citizens, let's spark the deep change that the country needs. Let's pass from Effective Suffrage to Effective Democracy. The Reform in favor of the Citizens seeks this goal.

Comments: I think it's fair to say that in the scheme of politician/writers, Winston Churchill he is not. How did he manage to squeeze four that's whys into five paragraphs? And a thesaurus would have been really handy after about the eleventh use of the word initiative. Other oddly repetitive phrases abound. Although regardless of whatever criticism Calderón earned here, he's still leaps and bounds above Beatriz Paredes.

Read the second sentence of the passage again. For someone who's been in office for three years, Calderón doesn't seem to know the makeup of Congress particularly well.

The Political Reform in favor of the Citizens is a delightfully uncreative and awkward title for a piece of legislation.

I understand the point he was trying to make, but for a president to say that a proposal of his own creation "can and must be improved" is a bit jarring.

And in all seriousness, the basic point of the piece --the more involved Mexican society is in the debate of the political reform, the better-- is sound.