For the former public official, in the next 20 years Mexico could be a developed country or it will stagnate in underdevelopment.
AUSTIN, Texas.- In the framework of the activities that took place from March 8 to 10 during the South by Southwest ( SXSW ) 2019 festival , Forbes Mexico interviewed the Tourism Exit, Enrique de la Madrid, on the steps that he has to take Give the country to progress and turn your cities into smart cities .
For the former official, the first issue is to realize that in cities is where most of the changes and cultural, social, academic and ideological progress occur, because for the first time in the history of mankind, there are more people in the cities than in the countryside, which is already irreversible.
Worldwide, it is estimated that we will be 9,000 million people on the planet by 2050, and from that population, between 70% and 75% will live in cities.
That is why urban planners and civil engineers should pay special attention to the fact that the priority objective of ” smart cities ” should be accessibility, because for the Mexican politician, the lack of it is just the factor that causes anti-modernist movements and protests, because only part of the population benefits.
This was mentioned by the Madrid during his participation in the panel “Radical inclusion, social resilience and global smart cities” carried out throughout the festival.
And is that today, 75% of the Mexican population already lives in cities, “we are an urban country,” says the Mexican politician and ensures that in the future “Mexico will be the sum of its cities.”
However, he points out that in order to achieve this, it is necessary to improve the conditions in which his cities are currently located, but he emphasizes that this is not only the responsibility of the government, but also that businessmen, citizens and civil organizations have to participate together.
“We all have to take responsibility in getting involved in the solution of problems, we need government structures that go beyond the three-year municipal regimes, that does not work,” says De la Madrid.
It also affirms that Mexico must first solve the needs of housing, food, insecurity, water, work and mobility of the population, then worry about implementing technology and that the inhabitants dedicate “more time to their aspirations and less to their needs” .
For this, Mexico should take as an example nations such as Korea, which, according to the now leader of the Intelligent Cities initiative of Tec de Monterrey , went from being a poorer country than Mexico, to being a world power in a similar period.
“In the next 20 years, Mexico will be a developed country or will stagnate in underdevelopment,” says the former secretary, and notes that “this generation will decide if we are more like Spain or Venezuela,” citing the case of how the European country overcame the 2010 crisis, while the South American nation today is “shattered”.
For the former Mexican official, this is the great opportunity for the favored people to jump, but there is also the risk that, “if we do not all jump together, we will never be able to close that gap”.
To exemplify this, De la Madrid refers to a fast train in a station, in which the doors are closed, causing only some of those waiting on the platform to climb and others to remain outside.
“Within 15 seconds of the train moving forward, those who stayed outside will not only be delayed, but will never reach the car they could not climb,” he concludes.
Source: Forbes
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