Breathe
By Luisa Cantú Ríos
The Constitutional Points Commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved approved a reform that reduces the age to occupy certain positions: From 21 to 18 for a seat in San Lazaro and from 30 to 25 for a Secretary of State. Is this a good or bad idea? The figures documented by the Pew Research Center (PRC) would indicate that it is a good one.
According to an analysis of world leaders, the people who govern - at least in terms of presidency or equivalent - are between 30 and 90 years old: the youngest is Chile's Gabriel Bóric, 37, and the longest is Paul Biya of Cameroon, who is just nine decades old. The average for all countries is 62.
This means that in most nations the person who governs is older than the average age of the population: 3 out of 10 governors are in their sixties and another 2 out of 10 are in their fifties. For example, in the United States the median age is 38 and President Biden is 80, in Mexico the median age is 29 and Andrés Manuel López Obrador is 69.
In the collective imagination, politics and public office are a matter for older people because "they have experience", but although this is irrefutable, the PRC's findings indicate that countries with older leaders have less freedom. In the states considered by Freedom House as "less free" those who govern are on average 69 years old, while if we average the age of the places where it is considered that there is more freedom, the figure drops to 58.
There is also a gender factor: if we average the age of all prime ministers and world presidents we get 62, the average for women is 57. In other words: it is women who are occupying leadership positions in places where there are younger governments. The initiative here in Mexico is promoted by three young women legislators from different political parties: the Morenista Andrea Chávez and the PRI members Karla Ayala and Cynthia López Castro.
The proposal approved in Commissions must still be discussed in the plenary, but it contributes to an anti-adult-centered culture. The latter is defined as "the hegemonic current in which a society is centered on the needs and interests of adults; in this way, people who do not fit the model", such as youth, adolescence and childhood, are subordinated.
Listening to the youngest people in our society is already being sought in other aspects of public life such as education, an article by Sofía García for the Tecnológico de Monterrey quotes the following "it would be valuable to consider that even if the main role of the adult would be to teach, this does not mean that children are totally incapable of doing so in turn".
Recognizing that rights, in this case political rights, do not begin at the age of majority is a way of empowering children and adolescents: a measure that would force us to see and treat them as equals. In a country where this sector is highly affected by poverty and violence, it is worth trying.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.
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