President Urges Society to Overcome Prejudice
 Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la República
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October 20, 2010
| "Equality is a commitment that demands unity of purpose and action." - Felipe Calderón
(Adriana Zehbrauskas/New York Times) | |
Mexico City - President Felipe Calderón urged Mexicans to do away with arbitrary distinction which, he said, severely damages the dignity and lives of those that suffer from it.
"Today, on National Non-Discrimination Day, I urge all Mexicans to fight for the freedom, rights and dignity of those that still suffer some form of exclusion in this country," he said.
Accompanied by his wife, Margarita Zavala and Javier Hernández Valencia, Representative in Mexico of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and Ricardo Bucio Mújica, National President for the Prevention of Discrimination, the Mexican President declared that equality and non-discrimination should be the guiding principles of our democracy, although he added that this has yet to be achieved.
“I urge you to continue tearing down prejudices, myths, walls and resistance, to continue fighting against silence, oblivion, and the lack of understanding, with the conviction that the path towards an egalitarian society we want is irreversible,” he said.
In the Adolfo López Mateos Hall, in Los Pinos, he said that he had declared 19 October the National Non-Discrimination Day.
“Our aim is for Mexico to be a more democratic nation, a nation with a better standard of living for all, a nation that provides all Mexicans with the same opportunities for development, participation and coexistence and that will overcome prejudices, which are the basis of the discrimination that is so deeply rooted in our civilizations," he said.
President Calderón said that the Mexican state must guarantee equal opportunities for all Mexicans, since discrimination threatens human dignity and prevents all of us from being part of the social, economic and cultural development of our country.
In this respect, he admitted that Mexico has a historical debt with its indigenous peoples, who demand clear, forceful responses from the state and the governments that represent them.
“It is very encouraging that yesterday, the United Nations Development Program hailed the enormous effort made by Mexico to deal with the economic, social and cultural rights of the indigenous population. Most importantly, they agree with us over the need to further increase spending and to focus it to reduce the inequality of which indigenous people, among others, are victims," he said.
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