Yucatán, Mexico: the 2030 Agenda as a guide for a subnational government (2021)

Subnational governments in Mexico have greatly increased their international activity over the past 20 years. This increase responds to the need of these governments to internationalize and develop.

Although the Political Constitution of the country prohibits them from entering into alliances, treaties or coalitions with other States; in its Article 117°, the Law on the Celebration of Treaties (1992) allows and regulates the celebration of inter-institutional agreements between dependencies and decentralized organizations of the public administration, and foreign government bodies or international organizations.

In this sense, the state of Yucatán sought a way to respond to the needs of the government and those of its civil society from [local diplomacy.](https://cemeri.org/enciclopedia/e-que-es- local-diplomacy-cu#:~:text=Definition%C3%B3n%20of%20Local%20Diplomacy&text=Event%20organized%20by%20the%20International%20%20Directorate%20of%20Mexican%20cities.) Your strategy of internationalization is reflected in the State Development Plan (PED) for the period from 2018 to 2024.

The importance of the 2030 Agenda

Thanks to the 169 universal goals contained in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda has served since its creation, in 2015, as a guide for actions international local governments. That is why Mexico incorporated it into its national democratic planning framework and encouraged subnational governments to build planning instruments based on it.

In reaction, the government of Yucatan modified its regulatory framework, installed the State Council of the 2030 Agenda and built its PED 2018-2024 with the methodological support of the *United Nations Development Program (UNDP) * In Mexico, for which work is being done on budget management for public programs, strategic collaborations with the private sector, and a monitoring system to evaluate the development and compliance with lines of action. Reports from the UNDP itself highlight the PED strategy as the most aligned to the international agenda of all of Mexico.

The ultimate goal is to guarantee the human rights of the population of the state through the eradication of poverty and inequality between people, the maintenance of security, the conservation of culture and the protection of the environment, which should generate " the conditions to trigger inclusive and sustainable economic development and consolidate the democratic governance of state institutions”. [1]

Sectoral and transversal axes in the international activity of the state

Within the PED, work is carried out on four sectoral axes: 1. Yucatan with an Inclusive Economy, 2. Yucatan with quality of life and social well-being, 3. Cultural Yucatan with identity for development, and 4. Green and sustainable Yucatan. Each of these axes contains six to eight public policies interrelated with five cross-cutting axes: 1. Gender equality, opportunities and non-discrimination; 2. Innovation, knowledge and technology; 3. Peace, justice and governability; 4. Open, efficient government with healthy finances; and 5. Sustainable cities and communities.

For the purposes of this note, the most important international activities in Yucatan in 2021 will be described, a year in which around 70 were counted, focused on Tourism and Sustainable Development.

Impulse to tourism is the fourth of the eight policies within the first sector axis. Despite being a state with long coastlines and cultural richness, the diagnosis of the sector was not encouraging due to the lack of a comprehensive state tourism plan; As consequences, the lack of diffusion, lack of connectivity between tourist attractions and a low rate of stay were diagnosed. In response, the Yucatan Tourism Development Secretariat played a leading role throughout 2021.

During its Responsible Tourism Fair, it welcomed UNDP as a guest speaker and sought in various instances the creation of new air routes, on the other hand, the State Tourism Advisory Council affiliated with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). A framework collaboration agreement for sustainable tourism was signed with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and various tourism promotion events were held. In addition, Yucatecan companies in the sector participated in international tourism recovery programs after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first and second policies of the same axis are "Commercial Development and Strengthening of Local Companies" and "Competitiveness and Foreign Investment", respectively. Both were carried out with economic activities, for example, the promotion of local companies abroad for future business, as well as those that seek to attract foreign investment as part of the internationalization program for MSMEs.

Likewise, the governor carried out a commercial mission through Europe to attract more investments and projects that help reactivate the economy and generate more sources of work; some of the companies he visited were Fincantieri – Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., ANPA and Marine Interiors, from the Italian naval industry. It should be noted that North American companies such as Amazon and Invincible Boats arrived, a new plant from the Swiss Holcim was inaugurated, the World Justice Project recognized Yucatán as the state of Mexico with the greatest legal certainty and the American Chamber of Commerce named it the safest state. to be able to invest and with lower costs of security investments.

The governor of Yucatan, Mauricio Vila, poses with the bill on climate change, coordinated work between the state government and the United Kingdom embassy in Mexico, through the financing program of the United Kingdom UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT), and the civil association Environmental Policy and Legislation (Polea). Source: Government of Yucatan. (2021). Yucatán advances in establishing regulations against Climate Change.

The issues of Sustainable Development and the 2030 Agenda are found within the fourth sectoral axis and the fifth transversal axis, being the activities of the public policy of Conservation of natural resources the most demanded, given the great degradation of the environment that the state suffers through because of its territorial vulnerability. Here, the cooperation with various German organizations stands out, such as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).

Virtual meeting between the Secretary of Research, Innovation and Higher Education of the state of Yucatán, Bernardo Cisneros Buenfil, and the director of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Foundation, Hans Blomeier, during the Week of Global Megatrends. Source: Government of Yucatan. (2021). The Global Megatrends Week is successfully held in Yucatan.

The participation of the government of Yucatan in the 2021-2022 World Congress of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability should be distinguished, where the governor was appointed President of the Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean region; as well as at the 2021 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and at COP 26, held in Glasgow, Scotland. Similarly, the "Yucatán Solidario" initiative was recognized by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) as one of the best practices for its results in achieving the SDGs.

Within the third transversal axis is the Governance policy, and its strategy 7.3.2.2.1. Manage the rapprochement between international authorities and the state government to promote international cooperation. In this sense, Yucatan strengthened its relations with Saudi Arabia to find ways to carry out tourist, commercial and cultural exchanges in the future; with Israel, by signing a letter of intent with technological objectives for development; the Vatican when an invitation addressed to Pope Francis is delivered to visit the state; and with the Swiss Confederation to develop sustainable tourism promotion projects.

There are other items with less, but not insignificant activity. For example, the interactions for Health (second sector axis, public policy "Health and well-being") responded to the Covid-19 crisis through donations of supplies by the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), collaborations were consolidated with other organizations such as the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Institute for Research and Development of the French Government (IRD).

In the same axis is the public policy of Comprehensive education with quality, for which cooperation agreements were signed with the French ambassador in Mexico to promote and develop the teaching of the French language in state universities and student exchanges were coordinated. to universities in Canada with the Canadian Bureau of International Education. In addition, the UN recognized the "Youth in Action Strategy for the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy in Yucatan" as one of the best practices at the international level.

The third sectoral axis did not stand out on the international agenda, with the exception of the project "Promotion of the creative economy" between the state government and UNESCO so that companies in the creative and artistic industry of Yucatan receive financing.

The sixth transversal axis includes the Training of Human Resources. In this regard, the first Helicopter Pilot Training and Training Center in the southeast of the country was inaugurated, the result of the alliance between Yucatan and the French company Airbus, a world leader in aeronautics, a sector of great interest to the French government in the state.

Finally, in terms of Security, the state government received transportation and defense equipment from the Embassy of the United States in Mexico, as well as training certificates for drivers and instructors from the Ministry of Public Security (SSP), within the third transversal axis.

As can be seen, the Yucatan government has worked on the strategic positioning of the state on the international stage. Guided by the 2030 Agenda and hand in hand with UNDP, it has designed and implemented one of the most ambitious state development plans in the matter. However, the efforts of the SRE of the national government to support the international activity of local governments in Mexico should be recognized, as this provides legal certainty to the foreign counterpart.