(Expansión) – June 6, 7:15 in the morning, in a booth in Electoral Section 3843 of Mexico City, a team made up of citizens, we set about the task, with great enthusiasm, nervousness and joy, of begin the installation and preparation of the polling place for what would be one of the most important elections in Mexico.
By chance of fate, it was the second time that I had to be a polling station officer. At the beginning, when I received the summons, I hesitated to accept because of the health issues we are experiencing, because of the responsibility it implies and also because of what it represents to be an active part of an electoral day.
In the end, after thinking about it for a few moments, I decided to commit myself, knowing the physical and emotional fatigue it represents, but after all, it is a duty as a citizen to participate and contribute to the democracy of our country. We have gone through many episodes to achieve the consolidation of electoral institutions, which are by and for us as citizens.
It is important to note that the electoral day did not begin at 7:30 in the morning but months before, when electoral trainers were recruiting and inviting citizens to form the directive boards of the polling stations.
I would like to make a small recognition to each and every one of them, in my case especially to Valeria Martínez, who represents the best that the INE has, with a great passion for what she does and an extraordinary commitment to move the electoral process forward. With great dedication, he visited each of the officials, prepared the drills and patiently led us by the hand so that we were all adequately aware of our responsibilities.
Fortunately, all of us who make up the polling place made a great team, from the president, those who serve as secretaries and tellers, we understood each other perfectly and we honored our commitment.
Thus, with great joy we were able to open the polling place in time and form, which was attended by a large percentage of voters, we practically exceeded 60% of the electoral roll. Personally, I was pleased to see my friends, neighbors and, therefore, my family members, in particular my parents, with joy, going to vote, something that I have always learned from my father, from a very young age who accompanied him to vote; it is the importance of fulfilling my civic duties.
There are many anecdotes that I could share, such as the fact of meeting my neighbors which for various reasons I had not had the opportunity to say hello. How to correctly use the indelible ink, correctly cut the ballots from the booklets and be attentive so that the voters correctly placed their votes in the ballot box.
In general, I can say that all those who went to the polling place, even though they had to wait a moment, did not give up their task; Due to the pandemic, the protocols changed, such as the fact that there could not be more than two people inside the box, which caused a bit of delay and long lines, but we decided to reduce the waiting time and we succeeded.
There are always aspects that test patience, like a lady who only complained about the waiting time and our work, to which I rebuked her and told her that it is very easy to criticize when there is no commitment, I invited her to be an official from the polling place or electoral observer in the following elections so that he can see from the ring and not from the sidelines what it implies; of course she left much angrier and my last recommendation was not to eat avocado just in case.
Outside of that episode, I can affirm that the entire day was lived with great joy, enthusiasm, but I believe that these elections will make an important difference and will be a watershed, because it was an awakening in the citizens, in remembering that we are responsible for destiny. of our country through a vote, which expresses the popular will of the citizens. To express our feelings, to inform ourselves to realize our suffrage, to reflect and redirect our destinies.
Already around 6:00 p.m. the good morning began, the voting was over, but now came the counting and scrutiny. As I counted each vote, I thought that each one represents a person’s dreams and desires, which, on that ballot, is the voice of a person and the desire to form a better country.
Both the scrutineers and the secretaries, like a lottery, we sang each vote so that the representatives of the political parties and the observers were calm that each one was well counted and for whom it corresponded. This is how the final results were reached, with the certainty that the citizens themselves take care and guarantee that every vote will count. The secretaries filled out the corresponding minutes, we put together the electoral packages with which we could happily conclude the electoral day, the most important thing, without incident and in peace.
On June 6 we lived an exemplary electoral day, more than because of the results for the political parties, for the citizens, because we revalued the importance of our vote, which in the end marks the destiny of Mexico.
Thanks to my colleagues on this election day, to Valeria in the first place for accompanying us with so much patience and dedication, thanks Luz, Tere, Fer, César, Judith and Fer’s mother, but, above all, thanks to the INE and Mexico.
Editor’s note: Adolfo Ruiz Guzmán has a degree in Communication Sciences and an MBA from the Universidad Anáhuac Campus Sur. He is a private pilot and is completing his studies and internships to become a commercial pilot at the AIRE Flight School. He currently works as Director of Communication and Public Relations of Grupo Financiero B × +, he has more than 10 years of experience in communication in the financial sector. Follow him on. The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
