Inhabitants approve of the consultation El Paraiso, Photo@: Resumen Latinoamericano

After more than five years of struggle, the municipality of Ayutla de los Libres in the state of Guerrero got the local government to recognize their right to choose authorities according to traditions and customs, whose promoters faced a climate of intimidation from a range of political parties.

According to La Jornada, the scheme of traditions and customs establishes that each neighborhood of the 140 communities in the municipality elects two representatives – a man and a woman – who in turn form part of an assembly that appoints officials of the new government, their duties and how the budget should be used.

The new community government of Ayutla will take office in July 2018.

For more information in Spanish:

Reconocen a Ayutla de los Libres derecho de elegir autoridades mediante usos y costumbres (La Jornada, a 17 de junio de 2017)

México: La localidad de Ayutla de los Libres, en Guerrero, se regirá sin partidos políticos en julio de 2018; es hora de que los pueblos se gobiernen (Resumen Latinoamericano, 15 de junio de 2017)