Clocks fall back one hour on Sunday in most of Mexico but is there a chance the practice might change under the new federal government?
When president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador served as mayor of Mexico City between 2000 and 2005 he often clashed with then-president Vicente Fox on a range of issues and public policy, one of which was Daylight Savings Time.
The former mayor decided to consult the people — as he is doing now with Mexico City’s airport — if they wished to continue changing their clocks twice a year, which he had previously declared unconstitutional and illegal.
The February 2001 survey polled 321,933 chilangos and found that only 25% supported the measure, while 75% did not.
The following day, López Obrador issued a decree that would regulate time in the city, in opposition to another decree by Fox regarding the implementation of Daylight Savings Time.
The disagreement went to the Supreme Court where a ruling went against both decrees and left the final decision on the matter in the hands of the federal Congress which in the end voted for its adoption.
López Obrador brought the issue up again in 2006 during his presidential campaign. He made it clear that continuing with Daylight Savings Time would be decided through public consultation if he were elected.
Early Sunday morning the clocks will fall back one hour everywhere in Mexico except in municipalities located along the northern border where the time change takes place on November 4. Matters are simpler in the states of Sonora and Quintana Roo which do not observe Daylight Savings.
With a new president eager to transform his country and one who is keen on public consultation, the rest of the country might soon join them.
Source: El Universal (sp)
