According to some estimates, there are around four million people from Jalisco, including first- or second-generation descendants, living in the United States.
In a meeting with state legislators this week, Ramiro González Vázquez, an advisor for the Instituto de Mexicanos en el Extranjero in Chicago, pointed out that several other Mexican states, including Jalisco’s neighbors Zacatecas, allow voting from the United States.
A petition signed by Jaliscienses resident in the United States was presented to Kehila Ku Escalante, who sits on the Commission on Migratory Affairs.
Following the meeting, Ku presented a package of initiatives to the commission that would give expat Jaliscienses a stronger voice in this state’s affairs.
They include expatriates having their own “diputado migrante” (migrant deputy) to represent their interests and “constituency.” This new legislator could be included as one of the plurinominal (proportional representation) seats elected to the state Congress every three years, Ku said.