The state government has confirmed that the Instituto Jalisciense de la Mujer (Jalisco Institute for Women of IJM) will be incorporated into a new agency with more teeth, able to deal with a wider range of gender issues thanks to a bigger budget.
The Secretaría de Igualdad Sustantiva (SIS) will be better positioned to exert its influence and “create pubic policy in favor of men’s and women’s rights,” a state government press release said.
The new agency will focus on gender and discrimination issues, and include a citizens’ council (Consejo para la Igualdad) to observe and advise.
Being a state agency, the SIS will have a “greater capacity” to operate IJM’s former programs, projects and affirmative actions initiatives, which consume more than 75 percent of its budget. The new agency’s budget will increase by 12.5 percent, to 282 million pesos ($US14.7 million).
The SIS will also be better placed – both institutionally and legally – to coordinate with state agencies such as the Fiscalía (Attorney General’s Office), Instituto Jalisciense de Ciencias Forenses (Forensic Sciences Institue) and Ministerio Público (Public Prosecutor).
The press release noted that the SIS’s agenda will also promote human rights, especially supporting people who are “excluded from social civil, economic, political and cultural (life) because of their gender, ethnicity or sexual preference.”
Critics of the move say the new agency will be less independent and more under the thumb of the state government.