Chronicle Of The Debate For Jalisco In Puerto Vallarta.

The candidates arrived at the Juan Luis Cifuentes Lemus Auditorium of the University of Guadalajara, the University Center of the Coast, in Puerto Vallarta. Pablo Lemus is the Mayor with a Leave of Absence from Guadalajara, Laura Haro is a Federal Deputy with a leave of absence, and Claudia Delgadillo is also a Federal Deputy with a leave of absence. On the afternoon of May 4, 2024, security flooded the streets surrounding the University Center, causing a traffic crisis on the different avenues leading to the entrance of the University, which was completely closed off. The debate began at 5:12 with candidate Claudia Delgadillo, who began by denouncing the candidate from the Citizen Movement for gender-based violence and committed to protecting the women of Jalisco. She called for an end to gender-based violence and any violence at home. She also spoke about seeking better salaries and economic performance for entrepreneurs. She committed to establishing new health clinics and promised to build a new Regional Hospital in Puerto Vallarta.

Pablo Lemus began by praising the people of Jalisco and speaking of a greatness and almost dreamlike construction. He went on to explain why it was important to prevent the strongest opposition party from gaining ground in the polls. He talked about the opposition, although they have never governed Jalisco, referring to them as the government of the past. Laura Haro started by thanking everyone for being there and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to participate, stating that she knows Jalisco like the back of her hand. She then thanked the UDG and the Jalisco Electoral Institute. She spoke of her intentions to govern Jalisco to safeguard the interests of the people.

After exchanges between each candidate, it reached a point where it became difficult to discern who was telling the truth and who was attempting to deceive the public, but this is part of the dynamics of a debate: each defends their positions, presents their proposals, listens to their opponents, and tries to convince that their ideas are better. One of the most interesting characteristics of this dynamic organized by the Jalisco Electoral Institute is that the candidates speak the language of traditional politics; none of the three candidates spoke the language of the people, generating more effective communication.

Economic Development, Employment, Salary, Culture, and Sports were discussed for 10 minutes, with the candidates presenting their proposals to improve these areas. We do not say that they did not discuss campaign proposals and promises, but in reality, each took the opportunity to highlight the deficiencies of the others. Pablo Lemus talked about Puerto Vallarta, pledging to defeat the opposition party, promising to fix water issues, and build several projects including, like the other candidates, the Regional Hospital in our beautiful port city.

Claudia Delgadillo referred to Pablo Lemus to inform that he only tells lies, while Laura Haro mentioned that the fight is between Pablo and Claudia, and that she does not want to be involved in their disputes. Finally, Claudia Delgadillo talked about supporting culture to snatch away many talented young people from organized crime. She committed to decentralizing culture by taking the ministry throughout the State of Jalisco.

Pablo Lemus, on his part, talked about basic housing infrastructure. Laura Haro mentioned a supposed alliance between the other two contenders. At this point, Pablo thanked the comment, and Laura Haro lost control, speaking out of turn to denounce gender-based political violence, mentioning that her father is Alejandro Moreno, better known as "Alito."

Finally, the candidates moved on to answer questions from children and adolescents, where Claudia Delgadillo was the first to address the question: "What will you do to provide jobs for young people?" The candidate offered training similar to the "Young People Building the Future" program that is already operating at the federal level. She then pledged to improve road infrastructure by enhancing bridges and roads to attract entrepreneurs to Jalisco and provide jobs to its residents. Then it was Pablo Lemus's turn to answer the question: "What are the main qualities needed to promote Economic Development?" Lemus pledged to address the issue of lack of experience among young people by implementing the "My First Job" program. He stated that there is no worse politician than one who has never worked in the private sector or paid a payroll. He also mentioned the operation of entrepreneurship programs that, he said, are very good and should continue operating. Finally, he stated that there will be no new taxes in Jalisco.

Finally, Laura Haro was asked the question: "What do you propose to create more jobs?" After recalling the issue of gender-based political violence, she said she would build job opportunities by removing biases in education, such as language, providing true high-quality training, and creating high-end jobs. The Second Round of questions began with Claudia, "What will you do to promote sports?" She mentioned organizing football tournaments permanently and playing golf, tennis, or whatever the youth want, stating it would help them. She also pledged to create conditions to boost young athletes and reform the sports law to improve sports throughout the State of Jalisco.

The question "How would you support athletes economically?" was directed to Pablo Lemus, who responded first by showing photos of what has been done in sports facilities. He said that the Sports Unit in Puerto Vallarta would undergo a transformation to become a world-class facility. He boasted that he would be the first governor of Jalisco to run a marathon. He promised scholarships for development and said he would build 100 brand-new sports facilities. For Laura Haro, the question was "How will you ensure better doctors?" She first commented on the responses of her opponents and then responded as follows: Recognize all health personnel. She committed to bringing back the "Neighborhood Doctors" program and improving doctors' salaries to prevent them from leaving their communities.

The final stage consisted of giving a closing statement, where Claudia Delgadillo spoke of the exhaustion of the people due to various factors of the current government, promising to provide security to the people. She pledged to help in every possible way and make the Fourth Transformation possible in the State of Jalisco. Pablo Lemus spoke of there being only two paths, his opponent's and his own. He said he would continue working humbly to be close to the people. He boasted of being the only one with government experience and offered a close government, asking for votes for all the candidates of his government.

Laura Haro asked the women of Jalisco to join her in denouncing gender-based political violence. She also pledged to heal the attitudes of politics in Jalisco, asking the people to vote freely and consciously. In the end, the three candidates for the governorship of Jalisco held separate press conferences where they reiterated their assertions made during the debate. This took about two hours, and everyone left to celebrate thereafter.