Forgotten Voices: Analysis of the Children and Youth Consultation to Look into Children’s and Adolescent’s Rights

Abstract

In 1997, the former Federal Electoral Institute conducted the first Children and Youth Consultation (CIJ), a simple exercise through which, for the first time in Mexico, children were invited to participate in the electoral process using a ballot presenting nine rights from which they were asked to mark the one they considered most relevant. Twenty-seven
years after the first exercise, the now National Electoral Institute (INE) has continued to perform the consultation every election year, increasing the number of children and adolescents participating, with a total of 10.7 million in 2024. However, the results of the consultation lack practical application. Although the ine prepares several reports to highlight the main findings at the state and national levels, little is done with that information. Therefore, this article analyzes the data generated by the cij and, as a result, highlights the need for the variables to be standardized each year so that the results can be compared over time
and account for the perception of children and adolescents regarding the conditions of their rights. In addition, a study of the results that can be compared regarding the exercise
of rights in certain contexts of vulnerability is provided.