Estado de México municipal risk atlas constitutional reform proposal, Digi Mart USA News (Toluca, Mexico): A proposal to make it a constitutional obligation for municipal governments in the State of Mexico to prepare risk atlases and update them every year, no later than March, has been put forward in response to the absence of these instruments in dozens of municipalities.
The initiative, promoted by Morena deputy Valentín Martínez Castillo, was approved by the plenary of the LXII Legislature of the State of Mexico and will be sent to the Congress of the Union for analysis. The draft decree also proposes amending the General Law on Civil Protection so that the National Center for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred) supervises the preparation and updating of municipal risk atlases.
The proposal would also require that these documents be incorporated into the National System of Civil Protection within 180 natural days after the start of each administration’s constitutional term. For entities, municipalities and territorial demarcations without this instrument when the decree takes effect, a maximum of 180 natural days would be allowed to prepare it and submit it to the state civil protection authority.
Presenting the draft, Martínez Castillo said risk atlases help identify vulnerable areas, inform the population and define short-, medium- and long-term preventive actions to protect lives and family property. He also said the tool helps prevent damage from natural phenomena, sinkholes and risks from human activity, and avoids authorizing construction in hazardous areas.
Regarding the backlog, the legislator stated that as of December 17, 2024, of the state’s 125 municipalities, only 55 had approved risk atlases, 34 were pending resolution of observations and 36 had not submitted information. For 2026, he added, there were 46 files in the approval process, 20 with incomplete information and 59 municipalities that had not submitted information.
The proposal seeks to make the preparation and updating of risk atlases no longer dependent on each municipal administration’s decision, turning it into an obligation with defined deadlines.
