The impact and ravages of the recent rains reveal structural slopes and open a window of opportunity to strengthen the capacity of the public service to manage risks.
This area ceases to be a technical branch and is assumed as institutional policy. Managing risk is not just about reacting to disasters, but about anticipating them, reducing their impact and rebuilding intelligently. It involves diagnosing threats, understanding social vulnerability, planning the territory based on science, creating response protocols and, above all, training public servants capable of coordinating institutions and communities in crisis scenarios.
It is about, as President Claudia Sheinbaum has stated, turning prevention into culture and planning into a form of social justice. There is no climate security without a prepared government with trained public servants.
The graduation of the Fourth Generation of the Master’s Degree in Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management from the School of Public Administration (EAP) represents a concrete example of that vision. During the ceremony, the general director Hegel Cortés summarized it clearly by pointing out that this degree is not only an academic recognition, but a commitment to collective protection and well-being.
Strengthening the public service also requires political leadership that supports science, technology and inter-institutional coordination. Pablo Yanes, Secretary of Education of the CdMx, understands this by recognizing the need to train women and men capable of thinking of the Government as a protection network. This understanding is essential in times where natural phenomena do not stop at political or administrative borders.
From the institutional level there is a precise vision for strengthening risk management. At the graduation, Gloria Luz Ortiz, representative of the Secretariat of Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection, put on the table a warning that defines our era: technology alone does not save lives. The difference is made by the human interpretation of the data, the ability to translate predictive models into concrete decisions and the social sensitivity to prioritize the most vulnerable communities.
The model promoted by the Head of Government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, follows this comprehensive logic. His Administration has continued a prevention policy that transcends the emergency and translates into culture, with tools such as the C5 9-1-1 emergency line. Incorporating education for prevention from childhood, planning works with an environmental focus and promoting citizen participation in civil protection are steps that consolidate a modern vision of Government.
The recent disasters in Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo confirm the urgency of replicating this approach and assuming risk management as a political and technical investment.