The municipal president of Mérida, Cecilia Patrón Laviada, concluded the work tour and international ties with the European Union.
In it, he gave priority to the signing of agreements that allow access to international cooperation funds to allocate greater resources to municipal programs and projects shared with other governments, a bulletin reports.
“These collaborative relationships allow both local governments and European organizations to share objectives in terms of sustainable development, innovation and institutional strengthening. It will also allow us to access resources that will help benefit more Merida families,” said Cecilia Patrón.
The main objective of this international approach was to achieve the sustainability of municipal public policies that have allowed a positive impact on the economy, and the daily life of those who live in Mérida with greater social justice.
The mayor highlighted that her participation in the European Week of Regions and Cities 2025 allowed her to learn about best practices, establish strategic networks and scale successful models to apply to local realities, through permanent channels of institutional collaboration and joint projects with other governments with similar conditions or problems.
“This international effort allowed us to establish a relationship between the member states and the European Union in the consultation and decision-making processes of the European Commission, as well as their impact on citizens, in addition to understanding the EU legislative process and the mechanisms of efficient citizen participation,” he added.
Sustainable investments
As part of this work and networking tour, the first mayor of Merida participated in a meeting with Jaume Duch Guillot, Minister of the European Union and Foreign Action-Government of Catalonia, Spain, with whom she spoke about the Localization of the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative.
It is a European strategy to promote sustainable investments in digital, energy, climate and educational infrastructure.
He also held a meeting with Domingos Martins, from the Municipal Delegation of Braga, Portugal, and general coordinator of the Human Power Hub project, to learn about the experience of this model, highlighted for its impact on social innovation and community development.
At the same time, links were established with the International Partnership Unit of the Municipality of Tallinn, Estonia, and ideas were exchanged on Digital Government and the International Tallinn 2035 strategy and the city’s learnings such as European Green Capital 2023 were reviewed.
Likewise, he held a rapprochement and exchange of experiences with representatives of the Helsinki metropolitan region, including Vantaa and Espoo, on European innovation and education projects.
The Mérida City Council presented data from the Learn Centers and the Diseña tu Ciudad citizen participation program.
And as part of these results, the Signing of Letters of Intent of the URBACT Project “Cities for Sustainability Governance” was carried out, in which the City Council of Mérida, with representatives of the municipality of Espoo, which will allow the concrete form of a space for simultaneous collaboration with nine European cities that participate in this network made up of Espoo, Finland; Braga, Portugal; Gabrovo, Bulgaria; Košice, Slovakia; Tallinn, Estonia; Valencia, Spain; Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic; Agios Dimitrios, Greece, and Mannheim, Germany.
The results will be reflected in new project strategies and municipal policies for the benefit of Merida families, stated the municipality.
In his last day of rapprochement with innovative governments, he met with Barbara Prot, municipal councilor, deputy delegate of Prevention and Health Education in Nice, France, and with Rudy Salles, president of the Tourism and International Relations Commission of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis.
These meetings with different mayors and delegations from various cities establish the bases of efficient, innovative, strategic and sustainable governance processes that the Yucatecan capital needs to continue improving the response of results, attention to needs and ordinance of the city with strategy and access to funds that benefit the prosperity and quality of life of Merida families.
work tour
The Commune presented data from the Learn Centers and the Design your City program.
Letter signing
After the presentation of the information, the Letters of Intent of the URBACT Project “Cities for Sustainability Governance” were signed with representatives of the municipality of Espoo, Finland, which will have the participation of several European cities.
Models and methodology
The Nice Urban Development Agency was visited, there they presented the models and an EVQ methodology created by the Ministry of Ecological Transition of France, to plan and certify sustainable neighborhoods, EcoQuartier, led by Lorea Lasalde, responsible for the communication and consultation area, and Géraldine Lorenz, in charge of the Environmental and Energy Quality mission.