Tijuana struggles to get ID cards out

Appointments for getting ID from the National Electoral Institution (INE), which is the main personal identification in Mexico, are been given till late July. Citizens in need of the document have been struggling with private and public institutions to solve the problem.

Michel Sanchez, 27, had issues while trying to withdraw money from a relative who lives in the U.S. She showed up in the bank with her driver’s license and was told her the ID from INE is the only document accepted

“I lost the appointment I had early in the year; now I need to wait three months to get another one. In the meantime I can’t withdraw that money, someone else needs to do it for me. I even thought to get it in Chiapas (Mexican state at the Guatemalan border). I traveled recently out of Tijuana but I don’t know if having another resident’s address would be a problem later.”

This ID has to have the citizen’s address to vote. Laura LaFerte, a woman in her 50s, says this purpose is useless. She says that the last time she went to vote her ballot was cast by someone else. “I don’t use my ID for those purposes anymore. Now I need to renew my ID because soon it will be expired and I need it to withdraw money from my pension.”

Laura Lafarga noted that the other way to do it is by paying a bribe to the employees of the institution “My neighbor did it for her son, she paid 500 pesos, and in two weeks it was done”.

Sara Briseno ended up paying 300 pesos to someone that had been waiting in the line since 1 am that day. But it was not clear if this person actually needed the document or was saving a place for selling it. ”I arrived at 4 am at the building, they told me the 50 daily passes were given so I decided to wait a bit more. Then a person came with a pass he said he would not need and said it will cost me 500 pesos, but I just had 300, and he accepted”.

Last year, during the pandemic and due to the protocols to contain it, those in Tijuana had to camp outside of the building located on the Second Street in Tijuana’s downtown. Now that protocols are been softly taken away this issue still prevails.

INE has recently responded to several citizens’ complaints about this situation. They just sent out a message that the paperwork is free. “In Tijuana, a person who arrived at INE’s facilities offered passes for a 'fee.' It's important to note all paperwork made by INE is free. (…) Any person pretending to be an employee and offering passes for a fee is committing a felony.”