Re: Mexico City is crowdsourcing its new constitution

[Chris Pietsch]

Dear Nettimers,

I find it alarming that Change.org is starting to be used for official
votes. Change.org received the Big Brother Award 2016 in Germany
“because it uses personally identifiable information of people
who signed petitions for the company’s own business purposes in
varied and non-transparent ways.” For details, please read the full
laudation: https://bigbrotherawards.de/en/2016/economy-changeorg

Cheers,
Chris


On Mon, Jun 06, 2016 at 12:25:25AM +0200, nettime's consitutional hobbyist 
wrote:
> 
> Mexico is launching a big experiment in democracy that promises to turn
> people’s ideas into the new law of the land.
> 
> By Rafa Fernandez De Castro
> http://fusion.net/story/298572/how-mexico-city-is-using-the-internet-to-crowdsource-its-new-constitution/






 
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Re: Mexico City is crowdsourcing its new constitution

[Eric Miller]

> On Jun 5, 2016, at 3:25 PM, nettime's consitutional hobbyist 
>  wrote:
> 
> Mexico is launching a big experiment in democracy that promises to turn
> people’s ideas into the new law of the land.
> 
> By Rafa Fernandez De Castro
> http://fusion.net/story/298572/how-mexico-city-is-using-the-internet-to-crowdsource-its-new-constitution/

Because after all, direct democracy has a sterling track record of sensible and 
effective governance.  Just look north to California.

'Proposition 13 changed political culture. Up to this point, the initiative 
process had been described as a “safety valve”. Now it became an industry and a 
circus'

http://www.economist.com/node/18548109

(not that I have a better idea, but still…)

Eric
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Mexico City is crowdsourcing its new constitution

[nettime's consitutional hobbyist]

Mexico is launching a big experiment in democracy that promises to turn
people’s ideas into the new law of the land.

By Rafa Fernandez De Castro
http://fusion.net/story/298572/how-mexico-city-is-using-the-internet-to-crowdsource-its-new-constitution/

In January President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a reform that made
Mexico’s capital, which has always been known as Distrito Federal or
Federal District (similar to Washington, D.C.), its own sovereign city.
Now the local government is getting more autonomy, which means local
lawmakers will be able to approve the city’s budget and draft their own
constitution, among other measures.

That new spirit of autonomy has mobilized chilangos, as Mexico City
residents are known, to try to get their respective agendas included in
the new set of laws that will govern the urban hub. LGBTQ and women’s
rights groups were among the first in line to lobby for representation
in the new constitution, but other groups are pushing to make their
voices heard, too.

That prompted Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera to implement a plan
designed to give everyone a voice in the city’s democratic experiment by
using an online platform and a Change.org petition. Those who don’t have
internet access will be able to submit their proposals at one of 300
mobile kiosks around the city.

There’s plenty at stake. For the first time in history, residents will
be able to use the internet to reimagine the future of their city, and
whether or not it will continue on its famously progressive path.
Police officers stand next to crosses displayed at the Zocalo main
square in Mexico City during a protest against the legalization of abortion.


The task of cobbling together all those proposals into a new
constitution will fall to a select group of civil society leaders,
academics, intellectuals, politicians, and even a former paralympic
medalist. These government-appointed “founding fathers” will have the
daunting challenge of writing a magna carta for a city that has existed
for nearly 700 years, and whose metropolitan area is home to more than
20 million people.

The Change.org initative will allow people to submit their proposals for
an online vote; people whose ideas garner more than 10,000 digital
signatures will then be able to present their proposals before members
of the team of experts for consideration in the constitution.

“We are entering the writing phase and we’ll have to submit a final
document by August 15,” said Carlos Cruz, president of Cauce Ciudadano,
a Mexican NGO that seeks to improve the living conditions of the
country’s youth.

Cruz was among the 27 Mexicans chosen to form the expert panel that will
be drafting the new constitution. His role has been to ensure that the
constitution includes a youth agenda.

Cruz told Fusion he will be pushing to lower Mexico City’s voting age
from 18 to 16 so that teenagers can have a say in local referendums.
He’ll also try to promote measures that keep young people from falling
into a life of crime. “We are trying to generate a document that’s
inclusive and invites participation,” he said.

Cruz said the group of experts is also considering a proposal to put the
final draft of the constitution up for popular vote in a referendum.
A mariachi band perfoms as newlyweds kiss after they were married at a
courthouse in Mexico City.

The Change.org initiative has already sparked all types of
petitions—from lowering wages for government officials, and banning
zoos, to increasing paid vacation days, to name just a few of the ideas.
One petition is asking for Mexico City cops to wear GoPro-style cameras
as a measure to prevent corruption and abuse of power. Another petition
is asking for all schools to ban the sale of junk food.

Mexicans are also creating petitions for and against abortion, in what
is increasingly becoming a major online battleground for conservatives
and liberals.

It remains to be seen if the government’s digital democracy efforts are
serious, or only meant to project an image of inclusiveness. But many
seem to taking the invitation seriously and believe their online
petitions can and will be heard.

“At the beginning, all the process of creating a new constitution seemed
unnecessary and only an excuse to create more political positions and
generate benefits for the political class,” Francisco Fontano, a young
Mexican travel blogger who’s submitted three Change.org pertitions, told
Fusion. But Fontano says he has since decided to give the process a try,
considering it might be the only viable mechanism for citizens to voice
their concerns.

Fontano recently submitted a petition to have the new constitution
guarantee the creation of some 99 square feet of green space for every
resident of Mexico City. The idea has already been backed by more than
30,000 online supporters, and was the first to surpass the signature
requirement for consideration.

Still, it’s not clear what the proposal would actually look like if ever

Ringer > Nathan Hubbard > Why You Can't Get a Ticket to the NBA Finals

[nettime's_velvet_rope]

< 
https://theringer.com/ticket-industry-problem-solution-e4b3b71fdff6#.9vp1o7qox >

Why You Can't Get a Ticket to the NBA Finals ...

... and every other major event on the planet. This is a fan's
guide to why you're totally screwed.

[Nathan Hubbard]

Back in January, Eric T. Schneiderman released a report on the
inequities of a steadfastly dysfunctional ticketing business. Even
if it wasn't technically part of his job description, New York's
attorney general produced a remarkable study--mainly because it
was accurate.

Fans have known for decades that, whenever they buy tickets for
concerts or games, the deck is almost sadistically stacked against
them. But those same fans have been inundated by nonsense from
stakeholders in the ticketing business, and at this point, they
don't know what to believe. Those stakeholders refuse to admit
that most government efforts to intervene haven't just
misdiagnosed the problem, but prescribed "solutions" that made
everything worse. (Note: I worked as CEO of Ticketmaster from 2010
to 2013.) Schneiderman and his team--seizing on an issue that
smart, aspirant politicians know is a no-brainer for their
constituencies--finally stopped doing ear transplants to treat
heart disease; in other words, they conducted a reasonably
thorough analysis of the industry, correctly identified the
salient problems, then proposed some common-sense solutions that
might improve it.

Just last week, a British government commission released its
findings on the ticketing market, which paralleled where the
Schneiderman report landed. These documents are usually
NFL-responding-to-its-latest-self-inflicted-scandal-level dense,
and thus difficult to read (despite valiant efforts) if you're
just a newbie to the situation. I still purchase tickets myself,
and I'm possibly more obsessed with this topic than Bill Simmons
is with Deflategate. So I thought I would create a fan's guide
that explains why you're screwed whenever you buy a ticket for
anything--whether it's for Hamilton, Adele, Oldchella, or the
Super Bowl.


### Reality no. 1: Tickets never go on sale when you think they do.

The most thoughtful and analytical part of the Schneiderman
report? All the work they did to examine not just how many tickets
actually get put up for sale, but how they actually get sold. The
on-sale process is like a mysteriously devastating airplane
farter: tickets leak out little bits at a time, nobody can figure
out where they're coming from, and the whole thing reeks. Presales
are privately and inconsistently announced to smaller groups of
people who usually paid for access (like American Express
cardholders or radio stations, for example). Then fan clubs, venue
email lists, promoter email lists, and others usually get a chance
at decent seats before the "general on-sale" happens. The problem,
of course, is that these lists and clubs have been infiltrated by
ticket brokers, many of whom use fake names, fake addresses, and
multiple credit cards to steal tickets out from under an even
smaller subset of real fans. The brokers are the young Kardashian
clan rolling past crooked bouncers at a trendy nightclub, and
you're the hundreds of guys with no dates standing in the line for
normals. None of it makes any rational sense, but here we are, and
you're left out in the cold.


### Reality no. 2: You probably can't even get a whiff of a good seat.

Even before that sham of an on-sale happens, a big chunk of the
best seats are held back from ever going directly on sale.
Schneiderman's report found that on average, less than half of all
tickets go on sale to the general public. For specifically cited
Katy Perry and Justin Bieber shows, no more than 15 percent of the
tickets were made available to people like you. So what happens to
those special tickets? Some are held by the artist or team for the
Penny Lanes (or modern day Gigi Hadids and Orlando Blooms) and the
rest of the band/athlete's family and groupies. Some are held
surreptitiously by other stakeholders in the event--the promoter,
venue, band manager, team president, and record label all have a
claim. And while some special tickets are used to reward
employees, grease the palms of key partners, and (God forbid)
admit fans who actually deserve to be at the show, a significant
portion not-so-magically find their way into the hands of
secondary market brokers.

This happens in two different ways.


### Reality no. 3: You DEFINITELY can't get a good seat.

First, principals--including, yes, teams and the artist (not you,
Pearl Jam!)--may take tickets and sell them directly to brokers.
They do it because most teams and artists are either hypocrites or
excellent brand managers, depending on your perspective. Artists
in particular have two conflicting objectives: (1) make a Pablo
Sandoval's-pants-load of money, and (2) stay relatable so you'll
continue to feel connected to them (and spend money on them). They
check Twitter. They read their press clippings. They're