In 2025, nearly 4 out of 10 applicants who chose to bet everything on their merits and select only options from UNAM and IPN did not secure a spot and had to find another option, or perhaps they stopped studying. Second, a place is promised in the school closest to the applicants' homes, but the truth is that nowhere in the call or selection process is this a criterion taken into account: no georeferencing is done and options are not limited by geographic area. It is practically a decision that will define the rest of the students' lives. And that is where the discussion should be focused. This week's conversation has centered on how to promote it, but what is at the core, the right to learn, is being left out of the frame. Will this also weigh on the decision to register? It was predictable that a new process would face adjustments, and today the call is undoubtedly much clearer, but what cannot be normalized is the lack of clarity. How clear is the information for applicants about to finish middle school? Is the process equitable? This is not a minor issue, not just another piece of communication: it is a decision that impacts entire educational trajectories. The evidence seems to say no, as fewer middle school graduates registered. So, if one of the pretexts for changing the selection process was that students were dropping out of high school because the school was too far away, we are not solving that with these new admission modalities. Finally, in 2025, the total number of applicants reported by the educational authority was 272,726; this is 4.4% (12,500 students) less than those who registered in 2024 under the previous mechanism. 'Mexicanos Primero' asks that no one be left behind, because learning matters. Every student left out of the system is a student to whom the human right to education is not guaranteed. And I prefer not to answer and think that it is a strategy to reach the teenage audience. Because beyond the tone, the Secretary's videos, and the narrative, what matters is the content. Many decisions had to be made from the start, and perhaps this was confusing and discouraged registration: selecting only no-exam options, choosing only those that required an exam, or a combination of both. How is a Secretary of Education distinguished from an influencer today? Weren't there enough places for everyone before, and now there are? And in this case, the content is the 'My Right, My Place' call; that is, the mechanism by which thousands of young people will determine their access to upper secondary education in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City. And the underlying question is: when did the dignity of the public office held by figures like Vasconcelos or Torres Bodet become optional? To understand this, it is enough to review the process and results of 'My Right, My Place' 2025, which contrast with the promise: 'you have a guaranteed place in the prep closest to your home, without taking an exam.' Let's start to break it down. Before, the difference was obvious: one directed the educational policy of a country, and the other built an audience. In 2026, another hurdle was added: it is now necessary to have an Llave MX, an electronic key that allows online transactions for residents of the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City. This is still necessary, as the spaces offered are insufficient to cover the high demand in these schools, which are traditionally perceived as being of higher quality. First, while it is true that there are many high school options that can be accessed without an exam, to enter the preparatorias, CCHs, and vocational schools of UNAM and the National Polytechnic Institute, it is still necessary to take an online exam with a series of technical and logistical requirements that are not within everyone's reach. Today, the line seems much thinner.
