The Mexican government is finally preparing a less expensive solution for all the people who in recent weeks have reported that their unique identity code was unsuspectedly invalidated, according to official sources.
The service modules will receive more equipment soon so that the managers have more windows in which to revalidate the keys, and supposedly an electronic server will also be registered to expedite the process, although the sources did not give details on what the exact function of that server, as if it were to review the errors or so that Mexicans can upload the documents to be corrected.
Telemundo News uncovered on Monday the problem with the Unique Population Registration Keys (CURP): hundreds of Mexicans saw how alphanumeric identification, which is a requirement for official procedures and that they had practically all their lives, suddenly appeared as "nonexistent" or "invalid" in the system.
Affected people who spoke with Telemundo News reported that the serious consequences they had already had for a CURP that suddenly "does not exist" included not being able to enroll in school, not getting medical attention or the inability to get a voter's credential.
It was until Wednesday, January 15, after several weeks of problems reported on networks and after the news of Telemundo, that the authorities ruled on the matter. They said that the keys had not been "massively" removed, in contrast to the testimonies of affected people, and attributed the error message that appeared in those CURP to inconsistencies between the key data and the birth certificate data.
It is worth mentioning that many affected said that these inconsistencies had never occurred in decades of having the key. Several respondents were told in public offices that the problem seemed to be due to the fact that a few years ago the birth certificates were digitized with errors, such as changed last names.
"My original record and my INE [voter's credential] are fine, but when I consulted the online certificate," the digital version, "there was a bad capture of information in my first name," said Yatsil Arias.
To resolve the situation, Arias and others in the same circumstances were impovising on the march to which offices to go; Especially since there are no answers on the helpline. It was until January 16 that the officials in charge finally described the steps to remedy the issue: go to the civil registry of the place where the birth was registered, where "the requested record is corrected" and "the procedure is indicated to follow".
For many of the Mexicans with the CURP invalidated, this "procedure to follow" has meant going outside the CURP module of their locality for several hours so that the code can be revalidated.
Making that line has been complicated for many people, who said they can't take time out of work, can't even afford transportation to offices or have medical complications that make it difficult for them to be formed on the street outside the modules .
"Going to any of the units represents a minimum expense of 100 pesos [5 dollars], which greatly affects my current economy," said Carlos Gonzalez, who is looking for work and learned about the problem with his CURP while trying to renew his voter credential .
Beatriz Solís told Noticias Telemundo that she had to go in line despite having kidney problems. "I have mobility, but I get very tired of standing or in long lines," he said. Even so, he went to train, he added, for fear that his CURP problem would generate errors in his social security and that he would not receive his monthly hemodialysis treatment.
Despite multiple requests for comment, the Ministry of the Interior has not explained so far what caused the invalidation of CURP or made known how many people have been affected. The person in charge of the National Population Registry (RENAPO), Jorge Leonel Wheatley, also has not responded to repeated requests from Telemundo News to give statements sent since January 13.
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