Over the last half century, Mexico City has seen a surge in the amount of student civic participation and community organizing. Many of these now-historic initiatives offer exemplary templates for the kind of work young people can do to improve their communities today.
This article by social scientist Pedro Moctezuma has it all. Written all the way back in 2001, the paper details the different organizational structures of youth organizations, their focuses, the political challenges they face, and their strategies for success. As a historical document, the article offers a fascinating snapshot of Mexico's community organizing scene in the 2000's. At the same time, the document remains an extremely useful guide to the maintenance and expansion of youth involvement at the city level.