Public officials from the Chapala government engaged in a dialogue with the residents of Ajijic as part of the “Together We Make a Plan” program on May 14. Residents highlighted topics such as garbage collection and separation, water and sewage services, and road traffic flow.
There were five working groups: Efficient Government, Economy and Tourism, Human Development, Sustainable Municipality, and Security and Peace. The most attended group was the Sustainable Municipality group, followed by Economy and Tourism, and Efficient Government. The least attended groups were Human Development and Security and Peace.
The Director of Planning and Urban Development, Rene Ochoa González, commented that at the Sustainable Municipality group, complaints were raised about garbage separation and collection and the lack of maintenance of drainage and drinking water networks. This information gathered will inform the municipal government’s objectives to promote economic, social, environmental, and urban development during this administration.
“It’s the panel that handles most of the public services. Continuous maintenance, scheduling ongoing maintenance for all areas, and, above all, enforcement of the law, because we have them reflected in municipal, state, or federal regulations, but residents perceive them as not being enforced by the corresponding agencies,” René shared about the proposals presented by those attending the panel.
Joaquín Huerta Barrios, Chief of Staff and chair of the Efficient Government panel, stated that the most frequently mentioned topics were garbage, from collection and separation, to municipal public services and roads, although he spoke of garbage as a core and important issue.
“They talked to us about fluidity, that we should seek a strategy to improve traffic flow on the roads. Regarding collection, they told us it would be good to start a garbage separation program with dedicated trash cans and separate the garbage, but we agree that the trucks arrive and take it all away at once.” As far as I know, there hasn’t been any contact with the company, but we’ll let them know, to see if there’s a section in the signed contract to address this issue. We’ll bring it up with the president to see what we can do.”
Ajijic Councilwoman Patricia Márquez commented that there was also talk about streamlining public services, seeking ways to have a permanent crew with its own equipment so services are faster and complaints can be addressed immediately. On the other hand, the Director of Transparency and Good Practices, Dr. Roberto Arroyo Olivares, shared that an update to the Public Sanitation regulations was proposed, as they were already considered outdated.
Juan Macías, Director of Tourism and who led the Economy and Tourism panel, agreed that waste management, road issues such as parking, water outages, and informal commerce were also discussed at his panel. “I liked the participation; they presented problems and viable solutions. They don’t have much to do with the economy; it’s mostly about regulations and enforcement,” he summarized.
Finally, the Human Development panel, led by the Human Development and COMUDE Coordinator, Antonio Urzua Gracián, which was one of the least attended, shared that topics such as creating spaces for minors to engage in recreational activities were discussed. The Security and Peace panel, led by Trustee Lilia Alvarado Macias, which had only two participants, discussed roads, creating recreational spaces for youth, and that they would like the National Guard to continue monitoring the town.
They don’t have faith in it.
Despite the fact that this space for dialogue was opened, some of the attendees shared, “It’s good that these spaces are being opened, but what they hear here should be applied, because in the end, they ignore what we come to tell them and do what they want.” “I hope they at least take into account the issue of socialization; it’s a very important issue in terms of projects and needs,” said one of the participants.
These roundtables have already been held in San Antonio Tlayacapan, the municipal seat of Chapala, and Atotonilquillo.
Source: semanariolaguna
