City Hall’s Annual Report: Mayor Gives it an A+
(Acapulco, NA 17 December) Acapulco’s interim Mayor, José Luis Ávila Sánchez, presented yesterday the second annual report of the municipal government of the administration of Manuel Añorve Baños. Mayor Ávila was appointed to his post on September 7, after Añorve had resigned his elected office to run for governor of the state. Ávila and his governing team are therefore unabashedly in favor of the PRI-led coalition ticket that proposes Añorve for Guerrero’s chief executive spot.
For that reason, adversaries and doubters felt sure that the Annual Report would be delayed until after the elections, to avoid giving any raw material to opposition propaganda machines. Most city and town governments are chronically late with the required report, and several simply ignore the obligation altogether. Ávila had promised all along that the report would be timely and complete. He kept his word. Clearly the mayor believes that Acapulco’s accomplishments in the last year reflect positively on Añorve and his administration. Political opponents, naturally, will criticize the report for telling only part of the story.
The annual report covers how the financial resources of the municipality were spent, the services rendered to the public, and the completion of public construction projects. The “Bicentennial Overpass,” inaugurated on November 20, is perhaps the most evident and iconic achievement of the Añorve government, now led by Ávila. At a cost of approximately US$12 million, phase I of the modernization of Acapulco’s main entry route is concrete evidence that the government actively supports the city’s progress. Mayor Ávila said, “We are at the head of a municipal government that is at work, and within its abilities, it is meeting expectations. For that reason, we are not interested in wicked criticisms, and even less so from people whose only wish is that things go badly for Acapulco and that it move backwards in social and urban development, only for the dubious pleasure of putting themselves in the limelight.”
The formal public release of the report took place in the “Piñata Esplanade” of Papagayo Park. It was a simple event, without long speeches and megaphones. Ávila referred to priorities for the administration, including public safety and security, management and finances, public works, drinking water, sewers and drains, public services, tourism, social development and assistance and assistance to groups with special needs or vulnerabilities. Representing the Governor, Ernesto Rodríguez Escalona, State Tourism Secretary, was present. He made remarks typical of Governor Torreblanca’s neutral stance in the upcoming election. He called upon everyone to maintain solidarity and to avoid over-the-top political passion, which could result in harm to the city and its inhabitants. Two City Council members, representing the opposition PRD and Convergencia, expressed their opposition to the mayor’s Annual Report, noting that Ávila has little more than 3 months in office, which reduces the credibility of the document.
