Acapulco Turns to Cleaning the Canals

(Acapulco, NA 10 March) To stop flooding and clogged drainage in the 72 pluvial canals that run through Acapulco to the sea, the city is mounting an intense cleanup campaign. The work must be finished before the beginning of rainy season, in about 6 weeks’ time. The head of Municipal Public Services, Óscar Hernández Salgado, will oversee the project. The kickoff of the program took place yesterday with the mayor, Miguel Añorve Baños, presiding.

The mayor urged citizens to show a little courtesy and public spirit by not throwing litter and garbage into the drainage canals. This is a hopeless exhortation. The predominant culture, or lack of same, is to throw anything that is unwanted anywhere. Scattered litter and garbage impose an enormous social cost on everyone in Acapulco, no matter where they live. One of those costs is the annual flooding of the drainage canals during rainy season. The mayor urged “concern for the environment,” but few if any will alter their litter habits for reasons of conscience.

The mayor pointed out that Óscar Hernández’s efforts last year, during the same pre-rain cleanup period, resulted in the collection of 10,000 tons of garbage. That is a lot of plastic bottles, tin cans, plastic and Styrofoam.