|
By the time this is published, Alejandro Higuera Osuna will have completed
six months as mayor, or rather municipal president, of Mazatlan. The municipality,
like a county in the United States, extends well beyond the city limits.
It runs from El Quelite on the north to El Tecomate de La Noria, in the
foothills 90 kilometers to the east, then south beyond Villa Union to Walamo,
and to the inland towns of El Recodo and El Roble on either side of the
Rio Presidio. In other words, it's one big hunk of real estate to govern.
At 35 the youngest mayor ever to preside at the municipal palace, Alejandro
Higuera has already seen to it that staff and visitors to the government
offices downtown have more pleasant surroundings to greet them. The building
wraps around a patio, and the inside walls as well as the reception areas
for the various departments have been repainted in pleasing pastel colors.
The antique high ceilings have been lowered as well. And the mayor's office,
while occupying its traditional place in an upstairs corner overlooking
the Plaza de la Republica, has a new, more secure entrance area. The wood-paneled
top executive's domain fairly bristles with energy. Visitors immediately
get the feel Higuera's dynamic presence, although the office atmosphere
is more relaxed than frantic. His honor is at ease and approachable as he
sits down in a conversational grouping of sofa and chairs, away from his
desk, to talk about his first few months in office. He is so recent into
his three-year term, he says, that he has yet to have a prepared biography.
But he says he was born in La Noria, which no doubt has served to endear
him to voters in outlying parts of the municipality. From secondary school
on, he attended schools in the city of Mazatlan and graduated as a licenciado
in accounting from the Mazatlan campus of the University of Sinaloa. Higuera
and his wife Juana have three children: Maria Antonieta, 13; Alejandro,
8; and Alejandra, 2. His father, Rodolfo Higuera Santa Cruz, was one of
the founders of the PAN (National Action Party) in this area 40 years ago,
and the mayor -- one of 11 children -- says he grew up with PAN politics
"from infancy." He is not what locals call an iguana, meaning a person who
changes his political colors depending on what is popular with the voters.
It was pretty daring back in his father's day to be a member of any party
other than the PRI, and in fact, Mazatlan's very first PAN mayor, Humberto
Rice, wasn't elected until 1989. Higuera is his party's third mayor, having
succeeded party colleague Alejandro Camacho.Higuera says his party isn't
rightist, as some people think. The way he describes the PAN, its philosophy
sounds something like middle-of-the-road Christian Democrats. Over all,
the good-humored new mayor says he's interested in improving the infrastructure
of Mazatlan. But here are some of the questions we asked him, with answers
translated into English: Q. We watched you during the campaign debating
with four other candidates. How does it actually feel now that you're in
office, trying to solve the problems of Mazatlan? A. It feels better. I
love to solve problems, I love challenges. Q. O.K., here's one. What's happening
with the sewage treatment facilities? A. We have found a temporary solution
in which trucks with special containers pick up and dispose of the solids
and the water can be infused with oxygen, rendering it useful for such purposes
as watering city gardens and golf courses. This temporary solution should
be in |
|
operation before the beginning of July. The new plant will be sited to the
northeast of the city. I've been talking to a Canadian company and an American
company about water treatment systems. They are telling me of ideas for
processing 300 to 400 liters (of sewage) a second in an ecological manner,
without contaminating the sea. We will have a plant like that within a year
and a half.Q. Supposing that after your three-year term, the next mayor
decides to tear down everything you have accomplished? A. It can't happen,
because the people of Mazatlan participate in their government. They know
what they want, we are doing something they want done. No way can anybody
destroy the measures we are taking to improve the infrastructure. And that
is what is most important, the infrastructure. Q. Is the cutoff from the
Marina Mazatlan to Avenida Insurgentes ever going to be finished? A. We're
working on priorities. Avenida Manuel Clouthier, which goes east to Tec
Monterrey, is being paved first. We are using hydraulic paving, like that
on Avenida del Mar, to make it a real boulevard. That project will benefit
30,000 people, where normally only 5,000 people would benefit from the extension
of Avenida Insurgentes. We have one bridge done over there, and the second
will be completed now that the marina's owners have paid their debts to
Jumapam. Q. What about the traffic signals? It is inconceivable that a state
official in Culiacan has control over the operation and repair of the signals
in a big city like Mazatlan. But that is the case, isn't it? A. Yes, I once
said that it would take an engineer from NASA to straighten this problem
out. Right now (10 days into June) the signals are all working. If anyone
finds that a signal is not functioning properly, they should call the Municipal
Palace, 82-20-45 or 46, and ask for extension 072. That's the Atencion Ciudadana
(Citizen's Help) line. The senorita will take the report about the signal
-- or any other problem -- and then we will send the caller a letter when
the repair has been made. Q. You went to Acapulco for the Tianguis (national
travel show for international travel agents). You want to work toward attracting
more tourism to Mazatlan? A. Yes of course. All those agents and wholesalers
talk about ecology. And so we are starting a tree-planting campaign. When
the rainy season starts, we will plant palm trees along the malecon from
the Fisherman's Monument to Valentino's, and plant many more trees throughout
the city. We want those wholesalers to see that Mazatlan is a clean, safe
city where people can walk anyplace they please. Q. What about cultural
events at the Angela Peralta Theater? Since no other beach resort in Mexico
has a theater like it, do you not find it a worthwhile tourist attraction?
A. Yes, and we wholeheartedly back efforts to present cultural events like
the Mazatlan Festival each fall. I am well aware that these performances
are good for tourism as well as benefiting our own citizens. Q. The former
administration started Citizen Wednesdays, when people could come to the
municipal palace with their problems and talk directly to the the heads
of departments such as Public Works. Are you keeping that going? A. That
program no longer exists. Now we go to them, they don't have to come to
us. Every Friday, and sometimes Wednesdays too, we go to one of the colonias
in the city to meet the people and see what they need. Every Saturday, we
go to one of the outlying towns in the municipality for the same reason.
You ought to go with us some time and see the kind of fiesta we put on. |
 |
Alejandro
Higuera
|
