By S. Dogoode
What lies ahead for San Miguel de Allende in the next few years? Mayor (Presidente Municipal) Mauricio Trejo was special guest for the Rotary Club of San Miguel on October 29th and gave an address in English to an attentive audience at the Teatro Angela Peralta. He spoke about his previous term as mayor, and how this impacts what is happening in San Miguel de Allende now, and what it portends for the next three years of his current term.
As expected, the report was mostly positive.“We have done good things. We have made some mistakes…the balance is positive,” he said. Mayor Trejo reported that San Miguel de Allende has been named the number one municipality in Mexico for water treatment. He explained this is a direct result of rules adopted during his previous term. San Miguel was also named number one in security by the State of Guanajuato.
His major commitment to improved security at present is to invest in intelligence and investigation, and a new way of working with the police department.
Another achievement that he is proud of is his participation in creating the one of the first hospice centers in San Miguel de Allende. The Mitigare Hospice, Lee Carter Center is almost complete and the building will soon be offering additional services there. The mayor said he was greatly instrumental in the creation of that center. A building that is under construction, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Cardo will be completed, he reports. This, according to the mayor, was a “done deal” a long time ago.
The mayor claims that during the last three years of his term, no new permits (he did not specify what kind) were issued, and 30 permits were revoked. One of his important commitment is keeping San Miguel “safe from the cartels.” There are logistical ways in which that can be done, and he expounded on them: We need to stop any superhighways into and out of the city, not having a major bus station, and particularly, he promised “no Walmart, and no airport.” Such measures, he said, helps create an “isolated” San Miguel de Allende, free of drug cartels, and remaining a magical town. His administration promises to work on several issues. Among them are:
Helping youth: The mayor feels that sports are a great way to keep youth from delinquency, offering a positive activity, and an outlet. The government intend to invest a lot in different sport activities creating gyms, soccer fields, paddle ball, and other sports outlets. He said, the results shown by the boxing/gym center in San Rafael is a good example of how sports impact a neighborhood. Since that center opened, the delinquency rate in San Rafael has gone down considerably.
Another way of helping the young is in the investment in DIF (Family Services), in the areas of medical and dental health. There will also be a major focus on working with families with children vulnerable to drug abuse, as well as with those children without families— “creating confidence in children.” He hopes that many of his programs will put San Migue de Allende on the map as the number one in the state in helping kids— “a budget for the people.”
Changing existing buses to electric: This issue is dependent on several suits that have been filed on behalf of the current buses, and are being fought by the administration. Until these are resolved, electric buses will not be in the city, but he claims that they are about 60% “of the way."
Violence against women: The mayor acknowledged the problem in this area, and promised that a large part of the budget will go to the Ministerio Publico to help put away violent men. At present, there are is one special unit that goes to a woman’s home when she has been mistreated, to offer help in social and legal ways; he expects to create two additional ones.
The Presa: The water hyacinth problem hopefully will be tackled. This is a major problem which does not seem to have a foreseeable resolution. The cleaning of the presa, he said. is the responsibility of the federal government.
Traffic problems: The mayor is aware of the traffic problems along the Libramiento. He has been working hard to curtail large vehicles. Starting on November 15, 2024 trucks, trailers, and other large vehicles will only be allowed on the Libramiento through San Miguel between the hours of 11pm to 6am. This will be a major change that will provide greater driving safety for the residents of San Miguel.
The mayor closed his talk with his strongest message. He says that he sees himself and the community as allies, and as such we need to work together for the good of all. It was a positive message, and we all hope that he will keep his promises.
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