The first week of the year ends amid the inaugurations of the new local and regional leaders, speeches and announcements, new faces in public offices and, in general, an atmosphere of optimism, a mix of a new year and expectations of change.
In practically all cities and regions, the new mayors and governors were elected riding on the discredit and unpopularity of their predecessors. It was not so difficult for them in the face of the proverbial incompetence of many of the self-identified progressives and, as I have pointed out in this column, in the face of the citizens’ rejection of the Petro government’s policies.
It is undeniable that there is an atmosphere of optimism, of hope that things will change. Great expectations that are going to be met with two not very favorable circumstances. The first, the difficulty of producing results in the very short term, that is, within a year. And the second, the reality that citizens no longer grant honeymoons beyond that period.
As the problems of cities and regions are not very different from each other, the leaders’ commitments ended up revolving around the same axes: security, mobility, social agenda, austerity, probity, growth and employment. Let’s look at each of them:
Security is by far the main commitment that encouraged voters. It is still paradoxical that in a government that proclaims itself a world power for life, the greatest scourge of citizens is precisely crime in all its manifestations. Faced with this situation, people hope to regain their security on behalf of their local authorities, which, let’s be frank, is still an illusion, at least in the short term. Firstly, because a greater force depends on the National Government, and even if the decision exists, which does not exist, it takes a long time. Let’s think that the incorporation and training processes are slow. That of any second lieutenant or police commissioner takes at least 8 years. In June 2024, 7,000 patrol officers will graduate and a similar number will graduate in November, from which those who retire will have to be subtracted. This for the entire country. Totally insufficient. Furthermore, the problem of prison overcrowding does not depend on them either, much less the necessary reforms of the criminal statute.
Regarding mobility, it is impossible for mayors to structure and finance large projects without the support of the National Government. What they will have to do from the first moment is structure all the projects they promised during the campaign to hopefully be able to leave them hired at the end of the four years.
They have all made great promises in social matters, particularly in the creation of jobs and in sensitive issues such as education, health, sanitation and housing. They will have to be very attentive, since they are the ones who will have to face the debacle that may come if the health reform project that is being processed in Congress is approved. And on issues such as housing, there is little that can be done at the local level if the National Government keeps the sector collapsed.
The Government never liked the Pan American Games in Barranquilla. This is the harsh truth. He also doesn’t like the North Highway, nor the ALO, nor the regiotram nor the metro. Nor anything in cities where they don’t feel supported. And that is the main problem of the new leaders.
I wish the new mayors and governors and their excellent cabinets the best, that they can carry out their campaign programs and deliver for citizens who have already understood that they can expect nothing from the National Government and who have placed all their hopes in the leaders who elected.
By. German Vargas Lleras