Putting an end to the “offensive” contrast between luxurious hotels and poor neighborhoods in Mexico’s most popular resort cities is the aim of a new government program launched yesterday by President López Obrador.
The central objective of the Mi México Late (My Mexico Beats) program is to build much-needed infrastructure in the working-class neighborhoods of Mexico’s leading tourism destinations.
“We no longer want there to be the offensive contrast between large hotels and marginalized, impoverished neighborhoods without water services, without drainage, without anything,” López Obrador said yesterday in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur.
Among the cities that will benefit from the 8-billion-peso (US $413.7-million) urban improvement program are Los Cabos, Cancún, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta.
Urban Development Secretary Román Meyer Falcón said that 10 northern border cities will also receive funding for infrastructure projects through the same program.
López Obrador said the government chose to launch the program in Los Cabos because of its importance to tourism in the country.
Almost 600 million pesos (US $31 million) will be allocated to infrastructure projects in the city’s neighborhoods, he said, explaining that residents will also be able to access financial support in order to obtain deeds for their properties.
The president also said that a 1-billion-peso (US $51.7-million) water desalination plant has been authorized for the area.
López Obrador pledged to return to Los Cabos in a few months to assess the progress of the Mi México Late program and other government initiatives.
“Mexico has a lot of natural resources, a lot of wealth, good people, hard-working people. What was needed, we now have: a good government,” he said.
Meanwhile, López Obrador announced today that his government is planning to launch a tidy towns contest to encourage people to take more pride in the places where they live.
“We have to take care of the cleanliness of our towns . . . no to garbage, no to dirtiness . . . [societal] transformation also implies cleanliness,” he said.
After waxing lyrical about the beauty of the bougainvillea plant, the president explained that the cleanest, best-decorated towns in Mexico will be officially recognized at an awards ceremony at the National Palace.
A public infrastructure project that each winning town needs will also probably be part of the prize package, López Obrador said.
“There are very poor towns with humble people but they’re very clean. For example, I know all the municipalities of Oaxaca and they’re very clean, they’re careful not to contaminate the water, there are signs . . . so that people don’t throw detergent and fertilizer into the streams, there are trash cans, that is also very important.”
Source: El Financiero (sp), Milenio (sp)
