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The Puerto Vallarta Municipal Government has recently approved the acquisition of a loan for $450 million pesos to carry out several high-demand social, public and urban infrastructure projects to provide better living conditions for the city. However, this decision brought contrasting reactions, which can be grouped into clearly identified groups.
On one hand, there are those who consider it necessary for governments to acquire debts every now and then in order to carry out their public works, which would otherwise go uncompleted due to the lack of funds. On the other hand, another group sees these types of mid- to long-term debts as a burden to be paid over many years by various governments. And on many occasions, they fail to clearly outline what these funds will be used for.
Because the term of the credit will extend beyond the current municipal administration, two-thirds of the members of the City Council were necessary to obtain the approval for this loan.
The funds acquired will be destined to carry out four main public projects: the continuation of Federación Avenue and Los Poetas Avenue, the paving of Mangle Avenue, the rehabilitation of the park that borders the Pitillal River, and a project to improve public lighting and energy conservation.
In order to satisfy critics and provide full disclosure about the use of public funds, as part of the acquisition of this loan, the council members also approved the formation of a public citizen watch group or forum to oversee the use of these resources. This group will be composed of Mayor Javier Bravo Carvajal, businessmen Enrique Carothers Barreto and Miguel Flores Ibarra, Professor Maria Teresa García Ureña and Father José Agustin Ibarría Parra.
The amount of the loan is within the range of 10 percent of the total income of the municipal operating budget for a term of five years, when you consider that the 2009 operating budget equals approximately $975,878,289 pesos. With the bank loan comes political controversy. There are those that defend it, and consider that “those who don’t have debt, have nothing” and that it’s best to have debt and public works than a debt-free government that is paralyzed by the lack of resources. Others consider this a five-year economic burden and the ideal excuse to stop many other projects. For the well being of Puerto Vallarta, we hope that these resources will be well used and are paid within the agreed-upon term.
By Rodrigo López Becerril
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