Ecology versus the Mayor of Guatemala City.
Guatemala:
Alvaro Arzu Yrigoyen has been elected mayor of Guatemala City four times, 1982, 1986, 2004 and 2007. He could not serve in 1982 because of a coup d’état. He was also elected President of Guatemala and served from 1996 – 2000.
Extraordinary are some of his accomplishments and extraordinary are the issues he can be criticized for. He is, and will always be a very controversial figure in Guatemalan history. One could suspect he likes to be controversial.
One of the main afflictions of the capital city are the environmental challenges that grow every day. Severe contamination by industry, noise, car emissions, traffic, overpopulation, disorderly construction, lack of zoning, immigration, all the mayor problems of the urbanization phenomena are present in Guatemala City.
There are important initiatives that need to be continued like the TRANSMETRO (a continuous bus line without interruption with its own dedicated lane) one of the most important strategies for reduction of traffic and contamination, while also addressing the public transport problem of the city in a meaningful way. So are the creations of the Central de Mayoreo (Cenma), the whole sale market on the outskirt of the city, and many other accomplishments.
Our mayor has a passion for gardens and trees in the city. That is a good and pretty thing. I have a passion for nature and beautiful gardens too, that’s why I notice his program.
However, the mayor’s particular approach of a “green city” is very expensive and can use some ecological perspective and long term planning. He started reforestation in the city in 1986, it was a new initiative, everybody was happy. The problem: each little tree had and has a posted sign. How much does the tree cost and how much does the sign cost?
We have seen all too often that today they plant pretty flowers and next week, at the same spot, they unceremoniously pull them out to do something else on the site. Calle Montufar in Zone 9 was such a place last year, there are others. It is a good business for the garden company, but not for the cities taxpayers. It is a monkey business seen in Europe all the time, until the citizen’s protest. It is also a mayor resource to accommodate the contractors of the city. Gardening is expensive. If counted by square meter, the cost sums up astronomically.
The kinds of plants used in the beautification projects are plants that need water all year round. There come the trucks that supply water for the gardens, the expense of the driver, gasoline, tires, vehicle, water, etc., etc. We do have severe water shortages in the city every year in the dry season. It just doesn’t make sense.
We suggest to the mayor to get some expert advice on ecological gardening. Ecological gardens look beautiful, they are low maintenance (savings in labor costs), they don’t die easily (the plants don’t have to be replaced all the time), they can take some mistreatment, they don’t need water in the dry season or if they need it, it is very little. It is good business because it is “green business”, ecologically sound and cheap, good for everybody.
In England there are long standing traditions of gardening competitions. Everybody participates, the aristocracy, housewives, students, prisoners (yes, and they have won some good prizes), schools, university students, teachers, union members, policemen, stockbrokers, bankers, people with disabilities, retirees, everybody has been a part of it. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth herself is very involved.
Guatemala City can launch an initiative for creative ecological gardens where every section of society can contribute and be proud of their inspiration. The possibilities are endless………
We can have our “tasita de plata” our little silver cup, as the Mayor likes to call the city.
The other ecological issues, well, they will be addressed by The Guatemala Times one by one, one day at the time.
