Guadalajara city hall is demanding 262 million pesos from the Jalisco state government for the 14-hectare (34.58-acre) plot of land situated on the northern city beltway (Periferico) near the city zoo.
The Benito Juarez Auditorium is no longer suitable as the home for the Fiestas de Octubre, the month-long “state fair” that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. Moved from the Agua Azul Park 30 years ago, the annual extravaganza has outgrown its location, which is now boxed in by several neighborhoods. Parking at the event has become a nightmare, most visitors attest.
In February, the opposition PAN fraction in Guadalajara’s city council voted against the sale of the property in the Huentitan zone, arguing that a valuable green area would be lost, the opinions of residents of nearby neighborhoods had not been taken into account and that the process was being handled with too much secrecy.. Nonetheless, they lost the vote.
PAN councilors say money from the land sale should be assigned for improvements to rundown neighborhoods in the north of the city, makeovers for several city parks, gardens and municipal markets and other projects that “benefit” Tapatios. Around 60 million pesos should be set aside for “equipping” the new Corona Market in downtown area, they say.