While the formal report on his administration’s first year in office was rather skimpy on detail, Joaquin Huerta dispensed plenty of substantive information on a wide range of topics ranging from the inner workings of his government to personal reflections on sitting in the mayor’s chair during two subsequent close-up encounters with the local press.
Playing politics
Surrounded by a cadre of reporters immediately following last Saturday’s informe, Huerta replied to all sorts of questions before closing the aside with an abbreviated off-the-cuff analysis of the game of politics that he quickly sketched out with a pen on a note pad borrowed from one of the journalists.
“There are basically four kinds of politicians,” he explained, jotting down his short hand descriptions in a diagram separated into blocks by vertical and horizontal cross lines. Pointing alternately to each corner he defined the different stereotypes.“Over here we have the politician who just plays politics. Down here, the thieving politico. Up on this side is the politician who is an administrator. And here, the visionary politician. I categorize myself as an administrator, and hopefully, a visionary as well.”
Then, on Tuesday evening, with both the informe and the Mexican Independence festivities behind him, the mayor sat down with reporters for a no-holds-barred press conference. Appearing relaxed and jovial, he handled a barrage of pointed questions that ran on for three full hours.
Achievements
Confessing that the informe was not as complete as it could have been, Huerta took advantage of the Q and A to highlight some things that have gone well under his watch.
He gave a solid pat on the back to sports council director Jesus Hernandez who has managed to put together training programs in various disciplines with outside sponsorships to avoid incurring added expenses to the government.
Huerta boasted that Chapala is the only municipality in the Jalisco that qualified for funding to fully modernize operations of the Catastro land registry and property tax office, permitting the agency to update records, detect tax evasion and enhance revenue collection for the city’s coffers.
He says he has made progress in getting city treasurer Jose Guadalupe Dueñas to approach his job as a creative financier rather than simply a bookkeeper. He believes steep spending cuts in operating expenses, an eight percent reduction so far in the number of city employees and the impending restructuring of the debt payments will gradually help heal Chapala’s wounded economy. “If we hadn’t quickly change direction of our financial train wreck we’d be running a 25 to 30 million peso deficit by now,” he observed.
Reality versus illusion
As for his own role, Huerta recognizes the vast difference between running for the job as Chapala’s chief executive and actually sitting in the saddle. “In the early days you’re filled with illusions and eager to implement fresh ideas. Then you find yourself getting blasted from every angle, jumping from solving one immediate problem to the next one that pops up.”
Still, the mayor remains optimistic that better times are just on the horizon. He expects to oversee the development of a comprehensive urban renewal plan that will change the face of Chapala and the fortunes of its people, as well as make big strides in streamlining government business before he leaves office two years hence.
“Of course we won’t be able to fix everything. And we don’t really want to serve a silver platter to the next government. Otherwise they won’t value the effort involved in getting it all on track.”