The Chapala government has put a new man in charge of Tránsito Municipal, the third to take on the post since the traffic police department was established last November.
The acting commander is Carlo Alejandro Borrayo Guerrero, who was reassigned from his prior position as a City Hall regulations inspector. Before that he was on the municipal payroll as an officer in the tourist police corps. On the side, he is pursuing a degree in industrial engineering at the Chapala Technological Institute.
Borrayo tells this newspaper that he expects his appointment will be permanent, provided the government doesn’t find a more experienced candidate to fill his shoes. At just 22 years of age, he brings a solid genetic background to the job. His father, Juan Carlos Borrayo, served for many years as a Jalisco traffic department agent, including three stints as commandant for the Chapala Region.
The junior Borrayo now oversees a base team of seven traffic officers, plus seven more recruited on temporary hire for backup during the Carnaval festivities. Noting that the department operates with a patrol fleet of one pickup truck and two four-wheel ATVs, he believes that two more trucks, two motorcycles and extra manpower will be needed to assure optimum performance.
However, the greatest impediment he faces is the local government’s slow advancement in administrative matters to get Tránsito running at full throttle. The city council has yet to enact the regulatory code that will empower officers to formally cite motorists for traffic violations. Once that is accomplished the government will have to draw up an agreement with the state finance ministry allowing local issuance of traffic tickets and the imposition of fines.
At this point, Tránsito Municipal de Chapala remains in the throes of a prolonged gestation and birth.