The unexpected launch of an infrastructure and street improvement project in the center of Ajijic has provoked heated criticism of the municipal government, a rumpus among the village populace and a brewing debate over the pros and cons of modernization.
Plans to renovate a four-block loop around the village plaza were announced by the Public Works Department back in August, without a defined starting date.
Work crews appeared last Wednesday, without so much as 24-hour notice to merchants and residents occupying properties on Calles Parroquia and Marcos Castellanos where the project has initiated.
And because details of the plan were not presented at a town meeting, as previously promised by city hall officials, confusion and doubts over what exactly was entailed gave rise to rampant rumors and a public uproar that took Mayor Joaquin Huerta completely by surprise when he appeared last Saturday evening to inaugurate the exhibition of Day of the Dead Catrina figures set up around the plaza bandstand.
Taken aback by a group of protesters who showed up at the event with hand-lettered signs bashing the project, he agreed to step aside later to hear them out and spell out details of the work plan.
Huerta explained that the project involves digging up the streets to replace water and sewage mains and resurfacing them with cobblestones set in concrete. In fact, by the time he started speaking, the new underground pipes had already been laid in and earth replaced on the block of Marcos Castellanos located between Parroquia and Guadalupe Victoria.
As for the timetable, the mayor said that all underground work on Parroquia and Marcos Castellanos would be completed in time for the local festivities programmed for this weekend. Resurfacing will get under way next week, to be completed prior to the San Andrés fiestas starting at the end of the month.
Work on Calle Colon, running between the highway and the south end of the plaza, will be on hold until December, with a projected finish around the end of the calendar year.
As the encounter continued, it became apparent that a communication breakdown was the irritant that really got folks seething. There seemed to be a common consensus that the renewal of 30-year pipes and service connections is beneficial, but the dialogue exposed a divergence of opinions on other matters.
Some merchants were furious that the work schedule coincides with the start of the winter high season. The mayor countered that the work is part of a broader street improvement project that is fully funded by the federal government, which holds the purse strings and defines mandatory completions dates, putting the municipal government in a tight timing squeeze.
The project’s most vociferous opponents – including some who are closely tied to local politics – raised strident objection to using concrete to fix the cobblestones, arguing that the change will destroy the rustic image and very essence of the village, as well as causing negative environmental impact.
The mayor answered that embedded cobblestones are to be installed in an esthetically pleasing manner that also translates into lower maintenance and increased durability of the central thoroughfares.
Although Huerta initially agreed to submitting a request to modify the plan to keep the old style cobblestones, in the course of the week he and other city officials have suggested a backtrack so as to avoid delays in finishing the work. Opposing forces are maintaining a campaign through social networks, with a call for public rally set for Saturday, 10 a.m., at the plaza.