The most frequent requests or procedures were regularization of properties and homes, pollution problems, the introduction of services and execution of public works.
Around a hundred citizens attended during the first day of the “Listening to the people” program, which consists of public hearings with the mayor and municipal officials, to present out loud problems and needs regarding municipal efforts or procedures.
Edgar González Zataráin, municipal president, said that many of these requests have to do with conflicts between neighbors, land tenure and housing problems, introduction of services and the execution of public works; some procedures that are simple, he assured, were resolved at the moment.
“The official commits himself to death line for the fulfillment of the requests, we hope that no official fails us, we are trying to give an answer to the majority of the cases, that they do not leave without the answers, without the commitment,” he said.
The mayor added that all cases will be followed up through a file, to see how far these requests have progressed from one week to the next, for which he asked first-level officials to be vigilant with their collaborators or department workers.
The day was scheduled to start at eight in the morning with the distribution of turns, then the hearings began at 10 and these would end until the last citizen left.
The elderly were the ones who came the most, including people in wheelchairs and according to a survey carried out by El Sol de Mazatlán, their requests had to do with regularization of properties and homes, pollution problems and assistance services.
Hermila Gaytán accompanied her mother, who is already 94 years old, to process some deeds before the municipality.
“She needs many things, and she is 94 years old, I cannot rent out her house or anything to help her (due to the lack of deeds) we come with the mayor to see if he can solve this problem for us,” she commented.
Mrs. Pancha Paredes, a neighbor of the ring road in the Estero neighborhood, mentioned that there are many problems in the settlement, especially regularization, but there are also serious pollution problems.
“The police patrols are absence, cars, dump trucks arrive and throw garbage and the ones who carry it are the settlers because they block the outlets of the water flow,” she mentioned.
Javier Tiznado, a neighbor of the same neighborhood, came to expose the same pollution problem, he explained that there are several homeless people “camping” in cardboard and plastic houses, invading public roads and green areas, also burning garbage.
“There is a lot of smoke there in the Estero y Ecología neighborhood, one presents complaints and they litigate one, I have been reporting for several years and they are blocking the procedures or doing them wrong. The problem is that I cannot sleep at night, I cannot rest, it has generated a lot of job instability,” he explained.
Mrs. Evangelina Gamez, a neighbor of the subdivision, mentioned that the previous municipal president took away a food pantry that she had received for several years, telling her that she did not deserve it for living in a subdivision, even if it was of social interest, and prohibited access to Social Welfare programs for this very reason.
She added that she has lived in this place for 20 years together with her husband, she is currently 72 years old and they survive on the man’s pension.
Sheets or material to build a house, asks Mr. Alfonso López, a neighbor of the Montebello invasion, he has lived in this settlement for eight years, he points out that some time ago several families were provided with land because where they are is private property, but neither he nor his family reached it, so he does not have any type of legal certainty about the property or where to go in case of eviction.
Source: El Sol de Mazatlan
