I didn’t vote for Pablo Muñoz, but, among the leafy crowd of candidates for mayor of Quito, he was one of the few exceptions worth considering. He is a correista, but not one of those intransigent, steeped in fanaticism. He is a well-educated and respected academic. Calm and polite, a man you can talk to. He won the elections, the sovereign’s decision is inexorable and must be respected, that is the republic. His interventions already as mayor show that he is not a dogmatic radical, but a scientist with a rational education, who faces problems objectively. It seemed interesting, for example, to open the possibility of concessioning certain services and building certain works, to open the door to similar solutions in other areas, overcoming the rigid statism of the previous Correista municipal administration that paralyzed the city. Let’s see how his promising plan will fare on the trading table. His approach to the legalization of illegal neighborhoods is logical and fair. Equally hopeful was his clear opposition to the new unrest in Quito. You can say that what he wants is to do, to do, to implement.

6,000 million dollars, the ambitious investment goal that the elected mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz, wants to achieve

The task before us is terrifyingly vast and difficult. From the previous mayors, he inherits a ruined city, located in a ruined country. Obese and inefficient municipality, overloaded with bureaucracy, paperwork and chaotic legislation. The council is in debt for several decades, until it is forced to renegotiate them by the 22nd century. Governing Quito or any of the big Ecuadorian cities, it must be admitted, is more difficult than being president, because sections of the government, which have limited powers in this grotesquely centralist country, have to negotiate with the national government to make it work effectively, and that doesn’t always work. But we can’t sit and cry, we have to look for new and imaginative ways, Mayor Muñoz has given us encouraging signs that he wants to try them. He is lucky and challenged to start his administration with the work of Metro. It is an excellent opportunity to advance the old problem of transport and accompanying mobility, which would already be a historic contribution. But this and other critical points need to be faced energetically and courageously.

We do not like Muñoz’s political and ideological position, but we will understand the decisions he makes with his legitimate authority to implement his ideas, as long as the rights of third parties are not violated. Such should be republican coexistence. It is not about converting another, but about living with him. We must overcome the bitter legacy of the previous decades. “Little face of God”, “Franciscan city of peace”, the heritage of humanity are expressions that must first of all be materialized in a decent living environment for all its inhabitants. Deng Xiaoping, the leader who gave the People’s China a real leap forward, after Mao’s leap backwards, celebrated this maxim of Chinese wisdom to remember in this case: “It doesn’t matter whether the cat is black or white, but rather catch the mice.” (OR)