Sixteen. I bothered to count them and yes, there were 16 holes in a stretch less than 200 meters from the main street in Guayaquil. Of different dimensions, some so wide that they do not allow escape because they take up a good part of the road. And of various depths: from those that create an unpleasant shiver for the kidneys and spine, to those that destroy damping systems, no matter how painted the car is. Real urban moonlight.

It is, unfortunately, one of the last pictures of the administration that is leaving for Guayaquil tomorrow. The painful trait of ineffectiveness that characterized her in some aspects and which, although it is true that it poured into abuse, she did not manage to get rid of at least so that the end of her time in Olmedo’s chair remains a friendly memory. And the justification that domestic asphalt is so bad that it causes so much damage is already less solid since his predecessor, faced with a similar situation, decided to import better quality asphalt.

News about Guayaquil

It is really sad that, despite the criticism that always followed it, the success of the trend that got Guayaquil out of the mud in 1992 was overshadowed by the quemeimportist closing of the negotiations, 31 years later. Decades in which it went from the “Calcutta of America” ​​as it was once described by the international media – putting it on the level of an impoverished and unhealthy city of India – to a successful, modern city, transformed into a growing internal and external tourist destination.

With a sanitary landfill that ended with the dirty traffic of chamberos through the San Eduardo landfill; a network of markets that ended speculation and abuse of middlemen in dirty supply points; with the garbage collector who did not stop fighting against the bad habits of throwing on the street; a promenade that turned from a dark refuge of thugs and a scene of prostitution into a symbol that the decadent city can be renewed. And so countless changes and improvements designed for the long haul and perhaps enjoyed by those born in the 21st century without sizing up how much effort was needed to have them.

Only for those who leave after decades of giving until they left us the city we have now.

So the 16-hole-of-the-month walk I recently experienced does not honor those hard-working teams of men and women who, over the past three decades, have been determined to make the city beautiful and efficient, but shows exactly why the last election went against them, its current leaders, marking a turn of the helm that will begin next Monday and that the people of Guayaquil who love our city can only hope will be successful.

Applause, but not for everyone. Only for those who leave after decades of giving until they left us the city we have now. For those who have not succumbed to the always latent corruption in political spheres.

And at the same time, best wishes to those who come to manage the land of Guayas and Quil, Olmedo and Villamil, and have a great opportunity to show that the city can be even better in their hands and with their leadership. (OR)