Yesterday, May 14, 2023, 171 mayors of cities who decided to change course or whose mayors – until Saturday – decided not to run for re-election on February 5, were sworn in. There was also a ceremony for the 50 mayors who were re-elected, that makes them more committed.

“The only way is to resurface,” Guayaquil’s mayor, Aquiles Álvarez, said at his property. We take your word for it. Let that phrase infect all authorities. That with the renewal of councils, prefectures and parish councils, the winds of teamwork, agreement, development, progress and well-being are blowing.

The new officials officially start working in their offices today. Their success is the success of the cities that chose them and the entire country. Regardless of political trends, opportunities for the benefit of citizens must be used positively.

Campaigns have fallen behind, and principals become judges and observers of the fulfillment of offers. Time cannot be wasted, Ecuador requires urgent work and will appreciate it.

The other side of yesterday’s ceremony was shown in the National Assembly, where the members of the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control, a key body in determining supervisory bodies, responsibility and corruption reports, were sworn in. After that, Virgilio Saquicela and Marcela Holguín as first vice-presidents were re-elected president of the legislature, and Esteban Torres was appointed second vice-president.

Much of the institutional framework and decisions that can contribute to the resurgence that Mayor Álvarez spoke of or sink the country further are burdened by these two organisms. Democracy requires conscious action, justice and transparency in what is legally prescribed. This week, each member of the assembly will decide how their name will go down in history in the impeachment process of President Guillermo Lasso. And in their administration, each local official has the future of their provinces and cantons. (OR)