A Café in the Parque Juarez? Yet again the Municipal Government pursues their own interests without consulting the citizens.
A few weeks ago, we shared a proposal by the municipal government to build a “first world” café in the Parque Juarez. Since then, as the Observatorio Ciudadano, we registered an official complaint with the Guanajuato State office of INAH, who immediately, although temporarily, shut down the site. We also registered an official complaint with the municipality, to which, by law, they are required to respond within 15 days. They have not done so.
In the meantime, we have tried to find out why exactly the local government feels the need to destroy even more of our precious, and woefully inadequate green space to build yet another café in an area that already has an excess of cafes. Unfortunately, we do not have that information. What we do know is that many Sanmiguelenses share our concerns over this proposal for a variety of reasons.
We have written in the past about the urgent need to create more green space in San Miguel de Allende and to protect established spaces from the encroachment of development. (link). This is not just the perspective of the Observatorio Ciudadano. Experts the world over recognize the necessity of preserving and expanding green spaces, especially in urban areas, for the well-being of residents and the planet.
The Parque Juarez is not just another green space. It is an integral part of the culture and history of San Miguel de Allende. For this reason, any work done within the park requires a thorough archeological study before work can proceed. In this case this protocol was not followed and the result, as you can see below, was the destruction of a wall that was built before the 19thcentury.
These are some of our concerns, but we recognize that we live in a democracy. Perhaps there is broad public support for such a project. While it seems that it did not occur to the government to consult with the public, the civil association, “Yo Soy San Miguel,” set up an online poll. These were the results.
So, we are left asking ourselves why this administration would insist on pursuing a project that removes a large chunk of one of our very few and most valued green spaces, that damages an irreplaceable historic site, and that does not have the support of the vast majority of citizens. Recognizing that these questions will most likely be left unanswered, the OCSMA has decided to share the full report that we submitted to the municipal government below.
We welcome your comments and opinions.
