Local Residents demand that they chose the new Comisario for San Carlos, not the Mayor of Guaymas

The group La Independencia de San Carlos has prepared a letter to the Mayor of Guaymas and the City Council members stating that local residents and not just the Mayor of Guaymas should be involved in the process of who should be chosen as Comisario of  San Carlos. What is very interesting is the information that has come to light on what the official law says regarding how the Comisario is selected and what are their duties.

At the moment I am sifting through an 11 page document that states what the Comisario’s obligations to the community are and what any prospective candidate must do to get on the list of candidates for Comisario. Ultimately in the past the mayor of Guaymas decided from a list of candidates who would be the new Comisario of San Carlos with virtually no input from local residents. What I am reading about the Comisario and their legal responsibilities are quite interesting and equally interesting is the requirements to get on the list. After speaking with past Comisarios it is clear that the list of requirements may not have always been respected.

Here is what a prospective candidate for Comisario has to do to get on the list.

1. Applicants must be citizens of Sonora, and be at least twenty five years old.
2. Applicants must be in full exercise of their political rights.
3. Applicants must be residents of the place where they intend to be appointed as Commissioners, having to prove a minimum two-year residency.
4. Applicants must prove to have no criminal record or have been disqualified from public office by a competent authority.
5. Applicants must demonstrate a minimum level of secondary schooling.
6. Applicants must submit to a psychometric examination by the Office of Human Resources of the City.
7. Applicants must submit a resume crediting the data recorded in it.
8. Applicants must be drug tested.
9. Those interested should prove to be legally fit regarding their physical health.
10. Applicants must  verify under oath they do not currently hold any public office, federal, state or municipal.
11. Applicants must submit a “work project” (proyecto de trabajo) properly supported, for the purpose of presenting it to the Finance Committee,  and assess whether the Expenditure Budget could be allocated to the project. 

By far the most interesting thing on this list is the “work project”. I was completely unaware of any Comisario candidate every having to come up with a work project that needed to be submitted for consideration. Since Guaymas sucks every single red penny they can from us I am relatively sure that no “work project” other than cleaning the streets or painting the curbs that was presented by any Comisario was ever funded. This is what needs to change.

While doing research for this post I spoke with Victor Parro Maldonado. A local political activist from Guyamas with years of experience dealing with local government. Victor was one of the crucial activists that helped stop the construction of the zip lines in the Estuary. The following information on the monthly budget for the Comisaria of San Carlos came directly from him.

Lets briefly analyze the breakdown because I am finding this information fascinating and it will take weeks to fully appreciate all this I am sure!

The monthly total is: $ 103,125.00 pesos, besides bonuses, overtime and other benefits.

I was surprised by several things in this budget. First of which is that fact that the Comisario is not the highest paid public official in San Carlos. That honor goes to the Sub Official who makes 20,475.60 pesos a month. Perhaps that sub official is the Comandante of the police but I don’t think so? I believe the police are in a separate budget, which we will work on for a story next week. Another surprise is the chofer/chauffeur. I was unaware that the city of Guaymas paid for a chofer for the Comisario. The chofer gets paid 8,827.50. I have never seen a chofer here but maybe he really exists and if so I am thinking about applying for the job. It must be a part time position and I could use a few extra bucks!

All kidding aside here is the deal. Local San Carlos residents, and I might add residents of San Jose del Guaymas are fed up with Guaymas and this time are demanding that there be a clear and transparent way in which the new Comisario is chosen that allows local residents to have a greater say in who is chosen and here is the big whopper. Residents of San Carlos and San Jose want way more of their tax dollars coming back to their respective communities to be spent on local projects. Basically what is the status quo is that San Carlos generates 32% of the money generated by property taxes for Guaymas with about 5% of the population.

Below is a letter that is going to be available for both American and Mexican residents to sign. This letter will be available to sign at the San Carlos Athletic Club starting on Wednesday the 25th of November. I apologize in advance for not translating this letter, so many things to do in one day and so little time to do them in. Perhaps one of our readers could help us out on that and translate the document. A google translation will not really cut it I am afraid.

Here is what Victor Maldonado mentioned to me today. Victor said “The budget this year for San Carlos was $ 9 million 135 thousand 980.00 pesos of which we do not know how this money was spent, because the Comisario and his Deputy are not informed. It is time to take a closer look at these actions that we take into account what is going on here and start to comply with the law.”

Victor also stated that San Carlos pays into the coffers of Guaymas approximately 100 million pesos per year in taxes yet we get back around 9 million. So start doing the math. For the last decade Guaymas has made around 900 million pesos off of us. Can you imagine what San Carlos could do if we got back what we paid in?

Perhaps we could completely reconstruct our failing water infrastructure and stop throwing 60% of our fresh water into the desert. The possibilities are endless! I think I am gonna sign that letter asap!

PDF letter to the Municipality of Guaymas: Solicitude Comisario final