The measure was questioned by Morena’s trustee, Ana Alicia Mex Soberanis, due to the lack of clarity about possible new taxes.
Under the argument that they have idle and unprepared personnel to meet the high demand for public services, the Campeche City Council, led by acting mayor Martha Alejandra Camacho Sánchez, approved the privatization of services.
With the votes of the majority of the council, aligned with the Citizen Movement party and independents, the agreement for the concession and bidding of municipal public services was approved.
Privatization Period
Now, public services will be privatized in the municipality for the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2027, when the re-elected municipal president, Biby Karen Rabelo de la Torre, takes office.
In this regard, Morena’s trustee, Ana Alicia Mex Soberanis, denounced that the proposal reached her on Wednesday, hours before the extraordinary council session.
She stated that it is still unclear whether there will be new taxes for the provision of the service, if workers will be dismissed or relocated, and how much the municipality will have to pay for the severance of personnel for their years of service.
The municipality has 1,200 employees and annually hires between 250 and 300 workers.
“It’s something fast track, it’s something tailored, they send us the call at 3:00 PM, the session is at 6:00 PM, in the dark. I questioned the councilors who presented the report to give their position.”
“To face the citizens about why they are privatizing, why they are requesting the concession, and as always, they remained silent.”
Which Public Services Will Be Privatized?
In the municipality, the following municipal public services will be concessioned to private parties: gardening, pruning, and cleaning of medians, sidewalks, and public spaces on municipal streets and avenues; gardening, pruning, cleaning, and comprehensive maintenance of municipal public courts and parks.
Maintenance of the municipal public drainage network, both stormwater and sanitary; maintenance of the public lighting network and maintenance of municipal streets and avenues.
The concession is intended to be assigned from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2027, with the bidding result announced on September 17.
The trustee indicated that the annual cost of privatization, according to the City Council’s budget for these services, is 361,825,407 pesos annually.
In 2025, the Campeche City Council will also have to discuss with the council whether to continue with the concessioned garbage collection service, which has been managed by the company Red Ambiental since the past decade when it was privatized by the then PAN administration.
Source: Milenio
