Mayors of Bolivia and Ecuador in Cuenca

(Quito, August 3, 2007).– A group of Bolivian mayors, formed by Montés Oscar of Tarija, and Gonzalo Terceros of Cochabamba, will visit some of the works being executed by the mayors of Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca from July 30 to August 2 this year, as part of an exchange of experiences and best practices in local government, promoted by CAF.

Marcelo Cabrera, mayor of Cuenca (Ecuador), with Hernán Tamayo, director of the Executing Unit of the project, and Mauricio Ochoa, technical manager of the works, will take the Bolivian mayors and their technical staff on a tour of the Barrio for Better Living Project, whose objective is the integrated improvement of various neighborhoods through provision of sewerage, paving, and places for recreation.

The objective of the project is to exchange real experiences among local governments because it has been shown that dissemination of methodologies and improved practices minimize the costs of new projects. The mayors will visit projects which prioritize areas of vital importance in municipal management such as: infrastructure, basic sanitation, environment, mass transport, improvement of neighborhoods, among others.

CAF President & CEO Enrique García said it was imperative to promote exchanges of experience between authorities as a way of giving others the opportunity to get to know and work on conceptual and practical bases, which result in creation of viable projects for the benefit of the population. The challenge for the mayors is to repeat successful experiences, taking into account the economic and social situation in each country.

The project, promoted by CAF, will benefit the municipalities of Sucre, La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija in Bolivia, and Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca in Ecuador by making local governments aware of the most successful projects in each country, through visits and creating a line of communication between local councilors so they can share experiences in the future.