EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The mayor of Juarez, Mexico, his department chief and six of his aides have taken leave to run for political office.
The interim mayor assumed control of city government on Monday and began appointing assistants. The fortress will remain in place until either a new government is inaugurated in September or Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuellar is re-elected and returns after June 2 to complete his first term.
Interim Mayor Martin Chaparro reassured residents and those visiting or doing business in Juarez that things will go smoothly in the coming weeks, no matter who takes office.
“We know our employees well and let them know we support them, so they continue to carry out their responsibilities with confidence. We will not stop the work they are doing for Juárez. It's very important. It's very important,” Chaparro said at a news conference.
Pérez Cuellar will continue to campaign for the next six weeks, along with City Commissioner Rafael Ortiz Orpinel and others who are seeking to become vice mayor. Five of his other candidates are running for the mayor's seat. He is Rogelio Loya of the PRI-PAN-PRD coalition. Maria Esther Mejia of Movimiento Ciudadano. Luis Rodríguez Zinner of the Green Party. Jesus Enrique Romillo of the Republic of Mexico. and 26-year-old media influencer Jaime Flores Aguirre, also known as “Machina de Fuego” or “Fire Machine” of the Popular Party.
Juan Aceleto, Juarez's designated point of contact in El Paso, said the relationship between the two cities is not affected by temporary political flux and that lines of communication remain open in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Ta.
“We have a strong and ongoing commitment to work with Mayor (Oscar) Reaser of El Paso, Mayor (Eric) Enriquez of Las Cruces, Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, educational institutions, chambers of commerce, and others beyond who is in office. We have a strong relationship with them all the time,” Aseret told Border Report.
The former Mexican consul said the El Paso liaison office in Juarez has worked with its American partners for seven years to foster a respectful and commercially successful relationship between the two cities. Both partners are working to address difficult challenges, including the Aug. 3 mass shooting at a Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall that killed 23 people, including several Mexicans, and the ongoing migrant humanitarian crisis at the border. We have faced the situation jointly.
Aseret said El Paso and Juarez also continue to work on a public safety initiative called “Se Busca Información.” This is a bilateral, multi-agency collaboration to track down the border's most wanted criminals, which in the past few months has led to the arrest of at least four high-profile murderers and drug cartel leaders.
Regarding the migrant crisis, Chaparro appointed Santiago Gonzalez Reyes, who was in charge of immigration services and municipal shelters as head of the Human Rights Bureau, as city secretary, traditionally the mayor's right-hand man.
