A “happy city” that can “return to leading at the national level” for its quality of life, is the project that candidate Ernesto Velasco Rodríguez is trying to raise now that he has become the sole candidate of the center-left for the mayoral elections. of La Serena, which will take place in the month of October. The representative of the Radical Party won yesterday with 36.49% of the votes in the Contigo Chile Mejor primary, against the candidacies of Rayen Pojomovski Aliste (IND, 21.73%), Mauricio Ibacache Velasquez (IND. 20.24% ) and Camilo Araya Plaza (Comunes, 15.91%).
Thanking “all the Serenenses who believed in our project of change for La Serena” and also the rest of the pre-candidates, of whom he valued the “gesture of nobility” in immediately recognizing their victory, Velasco addressed the first impressions of the day in conversation with El Día. Specifically, he valued a “look to the future” in his candidacy as a key to the result. “(It was crucial) to talk about the future, never disqualify, put ideas on the table (…). Deep down we talk a lot about the future, we talk to the people of Serena about how the city regains leadership at the national level in matters of culture, education, heritage and security. We speak without complexes about security as one of the great priorities that we have to face,” he indicated.
In that sense, he noted that his focus for October will be the “broad unity of all the political forces that have participated in this primary,” to “integrate and have a programmatic platform that takes care of the great challenges of the people of Serenez in transversal form.”
GUIDELINES
Regarding the issue of security, he indicated that his idea is to “have a powerful security plan from the Municipality” and addressed other fundamental needs of the commune, such as cleanliness and decoration, traffic congestion, the modernization of public transportation and the recovery of key sectors such as the historic center and Avenida del Mar. His desire, he indicated, is to form a “Smarcity”, where the unique attractions of the second oldest city in Chile are combined with a look from technology and digitalization. “La Serena has to once again lead at the national level as a city with a great quality of life, that looks to the future,” he said.
Regarding participation on election day, he indicated that “when there is a voluntary vote, the levels of participation are much lower” and analyzed that “the great reflection is on the political parties, on how we make a primary attractive and that is to debate ideas, put proposals on the table and that people feel identified.”
OWN SEAL
Ernesto Velasco is a professor of History and currently serves as president of the Board of Directors of the University of La Serena (ULS). He has extensive experience in the private and public world, where he is known for his time as executive secretary of the Gabriel González Videla Corporation. The above has made it inevitable that he will be identified as a “continuity” option for Mayor Roberto Jacob, of whom he is also a friend. When consulted, he indicated that “we are different people, each one puts the stamp he wants on his management. “One has to look at the change in the city of La Serena and bet on the future,” he said.
MORAL HIGH
After learning of the results that left him out of the race in the mayoral election, Mauricio Ibacache was “grateful for the support received, especially the affection of the people” and highlighted that “we raised a citizen and independent voice, in a campaign against the wind.” and tide.” “As a Democrat, I respect the outcome and will support the winner of this election.”
Rayen Pojomovski, for his part, indicated to those who have supported her, and to the Communist Party, which supported her independent candidacy, that “we have to have super high morale, because we ran a relentless campaign, full of love, commitment and a lot of responsibility with Our values. We put our ethics and our aesthetics at the disposal of a campaign with a lot of conviction.”
According to Servel figures, in La Serena a total of 10,042 went to vote in the primaries, marking 5.15% citizen participation.
