Interview with the Mayor – Juan Manuel Asturias
It came to many as a surprise including myself that the sitting mayor of Antigua Guatemala failed in his bid to continue as mayor for 2024-2028. I was intrigued to learn more about the new mayor Juan Manuel Asturias and his plans for Antigua when he comes to office next January.
So, I was delighted that he agreed to an interview with Qué Pasa. JuanMa as he likes to be known is a youthful 38-year-old. He is married, a company administrator and constructor. He campaigned through the Comité Cívico Futuro but is not affiliated to any political party. His great uncle was Miguel Ángel Asturias, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
I began by asking JuanMa why he ran for mayor. He said that as an antigüeño, he was sad to see Antigua growing without a clear plan and set of rules to preserve its charm, while keeping its urban functionality for all the habitants. He felt he could do better and so decided to run for office.
“We changed the way politics is done in Antigua and I would even dare to say in the whole country” says JuanMa. He explains that during the election, they didn’t print flyers, use billboards, give out bags of gifts to potential voters, nor did they expensive concerts, rent a central office, promise jobs in the MUNI or buy votes! Pretty heady stuff indeed. He puts his success at the ballot box to the strategy of personally reaching the voters; spending time in the villages to understand their needs and sitting with them while drinking coffee and hearing their points of view first-hand.
We then touch on his priorities for the next 4 years. JuanMa considers basic services as his main priority. Water, drainage, and roads. He plans to construct a new modern market, with public toilets within the same location, a robust public parking for the habitants and visitors of Antigua and lastly is mobility around Antigua, wanting to solve the issues with a better way to control the current traffic, implementing new electric buses with clear routes of public transportations to the center of Antigua and its numerous villages.
He reminds me that he is not just mayor of Antigua but mayor of the twenty-one aldeas (villages) around Antigua. The main priority will be dealing with the lack of running water.
I then dig deeper into the new electric buses. He tells me that a new regulation will be that all buses passing through Antigua and from Antigua to the villages will need to be electric. Buses from Guatemala City will need to park at the entrance of the city and passengers will need to take the electric buses. I can’t wait to see this. Maybe if those ghastly bus fumes will be a thing of the past, I’ll go out and buy myself an electric scooter!
As for Antigua’s traffic crisis, Juanma feels that the rate of new gated community projects is “out of control,” and that Antigua desperately needs a “plan de ordenamiento territorial”. He says this not solely about traffic but also about water, drainage and environmental impact.
He will hire more transit police to help regulate the traffic especially during rush hours and with the Muni electric buses connecting Antigua to the villages (Safe, clean and low cost) it will be the incentive to leave cars and motorbikes at home.
In the long term he would like to plan for a ring road around Antigua or a tunnel taking traffic from the RN-10 to the RN-14. But he says that would take money and planning from central government to be done. Apparently, the Chipilapa improvements that took a year will achieve nothing with a cost of $5 Million. That’s 5% of a tunnel which Juanma believes would cost roughly $100 Million.
One of Juanma’s key phrases is to “make Antigua the best place to live, attractive to visit and to invest.” He is very open to the idea of public-private partnerships especially regarding tourism projects. His vision is that with the necessary infrastructure tourists will spend more time in and around Antigua while spending more to benefit all. The Muni will invest in an App which will include promoting the villages for tourism.
As the interview winds down, I ask JuanMa what he loves about Antigua. On refection, he answers its people; that they are welcoming, friendly, and warm. He then mentions the rich culture, the stunning natural beauty and its history.
I couldn’t help mentioning that to me JuanMa and the president elect Bernardo Arévalo have some similarities; they are very grass root focused, not entirely accepted by the establishment, anti-corruption focused and in a way outsiders. After a long pause, Juanma said that yes in a way they both are outsiders but with differing political views.
From the printed edition of Qué Pasa. January 2024 No.139
My parting shot as the interview wrapped up was whether he was planning to serve as mayor for four or eight years. “Eight years!”
It was a pleasure to interview Juan Manuel Asturias and I wish him and his team all the best.
I would like to thank Diego Morales for his help during the interview, especially during those moments when I completely lost my Spanish!
Written by Scott Stanton
