Colón Mayor and Representatives Reach Agreement Following Protests

During a meeting between councilors, the mayor of the Colón district, Diógenes Galván, the governor, Julio Hernández, and the Presidency of the Colón Municipal Council, several points were clarified to improve the functioning of the communes. Ricardo Cerrud, a representative of the Cristóbal district, described this meeting, organized by the Provincial Coordination Council, the mayor's office, and the governor of Colón, as "important." He added that several agreements were reached (which he did not disclose), and the representatives were emphatic that this type of action—transferring funds to some community boards and not others—cannot be permitted. It was also learned that both the mayor and the district representatives expressed their willingness to move towards a governance pact to unblock administrative processes and strengthen inter-institutional coordination. At the meeting, Governor Hernández stated that differences are inherent to the democratic dynamic but said they should not hinder the projects and services demanded by the citizenry. Cerrud noted that in the end, the mayor made himself available to the representatives, believing it was "not a good thing that this was aired by third parties." He added that the mayor committed to rectifying the situation and wants to continue working, maintaining communication with the councilors to prevent such situations from recurring. "Colón deserves for all its authorities to agree and for us to move our province forward," he said. Those at the meeting agreed to maintain open channels of communication and continue working meetings to follow up on pending issues, prioritizing development projects and concrete actions that will positively impact the district. "We were seeing that mistakes were being made based on the administration the mayor was leading," Cerrud indicated. Eleven district representatives, who had been protesting over non-payment to their community boards, reached several agreements.