By Carola Rico
The National Chamber of Restaurants and Seasoned Foods Industry (CANIRAC) recently held several meetings in San Miguel de Allende. The leader of the San Miguel delegation, Francisco Aguirre, brought in Mayor Mauricio Trejo to talk with the members of the Chamber. The mayor spoke about the support that the municipal government provides to this sector. He also said that he plans to continue that support in order to attract tourists and visitors to San Miguel, from Mexico and the world.
Mayor Trejo spoke before a group of approximately 50 restaurant businessmen, and declared himself their ally: “I am here to be a facilitator for each one of you. My government plans to be a partner with all of you, so we can ensure that San Miguel de Allende continues to be an example to the whole world; a tourist destination with great restaurants and great hotels.”
One of the members of CANIRAC spoke with Atencion San Miguel and explained that the recent wave of COVID-19, which the country is experiencing, was not discussed during the meeting. Neither were the measures to be taken for this health crisis part of the discussion. According to data from the Guanajuato Ministry of Health, there are 309,703 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state as of July 18 of this year. In San Miguel de Allende there are 6,469 positive cases.
The restaurateurs made one specific request from the mayor, and that was to extend the hours that restaurants could stay open. The mayor responded by saying there has been a big problem with late night noise from the terraces in the historic center. He gave no indication that such a request would soon be granted. Another issue discussed during the meeting was that Patricia Jurado will be leaving her post as Director of Economic Development of International Relations and Municipal NGO. She was appointed to this position by the current administration, and has held it for almost 10 months. Tania Castillo de la Peña, head of San Miguel Tourism, will take over the leadership position held by Jurado. As a final point, Trejo stressed that he has no intention of putting pressure on the restaurant and hotel industry. He stated that what is needed is a lot of support and promotions. The mayor assured the delegates that they will have his unconditional support.
