Johnny: "Let it be over for politicians to talk about the Census when they don’t understand it"

After the meeting between mayors of the capital cities of the country with President Luis Arce, in the Casa Grande del Pueblo, where they addressed the issue of the Population and Housing Census, the mayor of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Jhonny Fernández, stated that the country’s authorities should cooperate by forming technical commissions with “experts in the matter” so that the National Institute of Statistics (INE) works, informs and proposes when the survey can be carried out.

In addition, he indicated that it is the professionals who must analyze the Census and its progress, but not the politicians.

“Let it be over for politicians to talk about the Census when they don’t understand it,” Fernández said. after explaining that in the extensive meeting in which they presented the work plan and gave their proposal on the survey. He assured that everyone agreed that the first thing to do is depoliticize the issue.

He explained that the formation of technical teams that include representatives of universities, municipal or external governments, is for them to work with the INE commission, who will go down to each region to explain what progress has been made on the Census and what is the route to consolidate it.

“I believe that this is a fundamental step, entering this scenario, and then the follow-up will be done. We will work in specific commissions so that it is built in a transparent way and that it be a quality Census, that is what we are looking for now,” he stressed.

Fernández maintained that there are two issues to analyze, one of them is the proposals of the mayors of the capital and the second that there are also international organizations that have expressed their proposals for the Census, likewise none coincided in the month or date to collect the population and housing data in Bolivia. “Po not continue with the speculation of the date, it is better to work with the technical teams and from there draw eminently technical conclusions to have a quality Census, but we will be lost,” he said.

In addition, he pointed out that it is not the politicians who should propose the solution, but the technicians who will be selected for the mission. He added that some representatives speak of economic compensation for the postponement of the Census, but that despite this, what they should do is think about the economic reactivation of their regions.

“An example, as mayor I want to announce to Santa Cruz that today I have already achieved 100%, 50 million dollars for drainage of the city that we began in mid-August to announce to Santa Cruz how the construction is going to be,” he advanced and He added that there are also resources for improving the urban area with the construction of 65 kilometers of bicycle paths that will be financed from five toyears of grace, with 1.10% plus libor.

“It’s a bargain, I already got it, that’s it. That will be built and the economy will be reactivated. Lo I have exposed on the president’s table, and the Santa Cruz proposal, there are 16 important projects to reactivate the economy. We are talking about education, health and infrastructure projects that we also obviously know that the government will match or help us with soft financing so that these resources reach Santa Cruz and we have more money to invest,” he said.

He warned that it is not only about waiting for the Census, but that the representatives of each region of the country must carry out works despite the fact that the date has been postponed.

“Nor is it just to wait, cross your arms and wait for the Census. I am already working to advance programs and projects that serve Santa Cruz. I am proposing that until this month of August we have at least one billion Bolivians closed in new investments for Santa Cruz, And this is not only with resources from the Mayor’s Office, there will be counterpart resources and there will be soft financing resources”.

However, he recalled that he asked Arce not only to work on works, but also to give priority to the INE technical commission going down to Santa Cruz first. “Democracy is built with dialogue and that is important now. Nor you can delve into the progress of the Census, but some questions have been landed on and some doubts have been cleared up and those that are not, will be discussed in the regions, and that is important to move forward.

He concluded that as mayor he will continue his work dynamics, seeking financing and proposing projects until the Census is carried out and after the results, make adjustments in your project planning in the short, medium and long term.