Health is definitely not a priority for the authorities of the Gómez Municipality, in north of the island of Margarita in eastern Venezuela.
Dexcy Guédez / Correspondent lapatilla.com
Mayor Emilio Velásquez was part of the ‘Seniat región Insular’ (Seniat is the Tax institute), and in the middle of the campaign crossed over to the opposition in the 2021 elections, where he was elected with the help of a coalition of several political parties.
However, a few months after being elected, he returned to the ranks of Chavismo, but with greater strength and now with his red jacket and cap, he is campaigning for Nicolás Maduro.
IIn every corner of that municipality, whose capital is Santa Ana del Norte, and where the Third Republic was won during the independence war, the complaints and cries of abandonment reverberate.
Among his (the mayor) priorities are not healthcare, sports or even the Catholic faith, since themayor’s office does not provide help for repairs in healthcare centers, sports facilities or churches, which are definitely true jewels of modern revolutionary architecture.
Councilor Yaneth Guilarte denounced the critical situation of the San Sebastián de Tacarigua outpatient clinic, which served as a banner for the current mayor’s electoral campaign, as well as the El Maco healthcare center, both useless and abandoned while the inhabitants of These sectors and other surrounding areas must seek medical assistance in Juan Griego, Marcano Municipality, and in some cases at the El Espinal Bolivarian clinic, Díaz municipality.
“This outpatient clinic has not operated for more than 20 years and is very necessary for the community that does not have another outpatient center or dispensary, where they can bring children to be vaccinated, people come to get their blood pressure taken or be treated in emergencies. No expedite way to get emergency attention as such,” he asserted.
From the town of El Maco, Eumelio José Ríos regretted the abandonment of the healthcare center in that area, where a large part of the population are children and elderly.
“We do not have a healthcare center to care for us. Mayor Emilio Velásquez began changing the roof a few months after being elected and has never been here again. There we have the ruins of the dispensary and we have to go to Juan Griego or the Bolivarian clinic in Espinal to be treated,” he complained.
Nobody grieves for sports
The main Minor League Baseball School of the municipality operated for many years in the Santiago Gamboa Stadium in Santa Ana del Norte.
In recent years, only ruins remain of these spacious and functional facilities.
Councilor Guilarte assured that there were many proposals to hand over the infrastructure on loan to private companies for its administration, but there was always opposition from the municipal government dominated for many years by Chavismo.
“It is sad to see these facilities in ruins, while young people, adolescents and children have nowhere to play sports, because the mayor’s office offers no help nor does the stadium have mourners,” she pointed out.
She confirms that there is no other sports facility of that category that allows the practice of various sports, nor any other so attractive for the private sector to be interested in investing in its upkeep.
Faith does not move mountains
A complint that the town of San Sebastián has had for more than 25 years is the renovation of the church, located in Tacarigua.
Dublin Moya is a devotee of San Sebastián and has taken the improvements to that temple built in 1891 very seriously, but its last restoration was in 1980.
With the support of the Tacariguera community, he has been making some repairs given the deterioration of the physical structure, both externally and internally.
“In view of the fact that the church continued to deteriorate, the community in a meeting decided to take on recovering the most important religious icon of the population, since we have not had the support of the government and much less the mayor’s office. Since we are the ones who manage the monies, apparently it is not profitable because it does not generate commissions,” Moya emphasized.
Luis Lista, Deacon of the Parish of Santa Ana del Norte, assured that the church had increasingly deteriorated for a long time and they went to the government authorities a long time ago and no attention was paid to them.
“That’s why the community took charge of the repairs and restoration. People contributed materials for the repairs and expansion of the church. We did special activities to try to raise the money necessary to carry out the work that was being undertaken, but it has not been enough,” he indicated.
He explained that they have made progress, but the floor of the extension is still missing, the ceramic of the entire floor, and the ceiling of the old part, which is quite deteriorated.
He admitted that there is still a long way to go to finish this work, which is emblematic for the community. He said he was sure that nowhere else, neither in the state of Nueva Esparta nor in the country, has a community undertaken a work of such magnitude.