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New Vision for Grupo ACA

By: David Real | Real Acapulco News - 10 December, 2010

(Acapulco, NA 10 December) Grupo Acapulco A.C., known as “Grupo ACA,” is a civic organization made up of community leaders and dedicated to the advancement of the port city. In this week’s elections, well-known local attorney José Luis Gallegos Peralta was elected the new chairman of the group. He indicated his wish to see Grupo ACA reposition itself as a reliable representative of civilian society, poised to defend the citizens’ interests and to articulate the public interest to governments at all three levels.

The civic organization meets weekly for lunch in a hotel on the Costera. In yesterday’s vote, Gallegos’ slate defeated the slate led by attorney Pedro Larumbe Morales, 26 to 17. After the election, the new directors visited the newspaper Novedades Acapulco for a press interview. Grupo ACA is politically active, but completely neutral in terms of parties and candidates, according to its bylaws. Chairman Gallegos rejected that the organization might be a political trampoline for its directors: “We are not endorsing any political party,” he said. “In this organization we have people from Pan, people who support Añorve, those in favor of Aguirre, and those who simply abstain from electoral politics. It is a diversity that gives us balance, which is for the benefit of the city,” he said. “People use the term ‘politician’ nowadays in a sense that has become so debased and devalued that no one is in favors of them. But we need to rescue the essence of this word, which identifies the people that do something in favor of the city.”

Gallegos continued: “Our job is to defend the city, to make sure that regulations are complied with to the letter. And when we invite [government] speakers every Wednesday, we will try to get commitments from them about their work, but with follow-up to see if they kept their promise.”

For 2011 the group has invited 40 different speakers to address them in a variety of areas like tourism, justice, health and education. Grupo ACA also has invited the candidates for governor to speak to them during the second week of January.