Mayor Javier Sanchez/Courtesy photo

BY JAVIER SANCHEZ
Mayor, City of Española

Northern New Mexico politics are slowly changing, but must change a lot more in order to provide our citizens with improved and open government.  For far too long, we have lived with corruption, megalomania, and control.  Looking closely at the root causes of such decrepitude, we throw our hands in the air and say “asi es la politica” with all these movidas.  It’s all about who you know.  Even when misdeeds are exposed, we assume there will be no change. Not this time. This time we can say no to the old ways of doing politics.  Our duty to change Northern New Mexico lies with every citizen who is brave enough to call out bad behavior and refuse to accept it when it surfaces.

We see the damaging effects of movidas everywhere.  Some desire to control the whole neighborhood.  Politicos get elected to one board and quickly maneuver their way onto other boards at the same time. It’s not enough to reign over a city—let’s look at the local electric co-op or school board or whatever else there may be.  And if it’s not the politico getting on such committees, it’s their friends or relatives.  These political favors create a dark web of power throughout the community.  Go against them, and politicos will use their power to threaten, intimidate and destroy. They even effect the jobs of employees and try to have them fired (as allegedly happened in the City of Española.) Elected officials should stand up for their employees, not undermine and work against them for personal gain.

To extricate ourselves from the machine of political movidas, we must recognize the signs of our addiction.  It is clear that these behaviors are intergenerational.  We pass on the bad behavior from one generation to the next while family members and friends turn a blind eye in order to cover it up.  Even worse is when they fail to see it right in front of their faces because they have grown comfortable with the corruption.   It is often said that to conquer evil, you must first identify it.  The same is true for political movidas.  We must recognize the bad behavior for what it is, stand up to it, and say, “No Mas!” It won’t be tolerated!  We must be bold when advocating for leadership that changes the process, the thinking, and actions of those in elected positions.  Northern New Mexico is on the cusp of that change.  It is up to us to make the change a reality.