Enough Already! (Petro's back)

A Petro supporter carries flags on Ave. Septima.

I woke up this morning feeling a terrible tension, which lasted most of the day. It continued when I saw the piles of trash on central Bogotá's streetcorners, the vehicles belching plumes of smoke and the endless traffic jams.

Why did these scenes of urban malaise - which I see every single day - bother me today in particular?

Because Mayor Petro's back, reinstated by a judge.

It's not so much because I think Petro was a bad mayor - even tho he accomplished little and seems to believe that billboards and radio ditties will change people's behavior more than enforcing laws will.

No, Bogotá's urban troubles angered me particularly today because, with the city's mayor mayhem continuing into a second round, there's no end in sight for these urban maladies.

Petro was mayor for a little more than two years, the final months of which he spent mostly fighting

Pro-Petro people on Ave. Septima celebrate their
man's return to office.

the inspector general's decision to oust him for allegedly mishandling garbage collection and a recall vote. The scheduled recall vote was cancelled after Petro finally lost a long legal battle against his ouster.

Petro was first replaced by labor minister Rafael Pardo, who actually got things done, who was in turn replaced by Petro ally Maria Mercedes Maldonado, who held the office for barely one day.

Now, the recall vote will be rescheduled, and the legal fight over the inspector general's order will continue.

Bogotá's merry-go-round of mayors will continue, with officeholders who don't know how long they'll be there and who are more concerned about keeping their grip on power than actually exercising it.

And, meanwhile, garbage will keep piling up, the air will get dirtier and traffic jams will get longer, because we've got nobody at the helm.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours