Petro's Empty Bike Racks

On Plaza San Victorino, one of Petro's bike racks finds a user.

This small bike rack has been sitting nearly empty for years.
What made the Petro administration conclude that
the plaza needed a hundred more bike parking spaces?

It's a strange political circumstance: Gustavo Petro, whose term as mayor of Bogotá is most remembered for trash-filled sidewalks and his resulting temporary ouster, is now a leading candidate for president.

Sure, Petro did do some good things: He finally got rid of the cart-pulling horses called zorros, which

Another Petro bike rack finds users!

often suffered beatings and hunger. And he stopped bullfights from being held, though they returned this year. And those aren't exactly urban transformations. Petro's administration also did pour money into services such as soup kitchens in poor neighborhoods - but then nearly every mayor does that.

Meanwhile, Bogotá's trashy sidewalks, air pollution and chaotic traffic, amongst other urban ills, all continued. A lot of us had hoped that an ex-guerrilla leader would find some daring, innovative solutions to those problems.

But one thing which even Petro's enemies agree about is that he's not corrupt. But while that may be true personally, I found evidence on Plaza San Victorino that corruption existed around Mayor Petro.

A lonely bicycle in a rack built for two dozen of them.

As many Bogotá residents know, San Victorino is not a safe place to leave your bike locked-up. It's located only a few blocks from the one-time drug-and-crime den called El Bronx, and it's still roamed by drug addicts and thieves who'll strip parts from your bike if not steal the whole thing.

All of which makes San Victorino an inadvisable place to park a bike. That, however, didn't stop the Petro administration, or one of its contractors, from installing racks there for some 200 bikes. Naturally, they are almost completely empty all of the time. But somebody earned a bundle of money by installing them.

Alongside Calle 26, you'll also find Petro-era wooden flooring as well as more bike racks, which

What does an empty bike rack say about Petro's governance?

were never used. (Actually, the unused racks were stolen.)

I don't know much about Petro's public works. But the little glimpse I've seen of them here in the center makes me wonder how many of Petro's buddies got rich by misusing public funds during his presidency.

Petro's administration did contribute to cycling by adding bike lanes, including the one alongside the Parkway in Teusaquillo. However, he could have supported cycling a lot more by placing these racks someplace where cyclists would actually use them.

A pretty low bar. 'You can say whatever you want against him, but you can never say that he stole public resources from the city.' Well, perhaps. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Fotomaraton hits San Victorino Plaza

And the results are in! The winners of this year's Fotomaraton, 48 hours of photographing by amateurs and professionals, are on display on San Victorino Plaza. I didn't think the pictures were as ingenious and striking as other years'. Rather, most struck me as handsome pics which might make it into a Lonely Planet guide, rather than making some sort of statement or displaying hidden aspect of Bogotá.

 

This dog, with his 'Smile' sign, is a common sight in downtown.  (Followed by his owner collecting coins.)

One of the few which seems novel. In a forested area near the airport someone hangs clothing to dry. 

A cheery scene of a woman with her baby. The woman looks familiar to me. 

A woman who looks like she stepped off of a London street. 

The La Concordia market in La Candelaria. 

Many of the photos showed La Candelaria, Bogotá's historic center. I regretted that more of the photographers didn't venture into Kennedy, Usme, even Usaquen - altho you can lose your camera in some of those places. I didn't even see any scenes of San Victorino, one of the most colorful and lively parts of the city.

A few San Victorino scenes:

This building was gutted by fire a few months ago. The stores which had been inside hung posters on it with their new locations. 

This building burned down several years ago and has never been rebuilt. 

A busy San Victorino street.

Vendors on San Victorino Plaza. 

A storefront. 

Vendors on San Victorino. 

Sock vendors wait for a final sale. 

The Fashion Station. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Israelites of Bogotá

I took these pictures on Plaza San Victorino today, of a man from the Israelite religious sect evangelicizing passersby.

The Israelites, whose full name is: The Evangelical Association for the Israelite Mission of the New Universal Pact, are a fundamentalist group who try to reproduce the dress and lifestyle of Jesus, for the men, and Mary, for the women. They also live very simply.

I've often seen them vending stuff on the streets, but rarely preaching.

I read that there are several thousand Israelites in Colombia, and likely many more in Peru, where the religion began.

An Israelite man vends food near the Plaza San Victorino. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Imprisoned on San Victorino Plaza!

Imprisoned on Plaza San Victorino. 

During a bike tour today we passed by these young men in a juryrigged jail beside the Butterfly sculpture.

What's strange about this scene?

The scene is disturbing for several reasons: the informal holding pen suggests vigilantiism and lack of rule of law, suggesting other times in other nations where people were detained arbitrarily because of the way they looked or who they were, and subjected to public humiliation. The guys I saw inside the pen certainly did not look like people I'd invite over for dinner.

Other people on the plaza suggested that these youths had been detained because they weren't carrying identification or were thieves. But they didn't seem to know, or particularly care. If the youths had committed crimes, why weren't they under arrest, instead of enclosed here like stray dogs?

Bogotá certainly has a crime problem. But one would hope that, especially with a new leftist mayor in charge, it'd find less repressive and more constructive ways to address the problem, such as trying to get these kids into school or work.

Until a recent court decision, the military would stop young men in public places and ask for proof that they'd done the obligatory military service. If they didn't have it, it was off to the army.

Related blogppost: Civil Rights for Suspects?

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Stuff for Sale Around San Victorino Plaza

A water pistol and a swimming pool.

Inflatable plastic hammers. 

Bags and more bags to carry other stuff in. 

Men's underwear. 

Shirts from these human clotheshangers. 

Corn to feed the pigeons, as well as an odd camelid like Lorenzo. 

Swimming pools. 

Fishing poles.

 

Board games. 

Mirrors, mirror on my back.

Rat poison, hopefully not for the neighbors or in-laws. 

More mobile shirt hangers. 

Colorful shoes.

Buy my Sesame Street dolls. 

Christmas carpets make nice coats. 

And Christmas decorations. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours