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Denver, capital of the Americas for three days

Luis Donaldo Colosio, mayor of Monterrey, Ricardo Quiñonez, mayor of Guatemala City, Claudia López, mayor of Bogotá y Claudia Sheinbaum, head of government of Mexico City.

THE CITY RECEIVES 250 MAYORS FROM THE HEMISPHERE

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Between April 26 and 28, Denver will host the “Summit of Cities of the Americas.” Some 250 mayors from cities throughout the hemisphere will arrive in the city. Some 75 of these mayors govern US cities. This is the case of Francis Suárez, mayor of Miami, Florida; Oscar Leeser, Mayor of El Paso, Texas; Kate Gallego, mayor of Phoenix, Arizona; Jorge Maldonado, mayor of Nogales, Arizona; and Hillary Schieve, Mayor of Reno, Nevada, among many others.

The significance of the event is demonstrated in the visit of the mayors of the most populated cities in Mexico, Central and South America. They will be in Denver: Claudia Sheinbaum, head of government of Mexico City; Claudia López, mayor of Bogotá; Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro; Ricardo Quiñonez, mayor of Guatemala City; Carolina Mejía, mayoress of Santo Domingo; Luis Donaldo Colosio, mayor of Monterrey; Monserrat Caballero, mayoress of Tijuana; and Rafael Ramírez, mayor of Maracaibo.

The leaders of the political and financial hemispheric organizations will participate in the different work sessions of the “Summit of Cities of the Americas”. They will be Sergio Díaz-Granados, Andean Development Corporation (CAF); Dante Mossi, Central American Bank for Economic Integration; Ilan Goldfajn, Inter-American Development Bank; Luis Almagro, Organization of American States (OAS). 3,250 participants have already registered for the work sessions, plenary sessions and cultural activities.

Denver, capital of the Americas for three days — Luis Almagro, Organization of American States (OAS)

Urban and biodiverse areas

Latin America is the second most urbanized region on the planet. 80 percent of Latin Americans live in cities; but a quarter of its citizens live in informal settlements. The region has great biodiversity and natural resources, but the green areas per inhabitant are 9 square meters, below the WHO recommendation. In addition, Latin America has few cars, some 83 million, in contrast to 405 million in Europe or 300 million in the US.

“’The Summit of Cities of the Americas’ is an ideal setting to exchange experiences and generate new global alliances that can deploy the potential of Latin American cities and turn them into true economic engines, for generating quality jobs, protecting the environmen, protection, reaching social integration and mobility,” said Sergio Díaz-Granados, CAF’s executive president. The summit will address issues of economic development, biodiversity, inclusion, transport, gender and digitization.

Message from Polis and Hancock

“The summit will empower elected officials, businesses and private organizations to collaborate and develop new solutions to the most pressing issues facing communities, including sustainable development, climate resilience, renewing democracy, foreign direct investment, women’s empowerment, betterment of underserved communities and public safety,” said Michael Hancock, Mayor of the City and County of Denver.

On the other hand, Governor Jared Polis said that “I am very excited that Denver and Colorado are playing such an important role in the first Summit of Cities of the Americas. We are proud to welcome the strong network of leaders to foster shared innovations, creative solutions and best practices for the most challenging problems in our communities.”