Mayor Freddy Bernal hauled over the coals for keeping a "dirty city"

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Libertador (Caracas) Mayor Freddy Bernal has received a good telling off. During his Sunday radio address, President Hugo Chavez Frias has complained about the municipality's dirty streets. 

The President told Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) mayor, Bernal to get his act together and raised a relevant question about the efficiency of municipal  garbage companies. 

To be fair to Bernal, the President also mentioned the state of the Caracas metropolitan area in general, for which Mayor Alfredo Pena holds some responsibility ... "Caracas is a very dirty city ... at times it makes me sick ... I'm not the Mayor but if I were, I would spend nights making a round of the streets." 

It seems that the situation is so bad that the President says he is tempted to get personally involved in solving the problem since it hits him in the eye whenever he drives through Caracas at night which, he comments, he does frequently ... the President has also called on local community associations to collaborate in garbage collection programs and has proposed setting up cooperatives to help deal with the problem.