Fabio Alfonso López Salazar is the last bastion of a generation that since the 1960s contributed to the development of Pereira, either as a municipality of Caldas or as the capital of the department of Risaralda.
At the age of 30, with experience under his belt as a civil engineer from the Universidad Javeriana, owner of construction companies and secretary of public works for Gran Caldas, Fabio Alfonso López Salazar assumed the mayor’s office of Pereira.
From that position as mayor of Pereira, he was in charge of the process of creating the department of Risaralda, that is, the very hard civic and political struggle led by a group of men and women who intended to separate from Caldas, as a response to the excessive concentration of power in Manizales. This feat concluded with the approval by the Congress of the Republic of the creation of Risaralda in 1966 and it was precisely the engineer López Salazar who had the honor of being appointed as the first mayor of Pereira, as the capital of the department.
From 1965 to 1968, Falosa, as he is known in the political, business and journalistic world, served as mayor and had the support, during that time, of eleven governors in both departments. “That was a very hectic time, because the leaders of Pereira demanded greater participation in the administrative life of Caldas and more resources from the public budget, but these requests were permanently denied, which created a climate of discomfort that evolved to the point of creating a board that led the creation of a new department,” recalls the former mayor.
Although most voices were in favour of the separation of Caldas, there were positions that were not entirely convincing, such as that of Senator Camilo Mejía Duque. “He was born in Salamina, but lived in Pereira. He was the great liberal leader of the region and obviously with the creation of Risaralda, his leadership would be restricted to a smaller and less important territory, but in the end, he accompanied the process and was decisive in Congress approving the new department and President Lleras Restrepo sanctioning the law.”
A town of growth
In the early 1960s, Pereira was a small town that was nevertheless beginning to make significant progress in its urban and economic development, given the migratory process it received as a result of the violence that plagued neighboring departments.
“Pereira’s drive was so great that it had two universities, the Technological University and the Free University, modern public services, automatic telephone connections, a tram, several newspapers and radio stations, a family compensation fund, a chamber of commerce, a higher court, a railway system, roads that connected it to various regions of the country, the beginning of the construction of the transport terminal and a fully operational airport,” the former mayor points out.
He says that one of the pillars of Pereira’s development was the construction of the Matecaña airport, because it allowed the city to have connections with the world, maintain a great commercial and industrial dynamic, diversify its production and stop depending on the rural economy, as well as being the gateway for the entire Eje Cafetero region.
Thanks to the creation of Risaralda, a process of modernization was unleashed that allowed him, for example, to create the Coffee Growers Committee in 1967, which was crucial in giving economic viability and infrastructure development to the majority of the 13 municipalities that made up the new territory. It was also at that time that López Salazar made the decision to make the first pilot plan for Pereira, a kind of development plan that allowed him to outline the future of the city both in terms of its road infrastructure and its territorial planning.
The second mandate
Fabio Alfonso López had a second term between 1978 and 1980. The city had just hosted the 10th National Games, which put pressure on its urban transformation. During that period of government, he had to face the consequences of the 1979 earthquake, which partially destroyed the center, the Egoyá sector and areas near the ring road and caused a large number of injuries and deaths. It was a crucial moment for the development of the city, because it led to measures related to the anti-seismic code being taken, so that buildings would be safer.
The late 1970s saw Pereira experience unusual growth. New investments were coming in for sectors related to the textile, agro-industrial and metalworking industries. Companies were established that generated a significant number of jobs and were of great importance in the foreign market. One of them was the start of the Sociedad Hotel de Pereira and another was the operation of Gemela Ltda, which later became Suzuki Motor, among many others.
Man of achievements
Among the main achievements as mayor of Pereira during his two terms, there is the construction of the 1º de Febrero residential unit in front of the main coliseum; construction and paving of the 30 de Agosto avenue from the airport and the Olympic Village; he began the construction of the Avenida Sur; he began the paving of the Pereira – Alcalá highway; he paved the road that connects the Circunvalar avenue with Los Álamos; he built the residential unit for journalists; he began the expansion of the Matecaña airport; he bought the land for the construction of the fairground in Cerritos; he built the El Lago administrative unit; among many other physical works related to the public water and sewer services such as the La Corea treatment plant.
The changes of the last 45 years
The Pereira pilot plan that he led as mayor, in an agreement with the Agustín Codazzi Geographic Institute and the master plan of Mendoza and Olarte promoted by Mayor Gustavo Orozco, were in his opinion fundamental for the transformation of Pereira, since they allowed for the definition of the actions that should be adopted to modernize the municipality and make it competitive on the national stage, to such an extent that Pereira came to be considered one of the five main cities in Colombia.
According to the former mayor, what has happened since 1980 to date reflects the social and business drive of a municipality that today is the great regional leader in terms of economic development and urban consolidation, in addition to having the largest population of higher education students in what we now know as the coffee belt.
“I remember very well that the poet Luis Carlos González told me that he hoped that Pereira would remain small, that it would be a small town, to avoid the conflicts that come with growth. But his wish was not fulfilled, today Pereira is a city with a development that we could not even imagine,” says the former mayor.
Stitching
When asked about his main contribution to the development of Pereira, he said that he managed the city’s destiny with absolute transparency and integrity and promoted a group of young professionals who helped build the city’s history.
Regarding his possible frustrations for not having been able to carry out some of the actions he had dreamed of, he stated that he did what he had to do, at the time it had to be done and with the resources he had available.I have no frustrations, but I do have immense joys.”
Asked about advice for the current mayor Mauricio Salazar, he was emphatic in saying that “I think it is in bad taste to tell a mayor what he has to do, when one did not do it when one was in office.”
Regarding the characters who have marked the history of Pereira, he said that they are countless, each one from their space in sports, culture, economy, science and politics. “As I have experienced politics, I must say that there are three key figures in the development of Pereira: Camilo Mejía Duque as a senator, César Gaviria Trujillo as President of the Republic and Gonzalo Vallejo Restrepo.”
Today, close to turning 90, engineer López Salazar has been one of the standard-bearers of the consolidation of Pereira as a territory that leads processes of growth and development, which place this capital at the forefront of regional progress.
** Special collaboration by Humberto Tobón
2024-09-01 11:36:44