Tijuana's top tourism official stepped down on Wednesday, fewer than 10 days after Mayor Jorge Astiazarán called for his resignation following a flap over a supposed publicity campaign for the city's red-light district.
Miguel Angel Badiola, president of the Tijuana Conventions and Tourism Committee, or Cotuco, stated in a two-sentence letter to the mayor that his resignation was due to "personal motives" and irrevocable.
The mayor publicly called for Badiola's resignation three days after the airing of the report, upon learning that Cotuco had independently scheduled a news conference with a group of bar owners to offer details about Tijuana Coqueta.
Badiola is director of public relations for Grupo Caliente, Mexico's largest sports betting company, which is owned by former Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon. He had served as Cotuco's president, an unpaid position, since October 2014.
Cotuco is a semi-autonomous municipal agency that receives government funds to promote the city. The president serves at the discretion of a board whose members include leaders of the city's most powerful business organizations.
René Romandía, a Cotuco board member and head of the city's industry chamber, said Wednesday that Badiola did a good job at Cotuco, but that he "had to leave because he made a mistake…. This type of publicity was not accepted in Tijuana."
Cotuco's new president is Francisco Villegas, a Tijuana restaurateur. Villegas has spearheaded the Baja by the Sea events that showcase the state in San Diego.
Written by Sandra Dibble for the Union-Tribune.
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