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Gustavo Pareja Cisneros
Gustavo Pareja Cisneros
Mayor of Otavalo
	In office; 16 May 2014 – 14 May 2019
Preceded by	Mario Conejo
Succeeded by	Mario Conejo
8th Provincial Prefect of Imbabura Province
	In office; 1997–2009
Preceded by	Luis Mejía Montesdeoca
Succeeded by	Washington Barreno
Personal details
Born	Gustavo Pareja Cisneros; 10 January 1947 (age 77); Otavalo, Imbabura Province, Ecuador
Political party	Constructive Movement Party (since 2020)
Other political; affiliations	Avanza Party (2014–2020); PRIAN Party (2004–2014); Democratic Left (before 2004)
Alma mater	Central University of Ecuador

Gustavo Pareja Cisneros (born 10 January 1947) is an Ecuadorian politician. He was the Mayor of Otavalo upon defeating the incumbent Mario Conejo in the 2014 mayoral election. He won the election with 10% more votes than Conejo. Previously, he served as the 8th Provincial Prefect of Imbabura Province from 1997 through 2009.

During his tenure as mayor, Pareja Cisneros stressed the urbanization and modernization of Otavalo such as the establishment of national parks, commercializing the region and expanding transportation across the city.^[1] He decided not to run for re-election in 2019 and instead unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Nation Assembly in Otavalo.

Early life

Pareja Cisneros was born on 10 January 1947 in Otavalo in the Imbabura Province. His father was a carpenter and his mother was a housewife. He studied at the Central University of Ecuador, where he majored in political science and sociology.^[2]

Cisneros was elected to a minor political post in the Imbabura Province during the 1994 sectional elections as a member of the Democratic Left.^[3]

Provincial Prefect of Imbabura Province (1997–2009)

In 1997, Cisneros became the Provincial Prefect of Imbabura Province replacing the outgoing Luis Mejía Montesdeoca.^[3] His administration focused on infrastructure improvement, creating a stronger athletic program, and building better relationships with citizens.^[2]

During the 2000 elections, Cisneros was re-elected.^[2] However, in 2003, his approval ratings began to drop due to strong conservative opposition in Imbabura.^[4]

Surprisingly, in the 2004 elections, he was re-elected as Provincial Prefect as a member of the Institutional Renewal Party of National Action under the influence of Álvaro Noboa.^[5]

Cisneros was not a candidate in the 2009 elections for Provincial Prefect. Instead, he focused on his candidacy for Mayor of Otavalo.^[3]

Mayor of Otavalo (2014–2019)

For the 2009 political sectional elections, Pareja Cisneros announced his intentions to run as Mayor of Otavalo, but was narrowly defeated by Mario Conejo.^[6] He refused to rule out a second bid, so in the 2014 sectional elections, he announced his candidacy for Mayor of Otavalo once again. Pareja Cisneros ended up defeating the incumbent Conejo by a margin on 10% of the vote.^[3] He was sworn-in as Mayor on 16 May 2014.^[7]

During his tenure as mayor, Cisneros sought to urbanize Otavalo and to expand the cities commercial centers.^[1] In a 2018 interview, Cisneros confirmed plans to expand the cities stadiums under the projected cost of USD $1,400,000 and viewed the expansion as "nearly impossible, but doable".^[1] Cisneros also called for an expansion of the automobile industry in Otavalo and for the modernization of airports in nearby Otavalo.^[8] A critic of animal shelters, Pareja Cisneros signed legislation that would increase maintenance while promoting humane methods to shelter and capture stray animals in Otavalo.^[8]^[1]

In the 2017 general election, Cisneros endorsed Guillermo Lasso's bid for the presidency.^[9] When Vice President of Ecuador Lenín Moreno won the election, Cisneros worked with the President-elect to bring "dialogue of peace to the nation" while stressing the importance of urbanizing the nation such as the inclusion of national parks.^[9]

In July 2018, Cisneros criticized his predecessor Conejo saying he "let down the citizens of Otavalo" with accusations of corruption.^[8]

Pareja Cisneros opted from running for re-election and left office in May 2019.^[8]

Post-mayoralty

During the 2021 elections, he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the National Assembly as a member of the newly founded party the Constructive Movement Party.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Alcalde de Otavalo, Gustavo Pareja: "Ejecutamos obras pese a reducciones presupuestarias"". Office of the Mayor. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "El prefecto" (in Spanish). El Universo. 14 September 2004. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "= Gustavo Pareja ganó en Otavalo" (in Spanish). El Norte. 25 February 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Muenala lidera núcleo cantonal de Pachakutik" (in Spanish). La Hora. 23 December 2003. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Permanencia ilimitada en el poder" (in Spanish). La Hora. 24 October 2004. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Poder Ciudadano no acepta la derrota" (in Spanish). La Hora. 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Gustavo Pareja asume el mando en Otavalo". El Norte. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Alcalde Gustavo Pareja minimizó lo que dijo el concejal Rubén Buitrón". El Norte. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Alcalde de Otavalo asistió a la presentación del Plan Nacional del Libro y la Lectura". Otavalo.gob. 13 September 2017.
^ "Gustavo Pareja el más experimentado de los candidatos a la Asamblea". Expectativa. Retrieved 8 October 2021.