This event is co-hosted with the Georgetown Americas Institute. This is an in-person only event and the recording will be posted to this webpage.
Please join us for an interactive dialogue exploring Ecuador's third-largest city and the pressures of globalization placing Cuenca and its metropolitan region of 680,000 people at the crossroads of change. One of a new generation of young mayors in Latin America, Cristian Zamora is forging a responsive stance to the concerns of his citizens in a city with extraordinary cultural resources and innovative new public transit systems. In his first year in office, Mayor Zamora navigated the three-month nationwide state of emergency earlier this year following a surge in gang violence across Ecuador.
Speakers:
Mayor Cristian Zamora, City of Cuenca
Juan Manfredi, Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor, School of Foreign Service (Respondant)
Uwe Brandes, Professor of the Practice and Faculty Director (Moderator)
About Mayor Zomora
Cristian Zamora has been serving as the mayor of Cuenca since 2023, bringing a wealth of experience in public service, entrepreneurship, and academia to the role. Mayor Zamora’s public service career began as a city councilor, a position he held for nine years before being elected mayor for the 2023-2027 term. His tenure as mayor is driven by a comprehensive governmental plan featuring 101 proposals, with half already in progress, aimed at enhancing the city's development and quality of life.
Beyond his political endeavors, Mayor Zamora is an accomplished entrepreneur. He founded a local enterprise specializing in food products made from corn and wheat flour, achieving nationwide distribution. In addition to his responsibilities as mayor and business owner, Cristian Zamora teaches graduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Cuenca.
Mayor Zamora holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Cuenca and a Master’s degree in Science and Productivity from Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. He holds a PhD in Business Sciences from the EGADE Business School in Mexico and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.
