TIJUANA, Mexico, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The new mayor of Tijuana, Mexico, says public safety will be his first priority, along with combating poverty and unemployment.
Carlos Bustamante Anchondo, 65, a businessman with ties on both sides of the border, took office at midnight Tuesday, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
He is among five new mayors in Baja California, all members of Mexico's once-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party. The state has been governed for more than 20 years by President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party.
Bustamante's many challenges include establishing an efficient and affordable transportation system.
He has pledged to cut property taxes, the city's main revenue source, while making payments on $170 million in loans incurred by his predecessors for a repaving project.
The debt "significantly limits our ability to maneuver," Bustamante said.
Born and educated in California, Bustamante is one of the Tijuana's wealthiest businessmen. He has never before held elected office.
