Mexico and Uruguay Just Saved UN-Tourism

Today, the Embassy of Uruguay in Spain confirmed to Mexico that they had requested that UN Tourism withdraw the letter submitted by Uruguay to the UN Tourism Executive Council Chair, requesting inclusion on the agenda for the extraordinary reopening of the candidature period.

What does this mean? The chaos and confusion created by UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, in tandem with his legal counsel, Ms. Alicia Gomez, is void. The election for a new Secretary-General is planned for tomorrow and Friday, May 29-30.

After eTurboNews and other media reported on this most likely illegal move by Uruguay, Gloria Guevara, the candidate for Mexico, got into action. While no one else effectively knew how to handle this situation, Guevara, quietly, and with the help of the Foreign Affairs Minister in her Government, was able to explain to the Government of Uruguay how they had been put into a problem they did not want to be in, endorsing a letter dictated to them by a desperate UN Tourism secretary general.

It’s commendable that Uruguay took leadership together with Mexico, so Uruguay corrected their mistake and took action today by confirming to the Mexican Embassy in Madrid the withdrawal of this letter.

What this action has not resolved yet is the fact that Zurab clearly showed he should not be left in the position to lead this organization after the Executive Council meets until the end of his term. A temporary replacement should not only be a matter of the rule, but also a matter of respect and fairness to the candidate who will win the election tomorrow.

After the eTN article, Richard Quest, in his CNN show “Quest Means Business,” acknowledged Gloria Guevara by saying, “Gloria Guevara, who is probably the most experienced tourism expert…” This clearly showed today.

The election for UN-Tourism Secretary General will take place May 29 and 30, with two leading candidates remaining: Gloria Guevara from Mexico, and Harry Theoharis from Greece. The remaining three candidates from the UAE, Tunisia, and Ghana had been quiet about the situation, indicating their secondary role in this process, and are expected to join one of the two contenders’ campaigns.