Mayor of Viña del Mar clarifies GMA link after being questioned about contract

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SANTIAGO.-  Following implications that surfaced last week regarding the UDI´s part in a controversy involving alleged financial irregularities in some municipalities (including Viña del Mar ), Mayor Virginia Reginato has clarified that they irregularities have to do with the contract signed by the Advanced Municipal Administration (known in Spanish as the GMA).  

Reginato gave a presentation to show a complete outline of the tasks that had been delegated to the GMA to develop part of the municipality’s Geographical Information System (GIS).  

The mayor indicated that several companies, such as Esrri and Dell Computers, GMA and the Chilean Air Force, were contracted and charged with the creation of the GIS, a current digital map of the geographic features of the area.  

Reginato explained that the GMA was in charge of obtaining and processing information along with the municipal administration.  The information was sold to Reginato after she published a decree allowing the purchase to be made without a previous bid, as long as the company provided the “reliability and security” that she deemed appropriate.