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public transport leave children, young people without cars, the old and
low-income populations that cannot drive stranded. It is an environ-
ment that engenders exclusion”. 39 [39] Peñalosa, 2003.
The narratives, images and emotional quotes mobilized during the
forum helped Peñalosa explain participants the new policies imple-
mented in Bogotá but, perhaps more importantly, it inspired the core
group of gdl 2020 leaders to become involved in the more compre-
hensive goal of transforming Guadalajara through transportation and
public space interventions. As noted by a gdl 2020 member:

People used to go and look at Curitiba. However, as a Brazilian friend of
mine told me one time: the Curitiba model is very difficult to imitate because
the city is full of Germans, it’s very different from other Latin American cities,
even different from other cities in Brazil. Then Bogotá made its appearance.
Bogotá had its origins in Curitiba but Bogotá had an absolutely Latin Ameri-
can context and it is a city with apparent misfortune, drug trafficking… More
than specific programs… I think what Bogotá gave us was the aspiration of a
better city that, you know… yes, we can… that transformation was possible
in Guadalajara too. (gdl 2020 leader 3, personal interview, 2014)

In this quote, we see how the Bogotá story of urban transforma-
tion functions as a key element to mobilize the aspirations of influ-
ential policy actors in Guadalajara, even more so than a rational as-
sessment of the quality or effectiveness of the policies and programs
themselves. Through narratives, images and a persuasive and char-
ismatic storyteller, this Bogotá story provided gdl 2020 and other
local leaders not only exposure to new policies but also “the aspiration
of a better city… that urban transformation was possible in Guadala-
jara too” (gdl 2020 member interview, 2014). Peñalosa’s eloquent
use and mobilization of this story — and his constructed centrality
to this transformation by having participated in it as mayor — is what
makes him not just a charismatic expert talking about a policy model
or “best practice” but what I have called a “persuasive practitioner”,
that is, someone who is perceived to have had a central and active role
in the story of urban transformation he tells, and, therefore, a more
persuasive source of authority for politicians and other urban actors
interested in changing the city than a mere technical expert.

INFORMAL FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS:
ALIGNING EMPRESARIOS AND PUBLIC OPINION LEADERS

Peñalosa’s public talk at Instituto Cultural Cabañas was not the
only event members of gdl 2020 organized for him. During his
three-day visit, he gave two talks, several press conferences and other

70 PERSuASIVE PRACtItIONERS AND tHE ARt OF SIMPLIFICAtION ❙❙ Sergio Montero

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