The leaders of the governments of Quito (Ecuador), Recife (Brazil), and Curitiba (Brazil) are the newly elected members of the Regional Executive Committee (RexCom) of ICLEI South America, the regional representative body in the governance structure of the leading association of local governments for sustainability, announced Executive Secretary Rodrigo Perpétuo on Monday at a meeting of the South American delegation at COP23. The meeting was attended by local leaders from the ICLEI Network and representatives from 11 cities.

With active participation in ICLEI and a prominent presence at COP23, the Mayor of Quito, Mauricio Rodas, was re-elected as president of RexCom, a position designed to represent the region's local governments on the ICLEI Global Executive Committee. Rodas also represents the region on the Council of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, a worldwide initiative that brings together the voluntary commitment of cities to address climate change through ambitious and transparent local action.

Occupying the other two seats are: Geraldo Júlio, Mayor of Recife, and Rafael Greca, Mayor of Curitiba, for the term that begins in 2018 and extends until 2021. The regional government of Valle de Aburrá (Colombia) assumed the seat of national representation, and the leaders of Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, and Salvador will assume consultative seats.

As a democratic association of local and subnational governments, ICLEI's governing bodies receive their mandate from the network's members. The organization's governance structure is based on a geographical division into regions of the world and three-year terms for all elected representatives. This year, ICLEI South America held, for the first time, a vote for the South American-only RexCom, which previously shared seats with Central America and the Caribbean.

Seven candidates from the Rede party in the region participated in the election for this term.