Merchants have begun to throw away entire boxes of unsold products.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía.- After two weeks of being relocated to the interior of the Jocotepec Municipal Market, the merchants suffered a drop of up to 95 percent in their sales.
For this reason, last Monday, January 31, a small group of those affected presented a document to the municipal trustee, Carlos Alberto Zúñiga Chacón, in which they expressed their dissatisfaction and concern about the situation.
The letter proposes the relocation of their stalls to the corridor that connects the DIF with the Main Plaza where there are still two fruit stands, permission to sell in the banquette of the same market, or relocation to the private street Josefa Ortíz de Domínguez.
These alternatives were presented with the intention of reaching a compromise between the plans of the municipal president, José Miguel Gómez López, to «free the streets» and the merchants to survive in the face of the declining sales.
Driven by desperation, some of those affected have opted to sell in the small plaza of La Campana where, according to those consulted, their average daily sales have remained at around 20 or 30 pesos. Although there were days when they did not sell anything and their expenses continue to accumulate.
«I have to pay my rent for Monday. It is 3,000 pesos and so far I only have 900 pesos,» said one of the newly located vendors, who opposed the measure and is the breadwinner for four children.
«How am I going to do it, what am I going to do with 20 pesos,” said another of the vendors, who said that her family managed the business of selling in the streets of the municipality for more than 40 years and that now, she does not understand why she was evicted.
The same happened to those who remained in the stalls assigned to them by the City Hall on the second floor of the market, where very few people go because they have to climb stairs and the elevator is out of service.
According to the vendors, the lack of accessibility has already caused an unfortunate accident. An elderly lady fell down the stairs when she went to get her «usual nopales,” Fortunately, the fall did not go beyond a «good blow and a scare.»
Finally, the merchants said that they will continue looking for ways to improve their income, since they are not willing to continue investing in fruits or vegetables that will end up in the garbage.
Translated by Sydney Metrick
Branch debris being removed by students of the Irene Robledo school. Photo: Fredi Díaz.
Sofia Medeles.- After two branches fell because of the lack of maintenance on dry trees, workers of the Ajijic delegation finally pruned the trees, as they posed a risk to students and staff of the Francisco Márquez/Irene Robledo school.
The fallen branch from one of the trees on January 3 was the second incident of this type. The principal of the afternoon shift, Fredi Díaz, commented that for approximately four years he has been requesting the help of several municipal authorities to prune the trees that could represent a risk, without any response.
«This last time the branch fell, in the same area, I did not even bother contacting the Civil Protection, or any other authority, since they previously did not give us support to remove it. It was better to ask for help from the parents and some students, and we did what we could,» said Díaz.
The person in charge of the office, Maximiliano Macías Arceo, together with the delegation staff, decided to take action and prune the dry tree that caused the incident, as well as some others that presented a risk.
«The danger from this tree has been removed, but we will continue to prune the others. We have also received reports of a dry guava tree, several ficus trees that need maintenance, as well as pruning of the large trees, which can represent a great risk. In the next few weeks we will continue with this work,» said Macías Arceo.
For his part, the principal of the elementary school commented that he hopes that they really will continue with the work, since there are strong winds in the area that can affect the dry or older trees, causing accidents.
A similar accident occurred on August 19, 2021, when a eucalyptus tree, which was dry, fell into the facilities from outside the property, causing damage to the cyclone mesh.
This fact was ignored by the authorities at the time. Civil Protection, Fire Department and Parks and Gardens were contacted to ask for help, but no response was received from any of them.
After the event, at least two official letters were sent to the delegation to request help, and it was not until recently that they were given any attention.
Translated by Colleen Beery
Ramirez Campos performing. Photo: Héctor Ruíz
Héctor Ruíz.– To mark his 20-year career as a singer-songwriter, Juan José Ramírez Campos, who is also known for serving as trustee and twice interim president in the past administration (2018-2021), appeared on January 28 at the Casa de la Cultura José Vaca Flores in Jocotepec, where he performed his most popular songs, such as Jocotepec Mágico.
Translated by Rebecca Zittle
Ajijic is a Pueblo Mágico not only because of its traditions, but also its urban art, like this sculpture of Tlaloc (the god of rain) by the artist Antonio López Vega, located in the Ajijic plaza.
Sofía Medeles – According to Pilar Posada, regional delegate of the Chapala Lakeside, the state government will make the distribution in March of the 15 million pesos budgeted for the Pueblos Mágicos or Magic Towns of Jalisco, among them Ajijic.
Posada said that although the budget is already established, funds will not arrive until approximately March, due to changes in the administration of the Ministry of Tourism of the State of Jalisco, as well as changes in the rules of operation of the program. The Magic Town program stopped receiving Federal Funding in 2019.
Elizabeth Oropeza Silva, Social Communication Director of the Municipality of Chapala, commented that neither the direction of Tourism nor the Treasury have received notification about the budget that would be designated to Ajijic by the state government.
Last year, the budget given by the state government to the Magic Towns was divided in equal parts, allocating 1,333,000 pesos to each of the nine Magic Towns which are: Tapalpa, Mazamitla, Lagos de Moreno, Mascota, San Sebastián del Oeste, Talpa de Allende, Tequila, San Pedro Tlaquepaque and the most recent, Ajijic.
Translated by Sandy Britton
The structure that was intended to be a pérgola for the restaurant.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal). – On February 1 Ajijic residents reported an illegal gazebo that the Bonanza restaurant had just placed on public property on the Lakeshore, generating a quick response by the authorities who ordered it removed.
The complaint was generated by a member of the group «Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera» and the activist of Ajijic, Sinuhé León, who publicized the placement of a wooden frame in front of the dock, a site known by the Ajijitecos as «la vieja posada» (the old inn) through social networks.
Sinuhé León also contacted the Ajijic town office manager, Maximiliano Macías Arceo, who quickly contacted the manager of the business, as well as the inspectors of the Regulations Department of Chapala, who resolved the complaint that same day, ordering the removal of the pérgola.
Inspectors Julio César Sotelo Beltrán, Irving Cortés and Sergio Real arrived in the area and asked the restaurant administrators to immediately remove the wooden structure as well as to make modifications to the floor to leave some boxes for the roots of each tree.
«Permission was not requested to place (the structure) and, in this case, the natural flora also intervened because of the trees. Today it has to be removed», said Julio César, adding that these types of irregularities are dealt with in coordination with other agencies such as Padrón y Licencias, Ecología, Obras Públicas and Desarrollo Urbano.
For her part, the owner of the restaurant, Laura Jiménez de Beltrán, said she did not intend to gaining land in the Federal zone, so removing the gazebo did not bother or affect them and that, because she understood the space in front of her restaurant, as well as those on one side, are for pedestrian passage, since it is considered a sidewalk.
«Our intention was not bad; on the contrary, with this business we stimulate local commerce, jobs for the residents and attracting tourists. We want to tell the people that we are not here to steal and that this part of this restaurant and the ones nearby, is still a sidewalk, and if we get permits to put tables outside, everything will be with licenses and the passage will never be closed», commented the restaurateur.
Likewise, Sotelo Beltrán, said that her work in the Federal spaces is done in conjunction with the municipal legal department, carrying out inspections and taking time to act in conjunction with the agencies that are responsible, in this case, the National Water Commission (CONAGUA).
The Acting Delegado, Maximiliano Macías, commented that it was a citizen’s complaint, which he appreciated, since he said that there are times when people do not realize the things that happen. He added that the manager of the business claimed to have no knowledge that the license was necessary, but did not put up any resistance when he received the orders from the regulations.
Translated Patrick O’Heffernan
© 2016. Todos los derechos reservados. Semanario de la Ribera de Chapala