Jocotepec’s downtown area gets a thorough cleaning
Héctor Ruiz Mejía.- After the end of Jocotepec’s patron saint festivities, the Government of Jocotepec began the task of «sanitation and cleaning.» The festivities, which are held in honor of the Lord of the Mount, lasted thirteen days and ended on January 17, 2022. As part of the cleanup, the streets Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez and Morelos were cleared of irregular vendors, and the main plaza received a thorough scrubbing.
This week saw City Hall workers cleaning up all kinds of mess, including what some residents identified as vomit, urine, food waste and alcohol, all left on the plaza. The festivities alone generated 25 tons of garbage during the 13 day period.
Translated by Rebecca Zittle
Altar in honor of Javier García Duarte.
Jazmín Stengel: A tireless fighter who made Chapala his town, Francisco Javier «El Rojo» García Duarte (October 18, 1952 to January 21, 2021) was a man of many facets and of strong character, in solidarity with education, politics and Chapala society.
Javier, at a very young age, began working in a photography store as a salesman in Guadalajara. Later a man hired him to help him retouch the negatives in the darkroom and it was there where he learned the trade that would accompany him for the rest of his life: photography.
At the age of 26 or 27, according to his daughter Yuridia’s calculations, Francisco Javier married Irma Laura Álvarez González, who was only a few years younger, and a few months after their marriage their first offspring appeared: Ulises.
During his wife’s pregnancy, Javier lost his job, a situation that led him to partner with his brother Pedro to buy Foto Estudio del Lago, in Chapala. After several years of commuting from Guadalajara, Javier decided to move his family to Chapala in 1980, Yuridia recalled.
From then on, García Duarte’s life changed, and his insatiable social struggle began. He continued with his photography, creating a pictorial record of the events that happened at Lakeside during his career. At the end of the 80’s he began working for the Preparatoria por Cooperación de Chapala, teaching Sociology, Philosophy, and World History, among others.
«He used to fail me, but he smiled at me,» said the current Chapala president Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, who was his student in high school, along with other important political figures and former presidents of Chapala, such as Joaquín Huerta and Alberto Alcantar.
As a teacher Javier was known for lecturing the class and giving oral exams, so it was difficult for those who did not take notes, Aguirre Curiel recalls. But despite being strict he always kept to topics of common interest.
Javier García left the institution when it achieved regionalization in 1994, as he did not have documentation to validate his knowledge or the level of academic studies required by the University of Guadalajara. Even so, he supported the movement and continued teaching at the then Chapala Academy.
Up to that time, due to his strong character and way of understanding the system, he was given his nickname. “He was always tough, that’s why they called him ‘El Rojo’,» explained Professor David Castellanos, a former classmate of his. He remembers Javier as a revolutionary and enterprising person, who fought tirelessly, even against the tide.
A few years later, together with the birth of the regional newspaper ‘El Charal’, between 1996 and 1997, the first opinion columns of García, already known as «El Rojo», were made public under the title «Miscelánea Política» (Political Miscellany). In 1999, for personal reasons, he decided to move to Javier Raygoza’s weekly «Página que sí se lee…», creating his second column «Código Rojo» (Code Red).
«El Rojo» also made citizen denunciations, took pictures of things that from his point of view were wrong, and published them with the desire to point out the situation and to make a change for the benefit of society, but his forte was always the politics of opinion.
«Rojo’s job was to see the political background that events could have,» commented Gilberto Padilla, reporter for Página magazine. «He helped us to interpret what we did not see. In his ‘calumnies’ as he called them, between nicknames and sarcasm he had a unique way of saying things.
«He was a teacher. He helped me understand politics, the actors within it and how parties are managed from their guts,» Padilla recalled. Padilla wasn’t the only one of his apprentices. Rojo supported and helped all the reporters who approached him for advice.
Even politicians were not indifferent to chatting with «El Rojo,» since many of them, being his former students, made him their advisor. Like Alejandro Aguirre, who during his first government used to seek advice from the master Javier before making crucial decisions.
Being a photographer, columnist and political advisor, García returned to teaching in 2007, this time as a teacher at the Colegio Nacional de Educación Profesional Técnica (Conalep) Ajijic – Chapala. He undertook a struggle for the rights of education workers, as they were hired and fired without legal justification, explained Professor Antonio Flores, a teacher at the same institution.
As general secretary of Conalep Ajijic-Chapala at that time, Francisco Javier achieved, in 2009, the signing of the first collective contract for teachers with the educational body. In other words, he dignified the education workers. «They owe him their labor stability,» said Flores.
Despite it costing him his job in 2013, Garcia managed to regularize the teachers of an entire region, including the 19 Conalep school campuses that existed in Jalisco until that date, and to improve their working conditions, regardless of the confrontations with the authorities that this entailed.
After the corresponding lawsuit, the court ordered the restitution of his job position. However, since the debt that the institution was supposed to reimburse was not settled, Rojo preferred to desist. «For me, I was proud to share that part,» exclaimed Antonio Flores, a witness during the legal process of the trial.
On the other hand, the journalistic events of Lakeside took an unexpected turn. In 2011 Semanario Laguna was created and with it, the last column of Javier García Duarte, ‘Desde el Sofá del Rojo’, which was in force until his last publication, in December 2021, days before he was hospitalized.
Rojo was a bit irregular in his publications and always arrived at the closing of the edition at the last moment, but with the intention of bringing the topics as up-to-date as possible. This allowed him to intermittently make video reviews, published by La Voz de la Ribera under his own nickname «El Rojo.”
Unfortunately, in 2019, due to the evolution of cell phone cameras, the sales of hisphoto studio dropped to the point of having to close it. Then in June 2021, barely half a year after commemorating the ninth anniversary of the death of his youngest son Nestor, his wife Irma passed away, and Rojo was never the same again.
Even so, Rojo continued to be a warrior in the face of life, and once again advised Alejandro Aguirre Curiel on his path to the presidency, serving as director of Social Communication during the 2021 campaign. «Rojo was the first person to know that I was going to run as a candidate, hours before my unveiling,» said Aguirre as a sign of the great appreciation and trust he had for the maestro.
García Duarte was considered a person of high level in the political life of the municipality, since as the mayor said, «He always wanted good governments for Chapala.” This is turn led him to collaborate in his political career with all parties and colors of the municipality, despite being a leftist.
One bad day, Javier went down to his usual meeting with friends for coffee, freshly bathed and with his jacket open. “That day it was very cold,» which made Rojo sick, according to his daughter Yuridia.
From that day on, the lung disease that Javier had been carrying since his time as a teacher began to give him trouble, and worsened until he had to be hospitalized in the Community Hospital of Jocotepec, at the end of 2021.
Yuridia received her father’s discharge on January 7. However, the next day he relapsed and was transferred to Guadalajara where he passed away on January 21, 2021, leaving six grandchildren, two children and a great legacy.
Translated by Sandy Britton.
Calle Los Tulipanes with the new chain preventing passage, January 26.
Jazmín Stengel.– The streets that for a long time were privatized, were reopened to the public by personnel of the Municipality of Chapala, on Friday, January 21, causing annoyance among the neighbors of the Mirasol subdivision.
At the request of residents south of Riberas del Pilar, Chapala Mobility and municipal government personnel used heavy machinery to open the streets Los Lirios, Los Tulipanes and Tabachines of the subdivision, giving way to the general public. Las Malvas was the only street that was blocked due to some bushes that were planted on the site.
This action annoyed the neighbors of Mirasol. A group of 23 people protested in front of the municipal presidency on Monday, January 24. The demonstration ended with the signing of an official document between the protesters and the chief of staff, Joaquín Huerta, who attended to the complaints.
Mayor Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel promised to attend to the complainants personally in an appointment scheduled for next week, with a date still pending.
Even so, the neighbors of the Mirasol subdivision ignored the change and put back the chains that had been blocking the parallel streets of Los Lirios and Los Tulipanes. The land at the end of Mirasol Street remains fenced off. The only street that stayed open to the public until January 26th was Tabachines Street, which ends at a construction site.
The protesters confirmed that they demanded the government repair the three streets surrounding the subdivision, so that the inhabitants of Riberas can use those streets and they can close the aforementioned ones again, alleging their «right of use and customs due to their seniority,» stated one of the complainants. However, the latter is not possible, since within the legal framework the roads are public and to restrict them would be privatization.
Translated by Sydney Metrick
The provisional entrance to the kindergarten is through the Cruz Azul sports field.
Sofía Medeles – The construction works at the Auditorium of La Ribera, in Ajijic, unleashed complaints from parents of the students of the Aurelia Flores kindergarten, located next to the auditorium, due to the blockage of the entrance and the deplorable state of its infrastructure.
The first of the problems mentioned was the lack of an entrance, since the beginning of the school year in August 2021. When returning to classes, after the pandemic, parents discovered that the main entrance, located next to the Auditorio de la Ribera, was closed due to construction, so the provisional entrance is through the Cruz Azul sports field.
«There are many problems with the entrance. To begin with, the people from the field ask us not to cross, and to go around the field, so that the grass is not damaged. This causes, for example, that in times of rain, our path is flooded, and both the children and the parents get wet. For us there is no problem, we go home and change, but the children get wet feet and get sick,» mentioned one of the mothers interviewed.
In addition, the mothers denounced another group of shortcomings of the kindergarten, among them walls with damages that present a risk of falling; several bathrooms out of service – they reported that there are only two working; awnings in bad condition; and the lack of a custodian.
«Since we started the (school) cycle, there hasn’t been a custodian, because the previous one resigned, so among the parents we agreed to pay someone to do the cleaning. But we couldn’t arrange it. They say that one is going to come in, but this shows that neither the State Government nor the City Hall are looking at the kindergarten’s deficiencies,” added another of the mothers.
For her part, the president of the parents’ committee, Lucía Padilla, assured that the school’s director has already been in charge of sending an endless number of letters to ask for resources and personnel, but the authorities limit themselves to answering in a positive manner and the petitions never arrive.
«We are going back to school with many deficiencies, and it was two years in which the kindergarten was abandoned. Not only this one, but several schools are in bad condition. The Secretary of Education has neglected the schools. Not only the parents, but also the director is desperate for an answer, and above all, actions,» stated Lucía.
Regarding the entrance, Lucía commented that, although the provisional entrance is annoying, they prefer that to the children entering through the main entrance, since due to the work being done – which the workers themselves told them has no end date – an accident could occur that could harm the students.
Finally, Lucia commented that there is no way to obtain resources, since the pandemic situation prevents them from holding events. «How can there be a work of considerable investment, next to a kindergarten that is in poor condition, and that school not receive attention, even if it is just a little bit?” she questioned. “The community should know that we are going to try to improve the school, but it cannot be done without everyone’s help.”
Translated by Sandy Britton
Jocotepec increased its tax liability by 30 percent in January of this 2022. Photo: Courtesy.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía.- Jocotepec residents displayed good tax participation. In January alone, they paid 9,453,761 pesos in property and water taxes.
Of the amount collected, 5,606,790 pesos correspond to property tax payments and 3,846,971 pesos to potable water services, stated Marcela Góngora Jiménez, Jocotepec’s Treasury Director.
The official highlighted that the amount of taxes collected during the first month represented an increase of approximately 30 percent in property tax payments over last year, as well as 36 percent increase in water service payments, which is why she was pleased with the tax response this year in contrast to previous years.
This, Góngora Jiménez explained, may have been due to the implementation of new tax payment options such as the recently implemented internet payment platform, which allowed taxpayers to meet their obligations on time through debit or credit cards.
«I believe that expanding the options for receiving payments allowed the citizenry to respond,» affirmed the Treasury director.
According to municipal president José Miguel Gómez López, the water collection issue had not been regularized due to the supply failures that had persisted since he took office in his last administration.
Also, the implementation of a new ChatBot that allowed users to make their payments through the WhatsApp application, have been part of the changes that the municipality optimized in collection matters that, according to Gómez López, was previously chaotic.
Thus, municipal authorities celebrated the collection situation for this year which was surprising, given the general five percent increase in taxes for the population, approved by the Jalisco Congress.
Finally, the official urged the community to be aware of their respective tax responsibilities, since the proper functioning of social programs and services depends on the payment of taxes.
Translated by Sydney Metrick
Carrillo Suazo debutó al ritmo de Black Magic Woman de Carlos Santana. Foto: AFP.
Redacción.- El patinador jalisciense, Donovan Carrillo Suazo, de 22 años de edad, logró asegurar su pase a la final para competir por una medalla en los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno de Beijing 2022.
El deportista zapopano hizo su debut el 7 de febrero, en el programa corto de Patinaje Artístico, donde obtuvo una puntuación de 79.69, colocándose en el sitio 19 de la clasificación, logrando así su pase a la final del programa libre.
Luciendo un traje negro con miles de cristales y estoperoles dorados, Carrillo Suazo patinó al ritmo de Black Magic Woman de Carlos Santana en el Estadio Cerrado Nacional de Beijing, donde encendió al público con su rutina que incluyó saltos como Quad Toeloop, Triple Axel y Triple Lutz+Triple Toeloop.
Donovan Carrillo se convirtió en el primer latinoamericano en llegar a la final, así como en el primer patinador artístico mexicano que llega a los Juegos Olímpicos en 30 años.
“Besos para mi familia y para todo México, los sueños se hacen realidad”; fueron las palabras del joven tras finalizar su rutina en el programa corto.
Donovan regresará a la pista de hielo el miércoles 9 de febrero a las 19:30 horas (tiempo del centro de México) para pelear por una medalla.
La jornada estuvo principalmente destinada al refuerzo para las personas de 40 años y más
Redacción.- Jalisco registró un avance en la protección de 300 mil 441 personas que la semana pasada recibieron la vacuna contra COVID-19, principalmente el refuerzo para las personas de 40 años y más. En tanto que el 10 por ciento de este total de vacunas se aplicaron a adolescentes de 14 a 17 años en su mayoría.
Asimismo, continuó la aplicación del biológico en adultos rezagados que por alguna razón no habían recibido ni una sola vacuna, así como completar esquemas de segundas dosis de acuerdo con la fecha que les correspondía.
En cuanto al proceso de vacunación contra el virus SARS-CoV-2, informó la Secretaría de Salud Jalisco (SSJ) que en la semana epidemiológica 05 del 2022 se aplicaron 263 mil 650 dosis de los laboratorios AstraZeneca; 30 mil 245 de Pfizer-BioNTech; 6 mil 244 de Moderna, 202 de Sinovac y 100 de CanSino.
CORTE SEMANAL
De acuerdo con datos de la SSJ, en Jalisco, durante la semana epidemiológica 05 de este año (periodo comprendido entre el 30 de enero y el 5 de febrero) se registraron 39 mil 251 contagios nuevos, para un acumulado a esa fecha de 515 mil 708 casos. Y se reportaron 283 defunciones para un total de 18 mil 273 registradas en lo que va de la pandemia y hasta el 5 de febrero.
Lago de Chapala. Foto: Héctor Ruíz.
Por: Daniel Jiménez Carranza
El crecimiento demográfico experimentado en la zona ribereña del Municipio de Chapala y aledaños, plantea serios retos a la población y autoridades, que obligan a establecer una inminente planeación, a nivel urbano, ecológico, poblacional; no se puede esperar a llegar al ápice de la problemática, y comenzar a apagar incendios, producto de la miopía política y falta de visión; es imposible que los políticos miren hacia otro lado cuando se presentan insípidas señales de lo que se aprecia caótico en el mediano plazo, cuando no se confronta la realidad inmediata, con una visión de los efectos que supondrá en el futuro, asumiendo su responsabilidad con soluciones puntuales y una adecuada planeación a mediano y largo plazo.
Es preciso realizar un inventario de los recursos de la región, para establecer claramente su uso, explotación, su proyección, así como la capacidad que tiene la zona de albergar construcciones, vialidades, población de tal manera que no incida en un detrimento del ecosistema, y de la calidad de vida de sus habitantes.
En cada municipio del país, existe un Plan de Desarrollo Urbano, sin embargo, éste, en la mayoría de los casos está orientado a la construccione$, obviando aspectos fundamentales como son el ecosistema, la actividad productiva de sus pobladores, la infraestructura educativa, la vial, etc.
En la actualidad, estamos confrontando fenómenos naturales de todo tipo, epidemias, pandemias derivadas del hacinamiento, abuso y descuido de las partes vivas de este planeta, como son los animales y plantas, empleando pesticidas, vertiendo residuos tóxicos al medio ambiente, sin embargo, los gobiernos tardíamente han reaccionado, estableciendo como prioridad la fabricación de autos eléctricos, que sin duda, representan un paso inicial importante en la acción contra el deterioro del planeta, sin embargo, no es suficiente, existen otros tantos elementos como los enumerados, a los cuales se les debe prestar atención prioritaria, y en el que deberemos participar todos y no la industria automotriz, a cuya zaga, se mantienen también empresas fabricantes de productos químicos que sí causan graves daños al ecosistema, y la humanidad.
Entretanto las autoridades municipales se reúnen a tratar estos escabrosos temas, es necesario se tomen la molestia de abordar el inaplazable tema del tráfico, específicamente el de la carretera oriente-poniente que cruza Ajijic, es verdaderamente inconcebible, que en determinados momentos, uno tarde en cruzar el pueblo, prácticamente el mismo tiempo que uno emplea en trasladarse a Guadalajara, en condiciones normales, por supuesto. Uno se pregunta si es que las autoridades no se han tomado la molestia de observar este problema, sin que hayan hecho algo para resolverlo; no se requiere de grandes inversiones, ni grandes cambios, se pueden implementar medidas inmediatas que ayuden a resolverlo, como es la prohibición de estacionamiento en la avenida, implementar espacios para estacionamiento en terrenos municipales, o calles aledañas al centro, para lo cual también, sería conveniente que las banquetas fueran encementadas y no empedradas, pues los autos, pueden circular sin problemas, pero no los peatones en el empedrado, particularmente personas mayores, todo ello, a reserva de empezar a elaborar un plan de infraestructura vial y todos los inherentes.
El detenido portaba 10 dosis de la droga conocida como cristal.
Redacción.- Tras un operativo de la Secretaría de Seguridad del Estado (SSE) en Chapala, se logró la captura de un sujeto que fue sorprendido en presunta posesión de envoltorios con droga sintética.
El hecho se registró en calles del municipio de Chapala. Los uniformados detectaron a un hombre que inhalaba desde un objeto de vidrio y que mostró actitud evasiva al notar la presencia policial, por lo que interceptaron a quien dijo llamarse Juan Miguel “N”, de 34 años.
Al aplicar los protocolos de seguridad, encontraron entre sus pertenencias diez dosis de la droga conocida como cristal, situación que fue notificada al agente ministerial, quien ordenó su traslado al área correspondiente para continuar con las indagatorias.
Los paquetes que estaban envueltos en cinta canela, contenían vegetal verde con las características de la marihuana
Redacción.- Policías del Estado en la Región Ciénega lograron el aseguramiento de 270 kilogramos de marihuana que yacían abandonados sobre la vía pública, en el municipio de Jocotepec.
Cuando los agentes circulaban sobre el cruce de la brecha que conduce de El Molino a Huejotitán, se percataron de que a unos metros de la vialidad había un plástico blanco cubriendo paquetes de forma rectangular envueltos en cinta canela, por lo que de inmediato aplicaron los protocolos de seguridad e inspeccionaron el lugar.
Fue así que confirmaron que los bultos localizados contenían vegetal verde y seco con las características del narcótico, hecho que fue notificado al agente ministerial, quien ordenó el aseguramiento de la droga y su traslado a la Fiscalía del Estado para llevar a cabo las indagatorias correspondientes.
© 2016. Todos los derechos reservados. Semanario de la Ribera de Chapala