Por la ola de violencia registrada en Jalisco, Estados Unidos pidió a sus ciudadanos reconsiderar sus viajes. Foto: Cortesía.
Redacción.- El Gobierno de Estados Unidos invitó a sus ciudadanos a reconsiderar visitar Jalisco, debido a la alta incidencia delictiva; la medida no aplica para Chapala y Ajijic.
A través de un aviso en la página www.travel.state.gov, se indicó que la entidad registra un incremento en delitos violentos, además de disputas entre el crimen organizado; por lo que pidió a sus connacionales, extremar precauciones.
Asimismo, se señaló que ciudadanos norteamericanos han sido víctimas de secuestro en Jalisco, especialmente en la zona fronteriza con el vecino estado de Michoacán.
Por su parte, los empleados del gobierno de Estados Unidos tienen prohibido transitar por la frontera del estado, por la carretera 80 al sur del municipio de Cocula y por la estatal 544 ubicada entre los municipios de San Sebastián del Oeste y Mascota.
En contraste, la recomendación de viaje no aplicó para la Zona Metropolitana de Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Chapala y Ajijic.
LCS Chairman Stephen Balfour conducts a hybrid live and zoom Annual General Meeting from the terrace of LCS. (screen shot)
Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic).- The Lake Chapala Society’s Annual General Membership meeting held Tuesday, March 15, was a “state of the union” for one of Lakeside’s largest and most influential non-profit organizations. According to Board Chair Stephen Balfour who led the hybrid live/ zoom meeting.
After a highly produced video tour hosted by Balfour and Executive Director Luis Pacheco with cameos by members of the LCS staff, the Annual Membership Meeting ( AGM) was called to order with 83 people in attendance online and in person at the LCS campus in Ajijic. The tour covered the grounds of the campus and the many improvements that have taken place over the past 723 days since the last in-person AGM.
Highlights of the near 2-hour long meeting included reelection of the existing Board members, election of Choosing Mexico CEO Greg Custer for an at-large Board seat, the introduction of the Mexican Advisory Council led by Cruz Roja Chair Yolanda Martínez Llamas, the renaming of the LCS docents as “LCS Amigos”.
Balfour and new Executive Director Pacheco, the Mexican to run the organization, took the members through the challenges and the accomplishments of the past 723 days, noting that for a while the work of the staff was focused solely on keeping the doors open as membership plummeted by 40% due to Covid.
To pay the bills and keep the staff working, Balfour used his experience as a concert producer in the US to launch the Concerts in the Park series at LCS which raised $2.2 million pesos for LCS and $1 million for Cruz Roja. Additional restricted funds were raised from major donors to purchase the Molenari/West Annex property in November of last year. That combined with $3million pesos in increased donations offset the loss of program income and much dues income to enable LCS to stay open, purchase an adjacent property, and refurbish much of the grounds.
Balfour reported that visitation is up to 1000 a week now, with 40,000 people coming through the doors last year, an indication that the members are returning and engaging in the 100 programs now operating at LCS.
The AGM also included a financial report to the members, informing them that LCS’s financial condition is good, with a cash reserve of $850,000 and an operating deficit of $14,395 which was necessary to complete necessary repairs and maintenance, and a net asset valuation of $30 million.
The final segment of the AGM was dedicated to LCS 2.0, the plan developed and approved by the Board to guide the next decade of LCS. Balfour stressed that he wants LCS to be known for “customer service” . He also listed other priorities as a closer relationship with the Mexican community, continuing to strengthen the bonds with the Instituto Tecnológico Superior De Chapala , and broadening fundraising through innovations like new, smaller, flexible-use “named” tables members can sponsor for $6000 pesos.
The 2022 budget projects $7,009,100 MX in expenses and revenue, with annual dues remaining unchanged from the current $830MX a year for singles and $650nMX for persons age 79 and over in 2022.
By Patrick O’Heffernan
While attending the LCS Annual Membership Meeting this week (by Zoom from the Semanario Laguna offices) I could not help being impressed by the almost unbelievable amount of activity the organization generates with its 300 volunteers, small staff and very energetic board. It operates or hosts over a 100 programs, including the Todos English program of expat volunteers here at Semanario Laguna who translate all of our Spanish stories into English each week.
Of course, LCS is only one of the many NPO’s (non-profits) in Lakeside. Lakeside Foodbank, Lakeside Little Theater, Niños Incapacitados , Cruz Roja, SOS Chapala DOG Rescue, Bare Stage and Bravo Theater, and many more. The Foundation for Lake Chapala Charities list 25 affiliated non profit organizations, but of course, there are many more that are not affiliated, and even some that are not registered as NPO’s, but still do great work without the imprimatur.
Nationally, the Mexican government reported 5,339 NPOs in the country 2003, but the Inter Press Service (IPS) has suggested that 10,000 NGOs actually exist in México. Mexican non-profits do everything from provide emergency food to families, to rescue dogs and horses, to provide shelter for battered women, to fight for human rights, to help poor families with medical care. In other words, they do everything needed in the country
That is what I call el espíritu de puedo ayudarte – ”the spirit of can I help you”. It is built into the culture.
But organized non-profits on a large scale are not built into Mexico’s history. A 2015 study by the Hauser Institute at the Harvard Kennedy School pointed out that the history of nonprofits in Mexico is relatively recent. Up until the 1880’s philanthropy was almost unknown outside of the Catholic Church. In the early 20th century secular organizations emerged to provide aid to the poor. These civil society organizations grew rapidly under the PRI, becoming almost synonymous with the political party.
But in the 1960s through the 1980’s, the independent non profit sector exploded, propelled by the 1968 student revolution, growing calls for social movements that addressed public needs, and finally the Mexico city earthquake in 1985. The ascent of the PAN party in 2000 opened up new space for nonprofits and they rushed into it.
Here in Lakeside, old timers tell me (since there is no Harvard study)that Neil James and the influx of Expats from the US with 501 (c)(3) (US nonprofit tax exemption) experience kicked off what has become a dense ecosystem of NPOs here.
One aspect of the NPO ecosystem in Lakeside that is important and possible somewhat unique is that it is a force that brings the Mexican and Extrañero communities together. At one level it is Expats working within Mexican communities to help, but at another, very wide level, it is joint Mexican-Expat boards and staffs solving problems together. And the nonprofit sector encourages conscious efforts to reach out, like the Mexican Advisory Board at LCS or Laguna’s Todos English translation team of Expats ( not a non-profit, we hope, but wonderful outreach).
I worked for many decades in and through non profits in the US and even founded a couple. In my experience, the presence of NPO’s in a community is a sign of economic strength, a healthy society, and the kind of heart that makes us good human beings. If you are part of a NPO, thank you; if not; join one. It will make you feel better and help us all. And you will love being part of the ecosystem of el espíritu de puedo ayudarte
The president of Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, listening to the complaints of a local citizen.
Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).– More than fifty residents of the Plaza de Toros neighborhood came to the first «Miércoles Contigo,» a new program where the president of Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, and his cabinet will listen to the complaints and needs of different neighborhoods within the Chapala municipality.
The program, which was one of his campaign promises, began on March 16th. At the first event, water and unsatisfactory lighting, and garbage were among the most recurrent complaints. There were also requests to change the schedule of the little square to close it at night (for safety concerns), as well as the different workshops that the neighbors wish to give to the children of the area.
According to neighbors, the water shortage has gotten worse since the removal of the stone cistern during the administration of a previous president of Chapala, Jesús Cabrera Jiménez (2010-2012). The cistern had been located in the now small square on Colinas del Manglar.
In response to complaints about the garbage problem, the officials promised to install a large sign informing everyone that garbage should not be left in the small square. This will hopefully prevent people from outside the neighborhood from leaving their garbage in the square.
The purpose of the «Wednesdays Together» program is to listen to the needs of residents so that directors of the various municipal agencies can better solve the problems of each neighborhood, both in Chapala, as well as in the towns and villages that make up the municipality.
«The main function of government is to be in the street with the people, to address their concerns and needs,» said President Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre. He personally attended to each person’s issue, and then referred them to the appropriate municipal official. It is expected that this will be the way it works every week, said the officials who were interviewed.
At the event, each person who wanted to speak received a numbered card, and a form to write down their complaints, recommendations, and their contact information for follow-up. This three-copy form was distributed as: one to the president, one to the official of the corresponding agency, and one to the citizen
The aldermen present took responsibility to form a neighborhood committee to be in contact with the neighborhood, and follow up on the needs, and requests made. The full calendar of the «Wednesdays Together» program will be announced in the next few days.
Also present at the event were: General Secretary Lilia Alvarado Macías, Trustee Gamaliel de Jesús Soto Pérez, Commissioner of Public Safety, Sergio Conzuelo Ramírez, Head of the Fire and Civil Protection Unit, Lorenzo Antonio Salazar Guerrero, Head of the Municipal System of Potable Water and Sewage (SIMAPA) Chapala, Fernando Antonio Monreal Mendoza, Head of the Women’s Institute, Alicia Medeles Córdova, among other public officials.
Translated by Amy Esperanto
ISSSTE members must continue traveling to the Family Medicine Clinic 3 in Guadalajara for consultations and their medicines, while the Chapala City Council locates an office to provide for medical care.
Editor- After almost two years without medical care in Chapala, the beneficiaries of the Institute of Social Security and Social Services for Workers (ISSSTE), Jalisco Delegation, now have an attending doctor in the municipal seat; however, there is still no clinic for that doctor to provide medical attention.
That is why Elpidio Yáñez Rubio, Secretary General of Section 16 of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), sought out the Mayor of Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, to request a space for a medical clinic.
At the March 3 meeting, the City of Chapala agreed to search out three available locations for a clinic. Those locations will be evaluated by the municipal authorities so that medical services for ISSSTE’s members can be re-established.
Elpidio Yáñez acknowledged the current lack of a hospital to provide medical care and promised to conduct a census of ISSSTE beneficiaries to determine the feasibility of the construction of a medical clinic in Chapala.
Before his resignation in July 2020, ISSSTE medical attention in Chapala and surrounding municipalities had been provided by medical surgeon César Flavio Ibarra Soltero for 21 years.
Translated by MaryAnne Marble
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