El alcalde de Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, acompañado por funcionarios municipales y elementos de Protección Civil y Bomberos de Chapala.

Redacción.-  La Unidad Estatal de Protección Civil del Estado de Jalisco (UEPCBJ) presentaron un diagnóstico del estado físico de los cauces de Chapala donde se determinó que durante los deslaves del mes de octubre del 2021, los desarrolladores inmobiliarios habrían desviado de manera indebida los arroyos reduciendo sus cauces.

Durante la sesión del Consejo Municipal de Protección Civil del Municipio acontecida el jueves 19 de mayo, el presidente municipal de Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, aseguró que desde que inició su administración no se ha aprobado ningún desarrollo inmobiliario.   

“Esta administración no ha aprobado ningún desarrollo”, aseguró Aguirre Curiel por lo que el Gobierno Municipal requerirá a los desarrolladores que indebidamente afectan el cauce natural de los arroyos y agregó que, es de suma importancia la colaboración entre instancias y dependencias para garantizar la seguridad de todos.

Por su parte, el director estatal Roldán Guerrero enfatizó que, el diagnóstico arrojó que la gran problemática detectada por la Unidad Estatal es la desviación que indebidamente han realizado los desarrolladores inmobiliarios, pues han reducido en gran medida la amplitud natural de los cauces. 

Guerrero también indicó que, la invasión de la zona federal o márgenes y la sección hidráulica de los cauces pone en situación de fragilidad la sustentabilidad de la microcuenca y exhortó a no favorecer la construcción de este tipo de construcciones que ponen en riesgo a la población. 

El director de Protección Civil y Bomberos de Chapala, Lorenzo Antonio Salazar, informó que se inició desde hace algunas semanas el Proyecto de mantenimiento y conservación de cauces de zonas federales, que consiste en la limpieza de arroyos del municipio, iniciando en la delegación de Ajijic ya que es donde, previo estudio, se detectó un mayor número de obstrucciones en los canales pluviales.

Antonio Salazar destacó que se lleva un avance del 30 por ciento, así como que se está trabajando con maquinaria del municipio y se han involucrado las áreas de Obras Públicas, Servicios Generales, Aseo Público y Parques y Jardines. 

El director municipal enfatizó que, la falta de atención y mantenimiento constante a los cauces es una de las problemáticas que más se han encontrado, pues la obstrucción de los canales va desde ramas, troncos, hasta tierra acumulada y piedras.

La temporada de lluvias y ciclones tropicales inició el 15 mayo y está previsto termine el 30 noviembre.

Miguel Martínez street in the municipal headwaters with the fallen guamuchil and flood damage.Photo: Jazmin Stengel.

Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).- The first rains in Chapala left five fallen trees, damaged power line, and the obstruction of the water well number 3, according to reports from the director of Fire and Civil Protection in Chapala, Antonio Lorenzo Salazar Guerrero and the Municipal System of Potable Water and Sewerage (SIMAPA).

Winds of over 50 kilometers per hour in Ajijic and more than 70 in Chapala were recorded for almost 15 minutes during the first rain of the season on May 14, after 7:30 at night, according to Civil Protection and Firefighters of Jalisco.

Of the five fallen trees, two were in Atotonilquillo, one at the entrance on the Santa Rosa – La Barca highway and the second at the exit to Juanacatlán, damaging a light pole and telephone cables, which have already been repaired.

Another tree almost 15 meters tall fell in La Floresta subdivision of Ajijic, which blocked the road for almost an hour.Residents and Firefighters and Civil Protection removed it completely. 

In the municipal capital, the tree collapsed on Emiliano Zapata street and took down the perimeter fence of the neighboring land and another one on Miguel Martínez street, where a guamuchil grafted on a camichin fell on the niche of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the gate of an adjoining house, taking down two walls and a metal sign on the door. 

Firemen and Civil Protection promised Eliba, owner of the property, that members of the Urban Development Department would come to assess the damage, but a week after the incident they still have not shown up. 

Miguel Martínez street was blocked on Sunday May 15 after the strong winds. Photo: Jazmín Stengel.

In addition, water well number three, located on Teófilo SIlva Street, was so clogged with sedimentary materials that only four liters of water per second could be extracted, instead of its normal 25 liters per second. 

At press time, SIMAPA personnel were re-drilling the well to stabilize the water supply in the Las Redes and Barrio Nuevo subdivisions, located northeast of the municipal capital.

The effects of the rain were also felt in other areas. Damage to a shade netting structure was reported at School1066 of Las Redes Chapala, caused by the strong winds of the Urban Planning personne removed the shade becauseFirefighters and Civil Protection considered it dangerous.

«Having a municipality rich in green areas, also entails risks,» explained Lorenzo Antonio Salazar Guerrero. Commander Of the Chapala Bomberos, adding that neither Fire and Civil Protection, nor the Director of Ecology have conducted a total study of trees in the municipality, to identify how many of them are sick and at risk of collapse.

However, upon receiving a report, the Fire Department and Civil Protection does go to the site to diagnose the tree and determine its condition.The director of Civil Protection has asked  the people of Chapala  to report any type of anomaly in trees in their gardens or public spaces. 

Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan

Letras monumentales en el malecón de Jocotepec. Foto: Archivo.

Redacción.- El ayuntamiento de Jocotepec aprobó la realización de los talleres “Isocare”, organización enfocada en la urbanización. Dentro de diferentes áreas del municipio se pretende hacer un ordenamiento territorial, en el cual el Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco trabaja.

El taller abordará temas de movilidad, habitacional, inversión hotelera, restaurantes y de turismo, que podrían beneficiar a los alcaldes de Chapala, Tuxcueca y Tizapán, según lo expuesto el jueves 12 de mayo, en la décima sesión ordinaria de cabildo. 

El alcalde, José Miguel Gómez López explicó, que ésta organización puede crear una infraestructura de alta calidad para Jocotepec y municipios cercanos.

“¿Qué nos van a decir?; cuáles son las sugerencias en temas de movilidad, habitacional, inversión hotelera, restaurantes y tema de turismo. Te dan siete puntos donde platica con los presidentes de Chapala, Tuxcueca y Tizapán para reunirnos con las personas adecuadas”.

Dentro de este proyecto se pretende invertir cien mil pesos entre todos los municipios con la finalidad de crear un equilibrio entre estos, donde el gobierno de Jocotepec brindará una seguridad a la población en la que no se afecte su naturaleza y espacios ecológicos.

Gómez López mencionó que dentro de esta organización realizan estudios de medio ambiente con la finalidad de frenar los desarrollos que afectan a dicho sector en el municipio. 

“En el taller lo que nos van a decir es que en estas zonas pueden generar desarrollos de este tipo de esta densidad y se requiere ampliar este tipo de carreteras. Te hacen un estudio completo de la urbanización que se puede hacer sustentable con el taller y el dictamen nosotros podemos generar los planes parciales a la medida de cada espacio”, detalló el edil.

The fire was visible from various points in Chapala and Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos. Photo: Mario Negrete Photography.

Laguna Staff (Chapala).-  The hills located behind the Brisas Chapala subdivision, on the border with Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, were affected by the fire that started during the morning of Saturday, May 7, damaging 67 hectares of forest area.

Around 11:00 a.m. the first reports were received when a large column of smoke was observed in Chapala and visible in Ajijic. Shortly afterward, the smoke could be seen from the municipality of Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos. 

Aerial view of the affected area. Photo: Government of Chapala.

The flames quickly spread, when members of the Civil Protection and Firefighters of Chapala arrived in the area. They asked for reinforcements from other municipalities to fight the magnitude of the fire. Soon a tanker helicopter from the municipality of Tlajomulco arrived to help. 

After hours of work, the fire was extinguished with 58 firefighters participating in the arduous work. 

Although most of the burned area was leaf litter, the fauna was affected and forced to move away from the affected area. Before the fire started, some suspicious trucks could be seen from the road near the starting point.  

Translated by Mary Woods

After two years of the pandemic, the flower-producing sector begins to recover. Photo: Internet. 

By: Abigail Angélica Correa Cisneros

This Mother’s Day, ornamental flower producers managed to distribute over 3.8 billion stems of chrysanthemum, rose, gladiola, lily, gerbera and sunflower, produced at the end of the 2021 agricultural cycle.

The sector is just recovering, after two years of depressed sales due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent droughts. The volume produced last year was valued at almost 6.4 billion pesos, with the State of Mexico generating just over 4.7 billion pesos of the total (74.2 percent), a figure that placed it as the top producing state in the country. 

On May 10, thousands of mothers throughout Mexico received a floral bouquet or decorative ornament as a token of love. Thanks to the beauty of flowers, their aroma or cultural significance, flowers are the most in-demand gift of Mexicans to show love on Mother’s Day.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, chrysanthemums had the highest production volume at the end of last year with over 1.4 billion pieces, of which the State of Mexico contributed 92.3 percent, far ahead of Puebla’s 6.2 percent and Morelos’ 1.0 percent. 

Rose production closed 2021 with just under 1.4 billion stems, an increase of 5.6 percent compared to the previous year. The states of Mexico, Puebla and Morelos led production with 77.3, 7.5 and 7.3 percent, respectively. 

In the same period, 726,729,696 gladiola stems were produced. The species ranked third nationally in value and volume of production. Puebla, State of Mexico and Morelos were the main producers in 2021 with 43.9, 33.4 and 13.8 percent shares, respectively.

In fourth place nationally is the gerbera, which is only produced in the State of Mexico. At the end of last year, growers reached a volume of 192,567,744 stems, which marks an increase of 4.6 percent compared to 2020.

Lilies ranked fifth nationally, with a production of 109,749,312 pieces, which is equivalent to an increase of 3.6 percent compared to 2020. The State of Mexico, Veracruz and Mexico City led production with 84.5, 13.6 and 1.8 percent, respectively.

Sunflower production saw an increase of 25.7 percent from 2020 to 2021, with a volume of 46,841,760 sunflowers produced. This marks the highest increase in production of all floral species. The State of Mexico contributed 25,893,000 flowers; 55.3 percent of the national total.

Another variety in high demand is the Dutch tulip, which is produced only in Mexico City. Production of this species closed 2021 with 455,500 plants, which generated a production value of 15.9 million pesos. 

Meanwhile, production of the orchid – considered an exotic species – reached 946,923 plants and a value of 152 million pesos in 2021. This species is only produced in the states of Jalisco (93.1 percent) and Tamaulipas (6.9 percent).

From the Center

Yesenia Mollinedo Falconi and Sheila García Olivera, from the news outlet El Veraz, in Veracruz, were shot by hired killers. The two journalists were mothers of families. Mothers of missing persons marched from the Monumento a la Madre (Monument to the Mother) to the Angel of Independence to demand «truth and justice» for their loved ones. They highlighted the words of the Mexican UN representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (ONU-DH), Guillermo Fernández Maldonado: «there are no more mothers in the world looking for their children than in Mexico.»

Translated by Rebecca Zittle

Currently, drought in Jocotepec is classified as moderate. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.

Héctor Ruiz Mejía(Jocotepec).- The drought index decreases from «severe» to «moderate» in the municipality of Jocotepec.

In spite of the high temperatures reaching up to 34 degrees Celsius registered in the last few days, the data shared by the Monitor of Drought in México indicated that for the first two weeks of May, the humidity in the environment caused the municipality to go from severe drought (D2) to moderate drought (D1).

As stated by Carolina Alejandre Ruvalcaba, head of the Water Culture program of the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) Jalisco, this represents that, together with the humidity in the environment, favorable conditions due to the level of Lake Chapala in contrast to past years, have helped avoid drought.

Alejandre explained that drought is classified into two categories: meteorological, i.e., corresponding to water precipitation in the atmosphere; and hydrological, which is the deficit of flow or storage in natural watercourses and bodies of water (surface water).

«These factors have to be taken into account, because sometimes people relate drought to desert or vegetation so there is no drought but it is not so, there are several causes that determine that a territory is in drought, as well as its categories».

However, the official added that the classification is never a static scale because just as the levels decrease from one two-week period to the next, which is the period of time captured by the Drought Monitor, they can also increase.

Regarding the intensity of the current drought stage (D1) in Jocotepec, the second on a scale of five, some damage to crops and pastures, a high risk of fires, low levels in rivers, streams and wells are expected, so voluntary restriction in the use of water is recommended.

Finally, Alejandre Ruvalcaba said that stages D1 and D2 during this period of the year are normal since it is still considered the dry season, until May 15, when the rainy season begins.

According to the North American Drought Monitor (NADM), drought is classified in a five-scale chart, which goes from the minimum as D0 Abnormally Dry, D1 Moderate Drought, D2 Severe Drought, passing through D3 Extreme Drought, and ending with D4 Exceptional Drought.

Translated by Sydney Metrick

Vista del malecón de Ajijic y el lago de Chapala. Foto: D. Arturo Ortega.

Redacción.- Luego de las primeras lluvias registradas en la región lacustre del Lago de Chapala, sigue perdiendo nivel. Hasta la fecha, el lago más grande de México ha perdido 93 centímetros, lo que lo ubica al 63 por ciento de su capacidad. 

Del primero de enero al cuatro de mayo, el vaso lacustre pasó del 74.98 por ciento de su capacidad hasta el estado en que se encuentra en la actualidad, es decir, perdió casi 12 centímetros.

Restaurant at the pier, being remodeled for its next opening… Photo: Sofía Medeles.

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic).- The announcement of the upcoming opening of a restaurant in the controversial building located on the Ajijic pier, where the malecon begins, has generated a stir and mixed opinions among the Ajijic residents.

The opening of an Argentinean restaurant is emblazoned on a  large advertising banner placed on the building . This has displeased some residents because, according to them, this type of billboard is not allowed in Pueblos Mágicos, especially in the main square or tourist area.

The government  of Chapala has not commented on the matter and, as of the closing of this edition, has not said  if the business has the licenses and other requirements to operate, such as the safety of the diners or the basic services to operate.

Several Ajijic residents were interviewed about the issue in an unscientific sample and most of them were against it. They felt that the concessionaire, Fabio Rizzo, was appropriating public space and abusing the rights of local people. 

«This concession should be reviewed. Mr. Rizzo feels he owns the federal land and believes he is doing us a favor by letting us have the malecon. A business of this type could lead to the situation of the Piedra Barrenada (tourist-food zone of San Juan Cosalá), we do not want it to be replicated in Ajijic”, said one resident interviewed by Laguna.. 

“As local residents  we can ask for support from the authorities to review the concession and what  its permits allow. A  more drastic action would be to campaign to prevent people eating there,» said a member of Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera, a group that has been in charge of  stopping  the invasions of federal land in Lake Chapala.

Rizzo has on several occasions stated that his permit covers not only the restaurant area, but 3,362 meters including part of the boardwalk and the Parque de la Amistad.

 Not everyone interviewed opposed the concession. Some of those questioned said that although it is not the best way to set up a business, they are not opposed to it, since they believe it is a good attraction for tourism, as well as a source of work for those who live in Ajijic. «If everything is in order, go ahead,» said  Adán, a local resident.

Whether or not the permit , licenses and  services for the restaurants were in order was constantly talked about during the interviews.

«Many of us want the city council to tell us if they granted licenses because everything is in order,  and if the restaurant has the necessary services and what are they going to do with the sewage, and how is the building in terms of security?» said another local resident named Blanca.

This building was constructed in 1988, initially it was intended to be built on the dock, however, due to opposition from town residents, the location was changed to where it is currently located.

Rizzo Jasso  has claimed that the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) granted him the authorization to use the area for 50 years. The property has had different restaurants over the years; however, they all ended up closing. 

Translated  by Patrick O’Heffernan

Marani Soto Alarcón and her daughter Emilia, for whom the shop is named. Photo: Sofía Medeles.

Sofía Medeles (Chapala).- Despite being young, Ajijic resident Marani Soto Alarcón has achieved a balance between being an entrepreneur and fulfilling her motherly duties while following her vocation as a florist.

Marani is 28 and was born in Las Trojes, Jocotepec. She left her hometown to look for new opportunities, and eight years ago she arrived in Ajijic.

Soto Alarcón said she has always practiced entrepreneurship, from selling shoes in her hometown, to being a beautician, with food businesses and in her current and favorite business, the flower shop «Las Plantas de Emilia,» named in honor of her daughter.

“When I came to Ajijic, I worked in places where I was not as comfortable,” she said. “Since I was a child, I have had a taste for plants, a connection, though it was something I saw as a hobby, not as a way of life.» She recalled that a television program helped her get rid of her fear, and she decided to set up the business she loves so much.

The flower shop is at Carretera Oriente #18, Ajijic Centro. Photo: Las Plantas de Emilia.

Presenting a revolutionary proposal to traditional flower shops, fused with the sale of plants and accessories for them, Marani opened her first flower shop, motivated by the desire to have economic stability, both for her and her daughter Emilia. 

“I found the perfect formula to work and live from what I like,” she said. “I started with nothing, with gifted furniture and a loan of 2,000 pesos that I still haven’t paid to my mom… but it’s nice to see the evolution of the business, and how it has been accepted and valued by customers.”

As for the challenge of being a mom, while holding the growth of her business hand in hand, she describes it as easy. She can manage her time and spend it with her daughter, fulfilling the maternal life as well as the professional life.

“It’s hard to have chosen a profession where holidays are the days with the most work,” Marani said. “One of the busiest days is Mother’s Day, and this is the first year I have seen my daughter. Previously I would see her the next day, but this is a sign that the business is growing and is on the right track.”

Despite her achievements, her professional path has not stopped. She says there are plans to expand Las Plantas de Emilia. Today, she has a branch in downtown Ajijic and one in the San Antonio Tlayacapan delegation, which she plans to move to a larger site within the same town. She may also open a flower warehouse and become a distributor, and there is an opportunity for a high-end line of floral arrangements, also called Boutique de Flores.

Marani with her mother and daughter. Photo: Sofia Medeles.

“I plan to continue educating myself, taking courses, because it is a business that renews itself, has trends, and needs innovation,” she said. “This is a town used to the traditional, but thanks to the foreign influence, it has become more open to new designs and ways of using flowers.”

Marani offered advice, both to young people and to enterprising mothers. First, lose your fear because it does not get you anywhere – it gets you stuck. Second, find your vocation and do things with pleasure. Third, and more focused on mothers, is to find trusted support to take care of the children.

“At the beginning, the business absorbs your time, so it’s good to have support,” she said. “If you have the potential and the desire, get rid of your fear. Approach people, knock on doors and be kind when you have your business.”

Marani reflected that there is no formula for success, since everyone must follow the path their heart and their decisions indicate. She invited people to visit her at the Ajijic branch, Carretera Oriente #18, or the San Antonio branch on Colón #117. She can satisfy a variety of tastes and work within any budget.

Translated by Mike Rogers

During the last rainy season, Lake Chapala reached 74% of its capacity; it is currently at 67%, informed the National Water Commission (CONAGUA). 

Despite the decrease in the level, it is still up compared to April 2021, when it was at 51% of its capacity.

Translated by Paul Weeks