Governor of Jalisco Enrique Alfaro Ramirez during his visit to supervise the works of the auditorium of the riverbank.
Sofia Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)– At the end of his visit to the La Ribera auditorium, Governor Enrique Alfaro Ramirez was questioned about his opinion on the «anti-rejas movement», to which he mentioned being aware of their work, and endorsed their work.
«I also joined in the complaint(about illegal building and filling of the Lake), these are acts of loafers that should not be allowed. However, it is not the responsibility of the state government, it is a federal problem, and we hope that the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) will take action on the matter,» said the governor.
He also commented that the issue of the Chapala invasions has not been mentioned specifically in the meetings he has had in Mexico City, but that the review by CONAGUA is a recurring theme, encompassing Lake Chapala, invasions in Lake Cajititlán, the Villa Corona lagoon, and the unregulated discharges into the Santiago River.
Without proposing a solution, he finally added that the problem is that CONAGUA does not regulate the invasions, and furthermore, it has neither the personnel nor the resources to carry out its investigations.
Ajijitecos interviewed both within and outside the movement, declared that they do not believe him, and that in their opinion, it is only a strategy to cover the eye of the beast, «He says it just to make himself look good, because it is an issue that is gaining a lot of momentum. If he were really interested, he would be the first to facilitate and manage solutions to avoid irregularities of this type», commented a member of the movement.
«He talks a lot and does little. I wish it were true what he says, but his words are worth the same as nothing if he is going to look the other way when it comes to action. We are used to promises, but we no longer believe them,» commented a native of the town.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
The lake level has already moved inside the fence. Photo: Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal)– «Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera» charges that the Urrea family in Ajijic has once again erected an illegal fence in Federal land along the shoreline of Lake Chapala. The activist group is now preparing complaints and vows to take it down themselves if the Federal authorities don’t act.
The «anti-fences» group announced to the media that this new invasion is more serious than the last ones because the fence is outside of any area available for a permit or concession and is now actually in the Lake because of the rise in the lake’s surface. They added that the family showed no proof of a permit or concession allowing them to erect a fence.
The fence in question is made of posts embedded in concrete and strung with barbed wire, replacing the cyclone fence removed earlier. The group claimed that the construction of the fence is designed to take advantage of guidelines that allow fences of wire and sticks to delist a property owner’s border with the Lake.
«Originally the fence was a great act of laziness, but now it is more of a crime, since the National Waters Law specifies that there cannot be any type of fencing within the water, so this new fence in the water will help us to act,» asserted one of the members of the group.
Those interviewed added that the lake is not far from reaching the elevation indicated by the National Water Commission (CONAGUA), which is 97.8, and is currently at 95.1, that is, the property is well within the permitted limit.
This action on the part of the owners of the property angered Ajijitecos, both from the movement and outside of it. «They must think they need another fence, they sure like to spend money; besides, why are they doing it now that the lake level has risen. Why do they want almost a hectare of flooded land,» said another member of the group.
For the moment, the activists are preparing complaints so that the corresponding authorities take action on the delimitation of the land located within the federal zone.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
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