Internationally, it was a massive year for news: the Arab Spring, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the death of Osama Bin Laden, the massacre in Norway and, oh yes, the lavish marriage of two rich folks in England.
The United States had its fair share of big stories too: the Joplin tornado, Occupy Wall Street, the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, the Penn State sex abuse scandal and – it goes without saying – Washington gridlock.
South of the border in Mexico, President Felipe Calderon continued his policy designed to grind down the nation’s powerful drug cartels, despite many calls for him to scale back military operations. The daily death toll occupied the headlines most days, along with the occasional arrest of a drug kingpin. Here’s a brief selection of some of the stories making headlines in this newspaper in Guadalajara, the Lake Chapala area and the rest of the nation during the past 12 months.
JANUARY
- Disney Cruise Lines cancels stops in Mazatlan after several security incidents in the resort involving passengers. But it’s good news for Puerto Vallarta, as the company announces that the Disney Wonder will make 13 stops there in 2011 for the first time.
- After a long and fractious ownership dispute between Mexico and the Vienna Art History Museum, an agreement was made to loan the famed “Crown of Moctezuma” to the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City.
- Police arrest two brothers, aged 16 and 17, in connection with the murder of Lakeside resident Allan Robert Turnipseed. The 62-year-old U.S. citizen was shot once in the head during a botched robbery at his Riberas de Pilar home.
FEBRUARY
- Lakeside activists hold the first of several protests throughout the year in defiance of a planned second aqueduct to boost water supply from Lake Chapala to Guadalajara. Many locals say they have little confidence that authorities will adhere to agreed water extraction rates in the future.
- Six people die and 37 are injured after gunmen open fire on revelers outside the Butter Club nightclub near the Minerva Glorieta. Investigators say the massacre is tied to an ongoing turf war between rival drug cartels in Guadalajara.
- Guadalajara and Jalisco officials criticize a U.S. Consulate bulletin advising their citizens not to travel to and from the Guadalajara Airport after dark. The missive came after gangs hijacked several buses on the airport road and set them on fire.
MARCH
- U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual resigns following a row over confidential cables that he sent to Washington that were published by WikiLeaks. In one, he describes the Mexican Army as “risk aversive” and “an insular military establishment that resists modernization.”
- Guadalajara’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez wins the WBC world super welterweight crown after defeating Great Britain’s Matthew Hatton in Las Vegas. Some experts hail the 20-year-old as the most talented Mexican boxer since Julio Cesar Chavez. He defends his title on two more occasions in 2011.
- A series of 18 speed bumps outside the Soriana supermarket in Chapala are suddenly removed. They had been installed after several pedestrian fatalities at this stretch of road. Eleven neck-rattling topes, however, were left intact.
APRIL
- Almost a year after suspending the weekly staff visits to Chapala city hall, the National Migration Institute opens a permanent full-service lakeside office. The central Chapala office is open five days a week, is close to local banks and has easy access for people with mobility problems.
- The Jalisco government scraps a controversial plan to build a 23-kilometer elevated highway slicing through the heart of Guadalajara, following the route of the railroad track. The polemic Via Express project had been roundly criticized by legislators, environmental experts and neighbors.
- The troubled resort of Acapulco receives another blow as federal authorities decide to take the Tianguis Turistica (the country’s massive annual tourism trade show) away from the port, where it has been held for the past 36 years. A few months later, Puerto Vallarta is awarded the 2012 event.
MAY
- Mexican immigration authorities use X-ray equipment to detect 513 illegal immigrants packed like cattle into two semi trailers in the southern state of Chiapas. The mostly Central American migrants were being taken to the U.S. border and some had said they had paid up to 7,000 dollars for the privilege.
- A king-size tourist cruiser hits the waters of Lake Chapala. The 200-passenger Batur has a a full service bar, a cutting-edge sound system and a dance floor. Its owner says it took as long to sort out the red tape and permits to operate the vessel as it did to build it.
- In an unprecedented move, Huichol indigenous communities march in downtown Guadalajara against the Mexican government’s decision to allow a Canadian mining firm to explore and develop mineral deposits in a part of San Luis Potosi state that they say is sacred for their people.
JUNE
- Gambling mogul and former Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rohn is released from jail after authorities rule that Mexican soldiers acted illegally during a midnight raid on his luxury home in which they found 88 unregistered handguns and rifles. The controversial politician says he is ready to run for office again, if asked.
- Representatives of the Wixarika tribe take possession of a donated boat that will enable the safe passage of pilgrims visiting the ancestral ceremonial site located on Lake Chapala’s Isla de Alacranes (Scorpion Island). Two local councilors were responsible for the gesture.
- The Jalisco Red Cross marks 100 years of operation. Its first emergency call was on June 7, 1911, when a team of more than 20 volunteers set off by train to provide assistance to victims of an earthquake in Colima. Ambulances from the period took part in a parade to mark the occasion.
JULY
- A WikiLeaks document reveals that Cardinal Juan Sandoval, the outspoken archbishop of Guadalajara, sought help form the U.S. government to prevent popular leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador from winning the 2006 presidential election. Sandoval denies the allegation.
- National jubilation as Mexico wins the Under-17 World Soccer Cup on home soil, defeating Uruguay in the final in Mexico City. Hundreds celebrate at the Minerva Glorieta in Guadalajara. A few weeks earlier, the senior team triumphed in the Gold Cup, defeating the United States at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.
- The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) heralds a major victory in the gubernatorial election in the populous State of Mexico – winning the race with 62 percent of the vote. The triumph confirms outgoing State of Mexico governor Enrique Peña Nieto’s position as favorite to win back the presidency for the PRI in 2012.
AUGUST
- Canadian Pavel Kulisek is released from a Mexican psychiatric prison after spending three and a half years behind bars for being “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” A tourist, he was arrested in Baja California in March 2008 in the company of a man who turned out to be a major figure in the Tijuana drug cartel.
- Fifty-two people perish after gunmen burst into a casino in Monterrey and set it ablaze. President Calderon describes the crime as “abhorrent.” Many casinos close around the country in the aftermath of the blaze, as government officials check security measures and permits.
- Ground is broken on a polemic Las Vegas-style hotel and casino resort on eight hectares of land located to the east and slightly above Chula Vista Norte in Ajijic. The project is expected to generate 1,000 temporary jobs and 500 full-time positions once complete, developers say.
SEPTEMBER
- Chapala police officers repel an attack by an armed gang during a gun battle in the downtown area, killing two assailants on the spot. Later, Chapala police chief Reynol Contreras assures residents that his force has the weaponry, tactical skill and courage needed to deal with such confrontations.
- After months of speculation, Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez announces that he will not be seeking the National Action Party (PAN) nomination for next year’s presidential election, leaving the path clear for three candidates: Ernesto Cordero, Santiago Creel and Josefina Vasquez.
- A year after Mexico celebrated its 200th independence anniversary, crowds were markedly down for patriotic events marking the historic September 16 date. Government officials say the numbers for the “Grito” ceremony in Guadalajara were low because the day fell on a Friday and many people took off for the beach.
OCTOBER
- Guadalajara stages a successful, two-week Pan American Games, characterized by a magnificent opening ceremony and full, enthusiastic crowds at the sporting venues. The United States heads the medal table, ahead of Brazil, Cuba and Mexico – the home nation wins a record 133 medals. Chapala hosts the waterski events.
- Athletes from 42 nations praise the organization of the games, the excellent venues and the friendliness of the people in Guadalajara. Their village, however, becomes a hot news item after its treatment plant malfunctions and raw sewage pours out into surrounding green areas.
- Category two Hurricane Jova ravages Jalisco’s coastline, causing damage in 13 municipalities. The port of Manzanillo in Colima, however, bears the brunt of the storm. Financial assistance to victims in Jalisco is slow to get through, as the State Congress nixes the governor’s request for an emergency loan.
NOVEMBER
- Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake and seven others die after their helicopter crashes into a hillside 15 miles outside of Mexico City. He is one of President Calderon’s closest advisors and played an instrumental role in the fight to reduce the power of the country’s drug cartels.
- U.S. citizen Stephen Christopher Kahr, 69, dies after being shot in the carport of his Ajijic home during an attempted robbery. Foreign residents subsequently demonstrate outside the mayor’s office at the poor security in the area. Two weeks later, two men are arrested in connection with the crime in Guadalajara.
- Police discover 22 bodies dumped in vans left at the yellow Millennium Arches in Guadalajara. All had been executed as part of an apparent power struggle between rival drug gangs. Concerns are raised that the deaths were linked to a potential “takeover” of the city by the famed Zeta cartel.
DECEMBER
- Jose Francisco Robles Ortega is named to replace Cardinal Juan Sandoval as the new archbishop of Guadalajara. Some critics of Sandoval and his outspoken opinions say they hope the appointment will bring people who have rejected Catholicism back to the faith.
- An anti-crime forum held at the Hotel Real de Chapala draws more than 1,000 expatriates, making it the largest event of its nature in lakeside history. As well as hearing proposals to improve local security, attendees make financial contributions to help fund a grass-roots anti-crime movement.
- Illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States drops to its lowest level in four decades. The main reasons are the faltering U.S. economy, the dangers of crossing the frontier and stringent laws enacted in several U.S. states that specifically target illegal immigrants.