Dear Sir,
Re: “Trump ‘Backlash’ rally coming to Ajijic plaza” (Reporter, December 24-30, 2016).
Ladies: You lost the election. Live with it. Your proposed “March on Washington” in Ajijic on January 21 is completely inappropriate.
If you want to protest, go do it in the United States. The U.S. election is over and the Electoral College has voted to elect the winner. You are a foreign guest in Mexico. Do not embarrass both yourselves and the United States with such a silly demonstration.
As an 85-year-old U.S. military veteran who has served our country to defend the right of free speech as defined in our Constitution, I fully support your right to voice your opinions via whatever legal mode and to vote for the candidates of your choice in U.S. elections. However, these freedoms should be exercised within the borders of the United States and not on foreign soil. It is not only poor taste, but you should be aware that it is against the law in many nations to hold foreign political demonstrations within their borders.
Members attending the monthly meeting of Ajijic’s American Legion Post 9 on 15 December voted unanimously to oppose this demonstration. Your Canadian and Mexican neighbors are already laughing at the silly article published in the last edition of the Guadalajara Reporter. Please do not compound your embarrassment of our great country by additional demonstrations. We already have a surplus of “Ugly Americans” in Chapala.
Regardless of our voting preference, we will all be carefully watching every move made by the Trump administration. I have no doubt it will be the most vetted in U.S. history – and that is a good thing.
Perry M. King, AIA, Fellow, SAME, Past Commander American Legion Post 9, Ajijic.
To our knowledge, there is no law in Mexico that specifically prohibits foreign nationals from demonstrating against their own governments on Mexican soil. Mexican citizens residing in the United States often hold protests aimed at their country’s politicians on U.S. territory.
Dear Sir,
When Chapala Mayor Javier Degollado was campaigning for his position two years ago, I thought he was a different kind of candidate who would work toward fulfilling campaign promises. He came to a committee meeting of our group that is trying to make improvements to the horrible access roads of Revolution and Lazaro Cardenas. We provided him with 400 signatures from residents of Riviera Alta, Los Olivos and local neighborhoods asking for improvements.
He promised that if elected, it would be his priority to get this done. We followed up with a meeting with his secretary, again providing these signatures. The secretary promised us a meeting with the mayor very soon. Nothing has been done.
Our HOA has offered to make a financial contribution to getting something done. We asked for an engineering study be carried out to provide alternative solutions with cost estimates so we might move toward project work. In fact, our whole group of 60 homes was cut off from entering and leaving twice in the past two years due to mudslides. And our pedestrian access has been shut off by a gate from La Floresta – a great inconvenience.
Why should we get this help? Our expat and local communities are the economic lifeblood of the Chapala district. We employ construction and maintenance help, we support restaurants, shops, theaters, and we are the leading force behind charitable organizations such as Niños Incapacitados, Cruz Roja, School for the Deaf, Villa Infantil, and many more.
We would like a response from the mayor to meet with our representatives so he can to at least start to fulfill his campaign promises.
Jim Scherer, Riviera Alta