Chapala Booze Ban?

One has to wonder just what brought this on?

"Vendors operating commercial stands at the periphery of Chapala’s waterfront Malecon will be prohibited from selling hard liquor as of next year, according to city hall business license chief Luis Ernesto Lopez Amavizca.

The ban on booze takes effect on January 7, 2013, giving around 40 merchants a last chance to cash in during the Christmas holiday season. After that, they will have to scale back to selling non-alcoholic drinks and nothing stronger than beer and Micheladas, the popular brewski cocktails akin to Bloody Marys."

Sorry that I don't have the link to the full story:
http://theguadalajarareporter.com/news-mainmenu-82/lake-chapala-mainmenu-84/32175-chapala-preps-for-booze-ban.html

Those are unlicensed vendors and they have been the subject of controversy for as long as I can remember. The legitimate , licensed businesses would prefer that people buy their booze from them and the residents of the town would prefer they were not there at all because they would rather the park didn't have a cantina vibe and they contribute nothing , absolutely nothing to the town. But there they are and officials look the other way no matter how much people raise hell about it. So not selling "alcohol" at the malecon is the solution ...go figure.

The story can be read in the online version of La Pagina .

Some merchants apparently fell behind on making their recurring mordida contributions to city hall. Trust me, nothing will have changed after January 7th except, perhaps, the pockets into which the filthy lucre is directed.

hound dog wrote:Some merchants apparently fell behind on making their recurring mordida contributions to city hall. Trust me, nothing will have changed after January 7th except, perhaps, the pockets into which the filthy lucre is directed.

I agree with Dawg.

Z

I don't get a "cantina" feeling there, and I personally in all my time here have not seen any altercations as a direct result of boozing there. In fact, people don't "booze"; they buy a drink or two and carry on. One of the unique things about Mexico is it's lack of BS mothering rules. Slowly being squashed by those who are "better" than the average Jose.

HelperGuy wrote: One of the unique things about Mexico is it's lack of BS mothering rules.

Amen.

My thought when walking around amongst the various vendors was: "I wonder how much of the booze being used in the drinks being offered was adulterated?"

The changes are being brought on by the new mayor. The ambulatory vendors are a frequent topic in local news and at the town meetings, the oposers are numerous.
The malecon is often referred to as the largest cantina in Jalisco, There are 36 vendors that sell alcohol at the malecon, many of them used to sell artesanias but abandoned that because there is more profit in alcohol. The concessions have been given out by the last administration and ones before it (for obvious reasons). People complain that as a result Chapalas image as a tourist destination has been tarnished. The vendors are taking up space that is intended for families and tourists to enjoy, they have no licence to sell alcohol, they sell to minors and they are taking over the whole park and their very presence is a violation of state laws.
The new president appears to be listening to public concerns that have been repeatedly voiced over the years and most see that as a good sign. It's not that some think they are better than another person, it could be that they are not charmed by corruption and lawless behaviour and they just want better for their town.

The most recent article is here and the Vox Populi colum is a reference to the same issue. page 7, I think.

http://issuu.com/chapalavirtual/docs/pagina_no._47