Ajijic will be declared a Magic Town

https://traficozmg.com/2020/11/ajijic-sera-declarado-pueblo-magico-2/

This kinda makes the Magic Town Program a Joke. I guess they believe the condition of the roads are Magic.

"to generate more opportunities for trade, development and tourism in the municipality." that the infrastructure cannot handle, nor will the streets handle the traffic


Is this April fools day?

I thought the guy had some smarts. Now it's obvious there are lots of pockets getting lined. I wonder what the definition of Magic Town actually is now? "Replete with potholes, ugly concrete facades and garage doors for every business, mini apartment buildings a la the US, garbage everywhere, a near-complete loss of heritage construction, 3-story view-blocking houses, and 1,000 kilometres of concrete paid to our cousins to cover up every public area."

Wouldn’t it be that money will then be allocated for improvements? I’ve seen that happen elsewhere, the designation first and then the money.

Yes, but history shows that the money never goes where it is supposed to go.

And to me, it's a travesty, money or not... because it IS all about the money. This mayor, like all the previous in my 20 years lakeside, is a glad-handing bullshitter, who cares not a whit for his people.

Further, unless he has some insider knowledge, the governor is not the decision maker. And all the things he "announced"? They were all announced before. Also, I've yet to see any "rehabilitation of drinking water and drainage lines".

MichaelB wrote:https://traficozmg.com/2020/11/ajijic-sera-declarado-pueblo-magico-2/

This kinda makes the Magic Town Program a Joke. I guess they believe the condition of the roads are Magic.

"to generate more opportunities for trade, development and tourism in the municipality." that the infrastructure cannot handle, nor will the streets handle the traffic


Is this April fools day?

Unfortunately it was already a joke when Sayulita was made one a few years back. There is nothing culturally or historically significant about a small fishing village full of surfers and retirees now. The program is all about the money. Granted at the beginning it was great, you only have to look at the improvements and towns that have been 're-discovered' by the scheme. How many amazing artisans in Michoacan, and not to mention the improvements to downtown Mazamitla & Tapalpa to name just a couple.

ComputerGuy wrote:Yes, but history shows that the money never goes where it is supposed to go.

And to me, it's a travesty, money or not... because it IS all about the money. This mayor, like all the previous in my 20 years lakeside, is a glad-handing bullshitter, who cares not a whit for his people.

Further, unless he has some insider knowledge, the governor is not the decision maker. And all the things he "announced"? They were all announced before. Also, I've yet to see any "rehabilitation of drinking water and drainage lines".

Have you ever met our mayor?? I think not. He is quite different from the previous mayors. He has inherited a huge number of legal and cash problems. Go meet him and talk to him before you call him names.

I have met him, I have talked to him, and he is all bluster and show. His campaign was absolutely great at projecting how "different" he was going to be. And he is probably even worse than the last three. Every one of them has inherited legal and cash problems. And every one has promised to fix those. And I doubt any will ever. And you don't have to sit in a man's office to see what he has and hasn't done for lakeside. You'd have to be blind.

By the way, two things: talking to a politician is no indication of his true self or worth; and thanks a lot for presupposing what I know and don't know. How frikkin' rude.

Have you ever met our mayor?? I think not. He is quite different from the previous mayors. He has inherited a huge number of legal and cash problems. Go meet him and talk to him before you call him names.


Same old , same old.. nothing ever changes

Magic town, my ass!

Once again, a whole lot of consternation over nothing.
The majority of Mexican politicians spend time and money running for offices in order to better themselves financially and their connection reputation.  Hopefully they will do some good deeds for the public along the way.
That has been the norm since forever and will probably continue into the future, no matter how hard foreigners try to promote their sterling ethical standards to this different political culture. Occasionally, a Jesus Cristo type of politician comes along but they are not the norm.

Fortunately this political system is open to any young Mexican, male or female, that wants to jump in and ride the bull.    
It´s like winning a lottery to be elected and I don´t hold it against them or expect anything other than the reality.

ComputerGuy wrote:I have met him, I have talked to him, and he is all bluster and show. His campaign was absolutely great at projecting how "different" he was going to be. And he is probably even worse than the last three. Every one of them has inherited legal and cash problems. And every one has promised to fix those. And I doubt any will ever. And you don't have to sit in a man's office to see what he has and hasn't done for lakeside. You'd have to be blind.

By the way, two things: talking to a politician is no indication of his true self or worth; and thanks a lot for presupposing what I know and don't know. How frikkin' rude.

Well I needed help and he was available to be seen and he got me help.   Every other mayor has been useless and I never could see them.  Seems we both had different experiences with him. So I am rude you are also rude sometimes. Who cares about either of us.

You are correct, no one cares about us. But the point is much simpler. You disagreed with my assessment of a politician(s). Your reaction was to get personal, as if no one ever had a political disagreement before.

Apparently it's official!!

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/11-new-destinations-added-to-the-list-of-121-pueblos-magicos/

I don´t expect my dull and boring lifestyle (clinical happiness) will change much because of this sea change event.......

yep, congratulation to Ajijic.. hopefully this will help the powers of the town to clean up the garbage and fix what need to be fix.. I am not holding my breath but you never know..

Yes, hopefully they have a citizen's committee overseeing the funds. Any improvements will be welcome. I don't think it will increase tourism by that much as Ajijic is already considered a vacation destination by the domestic tourists.

I've read several sources that say the Strategy exists, but that all actual funding was cancelled last year.

EDIT: Bisbee Gal, thanks for posting this on TOB, which states that Jalisco State has been funding them. https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https://www.jalisco.gob.mx/es/prensa/noticias/117188

...if only the POWERS THAT BE would deign to fix the tire destroying, back wrenching POTHOLES all over town.  Now THAT would be magic!!!

It would be nice to see them do all the main N/S and E/W roads in flagstone similar to Mazamitla and Tapalpa.

CanuckBob wrote:It would be nice to see them do all the main N/S and E/W roads in flagstone similar to Mazamitla and Tapalpa.

I'm with the majority of locals who want to retain the cobbles.  Yes, they are in need of repair, but that's no reason to ditch them.  

The locals fought like heck (and won!) to stop the crosswalks that Chapala started to put in (see corner Aquiles Serdan and Ocampo).  The locals are against any surface other than stones laid with a certain soil, that they believe drains the best, the fastest and keeps the humidity and temperatures down in the summer.  

Article here, https://themazatlanpost.com/2019/07/01/lake-chapala-ajijic-crosswalks-stir-controversy/

Sand filled cobbles will never be good. They will require repairs every year which we know will not happen. They did Colon and Revolucion. They need to do the rest.

The trouble is we live at the bottom of a mountain range, and the yearly rains are capable of ripping up just about any kind of road. Slainte39 will be more knowledgeable about this, but the reason for continuing the cobbles in most places is that they are much more repairable and far less costly than pavers or paved roads.

Someone on TOB was suggesting parking lots and access to allow people and tourists easier access to el centro. Ixtlahuacan makes extensive use of tuk-tuks to drive people around because most of their roads are not cobble, because they don't have to be.

In Chapala, pavers are pushed up by water from that side of the mountain, as well as always-growing tree roots. And one must remember that a huge number of roads running north to south toward the lake were originally arroyos, and even after being converted still are targets of the rushing waters.

I don't buy that. Colon and Revolucion hold up quite nice. Colon is a river when it rains. Valle de Bravo is far more mountainous than Ajijic and they have proper roads. They are also at the bottom of mountains.