(Note that this entire website is copyrighted. Please send people to this website, www.fallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com, rather than copying and forwarding sections without permission or credit. Thank you.--Carol Schmidt and Norma Hair)

For more recent San Miguel news, please go to the website forums for the Living in San Miguel forum. As this website evolves, it seems that immediate SMA news gets posted there first now, including more lengthy crime analyses. I'm keeping this page up because of the historical information on the serial rapist who attacked six women in SMA between October, 2005 and July, 2006 before he was captured.--Carol Schmidt

May 14, 2008--The druglord attempt to infiltrate SMA has had no effect on our daily lives

I just got a personal message from someone who had planned to come to SMA for six months, asking if she should cancel because of the druglord wars. She says she only reads my blog so I'll post this there, too.

I still feel perfectly safe in San Miguel.

In Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, I might think about what I was about to do sometimes, but still most people even in those cities are living their everyday lives, not personally affected if you're not with the police, a journalist covering the drug stories, or someone involved in drugs. I wouldn't worry about crossing the border in any of those places, either. The border with all the police presence would be the stupidest place for a druglord move! Hundreds of thousands of people cross at these border points every day without incident.

The President recently announced that for the 2010 Independencia and Revolution anniversaries he will build a four-lane highway between SMA and Dolores Hidalgo, both such high points in Mexican history, and there is huge commercial and tourist investment in SMA, and SMA is beloved by so many DF residents and around the world as a tourist attraction, and we have a very good senator, Luis Villarreal, our former mayor, and current political and police officers, all of which are factors in keeping safety very high in SMA.

It very well could be that Guzman in Sinaloa and other competing druglords will continue to try to show their power here just because they know SMA is so important. They're being squeezed in the traditional drug cities and so are looking to escape to new cities.

But Calderon is not going to give up. Even former President Fox has admitted that Calderon is turning out to be one of the best presidents in Mexican history. All that will continue, just as the fight against drugs and organized crime is always going on in the US, but it won't affect us, not in our daily lives.

The drug fights are just as bad in the US--I lived in LA and remember the gang turf wars over drug territory. Remember the movie "Traffic"? How many drug-sales-related deaths are there in the US every day? And police corruption in Mexico? We lived in the Ramparts division of LA, considered one of the most corrupt police departments in the US!

Don't worry, still come, you'll have a wonderful time again. Nothing feels "up at arms" around town! If someone who lives in the US hadn't posted the links elsewhere and I happened to go to the links, I wouldn't have known a thing about it. It's not something everybody is talking about at all.

And we certainly haven't stopped doing a thing we always did and loved doing!

Meanwhile, the Midday Rotary Club of San Miguel hosted their First Annual Conference on Diabetes in San Miguel recently, and the country's health secretary noted that the leading cause of death in Mexico is diabetes--6.5 million have been diagnosed, and at least another 2 million are undiagnosed.  Kudos to the Rotary Club for focusing some attention on this problem, too, which gets no attention but will kill far more people! Just an attempt to bring some perspective here.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel de Allende: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

May 9, 2008--Michoacan druglords try to bribe SMA police to expand narcotics traffic here; serial rapist still awaiting sentencing

Atencion newspaper was delayed today, partly because of the legal and informal holidays last week, and also because they got into the paper an article on Tuesday's drug lord caravan into San Miguel to try to bribe the head police officers into letting them spread their narcotics market to SMA. Four men were captured Wednesday. Usually the paper's final deadline is Tuesdays.

Suzanne Ludekens also, as promised, printed an update on the status of the serial rapist of October 2005-July 2006, whose trial is still not completed and sentencing has not been decided.

You can read the entire article on the paper's website at www.atencionsanmiguel.org. Jose Luis Alvarez Gonzales faces 12 to 22 years total sentence. He was 58 when arrested.

The article states in part, "Marco Antonio Garza Herrera, director de Control de Procesos in the Ministerio Pública, confirmed last week that serial rapist José Luis Álvarez González continues behind bars and will soon face final audience and sentencing."

The case hasn't been delayed because of the replacement of two judges the past two years, he stated, but "the Mexican legal system is different from the US system and takes a different amount of time to reach sentencing". He "expressed confidence that the case was in its final stages."

Alvarex Gonzales could get 8-15 years for the five rapes plus 4-7 more years because the attacks were in the women's homes.

As usual rumors were circulating about that case, and this article should dispel them for awhile.

Everyone in San Miguel was shocked to learn that a caravan from a Michoacan druglord came into San Miguel Tuesday and drove right to the city offices on the outskirts of town and attempted to bribe local police officials to allow them to expand their narcotics territory into San Miguel. They were refused, and the next day one of the men got aarrested for beating up a woman in a bar and when he was taken into custody, the other three men who had joined in the drg money resentation showed up at prison to try to bail him out. All four men are now in the hands of the state police in Guanajuato. A caravan of 200 officers from neighboring towns, the Mexican military and a federal helicopter escorted the men to their next prison.

In both the US and Mexico and most of Latin America and much of the Middle East, druglords are winning. They've got the very best guns the US arms industry can provide, and are far better equipped than the local police. It will get worse before it gets better.

That said, in our every day lives, the drug wars don't affect anybody except drug lords, police and journalists. Tourists, expats and everyday folks won't be affected except in the rare case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time just as could happen if a truck ran over you or a crazed meth head robbed you, anyplace in the world.

I feel very badly for Daniel Trujillo, Director of Security, and for the impact this new assault must be having on the city government. I don't expect to ever be touched personally by it, after surviving Detroit, LA and Phoenix. SMA is going to receive preferential treatment from all levels of Mexican government to hold back the onslaught because of its historic importance. Celaya, not so much.

March 19, 2008--Protest against new railroad shunting yards near Los Frailes

The protest is at noon today, March 19, at Wednesday, at the Hotel Mision los Angeles located at the entrance to Los Frailes.  This is the first I've heard of this development, and I do not know anything about all sides of the issues. I can't attend but will let you know if I hear more on the outcome.

CIVIL PROTEST OF RAILROAD SHUNTING YARDS TO BE BUILT IN SAN MIGUEL

Picture, if you will, three communities: Los Frailes, La Canada and El
Mirador, on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende. In contrast to el
centro, the homes here are newer with larger lots and there is an air
of suburban tranquility among bougainvilleas which abound in
profusion.

Again in contrast, when the fireworks go off all night in
el centro, here they might only begin to keep you awake at five in the
morning! Located overlooking the Presa Allende, there are
magnificent views of this large body of water, views of corn fields
and of alfalfa fields. Many homes in Los Frailes are owned by DF'ers
who will commute to spend a quiet week-end "far from the madding
crowds' ignoble strife".

El Mirador only recently was still
classified as a campestre, a semi-agricultural community, with many
hectare-sized lots. It boasts three horse riding rings, an unusual
Gaudi house, and a green space or parque of almost two hectares - very
unusual for its size!

A single railroad track runs through one side of these idyllic
communities. Now picture some dramatic changes!

Some six weeks ago a resident discovered that a second train track was
being built. There followed community organizing and representatives
met with Ecologia and Desarollo Urbano, where both directors confirmed
right away that there were no permits applied for or issued. An
interview of residents by the local TV, was supportive of the
community effort.

Next, residents of these three communities were surprised to discover
simultaneous work being started at three locations in order to double
the train tracks and build a (supposedly 13 Km) train marshalling yard
in their midst.

Acting quickly, several residents stood in the way to
block activity. Community representatives met with the Mayor of San
Miguel who sent a Police contingent (estimated to be some 30 strong)
with riot gear and helmets. A TV news station and a radio reporter
also arrived. Work stopped - obra suspendido!

At a subsequent meeting at the Presidencia, officials from KCS Mexico
who were based based in Queretaro, then confirmed that there had been
no permits applied for (or issued) at the Municipal level or at the
Federal level !

So all this was taking place under the radar! If local residents had
not blocked the bulldozers, a railway shunting yard in residential San
Miguel would have been a fait accompli ... in a few scant weeks! A
proposed World Heritage site, now also a major railroad shunting yard!

The building of a marshalling yard would likely prove to be just the
first step. Next would likely come repair facilities on an industrial
scale. Then warehouses and freight handling facilities, with trucks
rumbling through residential neighborhoods of San Miguel.

There is no mistaking that there are powerful business interests at
work here. KCS is a holding company for four railroads operated as
subsidiaries, with plans to link Pacific shipping ports in Mexico with
mid-America, and through interchange, with Canada. They describe
themselves as NAFTA-driven.

But with a huge customs warehouse and
freight redistribution center located near Kansas City, MO, while they
may be easing congestion at US ports, the significant thrust of this
project is to avoiding all dealings with established trade unions.

Since establishing the plans and rail routes through Mexico, where
shipping containers would be offloaded directly onto railtrucks and
the sealed rail freight shipped directly to inland US Customs
warehouses, the stock listing of KSU has gone from 50c to around $37
per share.

In a public relations effort mounted by KCS, a local TV station (Canal
4) then carried commentary critical of the residents of these
communities for holding up progress in Mexico! While local
residents are naturally concerned about many deleterious effects of a
railroad shunting/parking yard right in the midst of their tranquil
community, greater San Miguel should also be concerned! Is the
cultural character of San Miguel to be changed to an industrial one?

Reading between the lines, it would appear that somebody stuck a pin
on a map of Mexico, looking for another central location with the
intention, in time, to duplicate in central Mexico, the humungous
warehouse facilities located in mid-America.

They hit San Miguel,
considered the jewel of Mexico, and decided to make their start on
this project with a doubled tracks right next to a huge body of water
which is an important reservoir.

And this freight train shunting yard, this hazardous eye-sore, is to
be located right on the shores of the Presa Allende! Just across the
way is the original San Miguel Viejo. This change in character of the
San Miguel neighborhood was to take place without consultation with
residents or at any level of government!

Further, KCS has a track record which documents spills and resulting
lawsuits and also includes a negligence case resulting from a train
hitting a bus in Monterrey. We should also bear in mind that safety
regulations are far less rigorous in Mexico than in the US.

Railroads carry toxic cargo amongst other goods, and as such, the
shores of a lake make for a poor choice for a shunting yard and a rail
parking facility! Any spillage of something like oil, gasoline, or an
industrial solvent like toluene for example, would immediately drain
into the Presa Allende!

This man-made lake is an important water
supply, not only for San Miguel, but for communities further
downstream and major cities like Celaya. Indeed, the overflow from
the the Presa Allende feeds all the way to Lake Chapala. Patently, a
very large geographical area would be affected by any potential
contamination!

Not only would a spill impact many human lives, but wildlife and flora
would also be impacted. There are many birds, including flocks of
black wing Pelicans, fresh water birds which make their resting place
on this lake, returning nightly and leaving in the early morning sun,
dramatically flecked against the sky with white brilliance and black
under-wing markings. A toxic spill would be a major ecological disaster!

Are the interests of the historical community of San Miguel de Allende
well-served by the location of a railway shunting yard in the midst of
dwellings and an elementary school? Could Kansas City Railways
Southern, Mexico, not find another location without jeopardizing the
water supply of an important reservoir like Presa de Allende on which
many communities and waterfowl depend, for their very existence?

With powerful business interests at work, permissions may well be
granted at the Federal level, leaving the San Miguelenses helpless to
stop this business juggernaut! We need your help!

From newspaper reports, it appears that KCS has also run into protests
and problems building train marshalling yards in urban areas around
Monterrey, San Luis Potosi and Morelia. The protests in these areas
have resulted in the yards being removed from the immediate vicinity
of urban areas.

But as one resident put it: "This is not Monterrey or San Luis Potosi.
This is a suburban/rural neighborhood of one of Mexico's most
historic treasures, and should not be treated by any industrial
developer as though industrial development here is in the interest of
all Mexicans. That is outrageous!"

"Any development in this line will be detrimental to the special
nature of San Miguel de Allende, precious to all Mexicans and a
prospective World Heritage Site."

The President, no-less, of Kansas City Southern Railroads, Mexico (a
separate division of the US parent holding company), a certain Sr.Jose
Zozaya, has agreed to meet with the representatives of three
communities most directly affected, on Wednesday March 19th at 11:30
am. The meeting will take place at the Hotel Mision los Angeles
located at the entrance to Los Frailes.

We need you there at 12 noon to peacefully protest and make sure the
President of the railroad company gets our message! If you are
concerned about changing the character of San Miguel, if you are
concerned about possible toxic spillage into the Presa Allende, bring
your placards! Spread the word! Let's make KCS understand that if
they persist in blighting our community, they will be taking on a
public relations nightmare!

NO to Railroad and Freight yards in the historic and cultural city of
San Miguel !

NO to Toxic Freight cars parked on the shores of the Presa Allende !

Pierre Nel, reporting on behalf of
"Union de Residentes del Fraccionamiento Villa de los fariles, A.C." and
"Asociation de Colonos y Residentes del Fraccionamiento El Mirador, A. C."

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel de Allende: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

March 7, 2008--Immigration Conference promises to answer all our questions

I was thrilled that the new Immigration officials in SMA were going to speak at an Immigration Conference March 6 to answer all our questions on immigration issues. The Biblioteca, Atencion, and the city's Department of International Relations, Tourism and Economic Development were cosponsors.

Our hopes were too high. The only real news I heard was the statement of the new subdirector of the SMA Immigration office that the new minimum monthly income requirement for an FM3 is 13,147 pesos a month, and for an FM2 it is 21,036 pesos a month.

As I had posted here in December, 2007, the Mexico City minimum daily wage for 2008 is 52.59 pesos. The minimum monthly income level required for an FM3 is 250 times that, or 13,147.50 pesos a month. The minimum monthly income level for an FM2 is 400 times that, or 21,036 pesos a month. [This is a 4% increase over 2007.]

Using a 10.6 exchange rate, Norma and I figured out that the figures given for the required income levels for an FM3 translated to $1,240 USD a month now, and the amount for an FM2 is now $2,078 USD a month. We didn't hear  definitive numbers pronounced for future FM3 and FM2 applications and renewals, but they'll be in that ballpark.

All 88 seats of Teatro Santa Ana were filled. The young woman who is the new subdirector of the SMA Immigration was very impressive, but her talk covered primarily the basics of FMTs versus FM3s versus FM2s and inmigrado status, pretty much what we all know.

She went into the other categories of visas that are available, such as for students, athletes, reporters, politicians, "distinguished citizens" like someone coming in to give a speech, investors, etc. [If you're coming into Mexico in those categories, your sponsoring organization or your business lawyers have helped you get that kind of visa.]

A woman from the Guanajuato offices talked a little about the naturalization process of becoming a dual Mexican-US citizen, but it was very hard to hear her or the English translator, Miguel Kegel, and I didn't get anything out of that part of the presentation.

She did verify what we had already read, that you need to be on an FM2 before you can apply for citizenship (at one point you could apply after only five years on an FM3), and you can apply for an FM2 right away instead of going for an FM3. You can change your visa status at any time at the Immigration office. It is our responsibility to keep Immigration informed of changes in our status, such as when we stop working if we are on a work permit.

The main reason to go for an FM2 is that you have decided that you want to live in Mexico permanently. It is the step toward becoming an inmigrado, after five years on an FM2. Once you achieve inmigrado status you have all the rights and privileges of Mexican citizenship [except being able to vote or to hold a few security-type jobs], and once you have inmigrado status you don't have to renew yearly any more.

Some of the comments caused more confusion than before--the SMA presenter didn't understand a question from an FMT holder asking whether he needed to have an FM3 to sign a rental lease, for example.

At length we heard that if you own property and want to rent it out you definitely need an FM3 or FM2. Finally that was cleared up--someone on an FMT can indeed sign a rental lease on an apartment he or she finds to live in. That was the kind of misinterpretations the meeting suffered from. Someone here only on an FMT six-month tourist visa cannot earn any money while in Mexico.

The new subdirector did say that she was very aware that the process is disorganized and needs a thorough revision, and she hopes to improve it, and also to have a website where you can sign in and find out the current status of your applications and renewals. She wants to link it to the San Miguel city government site as well.

She spoke in Spanish and all the materials were in Spanish, so Miguel Kegel (general manager of the Biblioteca) translated along behind her, too. At times like this I become aware of how painfully inadequate my Spanish is. I couldn't follow a thing.

It was frustrating to try to figure out how the legalese translates into our daily lives. I had submitted four pages of questions for the panelists ahead of time to the three sponsors of the event but they were not addressed by the panelists.

We have to keep bumbling along trying to find out accurate information as best we can. We recieved no magic answers to all our questions this morning. Sigh.

Suzanne Ludekens, Editor of Atencion, one of the sponsoring organizations, addressed the participants before the panel arrived by saying that Mexican officials are not used to the kinds of audiences that many foreigners are used to, and to be respectful and gracious. The audience was.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

February 11, 2008--Starbucks signs go up on the Jardin

The rumors are true, Starbucks is definitely opening on the corner of Canal and Hidalgo, across from Banamex, right on the edge of our central park. Signs went up today, and I posted a photo of the signs on the Photo Gallery section of this website under Carol's Photos, SMA Scenes. I also sent it in to Atencion, which is going to print it on page three of this Friday's issue.

As usual a big part of the expat community is going nuts, not wanting Mexicans to have access to the same kinds of stores and services we've enjoyed all our lives in the US. And others are secretly anxious for Starbucks to open so that they can get their favorite kinds of coffee beans and coffee drinks.

And others, like me, think that it is up to Mexicans to decide what they want their cities to look like and whether they will welcome US chains with franchises into Mexico. Expats certainly aren't enough of a base for a major chain to decide to come into a town for us. it's the Mexican population that wants to have the same choices we've had in the US, whether we expats now think those were good choices or not.

The latest rumor I heard is that a Taco Bell will come into the Subway restaurant space on Juarez now that it is fairly certain Subway will close here! And I still don't have enough certainty that Wal-Mart is opening one of their lower end versions of Wal-Mart, an Aurrera Bodega, down by the station on the libramiento to the northwest.  We'll see.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

February 7, 2008--Expats get due recognition in first Global Primary

Here are the links and first paragraphs from the International Herald Tribune story:

Expat Democrats cast their votes in overseas primary

The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 6, 2008

>LONDON: Americans seeking a change in foreign policy and a new national image abroad flocked to churches in Rome, town halls in England and the Internet on Tuesday to vote in a Democrats Abroad primary.

>The voting will determine who gets the 11 votes allocated to Democrats Abroad at the Democratic National Convention in August. The group is allowing online voting - a first for voters overseas - that will continue for one week.

>Porchester Hall in central London was jammed with high-spirited voters Tuesday evening as rival groups backing Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama chanted and waved banners for their candidates.

>Republicans, meanwhile, made their choices known through absentee ballots and predicted their party would unite behind whomever is nominated and keep control of the White House.

>Most Democrats abroad focused on the razor's-edge contest between Clinton and Obama.....>

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/...a/overseas.php

I was thrilled to take part in the Global Primary by voting at the SMA Biblioteca Feb. 5. Democrats Abroad is now the largest organization in San Miguel, with 747 members. Last I heard, the local Republicans Abroad had 167 members--update me if anyone knows more current figures.

More than 500 people showed up at the Biblioteca to vote. More than 100 more voted online at www.democratsabroad.com. Most used the traditional method of requesting your absentee ballot from the state where you last voted and sending it back by mail. This idea of voting through Democrats Abroad was a whole new concept.

At the party that night at Milagro restaurant to watch election results on CNN, Bruce Rosswell and Gretchen Sullivan announced the vote totals from the day. I didn't write down the exact numbers but Obama got more than 300, Hillary got less than 200, and the other candidates still on the ballot got single digits.

I decided not to take photos at the party last night. Norma said I should first ask anyone whose photo I might post whether they have any objections to being outed as Democrats--conceivably someone might, and I'm not going to out anybody who needs to stay in the closet for any reason!

It was just people sitting and drinking and watching TV, nothing interesting or unusual. Boring photos. The lights were down so I would have needed a disruptive flash, no one else was taking any photos, and it was too crowded to move anyway. I wouldn't have wanted to lose my seat!

We got there at 7 sharp, thinking people would straggle in later in the evening when more election results were in, and all 140 seats were already full!

Three men offered me their seats, but we were hailed by some Canadians who were leaving soon, they just wanted to see how many turned out and what the mood was, and they gave us both good seats when they left. We got to talk in depth through the night to four people we didn't know, so that was fun, too.

We came home around 10 pm and watched MSNBC until California and Alaska were called. I love politics! Anyone who thinks expatriate is the same as ex patriot is badly mistaken.

One more point on crime: El Correo newspaper reported today that SMA Mayor Jesus Correa is asking the various city administrations in this region to jointly purchase a police helicopter, primarily to use for crimes by gangs (nothing disperses a crowd faster than a police helicopter hovering in close).

It seems obvious that the copter could be used in the drug cartel fight, going where the drug lords go by private planes, and also in surveillance for political violence such as the recent pipe line bombings near Celaya and throughout Mexico.  Correa is getting serious about cracking down on crime, too, following President Calderon's lead.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

February 2, 2008--More on crime after a policeman is murdered in nearby Celaya

I've been accused of being a pollyanna about crime in San Miguel, so it is fair that I also post these links, sent to me by someone who thinks expats need to realize crime is present even in SMA.

I still think crime, and the chance of an expat here being the victim of a crime, is far lower than in comparable US tourist cities that have a rapid turnover and high contrast between rich and poor. But crime is certainly here.

The victim served ten years on a drug charge in the US and returned to Mexico, where he received his police training in San Miguel before being hired by Comonfort. (Comonfort is a town between SMA and Celaya on the old highway, bypassed when the new highway opened.)

Police departments, including SMA, sometimes recruit former criminals and gang members that they think are rehabilitated and who they think will stay "straight" if given a good, respectable job. Not all do.

In the US it is also true that former crime specialists like hackers are sometimes hired by police and FBI and even corporate security departments, to bring their expertise over to the legal side.

Police in the US also try to recruit gang members that they think have the potential to do a turnaround and bring their own specialized knowledge and contacts over to the police.

Also in the US, drug users are often recruited as undercover police sources in return for reduced charges. There is no clear line sometimes in effective undercover police work, so we shouldn't be shocked by that.

It is also common for former Mexican police to go over to a criminal life if they are fired by a Mexican police department, bringing with them all their knowledge of police inner workings to make them better criminals.

And in many cases police are the criminals, just as the kidnapping victim's family in SMA charged that it was AFI behind the kidnapping. No wonder Mexicans do not routinely trust and cooperate with their police, an attitude confusing to many expats.

The 2,500 drug related-murders in the past year in Mexico are not just on the border and in Michoacan. In Oaxaca, which had just gotten favorable publicity on the return of tourism after the violent political demonstrations in 2006, the police chief and three others were killed in the park by the drug cartel. (Here's the link to that Oaxaca news story: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN30221209)

And here are the links to the articles in Spanish on the nearby Comonfort murder:

http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldelbajio/notas/n579032.htm

http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldelbajio/notas/n580182.htm

http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldelbajio/notas/n581260.htm

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

January 20, 2008--New location for getting a Mexican driver's license in SMA; Rumors of a Starbucks? Wal-Mart building one of its low-end stores here, an Aurerra Bodega?

First, the rumors of more big chains coming to SMA:

It seems somewhat definite that an Aurerra Bodega, a Wal-Mart aimed at lower-income Mexicans, is being built out by the train station at the end of Canal at the libramiento (the road that curves around most of the outskirts of SMA). Workers say it is an Aurerra, not a Wal-Mart, but Wal-Mex grew out of a chain called Aurerra that started some 50+ years ago, and it took the name Aurerra Bodega for its less expensive stores. Most stores in the chain are Wal-Marts, the luxury supermarkets are called Superamas, and I think there are also several other stores in the chain, including some clothing stores. Still, I don't have definite confirmation.

I'm not so sure about the Starbucks, though someone reputable told me and she had verified it with one of the organizations that fights this kind of development in San Miguel.

The Starbucks is supposedly going in right on the Jardin, in the now-empty clothing store on the corner of Canal and Hidalgo.  Since I haven't had any more confirmations of it personally, I'm leaving this one at rumor stage.

Some critics of SMA in the past have described scenes of our Jardin being filled with latte-sipping gringos, though I've always found the Jardin to be full of far more Mexican families with kids than with expats, and very rarely is anyone drinking any kind of coffees.

Usually Mexicans are chomping on burgers and ears of corn with mayo, cheese, lime and chile on them, or on fried pig skins or potato chips, and they're drinking sodas or licking ice cream cones from the Mexican vendors around the square.  Now maybe we will indeed see some latte-sippers.

I am sure the signage will be discreet, but there will be many upset at the presence of another chain in Centro.  A few years back, many were furious at the news a Dunkin' Donuts was coming into the Dolphy's ice cream store at another end of the Jardin. But when it happened, the Dunkin' Donuts sign was only within Dolphy's, visible only if you peeked into the store, and there was nothing on the street. It hasn't expanded to take over the Jardin as some feared, fearing that hot pink signs would erupt all over. 

When Subway arrived onto Juarez a few blocks from the Jardin a year or so ago, many expats were furious, but the sign was in discreet burnished brass, only a few feet wide and a foot or so high. You almost had to know it was there to find it. 

And now I see ads in Atencion that the Subway franchise is for sale, and the last time we went in, we couldn't get the full menu. Only ham, turkey and the day's special of meatballs were available for the sandwiches.  The Mexican sandwich shop on the same block, Tortitlan's, is still flourishing. US chains don't necessarily hurt Mexican businesses at all; sometimes the Mexican businesses meet customer needs better and survive just fine.

Another piece of documented news is that the procedures for getting a Mexican driver's license in SMA have changed.

December 26, 2007--Major change in path to Mexican citizenship; a major SMA realtor says charges of a soft housing resale market in SMA are overblown

An article in the Guadalajara Reporter confirmed what I had been hearing lately, that you cannot become a Mexican citizen after five years on an FM3 visa (which we have had for the past five years), you have to have been here for five years on an FM2 visa.

The minimum monthly income requirement for an FM2 is much more than the $1200 USD a month required for an FM3. According to what www.rollybrook.com says, the FM2 amount is about $1,650 a month, but some SMA residents report that they have been told $2,000 a month. You can apply directly to come into Mexico on an FM2 rather than an FM3 but five and a half years ago we had no thoughts of ever becoming duel citizens, we only considered the FM3 because that's what everybody said to get. We couldn't have qualified for FM2s on our Social Security income anyway.

So now we have to research more on this, but our hopes of applying for Mexican citizenship soon are over.  Below are the link and first paragraphs of the news story:

http://www.guadalajarareporter.com/fullcover.cfm?id=2

Becoming a Mexican citizen just became a whole lot more complicated

Story by : ALEX GESHEVA

>Thinking of making Mexico your permanent or semi-permanent home and
perhaps even applying for citizenship? Choose your paperwork wisely.

>A new, stricter application of immigration law in Mexico has cut off
the FM3 visa status pathway to applying for naturalization based on
>living in-country for five years.

>Just a few months ago, FM3 non-immigrant status could count towards
the five-year residency needed for Mexican citizenship. Now, only FM2
status holders need apply.

>"I'd like to emphasize for anyone who was advised differently prior
to October 15, which is when this change went into effect, that there
was no irresponsibility, bad faith or poor advice involved," said
Salvador Casian Santos, a foreign-service functionary and head of
Jalisco's Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores. "Lawyers and advisors
who told their clients differently were not at fault: they were
following accepted practice at that point."

>According to Casian, the law has not changed. The new measures will
simply "correct a previous inaccuracy in applying the law."
Casian's argument hinges on a redefinition of the concept of
residency. Based on a careful re-examination of Article 42 of the Ley
General, this interpretation holds that since FM3 visitors are non-
immigrants and therefore their stay in Mexico is temporary, they are
by definition not residents....>

That news story led to some homeowners speculating on whether the same redefinition of what constitutes a resident in Mexico will affect their capital gains taxes.  If you are only considered a resident if you are here on an FM2, capital gains taxes could be much higher for FM3 holders. But that question requires more research.

If you're buying or selling a house, of course get competent legal advice from at least one notario here. (A notario is a lawyer who has advanced training in dealing with government forms and regulations and who sets the amoutn of capital gains to be paid on a transaction--no resemblance to a US notary public.)

And if you're about to get or renew your FM3, consider carefully whether you might not want to become a dual Mexican citizen in five years or so, and consider getting an FM2 instead, if you qualify for the higher income level.  On an FM2 you cannot be out of Mexico for more than 180 days in the five years, and you cannot own a US-plated car, factors that might influence your long-range planning.

On a loosely related topic, is San Miguel experiencing a serious housing sales slump as much of the US is reporting? Richard McClarty, a founder of one of the major real estate companies in San Miguel, Select Realty, wrote this rebuttal on the Civil_SMA list and I asked his permission to reprint it here, since it goes against what most of us thought we knew.

He notes that the number of realtors in San Miguel has gone from 18 four years ago to more than 40! I thought there were more new real estate offices springing up than there were new art galleries. That is the big part of the problem, the same number of sales opportunities are now being spread among far more sales offices so of course each office has less sales.

I can't believe that this aging hippie radical would be encouraged by what a realtor said about the economy, but I am. He says that the days of the huge and rapid price jumps are probably over, but people should not think that if they buy a house in SMA they will never be able to sell if they change their minds. Here are his views, and he says to remember he does have a dog in this fight: 
 
>....As for the soft market in SMA, I think it needs to be put in
perspective. Four years ago there were roughly 18 real estate offices
in town; now at last count there were over 40, with more than 1/2 of
those having websites claiming to be the largest in San Miguel.
Simply applying the 80/20 rule says that 32 of these agencies are
selling basically nothing (one shut their doors last week) and if you
ask them how the market is, they of course will tell you it's horrible.

>I would suggest you talk to the 20%. I personally know of one that did
more this year than last, I will let you guess which :), and know of
another that sold a home in Los Frailes for full price on Saturday and
a couple of houses the week before that. The old school agencies that
refuse to adapt, continue to fight an all inclusive MLS, and do not
market are destined to have tough years and feel like the market has
died, when in fact it may be these particular agencies that have
fallen upon hard times.

>Are the days of buying a house, holding it a year, and then selling it
for a 60% profit, or building one and marking it up 100%, over? Most
likely. Though I think most knew that could not last forever.

>Having said that, homes that are priced right and given the proper
exposure and marketing are still selling quite well, though admittedly
maybe not at the pace of two years ago. I think it is a bit early to
throw dirt on the grave of this real estate market and am willing to
bet Liverpool, Mega, Rosewood, Orient Hotels, and others might tend to
agree with me. Take a quick look at the amount of Baby Boomers that
will be looking to retire in the next 10 years and I think you will
see where the optimism comes from.

>Of course, I have been wrong before and this is just one man's opinion
who admittedly has a dog in the fight.>

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

December 7, 2007--Luxury real estate development proposed for same property as recently discovered Otomi pyramid, using Otomi heritage as its selling point

I can't believe it, a new real etate development (announcement below) is proposed to include one of the recently discovered pyramids on the outskirts of San Miguel.

Don't pyramids belong to the ages? Shouldn't an area rich with archaelogical findings belong to a non-profit archaelogical organization that will protect the history? And the project dares to claim the name Otomi while using the Otomis' heritage as a selling point.

Can a realtor simply build 300 luxury homes around a pyramid and use the pyramid as a selling point? What about the undiscovered archealogical treasures that could be destroyed during construction? I've read that there is an ongoing fight right now trying to prevent the destruction of the pyramid area by real estate developers.

This announcement also claims that there are 15,000 Americans and 10,000 Canadians in San Miguel, which would be quite a feat since at high season there is a total of 12,000 foreigners in SMA, 70% from the US, 20% from Canada, and 10% from 31 other countries. No way are there 25,000 gringos in this small Mexican city of 80,000.

Also, this announcement brags that this development is the only one on the lake: >....We are the only project currently permitted to build in San Miguel that is ON THE WATER. There is a lake which you or your clients will have private access to via the clubhouse and a boat ramp maintained by the HOA....>

They don't mention that the lake has been a depository for raw sewage from the city for many decades and you surely don't want to do any water activities on it.

They assure potential buyers that >....The pyramid is located near the entrance of the property so it should not be a disturbance to the home owners....> How about the home owners' disturbance of the pyramid?

I'm thinking of how Mexico City utility workers stumbled upon a vast pyramid and archealogical treasures by accident when they were digging for utility lines, destroying some of the treasures by accident as they dug, not realizing what was below the surface of Mexico City, deliberately buried by the Spaniards as they erased the indigenous people's civilization.  Mexico City snapped to it and halted all work in the area, which is now the site of a museum and careful archealogical research, right next to the Zocalo in the heart of the city.

I can only hope that this big announcement will blow away like so many other massive developments have failed because they couldn't get financing, especially now in this housing slump.

And I can only hope that the newly discovered pyramid and all the other archaelogical riches undoubtedly surrounding a pyramid site are preserved somehow, as Mexico City preserved its new archaelogical richness, not used as a selling point for luxury homes on the same property.

Carol Schmidt

==========

The announcement, website at http://otomi-lv.com/Site/Home.html

Hi there,

This is Melissa Brown with Otomi Lake & Villas in San Miguel de
Allende.

Below you will find two separate links, one is to view our website
with information on our project and San Miguel de Allende. The Second
link is to view the floor plans and an overview of the property.
Before you enter our site I would like to take a moment to remind you
of what you may have found interesting about ourproject.

San Miguel de Allende currently is home to about 15,000 retired
Americans who have permanently relocated there. San Miguel de Allende
is also home to about 10,000 retired Canadians who have made it their
new home. Our project is going to be 270-320 single family
residences. You own the home with FEE SIMPLE TITLE.
Title Insurance policy is provided by Land Title here in the US
We have mortgage options available with 15% down.
Each home has a pool and terrace.
We are the only project currently permitted to build in San Miguel
that is ON THE WATER
There is a lake which you or your clients will have private access to
via the clubhouse and a boat ramp maintained by the HOA
We recently discovered a pyramid on our land which should be
uncovered within the next 5 years
The pyramid is located near the entrance of the property so it should
not be a disturbance to the home owners
Once this pyramid is uncovered it will create more draw to San Miguel
which will be a great selling point to your investors as property
values are anticipated to increase
The first 30 homes will be sold at a discount of about 10%!
Those of you familiar with San Miguel understand what an incredible
opportunity this is, make your reservations now and you will have 10%
equity in your new home before it is even built! If you are
interested in visiting San Miguel we do have on sight agents
available to give you and your clients a tour of the property and
what San Miguel de Allende has to offer. If you have any questions
or would like more detailed information please do not hesitate to
call. We willhave investor, retirement and owner occupant packages
available by the end of the month, if you are interested in one of
these packages please email me and let me know what you need.

Thank you for your time, happy holidays, and I look forward to
hearing from you.

href="http://otomi-lv.com/Site/Home.html"> http://otomi-
lv.com/Site/Home.html

http://teamgardner.com/view/mexico.pdf

Melissa Brown

Keller Williams

The Gardner Group

Otomi Lake & Villas

US (512)745-2671

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

November 19, 2007--San Miguel responds to the flooding in Tabasco and Chiapas; a few news notes from national media

www.atencionsanmiguel.org has the details of all the ways San Miguel is responding to the desperate situation in southern Mexico hit hard by rainstorms and mudslides, much of the state of Tabasco under water and hundreds of thousands left homeless. We're going to the Biblioteca's "Arte y Gastronomia for Tabasco" this afternoon, which is expected to raise $25,000 USD for the relief efforts. Please read the Atencion article for all the ways you can help.

The Jazz and Blues Festival, which I have highlighted on the Living in SMA forum, starts this week. Atencion also has the complete schedule. And the Wool and Tin Fair, Feria de Lana y Laton, opens in Plaza Civica this week, another must-see event where we buy many of our Christmas presents for those NoB.

Among the many news stories about Mexico that hit me this week was this article from the Austin Statesman and other papers that Mexico is getting angrier at the many new US state laws against undocumented workers from Mexico, which are being seen as racist and political maneuvering: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/world/11/17/1117immigmexico.html

At some point could there be retaliation against the immigrants from the US into Mexico as one way to get a reaction from the US?  If so, we expats don't really have much influence, since we come from voting districts all over the US, not one block.  Stay tuned to www.democratsabroad.com and www.republicansabroad.com. Norma says I worry needlessly, which is usually true.

The second story that grabbed me was an effort by some Mexican lawmakers to tighten the separation of church and state by revising the Mexican Constitution. Written in 1917 after the start of the 1910 Revolution against homegrown tyranny and oppression, the Contitution is so strongly against any power by the Catholic Church in particular that it has been condemned as anti-Catholic.  Not until 1992 were priests and nuns allowed to wear their religious garb in public, for example, and Fox was the first Mexican president in nearly 100 years who was allowed to be openly Catholic.  Now some fear that there is an intrusion into the public schools in particular, which are becoming more religious, and thus this article:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/16/america/LA-REL-Mexico-Church-State.php

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

October 15, 2007--Salvatierra does well with Running of the Bulls; my Atencion article on the "Ronald McDonald" family shelter at Hospital General and a tour of the hospital

El Correo newspaper reports today that La Marquesa, as the Running of the Bulls is being called now that it has moved to Salvatierra, went off successfully and hotels registered 80% occupancy. 

Officials did note that there was a lot of alcohol sales even right next to the event.  They may find out the hard way that it is more hassle than it's worth, and that only the hotels and restaurants profit while the rest of the city suffers, paying the added security and sanitation costs while reaping none of the benefits and all of the accompanying vice and mess.

The hotel and restaurant association of San Miguel probably will use Salvatiera's success with the event to complain even louder that Mayor Correa made a mistake in dropping the event. But they probably could have kept the event if they had been willing to pay their fair share of the additional costs for sanitation and security for 50,000 additional tourists that weekend. The fact that United Nations evaluators were in town that month deciding whether San Miguel should be awarded the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation was a major factor, however. SMA finds out next July whether we have succeeded.

Meanwhile, I went on a tour of the Hospital General Thursday and met the family of Luis Villarreal, the former SMA mayor who is now the federal senator from this area. His father and stepmother asked me to write up the tour for Atencion as well as for my website, and so I just submitted the article below to Atencion, which may or may not print it, this issue or next. (I'm still going to write the promised article on the Hospice program in San Miguel and on living wills--soon, soon.)

Hospital General’s 48-bed shelter for families

Of patients needs donations to open by winter,

Concept similar to "Ronald McDonald" houses

By Carol Schmidt

Families of patients at the new general hospital in San Miguel often arrive with no money, no food, no place to stay, and end up living on the lawns and in the parking lot while their family members are hospitalized.

Winter is coming, and administrators and doctors of the new hospital want urgently to have the new 48-bed family shelter next to the hospital to be open as soon as possible so that these families will not be sleeping outside in the cold. It is similar in concept to the Ronald McDonald houses at many U.S. hospitals.

About $45,000 USD is still needed to complete the family housing shelter, called the Alberque Dr. Xavier de la Torre. It has been built totally with private funding, at the north end of the Felipe G. Dobarganes Hospital General on the far side of the parking lot.

The hospital is located on Avenida Primero de Mayo, behind the prison and the court house. (To get there, drive out the Carretera de Queretaro to the first U-turn beyond Tuesday Market, come back around as if coming into San Miguel, and get into the right hand service drive. There is no sign on Avenida Primera de Mayo, but on one side of the street is the modern new white Alternative Justice building and on the left is a large Construrama sign. The hospital is a yellow-tan and bright blue one-story building nearly at the end of the boulevard.)

The shelter was dedicated in August but awaits interior completion. Projected cost for the shelter was $200,000, although the final cost may be higher, and $45,000 is still needed now to be able to open before the cold weather hits. Donations of blankets, twin sheets, pillows, living room furniture, televisions, toys, kitchen supplies and basic food items like beans and rice are also needed.

Checks may be made out to  Patronato del Hospital General de San Miguel de Allende (US dollars are fine) and brought to Alberto Villarreal Sautto, Director del Patronato, at Casa Canal, Canal 3, across from Banamex. (Villarreal is the father of former SMA mayor Luis Villarreal, now the federal senator for this district.)  Call Carmen Villarreal at 152-1098 about other donations.

Villarreal; Jorge Vidargas Rojas, M.D., the director of the hospital; and Thom Kandell, M.D., a volunteer physician who is a board certified internist and urgent medicine specialist, led a tour of the hospital and shelter October 11.

The 60-bed hospital includes three operating rooms and ten beds in the ER. It is open to both Mexican citizens and foreigners alike. The general hospitals are meant primarily for those covered by Seguro Popular, the Mexican insurance plan that covers the 60% of the population that is not covered by IMSS (Instituto Mexicano de los Seguros Sociales). It is part of the Ministry of Health of the State of Guanajuato.

Only 5-6% of the income received by the local hospital stays with the hospital; the rest, and donations made directly to the hospital, go to the State of Guanajuato and may be distributed to other hospitals considered more needy.  The hospital costs $300,000 USD a month to run, and it is still heavily subsidized by the State.

Donations made to the Patronato instead stay in San Miguel--the purchased equipment and supplies are loaned by the Patronato to the hospital and thus cannot be sent to other areas.

It is a level two hospital, level one being health centers, and level two being the general hospitals.  The third level is the specialized hospitals that can perform more advanced surgeries. Patients who come into the SMA hospital with a heart attack, car accident or other serious condition will be stabilized and, if additional care is needed, they will be transported to level three hospitals in Celaya or Leon.

A social worker will interview patients without Seguro Popular to determine their ability to pay, and there are ten financial levels that determine how much a hospital stay will cost. (The basic ER cost is 63 pesos.) The hospital pharmacy provides very low cost prescriptions for medications ordered by hospital doctors.

The hospital replaces the older Hospital General on Relox, which is now empty.  “We now serve a population of as much as a half million people,” Dr. Kandell said. “We draw patients not only from the 80,000 residents of urban San Miguel and the 60,000 who live in nearby towns and villages, but from a much larger rural area. These are the patients who often arrive with no money and their families have no money for hotels or food while they are with their hospitalized family members.”

The hospital is “a work in progress,” Dr. Kandell said.  “We don’t truly have an ICU.  A true ICU requires specialists and trained nurses on duty 24/7. We need to have nurses in an ICU who will not only call a doctor and say, ‘this patient looks bad,’ but can say, ‘this patient is throwing PVCs and should we start lidocaine?’”

Staff physicians at the hospital earn about 18,000-20,000 pesos a month, or under $1,740 a month, $400 a week, $20,880 a year. Dr. Kandell noted that they could be earning $200,000 USD if they were a US doctor. Registered nurses earn 8,000 to 10,000 pesos a month, half what the staff doctors make. They could be making $80,000 USD a year if they were a US nurse, Dr. Kandell added. “They don't have the money to pay for their own certification programs or continuing education classes.”

There is only one board-certified cardiologist in San Miguel, and no certified pathologist, Dr. Kandell said. “Biopsies must be sent out of San Miguel.”

The hospital is fairly well equipped, and now the major shortage is in trained personnel, he said.  A patient cannot bring in any private physician, the physician has to be certified or registered and willing to work under the direction of physicians who have been admitted to the hospital staff, just as in the US.

There are eleven pre-graduation medical interns who assist the surgeons in the operating rooms, which often operate around the clock. More than 60 doctor specialists work at the hospital, and many are bilingual.

The hospital has an MRI machine, a digital X ray room (the only one available in San Miguel), a laboratory and pharmacy, an outpatient area, and a childbirth and ob/gyn area. Pediatrics and orthopedics are among other specialties of the hospital. The laboratory operates 24/7 but is open for use by the general public 8-10 am weekdays.

“The concept of the shelter for patients’ families is relatively new to Mexico, as is the recognition of the need for a waiting area for families of patients undergoing surgery. Families often waited in hallways to find out how a patient was doing during and after surgery,” Dr. Kandell said as he showed visitors the hospital facilities. 

“We also have a room for physicians to consult and to do research and fill out paperwork, rather than having to work in the halls themselves.” There is a real sterilization room for hospital equipment and linens, he pointed out.

All of the 60 beds are in wards, except for an isolation area, and the hospital administration is attempting to get some private rooms, which might be more conducive to drawing some patients.

“Let’s face it, many expats move to Mexico because it is cheaper,” Dr. Kandell stated.  “But we need to be part of our communities. Almost all of us are in the top 15% economic level of San Miguel, and we have a responsibility to give our time and our money to improve our community, to make it desirable to live here for all of us.

“If you plan to live here, you have to deal with the reality of Mexico, you have to get involved. We can’t leave these families living in the parking lot this winter.”

October 9, 2007--Car theft, vandalism in Col. San Antonio

I heard today of the theft of a friend's car from Esperanza Street in Col. San Antonio, near Refugio, around 6:30 am this morning.  It's a 1989 Nissan, locked, no alarm system on, and it was parked in front of her house with many other newer cars around.  Police told her it might have been targeted specifically for parts--I know in the US there were gangs who would go around stealing specific cars for specific mechanics' parts needs and the same is liekly to be true here. She said she was treated very nicely at the District Attorney's office where you must go to report a crime, though they asked her what she felt were unnecessary questions about her deceased parents, etc. The preventiva police came to her door to find out what they could to help stop further crimes in the area--Col. San Antonio is experiencing a rash of car vandalism and thefts of stereo systems around that area. Two US-plated new cars had their windshields smashed with nothing taken.  I've heard from several sources that police have a good idea who is the young man committing these vandalisms but he is underage and is being protected by family and neighbors.

It only takes one or two criminals to create a crime spree. Meanwhile, if you live in that area of Col. San Antonio (a few blocks north of Kike's supermarket) be aware and always put on your car alarm and put your car inside if at all possible, and don't let a stereo or GPS system or other valuables show.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

October 7, 2007--Presentation on DIF city social service programs

The lead story in the latest Atencion, online at www.atencionsanmiguel.org, details all of the city social service programs offered in San Miguel under DIF, Family Social Services, most of which I had no idea existed. I knew only of the expat-organized volunteer organizations doing similar kinds of work. 

For example, I knew that Casita Linda had built something like 17 houses so far, at a cost of $1,500 for a 12x14-foot poured cement standard house with a water storage tank on the roof utilizing rain water collection. The city's Mi Casa DIFerente program has built 55 houses so far this year with at least 30 more expected to be completed within 2007.

According to Chris Finkelstein, the Mi Casa program received 160,000 pesos in donations the day of the city's presentations in English for the expat community, and that the $16,000 USD combined with matching state and federal funds meant 35 families "will have their lives changed forever."

The city delivers exactly the amount of materials needed to construct each house to the site, and the family and friends must largely construct the house themselves, meaning that they will feel vested in the house and responsible for its upkeep.

A volunteer from Casita Linda who was talking to Chris said that one problem they face is getting the communities to actually get involved in the construction. Too often it is Casita Linda volunteers who are doing all the work--the people have no idea what to do with these strange tools and materials, or how to even get started building the houses. 

The Mi Casa DIFerente houses, now in eight poor communities, all are in areas with running water so that there are complete bathrooms. The houses are slightly bigger and have two bedrooms and a kitchen-dining room-living room area as well as the bathroom.

I was very impressed by the "before" photos of where these families had lived, pretty much in shacks with tarp roofs and maybe corrugated tin or cardboard sides. Now they have neat and tidy cement block homes with a window and a locking door, features they never had before. The same is true of the families who receive Casita Linda new homes.

"There is so much need that volunteer organizations are important to reach more of the 530 rural communities that are also part of San Miguel," said Patricia Gutierrez Rebollo, president of the DIF board, in introducing the meeting. "We are all doing as much as we can but we cannot reach everyone, we have not reached all 530 communities. We need more volunteer involvement, both with DIF programs and with other organizations."

By tradition and by law in San Miguel, the mayor's wife is the president of the DIF board, and Gutierrez thanked her husband, Mayor Jesus Correa, for the opportunity to become involved in the programs.  She presented the overview of DIF programs Oct. 3 for the foreign community. She gave the DIF annual report to the entire city Sept. 19.

The DIF gets 80% of its money from San Miguel, 15% from the state of Guanajuato and the federal government, and 5% from donations. Finkelstein's wife Gabriela Bibriesca is the DIF director. Dozens of staff members and volunteers attended the Oct. 3 meeting at Teatro Angela Peralta, which reached about 70 expats in the audience.

Here are some of the statistics about DIF's work as tabulated in Atencion: 542,800 breakfasts were served; 114,516 people received provisions in 46 rural areas; 1,155 people received free medicine while 4,622 received medicine at reduced prices; 457 elderly people received winter clothing; 700 blankets and shawls were distributed; 294 street children took part in a rehabilitation program, and nearly 100 children received scholarships totaling 229,680 pesos allowing them to continue beyond the sixth grade.

First Lady Gutierrez announced that the SMA DIF could receive a million pesos from the state of Guanajuato for a geriatric center, but SMA needs matching funds, particularly the land for the building. Some of the programs for the elderly include exercise classes, occupational therapy and workshops.  Street children who are begging are offered the chance to join Casa Esperanza, resume schooling, and learn new ways of living.  She asked that expats and tourists not give money to begging children.

There is also a daycare center for 240 children under age five, and that center has a long waiting list. Another DIF project is CENAVI, Center for Attention to Violence Against Children, that gives medical and financial help and counseling to families suffering domestic violence. Many families are also taught proper nutrition.

In one example of how expat-run charitable groups and the city groups can differ, the Feed the Hungry program gives thousands of breakfasts in schools each year, as does the DIF program. But the city program charges one peso a meal so that people will learn that they have to help, nothing is for free. Feed the Hungry, meanwhile, does not charge for its school breakfasts, and so some communities want Feed the Hungry programs rather than the city services, the two officers of DIF told the Atencion reporter.

So many more social service programs are run by the city's DIF agency, and I was glad to learn about them.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

October 1, 2007--El Correo newspaper leads with article on organized crimes, kidnappings hitting Quanajuato State

El Correo's lead story today is that organized crime, including drug trafficking and kidnappings, is now part of the reality of Guanajuato state, and the two recent kidnappings of rich Mexicans in San Miguel are also mentioned.

Below is an online translation of the article, as usual pretty garbled but you get the idea, plus the link to the original in Spanish.

There's a map of the state of Guanajuato with the number of these crimes for each city as part of the article, and "only" the two kidnappings are listed for San Miguel. But note the crimes in nearby Celaya and Comonfort.

The story doesn't mention this, but kidnappings are a frequent way of raising money in Mexico.  They are rarely reported to police and media because families want to handle the matter quietly, as the kidnappers demand, for fear their family member will be killed.

Rich Mexicans are the ones who are targeted, not gringos. The rich families often have extensive bodyguards around them, and the big black SUVs park outside the schools waiting for the rich kids to come out. Sometimes caravans of the big black SUVs with dark tinted windows come into SMA on weekends bringing the "juniors," the kids of the wealthy Mexico City families.

There have also been cases of phony kidnapping calls, some made from inside prisons, to families demanding so much money be put into a certain account within half an hour or their kid will be killed--and the caller has no idea of the kid's name or whereabouts. Some such calls have been received when the allegedly kidnapped child is right there with the parent when the call comes in.

San Miguel has nowhere near the kinds of organized crime, and all kinds of crime, for that matter, than US tourism cities of similar size. But high turnover, relaxed vacation attitudes, and an influx of wealth make tourist cities attractive targets.

I still feel safer walking the streets of San Miguel than I did anyplace else I've ever lived (except in rural Michigan, and then I found out that TImothy McVeigh and the other Oklahoma City bombers often visited the Michigan Militia member who lived next door to us, so I should have been the most scared there of all places.) Seven rival gangs operated in our area of Los Angeles and drug murders were common, including the one that happened in our back yard when we were out of town that weekend. The US TV news shows this weekend mostly led with the news that violent crime is way up all over in the US.

But I thought forum members should know that the Guanajuato newspaper has this as the lead story today. Residents and visitors should at least know what is happening around them, even if the likelihood any of us will be touched is extremely unlikely.

http://www.correo-gto.com.mx/notas.asp?id=42284

Drug trafficking and plagios, the other face of the status

Monday, October 01, 2007

Guanajuato takes part in the geography of organized crime; The fight for plazas is right now a reality

Guanajuato is a part of the geography of the organized crime at the country, not only for drug trafficking but also for kidnappers' bands.

That way the presence confirms it that they had at León's, Sandra's municipality Ávila Beltrán The Queen of the Pacific Ocean and your bridegroom the Colombian capo Juan Diego Espinoza Ramírez The Tiger, captured for the Republic's General Attorney's Office ( PGR ) and considered the link between the narcos of Colombia and Juárez's and Sinaloa's Mexican cárteles.

The dispute for the control of the local plazas has generated hard confrontations not only between powerful groups, violence is enough also to little salespeople or narcomenudistas.

These fights have collected already an invoice with bloody balances. 2007 have committed in Guanajuato17's status executions that relate with the drug trafficking themselves in the course of this.

Cuerámaro, Pénjamo, Celaya, Uriangato, León, Silao and Guanajuato, they are municipalities where organized crime has committed murders for adjustments of accounts and quarrels of plazas.

The first adjustment got registered on January 8 in Sauz's Pre-Situated community, Pénjamo's municipality. There Ezequiel Valence Valence, former chief of police in Apatzangán, Michoacán.

They related their crime with drug trafficking and The Bald Persons' band; The man received several shots. The January 17 in Uriangato they found the cadaver with a throw in María Clara Zavala Calderón's head, investigations indicated that it was dedicated himself to sell drug.

His mother and a sister, to dispute the plaza at that zone were implicated in the fact. The January 22 on the road Silao Comanjilla was executed Luis angel Herrera Hernández.

His cousin and other ones two individuals were implicated, in this case dedicated themselves to the sale of drug. El January 27 at the municipality of Pénjamo, in the limits with Michoacán, they appeared once angel Villa Cortez's bodies were executed in the inside of a jeep, Juvenal Martínez Smart and Leonardo Ochoa López.

These were from Zamora, Michoacán and dedicated themselves to the sale of cellular phones. They were the February 26 in Cuerámaro once brothers Juvenal were executed and Ramón León Martínez.

The authorities related the double crime with drug trafficking. The March 18 in Celaya was a young man of 16 years in a narcocasa of cologne executedly The Forest; In the meantime the March 27 in Pénjamo, The Garbancero, leader executed José Manuel Ramírez Macías of one kidnappers' band The Garbanceros and once the drug trafficking was linked of the Cártel of the Gulf.

The April 29 in cologne The Biznagas in Guanajuato, the taxi driver Serafín González Vargas was principal murdered of a stab. The police indicated then that apparently he dedicated himself to the sale of stressing.

The July 5 in Celaya was executed Jaime Martínez Romero, of 17 years, in the inside of a supposed narcocasa of cologne Ejidal. The July 10 Luis Manuel Negrete Navarro of 32 years, was found floating on the river Lerma in the limits of Michoacán.

You had a shot in the head and the tied hands. It is presumed that he was raised in the community Little Furnaces, in Michoacán. The August 2 at Pénjamo's municipality appears executed Luis Enrique Galeana Tavárez, native of Guerrero.

You had a short time of residing in Pénjamo and according to the police the rival had gotten to commerce in a group. The August 10 two cadavers with the throw of wit be located at a farm under construction in Valle of Santiago.

One was César Adrián Gómez Torres of 19 years and Roberto Castro Lara of 38. The General Attorney's Office of Justice ( PGJE ) he reported that of the State double execution was an apparent adjustment of accounts between drug traffickers.

The August 19 in León is executed José Alfredo Busani López. Your offender dedicated himself to the sale of drug; A few days later, the August 29 in Irapuato, Héctor Manuel Franco Moreno, at streets is slain of cologne angels.

The PGJE related the fact like a settling of accounts for the fight of territories. They execute the September 5 in Cuerámaro to Héctor Salgado Ortega, brother-in-law of the drug trafficker Bonifacio Negrete Rivas, captured weeks before crime.

The authorities indicated the participation in a brother's that act of murder of the very executed for the dispute of territories.

The NARCO's ANOTHER FACE
The southern municipalities not only register the bigger number of the executions, but also they have committed the bigger number of kidnappings or free rides. Of the nine happened in Guanajuato so far in the year, two registered in Allende's San Miguel ( north of the status ), while the seven remainders were in Pénjamo ( two cases ), Apaseo the Grande, Jerécuaro, Comonfort, Yuriria and Moroleón themselves.

The first kidnapping of the year was the one belonging to a dealer on January 27 in Santa Ana Pacueco, Pénjamo. The prisoner Jorge Báez Vega, alias The Jorgillo, integrating of the band was The Garbanceros, who already formally is imprisoned in Pénjamo's Cereso for this case.

The June 16 was hostage Mario Rosas Delgado, brother-in-law of Comonfort's former mayor, who was freed a week after. Four people, those who already are subject to a penal process at Comonfort's court were detailed for this plagio.

Ronaldo Tinoco, delegate of the community The Limestone Quarry in Yuriria, the July 7 also you were a victim of a free ride. The man was plagiado for a group armed apparently derived with a problem by a settling of accounts and bad business between drug traffickers.

The most recent case happened in Jerécuaro September 21 where a supposed farmer after one was informed of of that the chicken farmer was, that he was hostage of and two days after liberated you in Salvatierra, never it informed myself if rescue was surrendered.

THEY UNHINGE BAND
Almost the PGJE captured seven presumed kidnappers that for a long time operated principally south of Guanajuato and to endings of last August they claim 10 plagios for themselves at least, but besides he got information than that group of organized delinquency The Chapo Guzmán Loera Entre managed for the capo Joaquín prisoners a former army officer is and they were captured at Irapuato's and Celaya's cities.

The band was conformed by Eber Leonel Salazar, Jesús Antonio García Jiménez, Jesús Manuel Mendoza Rojas, Jesús Salazar Rocha, Jorge Alberto Zavala Orozco, José Alberto Medina and José Manuel Félix Uberta.

All of them received the boss's orders or little head of the band, Bonifacio Negrete Rivas THE Boni, prisoner weeks after than your accomplices during an operation that The Ministerial police at Irapuato's city held.

After, Julio César Rodríguez García, Juan Loyola Sánchez and César Augusto Durán Ruiz would fall also. He finds this band standing trial at present by the crimes of kidnapping and association delictuosa.

Drug trafficking and kidnapping in Guanajuato are a lucrative business for the organized crime whose real presence has passed over the official discourse affirm that Guanajuato is a safe entity.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

September 8, 2007--Listing of Independencia events in Atencion, hotel association members complain about unfair competition from those not paying taxes

This week www.atencionsanmiguel.org has a great lead story on the upcoming Independencia events, including many from the other nearby cities that were significant in the 1810 declaration of the revolution against Spain.

They promise that next issue they will have the calendar of events for the rest of the month--Independencia celebrations in Mexico run a month, not the mere July 4 of the US, and in SMA they crescendo with even more festivities around the feast day of our patron St. Michael the Archangel the end of September.

How many tourists will come to town for these events? As I noted in my last post, there are many concerns that tourism is down. Here are the links to two Spanish-language articles on the problems faced by legitimate hotels and B&Bs that register with Hacienda (like the US IRS) and pay their taxes, while the illegal ones can charge less because they don't:

http://www.correo-gto.com.mx/notas.asp?id=39303

http://www.correo-gto.com.mx/notas.asp?id=39470

Someone sent me the links in response to my letter in Atencion asking whether lower-priced hotels and B&Bs in SMA are also experiencing slowdowns in tourism.

The hotel association members in SMA blame competition from all those hotels and B&Bs that do not pay taxes and thus can undercut the tax-paying businesses. Some 50% of the rooms in SMA are not registered with Hacienda.

The association is angry that last year some 100 identified owners of such illegal hotels and B&Bs were sent letters demanding that they register with Hacienda, and only two did so. There has not been sufficient follow-through on the remaining known 98.

(They are also still angry at the cancellation of the Sanmiguelada as hurting their businesses.)

Leon and Guanajuato hotel owners are also angry at the unfair competition in their cities by hotels and B&Bs that do not pay taxes.

Meanwhile, as always there are rumors of kidnappings and other serious crimes in San Miguel that cannot be confirmed. As in the US and more so in Mexico, families of kidnapping victims often do not go to the police or the media because of the demands of the kidnappers, and even if a successful outcome can be negotiated, the family often still fears repercussions if they report the crime to the police or tell reporters.

There are many books, articles, and a few films that talk about the different ways Mexicans sometimes react to crimes--in the past at least, often it was the police who were involved in the kidnappings anyway. Much progress is being made in the professionalization of police forces across Mexico, who are starting to be paid a minimum wage so that they don't have to rely on bribes to support their families. 

Lives hang in the balance in kidnappings. It is not a matter of Nancy Grace proclaiming that the public's right to know overrules the family's right to do everything they can to save the life of their loved one.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

September 3, 2007--The truth about the Beat writers in San Miguel; Where have all the tourists gone? What about this heavy rainy season? And yet another murder of a Mexican woman

Harry Burrus sent me his research into the Beat Generation writers and their supposed close connections to San Miguel de Allende. Despite our wish that it were so, that SMA's lusty, eccentric past included these lusty, eccentric writers all living and working here together, it isn't. Burrus notes that all of the writers wrote in detail about where they were every moment of their lives, and few of them were ever in San Miguel.

But first a couple of other news notes.  The lead story on www.atencionsanmiguel.org this week is, "Where have all the tourists gone?"  I was asked by reporter Jesus Ibarra if I'd noticed a downturn on our website, and of course we haven't. A year ago we were at zero members when we started over after the hackings, and now we have 367 members and 82,000 hits to the website.  But the Atencion article was a comparison over the past two years, and my quote didn't really apply.

Many of the luxury hotels are experiencing a decline in tourism this year, and the numbers attending the Biblioteca's House and Gardens Tour are down more than a thousand over the same time last year. The article notes that many other colonial cities are draining tourism from SMA now, and their luxury hotels are cheaper than our luxury hotels (the top rate in SMA is about $300 a night). The reasons for the decline include, besides our higher luxury hotel prices, the problems US citizens are having getting passports that are now required to reenter the US, and the exaggerated crime news that makes it sound as if everyplace in Mexico is like the drug cartel centers.

I wrote a followup letter to the editor suggesting that another major reason is the political fomenting of anti-immigrant sentiment in the US this presidential campaign, which many commentators note slides over into anti-Mexican sentiment.  Also, I suggested that the inexpensive hotels should have been surveyed to see if they also are experiencing any decline in tourism.  People in the under $60 rooms aren't spending as much per person during their vacations, but there are a whole lot more of them, and their spending adds up, too.

Last week's Atencion led with reports of our heavier than usual rainy season this year, which has caused officials to let water down over our dams to keep the lake and river levels normal.  The rains were so bad recently in the nearby town of Los Rodriguez that rescue teams from San Miguel brought supplies for those who were rained out of their homes. The good side of all this rain, besides long term help for our groundwater reserves, is that the countryside is such a beautiful lush dark green.

Another local Mexican woman was murdered in the past few weeks, this time a young SMA secretary who took a motorcycle ride out to a nearby town with two men, where she was shot in the head. A policeman happened to be in the area and heard the shots and the motorcycle sounds, and the suspect is in jail.

Now, on to the accurate history of the Beat writers in San Miguel:

The Beat Saga

By Harry Burrus

Three years ago Susan Page told me about the SMA Beat connection and a Beat party they were planning here. I asked her what she believed the connection was and she related what she had heard and she'd just assumed it were true. I then responded questioning the claims and giving my reasons why Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Cassady couldn't have been here together at the stated time. I would love for it to be true (for a number of reasons) but the data just doesn't support the connection.

A while back I had written my friend Arthur W. Knight about this very San Miguel Beat connection claim, giving him the story, and detailing why I questioned the accuracy of the connection. Arthur had written two books about the Beats. He, in turn, contacted a Beat scholar in Chicago and one in London. All agreed with my assessment.

I have included an attachment that I put together that chronicles Kerouac's trips to Mexico.

I wrote the below as a telepathic response to your The Beats, a definite part of San Miguel history (website forum post by Carol Schmidt September 2, 2007). Of course my words were a quick top of the head overview. There is so much more that chronicles where Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs were during the '50s and '60s -- the time period covered -- but I won't go into particulars now.

BTW, there is a lot of misinformation passed about regarding the Beats being in SMA. It has become one of those situations that, if something is said often enough, people accept it as fact.

Yes, Cassady died here (but not hit by a train). The major Beat players--Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs--were never in San Miguel at the same time as is often claimed.

Ginsberg was here once in May of 1954 for no more than two nights. Kerouac and Ginsberg (after Howl) and Corso were together in Mexico City in November of 1956. Burroughs was in Mexico City (1949-1952). Kerouac came to Mexico City seven times. Cassady drove him to Mexico City in June of '50 and November of '52 (so Kerouac, Cassady, and Burroughs were in Mexico City).

However, Ginsberg, Cassady, and Kerouac were never in San Miguel together as some have stated. When Road came out in September of '57 Kerouac did not travel anywhere (other than the Steve Allen show) until he went to Ferlinghetti's cabin on Big Sur in 1960. There is nothing to substantiate that Kerouac was ever in San Miguel.

The Beats were avid letter writers in addition to maintaining journals. They diligently documented their daily lives and we have their ample paper trail (books) to know where they were and when.

The publication of the On the Road Scroll shows everything intact (aside from the very ending) as Kerouac wrote it with original names and all -- not the edited '57 Viking version. The Scroll version is receiving very favorable reviews.

KEROUAC IN MEXICO CITY

Research by Harry Burrus

He went seven times and the length of his stay varied.

1^st) 1950: Age 28. (Late June – end of summer/early fall[Oct?]) Their last great trip together. Cassady drove him from Denver via Laredo in June of 1950, arriving about June 24th. En route met Mexican boy Gregorio who rolled huge bombers. That journey is portrayed in the last section, Part Four of On the Road. Frank Sheperd went with them. They rented an apartment next door to Burroughs: Cerrada de Medellin. Kerouac smoked a lot of dope.

1952 [twice]: Age 30. The Cassadys took him in late May of ’52 2nd)) and he entered through Nogales. Bus trip in Mexico meets his example of the fellaheen, Enrique. May and June he writes Dr. Sax. 210 Orizaba Street. Left a little after July 3.

3rd)) He returned again in December of '52 (Neal drove him). Stayed in small adobe room on the roof of 210 Orizaba Street, but left before Christmas.

4th) 1955: Age 33. Back again in early August of 55. Hitchhiked to Texas then bus to Mexico City (begins Tristessa, part one - Trembling and Chaste). Rented same rooftop aptartment on Orizaba Street above Bill Garver’s apartment. Falls for Esperanza, Garver’s connection and the widow of Burrough’s former connection Dave Tercerero. During August and first half of September he writes Mexico City Blues. Leaves September 9. Bus to El Paso then hitched to Los Angeles. Destination San Francisco and Ginsberg.

5th) 1956: Age 34. Late September. After his job as a forest ranger during the summer of ‘56 he returns to Mexico City and stays two months. On rooftop above Garver. Completes Tristessa and begins Desolation Angels. Ginsberg and company visit, arriving around November 7th. He returns to the states with Ginsberg, Peter, Lafcadio, and two others.

6th) 1957: Age 35. Left for Mexico July 23 – Learned Bill Garver died – stayed only ten days and returned to States early/mid Aug. .

7th) 1961: Age 36. Late June 1961 flies to Mexico City. Extends Desolation Angels. Stays in the apartment beneath Burroughs’ old duplex on Cerrra de Medellin. Writes Cerrada Medellin Blues. Wrote An American Passed Here. Flies home in early August.

Thanks, Harry! Now it will be interesting to see if this research actually counteracts the less-than-accurate legends about the Beats' supposed stays in San Miguel.

Carol Schmidt, Falling...in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security

August 12, 2007--Murderer caught, confesses to Parque Juarez death

This crime story continues to have San Miguel residents concerned because it happened right in Parque Juarez in Centro. Parque Juarez was not in particularly good shape when we moved here five years ago, but Friends of the Parque, the SMA Garden Club and the city have invested considerable time and money into making it a real showcase and a community focal point. The children's playground equipment is extensive and the basketball courts are always in use. The kiosk is used for musical events. Artists show their work on weekends and sculptures are displayed throughout the park. It is a favorite spot for expats and Mexicans alike.

That is why everyone in the city was shocked to hear of the murder of a woman in the park June 30, her half-naked body left on display. I described the first news stories in an earlier entry. Mexican newspapers printed photos of her body on the front page, and rumors went all over town, mainly disparaging the woman, at first reported as in her early 20s. And then the woman's expat employers spoke up and described her as "bright, eager, competent, hard working, wholly honest and extremely responsible." Hermelinda Frias Mendoza was 43 and the mother of a 19-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter who were in Dallas working with their father, her husband of 25 years.

The murderer, Alfredo Bonilla Godinez, 33, was caught and confessed, after police interviews with 12 witnesses and crime scene analysis. He was a guitar player in a local bar and allegedly had had an affair with Frias Mendoza, and he went with her to the Parque early Saturday morning to talk over their problems. He hit her, she struck her head, he raped her (using a condom he took with him) while she was unconscious and then strangled her.

This horrible crime has shaken many in San Miguel. The last disturbing incident, the boy who fell down the mine shaft in Pozos, has raised many questions for his family, who posted an open letter in the current Atencion (www.atencionsanmiguel.org).

After thanking all of those who helped in the recovery of their son's body from the treacherous mineshaft, they wrote, "We are troubled by some of the things that we have been told: that change comes slowly in Mexico, that hands are tied, that there are complex cultural and legal roadblocks to eliminating overtly dangerous tourist areas." 

They call for more publicity about the dangers of open mineshafts in what is a tourism area: "The host has a duty to inform...Mexican officials should consider legislation that acknowledges the need to protect unsuspecting guests from known hazards, instituting minimum safety standads where tourists are encouraged to atte