This is how they promote the outdoor grilled chicken shop in downtown Ajijic. Notice he is literally dancing in the street? Annoys some of the local drivers (Mexicans), who occasionally swerve towards him...

Because we are outside of town we missed yet another fiesta extraordinaire. On January 20th the patron saint of Ajijic, San Sebastien, was celebrated. A whole day event, I didn't find out about it until too late. There was a huge display of art at the Plaza, a parade with floats and confetti, wonderful local food and drink of all kinds, ending up with live music and street dancing in Centro. Oh well - next year for sure!

As promised, I will share some current information about crime and corruption in the area as reported in the Guadalajara Reporter. As mentioned in a previous post, there's been a substantial increase in local robberies and home invasions in recent months. With the change in administration December 1st on many government levels, criminals have taken advantage of the "grey zone" between the election of new people and the actual taking of office (not to mention the extended time it takes to put anything new into practice here). One new program is having mixed success. A mandate to test all current police officers for competency is a good idea - but the newspaper reported that 33% of Guad. cops failed and have been dismissed as unfit for service. In Jalisco as a whole the number is 35%. The tests include drug tests, lie detector, medical and psych among others. Failing officers, not due to drugs or affiliations with organized crime, are being reassigned to desk jobs when possible. According to stats from the state's Attorney General's office, a staggering 75% of pending crime cases are "shelved" which has the effect of  encouraging criminals to carry on business as usual (thus the huge swell in the number of home robberies in the area - my conclusion).

An example specific to Ajijic was recently in the news. A well known, long established restaurant in the area was abruptly demolished on 1/15. Local folks had lots of questions, as the owner and family were well liked in the area by many long-time residents. As reported by the Guad. Reporter, the owner of the restaurant had been in a legal battle with the owner of the land it was on for over 7 years, with suit after counter suit being filed in court. When all had run its course in the courts the judge asked him to vacate the premises voluntarily (that was in September last year!) and he refused. What we do know is that the part of the property that they were operating on was sitting on a section of land that was public access, and so they never had any legal claim to it. How were they able to continue to operate for so many years? Apparently the owner was paying off the previous judge regularly for that entire time, but when the new judge took office she refused to take the money - end of story.

In spite of all this, we love this place and will continue to return. This part of the world certainly doesn't have a corner on the market of crime and corruption!