Municipal President Visits Las Rosas and La Joya

President of the municipality of Compostela announces a new police station and a cultural center during his visit to Jaltemba Bay last Saturday while visiting La Joya, Los Ayala and Las Rosas, La Peñita to give land for their kindergarten projects.

On a dusty lot, off a dusty street in two small Mexican communities several dozen folks gather to be witness to an important event for their communities.

The objective of the president’s visit is the donation of Ejido land to two kindergartens. The visit tells us a lot about how local government functions and access to it.

The day started by meeting the foreigners who were interested in the projects at EcoPark to guide them to Las Rosas which is the north easterly most community of La Peñita. The contingent later proceeded to La Joya the south easterly most community on Jaltemba Bay. The event was scheduled for an 11 am start at Las Rosas. Foreigners and some local parents arrived on time but no one was surprised that the officials were a half hour late.

That is about normal for this kind of event but the time is not wasted. A lot of important decisions and contacts are made during the waiting. Busy lives come to a definitive halt in the blazing late morning sun. There is time to get to know one another and make some decisions as to how projects will proceed. There is time for the parents to lose some of their shyness in dealing with the foreigners. And time for the foreigners to learn about the challenges of the project and get acquainted with the community, its kids and parents.

With the arrival of the officials more serious and more specific discussions begin with the president and the community leaders that accompany him.

It is all very informal but my sense is that this is where the real business of government is transacted. The decisions may be signed, sealed and delivered in Compostela but their origin is with the common people talking to community leaders. On the informal agenda this day were, sewer issues, ecopark hours of operation and the community cultural center.

A half hour of this and the formal agenda begins. Speeches are made by the presidents of the Ejido, and Los Amigos Education Committee

Parents committee,

Rotary

and the teacher.

At La Joya the judge of Los Ayala, Romi Mora also addressed those gathered.

They all say similar things about working together, realization of dreams and growth of our community. Finally President Hector gives his speech

which at Las Rosas focused to a large extend on the contribution of Los Amigos and Rotary to the community. He was effusive in terms of his praise of Los Amigos and the Rotary in terms of supporting not only this but other projects in the community. Pres. Hector also noted that construction of a new police station will begin in March and that the construction would take a couple of months. He indicated that he was prepared to make the current police station available to be turned into a community cultural centre. He also noted that his term would end in July so it would be good if work commenced on the transfer now so as to have things in motion before a new administration took over.

The delivery of the papers is the first step to the construction of the Kindergarten. The parent’s committee and teacher are delighted to have this hurdle cleared.

One of the reasons for making such a public display is to serve notice to anyone who may feel they have a claim to the land that it is being challenged. And sure enough within two days someone asserted their claim to the land at Las Rosas by placing a fence around it. This is not uncommon when dealing with Ejido land and it will just need to be worked through. It could delay the start of the project but in the end (SEP), the State Education authority, is a pretty difficult opponent to have.

Spanish Lesson:

la gripa / la gripe – flu
la tos – cough
dolor de garganta – sore throat
dolor de cabezaa – headache
Su editor tiene la gripe y se va a quedar en cama – Your editor has the flu and is going to stay in bed