Canadians flock to western Mexico, but not necessarily San Miguel de Allende

Photo by Steven H. Miller

The Atencion newspaper in San Miguel de Allende published a feature I wrote on why so many Canadians settle in the Lake Chapala area instead of San Miguel. Basically, the Lake Chapala area is cheaper. The weather is also more agreeable. Most of us didn't leave Canada to freeze in the winter - and San Miguel can get pretty chilly. The Lake Chapala area has also been well promoted in parts of Canada and word of mouth advertising is now really spreading quickly.

Here's the top of the story:

Canadian retiree Dan McTavish, who has lived in Ajijic, Jalisco, for more than a decade, listed several reasons why so many of his fellow Canucks settle in the Lake Chapala area instead of San Miguel de Allende or any other part of Mexico’s interior.

Like many Canadian expats, he mentioned the weather as one of the main factors. The microclimate surrounding Lake Chapala is decidedly less chilly and often described as “perpetual spring.”

“Canadians come to Lake Chapala because it is not as cold as San Miguel,” the former Toronto native said. Additionally, “It is near ... Guadalajara. I can get off an airplane from the US or from Mexico City [on my way back from Canada] and be at my home in 35 to 40 minutes.”

While San Miguel de Allende has a noticeable Canadian community—estimated at about 15 percent of the expatriate population —Canadians seemingly dominate the Lake Chapala area, which is considered the largest enclave of Canadians outside of Canada, except parts of Florida in the wintertime.

Read the whole feature under the community section of Atencion's website.

Oaxaca no longer off limits - for some

The U.S. State Department rescinded its travel advisory for Oaxaca yesterday, but the Canadian government still says its citizens shouldn't go to the southern Mexican state - scene of a nasty teachers' strike that descended into open revolt against the local PRI governor. The Canadians at least acknowledge, "The situation is showing signs of improvement."

Headlines of a 19-year-old Canadian traveler in Acapulco meeting an untimely end on Jan. 7 generated endless headlines in Canada and promoted no shortage of calls for a blanket advisory cautioning against Mexican travel. Perhaps that explains the Canadians' tepidness in lifting its Oaxaca advisory. But Adam DePrisco was struck by a vehicle, according to autopsies performed in both Canada and Mexico. It was most likely a hit-and-run collision, although his family alleges murder.

The two situations shouldn't be linked in any way. I've booked my ticket for Oaxaca - just 2,150 pesos round trip from Guadalajara on Avolar - and I suspect others will follow suit. The state could use the boost and it's not to be missed - even if the Canadian government can't get its act together and scrap the travel advisory.

*For a telling statistic on how bad the tourism economy in Oaxaca is, look at these stats from the local airport operator, which saw a 32.6 percent fewer passengers in Dec. 2006 than in Dec. 2005.

Check out the Chapala Forum

A good friend, Steven Miller, launched a new web board on the Lake Chapala area - and all of Mexico for that matter. The idea came about after several talented writers were turfed from other boards serving the area. Also, some topics were off limits due to potential conflicts with advertisers and the moderators were seemingly asleep at their keyboards.

Check out the site - and be certain to join in the fray.

http://www.chapalaforum.com/phpBB/

Drug war silencing journalists in Mexico

Mexico's war on drugs keeps claiming more victims. A Committee to Protect Journalists' report says seven Mexican reporters lost their lives last year and the country is now the most dangerous place to practice the craft in the hemisphere.

In the bad old days of one-party rule, the government silenced upstart journalists and newspapers with a newsprint monopoly and the withdrawal of lucrative advertising contracts. Many reporters had patrons and penned favorable articles in exchange for cash. (Reporters also sold advertising.)

Nowadays, reporters regularly criticize the government and all politicians draw scrutiny. Media-shy drug gangs, however, have effectively scared off reporters through a series of gruesome executions and disappearances. No reporter I know, will touch a drug-related story. It's a potential death wish.

Sliding oil prices jeopardize Mexico's budget

Former president Vicente Fox - he seems so out of memory these days - in many ways righted Mexico's financial situation and ushered in a period of macroeconomic stability. He even drove down the country's budget deficit. He received high praise, but University of Guadalajara political science professor Marco Antonio Cortes shrewdly observed: "He deserves credit, but not all of the credit that's been attributed to him.

"He's been lucky."

Lucky enough to ride an upswing in world oil prices. Oil - more specifically, Pemex profits - floats the Mexican government. Fox took advantage of high prices to rectify government finances - even though Pemex is as troubled as ever.

Now with prices falling, President Felipe Calderon faces a problem. The Mexican government budgeted for an average price of $42.80, but the price for Mexican crude recently tumbled below that threshold. Compounding the problem, production in Mexico's principle oil fields is falling as Pemex remits 60 percent of its income to the federal government. The lack of exploration and maintenance is finally catching up to the company and country. Columnist Sergio Sarmiento, an advocate of private participation in the Mexican oil industry, dubbed it: "The end of the lottery." This could be Calderon's most vexing problem over the next six years.

UPDATE: Pemex is predicting its production will decline by 13 percent over the next six years - Felipe Calderon's presidential term.

Some people say the stupidest things about Mexico

A young Canadian traveler sadly died outside of an Acapulco nightclub last week and news of his death is generating no shortage of headlines and emotionally charged comments on message boards. The facts are still sketchy, but similar to the case of the two Canadians killed in their Playa del Carmen hotel room last winter, the grieving family is alleging police and judicial ineptness. Many Canadians are also urging the federal government to issue a travel advisory for the entire country - instead of just certain zones like Oaxaca.

That would be overkill. Guadalajara is as tranquil as ever, as is Chapala and Ajijic - where record numbers of Canadians keep arriving each winter - and San Miguel de Allende. I spent the days leading up to New Year's in Mexico City with a Canadian friend and found it an ideal time to visit.

Canadians - even the ones that take winter junkets down to Puerto Vallarta and Cancun - really know very little about Mexico and thus a number of stupid and downright prejudiced comments have been appearing on message boards. These comments on the Globe and Mail's site by someone called Lyn Alg tops them all for sheer ignorance:

"One would be safer and wiser to take a vacation in the centre of Baghdad or in Afghanistan than in Mexico."

Please. It's small town cheap comments like this that make me not miss Canada, which for all of its supposed tolerance and worldliness, is distressing parochial and small minded - not to mention ignorant of Latin America.

To its credit, CTV posted a large collection of comments, which often struck a more reasonable note and included the feelings of Canadians presently residing in Mexico. One interesting theme was how many people had negative expriences in Acapulco. Those going to Puerto Vallarta grouse frequently about pushy time-share vendors, but those in the CTV forum raved about their experiences. Acapulco is badly over-built and ringed by slums. It's also in Guerrero, perhaps Mexico's most corrupt and backwards state. Acapulco is now a playground for rich chilangos (Mexico City residents) and not a prime destination for foreigners.

Update: Mexican authorities attributed Adam DePrisco's death to a hit-and-run accident. The DePrisco family disagreed. Now an autopsy in Ontario confirms DePrisco was struck by a vehicle, but Adam's family said the results "don't add up."

The DePrisco family is also now charging Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and the Canadian government with not doing more to help. Justice is unfortunately bad for Mexicans - not just foreign tourists. The government, in reality, can do little - and Canadians don't have a reputation of pushing for answers like their American counterparts.

Allan Rose: Canadian trailblazer in Ajijic

Allan Rose served as honorary Canadian consul in Guadalajara for more than a decade. The Ajijic resident was one of the early Canadian arrivals in the Lake Chapala area, which is now site of the largest enclave of expatriate Canadians outside of Canada - spare parts of Florida in the winter. He's a charming and engaging fellow, here's profile I wrote on him for the Miami Herald, Mexico edition: http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/miami/22907.html