Category Archives: Driving Hazards

December 7, 2020 · 6:03 am

Identification Documents Updates 2020

So my husband’s process for getting the new license plates for 2020 in Guanajuato was a lot more complicated than mine was, but really, it was partially his fault.

If you remember, he opted not to change the addresses on his two driver’s licenses in January when I went to get mine for whatever reason. So when I tried to make an appointment for him to get his new license plates for the truck and his motorcycle, I couldn’t since the addresses on the driver’s licenses did not make the comprobante de domicilio (proof of residence). 

Since we are in a pandemic, our little town has opted to make everything by appointment only. That appointment must be made online, which I can foresee being extremely difficult for older folks. It was complicated for me and I consider myself somewhat computer savvy. Anyway, the license issuing office was no exception. An online appointment must be made. 

I submitted his scanned documents at the new site Licencias de Conducir (https://transporte.guanajuato.gob.mx/index.php/licencias_conducir) and they were rejected because the two transactions (getting a motorcycle and getting a truck license) had to be submitted separately. 

I submitted them again, and they were rejected because they needed to have proof that they weren’t stolen, which they weren’t. It seems the category duplicado de licencia de conducir (duplicate license) was both for changes of addresses and stolen licenses. When licenses are stolen, then you have to submit a form Constancia de No Infracciones from  Seguridad Pública Tránsito y Transportes office. Anyway, they weren’t stolen so that didn’t apply. 

So I sent the documents again, this time including the comprobante de domicilio (proof of address) to show that the addresses were different AND it was rejected again, this time because the licenses were too blurry.

I took the licenses to another scanning place in town and had them rescanned. Then tried to resubmit the information, but the site was down. So after two weeks of effort, the documents were accepted and I made the appointments. 

Well, I thought I had made 2, one after the other, but with the site being glitchy, it turns out I only managed one. Fortunately, the guy working the counter the day my husband went in was in a good mood and did both licenses, with the same photo. It helped that I had all the pertinent documents (comprobante and proof of payment) and copies, including copies of the licenses to be replaced, in a folder for my husband to just hand over. The proof of payments involved downloading and printing a document and taking it to OXXO to pay then attaching the OXXO receipt to the document. There’s also the option to pay online with a debit or credit card, but that never works out well for me. So off to the market to pay the bill. 

Each reissued license was 206 pesos plus the OXXO 12 peso fee, but as he couldn’t proceed without them, so be it. 

The next document change was the IFE card. I was able to set up an appointment for him online the same day and just 40 minutes after my son’s appointment to pick up his ID (which didn’t actually happen that day). He needed a comprobante and his old IFE to renew and there’s no fee for the IFE. He needs to call in a few weeks to see if the card is ready and then make another appointment to pick it up. Maybe by then my son’s card will be ready too. But you know, the holidays are coming, so this might not happen until next year.

While he waited for that to be finished, I made an appointment for him to get his new Guanajuato plates for the truck and his motorcycle online. I stressed the importance of taking the electricity bill rather than the water bill because the address must match exactly what is on his now reissued licenses. For whatever reason, the electric bill has Colonia El Jinete and the water bill has Colonia Curumbatio even though they are for the same residence. He went to the appointment with, Identificación Oficial Vigente con Fotografía (photo ID in the form of a driver’s license issued in Guanajuato), Comprobante de Domicilio (proof of residence, in this case, his sister’s electric bill), Placa Delantera (front license plate from the truck), Placas Traseras (back license plates from the truck and motorcycle) and two Tarjetas de Circulación (Permit to circulate cards) BUT he forgot his mask, so he had to run and buy another one before being admitted. 

I waited at home and was pleased to receive two emails confirming the transactions had been completed successfully from Secretaría de Finanzas, Inversión y Administración (SFIA). Finally! I’m not sure if we need to repeat the procedure in January or not, but at least it’s done for now.

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November 30, 2020 · 7:37 am

New 2020 License Plates in Guanajuato

In October, I found out that the state of Guanajuato was issuing new license plates and that I needed to sign up post-haste to get mine. I had just picked up my moto license plate in January when there was the whole fiasco of the driver’s license having the letter “A” and all. Anyway, due to COVID, the procedure was going to be different. 

So I went to the special website (https://placas2020.guanajuato.gob.mx/) for more information. Amazingly enough, the new plates are free until December 31. Appointments were made beginning in September. Fortunately, my license plate ends with the number 4, so I could schedule an appointment for October. 

In order to complete the transaction:

  • The vehicle must be registered to the person who will pick up the new license plates.
  • The owner must have a photo ID (INE or driver’s license).
  • The owner must present a comprobante de domicilio (proof of address) no more than 4 months old. 
  • The owner must have a CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población)
  • The vehicle must be current in its payments to the government without any outstanding fines. 
  • The vehicle must not have been reported stolen in the Registro Público Vehicular (REPUVE) system.
  • The current license plates (1 for motorcycles, 2 for cars and trucks) and the tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card) must be turned in.

If all of those are in order, then an appointment could be made online. 

To make an appointment, I had to set up an account with my email. Since my husband was going to need to go through this process too, I set him up one too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use the same email for both, but since I have more than one email account, I finally got that done. 

Then I had to enter the CURP number and the system pulled up my name. I added in the address on my driver’s license (my sister-in-law’s address since we don’t have a street address in La Yacata). Then I had to add a phone number. Again, I couldn’t have the same number for both accounts, so I used my cell phone number and my son’s cell phone number. 

The next step was to take pictures of the comprobante de domicilio (proof of address) and photo ID. The comprobante was accepted just fine, but the IDs were “too blurry” or something and they were rejected. So I went and had all the IDs scanned at the ciber cafe, then uploaded them. With the newly scanned images, I could proceed to the next step. 

My husband’s procedure, however, was an at an impasse. Remember how I had to get the letter “A” off my license so the comprobante de domicilio and my license matched exactly? Well, when we did all the license and vehicle renewal in January, my husband decided to NOT change the addresses on his IDs. And now that decision had come back to haunt him. His IFE, truck driver’s license and motorcycle driver’s license have 3 different addresses, none of which we can get a comprobante de domicilio for. So until one of his identifications matched the comprobante, he couldn’t make his appointment. 

But back to me…I made the appointment at 8:10 in the morning and we arrived shortly before 8. A woman came out and called the names of the appointments for 8:00 to 8:15. My temperature was checked, I showed my tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card) and sat socially distanced with a mask on in the waiting area.

When it was my turn, I handed my ID and comprobante to the woman. She then asked for my residency card (which I always carry with me for such eventualities). I handed that over too. Next I signed a waiver allowing them to keep my information on file. I then had my fingerprints taken. Both thumbs were pressed into this little digital reader thing. I foresee this being a problem for my husband. His fingers are so calloused from work that those reader things can’t detect the lines on his fingers. 

Next, I had to digitally sign my name for the new tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card). Finally, I had to REMOVE my mask and glasses for a picture. I assume the picture is in the file somewhere because it’s not on the new license plate or the tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card). Well, me and helmet hair grimaced into the camera. My eyes are probably closed too. Que sera, sera. 

Then I was directed with my completed paperwork to Caja 4. The masked man behind the counter gave me a new license plate and tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card). The tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card) is more durable plastic than the previous versions, but’s that’s really the only difference. I was finished and could leave with the goods. 

And then there was the little matter of my husband’s documents….

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January 15, 2020 · 6:26 am

Mid-month Updates

2020 has been a rough start, but nothing we can’t handle. So here’s the latest from the Flores ranchito.

Vehicles

January 1 my new-to-me motorcycle decided it wasn’t going to start. It was something electrical, but what it is specifically had him baffled for two weeks. It turns out, the previous owner had done some electrical “upgrades” that crossed some wires. Taking those out and replacing the box where all the wires meet seems to have done the job. It still needs a new front light and gas gauge, but it runs yet again.

January means paying for the “contribución materia vehicular impuesto” or vehicle tax. In comparison to last month, this month was a walk in a park. All we had to do was take our tarjetas de circulacion to the Institute de Seguridad Social del Estado de Guanajuato (ISSEG) pharmacy. Each moto costs $135 pesos this year and the truck was $487. It goes up every year.

Inflation

Speaking of things going up, the garafon (jug) of water from Santorini now costs $36 pesos, 2 pesos more than December and 6 pesos more than last January. Those refillable water stations that are springing up all over town are looking more and more attractive at 12 pesos a refill. However, I just don’t know how filtered the water is and where the water comes from in the first place. Is it hooked up to the town water supply? Because that water runs through miles of hot copper pipes isn’t drinkable at all! 

The internet also went up with no notification whatsoever. That meant we had to make two trips to town to pay the bill since our payment didn’t cover the increase the first time around. Our Blue Satellite internet fee is now $399 pesos. The satellite internet is under a 2-year contract, so theoretically it shouldn’t go up until the end of that period, but who knows? 

Stores in town are charging for plastic bags now as well. It’s nominal, at the most $1 peso per bag, but I wasn’t prepared my first day shopping of the new year and hadn’t brought my own. I’ll know better for next time. Some places, like Mexico City, have prohibited the use of single use bags, which is a good thing overall.

Gas has gone up. Soda will now cost 1.26 per liter. Alcohol prices will go up an estimated 4.5% excluding beer, aguamiel and pulque. It will cost more to ride the bus and leave Mexico by plane. But it’s just how things work–the hike in the daily minimum salary to $123.22 pesos ($6.50 USD) has to be balanced out somehow. 

I’m not an economist but speaking from experience, it’s awfully hard to manage on $123.22 pesos per day.

Animals

The last baby goat of this batch was born the first week of January. The moms of the kids born in December have gone into heat, at least if Stinky Chivo’s romancing is any indication. So we expect another crop of goats in June or so. 

We still have too many animals. Terry and George are still not friends. My husband didn’t prepare as well as he normally does regarding food during the long, dry season, so that’s been a weekly expense. 

Health Care

As it is now a new year, I needed to go and make an appointment at the hospital to see my doctor in May. I’m not sure how things will go when it’s time for my appointment since INSABI took over for both IMSS and Seguro Popular on January 1. There have been reports of formerly covered individuals needing to pay from everything from gauze to surgeries once covered by the national healthcare policies. 

If it comes down to it, I’ll be able to piece together something by getting my own lab work done at a private lab and having the doctors next to the pharmacy write me a prescription if I need a dosage change. Otherwise, I can buy my medication over the counter at Farmacias Similares. It will add to expenses, and we’ll have to cut other things out, but I’ll make it.   

So I’m feeling a bit frazzled and it’s only mid-January. I’ll need to take some time out and set up a more restricted budget for this year. How are things where you live?

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