Category Archives: La Yacata Revolution

December 21, 2023 · 2:24 pm

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered?

For the December junta (community meeting), I thought it would be a good idea to send letters to colonos to make sure we weren’t missing those who didn’t listen to the radio or hadn’t seen the sign posted on my sister-in-law’s tortillería.

The last time we tried to rally the troops I hand-wrote addresses on flyers, and my husband delivered them. With every person averaging four names (first, middle, paternal last name, maternal last name) and every street at least four words long (Avenida Juan Jose Torres Landa), it was a very time-consuming process.

This time, I thought I’d try to make up printable address labels so that future mailings would be easier. It was a very time-consuming process. I tried to organize the list by colonia (neighborhood) and make just one label per address if several family members had lots in La Yacata. And it was a very time-consuming process.

The final letter sent outlined what we had been doing since June, including our progress on the electricity, water, sewer, and lot registration. It also clarified that the registration process would end in January and we would be charging a fine for anyone who registered after that date (with the exception of new sales). Additionally, we would start charging a late fee for any outstanding demanda (lawsuit) money in January. This fee was assessed in 2012 in the amount of $250 pesos per lot to cover the lawyer’s defense when Chuchi sued the colonia, saying we owed him money. The letter ended up being three pages long.

I had to buy business-size envelopes and get the 300 copies of the letter printed. It made for a hefty bill at the papeleria (stationery store). Then, there was the stuffing and the address affixation. I didn’t have adhesive labels, so I just printed it out on regular paper and taped it on. It was a very time-consuming process.

We went to the post office to see how much this would cost and the estimate was between 10-12 pesos per letter. All righty then. My husband said he would deliver them on his moto. It took 5 days and two tanks of gas, but most of them got to the right person. About 10 lived outside the immediate area, like in Mexico City or Morelia, so those did get sent via Correos de Mexico. Then I discovered another 17 in his messenger bag that he said were “duplicates” but weren’t, so that bunch got mailed as well. Just so you know, Moroleon mail delivery is done by bicycle in most areas, so I imagine those last 17 deliveries were time-consuming as well.

This massive letter also contained information on our brand-spanking new Facebook community page and my phone number as a WhatsApp contact. As soon as the letters hit the doorstep, I was getting calls. Phone calls, mind you, not WhatsApp messages. Of course, these people were calling during my online work meetings and classes, which totally stressed me out.

So it came to me that perhaps these methods of communication (Facebook/WhatsApp/letter) weren’t the best for our community. A good portion were illiterate, which means sending text messages is nigh impossible unless they had a child or grandchild do it for them. Then the humongous letter was dense and packed with juicy informative bits that a portion of property owners could not read. Again, they would need to rely on someone else to read it to them. This literacy gap would explain why most juntas (meetings) that Chuchi (the former guy in charge) called were via radio announcement only. It also explained how he managed to bamboozle residents for so long. They weren’t able to read those documents he flaunted and believed his explanation of things. Sigh.

But I have to say, this letter-sending method of communication was effective to some extent this time. Property owners came out of the woodwork. J. Trinidad called to say that he gave his lot some time ago to Pancho Flores to cover a business debt (something to do with cell phones), but Pancho died of Covid two years ago and that he didn’t know who had the property certificate now. Ma. Trinidad (no relation) called from Chicago to say that she had the property certificate with her in the U.S. and was planning on coming home in February, depending on this next doctor’s appointment to die at home.

Family representatives came knocking with concerns about how to register lots of family members who lived in the U.S. now. Several more contacted me saying their parent had passed on and they needed to transfer ownership, so I explained the procedure to them (copy of will and/or acta de defunción to start with), and we got those registered.

As a result of this letter-sending campaign, there were a few follows and likes on the Facebook page, but not as many as I’d hoped. Many of the colonos are over the age of 70 with a handful over the age of 90 and not tech savvy. I was hoping that the Facebook/WhatsApp information would help those who are in the U.S. keep up with our progress, but perhaps their parents (those 70-90) who couldn’t read didn’t know to pass that information on to them.

There were also a handful of visits, before and after the junta, about different items. Some came to assure themselves that their lots were registered (most were). Others came to pay the $200 pesos we were gathering to clean out the unregistered community well and conduct water studies to see whether it not we could use it as our water source. And still, others came with certificates issued by the now-deceased Chuchi claiming property rights to lots that belonged to others. Chuchi was notorious for reselling lots when the coffers were empty. Unfortunately, now that Chuchi has gone to the great beyond, there’s not much we can do to help them recover their money anymore.

Although I thought the letter would launch us ahead in the community organization process, it looks like the paperwork has just begun.

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Read the prequel! La Yacata Revolution: How NOT to Buy a Piece of Heaven in Mexico

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Tagged as communication, communication in Mexico, communications, community development, La Yacata, letters, letters in Mexico, mail, writing

November 21, 2023 · 6:49 am

Up the Hill to Fetch a Pail of Water

Although we were all gung-ho to get some estimates for the sewer hookup, the powers that be in the presidencia told us that we needed to focus on the water project first. As they were willing to entertain the idea of legalizing the illegal pozo (well) that Chuchi commissioned and then sued us over, we needed to reexamine the perforation.

After the well was closed by the water commission and the lawsuits ran their course, we made a sort of roof to cover the open hole to the abyss. This was to prevent any animals or humans from falling to their deaths and give some measure of protection to the tubes that were installed in the event we could make use of it sometime in the unforeseeable future. That was done about 10 years ago.

In November, we commissioned a well study that involved uncovering the site, taking depth measurements, and dropping a camera down the hole to see its condition. Unfortunately, someone deliberately threw a boulder down the well, and it was lodged about 100 feet down, so the well study company could not get accurate readings. Three guesses on who I suspect of doing the dastardly deed.

This well study, which isn’t useable as it is incomplete, cost 7000 pesos. We’ll need someone to come out to clear the boulder and clean any debris at the bottom of the well. The estimate for that job is about 90,000 pesos. Next, a new study will need to be done (another 7000 pesos), and then a water quality and quantity study to see if the water table can handle a drain on it at that location, and that will be about another 13,000 pesos.

The total expense would only be about 200 pesos per lot, divided equally among the property owners. However, as we discovered with the demanda (lawsuit), not even half paid the 250 pesos that saved our properties from repossession. And as we have a small window of opportunity to take advantage of the presidencia’s offer to legalize (next year being an election year and all), we can’t wait for the grumblers and chin pullers to open their wallets and pay up.

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Curious about how it all began? Check out La Yacata Revolution: How NOT to Buy a Piece of Heaven in Mexico.

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Tagged as community in Mexico, La Yacata, living in Mexico, living in rural Mexico, water issues in Mexico

November 4, 2023 · 7:43 am

Knock, Knock, Knocking on La Maestra’s Door

Things are moving along on the quest for organization and utilities in La Yacata. We had another community meeting and collected enough to pay for the avalúo catastral, the study done by the Presidencia to access taxes and property values in the upper quadrant. The next step is to pay the predial, the actual tax fee. Brick by brick, as they say….

Anyway, even though I was exceedingly clear at the meeting that I was ONLY available after 4 p.m., that has not deterred the vast majority from knocking on the door starting before 7 a.m. And what do they want? Oh, it varies.

Some “couldn’t make it” to the meeting and wanted to know what it was about, even though I had a sign posted on the door with the main points covered. Of course, to be fair, a good percentage of property owners are illiterate, so the sign doesn’t help them figure things out, so I need to go through what we covered several times a day for those folks. However, the other percentage are just too lazy to read the sign.

Then, several came to pick up their new certificates. Remember, we’re trying to determine ownership of as close to 100% of the properties as possible. That meant I compiled a list of possible owners and posted it on my door, at my sister-in-law’s tortilla shop in town, and on the mesquite by the road. I also read off the list during the meetings we’ve had and asked anyone who knows these individuals to tell them to come and see me (after 4 p.m., mind you).

Next come those who bought lots some time ago but never got around to registering their ownership. One couple brought folders and folders of papers, and I went through them paper by paper to find the original documents, only to find that none of the certificates had “cedo los derechos a” (I transfer ownership to…), and they needed to go back to the person they bought the lots from to get that written on the documents making the property transfer all nice and legal. When they came back I went through the papers again. This time, I discovered that the original certificate and contract of one of the lots were not the same as the reissued certificate. Apparently, there was some mix-up with certificates, and the originals had been lost, misplaced, or something. The transaction could go through since the most recent certificate had been verified by the current mesa directiva (board of directors), but I took possession of those other certificates since we can’t have excess property certificates floating about.

Then there were those that have everything in order but wanted to double or even triple-check. One elderly man arrived after I had set out on my walk with Cocoa and literally chased me up the hill. I put Cocoa back in the house (he can’t abide anyone) and looked at his documents, which were all in order. I had also reassured him at the last meeting that according to my records (showing him the registry), the two lots were correctly registered to his sons, and he didn’t need to do anything further at this time. Another woman came by to double check she didn’t owe anything. She didn’t. I checked my records. Her lots were registered, and she had already paid the cooperación (voluntary fee) of 250 pesos toward the lawyer’s fees, which is the only fee we’ve levied in 10 years.

Then, there were those who were ready and willing to pay something towards the transactions, projects, and work we were trying to organize. At the last meeting, a motion and vote carrying the motion were made to start making regular deposits towards the water, sewer, and electric projects so that there wouldn’t be a HUGE bill when it came time to start the installation. However, I don’t want all that cash in the house, so the Assocación is going to open a bank account, and people can start depositing funds there.

We haven’t done so yet because #1, we need to ratify the members of the mesa directiva again, and #2, everybody now needs an RFC (tax ID number Registro Federal de Contribuyentes) to open a bank account, and they are a pain in the tuckus to get via SAT ( Servicio de Administración Tributaria). Not only do you need an RFC number, but you need a second document, Constancia de Situación Fiscal, which requires yet another transaction. When I was working at the local elementary school, my boss, who was an accountant, registered me for an RFC. However, I didn’t have the second document. I went to visit her and asked how to get that one, and she explained what I needed to do. I was able to do it online with minimal frustration, and now I’m all good, but the remaining members of the mesa directiva still don’t have theirs.

Anyway, until the bank account is set up, I can’t accept their money. Let’s hope they remain open to contributing when that does happen.

Then there was the neighbor, by far the worst of the bunch. Or maybe it was my reaction to her. She knocked a few minutes before I was scheduled to teach a class. I answered the door. She wanted to know what the last community meeting was about. I told her. I also told her she needed to register her lots. She told me that she didn’t because La Yacata was an ejido, an area designated as common land without a deed. That’s not true. La Yacata is classified as a fraccionamiento privado irregular (a private neighborhood not meeting urbanization requirements) currently, and we’re working towards becoming fully compliant. Then she said she hadn’t registered her lots because there was no registry for La Yacata. That’s not true. I turned in the most current padrón (registry) to Desarrollo Urbano (Urban Planning department) at our last meeting. Then she said she hadn’t registered because there’s been no progress towards urbanization, which is true mostly due to property owners like her. And finally, she said that my husband knows her. That’s another true statement, but it’s irrelevant. She’s from the same little town my husband was born in, and yes, my husband knows her since we’ve tried several times to buy the lot next door from her.

Finally, I had enough. I lost my temper. I had classes to teach, after all. I asked explicitly what she wanted. She wanted to give me her phone number so I could call with updates about the community meetings. I told her she needed to register her lots first. She asked how to do that. I told her she needed to bring all her original documents to me. I’m pretty sure I was trembling with rage at this point. She said there was no reason for me to be pissed off and left. It’s very doubtful that she’ll register her lots. She’s had more than ten years to do so. She’s been told several times over the years that it’s necessary, so claiming ignorance isn’t going to cut it with me.

I told Super Prez about this last interaction, and he said we need to set a deadline for lot registration and move on to the next item. So that’s a proposal that we will bring to the next meeting. The issue that will arise for those who have not registered their lots is there will be no escrituras (individual deeds) unless and until everything is in order. Those that have everything in order will be able to pick up their escrituras with no delay when the time comes. It’s like a game of legal chicken–who’s going to cave first?

Meanwhile, they keep knocking on the front door, whistling perched on their motos in front of the house, or shouting through the front window, “¿No está la Maestra?” (Is the teacher here?), which upset Bear and Cocoa enormously. When I’m teaching a class, their frenzied barking at the intruders means I need to mute my microphone and hope they calm down soon. And if I get fired because of these constant interruptions, well, I’m not going to be happy about that.

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Interested in reading about the initial efforts at urbanization in La Yacata? Check out La Yacata Revolution: How NOT to Buy a Piece of Heaven in Mexico.