Lake Watch

    * On Feb. 8, hundreds of Lakesiders turned out to vote for the new board of the Amigos del Lago Society. At first glance, I was happy to see a mix of roughly 50/50 Mexicans and Gringos (may I call us that?), and it looked well-organized too, which I thought was a good sign. We had to stand in lines to get our numbered ballots (also an encouraging sign), and when the meeting in the auditorio began, Aurora Michel gave an excellent slide presentation covering the history of the Society and its goals.
    Then the fun began.
    In a nutshell, all the contenders quit except for one slate, with references to the politicizing of the organization.
    Regardless of the chaotic nature of the meeting, the fact remains that Luis Aguirre Lang is the new President of the Amigos del Lago Society. This young man may just have the energy, time and connections to get something done. Buena suerte, Luis.
    There was a moving moment, which I also interpreted as hopeful. Aida Aguilar Pérez, who comes from generations of fishermen, gave us this memorable quote in her speech as candidate for Vice-President: “The lake is not mine,” she said clearly and with great feeling, “I belong to the Lake.”
     It’s a sentiment to live by.

      * Here is the new board’s statement to the community for this magazine:
“Amigos del Lago has a new board of directors, headed by Luis Aguirre of Chapala as President, Aida Aguilar of Jocotopec as Vice President, Antonio Machuca of Zapotitan (near Joco) as Secretary and Mary McDermott of Ajijic as Treasurer. The new board is very enthusiastic about working on behalf of Lake Chapala, and each board member is committed to the activism necessary to gain permanent status in Living Lakes. We look forward to partnership with the Fundacion Lerma-Chapala-Santiago and other groups dedicated to restoring the Lake. We welcome new members for Amigos del Lago, so please stop by our office in the Municipal Building in Chapala (former Nido Hotel, 2nd floor) to sign up. We also welcome your advice and feedback; please email any of the new board at Amigosdelago@hotmail.com.”