Cartas al Editor de Atención San Miguel

 Editor,

I was able to attend the meeting on Friday evening regarding the construction in San Miguel that has many of us very, very concerned. It was a great meeting, led by the members of the organization for the preservation of the “patrimonio” of San Miguel.

Probably 90% of the attendees were leading Mexican residents of our town, a fact I found very encouraging. I also found that the stance of this protest is simply to insist that the authorities of the city continue obeying existing laws regarding the approval of construction permits. This has nothing to do with liking or not liking certain kinds of building, but rather complying with existing laws that are meant to protect this unique town.

Just my opinion: while some good work was being done publicly by the last president of the municipality on restoration of historical monuments in the city, behind our backs maybe 40, 50, 60 permits for construction were being signed for developments that will forever alter San Miguel. It’s even more disappointing to realize that these unprecedented permits were authorized at exactly the same time as our last municipal president was launching a big campaign to become senator.

One of the issues that came up was a question as to the legality of foreigners being involved in protesting actions such as these construction projects. A lawyer present stated the law: We are absolutely permitted to involve ourselves in efforts such as these. The law only prohibits us from trying to influence elections and the governmental process. In cases such as this, we are clearly allowed to express our opinions in any public forum.

I felt this was important information, since many of us in the foreign community, including myself, were concerned about doing something that was not permitted in our host country.

Now is the time for us to say that we know what is happening, that it is not good enough for San Miguel and that it must not continue. I hope that we are not so comfortable here that we can’t find the energy to let our voices be heard.

Joseph McClain