Chapala official asks foreign residents to follow the rules — and learn some Spanish
A municipal official at Lake Chapala has published an open letter to the region’s sizable foreign community, addressing complaints about traffic violations, pet etiquette and language barriers — a move observers say is unusual for local government and suggests informal remedies have not been enough. Ricardo Razo Navarro, who serves as liaison between the Municipal Government of Chapala and the foreign community, published the appeal covering residents of Chapala, Ajijic and San Antonio Tlayacapan. The letter, framed in welcoming language, opens by acknowledging the foreign population’s economic contributions and cultural presence before cataloguing a set of specific behavioral concerns. “The office under my charge has received different reports that some members of the foreign community have incurred in improper behaviors that affect the rest of the inhabitants,” Navarro wrote. Among the concerns cited: running red lights, traveling the wrong way on one-way...