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Our fragile space in Mexico


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From time to time I am reminded that "foreigners" in Mexico are sometimes "tolerated " but never never totally accepted. And by fellow "foreigners" we are guests here

As was the situation that surfaced at our recent Fraccemento Asamblea Extraordinaria

As is the case with "all" Fracs or Coto associations, from time to time  the tranquility and living in Paradise gets a rude awakening.... some Fraccs more frequent then others..never a question of if it will happen... but when.

Without going into the fine detail for the reason for calling the special meeting....... suffice to say some of the board members ( foreigners) were concerned with the behaviour of the President (Mexican).

There has been a lot of wrangling as to who has authority to call the meeting etc etc., but never the less  it was called. It was probably one of the largest turn out of home owners (mainly Mexican) , and one could sense the tension in the air between "Them" and "Us"

Trying to ward off and deflect any detractors, the attorney skillfully was able to reach agreement for how the meeting would proceed. Importantly, that all questions or challenges to the detail presented, would be held at the end of the meeting, and recorded...... but no response would be given from the President.

It was during end period when any attendees were given 3 minutes to voice their thoughts, concerns, options etc that the Gulf between Thee and Me surfaced. As is the case during these extraordinary meetings there will be wise (Mexican) academic's who  call's for respect.... we can work together ewtc etc., .......and then a couple of "Them" reminded the meeting that this is Mexico and they are in charge and do not wish any foreign intervention. 

Last and pathic.... a Gringa who gushed,  pathetically and patronisingly   about how wonderful it is to live in this country, beautiful people and remember we are GUESTS IN THIS COUNTRY...that touches a raw nerve for me.

I AM not a Guest I am a Legal Immigrant  with the status of  RESIDENTE PERMANENTE

The true Mexican feelings........ Stay in Your Box Gringo ..we would rather have a "bad" Mexican than a "qualified foreigner" run the show 

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Not knowing the situation or having been at the meeting  noone can take sides.. Board meetngs can be really nasty whether here or  in the STates and that is why we will never by in a fracc or a condominium after having that experience in the US.. Add to this the cultural gaps and language gap for many and you have a nasty mix..

The woman who said she was a gues was a permanent as well?  agree permanent are immigrant and immigrants are never looked at as a full citizen, actually  am a citizen and in some cases I have been referred to as the foreigner.. We do the same thing in France.. Years ago I got sick in a village where I spent a lot of my vacations and so did my father as a kid and my grand-fater. I understand the dialect there and the woman who was running the hotel who by her accent happened to be an ex colonist from Algeria referredto me as the foreigner because I spoke English with my husband. SHe did not mean anything by it but the us and them and alive and well everywhere so get used to it.

 

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Jreboll, a bit O.T., but I have several good friends here in the States who are originally from the Guadalajara area, and I am constantly shamed by the crap that they silently endure.

Getting back to the O.P., interesting dynamic being described here. We had a vacation place at the beach here, where we had zero input on issues that effected our property rights, use and enjoyment, even though our taxes supported the local gov't and infrastructure. I'm wondering how being a permanent resident of Mexico, who is still a citizen of another country, would be much different?

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15 minutes ago, el blanco barba said:

Jreboll, a bit O.T., but I have several good friends here in the States who are originally from the Guadalajara area, and I am constantly shamed by the crap that they silently endure.

Getting back to the O.P., interesting dynamic being described here. We had a vacation place at the beach here, where we had zero input on issues that effected our property rights, use and enjoyment, even though our taxes supported the local gov't and infrastructure. I'm wondering how being a permanent resident of Mexico, who is still a citizen of another country, would be much different?

If you choose to get involved your input will be listened to politely and whatever was going to happen will happen anyway. It has nothing to do with which country you are a citizen of and everything to do with how much money and power you have and how connected you are.  

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16 minutes ago, Xena said:

If you choose to get involved your input will be listened to politely and whatever was going to happen will happen anyway. It has nothing to do with which country you are a citizen of and everything to do with how much money and power you have and how connected you are.  

The universal grease...

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1 minute ago, lakeside7 said:

Well thank you Gringal for totally taking my post down an other rabbit hole..If you wish to start a different subject/issue please do so, but do not contaminate my subject

I had no intention of ruining your topic and am sorry you are offended.  I will do what I can to change that by attempting to transfer that information to a new topic and delete my post on this one.

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41 minutes ago, geeser said:

Gringal, foreigners can not hold title to land on the coast nor within many miles of the frontier. The property must be held in a Mexican bank trust.  Mine had a $500+ annual fee. After paying it for many years,  I believe the USA should have a reciprocal policy. 

Geeser, please delete my portion of this post.  Lakeside 7 has requested that I put it in a separate topic, which I have.  Feel free to move your comment to that thread.   Thanks.

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7 minutes ago, Jreboll said:

Lakeside7 seems to have an agenda which he never fully explained but wants everyone to listen to his rant. Let’s all pat him on the back and tell him how sorry we feel and go on to Gringal’s topic

Smile. 🖖Some folks are possessive of their topics.  I thought "thread wander excellence" was achieved in the bra fitting thread.  Couldn't  top that if I wanted to, but anyway, I've opened a new thread on titles near the coast. Go there if that's of interest to you.

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52 minutes ago, gringal said:

I had no intention of ruining your topic and am sorry you are offended.  I will do what I can to change that by attempting to transfer that information to a new topic and delete my post on this one.

Gee I would have thought Lakeside was into recycling. But OK we will use up more space with a new topic 

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This whole thread is a joke...Fricks, Fracs, Cotas, or whatever; you have to be insane to get involved with any of this. All of this "gated community" and people huddled together and forming "associations" is a recipe for disaster. When I decided to move full time here 11 years ago I came for 2 weeks (I already knew the area since I had been doing business here for 20 years) to scout the area I already had targeted (SAT) for a rental. I got lucky on my last day to find the lake view perfect luxury home. The owners, a rich Guadalajara family, wanted the rent in US dollars but I insisted that it be in Mexican pesos. I am still at the same place with annual rental increase of less than 5% in pesos that I negotiated at the start. So if you do the math, with the $US conversion rate almost doubled in value, I am sitting pretty at a rent actually lower than when i started 11 years ago. I also have the option of simply not renewing my lease if something uncomfortable  comes up. To each their own but all of this Frick, Frack, Cotas nonsense is insane. 

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I agree I had that experience once in the States and that was enough for a lifetime.. My sister went through the same thing in France. People are the same everywhere and you are way better off staying away fro homeowner associations...

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lakeside 7 said:

I AM not a Guest I am a Legal Immigrant  with the status of  RESIDENTE PERMANENTE

 

The Mexican government can cancel your temporal or permanente anytime with no recourse from the visa holder.  That makes all of us guests in this country.  Those who think otherwise are arrogant and foolish.

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9 hours ago, bmh said:

no you are not guests you are immigrants who can be treated like everywhere else in the world.. when politics change all bets are off..

When people move from another country to the U.S. or Canada they are immigrants. When people move from the U.S. or Canada to live in Mexico they are “expats.” I guess they prefer being members of the expat community than the immigrant community. 😁

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