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Navigating bureaucracy in any country is a nightmare—and Mexico is no exception.  However, after a while you slowly figure out how things work and you’re able to predict what roadblocks you’re going to run into…

Last week, I had a full dose of bureaucracy when I went to file my “declaración anual” (ie. Mexican tax return.) 

Filing a tax return in Mexico is much easier than filing a tax return in Canada—but it’s still not fun.  Most people just need to logon to the website and confirm all their information and then file their return right there.  However, to get your tax refund you need the interbank codes for your bank account—and if your refund is greater than a certain amount, you need to “digital sign” your return with a private key (PKI certificate) that is issued by the government.

Of course, I had neither so I had to make a visit to the bank to get my interbank codes (and at the same time I wanted to be setup with Internet access.)  However I was quickly told that my current bank account could not be setup with Internet access—so I had to go through the process of setting up a brand new account so that I could have internet access.  Of course I had to provide “proof of address” (the fact that I already had an account at the same bank and even gave them my bank card wasn’t sufficient—but I was ready for that.)  And in less than an hour I walked out with a new account, a security token for internet access and an extra 90 pesos (which I won when I deposited money into my new account.)

The next day was my appointment with the SAT to get my private key/PKI certificate so that I could file my tax return and receive my refund.  Once again a lot of paperwork, a USB key for my private keyfiles and about 15 minutes taking photos, scanning documents and then an electronic fingerprint of every finger on both hands (we’re talking serious security—the Mexican government now has more biometric data about me than the Canadian government.)

That night I was able to logon to my bank account and file my tax return!!!

Now I think I’ve been in Mexico for too long…

Last month I posted about how a Canadian outside of the country can vote in next week’s federal election.  The process that you need to go through to vote isn’t “optimized”–but our ballots arrived much earlier than expected (they were sent out via courier) so we were able to write in our vote and mail them back quickly enough that should be counted next week.

The one drawback of voting this way is that we were required to vote in the Sarnia-Lambton riding even though I would have rather voted in London West (where I think the race is going to be closer–and I have stronger/more recent connections.)

Seeing as I can’t vote in London, I’m going to recommend two candidates for those of you that are (read their bios if you’re wondering why I’d recommend them..)

Ed Holder – Conservative Candidate in London West

Glen Pearson – Liberal Candidate in London North Centre

(…and for those of you who are going to ignore my advice, please remember that voting is a right in Canada–but it’s not obligatory.)

When we left Salina Cruz a year ago, it was small city on the Pacific coast of Mexico that many Mexicans didn’t know about (let alone the rest of the world.)

However, a homemade submarine full of cocaine does wonders at getting the most remote of cities into the headlines.  The last two days have been interesting for us as Salina Cruz had been mentioned numerous times in the news (and we’ve even got to see video footage from the beach at Salina Marques near Salina Cruz.)

The second part of our “mini-vacation” while Melanie was here was in Huatulco (about 2.5 hours away along the coast.)  However this time time, our trip from Salina Cruz to Huatulco was slower and more interesting than usual.  About half way to Huatulco, traffic was stopped completely for some reason.  I got out of the car and started walking past all the vehicles that were lined up to get a better idea of what happened and to see how long it would take to clear (it’s the only road along the coast and if things were bad it made sense to return to Salina Cruz for the night.)  While walking I noticed that a few people along the side of the road were drinking beer as were people in a few of the vehicles (one or two people would not have surprised me–but this was more than that and was unusual enough for me to notice.)  However, once I reached the accident scene everything made a lot more sense–a Modelo/Corona beer truck lost it’s trailer on one of the curves and the trailer lost it’s load of beer in the process. 

Eventually a path was cleared around everything and we were on our way.  Although delayed by about 45min, we arrived in Huatulco in time to eat at one of our favourite restaurants there (Terracotta.)

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our camping trip to the beach at San Augustin (near Huatulco) this past week-end.  After ten months in Mexico I finally got an unhealthy case of t.d.  on Friday night.  If you go by most guidebooks just about everything we eat here is “high risk”–so I’m not 100% sure what caused it.  However, if I only experience it every ten months or so it’s not to bad.

Fortunately, we were prepared for this eventuality–and had Cipro in our medicine kit.  Six doses and three days later–and now I’m back to normal…

The “Gold Cup” semi-finals are on Thursday–with Canada playing the US and Mexico playing Guadeloupe.

Although I don’t normally follow sports that much, I’m hoping that Canada beats the US on Thursday (and Mexico beats Guadeloupe) so that Sunday’s final will be between Canada and Mexico (which should be a lot of fun for us.)

The Salina Cruz water system is now operating normally again!!!

After almost two weeks of intermittent water supplies, this is a very good thing (I was getting tired of having to plan my water usage.)

The water pressure may not be high–but at least there’s water now.

Buscan eficientar servicio de agua al 100 por ciento