COMUNICADO OFICIAL / OFFICIAL STATEMENT
Lake Chapala Society, A.C.
Board of Directors March 20, 2026
To All Members of the Lake Chapala Society.
The Board of Directors wishes to thank every member who attended or participated in the Annual General Meeting held on March 17, 2026, whether in person or via Zoom. We recognize that the AGM did not go as any of us had hoped, and we write now to address what happened openly and honestly, to explain where matters stand, and to commit to a clear path forward.
We ask for your patience as you read this in full.
A PROCEDURAL ERROR OCCURRED
During the AGM, a motion was put to a vote that had not been included on the published agenda. Under the LCS bylaws, such motions are not permitted, and we acknowledge this was a breach of our governing rules. The motion—to increase the number of candidate votes from five to seven—was accepted in good faith as an attempt to respond to concerns raised on the floor. However, good intentions do not excuse the error, and we take responsibility for it.
It is important to emphasize that, regardless of how the bylaws might be interpreted with regards to the number of eligible candidates, the AGM is not the proper vehicle to address such matters. The bylaws provide a clear mechanism for member redress through an Extraordinary Meeting, which any member may call with the support of 50 signatures (Article 8).
The consequences of that unplanned vote compounded the problem. The printed ballots reflected the original process; the new motion changed it. Members present on the campus were left to reconcile conflicting instructions, and members participating via Zoom received insufficient guidance. The confusion this caused was real, and the frustration of our membership is entirely justified.
DOUBTS ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF THE VOTE
Separately, we are aware of significant technical difficulties that affected absentee and remote voting. Members who were entitled to request a second ballot for a partner had difficulties or were unable to do so through the platform being used. This is unacceptable, and it raises legitimate questions about whether every eligible member had a fair and equal opportunity to participate in the vote.
Taken together — the procedural breach and the voting irregularities — the Board accepts that confidence in the integrity of this AGM has been seriously damaged.
WHERE THINGS STAND TODAY
The Board has retained a Notario Público to conduct a formal review of the proceedings at the AGM and to provide a legal opinion on whether the process
constituted an egregious breach sufficient to affect the validity of the results. We are committed to abiding by that determination. While this review is underway, the newly elected directors cannot be formally seated.
HOW WE ARRIVED HERE
We must also be candid with you: after the resignation of the several board members, the President and Executive Directors, the current Board faced an
unprecedented situation where there was uncertainty about whether we had sufficient members present to constitute a quorum for formal decisions. No
decisions could be made, nor meetings could be called to organize the logistics of the AGM. The members who resigned had also been responsible for much of the organization and logistics of the AGM, but there was very little handed over to the remaining board members. This and the time constraints led to serious problems in organizing the AGM.
The remaining and incoming directors were left to organize a complex annual meeting — including ballot preparation, Zoom coordination, and member communications — under severe time pressure, with incomplete information, and with genuine uncertainty about whether the Board could legally convene and makedecisions. This does not excuse what went wrong, but we believe you deserve to understand the context.
YOUR RIGHTS AS MEMBERS
We wish to make clear something that, regrettably, was not communicated at the AGM itself: members have meaningful recourse available to them under the LCS bylaws. Any member — or group of members — may call an Extraordinary General Meeting by obtaining the signatures of fifty (50) members and submitting a formal request. This mechanism exists precisely to allow the membership to act when confidence in the Board or in a process has been shaken, and we encourage any member who wishes to use it to do so.
Additionally, under Mexican civil law, any member has the right to challenge the validity of decisions taken at a general assembly through a legal action before the civil courts (acción de nulidad de acuerdos de asamblea, pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Ley General de Sociedades and the Código Civil Federal). Members who wish to explore this avenue may wish to consult their own legal counsel.
OUR COMMITMENTS TO YOU
The Board makes the following commitments to the membership:
1. We will accept and abide by the legal opinion rendered by the Notario Público, and we will communicate its findings to members promptly and in full.
2. We will post all significant decisions, updates, and communications on the LCS website in a timely manner. You should not have to seek information — we will bring it to you.
3. We will not seat new directors until the legal review is complete and the path forward is clear.
4. We will work to ensure that no future AGM or general meeting is organized under the conditions that produced these failures.
We are deeply aware that the Lake Chapala Society exists to serve its members and the community, and that trust is the foundation on which everything we do rests. That trust has been strained, and rebuilding it is now our primary obligation.
We thank you for your continued patience and your commitment to this organization.
Respectfully,
President Yolanda Martinez
Secretary Greg Custer
The Board of Directors
Lake Chapala Society, A.C.
For questions or correspondence:
Updates will be posted at: LakeChapalaSociety.com
Lake Chapala Society, A.C.
Board of Directors March 20, 2026
To All Members of the Lake Chapala Society.
The Board of Directors wishes to thank every member who attended or participated in the Annual General Meeting held on March 17, 2026, whether in person or via Zoom. We recognize that the AGM did not go as any of us had hoped, and we write now to address what happened openly and honestly, to explain where matters stand, and to commit to a clear path forward.
We ask for your patience as you read this in full.
A PROCEDURAL ERROR OCCURRED
During the AGM, a motion was put to a vote that had not been included on the published agenda. Under the LCS bylaws, such motions are not permitted, and we acknowledge this was a breach of our governing rules. The motion—to increase the number of candidate votes from five to seven—was accepted in good faith as an attempt to respond to concerns raised on the floor. However, good intentions do not excuse the error, and we take responsibility for it.
It is important to emphasize that, regardless of how the bylaws might be interpreted with regards to the number of eligible candidates, the AGM is not the proper vehicle to address such matters. The bylaws provide a clear mechanism for member redress through an Extraordinary Meeting, which any member may call with the support of 50 signatures (Article 8).
The consequences of that unplanned vote compounded the problem. The printed ballots reflected the original process; the new motion changed it. Members present on the campus were left to reconcile conflicting instructions, and members participating via Zoom received insufficient guidance. The confusion this caused was real, and the frustration of our membership is entirely justified.
DOUBTS ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF THE VOTE
Separately, we are aware of significant technical difficulties that affected absentee and remote voting. Members who were entitled to request a second ballot for a partner had difficulties or were unable to do so through the platform being used. This is unacceptable, and it raises legitimate questions about whether every eligible member had a fair and equal opportunity to participate in the vote.
Taken together — the procedural breach and the voting irregularities — the Board accepts that confidence in the integrity of this AGM has been seriously damaged.
WHERE THINGS STAND TODAY
The Board has retained a Notario Público to conduct a formal review of the proceedings at the AGM and to provide a legal opinion on whether the process
constituted an egregious breach sufficient to affect the validity of the results. We are committed to abiding by that determination. While this review is underway, the newly elected directors cannot be formally seated.
HOW WE ARRIVED HERE
We must also be candid with you: after the resignation of the several board members, the President and Executive Directors, the current Board faced an
unprecedented situation where there was uncertainty about whether we had sufficient members present to constitute a quorum for formal decisions. No
decisions could be made, nor meetings could be called to organize the logistics of the AGM. The members who resigned had also been responsible for much of the organization and logistics of the AGM, but there was very little handed over to the remaining board members. This and the time constraints led to serious problems in organizing the AGM.
The remaining and incoming directors were left to organize a complex annual meeting — including ballot preparation, Zoom coordination, and member communications — under severe time pressure, with incomplete information, and with genuine uncertainty about whether the Board could legally convene and makedecisions. This does not excuse what went wrong, but we believe you deserve to understand the context.
YOUR RIGHTS AS MEMBERS
We wish to make clear something that, regrettably, was not communicated at the AGM itself: members have meaningful recourse available to them under the LCS bylaws. Any member — or group of members — may call an Extraordinary General Meeting by obtaining the signatures of fifty (50) members and submitting a formal request. This mechanism exists precisely to allow the membership to act when confidence in the Board or in a process has been shaken, and we encourage any member who wishes to use it to do so.
Additionally, under Mexican civil law, any member has the right to challenge the validity of decisions taken at a general assembly through a legal action before the civil courts (acción de nulidad de acuerdos de asamblea, pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Ley General de Sociedades and the Código Civil Federal). Members who wish to explore this avenue may wish to consult their own legal counsel.
OUR COMMITMENTS TO YOU
The Board makes the following commitments to the membership:
1. We will accept and abide by the legal opinion rendered by the Notario Público, and we will communicate its findings to members promptly and in full.
2. We will post all significant decisions, updates, and communications on the LCS website in a timely manner. You should not have to seek information — we will bring it to you.
3. We will not seat new directors until the legal review is complete and the path forward is clear.
4. We will work to ensure that no future AGM or general meeting is organized under the conditions that produced these failures.
We are deeply aware that the Lake Chapala Society exists to serve its members and the community, and that trust is the foundation on which everything we do rests. That trust has been strained, and rebuilding it is now our primary obligation.
We thank you for your continued patience and your commitment to this organization.
Respectfully,
President Yolanda Martinez
Secretary Greg Custer
The Board of Directors
Lake Chapala Society, A.C.
For questions or correspondence:
Updates will be posted at: LakeChapalaSociety.com
Welcome to our temporary website. We are working diligently on a permanent site for 2026 where we will continue to provide accurate and timely information to you.
To register for an event, class, tour or to donate, please visit the Main Office located on our campus at LCS,address: 16 de Septiembre 16-a, C.P. 45920 Ajijic, Jal. The public service hours are 10 am-2 pm Monday - Saturday. The garden hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sunday.
Also, you may call: 376-766-1140.
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Photographer: EmiJackson.
