Yes, There Will Be A Zapote This Year
The decision is in, Yes, there will be a fair at Zapote this year. The final vote came last night with 11 in favour and 3 against.

The decision was to have come down on Monday night, however, the "regidores" of the Municipality of San José couldn't come to an agreement and the discussions continued into Tuesday, with the final vote coming last night.

At the heart of the problem is that the annual Zapote fair has become unsafe for the 25.000 or more that will be attending. Security and health concerns topped the list.

The Ministra de Salud(Health Minister), Dra. María Luisa Ávila Agüero, was very vocal is saying that the Zapote fair does not comply with all the health regulations and she and her officials do not want to take the blame for a "tragedy" that only luck has avoided the fairs of the past years. The Health minister added that the municipal regidores will not be around to face the problem if it should occur.

The other major concern is public security. Authorities say that the Zapote grounds aren't big enough to handle the large crowds, especially at night, when drinking and drugs are common in the many temporary bars set up for the festivities.

The Comisión de Festejos announced the decision at 8:45pm. One of the more vocal opponents to the annual fair was Antonio García who represents the Movimiento Libertario party and is making his bid for the mayoral seat in the December 3 elections.

This year the Zapote fair will commence on December 23 and end on January 1.