FEMPPA Letter to the Director General of Civil Aeronautics Regarding General Aviation Regulations (1998)
Letter sent by FEMPPA to Director General of Civil Aeronautics Juan Antonio Bargés Mestres expressing disappointment that the Federation's proposed general aviation regulations were excluded from the official draft Civil Aviation Regulations. The document recounts the collaboration process between the DGAC and the general aviation community, defends the work carried out by participating associations, and requests fulfillment of commitments previously made by the authority.
MEXICAN FEDERATION OF PILOTS AND AIRCRAFT OWNERS
July 14, 1998
Juan Antonio Bargés Mestres
Director General of Civil Aeronautics
Dear Mr. Director:
On May 30, 1997, the current Secretary of this Federation sent you a letter describing the unfortunate situation of general aviation in Mexico.
In response to that letter, you invited him to discuss the matter at length. During that meeting, you explained that you had very limited human and financial resources, insufficient even to adequately serve commercial aviation, and that for this reason general aviation had not received proper attention. To remedy the situation, you made three specific requests: first, that general aviation unite into a single national organization; second, that this organization prepare regulations for general aviation; and third, that we inform you of any cases of corruption of which we became aware.
An account of that meeting was published in the August 1997 issue of the Noti-AMPPA newsletter under the title "The Bargés Name Does Not Diminish Courage," the central portion of which we reproduce below:
"We met one Saturday in the house that had belonged to your parents in Córdoba. We talked at length about shared memories, how you came to hold your current position, and about your projects and your work at the DGAC.
'Your friends are partly right,' you told me, 'because I have concentrated on commercial aviation, on the big operators, because that is where things were worst. Where the bribes were fifty thousand dollars and the disorder was enormous. That is over now. Mexicana is operating profitably. Three major Boeing maintenance facilities will open in northern Mexico. Grob is about to begin manufacturing aircraft in Mexico and others will follow. The Chiapas aerotourism project has begun with Palenque. All that remains is Taesa. Do you know anyone willing to invest thirty million dollars? My problem is that I have seventy-five fewer employees, very little time, and a tiny budget to attend to those flying below 18,000 feet, who outnumber those flying above it—3,500 versus 300—but are very fragmented. There are small clubs everywhere, but each goes its own way. Perhaps there should be a Deputy Directorate dedicated to private aviation, but at the moment I do not have the resources to create one.
What I want to ask of you,' you said, 'are three things. First, organize yourselves so that I have a counterpart to speak with. Second, help me eliminate the corruption that still exists in some areas. And above all, help me draft the regulations that will govern you.
For my part, I commit to recognizing your organization. I will personally address complaints of corruption, provided no intermediary is involved. And I will support the regulations that you propose. Draft them conscientiously and I will support you. You have the resources and the experience.'"
The account concluded by stating:
"Most of the friends with whom I have discussed that meeting have become enthusiastic. Some have told me that I am naïve for believing him. The truth is that we will never know who is right until we do our part, and we need to do it together."
It also called for action using a phrase from your father, Professor Bargés:
"Only when it is hot can iron be shaped."
Work on your requests began immediately.
An initial version of the regulations was distributed via the Internet and gradually expanded through contributions from everyone involved. Numerous working meetings were held, and finally, on November 15, 1997, in Huejotzingo, Puebla, representatives of the principal general aviation associations in the country discussed and approved the final version of the proposed regulations and agreed to create a federation that would unite all of general aviation.
In January 1998 we informed you that everything was ready and requested a meeting. You received us and we delivered our proposed regulations to you on February 4. In the remarks you made on that occasion, you thanked us for the proposal, offered that it would serve as the foundation for the new regulations then being drafted, and told us that we would be consulted regarding any matters that for some reason could not be regulated as we proposed. You also invited us to participate in the Aviation Day celebration at the Alcázar of Chapultepec Castle.
On Aviation Day, David G. Zambrano Villarreal spoke on our behalf, describing the state of general aviation in Mexico and inviting Secretary Carlos Ruiz Sacristán to serve as an honorary witness to the establishment of this Federation.
FEMPPA was finally incorporated on May 18 in the presence of Secretary Ruiz Sacristán, Undersecretary Dychter, and yourself, all of whom were named honorary members of this organization.
On that occasion we provided the Secretary with a copy of the regulatory proposal that you had received months earlier, to which the Secretary responded by directing that we be given a copy of the latest version of the Regulations to the Civil Aviation Law, which you did that same day.
Our surprise was enormous when we read that document and found none of the content of our proposal reflected in it.
When we raised this concern, you told us that because of time pressures it had been drafted that way, but that the deficiencies would later be corrected "through Standards."
Our questions are: what time pressure? We delivered the document you yourself requested months earlier.
Why did you ask us to do the work if our work was not going to be taken into account?
Why were we never consulted, as you had promised?
Afterward, you asked us to provide you, article by article, with our objections to the proposed regulations and the essential points that we believed should be included.
We did so and also spent many hours speaking with Mr. Vite, who ultimately assured us that he fully understood our position and that within twenty-four hours he would present us with a new draft of the regulations for our review.
More than a month has passed and we have not received the promised draft.
Over the last two weeks we have telephoned and left messages with your secretary without receiving any response.
The members of our Federation who invested time, money, and effort in preparing our proposed regulations are understandably upset and disappointed. As for those pilots who from the beginning called us naïve for believing you, we must now listen to their mocking refrain of "I told you so."
We have requested that Secretary Ruiz Sacristán ensure that the regulations drafted by the DGAC apply exclusively to commercial aviation and that the DGAC prepare separate regulations for private aviation based upon our proposal, together with any legislative initiatives necessary to correct the deficiencies in the treatment of general aviation contained in the current Civil Aviation Law.
You received a copy of that document and may consult it, along with others, on our Internet site at:
We reiterate that we are motivated solely by the desire to contribute to safer and friendlier skies in Mexico for everyone, and that we remain fully willing to cooperate with the authorities in improving the condition of general aviation.
Respectfully,
Mexican Federation of Pilots and Aircraft Owners
Jorge Cornish Garduño
President
(Translated in June 2026 by ChatGPT)
