Friday, August 22, 2025

Mexico according to AMLO: this week inside the mañaneras

0
Five ministers await their turn to report at Tuesday's press conference
Five ministers await their turn to report at Tuesday's press conference. office of the president

With elections on the horizon, a shift in tone was expected for the week’s morning press conferences in the National Palace in Mexico City. A ban on political campaigning kicked in at midnight on Wednesday, meaning even tighter restrictions on what could be discussed politically.

President López Obrador, or AMLO for short, had already been sanctioned by the National Electoral Institute for his points of discussion earlier in the campaign.

Monday

The week opened as it routinely does with a roundup of the standing prices of fuels. With that formality checked, the first question from the floor brought full alertness to a slowly waking room.

Had the U.S. government responded to the diplomatic note accusing it of funding political groups opposed to the administration?

“No, there has been no response, we are waiting for it … It is very regrettable that the United States government has not taken our request seriously,” the president said, bringing journalists’ pens to life.

He then advised his friends in the United States to follow the foreign policy teachings of former president Franklin D. Roosevelt. The wartime leader promoted the non-interventionist “Good Neighbor Policy” in Latin America.

Turning to another pressing issue, AMLO saluted the Cruz Azul soccer team on its victory Sunday. “Congratulations to Cruz Azul … I saw both goals,” said the president, offering a nod to the team that had finally won a league title after 23 years.

“Remember what Babe Ruth said? ‘You cannot beat someone who doesn’t know how to give up,’” said the 65th leader of Mexico, who secured office after two unsuccessful attempts.

Tuesday

Health was at the top of the agenda on Tuesday. A stellar lineup accompanied the president to relay the latest on the vaccine rollout. The Health Minister, the Deputy Health Minister, the Minister of Education, the Foreign Minister and the Defense Minister all lined up for their moment under the spotlight to confirm that things are going very well indeed (as they always are, according to the daily pressers).

“We are ninth in the world at the moment for doses administered,” related Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. “Mexico is in ninth place,” he repeated.

Once the floor was opened, the question of election security was revisited. The president’s response addressed the election bit but the security part was left on the shelf.

“The people of Mexico are teaching the world a lesson. They are one of the most aware peoples in the world, never in history have there been so many aware people as now,” AMLO affirmed, repeating the pet adjective he has attributed to voters.

Security was taken back off the shelf later with the president’s claim that the election had been relatively peaceful. “Even though it is the largest election in recent times … even with the regrettable acts of violence, it is not the same as before,” said the president, demonstrating a tendency to compare himself to his rivals, rather than the ideal.

The celebration of Navy Day forced an abrupt end to the conference, and it was off to a ceremony in Veracruz for the president. “A hug to all the marines,” he proclaimed, before making a speedy exit.

lopez obrador
Looking cheerful, the president calls on a journalist for another question.

Wednesday

In an early exchange, AMLO exhibited accurate aim, hitting two birds with one stone. In a single shot he used the unsold presidential jet to exhibit his virtues and denounce his rivals.

“They came up with the idea to buy a plane that was so luxurious,” he said as an explanation for why it still hadn’t been sold. “Imagine how much … we saved yesterday when I went to Veracruz [on a commercial airline] … if we have it in maintenance, grounded, we are saving … millions of pesos,” the president declared.

With the election days away and intimidation and violence accompanying its build-up, the president addressed the concerns of voters. “The country is at peace, there is governance, there are no risks of instability. We are facing the scourge of violence every day and we can speak of peace and tranquility in the country,” reflected the president, in somewhat contradictory fashion.

The morning ended with some spiritual advice. “Another respectful, affectionate recommendation: do not get angry, do not let anger take over, be calm … let love of your neighbor prevail and don’t hate anyone,” he said.

Whether violent criminals will heed his latest call for love and peace remains to be seen. They haven’t yet.

Thursday

More good vaccine news headed up the mañanera on Thursday: on Wednesday more than 1 million people were vaccinated.

But a question spoiled the celebratory mood: electoral crime was the subject of a long, elaborate inquiry from a journalist, who went so far as to name the culprits.

But rules prohibiting discussion that could be seen as electioneering prohibited a response. “I can’t,” answered the president before turning to another question.

With the optics of a breaking news channel, the conference then switched to a live stream from Mexico City airport, where 1 million new Covid vaccines had arrived. The director general of Birmex, the state-owned vaccine company, updated viewers as the planes rolled in. “42,347,665 doses, Mr. President,” he confirmed.

The conference ended with a call for voters to go to the polls on Sunday. “He who wants to be free, will be free,” the president said, quoting former president Benito Juárez.

Friday

More Covid shots were on the way, the president announced, offering the news that the United States would send 1 million vaccines.

But the mood was threatened once again with a pointed inquiry: were refurbishments of the oil refinery in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, causing cancer among children?

“No, no, we couldn’t do that, life is the most important thing,” was AMLO’s indirect response.

Then, full of Friday energy, the president found his narrative voice to elaborate on topics of neoliberalism, environmentalism, pseudo-environmentalism, feminism and vaccinations. The patient journalist interjected: “Mr. President, returning to the topic of Salina Cruz.”

“We would do nothing to harm the health of the people,” the president assured, before showing his absolute faith in the journalistic establishment. “If what you say were true … it would have already appeared in Reforma,” the daily newspaper the president loves to hate.

Pushed for time, AMLO vilified a politician’s use of a helicopter for campaigning and certified his faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ, all before leaving for a flight. The term messiah was not mentioned.

Mexico News Daily

Candidate for mayor shot and killed in Cazones, Veracruz

0
Veracruz candidate René Tovar was murdered Friday.
Veracruz candidate René Tovar was murdered Friday.

As Mexicans prepare to go to the polls Sunday, another candidate is dead and several others are recovering from physical attacks or threats in the most violent election season in Mexico’s history.

René Tovar, candidate for mayor of Cazones, Veracruz, was shot and killed at his home Friday night. He was running as a candidate for the Citizens Movement (MC) party.

Tovar was hit at least eight times and was taken to a hospital in nearby Poza Rica but was pronounced dead on arrival. Another person was injured in the attack.

State and national leaders of the Citizens Movement party condemned the murder, calling on the government to guarantee the safety of its citizens during the election season.

The governor of Veracruz made an effort to do exactly that earlier in the day on Friday, when he announced the deployment more than 5,000 security forces throughout the state, with the goal of maintaining peace and order during the election.

Another candidate for mayor in the state escaped injury but his bodyguards were not so fortunate. Gunmen attacked the campaign office of Fernando Pérez Varga in Coxquihui Friday morning, killing one of the bodyguards and wounding two others while attempting to reach the candidate, whose home adjoins the office.

However, the surviving bodyguards were able to catch one of the attackers and turn him over to state prosecutors after repelling the others.

Other attacks on candidates and politicians on Thursday and Friday:

• The general secretary of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Sinaloa, José Alberto Salas, was kidnapped from his home in Culiacán by an armed group on Saturday morning. Shots were fired and blood was found at the scene when police arrived. As of Saturday afternoon there was no word of his whereabouts.

• Vanesa Linares, a mayoral candidate in Ocuilan, México state, was attacked by gunmen Thursday night as she made her way home. Linares is part of the Va Por el Estado de México coalition, which consists of the PRI, the National Action Party (PAN) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD).

• Also Thursday night, PAN candidate Mayra Sosa said on social media that she was the victim of an armed attack. Sosa is running for a seat on the council in San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Oaxaca.

• In Querétaro, an armed group fired on a pickup truck that was transporting family and campaign staff of María Cárdenas, a mayoral candidate for the town of El Marqués. No injuries were reported.

• The PRI candidate for mayor of Cuerámaro, Guanajuato, Mauricio Arce, said he has received death threats by phone and in writing, demanding that he withdraw from the election.

• A mayoral candidate on the Va Por Chiapas ticket (a coalition of the PRI, PAN and PRD), Rosemberg Díaz, said that his campaign headquarters were attacked by gunmen. Díaz is running for mayor of Tapilula, Chiapas. He blamed an opposing party candidate for the attack.

In Cancún, meanwhile, a candidate for mayor was taken out of the race but not through violence or threats against him: he was disqualified for what state election authorities called gender-based political violence.

Isaac Janix Alanís was stripped of his candidacy for Fuerza Por México after remarks he made about rival Mara Lezama, who is running for reelection as mayor. It wasn’t revealed what those remarks were.

With reports from UnoTV (sp), Milenio (sp), La Jornada (sp), Milenio (sp)

Stay out of politics, government warns church leaders

0
Cardinal Juan Sandoval.
The Morena party is implementing a dictatorship, charges Cardinal Juan Sandoval.

After a number of Catholic Church leaders called on citizens to vote against the ruling Morena party at elections this Sunday, the federal government issued a statement calling on all religious figures to stay out of politics.

Several Catholic priests have published video messages urging people not to vote for the leftist party founded by President López Obrador.

Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, who last year accused the president of leading Mexico into communism, was one of them.

He exhorted citizens to vote against Morena because it is in the process of implementing a dictatorship and a “communist, socialist system that enslaves.”

The former archbishop of Guadalajara warned that if López Obrador obtains more power via the results of the elections, the people of Mexico will end up “very poor” like the citizens of Cuba and Venezuela.

Sandoval also said that national security and peace are at stake in the elections. “The [state and federal Morena] governments have allied themselves with criminals [and] cartels,” he claimed.

The federal Interior Ministry (Segob) responded to his and other priests’ advice to voters by issuing a statement on Thursday that effectively told church leaders to butt out.

To ensure that the June 6 elections are an “example of civility, responsibility and democracy,” the statement said, Segob called on leaders of churches and religious groups and associations to conduct themselves with strict adherence to the law and respect the veda electoral, a ban on political campaigning that applies to religious leaders as well as the president, among others, during the official campaign period.

The Interior Ministry also issued a statement in April reminding church leaders that the Mexican constitution and the Law of Religious Associations and Public Worship law prohibits them from intervening in the electoral process.

Among the punishments that can apply to those who violate the law are warnings, fines and the temporary or definitive closure of the place of worship from which the scofflaw proselytizes.

Segob, which is responsible for regulating church activities and overseeing compliance with public worship laws, said in its most recent statement that its main interest in calling for religious leaders to respect the veda electoral is to ensure that everyone – “within the framework of the principle of secularity that governs the Mexican state” – contributes to “the construction of a society that is fully democratic and respectful of constitutional precepts.”

With reports from Proceso (sp), La Jornada (sp) 

1 body recovered after 7 trapped in flooded coal mine in Coahuila

0
The Coahuila coal mine where six miners are missing.
The Coahuila coal mine where six miners are missing.

Rescue workers have found one body after an accident left seven miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in Coahuila on Friday.

On Friday night more than 300 rescue workers were at the site, located in Rancherías, a community in the municipality of Múzquiz, but were unable to enter the mine due to flooding.

It wasn’t until Saturday morning, after four pumps were used to drain the mine, that a rescue effort could begin.

Governor Miguel Riquelme was at the site and expressed confidence that the miners would be found safe, saying that the state would dedicate the necessary resources to the rescue effort.

“The priority at all times will be the safety of the miners,” he said.

Miners' families conduct a vigil
Miners’ families keep a vigil before a makeshift altar outside the mine in Rancherías, Coahuila.

But one miner’s body was located at 7 a.m. Two hours later, rescuers were able to remove it from the mine.

The accident occurred at 12:50 p.m. and came after some heavy rainfall in the area. The small-scale mine is about 800 meters long and 100 meters deep, a deep and narrow open coal pit with steep sides, according to the Associated Press.

The accident is a tragic reminder of past mining accidents in Coahuila, such as the 2006 methane explosion that claimed the lives of 65 miners at the Pasta de Conchos mine. In that case, only two bodies were recovered; rubble and toxic gas hindered the recovery of the rest. The federal government has announced plans to recover the remaining bodies, something the families of the victims have been demanding since the accident occurred.

The US $75-million project is expected to take four years.

With reports from El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp), AP (en)

May homicides highest in 9 months; numbers are steadily rising

0
A crime scene in Morelos.
A crime scene in Morelos.

May was the worst month for homicides since August 2020, according to daily figures published by the federal government that also show that murders have increased every month so far this year.

There were 2,462 victims of homicide and femicide last month for a daily average of 79.4 murders.

The preliminary figures typically undercount murders by 15% to 20%, meaning that final data, to be published June 20, will likely show there were close to 3,000 homicides and femicides in May.

The last time Mexico recorded a higher daily number of murders than in May was last August when the figure was 81.4.

Last month was the most violent May since President López Obrador took office in late 2018. The preliminary total of murders was 1.6% higher than May 2020 and 3.3% higher than May 2019.

The preliminary data also shows that average daily homicides and femicides have increased every month since December. There was an average of 70.8 murders per day last December, 76.7 in January, 78.7 in February, 78.8 in March, 79 in April and 79.4 in May. The average in May was 12.1% higher than the average in December.

The month-over-month increase in murders coincided with both the loosening of coronavirus restrictions as the intensity of Mexico’s pandemic declined and with the campaign period leading up to municipal, state and federal elections this Sunday. Scores of politicians and candidates are among the thousands of people who have been murdered in 2021.

Thirty months after López Obrador was sworn in as president and set about implementing a “hugs, not bullets” security policy that favors addressing the root causes of violence with social programs rather than combating it with force, homicide numbers remain alarmingly high.

The deployment of more than 100,000 troops of a new security force, the National Guard, and the ongoing use of the armed forces to carry out public security tasks have been unable to stem the bloodshed, with a new record for homicides set in 2019 before only a minimal reduction was achieved in 2020 even as authorities encouraged people to stay at home as much as possible to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

In May, Guanajuato retained its unenviable title of Mexico’s most violent state with 271 murders, according to the preliminary data. México state ranked second with 226 homicides and femicides followed by Michoacán, Jalisco and Chihuahua, with 222, 206 and 156, respectively.

Murders in those five states accounted for 44% of the total reported by the Public Security Ministry last month.

Guanajuato, where numerous criminal groups including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel are fighting each other for control, has been Mexico’s most violent state since 2019. Celaya, a midsized city about 100 kilometers southeast of the state capital, was the most violent city in the world in 2020, according to a study by a Mexican nongovernmental organization. Irapuato, a city known as Mexico’s strawberry capital, ranked as the fifth most violent.

Authorities hoped that the arrest of Santa Rosa de Lima kingpin José Antonio “El Marro” Yépez Ortiz last August would help achieve a sustained reduction in violence in Guanajuato but after a brief decline in homicides rampant bloodshed returned.

Another state of concern is Zacatecas, which ranked as the sixth most violent state last month in terms of sheer homicide numbers. The northern state, whose location between Pacific coast ports and Mexico’s northeastern border with the United States makes it a drug trafficking nexus, recorded 130 murders last month, seven more than Baja California and 25 more than Mexico City, both of which have much higher populations.

A recent survey by Mexico’s statistics agency Inegi revealed that the crime-ridden city of Fresnillo, located 60 kilometers north of Zacatecas city, has the distinction of being the Mexican city where the highest percentage of residents say they feel unsafe.

Among the almost 2,500 murders reported in May were several that made headlines.

Three siblings – two brothers and their sister – were kidnapped and killed in Jalisco early last month, a crime that triggered a large protest in Guadalajara against violence and insecurity.

The assassination of Abel Murrieta, a former attorney general of Sonora who was running for mayor in Cajeme (Ciudad Obregón), on May 13 was another high-profile case as was the murder of Alma Barragán, a candidate for mayor in Moroleón, Guanajuato, who was shot dead on May 25.

All told, 13 candidates and politicians were murdered in May, according to Etellekt, a risk analysis firm. As is the norm in Mexico, the majority of the perpetrators of the crimes were not taken into custody.

One exception was a man identified only as Andrés N., a suspected serial killer of women who was arrested in México state on May 18 and admitted to killing and eating numerous women over a period of 20 years. But the 72-year-old would likely still be at large had his final victim not been the wife of a police commander, who took it upon himself to investigate the disappearance of his spouse.

Yet another high profile murder in May was that of Javier Barajas Piña, a 27-year-old human rights activist who was shot at least 15 times by gunmen in the municipality of Salvatierra, Guanajuato, on May 29. The man’s sister disappeared in 2020.

Final data for the first four months of the year showed that homicide numbers declined 4% compared to the same period of 2020 but with 11,277 victims between January and April, Mexico remained on track to record more than 30,000 murders for a fifth consecutive year.

The preliminary numbers for May indicate that the country not only continues to move toward that undesirable figure but is doing so at an even faster pace.

With a report from Animal Político (sp) 

8-meter-deep sinkhole appears in Tamaulipas after water line breaks

0
Sinkhole in Nuevo Laredo measures 20 meters in diameter.
Sinkhole in Nuevo Laredo measures 20 meters in diameter.

An enormous sinkhole has appeared in the streets of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, after the rupture of a 50-year-old water line. The sinkhole, which is 20 meters across and more than eight meters deep, has caused material damages but no injuries.

Recent rain softened the earth adding to the damage from the broken line and causing the pavement to collapse at an intersection in the city. Authorities from the municipal water commission said they were working to repair the water lines, after which the pavement will be repaired.

Meanwhile, in Puebla another even larger sinkhole has begun encroaching on a home.

The sinkhole, which measures nearly 100 meters across, has caused the collapse of a perimeter wall and part of a bedroom on a property in Santa María Zacatepec.

The home belongs to the Sánchez Xalamihua family, who have moved out and are staying in a home whose rent is being paid by the local government, reported the newspaper El Financiero.

Growing sinkhole threatens to destroy this house in Puebla.
Growing sinkhole threatens to destroy this house in Puebla.

The 15-meter-deep sinkhole appeared in a field last Saturday and was initially 10 meters across but has steadily widened since.

Studies are under way to determine the cause but overexploitation of groundwater reserves has been cited in many reports.

Sources: El Universal (sp), El Financiero (sp)

Thousands of motorists evade payment of highway tolls

0
A toll plaza in Baja California.
A toll plaza in Baja California.

Highway toll evasion is on the rise with negative consequences for both the businesses that operate toll roads and the government, which collects taxes from those businesses.

“The problem is getting out of control, we’re talking about thousands of cases,” said Marco Frías, director of the Association of Road Infrastructure Concessionaires in an interview with the newspaper El Heraldo de México.

Adding to the problem, some people are sharing videos of toll evasion on social media, Frías said.

“People are not paying businesses for the service [they provide], that generates less taxes for the state and the government is directly affected,” he said.

Some drivers raise the gate and drive through, Frías said. Others drive through the barrier and break it. Motorcyclists simply go around the gate and continue on their way.

Concessionaires are working with authorities to address the problem, Frías said. One option is identifying license plates using cameras, something that is not included in current regulations.

Toll evasion is increasingly common in Sinaloa and México state. Authorities are concerned that people in other areas may begin to replicate the behavior.

Source: El Heraldo de México (sp)

3 states regress from yellow to orange on coronavirus stoplight; 19 are now green

0
Green remains the predominant color on the new map.
Green remains the predominant color on the new map.

Three states regressed to high risk orange on the updated coronavirus map presented by the federal Health Ministry on Friday night, while six advanced to low risk green.

Baja California Sur, Yucatán and Tabasco, which have all seen a recent increase in case numbers, switched to orange from medium risk yellow on the new map, which will take effect Monday and remain in force until June 20.

That brings to four the number of high risk states for the next two weeks as Quintana Roo is already orange and remained that color on the updated map.

The predominant color on the map is once again green, with a total of 19 states at the low risk level, an increase of three compared to the current map.

Mexico City, México state, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Michoacán and Puebla switched to green from yellow, joining Coahuila, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Morelos, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tlaxcala and Guerrero, which are already low risk states.

There are nine yellow light states on the new map, among which are five of Mexico’s six northern border states.

Veracruz, Sonora and Sinaloa regressed to yellow from green, joining Baja California, Chihuahua,Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Campeche and Colima, which are already medium risk states.

Each stoplight color, determined by the Health Ministry using 10 different indicators including case numbers and hospital occupancy levels, is accompanied by recommended restrictions to slow the spread of the virus but it is ultimately up to state governments to decide on their own restrictions.

Some states, such as Yucatán and Quintana Roo, have their own stoplight systems to guide the implementation and lifting of restrictions. Authorities in Yucatán announced before the federal government updated its map that the state would remain at the yellow light level even though case numbers have recently increased.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s accumulated case tally rose by 2,809 on Friday to just under 2.43 million, while the official Covid-19 death toll increased by 206 to 228,556, the fourth highest total in the world after those of the United States, Brazil and India.

The Health Ministry also reported Friday night that 23.7 million people, or 27% of the adult population, are either partially or fully vaccinated against Covid-19. A total of 33.78 million shots have been administered in Mexico since the vaccine rollout began last December.

Mexico News Daily 

Idyllic water park nestled in nature began with 300 pesos and a dream

0
El Manto water park Nayarit, Mexico
El Manto is a crystal-clear, spring-fed river with a waterfall in Nayarit that has been gently adapted into a water park.

“There’s a river I remember in a remote corner of Nayarit,” said watercolorist Jorge Monroy one day while I sat in his studio, sipping wine and exchanging tales of western Mexico’s hidden beauty.

“You walk alongside a stream between wonderfully colored, high canyon walls and get soaked by waterfall after waterfall. The water, by the way, is neither hot nor cold, but just perfect for having fun for hours.”

This description was enticing indeed, and because neither Jorge nor his artist friend Ilse Taylor Hable had ever painted this river, it was easy to set up a visit to El Manto, located 115 kilometers west of Guadalajara and no longer so remote, thanks to recently paved roads leading all the way there.

Upon reaching the river, we found a very large parking area full of cars and a gateway where we had to pay an entrance fee. A well-made stairway — with what seemed like a million steps — took us down to a truly gorgeous little river winding its way between high canyon walls.

To me, the place looked beautiful, but Jorge had a different reaction:

El Manto water park Nayarit, Mexico
Neither the water nor the rain is cold, so there’s never any need to stop the fun.

“It has been developed!” he cried in anguish.

Swimming pools and sidewalks had been built along the 300-meter stretch of the river, bridges now crossed it at various points and, of course, there were people — lots of people — enjoying this unusual and perhaps unique balneario (water park).

It was only when Jorge and Ilse set up their easels that I realized for the first time in my life that artists live in another dimension, a wonderful parallel universe closed to us ordinary people, especially us photographers.

Standing there on the sizzling-hot concrete platform, surrounded by noisy, splashing children, Jorge and Ilse calmly created on their canvases the magical, untouched El Manto of yesterday: the wildly colored canyon walls, the bubbling brook, the waterfalls as they once were.

And wonder of wonders, neither painting contained a single square centimeter of concrete!

Recently, I returned to El Manto with the plan of camping there. I found the swimming area along the river as enchanting as ever … and apparently, so have throngs of others who now flock to El Manto by the busload.

El Manto water park Nayarit, Mexico
Filled with emotion, Don Salvador tells the tale of struggling to tame the wild river.

As for the camping facilities, you can pitch your tent anywhere you want in a huge, flat, grassy area the size of a football field. Here you will also find clean toilets, showers and big, roofed platforms with picnic tables … as well as a sign saying music must be turned off at 11:30 p.m.

Well, in true Mexican style, everyone at the campground soon got to know everyone else, and the chatting went on until well after midnight … sin música, I might add.

Early the next morning, I opened my eyes to the crowing of roosters and the lowing of cattle … and to a spectacular sunrise that lasted only a few moments.

Later that morning, I struck up a conversation with a distinguished-looking old gentleman who had wandered into the campground.

“Excuse me,” I said, “do you happen to know anything about the history of this place?”

Well, I had found the right man. He closed his eyes and stood there a moment as a big smile came over his face.

El Manto water park Nayarit, Mexico
Children float leisurely at the side of the craggy canyon wall.

“It all started 50 years ago when I was just a boy,” he said. And I quickly discovered I was talking to Don Salvador Quintero Bernal, owner of El Manto and one of those people who, at the cost of years of hard work, had managed to turn his life’s dream into reality.

As a boy, Don Salvador had been just another kid from a poor family living in the nearby town of El Rosario. He managed to earn a few centavos doing odd jobs, he told me.

“But I dreamed about doing something worthwhile with my life, something no one else had done. Then, one day, I was sitting above the beautiful waterfall here on this river, and I said to myself, ‘El Manto! I’m going to turn El Manto into a place unlike any other, into something wonderful!’”

Young Salvador then walked the length of the river and in his mind’s eye saw what it could become. So he went to the landowner with his idea.

“It’ll never work,” the man said. “You can’t turn this place into a balneario because it floods all the time … But if you want to buy it, I’ll sell it to you for 300 pesos.”

“So,” said Don Salvador, “I raised the money and bought the land, and in 1971, I started building the stairway leading down to the riverside.

El Manto water park Nayarit, Mexico
The view from the spacious campground.

“I never needed an architect because I had the whole plan in my head. Everything you see down there was built by the hands of people like me, hardworking folk from El Rosario.”

An important part of Quintero’s vision were strategic floodgates which could be opened quickly and easily to prevent water from rising in the narrow canyon.

As a result, “not one single death, not one serious accident, has ever occurred here at El Manto during all these years,” he said.

In the course of time, El Manto has become widely known and admired.

“All the profit we get, I turn right back into community projects here in El Rosario,” he says.

Apart from the swimming and camping areas, El Manto has two restaurants that, in theory at least, will even make you a stack of hotcakes as early as 8 a.m. You can also book a delightful villa (including a kitchen with a fridge) for four people, at a cost of 1,800 pesos, which includes access to the water park for two days.

El Manto water park Nayarit, Mexico
At El Manto you can stay overnight in a modern villa equipped with a kitchen.

The “Villa Village” has, by the way, its own luxury swimming pool in case you’d rather not walk all the way down to the river.

Check out El Manto’s excellent website, and be sure to make reservations in advance if you want to stay in a villa. Note that during the rainy season (July through October), many of El Manto’s pools are kept empty. This greatly reduces the number of visitors during the rainy season, perhaps making it all the more attractive to foreigners, especially those who can afford to stay in one of the lovely villas.

Entrance cost to the water park is 80 pesos for adults and 60 for children. To get there, ask Google Maps to take you to El Manto, Amatlán de Cañas, Nayarit.

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for 31 years and is the author of A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area and co-author of Outdoors in Western Mexico. More of his writing can be found on his website.

El Manto water park Nayarit, Mexico

Guests at El Manto swim in the rain.

Bridges and walkways were added to the scene by Don Salvador Quintero.

 

The sun rises over the campground.

 

The smallest of the three waterfalls at El Manto.

 

Painters Ilse Taylor Hable and Jorge Monroy capture El Manto on canvas.

Oaxaca municipality says no to elections, claims it’s been abandoned

0
Santa Catarina, Oaxaca, where no one will be voting on Sunday.
Santa Catarina, Oaxaca, where no one will be voting on Sunday.

Tens of millions of citizens will vote in Mexico’s biggest ever elections on Sunday but residents of one community in Oaxaca and two municipalities in Chiapas won’t be among them.

In Santa Catarina Yetzelalag, located in Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte region, local authorities decided on Wednesday that they won’t allow polling stations to be set up in the small town.

In a statement directed to President López Obrador, Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat, political parties and the media, local authorities said the decision was made a town meeting because 11 years after more than 100 homes were damaged by Hurricane Karl, the promised aid has still not arrived.

Following the hurricane it was determined that the whole town needed to be relocated due to the risk of landslides. But Santa Catarina Yetzelalag remains where it was and families haven’t received any government support.

“On the eve of what some call the festival of democracy, the residents of Santa Catarina Yetzelalag don’t have anything to celebrate. We’re filled with deep sadness and legitimate and intense anger because we feel used and abandoned by the political parties,” the statement said.

“… The failures of the governments of the left and the right have been constant … at the state and federal level. Taking all these factors into account, the [town] assembly decided to show the same indifference toward the political parties that they have shown toward us,” it said.

The authorities argued that resources dedicated to holding the elections could have been used to relocate the town, where they say the lives of residents are still at risk.

“… We will not be accomplices of our executioners, no solution means no election. For the government, the life of each one of our residents is not worth 3,500 pesos [US $175] but it squanders millions on electoral advertising that will be trash on Monday,” the statement said.

Santa Catarina authorities agreed to block access to the community on Sunday and residents will not be allowed out unless they are attending to an emergency.

Meanwhile, the Chiapas Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation decided to suspend elections in Honduras de la Sierra and Venustiano Carranza due to security concerns.

Honduras de la Sierra became an independent municipality three years ago after separating from Siltepec, and some community landowners are demanding that it be reincorporated, generating concerns that local elections could be marred by violence.

Land disputes plague Venustiano Carranza and two groups of Tzotzil Mayan people were recently involved in a gunfight there. Murders in the municipality have also been linked to conflicts over land.

It will be up to the Chiapas Congress to determine when extraordinary elections can be held safely in the two municipalities.

Source: Reforma (sp), El Universal (sp)