Growth is Latin America’s big challenge

By

-

January 19, 2022

containers — Manufacturing represents more opportunities for Mexico but pragmatic solutions that leave behind ideological debate are needed.

It may seem hard to believe today but Brazil and Mexico were once the envy of the world. Their economies grew more than 6% a year from 1951-80, almost as fast as postwar growth paragons South Korea and Japan.

Since the debt crisis of the 1980s, Latin America has fallen badly behind. In recent years it has sunk to the bottom of the emerging market class, underperforming the Middle East or sub-Saharan Africa.

Latin America’s inability to grow generates much hand-wringing and many theories. Low productivity, poor infrastructure, corruption and political instability are recurrent themes. Criticisms are leveled at the leftwing governments of the early 2000s for not investing enough wealth from the commodity boom in building competitive infrastructure or delivering high-quality education and health. The right is faulted for doing too little to tackle entrenched inequality, promote effective competition or make taxation fairer.

Coronavirus cruelly exposed Latin America’s limitations; the combined health and economic impact from the pandemic was the worst in the world. Now change is in the air. In a series of important elections, voters in the region have turned on incumbents and picked radical newcomers. Peru and Chile have swung far to the left, Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina have tilted back to the right. Brazil and Colombia vote this year.

Fortunately, Latin America’s plentiful natural resources mean that opportunities abound. The region is rich in two key metals for electrification: copper and lithium. Home to some of the world’s sunniest and windiest areas, it could generate gigawatts of ultra-low-cost electricity to produce and export green hydrogen.

The region is in the middle of a tech boom so big that it attracted more private capital in the first half of last year than southeast Asia. The world’s biggest standalone digital bank, Nubank, is Brazilian. Tiny Uruguay is a leading software exporter.

A push by the U.S. to bring production closer to its shores could give manufacturing in Mexico and Central America a fillip. Brazil has fostered the development of globally competitive high-tech agriculture.

To exploit these opportunities to the full, Latin America needs to adopt pragmatic solutions that leave behind ideological debate. This should begin with the axiom that wealth must first be created to be shared. A flourishing private sector, a fully functioning state, quality public services, the rule of law and foreign investment are all essential ingredients.

Taxation in some nations is too low but raising it will only help if the proceeds deliver healthier, better educated and more productive citizens, and competitive economies. Too often in Latin America, higher government spending has meant padded payrolls and increased corruption, rather than better outcomes.

Citizens across Latin America are growing restive. Tolerance for governments of any stripe that fail to deliver is minimal. Their faith in elected presidents is being sorely tested.

During the last growth spurt, Mexico was a one-party state and Brazil mostly a military dictatorship. If the region is to avoid sliding back into populist authoritarianism, its new leaders urgently need to show that democracy can deliver strong, sustainable growth and shared prosperity. That means abandoning dogma and seeking consensus around long-term policies to build effective states, strengthen the rule of law and create globally competitive economies. Time is running out.

Government to expropriate 198 private properties for Maya Train

By

MND Staff

-

January 19, 2022

0

The federal government has declared its intention to expropriate 198 privately owned properties for the construction of the Maya Train railroad in Quintana Roo, raising concern among local authorities and the business community.

In a notice published in its official gazette on Monday, the government said it intended to expropriate properties of “public utility” in the municipalities of Benito Juárez (Cancún), Puerto Morelos and Solidaridad (Playa del Carmen).

Publication of the notice by the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Urban Planning came nine days after the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) asked it to take the necessary steps to acquire properties needed for the construction of the railroad in northern Quintana Roo.

The total area of the land the government plans to expropriate is approximately 241 hectares, which it wants for the northern portion of section 5 of the railroad, running between Cancún and Playa del Carmen. Sedena will build the section.

Publication of the expropriation notice came 12 days after President López Obrador announced that the southern portion of the same section, which will run between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, would be rerouted so that it doesn’t run between the northbound and southbound lanes of Federal Highway 307.

Part of the northern portion that was also slated to run between the highway will be rerouted as well, precipitating the government’s need for private land in the three northern Quintana Roo municipalities.

Rogelio Jiménez Pons, whom the president recently removed from his position at the helm of the National Tourism Promotion Fund (Fonatur), which is managing the Maya Train project, said just before his departure that the government would spend about 1 billion pesos (US $49 million) to buy land between Playa del Carmen and Tulum for the new route, to be built by a consortium made up of Grupo México and Spanish firm Acciona.

A lot of the properties required for the new right of way are owned by hoteliers who have expressed their support for the rerouting of the line and are willing to sell, Jiménez said.

But for construction of the northern portion of section 5, the government appears intent on getting the land it needs for free.

The Riviera Maya Hotel Association (AHRM) promptly set out its opposition to the plan, issuing a statement that noted its members would be affected. The association said it had requested a meeting with new Fonatur director Javier May Rodríguez.

“We are confident that agreements can be reached through dialogue and negotiation. Among those affected [by the planned expropriation] are important hotel chains,” said AHRM president Tony Chávez.

The mayor of Solidaridad, where 142 of the properties are located, also responded to the expropriation notice. Lili Campos Miranda said her government was reviewing the expropriation plan to determine whether municipal assets would be affected. The mayor warned that Solidaridad would take legal action if its assets were to be adversely impacted.

The president of the Riviera Maya branch of the Business Coordinating Council said he would also review the government’s plan. However, Lenin Amaro Betancourt said he hadn’t received any complaints from affected landowners and raised the possibility that the government had in fact reached agreements with them.

But if that were the case, the publication of an expropriation notice would appear to be unnecessary.

Amaro asserted that the information published in the official gazette was not precise and called on the government to clarify its intentions.

The US $8 billion, 1,500-kilometer-long Maya Train railroad is one of the federal government’s signature infrastructure projects. The railroad, which will run through Quintana Roo, Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco and Yucatán, is slated for completion in late 2023.

López Obrador claims that the operation of the railroad – on which tourist, freight and local transport trains will run – will bring economic benefits to Mexico’s southeast, but the project has faced opposition, including that of Mayan residents who have questioned whether it will in fact improve their lot in life.

With reports from Reforma, El Universal and Milenio

Drivers pay for traffic violations by enforcing COVID protocols

By

MND Staff

-

January 19, 2022

0

A driver who broke the rules dispenses gel in Mexico City.

Motorists in Mexico City who broke traffic rules are paying for it by enforcing COVID protocols as a form of community service.

On Tuesday, sanctioned drivers were on the corredor Madero, a pedestrian walkway between the Bellas Artes museum and the zócalo in the borough of Cuauhtémoc in Mexico City’s historic center, holding signs urging citizens to wear face masks and offering antibacterial gel.

The hours of work owed depend on how many traffic points the drivers have accumulated: each point must be repaid with two hours of community service.

One of the drivers, Karime Athie, was sanctioned for breaking the speed limit and owes 14 hours of community service. Athie said she supported the scheme, and saw the social benefit. “I have to pay with my service. Right now I’m supporting the government by reminding people to wear the mask and apply gel,” she said.

Athie added that she also had to watch an instructional video, complete an online course and attend a face-to-face course as part of the punishment.

The motorists instructed to do community services are given other options, such as removing weeds from outside the office of the mayor of Xochimilco, a borough in the south of Mexico City.

To check their points, drivers can search for “fotocívicas” and create an account with their CURP identity numbers.

Mexico is one of the easiest countries in the world to get a drivers license. In Mexico City, one of the cities with the highest density of traffic in the world, there is no theoretical or practical examination process and a three-year license can be obtained for 871 pesos (about $44).

With reports from Milenio

Semi driver avoids 162-peso toll but new traffic spikes cost him 22 flat tires

By

MND Staff

-

January 19, 2022

0

Flat tires on a trailer at the toll plaza in Ecatepec on Tuesday.

A semi-trailer on Tuesday became the first victim of a new tire-popping system when it passed through a México state toll plaza without paying the 162-peso (US $8) toll.

Twenty-two of the semi’s tires were punctured after it passed through the Las Américas toll plaza on the Circuito Exterior Mexiquense (México state Outer Loop Road) in Ecatepec without paying the toll, according to a report broadcast on Milenio Televisión.

The semi managed to travel on the punctured tires for eight kilometers past the toll plaza before it was forced to stop.

There were no other victims of the spike system on its first day of operation, the newspaper El Universal reported.

However, several drivers backed up their vehicles and handed over the toll after an alarm warned them that the perforation of their tires was imminent.

#AzucenaxMilenio | Este martes, entró en operación el sistema “poncha llantas” en la caseta de cobro Las Américas del Circuito Exterior Mexiquense en #Ecatepec, con el cual la concesionaria busca evitar que los conductores evadan el pago pic.twitter.com/1vHwpA2lGG

— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) January 19, 2022

Protesters and scofflaws at the Américas toll plaza.

In addition to having their vehicles’ tires punctured, drivers who fail to pay the applicable toll face fines of up to 8,500 pesos (US $415) and have to cover the cost of a tow truck if required.

The tire popping system was installed at the Las Américas toll plaza due to the high number of drivers who were evading tolls. Signs on the loop road warn motorists that the system is in operation.

The drivers of transit vans said they would have to increase fares now that they can’t avoid paying the toll.

The entry into operation of the automated dissuasion system – which consists of a retractable barrier of metal spikes – triggered a protest at the toll plaza on Tuesday afternoon.

People who said they belonged to an organization called Resistencia Civil Pacífica, or Pacific Civil Resistance, helped motorists pass through the toll gates without paying a toll and without having their vehicles’ tires punctured. After 20 minutes of boom barrier lifting the protesters left, the newspaper Reforma reported.

Meanwhile, Morena party lawmakers in México state said they would ask the state Transport Ministry, via a motion to be presented in Congress, to ban the the traffic spike system.

Ecatepec Deputy Azucena Cisneros Coss said the system could lead to violence at the toll plaza.

“… We’re talking about the most expensive toll road in the country – from Ecatepec to Toluca and back on the Circuito Exterior Mexiquense costs you almost 1,000 pesos [US $49], we’re talking about a lot of money. … [That’s why] there is an outcry and social anger, especially in Ecatepec,” she said.

With reports from El Universal and Reforma

Citizens detain mayor on suspicion of corruption

By

MND Staff

-

January 18, 2022

0

San Martín Peras, Oaxaca — The citizens' group not only detained the mayor and education minister but also confiscated municipal vehicles.

Citizens from an indigenous town in Oaxaca beat up the mayor and detained him along with the town’s Education Minister for alleged corruption on Monday.

People from San Martín Peras, in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, 300 kilometers west of Oaxaca city, accuse the mayor, Román Juárez Cruz, and the Education Minister, Braulio González Ortiz, of illicit dealings and of breaking the the indigenous governing code known as usos y costumbres.

They said they told Juárez to resign on November 14, but that he refused to leave the position. The citizens assured that he and his family had not been harmed.

A video on social media shows people blocking off a pickup truck on a highway and forcing Juárez out of his vehicle, the newspaper Milenio reported.

The community has asked the Oaxaca Congress to dismiss Juárez and the state auditor OSFEO to carry out an audit of his spending.

The president of the Citizens’ Municipal Committee, Elpidio Ramírez Morales, said most of town’s citizens were involved in the action. “The people, committed to their usos y costumbres, decided to [apprehend] … Mr. Román Juárez Cruz and Mr. Braulio González Ortiz.”

Ramírez added that citizens wouldn’t accept an unelected mayor as a replacement. “There’s a possibility that the Congress will enact a dispersal of powers. We don’t want that … we won’t accept the presence of an administrator in San Martín Peras … here they just come to steal and not to help the people,” he said.

With reports from Milenio and Sistema Radiofónico Informativo

Chedraui to open 33 stores this year

By

MND Staff

-

January 18, 2022

0

Grocery and department store chain Chedraui plans to open 33 new stores in Mexico and the United States in 2022.

The company will open five large Súper Chedraui stores, one Chedraui store and 25 smaller Supercito stores in Mexico. It will introduce two new stores in the U.S. under the Smart & Final brand it bought in May 2021.

The new additions will expand its sales floor in Mexico by 1.6% and by 0.6% in the U.S.

Chedraui said it was investing about 2.1% of its revenue in the new stores and that it projects a 4.5% growth in sales in Mexico, which would signal 12% sales growth in the country over two years.

The director of analysis at commodities trader Intercam Casa de Bolsa, Alejandra Marcos, said the future looked bright for the chain. “These numbers are positive, and they are aligned with our projections. Chedraui has been a vendor that has demonstrated a strong ability to integrate various acquisitions. It has a solid balance sheet and has benefited from the current environment,” she said.

Chedraui opened its first supermarket in 1971 in Xalapa, Veracruz, having been founded as a clothing store 44 years earlier by Lebanese immigrants. It operates more than 200 stores in central and southern Mexico and is the third largest retailer after Walmart and Soriana.

With reports from Real Estate Market

Citizens march in Juárez 2 years after death of women’s rights activist

By

MND Staff

-

January 18, 2022

0

Citizens marched in Juárez, Chihuahua, on Monday night to commemorate the death of an artist and women’s rights activist killed two years earlier.

Isabel Cabanillas de la Torre, 26, was murdered on January 17, 2020 after heading home from a bar in downtown Juárez on her bicycle.

Citizens walked with candles and cycled on Monday to the place Cabanillas was killed to pay their respects.

The single mother was an active member of a women’s collective. She was followed by a car and shot in front of a government building, where the CCTV cameras were inactive, the news website Border Report said.

Cabanillas’ mother, Reyna de la Torre, said police still had no suspects or motives, and that she would continue holding memorials for her daughter. “I will remember my daughter as a happy person who was leaving a happy place … I will do this [the memorial] year after year as long as God wills,” she said.

De la Torre added that the problem of violence appeared to have deteriorated further. “I think violence has increased a lot. Especially against women, with more cruelty than ever.”

More than 500 women have been murdered in Juárez in the past three years, with 172 in 2021.

Police have said most of those killings were drug related. However, activists claim that police tend to dismiss homicides as drug related to avoid investigating them.

On January 16, police found the mutilated bodies of two women on a highway near Juárez. A total of 10 women have been murdered in the city in the first 18 days of 2022, according to Border Report.

With reports from Border Report

Yucatan’s Xcambó is a peek inside prehistoric Maya commercial life

By

Thilini Wijesinhe

-

January 18, 2022

0

Gov of Yucatan — Xcambó was built as a Mayan trading port around A.D. 350–550.

While many interested in the ancient Maya know about their complex religious life, their mathematical, scientific and architectural advances and their hierarchical social structures, perhaps a lesser-known side of these indigenous people is their capitalist side.

Those interested in a wider understanding of Maya prehistory might consider visiting the north coast of Yucatán, where one can easily access the ruins of Xcambó, an ancient port city situated off coastal highway 27, between Progreso and Telchac Puerto, Yucatán. The city is notable as an administrative center for the prehistoric Mayan salt trade during the Classic Period (A.D. 250–900)

The site, whose name is Mayan for “celestial crocodile” as well as “place of exchange” or “place where bartering takes place,” is less than an hour’s drive from Mérida.

Xcambó is smaller than other more famous Maya sites of Yucatán, but it has some interesting structures to explore. And since few tourists visit there, it’s a relaxing trip.

Near Xcambó are the Xtampú salt flats, which are still operational and whose water is sometimes bright pink, hence its name, the Pink Lagoon. You can also watch flamingos there. According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Xcambó’s main economic activity was salt production and Xcambó was the administrative center for the salt flats located on the north coast and to the northwest. The city’s occupation and its salt production are thought to date as far back as 100 B.C.

Architecture fans can observe multiple building design styles at Xcambó.

However, INAH says Xcambó was built as a commercial port around A.D. 350–550 and was the largest trading port on Yucatan’s northern coast in the Classic Period. The site is thought to have been abandoned around the late Classic Period. Following its abandonment, the site was used as a religious place during the Postclassic period (A.D. 900–1500), according to INAH.

The site had white raised roads thought to have connected it to other Maya sites. There is also an internal white road. INAH says that more than 600 burial sites, as well as hundreds of vessels, were discovered here. Areas that may have been for salt storage were also found.

Xcambó was built on a Petén — an area encircled by a wetland. Therefore, the natural surroundings, including the mangroves, make exploring the ancient city a pleasant experience, and a visit can be accomplished within a couple of hours at most.

There are three groups of buildings. Architecture fans can observe multiple building design styles here. The most notable section is the central plaza, which features 11 structures. Civic, administrative and religious activities took place there.

North of the plaza is a seven-level pyramid with a central stairway called the Temple of the Cross. A wooden cross was erected atop of this building, although on our last visit, we found that it had fallen. You can climb this pyramid for a beautiful view of the site.

In front of the Pyramid of the Cross structure is one of the small well-like water springs of the site. Next to the pyramid is the Temple of the Sacrifices with its two tiny, vaulted temples.

A must-see in the central plaza, however, is the Pyramid of the Masks, located to the south. On the third level are two stucco masks placed on either side of the central stairway. The masks’ placement indicates the path and direction taken by the planet Venus, which was thought to lead the sun from the underworld at sunrise and to accompany it at sunset, according to INAH.

An interesting structure located next to the Pyramid of the Masks is a building called the Steam Bath, which seems to be an ancient version of a steam room or spa. It features a place where the water was boiled. It was used by the city’s elite.

A tunnel-like structure to the west of the central plaza is interesting in that despite its appearance, the passage is closed at the end and does not lead anywhere.

Behind this structure is a small chapel called the Temple of the Virgin, showing the later influence of Catholicism on Xcambó. A newer addition to the site, it was built in the last century.

Inside, the church has an altar. The faithful believe a virgin appeared in Xcambó, and the chapel is visited for worship even today.

Other structures to see include residential buildings and stone tools that look like metates, perhaps used for grinding, including making salt into powder. The east plaza that you will pass after leaving the main site is also worth looking at.

Xcambó is smaller than other more famous Maya sites of Yucatán, but it has interesting structures.

After exploring the ruins and the surrounding area, including the pink lagoon, you can visit one of the nearby beaches. A town in the area worth exploring is Chicxulub Puerto, located in the center of the impact crater of the meteor that hit the earth around 65 million years ago.

Thilini Wijesinhe, a financial professional turned writer and entrepreneur, moved to Mexico in 2019 from Australia. She writes from Mérida, Yucatán. Her website can be found at https://momentsing.com/

With 10,000 plastic bottles, citizens build a green library in Oaxaca

By

MND Staff

-

January 18, 2022

0

With construction materials that included 10,000 plastic bottles and 2,000 cardboard cartons, residents of a municipality near Oaxaca city have helped build a new public library.

Residents of Zaachila collaborated with the organization Solidaridad Internacional Kanda (Sikanda), the community center in the Vicente Guerrero neighborhood and the Armonía music school to build the library, located on the east side of the municipality near a large dump.

The recycled materials for the construction of the so-called “green library” were provided by people who make a living from collecting garbage.

The building, which is designed to be resistant to both climate change and earthquakes, is on the verge of completion, after which it will be furnished and filled with purchased and donated books.

The public facility is intended to be a safe space where local children and adolescents can develop a love for reading, although residents of all ages will be welcomed.

The library is expected to have a collection of at least 300 books when it opens to the public in the near future, the newspaper El Universal reported.

It will be a welcome addition to the local community, located in a state where just over three-quarters of residents didn’t read a book in the past year and many schools don’t have libraries, according to Sikanda.

The Oaxaca-based organization, which also collaborates on green library projects at schools, collected data that shows that Oaxaca residents aged 15 and over only have 6.9 years of formal education on average whereas the national average is 8.6 years.

It believes that by cultivating a love of reading and learning at a young age, children are likely to stay in school longer.

Construction of the Zaachila library began last month as part of a project called “Una biblioteca para Navidad,” or “A library for Christmas.”

Anyone interested in donating to Sikanda, which has been collaborating on a range of projects in Oaxaca communities since 2009, can do so via the organization’s website.

With reports from El Universal

Despite rising 4th COVID wave, tourists head beachside in 2 states

By

MND Staff

-

January 18, 2022

0

filled Acapulco beach 2022 — Acapulco's beaches have been packed since the year began. Last weekend was no exception.

Mexico’s number of coronavirus cases is soaring, but the omicron-fueled fourth wave has not put a dampener on tourism activity in the coastal cities of Acapulco, Guerrero and La Paz, Baja California Sur.

Both cities were busy over the weekend as tourists and locals alike flocked to the waterfront, apparently undeterred by the ongoing surge in COVID cases, which have averaged almost 24,000 per day this month, according to official data.

Hotel occupancy in Acapulco was about 60%, the newspaper El Universal reported, adding that beaches were packed and the resort city’s coastal boulevard was busy.

The Arena Coliseo de Acapulco may have also been a fertile hunting ground for the virus as a lucha libre wrestling event was held at the venue on Saturday after being closed for two years due to the pandemic. Photos posted to social media showed an arena bursting at its seams.

Guerrero Senator Félix Salgado Macedonio was also in a festive mood, hosting a party at his Acapulco home to celebrate his 65th birthday. The senator, an alleged rapist and father of Governor Evelyn Salgado, live-streamed some of the festivities at his crowded house on his Facebook account. The controversial politician has a history of flouting coronavirus rules and recommendations: he held a massive birthday party a year ago in violation of restrictions.

Screen captures of a 65th birthday party Guerrero Senator Felix Salgado, at left, hosted last weekend in Acapulco.

Not everyone in Acapulco was in the mood for partying last weekend — dozens of people descended on the Acapulco zócalo, or central square, to access a free COVID-19 test. Streams of residents have made their way to the square to get tested in recent days, El Universal said.

There are 1,125 active cases in Acapulco, the state Health Ministry reported Tuesday, a figure that accounts for one-third of the 3,390 active infections across Guerrero.

Some 2,000 kilometers to the northwest is La Paz, state capital of Baja California Sur (BCS), which is currently Mexico’s coronavirus epicenter with more than 900 active cases per 100,000 people.

Tourists and residents flocked to the city’s seaside promenade over the weekend to stroll, ride bikes and roller-blade, El Universal said. Mask usage was far from universal despite the risk of infection as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads quickly in BCS and beyond.

“People are more carefree than in previous waves,” said Javier Martínez, who was exercising on the La Paz malecón.

Many locals and tourists no longer follow the virus mitigation protocols, he told El Universal, explaining that they don’t distance themselves from others or wear face masks properly.

lucha libre match Acapulco Arena Coliseo — Acapulco residents also packed the Arena Coliseo this past weekend, which opened to lucha libre fighting for the first time in two years.

La Paz currently has almost 5,200 active cases, state data shows, or almost 70% of all current infections in BCS.

At the national level, there are 285,713 estimated active cases after the Health Ministry reported an additional 17,101 confirmed infections on Monday. The active case tally will likely rise above 300,000 today as reported case numbers typically increase on Tuesdays in comparison with those registered on Sundays and Mondays.

Mexico’s accumulated case tally currently stands at 4.38 million while the official COVID-19 death toll rose by 59 on Tuesday to 301,469. Just over 9% of all cases recorded throughout the pandemic were detected in the first 17 days of January.

In other COVID-19 news:

• The surge in coronavirus cases continues to cause high levels of absenteeism in workplaces. One city where workforces are depleted is Mérida, Yucatán.

Iván Rodríguez Gasque, president of the Mérida branch of the National Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged that there are large numbers of infected workers. He called on employers to strengthen measures to stop, or at least slow, the spread of the virus.

man getting COVID test in Acapulco — A man getting a free rapid COVID-19 test in Acapulco’s *zócalo* on Sunday.

While absenteeism levels are currently high, Rodríguez said that businesses in the Yucatán capital are coping and would not be forced to close. He also called on employers not to pressure employees to come to work if they have COVID symptoms.

Yucatán currently has almost 6,300 active cases, according to federal data. It has the 11th highest infection rate among Mexico’s 32 states with almost 300 active cases per 100,000 residents.

• The use of face masks in enclosed public places and public transit in the port city of Veracruz is now mandatory.

Mayor Patricia Lobeira de Yunes announced the rule Monday in a video message but didn’t specify the punishment for non-compliance. She also announced a range of other measures designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Among them: a reduction of maximum capacity levels for businesses to 75% and the suspension of large municipal events.

Veracruz city is currently at medium risk yellow on the state’s coronavirus stoplight map, whereas the Gulf coast state as a whole is low risk green on the federal government’s map. Veracruz ranks 31st, or second to last, for active cases among Mexico’s 32 states with about 50 per 100,000 residents, but Mayor Lobeira warned that infections are on the rise.

• The condition of a four-year-old boy who was intubated in a San Luis Potosí hospital after contracting COVID-19 and becoming seriously ill has improved.

State Health Minister Daniel Acosta Díaz de León said Tuesday that the child had been extubated and was in stable but delicate condition.

The boy who required mechanical ventilation suffers from Reye’s syndrome, a rare but serious condition that affects the brain and liver.

The minister said Monday that infections among children were on the rise in the state.

San Luis Potosí currently has the third highest number of active cases on a per capita basis with almost 500 per 100,000 people. Only Baja California Sur and Mexico City have higher per capita rates.

With reports from Milenio and El Universal