Federal forces deployed to Zacatecas in late November after a wave of violence in the state.
The federal government’s security strategy has come under fire at a virtual forum organized by four organized crime research organizations.
Among the issues that drew criticism were continuation of the militarized security strategy of the two previous governments and a failure to address policing at the local level.
Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, the cofounder of Noria Research, an organization that studies international affairs and conflict, criticized the government of President López Obrador for its perpetuation of the controversial military strategy.
Le Cour, also program director for public security and violence reduction at the think tank México Evalúa, told the forum – The Politics of Violence in Mexico and Central America – that federal security forces are reacting to violence rather than being proactive and preventing it from occurring in the first place.
Le Cour said the violence problem is complex and requires a strategy beyond deploying the military in a reactive way.
However, it is not the goal of anyone in Mexico – including public, private, criminal and state actors – to end violence, he said.
“No one, unfortunately, in those areas today is fundamentally interested in making violence disappear because violence is a very central political resource,” Le Cour said.
“So when violence is such a political resource and when violence is so functional in the political system, how can you actually make it disappear?”
Sandra Ley, a politics professor at Mexico City’s Center for Research and Teaching in Economics, criticized the federal government for not building the capacity of security forces at a municipal level. There is too much focus on solving the violence problem with a top-down approach, she said.
The forum, part of a 24-hour conference on global organized crime held last week, was hosted by the Netherlands’ Center for Information and Research on Organized Crime, the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime, the Standing Group on Organized Crime and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Members of Defensoras de Niñas at a press conference in Chilpancingo.
Indigenous women from the Montaña region of Guerrero have accused authorities at all three levels of government of abandoning them and claim they were better off when former president Enrique Peña Nieto was in office.
Mixtec women from Cochoapa el Grande, a municipality where the practice of selling young girls into marriage is common, traveled to the state capital Chilpancingo to denounce the lack of support from authorities, particularly in the areas of health and children’s welfare.
Members of the Defensoras de Niñas (Defenders of Girls) collective also said that their communities have been stigmatized by the media and authorities because girls continue to be married off for cash. The authorities haven’t taken the necessary steps to eradicate the problem at its root, they said.
Elvira García Rodríguez, a spokeswoman and interpreter for the collective, told a press conference that brigades of health workers traveled to communities in Cochoapa el Grande at least once a month during the 2012–18 government of Peña Nieto.
That allowed local people to obtain medical treatment, she said, explaining that residents don’t have the money to travel to hospitals and clinics outside the municipality.
García said that authorities also haven’t taken necessary steps to eradicate the selling of child brides in the region. Yoquieroyopuedo.org.mx
“Now we’re completely abandoned,” García said. There is a lack of both doctors and medications in Cochoapa el Grande, she also said.
“… People die from a scorpion sting because there’s no way to treat them,” she said.
Since the current federal government took office, she said, “There’s no medical brigade that visits the towns to provide care to pregnant women, children and sick people. There’s nothing [in the way of medical care] in the communities, and people are very annoyed.”
García also said that the current government has made welfare payments to mothers contingent on their children being enrolled in school. “But in the majority of indigenous towns, there are no schools, so unfortunately that support doesn’t arrive,” she said.
“The benefits reach a few communities where there are schools nearby, but they don’t get to everyone who needs them,” García said.
In addition to calling for the resumption of visits by medical brigades, the Mixtec women urged federal and state authorities to dispatch officials to help seniors enroll in welfare programs.
Former president Enrique Peña Nieto at the opening of a Guerrero women’s health and welfare center in 2015. President’s Office
“People don’t know how to fill out the forms or where to get some of the things they need. There’s nobody to guide them; that’s the case with seniors,” García said.
“We want the members of [President López Obrador’s] cabinet … to set foot on that land [Cochoapa el Grande]. We want people to translate so that the officials know how to deal with them because there are a lot of people who don’t speak Spanish,” she said.
Turning to the issue of child marriage, García and the other women said the practice of selling girls can be combatted through education and programs that ensure families have enough to eat. Child marriage in Mexico is most common in poor southern states such as Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas, where parents might see the sale of their daughter as a means to alleviate poverty.
García expressed doubt that a recently-announced federal, state and municipal strategy to prevent violence against women and girls in the Montaña and Costa Chica regions of Guerrero and put an end to forced and arranged marriages will succeed in the short term. In Cochoapa el Grande, nothing is known about the strategy, she said before calling for its details to be disseminated.
García also urged Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado to visit the region and observe the conditions in which people live.
In Cochoapa el Grande, the women said, hundreds of families live in extreme poverty without food security and education that would allow them to find work opportunities outside the municipality.
The Montaña activists urged Governor Evelyn Salgado, who took office in October, to visit the state’s Montaña region. Guerrero Congress
The director of the Montaña Tlachinollan Human Rights Center said agreements have been reached for at least four marriages involving minors to occur since the November 10 announcement of the anti-violence strategy. It was not clear whether, to date, those four marriages have proceeded.
“They’re adrift; it’s not known if they’ll be able to return to their towns or whether they’ll be directed into a program … [to help them] rebuild their lives,” he said, adding that both girls are currently displaced.
The illegal dumping led to a die-off of roughly 60 tonnes of fish, local authorities said. Ayotlán municipal government
The dumping of dregs from the production of tequila killed some 60 tonnes of fish in a reservoir in eastern Jalisco, local authorities said.
According to the mayor of Ayotlán, Rodolfo Hernández, tequila makers have discarded residue from the production of Mexico’s most famous tipple near the San Onofre dam.
Transported to Ayotlán in tanker trucks, the dregs are dumped into nearby holes from which the water reaches the reservoir, depleting oxygen in the water and causing fish to die, Hernández said.
Before the die-off – which began late last month – the number of dumping incidents increased, he said.
“There are holes in the ground and they arrive there and throw out the [tequila] dregs. We took office in October and we had a commitment to take action [against the illegal practice] … but it was too late. Now we have an 80% death rate for mojarra and tilapia in the dam,” Hernández said.
The reservoir is used for fishing and irrigation and as a water source for cattle. Testing of the quality of the water began in late November.
Under pressure from fishermen, environmental activists and the Jalisco Human Rights Commission, state and federal authorities made machinery available to the municipal government to remove the thousands of dead fish.
One company that was allegedly dumping dregs near the dam was shut down by authorities, but the illegal disposal of the refuse continues, said activist Salvador Escoto.
Tequila production in Jalisco primarily occurs in the municipality of Tequila, located about 70 kilometers northwest of Guadalajara, but the spirit, made from the blue agave plant, can also be legally produced in certain municipalities in four others states: Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.
The United States is offering up to US $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Juan Carlos Valencia González, alias “El Pelón,” an alleged leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The U.S. State Department called the CJNG “one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations currently operating in Mexico.”
Valencia has been charged with conspiracy and distribution of a controlled substance for unlawful importation into the U.S., as well as the use of a firearm during a narcotics transaction.
The offer follows previous rewards offered this year for other CJNG leaders, including a $10-million reward for Nemesio Rúben “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, Valencia’s stepfather and leader of the cartel, and $5 million each for Audias “El Jardinero” Flores Silva and cartel co-founder Érick Valencia Salazar.
The rewards are part of a “whole-of-government approach to combating drug trafficking and transnational organized crime globally and specifically against the CJNG in Mexico,” the U.S. State Department said.
Other recent government efforts have included the extradition of key operatives from Mexico and the freezing of CJNG accounts. Legal proceedings against 600 CJNG members are currently active.
The CJNG even got a mention in an October high level security dialogue between Mexico and the U.S., when the White House said the Jalisco cartel was responsible “for trafficking a significant portion of fentanyl and other deadly drugs that enter the United States.”
Taquería Los Cuñados' employees face down an impressive 1,000 kilos of al pastor meat. @myriam776
Tacos al pastor, a beloved street food throughout Mexico that is made with pork and cooked on a vertical rotisserie cone, became the subject of a new viral video on the social media platform TikTok after a taco shop set out to create Mexico’s largest al pastor cone, known as a trompo in Spanish.
Taquería Los Cuñados, an Aguascalientes establishment, set out to make a giant one-tonne trompo — off which the meat is shaved to fill tacos — in celebration of the 20-year anniversary of its opening. The meat cone towered over employees, one of whom stood on a bucket to shave taco filling off the top.
The taco sellers said on their Facebook page that making the trompo was a dream of theirs. They even named the trompo, calling it El cuñado mas grande del mundo (the world’s largest brother-in-law), in honor of the name of their shop, which translates to the Brothers-in-Law Taquería.
TikTok user @myriam776 documented their efforts. The first video of the series on the platform garnered more than 400,000 likes.
Against all odds, the taco shop managed to use up the whole cone, and all 1,000 kilograms of meat were consumed.
Drivers were waiting outside a tunnel for another accident to be cleared when the crash occurred. Twitter
A deadly multi-vehicle crash in Coahuila left five dead and 15 injured on Sunday afternoon after a semitrailer’s brakes failed.
The accident occurred in the northbound section of Highway 57 close to the city of Saltillo.
The section of road is characterized by sharp curves and steep hills and accidents are common. Just before the crash, cars were lined up outside the Los Chorros tunnel, waiting for another accident to be cleared when the semi came barreling down upon them without brakes, the newspaper Diario de Coahuila reported.
Four people died at the scene and another person, a 51-year-old man, died shortly after being transported to a nearby hospital. An SUV was pushed off the edge of the road, falling more than 10 meters into the ravine below.
Some people were waiting outside their cars when the crash occurred, while others were thrown from their vehicles. When first responders arrived, they covered the bodies lying in the road with blue sheets.
#Atención en #Coahuila se registra cierre de circulación por colisión múltiple aproximadamente en el km 230+000 carretera (2152) Puerto México-Ojo Caliente, mismo tramo, dirección Monterrey. pic.twitter.com/mxqXiEdpJN
The president and his wife, Beatriz Gutiérrez, aboard the train on Sunday.
Getting to the new Mexico City airport by train from the center of the capital will take 45 minutes, President López Obrador reiterated Sunday.
The president posted a video to social media in which he appears riding in a train to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) – located about 50 kilometers north of downtown Mexico City in México state – with his wife and federal and state officials.
In a written message accompanying the video, López Obrador said the train will take 45 minutes to reach the airport from the Buenavista station, located near the historic center of Mexico City.
The train will run on the existing tracks used by the Mexico City suburban train between the Buenavista and Lechería stations before continuing on new tracks to the army-built AIFA, which is scheduled to open next March.
The new section, still under construction, will be 23 kilometers long and include five stations. México state Governor Alfredo del Mazo, one of the officials who accompanied López Obrador on the train, said the new tracks are expected to be completed in February.
Se amplía a 8 carriles la autopista México-Pachuca. Se están construyendo otras vialidades y la vía de Lechería al aeropuerto Felipe Ángeles para llegar en tren desde el centro de la ciudad, estación Buenavista, hasta el nuevo aeropuerto en 45 minutos. pic.twitter.com/Rh0z4CMvvc
Some 3.2 billion pesos (US $151 million) has been invested in the rail link, and the project has employed more than 700 people.
In his social media message, López Obrador also noted that people will be able to reach the AIFA via new and existing highways.
“The Mexico City-Pachuca highway is being widened to eight lanes. Other highways are being built …” he wrote.
The government has faced criticism for deciding to build the new airport so far from the center of Mexico City, and there have been reports and assertions on social media that it could take up to 2 1/2 hours to reach it by road from the capital.
López Obrador, who canceled the previous government’s airport project and chose instead to build the 80-billion-peso (US $3.8 billion) AIFA on the Santa Lucía Air Force Base, has defended the decision, noting that his administration is investing in transportation links and that many airports around the world are located on the outskirts of the cities they serve.
“The journey won’t be very long because we’re building highways; you’ll be able to go from here in the center [of Mexico City] to there in 45 minutes by train, we’re doing [what’s needed] so it doesn’t take a long time to arrive,” he said in October.
Several federal and state officials joined the president for the train ride on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a journalist created a stir on Twitter after charging that the video was a simulation, evidence of which was an apparent failure in the supposedly pre-recorded video that gave the impression that the train was moving across the area between the airport and the capital.
The view from the windows suddenly went blank, just as the president was describing where they were on the journey.
Journalist Joaquín López-Dóriga said on Twitter that López Obrador and his party were actually inside a simulator and that the train was not moving at all. Former president Felipe Calderón chimed in, claiming the video was “fake news.”
However, one commenter said the blank image was likely caused by dust reflecting light back at the camera that was shooting the event aboard the train. In another part of the video there was evidence of a dust storm.
One of the most recent murals of the Flying Beetle organization, done by Wray's neighbor and assistant Sara Palacios, seen here. Photos courtesy of Flying Beetle
Judy Wray is one of those people who can come to paradise and find a way to make it more beautiful.
“Paradise” is Wray’s word for Tepoztlán, a small town in a box canyon just south of Mexico City in the state of Morelos. It is a popular day and weekend destination and has a growing community of foreign residents from multiple countries.
She and husband Lazlo Krisch retired and moved there about 15 years ago. They traveled much of Mexico looking for the right place, and as soon as they entered the town they knew they had found it among its craggy peaks and New Age vibe.
Wray has made her mark in Tepoztlán by developing mural projects in the Santísima Trinidad neighborhood where she lives, recruiting her neighbors and even others from Mexico and abroad.
But to understand what she is doing in Tepoztlán, it is important to understand a little of her history.
Judy Wray at her home in Tepoztlán, Morelos.
Wray grew up in a creative household. Her mother encouraged her to be creative with whatever was lying around in the house, such as old camera flashbulbs, and also told her to “think big.” Wray is also part of the idealistic Baby Boomer/hippie generation.
This generational influence is best seen in her logo for her website and organization Flying Beetle, which was founded to promote creativity in adults and children. The (original) Volkswagen Beetle with wings was part of a community mural project she organized in New Jersey at an auto repair shop. That particular mural later inspired projects with local schools creating magnets with children’s drawings on them and painting old hubcaps.
After moving to Mexico, Wray began similar projects here. She found audiences for projects, including a set of painted hubcaps that was exhibited at the Papalote Children’s Museum in Mexico City. But then she found another issue to tackle with art.
Despite being a paradise, life in Tepoztlán is not perfect. Even in her little neighborhood of La Santísima, there have been issues of vandalism and rising crime.
Wray’s answer to this was murals. Like she did in New Jersey, she has brought together community members and people in her artistic circles to create artworks that are designed by professionals but executed by regular people. One of Wray’s favorites is Maya and the Last Tree designed by Chiapas-based German artist Kiki Suarez, as part of a series called Cuentos en las Calles/Street Stories. Wray has also received design donations from Scottish artist Johanna Basford, Chilean artist Beatriz Aurora and Philippine artist Kerby Rosanes.
Wray has managed to get logistical support from cultural centers and even some sponsorship from the Comex paint company, but many of the expenses of the art projects still come out of her own pocket. She jokes about this, saying that if she were still in New Jersey, it would be money she would lose gambling in Atlantic City.
The “original” flying Beetle in New Jersey.
One of these expenses even includes paying a few people to help her, selected among those who are marginalized from Tepozotlán society for some reason. Another is taking advantage of the “cheap” (her word) graphic design and printing services in Mexico to create large tarp versions of the murals, which allow her to display the reproductions in other communities in a format reasonably faithful to the original.
Her murals are among many that exist in Tepoztlán today, but they are special because the community is involved in their making. They have had the intended effect of deterring graffiti and petty crime since people take more pride in where they live.
Another advantage La Santísimas has, according to Wray, is that it is paved in cobblestone. This forces people to drive slowly and appreciate the work.
About two years ago, Wray found a new way to be creative. She rents her living space in a compound owned by a traditional Mexican family. One is a healer, who always has people in the courtyard waiting to be seen. She decided to take advantage of this, asking the patients to color line drawings done by Johanna Basford.
The results were so good that she had the drawings transferred to ceramic tiles to be placed on school bus stops and other areas where students often hang out. The tiles were made by UniqueTiles Ltd. in the United Kingdom; she tried to find someone in Mexico to do it but without luck.
Today, Wray’s main assistant is Tepoztlán native Sara Palacios. She began working for Wray out of necessity, but over the last few years, the two women have formed a close friendship, despite the differences in age, nationality and language.
One of the many hubcaps decorated by people Wray has worked with in both New Jersey and Mexico.
“Sara understands my heart,” Wray says.
Despite her advancing age, Wray has no plans to slow down. “At age 75, I’m at the end of my life, but I am having a ball,” she says.
Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 18 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.
Commonly paired with stuffing and roasted meats, rosemary can be added to other, often surprising, dishes.
Nestled between the ornamentals on my little balcony are a handful of potted herbs: basil, oregano, mint and rosemary. I’m planning to have a couple of tomato plants in there too. Living in the city, it’s the best I can do. The small effort to maintain them is well worth having fresh herbs on hand in the kitchen.
Rosemary — romero in Spanish — has been in my repertoire forever. It thrives near the ocean (as do I) and was in my gardens in California too. In fact, the name “rosemary” means “dew of the sea” (ros marinus) in Latin. It’s native to the Mediterranean (like me) and is from the sage family. The plants can be either upright or trailing and have little pretty fluffy, pink, purple or white flowers throughout the year.
Its long history began with the ancient Egyptians, when it was used in burial rituals.
While rosemary pairs perfectly, and commonly, with potatoes, stuffing, chicken and other roasted meats, its piney-fresh flavor is a tasty add to all kinds of other, often surprising, dishes.
It has a characteristic aroma and a slightly bitter taste that you either love or hate. The oil-rich pine needle-like leaves are used either fresh or dried.
Try this easy rosemary-jamaica syrup and mezcal for a decadent cocktail.
In Mexican cuisine, romero is found in rice dishes, including classic paella, as well as in pork ribs and rabbit and in some whitefish dishes, most traditionally with bacalao (codfish).
Medicinally, rosemary tea is used to alleviate indigestion and stomach disorders and as a calming sedative. A poultice of romero is said to be effective in relieving joint inflammation and muscle and bone pain.
Rosemary oil is also used in incense, cleaning products and shampoo.
Jamaica-Rosemary Mezcal Cocktail
Syrup:
½ cup dried jamaica flowers (dried hibiscus flowers)
2 fresh rosemary sprigs, divided
1 cup boiling water
1½ cups sugar
Cocktail:
2 oz. mezcal
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
¾ oz. jamaica-rosemary syrup
To make syrup: Steep jamaica and 1 rosemary sprig in boiling water for 5 minutes.
Strain into a container with a tight-fitting lid; add sugar and stir or shake until dissolved. Refrigerate up to two weeks.
To make cocktail: Combine mezcal, lemon juice and jamaica-rosemary syrup in cocktail shaker; fill with ice.
Shake until chilled, about 12 seconds. Strain into ice-filled rocks glass; garnish with rosemary sprig. —seriouseats.com
You’ll go nuts for this snack made with a rosemary glaze.
Rosemary Spiced Nuts
Lots of steps, but worth the effort! Use cashews, walnuts, pecans or almonds, separately or mixed.
4 large sprigs fresh rosemary
1/3 cup pitted oil-cured olives
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp. cayenne
Generous pinch salt
4 cups raw nuts
Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease a rimmed baking sheet. Line a heatproof plate with a paper towel. Arrange rosemary sprigs on top (be sure they’re dry), and lay another paper towel over them.
Microwave on high until rosemary is completely dry, 1–2 minutes, watching carefully that it doesn’t burn.
Remove rosemary needles from sprigs; discard woody stalks. In a mortar and pestle, pulverize needles to a powder, then sift through a fine-mesh strainer.
Arrange olives on heatproof plate; microwave at half power until dried, about 5 minutes, watching carefully.
Transfer dried olives to a mortar and pestle; pulverize to an oily paste.
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine water, sugar, cayenne and salt. Heat on medium-high until sugar dissolves. Stir in nuts and cook, stirring, until coated in a syrupy glaze and almost all water has cooked off.
Spread glazed nuts in a single, even layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake about 25 minutes until nuts are lightly toasted.
Let cool, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking. Break up any clumps.
Add olive paste; stir to coat nuts. Stir in rosemary powder. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Elevate simple roast chicken to something special.
Maple-Rosemary Chicken
1 (3½ lb.) whole chicken or pieces
Salt and pepper
2-3 rosemary sprigs, plus 2½ tsp. finely chopped rosemary
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
Heat oven to 375 F. Pat chicken dry; season with salt and pepper, inside and out. Place breast side up in 10-inch cast-iron or ovenproof skillet; stuff rosemary sprigs into cavity.
Melt butter over medium-low heat. Add chopped rosemary and maple syrup; cook 1–2 minutes until rosemary is fragrant and mixture thickens slightly. Spoon mixture over chicken, evenly covering it. (Some will end up on the bottom of pan.)
Place chicken in oven and roast, basting with pan juices every 15–20 minutes, until chicken is glossy and golden brown, 55–60 minutes. Remove from oven; rest 10 minutes before carving. Whisk remaining juice and serve with chicken.
Lemon-Rosemary Scones
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
5 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, diced
2/3 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
In food processor, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in sugar, lemon zest and rosemary. Add butter; pulse until mixed and butter is pea-sized.
Add sour cream, milk and lemon juice; pulse until dough comes together into a ball. On a floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/3-inch thickness.
Cut 1½-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or rim of a glass. Transfer scones to baking sheets; brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 12–15 minutes until edges are golden. Cool on wire rack. Serve spread with nataor butter.
The president spoke from Oaxaca on Monday. Presidencia de la República
President López Obrador’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been rather novel. Unlike the denialist stance of former U.S. president Donald Trump, or his political likeness Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, AMLO has quoted the scientific evidence, meanwhile preferencing individual liberties over public safety. Lockdown measures were never strictly enforced in Mexico, borders never closed and a COVID-19 test is still not required of travelers entering the country.
Monday
The president was in Oaxaca city on Monday, which he called the “cultural heart of Mexico.” He’d toured three of the state’s infrastructure projects over the weekend.
Governor Alejandro Murat thanked him for investing in the state and making the people of Oaxaca “protagonists.”
Later in the conference, he showed unusual affection for a journalist. “[I want] to acknowledge you for the way you ask your questions, with respect. Despite representing a publication that is hostile to us … I want to thank you for that. Maybe I’m going to hurt [your reputation], but really that makes me want to hug you.”
However, the love didn’t stretch to independent journalist Carmen Aristegui, whom the president accused of cooking up a story about land owned by his sons.
A Oaxacan treat unsurprisingly made the president’s morning menu: “My critics, who are a few, say that I wouldn’t exchange coming to Oaxaca and eating a tlayuda for any trip abroad, and maybe they’re right.”
Tuesday
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum played host on Tuesday. She said that severe crimes had gone from an average of 169 per day in the city to 99, a 41% reduction.
Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval confirmed crimes of all categories were down. While in 2020 there were 1,130 homicides, so far in 2021 there had only been 770, he added.
Crime is down both in the capital and across the country, speakers reported on Tuesday. Presidencia de la República
COVID quarterback Hugo López-Gatell stepped up to the mark. Intensive care units were only at 13% of capacity and vaccines would protect against the new COVID-19 variant omicron, he said. The deputy health minister added that global risk from COVID-19 was due to poorer countries not being provided vaccines, before arguing against border closures.
The president said booster shots were being considered as a measure to tackle omicron, but later confirmed that a hands-off approach to handling the pandemic would continue: “Since the pandemic began … we’ve been against authoritarianism … here there was never and will never be a curfew,” he said.
“Why the rush?” a journalist queried as AMLO attempted to wrap up the conference.
The president confirmed he had a date for breakfast: Larry Fink, the head of New York investment firm BlackRock.
There were 250,000 in attendance at AMLO’s rally on Wednesday, according to the Mexico City government. Presidencia de la República
“We continue forward because of the cultural strength of our people, who have always saved us from calamities, but also because of the formula we have been applying to govern honestly and put all our attention toward the well-being of the people.”
He detailed the government’s social plans, infrastructure projects and clarified red lines around ecology, such as the banning of fracking, genetically modified crops and of all concessions to mining companies.
On economics he said the peso was stable, that the government hadn’t taken on any debt, and he confirmed a 22% rise in the minimum wage for 2022.
AMLO assured the crowd that the country was on the right track: “The accusations that we are militarizing the country lack all logic and the most basic of good faith … in three years the mentality of the people has changed like never before, that this is the most important thing of all: the revolution of consciences, the change of mentality,” he said.
“Long live Mexico.”
Thursday
Tortilla economics returned to the conference on Thursday. The 22% minimum wage hike, said Labor Minister Luisa Alacalde, “will be enough in 2022 … to acquire 10 kilos of tortilla. If we compare it with 2018, you can now buy 3.5 kilograms more,” she said, before adding the increase would benefit 6.3 million minimum wage earners.
Why had the president’s speech in the zócalo complained about political “zigzagging,” a journalist asked.
For AMLO, it was a question of authenticity: “To be a politician was to take care of your image. I’ve talked about the gel haircut … fake laughter … the recommendation of all publicists was that you have to run to the center, that is, if you were on the left … you have to run to the center to look good to everyone. It was even said, politics is like the violin, in the case of campaigns. It is held on the left, but played from the right … That’s the shift to the center. Zigzagging, the loss of authenticity.”
Africa, the president said, was at high risk from new mutations of COVID-19.
“In Africa, out of every 100 [people] only six are vaccinated. The complaint of many leaders in Africa is of abandonment, because they do not have the vaccines.”
Friday
Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez. Presidencia de la República
The president and his entourage were in Morelia, Michoacán, on Friday.
Governor Alfredo Ramírez, who said homicides had tripled under his predecessor, observed that peace was coming to the embattled town of Aguililla “little by little.”
Defense Minister Sandoval detailed the security situation in the state. Homicide, he said, was the eighth worst in the country and the fifth worst for October. It was on the increase: 1,832 in 2020 and 1,976 so far in 2021.
Michoacán, the president said, represents the best and worst of political history. He called Lázaro Cárdenas, who led the country in the 1930s and nationalized oil, the best president of the 20th century. “We have to reach the heights of General Cárdenas, General [Francisco José] Mujica, [José María] Morelos and Melchor Ocampo, who said, ‘I break, but I don’t bend,'” before adding that to bend would be an act of submission.
The president derided the politics of former President Felipe Calderón, who was popularly know as the “Butcher of Michoacán.”
“We must guarantee peace without bravado, without the hot-blooded shooting, all that was a disaster … Felipe Calderón came dressed as a soldier to Michoacán to declare war, to foolishly beat the hornet’s nest, without a plan,” he said.
Not all politicians are the same, he insisted. “You can call me the fish, but I’m not a lizard,” the Tabascan signed off, making a reference to his nickname, El Peje, which is derived from pejelagarto, a fish found in Tabasco. Lagarto means lizard.
