In Mexico, cartels and trash move pesos through a ‘trickle-down’ economy

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January 30, 2021

In 2020, these bills with jailed drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera’s initials appeared in Culiacán, evidence of cartels’ influence in Mexico’s economy. — In 2020, these bills with jailed drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera’s initials appeared in Culiacán, evidence of the cartel's influence on Mexico’s economy.

The term “trickle-down economics” was coined by Will Rodgers in the early 1930s. His exact quote was as follows:

“The money was all appropriated for the top in hopes it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover didn’t know that the money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom, and the people at the top will have it before night anyhow. But it will have passed through the poor fellow’s hand.”

He was a humorist making a joke. Yes, a joke.

The pseudoeconomic philosophy behind this joke refers to the proposition that taxes on businesses and the wealthy should be reduced as a means to stimulate investment in the short term and benefit society at large in the long term. The theory that businesses will use their tax savings to reinvest in such a way that the average person benefits economically is pure political bunkum. Publicly traded companies will use their tax savings to buy back shares of their own stock, and the wealthy will simply hoard it.

When wealthy people receive a tax break, they rarely spend it in such a way to benefit society in general; they invest it to increase their personal wealth. This amassing of money at the top of the economic food chain will generate no significant benefit to the average citizen.

However, when the average person receives a windfall, they spend it: they pay bills, buy food, pay for home maintenance or auto repairs or any of the myriad ways money trickles through our fingers on a daily basis. Savings maybe, but not so much. As individuals, our spending habits drive the economic engine which powers a modern economy.

However, here in the land of tacos and tequila, trickle-down economics is not only alive and well, it actually works. There are many forms whereby pesos percolate through this deeply stratified society from the very top and eventually down to the impoverished folks who glean a living at the local landfill.

First, let’s take look at the largest fountain of trickle-down funds that suffuses all regions of México: the drug trade.

We are all aware that the various drug cartels in Mexico generate huge amounts of cash. The estimated monetary flow from this illicit enterprise ranges between US $30 billion and $60 billion per year, depending on the information source, and remittances (money sent to Mexico from abroad) are around $30 billion annually. In light of these figures, if the clandestine cash of the drug trade were to evaporate today, the Mexican economy would crash tomorrow.

The average drug lord does not buy stocks or bonds or options or warrants or any type of paper equities. He buys boats, cars, jewelry, houses, airplanes, restaurants and hotels as well as politicians, judges, various policemen and members of the military — along with numerous “street” people.

In Charles Bowden’s book Down by The River, he writes that according to his research, the Juárez Cartel spent about $40 million every month in the late ’90s for bribes, wages and protection (as well as a significant amount of ammunition). That monthly payroll was spread between 10,000 and 12,000 people and made the cartel the largest employer in that quadrant of Mexico. With at least five active cartels operating around Mexico, all spending money in a similar fashion, a significant benefit is trickled down to the average person. I have spent time in villages in the mountains of Sinaloa, and the prosperity is obvious.

Most of the people in this illicit business come from impoverished backgrounds, where spending exuberantly and excessively is the ultimate expression of their success. Therefore, most narco cash is spent in such a way that the pesos are circulated throughout the Mexican economy.

In Culiacán, the Sinaloa Cartel’s cultural center, the narco trickle-down is openly expressed with marked currency. Several months ago, 200-peso notes with the stamped message “De su amigo JGL” started to show up throughout the city. It basically says, “From your friend Joaquín Guzmán Loera,” i.e. the infamous drug lord known as “El Chapo,” who even from a prison in the United States trickles down pesos to the people of Sinaloa.

However, average Mexicans also have many ways to contribute to the trickle-down effect as well. A major one is via trash.

If you have spent time in Mexico, I am sure you have seen beer cans flying out the windows of a vehicle. Most of the gringos who witness this act of giving are appalled by what they think is a wanton disregard for our environment and not a trickle-down. However, at 18 pesos per kilo, those aluminum cans will be gathered by someone who is grateful for each and every one. (Helpful gringo info: it is best to separate aluminum from your household basura; this allows the scroungers to easily access what they are seeking without digging through the trash barrel and scattering its contents onto the street.)

When the trash is picked up, even the basureros (garbagemen) have personal bags with them to collect anything of value. By the time the trash truck empties its load at the landfill, even though very few things of any value are left, there are desperately poor people who eviscerate the bags and pick through the contents.

The process of recycling — another form of trickle-down — has been finely tuned throughout Mexico for many generations. North of the border, recycled items are handled by recycling companies, not by impoverished individuals who live a hand-to-mouth existence.

The typical small tire repair shops in Mexico are a prime example of the Mexican ingenuity employed in recycling. These shops will recondition and reuse tires that would warrant jail time in the U.S. or Canada. In a country where a single new tire can cost 2,000 pesos and 30% of the working population makes less than 2,000 pesos per month, any tire which can hold air has an immediate value.

Mexico is a country where many benefit from the kindness of others, and the less fortunate position themselves to maximize that benefit. In the cities, every busy intersection has its share of people looking for a handout. Some will perform, some display a sign with a brief outline of a personal horror story and the severely handicapped just hold out a hand.

In rural areas, vendors will set up at the topes (speed bumps), where motorists are forced to slow to a crawl. In these situations, it is the people without automobiles soliciting a pittance from the people wealthy enough to own an automobile. Even when a person withdraws pesos from an ATM, the machine will ask if you wish to donate to a children’s fund.

Now, if the government would just put a value on anything plastic — bags, cups, packaging, etc. — the landscape would be trash-free, and the impoverished would benefit.

The writer describes himself as a very middle-aged man who lives full-time in Mazatlán with a captured tourist woman and the ghost of a half-wild dog. He can be reached at [email protected].

Mexico gains 2 points on transparency index, but impunity an obstacle

By

MND Staff

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January 29, 2021

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There is slightly less corruption in Mexico today than there was a year ago, according to the non-governmental organization Transparency International.

Mexico rose six places on the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) to rank 124th out of 180 countries, sharing its position with Pakistan, Bolivia, Kyrgyzstan and Kenya.

The index is informed by corruption experts and businesspeople who offer opinions about public sector corruption in the various countries. Much of the focus in the development of the 2020 index was on corruption related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mexico’s score on the CPI scale, in which 100 is very clean and 0 is highly corrupt, improved two points to 31 but is still well short of the global and Americas average, which was 43 in both cases.

Mexico ranked last out of the 37 OECD countries and is still four points shy of its best ever score of 35, which it achieved in 2014.

Public Administration Minister Irma Sandoval was quick to take credit for Mexico’s higher CPI score and ranking, saying that the country’s improved standing is a “clear sign that the policies driven by the Ministry of Public Administration to recover the general interest over the private interest are yielding results.”

She cited the implementation of new rules governing the declaration of assets by public officials and close supervision of public purchases during the pandemic as being among the ministry’s anti-corruption achievements.

Transparencia Mexicana (TM), the Mexico chapter of Transparency International, was less congratulatory. It said that one “delicate”issue is that penalties have still not been imposed on people allegedly involved in high profile corruption cases.

They include former cabinet minister Rosario Robles, who was allegedly involved in a government embezzlement scheme known as the “Master Fraud,” and ex-Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya, accused of participation in corrupt activity involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. Both are awaiting trial.

“The risk of impunity” in corruption cases “remains latent,” TM said. The organization made four recommendations to help stamp out corruption.

Within the context of the coronavirus pandemic and its social and economic consequences, Mexico must strengthen its anti-corruption institutions, especially the Federal Auditor’s Office (ASF) and the National Institute for Transparency and Access to Information, TM said.

That is not likely to happen with the latter. The federal government has made it clear that it wishes to disband the transparency watchdog, along with other autonomous agencies, on the grounds that a government that acts morally makes it unnecessary.

TM said that the the ASF should audit public spending in real time, “with particular emphasis on expenditure on health, social programs and economic recovery programs.”

It also said that INAI, the transparency watchdog, should ensure that there is “maximum publicity” of government actions related to the pandemic.

TM’s fourth recommendation was for the federal Attorney General’s Office and institutions of justice to focus on achieving “concrete results” in corruption cases. Such results should include prison sentences for those involved, recovery of diverted resources and compensation for victims of corruption, it said.

Mexico has a lot of work to do break into the top 100 least corrupt countries on the CPI – the cutoff for the top 100 was 38 points – let alone reach the upper echelons of the index.

New Zealand and Denmark both ranked first on the 2020 CPI with a score of 88 followed by Finland, Sweden, Singapore and Sweden, which shared third place with a score of 85.

The highest ranking country in the Americas was Canada (at 11th) followed by Uruguay (21st) and the United States and Chile (25th).

In last place with a score of just 12 were Somalia and South Sudan. Syria, Yemen and Venezuela rounded out the top five most corrupt countries.

Mexico News Daily

The real find in this caving area turns out to be the paradise around it

By

John Pint

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January 29, 2021

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Relaxing in the transparent, 38-degrees Celsius waters around Las Cuevas. — Relaxing in the transparent, 38 C waters around Las Cuevas.

One of the lesser-known benefits of cave exploring in Mexico is the occasional natural wonder you stumble upon while beating the bush in search of a cavern.

On many an occasion, that elusive cueva (cave) turns out to be a mere socavón, just another hole in the ground that no self-respecting bat would ever deign to live in. Ah, but that natural wonder discovered along the way could be anything from a dazzling waterfall to a stupendous mirador or lookout point: a veritable jewel that only the folks in the local ranchos know anything about.

One of the best examples is what I call the Hot Pool of Paradise.

Many years ago, I was examining the topographic map for Ceboruco Volcano in Nayarit and spotted a place called Las Cuevas not far from the little town of Verde Valle.

On one fine day off, we went to Verde Valle, where a local beekeeper confirmed that we would indeed find caves at Las Cuevas and told us how to get there:

“Just follow the railroad tracks and turn right after four kilometers,” he said.

This we did, and nailed to a tree at that exact spot we found a sign for Balneario Los Cocos, a name indicating that we had encountered a natural spa. Caray, we thought: a noisy water park here in the middle of nowhere? ¡No es posible!

But for the sake of those marvelous caves we were after, we continued right on. The road turned out to be so rough that our worries about finding taco stands at the end of it soon vanished.

For 2.5 kilometers, we bounced along that poor excuse for a road until, on our left, we spotted the shelter cave — about 15 meters long and 10 meters deep, offering fine protection from the elements.

Its well-blackened, slanted ceiling suggested that people had been using it for this purpose for many, many years. This place, to our surprise, was “furnished” with tables, chairs and a stove, all made of flat rocks; it even included an old grave.

A horseman then came by and told us that the cave was being used every year as a temporary home for workers during the harvest season.

In the "raining tree" we found this homopteran, a sucking insect, species unknown. — In the “raining tree” we found this homopteran, a sucking insect, species unknown.

“This cueva,” he told us, “used to be very deep and long, but the passage leading to the rest of it has been sealed off because vampire bats would come out of it every night and scare people. It doesn’t look like it, but this cave goes all the way through the hill. If you go around to the back of it, you will find the other entrance.”

Just past the cave, we came to a nice-looking lagoon, which was actually a dam. The water was lukewarm, and we could see fish jumping in it. Here we parked and began walking around to find a good camping spot.

“How about under that fig tree?” I suggested.

To our great amazement, the moment we stepped beneath the tree’s spreading branches, it began to rain; the moment we stepped away from it, the rain stopped. Among us was naturalist Jesus “Chuy” Moreno, to whom we immediately turned for an explanation. Chuy climbed up onto a low branch and came back down with a bug in his hand. It somewhat resembled a grasshopper, but it was gray and fuzzy.

“This,” he announced,” is what’s causing the ‘rain.’ But it isn’t rain at all: these insects are peeing on us!”

There was a brook (the source of the lagoon) flowing next to the fig tree, and we followed it upstream to its origin, a hot spring bubbling up in the middle of a shallow, natural pool with a sandy bottom. Somebody had conveniently channeled its outflow into two artificial swimming pools, giving us three different bathing temperatures to choose from. It seemed that we had found Balneario el Coco but without the crowd and the noise!

Chuy Moreno discovers how to get a warm night’s sleep without a tent.

This was obviously the ideal place for us to camp. We immediately got busy cooking supper.

“For dessert,” I announced, “We’re going to have cajeta [caramel] which I am going to produce by simply heating this ordinary can of sweetened condensed milk.”

I was about to open the can when Chuy stopped me.

“No, don’t open it,” he insisted. “My mother makes this all the time, and you shouldn’t open the can.”

“Okay,” I said. “Mom knows best.” And so I placed the can on top of some hot coals in the campfire.

Something then distracted me, and I completely forgot about my cajeta delight until we all heard a tremendous bang.

Gazing at the stars while soaking in the Hot Pool of Paradise.

A great white cloud shot straight up into the air above the campfire.

“The cajeta!” I cried as white rain fell back down, coating every one of us with sugary goo. Only later did we learn that the unopened can should be placed inside a pot of boiling water, not directly over a flame.

Fortunately, the hot spring was right at hand for removing that sticky residue. When night fell, steamy vapors began to rise from the shallow pool, which was surrounded by exotic plants that look like wild pineapples festooned with yellow ping-pong balls. The water was crystalline, amazingly transparent, and its temperature was 38 C — perfect for a soothing hot bath on a cold winter’s night. In that delicious hot pool, we lay on our backs on its sandy bottom, staring up at the stars, hunting for meteorites, while we were serenaded by a big brown owl hooting from a branch far above us.

“This,” we decided, “may be as close to paradise as we’ll ever get.” And the name stuck.

We spent the next day hunting for a cave entrance on the other side of the hill.

“Look for a clearing,” our informant had told us, “with a cabra tree in the middle of it.”

The pochote produces real cotton balls and is easily recognized by its spiked trunk.

Now, we had never heard of a cabra tree, but we were told that its fruit comes in pairs “that look like large hog’s balls,” just the sort of thing we were sure we couldn’t miss.

As we beat about the bush (with nary a clearing to be seen anywhere), we spotted iguanas, squirrels and lots of birds, such as motmots, orioles, hawks and sleek wild turkeys. We also came upon some impressively spiked pochote (silk cotton) trees, one of which was home to a mysterious great black ball on its trunk, which turned out to be hundreds of daddy longlegs all huddled together in a quivering black mass. We even came upon a few of those hog’s-ball trees.

Yes, in the course of the morning we spotted everything but that cave, and we eventually came to the conclusion that the real treasure of Las Cuevas is its enchanting Pool of Paradise.

I returned there a few weeks ago, and I’m happy to report that the only development has been the transformation of the shelter cave into a kind of church. The hot spring, however, is just as rustic — and delicious — as ever. Should you go there on a weekday you will have “paradise” all to yourself, but on Sunday afternoons and evenings a lot of locals come here to picnic and bathe.

If you have a high-clearance vehicle and a weekday at your disposal, ask Google Maps to take you to “48HJ+7F Corral Falso, Nayarit.” This will get you to within two kilometers of the lagoon, cave and hot pool.

To cover the rest of the distance, switch to satellite view, and you can easily see how to get farther north to the lagoon, which is also very visible. The shelter cave is on the left side of the road, 200 meters south of the lagoon; the hot spring is 300 meters north of the lagoon. And now, Paradise is yours!

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.

Ever on the horizon is still smoldering Ceboruco Volcano.

Close-up of the crucifix painted on the ceiling.

Once a home for seasonal workers, the cave now serves as a church.

The lagoon has lukewarm water and plenty of fish.

The spring-fed Pool of Paradise, located at the end of a rough road in the state of Nayarit.

Doctor condemned for suggesting medication for AMLO to provoke thrombosis

By

MND Staff

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January 29, 2021

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Dr. Araiza later apologized for his tweet. — Dr. Araiza later apologized for his tweet, which attracted international condemnation.

A doctor has been publicly condemned and removed from his role as an ambassador for the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) after suggesting that President López Obrador – currently ill with Covid-19 – should be given a cocktail of drugs that could cause deep vein thrombosis or acute kidney failure and ultimately kill him.

After López Obrador announced last Sunday that he had tested positive for Covid, Diego Araiza, a cardiologist, took to Twitter to suggest that someone should prescribe the president hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, direct oral anticoagulants and steroids.

Araiza said the president would consequently develop deep vein thrombosis or acute kidney problems. As a result, Mexico would be saved from having to endure López Obrador’s lengthy morning press conferences, the doctor wrote.

Araiza’s remarks were promptly condemned by many Twitter users.

“This is unacceptable. While thousands of doctors fight to save lives, this doctor, Diego Araiza, chooses to taunt and [wish] death [upon the president]. I’m outraged,” wrote Jorge Gómez Naredo, a university professor with 82,000 Twitter followers.

Interior Minister Sánchez: ‘Reprehensible conduct.’

The Inter-American Society of Cardiology said it “energetically rejected” the “irresponsible comments” of one of its members and extended its wishes to the president for a quick and full recovery.

“We hope that this unacceptable episode causes this young cardiologist to reflect about the damage his words can cause,” it said.

The European Society of Cardiology tweeted that it did not endorse the post by one of its social media ambassadors.

“Diego Araiza has publicly apologized and will no longer be an ambassador for the society, as his message infringed ESC social media guidelines,” it said.

Prior to that post, Araiza published a message on his now-deleted Twitter account.

“With respect to the tweet published yesterday [Sunday] about the health of the president I would like to make a public apology and clarify that my intention was not to offend or wish misfortune on anyone. I regret having treated an issue that is so sensitive for Mexicans with scant seriousness. The text shared was on my behalf and doesn’t involve the thoughts or actions of any [medical] institution or society, or my medical colleagues. I wish a quick recovery for all Mexicans suffering Covid-19 including President Andrés Manuel López Obrador,” he wrote.

Interior Minister Olga Sánchez, who has stood in for López Obrador at this week’s government press conferences, weighed in on the matter on Thursday, saying that the doctor’s remarks were regrettable and angered her.

“The truth is it was very regrettable and I believe that he has violated a fundamental medical ethics code. His conduct is reprehensible,” she said.

“Although we’ve always said that there is absolute freedom of speech, all rights have limits and the limits are when the rights of third parties are affected.”

Meanwhile, López Obrador remains in isolation at his home in the National Palace where he is being monitored by a medical team led by Health Minister Jorge Alcocer. The president is said to have only mild symptoms.

Source: Infobae (sp), Proceso (sp), El Universal (sp)

Canada imposes mandatory quarantine for travelers, suspends Mexico flights

By

MND Staff

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January 29, 2021

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Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau: 'New variants of Covid-19 pose a real challenge to Canada.'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced stricter travel-related coronavirus restrictions that will require travelers entering the country to go into quarantine in hotels at their own expense. In addition, flights to Mexico and Caribbean countries will be suspended until April 30.

The implementation of the stricter rules comes in response to the emergence of new strains of the virus, some of which have been shown to be more contagious.

“New variants of Covid-19 pose a real challenge to Canada. That’s why we need to take extra measures,” Trudeau said Friday.

The prime minister said that people arriving at Canadian airports will have to undergo mandatory PCR testing in addition to presenting a negative test result before they board their flight.

“Travelers will then have to wait for up to three days at an approved hotel for their test results, at their own expense, which is expected to be more than [CAD] $2,000,” he said.

air canada — Flights to and from Mexico have been suspended until April 30.

“Those with negative test results will then be able to quarantine at home under significantly increased surveillance and enforcement.”

Under existing rules, people entering Canada are required to self-isolate for 14 days. Now, after people leave hotel quarantine, security contractors will visit Canadians’ homes to check that they are completing their full isolation period.

The high price for the three-day hotel stay includes the cost of a private PCR test, security and food. It takes into account the cost of the measures designated hotels will have to implement to ensure the safety of their workers.

“The cost is a ballparking. This isn’t like any other facility. This is one where there has to be infection prevention control measures, security and other costs as well. It’s not just a regular stay at a hotel,” said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer.

She said that travelers will also have to be tested 10 days after they enter the country.

Trudeau said that people who test positive will be immediately transferred to government quarantine facilities where further testing will determine if they are infected with strains of particular concern, such as those originating in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

The prime minister also announced that his government and the main Canadian airlines have agreed to a suspension of all flights to so-called sun destinations. Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing, and Air Transat will cancel all services to Mexico and Caribbean destinations starting Sunday until April 30, Trudeau said.

He made it clear that the aim is to discourage all nonessential travel, not just holiday trips to Mexico and the Caribbean.

“With the challenges we currently face with Covid-19, both here at home and abroad, we all agree that now is just not the time to be flying,” Trudeau said.

“By putting in place these tough measures now, we can look forward to a better time, when we can all plan those vacations.”

The suspension of flights is a heavy blow for the Mexican tourism sector, which had its most difficult year in living memory in 2020. It comes just three days after a rule requiring travelers to the United States to present a negative Covid-19 test result took effect. The U.S. testing requirement and a new quarantine directive are expected to hurt Mexico’s tourism industry. The new Canadian restrictions will only exacerbate the pain.

Trudeau said that Canadian airlines will make arrangements with customers already in Mexico and Caribbean destinations to organize their return flights. He said that starting next week, all incoming international passenger flights must land at the airports in one of four cities: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal.

From there they will be taken to designated quarantine hotels.

The prime minister also said that in the coming weeks Canada will require nonessential travelers to show a negative test before entry at the land border with the U.S.

The Mexico-United States border remains, in theory, closed to nonessential travel. There are no testing requirements for essential travelers in either direction.

Unlike many countries, Mexico has not restricted flights from any foreign nation during the coronavirus pandemic. It hasn’t required foreign travelers or Mexicans returning home to quarantine upon arrival in the country either.

Source: AP (en)

Confronting thief costs man his life; observers retaliate with beating

By

Michelle Aguilar

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January 29, 2021

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A thief who tried to mug patrons at a México state restaurant and killed a diner who fought back became a target himself when bystanders took off after him and attempted a lynching.

Thursday’s incident when the would-be thief entered La Morenita restaurant in Tecámac with a gun and began demanding that customers give him their valuables.

Edgar Marcel, a local administrator with the federal Attorney General’s Office, confronted the thief and attacked him, trying to take away his gun, but the attempt failed and Marcel was shot and killed.

When the thief fled the scene, the restaurant’s 48- and 41-year-old owners began pursuing him through the streets outside. The thief fired more shots at them, causing minor injuries to both men but also attracting the attention of bystanders, who joined the pursuit, caught the suspect and overpowered him.

They beat the man until he fell unconscious and left him on the pavement with his gun placed next to his body.

When police arrived they took the thief, who showed vital signs, as well as the injured restaurant owners to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Two similar incidents have occurred in Tecámac in the past week.

On January 22, passengers on a Servicio Expresso passenger bus traveling on the Mexico-Pachuca highway toward Mexico City attacked a would-be thief who tried to hold up passengers with a gun.

The commuters overpowered the man when he became distracted and then beat him to death while the bus was en route. There were no arrests.

The following day, also in Tecámac, passengers on a bus owned by the Cometa de Oro company fought back against three armed thieves. In the process of demanding the passengers’ belongings, the men opened fire inside the bus, wounding one of the passengers.

When the thieves began to flee, passengers fought back and captured one of the suspects, beating him before police arrived and took him into custody.

Sources: El Universal (sp), La Prensa (sp), Milenio (sp)

Refineries miss output targets, continue operating well below capacity

By

MND Staff

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January 29, 2021

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For Pemex's refining business, 2020 was not a banner year.

The performance of Mexico’s six state-owned oil refineries was disappointing in 2020: the refining target was not met and gasoline production declined to its lowest level in almost three decades.

The Cadereyta, Minatitlán, Salina Cruz, Tula, Madero and Salamanca refineries processed an average of 591,100 barrels of crude per day last year. The figure represents just 38.3% of capacity, which is 1.54 million barrels per day (bpd), according to the federal Energy Ministry.

When the federal government took office in December 2018, the refineries were operating at 33.1% capacity and Energy Minister Rocío Nahle pledged that they would increase daily processing to 900,000 bpd, or 58% of capacity, by the end of 2019.

But the refineries fell well short of that target and in 2020 failed to meet a new goal of 651,000 bpd pledged by Pemex CEO Octavio Romero.

Erick Sánchez Salas, an energy director at the business intelligence company IHS Markit, said the poor 2020 refining result is not surprising because Pemex has directed resources that are needed to operate, maintain and upgrade the existing refineries to the new Dos Bocas refinery, which is currently being built on the Gulf of Mexico coast in Tabasco.

Figures are in thousands of barrels per day. In brackets are domestic sales. el economista

The newspaper El Universal reported that a significant part of the problem is a lack of crude to process. Many energy sector analysts have been critical of the decision to build the US $8-billion refinery, arguing that it diverts funds from Pemex’s more profitable exploration business.

Gasoline production levels were also disappointing last year. The six refineries produced an average of 185,600 bpd of gasoline, a 9% decline compared to 2019. That daily quantity of gasoline was the lowest average level since 1992 and only met 32.4% of national demand, meaning that Mexico remained heavily dependent on imports.

(Domestic gasoline production as a percentage of demand actually increased 4% in 2020 but that was a by-product of decreased overall demand for fuel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gasoline sales fell last year to levels not seen since 2002.)

In the 1990s, Mexico was producing enough gasoline to meet more than 80% of national demand but production as a proportion of demand fell to 73% in 2004, 60% in 2009 and 56% in 2013. During the 2012-2018 presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, gasoline production declined significantly and has not recovered since President López Obrador took office despite his promise to “rescue” the state oil company.

Diesel production at the six refineries also fell last year, declining 13% compared to 2019 levels to an average of 113,600 bpd.

In 2020, budget cuts affected the operation of the refineries, El Universal said. The newspaper also said that Pemex’s Industrial Transformation division used just 47.9% of the 69.5 billion pesos (US $3.4 billion) allocated to it.

President López Obrador last year pledged that Mexico would be self-sufficient in gasoline by 2023 through the rehabilitation of Mexico’s six existing refineries and the construction of the new one on the Tabasco coast. In early 2021, that goal looks extremely ambitious at best.

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

Goodbye, Chester. Cheetos has new look as rules ban use of personalities

By

Michelle Aguilar

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January 29, 2021

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Chester the Cheetah bids his final adiós to Mexico this week.

The cartoon cheetah that has symbolized the Cheetos snack on its packaging and in TV commercials since the mid-1980s will no longer appear on packaging in Mexico, in compliance with a law passed in 2018 aimed at informing consumers about unhealthy foods and beverages and restricting how such items are marketed toward children.

In October 2018, when the regulations were passed, Katia Yetzani García of the nonprofit El Poder del Consumidor said they were based on the Pan American Health Organization’s statement that such marketing toward children takes advantage of their inexperience with advertising.

The secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Angel Gurría, said last year that “the incidence of overweight and obesity among the Mexican population has reached alarming levels,” with about 73% of Mexicans considered overweight. Childhood obesity, he said, has doubled from 7.5% in 1996 to 15% in 2016.

Chester is being replaced on Cheetos packages with a more generic letter “C” that nevertheless incorporates elements of the character that will be reminiscent to those familiar with it.

The law banning Chester and other cartoon characters began taking effect last October when the packaging of food and beverage items high in sugar, salt, fats or calories started displaying uniform seals in large, striking black-and-white lettering announcing that they contained excessive levels.

The upcoming ban — on cartoon characters, drawings, and celebrity images on packaging — applies to foods and beverages that qualify for at least one of these government seals. It does not become obligatory for manufacturers until April, when other famous characters like Tony the Tiger — and Mexican packaging cartoon superstars like Rey Carlos V (a candy bar image), Melvin the Elephant (Choco-Krispies), and the gansito (a goose character featured on a popular snack cake packaging) will also disappear from Mexico’s store shelves.

Mexico is not the first country in Latin America to get rid of cartoon mascots on unhealthy foods. Chile passed a similar law in 2015 against the packaging or advertising of foods high in calories, fat, salt, or sugar that uses “hooks” directed at minors under 14. As a result, most cereals and other “junk foods” in the country have packaging free of such imagery.

Chester Cheetah was created for an ad agency in the United States in 1986 by Brad Morgan, whose voice was briefly featured in the original U.S. animated commercials. A Saturday morning cartoon around the character planned by the Fox network in the 1990s, Yo, It’s the Chester Cheetah Show, was scrapped after groups like the Action for Children’s Television raised strong objections to it as an insidious marketing tool directed at children.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Covid paints Mexico red again; 14 states are now at maximum risk level

By

MND Staff

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January 29, 2021

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Business owners protest red-light restrictions in Nayarit, warning of economic damage.

Mexico now has 14 red light maximum risk states on the coronavirus stoplight map after an additional four states switched this week amid rising case numbers.

Ten states – Mexico City, México state, Guanajuato, Morelos, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Jalisco, Querétaro, Hidalgo and Tlaxcala – were painted red on the stoplight map that was published by the federal Health Ministry on January 15 and took effect January 18.

This week, San Luis Potosí, Guerrero, Puebla and Nayarit all switched to red due to their worsening coronavirus situations.

Mexico hasn’t had so many maximum risk states since August when 16 states were red during the first half of that month. By mid-September there were no red states, a situation that was maintained until late October.

However, the situation began to worsen and 2020 ended with five states including Mexico City at the red light level. That number doubled to 10 two weeks ago as case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths rose in the wake of Christmas-New Year celebrations before increasing to 14 this week.

Coronavirus cases and deaths in Mexico as reported by day. milenio

The Health Ministry is scheduled to publish an updated stoplight map on Friday night, meaning that it is not yet known whether all of the 14 states that are currently red will start next week at the same risk level.

One thing that is clear is that January has already surpassed December as the worst month of the pandemic in terms of both new coronavirus cases and Covid-19 deaths.

The Health Ministry reported 399,425 new cases in the first 28 days of January, an increase of 28% compared to December with numbers for three days of this month still to be reported. Mexico’s accumulated tally rose to 1.82 million on Thursday with 18,670 new cases reported.

The reported Covid-19 death toll in the first 28 days of the month was 29,338, a 48% increase compared to the entire month of December. The single-day death toll has regularly exceeded 1,000 this month, peaking on January 21 at 1,803.

An additional 1,506 deaths were registered Thursday, pushing the official death toll to 155,145. Mexico has now recorded the third highest number of deaths in the world behind the United States and Brazil, having passed India’s total on Thursday.

Nine states have an occupancy rate for general care hospital beds above 70%, according to federal data. They are Mexico City, 88%; México state, 84%, Hidalgo, 82%; Puebla, 81%; Guanajuato, 80%; Nuevo León, 79%; Morelos, 77%; Nayarit, 73%; and Guerrero, 71%.

Only about 40% of such beds and 52% of those with ventilators are occupied in San Luis Potosí but the state government nevertheless decreed a switch to maximum risk red on Monday, citing a recent increase in case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths. Hospitals in San Luis Potosí city have been under severe pressure in recent weeks.

Tighter economic restrictions, including reduced capacity for businesses and shorter operating hours, were implemented as a result of the red light designation. San Luis Potosí has recorded more than 49,000 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic and 3,695 Covid-19 deaths.

Guerrero was the second state to turn red this week, switching to that color on Wednesday. Governor Héctor Astudillo said the southern state, where tighter economic restrictions will remain in place until at least February 14, is facing “the worst moment of the pandemic.”

The governors of Puebla and Nayarit both announced Thursday that they were switching to maximum risk red.

Miguel Barbosa of Puebla said the authorities were most concerned about the coronavirus situation in the state capital and surrounding areas.

“We had a day yesterday [Wednesday] that in terms of Covid was very serious and now … Puebla is red. … The center of infection continues to be the capital of the state, Puebla, and the outlying area,” he said.

In Puebla, the capital and outlying areas are seeing the highest levels of contagion.

More than 1,400 coronavirus patients are currently hospitalized, more than any other time in the pandemic.

The state has recorded more than 60,000 accumulated cases and almost 7,000 deaths. There are currently almost 4,000 active cases in Puebla, according to federal Health Ministry estimates.

Barbosa said that the tighter, red light economic restrictions should begin to yield results in the coming days.

“We’re sure that we’ll soon come out of the red [level],” the governor said before calling on citizens to show “solidarity” and follow the health rules.

Announcing that Nayarit was regressing to red, Governor Antonio Echevarría said the Pacific coast state has recorded about 1,750 new cases in January and more than 200 Covid-19 deaths.

“There are practically no hospital beds now, it’s increasingly difficult to find oxygen for patients and the funeral services can’t keep up with demand,” he said.

“The situation is serious and it could get worse. A lot of us could still die – thousands – if we don’t take … control of the war against the pandemic. … In Nayarit we’re now on the red stoplight, it’s necessary that we voluntarily take shelter again. Lives are at stake – to the extent that is possible, please stay at home.”

The governor said that all nonessential business in the state capital Tepic and in the coastal area of the neighboring municipality San Blas must close between Friday and Sunday and remain shut on weekends until the government says otherwise.

The capacity of public transit services in Nayarit has been cut to 50% and street markets known as tianguis can only operate at the same capacity level.

The governor’s announcement triggered a protest by business owners Thursday in Tepic, who blocked various traffic intersections and warned that the restrictions would spell bankruptcy for many.

Nayarit has recorded almost 10,000 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic and 1,363 Covid-19 deaths. The federal Health Ministry estimates that there are currently 858 active cases in the state.

Source: Reforma (sp)

AMLO continues to have only mild symptoms of Covid-19

By

MND Staff

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January 28, 2021

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The president has not been seen since Monday when he was photographed during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President López Obrador is well and has only mild symptoms four days after he announced that he tested positive for Covid-19, Interior Minister Olga Sánchez said Thursday.

Speaking at the regular news conference usually presided over by López Obrador, Sánchez said the 67-year-old president continues to carry out his duties as head of the executive branch of government.

The interior minister said that López Obrador, a former smoker with a history of high blood pressure who suffered a heart attack in 2013, will return to his daily pressers as soon as his doctors give him the green light to do so. He is currently in isolation at his home in the National Palace and being monitored by a medical team led by Health Minister Jorge Alcocer.

“I assure you that he is very well, very optimistic as always, in a good mood and very soon we’ll have him with us,” Sánchez said.

Speaking at the Health Ministry’s Wednesday night coronavirus press briefing, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said that López Obrador had “minimal symptoms.”

“He’s had a few brief episodes of low-grade fever and practically no other discomfort. When he’s asked repeatedly, he finally gives in and says ‘a little bit of a headache since you’re asking so much,’” he said.

The government hasn’t disclosed whether López Obrador is being treated with any medications.

The president has been silent on social media since Monday when he announced that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and thanked him for agreeing to supply 24 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.

However, his wife took to Facebook on Thursday to thank those who have wished the president well.

“I’m frequently sent photographs of altars, mantras, prayers, recipes to cure respiratory diseases, diets to strengthen the immune system, breathing advice, ejaculatory prayers, good vibes and cards … from believers of assorted religions, and even atheists and skeptics. [They come] from Mexico and abroad. When one wishes another well, one expresses their good wishes according to their beliefs. We’re talking about humanism,” Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller wrote.

“There are very few who have wished for misfortune for our president. Even for them, we ask for … health, love and mercy from the bottom of our hearts.”

Several high-ranking officials who had contact with López Obrador last week went into isolation but none has announced a positive Covid test. Among those who have said they tested negative are Interior Minister Sánchez, Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard and López-Gatell, the government’s coronavirus point man.

Mexico News Daily