Flooded communities in Tabasco have been waiting for days for help

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November 12, 2020

Some Tabasco residents are still waiting for help days after floodwaters inundated their communities and homes.

One town that appears to have been forgotten by both federal and state authorities is Tepetitán, the birthplace of President López Obrador.

Homes in the town, located about 80 kilometers southeast of Villahermosa in the municipality of Macuspana, have been flooded for more than a week but neither state or federal authorities have arrived to help.

With their pens rendered inhabitable by floodwaters, pigs, turkeys and chickens have moved into the flooded homes of some residents, taking up residence on tabletops and rooftops.

“The government hasn’t helped us but we’re here,” one local man told the newspaper Reforma.

A raised platform keeps this family dry in their flooded home.

“There are a lot of people in Tepetitán who didn’t leave. … We need provisions, food and ointment for our feet. … All our documents got wet. … Of course, the people who have nothing to lose left but we have pigs and turkeys to look after,” he said.

Many residents – mainly men because most women and children have evacuated to shelters in nearby towns and the state capital – have sores on their feet because they’ve been immersed in water for days on end.

Another Tepetitán resident, identified only as Don Francisco, issued a call for help to authorities.

“We’ve been here since the flooding started and we need support; we need the authorities to support us with something, with provisions. Our homes are full of water,” he said.

“Up until now nothing has reached us, we’re waiting for medications and all that. We no longer have money to buy food.”

Reforma confirmed that López Obrador’s boyhood home was among those flooded. The newspaper said that some residents believe that the president isn’t aware of the situation his home town is facing and for that reason help hasn’t arrived.

“No tenemos comida y el agua sigue subiendo”

Watch this video on YouTube

But others say that it’s not possible that López Obrador doesn’t know what’s happening in Tepetitán.

“I believe that he does know because they’re televising all of this,” said Mariana Alamilla, one of the few women remaining in the town.

Some residents told Reforma that the authorities have concentrated their flood relief efforts in Villahermosa and Macuspana, the municipal seat, and forgotten about outlying towns and villages.

“They’ve abandoned the communities. They haven’t even come to supervise or to see all this disaster, [they’ve done] nothing,” said one young man.

All of the Tepetitán residents who spoke to Reforma said the flooding is the worst they have ever experienced. They all blamed the flooding on the excessive release of water from dams that have been inundated by recent heavy rains brought by cold fronts and Tropical Storm Eta.

Another flooded community where residents continue to wait for help is the second section of Ranchería Cantemoc, located in the municipality of Nacajuca.

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According to a report by the newspaper El Universal, the community’s Chontal Mayan residents don’t know how they are going to survive the coming days – their homes are flooded, many of their animals have drowned and they have nowhere to buy food because local shops are closed or out of stock.

No one from the National Guard, the army, the navy, the state police or Civil Protection services has arrived with provisions or to offer a helping hand to the affected residents.

One resident joked that the authorities will eventually arrive because they won’t want to miss out on the opportunity to show that they care in the lead-up to elections next year. (Mexico’s ruling party Morena is also in power in Tabasco.)

“They won’t take long to arrive now, they’ll come for their votes,” said Asunción de la O Rodríguez.

“[But] now while the water is still rising we don’t have any support; they haven’t told us if they’re going to deliver provisions, we’re practically alone – it’s just us fighting to rescue the little we have,” she said.

Ranchería Cantemoc residents told El Universal that they used to be able to go to an elevated parcel of land in the town when floods occurred but explained that it has been purchased by the state oil company Pemex and they aren’t allowed to enter.

Instead, they adapted a small church as a shelter, and it is currently providing a refuge from the floodwaters for four families.

One man taking shelter in the church with his family is Moisés de la Cruz de la O, who said that his home was left practically uninhabitable and that he was unable to save any of his furniture.

“Since the rain started it’s been difficult. We don’t have work, the water’s rising every day and we’re getting tired,” he said.

“The president [López Obrador] said that they already cut off [the release of] water [from the dam] but it’s still rising,” de la Cruz added.

According to Tabasco Governor Adán Augusto López Hernández, Nacajuca is one of three municipalities where flooding was caused by the excessive release of water from the Peñitas dam, located in a Chiapas municipality that borders the Gulf coast state.

De la Cruz said that he and his family are not only worried about losing their home but also about the risk of being bitten by insects and snakes lurking in the floodwaters. In addition, food supplies and drinking water are running short.

“The resources are already running out. … The tap water that reaches us is very little, it’s not for consumption, it’s just to bathe and wash dishes,” de la Cruz said.

All told more than 90,000 Tabasco residents and tens of thousands of homes have been affected by flooding caused by recent heavy rains and/or the release of water from dams.

At least six people have drowned in Tabasco in recent days, while the heavy rains claimed the lives of more than 20 people in neighboring Chiapas, some of whom were killed in landslides.

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

Oaxaca conservation group laments theft of 44 iguanas

By

MND Staff

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November 11, 2020

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An iguana cage at the sanctuary in Juchitán.

A conservation group has reported the theft of 44 adult iguanas from its breeding facility in Juchitán, Oaxaca.

Members of the Foro Ecológico Juchiteco (Ecological Forum of Juchitán) said that thieves stole large, reproductive-age black and green iguanas from their cages at the sanctuary in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec city.

“They only left 200 small and medium-sized iguanas; they took the reproductive ones, the big ones, the ones for breeding,” said Gonzalo Bustillo Cacho. “They’ve interrupted the breeding process, it’s really upsetting. … This robbery hurts, it’s really disappointing.”

The motive for the theft was unclear but it’s likely that the iguanas will end up in a stew. Endemic to the region, the reptiles make for a popular meal in Juchitán and other Isthmus towns.

According to the Foro Ecológico, 200 iguanas are killed for their meat every day. That number rises to 500 per day during Easter week when iguana meat is commonly used to make stews and fill tamales.

iguana at juchitan sanctuary — ‘They’ve interrupted the breeding process, it’s really upsetting,’ said a sanctuary spokesman.

The lizards’ popularity as a meal – its meat is thought to be aphrodisiac – has led to them becoming endangered, making the theft even more distressing for those dedicated to their conservation.

This week’s robbery comes eight years after 84 adult iguanas were stolen from the breeding facility.

The Juchitán sanctuary has been breeding black and green iguanas for the past 15 years. The facility released more than 50 iguanas into the wild in June, and some 3,000 of the reptiles have been released since the project began in 2005.

Some Juchitán citizens have also taken it upon themselves to help ensure the survival of the reptiles. One is 15-year-old José Francisco Sánchez, who used his own money to buy wood, wire and other supplies to build cages that mimic their natural habitat.

Sánchez said earlier this year that he plans to raise his lizards to adulthood — iguanas reach sexual maturity at between 3 and 4 years of age — before releasing them into the wild.

Source: Aristegui Noticias (sp)

Good oversight, not austerity, will root out corruption

By

Sarah DeVries

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November 11, 2020

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President López Obrador believes austerity measures for government agencies help root out corruption.

One of my biggest secret fears as a kid – I say “secret” because it didn’t occur to me to mention it to anyone – was of bridges.

It’s not a phase that lasted long, but for at least a couple of years when I was in elementary school, I’d hold my breath on car trips while going either over or under a bridge. Before getting to them I’d send up a quick prayer: “Please don’t let this bridge fall!” and then another one: “Whew, thank you!” when we’d made it safely to the other side.

I have no idea where this fear came from. Had I seen something on the news? There certainly hadn’t been any collapsed bridges in my city. Maybe I just heard someone mention it in passing, and my small anxiety-prone brain grabbed on and flagged it as yet another thing to be irrationally terrified of.

I’d forgotten about that childhood dread completely until I read last week about the 90 bridges in danger of collapse.

I’m sorry, what? In danger of collapse, you say?

One of the ways I’ve calmed my natural skittishness through the years is by 1) relying on statistics, and 2) taking available precautions. Yes, terrible things can happen. Terrible things do happen. But most of the time, most individuals are pretty safe going about their everyday lives, especially if they take simple actions like buckling their seatbelts and looking both ways before crossing the street.

But as the coronavirus especially has taught us, we’re not always 100% in control of our own safety. Sometimes simply leaving the house wrests a reasonable expectation of basic security out of our hands.

When it comes to road safety, some places in Mexico (unfortunately) don’t get a whole lot of points in their favor. Potholes pepper the city streets, lanes abruptly end, one-way streets display scant signals, if any, that they are one-way streets. All of these are things that those of us who choose to live in Mexico must simply accept as part of life.

Municipal governments are in control of keeping city streets safe and functional, and actually do this to varying degrees. When I lived in Querétaro, at least the major thoroughfares were quite good. Here in Veracruz, they’re decidedly tougher, with the exception of Orizaba. The drivers of Jalisco last year, meanwhile, saw a 602% spike in car accidents, 16% of those “due to infrastructure, including road conditions and their design.” Yikes.

So let’s go back to these potentially-collapsing bridges. Fine, the chances that you’ll be on or under one of those bridges right at the time it starts collapsing are pretty slim. Have you heard the Mexican phrase, “Cuando te toca, ni aunque te quites, y cuando no te toca, ni aunque te pongas”? My best translation is, “When it’s your turn, it is, even if you get out of the way; and when it’s not your turn, it’s not, even if you put yourself right out front.” Suffice it to say, I find most people around rather resigned to their fate, or at least to the idea of the concept of fate.

But I, for one, am not. I believe in preventable safety measures, and that sometimes people die needlessly for stupid reasons, not just because the gods wanted it so. Call me unromantic, but dying because a bridge fell on you doesn’t happen because it was your fate, it happens because the bridge should have been fixed.

It’s dumbfounding to me that so many bridges are in such dire need of disrepair and yet are still being allowed to be used. According to the article, there will only be enough money for the repair of 90 bridges out of 2000 that need it (that’s 4.9%).

As I’ve said before, now is not the time for austerity. I understand AMLO’s desire to do away with the kinds of ridiculously extravagant spending that has marked Mexico’s government for the past several decades as officials at all levels lined their own pockets. And the Ministry of Communication and Transportation has historically been one of the worst offenders, according to Mexico’s chief auditor, who earlier this year called into question the ministry’s use of 8 billion pesos in 2018. The president has been happy to move many projects that would normally fall under their responsibility to the military, a move that many viewed with unease and that prompted the retiring of the ministry’s head as a result.

It feels a bit like an inverted version of the “scandal” surrounding “welfare mothers” in the US during the 80s and 90s: the desire to punish a few abusers led to the majority of families who really did need help to suffer much more than they should have.

But, Mr. President: might I suggest that the way to stop corruption (which, by the way, has shown no sign of going away despite claims to the contrary) isn’t by refusing to give out a large percentage of the normal budget for already existing government infrastructure but rather by creating foolproof methods to monitor and account for spending?

When it comes to public works, depriving those responsible for them of their normal budgets doesn’t just frustrate them, it neuters their ability to do things right and to help average the Mexican citizens who benefit daily from these public resources in all areas of society (Conacyt funding comes to mind).

I understand the desire to punish for past irresponsibility. Average citizens are free to grumble about it. But in my own humble opinion, a leader’s job isn’t to spend his or her time finding ways to punish but to find solutions for getting things done the right way.

I found the bonus surprise in the article about the bridges toward the bottom: 8 of those in danger of collapse are in my home state of Veracruz. Okay! Good to know – I’ll be sure to avoid those then until they’ve been repaired! Except that I might go on them anyway, because the ministry isn’t revealing which bridges they are.

Well, great.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sdevrieswritingandtranslating.com.

Tabasco governor labels CFE chief ‘irresponsible’ after laughing off claims

By

MND Staff

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November 11, 2020

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Bartlett, left: 'Complaint makes me laugh.' López, right, charges 'criminal negligence.'

The chief of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and the governor of Tabasco traded barbs on Tuesday over who is responsible for severe flooding in the gulf coast state.

Manuel Bartlett of the CFE denied that the state-owned company is responsible for the flooding that has plagued parts of Tabasco, including the state capital Villahermosa in recent days.

But Governor Adán Augusto López Hernández accused the CFE of causing some of the flooding by releasing greater quantities of water from the Peñitas dam, which is located on the Grijalva River in Chiapas and used to generate hydro-electric power.

Interviewed outside the National Palace in Mexico City on Tuesday afternoon, Bartlett said that some people are looking to blame others for their own “clumsiness.”

Asked about the Tabasco governor’s remark that he would file a complaint against the CFE for damages caused by the flooding, he responded: “That complaint makes me laugh.”

Bartlett, who had attended a meeting with President López Obrador and other governors to discuss the flooding and ways to prevent it in the future, asserted that the CFE doesn’t manage the water in the Peñitas dam and other dams across the country.

The Committee of Large Dams manages dam water, he said, explaining that the organization is made up of officials from the National Water Commission and university academics.

“Who determines the management of [dam] water up until today is this organization,” he said.

López Hernández responded to Bartlett on Twitter, charging that his remarks were designed to “hide the irresponsibility” of CFE officials.

The Tabasco governor said that Bartlett had confessed that there was a “miscalculation in the operation of the Peñitas dam” and that the error caused flooding in three municipalities – Nacajuca, Jalpa and Cunduacán.

“Now with professional cynicism he says that ‘the complaint makes him laugh.’ He will soon have his opportunity to speak in court. Surely he doesn’t understand but the change in this country is profound; we have confidence in the judicial authorities,” wrote López Hernández, who represents the Morena party founded by President López Obrador.

In a separate tweet, the governor charged that Bartlett “and his bureaucrats” allowed 1,500 cubic meters of water per second to be released from the Peñitas dam, which had been inundated with rain brought by two cold fronts and Tropical Storm Eta.

By increasing the amount of water released from the dam, the CFE “criminally flooded the Tabasco plains,” López Hernández wrote. “Mr. Bartlett, that’s not called clumsiness, it’s called irresponsibility and criminal negligence.”

Prior to his Twitter tirade, the governor said in an interview that the Tabasco government would file a legal complaint against the CFE to seek compensation for damage caused by the flooding. He warned last week that he would hold the state-owned company responsible for any damage caused by an increase in the quantity of water released from the Peñitas dam.

López Hernández said Tuesday that the current priority was to save lives and support people affected by the flooding but asserted that his government would subsequently launch legal action. It is clear that the CFE has mismanaged the dam water, he said.

“It rained less and it flooded more due to the [excessive] release [of water],” the governor said. “There is obviously damage and there is a cause of the damage. Those responsible must make amends.”

Source: Reforma (sp), Milenio (sp)

Mexico’s second-biggest pilgrimage site has its own indigenous origin story

By

Joseph Sorrentino

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November 11, 2020

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The Sanctuary at Chalma, México state, about 65 kilometers from Toluca, is Mexico's second-most visited pilgrimage site after the Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City.

Santiago was talking to me about the pilgrimage to Chalma when he became adamant about one thing.

“You must ride a horse,” he said.

I was born and raised on Staten Island, a borough of New York City, and my family didn’t have many opportunities for horseback riding. Actually, we had none. I told him it was a bad idea, but he kept insisting.

“You will be fine,” he said.

I had my doubts.

I was working on a book chronicling a year in San Gregorio Atlapulco, a town in Xochimilco, Mexico City, and that meant going on pilgrimages. Chalma, which is located in México state, is the second-most-important pilgrimage site in Mexico after the Villa Guadalupe.

“The pilgrimage is Catholic,” said Javier Márquez Juárez, who goes every year, “but it is also indigenous.”

Some believe that the "Black Christ" said to have miraculously appeared in Chalma's caves in 1537 was actually an Aztec deity. — Some believe that the “Black Christ” said to have miraculously appeared in Chalma’s caves in 1537 was actually an Aztec deity.

The origin of the pilgrimage is this: one of the gods worshipped by the Mexicas was Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror or Dark Lord. There was a life-sized statue of the god in a cave in Chalma, and this didn’t sit well with the Augustinian friars who arrived around 1537, determined to convert indigenous communities to Christianity. According to one legend, two friars wanted the idol destroyed, and when it wasn’t, they went to the cave to destroy it themselves. However, when they arrived, they found the idol in pieces on the ground, replaced by a figure of a crucified black Christ. Mexicas supposedly converted on the spot.

Pilgrimages are held throughout the year.

“The largest pilgrimages are on New Year’s, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday,” said Márquez. “Ones that occur in May and June, like the one from San Gregorio Atlapulco, have pre-Hispanic elements. Those months are when indigenous groups petitioned for rain.”

Bowing to Santiago’s gentle, if persistent, pressure, to ride a horse, I figured I should take riding lessons. I told Max, my instructor, and an expert horseman, about Santiago’s insistence.

“Sometimes the trails are difficult even for us,” he said, which caused me no end of worry. But when I mentioned this to Javier he said, “You will be fine.”

Most from San Gregorio walk or ride horses to Chalma, a challenging two and a half days covering about 45 miles. There are steep climbs on narrow mountain paths, and because it’s the rainy season, there are often severe storms to contend with. Yet the pilgrims go every year.

“I go to show the faith I have in the Lord of Chalma,” said Juan Manzanares who has gone on the pilgrimage for 26 years, almost half his life. “To feel the peace and spirituality of the sanctuary, also … to conserve the traditions of our country.”

For Raúl Hernandez Serralde, the pilgrimage is a chance to give thanks for a perceived miracle. “When I was three, I was very sick, and the doctor did not know if I would live,” he said. “My grandfather carried me all the way to Chalma. He walked the whole way. He bathed me in the river there … and I did recover. It was a miracle. So I go to Chalma every year to give thanks to God.”

Underlying beliefs in indigenous religions and traditions also compel people to go.

“We go to ask for rain so that we have a good harvest,” said Márquez. “When we walk through the mountains — mountains represent water — it is to ensure rain.”

A little after 5:00 a.m. on June 1, thousands of people streamed out of San Gregorio on their way to Chalma. Fireworks exploded overhead. The pilgrimage had started.

I was relieved that I didn’t ride the horse from the very beginning. But I became less sanguine when the flat road we were on turned into steep mountain paths. As we climbed one particularly challenging stretch, Santiago turned to me several times worriedly.

“Do you want to rest?” he asked each time.

“No,” I panted. “I’ll rest when we get to the top.”

For many pilgrims, the road to Chalma involves a steep mountain hike.

When I finally got there, I decided to take some photos before resting. As soon as I sat down, however, Santiago announced, “Vámonos.”

I eventually rode the horse for a mostly uneventful hour, deciding I’d had enough when we stopped for a break and, despite my whispering to the horse, “Whoa, whoa” (I don’t know the Spanish equivalent), she kept going around in small circles. Santiago kindly helped me down. The second day was a six-hour walking marathon during which I’d gotten separated from the group and walked the last hour alone in a punishing downpour. Whoever had petitioned the gods for rain had had their prayers answered.

Finally, after a challenging two days, I was completely soaked and tired, but I’d made it. About 60 of us slept in tents that were set up under a second very large tent, which is also where we ate. It rained almost every day, so the ground was muddy and it was hard to stay dry. But no one complained.

I then spent three days in Chalma, going to the church every day and often at night. More pilgrims arrived daily, and thousands crammed into the churchyard, where different Aztec groups danced, pounded out different rhythms and sang. Masses were held continuously inside the church, where the black Christ now hangs.

The return trip was arguably even more difficult. I rode the horse for four hours on the second day, over mountain paths that were narrow, slick with mud, and blocked in parts by boulders and fallen trees. It was way beyond my ability but, miraculously I didn’t fall. I wish I could say it was due to my superior skills, but it was due to my clinging to the saddle as if my life depended on it. Which it may have.

A huge storm also hit at the end of that day; I’m talking about a storm where you start thinking about building an ark and selecting animals. At one point, three of us reached an intersection where water was so deep and moving so rapidly, we couldn’t cross. We had to detour and jump over a narrow stream. We bedded down the final night in a rodeo arena, sleeping on ground covered with stones, making for a very uncomfortable night.

We finally made it back to San Gregorio in the early afternoon and were greeted at the entrance to the pueblo with bottle rockets, toritos (makeshift structures filled with fireworks and carried above a person’s shoulders), other fireworks and, of course, another big meal.

All in all, the trek to Chalma took about 16 hours. We crossed mountains and fields under a hot sun. We were rained on. We were exhausted. We suffered — but that’s part of the point.

“When a group suffers together, they become much closer,” said Hernández. “Suffering is part of spirituality. We suffer, we make a sacrifice, to show thanks to God, to show our faith. So we walk, we sleep on the ground.”

“Suffering in the Catholic religion is payment for sins,” says Márquez. “In pre-Hispanic traditions, it is an expression of stoicism. So in pilgrimages today, there are two visions: Catholic and pre-Hispanic.”

Immediately after the pilgrimage ended, I decided that going once was enough, that I only went to take photographs. Now I’m not so sure. I now know what to expect, and that might make it a little easier.

But with the pilgrimage canceled this year because of the coronavirus, I have a whole year to decide.

Joseph Sorrentino is a regular contributor to Mexico News Daily.

AMLO rejects notion that reprisals will follow for silence over US election

By

MND Staff

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November 11, 2020

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trump, amlo, biden — As Trump declares fraud and Biden celebrates victory, AMLO stays mum.

President López Obrador has rejected any suggestion that there could be reprisals against Mexico for his decision not to not recognize Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the United States presidential election.

Several hours after United States media called the race for Biden last Saturday, López Obrador said he would wait until “all the legal issues” surrounding the election are resolved before congratulating the successful candidate because he didn’t want to be “imprudent.”

At his regular news conference on Wednesday, he ruled out any possibility that Biden will retaliate.

“If we don’t recognize [Biden as president-elect] will there be reprisals? No,” López Obrador told reporters.

“There’s no reason for there to be reprisals because we’re sticking to our … principles [of non-intervention], to our laws. Besides, we’re not a colony, we’re a free, independent and sovereign country. The government of Mexico isn’t the puppet of any foreign government.”

The president reiterated that he won’t recognize a winner of the election until there is greater certainty about the result. To do so now would be “interventionism,” he said.

As congratulations for Biden flooded in from around the world after the U.S. media declared that he had secured enough electoral college votes to win the presidency, Mexico was conspicuous for its decision to not do the same, especially considering the importance of its relationship with its northern neighbor.

Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who has been described as the “Trump of the Tropics,” were also among the small group of world leaders who chose to withhold congratulatory remarks to the president-elect.

López Obrador, who has unexpectedly developed a friendly relationship with Trump and visited him in the White House in July, has been widely criticized for his failure to congratulate Biden, although some observers concluded that he is in fact being prudent given that the U.S. president still has time to take decisions that could have a negative impact on Mexico.

“The crazy guy could close the border, deport people or [do] something else that could cause a lot of damage to Mexico and to our compatriots,” said Genaro Lozano, a political analyst and columnist.

In contrast, León Krauze, a journalist and news anchor, was highly critical of López Obrador’s stance. Writing in The Washington Post, Krauze said the president’s decision not to recognize Biden’s victory “tacitly” validated “Trump’s mission to delegitimize the electoral process.”

Columnist Krauze: López Obrador has chosen a side.

That shouldn’t surprise anyone, he wrote, charging that it was the “next logical step” in López Obrador’s “subservient” relationship with the U.S. president.

Krauze claimed that AMLO, as the president is known, “has chosen to appease” Trump “at every turn,” noting that in order to avoid blanket tariffs on Mexican exports he agreed to militarize the southern border and comply with the United States government’s controversial policy of sending migrants to Mexico to await the outcome of their asylum claims in the U.S.

The columnist also criticized López Obrador for heaping praise on Trump during his trip to Washington.

“After such indignity, granting credence to Trump’s legal challenges of the electoral process in the United States should be an expected, if sad, progression,” he wrote.

Krauze also acknowledged that AMLO’s own personal experience in close contested elections was a factor in his decision.

When he was narrowly defeated by Felipe Calderón at the 2006 election, López Obrador “cried fraud and set out to delegitimize the election,” he wrote.

“He demanded a recount. When the process failed to vindicate his allegations of electoral wrongdoing, López Obrador proclaimed himself the ‘legitimate president’ of Mexico and declined to recognize Calderón as the country’s lawful leader, dismissing him as ‘spurious.’”

Krauze noted that AMLO also refused to accept his 2012 defeat to Enrique Peña Nieto but “reconciled” himself with Mexico’s democratic institutions when he prevailed at the 2018 election.

“This dynamic is now becoming eerily familiar to U.S. voters. Like López Obrador, Trump believes in democracy only when it benefits him. Any adverse result is suspect, potentially fraudulent, illegitimate,” he wrote.

“Given their shared narcissistic and conspiratorial mind-set, why would López Obrador turn his back on Trump now? Why acknowledge Biden’s victory if, perhaps, he has already opted to believe Trump’s allegations of fraud?” Krauze asked.

After concluding that the Mexican president has already chosen a side, the journalist asserted that “Biden will surely notice.”

However, he didn’t consider the possibility that the president-elect might seek to retaliate once he takes up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Héctor Diego Medina, a columnist and foreign affairs analyst, acknowledged that AMLO had made a “diplomatic error” in not congratulating Biden but opined that there would be no reprisal against Mexico because the 77-year-old former vice president “is not a vengeful politician.”

But Carlos Bravo Regidor, a prominent political analyst and professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching, a Mexico City university, said that López Obrador’s failure to reach out to Biden could have repercussions at home.

“Drawing the analogy between Mexico in 2006 and the U.S. in 2020 puts López Obrador in the awkward position of equating himself with Trump and his baseless fraud allegations,” he said.

“If Mexico does not pick the side of American democracy, the United States will not take the side for Mexican democracy either. Perhaps that is what López Obrador wants, but that is not what’s in the best interest of Mexicans.”

Jesus Velasco, an expert on U.S. Mexico relations at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, said the decision not to congratulate Biden “will, at least in the beginning, lead to an unpleasant bilateral relation that will complicate Mexico’s relationship with its main trade partner.”

“However, AMLO’s insensibility will not modify the structural relationship” between Mexico and the United States, he said.

A senior Mexican government official who spoke to The Dallas Morning News on the condition of anonymity said that AMLO’s decision is designed to avoid Trump bullying Mexico in his last days in office, but another official said the move was “embarrassing.”

Tony Garza, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said that López Obrador’s refusal to acknowledge Biden was “a fumble of sorts” but not a big deal.

“[The] truth is, the president-elect’s inbox is full of far more pressing matters than AMLO’s unforced errors,” he said.

Writing in The Dallas Morning News, journalist Alfredo Corchado said López Obrador’s failure to pick up the phone and call Biden represented an “inauspicious start” to his relationship with the president-elect. He also said that the relationship between the two men had been “muddied” because López Obrador didn’t make time to meet with Biden when he was in Washington in July.

Noting that Mexico and the United States share a long border and need to cooperate on issues including immigration and trade, the bonds between the two nations “are a top priority,” Corchado wrote. “And they’re fragile.”

Similarly, Shannon O’Neil, a senior fellow for Latin America at the Council for Foreign Relations, said that López Obrador has made a “rocky start” to the relationship with the incoming U.S. president but asserted that Mexico and the United States’ shared geography, history and destiny will ensure that the two countries work closely together.

“Even without any personal bonhomie expect much broader and deeper bilateral discussions to begin on security, environment, labor issues, human rights, corruption and investor rights and protections,” she said.

“After four years of an obsession with just migration, the true broad and deep nature of the U.S.-Mexico relationship will again emerge.”

Source: El Financiero (sp) The Dallas Morning News (en), The Washington Post (en)

125,000 consumers without water after CFE turns off power for unpaid bills

By

Michelle Aguilar

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November 11, 2020

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Treatment plants and pumping stations were idled by Tuesday's power cut.

Some 125,000 households and businesses in Guasave, Sinaloa, woke up Tuesday to no running water after the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) cut off power to a water treatment plant and six wells for nonpayment of a 22-million-peso debt (US $1.07 million).

The city’s water board manager, Nubia Yazmin Puentes Llanos, said the cutoff had left most of the city and 16 surrounding rural communities dry.

The board and the CFE have an agreement to whittle down what was a 49.9-million-peso debt, she said, of which it had paid off about 27 million. The CFE cutoff had come without warning and without consideration of the fact that the city currently has 62 cases of Covid-19, she said.

Due to concerns about public safety, Puentes said the board is turning for help to the Mexican National Association of Water and Sanitization Businesses, a nonprofit organization, and Sinaloa’s state-owned water treatment commission.

However, electrical service was restored Tuesday afternoon after the mayor and other local politicians interceded with the electricity commission. The municipality also deployed police officers to its pumping facilities to prevent CFE workers from cutting off the power again.

The CFE often cuts off power to municipal and even state and federal agencies for nonpayment of debt, affecting thousands of municipal customers of electrically powered water pumping and treatment systems. However, since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the practice has become more complicated and fraught due to the need for clean water to combat spread of the virus.

In June, the commission cut off power to a federally owned wastewater treatment plant in La Paz, Baja California Sur, run by the federally-owned National Water Commission (Conagua), although thanks to an available emergency electricity generating plant, service was not interrupted. However, Governor Carlos Mendoza Davis said if the emergency plant had not been available, the risk would have been “enormous and unacceptable for the population” of La Paz.

In August, the CFE turned off power to pumping stations in Cuernavaca, Morelos, for not paying a 111-million-peso debt. The cutoff affected 100 neighborhoods.

Also in August, the CFE cut off power to 34,000 customers with overdue electricity bills throughout Tabasco, including the state’s commission for water and sanitization (CEAS) offices in Villahermosa, which at the time owed CFE over 5 million pesos.

CEAS director Armando Padilla Herrera at the time warned that the CEAS owes debts in other cities around Tabasco, and that if CFE decided to cut off power to its water plants, the resulting situation would be a “crime against humanity” that would put public health in jeopardy during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic appears to have created a perfect debt storm for some municipal and state utility providers. Many regularly carry outstanding debts to the CFE, but in some cases the pandemic has pushed their debts high enough that the commission has chosen to implement cutoffs.

In Guasave, for example, Puentes said that revenues for the municipally-owned entity have gone down 50% since the start of the pandemic, which has made it difficult for the entity to meet its financial commitments. Although Puentes said the board has reached out to CFE officials, they have been told that payment in full of the back debt is the only acceptable option.

In Reynosa, when power was cut off to the city’s water commission last month, its general manager Jesus Maria Moreno told local media that the commission was behind in its payments due to the pandemic, a period which has seen lower customer use and also fewer bills being paid on time.

Source: El Universal (sp), Tabasco Hoy (sp), Hora Cero (sp)

Quintana Roo security chief resigns over Cancún shootings

By

MND Staff

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November 11, 2020

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alberto capella — Alberto Capella resigned after police opened fire during a protest.

Police officers’ aggression against a women’s protest in Cancún Monday has cost two officials their jobs.

The Quintana Roo public security minister resigned on Tuesday, a day after police opened fire on the protest, and the municipal police chief was fired.

Governor Carlos Joaquín said in a video message that he had accepted the resignation of Alberto Capella, a former Tijuana police chief and one-time security commissioner in the state of Morelos.

Mara Lezama, mayor of the municipality where Cancún is located, said that Police Chief Eduardo Santamaría had been dismissed in connection with the officers’ improper use of force.

Joaquín appeared to leave open the possibility that Capella would be reinstated, saying that he was stepping down while the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Public Security conducted an investigation to determine who was responsible for the shooting.

Capella, who took up his position in 2018, thanked Joaquín for the “great opportunity” to lead the security strategy in Quintana Roo.

The governor’s “vision, leadership and support have been key,” he said in a Twitter post, adding that he decided to resign in order to “act with transparency” during the investigative process.

In his video message, Joaquín apologized for the actions of the municipal police officers who shot in the air and at the ground to disperse people protesting outside the Cancún municipal palace against Sunday’s femicide of 20-year-old Blanca Alejandrina Lorenzana Alvarado.

He said that police and their commanders will be given additional training to ensure that something similar doesn’t happen in the future.

“We have to make sure that this doesn’t happen again and that citizens can protest freely and safely,” the governor said. “We’re going to strengthen protocols … and provide better training to police, especially in the use of public force.”

Joaquín said that eight people were injured during the protest including two journalists who were shot.

A man who was shot in the arm was successfully operated on and remains under medical observation, he said, while a woman who received a gunshot wound to her leg was discharged from hospital Tuesday morning.

The governor said the state was covering the costs of the medical treatment and would do the same for anyone else injured during Monday’s protest.

Joaquín reiterated that he gave clear instructions for police attending protests on Monday to be unarmed. He said his instructions were followed in every municipality in the state except Benito Juárez, where Cancún is located.

The governor said the municipal officers who opened fire are part of the single-command state police force but asserted that municipal forces are not under state government control. Chief Santamaría was responsible for the officers who opened fire, he said.

In an interview, Joaquín said Santamaría gave the instruction to officers to shoot to disperse the protesters. The ex-police chief explained his decision by saying that the safety of officials inside the municipal palace was at risk as a result of the protesters’ attempts to break into the building.

The governor also confirmed that the officers shot real bullets, not rubber bullets as some preliminary reports suggested.

He stressed that the femicide of Lorenzana, known to her friends and family as Alexis, and any other acts of violence against women will not go unpunished.

There have been 12 femicides in Quintana Roo this year, according to the state government, and the murderers of nine women have been taken into custody. Across Mexico, approximately 10 women are murdered every day.

Feminist groups have held numerous protests this year against gender violence and what they say is government inaction in the face of the problem.

Protests in several states coincided with Independence Day celebrations in September, while millions of women participated in a national women’s strike in March.

Source: Milenio (sp), Infobae (sp)

Sculpture garden in San Luis Potosí joins list of world’s great gardens

By

MND Staff

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November 11, 2020

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Edward James' garden, located near Xilitla in the Huasteca region.

A surrealist sculpture garden in San Luis Potosí created by an eccentric Brit in the second half of the 20th century has been included on a list of the world’s great gardens.

The Sculpture Garden of Edward James, located near the town of Xilitla in the tropical Huasteca region of the state, is now one of almost 100 gardens recognized by Great Gardens of the World, a worldwide network of international gardens, garden designers and landscape architects.

Commonly known as Las Pozas (The Pools), the 9-hectare garden is the first in Mexico to be included on the Great Gardens list.

It was chosen for inclusion in the “follies” category, “where owners and architects alike have obviously had fun, and where we can let our imagination go free.”

Featuring 40 buildings, structures and sculptures along with natural and artificial pools and waterfalls, Las Pozas was the brainchild of Edward James, a poet and artist who was also a great patron of the surrealist art movement.

Primavera en Las Pozas, Xilitla

Watch this video on YouTube

The garden is located on land once occupied by a coffee plantation that James purchased in 1947 and registered under the name of his close friend Plutarco Gastelum.

According to the Great Gardens of the World website, James initially used the land as a plantation for his orchid collection and as a home for a range of animals including deer, ocelots, snakes and flamingos and other birds.

But after an unprecedented frost in 1962 that destroyed many of his plants, he decided to use concrete to build an array of surrealist sculptures and structures that could withstand the whims of the weather.

More than 150 locals including bricklayers, carpenters and gardeners helped James realize his vision over a period of years. Construction was finally halted in 1984, the year James died, and seven years later the garden was opened to the public.

According to Great Gardens of the World, visitors to Las Pozas enter into a “dream world” that is home to a “surrealistic labyrinth.”

There are “buildings that evoke fantasy, doors that open up to nothing, stairs that lead to the sky, and concrete flowers that grow along with natural ones.”

edward james' garden — ‘A dream world that is home to a “surrealistic labyrinth.’ fundacion pedro y elena hernandez ac

Among the structures is the Bamboo Palace, which James, who called it “the tower of hope,” said would one day be his home.

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Other structures also have intriguing names – there is the House of the Stag, the House of the Ocelot, the Stairway to Heaven and the Three-Story House that Might Have Five. One of the garden’s walkways is called the Path of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Pedro y Elena Hernández Foundation, an organization dedicated to the conservation of Mexico’s natural assets, acquired Las Pozas in 2007 and the garden was declared an artistic monument by the National Institute of Fine Arts in 2012.

The sculpture garden is located about 400 kilometers north of Mexico City and approximately 350 kilometers southeast of San Luis Potosí city. Entry is 100 pesos for adults and tickets can be bought in advance on the garden’s website.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Source says one of Interjet’s new investors has pulled out

By

MND Staff

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November 10, 2020

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There is more bad news for problem-plagued airline Interjet: one of its new investors has decided to withdraw his capital.

A source with knowledge of Interjet’s finances told the newspaper El Financiero that businessman Carlos Cabal Peniche decided to take back his funding from the airline.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source said it was unclear how much of a US $150-million capital injection announced in July would be maintained.

Cabal and Alejandro del Valle had committed to provide that amount of money to the airline, which has significant unpaid tax obligations and appears to be on the verge of bankruptcy.

Under the arrangement, the two men were to acquire 90% of the airline’s shares, leaving the original owners, the Alemán family, with a stake of just 10%.

It is unclear what impact Cabal’s withdrawal will have on the ownership structure of Interjet, which hasn’t paid its employees for two months and canceled flights earlier this month because it didn’t have the funds to pay for jet fuel.

As a result of the cancellations, the federal consumer protection agency Profeco issued a statement last week warning people of the risks of buying flights with Interjet.

Miguel Alemán Magnani, the president and CEO of Interjet, took umbrage at that stance at a business summit on Monday.

“I believe that it was a mistake. … It’s pathetic that someone from the government [Profeco chief Ricardo Sheffield] tells [consumers] not to buy something from a Mexican company,” he said.

He said that Interjet would file a complaint against Profeco for the damage it caused the airline but didn’t specify with whom.

Alemán expressed confidence that that the airline will be in a better position by the end of the year and start next year strongly. He also said that Interjet’s customers are loyal and won’t abandon the airline.

The budget carrier will also need loyalty from its employees if it is to turn things around. But given that it hasn’t paid them since September there is no guarantee that they will be able to count on it.

Interjet workers protested outside the airline’s Mexico City airport airport offices last week and ground staff in Cancún demonstrated Sunday, forcing the cancellation of 10 flights to and from the Caribbean coast resort city.

About 80 workers protested at a traffic circle in the Cancún hotel zone to demand the payment of four fortnightly pay packets, the newspaper Reforma reported.

“It’s frustrating, we’ve been without our salaries for two months. We also had grocery vouchers and we haven’t received them for four months,” said one employee who participated in the protest.

At a meeting with workers and union representatives at offices of the federal Interior Ministry last Tuesday, Interjet made a commitment to transfer one fortnightly salary payment to employees by the end of last week. But the airline failed to keep its word.

Source: El Financiero (sp), El Norte (sp), Reforma (sp)