Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell announced the government's turnaround on youth vaccination at the president's Tuesday press conference. Presidencia
The federal government has made a significant change to its national COVID-19 vaccination strategy, announcing Tuesday that it will offer shots to all youths aged 15 to 17.
But Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell set aside such concerns on Tuesday morning, telling President López Obrador’s regular news conference that adolescents aged 15 to 17 will be able to preregister for a shot on the government’s vaccination website starting this Friday.
He didn’t say when the shots would begin nor did he offer a detailed explanation as to why the government had changed its policy.
López-Gatell did, however, say that the risk of COVID complications begins to increase from the age of 15, although the likelihood of teenagers getting seriously ill remains very low.
The deputy minister said that just under 9,500 people between the ages of 15 and 19 died last year but only 249 of those deaths were caused by COVID.
“This shows that … the risk of dying of COVID for adolescents is very significantly less than dying of other very common risks for that age [group],” López-Gatell said, apparently referring to dangers such as accidents.
The modification of the vaccination policy partially complies with a court order instructing the government to vaccinate all youths aged 12 to 17. It comes as something of a surprise given health officials’ past remarks and an announcement last week that the Health Ministry was challenging the injunction.
The government to date has only offered vaccines to minors aged 12 to 17 if they have an underlying health condition that makes them vulnerable to serious disease.
López-Gatell said that some 1 million children with health conditions were expected to come forward to get a shot, but less than 10% of that figure have turned up at vaccination centers. Minors are getting shots of the Pfizer vaccine, the only vaccine approved for use on children in Mexico.
Irineo Mújica accused the institute of being the most corrupt federal agency in history.
The National Immigration Institute (INM) accused the leader of the migrant caravan that left Tapachula, Chiapas, on October 23 of lies and manipulation to turn the migrants against the authorities.
The INM said Irineo Mújica of Pueblos Sin Fronteras, whom it called the “self described leader” of the largely Central American convoy, had put the health and safety of the migrants at risk. It accused him of creating “animosity against the personnel of various government agencies who, when trying to approach to provide support, have been met with rejection and even attacks with sticks and stones.”
The agency compared Mújica to a human trafficker and said it was “regrettable that the migrants who belong to this march are victims of particular interests,” without providing details.
In response, Mújica said he was more trustworthy than the INM. “I never called myself a leader, but a human rights defender who has credibility and who during all my years of work has earned the respect of the migrant community and many other people, no matter what the institute tries to say … They [the INM] have terrorized the caravan, had women aborted, participated in the kidnapping of migrants, and it is the most corrupt organization in the history of federal agencies,” he said.
The INM also said almost 1,500 migrants had received humanitarian visas which provide the right to work and freedom of transit in Mexico for a year. That marks a successful if strenuous trip for those migrants who were not able to process asylum applications through the refugee agency COMAR, which had buckled under the weight of an unprecedented number of applications.
What has complicated the INM’s efforts to contain the caravan and process visas is mistrust: many of the contingent have passed through the agency’s prison-like detention centers — some held for months — after being involuntarily “rescued” by immigration agents.
President López Obrador responded to questions about immigration at his morning press conference on Monday. “We help the migrants, we respect them, protect them, take care of them, their rights are not violated, and when there are abuses, those who commit these excesses are punished,” he said.
The president failed to directly address a question on why COMAR’s budget was not increased despite the unprecedented number of asylum applications, which the agency had failed to process. Instead, he replied, “There is no country that is allocating so many resources in proportion to its economic capacity … to help its people, especially poor people,” he said.
Nevertheless, the president offered some encouragement: “We are also in solidarity with migrants,” he said.
Profeco chief Sheffield: Walmart has garnered the most complaints.
Consumer protection agency Profeco has dubbed Chedraui “the king of the phony offers” during the Buen Fin discount shopping event, but Walmart upset more consumers.
“We’ve detected cases of phony offers, but very few,” Profeco chief Ricardo Sheffield told President López Obrador’s regular news conference on Monday.
“The king of the phony offers has been Chedraui,” he declared, noting that the supermarket chain was offering dry food for dogs at a 25% discount but raised its prices 27% in the week before the Buen Fin event, which began last Wednesday and concludes Tuesday.
“In the end the kibble is 2% more expensive than before the Buen Fin. What’s this nonsense? We suspended their promotion. It’s not obligatory – if you don’t want to run an offer don’t run it but don’t tell lies,” Sheffield said.
“We also had a problem with Chedraui about a tray they were offering for 33 pesos but then they didn’t want to sell it [for that price] because they claimed the price was US $33 [but] you can’t sell something in any currency that isn’t Mexican pesos so they had to sell their little tray for 33 pesos as they advertised it,” he said.
The Profeco chief also presented preliminary data that showed that 35% of all complaints made by shoppers during the Buen Fin event were against Walmart. Complaints against Soriana accounted for 8% of the total, while those against Chedraui and Elektra represented 5% and 3%, respectively.
Overall, complaints were down compared to last year. Profeco received a total of 1,056 complaints during the 2020 Buen Fin while this year’s total stood at 472 as of Monday, Sheffield said.
“Office Depot doesn’t want to settle any complaints, that’s sad because at other times it had been very receptive to Profeco’s intervention. Liverpool and Coppel congratulations! [They have] a 100% conciliation rate. Consumers are leaving [their stores] happy. If they have a problem they’re resolving it 100%,” he said.
The Profeco chief also revealed some “interesting changes in the behavior of consumers in our country.”
The purchase of footwear and clothing accounted for 22% of total sales during last year’s Buen Fin while this year it accounted for 20%, Sheffield said. Grocery items were not part of Buen Fin promotions last year but this year they accounted for 13% of total sales, he said.
“It’s good that we’re taking advantage of Buen Fin [to buy] things that directly benefit the family,” Sheffield said.
“And another piece of good news: last year the purchase of flights was 0% [of total Buen Fin sales] and this year it increased to 10%. A lot of people are taking the opportunity to buy trips and that points to a recovery of the tourism sector next year, a sector that is extremely important for Mexico and which urgently needs to recover. Millions of families depend on this economic activity that has been so affected by the pandemic,” he said.
The Profeco chief added that the purchase of white goods had decreased significantly from 17% of total sales last year to 9% this year.
According to Profeco data, 48% of Buen Fin purchases were made in store while the remainder were made online.
Approximately 93% of consumers in urban areas made or planned to buy something during the shopping event, with families spending an average of 7,000 pesos (US $336) on discounted goods.
The writer reaches Ixtapa on her e-bike with Zihualectric owner and tour guide Julita Trzaska.
Over the last few years, Zihuatanejo has spent considerable time and effort creating a phenomenal bicycle and walking path that connects Zihuatanejo to Ixtapa, two tourist destinations. At nearly 65 kilometers of trails, fitness enthusiasts can enjoy the ease of use on its paved deep red asphalt.
Luis Pelayo (Poto) and his partner Julita Trzaska, the owners of Zihuatanejo Dive Center for the last 11 years, saw this as a business opportunity to expand into the rental of electric bikes, or e-bikes, and bring them to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.
Julita, originally from Poland, was very familiar with electric bikes as they are common in Europe. The couple made frequent use of them on vacation trips there and in United States cities like San Francisco.
Given the extensive trail system developed in Zihuatanejo, they felt the area was a natural fit for their venture, Zihualectric, which opened this year. Already there has already been great feedback and interest — so much so that they will soon add electric scooters (the kind you stand on, not ride) to their fleet.
Traveling to Europe in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, I had booked several e-bike tours in Spain and Portugal and had thoroughly enjoyed them, so I reached out to the young couple. Julita immediately invited me to take one of their tours.
Women washing their clothes at a stream find good-natured amusement in having their pictures taken by cyclists.
They have several tours to choose from, the longest being from Zihuatanejo to Playa Linda in Ixtapa — a round trip of 56 km. Along the way, your guide will tell you about their snorkeling tours as well as their diving excursions and surfing lessons. A little farther along the coast, you will be able to see surfers testing their skills. Another tour takes you from Central Zihuatanejo to Playa La Ropa and higher for fantastic views of the bay and surrounding mountains. On the way back down, this tour includes lunch and a swim at a popular local restaurant, La Escollera. Another tour is similar, but rather than lunch, cyclists can opt for a one-hour massage at the Daisy Spa, located on Playa La Ropa in Zihuatanejo.
I chose a shorter version of the first tour, one that goes from Zihuatanejo as far as the Ixtapa Marina and back, although by two separate routes. At a little over 26 km, it seemed a good place to start. I found it comforting to know that the owners were willing to adjust their tours to suit the customer’s comfort and fitness level.
We started the tour at 9 a.m. after a safety and orientation session. Not all e-bikes are the same, so it might take a bit for some riders to catch on to using them, but it is a quick study for most. The bikes are adjusted to fit and can even accommodate children aged 2–6 with a special seat.
I have been researching e-bikes as a possible purchase for myself in Canada and was looking forward to trying out the Rad e-bike Zihualetric has. I had already decided it had the best reputation and ease of use; it turns out I was right on both counts.
We began from the dive center, where all their tours start, located across from the pier in the La Noria neighborhood of Zihuatanejo. From there, we headed down Cinco de Mayo and past the artisan markets, where you can buy handicrafts and souvenirs. Next, you head toward the basketball court, the site of all community special occasions and Sunday events in town.
At the next barrio, La Boquita, you hop onto the bike path toward Plaza Kioto and then down the trail parallel to the canal. The bike path will then take you through El Paraiso, a charming Mexican neighborhood.
E-bikes make a trip of more than 20 kilometers nearly effortless.
We stopped to watch women washing their clothes communally in the streams. They good-naturedly gave us permission to take their photo. Eventually, we crossed the main highway through a tunnel that will enable us to hook up to the trail system, known as the ciclopista, to Ixtapa.
At the top, you are afforded a beautiful view of the area against a stunning azure sky.
I should mention that although we had already covered at least eight kilometers by this time, I found myself almost wishing I had chosen the longer route. The electric bike made some of the bigger hills nearly effortless.
The next leg of the trip took us on a back street called Los Viveros. A residential part of Ixtapa, the area boasts some very beautiful condominium complexes and well-maintained homes owned by many Mexicans who keep them for their use or rent them to tourists or people who work in the hotels and restaurants nearby.
When it was time to backtrack, we were able to get over to the road toward the marina, where we ogled the yachts docked there in their slips. Many famous people have their boats there, including, rumor has it, the billionaires Carlos Slim and Bill Gates.
A short trip from the marina led us to Ixtapa proper, where hotels line the beach and many unique shops, restaurants and bars sit across the street. Before we headed back, we made a stop at an ice cream stand, which Julita said was all part of the tour.
The way back was mostly downhill and led us over some of the same roads: the women were still in the river, washing their clothes an hour and a half later. But toward the end, we veered off slightly from the way we had come, arriving at the only traffic light of the whole journey. After that, it was only a few minutes, and then we were back where we had started.
I was a little tired but remarkably not sore in the least and felt quite proud of myself.
A Catholic priest in Michoacán has called on the faithful to take up arms amid drawn out gang warfare in the state.
Rev. Alfredo Gallegos of Chucándaro has earned the nickname “Padre Pistolas,” or Father Pistols, for his habit of carrying a gun.
He described the threat posed by criminals in graphic terms during his sermon on Sunday: “The cartel gunmen come, they take the livestock, they screw your wife and daughter, and you do nothing,” he said in a sermon. “Well, get yourself a gun, the government can go to hell … We have to defend our lives,” he added.
Mexican law forbids most civilians from owning almost all firearms, except for extremely low caliber hunting rifles or shotguns.
The priest received support from Rev. Gregorio López in Chihuahua, who is known for wearing a bulletproof vest during Mass. “He is trying to be the voice of the people, and that is the feeling of the community, that they should be armed,” he said.
The violence in Michoacán is particularly bad around Aguililla, due to a territorial battle between narco groups Cárteles Unidos and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Rev. Gilberto Vergara, a parish priest in Aguililla, disagreed with Gallegos’ proposal: “This thing about civilians taking up arms never ends well,” he said. “I would not behave that way [like Gallegos], but everyone has their own methods,” he added.
Although present, security forces in conflict areas limit their activities to acting as a buffer between warring cartels, the Associated Press reported. Vergara previously criticized the strategy. “The most shameful thing is the absence of the government, which has become a spectator in a war that has left so many dead, so much destruction,” he said.
Michoacán’s residents are used to the idea of self defense. Some took up arms in 2013-2014 to take on the then dominant Knights Templar cartel. More recently, the Pueblos Unidos self defense movement sprang up in 2020 in avocado growing regions, with farmers angry at gangs’ extortion demands.
Migrants rest in the town of Matías Romero, Oaxaca. Photos by Ben Wein
The migrant caravan that left Tapachula, Chiapas, on October 23 is currently moving sluggishly through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, its slow pace due to security forces periodically closing the highway to prevent weary migrants from hitching a ride on passing cargo and pickup trucks.
The largely Central American convoy — which numbered as many as 3,000 members at its height and included pregnant women, children and disabled people — has shrunk to about 1,500, due in part to 800 humanitarian visas provided by immigration authorities.
Security forces implemented the highway blockade strategy on Sunday but after a couple of hours partially reopened the road to trucks carrying cargo, the newspaper Milenio reported. Despite the lack of empty trailers, about 100 migrants managed to hitch a ride by jumping onto the side of the trucks. Some migrants said that local drivers joined a protest they staged against security forces to get them to reopen the road.
The road closure tactic has been used continuously since November 6, when security forces prevented the caravan from traveling to Tuxtla Gutiérrez from Arriaga, both in Chiapas. As a result, the migrants changed course for Oaxaca.
Caravan leader Irineo Mújica said on the weekend that security forces were creating a dangerous situation.
Authorities have been slowing down the caravan’s progress by periodically closing roads to prevent migrants from hitching rides on passing vehicles.
“The National Guard is continuing to stop [the vehicles]; the migrants are not blocking the traffic,” he told the newspaper Reforma. [The National Guard] are going to cause an accident. They do not care about the public … They are responsible for causing chaos, for not allowing migrants to ask for a ride … It is a decision of the federal government to destroy [the caravan] at all costs,” he said.
A fight between migrants left two people injured on Sunday, Milenio reported.
A confrontation between the National Guard and migrants occurred on Saturday at La Ventosa, Oaxaca, Reforma reported, but on a far smaller scale than the violence that occurred near Tonalá, Chiapas, on November 4.
Many migrants cited their distrust of immigration authorities as their reason for continuing in the caravan instead of attempting to acquire a visa. It is not clear where they would seek information: immigration officials do not accompany the caravan, apart from four paramedics with a National Immigration Institute (INM) aid agency called Grupo Beta. However, when asked, the paramedics emphasize their connection with Grupo Beta and don’t acknowledge their connection with the INM.
Meanwhile, some of the 800 migrants who received humanitarian visas — who are not noticeably vulnerable — told a Mexico News Daily reporter that they have already reached their destination, the United States.
Mexico apprehended more than 190,000 undocumented migrants in the first nine months of 2021, about triple the number in 2020. It deported almost 74,300 between January and September, according to federal statistics.
A Zapopan couple got a 30% discount on 18 cases of premium tequila when a store failed to advertise the three-case-per-customer limit.
With the Buen Fin shopping event offering knockdown prices on a wide range of products, two happy shoppers decided to take full advantage of a tequila discount at a store in Zapopan, Jalisco.
But when the couple tried to buy all 18 cases on offer of Maestro Dobel Diamante at 30% off from La Playa Acueducto liquor store, they were rebuffed and told that the maximum purchase was three cases per person, a fact that the store had neglected to advertise.
One of the customers explained how the event unfolded. “We arrived at a branch of La Playa Acueducto … When they told us about the stocks they had, we said we wanted to buy everything because they had a 30% discount … They told us that they could only sell us three cases. We asked why they only wanted to sell us three cases given that they did not have any sign indicating that no more could be sold,” she said.
The couple said they contacted the consumer protection agency Profeco, whose personnel called on the store to honor the promotion, which it subsequently did.
Maestro Dobel Diamante is normally sold at around 700 pesos (about US $34).
Military personnel patrol streets in Chilpancingo, Guerrero.Guerrero Ministry of Security
Army and navy personnel now head up security ministries in 10 of Mexico’s 32 states, triggering concern about the increasing militarization of the country.
The governors of seven of 11 states won by Mexico’s ruling Morena party at the June 6 elections have appointed military leaders as their security ministers.
State police forces in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Colima, Guerrero and Tlaxcala are now under the control of ministers who serve in the navy, while those in Michoacán and Sinaloa are led by army personnel.
San Luis Potosí Governor Ricardo Gallardo, who took office for the Ecological Green Party in September, also appointed a soldier as his security minister, while Morelos and Tamaulipas, led by Social Encounter Party and National Action Party governors, respectively, already had security ministers from the navy before the recent elections.
The new Morena governors’ appointment of military personnel to security minister roles is in line with President López Obrador’s desire to have soldiers and marines in positions of power.
Army General José Alfredo Ortega was named Michoacán’s security minister on October 1. government of Michoacán
On October 19, the president publicly advised new governors to speak to the ministers of national defense and the navy before making security minister appointments.
“… I recommend that you consult with both Admiral [Rafael] Ojeda, the navy minister, and [army chief] General [Cresencio] Sandoval so that you have honest, upright people,” López Obrador said.
He implied that the navy and defense ministers could recommend “incorruptible” people to take on the security roles so that “what was very common before — that [organized] crime was in control of police forces in the states and municipalities — is avoided.”
Carlos Mendoza, a public security expert and academic at the National Autonomous University, condemned the practice, asserting that it shouldn’t occur because security ministries are civilian bodies. The appointments are indicative of the creeping involvement of the military in public life, he said.
López Obrador has relied on the armed forces for a range of nontraditional tasks, including public security, infrastructure construction and vaccine distribution.
“There’s not even an argument now that [the appointments] are going to be temporary and that civilian control [of the security ministries] will return,” Mendoza told the newspaper Reforma.
Evelio Méndez Gómez, head of Guerrero’s public security ministry and a navy captain, was named by Morena Governor Evelyn Salgado in October. Guerrero public security ministry
“… There is an explicit narrative of extending military control of police forces, and I think that’s something that is very worrying,” he said.
Mendoza charged that López Obrador’s October 19 remarks amounted to a clear directive to the new Morena governors rather than a presidential suggestion.
“It’s very concerning that the [federal] government sends these messages, because the army is occupying more positions of importance,” he said.
Mendoza claimed that governors have appointed military personnel as their security ministers because by doing so they can avoid direct responsibility for combatting insecurity. Alejandro Hope, a security analyst, contended in an opinion piece published Monday that something similar is occurring in Sonora, but the northern state’s governor — former federal security minister Alfonso Durazo — is outsourcing responsibility to the National Guard rather than the military.
“Given the problem of violence and insecurity in certain places, they [governors] prefer to allow the army to take responsibility for the failure or success [in combatting crime],” Mendoza said.
“I believe that [it creates] a space of comfort and convenience [for governors], and it’s obviously very conformist,” Mendoza said, referring to their compliance with the president’s wishes.
Javier López García, the head of Baja California Sur’s security ministry, is also a navy captain. BCS Security Ministry
Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD), a civil society organization, also raised concerns about growing militarization in two recent reports.
“It’s a fact that public security in Mexico has been gradually militarized until reaching what appears to be a point of no return,” MUCD director Lisa Sánchez wrote in one report.
“Over four decades, and more precisely in [the most recent] two, the country went from entrusting the manual eradication of illicit crops to the military to placing the management of anti-drugs operations; the fight against organized crime; the re-establishment of order in municipalities, states and territories; and crime prevention into their hands,” she wrote.
MUCD said in another report that “the growing militarization of public security has been presented by civilian governments … as a necessary evil to return security to our country.”
But “this strategy has not been capable of improving security conditions and peace in Mexico,” the organization said.
Former president Felipe Calderón significantly ramped up the use of the military to fight organized crime, deploying the armed forces to combat Mexico’s notoriously violent cartels shortly after he took office in late 2006. Mexico’s homicide rate has steadily increased since then, reaching its highest ever level in 2019 before falling slightly in 2020. The military has been accused of a range of crimes, including arbitrary detentions, torture and extrajudicial killings.
On October 19, President López Obrador publicly advised new governors to consult the national defense and navy ministers in making security minister appointments. lopezobrador.org.mx
The practice of putting military leaders in charge of civilian security ministries intensified during the Calderón years and continued during the 2012–2018 administration led by former president Enrique Peña Nieto, who also used the armed forces to combat violent crime.
Despite pledging to gradually withdraw the military from the nation’s streets before he took office, López Obrador published a decree in May last year that ordered the armed forces to continue carrying out public security tasks for another four years, an about-face that appeared to acknowledge that the National Guard had failed in its mission to reduce violence.
His use of the military, however, comes with a significant caveat: don’t use force against criminals unless it’s absolutely necessary.
The president’s instruction — part of his so-called abrazos, no balazos (hugs, not bullets) security strategy — has been criticized for giving cartels free rein to carry out their criminal activities. Hope, the security analyst, told the Associated Press last week that the federal government’s strategy in Michoacán is clearly “some sort of pact of non-aggression.”
“… [The soldiers] are not there to disarm the two sides [the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Cárteles Unidos] but rather to prevent the conflict from spreading,” he said.
Mexico’s men’s soccer team will battle two opponents when it steps onto the field in Edmonton, Alberta, for its next World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday night: a Canadian team fresh off a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica and freezing conditions.
The forecast is for a temperature of -7 C when the two teams take to the open-air Commonwealth Stadium pitch at 7:05 p.m. local time for their eighth regional qualifier. As if the temperature alone won’t be foreign enough for the Mexican players, they also face a 90% probability of snow falling onto their bootlaces.
El Tri, as Mexico’s national team is known, is currently tied for first place with the United States with 14 points among the eight CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) nations vying for qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, while Canada is one point behind with 13.
The first three teams will automatically qualify for next year’s World Cup, while the fourth-placed team will need to win an inter-confederation playoff to book its ticket to Doha. In addition to Mexico, the United States and Canada, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, El Salvador and Honduras are contesting the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.
El Tri has recorded four wins, two ties and one loss during the final round, while Canada has three wins, four ties and no losses.
Mexico’s loss came against its arch regional rival, the United States, which scored a 2-0 victory over El Tri in Cincinnati, Ohio, last Friday. It was El Tri’s third consecutive loss against the U.S. selection.
Mexico made the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia but was defeated 2-0 by Brazil. It lost at the same stage of the previous six World Cups. El Tri made the quarter finals in 1970 and 1986 – both those World Cups were held in Mexico – but failed to progress on both occasions.
Along with the United States and Canada, Mexico will host the 2026 World Cup, but the lion’s share of the matches are to be played in the U.S.
Residents of a Chiapas municipality located on the border with Oaxaca have vowed to defend their right to continue living in Mexico’s southernmost state after the Supreme Court (SCJN) ruled that their communities are actually part of Oaxaca.
Communal landowners from Rafael Cal y Mayor, a community in the municipality of Cintalapa, sent photographs to the media in which they appear holding assault weapons and rifles. They indicated they are willing to fight a recent SCJN decision that transferred 160,000 hectares of land in Cintalapa to Oaxaca.
Ownership of the land has been disputed for more than 50 years, and there have been numerous armed clashes over it between chiapanecos and the neighboring oaxaqueños.
The newspaper El Universal reported that residents of other affected communities in Cintalapa announced that they would use the Indigenous and Tribal People’s Convention of the International Labour Organization to support their case to remain part of Chiapas.
Cintalapa official Mario Hernández Hernández called on the SCJN to reconsider its ruling and and base a new one on justice, respect for human rights and respect for indigenous peoples in accordance with article 2 of the constitution.
He said residents of Rafael Cal y Mayor don’t want to live in Oaxaca because in Los Chimalapas – the collective name for the Oaxaca municipalities of San Miguel Chimalapa and Santa María Chimalapa – inhabitants are subject to the traditional form of government known as usos y costumbres.
“What I’m afraid of is that from one moment to the next we’ll become part of Oaxaca and Los Chimalapas,” said Heriberto Cruz Aguilar, a farmer in Rafael Cal y Mayor. Put simply, he added, being an ejidatario, or communal landowner, in Chiapas is not the same as being a comunero, or communal landowner, in Oaxaca.
Cruz also said he feared he would be dispossessed of his land.
Territorial disputes are common in parts of Mexico, especially in the southern states with large indigenous populations such as Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero.
