Where will the water come from? Civic groups question La Paz mayor

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August 4, 2020

El Manglito, a new real estate development in La Paz.

A group of non-profit organizations wants the municipal council in La Paz, Baja California Sur, to explain where the water and other services will come from to serve new real estate developments that have been announced in the area.

At least nine environmental organizations, including the Citizens’ Observatory of Water and Sanitation, the Center for Biodiversity, the Inter-American Association for Environmental Defense and the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (Cemda) have, for the second time, asked La Paz Mayor Rubén Muñoz Álvarez to take into account the city’s water shortage when considering approving real estate projects.

Cemda’s regional director, environmental lawyer Mario Sánchez, told the newspaper Diario El Independiente that while “the pandemic makes the problem of water shortages more evident,” council members have not responded to repeated requests from environmental organizations that would like representatives of local government to disclose the city’s capacity to meet the current demand for water and electricity before announcing new developments.

Sánchez says that at least 10 new projects have already been approved, including coastal real estate developments and housing projects.

Environmental activists claim that the La Paz aquifer, the main source of water for the city, is overtaxed and the city has long been faced with a water shortage.

The capital of Baja California Sur has seen its population grow by at least 15% in the last five years, Sánchez says. The surge in demand for water, coupled with the lack of efficient management of the resource, has generated pressure on the city’s water system as the aquifer is being depleted, he says.

Sánchez and the other associations he represents claim that in 2018 La Paz had a water deficit of 7.4 million cubic meters, a figure that could be much higher today.

Cemda cites a 2019 study by the Autonomous University of Madrid which estimated that 500,000 liters of water are needed for every 100 square meters of residential construction. In order to supply enough water to just one of the 10 projects that the city has approved, the 200-hectare mega-project Misión Punta Norte, the city would need to provide the planned 4,600 residential lots with approximately 10 billion liters of water during construction, enough to fill four Olympic pools, Cemda says, adding that 4% of existing homes in La Paz are not connected to city water at all.

“It is worrying that the approval of real estate projects continues, including the offering of thousands of residential lots when public administration is not in a position to ensure the provision of services such as clean electricity, waste management and especially water to the entire population of Baja California Sur’s capital,” Sánchez said in a press release.

Water shortages affect cities across the state, and Baja California Sur is required by law to develop a long term water resource plan covering the years 2020 through 2045. The last water plan for the state was prepared in 1985 and expired this year.

Source: Diario El Independiente (sp)

Despite capture of Guanajuato crime boss, the war is not over, expert warns

By

MND Staff

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August 4, 2020

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El Marro outside the property where he was arrested Sunday morning.

The capture of Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel (CSRL) boss José Antonio “El Marro” Yépez Ortiz will not put an end to the violence in Guanajuato, warns a security expert.

David Saucedo Torres, a security analyst with a doctorate in national security, told the newspaper El Universal that the arrest of Yépez on Sunday does not mean that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Santa Rosa Cartel’s arch-rival in the Bajío region state, will immediately become the dominant criminal organization in Guanajuato, Mexico’s most violent state.

The turf war between the two criminal groups is “not over yet,” he said, asserting that El Marro’s capture has not left the CJNG as the undisputed “owner” of Guanajuato.

Saucedo added that the war between the CSLR and the CJNG is not the only dispute, explaining that there are in fact three parallel wars.

In addition to the high-profile clash between the CSLR and the CJNG in the municipalities of Salamanca, Celaya, Apaseo El Grande, Apaseo El Alto and Irapuato, there are two other ongoing turf wars, the analyst said, explaining that one is centered on the city of León and the other is playing out in the south of Guanajuato.

The war between El Marro, left, and El Mencho is not the only one in Guanajuato.

In León, Guanajuato’s largest city, the CJNG is involved in disputes with two local criminal organizations, Saucedo said. One is La Unión de León and the other is the New Plaza Cartel led by Erick Valencia, also known as El 85.

In the south of Guanajuato, the CJNG is engaged in a turf war with the Michoacán-based Los Viagras, Saucedo said.

He said the dispute between the CJNG, led by Mexico’s most wanted man, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, and the CSRL has become more visible than the other conflicts because of the two organizations’ frequent social media messages. (The former issued a threat to El Marro in one recent video).

However, Saucedo noted that more homicides have occurred in León this year than the municipalities where the Jalisco and Santa Rosa cartels are fighting for control of the fuel theft, extortion and drug trafficking rackets.

“So far this year, the municipality of León has already exceeded 400 deaths,” he said, adding that Celaya has recorded some 350 homicides.

“In other words, there is more lethal violence in León,” Saucedo said, adding that the criminals operating in the city target each other whereas the CSRL also attacks the population in general in areas where it operates.

Apart from the CJNG’s ongoing disputes in León and the south of Guanajuato, another reason why violence is unlikely to decrease is that the arrest of Yépez will probably trigger internal conflicts within the CSRL.

Saucedo said that there is a possibility that members of the Santa Rosa gang will battle each other to win control of the organization.

The CJNG will seek to take advantage of the situation, he added, declaring that it will most probably launch an attack on the CSRL “in the coming days.”

Saucedo’s prediction that violence will remain an ongoing problem in Guanajuato is supported by homicide data for the 24 hours after his capture.

Authorities registered 16 homicides between Sunday morning and Monday morning, some of which are believed to have been committed by CSRL members because messages declaring that El Marro is still in control of Guanajuato were left at the crime scenes.

The 16 murders occurred in the municipalities of Celaya, Cortazar, Apaseo El Alto, Acámbaro, León, Valle de Santiago and Moroleón.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Transit passengers dubbed ‘heroes without capes’ after taking on thief

By

Susy Buchanan

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August 4, 2020

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One of the two would-be thieves goes to exit the van, but didn't get very far.

When a thief tried to board a van on the Mexico-Texcoco highway to rob its passengers last week, bus riders shoved, punched and kicked him into submission.

A video of the Friday afternoon retaliation has gone viral on social media, where some 440,000 viewers generally praise the actions of the five passengers. “Applause for these heroes without capes,” one user posted on YouTube. “Finally a happy ending.”

The encounter was caught by a security camera whose footage shows two men initially trying to board the bus, shouting profanities at the six riders and demanding they surrender their cell phones.

When one of the men appeared to be attempting to pull out a weapon, the bus driver accelerated, and only of the two was able to board.

Upon realizing that his partner was not on the bus with him to back him up, he tried to jump out but his escape was blocked by a passenger.

Pasajeros aprovechan falla de delincuente y lo golpean en combi

Watch this video on YouTube

“Grab him, grab him!” the five passengers shouted, as they quickly banded together and beat the would-be assailant with their fists, feet and elbows, knocking him to the floor as the man begged for mercy, claiming that he was driven to crime because his mother was in the hospital.

The passengers weren’t buying it, though, and the pounding lasted for four straight minutes.

In a second video, the bus comes to a stop and the passengers throw the man’s pummeled and naked body out of the vehicle, leaving him on the side of the road.

Footage of the attack has generated numerous memes, and some users have even provided a soundtrack for the beating, setting the fight to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” and the theme from The Avengers.

Police say a report of the incident was not filed and that they are unaware of the man’s identity, condition or location.

Robberies of passengers on public transit are a common occurrence in the Valley of México.

According to one media report earlier this year, there are 50 routes between México state and Mexico City that are considered high risk for armed robberies, most of which are committed with violence. The number of robberies soared 700% between 2017 and 2019.

Source: El Universal (sp), La Silla Rota (sp), El Universal (sp)

Covid-19: 443,000 accumulated cases of which 28,000 are active, and 48,000 deaths

By

MND Staff

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August 4, 2020

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Covid-19 case numbers as of Monday. milenio

The federal Health Ministry reported 4,767 new coronavirus cases and 266 additional Covid-19 fatalities on Monday, increasing Mexico’s accumulated case tally to 443,813 and lifting the death toll to 48,012.

Of the confirmed cases, 28,741 are active, while there are also 79,030 suspected cases across the country.

Mexico City ranks first for total confirmed cases, with 75,383 as of Monday, followed by México state, where 54,093 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Four other states have recorded more than 20,000 cases. They are Tabasco, 22,523; Guanajuato, 22,009; Veracruz, 22,005; and Puebla, 20,448.

Just under half – 49% – of Mexico’s total confirmed cases were detected in the six states with the highest tallies.

Coronavirus deaths recorded as of Monday evening. milenio

Mexico City also leads the country for active cases, with an estimated 5,697. According to Health Ministry estimates, México state and Guanajuato rank second and third for active cases, with 3,836 and 3,162, respectively.

Four other states have more than 2,000 estimated active cases. They are Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León and Coahuila.

Federal data shows that 49% of all confirmed Covid-19 deaths occurred in just five states: Mexico City, which has recorded 9,032 fatalities; México state, 6,536; Veracruz, 2,831; Baja California, 2,655; and Puebla, 2,503.

The risk of coronavirus infection is currently classified as “red light” maximum in half of Mexico’s 32 states, according to the federal government’s “stoplight system,” and “orange light” high in the other half.

Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell suggested last week that state governors could face administrative and criminal charges if they failed to implement the recommended coronavirus mitigation restrictions that accompany each stoplight color.

The proposal angered some governors who have chosen to reopen their state economies according to their own criteria.

Governors ironed out some differences with the federal government at a meeting on Monday.

The governors appear to have got their way, reaching an agreement with the Interior Ministry on Monday that decrees that the federal “stoplight” system advice will serve only as a guide for the state leaders to help them make decisions to combat the pandemic.

In a private meeting, six governors and federal officials also agreed to look for ways in which pandemic-related dialogue between them can be improved.

The meeting occurred three days after the governors of nine states published an open letter demanding the resignation of López-Gatell, the federal government’s coronavirus czar.

The governors of Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas charged that López-Gatell’s strategy to combat the pandemic has failed and called for his “immediate departure.”

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

Freshwater cenotes discovered off coast of Quintana Roo

By

MND Staff

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August 3, 2020

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One of the cenotes found in waters between Isla Mujeres and Isla Contoy. rodrigo friscione

An underwater photographer has found five fresh water cenotes, or natural sinkholes, in the depths of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Quintana Roo.

The news agency EFE reported Saturday that Mexican photographer Rodrigo Friscione made the unprecedented discoveries while diving off the northeastern Quintana Roo coast between Isla Mujeres and Isla Contoy.

Cenotes are common on the Yucatán Peninsula but before Friscione’s discoveries none had been discovered beneath the surface of the sea.

EFE said that Friscione found one of the marine cenotes in 2016, another in 2017 and three in 2019. Friscione told the news agency that he went into a “hollow” while diving in 2016 and realized that it had no bottom.

“It was an infinite hollow,” he said, adding that the colder temperature of the water made him realize that he was diving in a mix of fresh water and salt water.

“There was … a change in the quality of the water, which speaks of a change in salinity. … Fresh water was coming out from the bottom of the sea,” Friscione said, describing his discovery as “extremely interesting.”

He subsequently found similar “hollows,” or cenotes, during subsequent diving expeditions.

“There is a great network of cenotes but nobody knows where the thousands and thousands of liters of fresh water come from. It has to come from somewhere because it’s flowing,” Friscione said.

The most likely hypothesis is that the five marine cenotes are connected to the vast subterranean network of water deposits on the Yucatán Peninsula.

It is possible that the limestone structures were dry caves thousands of years ago before becoming water-filled cenotes, said Guillermo de Anda, an underwater archaeologist currently working to obtain the necessary equipment to carry out a more extensive exploration of the first of the five cenotes discovered by Friscione.

De Anda, director of the Great Mayan Aquifer (GAM) project – in which archaeologists, biologists, underwater photographers and cave divers have explored, documented and mapped the Yucatán Peninsula’s extensive subterranean network of water deposits – has already recruited Robert Ballard, an American underwater archaeologist best known for the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, to participate in the cenote project.

De Anda said that an autonomous underwater vehicle and a remotely operated underwater vehicle to which Ballard, a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, has access will make the exploration of the cenote easier and and less dangerous.

He said that Ballard, who was also involved in the discoveries of the wrecks of the German battleship Bismarck and the British ocean liner Lusitania, was excited about the prospect of working on the cenote exploration project and accepted his invitation to participate immediately.

Friscione will also be part of the team put together by de Anda, one of Mexico’s best known and most respected underwater archaeologists.

De Anda said the exploration was scheduled to go ahead this year but has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. He added that he has approached the federal Environment Ministry and the National Council of Science and Technology for financial support but has not received a response.

“It’s an expensive project because the divers require a mixture of gases and we’ll most probably need rebreathers,” de Anda said, referring to the breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user’s exhaled breath to permit the recycling of the substantially unused oxygen content.

Rebreathers will allow divers to stay underwater longer and increase their safety while exploring the marine cenote, he explained.

News of the discovery of the five marine cenotes comes six weeks after a sinkhole that opened up on the highway between Playa del Carmen and Tulum exposed a large water-flooded cave with conduits that allow water from the Caribbean sea to flow into it.

Source: EFE (sp)

Remittances up 11% in June to US $3.53 billion

By

Michelle Aguilar

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August 3, 2020

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The Bank of México said Monday that remittances by Mexicans living outside Mexico — a significant portion of Mexico’s GDP — rose to US $3.53 billion in June, 4.7% higher than in May and 11.1% higher than in June 2019.

The numbers come as a bit of better news amid a lot of bad news regarding the Mexican economy: the latest Bank of México survey of private sector economists predicts a decline in the gross domestic product of 10.1%, up from 8.97% a month earlier.

The bank said Mexicans living abroad sent 19.07 billion pesos home during the first half of the year, which represents a 10.55% increase from the same period in 2019.

The money comes principally from Mexicans who live and work in the United States and is the second highest source of foreign exchange after automobile exports. President López Obrador has called migrant Mexicans “living heroes” for their economic support of the country.

Sources: Milenio (sp)

Too hot to cook? Try making these cool treats for summer weather

By

Janet Blaser

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August 3, 2020

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TropTable_ChocPops3 — Summer fare: chocolate fudge pops.

Are we tired of cooking yet? I know I am. I yearn to be able to go sit at any of my favorite restaurants for a meal, a coffee, ANYTHING, without having to think about the coronavirus.

Yes, I know some places are open, but the social distancing, masks, gloves and disinfecting just changes the mood, y’know?

In reality, it’s too hot to cook now anyway. Let’s make popsicles/paletas/ice pops, even bolis, instead.

Basically, any agua fresca or smoothie can be made into an ice pop; what you must remember, though, is that you need some sugar to give your paleta a better texture and prevent it from freezing into a rock-hard ice cube. So if you just try to freeze pure juice that’s what will happen.

Any sugar will work: honey, coconut or date sugar, grated piloncillo, regular white sugar, even corn syrup. You can also make a simple syrup (recipe below) and add some of that.

For creamy pops, add regular or Greek yogurt to the fruit and sweetener; pudding mixes also work great. Layering makes pretty popsicles; plan what you’re going to do, prepare each layer, then add to the molds with enough time in between that they’ve frozen a bit, so the layers stay separate.

If you don’t have popsicle molds, there are many ways to successfully improvise, although I bet once you get into making them, you’ll want to “invest” in buying some. Small “Dixie” paper cups work well, with sticks inserted after they’ve firmed up a bit, and then you can just tear off the paper after they’re frozen.

In Mexico, bolis are made in narrow rectangular plastic bags, tied off at the top. Although I personally find them messy to eat, the bags are easily available at stores that sell paper goods.

Silicone ice cube trays work great; so do small recycled yogurt containers, with the sticks added after they’ve frozen a little. Liquids expand when frozen so leave ¼ inch or so at the top of your pop when filling.

How long it takes your pops to freeze depends on what they’re made from. To release popsicles from plastic molds, hold them under cold water for 10-15 seconds. You might want to release them all and store in a Ziploc bag.

Simple Syrup

½ cup sugar
½ cup water

In a small pot, combine sugar and water; stir to dissolve slightly. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and allow to cool completely before using.

Avocado-Lime Ice Pops

The avocado adds a luscious creaminess.

2 avocados, pits removed
1 cup (packed) mint leaves
½ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup simple syrup
Pinch of kosher salt

Scoop avocado flesh into a blender; add mint, lime juice, simple syrup and salt. Purée until smooth. Divide among 6 popsicle molds. Freeze until solid, at least 3 hours.

Minty Cucumber Lime Pops

1 English cucumber, peeled and sliced
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 6 limes)
½ cup simple syrup
Pinch of salt
¼ cup fresh mint leaves

In a blender, combine the cucumber slices, lime juice, simple syrup and salt. Blend until smooth. Add mint and pulse until finely chopped. (Avoid blending the leaves too much or you’ll have a murky-looking) popsicle. Pour mixture into molds, freeze for 30 minutes, then insert sticks and allow to freeze for 4 hours or overnight.

Berry Yogurt Pops

1½ cups plain Greek yogurt
½ tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. honey, divided
1½ cups mixed berries and/or cubed mangos or peaches
½ cup granola

Microwave honey jar 10 seconds or place in a bowl of hot water to soften. Whisk yogurt, vanilla and 1 Tbsp. honey in a large bowl. Fold in berries and/or other fruit. In another bowl, drizzle granola with remaining 1 tsp. warmed honey. Stir lightly. Divide yogurt mixture between molds, leaving about ¼ inch at the top. Tap molds on counter to get rid of any air pockets; top with granola. Cover molds, insert sticks and freeze until ice pops are firm, at least 2 hours. –epicurious.com

Double Chocolate Fudge Pops

These rich, creamy treats can be varied according to your (or your kid’s) taste buds.

¼-½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch OR 4 Tbsp. white flour
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 ½ cups whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla, almond or peppermint extract
1 Tbsp. butter
¼ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Combine sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and butter. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes. Stir chocolate chips into the cooled chocolate mixture. Pour into molds and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

Variation: for Café Mocha flavor, substitute 1 cup brewed coffee for 1 cup of the milk. Reduce sugar to ¼ cup. Use vanilla extract.

Try mango and tajín for a refreshing treat.

Mango-Tajín Ice Pops

1 lime
3 mangos, peeled and diced
½ cup water
1 Tbsp. Tajín powder
2 tsp. sugar

Cut lime into 6 slices. Cut each slice in half and place 2 slices in the bottom of each ice pop mold. Set aside 1/3 cup of the diced mango. Place remaining mango, water, chile-lime seasoning and sugar in blender; blend until smooth. Stir in reserved diced mango. Divide mixture between 6 molds. Freeze 8 hours or overnight. If you like, sprinkle with more Tajín after removing from molds.

Janet Blaser has been a writer, editor and storyteller her entire life and feels fortunate to be able to write about great food, amazing places, fascinating people and unique events. Her first book, Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats, is available on Amazon. Contact Janet or read her blog at whyweleftamerica.com.

Improvement program victim of corruption it was intended to prevent?

By

MND Staff

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August 3, 2020

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Stamping out government corruption, as President López Obrador frequently asserts his administration is doing, is easier said than done.

The scourge is allegedly plaguing the federal government’s schools improvement program, which explicitly sought to put an end to corruption in educational projects by allocating funds directly to committees made up of parents and teachers.

The committee members supposedly have the freedom to decide how to spend the money they are allocated, and to hire contractors of their choice or even carry out projects themselves.

But parents of students at schools in eight of the poorest municipalities in Guanajuato say that state-based federal officials known as national servants have pressured them to hire their favored contractors. In some cases, parents forked out federal funds to the preferred contractors but the work they paid for was never completed.

Roberto Durán Grajales, an official with the Guanajuato Ministry of Education, said that members of parents’ groups have accused national servants of telling them who must carry out school improvement projects and ordering them to hand over resources to the favored contractors.

“The national servants dedicate themselves to pressuring mothers, … they wait for them at the bank, watch them make the withdrawal and then escort them to the contractor,” he said.

Parents accuse Arisbeth García Monjarás, a sub-delegate with the federal Welfare Ministry, of being behind the scheme, Reforma reported.

The newspaper said that at least 201 schools in the Guanajuato municipalities of Atarjea, Doctor Mora, San José Iturbide, San Luis de la Paz, Santa Catarina, Tierra Blanca, Victoria and Xichú have received funds from the federal government program known as LEEN, short for La Escuela es Nuestra (The School is Ours.)

Parents from 83 of those schools say they were pressured to hand over the resources to contractors approved by sub-delegate García.

One contractor who benefited, Reforma reported, is Efraín Calixto López, whose sister is a national servant in Guanajuato.

Calixto received contracts to carry out projects at 40 of 51 schools that received federal funding in Xichú, which is considered the state’s poorest municipality.

Román Cifuentes, state president of the National Action Party, which governs Guanajuato, claims that García personally took 11 mothers from five different municipalities to banks and forced them to withdraw 150,000 pesos (US $6,600) each and hand the resources over to her.

After García received the money from the 11 mothers – 1.65 million pesos (almost US $ 73,000) in total – she was supposed to pay contractors to carry out school improvement projects, Cifuentes said. But no work was ever completed.

Reforma said that it has seen several complaints that parents have filed in Guanajuato against federal officials allegedly involved in the scheme.

The federal Education Ministry said in July that some 9.15 billion pesos (US $403.8 million) had been allocated to more than 49,000 schools under the LEEN program. Education Minister Esteban Moctezuma Barragán said recently that the program eliminates intermediaries and corruption.

When it was launched in February 2019, López Obrador said LEEN would help to eradicate misuse of funds allocated to the improvement and maintenance of schools, which he claimed was “a source of corruption.”

But a year and a half later, the scourge doesn’t appear to have disappeared in Guanajuato.

Although parents supposedly have freedom to decide how to spend the funds they receive, a group from Doctor Mora, a town in the northeast of Guanajuato, had a very different experience.

Durán, the Guanajuato education official, said that a group of parents in Doctor Mora decided to spend LEEN resources on computers, an internet connection, the improvement of water infrastructure and face masks for their children.

However, when they went to a bank to withdraw the funds they had been allocated, the transaction was denied.

Durán said the bank manager told the parents that the money was being withheld on the instructions of the national servants, who disapproved of the way in which it was going to be used apparently because they couldn’t get their hands on it.

López Obrador, who has made combatting corruption his administration’s primary raison d’étre, claimed almost a year ago that that there was “zero corruption” in the federal government as a result of his dedication to “sweeping away” what had developed over the past 30 years.

But corruption has been detected in several government programs including the tree-planting employment scheme known as Sembrando Vida and the “Youths Building the Future” apprenticeship scheme.

Source: Reforma (sp)

CFE turns off power to pumping stations for Cuernavaca’s unpaid bill

By

Michelle Aguilar

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August 3, 2020

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Cuernavaca's water utility makes a delivery to a home in March 2018 after electricity to the pumps was cut off.

The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) cut off electricity on the weekend for nonpayment by one of its biggest deadbeat customers — the water utility operated by the municipality of Cuernavaca.

Citing a debt of 111 million pesos (US $4.9 million), the CFE turned off the power to 15 wells operated by the Cuernavaca Potable Water System (SAPAC), leaving 100 out of 350 neighborhoods in the Morelos capital without water.

The commission cut off electricity to nine wells on Thursday and six more on Saturday, SAPAC officials said, adding that the electricity provider had pursued SAPAC for liquidation of the outstanding amount owed but that neither the water agency nor the municipal government could produce the money needed.

SAPAC said the agency has been making current payments and has arranged meetings with the agency’s directors to discuss paying the debt.

Mayor Antonio Villalobos Adán and SAPAC directors were scheduled to meet with CFE officials in Mexico City Monday about reestablishing service to the wells. In the meantime, SAPAC plans to send out water trucks to make sure the affected neighborhoods have water, citing the Covid-19 health emergency, until an agreement can be reached.

However, some neighbors were less than understanding. About 40 residents of Antonio Barona blocked the Mexico-Acapulco highway on Friday for an hour and a half, demanding drinking water. On Sunday, residents of Flores Magón staged a similar demonstration, intermittently blocking the sides of parts of the Cuernavaca Expressway for two hours, prompting the appearance of SAPAC functionaries, who assured the demonstrators that water service had already been restored to their neighborhood.

Power has been cut to the water system at least twice since March 2018 because of the outstanding debt.

Sources: La Jornada (sp)

‘Death’ stalks tourists in Quintana Roo, invites them to stay at home

By

Michelle Aguilar

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August 3, 2020

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A man dressed as the mythological figure of Death has been patrolling the beaches of Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, urging people follow coronavirus rules and “stay at home.”

Covered from head to toe in a skeleton suit and walking with a large pole made to look like Death’s traditional scythe, the unidentified man has been surprising sunbathers on the beach and at the town’s famous marina boardwalk with his admonitions to take more precautions to avoid spreading the disease.

At times, he sits on a lifeguard chair like a specter surveying the beach. At other times, he advises people on the beach illegally to wear masks, maintain a safe distance, and take other recommended measures, according to local reports.

Photos taken by observers of the costumed do-gooder have been heavily circulated on social media, often with exhortations to take Covid-19 rules seriously.

However, the vigilante’s in-person encounters have not always been so positive, according to some locals. While some thank him for his concern, others ignore or insult him, they said.

The state has recorded 7,971 cases of the coronavirus, according to the federal Ministry of Health. Even though the state has reopened to tourism, it remains at the orange level on the risk level stoplight map, which has kept beaches closed. On Sunday, the state reported 147 new cases of the disease and 18 new deaths.

In June, Puerto Morelos Mayor Laura Fernández Piña had large banners erected at the entrances to beaches informing the public that beaches were closed and that they entered them at their own risk.

Source: Infobae (sp)