Security forces end a long manhunt with capture of Guanajuato cartel leader

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August 3, 2020

El Marro: a long manhunt comes to an end.

José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, a crime gang boss better known as “El Marro” and allegedly one of the main instigators of violence in Guanajuato, was arrested early Sunday, bringing an end to a long manhunt for one of Mexico’s most wanted persons.

State police and soldiers detained the leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, a fuel theft, extortion and drug trafficking organization, at a property in a small town in Juventino Rosas, a Guanajuato municipality about 75 kilometers southeast of the state capital, Guanajuato city.

The National Defense Ministry said the arrest of Yépez, who was wanted on charges of fuel theft and organized crime, was the result of intelligence work.

In addition to Yépez, security forces arrested eight other people at a farm property in the community of Franco Tavera, located just six kilometers from the town of Santa Rosa de Lima, where El Marro’s gang was formed.

Among those detained was a man identified as Saulo Sergio N. – allegedly Yépez’s security chief – and other members of the Santa Rosa cartel.

El Marro, 42, is believed responsible for much of the violence in Guanajuato.

The security forces freed a businesswoman who was being held captive at the property, and seized numerous weapons including a grenade launcher, an armored pickup truck, a motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle and cash.

They cordoned off the property, which is surrounded by trees and on which there are two homes, a chicken pen and horse stables.

Shots were fired during the arrest operation that took place in the early hours of Sunday morning and one person was reportedly wounded.

Federal Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said that Yépez, 40, would be taken to México state’s Altiplano federal prison, from which notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán escaped via a tunnel in 2015, and appear before a federal judge.

The arrest ends a 1 1/2-year-long manhunt for El Marro, whose cartel has engaged in a bloody turf war in recent years with the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The feud between the two criminal organizations has turned Guanajuato, once one of Mexico’s most peaceful states, into the country’s most violent.

Between 2017, when Yépez became leader of the Santa Rosa cartel, and now, authorities have registered more than 10,000 homicides in the Bajío region state, including almost 2,300 in the first half of this year.

The majority of the murders are believed to be linked to organized crime, especially the turf war between El Marro’s gang and the CJNG, which is led by Mexico’s most wanted man, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes.

Some analysts say the arrest of Yépez, whose gang issued two threats against President López Obrador, represents a victory for the CJNG and that the Jalisco-based cartel will now unequivocally dominate the criminal landscape in the state.

Authorities have already arrested scores of Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel members, including several of El Marro’s relatives, although many of them were subsequently released due to a lack of evidence and irregularities related to their detention.

Before Yépez’s capture, federal and Guanajuato authorities used a fleet of drones to search for the criminal leader and monitor his movements once he was located, Milenio reported.

Unnamed government sources told the newspaper that the aircraft, equipped with high resolution cameras, had been used to aid the search for El Marro since April but aerial surveillance was increased after the release of Yépez’s mother in late June because authorities believed the criminal leader would attempt to make contact with her.

Soldiers and National Guardsmen parade the gang leader El Marro after his arrest Sunday.

The sources said that authorities tracked Yépez to the community of Franco Tavera in recent weeks, noting that three drones detected gunmen stationed at the entry points to the property where he was detained and the arrival of vehicles at strange hours.

They told Milenio that Yépez had been recently hiding out in rural localities in the Guanajuato municipalities of Juventino Rosas, Apaseo el Alto and Apaseo el Grande as well as in the neighboring state of Querétaro. The sources said that El Marro had not been in Villagrán, the municipality where Santa Rosa de Lima is located, or Cortazar, another cartel stronghold, for the past month.

They said Yépez and his inner circle had no idea they were being watched by the drones, which were made by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

According to Milenio, the operation of the kind of unmanned aerial vehicles used in the surveillance of El Marro requires the permission of the United States Department of State because the U.S. Marines have an exclusive contract with their manufacturer.

Milenio also reported that two days before Sunday’s raid, the federal government’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) blocked the accounts of 11 people who were part of Yépez’s legal and accounting team.

Funds held in the accounts were related to El Marro’s criminal activities, the UIF told the newspaper. The UIF has previously blocked the accounts of 88 people with alleged links to the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.

López Obrador said Sunday that the arrest of Yépez, and corruption cases against former officials including ex-Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya, showed that the government is not “hijacked” by nor at the service of crime groups, whether they be bands of white-collar criminals or violent cartels.

In a video message posted to social media, the president reaffirmed his commitment to combating corruption and eliminating impunity.

“If we cleanse the government of corruption, if impunity comes to an end, the rebirth of Mexico will be achieved,” he said.

López Obrador described the arrest of El Marro as “very important” and charged that the Santa Rosa cartel was able to increase its strength and expand due to the complicity of state and municipal authorities.

“How was it that this cartel grew so much to the point that Guanajuato became the most violent state in the country? … Complicity, shady deals with municipal authorities and state authorities and impunity! Now the Ministry of Defense, with the support of the state government, achieved this arrest which is important, very important.”

For his part, Guanajuato Governor Diego Sinhue said on Twitter that Yépez’s arrest was “a big step toward recovering peace” in the state.

José Antonio Yépez is marched to jail by security forces.

David Saucedo, a security analyst and consultant, said that El Marro could choose to cooperate with authorities and as a result implicate government officials in his criminal activities.

“The process that will follow opens the possibility that Yépez will become a protected witness. … To reduce his sentence or to have more favorable prison conditions he [could] give the names of all the politicians and National Action Party [state] authorities in Guanajuato that provided protection to him,” he said.

Saucedo said that Yépez could become a “Guanajuato Lozoya,” referring to the former Pemex chief’s willingness to collaborate with authorities.

He said the arrest of El Marro doesn’t mean that the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel has been completely dismantled and predicted that internal disputes among plaza chiefs could lead to an increase in violence.

Saucedo said that violence could also spike because the CJNG will likely seek to take advantage of the situation and launch a new offensive against its weakened arch enemy in Guanajuato.

It is probable that the CJNG will move into Querétaro, the analyst explained, because that state “had a wall that defended it from the Jalisco cartel, which was precisely … the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.”

However, if the CJNG succeeds in taking down its rival, nothing will stop it from moving into Querétaro, Saucedo said.

“The capture [of El Marro] is a triumph for both the state government and the federal government but the main winner is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.”

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

Foreigners in Mexico on tourist visas can get an extension—if they know how

By

Kylie Madry

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August 3, 2020

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When Covid-19 hit Mexico in mid-March, many foreigners in the country were unprepared to stay for the long haul. But with case numbers still on the rise months later, they say it’s unlikely they’ll leave anytime soon.

For those who are in Mexico on a tourist visa, however, their visit is only supposed to last 180 days, which can be problematic due to coronavirus travel restrictions. Because of this conundrum, Mexico’s National Immigration Institute (INM) is offering visa extensions – to those who know how to get it.

Several foreigners who spoke with Mexico News Daily mentioned a frustrating, opaque system that led to multiple visits to INM offices.

“It was difficult, it was absolutely awful,” said Petra Autio, a Finn who obtained a new tourist visa after making five trips to the immigration offices in Mexico City.

Arriving too early, not having enough copies or not filling out forms correctly were common themes among those who had difficulties. This information is nowhere to be found on the INM website, and Autio, who called ahead of time, says one of her visits was wasted because an INM agent gave her incorrect information over the phone.

Here, then, is a comprehensive guide to obtaining a new tourist visa, or FMM, based on the experiences of several foreigners who have gone through the process themselves.

Wait until your visa expires

While it sounds counterintuitive, waiting until the last minute might be your only option here. Because of the high number of requests for new visas, the National Immigration Institute has a limited capacity to process requests each day. You’ll most likely have to wait until the day before your visa expires, or later, to request a new one.

Request a humanitarian visa

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, Mexico is offering the tourist visa extension for “humanitarian reasons.” This means you’ll have to request a humanitarian visa, though INM will reject the request to give you the tourist visa. Confusing, right? To apply for the humanitarian visa, fill out this form online. Make sure every field is filled in correctly, and select these options:

In the “comments” box, write why you are not able to return to your home country. In Spanish, it would look something like this: “Me gustaría solicitar una extensión de mi visa, ya que por motivos de Covid-19 no me es posible regresar a mi país natal” (“I would like to apply for an extension to my visa because due to Covid-19 I am unable to return to my home country”).

Make copies

Now, print out the form that you should have just received – the Formato para solicitar trámite migratorio de estancia – but don’t fill it out just yet. You’ll also need to write a letter explaining why you’re requesting the visa. Here’s the form Australian Gina Nero used to request hers, after seeing a similar letter in a Facebook group.

Also make sure to take copies of your passport and tourist visa. There are plenty of places to make them near the immigration offices, but you won’t be able to proceed until you have everything.

Arrive early

Once the day arrives, get to your corresponding INM office early. For those in Mexico City, visit the office on Avenida Ejército, not the other one several blocks over. If you’re in México state, you’ll have to go to the office in Toluca, even if you’re closer to the city. For everyone else, find the closest INM office here.

Offices open at 9 a.m., but it’s a good idea to arrive around 8:30 to line up – only a limited number of applications are processed each day. An employee will check over your forms, and you’ll be handed a number to wait in another line, called informes.

Soon after, you should be let in (after a temperature check, a bag search and a squirt of hand sanitizer) and you’ll be passed off to a waiting area. Once there, an INM employee will review your documents, have you sign the forms you’ve brought, and ask you to return at 5 p.m. that day or the next.

For Autio, who had her Mexican fiancé accompany her, a language barrier added to the difficulty. While her fiancé sorted out what she needed at the entrance, he wasn’t allowed inside the building. She ended up having to wait longer for an English-speaking employee to help her, but said he was “nothing but pleasant.” It was the employees outside, however, who she says treated her poorly.

“They were absolutely awful,” she said. “The whole system is very badly organized, I hope they make improvements to the process.”

Moral of the story: your English may not be enough to get you in the door. Plan what you’ll say in Spanish ahead of time.

Pick up your visa

After leaving your forms at the immigration office, you should receive an email later that day advising you of an update to your case. Log on to the INM website using the number and password sent to you, and you’ll be able to read the update – this will be the letter saying that your humanitarian visa solicitation was rejected, but that you’ve been approved for another 180-day tourist visa.

Great! Just head back to the same office around 5 p.m. to pick up the visa. You’ll be asked to sign several other forms and fill out a new FMM, and that’s it! You’re safe to stay in Mexico for another six months.

We hope this guide has helped. Although this process can easily be done by anyone, some may choose to use a lawyer to avoid the hassle. This is also an option, though it comes at a cost. For those looking to renew the tourist visa on their own, remember that there is no fee involved: nobody at INM should ask you for money at any time.

Have you renewed your tourist visa recently? Let us know your thoughts.

Mexico News Daily

Maritime experts urge Gulf of Mexico be declared high risk for piracy

By

MND Staff

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August 1, 2020

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Drilling rigs are among pirates' targets.

Campeche Sound in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico should be declared a high-risk area by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) due to the rising number of attacks on oil and gas vessels and platforms, according to two maritime experts.

Adriana Ávila-Zúñiga Nordfjeld and Dimitrios Dalaklis, academics at the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden, documented 14 armed pirate attacks in the southern Gulf of Mexico in the first four months of 2020 but only three were reported to international maritime authorities.

The problem is ongoing: a group of three armed pirates stole 40 mechanical ventilators from two oil platforms located between Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and Dos Bocas, Tabasco, on Monday this week, Reforma reported.

Ávila-Zúñiga and Dalaklis say that designating the area as high-risk could help to reduce the number of pirate attacks.

According to a research paper they wrote, pirates armed with guns, machetes and knives operate in groups of up to 15 to carry out attacks, usually at night. They use small boats with powerful motors to reach oil and gas platforms before stealing equipment and money from crew members. Pirates often carry radios tuned to navy bands to avoid detection.

Attacks have “increased significantly amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ávila-Zúñiga said this week while presenting the research paper detailing the resurgence of organized crime activity off Mexico’s southeastern coast.

“One of the main reasons for the increase in these attacks is weak ocean governance and the non-existence of maritime security policy,” she said.

When attacks are reported, the response by the Mexican navy is usually slow, Ávila-Zúñiga and Dalaklis found, with vessels taking up to seven hours to reach the crime scene, giving pirates plenty of time to escape.

President López Obrador has pledged to combat piracy in the Gulf of Mexico, and indeed the navy has increased security measures, including establishing exclusion zones around oil platforms.

The navy has also invested US $12 million in a search, rescue and monitoring station at the port in Dos Bocas, Tabasco, but security analysts who spoke with the energy information provider Argus Media said there is still insufficient surveillance and response capability in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Ávila-Zúñiga told the newspaper Reforma that “a lot of infrastructure” is required to combat pirate attacks, whose incidence increased sharply in recent years.

“[The navy] won’t be able to combat it with just two or three interceptor patrol vessels,” she said.

The research completed by Ávila-Zúñiga and Dalaklis found that patrol vessels are in fact not carrying out patrols most of the time because government austerity measures have forced the navy to cut its spending on diesel.

Ávila-Zúñiga said that an IMO high-risk designation in Campeche Sound would compel vessels operating in the area to employ enhanced security protocols and could prohibit certain vessels from circulating there.

She also said that a high-risk alert would oblige the Mexican government to increase patrols and cooperate with other countries to combat piracy.

“Once the area is declared high risk, Mexico will have to sit down to negotiate with the United States and perhaps Canada to adopt measures to combat the problem.”

Source: Reforma (sp), Argus Media (en)

Local cops relieved of their duties in 2 Jalisco municipalities

By

Susy Buchanan

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August 1, 2020

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Members of Poncitlán's finest were removed from duty yesterday.

Municipal police officers in Jalostotitlán and Poncitlán, Jalisco, have been disarmed and relieved of their duties due to suspicious behavior, state Security Minister Juan Bosco Pacheco announced Friday.

State officials seized communications equipment, computers and files from the offices of both forces as evidence.

During the next 15 days, Bosco said, the estimated 300 police officers will be re-evaluated and receive training in human rights and the appropriate use of force and confidence and anti-doping tests.

State police, the army and the National Guard will take over local policing for an indefinite period, he added.

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro said investigations are underway into both police forces.

“We are not going to allow anyone to steal the tranquility of our people, those who work to serve and care for the people of Jalisco. Any person who walks a crooked path will pay the consequences,” the governor warned.

As many as 18 municipal police forces in Jalisco have been decommissioned since 2014, including those in Tula, Villa Purificación, Pihuamo, Jilotán de los Dolores, Teocaltiche, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Ocotlán and Bolaños.

Suspicions over officers’ links to organized crime are the most common reason for removing officers from duty.

Just this year police forces in four municipalities have been relieved of their duties, In February, 160 officers in San Juan de los Lagos were disarmed after they were linked to organized crime. In June, police in Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos were decommissioned after a local man died of a traumatic brain injury after he was allegedly beaten to death by police officers.

Two officers have been charged with torture in his death and one has been charged with homicide.

Source: Infobae (sp), Debate (sp)

16-day-old baby recovers from coronavirus in Sonora

By

Susy Buchanan

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August 1, 2020

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The baby born with coronavirus with hospital staff in Hermosillo.

A baby who was born infected with the coronavirus has recovered 16 days after her birth. The infant was reunited with her mother on Wednesday after 14 days in intensive care at the Children’s Hospital in Hermosillo, Sonora.

The child’s mother, identified only as Sandra, was admitted to Women’s Hospital in Hermosillo on July 12 with high blood pressure. After a medical review, doctors decided to perform a cesarean section the following day.

After Marian was born on July 13, she was diagnosed with respiratory complications and was suspected of being a carrier of the coronavirus. Testing for the virus came back positive.

After the birth, Sandra’s blood showed low oxygen levels so she was transferred to Sonora’s General Hospital where she was tested for the coronavirus. Those results, too, came back positive.

After two weeks in intensive care, Marian was discharged completely healthy, said Dr. Erika Martínez, head of the Children’s Hospital’s neonatal department and was allowed to go home with her parents.

Tadeo, Marian’s father, thanked the hospital’s staff for the care given his daughter.

“Thank you very much to all of you, to the nurses, doctors and social workers who were caring for our daughter,” he said. “And to the people who do not believe in this disease, you can see that it is real, and you should take precautionary measures. Wash your hands and practice social distancing, even with family.”

Source: El Universal (sp)

9 governors say Covid strategy has failed, call for López-Gatell to resign

By

MND Staff

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August 1, 2020

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Deputy Health Minister López-Gatell: persona non grata among nine governors.

Nine state governors have demanded the immediate resignation of the federal government’s coronavirus czar, charging that his strategy to combat the pandemic has failed.

An organization made up of 11 governors called the Federalist Alliance published an open letter Friday calling for Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell to step down.

The Federal Alliance (AF) is made up of the governors of Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas but Javier Corral of Chihuahua said that he wasn’t involved in the formulation of the letter and didn’t support it, while Juan Manuel Carreras of San Luis Potosí wasn’t among the signatories.

The letter charged that the response to the coronavirus crisis led by López-Gatell has had “terrible consequences” (46,688 deaths as of Friday) yet the deputy minister “continues boasting that there are beds available and that the hospitals haven’t been overwhelmed like in Italy or New York.”

The governors asserted that the crisis is worsening and that there is no end in sight.

President López Obrador has been a strong defender of López-Gatell's performance as deputy health minister. — President López Obrador has been a strong defender of López-Gatell’s performance as deputy health minister.

The situation is the “responsibility of he who has led and decided the strategy,” they said, charging that López-Gatell has put politics before people’s lives and health.

The AF governors, none of whom represent Mexico’s ruling party, said that one of the errors of the deputy minister was to politicize the wearing of face masks. (López-Gatell has only recently begun to advocate forcefully for their use after questioning their efficacy earlier in the pandemic.)

“More than 35,000 people had to die for López-Gatell to half-heartedly accept their usefulness,” the letter said.

“That generated confusion among the population,” the governors said. They also accused the deputy minister of presenting “contradictory” and “incoherent” information about the coronavirus situation that contributed to Mexico’s high death toll.

In addition, the governors charged that the deputy minister has tried to shift responsibility for the management of the coronavirus crisis to state and municipal governments and asserted that “he never wanted to deal with this epidemic in a coordinated way.”

Some governors clashed with López-Gatell this week after he suggested that state leaders could face legal consequences if they didn’t follow the federal government’s advice abut how to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

In their letter, the AF governors claimed that the federal government’s “stoplight” system – used to determine the coronavirus risk level in each of Mexico’s 32 states – has “suffocated local economies,” asserting that GDP fell almost 20% in the second quarter because of the federal government’s failure to effectively managed the pandemic and its economic consequences.

“Mexico today is in the worst of [possible] scenarios. … Today we will become the third country with the most [Covid-19] deaths in the world below only Brazil and the United States, which have double and triple the population. It’s expected that this crisis will leave at least 10 million more poor people in Mexico,” the letter said.

“The governors of 40 million Mexicans demand … the immediate departure of Hugo López-Gatell,” the governors said.

They also demanded the appointment of a new expert to lead the government’s coronavirus response, asserting that someone with knowledge, intelligence, humility and a developed sense of responsibility is needed.

López-Gatell, who declared a week ago that he wouldn’t resign after the leaders of three political parties called for his dismissal, told a press conference Friday night that he respected the disgruntled governors and understood their feelings.

Despite their discontent with his management of the pandemic, the deputy minister said he hoped that the AF governors and the federal government would be able to continue working together.

‘More than 35,000 people had to die for López-Gatell to half-heartedly accept face masks’ usefulness,’ say governors belonging to the Federal Alliance.

López-Gatell said that the coronavirus pandemic has created an unusual and challenging situation that has repercussions on people’s economic and social lives.

In that context, it is natural for governors to have different views about how the pandemic should be managed, he said, noting that the decisions state leaders have to take to find the right balance between looking after people’s wellbeing and the health of the economy can cause them stress.

López-Gatell asserted that his role in the management of the pandemic is not political, saying that his “specific mandate” is to propose public health policies to the health minister, not implement them himself unilaterally.

“The law mandates me to propose public policies, outside that I have no place in politics.”

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

Coronavirus case numbers soar in Zihuatanejo, surpassing Acapulco

By

Susy Buchanan

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August 1, 2020

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Covid-19 testing stations were set up a week ago in Zihuatanejo.

Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, has seen a spike in coronavirus case numbers that has pushed the coastal town to become the epicenter of the pandemic in the state.

Guerrero Health Minister Carlos de la Peña Pintos reported Friday that Zihuatanejo moved from third to first place among municipalities in the state with 296 confirmed active coronavirus cases, surpassing Acapulco which had 284 active cases and Chilpancingo, which reported 179.

On Friday Guerrero reported 233 new cases of the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours for a total of 10,886. The state has recorded 1,380 deaths.

On a positive note, de la Peña confirmed that three municipalities have recorded no cases of the virus. They are San Miguel Totolapan, Cualac and Iliatenco.

The minister said 260 patients are hospitalized with the virus, representing 32% of beds designated for coronavirus patients. Sixty-one of those patients are intubated, 88 are reported to be in severe condition and 111 are stable.

Across the state, he said, hospitalizations are going down. In Acapulco hospitals are 35.8% full, in Chilpancingo 33.3% and in Zihuatenejo just 18.5% of beds are in use.

De la Peña asked citizens to continue to follow health protocols so that the downward trend continues.

Guerrero is currently at the orange level on the coronavirus “stoplight” map, meaning it is still at high risk for contagion, and will remain so for the next two weeks.

Source: Milenio (sp), Quadratín Guerrero (sp), El Sol de Acapulco (sp), La Razón (sp)

New virus cases total 8,458, the most in a single day; death toll world’s 3rd highest

By

MND Staff

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August 1, 2020

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The latest coronavirus risk map. Red indicates maximum risk and orange high.

The federal Health Ministry reported a new single-day record of 8,458 confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday as well as 688 additional Covid-19 fatalities, lifting Mexico’s death toll above that of the United Kingdom.

Mexico’s accumulated case tally now stands at 424,637 five months after the new coronavirus was first detected here. Friday was the second time that more than 8,000 additional cases were reported on a single day after 8,438 were registered on July 23.

Just over 7% of the confirmed cases – 31,365 – are active while there are 90,022 suspected cases, meaning that the results of that number of tests are not yet known.

The Health Ministry reported a total of 198,548 coronavirus cases in July, a figure that accounts for 47% of Mexico’s accumulated case tally.

The official Covid-19 death toll rose to 46,688 on Friday, the third highest in the world after the United States and Brazil. Mexico has now recorded 484 more fatalities than the United Kingdom, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

However, Mexico’s fatality rate and mortality rate are lower than those of the U.K. Based on confirmed cases and deaths, Mexico’s fatality rate is 11 per 100 cases whereas that of the U.K. is 15.2.

But Mexico’s rate is well above the global rate of 3.9 as well as those of the United States and Brazil, where 3.4 and 3.5 people, respectively, have died per 100 confirmed coronavirus cases.

Mexico has recorded 37 Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to Johns Hopkins University data, giving it the 13th highest mortality rate in the world.

The 12 countries with higher mortality rates than Mexico are in descending order San Marino, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Andorra, Spain, Peru, Italy, Sweden, Chile, the United States, France and Brazil.

The Health Ministry reported a total of 18,919 Covid-19 fatalities in July, which equates to 41% of Mexico’s death toll.

National data presented at Friday night’s coronavirus press briefing showed that 46% of general care hospital beds set aside for coronavirus patients are currently occupied while 38% of those with ventilators are in use.

The daily tally of coronavirus cases and deaths. Deaths are numbers reported and not necessarily those that occurred each day. milenio

Meanwhile, the federal government may have decided to get serious about the use of face masks.

All government officials who appeared at last night’s press conference in Puebla were wearing face masks for the first time since the Health Ministry began providing nightly updates on the situation more than 150 days ago.

Many health experts and others have been urging public figures such as political leaders and government officials to set an example for the rest of the population by wearing masks, although President López Obrador appears unlikely to heed the call, declaring Friday that he won’t wear one until the country is free of corruption.

Among the officials sporting the fashion item du jour at last night’s press conference was Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell, who had been a less than enthusiastic advocate for masks before urging citizens to wear one this week.

The coronavirus czar once again called on citizens to use a mask in public places, stressing that it must cover a person’s mouth and nose to be effective. He also urged people to continue practicing other preventative measures, such as social distancing, to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

“Using a face mask doesn’t mean [we can] stop doing everything else,” López-Gatell said.

The deputy minister removed his mask to address the press conference at which he presented the government’s updated “stoplight” map, which denotes the risk of coronavirus infection in each of Mexico’s 32 states.

Exactly half of the state’s were allocated a “red light” indicating the maximum risk of infection while the other half were given an “orange light” indicating high risk.

The 16 “red light” states are Baja California Sur, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán and Zacatecas.

The “orange light” states are Aguascalientes, Baja California, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Mexico City, México state, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Morelos, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Sonora and Tlaxcala.

Four states — Guanajuato, Querétaro, Oaxaca and Quintana Roo — were upgraded from red to orange, while Michoacán and Durango were downgraded from orange to red.

The stoplight colors, which are accompanied by recommended coronavirus restrictions, will be effective from August 3 to 16.

López-Gatell said that federal health authorities and state governments will next week review the methodology used to determine the stoplight color allocated to the states.

Several governors have spoken out against the “stoplight” system and some have chosen to ignore the federal advice, instead reopening their states’ economies according to their own criteria.

One of those is Yucatán, whose governor said Friday his state would remain at the orange level.

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

Capital to remain at orange virus risk level, though feds had proposed going red

By

MND Staff

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July 31, 2020

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Mexico City continues to urge citizens to wear face masks as virus restrictions continue.

The coronavirus risk level will remain at “orange light” high in Mexico City next week, although the federal government had proposed switching the capital back to maximum risk red.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced Friday that “orange light” restrictions will remain in place in Mexico City for a sixth consecutive week.

She reminded residents to continue staying at home as much as possible and to wear a face mask and practice social distancing when they go out.

Anyone with symptoms of coronavirus, as mild as they may be, must stay at home unless seeking medical attention, Sheinbaum said.

The mayor said the number of coronavirus patients receiving general care in hospitals in the Valley of México metropolitan area has decreased slightly, explaining that 99 beds were vacated on Thursday. However, the number of patients on ventilators has gone up slightly, she said.

Restaurants will be permitted to open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. as of Monday.

Mexico City has recorded more than 72,000 confirmed coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic, significantly more than any other state in the country, and the federal Health Ministry estimates that there are almost 6,800 active cases in the capital. Mexico City also leads the country for Covid-19 deaths, with 8,870 as of Thursday.

The Mexico City Health Ministry said Friday that new case numbers have plateaued in the capital after declining in recent weeks.

Although there will be no change to the risk level net week, Sheinbaum said that courts of law will be able to resume normal operations but they will be required to follow strict health rules.

She also said the hours during which restaurants are permitted to open will be extended as of Monday. Most restaurants have complied with the order to operate at no more than 30% capacity and for that reason allowing them to open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. is “viable,” the mayor said.

Bars and other drinking establishments should remain closed while “orange light” restrictions are in place but many are flouting the rule or getting around it by offering food, as well as beverages, to patrons.

In maintaining its “orange light” status, the Mexico City government appears to have had a win over the federal Health Ministry (SSA), which proposed reverting the capital to red on its risk level stoplight.

A draft document submitted to state governments indicated that the coronavirus risk level would switch from “orange light” high to “red light” maximum in Mexico City, Durango and Michoacán from Monday on.

According to the Health Ministry proposal, the risk level in Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Querétaro y Quintana Roo would be reduced from red to orange.

If the only change to the proposal is that Mexico City’s status will remain the same, 16 of Mexico’s 32 states will be “red light” states next week and the other 16 will be orange.

The Health Ministry is expected to present an updated version of its “stoplight” map at Friday night’s coronavirus press briefing.

As of Thursday, Mexico has recorded 416,179 confirmed coronavirus cases and 46,000 deaths.

Source: Milenio (sp), Reforma (sp)

Some states proceed with virtual classrooms but for many the school year is on hold

By

MND Staff

-

July 31, 2020

0

A few desks too many for safe distances.

The 2020-21 school year looks set to be like no other as the coronavirus pandemic forces state governments to rethink how education will be delivered to their young residents.

The governments of some states have announced plans to start the new school year with students attending virtual classes but pupils and parents in about half of the country’s 32 entities currently have no idea when learning, either online or in person, will recommence.

In Guerrero, state authorities have announced that primary and middle school students will commence the new school year on August 10 via online classes. However, admission exams for public high schools and teacher training colleges have been postponed until September.

Primary school students in Veracruz will also start virtual classes on August 10 but middle school and high school students will not join their classmates online until September 21.

In Tamaulipas, virtual classes are tentatively slated to commence on August 31. Students in rural areas where internet service is non-existent or unreliable will have the opportunity to study via an educational radio service.

Authorities in Jalisco have said that classes for primary school students will begin on August 17 but they have not yet announced whether they will be held in classrooms or online.

Students in Sinaloa will log into digital classrooms from August 31 while virtual classes are slated to begin in Querétaro and Chihuahua on September 7.

Education authorities in Querétaro are aiming for students to return to their bricks and mortar schools in October but said they will ultimately follow the advice of the federal government.

Among the states where authorities have not yet announced when and/or how the new school year will start are Baja California Sur, Colima, Nayarit, San Luis Potosí, Oaxaca, Yucatán, Michoacán, Puebla, Nuevo León, Quintana Roo, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Chiapas, México state and Zacatecas.

According to the newspaper Milenio, the governments of those states have decided to wait for an announcement from the federal Ministry of Public Education next Monday before deciding when the new school year will start, and in some cases whether students will attend online or face-to-face classes.

However, most if not all states are expected to commence the new school year with virtual classes before reopening schools once the coronavirus risk diminishes.

Guanajuato Education Minister Bustamante warns of the need for more classrooms and more teachers.

Meanwhile, a large number of private schools may never reopen due to financial problems related to the pandemic and associated economic restrictions.

According to estimates by the National Private Schools Association, 25% of more than 48,000 private schools across the country are facing financial difficulties because parents have stopped paying their children’s tuition fees.

As many as 12,000 schools may not be in a position to reopen or even offer online classes, said association president Alfredo Villar Jiménez. He explained that the figure is subject to change depending on the quantity of money schools are able to collect via fees paid before the start of the school year.

Some parents who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic have been forced to remove their children from private schools and seek places for them in public schools instead.

Guanajuato Education Minister Yoloxóchitl Bustamante said at a recent forum that as the number of parents who cannot pay tuition grows – millions of Mexicans have lost their jobs due to the pandemic – the number of private schools that are forced to close will increase.

A significant problem will arise because public schools cannot reject the enrollment of new students but at the same time they don’t have enough space to accept them, she said.

Bustamante said a solution is urgently needed but charged that federal authorities have not yet come up with one.

She added that if schools are to reopen in a “new normal mode,” in which students are required to keep their distance from each other, classroom numbers will have to be reduced by at least half their normal level.

“If we’re going to have extra students from private schools, the only [solution] will be to have more classrooms and teachers, for which there is no budget.”

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