Official count is 2 million coronavirus cases but university says it’s at least 17 million

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February 19, 2021

Seniors line up for vaccination in Mexico City.

Mexico’s real coronavirus case tally is at least nine times higher than the total officially reported and could be up to 26 times higher, according to National Autonomous University (UNAM) estimates.

The official accumulated case tally rose to 2.02 million on Thursday but according to estimates on the UNAM Covid-19 Geographic Information Platform, there have been a minimum of 17.81 million cases since the virus was first detected here almost a year ago and a maximum of 53.43 million.

The minimum estimate assumes a fatality rate of 1% and that the official Covid-19 death toll – 178,108 as of Thursday – includes all fatalities from the infectious disease.

The maximum estimate assumes a fatality rate of 0.5% and that there have really been 1.5 Covid-19 deaths for every one officially registered.

Mexico’s case tally is widely considered a significant undercount because of the low Covid-19 testing rate. The health system has focused on testing people with serious symptoms of the disease, meaning that the vast majority of mild and asymptomatic cases don’t show up in official statistics.

The Health Ministry acknowledges that many cases go undetected and said early in the pandemic that its epidemiological surveillance system suggested that there were about eight undetected cases for each reported one.

However, for several months its case number estimates have been only slightly higher than the official tally. The Health Ministry currently estimates that there have been just under 2.22 million cases since the start of the pandemic, a figure only 1.1 times, or 10%, higher than the official tally.

Malaquías López, a public health professor at UNAM and spokesperson for the university’s Covid-19 commission, said the ministry’s estimated case numbers don’t square with a serological testing survey conducted between August and November last year that found that about a quarter of the population had developed antibodies against the coronavirus as a result of having it.

The National Institute of Public Health estimated that about 31 million Mexicans had been infected with the virus, a number that could have risen significantly given that December and January were the two worst months of the pandemic.

UNAM’s active case estimates are also much higher than those of the Health Ministry. The university estimates that there are currently a minimum of 455,577 active cases and a maximum of 1.36 million.

According to the Health Ministry, there are just 56,981 active cases, a figure that has decreased significantly this month after rising above 110,000 in late January.

UNAM’s figures suggest that the coronavirus is still running rampant, although health authorities contend that the situation has improved considerably compared to January, and declining hospital occupancy levels back up that claim.

But while the average number of cases reported daily in the first 18 days of February declined 38% compared to the average in January, average daily Covid-19 deaths increased 3% to 1,087, evidence that Mexico is still paying a heavy price for the Christmas-New Year’s gatherings and parties that fueled the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s vaccination efforts are gathering speed after shipments of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines arrived early this week. As of Thursday night, almost 1.32 million vaccine doses had been administered, mainly to health workers and seniors.

Mexico News Daily

Another multiple homicide leaves 5 dead in Guadalajara

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Michelle Aguilar

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February 19, 2021

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A multiple homicide on Thursday in Guadalajara’s metropolitan area (ZMG), the third in just over a week, has left five people dead.

The murders, which took place in a home in San Pedro Tlaquepaque, were discovered by municipal police after a 911 call around 5:50 p.m. reported gunshots being fired.

The incident follows on the heels of another multiple homicide in Guadalajara early Wednesday morning, where three men and a woman were shot and killed in a park in the Lomas de Polanco neighborhood.

At the site in Tlaquepaque, officers found bodies both inside and outside the home.

Police also found a man and a woman outside who were still alive but seriously injured. They both died hours later at a nearby hospital.

The incident is the second multiple homicide in the Magical Town in the last eight days.

On February 10, five people were killed and one seriously injured when unknown assailants entered a makeshift building that police said was known as a site of criminal activity and shot at the six people inside.

According to official numbers, murders in the ZMG declined 12% in 2020, but the statistics don’t include victims found in hidden graves, giving a limited picture of the security situation in the area.

Jorge Tejada, a security expert at the city’s ITESO university, told the newspaper El Universal last week that those statistics should be included.

“… These discoveries should be counted as homicides,” he said.

During 2019 and 2020, 406 bodies were found in hidden graves in the ZMG, according to state government data.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Ya chole! Mexicans go nuts with the phrase after president uses it to silence criticism

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MND Staff

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February 19, 2021

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Deputy Tagle declares, 'Enough violence.'

President López Obrador is facing severe backlash after using a colloquial phrase to silence criticism of his defense of a ruling party candidate for governor who is accused of rape.

The president has defended former senator Félix Salgado Macedonio’s right to contest the June 6 election for governor of Guerrero even though he is under investigation for allegedly raping a teenage girl in 1998 and a woman in 2016, claiming that the accusations are politically motivated and a product of the electoral season.

Clearly annoyed with being asked about his support for Salgado at his press conference on Thursday – and already facing widespread criticism for not dumping the candidate – López Obrador used the phrase ¡Ya chole!, or enough already!, to try to shut down the line of questioning.

“I’m not trying to downplay the importance of the [sexual assault] complaint [but] you always have to ask who’s making it? … What’s behind it? … I exist because I doubt. So, enough [questions about the issue], as some people say, ya chole!” he said.

His remark triggered a flood of condemnation, with thousands of Mexicans, including numerous politicians, taking to social media to make it clear to the president that there are things they are fed up with too.

lopez obrador — Irritated by questions, the president declares, ‘Ya chole.’

Male chauvinism, the patriarchy, violence, kidnappings, medicine shortages, impunity, the ruling Morena party, the defense of criminals, the president’s morning press conferences, the federal government and López Obrador himself, among many other things, all got the ya chole treatment online.

“#YaChole with 10 femicides a day, #YaChole with six of 10 women suffering violence, #YaChole with impunity, #YaChole with the misogyny from the National Palace,” Xóchitl Gálvez, a National Action Party (PAN) senator, wrote on Facebook.

“Ya Chole of macho accomplices of rapists, ya chole of violence towards women, ya chole of impunity, ya chole of incompetent authorities that don’t put a stop to femicides,” Martha Tagle, a deputy with the Citizens Movement party, said on Twitter.

Ricardo Anaya, a former PAN lawmaker and candidate in the 2018 presidential election, also took to Twitter to offer a ya chole to the president’s use of the term.

“Ya chole with Salgado Macedonio? That’s the president’s message to victims? That’s precisely the root of the problem: those who, like AMLO, minimize [the actions of] and cover up for abusers instead of listening to and supporting victims, investigating thoroughly and acting firmly,” said Anaya, who appears to be positioning himself for another run at the presidency in 2024.

Some social media users, including Democratic Revolution Party Deputy Verónica Juárez, used the hashtag #NingúnVioladorSeráGobernador (No Rapist Will be Governor) in conjunction with #YaChole to denounce Salgado and the president’s support of him.

Senator Gina Andrea Cruz is fed up with the lack of medications.

Women who protested against Salgado’s candidacy in Chilapancingo, the capital of Guerrero, on Thursday also pledged that they will not allow an (alleged) rapist to become the governor of their state.

The phrase ya chole has been part of colloquial Mexican Spanish for years but its usage increased after it was used by the previous federal government in a television commercial that defended its 2013-2014 structural reforms.

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

20 deaths blamed on cold weather in north as another front moves in

By

Michelle Aguilar

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February 19, 2021

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snow — Snow has been falling in the north and more is expected.

The official death toll from the cold snap in northern Mexico has risen to 20 after two states reported six more deaths.

Most of the fatalities occurred in Tamaulipas and were either from exposure or from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by heaters. One death was reported in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, where a man died on the street from exposure.

Low temperatures accompanying cold front No. 35 prompted the state of Chihuahua on Thursday and Friday to begin distributing 13 tonnes of basic foodstuffs as well as cash payments to families, senior citizens and people with disabilities in various cities and towns.

According to the state’s Ministry of Social Development, Governor Javier Corral instructed the department to empty completely all its stores of provisions to help those in need.

“… It won’t be easy, but everything we have, we’re going to use immediately,” the ministry’s Ramón Galindo Noriega told the newspaper Milenio.

According to the national weather service, there’s more cold weather on the way.

Cold front No. 36 and Mexico’s 10th winter storm are delivering a new polar air mass that will result in snow or sleet in areas of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Sonora.

Temperatures will drop to lows of -10 to -15 C in parts of Coahuila, while areas of Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas will see lows of -5 to -10 C.

The front currently extends into the Valley of México, where higher altitudes in México state will see temperatures drop to -5 to -10 C. In Mexico City, forecast lows are 0 to -5 C.

The front is forecast to move over the west and southeast of the country and gradually move into the west side of the Yucatán Peninsula.

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

Analysts see series of self-inflicted problems that contributed to gas crisis

By

MND Staff

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February 19, 2021

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A pipeline that delivers natural gas from the US to Mexico.

The federal government and the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) must shoulder part of the blame for the natural gas shortage that has plagued the country this week and caused a major power outage in northern Mexico on Monday, according to two energy sector analysts.

The government’s decision to halt projects planned by the previous administration along with its ignorance of the need for greater gas storage capacity and its failure to increase electricity transmission capacity contributed to the blackout that left some 4.7 million residents without power on Monday, said two analysts who spoke to the business news website El CEO.

The government and the CFE have attributed the blackout to the extreme cold snap in the United States that froze pipes and caused gas prices to soar but the analysts argue that Mexico should have been better prepared for the possibility of supply interruptions.

“There is a series of self-inflicted problems,” Rosanety Barrios said. “There was a large-scale natural gas storage project and they canceled it. The five-year plan that the National Gas Control Center [Cenagas] presented [in 2018] … was rejected.”

One of the canceled projects was a floating storage regasification unit planned for Pajaritos, Veracruz. Pemex issued an international invitation to tender for the project in 2018 and was due to select a winner in February 2019. But under the current federal government, which took office in December 2018, Cenagas was given responsibility for the project and promptly canceled it.

Had it gone ahead, Mexico would have had additional daily storage capacity of 600 million cubic feet of gas since the start of last year, the newspaper Reforma reported. That capacity could have helped to alleviate the gas shortages Mexico has faced this week.

Another 10-billion-cubic-feet-per-day gas storage project slated for Veracruz was canceled in May 2020.

The government’s cancelation of new rounds of oil and gas block auctions initiated by its predecessor was another of the self-inflicted problems cited by Barrios. The auctions were designed to reduce Mexico’s dependence on natural gas imports by selling off blocks to private companies but the government nevertheless stopped them, she said.

President López Obrador is determined to cut Mexico’s reliance on fuel imports but he wants state-owned companies, not private ones, to take the lead.

Barrios noted that the previous government created conditions that allowed renewable energy companies to make a greater contribution to Mexico’s energy mix but the López Obrador administration has adopted a hostile attitude toward the sector and is seeking to sideline it in favor of the CFE.

“They’ve been blocking the [different] options that Mexico has, especially with this preferential initiative that seeks to block private investment,” the analyst said.

rosanety barrios — Barrios: natural gas auctions were designed to reduce Mexico’s dependence on natural gas imports. But the government scrapped them.

She questioned why the government is blocking such investment when it doesn’t have money of its own to invest in the electricity sector.

“It’s clear that the government doesn’t have resources to invest in the Mexican electricity system. It’s not me saying it, the federal budget says it,” Barrios said.

Víctor Ramírez, another energy analyst, said that greater transmission capacity in the national grid could have provided greater resilience in the electricity system when the gas supply interruption began. He added that a lack of transmission capacity is a longstanding problem.

“There has been a lack of transmission development. Some of the lines that had problems due to overflow in the early hours [of Monday] are lines that should have been reinforced. It’s something that this government neglected to do as well as the previous government,” Ramírez said.

The CFE has largely managed to restore electricity supply after Monday’s blackout by using its own resources including fuel oil and coal to ramp up generation, although it was forced to cut power temporarily in many parts of the country on Tuesday to reduce pressure on the national system.

However, Mexico remains vulnerable to further major outages while it continues to depend heavily on natural gas imports, which are used to generate a large percentage of the country’s energy and supply private manufacturing companies, some of which were forced to halt production this week.

For now, natural gas flows from Texas appear to be normalizing even though Texas Governor Greg Abbott placed a temporary ban on the fuel leaving the state to ensure power generators there have sufficient supplies amid the cold weather the state is experiencing.

The website Natural Gas Intelligence reported that scheduled deliveries of piped gas from Texas to Mexico increased to 1.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) on Thursday from 1.3 Bcf/d on Wednesday and 1.1 Bcf/d on Tuesday. Export volumes from Texas to Mexico typically exceed 2 Bcf/d.

Although shipments have declined this week “there are still significant gas flows into Mexico,” said Matthew Lewis, senior director of research at East Daley Capital Advisors, a Colorado based provider of oil sector data.

Source: El CEO (sp), Reforma (sp), NGI (en)

Another sentence, this one for life in prison, for ‘Monsters of Ecatepec’

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MND Staff

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February 19, 2021

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A couple known as the “monsters of Ecatepec” — they admitted to killing at least 20 women in México state — have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a 13-year-old girl in 2012.

Juan Carlos Hernández Bejar and Patricia Martínez Bernal, arrested in Ecatepec, México state, in October 2018 while wheeling a baby carriage containing human remains, have now been sentenced for 10 crimes including nine femicides.

A district court judge in Ecatepec, a sprawling municipality that is notorious for crime, agreed that evidence presented by the México state Attorney General’s Office was sufficient to prove their guilt in the murder of the girl, a neighbor of the couple.

Hernández and Martínez were also issued with a fine of 311,650 pesos (US $15,250). The victim was lured into the couple’s home on April 12, 2012 and Hernández attacked her with a sharp object, causing her death.

He then mutilated the girl’s body and together with Martínez placed the various parts in plastic bags and a sack that were dumped on a vacant lot.

The couple, who confessed to eating the remains of some of their victims, were first sentenced in April 2019 to 15 years’ imprisonment for the murder of a woman whose baby they sold.

In May 2019, they were given an additional 4 1/2 years in jail for human trafficking, namely the selling of the baby to another couple.

The couple were given several separate prison sentences between June and October 2019 for the murder of seven woman and a child. The sentences added up collectively to more than 300 years in jail.

An additional 40 years were added to the couple’s jail time in March 2020 for another femicide while the latest life imprisonment ruling was handed down on Wednesday.

Investigators found that Hernández, a self-declared misogynist, and Martínez lured women to their apartment on the pretext of selling used clothes and other items. Some of the women were sexually abused before they were killed and Hérnandez maintained a relationship with one of his victims before Martínez grew jealous and ordered her murder.

Prosecutors said in 2018 that both Hernández and Martínez had been subjected to psychiatric testing.

The former was found to have both psychotic and personality disorders while the latter has suffered from mental retardation since birth and also presented signs of delirium. Both, however, know the difference between right and wrong, the testing determined.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Longtime Pemex union boss linked to corruption remains on company payroll

By

MND Staff

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February 18, 2021

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He resigned as secretary general of the Pemex worker’s union in late 2019 amid accusations of corruption but Carlos Romero Deschamps remains on the state oil company’s payroll.

Romero, a former Institutional Revolutionary Party senator and deputy who was at the helm of the Pemex union for 26 years, earned just over 1.2 million pesos (about US $60,000) last year in salaries and benefits, according to a declaration of assets publicly available on the federal government’s payroll transparency website.

The 77-year-old, named by Forbes magazine in 2013 as one of the 10 most corrupt politicians in Mexico, is apparently employed as a department chief at the Pemex refinery in Tula, Hidalgo.

The news website Sin Embargo asked the Public Administration Ministry, which manages the payroll website, about Romero’s employment at Pemex and was told that the online platform “only loads information that [government] departments send.”

Pemex didn’t respond to the news outlet’s request for comment. Sin Embargo said that Romero’s ongoing employment at the company is linked to a favorable collective agreement signed in mid-2019 that remains current and allows him to collect a salary even though he is under criminal investigation and ostensibly left the company. The same agreement stipulates that Pemex must pay the legal costs of any worker accused of committing a crime while on the job.

Federal authorities have opened 12 investigations into the former union boss for crimes including fraud, embezzlement, illicit enrichment, influence peddling and money laundering. But only three investigations remain open, according to a report by the newspaper El País.

The three ongoing probes were launched by the government’s Financial Intelligence Unit. No warrants for Romero’s arrest have been issued.

Víctor Manuel Jacobo Domínguez, a Pemex employee who is part of a dissident workers’ group that has long accused Romero of corruption, told Sin Embargo that the government reached deals with the longtime union boss that ensure he will never be brought to justice.

Sergio Carlos Morales Quintana, chief of the National Petroleum Front, said in a recent interview that Romero is still involved in corrupt activity at Pemex, even though President López Obrador has pledged to rid the state company – and the entire government – of corruption.

“He continues to manage the threads of corruption within Petróleos Mexicanos,” he said.

Another high-profile Pemex figure, former CEO Emilio Lozoya, is also under investigation by federal authorities for alleged corruption but scant progress has been made in his case more than a year after he was arrested in Spain.

Source: Sin Embargo (sp)

Fisheries audit: 43 species consumed by Mexicans are threatened

By

MND Staff

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February 18, 2021

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fishermen — 'Fishermen's livelihoods are at risk.'

Almost half of the fish species commonly eaten by Mexicans are in “serious decline” and could disappear completely, according to the ocean conservation organization Oceana.

“The experts have determined that [stocks of] 43% of fished species … are diminished due to overexploitation, damage to ecosystems, contamination and illegal fishing,” said the organization’s fisheries campaign director while presenting the results of a new fisheries audit conducted by Oceana in Mexico.

“The reality is that four of 10 [species] are in serious … decline and there are no actions being undertaken for their recovery,” Esteban García-Peña said.

Among the threatened species are red snapper and grouper. García-Peña placed the bulk of the blame for the situation on the authorities, saying that there is an “absence of management and restoration of species” on their part.

“Recovering them is urgent, if we don’t what are we going to live on?” he said.

García-Peña said that Oceana’s audit found that only one in four fisheries has a management plan and that fisherman have to go farther out to sea due to their depletion.

“They risk their lives,” he said, adding that 2019 was the worst year on record for grouper catches.

The Oceana director said that fishermen’s livelihoods are at risk if the government doesn’t better manage the nation’s fisheries. Stocks are so depleted in some areas that many fishermen choose to stay at home rather than spend money they can’t recoup on fuel, García-Peña said.

“How can [the problem] be solved? With a [fisheries] restoration policy,” he said.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Due to Covid, foreign investment fell 11.7% last year

By

MND Staff

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February 18, 2021

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manufacturing in mexico — The manufacturing sector took the lion's share.

Foreign investment in Mexico slumped in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused a sharp contraction in money flows around the world.

The Economy Ministry (SE) reported Thursday that preliminary figures show that foreign direct investment (FDI) declined 11.7% last year compared to 2019.

It said that US $39.22 billion in FDI flowed into the country and $10.14 billion flowed out for a net result of +$29.08 billion. That’s $3.84 billion less than 2019 when the net result was +$32.92 billion.

The SE said the 11.7% decrease is “fundamentally explained by the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on global investment flows.”

The ministry cited a United Nations estimate that global FDI flows fell by 42% in 2020 with respect to the previous year.

“This shows that in comparison with the rest of the world, Mexico performed better in the attraction of FDI in the most adverse year of recent economic history,” the SE said.

More than half of the FDI in Mexico last year – 55.4% – was reinvestment of profits by companies that already have a presence here. New investment only represented 22% of the figure while payment of accounts between companies contributed 22.6%.

The manufacturing sector took the lion’s share of investment, raking in 40.6% of total FDI, followed by financial and insurance services (23.2%), transportation (9.8%), retail (7.7%), mining (4.6%) and mass media (4.3%).

The United States remained the biggest source of foreign investment, with 39.1% of total FDI coming from that country. Canada ranked second with 14.5% followed by Spain (13.7%), Japan (4.2%) and Germany (3.5%). The remaining 25% came from numerous other countries, the SE said.

The ministry said that 212 foreign investment projects worth $16.25 billion were announced last year and that $5.83 billion of that amount has already flowed into the country.

The decline in FDI is 3.2 points higher than Mexico’s GDP contraction of 8.5% in 2020, the worst result since the Great Depression.

Mexico News Daily

Zihuatanejo boutique hotel offers variations on the art of leisure

By

Elisabeth Ashe

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February 18, 2021

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At Puerta Paraíso you can lounge all day on the beach and ask to dine there too. — At Puerta Paraíso you can lounge all day on the beach and dine there too.

Just outside of Zihuatanejo, on the road to the airport, is a turnoff that will take you to the area’s longest beach, Playa Larga.

At 12 kilometers, and quieter than most, especially during the week, it is a preferred destination for both nationals and tourists. One reason is the numerous restaurants, offering the absolute best in fresh-caught fish and seafood. Many have swimming pools since the activity can be dangerous here for all but the most experienced. Some restaurants also entertain with local musicians.

The ideal time to visit Playa Larga has long been considered from October to March due to the whale and dolphin sightings common to the area and the turtles that spawn on the beach. You can rent horses from Rancho Risquel to ride along the shore and through a coconut plantation or indulge in a visit to Temazcal Badihuni for a steam bath and ceremony with famed healer Lupita Maldonado.

Over the past few years, a new surge in development has occurred here, with several small hotels and rooms-for-rent places on or across the beach. There are several convenience stores to accommodate basic needs during your stay since some of these rooms come with kitchens, perfect for the budget-conscious.

For the not quite so budget-conscious, there is a small boutique hotel not far off the beaten path with just seven luxurious rooms. Puerta Paraíso, or “Door to Paradise,” was bought initially as a family retreat by owner Raul Esponda 25 years ago, but in the last five years it has morphed into one of Playa Larga’s exclusive stays.

The hotel offers gorgeous views of Playa Larga.

I decided to book a room for one night even though I had been there several times for various events and daytime gatherings.

The first thing that struck me there was how attentive and accommodating everyone was, from the staff who greeted us to general manager Omar Valdovinos, who showed us to our room.

The second was how lovely the rooms were — each perfectly appointed with couches and throw pillows and generously sized beds. Just outside the beautiful wooden bifold doors is a private patio area with a hammock, an oversized lounger plus a smaller one and a table and chairs under a thatch-covered roof. The tiles are terra-cotta, and the color scheme and furniture have a decidedly elegant Mexican flair. Toiletries such as shampoos and coconut soap are top grade, as are the towels and linens.

From every room, you can see the large, pebbled pool to the beach and the surf beyond. The restaurant is a spacious open area, but you can also choose to dine at a table on the beach, complete with your loungers, or, if you prefer, take a seat at the bar. There’s even a standard room with a TV off to one side.

Our food was first-class, beautifully prepared and served by our attentive waiter, Daniel. The menu offered everything from tacos and burgers to innovative seafood offerings and full-course dinners.

“It’s becoming popular to book our hotel for parties, weddings and other special events,” says Valdovinos. “For the last two years, we were one of the hosts of the International Guitar Festival. We have a day pass too, which is 500-peso consumption per person.”

The dining menu excels in innovative fish and seafood dishes.

Just 10–15 minutes away from Zihuatanejo by taxi, Playa Larga is an easy and safe getaway for anyone looking to escape the busier vibrant community nearby.

The more adventurous can take a combi to the beach’s entrance, then pay a few pesos for another ride onward in the back of a pickup truck with benches. Puerta Paraíso is then a 10-minute walk from there, but for 20 pesos more you can convince them to take you all the way — a perfect solution if you have luggage.

Room prices, which include breakfast, start at 3,500 pesos per night in the low season and rise to 4,000 pesos per night from December 15 until Easter. At Christmas and Easter, the price is 4,500 pesos per night.

• For more information, visit Puerta Paraíso’s website.

The writer divides her time between Canada and Zihuatanejo.