Bacalar: low-key stunner in south Yucatán wants to keep it that way

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February 24, 2020

laguna bacalar — Sailboats on the lake of seven colors.

There are places in Mexico that retain their charm yet swarm with tourists – think of the town of Sayulita on the west coast. Then there are places swarming with tourists that have become charmless – like the hotel zone in Cancún.

There are beautiful places where hardly anyone goes and places where, even if you wanted to stay, there isn’t anything in town that could house you.

And then there’s Bacalar – a place on the edge of a boom, with domestic tourists who’ve spent their childhoods vacationing there and foreigners who are just beginning to discover its shores.

At this point Bacalar — located on a finger lake of the same name just above the Belize border in Quintana Roo — is still so stunning that it feels you’ve stumbled upon some magical land. Unlike similar places in Mexico, its “lake of seven colors” is surprisingly quiet, the water breathtakingly clear and the prices incredibly modest. You can rent an entire house right on the water for US $100 a night (less in the off season) and head out to one of the local balnearios for a day of swimming and picnics for about $2.50.

But you can also get French press coffee at the darling Enamora Bacalar café or take a yoga class at Akalki Holistic Center. While a stay at MBH Maya Bacalar or Mia Bacalar runs over $200 a night, a backpackers’ hostel in town will get you just as close to the water for a fraction of the price.

While the lake is definitely the town’s biggest draw, nature tours, nearby Mayan ruins and a growing selection of restaurants and breweries can keep you pleasantly busy for more than a few days. Andrea Arroyo, owner of Hotel Valdre, is even planning a specialty coffee bar (in addition to her smoothie bar) – yet another sign that the town is on its way to being hip in every way.

But Bacalar has the feel of a promising child star. And those that love her find themselves asking, will the weight of fame create a reckless and wild youth, or can someone keep her grounded while she steals the show?

Bacalar has existed in near anonymity outside its region until the last decade or so when European travelers started to take an interest in its gorgeous lake and delicious weather. Nearby Chetumal is one of the youngest cities in Mexico and neither place has had the concerted investment of Cancún or Tulum to the north. Rapid growth in the last few years has not been matched by basic services and infrastructure needs.

“It’s too bad that everyone that has arrived in Bacalar wants to open a hotel,” says Arroyo, “when there are so many opportunities to create services.” This includes things like trash separation and processing, hospitals, and banks – all in shortage in Bacalar.

Structurally — and literally — there are a lot of holes. The roads outside of town that take you to the many lakeside hotels and rentals are in terrible shape, and to say the internet and cell signal is poor is putting it kindly. Taxis, with a chokehold on transportation — there are no public buses except long-haul ones to Chetumal and back — charge exorbitant amounts compared to prices nationally.

But the most pressing issue of all, as the town moves into the tourism spotlight, is Bacalar’s unique ecosystem and its preservation. Laguna Bacalar is just beginning to be studied by scientists but so far there have been upwards of 80 zooplankton species discovered that were previously unknown and the lake’s waters have some of the oldest organisms in the world – stromatolites, which are colonies of bacteria that form rock-like structures in the water. Thousands of migratory birds nest in the lake’s mangrove forest each year.

Downtown Bacalar's charming gazebo. — Downtown Bacalar’s charming gazebo.

The Bacalar Department of Ecology started a campaign last May to inform business owners and visitors what they could do to help preserve the lake – no sunscreen, don’t collect the shells or creatures from the lake, use non-motorized transportation on the water – and conscientious hotel owners and locals are also doing their part, trying to reduce pollution in the lake and keep it beautiful for the next generation of admirers.

But many long-time residents are resistant to their efforts, questioning why all of a sudden the things they’ve always done are being condemned by the environmentally minded. Arroyo says that educating people about the lake’s fragility is an uphill battle. The chivita snail has long been eaten here and used in local crafts and jewelry. But studies show that they are not only vital to the life of the lake’s ecosystem but they also contain high levels of heavy metals that make them unfit for human consumption.

So there are a lot of changes happening in this tiny southern stretch of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, and a lot of work yet to do, but that doesn’t mean outsiders should stay away. Tourists can have a positive impact on the growth of this area if they travel right.

How then can visitors help in the conservation effort? According to Arroyo there are plenty of eco-friendly activities on the lake.

“Sailboats don’t create any pollution in the water,” she says, “and there are paddle-boat tours, kayaks. There are ways to enjoy the lake without destroying it.”

It’s also important to stay away from protected areas like the lake’s mangrove forest and places where the stromatolites are peeking out from under the water. These creatures are so fragile that a brush against them can kill decades of growth in a single stroke. Tourists can also ask their hotels if they provide biodegradable shampoos and soaps, or bring their own along. It’s best not to wear sunscreen or any other creams in the water but if you must, make sure they are biodegradable. Be conscientious about single-use plastics and avoid generating waste whenever you can.

Choose hotels that are working to make Bacalar a more eco-friendly place. We all have a small part to play in keeping this little paradise beautiful for the next generation of travelers.

The writer is a regular contributor to Mexico News Daily and lives in Mexico City.

Viewing today’s world through the lens of indigenous cosmology

By

Leigh Thelmadatter

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February 24, 2020

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An illustration from Naxín's first book.

Filogonio Naxín may have found a way to make the old myths relevant to the modern world.

Born Filogonio Velasco Casimiro in 1986 in the village of Mazatlán Villa de Flores in the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, Naxín grew up listening to the stories of his elders. One very important concept for his Mazatec community is the nagual, a being that crosses the line between human and animal. Fascinated by these stories, he began to draw them as a child.

Naxín’s nagual or spirit animal is the horse, called naxín in Mazatec.

Naxín’s world was completely in Mazatec until at age 11 he started school, which of course is conducted in Spanish. Initially unable to understand his teachers, he would pretend to be paying attention by drawing in his notebooks.

As an adult Naxín tried his hand at such jobs as cashiering and working as a butcher, and he even took the test to become a police officer (he did not pass). Fortunately he decided to study fine art at the Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca (UABJO) despite meager economic resources. Materials scrounged from his jobs, like paper, cardboard and even animal blood were incorporated into his class projects.

He graduated in 2005 but says that his time with the university served to confirm much of what he learned by trial-and-error drawing as a child, adding theoretical concepts to it. It has not changed how he works. As in the notebooks, his drawings, paintings, collages and graphic works have no preliminary sketches. If the images are lopsided or otherwise twisted, that is how they are meant to be.

But Naxín’s time outside of his village has served to help him bridge the gap between the Mazatec world of his childhood and modern life. As a result, his naguals and other images serve to comment on modern life rather than being a frozen artifact of the past.

Naxín’s work has a broad range, utilizing different media for different purposes and different audiences. It can be classified by media and message but there are two constants running through it: the preservation and promotion of Mazatec culture (and by extension all of Mexico’s indigenous cultures) and commentary on the issues of modern Mexico.

Naxín’s focus on tradition and identity is clearest in his work for children. In his first book, people and naguals appear but in a way that is attractive and minimally challenging to the onlooker.

His art dealing with political and social issues for adults is much grittier. The style is modern and would not be out of place in a street mural or comic book.

Because the use of animals is not limited to Mesoamerican cultures, the mixing of them with human imagery has a global appeal. Other images that pull outsiders in include oversized hands, pillars and columns, vegetation, broken stairs, modern weapons, surrealistic elongated bodies and the artist himself (almost always appearing as a horse).

Images of horses is a self portrait in Naxín's work. — Images of horses is a self portrait in Naxín’s work.

Naxín believes the use of the Mazatec language in his works and exhibitions is important though it may carry different meanings for Mazatec and non-Mazatec speakers. A speaker of Mazatec will get a very different sense knowing the exact meaning of the words but for non-speakers they add an other-worldly element, much the way that Chinese characters can. At the very least, they serve as a reminder that indigenous languages are still very much alive.

Although he began exhibiting in 2006, his career began to take off after he moved to Mexico City in 2013, with his first major show there in 2014 at the Autonomous University of Mexico City. Since then he has had major shows at the National Autonomous University (UNAM), private galleries and public museums. His success in the capital enabled him to stage individual shows back in his native Oaxaca. This is important as his work does not fit in with the prevailing Oaxaca school.

Living in Mexico City gives him opportunities to work in illustration, both with his own projects on Mazatec culture and work by other writers. In 2018 he illustrated Cicatriz que te mira by poet Hubert Martínez Calleja, which was presented at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. He and his work are gaining notice, with features in such Spanish-language publications as La Jornada Ojarasco (2018), Arqueología Mexicana, Mexicanísmo and even Playboy México (2020).

Living in the capital does not mean leaving Oaxaca behind. Naxín returns regularly to teach children in his hometown, something he called “an act of resistance,” as indigenous communities have no access to artistic training. He believes this knowledge is important to his community as it grants the culture a voice.

Filogonia Naxín’s work is on exhibit at FES Acatlán (UNAM) in Naucalpan, México state, until April 24.

Mexico News Daily

Cilantro: once an exotic herb, now a kitchen essential

By

Janet Blaser

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February 24, 2020

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Garlic Cilantro Shrimp: serve with rice or pasta.

Ahhh, cilantro: You either love it or hate it. I’m of the first camp, and cannot for the life of me understand how anyone doesn’t like it. What can I say?

Back in the United States, fresh cilantro was exotic, unusual and fairly hard to come by, at least where I was in Northern California. It was an herb bought for a specific dish, kind of like a destination restaurant. There was no reason to have it unless you knew what you were going to use it for.

Needless to say, I don’t think like that anymore. Fresh, fragrant cilantro is as much a staple in my fridge as onions or garlic. I always have some on hand. I put it in salads, soups, Basmati rice, guacamole (of course), omelets and frittatas, burritos, stir-fries, salsas, smoothies and sometimes a sprig or two in a tuna sandwich.

In many cases, you can substitute it for fresh basil, like in pesto. I kind of use it everywhere, in everything. Apparently, I’m not alone, as cilantro, in all its forms, figures prominently in Mexican, South American and Indian cuisines.

Cilantro is the Spanish word for coriander, and that’s why the seeds are called – you guessed it – coriander seeds. They have a very different flavor than the leaves, more savory and earthy, and in some recipes they’re sautéed in hot oil before being added to bean soups or East Indian dahls.

Fresh cilantro: the author is among those who love it.

Fresh cilantro, coriander seeds and ground coriander are not interchangeable; recipes will call for one or the other.

Growing coriander isn’t difficult, and the pretty herb does well in pots as long as they’re kept out of too much sun or heat, which will cause them to bolt. Eventually feathery little white flowers will appear, and if you leave them be, they’ll develop seeds which you can harvest and dry. You’ll have fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves first, and then you’ll get some seeds. What’s not to love?

Cilantro Lime Quinoa

1 cup dry quinoa
1½ cups water
¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 limones, zest and juice
1-2 Tbsp. olive, coconut or avocado oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Using a mesh strainer, rinse and drain quinoa. In a dry, preheated cast iron or nonstick skillet, lightly toast quinoa for a few minutes, stirring gently, to remove any excess water. Next add all the water, set burner to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 12 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy and liquid is absorbed. Add chopped cilantro, lime juice, zest and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve atop a green salad, in a burrito or alone.

Garlic Cilantro Shrimp

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled & deveined with tails left on
1 lime + extra wedges for serving
Salt & pepper
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. minced garlic, about 6 cloves
2 scallions, chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped

Season shrimp with salt and pepper. If desired, zest the lime and set aside. Cut zested lime in half to use in the sauce. Add 1 Tbsp. butter to a wide skillet. Heat over medium heat, then add garlic. Stir and cook about 1 minute. Add shrimp in single layer and cook until they start to turn pink, about 1 minute. Stir in scallions and lime zest, if using. Continue to cook 1-2 minutes more, stirring, until shrimp are firm and opaque throughout. Remove from heat. Add cilantro, lime juice and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Stir gently till butter melts and ingredients combine to make sauce. Season as needed with salt & pepper. Serve immediately atop rice or pasta.

Asian Ginger-Soy Dressing

Use as a marinade or sauce for salmon or other fish, shrimp or chicken, or as a salad dressing.

5 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
1/3 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup tamari soy sauce (low-salt if possible)
1 oz. fresh ginger, cut into ¼-inch pieces
6 cloves garlic
1½ tsp. ground cumin
1 small jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeds & veins removed

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until finely chopped. Store in refrigerator for up to two days. Makes 1-1/2 cups. – More Recipes from A Kitchen Garden, Renee Shepherd

Bill the Oyster Man’s Cilantro Vinaigrette

So simple – and so delicious!

1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
1/3 cup cilantro
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 jalapenos, seeds & veins removed

Pour ½ cup vinegar into blender or food processor with all other ingredients and blend till finely minced. Add remaining vinegar. Store in refrigerator. Serve over chilled fresh oysters.

Easy Cilantro Sauce

This versatile sauce can be used with chicken, fish, shrimp or veggies, in pasta or add a dollop to almost any soup. How much cilantro depends on your personal taste; buy 2 big handfuls or bunches and go from there.

About 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, packed loosely, stems removed
4-6 cloves fresh garlic
¼ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup olive oil
½ tsp. salt
Optional: ½-1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeded & deveined / 2 Tbsp. feta cheese

In a food processor, pulse cilantro, garlic and lime juice until pureed. Add olive oil and salt; pulse until smooth. Add jalapenos and/or feta, if using; pulse again. Sauce will keep refrigerated for about 3 days.

Janet Blaser of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, has been a writer, editor and storyteller her entire life and feels fortunate to write about great food, amazing places, fascinating people and unique events. Her work has appeared in numerous travel and expat publications as well as newspapers and magazines. 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.

Federal forces overpower suspected narcos in Guerrero; 18 detained

By

Cody Copeland

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February 24, 2020

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The armored vehicle seized in Zirándaro bore the Jalisco cartel's initials, CJNG.

Military and police in Guerrero arrested 18 suspected drug traffickers in two separate operations on the weekend.

The arrests were made in the municipality of Zirándaro, in the northwestern region of the state known as Tierra Caliente (Hot Country). The subjects, believed to be members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, were attempting to pass themselves off as community police, authorities said.

State security spokesperson Roberto Álvarez Heredia said that the first arrests were made around 3:00 p.m. on Saturday when a group of armed civilians attacked a troop of army, National Guard and state police officers patrolling the area.

The security forces repelled the attack and subdued the nine men, leading to their arrests and the confiscation of 12 assault weapons: one AR-15 and 11 AK-47 rifles.

They also seized magazines, ammunition, utility belts and a pickup truck modified to be an armored vehicle commonly referred to as a monstruo (monster).

The second round of arrests was made when National Guard troops discovered another group of nine armed men as a result of information gathered from the first apprehensions.

From the latter group they seized 13 long guns, one pistol, 103 magazines, 4,330 rounds of ammunition, a tear gas grenade and two pickup trucks.

“In the two events, the National Guard gave air cover with a helicopter in order to provide security for the police forces and for the protection of the general public,” Álvarez said in a statement.

The 18 people, armaments and vehicles were turned over to the federal Attorney General’s Office.

Source: El Universal (sp), La Opinión (sp)

Ex-president’s new movement calls itself the only opposition to Morena

By

MND Staff

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February 24, 2020

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Zavala speaks at Sunday's assembly in Mexico City.

Former President Felipe Calderón claims that the political movement he co-founded with his wife will become the sole alternative to the ruling Morena party.

México Libre (ML), or Free Mexico, was launched by former first lady Margarita Zavala just over a year ago as a center-right political movement. It has now fulfilled all the requirements to be formally registered as a political party with the National Electoral Institute, Calderón said.

Speaking at the soon-to-be party’s national assembly in Mexico City on Sunday, the former National Action Party (PAN) president asserted that ML will restore balance to Mexico’s political landscape and provide people with a “different option” at the ballot box. (Midterm federal elections will be held in July 2021).

ML will be the only party that “can save our beloved Mexico,” said Calderón, president from 2006 to 2012 and an outspoken critic of the current government.

Even though it is not yet formally registered as a political party, the 57-year-old president asserted that ML is already the largest opposition force to the government led by President López Obrador and pledged that it will soon grow to a membership of 300,000 and thus have more members than all other parties, including Morena.

Calderón claimed that the López Obrador administration is panicking because ML is on the verge of being registered as a party. He also said that the “autocratic government” has tried to block its registration.

“From the official machinery [of government] … they launch overwhelming attacks on our movement and our honor,” Calderón said.

The people of Mexico are facing a “government of hate that attacks, insults, puts labels [on others] … [and] stigmatizes. … We know that Mexico is not divided between chairos [armchair leftists] and fifis [elitists]. Mexico is a lot more than that and while the government doesn’t understand it, the job will continue to be too big for them,” he said.

After stressing that ML is not motivated by corporatism or religion, Calderón defended the record of his government, stating that if any federal administration has supported the poor it is his.

The current government “doesn’t listen and sustains a clumsy monologue of foolishness on a daily basis,” he charged.

Zavala said in January 2019 that neither she or Calderón would use México Libre to launch presidential bids but it is unclear whether they will seek elected office in any capacity at either the 2021 midterms or the 2024 election.

Source: El Universal (sp)

In Oaxaca, infant dies after sexual abuse; father is chief suspect

By

Cody Copeland

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February 24, 2020

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The abuse took place at a home in Villa de Zaachila.

A 20-month-old baby in Oaxaca died earlier this month from injuries sustained during several instances of sexual abuse, according to authorities.

Reported as having no name as she was still not officially registered with the government, the girl lived in the municipality of Villa de Zaachila, located near Oaxaca City.

Authorities stated that the girl was taken to a local children’s hospital with a severe fever at the beginning of February. She died on February 10 despite doctors’ efforts to save her.

Authorities became aware of the sexual abuse upon seeing the results of the autopsy performed as required by law.

Identified as María, the girl’s mother was not allowed to receive the body of the child, because she had never registered the baby in order to obtain a birth certificate. DNA samples were taken to prove the woman’s parenthood.

The girl’s maternal grandmother, Juana, also solicited a request for the girl’s body and the corpse was turned over to her 11 days later.

Authorities reported that three other children living in the household, and also believed to be victims of sexual and physical abuse, were put into the protective custody of the state DIF family services system.

The Oaxaca state Attorney General’s Office (FGE) reported on February 12 that it arrested the girl’s father as the principal suspect in the case. Identified only as Ernesto, the man also faces charges from an alleged rape carried out in 2017.

A judge placed Ernesto in preventive custody and granted three months for the trial to be carried out.

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

Over 1,000 join Playa del Carmen protest over beach access

By

Cody Copeland

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February 24, 2020

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As many as 1,200 people gathered outside a beach club in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, on Sunday to protest the infringement of citizens’ access to the country’s beaches.

The protest was held in response to last week’s arrest of a couple who had refused to buy food and drinks from Mamita’s Beach Club. The club’s management claim its staff called police because the couple was occupying a service route on the beach.

Users on social media organized the picnic/protest after a video of the couple’s arrest went viral. Azeneth Marín can be seen in the video crying and telling officers of the tourist police that they are hurting her.

Attendees of Sunday’s protest occupied the space in front of Mamita’s Beach Club and even used the establishment’s beach chairs and parasols.

“Grab what you want. Today it’s all free,” shouted men who had come to the protest.

Local and foreign residents alike gathered to make the statement that Mexico’s beaches are open to the public and access to them cannot be controlled by private businesses.

“I was born and raised here. My family has also been run off this beach,” said Martha Enríquez, 60, who came from the neighboring town of Puerto Morelos to join the demonstration.

“We came today to tell them that these beautiful places also belong to us, to our children and our grandchildren,” she said.

Others spoke of similar incidents that have occurred elsewhere on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, in places like Puerto Aventuras, Akumal and Puerto Morelos.

Mamita’s Beach Club released a public apology after the arrest of Azeneth Marín and her boyfriend on February 16, and was even reported to have provided free fruit and water to Sunday’s partying protesters.

The online condemnation of the actions taken by the club and police prompted an official apology from the municipal government of Solidaridad, in which Playa del Carmen is located. Mayor Laura Beristain Navarrete publicly apologized to the couple last Wednesday.

Article 8 of the Mexican constitution states that access to the country’s beaches cannot be inhibited, restricted, obstructed or controlled by a private or government entity, save for conservation or military purposes.

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

Of 2,300 crimes against women last year, 94% went unpunished

By

MND Staff

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February 24, 2020

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Women protest against gender-based violence.

More than nine in 10 crimes committed against women in 2019 – not including femicides – went unpunished.

Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero told a gathering of female federal deputies on Friday that of 2,327 investigations into serious intentional crimes against women that were carried out last year, only 135 – 5.8% of the total – resulted in the imposition of prison sentences on the perpetrators.

The sentencing rate for femicides – murders of women and girls on account of their gender – was higher but still fewer than one in five perpetrators went to jail. Gertz said that there were 966 investigations into femicide last year and that sentences were imposed in 183, or 19%, of the cases.

Given the low sentencing rates, the attorney general said that law enforcement officials, including police and prosecutor’s office employees, require urgent training in order to conduct more effective investigations. Those who deliberately obstruct justice or are negligent in the carrying out of their duties should face sanctions, Gertz said.

Institutional Revolutionary Party Deputy Mariana Rodríguez Mier y Terán agreed that training for state authorities aimed at improving their investigative practices is essential.

“It’s important to point out that the capacities [of authorities] are different in the different states,” she said.

The attorney general also proposed the establishment of a new legal framework in which punishments for all types of violence against women is set out in the National Criminal Code, according to the lawmakers who met with Gertz, members of a working group tasked with carrying out an analysis of femicide in Mexico.

National Action Party (PAN) Deputy Mariana García Rojas said that an agreement was reached to form a working group made up of officials from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and lower house lawmakers whose aim will be to draw up legislation that ensures a uniform penalty for femicide across Mexico’s 31 states and capital city. State prosecutor’s offices, governors and gender and human rights experts will also be consulted, she said.

PAN lawmaker Pilar Ortega Martínez said that establishing a nationwide uniform penalty for femicide is “essential,” while Morena party Deputy Lorena Villavicencio Ayala said that the FGR must send a clear message that it is committed to combating the crime.

“It’s a crime that demoralizes … and we’re falling short [in our response to it]. That’s why we have to standardize the penalty,” Villavicencio said.

Putting an end to errors made by law enforcement officials when filing criminal complaints and carrying out investigations – such as those made following the disappearance of a 7-year-old girl who was murdered earlier this month – is essential to stopping impunity in crimes against women, lawmakers agreed.

They also said that judges and public policy have a role to play in combatting the high levels of impunity. Juan Carlos Romero Hicks, leader of the PAN in the lower house of Congress, said that less “presidential indifference” to violence against women was crucial to combatting it.

Interior Minister Olga Sánchez Cordero admitted Friday that serious action by the government to combat violence against women had “arrived late,” but she said that it is now committed to tackling the problem head on.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Under AMLO, nearly 2bn pesos cut from women’s programs

By

MND Staff

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February 24, 2020

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Childcare programs were among those cut or eliminated.

The federal government slashed this year’s funding for programs that benefit women and girls by almost 2 billion pesos, an analysis of the 2019 and 2020 budgets found.

The newspaper El Universal reported that the administration of President López Obrador cut the funding for, or eliminated entirely, 20 programs that support females.

The programs were allocated funding of 2.7 billion pesos in 2019 but were assigned just 835 million pesos – a cut of 1.87 billion pesos (US $97.9 million) or 69% – in the 2020 budget.

Nine of the 20 programs were defunded completely, El Universal said. Among them: an Education Ministry program for inclusive and equitable education, a childcare scheme that benefited mothers who work at the Health Ministry and a federal Attorney General’s Office program that promoted respect for women’s rights.

Among the programs whose funding was cut were a childcare scheme that benefits mothers who work at the Welfare Ministry, an Interior Ministry (Segob) initiative that promotes human rights and gender equality, a Segob scheme that aims to eliminate gender discrimination and a Labor Ministry women’s employment program.

The federal government’s response to women’s needs has come under increased scrutiny since the gruesome deaths earlier this month of a 25-year-old woman who was killed by her partner and the abduction and murder of a 7-year-old girl.

Interior Minister Olga Sánchez Cordero admitted Friday that serious action by the government to combat violence against women had “arrived late,” but she said that it is now committed to tackling the problem head on.

A national women’s strike is planned for March 9, the day after International Women’s Day, to protest against the high levels of gender-based violence. Members of the government, including Sánchez, as well as opposition lawmakers, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, state governors and universities have expressed their support for the strike, which could cost the economy tens of billions of pesos.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Current patients to be treated after women protest lack of funding for cancer

By

MND Staff

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February 22, 2020

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Funds for breast cancer treatment have been announced after patients protested in Mexico City on Thursday and Friday to demand that the federal government reinstate funding for the Breast Cancer Foundation (Fucam) to allow it to continue providing free treatment.

The foundation announced Thursday that it had run out of resources with which to provide free medical services because it had not reached a funding agreement with the National Institute of Health for Well-Being (Inasabi), a new government department tasked with providing universal healthcare.

Fucam previously accessed public funds via the Seguro Popular healthcare scheme, which was replaced by a program run by Insabi on January 1.

“The foundation [has been] forced to stop free [breast cancer treatment] because it lacks supplies and medications,” Fucam said in a statement.

But it announced Friday afternoon that an agreement had been reached whereby Insabi will fund those treatments that had been initiated prior to December 31. However, new patients will have to pay user fees based on their economic means.

On Thursday, about 20 Fucam breast cancer patients blocked Tlalpan Avenue near the Valley of México University to demand that the government guarantee free treatment and medicines, and provide funds to the foundation.

The placards they held up sent a clear message to President López Obrador, or AMLO as he is commonly known. “We want to live,” said one, while others read “AMLO, don’t abandon women with cancer” and “abandonment no, agreement, yes.”

Accompanied by family members and friends, another group of breast cancer victims protested outside the National Palace on Friday, chanting “we want to live,” “subsidy for Fucam,” “I’m fighting for my life, I’m fighting for Fucam” and “if you’re listening presidente, Fucam is presente.”

The breast cancer patients also submitted a letter to López Obrador at a citizen’s attention office at the National Palace, Reforma reported.

“We are sick people with scant resources. We have no possibility of paying for private treatment, we will die … if we’re not attended to at Fucam. … We ask you, as the head of state, to remedy our situation,” it read.

The Breast Cancer Foundation said it was providing free treatment, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, to more than 8,500 breast cancer patients of limited means.

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