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Latin America’s leaders united by unpopularity. But AMLO not among them

By
Michael Stott
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López Obrador
López Obrador: people have the feeling that he's on their side.

As Latin America’s presidents battle a pandemic that has hit their people and economies harder than any other region, something uniting them is their unpopularity.

Chile’s Sebastián Piñera and Colombia’s Iván Duque have approval ratings of roughly 18%; Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro’s rating stands at 24% and Argentina’s Alberto Fernández is at 32%, according to recent surveys. Peru has gone through four presidents in a year. Social unrest is sweeping the region.

Long but ineffective lockdowns, scandals over early vaccinations for the well-connected, overloaded public health services and inadequate support for the most vulnerable have fueled popular anger. Even before the pandemic, most Latin Americans had little faith in their governments.

“In May, 80% of Latin Americans said their country was on the wrong track,” said Jean-Christophe Salles, Latin America chief of the pollster Ipsos. “In this context, Latin American presidents appear with a very low level of approval.”

The exception, he added, was Mexico.

Nearing the midpoint of his six-year term on Sunday last week, President López Obrador and his allies won a string of state governorships and a fresh congressional majority — victories his peers in the region could only dream about.

As he revelled in his electoral successes at a news conference on Tuesday, López Obrador heard his ministers announce that almost one in three of Mexico’s adult population had been vaccinated and schools were reopening.

“As we faced the pandemic and there was an economic crisis … what did they ask me to do?” the president said, referring to Mexico’s elite. “To rescue those at the top — and we opted to support from the bottom up, because that is how it should be, for the sake of humanism, social justice and security.”

López Obrador is famous for his rhetoric and the skillful messaging conceals more awkward truths: Mexico’s excess death toll during the pandemic has been one of the world’s highest, and the government’s refusal to take on extra borrowing has limited its ability to support those hurt most by the pandemic.

Much of López Obrador’s approach to the pandemic has been idiosyncratic: he initially played down the pandemic, was slow to impose lockdowns, made them less restrictive when they did occur and resisted calls to splurge on stimulus spending.

So far, Mexico has suffered the world’s fifth-highest excess mortality percentage since the pandemic began, according to a Financial Times analysis of published data comparing death rates to the historical average.

Yet Alicia Bárcena, head of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America, said Mexico’s government remained much more popular than its peers because of “the perception of the veracity of the commitment which the government has declared since its inauguration to giving priority to attending to the needs of the poor.” In addition, López Obrador was seen as “an austere leader who is not corrupt or corruptible,” unlike some of his predecessors.

“For the majority of the population, who are used to not being well served by their governments, this president arrives with a message of ‘I’m here for the people and my government is not for the elite,’” said Stephanie Brewer, director for Mexico at the Washington Office on Latin America. “Regardless of whether his policies are the best, they have the feeling that he’s on their side.”

A recent World Bank survey found that fewer households in Mexico experienced food insecurity or loss of household income last year than in most other countries in the region.

Martha Bárcena, Mexico’s former ambassador in Washington, said López Obrador had given priority jabs to the most vulnerable and had converted many hospitals into specialist Covid-19 treatment centers. “The poorest and most vulnerable saw that they were attended to in equal conditions to the middle and upper classes,” she added.

As they contemplate protests along the Andes, even some of López Obrador’s harshest business critics admit to a grudging respect for the social peace he has bought Mexico amid the pandemic.

“We may not like López Obrador’s economic policies — in fact, we hate them,” said one banker in Mexico City. “But we have to recognize that he has delivered a few years of political stability, which has spared us from the mess engulfing countries further south.”

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House succumbs to Puebla sinkhole as the huge pit continues to grow

By
MND Staff
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Little remains of the four-bedroom house in Zacatepec, Puebla.

The Puebla sinkhole that emerged late last month has grown to swallow most of the home that initially stood a few dozen meters from its perimeter.

Only one bedroom and part of the outer wall of the the Sánchez Xalamiahua family home remain in tact after most of it collapsed on Friday night. The property was initially 50 meters away from the 10-meter sinkhole that appeared on May 29 in Santa María Zacatepec, 20 kilometers northwest of Puebla city.

The giant pit has gradually expanded to measure 126 meters at its widest point and is 56 meters deep, most of which is filled with water.

Family member Heriberto Sánchez, originally from Veracruz, told reporters that the risk to the property made their situation precarious. “We have nothing. We’re not from here. We have no relatives. We’re alone,” he said.

Puebla Governor Miguel Barbosa has announced that the local council will donate a piece of land to the family where the state government will build them a new home.

Another state intervention saw two dogs rescued on Thursday after they had become trapped inside the pit. Spay and Spike had spent more than 72 hours stuck inside the hole.

Meanwhile, three local residents have created a cake depicting the sinkhole. The “Memory of the Sinkhole” confection has two dog figurines on top of an ice cream filling at its center. It was created by Citlali Moreno and her father César at the Don Lucho bakery, with help from local ice cream man Ángel Cortez.

A cumbia song by Sin Razzon about the sinkhole has also gained traction: it received 1.2 million views in four days. However, songwriter Armando Martínez Valdez received complaints that the song’s premise was insensitive to the Sánchez Xalamiahua family.

With reports from Reforma and Milenio

NGO’s mission to aid repatriated Mexicans looks northward for support

By
Leigh Thelmadatter
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Orlando Mendoza of Hola Code
Orlando Mendoza of Hola Code, which trains returned migrants and deportees in software coding, is one of the connections New Comienzos has made since it began. Erika Schultz

Israel Concha — a noted resident in Mexico City’s Little L.A. barrio and a Mexican national who was abruptly deported to Mexico in 2014 three decades after his parents illegally brought him to the United States at age 4 — fervently believes he and other returnees like him “can live the American dream” in Mexico.

But he admits it is anything but easy.

Mexico receives thousands of repatriated Mexicans every month, mostly deportees from the United States. One category of these repatriated Mexicans, known as “Dreamers,” has gotten a lot of press over the past decade or so. They arrived in the United States as children and because of that received controversial protection under a program called Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (often referred to as DACA) and then, just as controversially, lost it.

Since the Obama administration, the repatriation of these young people to Mexico has been a large enough phenomenon to merit press attention on both sides of the border. These returnees to Mexico who were raised in the United States alternatively call themselves “Dreamers” or “binationals,” with the latter used to include people with different backstories.

The main difference between these particular returning Mexican nationals and others is that their many years living north of the border give them a distinct identity. And for this reason, many returnees’ experiences in Mexico parallel those of more traditional immigrant groups.

Israel Concha of New Comienzos
Israel Concha began New Comienzos in 2015.

Binationals in Mexico face culture shock, legal and bureaucratic issues, discrimination and even bullying and violence because of how they speak Spanish (or don’t at all), because of their appearance and because of their economic connections to the United States. Most issues come from the idea that they are Mexicans and shouldn’t have these problems.

But they do, and many of the solutions that they develop use their ties back in the United States to create economic opportunities and create social organizations to help them advocate for their needs.

The largest organization of this type is aptly named New Comienzos (New Beginnings), based in Little L.A., which is located in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City. The organization’s name is apt both because it focuses on integrating returnees into Mexican society and because the name is in Spanglish.

“The Mexican dream does exist, it’s you!” proclaims New Comienzos’ website. Concha, the organization’s founder, was deported from the United States after a traffic stop. His backstory and why he created New Comienzos has been well-documented in the Mexican press as well as in Time magazine.

The organization draws heavily on the experiences, skills and personality of Concha, who studied business administration and started a transportation company in the United States. Like most other returnees, he found his way to Mexico City, one of the country’s major economic centers.

Over the past decade or so, U.S. companies have set up call centers in Mexico’s capital to take advantage of bilingual returnees, and these centers have become big business. The Mexican Institute of Telemarketing estimates that 190,000 people work in call centers in Mexico, most of them bilingual.

New Comienzos
A business owner putting up a New Comienzos sign in support of binationals in Mexico City’s Little L.A. section.

If someone in the United States calls for customer service, Concha says, even if it is just to order a pizza, there is a good chance they are talking to a returnee Dreamer in Mexico City. These jobs are not perfect by any means, but they provide at least an initial lifeline for returnees to pay the rent. While the pay is low, it is better than at many other jobs.

Concha began New Comienzos in 2015 while working at one of these call centers, sensing a need to provide support for the thousands of binationals coming into Mexico City and elsewhere. His entrepreneurship skills have served the initiative well. He worked out agreements with call centers to refer new employees, and in less than five years he reached out to federal, state and local governments in states where many binationals live.

However, he says, working with Mexican authorities has proven frustrating to say the least.

New Comienzos has had the most luck at the local and state level, especially in the state of Guanajuato and, to some extent, the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City, where Little L.A. and most call centers are located.

As important as English-related employment opportunities like call center work and teaching are, they’re not enough to make sure that thousands of returning Mexicans are able to integrate into Mexican society. More options are needed, he believes.

During the Peña Nieto administration, he says, there was much interest in supporting the binational community, with even formal agreements signed by several agencies. However, when it came time to access the money for initiatives such as business loans, the money disappeared. Like many politicians, they were more interested in being seen as supporting binationals for their votes, Concha says.

It is even worse under the López Obrador administration, which has been hostile to nonprofits and will not talk to New Comienzos. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has decimated many nonprofit organizations, and New Comienzos has felt the pinch as well, losing the offices they had in Little L.A.

This, and the lack of governmental backing, has led to the decision to send Concha to the United States to work on alternative sources of support. His arrival in the U.S. in May 2021 was heralded by the Los Angeles newspaper La Opinión.

Concha aims to spend the next year or so in the U.S. meeting with activist groups, the Mexican ambassador to the United States and academics and businesses to find new alliances for binationals in Mexico and those facing deportation in the future.

The organization also welcomes volunteers and other supporters of all nationalities. You can reach New Comienzos through its website and via its Facebook page.

Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 18 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.

Daughter of Jalisco cartel boss sentenced to 2 1/2 years

By
Rose Egelhoff
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Oseguera expressed remorse for her actions.
Oseguera expressed remorse for her actions.

A Washington, D.C. court has sentenced Jessica Oseguera, daughter of drug kingpin Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, to two years and six months in prison for crimes carried out on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Oseguera, 34, was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. She has already served 16 months and could walk free in the summer of 2022.

Oseguera pleaded guilty in March to five charges of willfully engaging in financial transactions with businesses on the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklist, businesses linked to the CJNG and considered to be “specially designated narcotics traffickers.”

U.S. prosecutors had asked for a sentence of more than four years while the defense requested that Oseguera be released on parole, based on time already served.

Before her sentencing, Oseguera read a statement expressing remorse and saying that her time in prison had been an opportunity to reflect on her mistakes.

“This has been a big life lesson for me. Being locked up during a pandemic has been very difficult. For more than a year, I have been alone 23 hours a day,” Oseguera said.

Defense lawyer Steven McCool had previously argued that Oseguera’s income as stated by the prosecution was incorrect and said she was an “excellent mother,” and that being away from her family had been difficult.

However, prosecutor Brett Reynolds said the accused had lied about prior illegal activities. He said there was proof that she had provided accounting services to her father’s cartel. He added that her father had put Oseguera in charge of running Las Flores Cabañas, a luxury spa in Jalisco. Oseguera said she had not seen her father since she was 11.

The defense asked for a reduced sentence but the judge said the case was special due to the relationship with the CJNG, and reminded the defense that Oseguera had once entered the U.S. carrying $10,000 in cash.

The court chose the intermediate sentence of two and half years, citing Oseguera’s lack of prior convictions and that she had demonstrated remorse for her actions.

With reports from Milenio 

2 Mexicans dead, US tourist wounded in Cancún beach shooting

By
Rose Egelhoff
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Playa Tortugas, scene of Friday's shooting.
Playa Tortugas, scene of Friday's shooting.

A shooting at a Cancún beach left two Mexicans dead and a U.S. tourist wounded on Friday.

The incident occurred around 2 p.m. at Playa Tortugas, an area with a number of hotels that is frequented both by tourists and locals. According to witnesses, two people fired at two street vendors, both of whom died. A woman from the U.S. was hit in the shoulder by a stray bullet and taken to the hospital. The aggressors fled on personal watercraft.

“Two males lost their lives due to gunshots. A foreign woman was injured and was taken to the hospital to receive medical attention. Police activated search protocols to find the aggressors,” wrote the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office on Twitter.

The state is both a destination for drug sales and a transfer point for drug shipments.

Violence has declined in the state since its peak in 2018 and 2019. There were 209 killings in the first four months of 2021, compared to 266 in the same period of 2020.

With reports from AP and El Economista

Elections, vaccinations and Kamala Harris: the week at the mañaneras

By
MND Staff
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The president analyzes election results during Tuesday's press conference. office of the president

By the time the National Palace opened on Monday, a clear picture of Sunday’s mid-term elections had formed. Voters had selected 15 fresh governors and a new House of Deputies in what was widely seen as a referendum on President López Obrador’s political project.

The early count predicted a check on the administration’s momentum. The loss of the two-thirds majority shared with allies in the Chamber of Deputies would be a significant blow, impeding constitutional reform. The race for governors told a different story, where the ruling party Morena looked set to win at least 10 of the 15 available. However, it was bad news for the party in Mexico City, where it braced for big losses.

As for the mañaneras, the electoral silence had ended. Any content — propagandistic or otherwise — was fit for broadcast once again.

Monday

The elections were at the top of the political agenda, so the weekly fuel price updates had to wait their turn.

“The people behaved very well,” said the president in school-masterly fashion, assessing conduct at voting booths. “Those who belong to organized crime, in general [behaved] well. Very few acts of violence in those groups,” he added, giving thanks for moderation among otherwise violent criminals.

The electoral silence had ended, allowing the administration to discuss its national infrastructure projects. Each update was accompanied by a spokesperson through video link to confirm all was going swimmingly. Santa Lucía airport, the Dos Bocas refinery in Tabasco, the Maya Train, the Toluca-Mexico City train, the trans-isthmus corridor project and the Lake Texcoco ecological park were all given an airing.

AMLO, as the president is commonly known, showed little concern that a two-thirds majority in the lower house of Congress was out of reach. With admirable agility, he addressed another topic: bad faith reporting in the media.

Still, nothing could spoil his Monday morning pep. “The result is going to favor the transformation of Mexico … so you can imagine how I feel: happy, happy, happy.”

Defeats in Mexico City were owed to the “dirty war,” he said,  which was all the more rampant in the capital. “It’s propaganda day and night against us,” he remarked.

Tuesday

Conjecture made an early appearance on Tuesday. The president announced election results would be explained in depth, and offered his reasoning: “Most of the conventional media are inclined toward the conservative party, it is public knowledge,” he claimed.

Vaccine updates followed. Health Minister Jorge Alcocer announced that soon every one in three Mexicans over 20 would be vaccinated. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard was quick on his heels: “Mexico is sixth place this week in millions of doses administered … sixth place,” he said.

Graphics appeared on screen for the president to lay out the election results. Skimming over the House of Deputies result where the ruling party suffered losses, he focused on the governors’ races. “What’s the name of the coalition? … Let’s go for Mexico? Go for Mexico?” asked the president, taking the opportunity to ridicule his rivals and their right-wing coalition, which failed to install a single governor.

The conference closed as it began. AMLO denounced the Wall Street Journal for branding him a “threat to democracy.”

“What objectivity … what professionalism,” he chided.

Wednesday

The great and the good found their way to the National Palace on Wednesday. The ambassadors of Canada and France and the directors of two international train companies attended the conference to sign a contract for the Maya Train in a live broadcast.

Foreign dignitaries, contractors and officials watch as the president signs a contract for the Maya Train.
Foreign dignitaries, contractors and officials watch as the president signs a contract for the Maya Train.

Before long, the elections returned to the fore, specifically to disseminate misinformation. “Remember Goebbels … ‘A lie which is repeated many times can become true,’” the president said, employing one of his favorite quotes.

“They still say … that we did really badly [in the elections] … There were elections for governor in 15 states and the movement that I belong to, the movement of the transformation, triumphed in 11,” he related, confidence in check.

Breaking into a swagger, the president took the chance to taunt a political rival. Calling for a toast, he asked Ricardo Anaya, former leader of the National Action Party, for permission to drink a caguama of beer (a 32-ounce bootle) to celebrate his party’s success. (Anaya later granted permission, observing he was enjoying a beer in Mexico City, where the opposition did well, and would have another in Querétaro, where his own party dominated).

Before closing, the president ran short on expletives and appeared to get stuck in a loop, apparently thrilled by the Tuesday meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.  “[The meeting was] great … very beneficial … good meeting … good meeting … so good … very good meeting … it was very good, a very good meeting … it was very good, a very good meeting … she’s an extraordinary woman,” he said.

Thursday

First, the president commemorated the 50-year anniversary of El Halconazo, when nearly 120 student protesters were killed by the military in Mexico City.

Then, to the floor. Reacting to an unrelated question, the president set off on a tangent. A meme of a map showing Mexico City, divided by its voting preference, had caught his eye. In the west of the capital the opposing coalition had taken control, while Morena held strong in the east.

The western neighborhoods were labelled “those that pay taxes” and in the east “those that receive welfare.”

“[Here is] the prejudice of a very conservative and racist class,” the president concluded, incorrectly blaming his least favorite newspaper, Reforma, for its publication.

The subject of violence was raised. Can we call Guanajuato a failed state? one journalist asked.

“We are fighting for peace and tranquility in the whole country, but it’s a long, complex process,” reflected the president, without naming any specific strategies. One city in Guanajuato was reported as the most dangerous in the world last year and another came fifth.

Friday

The conference was short on Friday as the president had a flight to catch. Due to his particularly talkative mood, only one journalist managed to pose questions.

A success of sorts was announced: the seventh and final body had been retrieved from the collapsed mine in Múzquiz, Coahuila.

The chosen journalist pressed hard on behalf of the miners’ families for details about the mine’s contract holder and whether a national protocol for mining disasters would be implemented.

“You will see everything, everything … we are working constantly,” the president said, turning to blame his “corrupt” predecessors.

Before closing for the weekend, AMLO showed his selective side and excused his friend Alberto Fernández, the president of Argentina, for his controversial observations on Latin American ancestry.

“The Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentinians came on boats, and those boats came from Europe,” Fernández had said.

“He committed an error in expression,” the president concluded generously, shortly before heading for the airport.

Mexico News Daily

Victims of crocodile attack are recovering but process will be a long one

By
Rose Egelhoff
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Manialtepec Lagoon in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.
Manialtepec Lagoon in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. @TeInvitoaOaxaca

A British woman has been discharged from hospital and her sister is in stable condition after the two survived a crocodile attack in Oaxaca June 6.

A tour of Manialtepec Lagoon in Puerto Escondido turned into a nightmare for twin sisters Melissa and Georgia Laurie, who had  joined a group of friends for a boat tour of the pristine lagoon, a place teeming with birds and other fauna.

But unknown to the sisters, many crocodiles also make their home there among the mangroves, and it was hatching season.

“I actually said to the guide, ‘This looks like a place where crocodiles make their home,'” Georgia Laurie told BBC news.

But she said the tour guide — a German national who apparently has since fled — told the tourists it was safe to swim, correcting information given in previous reports, which also said the women were on a night tour to see the lagoon’s famous bioluminescence. In fact, it was early afternoon when the incident occurred.

As they enjoyed a dip, Melissa was suddenly pulled underwater by a crocodile. It attacked three times, puncturing Melissa’s leg and stomach before Georgia sprang into action, punching the animal in the nose until it left. A local conservationist said the animal was most likely a mother defending her brood.

Local ornithologist and boatman Lalo Escamilla heard cries for help and waded into the shallows to help the women.

In an interview, he expressed concern that the irresponsible actions of unlicensed guides could hurt the business of legitimate guides like himself. He said some foreigners in Puerto Escondido give cheap boat tours and undercut the local guides.

“They’re not guides … They’re not federally-approved experts, they don’t know this place. That’s the problem,” he said.

Melissa was taken to the hospital with deep cuts, lacerations, a broken wrist and water in her lungs. She later developed sepsis from a ruptured intestine and was put into an induced coma. Georgia also required treatment for her hand, which was slashed in the struggle.

Now Georgia has been discharged and Melissa has emerged from the coma. But her injuries are serious and Georgia still struggles to sleep as images of the attack crowd her mind. For both sisters, the recovery process will take time.

With reports from BBC News

Artisan forges beauty, utility from waste on the forest floor

By
John Pint
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Marina Bañuelos pine-needle bowl with cover
Bañuelos boils and dries pine needles to make her artisan pieces and can dye them almost any color.

Consider the humble pine needle.

Once it has done its vital job of transforming carbon dioxide into oxygen, it falls to the ground, its life over, only to be trampled upon by a passing deer, good for absolutely nothing — or is it?

I hate to confess it, but once upon a time, the only use I knew for a pine needle was slipping one into the pant leg of a fellow camper as a practical joke.

Yes, like many a hiker, I had discovered — the hard way — the remarkable ability of pine needles to ascend pant legs thanks to their pointy tips and the built-in spring action of their shape.

This allows them to move up but never down, in this way perfectly simulating the movement of whatever creeping creature you would least like to feel scurrying up your leg and heading for your private parts.

Marina-working-with-wet-pine-needles
Bañuelos says she likes to recycle what nature tosses away into something beautiful.

Sad to say, that was, for many years, the only use I knew of for a pine needle.

That was before I walked into the humble home of Marina Bañuelos in the little village of Emiliano Zapata, which lies 20 kilometers west of Guadalajara, just along the western perimeter of Jalisco’s sprawling Primavera Forest.

Karina Aguilar, director of Guadalajara’s network of urban parks, had mentioned Marina’s name to me on several occasions.

“You should see what she does with pine needles,” she had told me.

But I must confess I was imagining nothing more exciting than key chains as I stood before Marina’s kitchen table, waiting for this humble, unassuming mother to show me her crafts.

Well, my eyes and those of my companions literally bulged as Marina and her husband slowly filled that little table with exquisitely beautiful baskets, jars, vases, hot pads, purses, napkin holders, bowls and even a fully functioning table lamp. At the end, there was hardly any room left for a rack filled with very nice earrings, pins, necklaces and, of course, the inevitable key chains.

Pine-needle jug by Mexican artisan Marina Bañuelos
Pine-needle jar. Bañuelos can achieve different coloring even with undyed needles by controlling how she dries them.

“How did you ever learn to make all of these things?” I asked.

“Something like 15 years ago,” Marina replied, “I was working in a pharmaceutical laboratory, but the hours were making it very difficult for me to take proper care of my family. Then I heard about a course in Artesanías de Ocochal (Pine Needle Art) that was being given in the Primavera Forest.

“I took the course, quit my job and I’ve been making things out of pine needles ever since. I like doing this, and I like the fact that I am recycling a natural product from the forest, turning what is considered waste into something beautiful.”

Of the 27 people who took that course, only Marina has continued to produce pine needle handicrafts.

“This kind of work is ideal for a mother. You can do just about everything inside your home. But then you have to take your pieces somewhere to sell them, and that’s what discouraged the other people who took that course.”

Probing a little deeper, I learned that another off-putting aspect of this craft is that it hurts your fingers.  “But then you develop calluses,” said Marina, “and it no longer bothers you … Well, not so much, anyway.”

Marina Bañuelos with her pine-needle artisan items
Bañuelos, left, shows her creations to a visitor from the United States.

“Let me tell you how we prepare our material.” continued Marina. “First, we collect the pine needles from the forest, then we select the ones that are not too fat and not too thin and as long as possible. I prefer the needles of the Michoacán pine and Pinus oocarpa (also known as Mexican yellow pine or egg-cone pine).

“Then I boil the needles and clean them. There’s a kind of cap where the needles are joined together, and this must be removed. Finally, I put the wet needles into plastic bags to keep them moist and flexible. This way, they are workable, but when they’re dry, they break easily and can jab you.”

Marina also explained that she can produce two different natural hues in her pieces by drying some pine needles in the sunlight and others in the shade.

“Of course,” she added, “I also have techniques for dying the pine needles just about any color you can imagine.”

Marina’s finished product is very tough and resilient.

“You can wash it, and you can cut it,” she said, “and it’s amazing how these things made of pine needles always keep their original aroma. If you own a pine-needle basket, you always have a little bit of the woods in your home.”

Marina Bañuelos pine-needle basket
Once the pine needles have been steamed, it takes from 12 to 15 hours to make a basket like this one.

I asked how long it took her to make the large jarón (something like a vase) that she showed me.

“It took 20 days,” she said. “I am selling it for 800 pesos, but in terms of the work required to make it, the price should be much higher. Nevertheless, some people still complain that it’s too expensive.”

In addition to pine needles, Marina incorporates pinecones and various seeds into her designs. In one bracelet, for example, I found fascinatingly shaped cat’s-claw pods, jojoba and peach seeds, frijoles (beans) and mini coconuts (coquitos) from the queen palm tree.

“In 2019,” Marina told me, “I participated in a meeting of artisans in Monterrey where there were people from Puebla who work with pine needles, but they have a different sewing technique. You might say they do the opposite of what we do here in Guadalajara. So they showed me their technique, and I showed them my methods for coloring pine needles.“

It is said that Mexico has more species of pine tree than any other country. That being the case, I figured there ought to be a few more uses for pine needles than those I now know about.

I found out that they are good as fire starters or mulch, but most interestingly I learned (from Gerry the Forest Ranger) that pine needle tea has many medicinal properties.  Fresh pine needles, he says, especially those of the Douglas fir, contain five times the amount of vitamin C found in lemons.

Marina Bañuelos with artisan creations
Bañuelos is carrying a pine-needle purse and wearing a cats-claw-seed necklace.

Gerry also mentions that pine needles contain high levels of vitamin A and antioxidants.

“There is researched evidence that pine needle tea can help to slow the aging process,” he said. “Taoist priests drank pine needle tea as they believed it made them live longer.”

Want to give it a try? Just boil water and pour it over your fresh pine needles. A few minutes later, enjoy your healthy, longevity-boosting tea. I tried it using Pinus Oocarpa needles and found the flavor, well, every bit as delightful as tepid tap water. I guess I’d better give the Michoacán pine a try next.

Should you ever find yourself in the neighborhood of Emiliano Zapata (one of the gateways for entering a particularly spectacular part of the famed Primavera Forest) look for Marina’s house at No. 7 on the main street or just input “P99F+F4 Emiliano Zapata, Jalisco” on Google Maps.

You can also contact Marina through her Facebook page Quichali or send her a WhatsApp on her mobile phone: 556 602 5191.

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for 31 years and is the author of A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area and co-author of Outdoors in Western Mexico. More of his writing can be found on his website.

Marina Bañuelos pine-needle art
Dyed seeds and pine needles combine to make colorful earrings.

 

Marina Bañuelos artisan pieces
Bañuelos’ pens and key chains.

 

Marina Bañuelos in Emiliano Zapata, Jalisco
This distinctive window makes it easy to find Marina Bañuelos’ home in the little town of Emiliano Zapata.

 

Marina Bañuelos cat's-claw-necklace
A cat’s-claw-necklace.

 

Marina Bañuelos cat's claw seed earrings
Cat’s-claw-seed earrings. She also incorporates items like pinecones and, in this case, jojoba and cowpea seeds into her creations.

Kamala Harris urged AMLO not to interfere in the work of NGOs: report

By
MND Staff
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kamala harris
Vice President Harris had been asked specifically about two Mexican NGOs.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris asked President López Obrador to allow non-governmental organizations to carry out their work without government interference, according to the EFE news agency, which spoke with Harris on Thursday.

But a spokesperson for the United States’ first female vice president walked back her reported remarks, telling EFE that Harris only made that request to Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, whom she met before traveling to Mexico City for talks with López Obrador on Tuesday.

“… Harris referred only to Guatemala, and not Mexico, in comments she made about civil society and NGOs this Thursday during an exclusive interview with EFE, her office assured after said interview,” the Spanish news agency said.

EFE originally reported that Harris said she was deeply concerned about government interference in the work of NGOs in both Guatemala and Mexico, where López Obrador has been scathing of organizations such as Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) and press freedom group Article 19, and the United States government’s funding of them.

(The White House announced last week that it would in fact increase support to international partners committed to the elimination of corruption despite the Mexican president calling on the U.S. government to stop funding what he described as political groups that disguise themselves as NGOs.)

“This is an issue that concerns me deeply because we want to ensure that there is independence, an independent judicial system [and] an independent press, and that non-profit organizations, NGOs, can do their work without interference. I made that very clear,” Harris said.

Her remarks came in response to a question in which López Obrador’s request that the U.S. cut its funding of some NGOs (those that have been critical of his government) was mentioned.

The vice president also told EFE that she was “very frank” with López Obrador and Giammattei, explaining that she told both leaders that she was worried about corruption and impunity in their countries.

“I was very direct with each of them with respect to those concerns,” she said.

Harris said she believed that the Guatemalan president and López Obrador, who has made combatting corruption and impunity the central goal of his administration, both valued her frankness.

EFE also asked the vice president about the blunt message she sent to potential migrants during her visit to Guatemala.

Harris and López Obrador at the National Palace on Tuesday.
Harris and López Obrador at the National Palace on Tuesday.

“I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border,” Harris said Monday.

Responding to EFE’s question – what do you tell people fleeing their country to save their lives or who have other legitimate reasons to seek asylum? Do you tell them ‘don’t come’ as well? – the vice president said: “Let me be very clear, I am committed to making sure we provide a safe haven for those seeking asylum, period.”

The softening of her language came after she was criticized by some members of the Democratic Party, including congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who called the vice president’s remarks “disappointing.”

“First, seeking asylum at any U.S. border is a 100% legal method of arrival,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “Second, the U.S. spent decades contributing to regime change and destabilization in Latin America. We can’t help set someone’s house on fire and then blame them for fleeing.”

Harris also told EFE that the Biden administration wants to “expand legal pathways for immigration” to the United States.

“We are also rebuilding our immigration system, to the extent that it deteriorated under the Trump administration, but also we must address the root causes of migration, and that is why I traveled to Guatemala and then after that to Mexico,” she said.

During her visit to Mexico City, Mexican and U.S. officials signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a strategic partnership to address the lack of economic opportunities in northern Central America, namely Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, countries from which large numbers of migrants have fled recently to seek asylum in the United States.

The White House said in a statement that the U.S. and Mexico “will work together to foster agricultural development and youth empowerment programs” in those three countries and “will co-create and co-manage a partnership program enabling them to better deliver, measure, and communicate about assistance to the region.”

López Obrador, who faced criticism for getting Harris’ title wrong when he welcomed her to the National Palace and appearing to mispronounce her first name, said his meeting with the vice president was “important, beneficial for our people and very pleasant.”

With reports from EFE/ Sin Embargo (sp), Expansión Política (sp) and Forbes México (sp) 

6 municipal police officers arrested in murder of Hidalgo doctor

By
Rose Egelhoff
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Beatriz Hernández died while in police custody.
Beatriz Hernández died while in police custody.

State authorities in Hidalgo have arrested six municipal police officers and a jail director in the murder of a medical doctor.

Dr. Beatriz Hernández, 29, was arrested after a traffic accident Wednesday in Progreso de Obregón and was allegedly intoxicated at the time.

According to a press release issued by local authorities, Hernández was sent to a retention area before police took a break to eat. When they returned, they found that Hernández was dead.

The municipal government said on social media that before her death Hernández was visited by a man who said he was her father. She was later found “suspended by an object around her throat,” they said. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where her death was confirmed.

But according to a report by the news service ADN40, her father determined that Hernández had been beaten and asked police officers that she be released. He left his daughter to find out what the charges were against her but when he returned jail personnel were attempting to resuscitate the woman.

The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating the death as a possible femicide.

Friends and family of the deceased gathered Thursday to protest and demand more information about the death.

The Progreso de Obregón government maintains that Hernández was inebriated and took her own life after a fight with her father.

The mayor said in a press release that the local police officers’ arrests were illegal, given that they had voluntarily given witness statements. The mayor also said 50 state police officers turned up at municipal police headquarters and seized officers’ weapons.

With reports from Criterio (sp), ADN40 (sp) and El Financiero (sp)

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