Economic benefit seen in artisanal production of face masks

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September 7, 2020

An artisan at work on a coronavirus face mask.

The federal government and at least two private companies are supporting initiatives to produce handmade face masks in communities whose economies have taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic.

The National Fund for the Promotion of Handicrafts (Fonart), a government organization, is managing one project in which artisans from 14 states are making cloth masks using traditional techniques.

Fonart has provided artisans with 1.85 million pesos (US $85,560) to buy materials and also offered them training to ensure that the masks they make meet health requirements.

A total of 139 groups of artisans, including ones made up of Mayan, Zapotec and Mixtec people, are participating in the initiative.

Fonart general director Emma Yanes Rizo said that each mask made by the participating artisans not only complies with Health Ministry requirements but also shows off the maker’s creativity.

The name of the maker and the community in which he or she lives is embroidered into the mask, details that help promote Mexico’s cultural diversity.

Among the towns where the masks are currently being made are Cuadrilla Nueva in Guerrero, San Andrés Larráinzar in Chiapas, Metepec in México state, Zautla in Puebla and San Bartolo Coyotepec in Oaxaca.

Fonart has already purchased 5,500 of the masks made with the funds it supplied and is selling them on its Facebook page, Amazon and in its stores. The money raised will be used to buy more materials for more masks, Yanes said.

The Fonart director said the plan is to continue the mask-making initiative as long as the coronavirus pandemic lasts.

Apart from generating an income for the artisans, many of whom live in towns where tourism has all but disappeared in recent months, the initiative ensures that local residents can access masks, Yanes said.

Similarly, the airline Volaris is supporting a social enterprise that is making face masks in the Sierra Tarahumara region of Chihuahua.

Daniel Gelemovich, the airline’s marketing and digital director, said that Volaris was aware that many communities and small businesses are currently going through tough times due to the pandemic and wanted to do something to help.

Sinibí Jipé, the social enterprise with which Volaris has partnered, works with isolated Tarahumara communities and provides employment opportunities for women who can thus help to support their families, he said.

The airline has already bought back 3,000 brightly-colored masks on which the name and photo of the maker are printed and has distributed them free of charge to its passengers, a move that promotes compliance with World Health Organization and International Air Transport Association recommendations that masks be used on flights and in airports.

“Passengers are still asking for them,” Gelemovich said, adding that those who have received the masks appreciated Volaris offering them.

The cement company Cemex is also supporting women in vulnerable communities, making a commitment to purchase 170,000 masks they will produce.

In partnership with the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry, the cement company intends to distribute the masks to workers employed by 100 large-scale projects across the country.

The initiative will provide much-needed income for artisans in poor communities and help protect construction workers from the risk of coronavirus infection.

Martha Herrera, a Cemex director, said the construction sector provides employment for millions of people across Mexico and that protecting their health is paramount.

Authorities in many states have made mask use mandatory although compliance with the directive is far from universal.

The federal government has sent mixed messages about the efficacy of masks in stopping the spread of the coronavirus, with Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell asserting early in the pandemic that that provided scant protection before later recommending their use as an an “auxiliary measure.”

Mexico has been one of the worst-hit countries by the pandemic, with more than 634,000 confirmed cases as of Sunday and 67,558 deaths.

Source: El Universal (sp)

What was Little Miss Muffet eating? The Indian version of requesón

By

Janet Blaser

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September 7, 2020

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Spinach squares made with Mexican requesón.

Lately I’ve been thinking about Little Miss Muffet, there on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey. (At least until that spider came along.)

I’ve long wondered what exactly she was eating and found the answer many years ago while I was exploring East Indian food. Curd is used extensively to make many Indian sweets and also added to vegetable dishes after it’s been kneaded, rolled into balls and deep-fried in ghee (clarified butter).

Whey — the liquid left once the milk has been curdled — can be sweetened and drunk hot like a tea, or used in soups and stews.

Requesón is the Mexican version of that same curd. As a simple cheese, requesón (ray-kay-SOHN) is almost the same as ricotta. If the curd is pressed longer and aged a bit, you have queso fresco, the slightly tart, crumbly white cheese that’s sprinkled on, well, almost everything in Mexico.

Traditional Mexican cooking includes requesón in many dishes, both sweet and savory: empanadas, tamales, enchiladas and taco fillings; to stuff squash blossoms; in flan; and pay de queso.

You can use requesón almost anywhere you would use ricotta: in lasagna, baked ziti, or in almost any pasta dish; in crepes or, of course, Italian cannoli; in cheesecake; with fruit and granola; blended or whipped as part of a dip, spread or salad dressing. One of my favorite breakfasts is a bowl of fresh requesón mixed with cut-up fruit (mangos, pineapple and banana are my go-tos) drizzled with a little honey and maybe a sprinkle of sliced toasted almonds.

It’s actually quite easy to make your own requesón (recipes below), but if you’re going to buy it, look for fresh-made. Most small tiendas will be sourcing their queso fresco and requesón from a local farmer and you can ask when they’re delivered to be sure you get them fresh. (There’s a taste difference, after even three to four days.)

The next best thing is to go to the deli counter at Mega or La Comer or whatever big grocery store you shop at and get it fresh-cut off a big wheel. Your last choice should be packaged requesón, which will not be at all like the fresh.

Fresh Requesón (Stovetop)

It’s easy to make this simple cheese. I like it without the added salt — see what you prefer. A fine-mesh strainer eliminates the need for cheesecloth.

2 qts. / 2 liters whole milk
2 Tbsp. white vinegar (plus more if needed) OR 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Optional: 1 tsp. salt

In a heavy-bottomed pot (if possible), heat milk and salt, if using, over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning. When milk just begins to boil or reaches 165 F, remove immediately from heat and gently stir in vinegar or lemon juice. As soon as curds form and the whey becomes mostly clear and yellow, gently pour or spoon into a cheesecloth- or paper towel-lined strainer.

Allow to drain for only a few minutes until you have a spreadable consistency. (If you want a more solid cheese, let drain for up to an hour.) Upend the cheesecloth into a bowl and stir with a fork, breaking up curds until smooth. Store in refrigerator in sealed glass container or wrapped tightly in plastic, for three to four days.

Fresh Requesón (Microwave)

Use same ingredients as above.

Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes. (If you have a kitchen thermometer, the milk should reach 185-200 F.) Remove. Add vinegar or lemon juice to milk and stir gently. Let sit undisturbed for 1-2 minutes. The milk should separate into curds and whey. Strain as above.

Gnocchi de Requesón

Serve these gnocchi with any sauce you like: pesto, browned sage butter, tomato, Alfredo. They’re also great added to soups before they’ve been cooked, like tiny delicious dumplings.

15 oz. requesón
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1¼ cups Parmesan, plus more for serving
Salt & pepper
1 cup flour
3-4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Bring well-salted water to a boil in a large pot. In a large bowl, combine requesón, eggs, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Add flour gradually, stirring until you get a sticky dough. (Depending on how wet your requesón is, you’ll need more or less flour.) Using a tablespoon, scoop mixture into a ball and test-cook: dropping carefully into boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes, removing with a slotted spoon.

Gnocchi should rise and hold its shape. If it doesn’t hold its shape, add a little more flour to remaining batter and test again. Alternately, roll dough into a long rope, cut into ½-inch long pieces, and cook. Serves 6-8. – Chef Mark Bittman

Option: For crispier gnocchi, boil and drain them as usual. Then pan-fry in a little olive oil or butter for just a few minutes until edges are browned and crispy.

Spinach Squares

1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed (or equivalent fresh)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup shredded Manchego or Chihuahua cheese
5 eggs
1 cup requesón
½ cup milk
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Squeeze thawed spinach to remove as much of the water as you can; set aside. (If using fresh spinach, wash and chop fine.) Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté chopped onion for 2-3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cook 5-7 minutes more; add ½ tsp. salt. Remove from heat and when cooled slightly, mix with spinach and cheese in baking dish.

In blender or food processor, purée eggs, requesón, milk, ½ tsp. salt and pepper. Pour over spinach mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until center is set. Remove and cut in squares to serve.

Baked Requesón

When baked, this creamy, crowd-pleasing cheese dip puffs up like a souffle.

15 oz. fresh requesón
2 eggs
3½ oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Crackers, crostini, crudité for dipping
Optional: Honey, dried fruit or minced fresh cilantro or parsley to sprinkle/drizzle on top

Baked requesón is a crowd-pleasing cheese dip.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Generously butter a 2-cup baking dish or oven-safe bowl. Beat all the ingredients in a bowl with a fork or a standing mixer until well combined. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and bake until golden and puffed, 25-30 minutes. For best flavor, let cool slightly before serving straight from the baking dish.

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

VW van delivers free internet so students in Chiapas can study

By

Michelle Aguilar

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September 7, 2020

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Antonio Alfaro's free Wi-Fi service for students.

In the barrios of Comitán, Chiapas, where home internet is a rare commodity, students in need of Wi-Fi to do schoolwork during the coronavirus pandemic are getting it from an unusual source: a Volkswagen van.

It all started when Antonio Alfaro convinced his mother to open her store to children in need of Wi-Fi. He organized neighbors to donate chairs and tables and the two created a space where students could access the internet for 10 pesos.

But then Alfaro noticed more and more children arriving from other neighborhoods to study. In response, he dusted off his old Volkswagen van —also known in Mexico as a “combi.”

With help from technology-savvy friends, he outfitted the vehicle with an antenna and hooked it up to satellite internet, creating a mobile Wi-Fi hub that he now drives into Comitan’s poorer neighborhoods, offering free internet to anyone within 300 meters of where he’s parked.

Last Saturday, when he parked in in the Miguel Alemán neighborhood, it immediately attracted six children asking how much it was to connect. The children, who needed to do homework, were surprised to learn it was free.

After a news story publicized his efforts, teachers and other citizens in other parts of Chiapas have been contacting Alfaro to find out how he accomplished his mobile internet setup, with an eye for replicating it in their own communities.

According to Mexico’s statistics agency Inegi, Chiapas last year was ranked as one of the worst two states for internet availability, along with Oaxaca. Only 26.4% of Chiapas’ population had home internet access.

“I would love it if this became a statewide thing. I don’t have anyone’s support, just my family’s, but I would like Comitán’s municipal council … and the [city’s] school directors to organize study groups and then set up a schedule where the combiteca could go,” he said.

Combiteca is a combination of the Spanish words combi and biblioteca, the latter meaning “library.”

While Alfaro has big dreams for his initiative, his schedule is already quite busy: this Monday, the van will be parked in the Del Valle neighborhood starting at 9 a.m., then return to Alfaro’s San Sebastian neighborhood for renovations to give it the look of a library.

On Wednesday, it will arrive in Parmalá, the first rural community to request its presence.

Source: Reforma (sp)

Feminists take over human rights office, claim inaction on women’s rights

By

MND Staff

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September 7, 2020

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Offices of the Human Rights Commission have become a shelter.

A feminist collective has taken over the Mexico City headquarters of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and turned it into a shelter for victims of gender-based violence.

The Ni Una Menos (Not One Woman Less) Collective seized the historic center offices of the CNDH on Thursday and later knocked down the building’s sign and replaced it with a banner that reads, “Ni Una Menos Mexico Shelter House.”

The collective’s members claim the CNDH has failed to defend women’s rights and provide adequate assistance to those in need.

The commission’s Mexico City headquarters are “now our property, we’re not going to hand it over, it’s a squat for victims,” said Yesenia Zamudio, a collective member whose daughter was murdered in 2016.

She told the newspaper Reforma that victims of gender abuse who have nowhere to live will be welcomed at the CNDH offices, located a few blocks from Mexico City’s zócalo, or central square, on Cuba Street.

“We’re more suitable … for these premises than the parasitic people who were here before. We’re going to provide … legal advice and even accompany [women] to prosecutor’s offices,” Zamudio said in a separate interview with the newspaper El Universal.

She said that women from other parts of the country who have suffered sexual abuse as well as family members of victims of femicide and other gender crimes will also be welcomed.

“We want them to come with the peace of mind that they won’t have to pay for accommodation and that we’ll accompany them so that their demands and needs are met,” Zamudio said.

According to members of the collective, about 100 women have sought legal advice and psychological help at the CNDH offices since the takeover late last week. Legal and medical professionals who belong to the group are attending to the requests for help, they said.

Some 30 people who are direct or indirect victims of abuse are currently staying on the second floor of the CNDH offices, the members said.

One woman who made her way to the human rights headquarters-cum-shelter is Karla García, who told El Universal that authorities failed to follow up her complaint against an ex-partner who abused her and even tried to run her over in his car.

The protesters removed a painting from the building, defaced it and put it up for auction.

“The despair of not having results is what makes me come here. … Between us [victims of gender abuse] we understand each other, we know the needs we have and that we must support each other. If the government isn’t doing anything, we’re going to show that we can defend ourselves,” she said.

García said she was afraid that her ex-partner might try to harm or abduct her 2-year-old son.

“I feel stronger here knowing that there are many of us. They [the authorities] ignore me individually but they’ll have to take notice of so many of us,” she said.

Another woman who arrived on Calle Cuba is Neztli Granados, who said that her ex-partner abducted her daughter about six weeks ago. She also said that authorities, including the CNDH, failed to look into the case.

“There’s no other choice, the CNDH has never spoken out in favor of our rights, the rights of victims of femicide and of children. We have no choice but to form a front and [try to] seek justice,” Granados said.

On Monday, members of the feminist collective and victims of gender violence called for the resignation of CNDH president Rosario Piedra, who was also criticized late last year after she claimed to be unaware that journalists had been killed during the current government’s term. (At least 13 journalists had been murdered when she made the remark just after she was sworn in as the new human rights chief last November).

“The head of this organization hasn’t met with us even for one minute,” said Zamudio. “If she can’t manage this work, [she should] resign. We demand justice.”

Activists said that if the CNDH doesn’t attend to their demands, they will call for a takeover of all its offices across the country.

“We’ll continue taking over [CNDH] premises because this [building] won’t be sufficient for so many families,” Zamudio said.

El Universal reported that the federal Interior Ministry was seeking to enter into dialogue with the disgruntled collective members so as to restore government control of the CNDH offices.

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

Woman with tiger cub draws attention in Polanco mall

By

Michelle Aguilar

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September 7, 2020

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A Mexico City woman has been drawing a lot of attention for walking a pet tiger cub in the wealthy Polanco neighborhood.

Pictures of the woman and her pet — and outrage about her owning it — have been trending on Twitter in Mexico ever since university student and Twitter user Zaira M. retweeted photos of the pair that went viral.

The woman, identified as Mina Ayala, has been seen out and about with the tiger since September 1, and various photos have been posted to social media. The most recent shows her and her pet in Polanco’s Antara Mall.

The owner has fired back on social media, pointing out that the animal is not a Bengal tiger and that owning an exotic species is legal in Mexico if the owner meets with requirements set by environmental officials.

The owner must obtain approval from the Ministry of the Environment and must prove that the animal will be confined under conditions that guarantee the safety of public. The owner must also show dignity and respect to the animal.

The Bengal tiger, one of the biggest wild cats in existence today, is native to the Indian subcontinent and is considered a threatened species in danger of extinction.

Environmental officials seized three exotic animals in February 2019, when they discovered a man was keeping three lions on a Mexico City rooftop terrace without the paperwork to show legal ownership.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Families of the missing continue to protest against lack of action

By

Jennifer Kennedy

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September 7, 2020

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A participant wipes away tears during an international search caravan in Michoacán last year. Alan Ortega

Family members of Jalisco’s disappeared gather inside Guadalajara Cathedral. Some carry white roses. Others clutch photos of their missing loved ones. A priest solemnly reads the names of men, women and children who have gone missing in the state in recent years.

In the street outside, activists tie white ribbons to a fence, each one bearing the name of a missing person. They light candles and call for justice. A women shouts into a megaphone:

“We are not two. We are not three. We are not four. We are not five. We are 10,000 people disappeared in the state of Jalisco. Wake up. Wake up, Jalisco …”

To mark International Day of the Disappeared on August 30, families of the missing in Jalisco and other states took part in protests and online campaigns to draw attention to the burgeoning human rights crisis.

They criticized the state’s failure to investigate the disappearances and to protect its citizens.

According to Karla Quintana Osuna, the head of the National Search Commission, there were 73,200 people missing in Mexico as of July.

Jalisco has the second-highest number of disappearances in the country – approximately 13% of cases nationally. Between June 1, 1995 and July 31, 2020, some 9,341 people disappeared without being found, according to the state’s Institute of Statistical and Geographical Information.

Miguel Ángel Chávez Cárdenas, a lawyer, is one of them.

His sister, Esperanza Chávez Cárdenas, is a member of Por Amor a Ellxs (For the Love of Them), one of many collectives formed of family members of the disappeared. She has been searching for her brother for six long years.

She told Mexico News Daily that the 54-year-old Chávez had disappeared without a trace on May 16, 2014.

On that day, the family had been celebrating the birthday of Chávez’s youngest son. They went to his sister’s house in Guadalajara to pick up a cake and a piñata to take to a restaurant. Chávez left the house before the others. But he never arrived at the party.

Families of the missing are left with memories and photos. Alan Ortega

“We left just behind him and we passed the place where [the police] think he disappeared. I passed there, but I didn’t see anything. It all happened so quickly. It’s been six years now and we don’t know anything about what happened to him because the prosecutor is not investigating,” said Esperanza Chávez.

She and other members of Por Amor a Ellxs are frustrated by and critical of what they call is the lack of action by Jalisco’s Special Prosecutor for Disappeared Persons. Created in 2017, the office was supposed to improve radically the investigation of disappearances.

But Chávez said that little has changed. “They are obstructing [the families]. They don’t want to give us copies [of evidence] and you can’t visit without an appointment. I feel they are treating the families very badly.”

She said that she herself had not been mistreated, but she gave many examples of families who had been victimized.

“The public prosecutor publicly announced that a women [who had gone missing] was a drug dealer. Can you believe this? It should have been kept private. I believe that other states are the same, like Guanajuato and many other places. They’re all bad, but we cannot allow [the authorities] to victimize us in this way.”

In another case, Chávez said a man who had been kidnapped from his home was later found alive but traumatized in a drug treatment center, even though he was not an addict. Despite evidence that he had been abducted, the police closed the case. The family was left without answers or legal recourse.

Nonetheless, Por Amor a Ellxs has some trust in Jalisco’s State Search Commission.

Such commissions have been set up in most of Mexico’s states following the creation of the 2017 general law of disappearances, which was drawn up after pressure from families of the disappeared.

Chávez said the commission had successfully initiated searches leading to the discovery of missing persons. And although it does not have the power to prosecute, the commission does coordinate with and provide evidence to the public prosecutor’s office.

However, Barbara Frey, director of the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota and an expert on human rights in Mexico, explained that state search commissions “vary in effectiveness, are under-resourced” and lack the expertise to investigate complex cases, which many of them are.

In Michoacán, families of missing persons have had negative experiences of the state’s new search commission, for example.

Laura Orozco Medina, a member of the collective Familiares Caminando por Justicia (Families Walking for Justice), said, “We have many criticisms. At this time, it is not clear what actions the commissioner is taking to address disappearances in the state.”

International Day of the Disappeared was celebrated August 30 in Guadalajara. Por Amor a Ellxs

Orozco is searching for her two brothers and her father.

Between 2008 and 2010, her brothers Leonel and Moisés and her father Leonel were allegedly forcibly disappeared by the now defunct Federal Investigations Agency (AFI) and members of the municipal police.

In addition, Orozco’s brother, José Iván, who had been falsely accused of a drug charge in 2007, was jailed for five years before being acquitted in 2012. Also a member of Familiares Caminando por Justicia, he was shot dead by two men in 2018.

The family, who lived in the small rural community of Nuevo Zirosto in western Michoacán, were targeted for extortion for their avocado orchards. Laura Orozco alleged that forced disappearances in Michoacán are being carried out by the state to create fear, occupy land and steal resources.

Describing life before they were targeted, she said: “We were a farming family and we dedicated ourselves to the cultivation and production of avocados. We were a very close, happy family. We were a normal family, like any other.”

Speaking about her own case and the experience of other members of Familiares Caminando por Justicia, Orozco said: “Everything has changed for all the members of the group, not just for me. The life plans of each member has been broken.

“In addition, the psychosocial impact of these serious human rights violations has been harsh. It is not something that ever leaves you. It is something that continues to exist. Although you learn to live with it, this does not mean it is ever over.”

The lack of action on behalf on the authorities has meant that groups such as of Por Amor a Ellxs and Familiares Caminado por Justicia have had to lobby for adequate laws. Today their work includes organizing search caravans, participating in forums, and creating visibility for the victims of disappearances and their families through art, performances and protests.

However, change is frustrated by high levels of impunity and the lack of political will.

“We have institutions, but there is still the same impunity. We have laws, but they are not applied.”

She added, “As long as the country is unwilling to investigate the cases, the chains of command, and the criminal and drug networks that are embedded in serious human rights violations, [Mexico] is not going to move forward.”

Mexico News Daily

Aguascalientes bets on wine route for economic boost

By

Michelle Aguilar

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September 7, 2020

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aguascalientes wine tour — The tour event runs until September 13.

Attempting to reactivate the state’s tourism economic sector in the face of Covid-19, the Aguascalientes government has opened a new wine route to visitors.

The state is marking the route’s inauguration with a special 10-day event that started September 3, offering more than 300 activities to wine aficionados at 10 wineries and six other “complementary sites” around the state. The Ruta del Vino event ends next Sunday.

State Tourism Minister Humberto Montero said the tourism sector has been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which he says is clear from the wide range of businesses participating in the route and attempting to mitigate the economic effects.

However, Montero sees the new wine route as supporting much more than just the gastronomical producers directly involved, adding that hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, taxi drivers, and even musicians benefit, “an endless supply of service providers in the state that we are putting in motion.”

Montero projected that the event will garner 33 million pesos in revenues, attracting between 32,000 and 35,000 visitors.

The tour features 10 wineries and six complementary attractions.

More than a short-term solution, the route’s goal is threefold, not only revitalizing the economy but also recovering Aguascalientes’ tradition as a grape producer and diversifying its tourism offerings. While the current event ends Sunday, the route participants’ sites will continue to welcome visitors indefinitely and state officials plan to expand the route by the end of 2020 with seven more vineyards.

The additional vineyards are currently working on developing their sites to give tourists “a distinct experience,” Montero said.

The open-air nature of vineyards and the limited-capacity attendance that will be required at each site make this sort of tourist activity ideal, Montero said, adding that each site will have different capacity restrictions and that visitors will have to make a reservation through the wine route’s website to attend.

Each participating site has been validated as a safe space by the state’s Guardia Sanitaria, a force of 50 medical professionals created earlier this year to monitor compliance with Covid-19 sanitary rules by businesses and other public spaces like daycare centers and open-air markets.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Electoral institute rejects Calderón’s new political party over ‘unidentified’ funding

By

MND Staff

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September 7, 2020

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Zavala, center, was optimistic last week that party status would be granted to México Libre.

The National Electoral Institute (INE) has rejected an application to register a political movement created by former president Felipe Calderón and his wife Margarita Zavala as a political party due to questions over its funding.

Seven members of the INE general council voted against the registration of México Libre (Free Mexico) while four voted in favor.

The general council said that it rejected the application because more than 5% of México Libre’s funding came from “unidentified people.”

INE President Lorenzo Córdova said before Friday’s vote that the presence of “opaque money” among the would-be party’s resources was sufficient reason to reject its registration. He said later that there were questions about 8.2% of México Libre’s funding.

The decision to reject the movement’s application – effectively blocking it from contesting the 2021 midterm elections – can be challenged before the federal electoral tribunal, recourse México Libre said it would take immediately.

“Contrary to the law and without any foundation, the INE general council today rejected the registration of México Libre. … We will immediately challenge this absurd resolution,” the organization said on Twitter.

On the same social media platform, Calderón, president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012, rejected INE’s claim that some of the movement’s funding came from unidentified sources. The donations in question were made via the online payment platform Clip and the identity of the people who made them is known by the INE, he said.

“You’re lying, Lorenzo Córdova. Each and every one of our donors is perfectly identified. You know it, you hid it. It’s a day of shame for you, for INE and for the memory of Arnaldo, who would be ashamed of your decision,” Calderón wrote on Twitter.

Arnaldo is Córdova’s late father, who was an academic and served as a federal deputy in the 1980s.

Calderón said that México Libre had submitted all its donation receipts to the INE as well as documents that identified its donors.

The ex-president also said that the INE decision wouldn’t stop México Libre from pursuing its political ambitions.

México Libre founders Zavala and Calderón.

The rejection of its application to be registered as a party came after the INE fined México Libre 2.3 million pesos (US $106,400) for irregularities related to donations it received. In handing down the fine, the institute said the movement had received more than 1 million pesos in funding from unidentified persons.

In a video message posted to social media, President López Obrador praised the decision to reject México Libre’s registration as a party, describing it as a “triumph of the people of Mexico.”

Speaking from his ranch in Palenque, Chiapas, the president said that Catholics and evangelicals who support his government would say that the decision against Calderón’s political movement is “divine justice” while non-believers would describe it as “earthly justice.”

“Skeptics” would say the INE decision was a “dirty trick” because the electoral tribunal will later overturn it, ensuring that México Libre is registered as a political party, López Obrador said.

“They surely hold that … if Felipe [Calderón] stole the presidency of the republic [López Obrador claims that he was the rightful winner of the 2006 election], how will he not able to register a political party if he’s used to succeeding without moral scruples of any kind,” he said.

But the president said he believed that “things have changed” in Mexico and the country is now living through “other times” and “new circumstances.”

López Obrador advised Calderón, with whom he has long had a testy relationship, to summon “friends” who helped him in the 2006 election, including powerful businessman and sections of the media, to “go out to the streets to peacefully protest” the INE decision.

The president himself protested alleged fraud at the 2006 election by convening massive street demonstrations in Mexico City.

Apparently speaking tongue in cheek, the president told Calderón that if he fails to find justice in Mexico, he has the option to take his case to “his friends” in the Organization of American States in Washington D.C.

López Obrador said that Calderón shouldn’t take his case to New York even though the United Nations is located there because that’s where his security minister Genaro García Luna is awaiting trial on charges he colluded with and accepted bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel.

The president asserted a month ago that Mexico was a narco state during Calderón’s administration given evidence that has emerged against García Luna.

In response to López Obrador’s video message, Zavala – who launched a bid for the presidency in 2018 but withdrew from the race 1 1/2 months before the election – highlighted that she leads México Libre, not her husband.

The president mocked Calderón in a video recorded at his ranch in Chiapas.

She said in a Twitter message that she was unsurprised that the president had referred to México Libre as Calderón’s party given his record of “detracting women.”

Zavala said the movement she leads is made up of more than 250,000 Mexicans who “must be respected” and claimed that López Obrador had confessed to pressuring the INE and is now threatening the Electoral Tribunal.

“With you [as president], democracy loses [and] Mexico loses,” she wrote.

In a subsequent video conference with México Libre supporters, the former first lady – who many people believe is planning to run for the presidency again in 2024 – said that donations to the would-be party were made with credit cards and via bank transfers to avoid “envelopes and bags.”

The remark was a reference to two videos that surfaced last month in which the president’s brother, Pío López Obrador, is seen receiving large amounts of cash in an envelope and paper bag.

The money, handed over in 2015 by a Chiapas government advisor who became Civil Protection chief in the López Obrador administration, was apparently donations for the now-ruling Morena party, which the president founded in 2014.

Zavala also claimed that there is an “operation” within the federal government to stop México Libre. For his part, Calderón has claimed that the political movement he co-founded with his wife will become the sole alternative to Morena.

Speaking at the movement’s national assembly in February, the ex-president asserted that México Libre will restore balance to Mexico’s political landscape and provide people with a “different option” at the ballot box.

México Libre will be the only party that “can save our beloved Mexico,” he claimed.

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

Despite an uptick, Health Ministry sees 6-week downward trend in virus cases

By

MND Staff

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September 7, 2020

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Coronavirus case total rose to 634,023 on the weekend.

New coronavirus case numbers declined or remained stable for six consecutive weeks between mid-July and late August, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said Sunday.

He told the Health Ministry’s coronavirus press briefing that new case numbers have generally trended downwards since epidemiological week 30, which ran from July 19 to 25.

Between weeks 33 – August 9 to 15 – and 34, “there wasn’t a reduction but at least there wasn’t an increase,” he said.

López-Gatell noted Friday that the reduction in new case numbers had stalled between weeks 33 and 34 and attributed the “disconcerting” leveling off to the further reopening of the economy.

The deputy minister told reporters Sunday that data currently shows that new case numbers declined 15% between weeks 34 and 35, which concluded on August 29.

However, a decline of that size is unlikely to be maintained because the Health Ministry is still registering coronavirus data for the latter week.

“This number won’t remain 15%, it might be 14, 13 or 12; we can’t predict by how much it will reduced,” López-Gatell said, adding that final data might show that case numbers actually plateaued between weeks 34 and 35.

“But it’s important to have the expectation that [new case numbers] won’t rise,” he said.

López-Gatell also said that the positivity rate – the percentage of Covid-19 tests that come back positive – declined continuously in recent weeks.

The positivity rate reached 57% in epidemiological week 29 – July 12 to 18 – but by week 35 it had declined to 40%, he said.

Mexico’s positivity rate is still very high compared to most other countries because testing is mainly targeted at people with serious coronavirus-like symptoms.

Coronavirus cases and deaths reported by day. milenio

López-Gatell warned that coronavirus case numbers could spike in October at the same time that the seasonal flu begins to circulate. Influenza and the coronavirus could coexist until March or April next year, he said.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s confirmed case tally increased to 634,023 after 4,614 new cases registered by the Health Ministry on Sunday and 6,319 on Saturday. Active case numbers are estimated to number 41,796.

The official Covid-19 death toll rose to 67,558 with 232 additional fatalities on Sunday and 475 on Saturday. However, various independent studies have concluded that the real death toll from the infectious disease is much higher.

That conclusion was supported by excess mortality data presented by the Health Ministry on Saturday that showed that there were 122,765 more deaths between March 15 – the first Covid-19 death was reported on March 18 – and August 1 than in the same period last year.

The real number of “excess” deaths is almost certainly much higher because the data presented was collected from only 24 of Mexico’s 32 states. Deaths in Chiapas, Durango, Guerrero, Michoacán, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Yucatán were not included in the data.

Ruy López Riadura, director of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control Programs, said there were 330,050 deaths in the 24 states between March 15 and August 1, 59% more than the 207,285 fatalities reported in the same states in the same period of last year.

He said that excess mortality was 70% for men and 47% for women, and that the 45-65 age bracket saw the biggest increase in deaths.

“Excess mortality has not been seen in those aged under 20. [Deaths in that age bracket] are below what was expected,” López added.

He said that the highest number of excess deaths corresponded to epidemiological week 29, which ran from July 12 to 18. The number of deaths recorded that week was 102% higher than last year, López said.

The health official said that not all the 122,765 excess deaths can be attributed to Covid-19, although it’s likely that the majority were caused by the disease.

The figure – derived from only three-quarters of Mexico’s states – is 159% higher than the number of Covid-19 fatalities reported by August 1, when the official Covid-19 death toll was 47,472.

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

National Guard seizes Michoacán gang’s homemade tank

By

Susy Buchanan

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September 5, 2020

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The latest narco tank discovered by Mexican authorities.

A genuine army tank may be hard to come by in Mexico, but cartels have got around that by producing their own, making improvised armored vehicles to give them the upper hand in battles with rival criminal gangs and the Mexican military.

The National Guard unveiled one such vehicle in photos posted to Twitter on Friday. It was found during a routine patrol in San José de Chila, Michoacán.

El Universal reports that the hulking black combat vehicle could belong to the Los Viagras cartel led by Nicolás Sierra Santana, alias “El Gordo,” which is known to operate in the state’s Tierra Caliente region.

Los Viagras are currently involved in a brutal turf war with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which released a video to social media showing its own convoy of armored vehicles in July.

Homemade tanks, which are often mounted with high-caliber weapons and turrets, baptized with names such as “Monster,” “Rhinoceros,” “Batmobile” and even “Popemobile.”

The vehicle is believed to have belonged to Las Viagras. — The vehicle is believed to have belonged to Los Viagras.

Over the past decade, cartels have even transformed trucks into narco tanks with Mad Max flare, affixing steel panels to the exterior that can be up to 25 millimeters thick. Some have had battering rams attached in order to plow through anything in their path, including police barricades.

One fortified vehicle found in Tamaulipas in 2011 was capable of speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour and had space for 12 passengers with two openings for deploying rocket-propelled grenades and firing rifles. It was also modified to James Bond capabilities and could produce an oil slick or jettison nails onto the roadway to foil pursuit.

A narco tank factory containing eight vehicles that were being modified with anti-ballistic plates was discovered in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, in 2015. In this case, the armor was attached to the inside of the vehicles so as not to attract attention.

In late January, the Mexican military seized an armored dump truck in the same region of Michoacán as the most recent find. It was also suspected of having belonged to Los Viagras.

Source: Infobae (sp)