Day of Dead Night Bike Ride draws record 147,000 riders

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November 11, 2019

A record 147,500 people took part in the annual Day of the Dead night bike right held Saturday in Mexico City, the Transport Secretariat said.

And while most enjoyed their nocturnal ride, some were victims of police brutality, according to a complaint.

Wearing a range of disguises and costumes, the cyclists completed an 18-kilometer route from the Fuente de Petroleos (Petroleum Fountain) on Reforma avenue to Plaza Tlaxcoaque in the historic center of the capital.

Mexico City Transportation Secretary Andrés Lajous, who participated in the ride, told the newspaper El Sol de México that one of the most gratifying aspects of the event was to see young children enjoying their city at night. Many families took part including some that took their pets along for the ride, which took place between 9:00 and 11:00pm.

A costume contest at the Angel of Independence monument, live music at different locations and the screening of short films promoting the use of sustainable transportation at Plaza Tlaxcoaque complemented the bicycle outing.

A costume contest at the Angel of Independence was part of the event.

While the vast majority of participants had an enjoyable and safe night, one young woman said that she and other cyclists were attacked by at least 20 police officers late on Saturday.

Twitter user @malitriushka said that after Reforma avenue reopened to traffic at about 11:00pm, the safety of cyclists riding on the road was threatened by an aggressively-driven Metrobús.

The woman said that she and other cyclists approached police to ask for assistance but were beaten and accused of theft.

“As a cyclist, as a woman, I saw the situation and decided to help. Now I have fractures and am accused of theft,” she wrote on Twitter. “They beat me and with false testimony they say I stole a hat,” the woman said in another post.

She also said that her boyfriend and three other people were detained by police and that their cell phones, which had recorded the incident, were confiscated.

The Secretariat of Citizens Security (SSC) said that one officer was injured after an altercation between cyclists and police and that it had launched an investigation into the incident and the alleged aggression by police.

If any wrongdoing on the part of police is uncovered, the guilty officers will be arrested and will face justice, the SSC said.

Source: El Sol de México (sp), Milenio (sp)

Interjet reports 70% increase in Canada-Mexico traffic this year

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Cody Copeland

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November 11, 2019

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Interjet's Mexico-Canada flights see big increases.

Interjet has increased its traffic between Canada and Mexico by 70% in the first 10 months of 2019.

The Cancún-Montreal route saw over 67,121 passengers during the period, a 137% increase over last year, while the Mexico City-Montreal route saw an increase of 95%, transporting 68,715 passengers.

The Cancún-Toronto route saw 69,080 passengers this year, an 81% increase.

The Mexican airline has six routes that connect Mexico City and Cancún to the Canadian cities of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

Interjet carried over 363,128 passengers between those destinations in 2019, to reach a seat occupancy rate of 83.6%.

The increases are not only due to Canadian tourism in Mexico. More Mexicans are visiting Canada as well.

Source: El Heraldo de México (sp)

Nayarit beach reopened after it was privatized in 2016

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Cody Copeland

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November 11, 2019

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A Nayarit beach that was closed to the public in 2016 has been reopened by the federal government.

The Secretariat of the Environment (Semarnat) revoked a concession for La Lancha beach to a real estate consortium, reopening it to the public.

The beach in Punta Mita was closed to the public when the office of maritime land zones (Zofemat) granted an exclusive concession of the land to a consortium comprised of DINE, Rancho Punta Mita and Cantiles de Mita.

Semarnat said it will file a complaint against Mariana Boy Tamborrell, then head of Zofemat and currently in charge of Mexico City’s environmental protection agency. The federal department claims that the privatization of La Lancha beach was illegal.

Environmentalists removed the company’s gate to the beach on Friday and invited people to visit once again.

The current director of Zofemat, Rodrigo Hernández Aguilar, said the Mexican government is committed to opening all of the country’s beaches up to the general public. His department will continue inspecting concessions to verify that they comply with regulations.

“This is an achievement for the people of Nayarit, considering that since 2016 they have denounced the closing of the beach on the part of the Cantiles de Mita, with the authorization of the Semarnat at the time, manipulating the laws for the company’s convenience,” he said.

In order to deliver on President López Obrador’s campaign promise to open up the country’s beaches, federal Environmental Secretary Víctor Manuel Toledo has asked people to keep in mind that Mexico’s coastal communities have enjoyed the beaches for hundreds of years.

He said he and his department will work to ensure that people recover the freedom of movement in their ancestral territories.

Sources: El Diario NTR (sp), Milenio (sp), La Silla Rota (sp)

10 bags of remains found on Guanajuato-Silao highway

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Cody Copeland

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November 11, 2019

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Bags and posters found on a Guanajuato highway.

Ten black plastic bags containing human remains were found on the Guanajuato-Silao highway early Saturday morning.

The bags were accompanied by several posters bearing threatening messages directed to the state Security Secretary Samuel Ugalde García. The messages were signed by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The bags contained the remains of what are assumed to be four youths who were recently kidnapped in the municipality of Santa Teresa. However, the identities of the victims had yet to be confirmed.

The specific content of the messages was not released, but photos of the scene clearly reveal the initials CJNG, those of the criminal organization led by Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes.

Unofficial reports said the posters revealed the identities of the victims.

Aside from making threats against Ugalde, they also claimed that the victims were kidnappers and extortionists.

Guanajuato has seen a surge in organized crime violence in 2019. The state led the country in murders in August, and clashes between the CJNG and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel have placed towns like Irapuato — where murders have increased 30% this year — among the country’s most dangerous.

Source: La Verdad (sp)

If the people don’t want the Maya Train, there won’t be one: AMLO

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MND Staff

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November 11, 2019

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Train will cause no environmental damage, AMLO promised during a speech in Quintana Roo.

The Maya Train project will only go ahead with the support of the people, President López Obrador declared on Saturday.

During an address at an event in Felipe Carillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, López Obrador asked the chief of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, Adelfo Regino, to consult with the residents of all communities along the route of the new railroad before the project is put out to tender in December.

A nationwide consultation, held just before the government took office last December, found 89.9% support for its construction.

The president said he didn’t want to start building the railroad, which will run through five states in southeast Mexico, if opposition meant that it couldn’t be completed.

“. . . If that’s the way it’s going to be, I’d be better off not starting it because I’m not going to leave an incomplete project,” López Obrador said.

“. . . If the people say go ahead, we’ll go ahead. If the people say no, we won’t . . . they will decide,” he added.

After an event in Temozón, Yucatán, earlier on Saturday, López Obrador told reporters that undertaking the Maya Train project is “extremely important for the southeast” because it will generate jobs and stimulate development.

“. . . Never in history has such an investment been carried out. In Yucatán alone, 20 billion pesos will be allocated [to the project],” he said.

In Yucatán and at a later event in Calakmul, Campeche, the president asserted that construction of the railroad won’t have a negative impact on the environment or the region’s archaeological sites because it will make use of a right of way obtained decades ago for the southeast railway.

“. . . It’s a project for the benefit of the people. We will be incapable of harming the environment and the cultural wealth of our people; have confidence that it will be for the benefit of the people,” López Obrador said in Campeche.

“. . . I don’t want to take a single step if I don’t have the support of the people . . . I’m not going to leave anything half-finished. I want to finish everything . . .” he added.

The Maya Train is one of three major infrastructure projects the government plans to build in the southeast of Mexico, all of which face opposition on environmental grounds.

Experts have warned that construction of the railroad poses risks to underground water networks on the Yucatán peninsula and the long-term survival of the jaguar, while there are also concerns about the impact that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec trade corridor will have on the environment.

The government itself has conceded that construction of a new oil refinery on the Gulf of Mexico coast in Tabasco will affect the quality of air and water in the area and have an impact on local wildlife but says the project remains viable because the negative effects “will be controlled, mitigated or compensated.”

Source: El Universal (sp)

Thieves nab gold and silver ingots worth up to US $8 million

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Cody Copeland

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November 11, 2019

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Stolen gold and silver ingots were being shipped from the Noche Buena mine in Sonora.

Thieves in Sonora stole a load of gold and silver ingots worth as much as US $8 million from an armored vehicle on Friday.

The 47 ingots, containing an alloy of gold and silver and called doré bars, belonged to the Penmont Mining Company and were being transported by the Sepsa security company when the vehicle was attacked by armed civilians on the Caborca-Sonoyta highway a little after 9:00pm.

The company revealed the estimated value of the loss in an official statement.

“The approximate total is estimated to be between $6 million and $8 million, which is insured according to the company’s security protocols.”

Unofficial reports have indicated that three Sepsa guards were injured in the attack.

The ingots were being shipped by Penmont, a company that is owned by mining giant Fresnillo, from the Noche Buena mine.

This is not the first time Penmont has been the target of highway robbery in the region.

In August 2015, an armed caravan of three vehicles stole four kilograms of gold and 100 ounces of crude silver, then valued at 4.3 million pesos (US $225,000), from a company vehicle.

Source: El Imparcial (sp)

AMLO announces social enterprise to buy honey at fair prices

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MND Staff

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November 11, 2019

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AMLO announced fair prices for honey during a visit to Temozón, Yucatán.

The federal government will create a social enterprise to buy Yucatán peninsula honey at fair and guaranteed prices, President López Obrador said on Saturday.

Speaking at a community event in Temozón, Yucatán, López Obrador said the idea came from Governor Mauricio Vila, who told him that Yucatán is the biggest honey-producing state in Mexico but producers receive the lowest prices in the country for their product.

“. . . According to the information that the governor gave us, there was previously a company that bought honey and there was a guaranteed price but things went badly for the company and there is no longer a guaranteed price . . . That’s why this injustice is committed [in Yucatán] . . . There is a lot of monopolization, a lot of price-fixing,” he said.

“We’re going to create a social enterprise that will buy all of Yucatán’s honey at a fair price, a guaranteed price and we’re going to seek to do the same for Campeche and Quintana Roo, all of the Yucatán peninsula . . .” López Obrador added.

A government collection center will be established where beekeepers can take their honey for sale, he explained. Private buyers “won’t disappear,” López Obrador claimed, but they will be forced to pay producers better prices.

The government has already established guaranteed prices for corn, beans, wheat, rice and milk as part of a plan to support farmers and help Mexico achieve food self-sufficiency.

López Obrador’s pledge to pay fair prices to honey producers came two days after the head of the National Science and Technology Council announced a bee conservation project on the Yucatán peninsula to counteract the threats apiculture faces from pesticides and genetically modified crops.

Source: Expansión Política (sp), Milenio (sp)

Searchers find remains of more bodies in Puerto Peñasco

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Cody Copeland

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November 11, 2019

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Officials at the site of Puerto Peñasco burial ground.

Led by a citizens’ search brigade, authorities in Sonora have found the remains of 10 more people near the tourist destination of Puerto Peñasco, bringing the total to 52 since search efforts began on October 23.

The discovery of the new bodies was made thanks to information gathered by the Searching Mothers of Sonora, who led authorities to the discovery of the remains of 42 people at the end of October.

The remains were taken to Hermosillo on Sunday for processing, cleaning and DNA testing. Results will be compared with genetic information provided by families searching for disappeared relatives.

State authorities in the capital Hermosillo had sent investigative and forensic experts to Puerto Peñasco to continue in the search for more possible discoveries.

So far, experts have carried out 18 autopsies, nine of which have been processed by the National Commission for the Search of Disappeared Persons.

Although the findings in October prompted the Sonora Attorney General’s Office to state it would support the Searching Mothers, the collective called out authorities on social media, claiming the support was nothing more than lip service.

Citizen-led search efforts are not uncommon in Mexico, where the National Search Commission’s registry of missing persons reached over 40,000 people earlier this year.

Sonora officials once again issued a call for all families with missing loved ones to submit DNA samples to cross-reference with DNA taken from the remains in order to identify the victims. Proper identifications require samples from at least two family members.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Fisherman gets nasty awakening when crocodile attacks

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Cody Copeland

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November 11, 2019

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boca barra, oaxaca — Beware of crocodiles.

A 65-year-old Oaxaca fisherman who had stretched out on the sand for nap last Friday morning received a rude awakening when a crocodile measuring over two meters long attacked.

The attack occurred on the Boca Barra beach in Santa María Colotepec, just east of the popular tourist destination, Puerto Escondido.

Despite the animal’s size the man, identified as Amadeo Barrera, was able to escape and was treated by paramedics before being taken to the hospital in Puerto Escondido.

He suffered lacerations to his arm, leg and head by the crocodile’s teeth and claws, but was reported in stable condition.

State Civil Protection head Heliodoro Díaz said the animal was not in its normal habitat. Boca Barra beach is located where the Colotepec river meets the Pacific Ocean, but the crocodiles aren’t known to make their way so close to the river’s mouth.

Locals have reported that higher water levels in rivers, streams and lagoons has increased the risk of crocodiles leaving their established areas, and also the likelihood that they will attack animals or people.

Municipal authorities have requested that the environmental protection agency Profepa verify that crocodiles have not relocated to smaller lagoons near populated areas.

Sources: NSS Oaxaca (sp), Milenio (sp)

500 years after the Conquest, descendants of Cortés, Moctezuma meet

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MND Staff

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November 9, 2019

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Five hundred years on, a hug between conqueror and conquered. Acosta, left, a descendant of Moctezuma, and Pignatelli, whose ancestor was Cortés.

Descendants of Aztec emperor Moctezuma II and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés met in Mexico City on Friday to mark the 500th anniversary of their ancestors’ first meeting.

Federico Acosta, a Mexican who traces his lineage back 16 generations to the daughter of Moctezuma, and Ascanio Pignatelli, an Italian whose ancestry goes back the same number of generations to Cortés’ daughter, shared a hug at the exact same spot where their forebears met on November 8, 1519 in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán.

They also visited the colonial church in the historic center of Mexico City where Cortés is buried.

Both men are sure of their lineage: Acosta’s family received a government pension granted to Moctezuma’s descendants until the 1930s, while Pignatelli’s family inherited one of Cortés’ noble titles but sold it 150 years ago.

Pignatelli traveled to Mexico on the invitation of filmmaker Miguel Gleason who is making a documentary about the Spanish conquest. He offered a personal apology to Acosta.

“I want to ask your forgiveness for all the bad things that happened,” he said. “We need to leave the past behind us. Today is a day for leaving all the bad things in the past.”

Acosta said the 500th anniversary of the meeting, which came two years before the Spanish conquered the Aztec empire, was “a historic moment” for all Mexicans.

“. . . We are the fusion of two cultures, the European and ours. We are the result of that meeting, the vast majority of us have Spanish and Mexican blood . . .” he said.

Asked if Mexico needs an apology from Spain, Acosta said no. “In the end, we are all family now,” he said.

However, President López Obrador, who requested an apology in March, renewed his call for Spain and the Catholic Church to say sorry during a visit to Yucatán on Friday.

“I still ask the king of Spain and Pope Francis, humbly, that they apologize for the abuses committed during the conquest and the colonial domination,” he said.

Upon reaching Tenochtitlán from the Atlantic coast in modern-day Veracruz, Cortés and his men were met by Moctezuma at the entrance to the city.

The tlatoani, or ruler, of the city built by the Mexica, or Aztec, people, greeted Cortés and his companions with courtesy and offered them gifts in the hope that they would leave.

However, the gifts whetted the Spaniards’ appetite for more riches and they remained in Tenochtitlán and eventually took Moctezuma hostage.

On June 30, 1520, the Aztecs revolted and drove the Spanish out of the city. Many Spaniards were killed during the uprising which came to be known as La Noche Triste (The Night of Sorrows). But Cortés and the surviving men regrouped and just over a year later, they had conquered Tenochtitlán.

Acosta said that he was proud of the civilization that his ancestors built.

“We had order, we had honor, we had everything, and if we recover that, we Mexicans have proven that we can be the best,” he said.

Moctezuma’s descendant declined to condemn the conquistadores for their brutality and massacres, stating that they should be judged by the standards of their day.

“It’s not that there were good people and bad people,” he said. “It’s that that’s the way things were done.”

In addition to meeting with Acosta in Mexico City, Pignatelli traveled to Cholula, Puebla, where more than 5,000 Cholutecas were massacred by the Spanish and their indigenous allies on their way to Tenochtitlán in 1519.

The Italian lamented the bloodshed, telling the newspaper Milenio: “I know that there was a lot of suffering here, a lot of pain.”

At a church atop the Great Pyramid of Cholula, Pignatelli prayed for forgiveness for the atrocities committed by his forebear 500 years ago. Earlier this week, he also visited the grave of Cortés’ great-granddaughter Doña Ángela Cortés y Arellano, in Veracruz.

Acosta, left, and Pignatelli: 'we are all family now.' — Acosta, left, and Pignatelli: ‘we are all family now.’

Pignatelli said he identified with the adventurous spirit of his forebear and that he can also see a physical resemblance between himself and Cortés.

“. . . I’ve always identified with him because he was an adventurer like I am. Since I was a boy I liked hearing about how he left Spain to go off in search of another world, we’re the same in that way, I also like to explore,” he said.

“. . . I’m an adventurer and a little bit crazy. I’m [also] very similar to Cortés [physically], even my hair although I don’t have a beard. I don’t have a home, I’m always traveling . . . I live life always looking for adventure . . .”

Source: The Associated Press (sp), Milenio (sp), El Universal (sp)