Ex-Coahuila governor extradited to US for fraud, money laundering

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October 30, 2019

The primary sector grew 3.5% in the third quarter. — The primary sector was the best performer with 3.5% growth.

The economy grew by just 0.1% in the third quarter compared to the previous three-month period, according to preliminary data published Wednesday by the federal statistics agency Inegi.

The year-over-year figure was even worse: Mexico’s GDP shrank 0.4% in the July to September period compared to the third quarter of 2018.

It is the first time since the fourth quarter of 2009 that year-over-year economic data has shown a contraction.

The minuscule growth in the third quarter was 0.1% below the average forecast of analysts consulted by the news agency Bloomberg, and follows an economic contraction of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2019 and 0.0% growth in the second.

The primary sector, including agriculture, expanded 3.5% between July and September compared to the previous quarter but the industrial sector declined 0.1% and service sector activity was unchanged.

The economic contraction on an annual basis was due to a 1.8% decline in industrial activity and zero growth in the service industry. In the first two quarters of the year, the economy grew on an annual basis by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively.

The weak performance of the Mexican economy has led international organizations to downgrade repeatedly their 2019 growth forecasts.

The International Monetary Fund cut its outlook to 0.4% this month from 0.9% while the World Bank slashed its forecast to 0.6% from 1.7%.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean this week reduced its growth prediction to just 0.2% from a previous forecast of 1%.

The Finance Secretariat and Bank of México have also cut their outlook for 2019 growth. The former sees an economic expansion in the range of 0.6% to 1.2% while the latter is predicting growth between 0.2% and 0.7%.

The weak economy is putting the brakes on job creation. Growth in job numbers on an annual basis has fallen to 1.9% from about 4% at the start of this year.

“The decline in the pace of job creation prompts consumers to act with a lot of caution,” economist Enrique Quintana wrote in a column for the newspaper El Financiero. “A lot of people see their employment with uncertainty and prefer not to fall into debt.”

Quintana said that economic stagnation will also create tax revenue problems for the federal government.

“Public revenue assumptions are calculated based on GDP growth of 2%. Secretariat of Finance models establish that for every percentage point of decline or gain in growth, there is a direct impact of about 35 billion pesos in [tax] collection,” he wrote.

If the economy declines, Quintana added, there is an increased possibility that ratings agencies will downgrade the credit rating of both the state oil company Pemex and Mexico.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

UK court releases ex-governor’s wife on bail of US $193,000

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October 30, 2019

Macías was seen riding the London subway last year. — Macías was seen reading The New Yorker while riding the London subway last year.

A judge in the United Kingdom has granted bail to Karime Macías, wife of former Veracruz governor Javier Duarte, while she awaits a hearing over extradition to Mexico.

The Mexican government had 60 days from the date of her court appearance yesterday to formalize the extradition based on a warrant issued on May 28 for the diversion of 112 million pesos (US $5.8 million) from the treasury of Veracruz.

Federal authorities said the judge imposed preventative measures intended to guarantee her presence at the hearings in which the legitimacy of the extradition will be determined.

The news agency Notimex said those measures included bail of 150,000 pounds sterling (US $193,000) and remaining in London, where Macías has resided since April 2017 after the arrest of her husband in Guatemala.

No other details of the six-hour hearing have been released.

Mexican authorities said Macías was arrested Tuesday in London, but her attorneys said their client appeared before the judge on her own volition after a summons was issued.

Extradition proceedings were begun in May 2018 when a district court judge in Xalapa, Veracruz, issued an arrest warrant for Macías.

The extradition request was formalized on October 31, 2018, and in August the petition was ratified with a 42-page account of the charges against Macías.

The account charged that as head of the local DIF family services agency from 2010-2016, Macías ordered the signing of contracts with 33 “ghost companies” as a means of diverting funds.

In December 2018, the Secretariat of Finance revealed that it had lodged a complaint against Macías for tax evasion. According to the accusation, she failed to pay 2.4 million pesos (US $125,000) in taxes in 2011 and 2012, derived from credit card purchases of over 7.6 million pesos (US $397,000).

In September 2017, Javier Duarte was sentenced to nine years in prison for money laundering and involvement in organized crime.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

No marijuana law this week; Senate postpones debate on legalization

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October 30, 2019

The Senate has postponed debate on the legalization of marijuana, scuttling hopes that a regulatory framework could be in place by the end of the month.

The Political Coordination Board (Jucopo) of the upper house of Congress shut down debate on the legalization bill for a number of reasons.

Among them: a lack of agreement between lawmakers of the ruling Morena party, critical observations about the proposed bill by federal government departments and civil society organizations and pressure from companies that have tried to hasten the legislative process.

Issues related to the production, distribution, commercialization, possession and health risks of marijuana remain contentious and are hindering approval of the legalization bill in its current form, the newspaper El Universal reported.

The Senate health commission is working on an alternative bill that takes into account observations made by the secretariats of the Interior (Segob) and Health and the health regulatory agency Cofepris.

Segob argued that a legalization proposal presented by Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez was not considered by the justice commission in preparing the bill.

Non-government organizations including Mexico United Against Crime – a group that opposes the prohibition of drugs, La Discapacidad Nos Une (Disability Unites Us) and #RegulaciónporlaPaz (Regulation for Peace) claimed that the justice commission bill would benefit multinational companies because it stipulates that Mexican farmers must use foreign seeds to grow marijuana crops.

Regulation for Peace said the bill fails to explain the steps that police and the justice system will take to ensure that people are not harassed, extorted or prosecuted for marijuana possession, while Disability Unites Us said it could “restrict the right to free development of personality” of disabled people and their right to choose to use marijuana because it doesn’t override legislation that states they are incapable of making such a decision.

Mexico United Against Crime proposed six changes to the bill, including the elimination of the requirement to establish a registry of marijuana users and removal of the need to obtain a license to grow plants.

The Supreme Court, which published eight precedents in February on the recreational use of marijuana which determined that prohibition of the drug is unconstitutional, ordered lawmakers to legalize it by October 31.

However, with debate on legalization suspended this week, the Senate has asked the court for an extension.

marijuana joint — Better not light up yet.

Morena Senate leader and Jucopo president Ricardo Monreal said in an interview that debate will be suspended for a “moderate” amount of time.

He said representatives of pharmaceutical and marijuana companies among other lobbyists have approached lawmakers to urge them to legalize the drug promptly.

However, Monreal stressed that the Senate will “set the pace” with which the legislative process moves forward rather than having a timetable imposed on it.

“We’re going to set our own pace because we want to do things well. It’s a very important law,” he said.

Asked whether legalization of marijuana could be put off until next year, the senator responded:

“We’re going to set our own pace but anything could happen. What we want to do is cool down the [legislative] momentum a little bit . . . some people say that [legalizing marijuana] is the solution, that there will be resources, that external debt will be paid off, that jobs will be created, that the economy will get better but they’re magical solutions and I fear that won’t be the case. We’re going to take our time . . .”

In contrast to Monreal’s assertions, opposition senators said there has been no pressure from lobbyists to legalize marijuana.

Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, Mauricio Kuri of the National Action Party and Miguel Ángel Mancera of the Democratic Revolution Party all rejected the claim by the Morena leader.

Osorio and Mancera both acknowledged that there is support for legalization and regulation of marijuana among members of civil society including family members of people who are ill and could benefit from medicinal use of the drug.

Coahuila Governor Manuel Riquelme urged caution, warning senators that organized crime could continue to control marijuana sales in a regulated market that could be worth as much as 50 billion pesos (US $2.6 billion) a year.

“ . . . It’s logical that, through third parties, [organized crime] will want to take control of marijuana sales . . .” he said.

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

600% growth in tourism overwhelms popular Baja beach

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October 29, 2019

Popular Balandra beach in Baja California Sur

A Baja California Sur beach has been overwhelmed by growth of more than 600% in visitor numbers over the past six years, prompting authorities to prepare a new management plan that includes charging people to access the protected coastal area.

Located 20 kilometers from the state capital La Paz, Balandra has been described as the most beautiful beach in Mexico, and it seems many would agree.

Its promotion by state tourism authorities and travel agencies as well as photos and videos of the beach on social media and popular blogs have caused visitor numbers to explode.

“When we started visiting and studying Balandra 30 years ago, there was no tourism,” the state director of the Natural Protected Areas Commission (Conanp), told the newspaper Milenio.

“. . . In 2013, we had 28,000 visitors . . . and we’ll end this year with 200,000 . . .” Benito Bermúdez Almada predicted, which would be a 614% increase.

He said that as many as 2,000 people a day visit the beach, four times the recommended maximum.

The massive tourism spike has placed a significant strain on Balandra, the main beach with its own parking lot; Balandra 2, where an iconic mushroom-shaped rock is located; and seven other beaches in the 2,500-hectare protected area.

Garbage left behind by tourists and the resulting contamination of the coastline and sea is the biggest problem the area faces.

According to Conanp, the municipal government collects an average of 12 tonnes of trash per week from Balandra, although a local tourism guide disputes the claim.

“The citizens who work here . . . are tasked with cleaning the area,” Roberto Lomelí said.

“. . . We don’t have trash cans on the beach because they attract flies; besides, rubbish collection services don’t come by regularly,” he added.

The presence of fecal matter in the water is also an increasing problem.

Bermúdez said when people go to the beach they take their children and that represents a possible increase in coliform bacteria.

The most recent testing showed that the water was still within recommended standards, he said, but “it’s close to the limit . . . We don’t want to let it get out of hand.”

To mitigate the problem, state and municipal authorities are planning to provide improved washrooms.

Other measures to provide better protection of the beaches will be an increase in the number of park rangers from three to 12, a ban on vendors from entering and a four-hour time limit for beachgoers. Also planned is an admission fee of 36 pesos per person per day to enter the Balandra protected area.

“. . . It’s not about denying entry to anyone; everyone will be able to go to Balandra but in an orderly way. We want to certify it as a clean beach,” he added, explaining that will only be possible through stricter regulation.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Mayors urge government to reinstate funding for Pueblos Mágicos

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October 29, 2019

The Magical Town of Huasca, one of those with limited resources.

The federal government’s decision to eliminate funding of Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos has left some smaller Magical Towns struggling to promote themselves, maintain key infrastructure and provide essential services.

The mayor of Orizaba, Veracruz, and president of the National Network of Magical Town Mayors told the newspaper El Economista that “the budget cut for Magical Towns is concerning.”

Speaking during the inaugural Tianguis Turístico de los Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns Tourism Fair) in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Igor Fidel Rojí López called on the federal government to reinstate funding.

“. . . There are magical towns like Orizaba, Cholula [Puebla], and Pátzcuaro [Michoacán], that have medium-sized populations and which have . . . sufficient resources to provide municipal services but there are small towns, like Huasca de Ocampo [Hidalgo] with 19,000 inhabitants, that don’t have sufficient resources,” Rojí said.

“For example, this state [Hidalgo] doesn’t have a sufficient water network and that can bring [Huasca] to a halt because on a weekend, 100,000 tourists might arrive, leaving it without water . . . There are lots of cases like that . . .”

The Palacio de Hierro in the Magical Town of Orizaba, Veracruz.

The government provided no funding for Mexico’s 121 Magical Towns in the 2019 budget and hasn’t allocated any resources for 2020 either. In 2018, the towns received 586 million pesos (US $30.6 million at today’s exchange rate) in federal funding.

Rojí said mayors are working with the tourism committees of both houses of federal Congress in an attempt to convince lawmakers to allocate resources to their towns in the 2020 budget.

Funding should be primarily aimed at towns that are struggling to find the resources required to carry out essential projects, he said.

Rojí said that the mayors are committed to dialogue with the federal government and ruled out any possibility that they might stage protests in Mexico City.

While calling for a resumption of federal funding for Magical Towns, the Orizaba mayor also said that municipal governments need to learn how to effectively raise their own revenue and use money wisely.

“. . . Orizaba collects its property taxes well; 95% of properties are up to date with their payments, the highest rate in the country and that’s because we provide the services that the law obliges us to, for example . . . drinking water, [street] cleaning, filling potholes, lighting,” Rojí said.

The mayor added that Orizaba raised a combined 37 million pesos from parking meters, municipal-owned public bathrooms and the renting out of public buildings.

“These resources of our own allow us to invest in tourism infrastructure . . .” Rojí said, adding that tourism has the capacity to transform residents’ lives.

“Orizaba has been transformed and has achieved greater development and economic growth,” since becoming a Magical Town four years ago, he said.

To improve promotion of the nation’s Pueblos Mágicos, the Mexican Association of Travel Agencies (AMAV) entered into an agreement with the National Association of Magical Towns Citizens’ Committees at the Pachuca fair.

AMAV president Eduardo Paniagua Morales said that towns in Quintana Roo, Veracruz, Tabasco, Nuevo León and Chiapas have made the most progress in developing tourism promotion strategies and will serve as an example for Magical Towns in other states.

Source: El Economista (sp)

80 wineries, 10 restaurants at Nation of Wines event in CDMX

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October 29, 2019

Nation of Wines is on this week in Mexico City.

Food and wine aficionados can take their taste buds on a cross-country tour of Mexico’s wine-producing regions at this year’s Nación de Vinos wine festival.

Now in its third year, an event that is billed as the country’s biggest wine festival takes place Wednesday and Thursday in Mexico City’s Hipódromo de las Américas Forum.

“We’re very happy with this year’s program,” says the festival’s creator, Valentina Ortiz Monasterio. “It’s a monumental effort by the organizing committee and the wineries. I think the best news is that Nación de Vinos is now the most anticipated wine event in the country.”

The festival celebrates the international reach of Mexican wines. The Mexican Viniculture Council reports that Mexico is among the top 10 countries with the most prize-winning labels in the world’s most prestigious competitions.

However, Nación de Vinos, or Nation of Wines, is really about inspiring passion for domestic wines in Mexicans themselves, who are more accustomed to drinking chela (beer), tequila and whisky.

“The main idea behind the event is to bring Mexicans closer to Mexican wines.”

And it appears the festival has been accomplishing exactly that. The Mexican Viniculture Council says Mexico’s per-capita consumption of domestic wines has doubled in the last five years.

The event’s third iteration will bring together 80 wineries from the winemaking states of Baja California, Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Guanajuato, Sonora, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Zacatecas.

Food is also an important part of the event.

Visitors will be able to pair the abundance of award-winning wines with the equally acclaimed dishes of distinguished Mexico City restaurants such as Sud 777, Pujol, Nicos, Quintonil, Rosetta and La Docena, all of which recently made the list of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

“One thing that sets this year’s event apart will be the distinct and fun gastronomy, which is sure to include ingredients and recipes that marry well with Mexican wine, which is very important,” says Ortiz.

Nación de Vinos is the perfect occasion for getting to know in detail the virtues of each wine-growing region in Mexico and the lengths producers go through to create such high-quality beverages.

Visitors will also be able to learn about the challenges in the value chain, the vision of the industry’s future and everything else that invigorates wine culture in Mexico at the festival’s conferences, workshops, exhibitions, tastings and more.

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

Chinese firm invests in Nuevo León to build natural gas-powered buses

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October 29, 2019

Governor Rodríguez inspects one of the Golden star buses. — Governor Rodríguez inspects one of the Golden Star buses.

A Chinese bus manufacturer will invest 6.23 billion pesos (US $326 million) in an assembly plant in Nuevo León that will produce buses that burn natural gas.

Mexican bus company Golden Star 4000 partnered with Zhongtong Bus Holding Co. Ltd. to build the factory in the municipality of El Carmen.

The plant’s capacity will be 4,800 vehicles a year.

Golden Star 4000 already has 17 of the eco-friendly buses — that were assembled in China — operating on routes in Mexico.

Nuevo León Governor Jaime Rodríguez Calderón said Mexican-built buses have already been contracted for an express route to connect Monterrey to García, some 40 kilometers to the west. The route is expected to begin operating on November 15, and will connect with Monterrey’s Ecovía rapid transit system.

He said the municipality plans to create other routes for the buses the plant will produce, connecting with Juárez and Cadereyta.

The buses are equipped with high-tech amenities such as interior and exterior cameras, air conditioning and wireless internet.

The plant will take three years to build and will employ 2,800 people when it is fully operational, said Golden Star 4000.

Source: El Economista (sp)

High homicide rates put coastal tourist destinations among most violent locations

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October 29, 2019

Rosarito is high on the list of violent municipalities.

Eight coastal tourist destinations — including Rosarito, Acapulco and Cancún — are among the 50 most violent locations in Mexico, official statistics show.

According to official data analyzed by the crime monitoring website elcri.men, a homicide rate of 142.8 per 100,000 inhabitants between April and September made Playas de Rosarito, Baja California, the third most violent municipality in Mexico behind only Armería, Colima, and Bocoyna, Chihuahua.

With a per-capita murder rate of 141.3, Manzanillo, Colima – a major port city as well as a tourist destination – ranked as the fourth most violent municipality in the country during the past six months, while a homicide rate of 118.8 made Tijuana, Baja California, the 10th most violent.

The resort city of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, was the 12th most violent municipality, while the Caribbean coast municipality of Solidaridad, Quintana Roo – where Playa del Carmen is located – was 17th. Their per-capita homicide rates between April and September were 103.8 and 83.1 respectively.

With a rate of 68.1, Acapulco, Guerrero – once Mexico’s most glamorous beach destination – was the 28th most violent municipality.

Over the course of two days earlier this month, criminal groups set four public transit buses on fire on the Miguel Alemán coastal boulevard in the resort city, the newspaper El Universal reported. In addition, at least 200 transit workers have been killed in Acapulco during the past 10 years.

Also among the 50 most violent municipalities were Ensenada, Baja California, and Benito Juárez, Quintana Roo, where Cancún is located. With 44.4 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, the former municipality ranked as the 48th most violent, while a per-capita murder rate of 41.3 placed Benito Juárez one spot lower at 49th.

Just over 11% of the 29,692 homicides in the first 10 months of the six-year term of President López Obrador occurred in the eight coastal municipalities. Mexico is currently on track to record its most violent year in recent history.

In addition to murders, many of Mexico’s popular beach destinations are affected by crimes including extortion and kidnappings.

Rubén Salazar, director of the risk analysis firm Etellekt, told El Universal that there are two main reasons for the presence of criminal groups in tourist destinations and the resulting high crime rates.

First, the influx of visitors makes them attractive for criminal activities such as drug dealing, so rival groups fight to control the market. Second, Pacific coast cities are not just tourist destinations but also entry points for illicit goods including synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals.

“A lot of these Pacific cities have maritime customs, they’re the country’s main ports and the main points of entry for precursors for the production of drugs such as methamphetamine,” Salazar said, adding that criminal organizations that control that market have displaced groups that formerly transported heroin produced in Guerrero.

The Sinaloa Cartel dominates on Mexico’s northern Pacific coast while the Jalisco New Generation Cartel holds sway farther south, he said.

Salazar said that people who haven’t benefited from tourism development have been lured into crime due to a lack of other options, adding that the government’s strategy to address social causes of violence will likely fail.

“The money that the federal government offers in scholarships or other support is insufficient. What organized crime offers . . . is a lot more attractive,” he said.

A number of popular inland tourist destinations also featured among the most violent locations in Mexico between April and September.

They included Taxco, Guerrero (26th most violent), San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato (38th), Cuernavaca, Morelos (45th) and Morelia, Michoacán (50th).

Source: El Universal (sp)

Family was given wrong body after case of mistaken identity

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October 29, 2019