Homicides related to organized crime up 30% in first seven months

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August 1, 2019

Homicides spiked in June and July. — Organized crime-related homicides spiked in June and July. milenio

The month of July broke a record for the number of deaths by homicide linked to organized crime, according to records kept by the newspaper Milenio.

A total of 2,264 people were murdered during the month, only 0.6% more than in June, but almost twice as many as in July 2018.

It topped off a four-month record-breaking streak: since April, every month has been the most violent since Milenio began counting murders. June was the first month in which more than 2,000 people were murdered.

In the first seven months of 2019, there have been 11,810 homicides, almost 30% more than there were in the same period last year, when there were 9,116.

México state, the most populous state in the country, had the highest number of homicides in July, with 230, an average of almost eight a day. Guanajuato, which previously topped the list of most violent states, followed with 205. Baja California was next with 194, followed by Jalisco with 185, Guerrero 150, Veracruz 130 and Puebla with 100.

The states with the fewest murders were Yucatán with one and Campeche with two.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Second overrun at Santa Lucía airport bumps construction cost another 17%

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MND Staff

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August 1, 2019

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santa lucia airport — Design proposed for new airport.

The cost of the Santa Lucía airport has increased for a second time before construction has even begun.

The Defense Secretariat (Sedena), which is in charge of the project, says that building the airport and a highway connecting Mexico City, as well as relocating military facilities on the air force base site, will cost 91.97 billion pesos (US $4.8 billion), a 17% increase over the cost estimated in April.

According to a report in the newspaper El Economista, information in a Sedena document that gives the reasons for the overrun has been classified as reserved and so it is unclear which aspects of the project have increased in cost and why.

The projected cost of the airport increased for the first time in April mainly due to the presence of a hill less than 10 kilometers from the construction site.

The position of the airport’s two commercial runways had to be changed in the project’s master plan due to the close proximity of the 2,625-meter-high Cerro de Paula. As a result, several military facilities will have to be relocated at an estimated cost of more than 6.7 billion pesos.

Coupled with higher than expected costs to purchase land that will serve as a sound buffer around the airport, the price tag for the México state project increased in April from 70.34 billion pesos to 78.55 billion.

Sedena said the new projected cost doesn’t include expenses associated with pre-investment studies nor the purchase of technical equipment that Navigation Services for Mexican Airspace, a government agency, will require for the operation of the facility.

The former will cost 885.6 million pesos and the latter 1.87 billion pesos.

The defense department said the total construction time will be 30 months, meaning that if it starts this month it will be completed in February 2022, one month later than anticipated in July.

The Secretariat of the Environment granted conditional approval for the airport last week but the #NoMásDerroches collective, which has initiated legal action against the project, argued that construction still can’t begin because other studies remain outstanding and injunctions it obtained are still in force.

A government financial report for the second quarter of the year said that the airport was 3% complete at the end of June and that more than 3.8 billion pesos had already been spent on it although work has not commenced.

Sedena justified its management of the project by stating that if private construction companies rather than military engineers took charge, it was possible that it would not be finished on time and costs would balloon.

It also said that private sector workers could go on strike without justification and that sensitive national security information could be leaked.

Construction of the Santa Lucía airport is part of the government’s three-pronged plan to meet rising demand for airline services in the Valley of Mexico. Existing airports in Mexico City and Toluca, México state, will be upgraded.

President López Obrador canceled the previous government’s airport project at Texcoco after a legally questionable public consultation last October.

Source: El Economista (sp)

Scooter thefts shut down Grin rental service in Mexico City

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MND Staff

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July 31, 2019

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The only e-scooter company in Mexico City operating with a license has announced that it is temporarily suspending its rental service due to theft.

Grin said in a statement released yesterday that it had taken the decision to immediately “pause” its operations in the capital and offered an apology to scooter users.

The company acknowledged that some people will think that withdrawing its scooters from the streets after paying for a license is “madness” but stressed that wasn’t the case.

“During this break . . . hundreds of people at Grin México will make adjustments to improve service, migrate systems [and] add a new micro-mobility solution to the Grin family but above all they will develop schemes of collaboration with Mexico City authorities to prevent the theft of our scooters,” the statement said.

“. . . The theft of scooters in Mexico City represents the greatest challenge for Grin’s operations.”

The company said it will soon return with more mobility options, better service and, it hopes, fewer stolen scooters. Rentals will be free on the day that service resumes, the statement said.

Many of the scooters stolen from Grin and other e-scooter companies have been tracked to neighborhoods in the eastern borough of Iztapalapa and Tepito, an inner-city area notorious for crime.

Workers who have attempted to retrieve the scooters have been placed in risky situations and even threatened with firearms, according to a report in the newspaper El Sol de México.

Mexico City has seen an influx of rental scooters and bicycles in recent times but the government says that some companies, including Lime and Mobike, are operating without licenses.

Transportation Secretary Andrés Lajous said that from today on authorities would begin removing unauthorized scooters and bikes from the street.

The vehicles will be taken to a warehouse and to recover them, the companies will have to pay a fine, he said.

Source: El Sol de México (sp)

Sinaloa leads states with 6% first-quarter growth; Tabasco worst performer

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MND Staff

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July 31, 2019

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Farmworkers in Sinaloa, where the agroindustrial sector helped drive the economy.

Sinaloa and Nuevo León had the best performing state economies in the first quarter of 2019, but at the other end of the scale 10 states recorded negative growth between January and March.

The Sinaloa economy grew 6.1% in the first three months of the year, according to seasonally adjusted data from the national statistics agency, Inegi.

Nuevo León followed with 3.3% growth while the Yucatán economy expanded 3.1% in the first quarter.

The next five best performing economies were Colima, Chihuahua, Baja California, Tlaxcala and Baja California Sur, where first-quarter growth ranged between 2.4% and 2.9%.

Among the states where the economy declined at the start of the year, Tabasco was easily the worst performer.

The Gulf state’s economy contracted 10.9% between January and March, more than double the decline in Zacatecas, which recorded negative growth of 4.1%.

The economies of Chiapas, Campeche, México state, Oaxaca, Aguascalientes and Guanajuato also went backwards.

The best performing regional economy in the first quarter was that of the northern border, where growth of 1.8% was recorded. The central north of the country was close behind, with 1.8% growth, followed by western and central Mexico, where the economy expanded by 1% and 0.4% respectively.

The economy declined 0.7% in the south-southeast and 0.4% in the Bajío, which has been an economic powerhouse in recent years.

It is the first time that the economy of the latter region has declined since the fourth quarter of 2009.

According to Héctor Magaña Rodríguez, head of the Economic and Business Research Center at Tec. de Monterrey, the growth inequality in different parts of the country is the result of disparate government treatment.

“What we’re seeing is that the current economic development policy doesn’t consider all the states, thus those that are being favored show greater growth. Giving priority to certain regions is causing a greater economic gap,” he said.

The northern border region, where the government established a free zone on January 1 with lower taxes and a higher minimum wage, wouldn’t have performed as well as it did without those economic stimuli, Magaña said.

The academic said the Bajío suffered because the government hasn’t initiated any economic development projects there although he added that a reduction in auto exports was also a factor in the region’s first-quarter decline.

Magaña also said that the government’s austerity measures have hurt different sectors of the economy and made the national economy “weaker” in the face of a global economic slowdown.

Humberto Banda Ortiz, an academic at the Autonomous University of Querétaro, also said that the Bajío slowdown was partially the result of the government only focusing its economic development projects on certain states and regions.

He said the National Development Plan, a wide-ranging public policy blueprint, only outlines three large regional projects: the Maya Train, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec trade corridor and the northern border free zone.

In addition to the lack of government attention, Banda pointed out that insecurity, gasoline shortages and teachers’ rail blockades in Michoacán hurt the Bajío economy at the start of the year.

On a national level, he charged that government decisions such as the cancelation of the country’s seven economic zones and the Metrobús project in Durango – after President López Obrador asked for an impromptu show of hands at a rally in Gómez Palacio – are deterring investment.

“. . . We have to reflect about what messages are being sent,” Banda said.

In the south-southeast region, economic growth in Yucatán, Veracruz, Quintana Roo and Guerrero was canceled out by contractions in Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Campeche.

In addition to the Maya Train and trade corridor projects, the government is also preparing to build a US $8-billion refinery on the Tabasco coast.

But an academic at the University of Veracruz said that authorities have failed to implement shorter-term economic projects in the region, and that contributed to the contraction in the first quarter.

“. . . The federal government and state authorities didn’t seek short-term economic recovery projects. The south-southeast has been in a permanent economic paralysis because in previous years neither investment nor infrastructure development was sought. With a national economic slowdown, the most disadvantaged states suffer more,” Jorge Antonio Acosta Cázares said.

The release of state and regional economic data for the first three months of the year coincides with the publication of national growth figures for the second quarter.

Inegi reported that the economy grew by 0.1% between April and June, quashing fears that Mexico had entered a technical recession.

Source: El Economista (sp)

Mexico City’s Tianguis La Lagunilla is a flea market on steroids

By

Andy Hume

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July 31, 2019

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There are a number of impressive original artworks mixed in with the antiques.

Tianguis La Lagunilla is considered the best among Mexico City flea markets, its fame having spread across the globe. Many of the best antiques and collectibles dealers from throughout the city come every Sunday to put out the cream of their crop.

Lagunilla is a tourist haven because foreign currency can travel a bit further. Yet, it’s still a weekly ceremony for hardcore locals.

Some come to find a good deal, some come to drop serious coin on antiques, and some come just to party. La Lagunilla is the perfect cure for Saturday night’s hangover – and expect to see some folks with bloodshot eyes bumbling through the crowd.

Much is written about the dangers at the Tianguis, the surrounding daily market and the neighborhood, but it’s usually overblown. As is recommended when navigating any crowds in the city, keep your gear close, your eyes open and don’t wander too far from the market doors. But the great majority of visitors are there purely for the experience.

Not much is pure trash at Lagunilla – it’s a survival of the fittest sort of place. You can expect to find mid-century modern furniture, vintage clothing, classic antique glassware and original artwork. There are certainly swindlers, but most of the offerings are top tier.

There is a definite look, a fashion sense, to the vendors throughout the Tianguis that mingles swaths of the pirate, cowboy and 1970s rockstar: sunglasses, leather hats, jeans and dangling talismans. It’s a place for personalities.

Old bros fist-bump after a sale, their ponytails jostling in sync – a dance of the salesman. Women in headscarves sell striking, original jewelry with a tarot reading tossed in to sweeten the deal.

They’re the “never wanted a 9-to-5” working class. Among the sellers of Lagunilla, life is about experience, making it work with what you love. And what better way to make it than to travel Mexico’s mountain ranches in search of historic wooden masks that could otherwise be lost. Or to dig through estate sales for old books and original artwork. Or to get stoned and bend metals into ornamental treasures.

You can find everything from a peyote cactus, to a Tiffany lamp, to pieces of pre-Hispanic pottery at Lagunilla. Want to live like the rich and famous and throw away your designer dressing gown each morning? At Lagunilla, you can do it for 800 pesos a day.

It’s said that Guillermo González Camarena, inventor of one of several color television systems, bought everything he needed for his experiments here in 1934.

Just skip the Nazi gear. Most of it isn’t real but are re-creations.

Tianguis La Lagunilla, land of talismans.

The best way to tackle Lagunilla is with a michelada in hand, the tamarind syrup spilling onto your wrist. Walk through the music: from classic rock, to blues, to cumbia, to reggaeton.

The masks are among the most impressive as is the huge framed artwork. Or you may just end up with a piece of silver or a set of crystal glassware you never knew you needed.

There’s certainly some history in all of that’s offered. It’s just a matter of how forthcoming the seller is with unbridled truth. You can always try to haggle for a deal – no one will scoff. Or ask to flip a coin to see if you can win your bartered price – a favorite among sellers with a gambling bent. Just know you’ll be paying full price if you lose.

If you’re looking for antiques and collectibles, make sure you go to the Tianguis rather than the full market. But the daily market, split into clothing, furniture and food sections, still has plenty to offer.

It’s always worth a walk through the formal clothing section to gander at all the garish-to-gorgeous notions for the perfect wedding or plan that decadent quinceañera your dad never let you have. And how can you not take home a pack of two dozen “Thanks for coming to my First Communion lighters” for 50 pesos?

When you’re done, head over to the party tent to celebrate.

As we waited for a taxi after last Sunday’s visit, an inebriated couple approached us to chat — her with tamarind lips; him with a prominent hot sauce spot on his shirt. They rocked back and forth unsteadily.

“Did you have a good time?” we asked.

“Of course,” she said. “Look at us.”

• Tianguis La Lagunilla starts along the inside of Avenida Paseo de la Reforma, a couple of blocks southeast of Matamoros (Morelos, Mexico City), and continues south and into interior streets –Sundays, 8:00am to 6:00pm. In a taxi, head for the Chedraui at Avenida Paseo de la Reforma and González Bocanegra and take it from there.

This is the 19th in a series on the bazaars, flea markets and markets of Mexico City:

Oaxaca children travel to Morocco for international peace event

By

Madison Koen

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July 31, 2019

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Oaxaca children at peace festival in Morocco.

A children’s dance group from Oaxaca treated an international audience in Morocco to a taste of the rhythms of their home state’s Guelaguetza celebration at the 13^th edition of the annual Children for Peace International Festival.

The Children’s Cosijoeza Dance Group from Zaachila, made up of nine boys and two girls between 7 and 13 years old, performed the feather dance, a traditional dance that incorporates Spanish and indigenous elements, today enshrined as one of the most emblematic performances of Oaxaca’s annual cultural event, the Guelaguetza.

The group’s director, Iván Cruz López, said the dance troupe received an invitation to participate in the festival in June and that the Oaxaca government provided financial assistance. He added that of the 14 different countries represented, Mexico was the only one from Latin America.

“This event gave [the children] the opportunity to have new experiences, learn and show what the feather dance is about on a world stage . . .”

Source: El Universal (sp)

Guanajuato, Querétaro working on interurban train project for Bajío region

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MND Staff

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July 31, 2019

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Two Bajío states are preparing a proposal for an interurban train.

The governments of Guanajuato and Querétaro are working on a proposal to build an interurban train to connect five states in the Bajío region.

Roberto Vallejo Rábago, director of transportation at the Guanajuato Secretariat of Infrastructure, told the newspaper El Economista that once completed, the proposal will be presented to the authorities of other states in the Bajío and the federal government with the aim of securing support and funding.

He said the project is “on the radar” of Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo of Guanajuato and Francisco Domínguez Servién of Querétaro, adding that they are already lobbying the federal government to support it.

New infrastructure projects, such as the Maya Train, shouldn’t only be built in the southeast but also in the Bajío, Vallejo said, pointing out that the region is an economic powerhouse.

The rail project would provide connections between the states of Querétaro, Guanajuato, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí and Aguascalientes.

“We need to find a way to connect us all. The Bajío region is one of the most important regions in the country and it has to be connected . . .” Vallejo said.

The railroad could also link to the Mexico City-Querétaro high speed rail project if it is ever built. The project failed to get off the ground during the administration of the previous government but hasn’t been abandoned completely.

Vallejo lamented that Mexico’s passenger rail network has been “abandoned” but asserted that the new train would benefit both the residents of the Bajío and companies that operate in the region.

“The beneficiaries would be all of us who live in the Bajío [and] the companies that come to set up shop. In the case of Guanajuato, we [already] have Toyota, Honda, Pirelli, Volkswagen,” he said.

Both Japanese and European companies have indicated that they value the availability of public transit systems in the regions they operate because it makes the transportation of workers easier, Vallejo added.

The official said that political will and long-term vision are needed for the execution of the rail project and that it needs to be supported by uniform laws in the states in which it would operate.

Gustavo Gutiérrez de la Torre, head of mobility in the Aguascalientes government, said that a new regional transportation network is needed because “in the end we’re part of an [interconnected] economic system.”

Source: El Economista (sp)

Guadalajara airport mosquito plague reduced by 95%, operator says

By

Madison Koen

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July 31, 2019

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Spraying against mosquitoes at Guadalajara airport.

The Guadalajara airport appears to be winning its longstanding battle against mosquitoes.

Airport authorities say they have managed to reduce the mosquito population to about 95% of what it was, when bathrooms, waiting rooms, baggage carousels, runways and even aircraft were invaded by the insects.

Aurora Adame of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) said the large numbers of mosquitoes are due to the presence of nearby bodies of water but it is not clear why they invaded the airport.

To find out, GAP will finance a biological study by the Monterrey Institute of Technology to determine the best way to permanently eliminate the insects.

Héctor Barrios Piña, a researcher at the university, said that study should be concluded by the end of October.

In the meantime, GAP will continue to carry out preventative actions, which include spraying larvicide in possible breeding grounds around the terminal, regularly clearing drainage pipes and placing ultraviolet lights around the terminal area.

Authorities have insisted that the mosquitoes do not represent a health risk to the public. Health Secretary Fernando Petersen Aranguren said the species is not known to be a carrier of transmittable diseases like dengue or zika.

Meanwhile, users have continued to complain on social media of the large mosquito presence, despite the airport’s apparent success in reducing their numbers.

As of July last year, the airport had spent 15 million pesos over the previous five years to try to eradicate the problem.

Source: El Economista (sp)

Guerrero crime beat journalist murdered in Morelos

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Madison Koen

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July 31, 2019

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The body of a Guerrero journalist was found in the trunk of a car on Tuesday night in Morelos, bringing the number of reporters who have lost their lives in Mexico this year to seven.

Rogelio Barragán, 47, was the publisher of the digital news service Guerrero al instante.

The Morelos Attorney General’s Office reported that authorities responded to reports of an abandoned vehicle in the municipality of Zacatepec and discovered the journalist’s body. Neighbors told police that the car had been left there on Monday night.

Police said the victim showed signs of blunt trauma to the face and a head injury.

According to one report, fellow Guerrero journalists said that Barragán had fled his home in Chilpancingo to stay with relatives in Morelos because of a threat he had received, but was intercepted en route.

But Israel Díaz Acosta, a colleague at Guerrero al instante, said he was unaware of any threats and that Barragán frequently visited family in Morelos.

Balbina Flores, a spokesperson for the international NGO Reporters Without Borders, said the organization would launch its own investigation to determine if the journalist’s death was linked to his work.

“He had more than 10 years of journalistic experience, mostly in the nota roja [crime coverage].”

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

Drug gang rivalry suspected in killing of 9 in Bacalar, Quintana Roo

By

Simon Schatzberg

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July 31, 2019

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The truck that was attacked by gunmen in Bacalar.

Nine people are dead and another was seriously injured after gunmen attacked and killed men traveling aboard a pickup truck in the municipality of Bacalar, Quintana Roo, on Wednesday morning.

When police arrived at the scene of the shooting on the Chetumal-Felipe Carrillo Puerto highway near the community of Limones, they found two bodies in the truck, while the rest were lying on and around the highway.

Two people were transported to a hospital in Bacalar with serious injuries, one of whom later died.

According to witnesses, the aggressors were traveling in a grey pickup truck.

There have been 20 murders in Bacalar in recent days, 12 of which were near Limones, where rival criminal gangs have been vying for control of the drug trade in the region.

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Last Thursday, gunmen murdered Juan Alberto Interian May, who was identified as the leader of a drug trafficking gang operating in the area.

Bacalar has become a center for the movement of drugs smuggled by air from Central and South America, said a report today by the newspaper Al Momento. Cartels operating in the state have established themselves in communities in the municipality.

The drug shipments are destined for the domestic market and the United States.

Source: Noticaribe (sp), Al Momento (sp)