Pemex fracking plan was approved on Tuesday but vetoed by AMLO

-

June 28, 2019

Interior Secretary Sánchez, right, with relative of a massacre victim.

The federal government has apologized for its role in allowing a 2011 massacre in the city of Allende, Coahuila, when as many as 300 people were killed or disappeared at the hands of the Zetas cartel.

Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero offered the apology at an event Thursday in Allende, which was also attended by Coahuila Governor Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís and Allende Mayor Antero Alvarado Flores, who also offered apologies on behalf of their governments.

“I hope this apology will allow us to heal, in some way, and prevent this type of event, which has hurt us so much as a society, from happening again,” said Sánchez Cordero.

Hundreds of people attended the event, which was held in the main square of Allende in front of the municipal palace.

The public apology came after a March 2018 report on the massacre by the National Human Rights Commission, which found that authorities were implicated in the events, and recommended a public apology from the government.

Posters display photos of those who were among the 300 who were killed or disappeared.

In the presence of family members of people who were killed and disappeared in the massacre, Sánchez acknowledged that local police participated in the disappearances, while higher-level officials had advance knowledge of the Zetas’ plan and did nothing to prevent it.

“High-level authorities knew that this criminal organization was planning an attack in Allende, and they made an agreement that they would not interfere,” she said. “These authorities, while the massacre was taking place, in spite of the fact that it’s their responsibility to protect the physical integrity of the residents, in spite of the calls for help, they made the decision not to intervene.”

But for some Allende residents who lost loved ones in the massacre, the government apology wasn’t enough. Alejandra Hernández, whose father was kidnapped, told La Jornada that she didn’t see much use in an apology eight years after the fact.

“They should have come before,” she said. “Now, they’re asking for forgiveness, but when the problems were going on, they never showed up.”

The massacre took place over three days between March 18 and 20, 2011. It was triggered by two Zeta-linked traffickers from Allende, Hector Moreno Villanueva and José Luis Garza Gaytan, becoming protected witnesses in the United States.

The Zetas responded by killing family members, friends and employees of the two men. Hernández’ father was targeted because he had been an employee of Garza.

Source: Reforma (sp), La Jornada (sp)

1,800 National Guardsmen will patrol in 5 CDMX boroughs starting July 1

By

-

June 28, 2019

National Guard patrol vehicles will be seen in five city boroughs starting Monday.

The federal government will start deploying 1,800 National Guard troops to five crime-plagued Mexico City boroughs on July 1, the security secretary announced.

Alfonso Durazo said yesterday the guardsmen will carry out operations in Iztapalapa, Gustavo A. Madero, Tlalpan, Xochimilco and Tláhuac.

Sprawling, densely-populated Iztapalapa, located in in the east of the city, and Gustavo A. Madero, in the extreme north, are the first and second most dangerous boroughs in the capital, according to a recent criminal analysis completed by law enforcement authorities in Mexico City.

Units of 450 troops will be deployed to four of the five boroughs with Xochimilco to be patrolled by guardsmen based in neighboring Tlalpan.

The National Guard will collaborate with Mexico City police to combat high-impact crimes such as homicides, kidnappings and robberies.

Durazo said the first deployment will patrol areas of Iztapalapa, Gustavo A. Madero and Tláhuac that border México state.

“In the first stage, the National Guard in coordination with the Mexico City government will only attend to three boroughs in their peripheral part adjacent to México state, which are the most densely populated and have the highest crime rates,” he said.

The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (PGJ) said this month that a lot of murders and other crime occurs on the outskirts of the capital, where criminals can easily move into neighboring México state and escape the jurisdiction of the capital’s police force.

Announcing the Mexico City deployment of the National Guard at his morning press conference yesterday, President López Obrador noted that crime rates in the capital are on the rise, “especially homicide, which has risen from two to six a day.”

The new security force is eventually expected to be deployed to all 16 boroughs in the capital even though none were identified by the federal government as priority regions.

However, López Obrador said that organized crime groups have arrived in the capital because the previous Mexico City government allowed them “to put down roots.”

“At first, we thought that sending the National Guard wouldn’t be necessary, but because of the situation, the mayor agreed that the National Guard will be deployed to all of Mexico City,” he said.

“A greater presence of elements and greater protection for the citizens of the capital are needed.”

The PGJ criminal analysis said the Jalisco New Generation Cartel – Mexico’s most powerful criminal organization – has started operating in Iztapalapa, Tláhuac, Tlalpan and Gustavo A. Madero, while the Tláhuac Cartel continues to operate in the borough of the same name.

In addition to the escalating murder rate, kidnappings and robberies of businesses have soared since Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum took office last December.

The national murder rate also remains stubbornly high, with 2,476 homicides in May, the highest number of any month this year.

The day before the National Guard begins operations in Mexico City, 52,000 troops of the new security force will be deployed to 150 hot spots around the country, Security Secretary Durazo announced last week.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Why are Mexico City citizens called chilangos? No one really knows

By

-

June 28, 2019

Chilango, capitalino and mexiqueño. All three demonyms can be used to denote residents of Mexico City.

For female residents, replace the “o” with an “a” – chilanga, capitalina, mexiqueña.

Another demonym, defeño (or defeña), was also commonly used to describe residents of the capital when the city was known as “el DF” – the Distrito Federal (the Federal District) – but has fallen out of favor since Mexico City was given state-like status and formally became CDMX.

Confused yet?

While there are a variety of ways to refer to residents of the Mexican megalopolis, one is king – chilango, the word most commonly used to describe citizens of chilangolandia, as some people say.

But what does the word mean and where does it come from?

According to the Real Academia Española (The Royal Spanish Academy) – the institution charged with the mission of preserving the stability of the Spanish language – a chilango is a native of Mexico City or someone who belongs to the city in one way or another.

But not all Mexico City-born, tacos al pastor-loving residents of the capital will describe themselves as chilangos. In fact, many of them will outright reject the term.

Yo nací aquí, soy capitalino (I was born here, I’m a capitalino) is a common refrain.

Who are the chilangos then? Ask a self-proclaimed capitalina and she’ll say that they’re the Mexico City residents who have moved to the city from elsewhere.

Any oaxaqueño, veracruzana, poblano, chihuahuense, jalisciense, chiapaneca or yucateco who calls the national capital home is also a chilango, or chilanga as it may be.

Moving on to the origin of the word, there is plenty of scope to keep any budding etymologist intrigued.

According to the Diccionario Breve de Mexicanismos (Concise Dictionary of Mexican Terms), chilango may come from the Mayan word xilaan, meaning “messy or frizzy hair,” or xilah, which means both “hair that stands on its end or fluffs up” and “feathers of birds.”

Could chilango therefore have originated from a reference to the penachos or headdresses that were made out of feathers and worn by the Aztec rulers of Tenochtitlán, the Mexica city-state that occupied the land on which modern day Mexico City stands?

Maybe or maybe not.

Luis Fernando Lara Ramos, a linguist and researcher at the College of Mexico, said the origin of the word chilango is unclear but asserted that it doesn’t come from either a pre-Hispanic or a Latin-based language.

“We don’t know where the word came from. There are a lot of theories but none is trustworthy. What happens with these [kinds of] words is that they come from popular tradition, someone creates them and they end up being so meaningful to those who hear them that they spread quickly,” he said.

The academic said that not only is it unknown who coined the word chilango but it is also unclear where the term originated and when its use became common.

However, Lara was clear about one thing – “[The word] Chilango, first and foremost, is derogatory.”

He explained that people from places other than Mexico City often think of Mexico City residents as being self-important and the word chilangos provides a way to refer to them in a pejorative way.

In an interview with the newspaper Milenio, Lara didn’t refer to the chilango/capitalino differentiation explained above but said rather that the former is a colloquial, pejorative demonym and the latter a cultural, or politer, one.

He also said that even though chilango is generally considered derogatory, many chilangos (and chilangas) have taken ownership of the word and use it to assert their identity in a positive way.

“First and foremost, chilango is pejorative but as happens with a lot of these pejorative terms some people use them for self-affirmation. [For example] he who says, soy chilango y qué? [I’m a chilango and so what?],” Lara said.

“. . . Those who use it to assert themselves saying yo soy chilango y qué are in reality challenging the pejorative use of the word,” he added.

Even so, the linguist said his personal preference was to use the word capitalino for all residents of Mexico City.

The word mexiqueño, he added, was invented by the Mexican Academy of Language about 10 years ago but hasn’t caught on.

Mexico News Daily

Burger King offers free drinks in lineup at new competitor Shake Shack

By

-

June 28, 2019

The lineup at the new Shake Shack yesterday in Mexico City.

Burger rivalries were on full display at the grand opening of Shake Shack on Thursday, as Burger King took advantage of long lines to promote its brand.

Shake Shack, a United States burger chain, opened its first store in Mexico on Thursday at 333 Reforma avenue in Mexico City.

When the doors opened at noon, people were already lined up to be among the first to try the new restaurant. Two brothers even slept in front of the restaurant the night before. But for those who hadn’t come out so early, the wait time was as long as two hours.

That’s when Burger King representatives showed up and started handing out free drinks, coupons and paper crowns. Shake Shack employees responded by handing out free lemonade.

Carlos Alverde, director of the Grupo Toks, which runs Shake Shack in Mexico, said that he isn’t worried about Burger King’s antics at the Shake Shack opening.

“We were surprised by what Burger King did, honestly,” he told the newspaper El Financiero. “They were handing out coupons for hamburgers for today, and I think it’s really funny they have to act like that.”

Alverde added that he thinks the event illustrates the difference between the two brands.

“I prefer to charge for something good than to give away something bad,” he said. “We’re very happy, the customers are recognizing the quality of our products.”

Hamburger prices range from 85 to 189 pesos (US $4.40 to $9.85); a hot dog costs 80 to 90 pesos.

There are also menu options for hungry pets; Shake Shack is pet-friendly.

Grupo Toks plans to open a total of 30 outlets in Mexico by 2028.

According to Euromonitor, the hamburger market in Mexico is worth US $1.1 billion, and is projected to grow 23% by 2023.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

23 banks agree to refinance US $8 billion in Pemex debt

By

-

June 28, 2019

López Obrador at yesterday's meeting with bankers.

The federal government has signed a US $8-billion syndicated loan agreement with 23 banks to refinance debt owed by Pemex and renew credit lines for the heavily indebted state oil company.

President López Obrador said on Twitter yesterday that the deal renewed revolving lines of credit with lower interest rates and over a greater period of time in order to strengthen Pemex during the entire six-year term of his government.

The participation of 23 banks in the syndicated loan means that the risk of each individual financial institution is reduced.

Both Mexican and foreign banks signed the agreement including “14 of the 20 biggest [banks] in the world,” López Obrador said.

“It’s the most important operation of its kind in the history of Mexico. In brief, they have confidence in us,” he said.

At a meeting with bank representatives in the National Palace, the president described Pemex as a “fundamental company for the development of our country.”

“It was left in a bad way because it wasn’t properly managed, above all it wasn’t managed honestly,” López Obrador said.

Pemex has liabilities in excess of US $106 billion and Fitch Ratings downgraded the company to junk status earlier this month, reducing its credit rating from investment grade to speculative with a negative outlook.

If Moody’s Investors Service were to follow suit – as many investors believe will happen – there would be a sell-off of up to US $16 billion of Pemex bonds.

The refinancing deal reached yesterday was made possible by a pact agreed to in May by the government and three banks.

HSBC, JPMorgan and Mizuho Securities agreed on May 13 to underwrite a US $8-billion syndicated loan for Pemex that was designed to allow the company to refinance its debt.

Both the president and Pemex CEO Octavio Romero stressed at the time that the deal did not represent new debt for the state oil company.

Romero explained that the agreement refinanced US $2.6 billion in debt and renewed two revolving lines of credit for up to US $5.5 billion.

López Obrador said today that the financing was available over a period of five years, two years longer than under a previous arrangement.

Speaking at his morning press conference, the president reiterated that the new loan deal showed that banks have confidence in the government.

“These actions demonstrate that there is confidence. The banks don’t act without information, they don’t take a decision like this because they like the government. They know that Pemex is in very good health,” López Obrador said.

“Everybody is questioning and betting that the economy will go badly, but when these actions happen it helps a lot because it demonstrates confidence.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Canadian ambassador worries that Mexico won’t respect pipeline contracts

By

-

June 27, 2019

The new pipeline will transport natural gas from Texas.

Canada’s ambassador to Mexico expressed concern that the government won’t respect gas pipeline contracts a day after the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) initiated an international arbitration process to nullify clauses in the contract for a submarine gas line between Texas and Tuxpan, Veracruz.

Pierre Alarie said the CFE’s actions against the Mexican company IEnova and the Canadian company TC Energy (formerly TransCanada Corporation) – which partnered to build the US $2.5 billion project – contradict statements by President López Obrador that the government won’t initiate any legal action against pipeline operators.

“I’m deeply concerned about the recent actions of the CFE and the message they send that, despite López Obrador’s statements, Mexico doesn’t want to respect gas pipeline contracts,” the ambassador wrote on Twitter.

López Obrador said on February 12 that his government won’t take legal action against companies that operate the pipelines because they have “very good lawyers,” explaining that he didn’t want to end up fighting legal battles in international courts.

However, the president changed his tune this month, stating that the government will take legal action if necessary.

The CFE is seeking the nullification of certain clauses of the Texas-Tuxpan “transportation services contract,” according to a note sent to the Mexican Stock Exchange by IEnova.

The company said the clauses the CFE wants to revoke are related to the responsibility of the parties in unforeseeable circumstances.

IEnova said the CFE is also seeking reimbursement of payments “it now considers unjust.”

The company didn’t state how much the CFE is seeking but in an interview with the newspaper El Financiero, Ambassador Alarie said the CFE appeared to be asking TC Energy for some US $899 million.

He warned that the arbitration process sends a confusing signal to the private sector and places future investment at risk.

“I don’t want to speculate about the decisions that the companies will make but they need clarity,” Alarie said.

“What I can tell you is that the contract was for US $2.5 billion, it was signed in 2017, it created thousands of jobs in the country and the confusion could place the investments at risk,” he added.

The ambassador said he didn’t agree with CFE chief Manuel Bartlett’s characterization of pipeline contracts as “one-sided,” pointing out that the state-run company itself negotiated, approved and signed them.

The company’s intention to have part of the Texas-Tuxpan contract repealed is “a very bad sign,” Alarie said.

“The actions of the CFE are very incongruous with the words of the president . . . I believe that it is very important to immediately clarify the rules of the game so as not to confuse the companies,” he added.

The president of the Business Coordinating Council, a leading private sector organization, was also critical of the arbitration process, stating that it creates a perception that the government is not respecting contracts that were signed before it took office.

“A contract that was put out to tender internationally is being called into question, a contract was awarded to a company in an international bidding process, the company built [the project], we may not like the conditions of the contract [but] what we can’t do is . . . [take action] against the contract,” Carlos Salazar Lomelín said.

Gustavo de Hoyos, president of the Mexican Employers’ Federation, expressed his opposition to the CFE’s actions in a Twitter post.

“The attraction and retention of international investment requires certainty. [There is] nothing more damaging for the competitiveness of Mexico than a loss of confidence in the rule of law. In the energy sector, the country is degraded by the failure to comply with contracts and the violation of the law,” he said.

Asked about the Canadian ambassador’s remarks at his morning press conference today, López Obrador said the government will seek to reach an agreement with TC Energy.

“An agreement will be reached but we also have to defend the assets of the people of Mexico,” he said.

The president said that Alarie’s comment about Mexico not wanting to respect pipeline contracts was motivated by his role as Canada’s chief diplomat in the country.

“As any ambassador would do, he has to defend the companies from his country,” López Obrador said.

The pipeline project was completed earlier this month. It has the capacity to move 2.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Mexico City event will launch Animal Angels in aid of street animals

By

-

June 27, 2019

A new program to help rescue and care for stray animals will hold a concert and information meeting in Mexico City on July 11.

Animal Angels, a group founded by Natalia Ruiz Gómez to promote animal rescue, says their mission “is to make a difference with the street animal problem throughout Mexico one animal at a time,” and to harness the wasted “potential for love both ways” represented by the millions of dogs and cats that live on the streets.

A national veterinarians’ association estimates there are 28 million dogs and cats in Mexico and that 70% of them live on the street, and their numbers are growing 20% per year.

To raise funds and spread the word about their cause, Animal Angels will co-host an event with Tequila Blues Explosion, a concert promoter that holds rock and blues concerts to support different causes.

The event will take place on Thursday, July 11 at McCarthy’s Irish Pub in Tlalpan at 7:00pm with a display of rescued pets. Later, Ruiz will give a presentation about the problem of stray animals in Mexico, and the bands Tangerine and Dirty Freaks will follow.

Tangerine will perform tributes to Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin, celebrating the 50-year anniversary of Joplin’s performance at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. Dirty Freaks will play songs by bands including Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Queen, The Doors and Jefferson Airplane. Dirty Freaks will also be joined by guest harmonica player Isidoro Negrete and saxophonist Max Octavo Maravilla.

More information about Animal Angels can be found here. As part of the fundraising drive, the organization will also offer discounted ticket packages to the third annual Tequila Blues & Rock Explosion Fest, which will take place in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo on January 18-20, 2020.

Mexico News Daily

Police chief sends message to reporters by firing rifle into the air

By

Madison Koen

-

June 27, 2019

Chief fires a rifle into the air in Coahuila. — Chief fires his rifle in Coahuila.

Reporters in Coahuila are demanding a government investigation into an incident in which a police chief in the state’s coal region fired his weapon into the air to prevent reporters from approaching a body that had been discovered on the side of a highway.

Cristina Flores, a journalist with the newspaper Factor Coahuila, said she was one of a dozen reporters and photographers who responded to reports of a body found Wednesday on the side of Highway 57 near the municipality of Sabinas.

However, when they arrived at the scene, they found it roped off. As if to reinforce the barrier against entering the crime scene, Police Chief Rolando Noé Fernández Martínez repeatedly fired a rifle into the air.

One reporter attempted to fly a drone to capture photos of the body but was asked to leave by an officer from the state Attorney General’s Office.

When questioned about his actions, the chief merely laughed.

A collective of four organizations representing journalists in the state denounced the incident in a public letter to Governor Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís, public security chief José Luis Pliego and state Attorney General Gerardo Márquez Guevara.

The collective demanded an investigation into the police chief’s actions along with appropriate legal action. The letter said the collective is not willing to let the police chief’s threat go unpunished.

“The aggression was captured on camera by the reporters carrying out their duties, which means that there exists proof in photos and video of the public servant’s inappropriate actions.”

The organizations’ letter also asked state authorities to “send a clear message so that public servants respect freedom of speech and journalistic work, especially to those in charge of ensuring public security.”

Source: El Universal (sp), 24 Horas (sp)

Automotive sector drives 7% increase in exports in May

By

-

June 27, 2019