New electrical plant in Yucatán is not part of CFE’s strategic plan

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June 25, 2019

The president and his wife, Beatriz Gutiérrez, in Yucatán Saturday.

The construction of a new electrical generation plant in Yucatán as promised by President López Obrador is not part of the strategic plan of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), according to an energy sector expert.

During a visit to Mérida on Saturday, López Obrador said he had already spoken to CFE director Manuel Bartlett Díaz about his plan and that it had been decided that a new plant will be built in the region “so that there are no more blackouts on the Yucatán peninsula.”

But Santiago Casillas Arzac, a partner at KPA Energy Solutions, said that “as far as we know, the CFE’s generation capacity expansion program includes the opening of six plants in the country, none of which are in Yucatán.”

The six locations where the CFE has plans to build new combined-cycle power plants are Tuxpan, Veracruz; Salamanca, Guanajuato; San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora; Lerdo, Durango; Baja California Sur; and San Luis Potosí, he said.

Casillas also pointed out that Bartlett has consistently said that to combat the electricity supply shortage on the Yucatán peninsula – where there have been three major power outages this year – the CFE’s plan is to improve the energy generation capacity of existing plants and to strengthen the electricity-carrying capacity of transmission lines.

The CFE announced in April that it is investing 2 billion pesos (US $104 million) to strengthen the electricity-carrying capacity of transmission lines between Ticul, Yucatán, and Escárcega, Campeche.

Casillas said his company believes that increasing transmission capacity is a viable option to solve the Yucatán peninsula’s power problems.

Jorge García Valladares, national secretary of Fecime, a national confederation of mechanical engineers and electricians, also expressed doubt that López Obrador’s promised power plant will become reality.

“It’s something that’s in limbo. First it has to be seen what kind of fuel it will use because if it’s going to be fuel oil or coal obviously it’s ruled out. It could be natural gas because combined-cycle plants are classified in the energy transition law as efficient energy [sources]. The problem is that we don’t have gas, we’re left with [the question], what comes first the gas or the plant?” he said.

In an interview with the newspaper El Financiero, García asserted that supply of the former must be guaranteed before the latter can be built, adding that if there is insufficient gas for energy generation purposes “we have to take advantage of what we do have, which is sun and wind.”

He acknowledged that electricity supply from renewable energy sources is unpredictable but added that “backup systems” are being developed on the Yucatán peninsula so that “when there is no wind or no light” continuity of service can be guaranteed.

There has been ample debate and concern this year about the availability of energy supply – or lack thereof – on the Yucatán peninsula, and the National Energy Control Center announced last Monday that it intended to declare a state of emergency for the region due to a lack of natural gas to generate energy.

However, it backed away from its warning the next day, stating that there was no foundation for it.

Nevertheless, there is still anger and concern about the future possibility of power outages and natural gas shortages in the region and the effect they will have both on residents and the business sector.

Source: Diario de Yucatán (sp), El Financiero (sp)

Bacterial infection claims fourth baby in Tamaulipas; 5 others infected

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MND Staff

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June 25, 2019

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Parents grieve at the coffin of one of the victims of a bacterial infection.

An aggressive bacterial infection has claimed the life of a fourth baby at a hospital in Tampico, Tamaulipas.

A one-month-old baby girl died at the Dr. Carlos Canseco General Hospital on Sunday. State health authorities revealed last week that three other babies had died at the same facility after becoming infected with Acinetobacter baumannii, an almost round-shaped bacterium that is especially dangerous to people with compromised or undeveloped immune systems.

Blanca Patricia Santos González, the 25-year-old mother of the infant who passed away two days ago, accused the hospital of negligence, claiming that staff mistreated her daughter and didn’t use all the medications she was asked to buy.

Santos said she detected bruises on her daughter’s body and that doctors changed their story about the cause of death.

They first said that the bacterial infection had killed Blanca Guadalupe, she claimed, but subsequently contradicted themselves and blamed her and her husband for infecting their daughter with a virus.

Santos said she will file a criminal complaint with the relevant authorities.

Last week, Tamaulipas Health Secretariat undersecretary Mario Cantú revealed that three premature babies had died at the Carlos Canseco Hospital since May 21 as a result of an A. baumannii infection.

He added that five other babies were also infected with the bacterium, which is becoming an increasingly common nosocomial, or hospital-derived, infection.

“The microorganism is very aggressive. Fifteen years ago, very little was heard about these kinds of contaminations but now it’s becoming increasingly common. The reason for this is the indiscriminate use of antibiotics that have become resistant to these microorganisms,” Cantú said.

The official defended hygiene standards in Tamaulipas hospitals, stating “we have very strict handling protocols in intensive care units” that require medical personnel to wash their hands frequently and to change gloves when treating each different patient.

“It’s all very strict, the problem we face in intensive care units is that a pathogen that in your hands or mine doesn’t cause any illness can cause a problem in patients who are immunosuppressed.”

In the aftermath of the first three deaths, the Tamaulipas government suspended both the director of the Carlos Canseco hospital, Luis Antonio Núñez, and the head of epidemiology pending an investigation.

The State Comptroller’s Office said the reason for the employees’ suspension was to guarantee the objectivity, transparency and impartiality of the investigations into the origin and spread of the infection.

The Tampico hospital is not the only health care facility where A. baumannii bacteria has been detected and caused fatalities this year.

The same bacterial infection was blamed for the deaths of three people at the Dr. Juan Graham Casasús Hospital in Villahermosa, Tabasco, and was also detected in patients at public hospitals in Chihuahua.

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

Reforestation plan begins in Jalisco’s Primavera Forest

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Simon Schatzberg

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June 25, 2019

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Federal government representive Lomelí and tree-planters in the Primavera Forest on Sunday.

Around 100 people turned out to help with a reforestation project on Sunday in the Primavera Forest near Zapopan, Jalisco, including the federal government’s state super-delegate, Carlos Lomelí Bolaños.

In an interview with the newspaper El Occidental, Lomelí said that permanent, year-long reforestation efforts are necessary for the forest because previous efforts, which focused on reforesting during the rainy season, have not been sufficient.

“We can’t skimp on federal, state or municipal resources for the recuperation of the forest,” he said. “We need to make a permanent habit of planting trees in our forest, the lungs of Jalisco.”

On the first day, volunteers planted over 200 pine and oak trees that were donated by the army, the National Forest Commission and the Primavera ejido.

The Primavera Forest, also known as the “Lung of Guadalajara,” covers 30,000 hectares near the Jalisco capital. It boasts several tourist attractions, including an award-winning microbrewery and an abstract art gallery.

Trees ready for planting in the Jalisco forest.

But for years, the forest has been plagued by recurrent wildfires, including a series of blazes earlier this year which destroyed hundreds of hectares of woods.

According to Lomelí, the fires have caused temperatures to rise in the Guadalajara metropolitan area over the past few decades.

Gerardo Alberto González Cuevas, a forestry researcher at the University of Guadalajara, told the newspaper Milenio that reforestation needs to be supported by other conservation efforts, and that it could cause more harm than good if it is rushed.

“First of all, it’s very important that we act consciously, instead of rushing to reforest,” he said. “Before we do that, we need to make advances on ground and water conservation efforts, which have already started.”

González said that people who are interested in helping out with reforestation should coordinate with authorities instead of pursuing individual, uncoordinated reforestation.

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

Mexico City’s Pujol restaurant No. 12 in the world, best in North America

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Simon Schatzberg

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June 25, 2019

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Pujol restaurant in Mexico City: best in North America.

Mexico City’s Pujol is once again considered the best restaurant in Mexico, according to the 2019 ranking by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

A panel of over 1,000 culinary experts voted chef Enrique Olvera’s Pujol the 12^th-best eatery in the world, ahead of any other restaurant in Mexico or North America.

In 2018, Pujol had lost the title of top Mexican restaurant to Quintonil, another Mexico City establishment that is run by chef Jorge Vallejo. But this year, Quintonil slipped from 11^th to 24^th place in the global rankings.

The two restaurants are located blocks away from each other in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City.

Founded in the year 2000, Pujol offers “a tasting menu of refined and elegant plates built from indigenous ingredients that pay tribute to Mexico’s rich culinary history,” according to the World’s 50 Best website.

The top restaurant in the world was Mirazur in Menton, France, while the top Latin American restaurant was Central in Lima, Peru.

Another restaurant founded by chef Olvera, New York City’s Cosme, came in 23^rd place, and second place in North America. Cosme is run by Mexican chef and Olvera protégée Daniela Soto-Innes, “a breakout star of the global dining scene,” according to World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

In April she was named the world’s best female chef, the youngest chef to win that distinction. She is 28.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Sahara dust brings red sunsets to Yucatán peninsula

By

Madison Koen

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June 25, 2019

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Sahara dust sunset on Yucatán peninsula. — Sahara dust sunset.

Meteorologists predict that the massive dust cloud from the Sahara Desert in Africa will continue to hang over the Yucatán peninsula until Thursday, creating spectacular red sunsets.

The dust is picked up from the desert floor in the western part of the Sahara before being blown across the Atlantic Ocean by eastern trade winds, settling across the American continents and sometimes even reaching as far as the Amazon basin.

Astronomer Eddie Salazar Gamboa said it was very likely that the dust particles that in recent days have given Yucatán sunsets their special red hue will remain over the peninsula until Thursday because of projected clear skies and the absence of strong rains.

“On Thursday we are expecting the arrival of a tropical storm in the Caribbean, which will provoke rains across the peninsula. When it rains, the raindrops grab on to, in a matter of speaking, the dust particles, which then fall to the ground.”

The next two days are expected to be hot with clear skies: perfect conditions for the unique crimson sunsets caused by the Saharan dust.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Immigration chief apologizes for calling federal cops ‘fifí’

By

MND Staff

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June 25, 2019

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Police officers' wives protest in Mexico City after their husbands were labeled elitist.

The new immigration chief apologized today for calling Federal Police officers “fifís” (elitist) just hours after President López Obrador suggested he would, and in the wake of criticism from the officers’ families.

Francisco Garduño, who has only been at the helm of the National Immigration Institute (INM) since June 14, used the disparaging word last week to describe officers who complained about the conditions they faced while carrying out anti-migration operations, including having to sleep exposed to the elements or in tents.

“. . . These types of police [officers] are used to being at the Holiday Inn and eating at the buffet . . . they were fifís and they want to continue being fifís” he said, asserting that under the López Obrador administration the age of entitlement is over.

Garduño apologized for his remarks in a Twitter post this morning.

“I offer an apology for having made an unfortunate statement. I underscore my respect and support for the Federal Police as well as my commitment for them to work in decent conditions in this emerging plan to deal with migration,” he said.

Immigration chief Garduño has apologized for calling federal cops elitist.

Earlier today, López Obrador said that the new INM chief had made a mistake by referring to the Federal Police as fifís, a word that he frequently uses himself, usually to describe those who oppose him and his government.

“I’ve already defined who the fifís are, I’m not going to repeat it anymore,” the president said before immediately contradicting himself.

“[A] fifí is a junior [a term used to describe an entitled son of Mexico’s elite], a conservative, a hypocrite, a braggart, a crook, that’s who a fifí is, in other words not the majority of the population . . .” López Obrador said.

“Yes, [the use of the term] might have been an error, Francisco Garduño is a good person, I’m sure that he could even offer an apology without any problem.”

Yesterday, about 35 family members of Federal Police officers protested in Mexico City’s central square to denounce Garduño’s remarks and demand that he apologize.

“We demand an apology, they’re not fifís,” a woman identified only as Fanny told the newspaper Reforma.

“He said that the agents used to sleep in hotels, yes [that’s true], but sometimes there were up to 10 agents per room. So why does he dare to say they are fifís,” she added.

The woman called on Garduño to spend three nights with Federal Police officers while they are deployed on a trying mission “to see if he can survive in such a situation.”

“. . . As a wife [of a Federal Police officer] I’m up to speed about all the shortcomings [they face]. We demand an apology because it was not the right thing to have made that comment,” Fanny said.

Rodolfo Basurto Carmona of the National Police Union, one of two groups that called for yesterday’s protest, described Garduño’s comment as offensive.

“There was no reason to have expressed himself in that way, that’s why there is a demand [from the families] to at least . . . offer a public apology.”

The police officers in question have been assigned to work with the immigration institute because they didn’t meet physical requirements for transfer to the new National Guard. More than 600 officers were rejected for being overweight.

Source: Reforma (sp), Milenio (sp)

Attorney General’s Office should apply itself to arresting fugitives: AMLO

By

MND Staff

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June 25, 2019

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President López Obrador today urged the federal Attorney General’s Office to apply itself to the task of arresting former Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya and ex-Puebla governor Mario Marín.

The former is sought on corruption charges, the latter in connection with the 2005 torture of investigative journalist Lydia Cacho.

“What I have stated is that there mustn’t be impunity for anyone,” López Obrador said.

“They [Lozoya and Marín] might be able to evade justice for some time but they will be arrested because the responsible authorities have to apply themselves and do their job,” he added.

The president rejected any suggestion that his government is protecting the two men.

“What cannot be said is that they haven’t been arrested because we’re protecting them . . . That’s a lie. We’re not going to allow impunity in either of the two cases,” López Obrador said.

A warrant for the arrest of Lozoya was issued late last month in connection with the 2014 sale of a fertilizer plant to Pemex by steelmaker Altos Hornos de México.

The government says that the US $475 million Pemex paid for the plant was more than nine times its real value.

On June 5, a federal judge granted an injunction to the former state oil company chief that suspended the arrest warrant against him.

However, Judge Luz María Ortega Tlapa last week rescinded her own ruling because Lozoya was summoned to appear before the criminal court where he faces prosecution but failed to appear, a violation of the temporary suspension of his arrest warrant.

A lawyer for Lozoya, who has also been accused of receiving bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht while at the helm of Pemex, insisted that his client is innocent of the charges against him.

Javier Coello Trejo said Lozoya is in Mexico City but claimed that he won’t be arrested because authorities will not be able to find him.

In the case of Marín, governor of Puebla between 2005 and 2011, a Quintana Roo court issued a warrant for his arrest in April.

He is accused of ordering Puebla police to arrest Cacho, who was detained in Cancún on defamation charges following the release of her book, The Demons of Eden, which exposed a pedophilia ring.

Cacho was tortured and abused while in custody, and the case became a national scandal when a tape was leaked of a conversation between one of the supposed leaders of the pedophilia ring, Kamel Nacif, and Marín plotting to punish the journalist.

Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said last month that a federal court requested a “red alert” from Interpol for Marin’s arrest on the same day that the arrest warrant was issued in Mexico.

However, Marín is not among the 57 Mexican nationals currently listed on the Interpol website.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Heavy rains flood Reynosa hospital, close border crossings

By

Madison Koen

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June 25, 2019

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Heavy rains in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, provoked flooding and power outages last night, and shut down two international border crossings.

The downpour began at 6:30pm and lasted until 11:30, with lingering showers following until early this morning. Over the course of the evening, floodwaters stranded vehicles and inundated the city’s IMSS hospital.

Additionally, Mexican and United States authorities decided to close the Anzaldúas and Hidalgo international bridges — both busy international points of entry between the two countries — due to flooding.

The rising water also forced some residents to flee their homes. In response, Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca announced over Facebook and Twitter that Civil Protection officials and authorities from the state water commission had been ordered to Reynosa to assist those left temporarily homeless.

Meanwhile, municipal authorities and firefighters remained on high alert and recommended that citizens remain indoors.

A flooded hospital and a half-submerged car last night in Reynosa.

On social media, residents posted pictures and video from affected areas, requesting government help with evacuations, while others offered their homes and warehouses located on higher ground as temporary shelters for families in need.

Flooding was also severe on the other side of the border, where officials in McAllen, Pharr and Edinburg, Texas, reported power outages and emergency evacuations of residents to temporary shelters opened in local schools.

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

Water off for half a million people in CDMX to permit repairs

By

César Hernández

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June 25, 2019

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The water has been turned off for three days for over half a million people in Mexico City to allow the city’s water utility to repair 70-year-old water lines.

Pipes went dry at midnight last night in 52 neighborhoods of the central and eastern boroughs of Coyoacán, Iztapalapa and Tláhuac, as the Mexico City water department, Sacmex, started the repairs at the Tulyehualco aqueduct.

The work is scheduled to be completed on Thursday.

The city has announced that a fleet of 780 tanker trucks will distribute water to the affected households, and that funds have been allocated to allow local borough administrations to cover the cost.

Sacmex director Rafael Bernardo Carmona Paredes explained that the repairs at Tulyehualco are the beginning of maintenance work to repair aging water lines that have deteriorated and started to leak.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Father, daughter drown in Rio Grande after long wait for asylum

By

César Hernández

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June 25, 2019

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The Rio Grande, where the bodies of father and daughter were found.

A young father and his infant daughter drowned on Saturday in the waters of the Rio Grande while attempting to cross into the United States.

Óscar Alberto Martínez, 25, and Tania Vanesa Ávalos, 21, from El Salvador, had been waiting in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, to be granted asylum by the United States.

But after months of waiting, they decided to risk crossing the border and, with their 23-month-old daughter Valeri, waded into the waters of the river that separates the U.S. from Mexico.

But once in the water, Tania Ávalos lost her grip on the child due to the strong current, and her husband swam after her. The mother’s cries for help were heard by bystanders who took her her back to shore but her husband and daughter were not so lucky, and both drowned.

Their bodies were recovered yesterday by Civil Protection officials.

Source: Reforma (sp), Milenio (sp)