Research centers face cuts but council spends millions on gourmet meals

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May 27, 2019

Salmon is one of the dishes on the menu at science council headquarters.

The government’s austerity measures haven’t stopped officials at one federal agency from dining well on the public purse.

The National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) paid a catering company more than 15 million pesos (US $787,500) to provide gourmet meals for staff even as its scientific research centers face budget cuts that threaten their capacity to pay basic expenses.

According to a contract posted to a government transparency website, Conacyt hired Pigudi Gastronómico to provide daily, mainly organic, low-fat, low-sugar breakfasts and lunches for 120 employees at its Mexico City office from April 22 to December 31.

Meals must be prepared exclusively with “high-quality organic products and/or agro-ecological products without toxins that are purchased from agricultural producers of the region,” the contract said.

Among the authorized ingredients are high-quality red meat; organic pork (not to be served more than once a month); fish including salmon, red snapper and sea bass; organic chicken; wild rice; organic apple vinegar; 100% natural juices; organic whole grains; tortillas made with creole corn; and organic coffee (to be made only with almond or organic milk).

The contract also specifies that the contracted company must cater for vegetarians and people with food allergies by providing a range of salads and gluten-free bread among other options.

The use of canned food in the preparation of meals or products containing high-fructose corn syrup or MSG is strictly off limits.

As part of the lucrative agreement, Pigudi supplies kitchen staff including a head chef, wait staff to serve the meals and a nutritionist who designs the menu to ensure that it is balanced and healthy.

The company was the only bidder in a public tendering process, the newspaper El Universal reported, adding that it also provided 25 million pesos’ worth of catering services to the previous federal government.

Revelations of the science council’s extravagant spending on catering coincide with news that public research centers are struggling to pay basic expenses such as electricity as a result of a 12% – or almost 3-billion peso (US $157.5-million) – cut to the Conacyt budget.

Director María Elena Álvarez-Buylla has pledged that Conacyt will “do more with less” but there is evidence that suggests that outcome is unlikely.

Conacyt’s funding to a range of public organizations, including the Mexican Academy of Sciences and the Mexican Society of Mathematics, has been slashed or deferred, and 27 public research centers under the auspices of the science council are implementing their own forced austerity measures in response to cuts.

Starting today, a technology center in Jalisco will enforce a strict 5:00pm closing time for researchers and prohibit the use of air conditioners among a range of measures aimed at cutting electricity costs.

Another Conacyt research center in Ensenada, Baja California, says that maintenance of the northeast earthquake monitoring network in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit is at risk due to budget cuts.

“. . . With the reduction of travel expenses, we will not have the means to carry out revisions of the 95 monitoring stations,” said researcher Carmen Maya.

Alberto Aziz, a researcher at a social anthropology Conacyt center, said that cutting the funding for health, education, science and research is only something that “neoliberal governments do,” echoing a criticism of President López Obrador’s administration that was made by the chief of the Mexican Social Security Institute when announcing his resignation last week.

López Obrador describes the 36 years before he came to power as the “neoliberal period,” a time during which he says Mexico’s governments were corrupt and caused all manner of problems for the nation and its institutions.

After winning last year’s election on a strong anti-corruption platform, the president vowed to execute a “transformation” of public life in Mexico, which he says includes honest governance, “republican austerity” and a commitment “for the good of all” to attend to the needs of the nation’s poor first.

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

Customs agents seize 10 tonnes of shark fins in Manzanillo

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Madison Koen

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May 27, 2019

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Confiscated shark fins in Manzanillo. — Confiscated shark fins were going to make soup.

Customs agents in Manzanillo, Colima, have confiscated a large haul of illegal shark fins bound for the Philippines.

The fins, about 10.4 tonnes in total, were estimated to have a value of nearly 4 million pesos (US $210,000). They were discovered in 509 crates during an inspection by customs officials and the navy.

The export of shark fins is prohibited in Mexico, but in 2015 it was one of the top 10 countries in which sharks were captured for lucrative ends. Of the world’s 500 shark species, 104 are found in Mexican waters.

Shark fins are considered the most valuable part of the animal and are removed in a process known as shark finning, in which fishermen capture a shark, cut off the animal’s dorsal fin and throw the rest of the still-living creature back into the water, where it bleeds to death.

The fins can fetch as much as US $1,100 per kilogram and are used in a popular Chinese dish called shark fin soup, a symbol of status. The fin was thought to have medicinal properties.

Today, the undiminished popularity of shark fins has led to overfishing.

According to the Smithsonian Institution, close to 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Los Zetas cartel operator arrested in Veracruz

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César Hernández

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May 27, 2019

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Suspected Zetas operator arrested in Veracruz. — Suspect believed to be part of Zetas cartel.

A suspected member of the Zetas cartel who operated in Veracruz was arrested yesterday in the port city of Coatzacoalcos.

Navy marines were alerted when the saw the suspect driving above the speed limit “in a suspicious manner.”

When the driver became aware of the presence of security forces, he attempted to flee, leading to a chase that ended a few blocks away.

The marines found about 42 doses of a substance that looked like methamphetamine, along with a restricted weapon.

A check on the driver indicated he was probably a member of the Zetas cartel operating in the municipalities of Las Choapas and Agua Dulce. The organization has been linked to several criminal activities in the region.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Jalisco cartel attacks police in Michoacán, killing 3, wounding 10

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Simon Schatzberg

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May 27, 2019

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Three police officers were killed and 10 other people were wounded around 3:30am Sunday when a group of armed civilians attacked police in downtown Zamora, Michoacán.

In the initial confrontation, three officers were wounded, two of whom later died.

Other officers who arrived at the scene to aid their colleagues were also targets of gunmen.

The shooters were driving pickup trucks marked with the initials of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

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Later in the morning, the armed group attacked police cars in another Zamora neighborhood, during which another officer was killed and seven others were wounded.

Two civilians who were passing through the area were also hurt.

Federal forces are helping to ensure security in the area, while Michoacán state police have opened an investigation into the events.

Shortly before the attacks, a video circulated on social networks showing a convoy of at least 20 cars and pickup trucks bearing the initials of the CJNG. In the video, the man who is recording video orders armed men, dressed in black, to board the vehicles, and shouts encouragement to them.

Source: Radio Formula (sp), El Universal (sp)

4 dead, 14 injured after truck slams into vehicles in Mexico City

By

Simon Schatzberg

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May 27, 2019

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The truck that plowed through a dozen vehicles in Santa Fe on Saturday.

Four people were killed and 14 injured after an accident involving a semi-trailer and more than a dozen other vehicles in Santa Fe, Mexico City.

According to Mexico City police, the accident happened around noon Sunday when officers tried to stop a semi-trailer that had collided with another vehicle, but the driver refused to stop.

The semi led the police on a short chase and after ramming a police car the 29-year-old driver lost control of the truck and hit 11 other vehicles before crashing into a house and coming to a halt.

Police later verified that the semi-trailer had been reported stolen.

Four people lost their lives in the crash, including two minors. Of the 14 injured, at least one had suffered a bullet wound. Transit police closed off the area to help emergency services.

Two people with serious injuries were flown to hospitals by helicopter, including one police officer. The other man, who was showing symptoms of traumatic brain injury, was flown to another hospital for specialized care.

The driver of the semi has been placed under arrest and faces a charge of vehicular homicide.

Source: Milenio (sp), Proceso (sp)

‘Nobody should have privileges:’ secretary resigns after causing flight delay

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MND Staff

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May 27, 2019

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González Blanco resigned her post on Saturday.

The secretary of the environment resigned on Saturday after causing the delay of a commercial airline flight and triggering a backlash on social media.

Josefa González-Blanco Ortiz-Mena said in a resignation letter posted to Twitter that there was “no justification” for causing a 38-minute delay to passengers and crew on board a plane preparing to take off from Mexico City bound for Mexicali, Baja California.

“There is no justification. The true transformation of Mexico requires total alignment with the values of equity and justice,” she said.

“Nobody should have privileges, and the benefits of one, even in carrying out one’s duties, cannot be above the well-being of the majority.”

In a separate post on Twitter, González Blanco said “there was no presidential order to delay the departure of the plane,” contradicting an explanation given by one of the passengers.

“I am the only person responsible for what happened. The president’s office never intervened,” she said.

On Saturday afternoon, President López Obrador said he accepted González-Blanco’s resignation, explaining that he had spoken to her about the incident and recommended that she step down.

“We cannot be tolerant of acts of arrogance,” he said. “We have to act with rectitude: zero corruption, zero influence, zero nepotism, none of those scourges in politics.”

The environment secretary was the second cabinet official to quit last week after Germán Martínez, chief of the Mexican Social Security Institute, resigned on Tuesday, citing budget and staffing cuts at the agency and other “pernicious influence” by the Secretariat of Finance.

Since the López Obrador administration took office last December, there have also been significant staffing cuts at the Secretariat of the Environment (Semarnat).

A report in the newspaper El Universal said that during González-Blanco’s administration of the department, 16,630 employees of Semarnat and agencies for which it is responsible were laid off.

The now-former official was criticized for allowing such a large number of dismissals to occur on her watch, and also came under fire for her alleged absence in the face of environmental problems including the arrival of sargassum on the Caribbean coast and recent air pollution problems in the Valley of México metropolitan area and other cities.

Nevertheless, González-Blanco defended her record in her resignation letter.

“We have made the first steps towards the defense and protection of the environment, considering the integrity of the territory, the dignity of communities and the equitable social development to which we aspire,” she said.

López Obrador announced today that the new environment secretary will be Víctor Manuel Toledo, a professor of ecology at the National Autonomous University.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Moderate to extreme drought is affecting one-fifth of the country

By

MND Staff

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May 26, 2019

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Just over one-fifth of Mexico’s territory is affected by moderate to extreme drought, according to the National Meteorological Service (SMN).

The weather service said in a new report that 21.1% of the country is suffering from drought conditions, an increase of 4.4% compared to the previous report, published at the end of April.

“During the first half of May 2019, lower than normal rainfall was observed in much of the country, which caused an increase of moderate drought areas in the west, center and south . . . while in the border region between Guerrero, Oaxaca and Puebla a severe drought area has emerged,” the report said.

Part of the land in the catchment areas of the Coatzacoalcos, Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers is also considered to be in extreme drought, the SMN said, explaining that a total of 20 municipalities in Veracruz, Tabasco, Oaxaca and Chiapas are affected.

In northern Veracruz and southern Tamaulipas, drought conditions have caused the deaths of thousands of head of cattle either because they didn’t have sufficient grass and water or because they became struck in mud while trying to drink from water-depleted dams.

Gonzalo Alemán, director of rural development in Altamira, Tamaulipas, said that 80% of the 600 dams on farms in the area are dry and that those that still have water will run out in a week or 15 days.

In the municipality of Tampico, drought has affected the water supply for 2,000 families, forcing them to rely on tanker truck deliveries.

While just over one-fifth of the country is officially in drought, a deputy director at the National Water Commission (Conagua) said that half of the nation’s territory is feeling the effects of a lack of rain.

“We have to remember that May is the month when the highest temperatures are recorded,” Víctor Alcocer Yamanaka added.

Wildfires spurred by the hot and dry conditions burned in more than half of Mexico’s 32 states last week.

Alcocer explained that the areas of the country suffering from drought this year are different to those affected in 2018.

“. . .Last year it was on the Pacific coast including Baja California . . . There was no drought in Veracruz, Chiapas, Tabasco or Campeche . . . The drought moved from the entire coastal zone of the Pacific towards the center [of the country] and downward,” he said.

Alcocer said that there has been no significant rain in the Coatzacoalcos, Grijalva and Usumacinta river basin areas for six months, adding that Conagua is taking action to protect the limited water available in the area.

“We already applied the program of anti-drought measures in those three rivers and the basin councils have been instructed to reduce water demand and supply the public using water tankers,” he explained.

The official said that weather forecasts indicate that drought conditions should ease in June, a month when the annual rainy season should start to bring much-needed precipitation to many parts of the country.

Source: Reforma (sp)

Flight delayed 38 minutes waiting for cabinet secretary to board

By

Madison Koen

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May 25, 2019

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The late arrival takes her seat aboard delayed flight.

There were several complaints by passengers to Aeroméxico last night after their flight was delayed: the plane would have to wait for a senior government official.

Mexicali-bound Flight 198 was taxiing toward the runway when it suddenly turned around and returned to the ramp, according to reports by Twitter users who were aboard the aircraft.

They said the captain told passengers that the flight’s departure would be delayed for 38 minutes to await the arrival of a federal government official.

When she arrived, the passenger was identified by at least one passenger as Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Josefa González-Blanco Ortiz-Mena, who was accompanied by her son.

Passenger Jorge Rioja expressed his ire on Twitter, where he published a picture of the cabinet secretary boarding the plane.

“I’m headed to Mexicali. We’re just about to take off when the plane stops and the captain announces that we are heading back to pick up another passenger on ‘presidential orders.’ Is this for real?”

Another was more forceful. “This is arrogance, this is corruption, it’s an insult to . . . people who paid and arrived on time for their journey.”

“What social bias in the 4T!” wrote @GabrielRicoVal1. “What fifismo!” The 4T refers to the fourth transformation, President López Obrador’s term for the profound change he wishes to introduce. Fifismo means elitism and comes from another favorite expression of the president — fifí, used to describe people or organizations who are elitist or snobbish.

Another passenger, Alberto Díaz, expressed his disbelief at the situation.

“I am on Aeroméxico Flight AM198. The plane starts to move on to the runway for takeoff when suddenly the plane returns to the ramp. The captain announces, apologizing, that he has received orders to return because it is ‘imperative’ that we wait for a passenger belonging to the federal government.”

The airline responded to Díaz, apologizing for the delay and promising to resume the flight as quickly as possible.

In response, Alberto addressed a complaint directly to Secretary González-Blanco.

“This is also corruption, Josefa. As citizens, we should not have to wait just because you showed up late for the flight. If you miss it ‘take the next one like everyone else.’”

Off the record, members of her staff confirmed that González-Blanco did indeed board the Friday flight, which eventually departed at 10:08pm.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Through the efforts of a UNAM student, a Oaxaca community has a library

By

Simon Schatzberg

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May 25, 2019

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A library has been born in a mountain village in Oaxaca thanks to the efforts of a teaching student at the National Autonomous University of México who wanted to give something back to her community.

Adriana Kupijy Vargas Huitrón decided to use the skills she learned studying to open a library in the community of Tejas in the municipality of Santa María Tlahuiloltepec, the Mixe community where her father grew up.

She decided to make the effort after reflecting on what she was learning in her university studies.

“I was in crisis, and I was very frustrated,” she told UNAM Global. “I thought, why am I even studying, if I’m not creating anything for my community?”

So Vargas posted on Facebook requesting donations of books. Her initial goal was to collect 500, but she received over 4,000 donations, including encyclopedias, novels, textbooks and books of poetry.

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Vargas collected donations in Mexico City, while her sister did the same in Oaxaca city.

“At first we had problems finding a space but we resolved that with a community building,” Vargas said. “The community was very interested, they built the furniture, cleaned and sorted the books, and they keep the space clean.”

She hopes the library will become a space for the community to have events like classes, film projections and readings for children.

Vargas’ efforts have been noted by another community nearby. When citizens of Las Flores saw the Tejas library they decided they wanted one too.

Vargas credits her UNAM education for the motivation to create the library.

“I had access to UNAM, to all this knowledge, these readings, and above all, the libraries,” she said. “I didn’t want that to be just my privilege, I wanted it to be a right for many people.”

Source: UNAM Global (sp)

Wichos are high-protein grasshopper snacks made in Mexico

By

MND Staff

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May 25, 2019

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Fancy a tasty, healthy, high-protein, high-fiber snack that is environmentally-friendly and uniquely Mexican?

Lime and chili-flavored churritos made out of finely ground grasshoppers fit the bill.

Two Mexican entrepreneurs, Erika Gil Gutiérrez and Magali Díaz García, are the brains behind Winko, a company that has been selling the crunchy chapulín snacks for the past year.

They recounted the story of how their innovative product came about to the online magazine Tec Review.

“Mexico has a wide variety of edible insects, and they’re also part of our culture. We thought it was a good idea to experiment with them to see how we could offer a product that is healthy, of good quality, tasty and which nourishes . . . people and doesn’t just satisfy their craving . . .” Gil said.

Wichos are nutritious grasshopper snacks.

They ultimately decided to develop a product using chapulínes, small grasshoppers belonging to the Sphenarium genus that have been a popular snack in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times.

“Of all the insects we looked at, the grasshopper was the one with the greatest quantity of protein for the lowest cost,” Gil said.

“Besides, it’s the most popular insect that people eat and the one they’re most familiar with,” she added.

Sold under the brand name Wichos, the churritos also contain amaranth – a staple food of the Aztecs – sesame seeds and linseed. In addition to a high protein and fiber content, the snacks contain iron, magnesium and vitamins A, B and C.

“By portion, which is a 50-gram bag, the protein content is 10 grams. That’s quite high in comparison with other products on the market,” Díaz said.

She explained that Winko originally sourced its grasshoppers exclusively from Oaxaca but now also uses insects from Puebla, Tlaxcala and México state.

“When we started we used the Oaxaca chapulín, which is the best known. Afterwards . . . we realized that the insect also lives in the central part of Mexico. In the Valley of Texcoco there are a lot of chapulínes, that’s where there is currently the largest population . . .”

Díaz added that satisfying protein needs by eating grasshoppers is more environmentally-friendly than the consumption of farmed meat.

“The chapulín is very efficient in producing its protein . . . if we compare it to a cow or pig. Those animals need a lot of land, water and food to produce a kilogram of protein [and] they also emit a lot of greenhouse gases,” she said.

Lime and chipotle-flavored Wichos can be purchased on Winko’s website for delivery in Mexico and the United States.

Source: Expansión (sp)