Environment secretary blames ‘neoliberal parasites’ for global warming

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May 29, 2019

The new environment secretary: no more neoliberal environmental policies.

“Parasitic and predatory neoliberals” are responsible for global warming, the new environment secretary charged today.

In his first public statement since his appointment on Monday, Víctor Manuel Toledo Manzur promised an end to what he called the neoliberal environmental policies that have been pursued by previous administrations, blaming them for continuing environmental problems in Mexico.

“Human beings are not responsible for global warming, as a superficial environmentalism and uncritical science would like to tell us,” he said. “The responsible are a parasitic and predatory minority, and that minority has a name: neoliberalism.”

The new secretary promised to “take back” the Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (Semarnat), which he said had been controlled by “merchants from the automotive sector,” and involve citizens in policy making.

One of Toledo’s predecessors, Juan José Guerra Abud, had previously been president of a trade association representing the interests of vehicle manufacturers.

In terms of environmental policy, Toledo presented a clear choice between policies that address ecological problems or ignore them.

“We can defend life, or we can continue destroying it in the name of the market, technology, progress, development, economic growth, etc.,” he said.

Toledo said finding new sources of energy is important because petroleum will start to run out by the year 2050, and global warming will start affecting food production.

He also highlighted the importance of legislation to ban shale fracking and genetically-modified corn and other crops.

Toledo replaced Josefa González-Blanco Ortiz-Mena, who resigned earlier this week after asking that a commercial airline flight be delayed so she could board.

Toledo holds a doctorate in biology from the National Autonomous University of México and is a researcher at UNAM’s Ecology Institute.

Source: Reforma (sp), Milenio (sp), SDP Noticias (sp)

Sabotage of Mazatlán’s water system investigated after lines burst

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Madison Koen

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May 29, 2019

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Municipal workers repair a water line in Mazatlán.

Authorities are investigating the possible sabotage of Mazatlán’s water system after several valves were tampered with, affecting distribution to various parts of the municipality.

The interruption in service was only the latest disruption in service. On the weekend, a rupture in water lines near the airport left the downtown area of Mazatlán without water.

The more recent rupture in the Flores Magón neighborhood shut off the water supply to many neighborhoods in the northern part of the city.

Mayor Luis Guillermo Benítez Torres blamed saboteurs, claiming that the incidents were likely the work of embittered municipal workers who tampered with the water pressure so that the lines would burst.

“These people are criminals. We are investigating [the ruptures] and we are on the verge of discovering who is behind these acts of sabotage. They are wrong in thinking that they are hurting the administration; it is not the mayor, but rather themselves — the people — that they are harming.”

The mayor denounced institutional corruption in the municipal government and warned that his administration was taking concrete steps to prevent resources from being stolen.

“I would rather die trying to denounce these scoundrels than give up.”

The mayor said that to solve the immediate water crisis in the north of the city his government will spend 30 million pesos (US $1.6 million) to build a new water tank with the help of the National Water Commission.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Sol de México (sp)

4,000 National Guard members will be sent to Michoacán

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César Hernández

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May 29, 2019

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Bound for Michoacán in July. — Bound for Michoacán.

A large contingent of the National Guard will be deployed to Michoacán in response to growing insecurity.

“Starting in July, 4,050 members will be gradually deployed to the different regions of Michoacán, supporting the governor’s initiative and guaranteeing reasonable standards of security and stability as soon as possible,” Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo said.

But he warned that the presence of the Guard will not be enough to reach that goal if state and municipal police are not properly trained and their numbers increased.

“Collaboration is fundamental,” continued Durazo, “and even if the political background of the municipal, state and federal governments is different, no [argument] can be made as an obstacle to respond to the people’s demand for security.”

On Twitter, Governor Silvano Aureoles Conejo thanked Durazo for the “response to the enormous challenge of security.”

“. . . no one should doubt that our state will be a land of peace and security in all of its regions. We are committed to that goal, whatever the cost . . . ”

Source: Milenio (sp)

Hawks on patrol in the Metro to keep the pigeons in check

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Madison Koen

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May 29, 2019

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A longstanding problem in Mexico City’s above-ground Metro stations is being addressed with birds of prey.

City transit authorities are using Harris’s hawks in “biological control measures” to chase away pigeons that have for years proliferated in the above-ground stations of the Metro system.

Authorities said the high acid content of the pigeons’ excrement frequently blocks drainage systems and can rapidly corrode train tracks.

Officials said the use of hawks began last month in some stations where the potential threat of service interruption due to large flocks of pigeons is greatest. The hawks will initially be used throughout regular service hours and into the night to prevent the pigeons from returning after hours.

Transit authorities said Mexico City is not the only major urban hub to implement the technique.

In a second phase of the measure, once the hawks have successfully cleared the stations of loitering pigeons, transit employees will hang a dummy hawk as a scarecrow to further deter any especially stubborn birds that remain.

“We carry out these actions Monday to Friday at different times of the day. It is environmentally friendly since it does not make use of gases or violent means of removing the pigeons. As such, it also avoids any possible risks to public health due to the accumulation of the pigeons’ excrement on the stations’ roofs,” the city said.

Source: Milenio (sp), Excelsior (sp)

Mexican growers predict US tomato shortage in 15 days

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Simon Schatzberg

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May 29, 2019

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Mexico is a big supplier of tomatoes to the US.

The United States will face a shortage of tomatoes starting in 15 days if it does not lift a 17.5% tariff on Mexican tomato imports, according to a growers’ association.

Alfredo Díaz, director of the Mexican Protected Horticulture Association, told Milenio yesterday that Mexican producers are struggling to absorb the cost of the tariffs. He said the tariff has forced some small producers to lower their export volumes, while for the moment most medium and large producers are still exporting at full volume.

“Pretty soon, there will be a shortage in the United States if this goes on,” he said. “In about 15 days, we’ll start to notice supply going down, and that will be reflected in higher prices.”

Two weeks ago, Mexican tomato producers sued the U.S. Department of Commerce in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York. The lawsuit requests an injunction suspending the tariff and the investigation of Mexican producers for dumping, or selling products below their production costs.

Díaz said the two sides finished making their arguments last Friday and that a ruling could come at any time.

He added that whatever the court rules, Mexican tomato growers are ready to negotiate with U.S. trade officials and growers’ associations.

“We made another offer last week and we are waiting for them to look at it so we can negotiate,” he said. “What they told us is that the U.S. is negotiating with China about other issues right now, so we’re still waiting for them to call us.”

The Department of Commerce imposed tariffs on Mexican tomatoes on May 7 after allowing a six-year-old agreement that suspended anti-dumping investigations to expire. The U.S. withdrawal from the agreement was largely in response to complaints from Florida tomato growers, who say they struggle to compete with Mexican imports.

Mexico’s share of the U.S. tomato market grew from 32% in 1996 to 56% in 2017, while U.S. farmers produced 40% of tomatoes consumed in the country in 2017.

Source: Milenio (sp), The Produce News (en)

Mexico living through security emergency unseen since Revolution: Durazo

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MND Staff

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May 29, 2019

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Unity is fundamental to combating violent crime, says Security Secretary Durazo.

Mexico is living through a security “emergency” unseen since the Mexican Revolution, the secretary of public security said yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of a regional security plan in Apatzingán, Michoacán, Alfonso Durazo said that a large part of the wave of insecurity plaguing Mexico is the result of the corruption of security forces.

“For many years, violence and crime have been supported by the deviance of officials, who shelter and protect criminal groups and their conduct, and the result has been the most serious crisis of violence that our country has experienced, perhaps since the Mexican Revolution,” he said.

Last year was the most violent year on record, with more than 33,000 homicides, and the murder rate in the first quarter of 2019 was up almost 10% compared to the same period of 2018.

“Insecurity isn’t an issue [that arose] today or yesterday, it’s the result of an accumulation of years that will take time to correct but we’re 100% determined to [find] the solution, without losing a minute,” Durazo said.

The secretary described the situation as an “emergency” and declared that “unity is fundamental” to combat the high levels of violent crime.

No political or ideological pretext can take precedence over the responsibility to guarantee public security and to put an end to impunity, Durazo added.

“The fight against crime is a matter of the state and as such it requires the . . . political will of all,” he said.

The official explained that a gradual deployment of 4,050 members of the National Guard to Michoacán will begin in July to complement the state security strategy and “guarantee as soon as possible reasonable standards of security and stability.”

There has been a spike in violence in the state in recent days including a clash between police and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in Zamora on Sunday in which four officers were killed, and a confrontation between the CJNG and the Viagras gang in Uruapan last Wednesday that left 10 people dead.

The recent violence “reminds us that criminal groups don’t stop in their attempt to distort the security [situation] and commit criminal acts,” Durazo said.

“For those reasons, we must close ranks with complete determination to combat them, with intelligence and with a capacity for force.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Airbnb won’t disappear so its regulation is essential: hotel owners

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MND Staff

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May 28, 2019

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Hotelier Arsuaga wants to see regulations that foster fair competition.

Greater regulation of Airbnb and similar accommodation platforms is needed to ensure a level playing field in the tourism sector, according to the head of a national hotels association.

“We’re conscious that Airbnb is not going to disappear and we know that no country has found the perfect formula to regulate it but we believe that there is a lot to do, in terms of regulation,” said Braulio Arsuaga Losada, president of Hotels for Mexico, an association that represents 20 major hotel chains.

“For the moment, as hoteliers we want to be part of the roundtable discussion; we [the tourism sector] are one of the three largest industries in the country and we generate 9% of GDP,” he added.

Seven Mexican states including Guerrero and Mexico City charge Airbnb hosts booking taxes of 2% to 3% but federal Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco has proposed the introduction of a nationwide regulatory framework for online hospitality services.

Speaking at a tourism industry event, Arsuaga said that a review of current regulations should extend to all companies that operate in the sector.

“It’s about there being game rules that stimulate investment, innovation and sustainable development. We want regulations that foster fair competition but which also make us competitive,” he said.

Arsuaga, who is also the CEO of the Presidente hotel group, contended that the Mexican tourism industry needs to reinvent itself to better compete in the global market.

“The great challenge for Mexico is to react with speed and intelligence to this revolution; that implies the intensive use of technology to get to know the needs of tourists and to attend to them better,” he said.

“By the same token, we must improve our tourism competitiveness. We’re in 22nd place, according to the World Economic Forum, but we can advance a lot more. That means taking meaningful steps on a lot of things: infrastructure, regulation, human capital and sustainability among other things.”

The industry representative also addressed the government’s decision to disband the Tourism Promotion Council (CPTM).

“We understand the decision of the government and we want to be proactive. There are three tasks that they did at the CPTM and we want to work, with maximum collaboration between the public and private sectors, so that they continue to be done: tourism promotion, public relations and crisis management,” Arsuaga said.

“At present, insecurity and sargassum need a highly-coordinated crisis management effort. It’s about being in constant communication with tourism operators abroad and sending a message to potential tourists; the Mexico brand requires a sustained effort over time.”

Source: El Economista (sp)

Father pushes wheelchair-bound son so he can play soccer

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César Hernández

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May 28, 2019

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Marito and his father playing soccer in Ciudad Juárez.

Parents aren’t generally permitted to play on their children’s soccer teams but there’s an exception to the rule in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.

The father in this case is effectively the 12th member of the León Juárez team, but he has a special role: he pushes his son’s wheelchair.

Photos have appeared on social media showing Marito’s father running around the field with his disabled son, allowing him to participate in the sport.

The team’s managers wrote online that soccer “encourages society’s fundamental principles of teamwork, fraternity and effort.”

They also said the were “very proud to have Marito on our team.”

Source: El Mexicano (sp)

Interpol arrests steelmaker chief, warrant out for ex-Pemex boss

By

Tony Richards

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May 28, 2019

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Ancira, left, has been arrested, and Lozoya could be next.

Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) has made another move against the country’s biggest steelmaker and the former CEO of Pemex.

Interpol police today arrested Alonso Ancira, the owner and president of Altos Hornos de México, in Mallorca, Spain, and the arrest of Emilio Lozoya may soon follow.

Warrants for both were issued on Sunday in connection with the 2014 sale of a fertilizer plant to Pemex by Altos Hornos.

The UIF froze the bank accounts of both Lozoya and Altos Hornos yesterday, alleging that financial operations had been carried out with illegal resources.

Unnamed sources said the move was in connection with the fertilizer plant sale, for which Pemex has been accused of overpaying.

The UIF has offered no further details.

Source: Reforma (sp)

Sewage from Mexico’s Tijuana river closes San Diego beach

By

MND Staff

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May 28, 2019

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A two-year-old file photo of a San Diego beach indicates the problem is not new.

Large amounts of sewage-contaminated runoff moving into southern California from the Tijuana river in Mexico have forced San Diego authorities to prohibit swimming on the entire shoreline of Imperial Beach.

A beach closure has been in place for months at the southern end of the city’s coastline but the San Diego County Department of Environment Health expanded the closure Sunday after recent rains sent yet more polluted water across the border.

The beach closure will remain in place until testing shows that the water is safe.

According to officials, more than 110 million gallons (416.4 million liters) of toxic storm water has flowed north from Mexico since April.

“The sad thing is that with just a quarter inch of rain . . . [contaminated water] can begin to flow and impact our beaches,” said Paloma Aguirre, director of the environmental NGO Wildcoast.

“Every time that it rains, here in Imperial Beach we have the closure of beaches caused by the Tijuana river. The state of Baja California simply hasn’t done enough [to stop the flow of contaminated water],” she added.

Aguirre said last year that the Tijuana wastewater treatment plant, known as San Antonio de los Buenos, or Punta Bandera, is dumping 1,750 liters of untreated sewage into the Pacific Ocean per second.

Before the expanded closure was announced, Imperial Beach resident Patricio Amores told broadcaster Telemundo 20 that he wouldn’t risk swimming in the ocean due to the possibility of catching a contamination-related illness.

Local residents holding signs that read “stop the poop” attended a rally Sunday morning to demand that officials do more to stop the ongoing pollution problem.

In 2017, more than 50 United States border patrol agents became ill after being exposed to contaminants while working in the vicinity of the border, while last year the state of California and the cities of Imperial Beach and Chula Vista sued the United States government over the recurring flows of polluted water from Mexico.

The plaintiffs would like to see a beefed-up diversion system and funding for sewage infrastructure in Tijuana, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Experts and officials say that hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure spending is needed to stop water pollution affecting the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California.

Beaches on the Mexican side of the border have also been closed intermittently due to high pollution levels.

To stop wastewater contaminating the beaches of Rosarito, a city 20 kilometers south of Tijuana, a candidate for mayor believes that another treatment plant is needed.

Dora Esquivel Machado, who will represent the Institutional Revolutionary Party at elections this Sunday, said that untreated wastewater flows to Rosarito from neighborhoods in the east of Tijuana.

“We already have one [plant] but it’s not enough because it’s in the rural part of Rosarito. We need one on the central side,” she said.

Source: Telemundo 20 (sp), CBS News (en), The San Diego Union-Tribune (en), El Sol de Tijuana (sp)