Wake up and smell the pine trees at three retreats in central Mexico

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May 27, 2019

The Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes in the Paso de Cortés.

White sand beaches and colonial churches are beautiful, but there comes a time when you need to smell pine trees and the lingering smokiness of a campfire in your hair.

I have spent years scouring the internet and pestering friends about places to camp in Mexico, but as I get older I find sleeping on the ground is no longer a joy and snuggling up in a cozy cabin is much more my style.

Here are three delightful retreats in central Mexico that I have found and loved, each just a few hours outside of Mexico City, yet a world away.

In the northern Sierra mountains of Puebla, Zacatlan de las Manzanas is a tiny town with the country’s longest functioning Franciscan church and a flower clock famous throughout the country. This is the home of Latin America’s first clock factory and also a hub of apple cider making, whose season culminates in the crowning of the apple queen at a yearly apple festival.

There are a handful of places to take in the majesty of the surrounding mountains and the evening fog that rolls in over them, but my favorite is the Tlatempa Campamento. The cabins are built right into the side of the mountain but without much clearing of trees, creating lots of emerald shade.

Zacatlán's flower clock. — Zacatlán’s flower clock.

The style is full-on hippie-rustic. Expect construction using recycled materials (like glass bottles and brightly-painted tires) and an emphasis on preserving nature (dry toilets, composing, etc). Tlatempa has a warm, hospitable vibe. There is a restaurant at the property’s highest point that makes down-home dishes.

Cabins and a camping platform are available — definitely ask for the best views of the valley when you reserve. This is not a place for anyone with mobility issues as the way to and from the cabins is a series of stair trails that remind one of the Swiss Family Robinson. There is lots of local hiking to be had as well as the Piedras Encimadas Valley just 30 kilometers from town.

The physical beauty of the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes is even more romantic than their love story. Monuments to nature’s wonder, you can get breathtaking views of both in the Paso de Cortés, where a visitors’ center for the Izta-Popo Zoquiapan National Park sits surrounded by nothing but sweeping prairie and these two giants on either side.

A few kilometers deeper into the parque and you will find the Buenavista Villa Turistica, a campground with a dozen or so cabins, a restaurant, and small man-made lake. I suggest visiting during the week if you can when the tourist crowd thins and you will have the place basically to yourself.

Cabins are simple, sturdy king-size or full-size beds, fireplaces, a few shelves to store your things and bathrooms. Smaller cabins accommodation two to six people and there is a massive family inn for big groups. The complex itself is pleasant to wander around, and several people have vacation homes built in a rustic style similar to the rest of the complex.

But exploring Itza and Popo (as they are lovingly called) is the best attraction in the area. There are several walking trails from the visitors’ center and great photo opps. The pass is over 11,000 feet above sea level so even in warmer months expect to have to bundle up, at least at night. Also make sure you check the activity status of our friend Popo — when he’s spitting ash the park is off limits.

Probably my favorite on this list is Rancho Santa Elena, a former hacienda once owned by members of the Hernan Cortés family. Part of the charm of this small handful of cabins is that there are three small kitchens for guests to use.

The best set-up is in the gallinero-style cabin with its own outdoor kitchen attached to the back. The two gallinero cabins sit side by side, each with a king-size bed and a loft with either two twins or a full mattress. The other cabins in the main hacienda building have full beds and an area with bunkbeds but feel like a tighter fit.

There are also 10 camping spots scattered through the acreage and a massive cabin that sleeps 15 for big groups.

The hacienda has acres of hiking trails and a small reservoir for swimming (although at its fullest the water is freezing cold) and kayaking.

The hacienda provides trail maps but the trails aren’t well marked at the moment. Hopefully that will be something they improve in the future.

Also, several mountain biking trails and courses are set up throughout owing to the fact that the owner’s daughter is Daniela Campuzano, who represented Mexico at the Rio Olympics in mountain biking.

A walk through the pines, just a few hours from Mexico City.

The closest town from the ranch is about a 20-minute drive. There is a small shop with some basics (they even have wifi) but it’s best to bring all the food you need as what you can find is limited. The kitchens are 100% stocked with pots, pans, dishes and hand towels.

The view of the surrounding mountains, the silence and the pleasant but invisible staff make this place an absolute delight.

So now you know, if you want to hunker down and get cozy cabin-style in Mexico, here are three great options for fireplaces, mountain views and clean forest air. As an added bonus each of the places I mentioned is pet-friendly (some for a fee). See you in the woods!

Lydia Carey is a freelance writer based in Mexico City.

City to invest 3bn pesos in ‘Zero Garbage’ plan and reduce landfill waste

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MND Staff

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May 27, 2019

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Every day, 8,600 tonnes goes to a Mexico City landfill.

The Mexico City government will invest 3.1 billion pesos (US $162.6 million) this year in a “zero garbage” plan that aims to drastically reduce the quantity of waste that ends up in the landfill.

Presenting the plan yesterday, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum explained that the capital currently produces 12,700 tonnes of solid trash per day, of which just under half is organic waste.

Sheinbaum said that a ban on single-use plastics – scheduled to come into force late next year – will reduce non-organic garbage, adding that “another fundamental part [of the plan] is to recycle more . . . plastic, glass and metal.”

Sheinbaum explained that one goal of the “zero garbage” plan is to increase the quantity of non-organic waste that is recycled from the current 1,900 tonnes per day to 3,200 tonnes in 2024, the year her six-year term will end.

She added that the private sector will collaborate with the government to work toward reaching the target.

The mayor presents her new garbage plan.

The government will invest in two new waste separation plants and six others to process rubble generated by the construction industry.

Another goal, Sheinbaum said, is to increase the quantity of compost produced from organic waste from 1,400 tonnes per day now to 2,250 tonnes in 2024.

In addition, the waste management plan will seek to make much greater use of garbage to generate alternative fuels. Currently, 800 tonnes of waste per day are used to that end while the goal is to increase the quantity by 275% to 3,000 tonnes.

If the government meets its goals, just 2,000 tonnes of trash will end up in a landfill each day in 2024 compared to 8,600 tonnes today.

“Our wish is [to have] a zero-garbage city with a circular economy; in other words we’ll recycle, reuse and reduce [waste] so we don’t send garbage to the landfill, and so it doesn’t end up in rivers, ravines or the sea . . .” Sheinbaum said on Twitter.

Environment Secretary Marina Robles predicted that the city’s plan will generate savings of just under 8.4 billion pesos (US $440.7 million) in the six-year period.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Red Cross president supplies ambulance fuel with his own gas station

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MND Staff

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May 27, 2019

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A Red Cross ambulance pulls into the gas station owned by the Red Cross president.

Red Cross ambulances in Mexico City fill up at a gas station owned by the organization’s national president, according to an anti-graft group.

Information obtained by Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) reveals that paramedics and drivers of other Red Cross vehicles are obliged to purchase gasoline at a filling station in the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood that is owned by Fernando Suinaga Cárdenas, national president since 2012, and Pablo José Miguel Suinaga Cárdenas.

The vehicles fill up at two specially-designated pumps between 12:00pm and 3:00pm and again at 8:30pm, according to MCCI.

The gas station, which opened in 1998, has been used to supply fuel to Red Cross vehicles for more than two years.

Paramedics who spoke to MCCI said that at the conclusion of their shifts they have to fill up at the station in Cuauhtémoc before returning the ambulances to Red Cross headquarters, which is located five kilometers away in the Polanco district.

MCCI arranged a May 13 interview with Fernando Suinaga Cárdenas to discuss the commercial arrangement but at the last minute he pulled out, citing work commitments.

Instead, Red Cross general manager José Antonio Monroy Zermeño met with the group and explained that the organization’s vehicles began filling up at Suinaga’s station when Pemex stopped supplying free fuel in 2016.

Monroy said the Red Cross president then proposed that his gas station fill the void.

“Obviously . . . a conflict [of interest] presents itself but if there is no option [for free fuel], we have to rely on our own people,” he said.

The official acknowledged that Suinaga’s gas station didn’t provide a quote for the gasoline, contravening standard practices.

But the national president offered a line of credit to the Red Cross, Monroy explained, adding that “we sometimes caused him problems” because the organization had solvency problems which caused payment delays.

He described the credit arrangement with Suinaga’s gas station as a benefit for the Red Cross but explained that not all vehicles fill up there.

MCCI asked Monroy for information about how the deal with Suinaga was reached, how much money is spent on gasoline at his station and how the credit arrangement operates but the manager said he didn’t have those details at hand.

However, a report sent to MCCI two days after the interview said that 5.96 million pesos’ (US $313,000) worth of gasoline was purchased at Suinaga’s gas station between 2016 and 2019.

The national president doesn’t donate any fuel to the Red Cross, the report explained.

Source: Reforma (sp)

Howler monkeys victims of Veracruz drought, 40 C temperatures

By

Madison Koen

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May 27, 2019

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An extended, severe drought in southern Veracruz has proved fatal for rare howler monkeys.

A combination of extreme temperatures nearing 40 C and a three-month dearth of rainfall in the region has deprived the monkeys of access to sufficient water.

Alfredo Martínez Alfonso, a municipal police officer in Chancarral, Minatitlán, the location of a large wildlife refuge, said nearly 10 monkeys have died.

Residents of a nearby town gather fruit for the monkeys.

Most are “mothers who then leave their young behind as orphans. Everything has dried up, so the animals have been dying throughout the months of April and May . . . they do not have water, and so they do not have any way to get nutrients.”

Resident Dolores Morales told the news platform La Razón that the area has never seen such a dramatic decline in the howler monkey population due to drought.

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“The [death] of the monkeys is something we have never seen before. I have lived here for 25 years . . . and in all that time we have not ever heard of any deaths from a drought until now.”

Howler monkeys spend most of their lives in tall trees of the rainforest. Now, residents say, the survivors can be seen in the trees among the hanging corpses of the drought victims. Alejandrina Martínez Jiménez, another Chancarral resident, said locals have left water and food for the monkeys in an attempt to keep them alive.

“We brought them water. A girl climbed up [a] branch . . . and that’s where we left them water, but we do not know if it is high enough that they can climb down to get it. It is such a shame to see the poor animals die since they are so much like humans.”

Residents of nearby Hidalgotitlán rallied on Sunday to help. For three hours yesterday morning they gathered donations of fruit that was delivered later to Chancarral.

Howler monkeys are becoming increasingly rare and are threatened by hunting and habitat destruction. Some experts believe that howler monkeys could become extinct within the next 35 years.

There were about 30 believed to be living in the Chancarral area.

Source: La Razón (sp), Imagen del Golfo (sp)

Weekend beach clean-up removes 48 tonnes of sargassum

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César Hernández

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May 27, 2019

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One way to spend a weekend at the beach in Quintana Roo.

More than 400 volunteers joined government officials and collected 48 tonnes of sargassum seaweed on the weekend, part of the state’s efforts to combat the seasonal arrival of the macroalgae on the beaches of Quintana Roo.

Civil society organizations and groups of students worked together with municipal and state officials on the beaches of Cancún, Tulum, Mahahual and Xcalak.

The state government provided tools to the workers, who collected and disposed of the seaweed in designated locations, ready for transport away from the beach.

In preparation for the arrival of massive amounts of sargassum, the state government divided its coast in nine zones and two islands, designing an emergency program in which the people of these 11 areas, along with municipal officials, hoteliers and restaurant owners, help contain and dispose of the seaweed.

The state also created a temporary job program employing people to collect the seaweed from the beach and offshore.

Source: Reforma (sp)

Auction sells 65 vehicles, raises an estimated 28 million pesos

By

Simon Schatzberg

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May 27, 2019

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This Ford Shelby went for 1.9 million pesos. — This cartel-owned Ford Shelby went for 1.9 million pesos.

The federal government raised about 28 million pesos (US $1.47 million) in a vehicle auction on Sunday, putting 82 on the block and selling 65.

One of the most expensive sales was a 2007 Lamborghini Murciélago, which had a starting price of 1.47 million pesos and sold for 1.77 million (US $93,100) to Roberto López, a businessman from Michoacán.

A 2016 Ford Shelby pickup truck that was confiscated from the Sinaloa Cartel sold for 1.9 million pesos.

Some of the 900 people who attended the auction were disappointed by the high prices. On average, the vehicles sold at 70% above their market value.

“Frankly, it was a fraud,” Rubén Anaya told Reforma. “I came for trucks, like the Hummer, but they were sold for very high prices. You can find them on the internet for 100,000 pesos less.”

This Volkswagen Bug had a starting price of 10,000 pesos but went for 65,000.

Another bidder, Guadalupe González, accused the government of placing “shills” among the bidders to unfairly drive up prices.

“Honestly, it was a bit fraudulent, because they don’t cost that much,” she told Reforma. “I think they sent shills to push the prices up. We came for the trucks, the BMWs and the small cars, but they sold for three times higher, and it’s not worth it.”

One buyer who did not wish to be named purchased a BMW for 295,000 pesos. He didn’t think there were shills among the bidders, but he agreed that the prices were high.

“I thought the auction was very good,” he said. “I didn’t see shills like there were in the last administration, but the prices did get really high, much higher than the market. I had participated before, but I didn’t buy anything [then] because of the shills.”

Ricardo Rodríguez, director of the agency responsible for the auction, said the money raised will be go to two municipalities in Oaxaca that are considered the poorest in the country.

Some of the vehicles auctioned had belonged to the government, some had been confiscated from organized crime and others had been repossessed by tax authorities.

Source: Reforma (sp), El Sol de México (sp), El Financiero (sp)

Research centers face cuts but council spends millions on gourmet meals

By

MND Staff

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May 27, 2019

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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

By

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

By

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

By

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.

Watch this video on YouTube

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)