Government hands out life jackets to Xochimilco tour boat operators

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October 3, 2019

Free life jackets kick-start new safety measures.

The borough of Xochimilco has begun distributing life jackets to operators of barges in the borough’s canals in an effort to improve safety following a drowning last month.

The first 700 life jackets were handed out at the Cuemanco pier, one of the busiest embarcation points for canal tours, on Tuesday. In the next few days, life jackets will be distributed at the other piers, which include Fernando Celada, Nativitas and Caltongo.

The distribution of life jackets is one measure introduced by the city and the borough to improve safety in the Xochimilco canals after the drowning death of a reveler who fell from a barge last month. As of October 1, visitors to the canals have been required to wear life jackets. If barge operators allow their passengers to forgo life jackets, they face a suspension.

Xochimilco Mayor José Carlos Acosta Ruiz said that although the borough had originally planned that service providers would be required to purchase the lifejackets themselves, the borough decided to provide some of them to ensure that the new regulations are observed.

Acosta also noted that in the upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations, authorities will ramp up security in the canals to ensure the safety of visitors.

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

Senator: pot could be legal by end of month, but no state company will sell it

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MND Staff

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October 3, 2019

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Senator Monreal: marijuana legislation on the way.

A proposal to create a state-owned company to control the sale and distribution of marijuana in a regulated market appears to have no chance of succeeding: neither President López Obrador nor the ruling party’s leader in the Senate have offered support for the idea.

Mario Delgado, leader of the Morena party in the lower house of Congress, presented a bill on Tuesday that proposed that a state company called Cannsalud would have exclusive authority to purchase marijuana from legal producers and sell it to both authorized franchisees – who would supply the recreational retail market – and pharmaceutical companies.

On Wednesday, he clarified that his draft General Law for the Control of Cannabis was a purely personal proposal that doesn’t have the backing of the president and other Morena lawmakers.

The deputy rejected claims made on social media that his bill, which would also allow adults to grow up to six cannabis plants for personal use, would turn Mexico into a narco-state.

Delgado explained that under his proposal, 25% of marijuana sales profits would go to the implementation of social programs in communities where authorities have eradicated illegal cannabis crops and 20% would be spent on the detection and treatment of drug addiction.

But Morena Senate leader Ricardo Monreal poured cold water on Delgado’s state pot company, declaring that there should be a regulated market for marijuana but not one in which the government has a monopoly.

He also said that the Senate has nearly completed its own bill for the legalization and regulation of marijuana.

“. . . We’re very close to having a draft marijuana law,” Monreal said, adding that he will seek input from Delgado and other lower house lawmakers.

The Senate is looking at 12 different proposals on legalization and regulation that were discussed at recent open Senate sessions, the senator said.

“. . . If the Chamber of Deputies proposal is added, that’s 13. The idea is to try to make the best law possible. We’ve spent hours and hours debating this issue in the Senate and we’re going to respectfully invite [deputies] so that they join us in the next debates,” Monreal said.

The senator predicted that marijuana will be legalized by the end of the month and said that he was open to other aspects of Delgado’s bill being included in the final draft voted on by lawmakers.

“. . . We’re thinking that we’ll bring the law out, approve it, at the end of October. That’s the schedule we have. I’ll speak personally [to Delgado] so that the proposals contained in the initiative presented yesterday [Tuesday] can be considered here [in the Senate] . . .”

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

More ‘young eagles’ take to the air thanks to San Miguel program

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Simon Schatzberg

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October 3, 2019

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Young Eagles with their aviation program diplomas.

A Guanajuato aviation organization is helping local young people learn about careers in the aviation industry.

Since the Young Eagles México program was launched in 2007 in San Miguel de Allende, over 300 youths have passed through the program, which includes education about aviation and some aircraft flight time.

In September, 87 young people were given the chance to fly with volunteer pilots at the Celaya airport. Before the flights, the pilots led seminars about flight safety, the history of aviation and career opportunities in the industry.

The goal of the Young Eagles program is to encourage students to stay in school and study science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The first Young Eagles program was founded in the United States in 1992. Since then, the program has expanded to over 90 countries and has given over two million young people the opportunity to experience flight.

Mexico News Daily

More than 8 million turtle eggs lost on Oaxaca beaches after tropical storm

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MND Staff

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October 3, 2019

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Turtle eggs on a Oaxaca beach after last week's tropical storm. — Turtle eggs on a Oaxaca beach.

Environmental authorities have estimated that Tropical Storm Narda destroyed more than eight million turtle eggs in nests on beaches in Oaxaca.

The local delegation of the Natural Protected Areas Commission (Conanp) said that torrential rain, strong wind and large swells brought by Narda, which made landfall in the southern state last Saturday, damaged 44,000 nests at the Playa Escobilla turtle sanctuary, causing the loss of approximately 4.4 million eggs.

South of Escobilla, near the oil refinery city of Salina Cruz, just under four million eggs in almost 40,000 nests were destroyed at the Morro Ayuta sanctuary, Conanp said, bringing the total number of lost eggs to 8.39 million.

The figures, which assume an average of 100 eggs per nest, were calculated following censuses carried out at the two sanctuaries on September 30.

Conanp said the storm damaged 9.5% of all nests in which eggs were laid during the third mass arrival of turtles this nesting season, which began on August 21.

Millions of turtle eggs were lost on Oaxaca beaches.

It also said that a wide range of debris, trash and vegetation washed up on both beaches after the passing of Narda, which caused widespread damage in Oaxaca and cut off access to 46 communities for days.

“After the battering . . . it will not be an easy task [to restore the beaches]. It will require the joint effort of the public, authorities of the three levels of government and non-governmental institutions and organizations,” Conanp said.

Clean-up efforts assisted by local youth and environmental authorities began on Tuesday.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, the head of the turtle protection group Tortuga Verde criticized authorities for not implementing measures to protect the Escobilla sanctuary.

Rubén Sánchez said that neither the environmental protection agency Profepa nor the federal Secretariat of the Environment did anything to stop or limit the destruction of the nests.

Six of the world’s seven sea turtle species come ashore in Oaxaca to lay their eggs, most notably the olive ridley sea turtle. The Escobilla and Morro Ayuta beaches are among the world’s most important turtle nesting sites.

Turtle eggs have been destroyed during past weather events including tropical storms and hurricanes, and they are also sold in Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca, despite a federal ban on their consumption.

Would-be turtle hatchlings were not the only wildlife affected by Narda in Oaxaca: heavy rain flooded crocodile habitats in some parts of the state, causing the reptiles to flee their usual habitat for populated areas, including the towns of Pinotepa Nacional and Huazolotitlan.

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

Storm damage extensive in Yelapa, Jalisco; 300 families affected

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Cody Copeland

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October 3, 2019

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A rescue worker pulls a man out of floodwaters in Jalisco.

It only took eight minutes of rain from Tropical Storm Narda to turn the coastal paradise of Yelapa, Jalisco, into a flooded nightmare and leave extensive damage in its wake.

Losses have been estimated at 20 million pesos (US $1 million) in Cabo Corrientes, the municipality in which Yelapa is located, where 300 households have been affected and at least 30 have lost everything.

Located just south of Puerto Vallarta, the town has about 1,500 Mexican and foreign residents, of whom about 80% remained to wait out the storm. Locals said that they have never seen flooding like that which surged through town on Sunday.

Espiridión Joya Ramos has lived for decades in Yelapa, where he and his grandson ran a small restaurant on the shore of the river next to a waterfall. The flood swept everything away.

“The water arrived just before it got dark, around 7:30 or 8:00pm. I’ve lived here 49 years, and from what I can remember, there has never been flooding like this. The river burst its banks, taking with it houses and everything in its path,” Joya said.

Cleaning up in Yelapa after Tropical Storm Narda.

Another victim, Rufino Córdova, barely escaped the rushing waters.

“The river got really full and it was taking all the rocks with it . . . here where I live, I would have drowned, but I’ve got a couple of large rocks there that protected me,” he said.

On Tuesday morning, families were trying to recover their belongings.

“It happened in the blink of an eye,” said María Magdalena Lorenzo, who fled to the second floor of her house when the ground floor flooded. “In less than five minutes we were already flooded. We didn’t have time to grab anything.”

Personnel from the navy, National Guard and Civil Protection agency surveyed the damage on Monday morning, but left immediately thereafter.

“The navy came, but they only checked for injured and dead,” said Román Lorenzo, one of hundreds of residents who were cleaning up. “We haven’t received any help on the part of the government to clean up.”

Since the day of the storm, Yelapa residents have been without electricity, drinking water, telephone and other services. Those who have generators have been able to use them to charge their phones to call Puerto Vallarta, from which supplies are being sent.

So far three tonnes of food, water and other supplies have arrived, but the town is still in need of more.

Narda left a trail of damage during a seven-day sweep through Mexico last week.

Source: Quadratin (sp)

Guanajuato cop fired after suggesting new Tlatelolco for protesters

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Cody Copeland

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October 3, 2019

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Students march in protest against violence in Celaya.

An auxiliary police officer in Celaya, Guanajuato, has been relieved of his duties after suggesting a repeat of the Tlatelolco massacre to deal with students who have been protesting in the city this week.

Celaya security officials announced the dismissal of the officer and distanced itself from the comments he made on his Facebook page.

“Hopefully they’ll do a Tlatelolco version 2.3,” the officer’s post read, accompanied by photos of the protesters.

October 2 was the 51st anniversary of the student massacre at Tlatelolco, in which 300-400 students were killed by government forces. Invoking the atrocity sparked outrage and calls for the officer’s removal on social media.

The municipal government said it would not tolerate any expression against the safety of citizens.

“The municipal government, via the Secretariat of Public Security, reports that officer Miguel Alejandro ‘N.’ was immediately dismissed from his post this Tuesday for making comments that are not in accord with the vision and values that represent this administration,” said Celaya police in a press release.

Students at the Celaya Campus of the National Technical Institute of Mexico (TNM) have been protesting since Monday against insecurity faced by the student body and the death of Gabriel Luna Ibarra, who was murdered after leaving school on Saturday.

Over 10,000 students from nine universities gathered in downtown Celaya on Tuesday to repudiate the violence in the city and to demand justice for the three students murdered this year.

Source: El Universal (sp)

President denies plans for takeover of US firm’s oilfield discovery

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MND Staff

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October 3, 2019

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President López Obrador denied on Thursday that Pemex is seeking to take over a Gulf of México oilfield where a United States company discovered a significant reserve in 2017.

A report published on September 30 by the news agency Reuters said the state oil company wants to seize control of Zama, a shallow water field containing almost a billion barrels of oil that is operated by a consortium led by Texas-based Talos Energy.

According to an unpublished draft report by the consultancy Wood Mackenzie, about a third of the reserve likely extends into an adjacent Pemex field although that hasn’t been confirmed because the state-run company hasn’t yet drilled there.

Asked at his regular news conference whether Pemex was seeking operational control of Zama, López Obrador responded:

“No, it’s a reserve that is shared with Pemex and there is no problem.”

The president asserted that his administration is not reviewing any exploration or drilling contracts awarded by the past government following the 2014 energy reform.

“We don’t commit any arbitrary acts,” López Obrador said.

The president also responded to a report published today by the newspaper Reforma which quoted a U.S. Department of State official as describing the possibility of Pemex taking over control of Talos’ project as a “disturbing development.”

Kurt Donnelly, deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy, also said that the United States government would defend U.S. interests in Mexico and has communicated as much to the López Obrador administration.

“Mexico was seemingly on the right path. This might indicate that they are deviating,” he told Reforma.

López Obrador said the official was misinformed and questioned why he hadn’t discussed the issue with the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs.

“. . . With all respect, why is the Department of State intervening [in this way]. They should do it through Foreign Affairs, ask us for information . . . They have to act with respect to our sovereignty,” he said.

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

Sinaloa looks for more airline connections for 3 airports

By

Cody Copeland

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October 3, 2019

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More international connections sought for Mazatlán.

Sinaloa is working to open up more international and domestic air routes to its airports in Mazatlán, Culiacán and Los Mochis.

International routes linking Mazatlán to Seattle, San Francisco and Denver were on the table when Tourism Secretary Óscar Pérez Barros met with the state’s hotel association and the general manager of airport operator Grupo OMA to discuss strategies for bringing more airline travelers to the state.

Canadian airlines Swoop and Sunwing will soon add more routes to Mazatlán, connecting the Mexican coastal city to Regina, Ottawa, Victoria and Quebec.

The same strategies will be applied to the domestic market in order to focus on opening routes to Ciudad Juárez, Puebla and the Bajío region, and on increasing frequency to Monterrey and Mexico City. The strategies are expected to spark an increase in visitors to Sinaloa.

Pérez also had a meeting with the general manager of airline Magnicharters in which they initiated talks to confirm a route from Mazatlán to Ciudad Juárez-El Paso by winter, and one from Mazatlán to Chihuahua by next summer.

The secretary reiterated that the vision Governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel’s expressed at the 2019 Tianguis Turístico conference has piqued the interest of large hotel chains like Grupo Presidente, AM Resorts, Habita, Hyatt, Hilton, Radisson and Fiesta Americana Grand.

Courtyard by Marriott, One, Fiesta, City Express Plus and Avid have already confirmed plans to build more hotels in Sinaloa.

As for other sources of tourism, Mazatlán will begin to welcome 5,000-passenger Norwegian and Carnival cruise ships this season. These big-ticket cruise lines will bring high-profile passengers who are expected to spend a lot of money during their stays. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have also confirmed that their 4,000-passenger liners will begin visiting Mazatlán in 2021.

The smaller, 500-passenger Astoria, operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages, will begin visiting Mazatlán later this year.

Source: El Economista (sp)

Environmental damage probed after Manzanillo tuna boat fire

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Simon Schatzberg

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October 3, 2019

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The environmental protection agency Profepa has begun evaluating possible environmental damage from a fire on a tuna boat on Tuesday in Manzanillo, Colima.

The fire started around noon on the María Verónica, which was about to leave from the Fondeport pier.

Shortly before the boat caught fire, workers were doing maintenance welding on the boat, but the cause of fire is still not known. The María Verónica was carrying 680 liters of diesel fuel, which created a column of black smoke when it was consumed by the fire.

The port’s emergency response team, which includes navy firefighters, arrived at the scene to fight the fire and contain leaks of harmful materials. More than 1,200 people were evacuated from around the port, which was shut down for several hours.

After around 24 hours, firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze. There were no casualties.

The boat is owned by the company Grupo Mar, which produces the Tuny brand of canned tuna.

Profepa inspector Javier Martínez said the agency has been monitoring air and water quality near the port to see if it has been affected by the fire, and that it will carry out a more thorough investigation.

He added that flame retardant used in the firefighting effort did not have any negative effects on water quality.

Source: Reforma (sp), Milenio (sp), El Noticiero en Línea (sp), Excélsior (sp)

Police arrest presumed leader of Playa del Carmen gang

By

Simon Schatzberg

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October 3, 2019

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Quintana Roo police have arrested a man they say is the leader of the Pelones crime gang that operates in Playa del Carmen.

Jonathan “N,” also known as “El Pantera,” was arrested in Cancún after an investigation by state and federal police. He was carrying drugs and guns when he was captured.

The suspect is wanted for several murders and attempted murders.

Quintana Roo Attorney General Óscar Montes de Oca said he is likely responsible for the murder of Daniela Patiño, a Colombian woman whose body was found in Quintana Roo in September.

Patiño arrived in Playa del Carmen in August when she escaped from a human trafficking network that was holding her against her will in Guatemala. She disappeared on September 10, and her body was found seven days later.

“We believe [Jonathan “N”] participated in the femicide of a young woman from Colombia,” said Montes de Oca. “Before being killed, she received extortion messages which, according to witnesses, came from the suspect’s telephone.”

Montes de Oca added that Jonathan “N” is highly dangerous and responsible for many violent incidents in the northern part of the state, especially the municipality of Solidaridad, in which Playa del Carmen is located.

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