‘Drunk’ cops threatened with lynching for firing on family

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November 7, 2018

A bishop in Guerrero is aiming to broker a Christmas truce between feuding cartels in the state’s Sierra region.

Salvador Rangel, bishop of the Chilapa-Chilpancingo diocese, said he is seeking to hold talks with cartel leaders to that end.

“If wars stop at Christmas even at the world level, why not in Guerrero? Let’s make that period, the most beautiful of the year, one in which we can live in peace,” he said in an interview after attending the first day of a peace forum held this week.

Warring cartels previously agreed to a truce during the electoral process leading up to the July 1 elections, Rangel said.

Guerrero, one of Mexico’s largest opium-poppy producing states, is plagued by violent crime largely caused by territorial disputes between criminal gangs.

The bishop said that as a result of his almost-constant dialogue with its leaders, he convinced the Sierra Cartel to allow traffic to pass freely on the highway between Filo de Caballos, in the municipality of Leonardo Bravo, and the state capital Chilpancingo.

Schools and medical services in the lower part of the Sierra region are also operating normally, he said.

However, Rangel said that he hadn’t yet managed to meet with the leaders of feuding criminal groups operating in Tlacotepec, a city located on the other side of the Sierra region in the municipality of Heliodoro Castillo.

He said there are two “violent groups” there that have made traveling to Chilpancingo impossible, adding that he was hopeful that he could meet with leaders of the two groups at the same time.

“It’s difficult to get everyone together because each group has its own interests . . . that would be ideal but for now the meetings will be separate,” Rangel said.

Speaking earlier at the peace forum, the bishop told attendees that he has frequently traveled to Sierra communities to hold talks with narco leaders aimed at achieving peace and reconciliation.

Rangel charged that politicians and government institutions have failed to bring about peace because they are corrupt.

He has long urged authorities to follow his lead and engage in dialogue with criminal gangs as a means to achieve peace.

Last year, the bishop created controversy when he said that crime gangs are part of the social fabric of remote Guerrero communities that cultivate drugs and their presence is accepted and welcomed by inhabitants.

Source: Reforma (sp)

Businesses will turn off lights in protest against electrical tariffs

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November 7, 2018

At least 1,000 business in Yucatán are expected to turn off the electricity for an hour on November 13 in protest against the increase in electrical tariffs.

Business leader Juan Manuel Díaz Ponce told a press conference that the hour-long “mega-blackout” has been scheduled despite an announcement that tariffs would drop between 12% and 17% this month and next. The head of the state chapter of the Business Coordinating Council said some businesses have been hit with rate hikes as high as 300%.

He accused the Energy Regulatory Commission of doing nothing to resolve the issue.

Díaz and other business leaders also blamed President Peña Nieto and president-elect López Obrador for a lack of political will to find a solution.

Díaz quoted figures from the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives that showed the tariff increases have had a negative impact on local firms’ finances and investment and caused the loss of more than 7,500 jobs throughout Yucatán.

“We will not stop paying [our power bills], but we are studying other protest measures to fight the high rates,” said Díaz.

One measure will be a complaint before Profeco, the consumer protection agency. He said the collective complaint by some 1,000 businesses will be made once the documentation has been prepared, likely in two weeks.

Next Tuesday’s protest will take place between 7:00pm and 8:00pm.

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

Mexico City water is back on but today will be the worst for supply

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November 7, 2018

Workers carry out maintenance on Mexico City's water system.

After 156 hours of maintenance work – 84 more than scheduled – Mexico City’s main water system was finally reactivated late yesterday but millions of residents remain without running water as they wait for it to arrive.

The National Water Commission (Conagua) announced the reopening of the Cutzamala system via a post to its Twitter account.

“At 6:45, the protocol to open the Cutzamala system began with the filling of the line through the opening of the clear water tank. In the next few minutes, it will reach the [required] level and the first pump will be turned on to give it the pressure it needs,” it said.

The first of four pumps was turned on at 7:40pm and the second 10 minutes later, sending 8,000 liters of water per second towards the Valley of Mexico. The two other pumps were eventually activated as well but behind schedule.

Conagua spokesman José Luis Alcudia explained today that the city’s water storage tanks are located 76 kilometers from the pumping station and therefore it will take time for the water to reach them.

Boroughs in the west of the city will begin receiving water today while others affected by the suspension, including central Cuauhtémoc, will have to wait until tomorrow.

Supply is expected to return to normal over the weekend, Alcudia said.

Reactivation of the water system was originally scheduled for 8:00am Saturday, 72 hours after maintenance work began, but was delayed because one massive piece of the system, known as “inverted K,” shifted during installation.

The piece has not yet been positioned correctly but Conagua decided to reactivate the system regardless.

Víctor Alcocer, a deputy technical director for the commission, said that “inverted K” will be put into place once the system’s second line is in operation so that water supply is not suspended again.

Suspension of water service has affected almost four million residents in the capital and surrounding municipalities in México state.

The chief of Sacmex, the Mexico City water utility, predicted this morning that the lack of running water will be felt more acutely today than any other day of the “mega-cut.”

“The water will arrive at 10:00am and we will begin to fill the tanks. The good news is that the water is already on its way, the bad news is that it arrived late . . . the water hasn’t arrived yet and that means that [today] will be the worst day because people who stored water have already run out,” Ramón Aguirre said.

He added that demand for deliveries from water tankers had increased in recent days and was expected to spike further today.

“. . . This is the longest [water] cut in history. The previous suspension was 90 hours and this one is 155 or more. The water hasn’t arrived but we have certainty that it is coming. You have to give it time . . .” Aguirre said.

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

Jalisco fuel shortages due to hurricane, tropical storm, pipeline taps

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November 6, 2018

Pemex hasn't been able to supply enough fuel in Jalisco.

A fuel shortage in Jalisco is the result of damage caused by Hurricane Willa and Tropical Storm Vicente as well as the closure of a major pipeline due to illegal taps, according to a petroleum industry union leader.

Around 500 of 934 gas stations in the state have been affected.

Pablo González Córdova, president of the Mexican Association of Gas Station Owners (Amegas), explained that the two storms had affected the states of Colima and Veracruz, both of which supply fuel to Jalisco.

Officials from the state oil company Pemex said last week that poor weather conditions brought by Willa and Vicente made it impossible to unload fuel from ships at some ports, including Manzanillo and Tuxpan.

The closure of the main pipeline that transports fuel to the capital city of Guadalajara from the refinery in Salamanca, Guanajuato, is another factor contributing to the fuel shortage, González said.

“In Jalisco, we receive fuel from the Salamanca refinery but for some time that [method] hasn’t been working. [The refinery] sends us the product through the 16-inch Salamanca-Guadalajara pipeline . . . That pipeline isn’t working because of illegal taps,” he said.

Petroleum pipeline theft, perpetrated by gangs of thieves known as huachicoleros, costs Pemex 30 billion pesos a year, company CEO Carlos Treviño said earlier this year.

González said that fuel tankers from Manzanillo, Colima, had made deliveries to Jalisco to offset the shortage but they were not sufficient to meet demand as many Guadalajara residents sought to take advantage of the Day of the Dead holiday to travel.

Fuel supply should return to normal by tomorrow, he explained, because Pemex is currently sending additional tanker trucks to the state.

Source: El Economista (sp)

Unique Yucatán church to celebrate 220 years

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November 6, 2018

A church in Peto, Yucatán, that is described as architecturally unique by a local historian will soon celebrate its 220th anniversary.

Construction at the church of Our Lady of Assumption concluded on January 1, 1799, the same day that the people of the colonial town celebrated their patron saint, the Virgin Mary, explained Peto chronicler Arturo Rodríguez Sabido.

Celebrations next January 1 will be twofold — feting the local patron saint and one more anniversary of the erection of the church.

Rodríguez said the latter is a “one-of-a-kind architectural building” that attracts many visitors.

“The finishing touches it has are unique in their kind, and that makes it an extraordinary architectural work and the most significant emblem of this town.”

He also remarked that the only church in the state that can be compared to it is located in Valladolid. “They share a certain similarity.”

“This church has a lot of history worth knowing, especially by the newer generations, who can learn the true value of this parish and what it represents for the Catholic people of this town,” Rodríguez said.

Source: Diario de Yucatán (sp)

Contractors accept airport decision; no legal action forthcoming: AMLO

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November 6, 2018

López Obrador greets fans after yesterday's airport meeting.

The companies that have been building the new Mexico City International Airport will not take legal action against the incoming government over the decision to cancel the project, president-elect López Obrador said yesterday.

Speaking after a meeting with contractors in Mexico City, López Obrador said the companies won’t seek to sue the new government, file injunctions against the decision or charge fines.

“There was no suggestion of that kind. There is no legal complaint, no injunction, in a nutshell, everything’s very good, they behaved very well,” the future president said.

López Obrador confirmed last week that his government would cancel the 285-billion-peso (US $14 billion) project in the municipality of Texcoco, México state, after a public consultation.

Around 70% of voters supported building two new runways at the Santa Lucía Air Force Base and upgrading the existing Mexico City airport and that in Toluca rather than continuing with the current project.

López Obrador’s announcement that the will of the people who voted — only around 1% of those on the electoral roll — would be respected was slammed by influential private sector leaders.

But according to the future president, the contractors and investors he met with yesterday, including the CEO of Carlos Slim’s Grupo Carso, were more sanguine about the situation.

López Obrador said that that an agreement was reached to settle and terminate existing airport contracts, adding that contractors would have the opportunity to work on the project to adapt the air force base, upgrade the existing airports and rehabilitate the Texcoco site.

“They will have work without any problem because there will continue to be a lot. Here in Texcoco, there will be another project because the Nabor Carillo lake is going to be rescued. That area is going to be turned into an ecological and sports park,” he said.

Future transportation secretary Javier Jiménez Espriú, who also attended yesterday’s meeting, said the incoming government had committed to paying 40 billion pesos (US $2 billion) in unrecoverable costs to investors and contractors.

He also said that a new tendering process for future works would be held, dispelling concerns in some quarters that they could be directly awarded.

Hipólito Gerard of the construction company GIA said in a statement that the meeting with López Obrador was “purposeful, open and transparent,” adding that “GIA expressed its will to move forward in the termination of the [airport] project and its intention to participate in the new projects.”

Guadalupe Phillips, director of the construction giant ICA, said she respected the decision of those who voted in the public consultation and that she would work with the new government to ensure that the cancellation process is orderly.

“Hopefully that will be the best way [forward] for all the contractors involved,” she said.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Bolillo the migrant dog from Honduras also seeks the American Dream

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November 6, 2018

Bolillo, in pursuit of the American Dream. — Bolillo arrived in Mexico in October as part of the first migrants' caravan.

Even dogs, it seems, yearn for the American Dream.

Bolillo the migrant dog has been walking northward with its owner since October 12 when both left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, bound for the United States.

The pitbull has been Adalberto López’s dog for only seven months but he couldn’t leave his pet behind.

As for the name, it is his second. In Honduras he was called La Bestia after the freight train that has carried a lot of migrants north through Mexico. But when López and his dog crossed the border the dog was renamed for the traditional Mexican bread because it has been the staple of its diet while traveling as part of the migrants’ caravan.

“We had to give him a name that was famous in Mexico,” López said.

The pair have traveled more than 800 kilometers since they left Honduras, walking and hitching rides.

There was a brief layover in Huitxtla, Chiapas, and a diversion for Bolillo who had a chance to cavort with a female pitbull named Luna, whose owners promised López a couple of roast chickens if the two bred.

At night the dog sleeps in a box that López carries on his back during the day.

The well trained dog does his business well away from the migrants’ campsites, never barks at night, is affectionate and obedient.

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

Two busloads of migrants reported missing; CDMX shelter at capacity

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November 6, 2018

Migrants hang off a truck en route to Mexico City.

Two busloads of Central Americans traveling as part of the first migrant caravan were kidnapped and handed over to a criminal organization, a human rights official claims.

The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) said today that about 80 migrants are missing.

Oaxaca human rights ombudsman Arturo Peimbert said yesterday that both he and the Mexico office of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) had received reports that around 100 migrants disappeared while traveling through the state of Puebla on Saturday.

Peimbert told the news website Huffington Post that the migrants were abducted by the bus drivers and handed over to suspected criminals who presumably belong to the Zetas drug cartel.

He said that neither state nor federal authorities have responded to reports of the incident.

Criminal groups have long preyed on Central Americans transiting Mexico, forcing men into working for them and pushing women into prostitution. Those who refuse to cooperate run the risk of being killed.

Edgar Corzo, a human rights academic who is serving as a caravan observer for the CNDH, told a press conference this morning that the commission is “taking the corresponding steps” to search for the missing migrants.

Contradicting Peimbert’s earlier claim, Corzo said the migrants had disappeared in Isla, Veracruz, and that the CNDH is “seeking information and questioning people” in that municipality in order to try to establish exactly what happened.

He added that the CNDH had warned migrants and authorities that the route the migrants took through Veracruz “is quite a complicated stretch in terms of security” due to “organized crime risks.”

As the two busloads of migrants remain missing, thousands of their erstwhile travel companions are camping at a sports stadium in the Mexico City borough of Itzacalco.

Borough chief Armando Quintero said today that 7,020 migrants have arrived at the makeshift shelter that is now at “the limit of its capacity.”

Orange markers indicate caravans’ locations on Monday. Sunday’s locations are in yellow and Saturday’s in blue.

He explained that authorities had only expected around 4,000 people, adding that there are worried about how they will cope with the arrival of even more migrants who are still traveling through southern Mexico.

“We have no other option than to deal with the situation but we are worried because contingents continue to arrive,” Quintero said.

He added that medical personnel are attending to the migrants and that hygiene precautions are being taken to avoid the spreading of illness.

Mexico City Mayor José Ramón Amieva said that more migrants are expected to arrive today and tomorrow. He added that the stadium has a capacity for 5,500 people.

According to the Mexico City Human Rights Commission, there are 4,000 people currently at the shelter, meaning that it is only 72% full, contradicting Quintero’s claim.

The second caravan of migrants, made up of around 1,500 people, is resting today in Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, while yet more migrants are even farther away from the capital and the United States border.

As the thousands of Honduran, Salvadoran and Guatemalan migrants have traveled through southern Mexico over the past two weeks — walking long distances and hitching rides when possible — they have depended on municipal authorities for food and shelter.

Mexicans in large numbers have also handed out food and water to the migrants and offered transportation.

However, a poll conducted by the research firm Consulta Mitofsky shows that opinion is divided over whether migrants should be offered assistance as they travel through the country towards the United States border.

Asked whether Mexico should protect migrants and provide humanitarian aid or conversely not offer help and pressure them to return to their countries of origin, 51.4% of 1,000 survey respondents supported the former proposal.

Almost 34% of those polled said that migrants shouldn’t receive any government assistance while just under 15% didn’t respond or said they didn’t know.

Women, people living in rural areas and those of lower socio-economic status said that migrants should be helped and protected in greater numbers than men, people living in urban areas and wealthier respondents, the poll showed.

At least 160 migrants have been deported by Mexican authorities while an even greater number has voluntarily sought assistance to return home.

Some migrants are expected to remain in Mexico to seek work but most remain determined to reach the United States border to seek asylum despite warnings from U.S. President Trump that they won’t be made welcome.

Source: EFE (sp), Huffington Post (sp), Milenio (sp) El Economista (sp)

Telcel now offering household internet via mobile network

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November 6, 2018