Infonavit head Martínez makes a lot less than his predecessor.
The former head of the national housing fund, Infonavit, paid himself a handsome salary — because he could.
Speaking in Guerrero yesterday at a presentation on the national fertilizer program, President López Obrador repeated that excesses in government spending will no longer be tolerated, and used the former Infonavit chief as an example.
David Penchyna, the president said, earned a gross monthly salary of 700,000 pesos (US $37,000). His successor, on the other hand, is receiving substantially less.
The extravagance is over now, López Obrador said. “We’ve cut salaries of those at the top to increase the salaries of those at the bottom.”
The new Infonavit director, Carlos Martínez Velázquez, told a Wednesday press conference that the former director’s annual income had been set at 9.3 million pesos (US $487,000), a salary set by Penchyna himself.
In answer to a direct question from a reporter, Martínez said he had chosen a more modest salary for himself in keeping with the administration’s austerity program.
“Since I made a promise to the president, I set my salary — because Infonavit’s rules stipulate that I can give myself however much I want — at 107,500 pesos (US $5,600) a month net.” (In gross terms, that’s about 150,000 pesos.)
López Obrador reiterated his promise not to tolerate corruption and impunity under his watch and appealed to those present to be honest.
“What am I asking of you? Just that you implement the program well. I’m not asking you to learn how to use the fertilizer; you’re all experts. I am asking you to not resell the fertilizer, that there not be a black market for fertilizer, that we all behave well.”
Workers' representative Elejarza speaks to reporters.
Workers at 45 factories in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, have threatened to take strike action if they are not given the same pay raise and annual bonus as those given to thousands of workers in Matamoros.
But rather than abruptly walking off the job to demand a 20% salary increase and 32,000-peso (US $1,700) end-of-year bonus, the workers will first seek to negotiate with their employers.
Workers’ representative Marco Antonio Elejarza said that direct negotiations – without the involvement of trade unions – could take place between the employees and companies.
He said the 8,000 Reynosa workers, many of whom are employed at electronics and auto parts factories, have “a lot of concerns” about their labor situation that they wish to take up with their employers.
Worker unrest has reached the northern border city from Matamoros, located around 90 kilometers east, where tens of thousands of employees from around 75 businesses have gone on strike over the past two weeks. The job action has been dubbed Movimiento 20/30 in reference to the pay raise and bonus sought.
Workers in Ciudad Victoria, the state capital, are also seeking salary hikes. Aptiv, an auto parts manufacturer, reached an agreement Thursday with its 5,000 workers to increase salaries 16%. Workers began negotiations demanding 30%.
Employees of Kemet, another auto parts maker, have threatened a strike to press for a 16% raise, said Dolores Zúñiga Vázquez, general secretary of the Maquiladoras Industrial Union.
Many companies have agreed to the demands but the president of the National Council of the Maquiladora Industry (Index Nacional) said last week that even though they are signing new collective agreements with workers, some of them plan to leave Matamoros and Mexico in the next six to nine months.
He and labor law academic, Enrique Larios Díaz, warned earlier this week that strike action would spread to other parts of the country.
In Matamoros, the job action has not just hurt the factories where the striking workers are employed but also other sectors of the economy.
Miguel Ángel Caballero, president of the city’s Historic Center Businesses’ Union, said that since the labor conflict began on January 12, businesses have seen a 40% reduction in sales.
President López Obrador has warned that the merger between the Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox must be considered carefully because of a possible conflict of interest related to its regulatory approval – and it could push soccer matches on to Pay TV channels.
Speaking at his daily press conference this morning, López Obrador said that he has been informed that a former official who worked at the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) was hired by one of the two companies to complete the application to formally register the merger in Mexico.
The Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) approved the Disney-Fox merger this week, stating that there is little probability of it affecting free competition, but the IFT also has to give its approval for it to go ahead.
“The information I have is that [the merger] wasn’t allowed in Europe or the United States and here they want to authorize it. I am respectful of the organization that regulates and decides on these matters but I also have information that there is a conflict of interest,” López Obrador said.
The president also said that he was concerned that the merger between the two companies could result in Mexicans having to pay to watch the nation’s favorite sport on television.
“What worries me the most is that they’ll charge for watching soccer. It’s not my favorite sport but a lot of people watch soccer. An authorization that affects consumers, soccer fans, it’s not going to happen,” López Obrador said.
“If soccer is affected, well no, review the matter, discuss it, debate it. Yes, they [Cofece and the IFT] are autonomous organizations but they’re not infallible, they’re not like The Castle of Purity [a 1972 Mexican film], let’s see what they’re doing, we all have a right to know that,” he added.
Federico González Luna, a member of the Institute of Telecommunications Law (IDET), said that if the merger is authorized under the terms currently proposed, 73% of Mexico’s sports television channels will be owned by a single company and many soccer matches will likely be shown only on premium channels.
That scenario, he said, would “exclude a lot of Mexicans, especially those with lower incomes because they won’t be able to pay to watch soccer matches.”
The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox in a deal worth US $71.3 billion that was approved by shareholders of both companies in July last year.
We are anchored at the sea lion rookery of Los Islotes, 1,300 kilometers northwest of Mexico City. I am a guest of my friend Richard Gresham aboard his 51-foot sloop, the good ship God’s Way.
We set out from La Paz for this point early this morning, passing Steven Spielberg’s huge yacht, Seven Seas, along the way. The other two crew members are geologist Chris Lloyd and tarantula expert Rodrigo Orozco.
At the moment, I am the only person on board, as the other three are 29 meters away, hobnobbing with a bunch of very curious sea lion pups they found in a tiny inlet, a hopefully safe distance away from the enormous males sprawled over nearby rocks and creating a great stir with their loud, raucous calls.
“The babies kept nibbling at my fins . . . they nibble at everything, just to see what it is,” Rodrigo Orozco told me later. “They seemed to be having a lot of fun.”
Heading for shore in a kayak to explore the beach.
Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez “the world’s aquarium,” and no wonder. During just a few hours we have spotted parrotfish, butterflyfish, triggerfish, billfish, surgeonfish, groupers, mackerel and sardines. As for birds, we have seen pelicans, cormorants, boobies, sandpipers, great blue herons, ravens and, of course, seagulls.
With reluctance we raise anchor and head for our next destination, La Partida.
“It’s a nice, quiet place with a high, sloping wall that blocks the wind,” says the captain. “You’ll enjoy walking along the shore: it’s just teeming with marine life.”
Although our destination is nice and quiet, getting there is something else because the sea is choppy today. As soon as the engine is turned on, the boat begins to crash over the waves: Bang! Bang! Bang!
Everything inside the cockpit begins first to swing, then to rise and fall. Anything that wasn’t properly stored then slides off whatever surface it was on and crashes to the floor, rolling, bouncing, shattering or splashing in every direction.
Bang! Bang! Bang! As the spray washes over the deck, every window in the boat begins to leak, including the one above my bed.
Pelican at Los Islotes. Chris Lloyd
“Captain! The windows are leaking!”
The reply is barely audible over the commotion of a ship under way: “John, in a boat, everything leaks. Better get used to it.”
With the ship in motion, we crew members now have a choice: stay in the cockpit and get seasick or go on deck and get blasted by icy spray that hits you every time the boat crashes into a wave.
Well, on the deck it’s windy, wet and cold, guaranteeing that if you are up there during phase one you won’t be passing those four hours reading or writing, so I opt for the cockpit and, fortunately, my stomach quickly learns how to adjust to the wild thrashing of the boat.
Then the captain shouts, “Land ho!” The engine is shut off and there is a sudden hush as we glide into the sheltered bay. We have arrived.
God’s Way, my floating home for a week, is owned by “semi-retired” mining engineer Richard Gresham, who says he’s always dreamed of sailing and bought God’s Way from a very religious man living in the Bible Belt “who was no good at repairing anything, so I was able to buy the boat for a song because it was in a terrible state when I got it.
Pelicans and sea lion at Los Islotes rookery.
But then it cost me a fortune to get it up to where it is today. I bought this sloop with the intention of sailing it through the Panama Canal, up through the Caribbean and on to Boston . . . but projects got in the way and, in the meantime, I fell in love with the Sea of Cortez, which I have toured eight times so far and which I expect to tour several times more, as there is so much to see in this wonderful sea . . . life is good!”
Day 3, San Francisco Island
This island is notable for its high, barren, rocky walls “with a trail going up to the top.” Yesterday we had arrived here through a very choppy sea, but this morning the surface is as smooth as glass and I get what I hope will be a magnificent picture of sunrise — dawn, actually — through my porthole.
After breakfast we find our boat totally surrounded by sardines. The schools swirl like clouds of underwater starlings. Among them we can occasionally see needlefish which are truly long, thin and pointy, at least a foot long.
“They are only dangerous if you happen to get in their way,” I am told. Richard and Chris go snorkeling and once again see an astounding variety of exotic fish.
We raise anchor and glide across the mirror-smooth surface a couple of kilometers to Bahía Amortajada — ”Chopped-up Bay.” Now and again a manta ray leaps into the air alongside the boat.
Happy sailors relaxing. Rodrigo Orozco
We anchor off a shore covered with a forest of giant cardon cacti, said to be the tallest in the world. Here there is a river filled with mangroves leading to a small lake. We spot a turkey vulture, kingfisher, white ibis, night heron, snowy egret and gulls.
Day 4
We are on our way to San José. This is part of the mainland connected by a long, rough road to La Paz. We drop anchor at a place called Nopaló, where there’s a very rocky beach and an isolated house — from which the wind wafts music to us over the waves. It’s Shakira singing! Binoculars reveal a little girl doing cartwheels to the music, on the porch.
To go ashore, we put on swimsuits, stuff clothing into a dry bag, carefully slide on to plastic “kayaks” that resemble no kayak I have ever seen, and paddle ashore.
We stroll down the beach to the home of Señora León, a jolly lady who immediately says, “Sí sí” when we ask whether she might be able to fry us some fish for which we would be happy to pay her.
While waiting for our dinner, we wander along a path paralleling a rough wall of volcanic rock dotted with shelter caves. The trail takes us to the local cemetery where we find only the graves of people named León, some with very large and impressive tombstones. It seems amazing that generations of the same family have lived in this isolated place.
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Setting foot on land reveals that we are no longer landlubbers. The salt cedars along the trail all seem to be swaying — but there’s no wind! And later, when we sit down in Señora León’s kitchen we all remark how curiously the walls are dancing and how amazing it is that nothing is rolling across the table.
Our ebullient hostess serves us a delicious meal of rice, broccoli and truly exquisite fried dorado (mahi mahi). We return to the boat stuffed and happy and spend the night anchored in the same bay.
To be continued
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area and co-author of Outdoors in Western Mexico. More of his writing can be found on his website.
A farmworker walks on top of a truckload of tomatoes.
The United States intends to withdraw from a six-year-old trade agreement with Mexico on tomatoes, the U.S. government said yesterday, a move that clears the way for new tariffs to be imposed.
The United States Department of Commerce said in a statement that on February 6 it notified the Mexican signatories to the 2013 Suspension Agreement on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico of its plan to withdraw.
The agreement averted a trade war over tomatoes in 2013 by establishing a floor price for the Mexican product in the United States and barring U.S. producers from pursuing anti-dumping charges against Mexican exporters.
Once the 90-day notification period expires on May 7, the United States will resume an anti-dumping investigation into Mexican tomatoes, which could lead to new duties on the fruit, higher prices for U.S. consumers and possible retaliation from Mexico.
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said the withdrawal decision follows complaints from United States tomato producers, including the Florida Tomato Exchange, that they are being undercut by Mexican imports.
“We have heard the concerns of the American tomato producing industry and are taking action today to ensure they are protected from unfair trading practices,” Ross said.
“The Trump administration will continue to use every tool in our toolbox to ensure trade is free, fair, and reciprocal.”
Forty-six members of the United States Congress also wrote to Ross last week to urge him to withdraw from the agreement.
More than half are from Florida, a large tomato growing state and one that is politically important for U.S. President Donald Trump.
The lawmaker said that Mexico’s share of the United States tomato market increased from 32% in 1996 to 54% in 2017. In the same period, U.S. farmers’ market share declined from 65% to 40%.
The Congress members said that since the United States government first agreed to suspend anti-dumping cases in 1996, hundreds of U.S. tomato producers have been forced out of business.
“The industry will continue to shrink if the status quo is maintained,” the lawmakers wrote.
The U.S. Department of Commerce said that it started negotiations with Mexican signatories in January 2018 to revise the tomato agreement but “despite committed efforts from all sides, significant outstanding issues remained.”
The department said that if its anti-dumping investigation finds that tomatoes were sold at less than fair value, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) will investigate to determine damage to the U.S. tomato industry.
“If both Commerce and the ITC issue affirmative final determinations, an anti-dumping duty order will be issued,” the statement said.
Mexican foreign trade undersecretary Luz María de la Mora said in a television interview that irrespective of the findings of the United States investigations, Mexico has the legal instruments – backed up by international agreements – to defend Mexican tomato growers and their exports.
Mexico exported just over US $2 million worth of tomatoes to its northern neighbor in the first 11 months of 2018 – around half of total production.
The possibility of the introduction of tomato tariffs later this year opens up a new source of trade conflict between Mexico and the United States.
When the latter country imposed tariffs on Mexican steel and aluminum last year, Mexico struck back swiftly by introducing duties on U.S. pork, apples, cheese, bourbon and steel flats, among other products.
The magical town of Tepoztlán, Morelos, is the world’s second most romantic destination, according to the travel site booking.com.
The designation was based on the high number of reservations by travelers from around the world for Valentine’s Day 2019.
The Morelos destination was ranked just behind Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and followed by Quebec City, Canada.
The travel reservation platform said Tepoztlán is not only recognized for the natural landscapes that surround it but also for the elegance of the views from its hotels, a wide range of spa treatments and yoga retreats and experiences like hiking or horseback riding.
Local restaurants specialize in organizing romantic open-air dinners surrounded by the Sierra del Tepozteco, ideal spots for couples celebrating an anniversary.
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Two other destinations ranked highly for United States and Canadian travelers.
Mexico City ranked fifth among favorite Valentine’s destinations for U.S. citizens while Puerto Vallarta was the sixth most popular destination among Canadians.
The federal government has filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) against those responsible for the teachers’ rail blockades in Michoacán.
President López Obrador told reporters at his press conference this morning that the government also sought the opinion of the CNDH with regard to what to do to end the blockades in the context of its determination not to use force against the teachers.
“. . . Two days ago, we decided to file a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission. I instructed legal adviser to present the complaint for violation of human rights so that the commission says what has to be done,” he said.
The Mexican Railway Association (AMF) said today that teachers are once again blocking tracks in the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas as well.
The AMF also said that there are now 3.3 million tonnes of stranded freight, while the cost of the blockades to the economy is likely to be in the range of 30 billion pesos (US $1.6 billion). Teachers protesting against unpaid salaries and benefits first erected the blockades on January 14.
López Obrador this morning called on CNTE leaders to clarify whether the radical teachers who are continuing to block tracks also belong to the union.
“I wouldn’t say [they’re from] the CNTE because they [the union] had a meeting and they took the decision [to lift the blockades]. That’s the information I have, that they were going to lift the blockade because their demands were attended to,” he said.
“I’d like the CNTE in Michoacán to clarify this issue, [are the blockades] of the organization or not . . . what relationship do they have [to the protesting teachers]? We’ve been available for dialogue, we’ve done everything to satisfy their requests . . .” López Obrador added.
The president was to attend an event today in Huetamo, a Michoacán municipality around 200 kilometers south of the state capital, Morelia.
This morning, teachers affiliated with the CNTE union tried to enter the fairgrounds where the event will be held but were stopped by state police.
According to the newspaper El Sol de México, teachers subsequently attacked police with sticks and stones and some were arrested.
The newspaper Reforma said that a committee of Section 18 CNTE members hope to meet López Obrador in private today in Huetamo to demand that new talks be held between the union and state and federal authorities.
However, while rail blockades remain in place, it appears unlikely that further discussions will go ahead.
Union leaders said in a statement that the CNTE was not associated with any groups who choose to defy the directive to lift the rail blockades, while union sources told Reforma that at a meeting yesterday, representatives from Uruapan were booed when they advocated maintaining them.
Meanwhile, most students in Michoacán have not attended school for almost a month and disgruntled teachers continue to barricade shopping centers and government offices.
A hot spring at Grutas de Tolantongo, in the state of Hidalgo. (Archive)
Anyone touring areas in the north of Mexico this week and found the cold was too much to bear might consider two other options: head for the nearest beach destination or visit one of Mexico’s hot springs.
Here are six such destinations in central Mexico, courtesy of the newspaper El Universal.
• There are two in Hidalgo state, including the Grutas de Tolantongo in Cardonal.
With some 40 natural pools embedded in the rock that offer a panoramic view of a canyon, Tolantongo has gained worldwide fame. The turquoise spring water is always between 36 and 38 C, and visitors can also swim in a river.
A waterpark has been erected around the natural springs, offering visitors swimming pools and waterslides. Those looking for a more relaxing experience can set off on the site’s hiking circuit while the adventurous can join guided tours to nearby caves.
There are two lodging options at Tolantongo: a two-person bedroom for 600 pesos (US $31) per night or camping, with the rent of four-person tents starting at 120 pesos. Admittance is 140 pesos, and it includes access to the waterpark and hot springs.
• The second Hidalgo destination is El Géiser in Tecozautla. The hot springs are connected to nearby volcanic air vents and feed pools that have been either equipped with waterslides or as hot tubs.
The pools are open full time and their vapor has been used to naturally heat a small steam room.
The site also offers ziplining and a hiking circuit that includes several suspension bridges. Families can organize picnics and enjoy the natural landscape.
Admittance to El Géiser costs 120 pesos, and ziplining is 150. The park offers camping areas for 100 pesos and lodging at a hotel where rates start at 250 pesos.
• Another option is La Gruta in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. The site’s name describes an indoor pool whose natural spring waters can reach 40 C. A rock ceiling was built over the pool, which can only be accessed through a 40-meter tunnel. If the heat is too much, La Gruta also offers outdoor heated pools surrounded by green areas.
Deep tissue, hot stone and foot massages are available on site, along with a temazcal, or sweat lodge.
Admittance is 200 pesos, and 400 more for a temazcal.
• The name of the city of Aguascalientes, in the state of the same name, means “hot waters” in Spanish and originated from the abundance of hot springs in the area. The fourth destination n the list, Ojocaliente, is located just 15 minutes away from the city.
A neo-classical building houses a bathhouse that first opened its doors in 1808. A number of private baths adorned with colorful mosaics can be rented by the hour by couples or families, who can then enjoy natural hot spring waters that reach temperatures of between 38 and 40 C.
Relaxing massages can be ordered for a full hour or half that time. Ojocaliente also offers a restaurant that serves meals that mix traditional and innovative recipes and ingredients, along with staple mezcal cocktails.
Renting a bath for an hour costs 150 pesos for a couple, while massages start at 250 pesos for half an hour.
• A natural spa in the Los Azufres region of Michoacán is the fifth destination. Named after the region in which it is located, the spa offers a treatment that includes a thermal mud bath, a steam room and wading into the 38 C waters of a hot spring.
The spa also offers eight types of massages and sells its own line of artisanal beauty products.
In terms of lodging, Los Azufres Spa offers cabins that go for 800 pesos per person per night or camping for 150 pesos per person. These rates include a basic spa treatment, while massages start at 300 pesos.
• Rounding out the list of hot spring destinations is the magical town of Chignahuapan in Puebla. Pools fed with hot spring waters are available for whole families in indoor and outdoor areas, with a more exclusive area set apart for those looking for a less crowded experience.
Hotel rooms also have hot spring water available in their tubs, while a spa offers relaxing massages and beauty treatments. The hotel also has a restaurant.
Admittance starts at 125 pesos per adult, while a hotel room for two starts at 2,557 pesos.
Construction is beginning on a new roof for the SAHOP aquatics complex in Mazatlán, Sinaloa.
Governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel presided at a ceremony yesterday to begin the project, which will provide cover over pools, diving boards and bleachers through an investment of 28 million pesos (US $1.5 million) by the state government.
The governor, who said that he himself has been a regular user of the complex, expressed confidence that the investment is a valuable first step in creating state, national and even Olympic aquatic sports champions who will be proud of their Sinaloa origins.
Ordaz’s wife, Rosy Fuentes de Ordaz, asserted that sports play an essential role in society and that the newly-covered complex will offer an alternative to “idleness” and “bad habits” for Sinaloa’s youth.
The groundbreaking ceremony was also attended by Mazatlán mayor Luis Guillermo Benítez Torres, the president of the Athletic Institute of Sinaloa, the president of the Sports Promotion Board, as well as a contingent of local athletes.
The aquatic complex currently receives an average of 1,500 visitors daily, principally children taking swimming lessons, recreational swimmers and athletes who use the facilities to train. Those present estimated that with the roof completed the facility will soon be awash in visitors numbering close to 4,000 daily.
Mazatlán Mayor Luis Guillermo Benítez Torres thanked the governor for keeping his word; putting a roof on the complex was a key campaign promise in his election. He said the sports community has long been vocal about its desire to see the completion of a roof to protect users from the sun.
Paola Moncayo Leyva, president of the Sinaloa Athletic Institute, said the roof will make the Mazatlán aquatic complex the best in all of northwestern Mexico.
AMLO's popularity is considerably higher than that of his predecessor. el financiero
Two months into his six-year term, President López Obrador enjoys an 86% approval rating, according to a new poll that also shows strong support for the government’s crackdown on fuel theft.
The survey, conducted by the newspaper El Financiero over two days last week, shows that just 13% of 410 people polled disapprove of the president’s performance while 1% of respondents were undecided.
In contrast, the highest rating ever earned by López Obrador’s predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, was just 57%, in May 2013, according to pollster Consulta Mitofsky. His lowest rating was 17% in February 2017 and he finished his term last November at 24%.
But AMLO, as Peña Nieto’s successor is commonly known, can do no wrong in the eyes of citizens.
Even though it caused widespread and prolonged gasoline shortages, the government’s anti-fuel theft strategy was very popular among poll respondents, with 80% saying they considered the move to be very good or good. Just 12% said that the strategy was very bad or bad.
Peña Nieto’s highest rating was 57%. consulta mitofsky
López Obrador’s appearance at daily early-morning press conferences was considered very good or good by 72% of those polled, making them the second most popular measure implemented by the new government.
Less popular were the government’s response to teachers’ rail blockades and protests in Michoacán and Oaxaca, and its decision to continue to recognize Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela in contrast with the United States and several other countries in the region and beyond.
However, more than half of people polled supported the government on both issues, with 56% and 54% respectively saying that its actions were very good or good, while just 15% and 17% said that they were very bad or bad.
Poll respondents were also asked to rate the president’s performance using baseball terminology in recognition of the fact that the sport is López Obrador’s favorite.
Just over a third of those polled – 34% – said that the leftist leader’s performance during the month of January was equivalent to a home run while 33% more said that he had scored a hit.
One in 10 respondents said that López Obrador had struck out and 7% likened his performance to hitting a foul.
Perhaps reflecting their unfamiliarity with the sport, 16% of people said that they didn’t how to rate the president’s performance in baseball terms.
The poll, conducted via telephone with residents of all 31 Mexican states and Mexico City on January 31 and February 1, has a margin of error of +/-4.8%, El Financiero said.
