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Suspected car thief becomes cop’s piñata in Jalisco city

By
Madison Koen
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Officer strikes suspected thief with a stick while a crowd below chants the piñata song.
Officer strikes suspected thief with a stick while a crowd below chants the piñata song.

Authorities in Tonalá, Jalisco, have begun internal proceedings against a police officer who used a suspected thief as a piñata.

Police had responded to reports of a vehicle that had been stolen while a 5-year-old girl slept in the back seat. They located the vehicle but the thief abandoned it and fled on foot.

Officers chased the suspect to the roof of a nearby church, where he threatened to jump to his death. For the next two hours, police officers and firefighters attempted to dissuade the man, slowly drawing closer to him, while a crowd of onlookers gathered below.

Finally, police were able to lasso the man by his ankle, and when he leapt from the roof he was left hanging upside down from a rope tied between the church and another building.

That was when a police officer climbed far enough to hit the man with a stick, which he began to do as if the suspect were a piñata. Shouts of encouragement came from the large group of spectators below.

Eventually, police arrested the man and handed him over to the public prosecutor’s office after he was given medical attention.

In the meantime, municipal authorities issued a statement saying that internal affairs had opened an investigation into the incident, which was captured on video and has been widely shared on social media.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Medical interns call national strike over scholarships, insecurity

By
MND Staff
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Interns march in Mexico City today.
Interns march in Mexico City today.

Medical interns are striking across the nation today to protest against any reduction of scholarship payments and to express their concern over working conditions and insecurity even as the government says there will be no cuts to training stipends.

In Mexico City, interns marched from the central square to the Health Secretariat while chanting “there is no austerity in health,” the newspaper Reforma reported.

Graduate doctors, nurses and other medical professionals claim that the government is planning to reduce the number of scholarships for interns and cut the amount they are paid even though the health department said in a statement yesterday that is not the case.

“No student that is fulfilling their social service will be left unprotected as there will be no reduction or suspension of the resource allocated to that end,” the statement said.

“The Secretariat of Health has a sufficient budget to pay 52,250 scholarships in 2019, an amount that is the same as . . . in 2018 and 2017.”

However, a member of the Mexican Assembly of Social Service Medical Interns told the newspaper El Universal that the payment of scholarships is not the only cause of concern.

“Today 54,000 medicine graduates should be starting their social service but that won’t be the case because positions were not assigned well in all states,” Roberto Gallardo said.

“The [protest] movement goes beyond scholarships, it’s not just about money but also so they [the government] see and know the conditions in which we work. There are very serious security issues,” Gallardo added.

Protesters in Mexico City demanded that the government provide security guarantees for interns posted to positions in isolated and marginalized communities and establish a national plan to improve conditions in rural healthcare centers.

Gallardo said that interns need certainty that they won’t be assaulted while working in a marginalized area but added that if it does happen, they need to have support.

He also said that interns are often “responsible for healthcare centers that don’t have equipment and supplies.”

Gallardo told El Universal that no member of the government has spoken with the disgruntled interns, adding that while President López Obrador says that sufficient resources have been allocated to pay scholarships and cover healthcare expenses in general, state health services say otherwise.

Nursing intern Luisa Fernanda Segura told Reforma that the government’s austerity measures have left hospitals and clinics without the materials they need to operate effectively.

“There is a shortage of medications and materials that we need in day-to-day life in the hospital.”

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

Record remittances in first 6 months, though numbers declined in June

By
Simon Schatzberg
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dollars to pesos
Remittances declined in June. concanaco servytur

Mexicans living outside the country sent a record amount of money home in the first six months of this year, compared with the same period in other years.

According to Mexico’s central bank, remittances reached US $16.882 billion between January and June.

Within that period, however, remittance numbers have been evening out. In June, Mexicans abroad sent back $3.118 billion, 1.4% less than in May, and less than in June 2018, when the number was US $3.14 billion.

The number of transactions grew by 1.6% compared with June 2018, but the average amount per transaction fell by 2%.

Goldman Sachs economist Alberto Ramos told the newspaper El Economista that the slowdown should be carefully monitored.

“Remittances are important on the macroeconomic level, for financing, and for private consumption, especially for low-income families, which also tend to be the principal receivers,” he said.

Ramos added that in June, the average remittance received per household hit its 2019 high, as 1.8 million Mexican households received an average of US $336 from family members working in other countries. Based on that metric, June was the best month for remittances since November 2018, when the figure was US $342.

Remittances represent Mexico’s second most important source of foreign currency. Automotive exports are No. 1.

Most of the money is sent from Mexicans working in the United States.

Source: El Economista (sp)

Thinking he was a bad guy, police open fire on mayor’s truck

By
Simon Schatzberg
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The mayor was unhurt after police opened fire on him.
The mayor was unhurt after police opened fire on him.

Police in Hidalgo are in hot water after they fired their weapons at a vehicle that turned out to be that of the mayor.

Acatlán Mayor Benito Olvera Muñoz said that shortly after noon on Wednesday he was driving in his truck when armed men got out of a parked vehicle and order him to stop.

Not knowing who they were and fearing a kidnapping attempt, Olvera sped up. The men shot at his vehicle several times, attempting to puncture his tires. Olvera was not injured, but the vehicle was damaged by the gunfire.

Olvera reported the incident to the municipality’s police chief, who discovered that the shooters were ministerial police employed by the Hidalgo Attorney General’s Office.

“ I found out they were police officers who were looking for someone for whom they had an arrest warrant, and they had been circulating pictures of a pickup truck similar to the one I was driving,” said Olvera.

Olvera added that he has already reported the incident to Governor Omar Fayad and Government Secretary Simón Vargas, who confirmed that the shooters were police officers and said they will face consequences because they did not follow protocol.

Source: El Universal (sp), El Independiente de Hidalgo (sp)

National Guard on patrol join the party, have a few too many

By
Madison Koen
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A guardsman struggles to remain standing while on patrol in Veracruz.
A guardsman struggles to remain standing while on patrol in Veracruz.

Everyone had a good time at the annual patron saint festival in Xico, Veracruz, even National Guardsmen who were on hand to provide security.

One member of the National Guard was caught on video stumbling around drunk and authorities revealed later that at least two more guardsmen had abandoned their posts to participate in the festivities.

In the video, the guardsman is seen being propped up by a colleague and a civilian as he struggles hard not to fall. The two talk with the inebriated soldier for a minute before ushering him away from the small crowd of onlookers.

In a statement yesterday afternoon, police said that members of the Guard and regional security forces were deployed in Xico on July 22 to deter crime and keep the peace during the town’s patron saint celebrations.

But the absence of three guardsmen was noted during a roll call. A search was ordered and the three were later found in an apparent state of intoxication.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Elemento de la Guardia Nacional fue captado en estado de ebriedad

Amazon inaugurates new distribution center in México state

By
Simon Schatzberg
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Amazon's new distribution center in México state.
The distribution center is the size of 18 soccer fields.

Amazon has inaugurated its third distribution center in Mexico, the company’s biggest in Latin America.

Amazon México operations director Luis Correa said the new facility covers more than 100,000 square meters in Tepotzotlán, México state.

“These installations are . . . equivalent to 18 soccer fields,” he said. “This is the fourth building we have in México state, where we’ve made a total investment of over US $125 million.”

Amazon’s two other distribution centers are also in the state of México, both in the city of Cuautitlán Izcalli.

Correa added that the Tepoztotlán facility employs more than 1,500 people, and that it started operations in May 2018.

“When you have a building this big, you don’t start all at once,” he said. “We’re going to see how it goes, and make changes, according to the needs of the customers.”

México state Economic Development Secretary Enrique Jacob Rocha thanked Amazon for investing in the state.

“Amazon trusted us since they got here in 2015, with their two centers in Cuautitlán Izcalli, and now in Tepotzotlán,” he said. This is an important investment for México state, which has been growing as a center for logistics.”

Governor Alfredo del Mazo spoke about the importance of investing in projects that make use of technology like the Amazon distribution centers, and said his government will continue to support similar projects in the future.

At the end of 2018, Amazon held the top spot in Mexican e-commerce for the second year in a row, with 36.54% of market share, compared with 35.26% for Mercado Libre and 15.38% for Walmart, according to the consultancy Euromonitor.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Stadium beer sales suspended after vendors found recycling beer

By
Madison Koen
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The hidden beer bucket at a stadium in Coahuila.
The hidden beer bucket at a stadium in Coahuila.

Health authorities have shut down food and beverage sales at the Territorio Santos Modelo stadium in Torreón, Coahuila — home of the Santos Laguna Soccer Club — after a video appeared showing vendors recycling leftover beer, sparking public outrage and health concerns.

The video shows a bartender dumping leftover beer from a cup into a bucket on the floor behind the bar before filling several other cups from the same bucket and placing them on the counter for sale.

The Santos Laguna Soccer Club told fans in a statement that the Coahuila Secretariat of Health had subsequently inspected the stadium’s food and beverage stands, operated by Eurest Proper Meals, and placed notices of closure outside the facilities.

“We thank the Coahuila Secretariat of Health for their inspection of our facilities and evaluation of our distributor Eurest Proper Meals . . .”

Alejandro Irarragorri, president of the club’s parent company Grupo Orlegi, promised it would take action against the offenders.

“We are totally committed to our fans and we will get to the bottom of this embarrassing incident.”

Source: El Universal (sp), ABC Noticias (sp)

Homicides related to organized crime up 30% in first seven months

By
Simon Schatzberg
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0
Homicides spiked in June and July.
Organized crime-related homicides spiked in June and July. milenio

The month of July broke a record for the number of deaths by homicide linked to organized crime, according to records kept by the newspaper Milenio.

A total of 2,264 people were murdered during the month, only 0.6% more than in June, but almost twice as many as in July 2018.

It topped off a four-month record-breaking streak: since April, every month has been the most violent since Milenio began counting murders. June was the first month in which more than 2,000 people were murdered.

In the first seven months of 2019, there have been 11,810 homicides, almost 30% more than there were in the same period last year, when there were 9,116.

México state, the most populous state in the country, had the highest number of homicides in July, with 230, an average of almost eight a day. Guanajuato, which previously topped the list of most violent states, followed with 205. Baja California was next with 194, followed by Jalisco with 185, Guerrero 150, Veracruz 130 and Puebla with 100.

The states with the fewest murders were Yucatán with one and Campeche with two.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Second overrun at Santa Lucía airport bumps construction cost another 17%

By
MND Staff
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santa lucia airport
Design proposed for new airport.

The cost of the Santa Lucía airport has increased for a second time before construction has even begun.

The Defense Secretariat (Sedena), which is in charge of the project, says that building the airport and a highway connecting Mexico City, as well as relocating military facilities on the air force base site, will cost 91.97 billion pesos (US $4.8 billion), a 17% increase over the cost estimated in April.

According to a report in the newspaper El Economista, information in a Sedena document that gives the reasons for the overrun has been classified as reserved and so it is unclear which aspects of the project have increased in cost and why.

The projected cost of the airport increased for the first time in April mainly due to the presence of a hill less than 10 kilometers from the construction site.

The position of the airport’s two commercial runways had to be changed in the project’s master plan due to the close proximity of the 2,625-meter-high Cerro de Paula. As a result, several military facilities will have to be relocated at an estimated cost of more than 6.7 billion pesos.

Coupled with higher than expected costs to purchase land that will serve as a sound buffer around the airport, the price tag for the México state project increased in April from 70.34 billion pesos to 78.55 billion.

Sedena said the new projected cost doesn’t include expenses associated with pre-investment studies nor the purchase of technical equipment that Navigation Services for Mexican Airspace, a government agency, will require for the operation of the facility.

The former will cost 885.6 million pesos and the latter 1.87 billion pesos.

The defense department said the total construction time will be 30 months, meaning that if it starts this month it will be completed in February 2022, one month later than anticipated in July.

The Secretariat of the Environment granted conditional approval for the airport last week but the #NoMásDerroches collective, which has initiated legal action against the project, argued that construction still can’t begin because other studies remain outstanding and injunctions it obtained are still in force.

A government financial report for the second quarter of the year said that the airport was 3% complete at the end of June and that more than 3.8 billion pesos had already been spent on it although work has not commenced.

Sedena justified its management of the project by stating that if private construction companies rather than military engineers took charge, it was possible that it would not be finished on time and costs would balloon.

It also said that private sector workers could go on strike without justification and that sensitive national security information could be leaked.

Construction of the Santa Lucía airport is part of the government’s three-pronged plan to meet rising demand for airline services in the Valley of Mexico. Existing airports in Mexico City and Toluca, México state, will be upgraded.

President López Obrador canceled the previous government’s airport project at Texcoco after a legally questionable public consultation last October.

Source: El Economista (sp) 

Scooter thefts shut down Grin rental service in Mexico City

By
MND Staff
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0
Grin scooters: thieves like them.
Grin scooters: thieves like them.

The only e-scooter company in Mexico City operating with a license has announced that it is temporarily suspending its rental service due to theft.

Grin said in a statement released yesterday that it had taken the decision to immediately “pause” its operations in the capital and offered an apology to scooter users.

The company acknowledged that some people will think that withdrawing its scooters from the streets after paying for a license is “madness” but stressed that wasn’t the case.

“During this break . . . hundreds of people at Grin México will make adjustments to improve service, migrate systems [and] add a new micro-mobility solution to the Grin family but above all they will develop schemes of collaboration with Mexico City authorities to prevent the theft of our scooters,” the statement said.

“. . . The theft of scooters in Mexico City represents the greatest challenge for Grin’s operations.”

The company said it will soon return with more mobility options, better service and, it hopes, fewer stolen scooters. Rentals will be free on the day that service resumes, the statement said.

Many of the scooters stolen from Grin and other e-scooter companies have been tracked to neighborhoods in the eastern borough of Iztapalapa and Tepito, an inner-city area notorious for crime.

Workers who have attempted to retrieve the scooters have been placed in risky situations and even threatened with firearms, according to a report in the newspaper El Sol de México.

Mexico City has seen an influx of rental scooters and bicycles in recent times but the government says that some companies, including Lime and Mobike, are operating without licenses.

Transportation Secretary Andrés Lajous said that from today on authorities would begin removing unauthorized scooters and bikes from the street.

The vehicles will be taken to a warehouse and to recover them, the companies will have to pay a fine, he said.

Source: El Sol de México (sp) 

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