1 person missing, vehicles stranded after heavy rainfall in Querétaro

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October 16, 2018

OECD figures in black, Mexico as a whole in green and Seguro Popular in yellow. milenio

More than 16 billion pesos (US $852 million) in federal health care funding that was transferred to state governments between 2013 and 2017 is unaccounted for, audits show.

The newspaper Milenio reviewed audits conducted by the Federal Auditor’s Office (ASF) and found a range of irregularities in the use of funds allocated to the Seguro Popular health care program.

They include overpayments for medications, payments for which no records exist, unauthorized transfers of funds and the inclusion of phantom employees on payrolls.

In 174 investigations into the use of Seguro Popular funds, six alone — in just four states — represented diversions totaling 53.3% of the total.

The Veracruz state government was by far the worst offender, allegedly illegally diverting almost 4.1 billion pesos (US $217 million).

Former governor Javier Duarte, who was sentenced last month to nine years in prison for money laundering and criminal association, was in office from 2010 to 2016.

Investigations uncovered a range of medical irregularities during his administration including that of a state-run cancer clinic that gave distilled water instead of chemotherapy medication to several children.

The next biggest alleged embezzlements occurred in Michoacán, Jalisco and Oaxaca, where a combined total of around 3.6 billion pesos (US $192 million) is unaccounted for.

According to the ASF, law enforcement authorities have identified those believed to be responsible for 3 billion pesos of the missing money and have begun processes to attempt to recover it.

However, none of those resources have yet been recovered and those responsible for the diversion of the other 13 billion pesos have not been identified.

Since the current federal government took office in December 2012, it has managed to recover 782.4 million pesos (US $41.7 million) in Seguro Popular funds detected as missing while the use of 5.2 billion pesos — on top of the 13-billion-peso amount — whose use had been questioned has now been accounted for.

But the magnitude of the alleged corruption that has taken place within the Seguro Popular health care program remains enormous.

The public system provides medical coverage for 55 million Mexicans who have no other health insurance, including 22 million people who earn less than twice the minimum wage (176 pesos or around US $9 per day): in other words, the nation’s poorest people.

Statistics show that the number of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel working in the Seguro Popular system is below both OECD levels and those for Mexico as a whole, while medicine shortages have occurred in several states.

Corruption is suspected of being a significant factor behind the system’s shortcomings and there is evidence that its consequences can be fatal.

Catarino Escobar, a 65-year-old Guanajuato resident who didn’t have a job in the formal economy, was one of the millions of Mexicans who depend on Seguro Popular for their health care needs.

In June, Escobar suffered his third heart attack and was taken to the Dolores Hidalgo General Hospital, which treats Seguro Popular patients. But soon after his arrival it became apparent that the hospital was not equipped to treat him.

“Take your dad [to another hospital], we don’t have the medication or the catheter that he needs,” the treating physician told Escobar’s son Antonio.

However, the family didn’t have the financial means to pay for his treatment elsewhere and a few days later, having never received the treatment or medication he needed, he died.

“Here, that well-known phrase applies,” Antonio said. “Corruption kills.”

Source: Milenio (sp)

Colorful triangles mark new diagonal crosswalk in Mexico City

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October 15, 2018

Pedestrian crossings in Mexico City have become a one-sided race between cars and people, but a move has been made to shift the odds.

A new diagonal crosswalk has been installed on the busiest crossing in all of Latin America, located in the capital’s historic center.

The Latino crossing is where Madero and Eje Central streets meet and was the site chosen by two non-governmental organizations determined to make pedestrians the principal actors in terms of urban mobility.

The traditional white-bar crossing has been decorated with 300 colorful triangles that not only gave it a new look but expanded the area designated for pedestrians.

Traffic signals are set to provide a crossing time exclusively for pedestrians, stopping all vehicle traffic from entering the intersection and allowing people to walk straight across the street or diagonally, saving time and effort.

The two NGOs, Camina and Espacio Vital MX, explained that large gatherings of people like those on the Latino crossing are easy prey for muggers. Giving pedestrians the extra space guarantees that there’s more distance between them, discouraging the crime.

The project was carried out in collaboration with the city and the paint manufacturer Comex.

Espacio Vital MX said the triangle shape was chosen as a representation of the joint work of civil society and authorities in favor of pedestrians.

“The design emerged from a triangle-based framework; each of its sides represents the strength of the citizens, the government and the private sector, all pillars of the development of cities,” said the NGO.

The success of the temporary project has led organizers and authorities to analyze the possibility of implementing the modified Latino crossing permanently.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Under Carlos Slim, Sears México is far from bankruptcy

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October 15, 2018

The Sears department store chain filed for bankruptcy in the United States today but its almost wholly Mexican-owned counterpart appears to be in no danger of following suit.

Owned by Carlos Slim, the nation’s richest man, Sears México is in fact opening new stores, renovating existing ones and beefing up its online presence.

“Sears in Mexico has no relationship with the United States and its finances are so healthy that three new stores were opened this year and six were refurbished,” Grupo Carso management told the newspaper Milenio.

Carlos Hermosillo, an analyst with the financial services company Actinver, told the news agency Notimex that Sears México is far from facing the critical situation the company reached in the United States, although he added that it isn’t doing as well as its rivals Liverpool and Palacio de Hierro.

In the second quarter of 2018, Sears sales declined 0.9%, according to the company’s financial report, whereas Liverpool’s sales went up by 7.4% in the same period.

Nevertheless, Hermosillo explained that the chain generates around 50% of all income for Grupo Sanborns, one of several subsidiaries under the Slim-owned Grupo Carso umbrella.

The former has invested around 2.3 billion pesos (US $122 million) this year and by the end of this year is expected to have opened a fourth new Sears store.

In an attempt to boost sales and better compete with its rivals, Sears México is also updating its image by increasing promotion of its fashion lines rather than home appliances, furniture and hardware as it has traditionally done.

“The commercial strategy has changed a lot over the past two or three years, above all in the last 18 months . . . Today, [Sears] is moving towards doing something similar to Liverpool because it’s getting much more into fashion, especially clothes and shoes,” Hermosillo said.

Grupo Sanborns CEO Patrick Slim Domit said recently that improving the company’s e-commerce offerings is a priority.

Grupo Sanborns purchased an additional 14% of Sears México in 2016 from the Chicago-based Sears Holdings, increasing its overall ownership to 99%.

The 95 Sears México stores achieved sales of 25.4 billion pesos (US $1.35 billion) in 2017.

Source: Notimex (sp), Milenio (sp)

56 children among those rescued from human traffickers

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October 15, 2018

The children rescued were forced to work at city intersections to earn cash.

A raid in the Oaxaca municipality of Santa María Atzompa rescued 61 people on the weekend — including 56 youngsters — from forced labor and abuse.

Earlier complaints were dispelled when the captors claimed they all belonged to the same family, but the state Attorney General’s office continued to investigate.

Saturday’s raid found that rather than being one happy family there were 61 people being held as forced laborers: seven women, 27 girls and 29 boys, along with six babies younger than two years.

Originally from the Chiapas town of San Miguel Miotiqui, the victims were found living in crowded conditions in a space that also served as a warehouse. The captives’ only bed was made of pieces of cardboard; there was no bathroom on the property.

The youngsters were transported to busy intersections in nearby Oaxaca city where they sought money from motorists by juggling, selling various products or begging for 12 hours or more per day.

The investigation found that the adult women were sexually assaulted by their captors and forced to give birth in the building where they were kept.

Police arrested the presumed leader of the gang of human traffickers and 10 others.

Their captives were placed in the care of the DIF family services agency.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Financiero (sp), NVI Noticias (sp)

Play the sport of kings in laid-back San Pancho, Nayarit

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Susannah Rigg

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October 15, 2018

Polo players at La Patrona in San Pancho, Nayarit. — Polo players at La Patrona Polo & Equestrian Club.

Say the words “Riviera Nayarit” and your mind will likely conjure up thoughts of surfing beaches, secluded bays, water sports and nature adventures.

But not so likely is it that the regal sport of polo will spring to mind. Nevertheless, the beach town of San Francisco, known locally as San Pancho, is home to a polo club that comes alive every year between October and May with matches, lessons and fun Sunday brunches.

Driving through the streets of the laid-back town — which has a mix of Mexican and foreign residents who all wander slowly in the heat dressed in shorts and flipflops — it is a surprise to suddenly find yourself at the entrance to a sprawling and stunningly coiffured polo club, La Patrona.

The club has been part of San Pancho life since 2004. Owned by Ivan Echeverría and Gabrielle Weber since its inception, it has always been a successful part of the community. So much so that six years ago the club moved to a newer and much larger piece of land.

La Patrona Polo & Equestrian Club now stretches out over more than 220 hectares, offering the most impressive backdrop of virgin jungle, palm trees and green as far as the eye can see. The plan is to build a few houses and villas on the land, so like the golf lovers of Punta Mita the polo lovers of San Pancho can live a hop, skip and a jump away from the fields. Non-polo enthusiasts might also be tempted, however, because the landscape is really rather spectacular.

There are three polo fields at La Patrona. One is referred to as an indoor field due to the material underfoot, although in San Pancho there is not a roof like there might be in the United Kingdom, for example, since the weather in Nayarit doesn’t call for it.

The two other fields are full-size, 300 by 160-yard professional polo fields — nine times the size of a soccer pitch — where matches can be played four against four. The horses run such a long distance during each chukka that they must be changed after each one and can only play a maximum of two chukkas per match.

La Patrona’s infrastructure is world-class, putting the club on the international circuit. Its aim is to train a new generation of polo players, both men and women (teams can be a mix of genders and ages) that can put Mexico more firmly on the polo-playing map.

Some players at the club start learning at as young as six or seven, giving them a chance to play among the best as they mature. The club has attracted names like the late Major Hugh Dawnay, the polo coach of the British Army and author of books about the sport, and his professional polo-playing son, Sebastian. Owners Echeverría and Weber were, in fact, first introduced to polo by Major Dawnay in Costa Careyes, a few hours down the coast from San Pancho.

La Patrona’s proximity to Punta Mita has likely helped, since visitors to the exclusive gated resort are among the elite associated with polo, which continues to be considered a sport of the rich. However, La Patrona is open to all guests who want to learn or just enjoy watching a match or two at the Sunday polo brunches held every week in the high season.

Club coach Martin Harriague, who hails from Argentina, has followed polo around the world, living, playing and coaching in the United States, the U.K. and now Mexico. He has worked at La Patrona for just under seven years and offers classes to those wanting to learn or improve their skills.

Visitors to the area can book classes at La Patrona during their vacations, making the most of Harriague’s many years of experience. There is a model horse on which to practice, where students can learn how to use the mallet — left-handers beware that only right-handed play is allowed — and practice swiping the ball.

Once used to the techniques the real horses await. Lessons can be taken individually or in groups and include information on horse care and the chance to have a few practice chukkas.

Experienced players visiting the area can also arrange to play a match, bringing their own horses or using the horses that are kept and cared for at the club. The facilities are so large that there is an onsite horse hospital with a swimming pool to help horses in recovery from injury. In the low season, when no matches are played, the horses are left to roam free on the land.

For those who would rather watch polo matches than play in them, the Sunday brunches are the perfect option. They attract up to 200 people each week and include watching a polo match, which is narrated, of course, as well as the obligatory part-time divot stomping. The brunch is specially prepared by the creative hand of chef Hugo Ahumada with ingredients from the onsite vegetable and herb gardens and is accompanied by live music, which often includes local and traditional bands and makes for a generally joyful atmosphere from 11:00am until 4:00pm.

This year the season starts on November 4 with a match that will include players from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, including Canadian Laura Bruno who learned to play at the club. The first match and brunch of the season is sure to be an exciting one with many people from the community showing up to enjoy the day.

La Patrona was designed by architect Rodrigo Peyret, who also designed the La Patrona Beach Club, which is linked to the polo facility. His design won him the silver award in the XV National and International Biennial of Mexican Architecture this year. Its tall palm roof is decorated with hanging glass droplets that almost glow at sunset and which are offset by a colorful design wall and beautiful water features.

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If you take the time to visit La Patrona polo club, make sure you also check out the beach club. As the award suggests, it is really something special.

While the U.K.’s Prince Harry has yet to make an appearance at La Patrona, here’s hoping that the world-class facilities that the club offers can entice him to San Pancho’s shores one day soon.

• To find out more about the club and everything on offer there, visit their website here.

Susannah Rigg is a freelance writer and Mexico specialist based in Mexico City. Her work has been published by BBC Travel, Condé Nast Traveler, CNN Travel and The Independent UK among others. Find out more about Susannah on her website.

There were border wall hugs on Saturday for 250 families

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October 15, 2018

Some 3,000 people gathered at the Mexico-United States border on Saturday in the latest installment of the Hugs, Not Walls event.

Organized for the sixth time by the Border Network for Human Rights, the event was held with the cooperation of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Mexican Federal Police.

The gathering of Mexicans and migrant relatives took place at the Rancho Anpara neighborhood in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and the town of Sunland Park, New Mexico.

The event gives the families separated by the border the opportunity to physically meet and greet for a few minutes.

Fernando García of the Border Network told the newspaper Milenio that it took some effort and some pressure on the Border Patrol in order to get the authorization.

“The doors opened to allow more than 200 families to hug each other and be together for a little while, because this is an important moment in the migrants’ resistance against the racist policies that this wall represents,” said García at the foot of the border fence.

“As long as they continue to build walls, we will continue to open these doors,” he continued, remarking that on Saturday children, families, siblings and parents “defeated this wall with a hug.”

“Something must be done to change this policy, this dynamic. I hope that the new government of Andrès Manuel Lòpez Obrador understands that and can exert enough pressure to change the way migrants are treated, that their human rights are respected and that no child is detained or any family separated,” García said.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Looting Veracruz: 33 billion pesos unaccounted for over 10 years

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October 15, 2018

Ex-governor Javier Duarte is not the only one accused of embezzling public funds.

State and municipal governments in Veracruz have been accused of embezzling more than 33 billion pesos (US $1.8 billion) between 2007 and 2017.

During the 10-year period, the Veracruz Auditor’s Office (Orfis) filed 158 criminal complaints against mayors and state and municipal officials due to financial irregularities it detected in public accounts.

Successive Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) administrations, led by Fidel Herrera Beltrán and later Javier Duarte governed Veracruz for almost the entire period to which the complaints refer.

Duarte was sentenced last month to nine years in prison for money laundering and criminal association while his predecessor has also been accused of corruption.

State government officials are accused of embezzling around 97% of the 33 billion missing pesos but a higher percentage of the criminal complaints — 100 of 158 — are against their municipal counterparts.

Almost 93% of the missing funds were detected in audits of public accounts for 2015 and 2016, the final two years of Duarte’s six-year term.

While the PRI leads the way in terms of the number of allegations against its officials, no political party that held power in Veracruz at a municipal level during the most recent three-year term is untainted by the claims of corruption.

Mayors of 153 of 212 municipalities in the state are accused of illegally diverting resources in 2017 alone: 71 represented the PRI; 29 held office for the National Action Party; and 22 for the Democratic Revolution Party.

The others belonged to four other, smaller parties.

The municipal administrations, which were in office between 2014 and 2017, are alleged to have embezzled more than 1.1 billion pesos (US $58.5 million) of public money last year.

According to Orfis data, last year’s alleged municipal embezzlement is the highest it has ever recorded.

The 1.1-billion figure is five times greater than the entire budget the federal Secretariat of Public Administration (SFP) has this year to crack down on corruption.

The funds are believed to have been diverted via overpayments to contractors for public works, through other payments for which no records exist or by simply not paying suppliers and other government creditors and taking the money owed.

With irregularities totaling more than 142 million pesos, the municipal government of Coatzacoalcos, led by PRI mayor Joaquín Caballero Rosiñol, is accused of the largest diversion of resources last year followed by the administrations in Acayucan and San Andrés Tuxtla, governed until 2017 by an Alternativa Veracruzana and PRI mayor respectively.

However, Orfis has not yet filed any criminal complaints against municipal officials for last year’s irregularities. Former mayors and ex-officials accused of diverting the resources must be given the opportunity to either provide documentation that justifies the use of the money or to return it.

In previous years, officials have been able to provide paperwork that resulted in Orfis reducing the amounts of the irregularities it initially detected.

In 2014, the figure came down from 116 million to zero and therefore no criminal complaints were filed.

Source: Milenio (sp)

530 tankers will provide water for nearly 4 million people

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October 15, 2018

Mexico City residents stock up on water containers.

When the water is turned off for 3.8 million people in 13 boroughs of Mexico City at the end of the month, 530 tanker trunks will be called on to keep people supplied.

Maintenance work on the Cutzamala aqueduct will start on October 31 and take four days, but the National Water Commission (Conagua) has warned that an additional four days will be needed for the network to stabilize, meaning that water service won’t be back to normal until after November 8.

Sacmex, the Mexico City water department, has arranged for tanker trucks to distribute water.

Although water will be available free, priority will be given to schools, hospitals, penitentiaries and nursing homes.

Sacmex will add 50 new locations to the 28 it already has where water trucks can fill up. All will be kept under guard by city police.

The city’s boroughs themselves will prepare water delivery schedules and routes for Sacmex to follow.

Meanwhile, there has been a rush on buckets and other containers in which to store water. The newspaper Milenio reported that hundreds of residents were buying containers of up to 120 liters water container in preparation for the waterless week ahead.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Eight ex-cops linked to Jalisco cartel get jail terms of up to 52 years

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October 15, 2018