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Guilty verdict for Russian who was target of Cancún lynch mob

By
Madison Koen
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A screenshot from Makeev's YouTube channel.
A screenshot from Makeev's YouTube channel.

A Russian citizen and YouTuber who was almost killed by an angry lynch mob in Cancún two years ago has been found guilty of homicide for killing one of his attackers during the incident.

Aleksei Makeev was dubbed #LordRussianNazi by Cancún locals for racist and abusive behavior, which he himself documented in a series of videos that he uploaded to a YouTube channel. The videos show him harassing and insulting residents in Russian, English and broken Spanish.

In May 2017, an angry mob of at least 100 people descended upon the Russian man’s residence, intent on lynching him in retaliation for his aggressive behavior: earlier that day, he had reportedly hit a women and child in a neighborhood store. The mob managed to pull Makeev out of his house and beat him into a coma, but not before the Russian stabbed one of his attackers, killing him.

During the trial, Makeev’s defense argued that he had stabbed the victim in self-defense. But the state used a simulation of the mechanics of the act to demonstrate that the accused had used his physical superiority over the deceased to stab him multiple times.

Makeev had lived in Cancún since at least 2015. He had been employed as a dive instructor but was dismissed for aggressive behavior towards clients. He also had a record of indecently exposing himself.

Following the attempted lynching, during which he sustained a fractured skull, broken arm, blows to his entire body and showed signs of cerebral bleeding, Makeev was treated at the Cancún General Hospital before being transferred to jail to await trial.

In May, Russian human rights lawyer Gennady Makarov posted a 15-minute video on YouTube in which Makeev claimed that Mexican authorities had continually violated his rights during his two-year incarceration. He claimed that authorities denied him consular assistance, medical attention and contact with his family.

He also charged that representation by his government-appointed lawyers had been inadequate and that court interpreters had been incorrectly translating his statements into Spanish.

After the video was uploaded, Makeev was reportedly attacked by fellow prisoners and wounded with a sharp object. Another prisoner who went to his defense was seriously injured and had to be hospitalized.

Makeev’s sentencing is scheduled to take place Tuesday.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Sonora acid spill meant instant death for anything it touched: researcher

By
Simon Schatzberg
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0
Port of Guaymas, where an acid spill occurred last week.
Port of Guaymas, where an acid spill occurred last week.

A spill of 3,000 liters of sulfuric acid at the Port of Guaymas, Sonora, into the Gulf of California last week caused significant damage to the gulf ecosystem, according to Reina Castro Longoria, a marine biology researcher at the University of Sonora and a substitute senator.

“The impact is undeniable, it was instant death for everything it touched; flora, fauna, the water, and the whole immediate area,” she told reporters. “And it will also cause damage elsewhere as it disperses. I don’t say this to cause alarm, but this kind of thing has a domino effect, and it will break the ecological balance in that area, because sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive substance.”

Grupo México, Mexico’s largest mining company and owner of the facility responsible for the spill, said the accident was too small to cause serious environmental damage.

Castro added that she thinks the government should suspend Grupo México’s mining concessions because of the spill and several other incidents.

Jaqueline García Hernández, an environmental science researcher at the Food and Development Research Center in Sonora, agrees with Grupo México that the effects of the spill will be limited, but says the situation should be closely monitored.

In an interview with the newspaper La Jornada, García said the acid was quickly diluted by seawater, and that any changes in pH were controlled and neutralized.

“It was a spill that had effects in the moment,” she said. “We took samples to see if there was damage when the acid spilled, and 10 fish died. We will keep monitoring the spill site.”

García added that deaths of more fish or birds in the area is unlikely.

According to the environmentalist group Poder, the Guaymas spill is the 14th accident at a Grupo México facility. In 2014, a company mine spilled 40,000 cubic meters of copper sulfate acid solution into two rivers in Sonora, causing extensive environmental damage.

Source: La Jornada (sp), El Universal (sp)

Health, insecurity worrisome issues for AMLO; ending corruption is ‘easy’

By
Simon Schatzberg
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The president tours hospitals in Michoacán on the weekend.
The president tours hospitals in Michoacán on the weekend.

After visiting a rural hospital in Ario de Rosales, Michoacán on Saturday, President López Obrador said that his principal concerns are health and insecurity, and he is not worried about the economy because Mexico has a strong currency and there is less inflation.

He also said that ending corruption, which he thinks is the country’s most important problem, will be “easy.”

“The other things don’t worry me too much, corruption is easy to deal with,” he said. “The economy is growing, even if they say otherwise. The fact is that the peso has strengthened against the dollar more than any other currency in the world, and there’s less inflation now than before. Another fact is that the minimum wage has gone up for the first time in 36 years.”

With regard to health and insecurity, which he sees as the most troubling issues, López Obrador said the deployment of the National Guard, which started last week, will soon lead to a decline in crime rates, and that more doctors and healthcare personnel will be sent around the country to staff hospitals.

He added that he wants to use Coca-Cola’s distribution model to distribute medicines to the most remote parts of the country.

The president’s visit to the Ario de Rosales hospital was part of an ongoing tour of the seven rural hospitals run by the Mexican Social Security Institute in Michoacán. So far, López Obrador has visited 13 of the 80 rural hospitals across the country, and he plans to visit them all.

In Uruapan on Sunday, after completing his hospital visits, the president refused to comment on statements made by recently-departed finance secretary Carlos Urzúa in an interview with the magazine Proceso.

“I haven’t read [the interview],” the president told Excélsior. “I haven’t had time, because we’re working on reviving not just the medical system, which was in very bad shape, but we’re also lifting up the entire country, which was being ruled by corruption. That’s what we’re worried about.”

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

June’s job losses total 14,000, the biggest decline since 2010

By
MND Staff
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0
Youths at a job fair in San Juan del Río, Querétaro.
Youths at a job fair in San Juan del Río, Querétaro.

A net loss of more than 14,000 jobs made June the worst month for employment data since March 2010, while job growth in the first half of the year was the lowest since 2009.

The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) reported a net loss of 14,244 jobs last month, the first decline in employment figures since President López Obrador took office in December.

Just under 34,000 permanent jobs were created in June but 48,215 jobs disappeared, according to IMSS data.

A total of 289,301 jobs were created between January and June, the worst first semester result since 2009 when 306,942 jobs were lost.

“The [June] employment data is the continuation of a poor trend for formal employment . . . [It] confirms that the Mexican economy is going through an economic slowdown,” said David Kaplan, a senior labor market specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank.

Carlos López, chief economist at economic forecasting company Tendencias Económicas y Financieras, said “the collapse of employment” as shown in the IMSS data “is a symptom of recession.”

The Bank of México warned last week that there is a possibility that the economy will enter into a “light recession,” while the Bank of America is predicting that data will show that the economy contracted for a second consecutive quarter between April and June, meaning that Mexico is technically in a recession already.

While jobs were lost last month, IMSS highlighted that just under 20.37 million workers are currently enrolled in its social security scheme, 2.4% more than at the end of June 2018.

Job creation in the agricultural and communications and transportation sectors drove the growth. In the former, there are 5.4% more insured workers than a year ago while in the latter there are 5.2% more.

In contrast, the number of insured workers in the construction and mining sectors declined by 2.1% and 3.3% respectively.

Nayarit, where 7.7% more people are engaged in formal employment compared to a year ago, was the best performing state economy in terms of job growth in the first half of 2019, followed by Querétaro, Campeche, Yucatán and Baja California.

Guerrero, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Durango, all of which recorded negative employment growth between January and June, were the worst-performing state economies.

IMSS also reported that insured workers earn an average base salary of 376.6 pesos per day (US $20), a 6.6% annual increase, and that at the end of June, there were 991,286 affiliated employers, 2.5% more than a year ago.

At the end of last month, 743,321 people were employed in the government apprenticeship scheme known as Youths Building the Future, IMSS said.

Source: El Financiero (sp) 

Out with the traditional graduation waltz: cumbia rocks grad event

By
Madison Koen
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Grads dance the cumbia at a Michoacán elementary school.
Grads dance the cumbia at a Michoacán elementary school.

A change in tempo from the traditional waltz in favor of the catchy rhythm of cumbia brought smiles to all as students twisted and turned to the beat of a cumbia hit during an elementary school graduation ceremony in Zitácuaro, Michoacán.

The surprise on the faces of parents and younger students was shared by social media users, who expressed astonishment and congratulations on a viral video that captured the dance performed by the graduating sixth-graders of Ignacio López Rayón Elementary School.

In the video, the cumbia by the group Rayito Colombiano plays while students dressed in blue and grey school uniforms execute a well-rehearsed choreography in perfect concert in the middle of the school courtyard.

Meanwhile, a female voice rings out, cheering on the dancers and soliciting the applause of the observing students, teachers and parents.

Social media users applauded the change in music and exclaimed over the work that must have gone into preparing the dance. One Twitter user said the festive music was better suited to the occasion.

“Wow! I want to highlight two important aspects of this: first, in financial terms, this was a good way to take advantage of the uniforms without forcing the parents or teachers to spend extra, and two, the creativity [behind the dance]; a graduation is cause for a celebration, and this was a [good] departure from the traditional waltz.”

Other users praised the students’ planning of the dance routine and the choice of cumbia instead of other genres which might not have been suitable for elementary-aged children.

“It’s much better to see them dancing this than reggaeton,”commented Paola Domínguez.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Sargassum-fighting measures put sea turtles at risk in Quintana Roo

By
MND Staff
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0
Turtles' nests could be baking beneath the sargassum.
Turtles' nests could be baking beneath the sargassum.

The methods used to prevent sargassum from reaching Quintana Roo beaches pose a risk to nesting sea turtles and their offspring, two conservationists warn.

Miriam Tzeek, president of the Quintana Roo Sea Turtles Committee, told the newspaper Milenio that barriers placed in the sea to stop the seaweed from washing up onshore and sargassum-gathering vessels both threaten the lives of female turtles and their hatchlings as they return to sea.

She said that more than 20,000 turtles nest on Mexico’s Caribbean coast beaches each year and that each mother can lay up to 100 eggs, meaning that the lives of as many as two million of the reptiles are at risk from the collection of sargassum.

The Quintana Roo turtle nesting season begins in May and eggs hatch 45 to 60 days after they are laid, a time when sargassum arrivals are usually at their seasonal peak.

Leonel Gómez, chief of the Rivera Maya-Tulum sea turtle program, explained that the use of sargassum-gathering vessels and barriers is particularly dangerous to recently-hatched turtles.

Sargassum barriers can be turtle barriers, too.
Sargassum barriers can be turtle barriers, too.

“Our fear is that once the hatchings leave their eggshell and move forward in the sea searching for ocean currents they will be picked up by these boats and will end up trapped in the large masses of sargassum that they remove every day,” he said.

“. . . The anti-sargassum barriers . . . will also affect babies, perhaps large turtles won’t be affected so much because they go beneath [the barriers] but the little ones don’t. A little turtle can get stuck in one of those nets,” Gómez explained.

Speaking to Milenio at the Xcacel-Xcacelito turtle sanctuary, one of the most popular Quintana Roo nesting areas, the conservationist said that sargassum collected on beaches can also threaten turtle nests if “huge piles” of the weed are inadvertently placed on top of them.

In such a case, sargassum causes nests – and eggs – to overheat, leaving the latter “completely cooked,” Gómez said.

The use of heavy machinery to collect sargassum can also harm the turtle nests, a Quintana Roo environmental group said in May when reporting that backhoes were being illegally used on Cancún beaches.

Even though turtle conservation efforts are being undermined by anti-sargassum strategies, Gómez acknowledged that hotel owners have no other option than to take action against the seasonal phenomenon because without turquoise waters and white sand beaches, the tourists won’t come.

“I don’t blame them [the hotel owners], that’s what they live from but sometimes the methods are so improvised and they don’t consider the damage they cause to the beach or the animals in the sea,” he said.

Both he and Tzeek called for the implementation of sargassum collection strategies that are mindful of marine creatures.

If anti-sargassum actions are not properly regulated, “the efforts that we’re making here to protect the turtle will be of no use,” Gómez said.

Source: Milenio (sp) 

Endangered animals theme of this year’s CantoyaFest in Michoacán

By
Madison Koen
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0
Cantoya balloons will fill the sky above Pátzcuaro next week.
Balloons will fill the sky above Pátzcuaro.

Music, dancing and hundreds of balloons are all staples of the International Cantoya Balloon Festival in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, but for the festival’s 14th edition, coming up on July 19-21, a more sobering theme will take center stage.

Joel Elías, executive director of CantoyaFest, explained that part of each day of the festival, which will fill the sky with over 500 decorated lanterns, will be dedicated to raising consciousness about endangered animals and the environment with a series of talks.

The festival will also accept donations from the public for a non-profit organization dedicated to endangered species.

Elías told a press conference that this year’s CantoyaFest will be big: more than 300 masters in the craft of cantoya balloons will travel from Mexico City, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Oaxaca, México state, Guerrero and Yucatán to join those from Michoacán.

International craftsmen from Colombia, El Salvador, Brazil and France will also be present. In all, the festival expects to welcome 90,000 visitors this year and to generate 70 million pesos (US $3.7 million) in economic spillover.

A balloon at a previous edition of the 14-year-old festival.
A balloon at a previous edition of the 14-year-old festival.

On the first day, festival-goers will be invited to form teams and make their own cantoya balloons and discover first-hand the time and dedication that goes into each sky lantern. Later, the festival will culminate in a cantoya balloon contest, with sky lanterns of all imaginable colors and sizes.

Other activities will include an exhibit of specially decorated balloons in the Gertrudis Bocanegra Library, a special show for deaf attendees, children’s activities, workshops, food and drink, artisanal products and performances by 18 bands.

Elías expressed satisfaction with the festival’s preparations and added that organizers had taken special measures to ensure that this year’s edition did not pose a risk to the environment, including stipulations that all of the balloons at the festival must be 100% biodegradable and made from recycled materials.

“I think that in these 14 years we have greatly improved many of the activities and no one could possibly get bored. We have an incredible lake, and we’re trying to rescue it. We also have an unparalleled set of activities, and we only hold the festival during the rainy season to avoid any sort of environmental accident.”

Pátzcuaro Mayor Víctor Báez assured that the festival will have all of the necessary security in place to deal with any possible fires.

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

28 Federal Police dogs go to their new, adoptive families

By
Simon Schatzberg
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0
police dog
Golden years ahead.

After years of service, 28 canine officers of the Federal Police will retire and spend the last years of their lives with families who have been selected to suit the dogs’ needs.

The 28 families were chosen by the Mexican Canine Federation (FCM) from 7,000 people who applied to adopt the dogs. They were to arrive at their new homes on Saturday.

Oswaldo Alfaro, a veterinarian and FCM board member, told the news agency Notimex that the selection committee took various considerations into account to choose the families, including the ages of family members, the size of their homes and their economic status.

Alfaro noted that the dogs can live the normal life of a pet in spite of the demanding training and work they have performed. However, because of the dogs’ advanced ages, the FCM prefers them to be adopted by families made up of adults because children often prefer dogs to be more energetic and playful.

In a retirement ceremony, the dogs were given ribbons in recognition of their service, and their Federal Police vests were removed.

The force has been putting its retired dogs up for adoption since 2016 following changes to a law requiring that police dogs be euthanized at the end of their service. Since then, 71 retired police dogs have been adopted.

The Federal Police currently have 136 canine officers which, along with the rest of the force, will be incorporated into the National Guard over the next year.

Fabiola Chávez was one of those chosen to give a new home to a retiring dog. Last November, Kafu, a German shepherd trained to detect currency and drugs, moved in with Chávez, who said the transition had been easy for the dog, although it suffered from anxiety and required daily walks.

“He had the rank of commander, so we still call him Commander Kafu. He’s a very big and anxious dog, but we’ve adapted to him, and we love him very much,” she said. “I’m very proud to have him, because he’s a dog who has faithfully served the police, and now he’s my friend and companion. I like to show him off on the street.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Tired of waiting, farmers loot fertilizer warehouses in Guerrero

By
Simon Schatzberg
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0
Sacks of looted fertilizer are stacked on the roadside ready for farmers.
Sacks of looted fertilizer are stacked on the roadside ready for farmers.

Farmers in the municipalities of Tixtla and Copalillo looted fertilizer from government warehouses and trucks on Friday as distribution delays continue.

About 40 farmers in Copalillo broke into a warehouse owned by the Secretariat of Agriculture and stole fertilizer on Friday morning, which they distributed among themselves and loaded on to pickup trucks.

Earlier in the day about 100 farmers from the communities of El Troncón, Zacazonapa, Omeapa, El Potrero and Tixtla blocked traffic on the Chilpancingo-Tlapa highway in Tixtla with rocks and tree branches, demanding the distribution of fertilizer.

The farmers were hoping to intercept a convoy of 30 semi-trucks carrying fertilizer to the Montaña region of Guerrero, but the convoy had passed by the time the roadblock was set up. However, a government semi-truck carrying 30 tonnes of fertilizer showed up later, and farmers stole its cargo and loaded it on to their vehicles.

Later in the afternoon, the farmers intercepted and looted another truck.

Farmers in Tlapa also blocked traffic while in Taxco, another group of farmers tried to break into a fertilizer warehouse but were repelled by Federal Police.

The farmers said on Friday that three days had passed since the deadline established by municipal and federal authorities for the distribution of fertilizer, although Agriculture Secretary Víctor Villalobos had promised that it would be distributed to 300,000 Guerrero farmers by Monday, July 15.

This is the first year that the federal government has managed the free fertilizer distribution program, which has existed for 24 years. Farmers say the delivery of fertilizer is urgent because the rainy season has already started.

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

After 15 days of sewage discharge, Oaxaca lagoon is beginning to stink

By
MND Staff
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Sewage has contaminated Juchitán's Laguna Superior.
Sewage has contaminated Juchitán's Laguna Superior.

Fifteen days after large quantities of raw sewage began flowing into a lagoon in Juchitán, Oaxaca, the fetid odor has become overwhelming, driving away tourists and shutting down businesses.

A failing drainage system in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec city led residents of one neighborhood to pump untreated wastewater directly into Laguna Superior, while sewage is also flowing into the lagoon via local waterways.

The Los Perros river is contaminated by untreated sewage from at least six neighborhoods in Juchitán, where the only wastewater treatment plant hasn’t been operational for years.

The stench of the sewage is overpowering anywhere within the vicinity of the lagoon while from the community of Playa Vicente, a 300-meter-wide black stain is visible on the surface of the water, according to a report in the newspaper El Universal.

The contamination has caused oxygen levels in the lagoon’s water to drop, killing fish and triggering the proliferation of seaweed.

Local official Fernando Santos said that fishing has been suspended in the lagoon and businesses located on the shore have closed because there are no tourists.

Residents have grown desperate because their sole sources of income have been cut off, he added.

After inspecting the contamination during a flyover of the lagoon, the Oaxaca environment secretary warned that people’s health could also be at risk.

“From above, you can see perfectly the black stain of sewage that flows [into the lagoon] from the Los Perros river and from a Juchitán drainage stream. The contamination is terrible and alarming, that’s what’s causing the bad smell . . . We could have a serious disease outbreak if the situation isn’t dealt with urgently,” Samuel Gurrión said.

Rubén Dario Hernández, director of public works on the Juchitán council, said earlier this week that authorities are currently “working on a project to repair the wastewater treatment plant and to build two more so that the wastewater that is dumped into the Los Perros river is treated beforehand.”

However, he conceded that the project “will take time.”

Biologists from the Oaxaca Environment Secretariat and the University of the Sea (Umar) have collected samples of both water and seaweed from the lagoon, which will be tested before reports are issued.

Umar biologist Ivonne Santiago told El Universal that water samples taken from near the lagoon’s shoreline contained just 0.2 milligrams of oxygen per liter, well below the normal level of 5 milligrams per liter.

Source: El Universal (sp)

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