Is it just tomatoes that are fueling a construction boom in Carmen Xhán?

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July 13, 2019

Gracias a Dios, Guatemala, across the border from Carmen Xhan, the latest bulge in the border balloon. — Gracias a Dios, Guatemala, is across the border from Carmen Xhán, the latest bulge in the border balloon.

Some time ago, on my radio program Good Morning Guatemala, I interviewed agents from NAS, the United States Narcotics Affairs Section, and the DEA, the better known Drug Enforcement Administration.

They likened the frustration of their anti-drug smuggling efforts to “squeezing a balloon” in that a long balloon, if squeezed, doesn’t deflate but just pops out in a different place.

To see if this analogy fit the current people smuggling scenario, I took a day trip from Comitán de Domínguez, in far southern Mexico, to go to Carmen Xhán, the rumored latest bulge in the several hundred kilometer-long “balloon” of the Mexico-Guatemala border.

Why in the world would anyone but me want to go to remote, almost-unheard-of Carmen Xhán, in the most remote corner of Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas? The chicken has timelessly known the answer: “To get to the other side.”

In this case the other side from Guatemala is Mexico, target or at least interim destination for thousands of Central Americans, Cubans, Africans, Asians, West Indians, Middle Easterners and anybody else interested in joining the stream of refugees headed to Mexico’s northern border with the United States.

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With the newly formed Mexican National Guard shutting down the most heavily traveled route for refugees headed to the U.S. border, I wanted to cross the road to confirm rumors that the Mexican border hamlet — just plain Xhán to all locals — was the new bulge in the balloon, the unguarded gateway.

I did, and it is.

Xhán (“Shan”) is a small village like thousands of others in Mexico. Unlike most others in recession-staggered Mexico, it is in the middle of a construction boom. Packing sheds for tomatoes and showy gated residences for humans are at the heart of the construction frenzy.

But I suspect that it’s not tomatoes paying for all the materials. Mototaxi divers, municipal police and gas station pump jockeys all confirmed that a steady stream of non-locals passes through daily, headed north.

Some very large trucks from as far away as the Mexican state of Coahuila, possibly not just coincidentally bordering the U.S., were parked and at the ready. Ready to drive about 50 kilometers to the main highway, unguarded on the day of my trip, but being widened and repaved.

The border crossing itself looked like something right out of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It was unmanned and unguarded save by insignificant speed bumps on either side, and I could and did illegally drive unnoticed into the Guatemalan border town of Gracias a Dios before turning around and taking the more-traveled route back north.

If this were a humorous piece, I would have to note that the word Xhán could be useful if there were an Aztec-rules Scrabble game. If I had been there on May 19 I could have joined the Santa Rita festivities. Santa Rita of Cascia is the patron saint of lost and impossible causes.

But this is not meant to be a humorous commentary.

The writer is a Guatemala-based journalist.

Mexico’s investment climate a worry for investors, US State Department warns

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MND Staff

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July 13, 2019

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Mexico ranked ninth in the 2019 CEO survey by professional services firm PwC. — Mexico ranked ninth in the 2019 CEO survey by professional services firm PwC, up from 13th last year.

The United States Department of State (DOS) has warned that 2019 ratification prospects for the new North American trade agreement and the “historic change” in government last December “remain key sources of investment uncertainty” for the Mexican economy.

In its 2019 Investment Climate Statement for Mexico, the DOS said the new government had indicated it was committed “to prudent fiscal and monetary policies since taking office,” but added:

“. . . conflicting policies, programs and communication from the new administration have contributed to ongoing uncertainties, especially related to energy sector reforms” and the financial health of Pemex, the state oil company.

The DOS noted that the federal government followed through on its campaign promises to cancel the new airport project, cut government employees’ salaries, suspend all energy auctions and weaken autonomous institutions.

The July 11 statement said that “uncertainty about contract enforcement, insecurity and corruption also continue to hinder Mexican economic growth,” asserting that those factors raise the cost of doing business in Mexico “significantly.”

The DOS said that “investors are increasingly concerned” that the federal government is undermining confidence in the “rules of the game,” particularly in the energy sector, by weakening the political autonomy of the Federal Commission for Economic Competition, Mexico’s antitrust agency, as well as the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) and the National Hydrocarbon Commission.

“The administration appointed four of seven CRE commissioners over the Senate’s objections, which voted twice to reject the nominees in part due to concerns their appointments would erode the CRE’s political autonomy,” the DOS said.

The administration’s budget cuts resulted in significant layoffs, it said, which has reportedly hampered the agencies’ ability to carry out their work, “a key factor in investment decisions.”

The DOS acknowledged that a key pillar of President López Obrador’s presidential campaign was combatting corruption at all levels.

However, it charged that the complicity of government and law enforcement officials with criminal elements is still “a significant concern.”

“While public and private sector corruption is found in many countries, the collaboration of government actors (often due to intimidation and threats) with criminal organizations poses serious challenges for the rule of law in Mexico.”

The DOS also said that insecurity remains a concern for companies considering investing in Mexico.

“The American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico estimates in a biannual report that security costs business as much as 5% of operating budgets. Many companies choose to take extra precautions for the protection of their executives. They also report increasing security costs for shipments of goods,” it said.

On a positive note, the DOS said that bilateral trade between Mexico and the United States grew 650% between 1993 and 2018 and noted that inflation at the end of 2018 was 4.8% compared to 6.6% at the end of 2017.

However, the State Department said the inflation rate was still above the Bank of México’s target of 3% due to the depreciation of the peso against the U.S. dollar and “higher retail fuel prices caused by government efforts to stimulate competition in that sector.”

Mexico is the United States’ second largest export market and third largest trading partner, the DOS said.

The U.S. is Mexico’s leading source country for foreign direct investment, contributing US $12.3 billion or 39% of all inflows in 2018.

The leaders of Mexico, the United States and Canada signed a new trade pact in November but only Mexico has so far ratified the agreement.

At its June board meeting, the Bank of México recognized that the possibility that the ratification process for the USMCA will encounter difficulties in the United States and Canada poses a threat to the Mexican economy.

Source: Milenio (sp)

21 slaves lived in cave, cultivated drugs for crime gang

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Simon Schatzberg

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July 13, 2019

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The cave in which enslaved workers were held.

Chihuahua police have rescued 21 men who were being held in caves and forced to work on marijuana and poppy fields in the western part of the state.

They were found Thursday in the municipality of Ocampo.

The men said they were forced to work long hours on two different farms starting at 6:00am and ending after sunset. They were fed with flour and water in the morning and beans at night, and received no pay.

At night, they slept in caves by a cliff in a remote area of the Sierra Tarahumara and were guarded by armed men who beat them and threatened to kill them if they tried to escape.

Several of the men are indigenous, and 17 are from the state of Chihuahua. Four had been reported missing after they had been contacted in the cities of Chihuahua and Cuauhtémoc with promises of employment putting up fences and doing other agricultural work for 350 pesos (US $18) a day.

The other four men are from Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Coahuila and Zacatecas. Some of them said they had been forced to work for as long as two years.

The investigation that led to the men’s rescue began over a year ago following reports of their disappearances by family members, and by anonymous reports that a crime gang was forcing people to work in the Sierra Tarahumara.

More than 50 state police took part in the rescue operation, which started on Tuesday and ended Thursday night. Officers drove for eight hours on highways and dirt roads and made the final leg of the journey on foot to reach the remote Yoquivo region where the men were being held.

The officers were not able to locate any of the men’s captors but they did seize a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck which had been used to transport supplies, and a Kenwood radio.

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

In México state, 46 babies have been christened Yalitza

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Madison Koen

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July 12, 2019

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yalitza aparicio — Her name is popular among parents of newborns.

After a year of non-stop accolades and media attention, the cultural impact of Alfonso Cuarón’s award-winning film Roma is also being felt in a more permanent way: in Mexico state this year, a total of 46 girls have been named after Yalitza Aparicio, the actress who plays the movie’s protagonist.

The state government registered a surge in newborns christened Yalitza starting in February, the month in which the actress was nominated for an Academy Award. In March alone, 13 baby girls were given the name Yalitza by parents in the state.

Regina Cayetano Narciso of Loma Vicente Guerrero in Jiquipilco said she chose the name Yalitza because of her admiration for the actress, whom she hoped would serve as an example for her daughter.

“I liked [the name] a lot; my parents helped me choose it. I hope that [my daughter] is exactly like the actress, that she is humble like her and that she helps others like her, and above all, that she finishes school and that she puts God first.”

María de los Ángeles Dávila Sánchez, director of the Civil Registry of Jiquipilco, said the phenomenon was a positive one.

“This is the name of a very famous person who has made us look terrific as Mexicans, and we hope that [Regina Cayetano’s] little girl is as famous and as wonderful a person as [the actress],” Dávila said.

Chimalhuacán was the municipality with the greatest number of Yalitzas, followed by Valle de Chalco, Tenancingo, Nezahualcóyotl, Coatepec Harinas and Villa Victoria.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Automotive manufacturing overtakes food industry for the first time

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MND Staff

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July 12, 2019

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Percentage of GDP generated by the automotive sector (in blue) compared to food production. The figures generated by El Economista were slightly different from those of the auto industry association, but reflect the same trend.

The automotive sector overtook the food processing industry for the first time in 2018 to become Mexico’s biggest contributor to manufacturing GDP.

The automotive industry contributed to 20.7% of manufacturing GDP last year, a 7.7% increase compared to 2010, while the food sector’s contribution fell 2.3% in the same period to 20.3%.

The president of the Mexican Automotive Industry Association highlighted that growth over the past quarter of a century – the period in which the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, has been in effect – has been even more impressive.

“Twenty-five years ago, the food industry made up 20% of the whole manufacturing industry and we were at 6%. The food sector today is just above 20% and the auto sector is at 20.7%, which makes us the most important in Mexico,” Eduardo Solís said.

“The food industry was always ahead of us, for years,” he added.

The third biggest contributors to manufacturing GDP are the chemical and basic metal production industries, each of which generates 6.4% of the total.

Solís said that the auto sector has become one of the most crucial parts of the Mexican economy, explaining that it attracts foreign investment and generates a significant number of jobs.

Between 1993 and 2017, the industry’s GDP grew at more than double the rate of that of the manufacturing sector and the Mexican economy as a whole.

The export of vehicles and auto parts was worth just under US $142.2 billion last year whereas imports of the same products were just over $59 billion, leaving a surplus of more than $83 billion.

Between 2000 and 2017, the auto sector attracted more than $60.6 billion in foreign direct investment, more than any other industry. European and Asian automakers opened new plants in Mexico during the period.

Statistics show that Mexico overtook the United Kingdom and Canada to become the fourth biggest automobile exporter by value in the world in 2018, shipping just under 3.5 million vehicles abroad, a 6% increase over 2017.

However, the domestic market is a concern, Solís said, explaining that car sales were down 11.4% in June and 6.4% in the first half of the year.

Source: El Economista (sp)

UNICEF Mexico warns of rising family violence against girls

By

Simon Schatzberg

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July 12, 2019

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Girls are the primary victims of violence against children in Mexico, says UNICEF.

A report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that family violence against girls in Mexico rose sharply between 2010 and 2014.

According to the study, 18,000 girls were victims of family abuse in 2010, a number that rose to 24,000 in 2014.

In 2015, almost 700,000 adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 17 experienced family abuse.

At the study’s presentation, UNICEF Mexico’s Christian Skoog called the situation “alarming,” and said that improving data about violence against children is an important part of addressing the problem.

“Violence affects all minors, without regard to their condition,” he said. “In that sense, the lack of data reduces the probability that their rights will be reinstated.”

Oscar Jaimes Bello, a director of the national statistics institute (Inegi), agreed with Skoog that current statistics about violence against children are insufficient.

“There is statistical information about violence against boys, girls and adolescents, which allows us to measure some of the patterns, in a very general way,” he said. “However, the availability and disaggregation of the data limits the ability to understand and measure the problem.”

In general, family violence affects girls much more than boys.

The study found that 1,468 minors were murdered in 2017, up from 1,126 in 2016. There were 5,790 missing children in 2017, 60% of whom were girls.

The study also found that 63% of children under the age of 14 had experienced some kind of violent discipline in the month before the survey was taken. The most common forms were psychological and corporal punishment.

The highest percentage of acts of violent discipline were carried out by siblings, accounting for 28%, followed by mothers at 24% and fathers at 20%.

“Violence against children at home has been naturalized,” said Skoog. “Our society believes that there is nothing wrong with hitting or mistreating a child because of something he or she has done.”

Source: El Universal (sp), Reuters (en)

Funds allocated for restoration of 279 earthquake-damaged sites

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MND Staff

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July 12, 2019

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The municipal palace in Juchitán, Oaxaca, is among the sites that will be restored.

The federal government has allocated 800 million pesos (US $42 million) for the restoration of 279 buildings in 10 states that were damaged in the powerful earthquakes of September 2017 and February 2018.

Among the buildings that will benefit from the National Reconstruction Program funding are the municipal palace in Juchitán, Oaxaca, the Emiliano Zapata Revolution Museum in Tlaltizapán, Morelos, and the Juaninos Hospital in Puebla city, which functions as a cultural center.

Arturo Balandrano, head of the cultural heritage department in the Secretariat of Culture, told the newspaper Milenio that the buildings that will receive funding were carefully chosen.

“We’re attending to what is most important. We asked all the states in affected areas to tell us what still needed to be restored so long as [the buildings] represented an important value for the historical memory of the place and for the cultural identity of the communities,” he said.

Balandrano said that a total of 669 requests seeking 1.7 billion pesos in funding were submitted but just over one-third of those weren’t considered.

“. . . We found that 150 requests were to attend to churches, which are included in the [National Institute of Anthropology and History] program. Other requests arrived without the essential information to be able to make a ruling. In the end, we evaluated 430 proposals,” he said.

The 279 buildings that were chosen are in the states of Chiapas, México state, Guerrero, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala and Mexico City.

Morelos will receive the highest funding allocation – 287 million pesos – while Mexico City will get 130 million. Both were hit hard by the 7.1-magnitude, September 19, 2017 earthquake, whose epicenter was in Puebla.

Southern states bore the brunt of the September 7, 2017 earthquake, whose epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chiapas.

A 7.2-magnitude quake that struck on February 16 last year with an epicenter near the city of Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca, also caused damage to buildings but unlike the other two earthquakes – which claimed the lives of almost 500 people – no fatalities were reported.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Another Mexican narco series is on the way, this one animated

By

Madison Koen

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July 12, 2019

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Seis Manos is a new addition to the growing library of Mexican narco films.

The Netflix streaming service intends to build on the success of series such as Narcos Mexico and El Chapo with yet another series about narcos set in Mexico.

But the new show will chronicle the country’s narco culture with a Japanese-style animation called anime.

Netflix offered a brief synopsis of Seis Manos (Six Hands), which is set to launch sometime this year:

“Set in Mexico in the 1970s era, Seis Manos centers on three orphaned martial arts warriors who join forces with a [U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration] agent and a Mexican federal to battle for justice after their beloved mentor is murdered on the streets of their tiny border town.”

The company’s John Derderian said the show presented a unique opportunity for the streaming company to reach anime fans in new ways.

“We’re excited to be working with such a fantastic group of animators and storytellers to produce our first original anime series set in Mexico. Our Mexican subscribers, and viewers in Latin America more broadly, have a tremendous passion for anime. We look forward to sharing this completely unique series with them, and with the growing community of anime fans around the world.”

To make Seis Manos a reality, Powerhouse Animation Studios — Castlevania, My Friend Pedro, Reigns: Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat X and Final Fantasy XV: A King’s Tale — teamed up with Viz Media for production.

The cast will include Aislinn Derbez, Mike Colter, Angélica Vale and Danny Trejo in a show that “combines the absolute best in action and storytelling,” according to Viz Media chief marketing officer Brad Woods.

“With over 30 years of experience bringing the best manga and anime to North America, Seis Manos will be VIZ Media’s first original animated property. We’re thrilled to bring Seis Manos to life with our partners at Netflix and Powerhouse Animation.”

The news might not be quite so thrilling to Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary, who lamented yesterday that the narco films are hurting Mexico’s international reputation.

Source: FayerWayer (sp), comicbook (en)

Foreign affairs secretary laments narco TV series’ portrayal of Mexico

By

MND Staff

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July 12, 2019

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The foreign affairs secretary said TV narco series are giving Mexico a bad rap.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard bemoaned yesterday that narco-related television series are portraying a negative image of Mexico abroad.

“Today the image of Mexico that is seen in almost the whole world is from narco series or similar [shows],” Ebrard told attendees at the launch of a new tourism promotion body.

“I tell you this because prime ministers, high-ranking officials and representatives from the whole world have spoken to me about it and that [image] doesn’t do us justice,” he said.

Several television series based on the true stories of Mexican drug cartels have been made in recent years including Narcos México and El Chapo, both of which screen on the Netflix streaming service and have been popular with international audiences.

The foreign affairs secretary said that officials in his department and the Secretariat of Tourism as well as members of the newly-created Tourism Diplomacy Council need to work together to develop a strategy to better promote the positive aspects of Mexico.

Tourism Secretary Torruco and Foreign Affairs Secretary Ebrard presented the new tourism council yesterday. — Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco and Foreign Affairs Secretary Ebrard presented the new tourism council yesterday.

“The ambition we have is to change the image and to lift Mexico’s standing but to do it we have to reach an agreement and think of a diplomacy [strategy] in all fields. We’re going to have to do a lot [of work] on social media and also on [television] series. Mexico has to promote other scripts . . .” Ebrard said.

The secretary said that the tourism council will ultimately be responsible for approving a new plan to promote Mexico abroad.

The council is made up of 28 members, most of whom are tourism sector representatives and business people. The secretariats of Foreign Affairs and Tourism will work closely with the new body, whose members must meet within 60 days to set its organizational structure and agenda.

Ignacio Cabrera, general director of the council and a foreign affairs official, said the organization will plan, design and implement international tourism promotion strategies.

He said the council will seek funding in the 2020 budget but added that the private sector will also contribute resources.

The creation of the new body comes after the official dissolution of the Tourism Promotion Council (CPTM) last month.

The disbanded marketing agency had an annual budget of approximately 6 billion pesos (US $316 million), funding that the government announced would be allocated instead to the construction of the Maya Train.

The decision to eliminate the CPTM was widely criticized by the tourism industry, whose representatives warned that a lack of international marketing will result in fewer visitors.

Pablo Azcárraga, president of the National Tourism Business Council and a member of the new promotion council, said in April that the Mexican tourism industry is in crisis due to insufficient marketing and insecurity.

Source: Reforma (sp), Notimex (sp) Milenio (sp)

Ecatepec street collapses under truck’s heavy load of gravel

By

Simon Schatzberg

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July 12, 2019

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Two people were injured when their vehicles plunged into a sinkhole on a street in Ecatepec, México state, on Friday morning.

Local authorities said the sinkhole, which has a diameter of 8 meters, opened late Thursday night under the weight of a semi-truck carrying 40 tonnes of gravel. Emergency workers freed the semi in the early hours of the morning Friday, leaving left piles of gravel and emergency markers nearby to warn drivers.

But the warning signs weren’t enough, and heavy rain prevented the drivers of two cars from seeing them. One of the vehicles, a taxi, flipped over and fell to the bottom of the sinkhole, while the other was left hanging on the edge.

The drivers, who suffered only minor injuries, admitted that driving on the street had been “imprudent.”

The sinkhole was the third on Ecatepec streets in the last few days due to heavy rains and a lack of maintenance to underground drainage and water systems.

Emergency crews prepare to remove the second vehicle that fell in the large hole.

The Ecatepec government recently announced an investment of 13 million pesos (US $683,000) to rectify the problem.

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