Anti-noise enforcement having negative impact: restaurants

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June 14, 2019

Restaurant owners in Guadalajara say that enforcement of an anti-noise law in the city is seriously affecting investment and employment in the food service sector.

Aldo Alejandro de Anda García, Jalisco president of the national restaurant association Canirac, told the newspaper El Economista that closing restaurants for violating noise regulations puts dozens of people out of work and affects investments of millions of pesos.

For example, de Anda said, a Sonora Grill in the Providencia neighborhood of Guadalajara that was closed almost a month ago left 80 to 100 employees without work. He said over 50 million pesos (US $2.6 million) had been invested in the restaurant.

According to the municipal government, officials had received numerous noise complaints about the Sonora Grill before it was closed.

But de Anda said actions being take by authorities would indicate they are more focused on damaging the industry.

“Like these anti-noise operations they’ve been doing, where they bring five squad cars, 15 to 20 officers and dogs.”

De Anda said in April there had been no cases of abuse since anti-noise operations began but given “the security situation,” the sight of police cars and a large contingent of officials scares customers away.

In one case, he said, the mayor led an anti-noise operation in which many police officers and other officials entered restaurants to check noise levels.

Such operations scare guests who justly believe there is something more going on than a simple noise inspection, he said.

De Anda said that Canirac is willing to negotiate with the government to address the problem of noise at restaurants.

“We’re willing to work together, to have discussions, for them to tell us which places have been reported, where the problems are,” said de Anda. “We can have a dialogue with them, and if the dialogue doesn’t work, we can talk about sanctions.”

Under Guadalajara’s municipal law, businesses that generate more than 65 decibels of noise face a minimum fine of 2,500 pesos. Repeat offenders will face larger fines and can have their restaurant licenses suspended or revoked.

The anti-noise law applies to the entire municipality of Guadalajara, but the city has been focusing enforcement in Chapultepec, López Cotilla and Providencia.

Source: El Economista (sp), Informador (sp), Mural (sp), Milenio (sp)

Oaxaca entrepreneurs replace Styrofoam with banana leaves

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Madison Koen

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June 14, 2019

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Oaxaca entrepreneurs and their environmentally friendly burger packaging.

Two young Zapotec entrepreneurs in Oaxaca are using an innovative and local alternative to plastic and Styrofoam to join in the effort to eliminate the use of non-biodegradable materials and prevent environmental damage.

Hambre Feroz (Ferocious Hunger) sold its first hamburgers to hungry customers just nine months ago in Juchitán, but already Samantha and Luis Fernando — who were identified only by their first names — have made a name for themselves by wrapping their meals in banana leaves.

The two say that the move towards ecologically-conscious packaging was inspired by innovative solutions in other parts of the world and a sense of urgency to move away from practices that pollute and degrade the environment.

“We saw how in Asian cultures, especially in Thailand, they use banana leaves [to package different foods] and we wanted to do it in our business, too, not to copy them or because it’s a fad, but because we believe that we need to protect the environment and to save it starting now. We cannot wait any longer; our mother Earth is undergoing an environmental collapse, and I believe that we should live naturally starting with our businesses and other small spaces.”

Packaging is especially important to Hambre Feroz; the company does not have a fixed location, but makes its sales online and delivers its products. Samantha and Luis Fernando said that although there was some initial pushback against their new natural packaging, many people have applauded the decision.

Another big advantage is that the new packaging saves money: the Styrofoam plates they used before cost double what they now spend on banana leaves in Juchitán’s market.

The two added that environmentally responsible packaging is just one of their efforts. They also donate a peso from every hamburger sale to a reforestation campaign that that they hope to launch soon in their hometown.

Additionally, the cooking oil they use in their hamburgers is recycled to make ecological soap, which they donate.

“Our principal concern is to begin to take care of the environment as well as fair business practices. We are young, but we are sure of the need to establish a socially responsible business.”

Samantha and Luis Fernando’s packaging solution follows a law approved in April by the Oaxaca Congress to ban single-use plastic throughout the state, giving its 570 municipalities one year to prohibit the material.

Local governments have also established measures to against non-biodegradable materials. At the beginning of this year, Santiago de Laollaga became the first municipality in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to declare itself plastic-free and in the young business owners’ hometown of Juchitán, one of the principal food markets levies a fine on merchants who give plastic bags to customers.

Another Oaxaca entrepreneur who has eschewed Styrofoam is a Oaxaca city street vendor who now sells his corn snacks on corn husks rather than plastic.

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

Residents say migrants’ shelter fenced for security, not discrimination

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Simon Schatzberg

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June 14, 2019

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The fence surrounding a migrant shelter in Tlaxcala.

A razor wire-topped chain-link fence around a migrant shelter in Apizaco, Tlaxcala, was erected for security reasons and not because of discrimination, residents say.

Residents of the Ferrocarrilera neighborhood say that the fence was required to guarantee safety in the area.

They claim that the neighborhood has been overrun by drugs, disease and crime since the Sagrada Familia Shelter opened in 2010. Some residents say that migrants have broken into their houses, and that they don’t feel safe anymore.

“We can’t go outside after seven or eight at night,” Mónica Ramos told the newspaper Milenio. “We have to stay in our houses because of the insecurity.”

A large influx of migrants has overwhelmed the shelter’s capacity during the past year, with as many as 300 people sleeping in the facility. Neighborhood residents say that some end up sleeping on the street in front of their houses.

“We don’t have the tranquility we had before, and we feel afraid because there are people we don’t know,” said Julio Flores, a member of a neighborhood committee. “We don’t know who these people are who are in front of our houses.”

The committee came to an agreement with the municipal government to build the fence, whose gate will close between 10:00pm and 7:00am daily, preventing migrants from leaving the shelter. But now, some people in the neighborhood are asking the municipality to close the shelter indefinitely.

However, many others see the fence as a sign of discrimination against migrants. Shelter director Elías Dávila told Milenio that he understands the concerns of the neighborhood, but he is asking them to be tolerant and remove the fence.

“There are people who, thankfully, help migrants, but there are others who, influenced by [U.S. President] Trump, have racist attitudes,” he said. “The fence is a sign of discrimination, of contempt for migrants. It says, ‘We don’t allow migrants here, because they are migrants.’”

Representatives of the Catholic Church in Tlaxcala called the fence “antihuman,” and said they will appeal to the National Human Rights Commission to have it removed.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Sol de Tlaxcala (sp)

National Guard’s deployment to border complete by Tuesday: Foreign Secretary Ebrard

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MND Staff

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June 14, 2019

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The first mobilization of the National Guard appears in Chiapas, though dressed in police and military uniforms.

The deployment of 6,000 National Guard troops to the southern border will be completed by Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said today.

Mexico committed to the deployment and other measures to reduce migration last week as part of an agreement with the United States that ended the threat of a 5% tariff on Mexican exports to the U.S.

The first troops arrived in Tapachula Friday morning and began patrolling the city, but there was no indication they belonged to the new security force, the newspaper Milenio reported. Instead, it was made up of local and state police, Federal Police, the Gendarmerie, marines and soldiers.

Meanwhile, there was no official presence at the Guatemala border, some 50 kilometers away, and migrants were entering Mexico freely after crossing the Suchiate river aboard rafts, Milenio said.

Speaking at the presidential press conference this morning, Foreign Secretary Ebrard said “a lot of efforts have been made to accelerate the pace [of the operation].”

Ebrard: pace of the deployment has been accelerated.

There will also be an additional deployment of marines and soldiers to the border, he said.

Earlier this week, Ebrard said that 13 units of the National Guard will be deployed to Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco – all of which share a border with Guatemala – as well as Veracruz and Oaxaca.

In Veracruz yesterday, he said the government will ramp up efforts to ensure that migrants register with authorities, and restrict their transit through the country to the United States border.

“If you want to cross our territory to arrive at another country, what you’re probably going to find is that we’re going to tell you ‘we don’t want you to cross our territory’ . . . Why? Because you’re going to create a problem for our country,” he said.

Ebrard said today that 825 new agents will join the National Immigration Institute to assist efforts to reduce irregular migration, explaining that the agency is understaffed.

“That’s been one of the most serious problems,” he said.

Almost 600,000 migrants have arrived at the southern United States border from Mexico this year, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Wednesday, including more than 144,000 undocumented migrants who were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection last month.

Asylum applications in Mexico have increased by 196% this year, the UNHCR said, leading human rights and migration undersecretary Alejandro Encinas to predict that 80,000 requests will be filed this year.

Mexico’s tiny refugee agency has struggled to cope with the influx of applications, forcing it to ask the UNHCR for help to open three new offices.

With regard to the expansion of the United States’ “Remain in Mexico” policy, which the government also agreed to as part of last week’s deal, Ebrard said he will meet with U.S. authorities today to discuss the ports of entry through which the migrants will be returned and how many will be sent.

While agreeing to implement the anti-migration measures set out in the agreement with the United States, President López Obrador has consistently maintained that the best way to stem flows of people to the northern border is by investing in development projects in southern Mexico and Central America.

In May, Ebrard presented seven such projects to the United States government and proposed that it provide funding for them.

Today he said that the implementation of the Comprehensive Development Plan for Central America and southern Mexico will formally commence next week.

“We’re going to show that development really can [reduce] migration in the short and long term,” Ebrard said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said today that the immigration agreement with Mexico includes a “safe third country” plan if efforts to curb migration to the border fail.

A photographer snapped an image of a document held up by the U.S. president earlier this week whose text appeared to indicate that Mexico had agreed to legislate such a scheme if its efforts to stem migration flows proved insufficient.

Asked in an interview today if the agreement included the “safe third country” option – which would force migrants to seek asylum in Mexico rather than the United States – Trump said that’s “exactly right, and that’s what’s going to happen.”

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

Seniors waiting for funds watch as thieves steal the money

By

César Hernández

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June 14, 2019

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The scene of yesterday's robbery in Hidalgo.

Seven armed men stole up to 1.69 million pesos (US $88,000) in social welfare funds in Hidalgo yesterday as the intended recipients looked on.

The cash was about to be delivered to senior citizens in Zempoala but instead the thieves took off with the money in an incident that left two people dead and two wounded.

The incident took place around 9:30am in the municipal auditorium, where government officials were preparing to deliver 2,550 pesos (US $133) to each of 750 beneficiaries of the 60-and-over federal welfare program.

The thieves entered the building after shooting a police officer guarding the entrance, and went for the cash. About 200 senior citizens watched as a second guard confronted the criminals, shooting and killing one of them. The others fled with the money.

Police gave chase and forced the thieves to abandon their vehicle on the Pachuca-Sahagún highway, where they attempted to flee on foot to San Agustín Zapotlán.

A police car overturned before a second clash, killing one police officer and wounding a second.

The Public Security Secretariat later confirmed that the remaining six thieves had been arrested, and that their loot had been recovered.

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

17k bike tour will celebrate bicycle month in Mexico City

By

Jeremy Shepherd

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June 14, 2019

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Mexico City cyclists are preparing for a 17-kilometer tour next weekend.

It’s bicycle month in Mexico city and to celebrate, the city agency Muévete en Bici CDMX (Move by Bike Mexico City) will hold a 17-kilometer bicycle tour, “La Gran Rodada Ciclista,” on Saturday, June 22nd, starting at 9:00am.

The 22nd is the 11th anniversary of Muévete en Bici CDMX. Every Sunday, from 8:00am to 2:00pm, they close 55 kilometers of roadways in the city to cars and other motorized transport. Cyclists, pedestrians and skaters follow the route, which goes through four boroughs, from Benito Juárez in the south to Gustavo A. Madero in the north.

At each traffic light, monitors hold double-sided placards to instruct cyclists to continue or to stop. On the final Sunday of the month, the route changes and becomes much longer, including Circuito Bicentenario, the parkway that encircles the heart of Mexico City.

For the Gran Rodada, the route begins in the south at Avenida Universidad and Circuito Bicentenario and heads north to the second section of the Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City’s central park. Cyclists are free to start or stop wherever they choose, or go the entire route if they are up for the challenge.

Muévete en Bici is part of the Environmental Secretariat. In addition to closing the roads for cyclists, they offer a host of family-oriented activities each Sunday located at roundabouts along the route. There are cycling lessons for children and tandem-bike riding for the blind at Glorieta La Diana.

The route of next Sunday's tour. — The route of next Saturday’s tour.

At Glorieta La Palma there is a play area for children, and you can borrow a bicycle, skates or a skateboard for free. (You must bring your voting registration card showing an address within Mexico City). The free bike rentals include special bicycles with back seats for kids and balance-assisted models. Below the Angel of Independence, Muévete en Bici offers free nutrition, yoga and physical activity classes.

Along the route, there are stations offering mechanical repair as well as medical service. It is advised to wear proper attire, including a helmet, and bring plenty of water.

Muévete en Bici also acts as an advocacy group for more bicycle infrastructure in Mexico City. Currently, 1.4% of daily trips in Mexico City are taken on a bicycle. During President López Obrador’s term, their goal is to increase that to 3%.

This year has seen 251 million pesos (US $13 million) of investment in bicycle infrastructure in the capital. There are currently 85 kilometers with another 40 kilometers still to be built.

Cycling enthusiasts are vocal about their desire to make Mexico City even more bike-friendly. A prime concern, voiced frequently on social media channels, is safety. Many bike lanes consistently have cars parked in them, forcing cyclists to compete against city buses and other traffic.

Despite legislation making those lanes exclusive to bicycles, the transit authority does not issue any type of fine or summons to violators. Many bike lanes have large potholes and faded paint at the intersections. Other bike lanes are shared with buses.

Many large cities such as New York and London have traffic lights with indicators specifically for cyclists, and Mexico City residents have taken notice, demanding their own such lights. The center and south of the city have the majority of cycling infrastructure, and residents of northern and eastern boroughs like Gustavo A. Madero, Azcapotzalco and Iztapalapa have taken to the Muévete en Bici website to request more bike lanes and bikeshare stations in their neighborhoods.

The next large project planned for completion in 2019 is the Sendero Compartido (shared pathway) on Paseo de la Reforma. It will run for three kilometers, from Lieja to Fuente de Petróleos, crossing through Chapultepec Park.

The residents of the outer boroughs will have to continue to wait for the government to act on their proposals for more bike lanes.

The writer lives and works in Mexico City.

Businesses, governments join forces to fill tourism marketing vacuum

By

Simon Schatzberg

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June 14, 2019

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Los Cabos will focus marketing efforts on California and Texas.

Some tourism businesses and local governments are joining forces to fill the vacuum left by the federal government’s closure of the Tourism Promotion Council (CPTM) last December.

Two airport operators, airlines Aeroméxico and Volaris, tequila maker José Cuervo and restaurant chain Hard Rock are among the companies that have stepped up to invest in tourism promotion.

In Los Cabos, one of Mexico’s biggest international tourism destinations, the companies and local government will create a trust fund to promote the destination in international markets, especially in California and Texas. Their initial goal is to raise US $50 million for the trust fund, which will be managed by tourism business groups.

In Quintana Roo, airlines and other businesses are working to promote tourism in the state, and to raise 600 million pesos (US $31.3 million) for international publicity.

President López Obrador decided to eliminate the CPTM shortly after he took office in December. He said that the council’s annual budget of 6 billion pesos would be used for the construction of the Maya Train.

The disappearance of the CPTM came at a time when tourism was already decelerating in Mexico due to a variety of factors, including sargassum, insecurity and travel warnings issued by the U.S. government, which a study by the Bank of México says prevented 335,000 potential visitors from coming to Mexico.

An international tourism organization says the cuts to publicity have not been a major factor in the slowdown of visitors, but have deterred investment.

However, the downward trend has continued since the CPTM was shut down. In the first five months of 2019, hotel occupancy was 1.5% lower than in the same period of 2018. And some destinations have been hit even harder: hotel occupancy in Guadalajara was down 4%, in Los Cabos 4.2% and in Quintana Roo 5.3%.

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

Private sector agrees to invest additional US $35 billion to fuel growth

By

MND Staff

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June 14, 2019

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More investment: business representative Salazar, López Obrador and the president's chief of staff, Alfonso Romo, with the new agreement.

The federal government and a leading business group have reached an agreement to increase combined public and private investment to 25% of GDP from the current level of just over 20%.

The pact with the influential Business Coordinating Council (CCE) includes a commitment from the private sector to invest an additional US $35 billion in Mexico during the next two years.

According to the agreement, annual private sector investment currently represents 17.5% of GDP while government investment accounts for 2.8%.

Under the terms of the new deal, the former will increase its investment spending to 20% of GDP and the latter to 5%.

Investment in the energy sector, including renewable energy projects, is considered crucial to achieving the 25% of GDP goal.

Spending on infrastructure – including projects to build or upgrade highways, ports, bridges, railways and airports – health, education and development in the south and southeast is also prioritized in the new public-private agreement.

At a signing ceremony yesterday, President López Obrador said that members of the Mexican Business Council (CMN) – an elite group made up of 60 of the largest businesses in the country – will this year invest around US $32 billion, an amount he described as “significant” and which will “create jobs and boost economic growth.”

However, the president said that to achieve average 4% economic growth during his six-year term in office – as he has promised – total investment needs to increase to 25% of GDP.

CMN president Antonio del Valle agreed with the president’s assessment.

López Obrador thanked the business sector for their confidence in the economy and his government and said that the increased investment commitment will ensure that there is well-being and peace.

“. . .With this agreement . . . the country’s private sector will contribute to investment in every branch of the economy, in the farming sector, industry and services,” he said.

López Obrador pledged that his administration will do all it can to help business navigate the minefield of government bureaucracy so that investment plans are approved and become reality.

“Together we can push the rheumatic and difficult elephant that the government sometimes is with its tedious and long [bureaucratic] procedures, all that which prevent things from being put into practice . . .” he said.

CCE president Carlos Salazar Lomelín explained that López Obrador will play a central role in evaluating new investment projects and facilitating their execution, adding that the government and private sector will meet regularly to assess the progress of the agreement.

Other CCE members stressed that in order to promote investment in Mexico there must be a strong rule of law, macroeconomic stability and a commitment to resolve the legal problems often faced by new projects in strict accordance with the law.

José Manuel López Campos, president of the Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism, described the inking of the new agreement as a “turning point” that will encourage investment in new projects that will stimulate economic growth.

The Mexican Employers Federation said the agreement is a “sign that it’s possible to begin a new phase of cooperation between the public and private sectors in which the rule of law, confidence and certainty prevail.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Teacher incorporates Latin dance into physical education class

By

Madison Koen

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June 13, 2019

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If you want to shake up the daily routine, try dancing cumbia.

That’s what a physical education teacher at a primary school in central Oaxaca decided to do.

In a video that went viral on social media, Diego Cortez instructs a group of at least 14 students of mixed grade levels in his Latin rhythms class, directing the children in their first basic steps and turns.

“. . . Prepare the turn, I’ll tell you when . . . And there I go! Hug . . . Now out . . . Good job!”

A dedication below the post reads, “This is the result of the great effort and dedication of physical education teacher Diego A. Cortez, here at work in his Latin rhythms workshop, with the goal of developing first to sixth grade elementary students’ motor skills at Resurgimiento Primary in Reyes Etla, Oaxaca. Thank you for supporting our children!”

The video has been more than 38,000 times on Facebook, where many users celebrated the teacher’s efforts, noting that knowing how to dance is an important social skill in Mexican society as well as a demanding physical activity.

“Teaching them to dance cumbia is indeed useful; this way, when they’re a little bit older they’ll know how to ask their cousin to dance [at a family gathering] and they won’t have to sit in a corner and watch everyone else dance because they don’t know how,” one user remarked.

“Wow! It’s great to see this type of videos; it lights up my day. Congratulations to the teacher; without a doubt, this says a lot about his work and enthusiastic approach toward teaching. It even made me want to learn to dance; I could use a few dance classes. Congratulations and good luck,” commented another.

According to information provided by the school, the class, which transforms the school’s computer lab into a dance floor, incorporates other Latin dances in addition to cumbia, including salsa and bachata, as part of a club called Bailarte, which will be open to students for all of the 2018-2019 school year.

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

Collective believes it’s possible to revive abandoned airport project

By

MND Staff

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June 13, 2019

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Group behind airport injunctions believes this airport can be revived. — Group behind airport injunctions believes the Mexico City airport project can be saved.

Reviving the abandoned Mexico City airport project is “legally possible,” according to a collective opposed to wasteful government spending.

The #NoMásDerroches (No More Waste) collective has already won four injunctions against the Santa Lucía airport including one granted this week that also instructs federal authorities not to make any changes to the site of the abandoned project in Texcoco, México state.

“We believe that it’s legally possible to raise Texcoco again,” said Gerardo Carrasco, a legal director at Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity, one of the collective’s members.

Appearing on the television program La Nota Dura, Carrasco added, “honestly, if we didn’t have faith that it’s legally possible, I wouldn’t be here . . . talking about these injunctions and suspensions [that have been] granted.”

The most recent court order states that the partially-built Texcoco project must be left intact until a thorough legal review has examined the reasons why it was cancelled.

Plans to restore a drained lake at the site that would leave the foundations of the terminal building and part of a runway under water were announced earlier this week.

President López Obrador cancelled the US $13-billion project after a legally-questionable public consultation last October found almost 70% support to build the Santa Lucía airport and upgrade the existing Mexico City and Toluca airports instead.

During his campaign last year, López Obrador opposed the project on the grounds that it was corrupt, too expensive, not needed and being built on land that was sinking.

While the #NoMásDerroches collective is now optimistic that the previous government’s signature infrastructure project could be resurrected, Carrasco admitted that when the group first initiated legal action, a lot of people expressed doubt about its chances of success.

“When we formed this collective and then more civil organizations and law firms . . . started joining, a lot of people called us crazy, they thought that it wasn’t possible that the federal judicial power would grant suspensions in this respect,” he said.

The collective has filed 147 separate injunction requests that could hold up or threaten construction of the new airport, meaning that the stage is set for a lot more legal battles.

Rogelio Rodríguez, an attorney who specializes in aviation law, believes that the government could challenge the ruling that orders it to preserve the abandoned airport site and those suspending construction of the new project in the Supreme Court.

Source: El Financiero (sp)