Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Hold your breath: Mexico City air contains 172 toxic compounds

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mexico city pollution
There's something in the air.

Mexico City residents and visitors beware: breathing in the capital is risky.

Residents of the megalopolis collectively inhale 50,000 tonnes of toxic contaminants a year, according to a study.

The 2016 Emission Inventory for the Valley of Mexico Metropolitan Area reported 172 different toxic compounds in the city’s air including large quantities of toluene, xylene and trichloroethene, which is commonly used as an industrial solvent.

More than 59,000 kilograms of toxic metals including barium, phosphorous, lead and aluminum were also detected in the atmosphere during 2016.

Breathing in the pollutants can cause a range of adverse health effects including respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, cancer, reproductive and neurological problems and premature death.

Solvents, pesticides, untreated wastewater and automotive products are the biggest sources of contaminants in Mexico City’s atmosphere, the study found.

Air in areas of the capital with high population densities and/or a high concentration of industry and commerce was found to be particularly polluted.

Factory emissions, particularly from the printing and chemical industries, were found to be significant contributors to poor air quality in the boroughs of Venustiano Carranza, Gustavo A. Madero and Iztapalapa.

Heavy traffic in the capital’s central areas as well as on the city proper’s fringe with México state also causes a notable concentration of toxic emissions, the report said.

Vehicles used for both private and public transport are the largest source of atmospheric particulate matter measuring 10 and 2.5 micrometers or less as well as nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide.

The number of vehicles in 12 densely populated México state municipalities that form part of the greater Mexico City metropolitan area has increased on average by 600% since the year 2000, statistics show.

In 2017, Mexico City’s air was only considered “clean” on 81 days, according to the capital’s Environment Secretariat.

Source: Milenio (sp) 

Ex-president’s resignation seen as reflection of crisis within party

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Zavala and Calderón will launch new political party next year.
Zavala and Calderón will launch new political party next year.

Former president Felipe Calderón’s decision to quit the National Action Party (PAN) is indicative of a “deep crisis” within the party, according to an ex-PAN lawmaker.

Calderón, who governed Mexico for the conservative PAN between 2006 and 2012, announced Sunday that he was leaving the party.

In a two-page letter addressed to the party president, the ex-president outlined a range of reasons for his decision to quit.

They included the PAN ceasing to be “an instrument of citizen participation for the construction of a better Mexico,” the abandonment of “the fundamental principles, basic ideas and proposals” of the party and the destruction of “internal democracy” by the party leadership.

“Mexico urgently needs an option for political participation . . . [with] new citizen voices, especially young people. Remaining in the PAN only implies a detour [from that course] and a net loss of time, resources and organizational capacity that must be dedicated to driving the [new] force forward . . .” Calderón wrote.

Roberto Gil, who has served as both a senator and deputy for the PAN, told the newspaper El Financiero that Calderón’s departure is “bad news for the party” and “reveals the deep crisis of our party [and] the crisis of our own ability to build spaces for internal dialogue and to maintain the unity of the organization.”

He also said that the ex-president’s letter made difficult reading because “it reveals what has been happening to us over the past few years.”

The PAN’s candidate for president in the July 1 election, Ricardo Anaya, finished runner-up to president-elect López Obrador but only received 22% of the popular vote.

Other panistas, as members and supporters of the party are known, also expressed disappointment that Calderón had decided to quit although they stressed that they don’t share his views.

Héctor Larios, who was elected as the party’s new secretary general the same day Calderón quit, said the former president was within his right to leave and that he respected his decision.

“I regret the resignation of any member of the party, more so when it’s someone who was president of the republic, but I don’t necessarily share his ideas,” he said.

“He has the right to try another option but what’s important is to strengthen the party that already exists and which has the greatest possibility of being a brake on what’s to come,” he added, referring to the new leftist government that will be led by López Obrador.

Larios will serve the party under new national president Marko Cortés, a 41-year-old former lawmaker who won 79% of the vote in the leadership ballot.

Cortés’ opponent for the party presidency – and Calderón’s preferred candidate ­– Manuel Gómez Morin garnered just 21% support.

Calderón said in an interview last week that the PAN had been “completely destroyed” and was incapable of confronting the new government.

However, he contended that the party could remedy the situation by choosing Gómez, a veteran politician, as its new president because it is currently controlled “by the group that destroyed it.”

Whether he goes ahead with the launch of a new party will be decided in large measure by the choice the PAN makes, Calderón said.

Within that context, Calderón’s wife Margarita Zavala announced yesterday that she and her husband would indeed create a new party.

She said in a radio interview that the new party would be launched in January and would be called Libertad (Freedom).

“The name will be Libertad, it’s a cardinal rule, it’s not the only [party] value but through this value we can fight for ourselves, for the truth, for justice and for public honesty but we have to wait for it to be approved by authorities,” Zavala said.

Source: El Financiero (sp) 

Athletes look to Tokyo after historic medal win in gymnastics

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History-making medalists Navarro and Flores.
History-making medalists Navarro and Flores.

Female gymnasts continue to make history for Mexico.

Dafne Navarro Loza and Melissa Flores Garza won bronze medals in synchronized trampoline during the 2018 Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships.

It was the first time Mexico has won a medal at the competition.

The competition took place last week in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the medals were “a reflection of many years of work,” Flores said, adding that communication with Navarro, her partner, was key during the training process.

“[It was important] to be in communication with my partner because we were able to achieve this synchronicity despite [each] training in different places. We’ve gone to four competitions together . . . and we only train together when we are the event we’re about to compete in,” she continued.

The rest of the time, the gymnasts rely on timing their routing and studying each other’s jumps on video. Navarro is based in Guadalajara, Jalisco , while Flores is in Monterrey, Nuevo Léon.

After some time off, Navarro and Flores will return to training with the goal of being the first Mexican gymnasts to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Six world cups are scheduled for 2019, all of which will give the gymnasts the opportunity to score more points and advance.

Navarro made history on her own in St. Petersburg when she became the first Mexican to qualify for the semifinals in singles trampoline in a world cup, ranking 16th overall.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Search continues for US citizen missing in Chihuahua

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Braxton-Andrew, missing in Chihuahua.
Braxton-Andrew, missing in Chihuahua.

The search continues for Patrick Braxton-Andrew, the 34-year-old United States citizen who disappeared in southwestern Chihuahua on October 28.

A team of rappel climbers were out on the weekend, descending otherwise inaccessible 280-meter-deep ravines.

This search focused on ravines located in the municipality of Urique, but there was no sign of the missing man, who was last seen in the town of the same name.

Checkpoints were set up on roads going in and out of Bahuichivo, looking for suspicious looking individuals.

The search also extended to the town of Mesa de Arturo, where investigators checked several cabins where the missing U.S. citizen might have sought shelter. But again there was sign of Braxton-Andrew.

However, blood was found in one of the cabins and it will be checked against the DNA of family members of the missing man.

Spent assault rifle cartridges were also found at the scene.

State prosecutors said the region, located within Copper Canyon National Park, is under the control of a crime gang leader known as “El Chueco.”

Source: Vivir en Parral (sp), El Nuevo Día (sp)

Central American migrants are now traveling in at least 12 states

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All aboard: migrants wait to climb into truck on their journey north.
All aboard: migrants wait to climb into truck on their journey north.

Central American migrants are now traveling through at least 12 Mexican states en route to the United States, according to authorities.

Members of the first migrant caravan began to split into smaller groups after leaving Mexico City over the weekend as they travel towards the Mexico-United States border at Tijuana.

One group, made up of around 80 women, children and members of the LGBT community, arrived in Tijuana yesterday, according to José García, who works at a migrant shelter in the northern border city.

Nine buses carrying about 350 more migrants reached Tijuana early today. A Honduran flag was seen fluttering outside a bus window.

Other members of the caravan have splintered off in different directions to reach other northern cities including Hermosillo, Sonora; Escuinapa, Sinaloa; and Monterrey, Nuevo León.

Authorities in Nayarit are continuing to provide buses to transport migrants to the state’s border with Sinaloa.

That leg of the journey is likely to come today or tomorrow for the largest contingent of the first caravan, located farther south in the country.

Most members of the group arrived in Guadalajara, Jalisco, yesterday and stayed last night in an auditorium in the neighboring municipality of Zapopan.

However, some migrants stayed in the city of La Piedad, Michoacán, around 160 kilometers southeast of Guadalajara.

Early yesterday morning, a huge contingent of migrants arrived at the entry to the Irapuato-Guadalajara highway to try to hitch rides to the Jalisco capital.

Two hours after their 5:00am arrival, some 500 migrants had managed to clamber on to passing trucks but a much larger number was still waiting for rides, the newspaper Milenio reported.

One 65-year-old man identified only as Luis Enrique climbed onto a tank truck only to be ordered by Federal Police to get off.

“I know it’s dangerous to travel this way but when one is poor there is no other choice,” he told Milenio as he waited for another ride.

A 32-year-old Guatemalan man who suffered first-degree burns to his face and chest while juggling fire torches to earn money at traffic lights in Irapuato was also among the migrants traveling towards Guadalajara yesterday.

One truck driver said that it was impossible to stop the migrants from boarding.

“. . . They climb on themselves, there’s no way of telling them no and getting them off . . .” he said.

Those who reached Guadalajara yesterday endured a five-hour journey exposed to the sun, strong wind and the constant risk of falling from the fast-moving and often-overcrowded trailers.

Members of the second caravan, made up of more than 1,000 migrants, began arriving in Mexico City yesterday from Puebla.

The third caravan, made up of around 450 Salvadoran migrants who entered Mexico legally, remain in Tapachula, Chiapas, awaiting immigration documents.

Meanwhile, a fourth caravan that crossed the southern border earlier this month is currently traveling through Veracruz en route to Puebla and Mexico City.

The Federal Interior Secretariat (Segob) announced yesterday that it has agreed to a proposal by the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) to offer employment opportunities to Central American migrants in several Mexican states on the condition that they formally register with immigration authorities.

President Peña Nieto announced a program last month called “Estás en tu Casa” (You are at home), offering shelter, medical attention, schooling and jobs to the migrants on the condition that they formally apply for refugee status with the National Immigration Institute (INM) and remain in Chiapas or Oaxaca.

However, most migrants rejected the offer and remain determined to reach the United States’ southern border, where they intend to apply for asylum.

In Tijuana, where most members of the first caravan are headed, migrant advocates warned that shelters in the city are already 75% full.

According to a report in the newspaper Reforma, there are 2,800 migrants — including Central Americans, Africans and Mexicans — who have been in Tijuana for up to a month waiting for the opportunity to lodge requests for asylum in the United States.

Baja California Interior Secretary Francisco Rueda said that state authorities are requesting 80 million pesos (US $3.9 million) from the federal government to pay for shelter, food, health care and humanitarian assistance while caravan members are in Tijuana.

While migrants have stayed in other Mexican cities for short periods, they could be in Tijuana for weeks or even months as they await the opportunity to request asylum.

“Other cities have welcomed them for two or three days, but one can foresee that a good number of them will stay in Tijuana for a long period . . .” the city’s Catholic archdiocese said in a statement Friday.

Some migrants are likely to be transferred to the state capital of Mexicali, located about 200 kilometers east of Tijuana, where shelters have capacity for 500 caravan members.

Rueda said that state and municipal authorities want the federal government to petition United States authorities to speed up the process to seek asylum.

However, United States President Trump is seeking to make it more difficult for caravan members to enter the country.

Trump has described the first caravan as an “invasion” and said that as many as 15,000 troops could be deployed to the U.S. southern border to meet the migrants.

Source: El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp), Reforma (sp), Expansión (sp), The San Diego Union Tribune (en) 

Mexico-Pachuca highway reopened after 20-hour blockade

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Tires burn during yesterday's highway blockade.
Tires burn during yesterday's highway blockade.

The Mexico City-Pachuca highway reopened last night after a 20-hour blockade by México state residents protesting against the excessive use of force by police.

The highway was blocked in both directions at San Juan Ixhuatepec, a neighborhood in the municipality of Tlalnepantla, which borders the capital.

According to Mexico City police chief Raymundo Collins, a conflict between officers and citizens started Sunday night after a gas station employee in the northern Mexico City borough of Gustavo A. Madero reported a robbery.

The man accused of committing the crime fled in a vehicle to San Juan Ixhuatepec and was pursued by Mexico City police.

The suspected criminal was detained after which, according to Collins, “taxi drivers from the state of México and civilians” attacked police in an attempt to free him.

The police chief told a press conference that several officers were injured, including a commander who suffered a fractured jaw.

Residents of San Juan Ixhuatepec accused the police of acting violently during the operation to arrest the man.

Videos circulating on social media show police punching and kicking people on the street and forcibly entering homes. They allegedly broke windows of houses and businesses in the neighborhood and damaged cars as well.

In response to the aggression, San Juan Ixhuatepec residents set alight wood, tires and three police cars on the Mexico City-Pachuca highway starting in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The blockade, in which the newspaper El Universal reported that around 1,000 angry residents participated, was maintained throughout the day.

Two trailers that were prevented from passing were also used to block traffic.

Truck drivers alleged that they were ordered out of their vehicles by protesters, who threatened to beat them and burn their vehicles if they didn’t cooperate.

A group of hooded men also reportedly looted a supermarket and a convenience store in the area. Several businesses closed amid the chaos.

At around 6:30pm, a contingent of Mexico City and Federal Police started an operation to put an end to the blockade.

When the police approached the blocked section of the highway, protesters threw molotov cocktails, rocks and sticks at the officers but were repelled with the use of tear gas.

Police cleared the highway and reopened it to traffic at about 8:00pm. They remained in the area to ensure that residents didn’t attempt to set up a new blockade.

In response to residents’ allegations, Collins wrote on Twitter yesterday that “we will not allow police excesses but nor will we allow the impunity of criminals . . . It is not permissible for civilians to want to free those involved in crimes.”

In turn, San Juan Ixhuatepec residents are demanding that the police chief be dismissed, and questioned why Mexico City police had entered México state.

Mexico City Mayor José Ramón Amieva said on Twitter that the actions of police will be investigated and that sanctions will be imposed.

He also pledged that any victims of police violence would be compensated and guaranteed that a similar incident would not occur again.

Some San Juan Ixhuatepec have filed criminal complaints with México state authorities alleging brutality and excessive use of force on the part of Mexico City police.

Source: El Financiero (sp), Milenio (sp), El Universal (sp), Reporte Indigo (sp), Notimex (sp) 

When you’ve got more guavas than you can use, make candy

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Too many guavas? Make some candy and some wine.
Too many guavas? Make some candy and some wine.

“There was always so much guava left over,” says Don Saul Landeros Cardona of the 45,000 tonnes of fruit that remains in Calvillo, Aguascalientes, after fulfilling export needs.

Calvillo is a “magical town” about 45 minutes outside the city of Aguascalientes and is known for its guava production. Fruit trees dot the landscape and it is said that at harvest time the whole town smells of the citrusy, sweet guava goodness.

But arriving at the sweets manufacturer Frutland, I had little idea of just how many different sweet treats could be made with fruit. However, I was soon to find out.

First we explored the grounds, where lines and lines of guayabos — as the guava trees are known in Spanish — lined the pathways. The fruits hanging from the tree were green but beginning to turn yellow, a sign that the harvest was near.

Landeros, the owner of this family-run business that started 24 years ago from a desire to make use of the huge excess of guava, is a friendly man with a glint in his eye.

Guava goodies at Frutland.
Guava goodies at Frutland.

“Let’s have a contest. Who can harvest the biggest guava,” he said, handing out long sticks to help us fish the fruits from the tree.

“That one, no that one!”

We shouted back and forth to each other as we looked for the largest fruits hidden among the bright green leaves of the guayabos. Fruit fell, and we tried our best to catch them as they rocketed down.

The less ripe guava has a thick green skin, not unlike a lime, which appears to thin out and lighten as the fruit reaches maturity. Prized for their 16 vitamins and high levels of fiber, guavas are popular worldwide.

The nomadic indigenous people of the area, the Chichimecas, used to use the roots of the tree to aid them with stomach issues.

“Guavas and the guava tree root properties helped them stay healthy,” Landeros told us as we held on to our prized fruits, wanting to eat them but resisting.

Looking for the biggest guava.
Looking for the biggest guava.

Luckily, a plate of guava halves sprinkled with spicy chilé tahín was soon passed around to sate our desire.

Guavas still in hand it was time to head into the factory. With hairnets on we were guided inside.

The first thing I noticed is what looked much like a cement mixer turning the guava pulp around and around above a flame. The smell was wonderfully fresh and made my mouth water. The table close to the “cement mixers” was lined with workers cutting the soft candied guava into slices, perfect squares and rectangles, and even circles. Looking around I see tables of people making what look like cookies and tiny pasty-shaped goodies.

This family business is divided into different brands that are all named after Landeros’ daughters. Violeta is the line of dehydrated products, Noemi is a line of products with chocolate, Luci is the home of the candied guava jelly and jellos and MariCri is a line of products for children.

If this doesn’t show that this is truly a business that is passing down through the generations, then perhaps the guava wines will.  Called Los Vinos de Mateo (Mateo’s wines) the product is a sweet syrupy drink that tastes not unlike guava juice and comes complete with a label drawn by Landeros’ seven-year-old grandson of the same name.

Having sipped a little wine, it was now time to try a few of the edible treats we were hearing so much about. There was everything from a soft candied guava covered in chile, another sweeter version covered in sugar, alegrías made with puffed amaranth combined with guava, guava rolls mingled with coconut and cranberry, guava cookies, a whole variety of different flavors and textures all made from one fruit.

The 'cement mixers' at Frutland.
The ‘cement mixers’ at Frutland.

The different tangs, sweet, spicy and sour played around on my taste buds as I listened to Landeros speak with so much passion for his work.

Since Frutland began some 24 years ago other companies have opened up in their wake, also creating candies from guava. Landeros doesn’t seem fazed by that but rather welcomes it.

“We were the pioneers and our aim is to be the best,” he said with a confident smile.

Saving the best for last, Landeros guided us to an area in the far-right corner of the small factory. Here he passed out a candy that looked like a tiny cupcake. He guided us to remove the red paper casing and I felt like Charlie unwrapping the prized chocolate wrapper that would win him a trip to the Chocolate Factory.

This tiny cupcake was, in fact, a guava fruit roll lined with a thin guava liquid compote and topped with dulce de leche and a pecan.

“You must eat a bite that lets you taste all the different parts together, right down the middle,” said Landeros, the glint in his eye returning.

[wpgmza id=”106″]

I took a bite and the sweet, sharp flavors of the guava roll combined with the creamy dulce de leche to create the most exquisite combination. Sounds of delight echoed through the group and Landeros smiled with the satisfaction of a man who prides himself on innovation.

Talking about the future, Landeros explains that they are about to launch some products in Paris and that they are looking to go international.

“All these flights that are arriving from Germany,” Landeros said referring to the new Mercedes Benz factory in Aguascalientes that is bringing Germans to the state. “They are going back empty. We need to fill those planes with guava,” he joked.

All that was left now was to judge the competition. Who harvested the largest guava? I came in a happy third place, winning a guava alegría.

Before leaving we all headed off to fill baskets full of guava goodies at the small store at the end of the factory.

As I headed to the door, I heard Landeros talking about Calvillo.

“Here we have so much tranquility, and it is magical.”

If Frutland was anything to go by, I was going to like Calvillo very much.

• To learn more about Frutland see their website. To visit Frutland and the rest of the magical town of Calvillo, take a tour with Asitur, which takes in Frutland, a local candle maker, the church, a handicraft store and lunch overlooking the Presa de Malpaso.

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.

As thefts hit record levels, Pemex arms, trains workers against fuel thieves

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In Pemex pipelines, fuel that's free for the taking.
In Pemex pipelines, fuel that's free for the taking.

The state oil company is arming and training some employees to combat the high incidence of pipeline petroleum theft.

Information obtained by the newspaper El Universal reveals that personnel from the company’s “strategic safeguard” section are receiving training in the use of firearms and other strategies to protect Pemex’s infrastructure and repel attacks by fuel thieves.

The stated role of the division, created following modifications to Pemex bylaws in 2014, is to “provide comprehensive security for company personnel, facilities, assets and stock.”

El Universal requested information from Pemex about how many employees work with the section and what kind of weapons they use but didn’t receive a response.

However, the company did say that it is bolstering the presence of its specially-trained security personnel in regions of the country where the rates of petroleum pipeline theft are highest.

As part of the strategy to fight the crime, coordination centers and command posts manned by personnel from different security forces are also being planned.

Fuel theft, perpetrated by gangs of thieves known as huachicoleros, has reached record levels this year.

There were 10,101 illegal taps on state-owned pipelines in the first eight months, according to Pemex data, 3,367 more than in the same period of 2017.

Puebla recorded the highest number of taps, with 1,521, followed by Hidalgo and Guanajuato, where 1,256 and 1,188 illegal perforations were detected.

Army and navy personnel as well as state police are also receiving specialized training in the prevention of the theft of fuel and its commercialization on the black market.

In addition, Pemex has contracted a private security company whose role includes stopping collusion between company employees and fuel thieves.

Energy Secretary Pedro Joaquín Coldwell said last month that stopping petroleum theft is difficult because mayors and Pemex are involved in the crime.

Pemex CEO Carlos Treviño said in April that fuel theft costs the state-owned company 30 billion pesos (US $1.5 billion) a year although with the incidence of the crime on the rise, the figure is likely significantly higher now.

There is evidence that some of Mexico’s notorious drug cartels have moved into the lucrative illicit market as they seek to diversify their revenue sources. Petroleum theft is also linked to surging rates of violent crime in some parts of the country, most notably Guanajuato, where homicide rates have soared.

Combating insecurity will be one of the biggest challenges faced by president-elect López Obrador.

He said last month that Mexico will be divided into 265 regions as part of the incoming government’s security strategy and that between 300 and 600 members of the army, navy and Federal Police will be deployed to each region depending on their population and crime rate.

Source: El Universal (sp) 

Rosarito real estate prices up 21% as security concerns wane

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A home for sale in Plaza del Mar, Rosarito.
A home for sale in Plaza del Mar, Rosarito.

Property prices in Rosarito, Baja California, increased by 21% in the first 10 months of the year, according to the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI).

Real estate in the Playas de Rosarito municipality, located just south of Tijuana, had an average price of US $1,400 per square meter last year but by last month that figure had spiked to US $1,700.

AMPI president Gustavo Torres Ramírez said the increase can be attributed to the law of supply and demand, and that most of the latter comes from United States residents.

According to AMPI’s Rosarito office, nine of every 10 purchasers of real estate in the municipality are U.S. residents, with Mexican-Americans preparing for retirement and families looking for second homes driving demand.

Torres told the newspaper El Economista that land and condominium sales in 2018 are expected to be 20% higher than those recorded last year when high levels of violence in Baja California dissuaded many potential investors from buying property.

“The security problem hasn’t been so serious [in 2018], at least not serious enough to stop there being a high demand [for property] as occurred last year,” he said.

“We also attribute this upturn to the period of strength that the American economy is experiencing,” Torres explained.

However, even if land and property sales increase by 20% this year as expected, they will still be below 2016 levels because investment was down 30% in 2017.

Around US $100 million was lost last year due to condominium sales contracts that were signed but ultimately fell through, Torres said.

Source: El Economista (sp) 

Semi that killed 10 was traveling at 166 km/h: investigators

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Driver Ana N. and her semi after last week's accident.
Driver Ana N. and her semi after last week's accident.

The semi-trailer that slammed into at least 15 cars on the Mexico City-Toluca highway last Wednesday and killed 10 people was traveling at 166 kilometers per hour, public prosecutors said Saturday.

The maximum permitted speed on the highway is 80 kilometers per hour.

The 41-year-old driver, who was uninjured in the crash, faced a preliminary hearing Saturday in a Mexico City court, where prosecutors from the capital’s Attorney General’s office (PGJ) formally accused her of culpable homicide and inflicting bodily harm.

The speed at which she was traveling was determined by an expert investigation, they said.

In addition to the 10 deaths, 16 people were hospitalized and 25 to 30 people were treated for minor injuries at the scene. One hospitalized woman remained in a coma over the weekend.

The accused, identified as Ana N., appeared at the hearing dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt alongside her lawyers, the newspaper El Universal reported.

Family members of eight of the 10 people who lost their lives were also present with their own legal representation.

During a seven-hour hearing, the presiding judge heard from witnesses of the accident, including some who were directly involved, that the driver had not sounded her horn or used her lights to indicate that she was having problems stopping the truck.

Ana N. reserved her right not to make a statement but told authorities after the accident that her brakes had failed, causing her to completely lose control of the trailer that was transporting a 24-tonne load.

However, an investigation determined that the brakes were in working order.

Mexico City police chief Raymundo Collins suggested that the driver may have been unable to reach the brakes due to her height, telling reporters that “it caught my attention that the person [driving] . . . is a woman of short stature.”

At the conclusion of Saturday’s hearing, Judge María Cristina Torres Sánchez ordered Ana N. to stand trial on the charges filed against her.

The investigation is not expected to be completed until May 2019, meaning that the accused will remain in preventative custody for at least the next six months.

A blood test to determine if she had consumed alcohol or drugs prior to the accident was negative.

Still, Ana N. could face up to 50 years’ imprisonment for the culpable homicide of 10 people as well as additional terms for inflicting bodily harm and causing material damage.

However, Mexico City Attorney General Edmundo Garrido said prior to the hearing that a compensation agreement could be reached that would allow the driver to avoid jail time.

The driver’s employer, Transportes Easo, said in a statement that it “deeply regrets the death of several people as a consequence of the accident in which one of its vehicles was involved” and that it will fully cooperate with authorities in their investigation.

The wife of one of the nine men who were killed in the accident told the newspaper El Universal that representatives of the company had not approached the victims’ families to offer support as promised.

“A lot of families have been left helpless. What we want is justice and for [the company] not to shirk responsibility. They have to compensate us, there are women who have been left on their own with babies . . .” Verónica Martínez said.

Source: El Universal (sp)