21 slaves lived in cave, cultivated drugs for crime gang

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July 13, 2019

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

By

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

By

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

By

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

0

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)

Newspaper owes Mexico an apology, AMLO says in reply to critical editorial

By

MND Staff

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July 12, 2019

0

The Financial Times may be famous but they're not professionals, the president said.

The Financial Times owes the people of Mexico an apology, President López Obrador said a day after the newspaper published an editorial that was critical of his government’s economic direction.

“That newspaper, with all respect, must offer an apology to the people of Mexico because it remained silent while corruption was imposed on Mexico, it never said anything,” López Obrador said.

“On the contrary, it applauded the carrying out of the structural reforms and I’m waiting for them to offer an apology. They might be very famous but they’re not objective, they’re not professionals,” he added.

The British newspaper published an editorial Wednesday under the headline “López Obrador needs to accept economic reality.”

The editorial board said the sudden resignation on Tuesday of Carlos Urzúa – “the respected finance minister and the strongest voice of fiscal prudence inside the administration” – suggested that investors’ hopes before López Obrador took office that he would “tone down his rhetoric” as president were “misplaced.”

The Times charged that “the finance minister’s departure could hardly have come at a worse time,” citing an investment slowdown and United States President Donald Trump’s threats of a trade war to pressure Mexico to do more to curb migration.

Urzúa was highly critical of the government in his resignation letter, charging that public policy decisions were made “without sufficient foundation” and that officials with “no knowledge of public finances” were appointed to his department by “influential people” in the López Obrador administration “with a clear conflict of interest.”

The president frequently rails against the “neoliberal” economic policies implemented by successive governments during the past 36 years but the Times said that “the free trade direction brought Mexico greater prosperity, the NAFTA free trade deal, OECD membership and a reputation for prudent economic management.”

“Mr. López Obrador is proclaiming an end to this era. It is far from clear he can replace it with something better,” the editorial said.

The Times noted that the decision to cancel the partially-built new airport for Mexico City “on largely political grounds” upset investors, and was critical of the president’s insistence that Pemex build a new US $8-billion refinery “which makes little business sense.”

López Obrador must show that he will listen to the advice of new Finance Secretary Arturo Herrera and “give him room to reestablish credibility with markets,” the Times asserted, adding that the president “should also accept unpalatable news, not continue to rely on his own (different) data.”

The editorial said that “markets will be unforgiving” if the new Pemex business plan and the draft of the 2020 budget “signal further deviations from economic reality,” concluding that “the Mexican president can still turn around investor perceptions but time is running short.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Cop charged with killing pilot of helicopter that crashed

By

Simon Schatzberg

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July 12, 2019

0

The helicopter crashed after the pilot was killed.

A state of México police officer has been arrested by federal officials for the murder of a 59-year-old helicopter pilot in Rincón de Cristo, Sultepec, on June 16.

Initial reports stated that the officer shot at the helicopter during a confrontation with gangsters.

But an investigation by the federal Attorney General’s Office, supported by the Defense Secretariat and México state police that included interviews with witnesses and ballistic forensic studies, determined that the officer probably shot at the helicopter in error.

According to court documents, the arrested officer shot at the helicopter as it was carrying three women and a child. The passengers were injured when the aircraft crashed, and the pilot died from a gunshot wound.

Source: Milenio (sp), SDP Noticias (sp)

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