School hazing ceremony suspected in death of Durango student

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August 11, 2018

A 19-year-old student died early this morning in Durango after a suspected hazing at a rural teacher training college.

Ronaldo Mujica Morales was admitted to hospital on Monday in the state capital and remained in serious condition until his death.

One report said the induction ceremony at the Guadalupe J. Aguilera normal school entailed eating whole eggs including the shell, drinking alcoholic beverages, doing extreme exercises and eating spicy foods over the course of seven days. Students were also deprived of sleep during that time.

The director of the school, located in Canatlán, has been suspended while the incident is under investigation.

The director of a local hospital told a reporter that eight aspiring teachers had been admitted to the hospital over a five-day period with injuries incurred during the week-long hazing.

It is the second hazing incident in three weeks at a teacher training college.

One student died and two others were left with kidney damage after a hazing at the Mactumactzá college in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, July 21.

The director of the school is in custody on homicide charges.

Source: La Crónica (sp), La Prensa (sp)

Mobile shower unit will serve Tijuana’s homeless population

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MND Staff

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August 11, 2018

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People living on the streets of Tijuana will soon have a new option for bathing, thanks to an initiative to be launched by a church group in the border city in Baja California.

On August 25, members of the city’s Iglesia Ancla (Anchor Church) will inaugurate a mobile shower unit to serve Tijuana’s homeless community.

Bethsabe Sandoval, the church’s director of missions, told the newspaper El Universal that the idea for the project came from a community of people with a desire to do more to help others.

While considering the main needs of homeless people, Sandoval said, she couldn’t think of anything better than to offer a shower to those who have limited or no access to clean water.

The church group then got to work raising money for the project and studying similar projects in Costa Rica and Los Angeles, California.

Nine months later, La Regadera (The Shower) is on the verge of dispensing free showers.

The converted cargo van features three bathrooms, each with a shower, toilet, washbasin and mirror. Volunteers will provide users with a towel, soap, shampoo, a change of clothes — and a smile.

People wishing to use the facilities will be given a 15-minute allotment after which they will be offered a food package and, if they wish, counseling.

Sandoval said the mobile unit will go twice a week to parts of the city with the highest concentrations of homeless people.

One person who stands to benefit from the new program is long-term homeless man Fernando, who told El Universal that he currently washes himself in the fetid waters of the Tijuana canal.

“I haven’t had a proper shower for 14 years,” he said.

Fernando, whose arms and legs are covered with both open wounds and scars, explained that he stripped off every day between 9:00am and 10:00am “when everyone else is occupied” to go into the canal waters near Puente Negro, where a large homeless community lives.

“This water full of shit is better than nothing . . . for us there is nothing else,” he said.

A younger homeless man who also lives at Puente Negro expressed disbelief upon hearing of the church’s initiative, but added that it was something that is much needed.

“Will I really be able to take a shower?” he asked.

“If it’s true, it would help us. I almost faint with this heat because I can’t even refresh myself but imagine . . . [with a shower] maybe I’ll get a job or even a girlfriend.”

Source: El Universal (sp)

MIT student loses scholarship over missing electronic signature

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César Hernández

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August 11, 2018

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The student from a small village in Oaxaca who overcame inequality and racism and went on to obtain a doctorate in chemistry at MIT is at risk of losing his dream due to a mistake on a form.

Ricardo Pablo Pedro earned his doctorate earlier this year from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was counting on a scholarship from the National Council for Science and Technology (Conacyt) to cover the tuition of a post-doctorate courseat MIT for which he is already enrolled.

But after he forgot to add his electronic signature to the scholarship application, Conacyt rejected it.

Pablo has now set up a GoFundMe account to seek donations. “Unfortunately, I have not found the financial resources to continue with this important project during my post-doctorate and for that reason I see the need to ask for your support to reach the amount of US $42,000 and to continue with the project at MIT.”

The 27-year-old Zapotec scientist, originally from Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, has been engaged in researching nanomaterials such as silicon and other polymers, “which are very useful in the semiconductor industry.”

Now he wants to focus on thermoelectric properties “that can be used in our daily lives.”

“A thermoelectric material is a material that can use heat to convert it into energy and vice versa. The objective is to find a material that is a good thermoelectric at room temperature. This would radically change different forms of transportation, among other things,” Pablo wrote on GoFundMe.

If he wants to start school in the fall, Pablo must pay the $42,000 by September 11.

Source: Noticias de Oaxaca (sp)

Selfie with a tiger turns up man wanted for homicide

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César Hernández

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August 11, 2018

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Taking a selfie with a Bengal tiger proved to be costly in more ways than one for a casino owner in Yucatán.

Roberto Gabriel Lozano Támez, owner of a casino in Mérida, was attacked by one of two tigers he keeps on a ranch when his son entered the cage in order to take a photograph of himself with the animals.

When his father attempted to get the 150-kilogram tiger off his 15-year-old son, he too was attacked.

Lozano was last reported as being brain dead in a private hospital, but his son was recovering after surgery.

Lozano is not only under care in hospital, but under guard. A background check by police revealed he is wanted in Nuevo León for murder and theft.

In 2005, Lozano killed Juan Ramón Treviño Garza over an unpaid debt of 50,000 pesos (US $5,400 at the time) and stole 7,000 pesos in cash and jewelry.

Lozano was subsequently convicted of the crime and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but in 2010 a judge ordered his release on the grounds that there were errors by the prosecution and Lozano relocated to Mérida.

In the intervening years, however, the justice system of Nuevo León reversed the 2010 ruling and ordered that the original sentence stood.

Lozano is to be transported to Nuevo León if and when he recovers from his injuries. One report quoted medical sources saying his chances of recovery were slim.

Source: Milenio (sp), La Policiaca (sp), Diario de Yucatán (sp)

No incentives for business; instead, conditions favorable for investors

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MND Staff

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August 11, 2018

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Businessman Castañon, left, and businessman-bureaucrat Romo. — Businessman Castañón, left, and businessman-bureaucrat Romo.

There will be no tax incentives for business when the next federal administration takes office, says the proposed chief of staff of president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Instead, the new government will prioritize making savings and generating conditions that are favorable to investors, Alfonso Romo said.

Speaking after a meeting with the leadership of the influential Business Coordinating Council (CCE), Romo added that the government’s position wouldn’t be inflexible throughout its six-year term.

“Once we have the house in order, then we can speak. If there is an emerging plan, we’ll speak about it with the Business Coordinating Council,” he said.

Among the tax incentives implemented by the current government are a stimulus scheme to alleviate the burden of the excise tax on gasoline and a capital repatriation initiative that allows both individual and business taxpayers to bring funds generated by overseas investments back into Mexico at a lower tax rate.

However, the private sector has requested the introduction of more incentives, such as the ability to deduct employee benefits from tax payments, an investment tax deduction scheme for medium-sized businesses and a reduction in income tax.

Romo said that before the incoming government designs its tax package, it will conduct an analysis to determine what it can and can’t do but said that cutting debt and deficit would come first and that the López Obrador-led government would be “very austere.”

The president-elect has previously said that his administration will review energy sector contracts but Romo stressed that the review would extend across all government secretariats.

“There will be a detailed analysis of where we are and based on that the cabinet will coordinate the new budget. The Secretariat of Finance will bring it together and from that we’ll see how much room for maneuver we have,” he said.

For his part, CCE president Juan Pablo Castañón said that an agreement had been reached to hold 12 roundtable discussions with the incoming government during the transition period to look at ways to promote investment, certainty and employment.

He said the CCE will meet with the future secretaries of economy and labor, Graciela Márquez and Luisa María Alcalde, to discuss issues relevant to their roles, as well as the prospective interior secretary, Olga Sánchez Cordero, and the president-elect’s nominee for the economy portfolio, Carlos Urzúa.

López Obrador and his cabinet will be sworn in on December 1.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Petroleum thieves turn to other sources of funds after pipeline shut down

By

César Hernández

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August 11, 2018

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No paramedics in this ambulance, just drums of fuel.

Shutting down a pipeline in Sinaloa has left thieves looking other sources of funds, and boosted sales of fuel at gas stations.

Pemex shut down a stretch of pipeline in February between the cities of Guámuchil and Culiacán due to the high incidence of illegal pipeline taps and the ensuing damage to infrastructure.

On July 24, Pemex Logistics announced that the pipeline would remain out of service until further notice while it continued to assess the damage and determine whether it could be repaired.

Ricardo Jenny del Rincón of the State Council for Public Security said there were 322 illegal pipeline taps in the state between January and July, up 70% over last year.

One effect of shutting off the flow of fuel was felt by local gas stations. They reported increases in sales of up to 30% after suffering declines of 50% to 70%.

But now others are suffering as the criminals turn to other illicit activities, such as stealing vehicles, machinery and products from local farmers.

However, the huachicoleros, as the petroleum thieves are called, are still busy elsewhere in the country and in some cases are coming up with unique methods of moving their product.

In Hidalgo, state police discovered 1,600 liters of stolen fuel in an ambulance

An anonymous tip led them to check the vehicle as it was traveling on the Pachuca-Sahagún highway. Instead of a patient, it was carrying eight drums of fuel reported stolen in Tlalnepantla, México state.

Two people were taken into custody.

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

Trade talks extended another week; new sticking points have surfaced

By

MND Staff

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August 11, 2018

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Guajardo talks to reporters about NAFTA progress.

Trade talks between Mexico and the United States will continue next week as new sticking points have surfaced over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexican-made vehicles.

Officials from both countries have been meeting in Washington D.C. for the past three weeks to try to iron out their differences over bilateral issues before Canada retakes its place in negotiations for a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Automotive industry officials with knowledge of the talks told the news agency Reuters that the Trump administration wants the capacity to enforce national security tariffs on future production from new auto assembly and parts plants in Mexico.

The officials said United States negotiators had essentially agreed that existing automotive plants in Mexico would be exempt from any “Section 232” tariffs that Trump may impose but they don’t want to extend the same guarantee to new plants.

The United States imposed tariffs on Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum on national security grounds effective June 1, while at Trump’s direction the U.S. Commerce Department in May launched an investigation into whether vehicle imports pose a national security risk.

White House officials and United States congressional aides have said that both the metal tariffs and the auto probe are in part aimed at winning concessions in the ongoing NAFTA renegotiation process.

Ildefonso Guajardo, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy and lead NAFTA negotiator, said yesterday in Washington that “a lot of progress” had been made over the past three weeks of discussions and that a deal was still possible by the end of the month.

However, he acknowledged that “we still have a lot of work to do.”

Asked about progress on rules of origin for the automotive sector, Guajardo said “nothing is closed until everything is closed but there are items in every element that are being discussed.”

Once bilateral issues between Mexico and the United States have been resolved, Canada will rejoin the talks, he said, adding that could take place in “the next few days or weeks.”

Industry officials said the United States had barely softened its stance of wanting 75% regional content in order for a vehicle to be afforded tariff-free status while it is also pushing for 40% to 45% of content to come from high-wage areas, which would currently exclude Mexico.

However, Guajardo last week publicly accepted for the first time the United States’ proposal to include set minimum wages for the auto industry in a new NAFTA deal.

Auto industry officials said that Mexico sought reassurances that new content rules would not lead to the loss of existing facilities and jobs.

Another contentious issue — the so-called sunset clause that would see the trade pact automatically expire after five years if it is not renegotiated — has not been raised during the current talks and will be left until the end of negotiations, Guajardo said.

Both Mexico and Canada are opposed to its inclusion in a modernized version of the 24-year-old agreement.

Trump, who has called NAFTA “the worst trade deal ever” and repeatedly threatened to terminate it, wrote on Twitter yesterday that the “deal with Mexico is coming along nicely,” adding that “autoworkers and farmers must be taken care of or there will be no deal.”

He also wrote that president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador “has been an absolute gentleman.”

Jesús Seade, whom López Obrador has tapped to be his chief trade negotiator, has also been in the United States capital for the trade talks.

Trump concluded his tweet by declaring that “Canada must wait. Their tariffs and trade barriers are far too high. Will tax cars if we can’t make a deal.”

Trump has previously floated the possibility that the United States could seek separate trade deals with both its neighbors but reaching a new agreement with Mexico and Canada that is favorable to the U.S. could work to his benefit at the upcoming midterm elections in November.

In a July 20 letter to López Obrador, Trump wrote that he believed that a successful renegotiation of NAFTA will lead to more jobs and higher wages in both Mexico and the United States before adding “but only if it can go quickly, because otherwise I must go a very different route.”

The Mexican government is also eager to reach a deal before President Enrique Peña Nieto leaves office at the end of November.

Source: Reuters (sp)

Costco opens its fourth gas station in Mexico

By

Tony Richards

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August 11, 2018

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Costco has opened a gas station in Celaya, its first in Guanajuato. — Costco's new station in Celaya.

Costco opened its first gas station in the state of Guanajuato this week, its fourth in Mexico.

The 63-million-peso (US $3.3-million) station is on Tecnológico avenue in Celaya, and includes a convenience store.

The company has already opened stations in Culiacán, Sinaloa; Saltillo, Coahuila; and San Luis Potosí, selling Costco’s Kirkland Signature gasoline brand.

The company assured customers that they will receive the exact quantity of gasoline they pay for.

Costco only accepts credit or debit cards for payment. Members who use their Costco card get a 3% discount.

Source: Via Noticias (sp)

Liverpool to sell dolls made by artisans in Querétaro

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César Hernández

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August 10, 2018

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Artisan dolls, available soon at Liverpool.

The Liverpool department store chain is going to sell artisanal rag dolls made by the indigenous people of Amealco, Querétaro.

The store has agreed to carry the products following months of negotiations that started in December, when customers complained that Liverpool stores were selling cheap knock-off dolls of Chinese manufacture.

Querétaro Sustainable Development Secretary Marco Prete Tercero announced that the sale of the dolls, known locally as pachas and throughout Mexico as Muñecas Marías, will start in September, without specifying the stores that will carry them.

Residents of Amealco have traditionally created their dolls by hand, spending anywhere from two to seven days to complete each one. They sell for up to 500 pesos (just over US $25).

The state has also decided to further protect the Amealco dolls by declaring them cultural intangible heritage, a declaration that will take place at a ceremony on August 15 in the Constitución Plaza of Amealco.

“It’s good that [government] agencies gave us their support, because we don’t want other states to come and pirate [the dolls] and steal from us,” said one of the artisans.

Secretary Prete added that the state is still negotiating the sale of the rag dolls on Amazon’s Mexico website, observing that the process is complex, because the online retailer’s system requires standardized product measurements and characteristics.

Source: Milenio (sp)