Mexico City announces 20-million-peso fund to aid top athletes

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May 20, 2019

The Chicoasén hydroelectric plant in Chiapas.

Now that the southern state of Tabasco has been given a break on electricity bills, others are lining up to demand equal treatment.

The governor of Tabasco announced last week that the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) had agreed to cancel 11 billion pesos in debt owed by more than half a million people, and that a preferential power rate would be introduced in the state on June 1.

Now, three other states – Guerrero, Chiapas and Veracruz – want lower power rates too.

Chilpancingo Mayor Antonio Gaspar Beltrán warned that Guerrero mayors could initiate protests against the federal government if it doesn’t listen to their concerns about high electricity prices and introduce cheaper rates. The mayors demand equal treatment, he said.

While it has forgiven debt in Tabasco, the CFE has cut off power to water systems in both Chilpancingo and Acapulco when they have failed to pay their bills. The CFE “has been very harsh with us,” Gaspar declared.

If lower electricity rates aren’t introduced in Guerrero, the mayor said, residents could join the civil resistance movement and refuse to pay their bills as occurred in Tabasco and some other states for more than two decades.

“[If in] Tabasco they had the astuteness to rebel [against the CFE] and to not allow electricity cuts. I believe that we can do it in Guerrero,” he said.

“On several occasions, I’ve said not to provoke us because the residents of Guerrero know how to defend ourselves,” Gaspar added.

In Veracruz, the private sector called on lawmakers to join forces in the fight to win lower tariffs.

Cheaper prices are necessary because the state’s hot weather increases demand for electricity, they argued.

José Antonio Mendoza García, president of the Veracruz branch of the National Chamber of Commerce (Canaco), said that both deputies and senators in the Gulf coast state need to take up the cause and put pressure on federal authorities.

Daniel Martín Lois, Veracruz president of the restaurant industry association Canirac, and Manuel Urreta Ortega, state president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), both argued that Veracruz deserves lower power rates because it is a significant energy producer.

Meanwhile, Chiapas Governor Rutilio Escandón Cadenas said that his administration is lobbying the federal government to have preferential power rates introduced in the state’s 34 poorest municipalities.

State legislators say there should be lower tariffs because Chiapas too is a major energy producer, generating 40% of Mexico’s electrical energy.

Tabasco Governor Adán Augusto López Hernández announced last Tuesday that his government reached an agreement with the CFE for a “clean slate” to apply from June 1.

From that date, electricity customers in the 17 municipalities of the Gulf coast state will be charged “the lowest rate in the national electrical system,” he said.

However, some Tabasco residents maintain that their resistance has not ended and say they will not pay future electricity bills.

In response, President López Obrador, a chief instigator of the civil resistance movement against the CFE in the mid-1990s, called on residents of Tabasco to be “good citizens” and pay their electricity bills.

The CFE is “a company of the people and it needs resources to continue providing service,” he said.

Source: El Sol de México (sp)

Job creation numbers lowest in six years; April was down 65%

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May 20, 2019

Job creation numbers have been declining.

Job creation numbers in April — at 30,419 — were down a whopping 65% compared to last year, according to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).

The institute noted that figure was affected by Holy Week falling in April this year, meaning there were fewer work days during the month.

However, a general slowdown in job creation has been recorded during the first four months of the year. From January until April, 299,562 jobs were created, 34.2% fewer than in the same period last year. It is the lowest number since 2013.

According to José Luis de la Cruz, director of the Institute for Industrial Development and Economic Growth (IDICE), the job numbers reflect a wider economic deceleration. At least seven states, mostly in southern Mexico, showed job losses or growth of less than 1% in April.

The decline in job creation could also be influenced by the Youth Building the Future program, which gives apprenticeships to young people between the ages of 18 and 29. Around 550,000 beneficiaries are working under the program, of which about 20% are in Chiapas.

More than half of the apprentices in Youth Building the Future are enrolled in IMSS, but they do not receive social security and the apprenticeships are not counted as new jobs.

“It’s evident that the south of the country still faces economic problems and doesn’t have sufficient investment to create the jobs they need,” said Dr. María Fonseca, professor of business at the Monterrey Technological Institute. “In places like Mexico City, the low job creation is a reflection of cuts in the public sector.”

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

No money for Quintana Roo beach rehabilitation projects

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May 18, 2019

Quintana Roo projects would address beach erosion.

A two-year old plan to carry out four separate projects to rehabilitate eroded beaches in Quintana Roo can’t go ahead due to a lack of funding.

The projects, whose total cost is estimated to be 2.6 billion pesos (US $135.6 million), have been listed on the federal government’s online investment platform Mexico Projects Hub since 2017.

However, Quintana Roo Environment Secretary Alfredo Arellano Guillermo said that a coastal management trust created a year ago has failed to attract the funds required to complete work at four stretches of beach.

According to the Nature Conservancy, an environmental NGO, half of all beaches in Quintana Roo are in a poor state, many suffering from severe erosion.

One project would fill two chasms on a beach in north Cancún with 1.5 million cubic meters of sand. Construction of two concrete structures would help to maintain stability of the rehabilitated beach.

A second project in the same city would widen a beach using 2.5 million cubic meters of sand and erect a 125-meter seawall to prevent future erosion.

A third project calls for widening 750 meters of coastline on Cozumel, a small island located off the coast of Playa del Carmen. More than 270,000 cubic meters of sand would be required to extend the width of beaches to between 20 and 30 meters.

The fourth project at an unspecified location between Cancún and Playa del Carmen would dredge sand from the ocean in order to widen a five-kilometer stretch of beach.

The construction of shoreline stabilization structures is also proposed.

The four projects are currently awaiting evaluation by federal authorities to determine whether public money will fund their execution.

The Quintana Roo government has said that it will focus its efforts on carrying out small rehabilitation projects between kilometers 0 and 12 on the coastline of Cancún, where beach erosion is particularly bad.

Source: El Economista (sp)

Urban, tourism infrastructure improvements coming in Progreso, Yucatán

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Madison Koen

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May 18, 2019

Infrastructure improvements are coming in Progreso. — Infrastructure improvements planned in Progreso.

The Yucatán government will spend 60 million pesos (US $3.1 million) on improvements in the port city of Progreso this year.

The infrastructure projects will include installing underground wiring, road repairs and improvements and the remodeling of Progreso’s House of Culture.

But that’s only the beginning.

At the inauguration of a sports event, Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal said President López Obrador had agreed to contribute between 300 million and 500 million pesos to infrastructure projects in Progreso next year.

“The most important thing is that it’s not just tourism infrastructure: it’s to improve roads, schools, potable water, distribution of electricity, and to be able to relocate many of those that live in makeshift housing near the swamp to more permanent housing made of concrete with stable roofs.”

The governor highlighted that these projects and more are also essential to increase tourism in the city, which currently receives 128 cruise ships and 440,000 tourists every year.

To that end, the state government will also direct some of the funds toward the construction of a tree-lined plaza with areas for recreation, the finishing of the city’s boardwalk and the construction of a pedestrian-only street to connect the boardwalk to Progreso’s commercial center.

The city will also use the money to install underground utility cables, improve water and drainage systems and plant trees to line roadways.

Source: SIPSE (sp), Diario de Yucatán (sp)

Jalisco search yields 20 mutilated bodies, three captives

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May 18, 2019

Military personnel have secured a safe house in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Jalisco, where they found the remains of about 20 people.

The soldiers also rescued three people who were being held captive.

The incident began when an army patrol spotted a man wearing handcuffs on the side of the road in San Sebastián el Grande. He told the soldiers he had escaped from a nearby property where he was being held captive.

When the patrol approached the property, armed civilians began firing at them. After a firefight, the soldiers took control of the property.

Three individuals fled the scene in a pickup truck toward Santa Anita, also in the municipality of Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, and three others were arrested. There were no casualties in the operation.

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Soldiers found 18 plastic bags containing human remains on the farm where the safe house was located, as well as 200-liter drums containing mutilated limbs, from which they concluded that about 20 people could have been killed there.

But state Attorney General Gerardo Octavio Solís emphasized that the number of victims still cannot be conclusively stated.

“We can’t say with complete certainty the number of bodies that were found at this property,“ he said. “But we’re working with forensic scientists to figure out how many deceased people could be here.”

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

US agrees to lift metal tariffs, opening the door to ratifying trade agreement

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May 18, 2019

Tariffs on steel and aluminum are to be withdrawn. — If Sheinbaum doesn't discuss on aluminum, steel and vehicles

The United States government agreed yesterday to lift its tariffs on Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum, removing a major obstacle for the ratification of the new North American trade deal.

In exchange, Mexico and Canada pledged to remove their retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. products.

“We’ve just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico and we’ll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs or major tariffs,” United States President Donald Trump said.

His administration imposed tariffs of 25% and 10% on Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum last June on national security grounds, angering its North American trade partners and complicating the trilateral negotiations to reach a trade pact to replace the quarter-century-old NAFTA.

As part of the tariff removal agreement, Mexico and Canada must adopt strict monitoring and enforcement measures to prevent subsidized Chinese steel entering the United States via their territory. In exchange, the United States said it would lift its tariffs in 48 hours.

No quotas will apply to Mexican and Canadian metal imports to the United States but if volumes significantly exceed historical levels, the U.S. reserves the right to impose new tariffs following consultation with the exporting country.

Trump said that the removal of tariffs paved the way for the U.S. Congress to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which despite a range of difficulties leaders of the three countries signed last November.

“That deal is going to be a fantastic deal for our country. Hopefully Congress will pass the USMCA quickly,” he said.

The Mexican government described the agreement reached with the United States as “beneficial for both parties” and said that its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, including pork, apples, cheese and bourbon, will be lifted once the metal duties are formally eliminated.

Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez said in an interview that the deal will allow Mexico’s steel and aluminum industries to be competitive again, while foreign affairs undersecretary Jesús Seade wrote on Twitter that Congress could now proceed towards ratifying the trilateral trade deal.

“With great enthusiasm, we welcome the decision of the United States president and the U.S. trade representative [Robert Lighthizer] to eliminate the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed on Mexico and Canada. This action opens the way to advance towards the ratification of the USMCA,” Seade said.

He also said difficulties in the relationship between the U.S. and China have helped Washington recognize the importance of a united North American trade bloc.

President López Obrador today credited his negotiators. “. . . it was a triumph for diplomacy and the negotiators of the government of Mexico and furthermore we even gave a little help to the government of Canada.”

Mexico’s steel exports to the U.S. did not suffer as a result of the tariffs. The U.S. Census Bureau said they were up 10% last year.

As part of the deal struck with their largest trading partner, Mexico and Canada both agreed to withdraw all complaints filed against the United States at the World Trade Organization.

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

Giant fans to relieve CDMX pollution? Old idea resurfaces but is rejected again

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May 18, 2019

mexico city fans — This meme appeared a few years ago when the fans idea was revisited. But this is not exactly what the original proponent had in mind.

Could giant-sized fans blow away Mexico City’s contaminated air? Not likely, says the mayor.

Claudia Sheinbaum ruled out a proposal to install fans to disperse pollution in the city on Friday, saying the possibility had been seriously considered.

“It’s an option that has been studied a lot, and it’s not a viable option,” she said. “In reality, to reduce pollution, we need to address the sources of pollution, which in the case of the metropolitan area has to do with vehicles, industry, and recently, high temperatures and wildfires.”

The idea originated in the 1990s when it was proposed by Heberto Castillo, an accomplished engineer and left-wing activist.

Castillo, who was running for the Senate at the time, described his proposal in an article for El Universal on February 24, 1992. Admitting that it sounded absurd, Castillo described a system of three tunnels that would run under the mountains, connecting the Valley of México with the valleys of Toluca, Cuernavaca and Cuautla.

Castillo said that running fans in the tunnels for 60 hours straight and then for one hour a day would keep air pollution levels at under 100 Imeca points. The Environmental Commission of the Megalopolis declares an Environmental Contingency when pollution levels reach 150. In the early ‘90s, it was common for air pollution to rise above 300 points.

Castillo conceded that such a system would not address the root cause of air pollution, but defended it by saying that it also would not preclude other efforts to fight it.

“For example, when a kitchen fills up with smoke, using an exhaust fan doesn’t resolve the problem of the creation of smoke, but it does allow the housewife to breathe clean air,” he wrote.

He estimated that such a project would cost around US $100 million, only about 2.2% of the city government’s budget for the remainder of the term.

Heberto Castillo died five years later, in 1997. He is better remembered for being a founding member of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD).

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

Kingpins: suspect judge suspended; ex-Nayarit governor defends his record

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May 18, 2019

From left, the judge, CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and the ex-governor.

A judge accused of collusion with drug cartels has been suspended after he was placed on the United States Kingpin List, while a former governor also designated as corrupt by U.S. authorities has defended his record in office.

The United States Treasury Department imposed sanctions yesterday on Jalisco-based federal magistrate Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez and former Nayarit governor Roberto Sandoval Castañeda.

Both men have received bribes from drug trafficking organizations including the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Treasury Department said.

Avelar is accused of releasing senior members of the CJNG in exchange for bribes. Mexican authorities froze his bank accounts earlier this week.

After yesterday’s designation by the United States, Mexico’s Federal Judiciary Council (CJF) announced in a statement that Avelar had been suspended without salary for six months.

The CJF explained that the decision was made because of indications that “he could be obtaining part of his wealth through operations with resources of illegal origin.”

Avelar’s frozen accounts held 50 million pesos (US $2.6 million) and according to federal lawmakers, he spent 18.7 million pesos on property between 2010 and 2016.

The CJF said it would carry out its own “exhaustive investigation” into Avelar’s conduct as a judge and stressed that it would do so “with strict adherence to due process, the presumption of innocence and in accordance with the constitution.”

Meanwhile, Sandoval – whose alleged corruption also included the misappropriation of state assets – has denied that he and his administration committed any wrongdoing while in office between 2011 and 2017.

“Every authority that has requested information from us about different matters has found truthful data that demonstrate with transparency . . . that I, as a civil servant, managed a government in adherence with the law,” he said on Twitter.

The former Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) governor is currently under investigation for corruption by authorities in Nayarit, where properties he owns have been seized, and the federal Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF).

Sandoval asserted that the issues raised both by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the UIF “will be explained as we have always done with the peace of mind of having worked correctly.”

The ex-governor – whose wife and adult children were also designated by the U.S. for being complicit with Sandoval by holding his “ill-gotten assets” in their names – said he deeply regretted the “unfortunate moment we’re going through as a family.”

“But my faith in God and my determined patience to overcome obstacles reaffirm my conviction of who I am, what I did, and what I didn’t do.”

Source: Milenio (sp), Reforma (sp)

High-pressure system abates, Mexico City lifts Environmental Contingency

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May 18, 2019