New contract means 1.3-billion-peso party is over for Pemex union

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August 19, 2019

Former Pemex chief Emilio Lozoya, left and union leader Romero.

Government largesse towards the Pemex workers’ union perpetuated by three past presidents appears to have come to an end.

Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto handed over more than 1.3 billion pesos (US $65.5 million at today’s exchange rate) to union leaders between 2005 and 2018 to pay for travel, commemorative festivities and consultancy fees, the newspaper Milenio reported today.

The funds were provided under Clause 251 of the collective agreement between the state oil company and the Pemex union. The latter had no obligation to reveal how the money was used.

The magazine Americas Quarterly today described Clause 251 funding as “a type of slush fund for the union’s leadership committee used for everything from alcohol to anti-wrinkle cream.”

However, in the union’s 2019-2021 contract with Pemex, which took effect on August 1, Clause 251A – which funded consultancy and celebrations for International Workers’ Day and the anniversary of the expropriation of the Mexican oil industry – was eliminated.

Other Clause 251 funding was slashed by almost 80%, although 343 national executive committee commissioners and 36 union secretaries retain reduced travel allowances.

The cuts are part of wider austerity measures implemented by the federal government.

According to Alfonso Bouzas Ortiz, a researcher at the National Autonomous University who specializes in labor issues, union leaders such as Carlos Romero Deschamps have used Clause 251 funding for their own personal enrichment for years.

Clauses 251 and 251A “have a history,” Bouzas said, explaining that it is one of political patronage and corruption.

“. . . They’re profoundly corrupt clauses,” he charged, pointing out that they provided for excessive travel allowances, bonuses and other unjustifiable perks.

Bouzas told Milenio that government resources have also been diverted by the Pemex union to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to help fund election campaigns.

The most infamous example is the so-called Pemexgate scandal in which the Pemex union was found to have diverted 500 million pesos to the 2000 presidential campaign of PRI candidate Francisco Labastida.

Romero Deschamps, who became Pemex union leader in 1993 and has sat in both the lower and upper houses as a PRI lawmaker, always denied the charge and the case against him was dropped in 2006 due to a lack of evidence.

However, the Finance Secretariat’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) last month filed criminal complaints against the union leader and members of his family for money laundering and illegal enrichment.

Claims of Romero’s corruption have been fueled over the years by opulent displays of wealth including a lavish wedding for his daughter in 2017.

Earlier this year, a group of dissident members of the Pemex union accused Romero of illegally selling off union property for personal gain.

“Groups within the union have wrestled for years to get Deschamps removed,” Lilia Pérez, author of Pemex RIP, told Americas Quarterly.

“But the circumstances are different this time, first because of the UIF and second because he doesn’t have legislative immunity.”

However, Americas Quarterly said that Romero – who is still officially the head of the union – continues to enjoy strong support among the 100,000 Pemex union members, adding that Mexican law may be on Romero’s side because a constitutional reform in 2011 and 2016 justice reforms have given defendants “wider recourse against state investigations.”

“The law now better protects defendants’ rights, which is as it should be,” said Martín Vivanco, a Mexican lawyer and academic.

“. . . In Mexico, if you say the word corruption, [Romero] Deschamps would be one of the first names that comes to mind. But big fish know exactly how the legal system works, and as reported the charges against him would be very hard if not impossible to prove.”

Source: Milenio (sp), Americas Quarterly (en)

Bicycle manufacturer inaugurates 500-million-peso industrial park

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Cody Copeland

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August 19, 2019

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Mexican bicycle manufacturer Grupo Mercurio inaugurated its new 500-million-peso (US $25-million) industrial park in San Luis Potosí on Friday.

The 130,000-square-meter site will centralize the company’s operations and promote the creation of a collaborative business cluster for the cycling industry in Mexico.

The park consists of industrial premises for Mercurio Bicycles and Tylsa Pipes and Sheetmetal, as well as a distribution center for bicycle parts and accessories manufacturer Windsor Cycling.

The cluster also includes an assembly plant, repair shop and accessories warehouse for motorcycle manufacturer Trimer del Sureste, or TDS.

The firm plans to grow its operations by 60% with the new facility, as production capacity will increase to 800,000 units per year.

In 2018, Mercurio made 400,000 bicycles for the domestic market and 100,000 for export.

CEO César Ramos said the goal is to propel the creation of a business cluster that serves as a point of reference for the cycling industry in Mexico, as well as to take advantage of the geographical location of San Luis Potosí in order to best serve both the domestic and international markets.

He said that 75% of the plant’s production will be destined for the Mexican market, and the remaining 25% will be for international sales, including the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere in Latin America.

The company already has an established presence in Colombia, Chile and Holland. Founded in 1964 with just 16 employees, Mercurio is considered the most diversified cycling company in Latin America.

Aiming to streamline the manufacturing process, the plant is equipped with the latest technologies for tube manufacturing, laser cutting, die-cast molding, welding and plastic injection.

Grupo Mercurio anticipates that it will increase its sales by 5-10% by the end of 2019 and hopes to raise to 80% the domestic manufacture of parts used by the cycling industry.

Source: Milenio (sp)

The people are happy, happy, happy, López Obrador assures reporters

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Cody Copeland

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August 19, 2019

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amlo — Happy president of a happy country.

Women who have been protesting gender violence and the families of record numbers of homicide victims might not agree but according to President López Obrador, the country is wrapped in a blanket of bliss.

The president announced Monday that his September 1 report to the nation address will speak of the happiness of the Mexican people.

“The people are happy, happy, happy, there’s an atmosphere of happiness,” he declared at his morning press conference. “The people are very content, really very content and happy. So, there is no social ill humor.”

His remarks came just days after massive protests against violence against women in Mexico City ended with acts of vandalism and at a time when homicide rates are at record high levels and economic prospects are gloomy.

López Obrador’s comments elicited criticism on social media, where people questioned the president’s declaration using the hashtag #pejelandia, which alludes to the president’s nickname “El Peje.”

“In Pejelandia of course,” said one such criticism. “It’s a lovely place inside the head of [President López Obrador].”

“Which country do you live in, Mexico or #Pejelandia?” asked another.

Referring to the women’s protests, López Obrador said that “there are those cases, but in general, I’ll tell you now, and I’ll tell you in my report, the people are happy.”

The president will deliver the report at 11:00am on September 1 in the central patio of the National Palace in Mexico City.

According to a 2017 study, Mexico was the fourth happiest country in the world.

Sources: El Financiero (sp), Diario de Yucatán (sp)

Municipal official jails donkey for owners’ unpaid taxes

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Cody Copeland

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August 19, 2019

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The unwitting donkey jailed over unpaid taxes.

A donkey has been booked into the town jail in San Sebastián Río Dulce, Oaxaca, apparently for unpaid property taxes.

According to its owners, municipal agent Dionisio Cruz Ramírez ordered the animal’s arrest so that the couple could not transport the firewood they use to cook.

But Pascual Cruz and Alejandra Mejía, 88 and 86 years old respectively, appear to be caught up in a power struggle between two groups in the community vying for control of local resources.

The couple maintain that they only use firewood transported by the donkey for domestic purposes, and not for economic gain.

They also claim to have been refused the right to take the animal food and water during several days of imprisonment.

The incarceration was denounced by the Network of United Animal Rights Activists of Oaxaca.

“It may not be of much interest or importance to others, but it is for the animal’s owners,” said the organization in a Facebook post, “given that it is one of their most valuable possessions, since they use it to transport firewood from the hills to their home.”

Aside from gathering firewood, the social conflict in San Sebastián Río Dulce has impeded residents from using the community basketball court or church, even burying their dead, if they are unable to pay the taxes imposed by the authorities.

Residents have also reported crops being destroyed as punishment for unpaid taxes.

It is not the first time a donkey has been locked up in Oaxaca.

A similar situation occurred 25 years ago in Etla when a donkey damaged a neighbor’s home. A public official ordered the animal’s arrest when its owners refused to pay for the damages.

Source: Milenio (sp)

In just 5 months, 61,000 cases of vandalism triggered power outages

By

MND Staff

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August 19, 2019

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cfe — CFE infrastructure has become a popular target for vandalism.

More than 61,000 acts of vandalism triggered power outages in the first five months of the year, Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) data shows.

The figure equates to one vandalism-related blackout every 3 1/2 minutes between January and May.

The newspaper Milenio, which obtained the CFE data through a freedom of information request, reported that 73% of 61,017 acts of vandalism that caused damage to the national electrical grid occurred in just nine states: Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Sonora, Hidalgo, Chihuahua, México state, Tabasco and Baja California.

The CFE recorded the highest number of such outages in Sinaloa, where there were 10,178 cases.

The figure for the five-month period is higher than the combined number recorded for the same period in 2017 and 2018, when there were 9,841 cases of vandalism that caused blackouts.

Vandalism was responsible for 10% of the 101,920 power outages in Sinaloa in the first five months of the year. Other blackouts were caused by failures at CFE power plants and storms that damaged lines, among other reasons.

High numbers of complaints about power outages were recorded in the Sinaloa municipalities of Culiacán, Mazatlán, Elota, San Ignacio, El Rosario and Escuinapa.

In response, CFE personnel completed extensive repairs and maintenance of electrical lines that transmit power to the south of the state.

The second highest number of vandalism-related outages occurred in Tamaulipas, where there were 7,273 cases between January and May.

There were more than 5,000 cases in both Sonora and Michoacán, while Hidalgo, Chihuahua, México state and Tabasco all recorded more than 3,000 blackouts caused by vandalism. There were just under 3,000 cases in Baja California.

In contrast, there was not a single case of a vandalism-related power outage in Campeche, Yucatán and Zacatecas. In Colima, Guanajuato and Quintana Roo, there were just 126, 128 and 181 acts of vandalism, respectively, on the states’ electrical lines.

The high incidence of vandalism occurred despite CFE efforts to crack down on criminal activity affecting its infrastructure.

The state-owned utility last year increased by more than 60% the area in which air and land patrols of CFE infrastructure are carried out. It also pays 46 million pesos (US $2.3 million) a month to the army and navy to provide security for the national electrical grid.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Under Robles, government sold off 1,600 hectares of protected areas in Baja

By

MND Staff

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August 19, 2019

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reserve2 — The Monte Ceniza reserve in Baja California.

Details have emerged of another case of alleged corruption involving former cabinet secretary Rosario Robles.

The previous federal government sold off two coastal nature reserves in Baja California at bargain prices without the knowledge of a conservation group that owned them.

The sale of more than 1,600 hectares of land in the Punta Mazo and Monte Ceniza national reserves, both of which are located near San Quintín in Ensenada, occurred while Robles was secretary of agrarian development and urban planning in the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) government led by Enrique Peña Nieto.

Robles is currently in preventative custody as she awaits trial on charges that, through omission, she allowed over 5 billion pesos to be misappropriated from the federal budget while she was leading the Secretariat of Social Development and later, the Secretariat of Agrarian Development and Urban Planning.

The two reserves were subdivided into 10 lots and sold to nine individuals, one of whom was Héctor Bojórquez, a former leader of the National Farmers Confederation, which has close ties to the PRI.

[wpgmza id=”229″]

The land was sold for 127,523 pesos (US $6,400 at today’s exchange rate). The purchasers of the lots paid between 55 and 75 pesos (US $2.75 to $3.75) per hectare of land.

For a 300-hectare lot in the Monte Ceniza reserve, Bojórquez paid just 16,700 pesos (US $843), the newspaper Milenio reported.

The total price for the two reserves is a tiny fraction – 0.06% – of the US $10 million that the non-profit conservation organization Terra Peninsular paid for the land.

The group’s director, César Guerrero, told Milenio that neither he nor anyone else at Terra Peninsular was aware of the government’s sale until they went to pay property tax at the land registry office in Ensenada at the start of 2017.

“. . . They told us, ‘you don’t owe anything because there are titles that have just been assigned that supersede your property titles,’” he said.

Monte Ceniza was one of two reserves where land was sold off at bargain prices.

“It turned out that nine individuals, without any legal process and with a corrupt procedure, approached the then secretary of agrarian development [Robles] and obtained 10 property titles . . . [for] these hectares which were our property,” Guerrero added.

The purchasers claimed that the reserves were part of federally-owned lands within the so-called Tecate-Ensenada-Tijuana triangle. However, Milenio pointed out that they are located some 120 kilometers outside that area.

Terra Peninsular launched legal action that resulted in the organization once again being recognized as the legal owner of the two nature reserves. The group also filed criminal complaints against Robles and the nine purchasers.

The buyers initiated their own legal action, claiming that they were illegally dispossessed of their land. That claim has not yet been resolved.

“We’re afraid that the ruling will go against us,” Guerrero said, adding that if that occurs, “the land will be lost . . . because we know that it will later be sold to developers.”

The Terra Peninsular director said the two reserves are of significant environmental value.

In May 2018, a team of researchers from the conservation group discovered that the San Quintín kangaroo rat was still living in the Monte Ceniza reserve. The rodent was previously thought to be extinct.

Wetlands in the reserves – which are both located on San Quintín bay – are considered internationally important under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and use of wetlands and their resources.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Cyberattacks hack, take over government Twitter accounts

By

Cody Copeland

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August 19, 2019

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Hackers from outside the country have been carrying out cyberattacks on social media accounts belonging to Mexican government departments and officials, the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection (SSPC) reported on Monday.

“This account has been hacked due to the owner’s corruption,” is one message that the hackers have posted upon taking complete control of the accounts.

After the initial message, attackers post anti-corruption statements.

First to be hacked was the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office, where threats were made on Friday against President López Obrador, the newspaper El Universal reported, followed by a warning that the hacker was fighting corruption.

“Police in different countries are looking for me for hacking corrupt pieces of shit. Do what you want, I shall continue fighting these sons of bitches.”

Next up was the Quintana Roo Secretariat of Security, which was hacked on Saturday.

The SSPC reported that the attacks originated in Spain, Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama.

“However, it is believed that the attacks will extend to other countries in the following hours, as the campaign appears to take on an increasing number of participants,” the report detailed.

So far, the cyberattacks have been confined to Twitter, but the SSPC warned that accounts on all social media networks are potentially at risk.

“Although the reported attacks have all been on Twitter, we cannot rule out the possibility that the hackers will target any social media of officials with weak security on their electronic profiles,” the agency reported.

In response, the department issued a series of security recommendations via the scientific department of the Federal Police. Among them were changing passwords and installing up-to-date antivirus software on computers and mobile devices. They warned officials not to download applications or documents from untrustworthy internet sources, and advised them to update their privacy settings on their social media accounts.

Lastly, the SSPC recommended the implementation of an awareness campaign in order to educate government officials of the reality of cyberattacks that can put their personal and institutional images at risk.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Mexico City airport is sinking as much as 30 centimeters a year

By

Cody Copeland

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August 19, 2019

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Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport is sinking at a rate of up to 30 centimeters a year, according to a report released by the airport administration.

The airport is also in need of an updated assessment of the structural damages that resulted from the earthquakes of September 2017, the report said.

Even though remedial and reinforcement work has been carried out in order to maintain adequate operational conditions and attend to damages done by the earthquakes, there is evidence that various airport installations have sunk “between 21 and 30 centimeters a year.”

The airport’s study of structural damages to Terminals 1 and 2, carried out in April, attributed the sinking to the extraction of water from the aquifer below the structure, which contributes to widespread sinking in other areas of Mexico City.

“This situation has been ongoing for the past 30 years,” stated the report, “and there are no signs that it will change in the foreseeable future.”

The Center for Research in Geography and Geomatics (Centrogeo) determined that some areas of Mexico City have sunk as much as 25 centimeters, 10 times the monthly average, since the 7.1-magnitude earthquake of September 19, 2017.

Since 2017, structural damages have been found in the airport’s two terminals, both of which have seen significant increases in traffic in recent years.

The number of travelers passing through Terminal 2 has more than doubled in the past 10 years. Terminal 1 saw a 63% increase in visitors in the same period.

The most prominent structural damages found were uneven floors, sunken and cracked foundations and weakened girder joints. After the quakes in 2017, beams supporting rooftop advertisements were removed after being found to be too weak to be safe.

Despite the findings, the airport administration declared that both terminals are currently in adequate condition in terms of security and operability. However, it reported that “if these issues are not dealt with, it could generate structural security problems in the future.”

Source: El Universal (sp)

Mexico City’s Mercado Portales celebrates 62 years with birthday bash

By

Jeremy Shepherd

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August 19, 2019

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market2 — Pollo Ismael, a family business at the Mercado Portales.

Mercado Portales celebrated its 62nd anniversary on August 10 with live music, festive decorations and gifts for customers.

Every year on the anniversary of the market’s opening, owners and operators of the 600 individual puestos throw a public party to commemorate the history of the market and to show appreciation to their clientele. This year, in addition to mariachis playing up and down the narrow passageways, they included a stage with traditional Mexican performers.

Many vendors give away small items to commemorate the anniversary. Gifts ranged from calendars and Tupperware to traditional Mexican food and tequila.

“Lots of people come for their gifts, so we always sell more on the anniversary,” said Ismael Flores Valdez, proprietor of Pollo Ismael.

This year Flores gave away tostadas de tinga de pollo, a traditional dish prepared from chicken, tomatoes, onions, and chipotle and served on fried tortillas. Like many workers in the market, Flores puts in seven days a week. He inherited the puesto from his family and has been working there for over 20 years.

Araceli Chavira has worked at Fruta Ara for 28 years.

Araceli Chavira, owner and operator of Fruta Ara, says she does not see much of an increase in sales during the anniversary. “The same people who come to me all year to buy fruit will come today, but the rest are just here for the party.”

Chavira has worked in Mercado Portales with her sister for 28 years. They inherited the business from their mother, the original owner when the market opened in 1957. It will pass to a third generation, her children, when she decides to retire.

Chavira has seen the growth in the size and popularity of the market first-hand. “The market expands every year. They put up more and more puestos outside and now it goes for blocks. To see it from the outside, it’s not the same market.”

She also works seven days a week. “When you sell fruit, if you take a day off, your fruit starts to spoil. Then you must sell it at a lower price than you bought it for. The only way to make money is to come here every day.” Chavira says she rests “when necessary.”

In Viveros Portales, Guadalupe Zenón offered free plates of three traditional Mexican dishes — mole verde, pipián, and tinga de res — to thank her regular customers.

“This year the anniversary falls on a Saturday, so we have far more customers today. When it falls on a weekday, it’s never as big.”

A mariachi band plays for the market's anniversary. — A mariachi band plays for the market’s anniversary.

Zenón is the third generation in her family to run the only puesto for plants in the market. “My grandmother sold flowers here, but around 45 years ago we started selling live plants.”

Zenón’s only workers are other family members. She does not have children, but when she retires her niece and nephew will inherit the business and continue the tradition for a fourth generation. Her nephew is finishing a university degree in biology, which Zenón says he chose because of the nature of the family business.

At Mercado Portales, the Mexican tradition of working hard for your family business is alive and well. Those who choose to shop here instead of big-box stores owned by multinationals are deciding — consciously or unconsciously — to support this proud tradition.

A large sign in Spanish hangs in the back of the market. It reads: “In light of the recent statements Donald Trump has made against our country, we invite the public to consume 100% Mexican products to support Mexican farmers. Get your basic needs at high quality.”

• Mercado Portales is located on the corner of Santa Cruz and Alhambra, Benito Juárez. It’s open seven days a week, 11-6 weekdays; 9-7 Saturday and Sunday.

The writer lives and works in Mexico City.

Mayor apologizes to protesters, pardons vandalism that followed marches

By

MND Staff

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August 19, 2019

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Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum has apologized for describing last week’s protests against gender violence as acts of “provocation” and pledged that authorities will not seek to prosecute women who vandalized buildings and public places.

Dana Corres, an activist and human rights defender, said the mayor made the apology and promise at a closed-door meeting yesterday with 40 women from a range of collectives that participated in the August 12 and 16 protests.

Thousands of women took to the streets last Monday and Friday to demand the prosecution of police officers accused of raping a teenage woman and a 17-year-old girl, and to urge the government to do more to prevent gender violence.

The glass doors of the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office were smashed during the former protest while at the conclusion of the latter, the Insurgentes Metrobús station was trashed, a fire was set inside a police station and the base of the Angel of Independence monument was defaced with graffiti.

After both protests, the government said that it wouldn’t fall into the “provocation” of using force against the protesters, which it charged is “what they are seeking.”

Women criticized the use of the word “provocation,” noting that it is sometimes used to blame victims for sexual assaults committed against them.

At the meeting with Sheinbaum, activists denounced the government’s “mistaken narrative” about the protests and its criminalization of the women who participated in them, Corres said.

The government’s characterization of the protests gave rise to threats on social media against the women who took part, the activists told the mayor.

According to Corres, Sheinbaum accepted that describing the protests as “provocation” was wrong.

The mayor said she will make a statement this week calling for the threats and aggression against women to stop and “also committed to sitting down with other groups of affected women as well as family members of victims [of gender-based violence],” Corres said.

She explained that the mayor gave her word that the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office has not opened and will not open any investigations into the acts of vandalism committed last week even though the government said in a statement Friday that it had already done so.

Participants in Friday’s march spray-paint a bus in Mexico City.

However, the Sheinbaum administration remains committed to prosecuting those who attacked journalists covering Friday’s protest.

In an interview with the newspaper Milenio, the mayor said her government will not criminalize social protests and pledged that she is committed to taking “effective action” aimed at the eradication of violence against women.

Sheinbaum conceded that public policy in the area is insufficient and called on civil society to collaborate with the government to develop strategies that will contribute to making the capital a safe city for women.

“The door to the government is open to citizens for dialogue and always will be . . . The demand [for the eradication of gender violence] has to be addressed and public policy is needed for that,” she said.

President López Obrador expressed support for the mayor’s actions, telling his morning press conference she “acted well although the conservatives will say the situation requires a firm hand because that’s how they are — with all respect — very hypocritical. But it is not necessary to use force.”

According to Human Rights Watch, Mexican laws “do not adequately protect women and girls against domestic and sexual violence.”

In a report published this year, the organization said that provisions in Mexican law, such as those that make the severity of punishment for sexual assaults contingent on the supposed chastity of the victim, “contradict international standards.”

Source: Milenio (sp)

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