New legislation will require taxis to be powered by renewable energy

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July 24, 2018

A taxi in Querétaro: they may still be yellow but they'll be green too.

Taxis in Querétaro will be mostly green within five to six years, state lawmakers predict.

The Querétaro state Congress has approved a series of amendments to its mobility laws that will promote the use of renewable energy and electric vehicles by taxi owners.

The new regulations are among the state’s green policies, which have resulted in 45% of taxis — about 3,000 — in Querétaro city to be powered by natural gas instead of gasoline.

Lawmakers expect that in five or six years’ time 100% of taxis in the greater Querétaro metropolitan area will be powered by renewable energy sources.

The new regulation requires that all new taxi concessions issued this year go to electric vehicles (EVs). The law allows for hybrid vehicles to obtain a license throughout 2019, but in 2020 licenses will go to EVs only.

Taxi licenses and permits will also be reviewed, allowing for a single owner to have up to 10. If a taxi permit holder wants to operate a fleet larger than the 10-vehicle limit, the vehicles must be electric.

“The sale of taxi permits in the black market will no longer be tolerated,” said the president of the congressional mobility commission. If permit holders fail to comply with the EV-only regulation, their permits will be rescinded.

Taxi licensees will have between 10 and 16 years to renew their fleets, allowing for a gradual replacement of gasoline-powered cars with their environmentally-friendly counterparts.

Source: Milenio (sp)

New mayor will head violence-torn municipality, continue search for his father

By

MND Staff

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July 24, 2018

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Father, left, and son: the search will continue.

When 34-year-old medical doctor Blas Godínez Ortega is sworn in as mayor of one of Chihuahua’s most violent municipalities later this year, life as he currently knows it will inevitably change.

But one constant that has been a part of his day-to-day existence in his home town of Gómez Farías since late last year will probably remain: he will continue to search for his missing father.

In the early hours of November 8, Blas Godínez Loya — whom the mayor-elect followed into the medical profession — was abducted from his home by suspected members of a criminal gang.

The 62-year-old community hospital director hasn’t been seen since.

One line of investigation is that Godínez Loya was kidnapped in order to treat gang members who had been wounded in gun battles at the time as a bloody turf war escalated in the mountains surrounding the municipal seat.

Authorities suspect that to be the case because other doctors have been abducted for that reason in the Sierra region of the northern border state before they were later returned unharmed.

But more than eight months after his disappearance, Godínez Ortega still doesn’t know what happened to his father or whether he will ever see him alive again.

His dad’s disappearance — and continuing violence in the region — provided strong motivation for the doctor to put his name forward as a mayoral candidate in the July 1 elections.

“It was a moral duty to my father, to my family, to the municipality,” Godínez Ortega told the newspaper Milenio.

“What happened to my father marked my life in many ways and one of them was politics. [It made me] take the radical decision to start working with the people, with my municipality . . . to make Gómez Farías a better place to live,” he said.

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The doctor was endorsed by the Social Encounter Party (PES) and stood in the election as the mayoral candidate for the same coalition that Andrés Manuel López Obrador represented in his landslide victory in the presidential race.

Godínez Ortega’s triumph was less emphatic — he won less than 2,000 votes in a municipality where there are 6,000 names on the electoral roll — but it was a victory all the same and one that will allow him to start working towards the changes he wants to see.

The doctor told Milenio that while he was on the campaign trail some local residents expressed surprise that he would choose to contest the election while his father was still missing.

But he explained that just like medicine, politics is in his blood: Godínez Loya also stood as a candidate for mayor, representing the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), at elections in 1986.

Godínez Ortega also said he had the opportunity to meet López Obrador at a rally in Chihuahua, where he told the political veteran what had happened to his father and asked for his support to combat insecurity in Gómez Farías.

“His face was full of surprise at what I was telling him and then he gave me a very fraternal hug . . .” he recalled.

“He told me that we wouldn’t be left on our own, that he was going to help us fix the situation that we are living through and help us to govern.”

Godínez Ortega knows that he has a big — and potentially dangerous — job in front of him but taking a leaf out of López Obrador’s book, he said that he will eschew personal security, charging that politicians should live under the same conditions as the citizens they represent.

He also directed a message to criminal organizations, urging them to respect doctors and all local residents “who for the most part have nothing to do with . . . the dispute between cartels.”

The mayor-elect added that he would continue to search for his father and assured local residents that he will do all he can to prevent similar cases from occurring in the future.

“As a son, I will never stop looking [for my father] . . . and as an authority [figure] I will not allow what happened to me to happen to another citizen . . .” Godínez Ortega said.

He also pledged to continue to work as a doctor during his term as mayor, which will commence in September.

“I will allocate time to continue attending to my many patients and as I will not fail the citizens [of Gómez Farías], I will not fail my patients because [I will be] a mayor for three years but a doctor my whole life.”

Source: Milenio (sp)

For a healthy snack, there’s nothing like chicharrón. Or is there?

By

César Hernández

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July 24, 2018

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For anyone who enjoys eating chicharrón, or fried pork rinds, the news was too good to be true. And it probably was.

Claims have been made recently by some nutritionists and others that eating chicharrón won’t lead to weight gain and could even benefit a person’s overall health.

Proponents of eating the delicacy found at markets all over Mexico say one of the desirable qualities is its high collagen content, making one feel satisfied sooner during a meal, meaning that less is eaten and weight will be lost.

Chicharrón is also said to have a high unsaturated fat content, considered to help reduce cholesterol, improve bone health and help those suffering from diabetes and heart disease.

Every 28 grams of the pork rind contains 17 grams of protein, a characteristic said to help consumers reach satiety sooner and benefit their muscles as well.

It also has stearic acid, a saturated fatty acid that does not contribute to elevating cholesterol levels in the blood.

But nutritionist Eva Mariana Rodríguez Pineda says the claim that chicharrón is a beneficial food that will not contribute to gaining weight is a questionable one.

“Any excess of calories consumed during a day can lead to gaining weight. There is not a single food item that, on its own, will make you gain or lose weight. What matters in the end is the amount of energy you consume and the amount you use,” she said.

The belief that chicharrón does not impact weight comes from ketogenic diet proponents, the nutritionist said.

The high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet is used by physicians to treat difficult-to-control epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates.

Fried pork rinds are an acceptable food item in such a diet, said Rodríguez.

The nutritionist was blunt in asserting that the best diet is one that is balanced and includes carbs, fats and protein, and that restricting any of those three main nutrients could lead to poor health.

Rodríguez advised that anyone interested in eating food without restriction should stick with vegetables, as they are low in calories and their fiber content aids digestion.

So where does that leave chicharrón in a healthy person’s diet?

You can eat it, Rodríguez said, but only once in a while.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Oaxacan elders are dancing their way out of isolation thanks to non-profit group

By

Susannah Rigg

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July 24, 2018

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Happy senior citizens in Santo Domingo Tonalá.

In the small town of Santo Domingo Tonalá in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca, the sound of zumba music rings out. But anyone peeking their head around the door to see who these eager zumba dancers might be will likely be surprised by the sight.

Behind the walls of this small community center are 15 or so of the town’s elders dancing to the zumba beat.

This happy scene hasn’t always been the case in this small town whose population rises and falls depending on migration. Eight years ago, when the idea for a non-profit group to help the elderly was just a spark in the eye of the founders, many of the elders who are dancing today were living isolated lives, with little chance of community interaction.

In 2010, Karen Rasmussen joined Alejandra Olguin in a visit to Olguin’s family home in Santo Domingo Tonalá. Olguin’s family migrated to the United States before she was born but continues to visit their home village.

While enjoying breakfast at the market, Rasmussen spotted an old woman who, she said, could have been her own grandmother, struggling to buy the most basic of vegetables.

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“I was stopped in my tracks,” said Rasmussen. “Here I was enjoying my green juice after a hearty breakfast and this woman was struggling to buy tomatoes. ”

The women investigated further and since Rasmussen had a background in international development and Olguin had personal connections in the town, they put a plan in place to help the elders. The organization would be called Nija’nu A.C.

The project started out offering practical aid, through food packages, house repairs and helping the elders to get their paperwork in order to receive their state pension (1,160 pesos every two months, or US $61 at the current exchange rate).

They hired local workers to create access ramps, repair ceilings and even paint the walls of the elders’ houses in new uplifting colors. Once the immediate physical needs were covered, the team began to hear stories about how isolated the elders felt.

Many had family who had migrated to the U.S. and therefore found themselves alone in their old age. Others had no family left alive, while still others had children who were too busy trying to make a living that they weren’t able to give much time to their parents. Whatever the reason, these elders wanted a chance to meet their peers and to feel part of the world again.

Though Nija’nu was and continues to be entirely funded by individual donations and there wasn’t a huge amount of spare cash, the team began to put in place some community events. The logistics were not easy. Many elders struggled to walk and to get out of their homes, so kind and patient local taxi drivers had to be enlisted to pick the elders up and take them to the events.

What started as an afternoon viewing old films evolved into multiple activities through the week. Nija’nu fundraised enough money to rent its own community center, where the elders can go every day. The house has two bedrooms for visiting volunteers as well as an outdoor patio, so the elders can enjoy their classes al fresco.

A whole variety of activities are offered from learning to write their names, to pottery and painting. The elders can come to dance and staff member Karina Ramírez Duran has trained in teaching zumba to the elderly.

“The elders have such a busy life now,” said Rasmussen with a sweet giggle that often showed itself when discussing them. “I think some of the younger members of Santo Domingo Tonalá would also like their own community center.”

While any societal change can be a slow process, Nija’nu has noticed that the local municipal government has started to react to the needs of the elderly members of the community. Over the last few years they have helped by providing hearing and vision tests and giving food aid once every six months in all of the poor communities. There is also help with post-earthquake recovery that prioritizes vulnerable populations.

Every year, Nija’nu publicly celebrates the International Day of the Elder in the main square, where seniors hold banners declaring their rights and even dance in public as the music plays.

The group has also forged connections with the local school, which creates important links between the youngest and oldest generations of the town. During the annual school parade they hired a mototaxi and the elders drove around waving flags and banners. Many of the elderly that Nija’nu helps have gone from being invisible to taking center stage in the community in which they have spent their entire lives.

Rasmussen has seen a great change in the elders that she works with.

“When we first started Nija’nu we noticed that if the elders got sick that they didn’t even try to get well,” she said.

Now, with the support of friends made through Nija’nu activities and with the care of Nija’nu staff, they see a reason to try.

Nija’nu hasn’t just helped the elders, though. It has also provided four part-time jobs within the community. Rasmussen has watched them thrive and grow over the last few years. Their latest staff member, Adriana Espinosa Luengas, contracted polio as a child and struggles with mobility. As a result she is going to train in “chair zumba,” which will help some of the elders who are in wheelchairs or cannot stand for long.

She is also teaching the elders to write their names and with the help of Nija’nu she has learned to use a computer, and now sends the monthly reports via email.

“I like seeing how everyone is thriving,” Rasmussen said when asked how it felt to look on the project that is now in its eighth year.

She has seen friendships form between the elders, which provides another layer of support for them.

As for the dancing, this is something that has become a regular occurrence in the Nija’nu community center. Whether it is zumba class or free dancing to the beat of the marimba, the smiles on the seniors’ faces say it all.

“The elders love dancing,” said Rasmussen.

Running a non-profit organization has its challenges and the future isn’t always certain but we can only hope that the sound of zumba and the laughter of the elders will be ringing out in Santo Domingo Tonalá for many years to come.

If you are interested in donating to Nija’nu or would like to offer voluntary services, information can be found on their website. You can also follow Nija’nu on Facebook.

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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.

7 escapes in 16 months from Culiacán jail with aid of personnel

By

César Hernández

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July 24, 2018

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Seven highly dangerous prisoners have escaped over the last 16 months from the state penitentiary in Culiacán, Sinaloa, aided by prison personnel, according to a report today by El Universal.

The most recent escape was early Sunday morning when two inmates left the facility dressed in the uniforms of prison guards.

They, like the other five escapees, were federal prisoners in a jail intended for inmates accused or convicted of state crimes.

Of the 2,233 inmates, 560 are being held under the federal justice system.

And while the Culiacán penitentiary has been equipped to serve as a holding facility for federal prisoners, having a mixed population complicates security measures.

Public Security Secretary Fermín Hernández Montealegre explained that during the last year the state had repeatedly requested the transfer of 10 inmates to federal facilities, including the two newest fugitives.

Among five inmates who escaped in March last year were Juan José Esparragoza Monzón and Francisco Zazueta Rosales. The former was a financial operator with the Sinaloa Cartel and the latter the chief bodyguard of the sons of former boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera.

Zazueta had been interned at the Culiacán penitentiary for just one month at the time of the escape.

The escapees fled with the help of the facility’s head guard, José Mario Murillo Rodríguez, who left the penitentiary with his former prisoners.

The investigation that followed revealed a lush lifestyle the inmates enjoyed: large-screen TVs, DVD players, PlayStation and 8 Xbox video game consoles and several mobile phones were among the devices found.

It was also reported that the day before the escape the inmates had held a party with bands, liquor and visiting women.

Six of the seven inmates who have escaped from the jail were members of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Priority given to 7 infrastructure projects costing 500 billion pesos

By

MND Staff

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July 24, 2018

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López Obrador, left, and incoming finance secretary Carlos Manuel Urzúa Macías at yesterday's press conference.

President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced yesterday that the next government will prioritize seven urgent infrastructure projects with an investment of 500 billion pesos (US $26.5 billion).

The projects are the new Mexico City International Airport; a trade corridor in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; the Cancún-Palenque train; the paving of 300 rural roads; the provision of internet to the whole country; earthquake reconstruction; and support for residents of marginalized neighborhoods.

López Obrador, or AMLO as he is widely known, told reporters outside his transition headquarters that the funds to carry out the projects will come from cost-saving measures his administration intends to adopt such as cutting the salaries of high-ranking officials and consolidating government purchases in the Secretariat of Finance as well as through the elimination of corruption.

With regard to the new airport, López Obrador repeated that there are three options: continue the project as a public-private joint venture, auction it off to the private sector or scrap it completely and use the existing airbase in Santa Lucía, México state, for commercial flights.

The president-elect, who was vehemently opposed to the airport project before softening his position, said his transition team will consult with specialists and the public between August 15 and October 15 as part of the incoming administration’s analysis of the three alternatives.

He said the current government has invested 80 billion pesos (US $4.2 billion) in the project, of which 45 billion pesos have been spent and 35 billion pesos remain in a trust.

In the Isthmus region — where the distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean is the shortest in the country — López Obrador said the aim is to “connect the countries of Asia with the east coast of the United States and create jobs in that entire strip of national territory.”

Future transportation secretary Javier Jiménez Espriú said earlier this month that the development planned for the Isthmus of Tehuantepec would include the modernization of the railroad between Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, as well as the upgrading of the region’s highways.

The third infrastructure priority is the so-called Mayan Train which will run between Quintana Roo and Chiapas and cost 64.9 billion pesos (US $3.4 billion), according to the incoming government’s National Project 2018-2014 document.

Slated to be completed in four stages, the train line will have nine stops and is intended to boost tourism and the economy in the south of Mexico.

López Obrador said the fourth project would focus primarily on ensuring that all rural communities in Oaxaca and Guerrero are accessible via paved roads, adding that construction would require “the intensive use of labor” and consequently generate much-needed employment for local residents.

The president-elect also said his government will prioritize guaranteeing internet access to all Mexicans, pledging that the entire country will be connected.

López Obrador said he will present a national earthquake reconstruction plan on September 19, the first anniversary of the second of last September’s two major quakes.

The plan will prioritize “victims who are still living in camps, [exposed] to the elements and who have not been supported,” he said.

He pledged that monetary assistance will be fully funded by the federal budget and not provided in the form of loans.

Finally, the president-elect said that residents of Mexico’s poorest neighborhoods will also be afforded support with those living in marginalized areas of border cities, the country’s main tourism destinations and the metropolitan area of greater Mexico City set to be the initial priority.

López Obrador, who won the July 1 election in a landslide, will be sworn in on December 1 while the new federal Congress — in which the next president’s three-party coalition will have a majority in both houses — will sit for the first time on September 1.

Source: Sin Embargo (sp), Milenio (sp), El Economista (sp), El Universal (sp)

Commission issues report on botched medical care that left babies blind

By

MND Staff

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July 23, 2018

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The baby who was left blind by botched surgery in Sonora. — The baby who was left blind after surgery in Sonora.

The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has issued a report in response to botched medical care that left two babies blind, charging that the infants’ human rights were violated due to negligence.

In the document — which contains recommendations directed to the general manager of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) — the CNDH said the first case occurred in the Zone 8 General Hospital in Uruapan, Michoacán.

The report charged that doctors failed to make a timely diagnosis that the baby was suffering from retinopathy and that the consequent absence of treatment meant that the condition worsened, resulting in a permanent loss of sight.

The baby was born prematurely after 31 weeks’ gestation and was diagnosed with infant respiratory distress syndrome and also showed clinical signs of early-stage sepsis.

Despite that, the CNDH said, medical personnel failed to carry out blood and urine testing to confirm or rule out the presence of infection nor did they administer any course of antibiotic treatment.

The CNDH detailed that in the second case — which occurred at the Number 2 Specialty Hospital in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora — a surgeon mistakenly removed a baby’s right eye instead of the left eye in which a cancerous growth was present.

With the subsequent removal of the baby’s left eye, the infant permanently lost any chance of ever being able to see.

The CNDH report said that the treating ophthalmologist had not heeded the advice of nurses and an anesthetist who had told him that the left eye was the one that needed to be surgically removed.

The baby’s parents have filed a criminal complaint against the surgeon.

The Human Rights group called on IMSS chief Tuffic Miguel Ortega to compensate the babies’ families with fair monetary reparation and the provision of psychological care.

The report also said the infants should be included on the National Victims’ Registry so they are eligible to access other monetary and medical assistance.

In addition, the CNDH called for medical staff in both hospitals to be given additional training that focuses on the human rights of patients under their care.

In a statement, IMSS said it would implement the CNDH recommendations and that it has implemented a range of preventative measures to ensure that there is no repeat of any similar cases in the future.

Source: Sin Embargo (sp)

Mexico leads medal count at Central American and Caribbean Games

By

Tony Richards

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July 23, 2018

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Tamara Vega and Mayan Oliver won gold medals yesterday in modern pentathlon at the Barranquilla games.

Taekwondo athlete Victoria Heredia gave Mexico medal No. 100 today at the Central American and Caribbean Games, which are now under way in Barranquilla, Colombia.

By the end of the day, Mexico led the medal count with 108, leading second-place Colombia by 29 medals.

Heredia won bronze in the women’s under 67 kilograms event in taekwondo, in which Mexico has won 20 medals. So far it has won more gold medals in taekwondo than any other sport, with eight.

Mexican athletes have also done well in swimming, picking up 21 medals so far, of which four were gold.

Rowing and shooting have been two other sports in which Mexico has finished well, winning six and five gold medals respectively.

The Mexico delegation at Barranquilla consists of 675 athletes. They have won 38 gold, 39 silver and 31 bronze medals.

There are 21 countries participating in the games, which began July 19 and conclude August 3.

Mexico News Daily

Criminal gang’s extortion triggers formation of self-defense forces in Morelos

By

MND Staff

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July 23, 2018

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A self-defense force guard mans a Morelos checkpoint. — A self-defense force guard at a Morelos checkpoint.

Extortion, the increased presence of organized crime and overwhelmed police have triggered the formation of self-defense forces in four Morelos municipalities.

In May, several members of a transport union in Nepopualco — a small town in the municipality of Totolapan — received telephone calls from a criminal organization known as La Maña demanding 200,000 pesos (US $10,600) for each of two mototaxi stands in the community.

The charges were not quite as onerous in the municipal seat — also called Totolapan — where the same criminal group was allegedly charging 150,000 pesos (US $7,900) for each taxi stand.

Fearful that the practice would become more widespread, residents decided to stand up to the threat the gang posed. On June 6 they set up checkpoints manned by armed and masked civilians on the main roads leading into the municipality.

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“. . . We thought that La Maña would later go to businesses and homes to ask for derecho de piso [extortion payments] and that’s why we decided at a general meeting to form self-defense groups and we said we’re going to defend [our towns] so that those people don’t come in,” a community guard identified only as Mateo told the newspaper El Universal.

“The police did nothing for us. In Totolapan, where the police base is, they couldn’t do anything and there is [only] one patrol car to take care of six towns. That’s not enough, that’s why we saw the need to form [community] guards with the agreement of the municipal assistant,” he added.

“All citizens aged over 18 have to cover a 24-hour shift as a community guard.”

Mateo also said that in the last week of June most of the members of the Totolapan self-defense force met with Michoacán self-defense force founder José Manuel Mireles, who advised them on strategies to defend their territory.

The new force is the first ever formed in the central Mexican state but it wasn’t long before other groups of disgruntled Morelos residents followed suit.

Beyond Totolapan, La Maña had also increased its presence in the municipalities of Tlalnepantla, Tlayacapan and Atlatlahucan, all of which are located in the northeast of the state, bordering both Mexico City and México state.

Residents of at least eight towns in those municipalities have also formed their own self-defense groups, claiming that officers from the state’s Mando Único (Single Command) force deployed in the region are no longer able to effectively combat the rising levels of crime.

Mateo explained that the groups are separate but they support each other if one asks for extra assistance.

The community guard defended the self-defense group members’ carrying of weapons, charging they could be attacked by the criminals against which they are defending their communities.

He also said the force of which he is a member only disarm — as an army general warned them to do — if their communities were afforded military assistance for public security duties.

“If they don’t want us to take care of [security], they should send us soldiers but they don’t want to. They say that we’re outside the law . . . but how do we defend ourselves from these people?” Mateo questioned.

So far, the new strategy appears to have been a success.

Other community guards who spoke to El Universal said that two weeks after they formed their self-defense groups, La Maña members stopped making extortion calls and no longer appear in their towns.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Supervisor of project at school where students died arrested for homicide

By

César Hernández

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July 23, 2018

0

The Mexico City school during rescue efforts last September.

The construction supervisor of a project at a Mexico City school in which 26 people died in the September 19 earthquake has been arrested for homicide.

Police arrested one of the directors responsible for construction, Juan Mario Velarde Gámez, yesterday in Querétaro.

The arrest followed investigations into construction techniques utilized at the Colegio Enrique Rébsamen in Tlalpan, where rescuers worked for days to free victims trapped in the debris, a story that drew international attention.

A wing of the school where an apartment that had been constructed on an upper floor collapsed in the earthquake, killing 19 students and seven adults.

Investigators found the collapse was caused by poor construction of the apartment unit, built by the school’s owner and principal, Mónica García Villegas, for whom an arrest warrant and an Interpol red notice have been issued.

An arrest warrant has also been issued for Juan Apolinar Torales, a second director responsible for construction, or DRO as they are known. Both directors have been accused of helping García illegally build the apartment on top of the school.

Families of those who died are demanding that authorities improve Civil Protection regulations, especially those pertaining to schools.

Source: Milenio (sp), Excélsior (sp)