Heavy rain turns Guanajuato streets into raging rivers

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June 13, 2018

The French utility company Engie has begun distributing natural gas in the Bajío region, an area made up of 22 municipalities in the states of Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas.

Among the cities that are covered by the new service are Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Celaya, Salamanca, Irapuato, Silao, León, Villa de Reyes and Lagos de Moreno.

The company already distributes natural gas in México state, Jalisco, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Tampico, Tamaulipas and Querétaro, where it collectively has about 500,000 residential and commercial customers.

The first client to take advantage of the service in its seventh distribution region was dairy producer Productos LDM in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco.

After the plant’s new gas valve was opened, the CEO of Engie México said the company’s expansion plans are progressing well and explained that its goal is to reach one million customers in the coming years.

“. . . This important region of the country offers us more business opportunities,” Fernando Tovar said.

In an interview with Notimex, the company’s distribution director, Álvaro Corona, said plans are well advanced to provide natural gas in the Yucatán capital Mérida and that Campeche, Hidalgo and Colima are also on the list.

Engie has gradually increased its presence since it first started distributing natural gas in Mexico 20 years ago.

It has also diversified its business interests by moving into the renewable energy sector and is currently developing five solar and two wind projects, which are backed by a US $800-million investment. Together they will have the capacity to add more than 925 megawatts of clean energy to the national grid.

Over the past five years, Engie has invested more than US $2 billion in new projects in Mexico.

Apart from its natural gas and renewable interests, the company also operates two power stations with a capacity to generate 345 megawatts of electricity.

Source: El Economista (sp), 20 Minutos (sp)

Official recognition for new turtle species in Puerto Vallarta

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June 13, 2018

The mud turtle found only in Puerto Vallarta.

A small mud turtle first discovered by residents of Puerto Vallarta 20 years ago was recognized as a new species last month, but now it is also considered one of the most threatened freshwater turtle species in the world.

The distinct looking turtle became known in the Jalisco city as casquito de Vallarta, or little Vallarta helmet, due to the shape of its shell.

Residents alerted experts some 20 years ago about the find, but they decided they were nothing more than juvenile specimens of another species.

But five years ago they gave another look at the diminutive turtle, the results of which were published on May 16 in a study entitled A Distinctive New Species of Mud Turtle from Western México in the journal Chelonian Conservation and Biology.

Studies performed on nine turtle specimens, five of them dead, led by a team of scientists from research institutions in the states of Tabasco, Jalisco, Mexico City, Guanajuato and Veracruz found that the turtle indeed belonged to a new species, Kinosternon vogti.

The Vallarta mud turtle, the largest specimens of which are 10 centimeters long, has only been found in a few human-created or human-affected habitats such as small streams and ponds found only around the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. All of the mud turtle’s currently known habitats have been damaged by urban growth.

Of the four known living specimens only one is a female. It was sent along with a male to a reproduction center in Tabasco, while the two other males remain in Puerto Vallarta.

The five turtles found dead have been deposited in a collection at the National Autonomous University of México, where they will be subject to further studies.

The Chelonian Conservation and Biology paper said “an urgent conservation program is necessary as well as explorations in the area to find viable populations of the species.”

The name of the new turtle species pays homage to Richard Vogt, a herpetologist and turtle conservationist who has studied the reptile for 40 years.

Source: Milenio (sp)

4,000 march in Tijuana for student, 15, who disappeared last week

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June 13, 2018

Yesterday's march in Tijuana. el universal

An estimated 4,000 people marched in Tijuana yesterday to demand justice in the case of a 15-year-old girl who disappeared last Friday.

Diana Laura Piggeonountt Gómez hasn’t been seen since she left school. Yesterday, some 4,000 of her schoolmates and teachers joined her relatives and marched on the state Attorney General’s office (PGJE).

The march by teachers and students was organized by senior student Andrea Rincón, who told the newspaper El Universal that even though she didn’t know the missing girl personally, she had to do something: “Violence in Tijuana is at a level where anyone could be the next to disappear.”

After marching from the Lázaro Cárdenas preparatory school, participants proceeded to the headquarters of the state Attorney General, where they were received by the deputy prosecutor for special investigations.

Diana Laura Piggeonountt, missing since Friday.

José María González Martínez pledged that he would stay in close communication with those concerned about the disappearance, and revealed that the investigation so far has led authorities to dismiss human trafficking as a motive.

His office issued an amber alert in the case on Monday after deciding the girl could be at risk due to her age.

Piggeonountt’s case is one of 703 cases of missing persons currently being investigated by the PGJE.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Mexico, US, Canada win joint bid to host World Cup 2026

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June 13, 2018

Mexican soccer fans are gearing up for the big event.

Mexico, the United States and Canada will jointly host the 2026 World Cup, it was announced today by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body.

The three North American countries’ joint bid — known as United 2026 — beat Morocco’s by a margin of 69 votes, 134 to 65.

The result means that Mexico will become the first country to host three World Cups after previously staging the 1970 and 1986 editions of the tournament.

But in 2026, Mexico and Canada will play second fiddle to the United States, hosting just 10 games each while their neighbor will take the lion’s share of the matches, hosting 60 including the final.

The 23rd World Cup will be the first time that 48 countries take part in the planet’s most watched sporting event, with the teams initially divided into 16 groups of three. It will also be the first time that three different countries jointly host the tournament.

The matches will be held at 16 venues across the three countries. Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey are among 23 cities vying to host them.

The United 2026 bid plan called for each of the three countries to host one match each on the first day of the tournament with the “main” opening march to be held either in Mexico City or Los Angeles.

That means the capital’s iconic stadium, Estadio Azteca, is almost certain to feature on day one and become the only arena in the world to host matches in three different world cups.

The North American bid received a four out of five-rating compared to 2.7 for Morocco but another factor that likely helped to sway the more than 200 national football federations that were eligible to vote was that it pledged to generate a profit of US $11 billion for FIFA, more than double the US $5 billion Morocco said it could generate.

The president of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF), Decio de María, said that hosting the 2026 event would be “a great privilege and honor” while President Enrique Peña Nieto described news of the successful bid as “magnificent” and congratulated the FMF for the achievement.

“. . . FIFA’s decision is an acknowledgement to the three countries and a vote of confidence in Mexico’s organizational capabilities, the quality of infrastructure and the services Mexico offers . . .” Peña Nieto said.

While the tournament is still eight years away, football fans around the world don’t have long to wait until this year’s edition of the tournament gets under way in Russian.

The host nation will go up against Saudi Arabia in the opening encounter in Moscow tomorrow.

Mexico is grouped with Germany, Sweden and South Korea in the opening round and will need to finish either first or second to proceed to the knockout stages.

The opening match for the team nicknamed El Tri because of its tricolored uniform will be against defending champions Germany at 10:00am Sunday in the Russian capital.

Mexico has made it out of the group stage at each of the past six World Cups only to exit the tournament in the round of 16, the first knockout stage.

The last time El Tri made it through to the elusive “quinto partido” or fifth match in a World Cup was at home in 1986 when it lost to West Germany in a penalty shootout.

FIFA has estimated that 45,000 Mexicans will travel to Russia for the tournament.

Source: Milenio (sp), Cancha (sp), ESPN (en)

Remains of missing miners found in Chihuahua

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June 13, 2018

Environmental inspectors at the site of the Chihuahua mine spill.

The search continues for five miners who disappeared after a dam burst over a week ago at a mine in Urique, Chihuahua, although some remains have been found.

The search for the four men and a woman is being conducted by more than 150 people coordinated by the state Civil Protection office.

Several body parts have been found along a 10-kilometer stretch in which the contents of the mineral tailings dam spilled on June 4 at the Cieneguita gold and silver mine operated by Río Tinto, sweeping away seven miners and machinery.

The state Attorney General’s office said DNA analysis is under way to identify the remains.

The bodies of two other miners were recovered last week.

The environmental protection agency, Profepa, said yesterday the spill contained no heavy metals and the contents were not dangerous.

Inspectors have determined that 249,000 cubic meters of mineral tailings and 190,000 cubic meters of construction materials that formed the collapsed dam were released by the spill.

Source: Reforma (sp)

Caught in crossfire: student, 14, killed by stray bullet

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June 13, 2018

Gunfire drill at a school in Tamaulipas.

A 14-year-old student in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, who was set to graduate from secondary school was killed Monday while at school, the victim of a stray bullet.

The students were gathered outside during the late afternoon but when gunshots were heard nearby they ran for their classrooms. Jesús Antonio didn’t make it; he was struck in the back and died in his girlfriend’s arms.

Tamaulipas officials said the shooting occurred at about the same time that a state police patrol vehicle was attacked by gunmen aboard two SUVs. A chase ensued in the streets of the Cumbres neighborhood in which the attackers fired more shots before fleeing.

The federal Secretariat of Education (SEP) expressed its regret over the incident and offered to reinforce security measures at the school and provide medical and psychological counseling.

Roadblocks, car chases and gunfire are common in the city, where many reports describe the violence as unstoppable.

Education authorities have taken steps to prevent injury by organizing gunfire drills in many schools in the state. Many began doing so after five students were wounded in a direct attack on a school by armed civilians in Ciudad Victoria in April.

The students were gathered outside the main entrance to the preparatory school when the civilians opened fire.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Debate No. 3: few answers or proposals amid threats and charges

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June 13, 2018

Candidates Anaya, López Obrador, Meade and Rodríguez at last night's debate.

Threats and accusations dominated last night’s third and final presidential debate in Mérida, Yucatán, in which candidates offered few detailed policy proposals and concrete answers.

Second-place candidate Ricardo Anaya used at least three of his speaking opportunities to probe Andrés Manuel López Obrador about his alleged relationship with a businessman who Anaya charged was awarded no-bid contracts worth more than 170 million pesos (US $8.2 million at today’s exchange rate) during his term as mayor of Mexico City from 2000 to 2005.

“Andrés Manuel, you’ve turned into what you criticized so much. Like those of the PRI [Institutional Revolutionary Party], you now have your favorite contractors,” he said.

After López Obrador denied the accusation, Anaya held up a placard directing viewers to a website where he said they could see evidence of his claims. But the website was down during the debate and officials from his campaign later claimed that it had likely suffered a cyber-attack.

Anaya also accused the campaign frontrunner of having made a pact of impunity with President Enrique Peña Nieto, repeating a claim that both he and his campaign boss have made in recent days.

“I haven’t seen him in six years,” López Obrador responded before accusing his adversary of having met with the president himself.

However, Anaya said that if he becomes president he will ensure that a corruption investigation into Peña Nieto goes ahead and charged that his adherence to that position was the catalyst for the money laundering accusations leveled against him.

“I’ve been the target of a brutal campaign of attacks, lies and slurs because I dared to say that when I am president of Mexico there will be an autonomous Attorney General’s office to investigate President Enrique Peña Nieto,” Anaya said.

Early in the debate, ruling party candidate José Antonio Meade highlighted the probe into the money laundering scheme that Anaya allegedly benefited from, saying that he is the only candidate under investigation for any wrongdoing.

Just 15 minutes before the debate started, a new video was released which supposedly provides additional evidence of the candidate’s involvement in the scheme.

In turn, Anaya hit back at Meade, charging that he has evidence in his possession which links him to the corruption scandal involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and asserting that he too would face justice alongside Peña Nieto.

But the former finance secretary deflected the attack on to López Obrador by calling into question links that one of his cabinet picks allegedly has to the Brazilian firm, which has been embroiled in scandals in several Latin American countries.

“On the subject of Odebrecht, the question shouldn’t be for me, Ricardo. It should be for Andrés Manuel because Odebrecht’s partner in Mexico is the family of [Javier] Jiménez Espriú, who Andrés Manuel put forward as his secretary of communications and transportation,” Meade said.

He also attacked López Obrador’s economic record when he was Mexico City mayor, charging that the number of jobs created during his administration was much lower than that of his predecessor and successor.

Meade also held up a mock-up of a DVD cover with the title The Great Depression: Mexico 2018-2024, which featured a photo of the third-time candidate.

“It’s a movie that you’re not going to see because Andrés Manuel is going to lose again,” Meade said.

López Obrador brushed off most of the repeated attacks on him but used one of his allocated rebuttals to urge his main rivals to compose themselves, while also highlighting his commanding lead in the polls.

“What fault do I have that you [Anaya and Meade] are tied down at the bottom [of the polls] and you think that here, in the debate, you’re going to make up the 30 points that I lead by. Calm down!”

Independent candidate Jaime “El Bronco” Rodríguez Calderón, meanwhile, added some of his trademark humor amid the clashes.

“I have fun with you [the other candidates]. Now [Anaya] give him [López Obrador] a kiss. Mexico needs the unity of everyone . . .” he said.

The candidates did, at times, focus on the debate’s central topics: economic growth, poverty, health, education and technology.

On the first issue, López Obrador said that he would attempt to maintain the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) but added that a termination of the treaty “cannot be fatal for Mexicans [because] our country has a lot of natural resources, a lot of wealth.”

However, he also said he wanted to focus on strengthening Mexico’s domestic market and argued that that “Mexico can produce what it consumes.”

Anaya said that under a government he leads “everyone that earns less than 10,000 pesos per month [US $485] will not pay taxes.” He also said he will move to introduce a universal basic income.

Meade claimed that Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) could be increased if salary discrepancies between men and women are closed, while Rodríguez charged that savings could be made by shrinking the size of government.

He also said that “there are a lot of lazy people in this country who are receiving government aid.”

The moderators repeatedly pushed the candidates to detail exactly where they would get the resources needed to fund their promises but their answers were light on specific detail.

López Obrador insisted that the money would come from combating corruption, charging that 500 billion pesos (US $24.2 billion) are lost annually to the scourge. Another 300 billion pesos would come from an austerity plan, he said.

Meade only said that the money for his proposals would come from tax efficiency, while Anaya cited “less expenditure and more investment.”

El Bronco said that savings would come from getting rid of all the lazy people in the government.

Mexicans will go to the polls on July 1 to elect not just a new president but also to replace the federal Congress and to fill thousands of municipal and state-level positions.

Opinion polls show López Obrador with a large lead over the other candidates for president while Spanish newspaper El País said last week that there is a 92% probability that he will become Mexico’s next leader.

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

Hurricane Bud downgraded; tropical storm watch for southern Baja

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June 13, 2018

A tropical storm watch is in effect for southern Baja California Sur, including Cabo San Lucas and La Paz, after Hurricane Bud weakened early this morning.

Mexican weather officials are predicting wind gusts of up to 50-70 kilometers per hour and waves two to three meters high in Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit.

The national Civil Protection office warned that rainfall accumulations could be as much as 400 millimeters by the weekend in some areas.

Officials in Guerrero say Hurricane Bud caused havoc in five municipalities, leaving buildings damaged and affecting more than 120 families. Damage was also reported in Oaxaca.

The United States National Hurricane Center said at 10:00am that Bud was situated about 405 kilometers south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas and moving slowly toward the north-northwest.

Maximum sustained winds were 100 kilometers per hour.

The storm is forecast to reach southern Baja California Sur late Thursday or Thursday night.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Drug lord who waged bloody war for cartel control gets 49 years

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June 12, 2018