Cartel clash in Chiapas leaves at least 20 dead according to locals

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January 9, 2024

Chiapas displacements — Several communities in the southern state of Chiapas have been forced from their homes as cartel violence has spread across the region. (Frayba)

A clash last week between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the rival Sinaloa Cartel left at least 20 people dead in a municipality in the mountains of Chiapas, residents reported this week.

However, according to media reports, the number cannot be confirmed because neither the Army nor the National Guard have been able to enter the violence-torn area of Chicomuselo municipality.

The CJNG and bitter rivals the Sinaloa Cartel are battling for control of lucrative drug and human trafficking routes near the Guatemalan border. (Especial/Cuartoscuro)

What is known is that many residents, especially in ejidos (communal properties) like Nueva Morelia and El Limonar, have fled the region over the past few months, due to increased clashes between the two criminal groups.

The conflict is occurring in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains, near the Mexico-Guatemala border, where the groups are fighting for control of human smuggling and drug trafficking routes.

The disputes have led to a wave of forced displacements, disappearances and murders. Several communities have already been taken by one group or the other, with roadblocks and checkpoints set up to restrict people’s movement.

In a letter signed “Civil Society of the People of Chicomuselo,” residents denounced the violence and lack of response from state and security officials. Chicomuselo is a municipal seat that both groups are vying to control.

Civilians are increasingly becoming caught in the crossfire. (Toño Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)

The letter said that around 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 4, members of the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel engaged in a confrontation that “lasted around seven hours, where the population remained in panic and anxiety, taking cover as best they could to protect their lives … Hundreds of families are frightened so much by the violence that they’ve been forced to leave.”

The letter noted that the confrontation in the mining community of Nueva Morelia left “more than 20 people dead,” including two local residents.

“Children and young people [are] trembling with fear and getting sick from living through these traumatic experiences,” the letter added, noting that most people are keeping quiet and families are not claiming their dead out of fear of reprisals.

In one community, El Limonar, “armed people from the CJNG entered to remove [people] from their homes. People fled, asking for shelter in neighboring communities, and others went toward the hills.”

The letter added: “The state has not managed to guarantee security to the people … the Army, the National Guard and the state are not fulfilling their function of guaranteeing peace and security for the people, who have demanded it so many times.”

One resident told La Jornada newspaper that there is a military presence in Frontera Comalapa, “but they don’t intervene at all.”

In some communities, people have marched in protest demanding their safety.

“The atmosphere is very tense,” said one resident, as quoted in the news magazine Proceso. “There is no longer a normal life. … There is no business, only a few stores are open and it’s all very expensive.”

With reports from Proceso and La Jornada

Got 1 min? Ancient Maya funerary urn uncovered during Maya Train work

By

MND Staff

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January 9, 2024

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Urn-CornGod-INAH — Work on section 7 of the Maya Train uncovered another rare artifact dating to the Maya Classic period. (INAH/Cuartoscuro)

Archaeologists conducting salvage work along section 7 of the Maya Train discovered a funerary urn with a carved image of a corn god, as reported by the head of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) Diego Prieto Hernández.

The funerary urn “presents a very interesting image of the corn god emerging from the leaves of a cob,” Prieto said at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s morning press conference on Monday.

A funerary urn depicting the Maya corn god. (INAH/Cuartoscuro)

According to Prieto Hernández, the urn was found near a similar vessel, which may indicate that the vessels were part of an ancient offering. Due to its typology, the clay pot has been identified as a Paaktzatz-style urn, and it contains the human remains.

On the front of the vessel is a small anthropomorphic figure made of pastillage (a decorative technique using pieces of ceramic paste) which alludes to the deity in his representation as an ear of corn in the growth stage.

Archaeologists who helped to recover the urn stated that similar images of the Maya deity have been found in figurines from the island of Jaina, in Campeche.

In addition to the depiction of the corn god, the urn has ornamentation resembling the Mayan symbol “ik,” which represents wind and divine breath. The lid of this urn features an owl, a symbol also found on the second vessel discovered in the area.

In the Classic period of Maya iconography, the owl was regarded as an ill omen and a symbol of war. This is evidenced in the Paaktzatz vessels crafted between 680 and 770 A.D. in the Río Bec region of Campeche.

Prieto said that archaeological work done through Jan. 8 on sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Maya Train has uncovered and protected 40,000 archaeological sites, some 1,000 artifacts, over 200,000 ceramic fragments, and 148 human burials.

In addition, Prieto noted various developments in Quintana Roo related to the Maya Train, like the upcoming opening of the archaeological site of the ancient city of Ichkabal, and the recovery of the ancient site of Oxtankah.

Mexico News Daily

Zócalo public square in Mexico City to be pedestrian-only

By

Cat Rainsford

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January 9, 2024

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Peatonalización Zócalo-1 — Mexico City's Zocaló square will be pedestrianized, Mayor Martí Batres announced on Monday. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)

Mexico City plans to restrict the roads surrounding the Zócalo central square to pedestrians only, to better “allow the appreciation” of the iconic plaza.

In an announcement on Monday, Mexico City Mayor Martí Batres said that the four perimeter roads around the square and sections of three roads that give access to it — 20 de Noviembre, Pino Suárez and 16 de Septiembre — would all be closed to vehicles.

Zocalo lights — The Zocaló often plays host to mass public events and celebrations. (Gobierno de la CDMX)

He said the decision would permit unobstructed pedestrian access to, and enjoyment of, the plaza, encourage sustainable mobility around the city center, and “rescue, dignify and revitalize the use of public space.”

Jesús Esteva, head of the Capital Works and Services Ministry (Sobse), said that a bidding process for the conversion work would begin in February. The project has a budget of 50 million pesos (US $2.95 million).

Esteva said the works would include installing stone paving that could withstand public events. The Zocaló often hosts major parades and live music events.. He added that two lanes would still be usable by emergency vehicles and that the roads would also stay open to cyclists.

In total, the pedestrian-only area will be 12,366 square meters, while these mixed-used areas will cover 6,352 square meters.

“What the Zócalo requires for its operation, as well as the cathedral, which has some events that require the arrival of vehicles, all of that is going to be considered,” Esteva explained.

Mobility Minister Andrés Lajous added that the Mexico City government has also sought public opinion on the pedestrianization plan since Oct. 16 via a special website to gather proposals and comments.

The Zócalo, also known as the Plaza of the Constitution, is the ceremonial heart of Mexico City. Flanked by the National Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the ruins of the Templo Mayor of the Mexica (Aztec) capital of Tenochtitlán, it is used for the capital’s most important public events, from presidential addresses to demonstrations, to national festivities.

With reports from Reforma

Inflation increased more than expected in December

By

MND Staff

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January 9, 2024

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Market prices — Headline and core inflation remain high, another blow to purchasing power. (Cuartoscuro)

Mexico’s annual headline inflation rate rose for a second consecutive month in December to end the year at 4.66%, the national statistics agency INEGI reported Tuesday.

An annual increase of over 10% in the cost of fruit and vegetables was the biggest driver of the increase.

The annual headline rate increased 0.34 percentage points from a 4.32% reading in November. Month-over-month inflation was 0.71%, the highest level in 17 months.

Inflation was expected to tick up in the final month of 2023, but the annual headline rate was slightly higher than anticipated. The consensus forecast of economists polled by both Reuters and Citibanamex was 4.55%.

The Bank of Mexico — which raised its benchmark interest rate to a record high of 11.25% last March and left it unchanged since then — forecast in mid December that the headline rate would average 4.4% in the final quarter of 2023.

After its governing board decided once again to maintain the 11.25% rate, the bank said Dec. 14 that its reference rate “must be maintained at its current level for some time” in order to “achieve an orderly and sustained convergence of headline inflation to the 3% target.”

Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, Bank of Mexico Governor, has indicated that lowering of the benchmark rate will be “gradual” in the continued effort to slow inflation. (Wikimedia Commons)

Despite increases to headline inflation in November and December, the rate at the end of the year was significantly lower than the 7.82% reading at the close of 2022.

The headline rate declined for nine consecutive months between February and October before that streak was broken in November.

Mexico’s core inflation rate, which excludes some volatile food and energy prices, fell for an 11th consecutive month in December to end the year at 5.09%, the lowest level since September 2021. Core inflation was 5.3% in November and 8.35% in December 2022.

Annual inflation data in detail

INEGI data showed that fruit and vegetable prices rose 11.68% compared to December 2022, driving a 5.66% rise in the cost of agricultural products. Prices for meat rose by a much more modest 0.68% in annual terms.

Jason Tuvey, deputy chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, attributed the increase in headline inflation to the “spike in agricultural prices,” noting that the inflation rate for fruit and vegetables hit a two-year high in December.

Andres Abadia, chief Latin America economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that the “main driver” of the increase in headline inflation “was higher prices for non-processed food.”

Onion prices surged over 55% in annual terms in December, while nopales and tomatoes were almost 34% and just under 30% more expensive, respectively.

Vegetables at a market stall — Onion prices spiked 55% annually in December. (Cuartoscuro)

Processed food, beverages and tobacco were 6.25% more expensive in December than a year earlier, while prices for services rose 5.33%. The cost of air travel rose almost 16%, while tourism packages were over 6% more expensive.

The cost of goods in general, which includes processed food, beverages and tobacco, increased 4.89%. The other component of that category – non-food goods – recorded a 3.28% annual increase.

School fees rose 6.6%, while housing was 3.64% more expensive. Energy prices, including those for gasoline and electricity, increased 1.46% in annual terms in the final month of 2023.

The outlook for 2024

The increase in headline in inflation in December represented “a poor end to the year,” according to Abadia.

However, he noted that the general inflation outlook continues to improve “at the margin” and predicted that both headline and core inflation will decline consistently during the coming months.

The Bank of Mexico is forecasting that inflation will decline steadily this year. In its December monetary policy statement, the bank predicted an average headline rate of 4.3% in the first quarter, 4.1% in Q2, 3.8% in Q3 and 3.5% in Q4.

Analysts consider it likely that the bank’s board will make an initial cut to the 11.25% interest rate in the first half of 2024, if not the first quarter.

Bank of Mexico Governor Victoria Rodríguez – “central banker of the year” in the Americas in 2023, according to the British publication The Banker – said late last year that any rate cuts would be “gradual” and that the central bank “would not necessarily be looking at a cycle of continuous reductions.”

With reports from El Financiero, El Economista and Reuters

20 sickened after eating ‘poisoned’ enchiladas in Hidalgo

By

MND Staff

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January 8, 2024

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ambulance — Authorities have been unable to locate the roving vendor who sold the enchiladas. (Protección Civil via Quadratín)

Around 20 people became ill on Sunday after eating enchiladas sold by a roving street vendor in a city in northeastern Hidalgo.

Residents of Huejutla and people from the neighboring state of Veracruz reportedly experienced symptoms such as stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and dizziness after eating enchiladas sold by a woman in the center of the city, including at the bus station.

Many of those who fell ill soon after consuming the enchiladas had to be treated in hospital.

There were varying reports about the number of people who suffered symptoms of food poisoning, but the general consensus was about 20. Children were reportedly among those who became ill.

The Milenio newspaper reported Monday that it’s believed the enchiladas contained a “toxic substance.”

Adela Ramírez of Cerro Azul, Veracruz, told Milenio that her daughter, son-in-law and her two brothers were all in hospital.

“What I was told is that the cause [of their illness] was eating some poisoned enchiladas,” she said.

The director of the Huasteca Regional Hospital in Huejutla said in an interview that four people were being treated there and that a 24-year-old patient was in a “critical state.”

Armando Escudero said that the patients’ symptoms suggested the food poisoning may have been caused by organophosphates.

“Organophosphates are used as insecticides, medications, and nerve agents,” according to Wikipedia.

stretcher being loaded into an ambulance — Multiple people were hospitalized and one patient was reported to be in critical condition after the incident. (Leonardo Herrera/X)

Symptoms of organophosphate poisoning “include increased saliva and tear production, diarrhea, vomiting, small pupils, sweating, muscle tremors, and confusion.”

TV Azteca reported that initial clinical studies indicated that the food poisoning was caused by pesticide contamination of the enchiladas.

According to a report by the El Universal newspaper, authorities attempted to locate the woman who was selling the typical dish but had no luck. TV Azteca reported that nothing is known about the vendor.

Other popular Mexican dishes have been the cause of cases of food poisoning that have sickened a large number of people.

More than 30 people became ill after eating contaminated cochinita pibil — a marinated pork dish — at a market in Seyé, Yucatán, in 2022, while a similar number got sick after consuming bad barbacoa — a dish usually made with mutton or lamb — at a Mother’s Day event in San Sebastián Coatlán, Oaxaca, in 2019.

With reports from Milenio, El Universal, Quadratín and TV Azteca

‘Narco-blockades’ and shootouts follow arrests in Celaya

By

Cat Rainsford

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January 8, 2024

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962446_Ataque Armado Bomberos-4_impreso — Trucks were burned on the highways and fire crews attacked following the arrest of three alleged members of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel. (Diego Costa/Cuartoscuro)

Shootouts and narco-blockades using burning vehicles rocked the city of Celaya, Guanajuato on Sunday, following the arrest of three suspected members of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel (CSRL).

The arrests took place in the Laja-Bajío district on the outskirts of Celaya, during patrols by the Guanajuato Public Security Ministry (SSP). According to a ministry press release, a group of armed men in an SUV opened fire on a routine patrol, sparking a chase. Firearms, drugs and ammunition were also seized during the arrests.

Cartels blocked major roads with burning vehicles. (Dali MX/X)

Although the press release did not name the armed group involved, unofficial reports indicate that detainees included ‘El Monedas,’ a leading member of the CSRL.

Immediately after the arrests, armed clashes broke out in the communities of Santa Rosa de Lima, Pozas and San José de las Maravillas. On the Celaya-Juventino Rosas state highway, armed criminals hijacked civilian vehicles and set at least two on fire, blocking the road, as well as laying spikes to burst car tires.

Over the following hours, several cars, buses and cargo trucks were hijacked across urban Celaya and the surrounding municipalities of Juventino Rosas and Cortazar. Burning vehicles were reported on the road to San José de Guanajuato; the Celaya-Salamanca Pan-American Highway; the Cortazar-Salvatierra Highway; the Cortazar-Jaral del Progreso highway; and the Celaya-Apaseo el Grande section of the Pan-American Highway.

City firefighters attended seven vehicle fires in the communities of Plancarte, San Isidro de Trojes, Crespo 2nd District, López Portillo and Los Mezquites in Celaya, and on the Pan-American Highway. On the corner of Mutualismo and Constituyentes avenues, criminals opened fire on members of the Celaya Fire Department who were rushing to extinguish a blaze, killing firefighter Felipe Jiménez Sánchez.

Firefighter Felipe Jiménez was reportedly shot dead as he attended a burning vehicle in Celaya. (Alejandro Sánchez/X)

Despite the chaos, the SSP insisted on Sunday evening that they had managed to regain control of the situation and reopen the highways. Authorities have also deployed intensive ground and air patrols to reinforce security.

Local media continue to speculate about the identities of the three detainees. Some have claimed that the captured ‘El Monedas’ is the son or brother of José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, alias ‘El Marro,’ who led the CSRL until his arrest in August 2020.

Once a powerful oil-theft gang, the CSRL has steadily weakened over recent years, both before and after the capture of “El Marro.” However, it continues to operate in the Villagrán, Juventino Rosas, Cortazar, Apaseo el Grande and Celaya municipalities of Guanajuato, where its conflict with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) drives high levels of violence.

With reports from El Financiero and Infobae

Best vegan shopping tips from a vegan Mexican chef

By

Montserrat Castro

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January 8, 2024

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anna-pelzer-IGfIGP5ONV0-unsplash — A short, fun list of tips to shop vegan in Mexico/brands to keep an eye out for. (Unsplash)

Following a plant-based diet outside your comfort zone might be difficult. Sofia Toraño, Mexican vegan chef, gave Mexico News Daily her favorite tips for shopping vegan in Mexico. “It’s less complicated if you think about what you can eat, as opposed to what you can’t eat,” is Sofía’s rule.

Remember that pre-Columbian Mexican food was plant-based, with an incredibly rich diversity of plants, grains, seeds, and nuts. Since 2010, the cuisine in the country has been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage to Humanity.

Lentil omelet. (@plantasiacafe/Instagram)

Fungi and vegetables like corn, nopales, and tomatoes can be found in most traditional Mexican cuisine dishes. Some traditional dishes and garnishes that are originally 100% plant-based include:

Most salsas of any color and texture, including mole
Chilaquiles
Rice and beans
Horchata
Nopal salad
Stuffed chiles
Quesadillas with no cheese (as found in Mexico City)

Make the most out of local markets and stores, where you can always find fresh fruits and vegetables of great quality. Grocery shopping in Mexico is extremely accessible and cheap — especially in big cities, where it’s the norm to have a grocery store or market within walking distance from your home. Having these makes vegan shopping much more amiable, according to Sofía.

“When I became a vegan — which happens to most people who switch into a plant-based diet — I encountered a whole world I didn’t know existed. You find more vegetables than you used to eat, and once you start treating them like the main protagonist of your diet, a whole world of possibilities opens up before you, and you make the most out of all the flavors, colors, and textures available in plants,” she reveals.

Mushrooms and other fungi are great for replacing textures and can be cooked in an infinite amount of ways. (@wearelosloosers/Instagram)

Ingredient Staples:

Chickpeas, beans and lentils: Your base. These foods are high in protein, iron, and other minerals.

Fungi: In Mexico, there are around 200 species of edible fungi. Sofia thinks they are the “future” of sustainable nutrition. They need very little dirt and resources to grow and are extremely nutritious, delicious, and versatile. Mushrooms and other fungi are great for replacing textures and can be cooked in an infinite amount of ways (vapor, sealed, boiled, baked, etc). They are also part of Mexico’s pre-Hispanic heritage and a staple in both vegan and non-vegan Mexican cuisine.

Tofu: It can be found anywhere and in all its variety of textures and displays. It’s made out of soy, is high in protein, and is very healthy. Different tofu textures can be used for different things, which comes in useful when using it to replace animal foods.

Nooch (nutritional yeast): Don’t be set off by its name: Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that comes out of different fermented plants, like corn. It has a cheesy quality to it and is a delicious condiment that adds flavor and texture to any dish.

Brands to look out for in your grocery stores:

Tofutti: Great sour cream and cream cheese.
Goodcatch: Pre-prepared vegan seafood packages, such as salmon burgers and fish fingers.
Vio Life & Q Veggie: Great plant-based cheese brands.
Heura: Spanish meat substitutes, such as chicken and sausages made out of soy.

Read labels carefully. Keep in mind that animal products are still used as stabilizers, conservatives, thickeners, etc. in plenty of Mexican processed foods. A lot of the time they are hidden and used in non-intuitive places. For example:

Grenetina, gelatine: a protein extracted from animal bones.
- Substitute: ‘Agar-agar,’ a gelling agent made out of red algae.
Albúmina: a protein that can be found in egg whites and milk and is a word uncommonly used to refer to egg whites in products.

Keep an eye out for our next article on Sofia’s favorite quick vegan recipes, using these ingredients and tips.

If you live in or visit Mexico City, visit her favorite vegan restaurants:

Paxil Seafood: A small street food stand serving vegan seafood. @paxil.plantbasedseafood Colonia Roma Norte.

Plantasia: Plant-based dishes inspired by oriental flavors from Japan, China, Thailand and Indonesia. @plantasiacafe Colonia Roma Norte.

Los Loosers: The first mushroom-forward, plant-based restaurant in Mexico. Since 2011. @wearelosloosers Colonia Roma Norte.

Vegan Ramen Mei: Plant-based ramen. @veganramenmei Condesa.

Miga Vegana: Vegan sourdough bakery. @miga.vegana Roma Sur.

Goys Burgers: Plant-based burgers. Can also be found in Guadalajara. @goysburgers Polanco, Hipódromo Condesa, and Nápoles.

Montserrat Castro Gómez is a freelance writer and translator from Querétaro, México.

6 dead, 13 injured after gunmen open fire at Guerrero cockfight

By

MND Staff

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January 8, 2024

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Pelea de Gallos-3.jpg — The massacre took place during a cockfight in the coastal town of Petatlán.(Diego Simón Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)

Gunmen killed six people and wounded 13 others when they opened fire at a cockfight in Guerrero on Saturday night, state authorities said.

Presumed members of one criminal group attacked alleged members of another at a cockpit in the coastal municipality of Petatlán, according to a statement issued Sunday by the Guerrero Attorney General’s Office (FGE).

Footage of the scene showed the extent of the gruesome massacre. (Screen capture)

The number of fatalities and injuries were revised from an initial report of five deaths and at least 20 people wounded.

Citing initial investigations, the FGE said that presumed members of a criminal group led by a “generator of violence” identified as “El Gavilán” (The Sparrowhawk) fired at members of a crime gang led by “El Ruso de Petatlán” (The Russian of Petatlán).

It said that the two groups are involved in a turf war for control of the Costa Grande region of Guerrero. Reports suggest that the two groups are in fact factions of the same criminal organization.

El Gavilán is Edilberto Bravo Barragán, a former leader of the Knights Templar Cartel who formed a criminal group called Guardia Guerrerense, according to a report by the news outlet Infobae.

Petatlán, on the Guerrero coast between Zihuatanejo and Acapulco, has been the site of recent conflict between cartels. (Soy Zanca)

El Ruso is Oliver Sánchez Coria, identified as Bravo’s brother in law, Infobae said. He was reported as dead in May 2022, apparently as the result of a gunshot wound he received at a clandestine cockfight in Zihuatanejo. However, it was subsequently reported that he wasn’t the man who died.

Citing “unofficial versions” of events, Infobae said that the feud between El Gavilán and El Ruso is related to their desire to gain absolute control over the Guardia Guerrerense, which is reportedly an ally of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The FGE said that an investigation would continue until there is “total clarification” regarding what happened at the Petatlán cockpit and the perpetrators of the crime have been brought to justice.

It has been a violent start to the year in Guerrero, which recorded the seventh highest number of homicides among Mexico’s 32 federal entities in the first 11 months of last year.

At least five people were killed in an attack in the municipality of Heliodoro Castillo last Thursday, while three sisters were murdered in Chilapa on Saturday. Initial reports said that as many as 30 people were killed in Heliodoro Castillo, located in central Guerrero.

With reports from El País, Aristegui Noticias and Infobae

3 would-be political candidates murdered in first week of the year

By

MND Staff

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January 8, 2024

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The faces of three political candidates — David Rey González, Sergio Hueso and Alfredo Giovanni Lezama Barrera were all murdered last week in separate attacks. (Facebook/Gobierno de Cuautla)

Three men who were hoping to stand as candidates in municipal and state elections in June were murdered in separate incidents in three states in the first week of January.

Alfredo Giovanni Lezama Barrera, a councilor in Cuautla, Morelos, who aspired to become a National Action Party (PAN) deputy in the state Congress, was the first would-be political candidate to be murdered in 2024.

The 37-year-old was shot and killed by a lone gunman at a Cuautla gymnasium last Thursday.

His murder preceded the homicides of mayoral aspirants David Rey González, 54, and Sergio Hueso, 35, a day later on Jan. 5.

The Chiapas Attorney General’s Office reported that the former was found dead in Suchiate, a municipality on the southern border with Guatemala.

Rey González, president of a local landowners’ association who aspired to represent the PAN, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) in the Suchiate mayoral election, had evidently been shot.

Sergio Hueso and Samuel García selfie — Sergio Hueso takes a selfie with Nuevo León politician Samuel García at a Citizens Movement rally in late November. (Sergio Hueso/Facebook)

Later on Friday, Hueso was shot dead in Armería, Colima, the municipality where he hoped to stand as the Citizens Movement party candidate in the June 2 mayoral election.

No arrests have been reported in any of the three cases. Another aspiring politician, Ricardo Taja, was murdered in Acapulco, Guerrero, on Dec. 21. He was hoping to represent the ruling Morena party in the lower house of federal Congress.

The murders of the three “pre-candidates” in the first week of the year came around five months before the June 2 elections, which will be the largest in Mexico’s history. Voters will elect over 19,000 people to federal, state and municipal positions.

In terms of homicides, the 2018 elections in which Andrés Manuel López Obrador won a landslide victory in the presidential race were the most violent in Mexican history with 48 candidates murdered. Scores of incumbent politicians were also murdered during the nine-month electoral period.

Writing in the newspaper Criterio Hidalgo, well-known journalist Eduardo Ruiz-Healy said that there is no doubt that “many politicians” and people close to them will be killed during the electoral period leading up to the June 2 elections.

“It remains to be seen whether the number of homicides and non-lethal aggressions will break the current record,” he wrote.

Xóchitl Gálvez, who will represent the PAN-PRI-PRD alliance Strength and Heart for Mexico at the presidential election, weighed in on last week’s murders at an event in Pachuca, Hidalgo, on Sunday.

Xóchitl Gálvez answers questions — Xóchitl Gálvez criticized the response of ruling party politicians to the killings. (Cuartoscuro)

“It’s serious and delicate that three opposition candidates have been murdered in recent days,” she said.

“… I’m going to tell the president that the opposition isn’t his enemy. What we want is a different country, a democratic country [where] it’s okay to think differently,” Gálvez said.

She claimed that her main rival for the presidency, ruling Morena party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, “keeps quiet” and buries her head in the sand “like an ostrich” when “crimes against citizens and candidates occur.”

“She simply maintains that we’re fine, that the people are extremely happy, … when what we see is a bloodbath,” Gálvez said. “It’s a shame because I thought she was a woman with more guts.”

At an event in Mexico City on Sunday, Sheinbaum predicted a “peaceful election,” and said that the federal government is working to “deal with the insecurity problem” and would continue to do so.

Homicides declined in the first 11 months of 2023 compared to the same period of 2022, but murder numbers remained high at over 27,000.

With reports from Radio Fórmula, Proceso, La Jornada and El Universal

How many people have traveled on the Maya Train so far?

By

MND Staff

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January 8, 2024

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Maya train passengers — The Maya Train has served more than 15,000 passengers during the first three weeks of service, although some sections of the railroad are not yet complete. (Tren Maya/X)

The new Maya Train has transported over 15,000 passengers, the majority Mexican nationals, in its first three weeks of service.

According to director Óscar David Lozano Águila, the Palenque to Cancún line has so far made 144 trips, transporting 15,579 people since opening to the public on Dec. 16.

Maya Train tests in Campeche — The Maya Train, one of Mexico’s largest infrastructure projects in years, is finally transporting passengers around the south of the country. (Cuartoscuro)

The 1,554-kilometer-long railroad, which is designed to serve both tourists and residents in the southern states of Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, has been inaugurated in stages. An initial 14 stations went into service on Dec. 16, with eight more stations opening on Dec. 31. The entire railroad and its 34 stations are expected to be operational by Feb. 29.

The round-trip routes with the highest demand are Campeche to Cancún and Campeche to Merida-Teya.

The Maya Train is one of President Andrés Manuel López Óbrador’s most important public works, as his administration seeks to revive passenger train service across the country.

Despite criticism from local groups over its environmental and cultural impact, passenger data reveals that 4,824 tickets were sold to local residents from Dec. 16 to Jan. 5, with 8,368 tickets sold to national tourists. Only 401 international tourist tickets were sold during this time period.

Tren Maya Tsimin K'aa station — Reviews for the new service have been mixed in its first weeks of operation, but President López Obrador has said that glitches are being resolved. (Mara Lezama/X)

Passengers have shared a range of reviews during the Maya Train’s first weeks of operation, celebrating the achievement and lamenting onboard menu mishaps and delays of up to five hours.

During his Friday morning press conference AMLO recognized that his flagship projects are still facing some obstacles to their optimal operation. “We are making sure that the Train, like the Mexicana airplanes, leaves on time, that it arrives on time, that it does not fail in any way,” the president said.

The president also stressed that the units used for the Maya Train are new, so “the technicians are there trying to make sure they don’t fail.”

“Everything will be corrected – that is the thing about starting ahead of time — it gives us time to get things right,” he added.

Once fully operational, the Maya Train expects to serve up to three million passengers annually.

With reports from El Financiero, Aristegui and El Diario