Michoacán biogas firm turns to sargassum as new source, plans plant in Quintana Roo

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September 5, 2022

Nopalimex sees the sargassum seaweed that plagues Caribbean coasts as an abundant source material for making biogas. Nopalimex

A Michoacán company that is already using the nopal, or prickly pear cactus, to produce biogas is now planning to do the same with sargassum, a genus of seaweed that washes up on Caribbean coast beaches in large quantities.

Nopalimex, a Zitácuaro-based firm that in 2019 opened Mexico’s first nopal biogas plant, has already proved that sargassum can be converted into biogas and is now seeking a patent for its process. It is also preparing to open a plant in Quintana Roo, the state most affected by the seaweed during the annual sargassum season.

In an interview with the Milenio newspaper, Nopalimex’s technical director said that trials in 2019 demonstrated that raw biogas with a methane content of up to 72% can be produced from sargassum.

“We found that the [methane] content … is very acceptable, … which makes [sargassum biogas] ideal for energy generation,” said Miguel Aké Madera, an electrical engineer.

He said that biogas obtained from both sargassum and nopal has a methane content in the 64-72% range, whereas that obtained from avocado waste is in the 64-79% range. Another Michoacán-based company partly owned by Nopalimex’s owner produces biogas from avocado seeds and skins.

Aké explained that biogas is obtained from sargassum via anaerobic digestion. After the seaweed is cleaned of sand and salt it is fed into a hermetically sealed biodigester, where the biogas is produced via a process in which microorganisms break down the sargassum in the absence of oxygen. The gas is produced in a period of three to four weeks, Aké explained.

With its 64-72% methane content, the raw biogas “can be used directly in boilers, in hotel boilers for example,” he said.

To generate electricity from the gas, “you have to clean it in such a way that the methane content is at least 75% so that it doesn’t damage the motor of the electrical generator,” Aké added.

To use sargassum biogas as vehicle fuel, an additional cleaning process is needed in order to increase the methane content to 96% or 97%, he said. “Hydrogen sulfide disappears completely and a 1% content of carbon dioxide and other particles such as hydrogen and oxygen remains, but they’re not contaminating elements,” Aké said.

He said that 100 cubic meters of biogas can be produced from 1 tonne of sargassum, which has also been used to make bricks and paper.

In the Quintana Roo municipality of Felipe Carillo Puerto, Nopalimex intends to install a biodigester into which 150 tonnes of sargassum per day will be fed, Aké said. “It will yield 15,000 cubic meters [of biogas] per day,” he said.

Aké said that Nopalimex already has a site where it intends to install its sargassum processing plant but will wait to hold talks with the new Quintana Roo government – which takes office later this month – before moving ahead with the project.

Biodigesters work by sealing organic material in a closed chamber. As bacteria and time break the material down, methane gas is produced, then funneled from the main chamber into collection tanks (pictured: an Israeli biodigester). Alex Marshall CC BY-SA 2.5

The engineer predicted that sargassum biogas can be produced for just 3 pesos per cubic meter, a cost that takes the expense of collecting and transporting the seaweed into account.

“LP gas costs about 13 pesos per liter so there is a big difference,” Aké said, adding that sargassum gas could be sold to hotels at a good price. “But what I see as most important is the environmental benefit this [gas] will bring,” he said.

Aké doesn’t envisage that the supply of sargassum will be a problem considering the large quantities that have washed up on Quintana Roo beaches in the past months – and in recent years. He said that collecting sargassum and using it to produce biogas will help to alleviate an environmental problem given that the seaweed contains heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic.

One person eagerly awaiting Nopalimex’s commencement of operations in Quintana Roo is Arturo Tapia, owner of a company that converts vehicles’ engines so that they can run on natural gas and biogas.

Tapia, owner of Kawil Energéticos and an investor in Nopalimex’s Quintana Roo project, said that sargassum biogas plants could eventually be built in other municipalities in the Caribbean coast state. He explained that his company can convert vehicles to allow them to run on LP gas or biogas at a cost of about 30,000 to 38,000 pesos (US $1,500 to $1,900).

“We have the capacity to convert all the [tourism-oriented] vehicles in the hotel zone,” Tapia said. “And we [will] have the capacity to supply them with [sargassum] biogas,” he said.

With reports from Milenio

Ambassador Salazar: invest in security to create prosperity

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MND Staff

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September 5, 2022

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US Ambassador Ken Salazar, left, with Zacatecas governor David Monreal, center — The meeting between U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar, left, and Zacatecas Governor David Monreal, center, had light moments, but Salazar stressed the importance of a secure Mexico to promote foreign investment.

United States Ambassador Ken Salazar has emphasized once again that security is a prerequisite for prosperity.

“Without security, there can be no prosperity, and investment wanes. Investing in security and justice fosters investments and creates jobs,” he wrote on Twitter during a visit to Zacatecas on Saturday.

In the same post, Salazar acknowledged that the northern state was recently added to the United States Department of State’s “do not travel” list due to increased crime.

On Saturday, Salazar met with Zacatecas Governor David Monreal and other officials in the state capital. “We reaffirmed our commitment to our shared security goals here with Governor @DavidMonrealA,” he said in another Twitter post.

night of violence August 26, 2022 Fresnillo, Zacatecas — Fresnillo, Zacatecas, was one of the latest cities in Mexico to erupt in narco violence.

“Zacatecas is a priority state under the binational Bicentennial Framework. We are supporting corrections facilities, forensics labs, and rule of law programs in the state, with respect for Mexico’s sovereignty, to help reduce violence and foster prosperity.”

The ambassador shared a virtual flyer that said that the United States in Zacatecas has “supported reaccreditation for three prisons, with a fourth in process” and that it has “assisted with accreditation for six forensic laboratories under international standards.”

The flyer also said that the United States has “supported international accreditation for police academy and police” and “delivered driving simulator and emergency response trainings.”

In addition, the U.S. has “supported certification for 21 state prosecutors to standardize performance” and “completed diagnostics to make recommendations for attorney general procedures.”

US Ambassador Ken Salazar with Zacatecas Governor David Monreal in Zacatecas city — As part of his visit, Governor Monreal took Ambassador Salazar on a tour of Zacatecas city.

Salazar told a press conference that Zacatecas – currently Mexico’s most violent state in terms of homicides per capita – is a “jewel of the world that everyone wants … to visit.”

The safer it is, the more people will come to visit “this great state,” he said. “… When there is insecurity, investment cools off,” Salazar said, repeating an assertion he made last month after outbreaks of cartel-related violence in Jalisco, Guanajuato, Chihuahua and Baja California.

The ambassador conceded that the United States is partly responsible for the high levels of violence in Mexico due to its citizens’ consumption of illicit drugs and the smuggling of weapons into the country from the U.S.

His admission came after Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard insinuated last Tuesday that the U.S. hasn’t done enough to help reduce violence in Mexico because large numbers of firearms continue to flow southward. It also followed Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez’s portrayal of Mexico as an innocent victim of drug-related violence during an address at a United Nations event in New York on Thursday.

Mexico's Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez, center left — At a UN meeting of international police chiefs, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, center left, blamed the U.S. for easy access to guns by the nation’s cartels and U.S. citizens’ drug consumption for Mexico’s insecurity problems. Rosa Icela Rodríguez/Twitter

Salazar also said that the United States would provide additional monetary resources to help Mexico fight criminal organizations in Zacatecas, where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel are involved in a turf war.

“[We’re already providing] more than US $15 million for training, equipment [and] other things … here in Zacatecas [but] we want to do more and we want to do it with respect for the sovereignty of the Mexican state, of Zacatecas and respect for the federal government, there will be no surprises here about what we’re doing,” he said.

On Sunday, the ambassador was in the neighboring state of Durango, where he met with Governor José Rosas Aispuro.

“Security cooperation can unleash the huge economic potential of the state of Durango under the USMCA and help it capitalize on nearshoring opportunities to increase jobs in Durango,” Salazar wrote on Twitter, referring to the free trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

With reports from Milenio

VivaAerobus to install operating base in Mérida; announces 3 new routes

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MND Staff

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September 5, 2022

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Viva Aerobus plane — This will be the Mexican airline's sixth base throughout the country. deposit photos

Starting in December, the Mérida International Airport will become a sixth home base for Viva Aerobus, the airline announced.

The budget Mexican airline also unveiled two new routes in Mérida: one with Querétaro city, starting December 16 and one with León, Guanajuato, starting two days later.

That’s on top of an already announced Toluca, México state, route to and from Mérida starting September 23.

In utilizing the Mérida airport (MID) as an operating base, Viva Aerobus will keep its aircraft there overnight, and members of its base crews and engineering staff will live nearby.

Viva Aerobus announces operations base in Merida, Mexico — The announcement of the airline’s move involved its director, Juan Carlos Zuazua and Yucatán Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal, second and third from left. Viva Aerobus/Twitter

It’s expected that Mérida will gain additional new routes going forward.

“We see great potential in Mérida, not just in tourism but also in the growing industrial sector, so it makes sense for us to make this move,” said director Juan Carlos Zuazua.

“We will be creating around 300 sources of employment among crew members, maintenance technicians and airport personnel. We see good market opportunities in the city, where we have the confidence and preference of passengers.”

Viva Aerobus launched in 2006 with three aircraft at its hub at the Monterrey International Airport in Nuevo Léon. Since then, Cancún, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Tijuana have been added as home bases. VivaAerobus’ fleet has 62 aircraft.

“Adding Mérida as our sixth base of operations will not only help us meet our growth goals,” Zuazua said. “It will also boost tourism and economic development in the region.”

From January to July 2022, traffic to and from the Mérida airport increased by 52%, by more than 595,000 passengers in comparison to the same period in 2021. The airline currently flies seven routes into and out of MID.

Volaris and Transportes Aéreos Guatemaltecos (TAG) airlines also are continuing to expand their passenger service to Mérida, the ninth busiest airport in Mexico.

“Mérida continues to grow in importance both at the national and international level, and this reality is reflected in increasing investment in the entire state,” said Yucatán Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal, who attended last week’s announcement along with other dignitaries.

Mexico City International Airport (AICM) and Cancún International Airport hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots for the nation’s busiest airports.

Viva Aerobus serves 37 domestic destinations and international destinations in Colombia, Cuba and the United States, according to FlightConnections.com. Last week, the airline launched three new routes from Mexico City’s new Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA): Puerto Escondido, Acapulco and Oaxaca.

That gives the new Mexico City airport around 132 weekly flights, excluding cargo flights.

In the Mexico City area alone, Viva Aerobus already operates a total of 511 weekly flights from the Mexico City International Airport AICM and the Felipe Angeles International Airport. It has plans to add routes from the region’s third airport, Toluca International Airport, in the fall.

However, plans to add seven new routes to and from the United States have been shelved because Mexico has been downgraded to Category 2 for air safety. Viva officials said they do not know if and when Category 1 will be restored.

With reports from El Universal, Simple Flying and Yucatan Magazine

Remembering S19, the devastating 2017 earthquake that changed Mexico City lives

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Leigh Thelmadatter

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September 3, 2022

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2017 earthquake in Mexico City — After S19, buildings in the city that only moments before had seemed completely sturdy looked like they'd been bombed. Wikimedia Commons

No stranger to dark humor, Mexico City residents have dubbed September as “earthquake season” because three of the most recent destructive earthquakes have occurred during this month. This article is about one of them.

My first experience with tremors in the nation’s capital was having my closet doors rattle in the middle of the night. I had to ask in the morning if there had been an earthquake. With a positive answer, I dismissed earthquakes as no big deal.

Idiot.

There had been a few good rattles in the years (and even weeks) before, but nothing like S19 — how the Puebla-centered earthquake in 2017 is called here in Mexico City. For those of you not here at the time, it was the strongest earthquake to hit Mexico City, Puebla and Morelos since the infamous 1985 temblor.

former President Enrique Pena Nieto viewing 2017 earthquake damage in Morelos — Then-president Enrique Peña Nieto touring the damage in Jojutla, Morelos. Almost ignored by the national press, southern Morelos was extremely hard-hit. Presidencia

Ironically, these two earthquakes came 32 years apart, almost to the hour. My husband Alex experienced both and says that they felt equally strong to him. S19 was “only” a 7.1 compared to 1985’s 8.0, but the epicenter was much closer to Mexico City. Fortunately, S19 did not do nearly as much damage as 1985 in the capital because of improvements in building codes, but it caused significant destruction and death.

Previous minor rumbles do not prepare you for ones like these. Monica Rix Paxson was living in Cuernavaca, Morelos, at the time, and when the quake started “… we were having drinks, and when things started shaking, we grabbed the bottle and continued the libations outside.”

In earthquakes like this, the ground, walls and ceiling shake and/or move in waves, shattering perceptions of safety and permanence. After S19, buildings that only moments before were homes and workplaces looked like bombs had hit them.

You cannot experience a quake of that magnitude and not be affected by it. In the five years since, everyone who experienced S19 has vivid memories. The folks I interviewed all mentioned that the shaking seemed to go on forever.

rubble from 2017 earthquake in Mexico City — A pile of rubble that had been pedestrian bridges at the Tec de Monterrey educational institution. Arturo Luna

Obviously, many Mexicans were affected by the event, but foreigners were also caught up in it, especially in Mexico City where people from Spain, Panama, Paraguay, Colombia, Guatemala, China and France died. The neighborhoods of Roma and Condesa, where many foreigners live, were hit hard.

Interestingly, Mexican accounts from the days after talk about foreigners participating in the many community-led efforts in rescuing people, collecting food and other supplies and getting accurate news out in English and other languages. Bloggers like Oaxaca-based Shannon Sheppard and other writers described their experiences and appealed for help for those affected, even if the topic was far from their usual niche. Their efforts not only benefited Mexico City but all the affected states.

S19 did not devastate the economies of those neighborhoods nor those of Mexico City’s historic center like the 1985 earthquake did. Most of us who escaped with minimal consequences realize the bullets we dodged as we heard about those less fortunate. Those bullets ranged from the widely reported deaths of dozens of children at Colegio Enrique Rébsamen to the death of my friend’s dog, who was painfully killed after a hive of agitated Africanized bees found him.

The choice afterward is whether to stay or leave.

Casa de Alfenique in Puebla, Mexico needs earthquake repairs — Puebla’s Casa de Alfeñique stayed like this for many months after the quake. Historic buildings like this are expensive and difficult to repair because few are qualified to do the specialized work. Luis Alvaz

Those who lose their homes don’t have much choice, at least not immediately. In hard-hit areas, many residential and other buildings are still not repaired or rebuilt today since few people have earthquake insurance (it’s expensive) and often government-backed mortgages are simply forgiven instead of providing the mortgage holders with money to rebuild.

Those who stay often do so because of community. They both help and receive help.

Melissa Ferrin was at her son’s school in Oaxaca when the earthquake struck, helping teachers get students out and keeping them calm. Paxson notes that when her local fonda (family restaurant) reopened weeks later, throngs of people came to eat as a sign of support.

Others find that they can no longer live in a place that shakes, especially with aftershocks that bring up the initial trauma for weeks, months and even years afterward. Says Sheppard, “You never get used to it. You never take it in stride since you never know when that stride will be broken as the ground begins shifting beneath your feet.”

1985 Mexico CIty earthquake damage — The 2017 earthquake occurred on the same day of September as the city’s infamous 1985 earthquake. Internet

Some foreigners just simply decide to leave Mexico altogether, such as graphic artist Warren Crawford, who returned to England. As much as he loves Mexico, the post-earthquake anxiety was too much. Others just go somewhere a little more solid. Well-known food blogger Cristina Potters decided to return to her traditional base of Morelia, Michoacán, which shakes, but nowhere as much as Mexico City.

Yes, I was living in Mexico City on September 19, 2017. I’m still here, but my life is quite different than it was five years ago.

On that day, I was working as a teacher at the Tec de Monterrey school. Well, at that moment, I was actually “playing hooky” at the Costco across the street. Lucky for me. I remember waves under my feet, stuff flying off the shelves and Costco parking lot lights swaying, but, oddly, not noise.

There had to have been a roar, of course. The pedestrian bridges linking three classroom buildings almost right next to me collapsed completely, and five students died among their ruins. The campus was devastated.

It took three to four hours for my husband to get to me from his work, only a few kilometers away. Then we started another hours-long trek for home, not knowing if it would be there. Miraculously, my building took everything like a trooper despite being close to damage-prone Roma and Centro; all animals accounted for and only a few things were broken.

The consequences came months after. There was no way to rebuild the entire Tec de Monterrey campus and keep everyone on, even with Mexico’s employee-favoring labor laws. It took eight to nine months, but I was let go.

But it worked out for the best: my severance paid off my mortgage, my book got published and I now write for Mexico News Daily.

Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 18 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.

Girls in pants, boys in skirts, blue hair; seriously, what’s the fuss?

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Sarah DeVries

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September 3, 2022

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young student with blue hair — This young student's hair color doesn't impede his ability to learn.

The new school year is upon us, and that means one thing (fine, several things, but also this one): it’s time to argue about school uniforms!

In addition to uniforms, I’ve noticed an uptick this year in discussions regarding how students can wear their hair. For example, Mexico’s government agency the National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination (Conapred) noted in a press release on August 19 — just a few days after high schoolers universally returned to in-person classes — that during Mexico’s two years of distance learning due to COVID-19, many students had suddenly had a lot more freedom to wear their hair how they wanted and dress how they wanted while attending school.

Suddenly, it added, with the return of students of all ages (primary school to university) returning to school campuses en masse, the number of kids being denied entry to their schools for reasons like having long hair (boys), or hair dyed unacceptable colors had shot up. In fact, since some schools in Mexico started bringing back kids to in-person classes in January, the agency has to date recorded 487 cases in 2022 of students being denied entry for these two reasons.

At my daughter’s school (disclaimer: it’s a hippie private school), I’ve seen almost as many boys as girls with long hair and a few with fun hair colors like green and pink. The only rule regarding hair is that it needs to be pulled back; if there’s one thing we’re against, it’s lice, people!

Needless to say, it’s a fashionable, gel-filled place.

Anyway! Back to the uniforms. There’s been a lot of talk lately in Mexico about children’s rights to express themselves in terms of how they dress and generally decorate themselves, with the latest argument regarding uniforms from Veracruz Deputy Gonzalo Durán Chincoya, a lawmaker who identifies as nonbinary.

Durán says that schools should adopt gender-neutral uniform policies because “students should be able to dress in line with the free development of their personalities.”

I won’t lie, I’m not always sure what to think about the gender panorama before us and what it means. I’m not even totally sure how big or intense of a discussion it really is, as social media has a tendency to amplify everything, making issues online Very Big (and usually angry) Deals while in the real world, they could very well be minor issues that most people feel fairly relaxed about.

But honestly, I’m often generally confused by it. Durán … we would say “themself” in English, right? Durán themself, as well as many other self-identifying nonbinary people I have met, seems to present very clearly as someone on one specific end of the “gender binary.” This is fine — I try to follow a clearly defined “you do you” policy — I’m just confused by it.

Because what does it mean to identify as nonbinary, then? (While writing this, actually, my sister passed me this helpful guide regarding terms.)

I suppose my bigger question, actually, is why is it so important for some people to identify as neither a man nor a woman rather than, as I think the feminist movement tried to help us do, simply expand what it means to be a biological man or a woman to encompass a vast expanse of diversity?

If anything, it’s added yet another layer of complexity to our already overwhelmingly complex world during a time when nuance is not always possible in the social media-sized sound bites with which so many of us typically communicate.

And I’m not down for hurting anyone’s feelings or denying anyone’s conclusion regarding who they are, but my goodness; this world is a lot to keep track of, and it seems that all of us are on edge and extra touchy about things. I find myself both terrified of accidentally insulting or upsetting someone and also a little resentful that there’s now yet another way for me, as a person who admittedly frets extensively when she realizes she’s upset someone, to unwittingly make people really, really mad.

But while I find myself a little bit confused by Deputy Durán’s path to the “gender neutral uniforms” (which seems tailor-made to rile up far-right types against what is actually a very reasonable proposition), I’ve arrived to their same conclusion that gender-neutral uniforms would be preferable.

My own path there is slightly different and mostly has to do with the long tradition in Mexico and elsewhere of imposing skirts on girls. They’re not great for P.E., after all, and lend themselves to both accidental exposure and likely violations (often by people claiming, “It’s just a joke, geez!”).

As someone who’s had unwelcome hands reach up her own skirt on the street, I’m all for not obliging anyone, especially not teenagers, to wear them.

So, by all means, let the kids dress how they want without us imposing gender-specific styles onto them (I mean, reasonably; bikinis or other overtly sexualized outfits in school might be a little distracting). But blue hair, girls in pants and boys in skirts aren’t going to hurt anyone — go wild, kids!

In the end, they’re going to find ways to make any uniform their own, which is what kids everywhere do. The world is becoming more theirs anyway; there’s no use in trying to stop the waves of new generations’ values.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sdevrieswritingandtranslating.com and her Patreon page.

Achieve perfect poached eggs every time

By

Janet Blaser

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September 3, 2022

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Put away the vinegar. Forget about plastic wrap and special pans.

You can make perfect poached eggs — huevos poché in Spanish — every time, and I’m going to tell you how. It’s not as hard as you think once you understand what it is you’re trying to do; that was the “aha!” moment for me.

Here’s the secret: you want to poach the eggs, not boil them. “Poaching” means the water is gently simmering at a “constant and moderate temperature.” If you’re a stickler for detail, that means between 160 F–180 F (71 C–82 C). If the water is boiling, the eggs will have a hard (if not impossible) time staying together. Stringy white shreds will go bubbling around the pan as the egg tumbles in the too-hot water.

Simple but delicious: poached egg on toast.

Tip 2: you want to crack the eggs into small bowls or ramekins before carefully sliding them into the simmering water in one fluid pour.

Is this an unnecessary pain in the neck? Not really. Consider this step an essential part of making beautifully poached eggs. Why? Cracking directly into the water allows the egg whites to fan out wildly from the yolk — not the look you’re going for. There’s also a high probability the yolk will sink to the bottom of the pan, where it will either stick to the hot surface or cook too hard, too fast.

And finally, the yolk could break, ruining the possibility of the softly delicious egg you’re trying to make. Think of this as a small step that makes a big difference.

You also want the freshest eggs you can find. If you have a source, huevos del rancho will probably be the best; ask at your local mercado if there’s someone who sells this type of egg from free-range chickens. Otherwise, just get the freshest you can; and brown eggs have more flavor. Yolks should be dark orangey-yellow and round up from the white.

Finally, you should use a timer: two minutes for soft poached eggs, up to four minutes for more firm. Can you wing it? Yes. Will your eggs be perfectly poached? Maybe.

One of the first columns I wrote for Mexico News Daily was about eggs, and I included one of my favorite recipes, huevos ahogados. It‘s basically eggs poached in warm salsa Mexicana.

The directions call for dropping the eggs into the boiling broth, which works in that case because there are so many other ingredients (onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, cilantro) that kind of protect the eggs from the boiling motion of the liquid.

Whether you like them British-style, on toast with salt and pepper or as the best part of classic Eggs Benedict, poached eggs are delicious and can make the simplest breakfast feel extra-special.

Perfect Poached Eggs

Eggs
Water
Salt and pepper
Optional: microgreens, minced fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish

Fill a wide saucepan half-full of gently salted water. Over medium heat, bring to a gentle simmer. That means there are tiny bubbles (kind of like champagne, but not as many) rising to the surface or along the bottom of the pan.

While you’re waiting for the water to heat, crack the eggs into individual ramekins or small cups. Once the water is simmering, pour each egg gently into the water in one fluid motion. (Don’t worry if the edges look a bit messy.) No need to stir.

Using a timer? For soft poached eggs, cook for two minutes. If you like firmer yolks, cook for up to 4 minutes. You’ll be able to sense when the eggs are cooked the way you like them after you’ve done this a few times. (I still use a timer just to be sure.)

Until then, to check doneness, remove one carefully with a slotted spoon and touch it gently with your fingertip or the edge of a teaspoon. You’ll be able to gauge the softness by how it feels. If you want the eggs firmer, it’s OK to put them back into the water for another 30–60 seconds.

Once the eggs are ready, remove them carefully, one at a time, with a slotted spoon. Let each one drip-dry a little before placing on toast.

Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground black pepper. If you like, garnish with microgreens or fresh minced herbs.

Janet Blaser is the author of the best-selling book, Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats, featured on CNBC and MarketWatch. She has lived in Mexico since 2006. You can find her on Facebook.

AMLO basks, Cristina survives: The week at the morning news conferences

By

MND Staff

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September 3, 2022

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Tireless as a pinball, President López Obrador was in six states in three days last weekend to promote the expansion of internet services. Workers from the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) in México state, Chiapas, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Nayarit and Veracruz all received the benefit of his wisdom.

Monday

“Congratulations to the moms, dads, male teachers, female teachers, education workers, girls, boys and to all students, because today we are returning to classes. A new school year,” the president enthused.

Smiling children were beamed in alongside Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, before similar live links of the governors of Chiapas and Sinaloa were displayed on screen.

Education Minister Delfina Gómez, however, was going in the opposite direction. The former teacher said she was leaving her post on a high and wished well her replacement, another teacher, Leticia Ramírez Amaya.

Later in the conference, the president provided an education on Mexican history. “The invader, the one who dominates, the one who imposes himself by force, denies the culture of the one who is dominated … after the Spanish invasion, 500 years ago … the culture of the pre-Hispanic peoples was completely repudiated. They were, according to the Europeans, savage peoples … the action of colonization, of evangelization, was to rescue us, to civilize us … that concept was used a lot,” he said.

Tuesday

The challenge, the president confessed, was to “lift the public health system and leave it as one of the best … in the world, that’s the challenge,” before adding a short list of defects to resolve, including “a lack of doctors, specialists, taking on the mafias that sell medicines and taking on everything.”

Deputy Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell reports on plans for the delivery of childrens' vaccine. — Deputy Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell reports on plans for the delivery of children’s vaccine. LopezObrador.org

One reason to be cheerful was offered by Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell. The president recently complained about the failure of the World Health Organization (a specialized agency of the UN) to deliver 10 million shots that had already been paid for, but López-Gatell was on hand to soothe his concerns. López-Gatell said the doses were planned for delivery in three shipments over September and were destined for the arms of young children.

Apparently cheered, the president gave a tall tale to close the conference, involving former President Cárdenas, who nationalized petroleum in 1938. The companies, at the time, “didn’t want the oil to be nationalized. [The president] invited the bankers to talk to him, national and foreign bankers. They were all sitting and the general … said to them … ‘I’m going to tell you a story.’ Everyone was silent and the general said ‘once there were some bankers who were real thieves, real thieves, real thieves,’ and that was it,” the tabasqueño recounted.

Wednesday

“Good morning … I’m not hoarse anymore!” the president declared, referring to his recently cleared throat.

AMLO highlights a foreign leader's criticism of former president Felipe Calderón. — AMLO highlights a foreign leader’s criticism of former president Felipe Calderón. LopezObrador.org

Further clarity came from the government’s media expert Elizabeth García Vilchis. García called former president Felipe Calderón a liar for claiming a video of sewage on a beach was in Acapulco, when it reality it was in Spain. She added that a journalist was wrong to say that had been “militarization” in Mexico, before quoting a survey saying 80% of citizens would be in favor of an increased military presence.

García confirmed there was no censorship in Mexico, despite the Supreme Court annulling legislation on broadcasting fairness.

Fully recharged, lithium production was on the president’s mind. López Obrador revealed Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo had been named head of the public company Lithium Mexico and that the director would be “a young man who is finishing his doctorate, I think in Harvard, on environment and renewable energy … it is also to give the opportunity and responsibility to a young man from Sonora, from Hermosillo,” he assured.

It transpired that the man named as “Taddei” is the son of politically influential Sonora super delegate Jorge Taddei.

Thursday

The president skipped the conference to give his fourth annual report in the afternoon. He provided statistics to support security and economic achievements, but distanced himself from the narrow focus of numbers. “In the new economic, moral and social policy that we have applied since the beginning of our government, the technocratic obsession of measuring everything according to growth indicators that do not necessarily reflect social realities has been discarded. We believe that the fundamental thing is not quantitative but qualitative … The ultimate goal of a state is to create the conditions for people to live happily. Economic growth and increases in productivity and competitiveness do not make sense as goals in themselves, but as means to achieve a higher purpose: the general well-being of the population,” he said.

López Obrador advertised the benefits of the government’s infrastructure and welfare programs and said recent arrests in the investigation into the 2014 Ayotzinapa massacre were proof that impunity had ceased.

“Friends … My respect and love for the people has grown even more. I believe with rationality, mysticism and optimism that the fourth transformation of Mexico will triumph … Thank you to the public servants who accompany me and to all Mexicans for participating in this journey, in pursuit of the happiness of the people and the prosperity of the homeland … Long live Mexico! Long live Mexico! Long live Mexico!” the tabasqueño exclaimed.

President López Obrador gives his fourth annual government report from the National Palace. Presidencia de la República

Friday

“Before anything I want to express my energetic condemnation for the failed assassination of the vice president of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner. It was a lamentable, reproachable thing, but at the same time miraculous, because Cristina is OK,” the president said at the start of the conference, the morning after a faulty firearm saved the Argentine political titan.

“A hug for Cristina, a hug for [President] Alberto [Fernández] and for the people of Argentina,” López Obrador extended.

The president had more warm words for a politician with whom he hasn’t always seen eye to eye. “There is trust. I consider him not only my friend, but friend of Mexico … because of what he says of our sovereignty,” he said of U.S. President Joe Biden after an exchange of letters.

“‘I reiterate my deepest respect for you and for the independence and sovereignty of Mexico. I hope we keep in touch,'” the tabasqueño quoted from Biden’s letter. That affection doesn’t appear to have extended to matters of law: the U.S. and Canada recently initiated a legal challenge accusing Mexico of violating the free trade agreement due to its protective energy policies.

Mexico News Daily

Gov’t mounts offensive against judges, identifying those who released suspects

By

MND Staff

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September 2, 2022

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Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejía exhibits a state judge for releasing criminals from custody, Friday morning. Screenshot

The federal government on Friday named and shamed numerous judges who allegedly acted improperly by releasing suspected criminals from custody, even though President López Obrador pledged two days earlier to protect their identities.

At the president’s morning press conference, Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejía presented a long list of judges who have “had an impact on impunity and insecurity” by freeing suspects, exonerating them of the some of the charges they faced or handing down other rulings that benefited them in some way.

Among the cases he detailed were ones involving drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, a presumed criminal known as “La Vaca” (The Cow), an alleged Gulf Cartel leader nicknamed “El Contador” (The Accountant) and a suspected Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) member known as “El Fantasma” (The Ghost).

La Vaca, El Contador, El Fantasma and Caro Quintero – who was captured in July nine years after he was released from prison due to an administrative bungle – were all freed from custody when they should have been kept behind bars, the deputy minister charged.

Rafael Caro Quintero was on the run for years after he was released by an administrative error. FBI

He also railed against recent court rulings against Caro Quintero’s extradition to the United States. Mejía pointed out that the other three men were not ordered to stand trial on charges that included homicide, organized crime and kidnapping.

Mexican judges commonly release criminal suspects due to irregularities such as authorities’ fabrication of details about how a suspect was arrested. There have also been countless cases over the years in which judges have taken or allegedly taken bribes in exchange for favorable rulings. Some judges have been found to have ties to powerful criminal organizations such as the CJNG.

Among the other cases Mejía recounted was one involving a suspected serial killer known as “El Monstruo de Tamuín” (The Monster of Tamuín), who allegedly kidnapped, raped and killed at least five women in Tamuín, San Luis Potosí.

The official said that a judge in 2016 ordered his release due to “inconsistencies” in the case against him, even though he had told authorities where he had buried his victims.

“However, the mother of one of the victims obtained a court order [against the judge’s ruling], the case was reopened and he’s currently in a high security prison,” Mejía added.

The deputy minister also spoke about a case involving Kamel Nacif, a businessman known as “El Rey de la Mezclilla ” (The Denim King) for his large textile empire, and former Puebla governor Mario Marín. They are accused of involvement in a 2005 case in which prominent investigative journalist Lydia Cacho was detained and tortured by Puebla police. Marín was arrested in Acapulco early last year, while Nacif was detained in Lebanon a few months later.

In 2020, when both men were still fugitives, two federal judges ordered that freezes on their bank accounts be lifted, Mejía said.

“The judges decided to unfreeze the accounts which meant [giving them access to] …. 800 million pesos,” he said, referring to an amount equivalent to about US $40 million.

Investigative journalist Lydia Cacho was detained and tortured by Puebla police in 2005, allegedly on orders of former Puebla governor Mario Marín. Archive

One of the other cases Mejía highlighted was that involving former Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel leader José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, who was arrested in Guanajuato in 2020. He acknowledged that Yépez – better known as “El Marro” – was sentenced to 60 years in jail, but emphasized that a judge last year ruled that the crime boss wasn’t required to stand trial for the attempted murder of police.

“He’s detained and sentenced for kidnapping, but charges for other crimes have been removed,” Mejía said. One of the judges he identified is a woman allegedly responsible for “three cases of impunity.”

The deputy minister’s exposure of the judges’ identities comes as the Supreme Court (SCJN) considers proposals to abrogate a constitutional provision that states that mandatory preventive detention must apply to accused perpetrators of certain crimes such as homicide, rape, kidnapping and human trafficking.

The government last week made it clear that it opposes the elimination of the provision, arguing that pre-trial detention is essential to ensure that alleged perpetrators of serious crimes don’t evade justice and continue committing offenses. In a statement, it also said that its support for the constitutional provision allowing pre-trial detention takes into account the fact that detaining suspects often involves a “great effort of the state” in terms of “resources, intelligence and the deployment of forces.”

Mejía reasserted those views on Friday, and claimed that the SCJN doesn’t have the authority to modify the constitution.

“If the court decides to invalidate a constitutional article it would be the first time in the country’s history that the Supreme Court declares itself a constitutional power,” he said.

“It can only nullify laws that violate the constitution,” Mejía said, noting that the federal Congress has the sole power to change the constitution. “The [Supreme] Court can’t legislate [or] invalidate any article of the constitution,” he said.

The deputy minister’s naming and shaming of the judges came after López Obrador on Wednesday signaled that the government would present cases in which it believes that judges have acted improperly. However, the president indicated that the judges wouldn’t be identified so as to not humiliate them.

The Supreme Court is currently considering proposals to abrogate a constitutional provision making preventive detention mandatory for those accused of certain crimes. SJCN

“There are many cases, very damning cases, but we don’t want to disclose the names of the judges because we would be … humiliating them,” López Obrador said.

“We’re probably going to present cases [of improper conduct by judges but] we’re going to protect the names and we’re going to send all [the information] to the judicial power – the Supreme Court and the [Federal] Judiciary Council, which have done nothing or very little [to address the problem],” he said. “They should be sanctioning judges,” López Obrador added.

While the promise the president made on Wednesday wasn’t kept, the identification of the judges made good on his 2019 threat to name and shame those who regularly free suspected criminals.

López Obrador and other high-ranking members of his government have been openly critical of the nation’s judges, some of whom have ruled against government policies and delivered judgements that have stalled public infrastructure projects.

In May 2021, navy chief José Rafael Ojeda went so far as to say that it seems that the judiciary is the “enemy” of the state in many organized crime cases because judges often act in a way that makes it appear they are on the side of the criminals.

With reports from El Universal and Reforma

Painting while dangling from a rope? Just another day at work for this cave artist

By

John Pint

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September 2, 2022

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Artist Victor Cruz painting underwater at Pozo el Gavilan, Mexico — Victor Cruz paints underwater at Pozo el Gavilán in Nuevo León, just one of many physical challenges Cruz faces to create his artworks. Juan Pablo G.

For years, Mexico City artist Victor Cruz García has been popping up all over social media as “The Cave Painter.” One can find pictures of him online hanging in the air with the greatest of ease, wielding his paintbrush while dangling from a rope deep inside the bowels of the earth.

This year, Cruz marks a decade and a half of wedding art and speleology. When I got a chance to talk to him, I had to find out how he started this unique pastime.

“Why do you do it and how do you do it?” I asked him.

According to Cruz, he owes his unusual career to his older brother, Claudio.

Pila 6 cave in Atoyac, Veracruz — Few feats of derring-do are off limits for Cruz. He and his easel are a tiny speck hanging over the entrance to Veracruz’s Pila 6 cave. Laura B. Martínez

“When I was a kid, Claudio was doing rock climbing and was kind enough to let me tag along,” Cruz said. “Later, he got interested in caving and joined a cave rescue group called URION.”

In 2007, when URION was organizing a speleological conference in the town of Cuetzalan, Puebla, Claudio asked Victor to design a poster for the event.

“So I made the poster, and then they had a big meeting of all the people who were promoting this conference, and they said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if there could be an exhibit of paintings showing some of the beautiful caves we have here in Mexico? Who knows if anything like that has ever been done before?’”

At that point, Cruz didn’t know a thing about caves, but he did love art, having been inspired by the award-winning landscapes of José María Velasco and by the paintings of Guadalajara artist, writer and volcanologist Dr. Atl.

Artist Victor Cruz at La Cueva de Pirata in Veracruz — Hanging from two ropes, Cruz paints La Cueva del Pirata in Veracruz, the hideout of Dutch pirate Laurens de Graaf. Rodríguez Alvarez R.

With an aim to continue both artists’ tradition of presenting Mexico’s natural beauty to the world, Cruz went to study at Mexico City’s School of Design, Art and Publicity.

“I don’t know anything about caves,” he told the organizers of the Cuetzalan speleological conference, “but if you have photographs, I’d be happy to try turning them into paintings.”

The organizers had photos, all right, but they were not quite the kind Cruz expected.

“What they brought me were all 35-millimeter slides but without any sort of projector. So there I was, standing in front of my easel, holding these postage-stamp-sized slides up in the air, squinting at them through one eye while looking at my canvas with the other.

Juxtlahuaca Cave in Guerrero, Mexico — Capturing the beauty of a room in Juxtlahuaca Cave in Guerrero, which has 1,000-year-old cave paintings with Olmec motifs and iconology. Edgar Allan López B.

“And that’s how I did my very first paintings of caves: a whole collection called Pinturas de Cuevas de México.”

Cruz attended all the sessions at the Cuetzalan caving conference, but, he says, “I noticed that practically all the presentations were being made by foreigners, and I asked myself, ‘What about the Mexicans? Where is their work?’

“And that’s when I realized that my exhibit of paintings was it — the Mexican contribution!”

Two years later, in 2009, the 15th International Conference of Speleology was held in Kerrville, Texas, and the Mexican cavers decided to present their show of cave paintings to the worldwide community of caving aficionados.

Artist Victor Cruz Garcia painting Popocatl volcano pit in Veracruz — A Popocatl volcano pit in Zongolica, Veracruz, was the first cave Cruz painted while suspended. He’s the red and white dot.

“The cavers definitely enjoyed my exhibit,” Cruz told me. “I know for sure because they would come up to me and say they would really like to have this or that painting, and I would say, ‘OK, I’ll sell it to you.’ But I soon discovered that all over the world, including the U.S., cavers tend not to have a whole lot of money.”

So he made trades with these cavers for gear and ended up acquiring all his caving equipment that way.

Soon, Cruz began to explore caves in earnest. He even participated in cave rescues such as that of Arthur Meauxsoone, a Belgian caver who in 2008 broke both legs 400 meters below the surface inside a difficult Puebla cave. Cruz and the other Mexican rescuers slowly but safely brought Meauxsoone back up to ground level.

“It was sometime after that rescue that friends invited me to a famous cave in Zongolica, Veracruz, called el Sótano de Popocatl, which means “the Pit of the Smoking Water,’ Cruz said. “The entrance is a big vertical drop 45 meters wide, and into it pours a gorgeous waterfall to a depth of 70 meters.”

Paintings by Mexican cave artist Victor Cruz Garcia — Cruz got started painting after a caving group he joined expressed a desire for the beauty they saw to be visible to the general public.

Cruz felt it was a place everyone should see.

“So when I had my first chance to go back there, I told my brother, ‘I want to paint that waterfall, but I have to do it suspended in the air, in the middle of the entrance pit.’ And all the other cavers said, ‘Claro que sí, we will help you work out how to do it.’ And all together, we designed something I call my speleo easel.”

While Cruz succeeded in painting the Popocatl waterfall from the end of a rope, it wasn’t without problems.

“Everything was moving!” he said. “I was like a piñata, swinging back and forth, in and out of the spray from the waterfall, and all the paint on my canvas was running!”

Artist Victor Cruz doing a painting of Mexico's Golondrinas Cave — Cruz at 333 meters below the surface, at the bottom of Golondrinas Cave, San Luis Potosí, the largest known cave shaft in the world. Tavo Cruz

In time, he learned how to stabilize himself in midair and to design a lightweight easel with a kind of drawer to hold paints, rags and even a fruit snack. It had special holders where the brushes fit snugly. These days, he also has a comfortable seat that holds his weight while painting.

Cruz uses acrylics and paints on a canvas measuring 50 centimeters by 60 or 70 centimeters. He started out using three ropes to hold himself and his gear but now needs only two.

Cruz soon discovered that painting en pleine caverne was not exactly like en plein air.

“A big lesson I learned was that my canvas would look like one thing inside the cave, lit by my headlamp, but when I took it out in the daylight, the colors might look completely different!” he said.

Art supplies of Mexican artist Victor Cruz Garcia — Cruz takes a surprising number of supplies up in the air with him, plus an easel.

“It’s like what cave vandals discover: the stalactite that looks unbelievably beautiful in the cave doesn’t look the same once it’s been snapped off and carried away. Outside the cave, it looks dead. So I would have to retouch my paintings once I looked at them back home.”

Could he possibly take painting in a cave to yet another level? Cruz tinkered with the idea.

“Mexican cenotes are filled with water,” he said, “which led me to think about painting underwater.”

Cruz investigated the work and techniques of Denis Lotarev, a Russian artist who paints while diving in the Red and Black Seas.

Cruz rappelled 50 meters to paint this small waterfall in the underground river inside Gruta Chichicazapan in Cuetzalan, Puebla. Eduardo Mejía

“I decided to give it a try, not in Yucatán but at the bottom of an incredible water-filled pit they have in Nuevo León called El Pozo Gavilán. There I discovered that the techniques of our compañero Denis work quite well … but it’s pretty tricky, perhaps even more challenging than painting while hanging from a rope.”

“With all this,” says Cruz, “I hope I can inspire the new generation to believe in their projects, not to be afraid of criticism but to consider everything as part of the learning process. If you never try, you’re a loser for sure, but if you do try, you just might succeed!”

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.

Cave artist Victor Cruz Garcia — Cruz in a relatively normal position for painting Cueva Juxtlahuaca. Edgar Allan López B.

Artwork by cave artist Victor Garcia Cruz — Cruz touches up one of his artworks at home. “The colors look completely different once you are outside the cave,” he said.

painting by Victor Cruz Garcia of La Cueva Xmait, Yucatan, Mexico — Victor Cruz painted *La Cueva Xmait – Yucatan*, a rendering of the kilometer-long cave with enormous, richly decorated rooms. Its name in Mayan means “bottomless.”

The Cave of Alpazat, painting by Victor Cruz Garcia — One of Cruz’s paintings: *The Cave of Alpazat*. Six British cavers were rescued from this Puebla cave near Cuetzalan in 2004 after having been trapped for a week.

School relents, allows indigenous student to attend despite his long hair

By

Lydia Carey

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September 2, 2022

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María Isabel Castillo Díaz filed a human rights complaint after her son was told he couldn't attend school unless he cut off his braid. — María Isabel Castillo Díaz (left) filed a human rights complaint after her son was told he couldn't attend school unless he cut off his braid.

A school in Baja California briefly barred an indigenous boy from school this week for having long hair, before reversing its position in the face of human rights complaints.

On Thursday, staff at the Secundaria Número 4 Ricardo Flores Magón school in Tijuana said that Acoyani, a 12-year-old student whose dark, braided hair reached all the way down his back, wouldn’t be allowed to continue attending classes. The reasons they gave were that he could be confused for a girl or that his long hair might encourage other male students to come to school with long hair.

María Isabel Castillo Díaz, the boy’s mother, explained that as part of the family’s Mexica traditions, it’s important for men to have long hair for ritual dances. She also said that in a year, when the boy turned 13, he was allowed to decide for himself if he wanted to keep his long hair, as part of his transition from childhood to adulthood.

Castillo filed a complaint against the school with the National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination (Conapred) citing a violation of the right to an education in the case of her son. The following day the school recanted its decision and allowed the boy to continue attending.

Members of the Baja California state government, including state Education Minister Gerardo Arturo Solís Benavides, insisted that discriminatory practices against indigenous students, or any other student, will not be tolerated in the state’s school system.

With reports from El Imparcial and Uniradio Informa