Tuesday, October 7, 2025

AMLO makes video appearance; admits to fainting episode

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MND Staff
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AMLO video from National Palace April 2023
The 18-minute video was filmed at the National Palace. The president dismissed recent speculations that he'd had a heart attack, saying instead that he'd had an episode of low blood pressure. (Presidencia)

Three days after announcing he had tested positive for COVID-19 for the third time, and as rumors about his health continued to swirl, President López Obrador declared in a video message on Wednesday that he was fine but acknowledged that he briefly fainted last Sunday.

“As president of Mexico I have the responsibility to inform you about my health,” he said in an 18-minute video filmed at the National Palace, the seat of executive power and the president’s residence.

“… As there has been speculation, it’s important to tell you that I’m fine. I have COVID,” López Obrador said in his message, which he directed to both his “friends and adversaries.”

The 69-year-old president, who suffered a heart attack a decade ago and has a range of medical problems, said his blood pressure suddenly dropped while he was at a meeting in Mérida on Sunday at which he was discussing the Maya Train railroad project with military engineers and other officials.

“It was like I fell asleep, it was a kind of giddiness, to speak colloquially,” he said.

López Obrador claimed he didn’t lose consciousness, but said immediately afterward that he had a “temporary blackout” due to the sudden drop in his blood pressure.

AMLO at 109th anniversary celebration of Battle of Veracruz
The president was on his third day in as many states when he had the low-blood pressure incident: on Thursday he was in Mexico City announcing the sale of the presidential plane, and on Friday, he visited Veracruz to mark the 109th anniversary of the Battle of Veracruz before heading to Yucatán. (Presidencia)

He said that doctors wanted to put him on a stretcher and take him to hospital in an ambulance. But López Obrador said he told them he wasn’t going anywhere and directed them to treat him on the spot.

He said doctors gave him a liter of rehydration fluids, and his blood pressure normalized.

“Nothing else was needed. There was no impact on my heart or brain. … I decided to come to Mexico City, they transferred me in an air ambulance, but not in a stretcher, I was conscious,” López Obrador said.

He noted that even though he posted to social media about his health — saying that his illness wasn’t serious and his heart was “100%” fine — there has been significant speculation about his condition, including claims on social media that he suffered a heart attack or stroke in the Yucatán capital.

“My adversaries have a lot of imagination,” López Obrador said, observing that “a lot of things have been said,” including that “I had a stroke” and that cardiologists and other specialist doctors were treating him at the National Palace.

“That’s not the case. Fortunately, I’m very well; I’m working, I already wrote two drafts … of two speeches,” he said, referring to addresses he will give on International Workers Day on May 1 and on May 5 to mark the 161st anniversary of the Battle of Puebla

Mexico's Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez
On Monday, Interior Minister Adán Augusto López, who has been filling in for the president all week at the daily presidential press conferences, denied that President Lopez Obrador had fainted. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)

An article published in the Mérida-based newspaper Diario de Yucatán last Sunday said that López Obrador fainted due to an apparent heart attack and was transferred to a military hospital in Mexico City after taking an emergency flight to the capital on a Mexican Air Force jet.

Interior Minister Adán Augusto López Hernández rejected the report on Monday.

“There was no emergency transfer [from Mérida to Mexico City], there was no fainting episode,” he said.

The interior minister said Wednesday it was likely the president would resume his normal activities before the end of the working week.

López Hernández, who is aiming to become the ruling Morena party’s candidate at the 2024 presidential election, stood in for López Obrador at the government’s morning press conferences, or mañaneras, between Monday and Thursday.

It remains to be seen whether AMLO will return for the last presser of the week on Friday.

Mexico News Daily 

USMCA commission recommends environmental probe into Maya Train

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MND Staff
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Tramo 5 of the Maya Train
The Tramo 5 section of the Maya Train, seen here, is home to a delicate system of underwater channels. Activists are concerned that engineering works will destroy the local ecosystem and cause serious damage to the area. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)

The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has recommended an investigation into the environmental impact caused by the construction of the Maya Train. 

The CEC is the watchdog group established by the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a NAFTA-era side treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada that was absorbed by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s investigation seeks to assess the procedure by which the Mexican government evaluated the Maya Train’s environmental impact.

Heavy machinery clears a section of jungle to make way for the Maya Train.
The train has been a target of protest for activists since work began, but the Mexican government says that it has complied with all relevant environmental legislation. (Greenpeace/Paola Chiomante)

The recommendation was given after Moce Yax Cuxtal, an environmental group from Quintana Roo, and other local campaigners submitted a petition to the CEC in 2022. Moce Yax Cuxtal claims that the construction of Section 5-south of the Maya Train breaches environmental requirements laid out in the USMCA. 

The section runs through the municipalities of Solidaridad and Tulum, Quintana Roo, where there are significant areas of geological interest, including cenotes (underground caverns) and surface streams – including the Sac Actun-Dos Ojos underwater system, which forms an essential resource for the local ecosystem.

Failure to protect the ecosystem is a breach of the Mexican constitution, as well as a breach of water quality, land use and wildlife protection laws. Environmental campaigners in the southeast region have claimed that the infrastructure project will cause irreversible damage to one of the most fragile ecosystems in the country.

The assessment aims to provide “a factual record [that] will help the public to understand the procedure behind the impact study…and the measures implemented [by the Mexican government] to protect the environment,” the CEC said in a statement. 

Section 5-south, in bright green, was moved further inland in 2022. (Photo credit: Causa Natura)

A full impact report will be prepared by the CEC if at least two members of the three-person council instruct it to do so. The panel is composed of one member from each of the three countries in the treaty.

Mexico claims that the project has met all legal requirements and has properly conducted an environmental impact study. It has denied breaching any legislation, saying that the relevant permits had been granted prior to the commencement of construction. 

This setback is the latest in a string of problems for the controversial train. Earlier this month, a judge issued an injunction against the import of ballast for the railroad, after a cargo ship damaged a protected coral reef near Puerto Morelos.

When complete, the 1,460-kilometer (907-mile) Maya Train will have 18 stations and will run through the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

With reports from El Economista and CEC

Want to unplug? The perfect trip awaits you in San Agustinillo

By
Bethany Platanella
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Two people sit on the beach in San Agustinillo, Oaxaca as others bathe in the surf.
San Agustinillo, Oaxaca, isn't a vacation hotspot, but it's the perfect place to go with your beach read and sip spicy margaritas. (Alejandro Linares García/Wikimedia Commons)

Every summer of my childhood, my extended family got together to spend a full week at the beach. We’d sit on the sand for hours, catching up on life, reading books, eating our prepacked sandwiches and fruit when we got hungry. Then we’d go back to our book until we were ready for a swim or a good boogie board session. 

At night, the adults would have a glass of wine on the terrace, talking and laughing before everyone finally went to bed, sun-kissed and satisfied after yet another full day of doing absolutely nothing of true importance. 

A group of fishing boats and fishermen on the shore in San Agustinillo, Oaxaca.
Like many towns on Oaxaca’s coast, San Agustinillo has traditionally been a fishing community. (Adam Jones/Wikimedia Commons)

There was no planning, sightseeing or doing any tourist stuff. Just relaxing and living without an agenda.

It’s almost impossible to find that anymore. Wherever you go these days, there’s a “restaurant you HAVE to try” or a “museum you CANNOT miss.” We arrive at our dreamy beach getaway fully equipped with lists upon lists of activities with which we absolutely must jam-pack our open schedules. 

But maybe, just maybe, you WANT to skip the museum. Maybe you don’t want to hike to the top of Mount So-and-So. Maybe you don’t really care how good the tacos al pastor are at María’s streetside stand.

Maybe you want to simply be. 

A woman surfs in Mazunte, Oaxaca.
Oaxaca’s Pacific coast is renowned for the size of its waves, attracting surfers from around the world. But San Agustinillo’s are minor in comparison to its neighbors, making it a good place to learn. (pueblosmagicos.mexicodesconocido.com)

With a book, a beer and the beach. (And probably an umbrella).

Have I got the place for you.

Sandwiched between Mazunte to the west and Zipolite a bit further to the east, San Agustinillo is a digital detoxer’s paradise. Its beach clocks in at a mere 1,300 meters in length. Its waves are minor in comparison to those of its neighbors, making them simply perfecto for beginner wannabe surfers — or for watching beginner wannabe surfers from your lounge chair while sipping on a spicy margarita and snacking on guacamole; because what else are vacations in Mexico really for?

My recent solo trip to the absolutely-breathtaking coast of Oaxaca was centered around the Airbnb I rented in the town of Mazunte. 

I appreciated three things about Mazunte:

  • Watching the sunset with hoards of French, German, Mexican and American tourists from Punta Cometa. (Pro tip: Want a slightly more solitary experience? When trekking to the lookout point, there will come a fork in the road. Everyone will go left. You will go right.)
  • The outdoor produce & flower market, which sold not only ripe and juicy guavas (to which I am unabashedly addicted) but also tacos, chilaquiles, and pozole. Bring your own bag.
  • The light and not-too-sweet homemade vegan ice cream at CocoMiel.
A terrace in Mazunte, Oaxaca, overlooks the ocean at night.
An ocean overlook in Mazunte, where the author stayed on her trip to San Agustinillo. (pueblosmagicos.mexicodesconocido.com)

And while I do love myself a good kundalini yoga class, I personally drew the line at “womb healing” and “yoni massage” ceremonies, available on a much more frequent basis than at even the most hippie of California communes.

Crowds of barefoot tourists in colorful elephant-print pants poured into Mazunte’s tiny, dusty streets to stock up on cold-pressed juices and fair-trade drip coffee. And while there is nothing wrong with any of that, it’s just not quite what I was in the mood for.

Which is why I found myself walking westward toward San Agustinillo each morning. Apart from the heart-tickling, thunderous waves of the Pacific, San Agustinillo is relatively quiet. There is almost nothing to do in this tiny town of 267 people outside of beach strolls and fish tacos. 

But that’s the point. 

The beach itself is divided into three sections, separated by rock formations. To the west is a fisherman’s beach, and to the east is Playa Aragon. When the tide is high, Playa Aragon is only accessible via the main street, meaning you’ll have to walk a solid 20 minutes uphill and another 10 down a dirt path to reach it. But boy, is it worth your while. 

The rocks that encase tiny Playa Aragon are chock full of tiny coves to snuggle in and watch the waves. (Please only do so when the tide is low. Please.) Since this section of the beach is so secluded, you’re guaranteed few visitors, but half of those who do show up will likely be naked. There are no umbrellas for rent, no restaurants, no shops. What you will get is rocks, sand, sea and your book, if you brought one.

But I get it. You’ve made it this far into the article because you want some guidance. Read on for all the things that I thought made San Agustinillo beautiful.

Sea turtle swimming.
Mazunte is known as a nesting ground for sea turtles and is home to the Mexican Center for the Turtle. (pueblosmagicos.mexicodesconocido.com)

If you’re looking for…

…things to do:

…places to eat:

  • La Mora Cafe (a buzzing brunch spot with ocean views AND rooms for rent)
  • El Sueño de Frida (a quieter yet popular breakfast alternative)
  • El Navegante (highly rated Mexican seafood restaurant)
  • Temporada Oaxaca (higher-end creative farm-to-table establishment)
  • La Termita (where you can rent a room or just get some pizza!)
  • Luz del Sol (vegetarian menu with an organic market and holistic center) 

…a market:

  • If the 15-minute walk to Mazunte feels too far (or hot), there is a family that sells fresh fruits and veggies in an alley that leads to the beach. I can’t tell you where it is exactly but it’s hard to miss. Get there before 1 p.m. My personal shopping experience here was made unforgettable by an adorable 9-year-old boss lady who barked out pricing to customers and assistance requests to her father with a confidence I’ve yet to find in most adults.

…a place to sit all day with a drink and an umbrella 

  • Casa Corazon. I’ll be straight up: aside from the guacamole, the food here leaves a bit to be desired. The friendly, welcoming staff, however, more than makes up for that. I sat here staring at the sea from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., nursing fresh juices in the morning and margaritas in the afternoon, and not one server pressured me to do anything more than that.

…transportation to neighboring towns

  • When walking is not an option, there are many colectivos (shared vans) that you can hop on to and travel up and down the coast. Taxis are also available. Uber does not exist here.

…places to stay

  • Casa Pan de Miel (this is technically in Mazunte, but borders San Agustinillo. It’s highly rated, it’s beachfront, it’s elegant, it’s boutique.)
  • Casa la Ola (considered the top hotel in town according to Booking.com.)
  • Casa Cometa (totally 5-star with sweeping views. As tucked away from the “action” of San Agustinillo as one can be.)
  • Casa Bagus (Watch out, as you might not ever want to leave the property. Offers a private beach and activities like surfing and whale-watching.)
  • Cabañas Punta Placer (Affordable, highly-ranked beach bungalows.)

Just writing this makes me want to go back — immediately. And I think I will. So here’s to crossing paths (or not) on an ideal solo getaway in San Agustinillo.

Bethany Platanella is a travel and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. With her company, Active Escapes International, she plans and leads private and small-group active retreats. She loves Mexico’s local markets, Mexican slang, practicing yoga and fresh tortillas.  Sign up for her (almost) weekly love letters or follow her Instagram account, @a.e.i.wellness. 

Proposal to reduce workweek to 40 hours advances in Congress

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MND Staff
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Mexican construction site
The bill will also require that after working 40 hours, workers have two days off. (Francisco Balderas/Cuartoscuro)

The constitutional points committee in the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill on Tuesday to reduce the workweek from 48 to 40 hours. The legislation also states that for every five eight-hour days Mexicans work, they must get at least two days off.

Currently, per Article 123 of the Mexican constitution, employers can only require a maximum 48 hours per week of their workers — or six eight-hour days per week. But if the bill passes both houses of Congress, workers would receive overtime pay for any hours beyond the proscribed 40. 

Mexican congress
The Chamber of Deputies voted to pass a somewhat watered-down version of the original bill formulated by the Citizens’ Movement Party, which had called for a 35-hour workweek. (Chamber of Deputies)

As a constitutional amendment, the bill must be approved by a two-thirds majority of each congressional chamber.

Proposed by the Citizens Movement (MC) party, the final version of the bill emerged from discussion in committee somewhat watered down: it originally suggested a 35-hour workweek from Monday to Thursday. The new version of the bill was approved by 27 votes and five abstentions from the Chamber of Deputies’ constitutional points committee.

MC formulated the bill after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked Mexico as the country where workers put in the most hours in 2021, with 40.9 hours per week or 2,128 hours per year. At the same time, the World Health Organization ranked Mexico as the highest in the world for levels of work-related stress.

If the bill becomes law, Mexico will join Chile, Ecuador and some Caribbean nations as the only countries in Latin America with a 40-hour workweek. Other countries in the region — including El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Belize — have a workweek of less than 48 hours but over 40. Mexico currently stands alongside Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Panama, Costa Rica and Paraguay as the only Latin American countries with a 48-hour workweek.

Among OECD countries, Mexico is at the very top in the average number of work hours per worker. This graph only accounts for people with full-time employment.

In contrast, almost all of Europe and some countries in Asia have a 40-hour workweek, according to data from the International Labour Organization (ILO). In the U.S. and Canada, overtime kicks in after 40 hours of work each week.

“It appears that the classic ‘working 9 to 5’ standard workweek is slowly declining, particularly in many of the developed countries,” ILO labor conditions specialist Jon Messenger stated in a 2018 report entitled “Working time and the future of work.” 

The ILO suggests a 40-hour workweek as conducive to a better work-life balance for employees.

In December 2022, Congress approved a historic bill to increase paid vacation days from six to 12 for workers who have completed at least one year with their employer.

It remains to be seen if the 40-hour work week will follow the same path.  

With reports from Expansión and El Economista 

Liverpool parent company to bring Toys ‘R’ Us to Mexico

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MND Staff
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Toys “R” Us parent company WHP Global announced an alliance with retailer El Puerto de Liverpool to open their toy stores across Mexico starting this year. (Rob Hainer/Depositphotos)

Toys “R” Us parent company WHP Global will launch the United States toy brand in Mexico for the first time in alliance with the Mexican retail giant El Puerto de Liverpool. 

El Puerto de Liverpool, owner of the department store brands Liverpool and Suburbia, told Reforma newspaper that it plans to invest over $100 million pesos (US $5.5 million) in the opening of flagship toy stores in key cities of the country. The first physical store is projected to open by Q3 of 2023.

Liverpool’s parent company El Puerto de Liverpool announced its plans to bring Toys “R” Us to Mexico in 2023 (El Puerto de Liverpool).

The agreement also includes the launch of a dedicated e-commerce site. 

“We are very proud to be partnering with WHP Global to bring the iconic Toys ‘R’ Us brand to Mexico,” General Manager of Liverpool International and Boutiques Charles Johnson said in a statement. 

“At El Puerto de Liverpool, we always seek to bring the best brands and products closer to Mexican families, and we are sure that this new association will add value to them through new spaces and the best and latest options in toys,” Johnson added.

WHP Global acquired Toys “R” Us in 2021 after the brand went bankrupt in 2017, laying off some 33,000 people and shuttering more than 900 stores across the United States.   

Toys and games are a big business in Mexico, where imported products account for more than 70% of the total market. (junpinzon/Depositphotos)

Since the acquisition, the toy retailer has been steadily recovering and expanding. In 2022, Toys “R” Us doubled its presence thanks to a national rollout in the United States at all Macy’s stores and international launches in India, the United Kingdom and Australia.

According to the Executive Vice President of Toys “R” Us at WHP Global Jamie Uitdenhowen, the expansion into Mexico “marks an exciting new chapter in [the brand’s] history,” he said in a statement, adding that the toy brand is set to become “the go-to toy destination for Mexican families for years to come.”

Market research firm NPD ranks Mexico as the second fastest-growing market in the world for toys and games, valued at US $2.1 billion. Mexican toy stores Juguetrón, Julio Cepeda Jugueterías, and Juguetibici currently represent nearly 50% of the national market. 

Commercial Director of WHP Global Stanley Silverstein said that they are excited to arrive in Mexico with a “great partner like El Puerto de Liverpool, one of the largest and most dynamic omnichannel retailers in the world.”

El Puerto de Liverpool is a public company (S.A.B.) registered on the Mexican Stock Exchange. It has 122 department stores across the country bearing the name Liverpool, 172 stores under the name of Suburbia and 115 specialized stores.  

With reports from Reforma, El Financiero, Forbes Online and El Universal

Long after the Revolution’s end, a trans soldier fought for recognition

By
Sheryl Losser
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Colonel Amelio Robles, revolutionary war hero
Colonel Amelio Robles, seen here in 1914, fought with distinction in the Mexican Revolution for Emiliano Zapata's army. Although the military knew he was a transgender man, few Mexicans did for decades. (INAH)

The history of Mexico has many stories about the heroes and events of the Mexican Revolution but one military leader was, until recently, rarely mentioned: the transgender soldier Colonel Amelio Robles — whose gender identity was not generally a known fact for much of Mexico’s history but was known by the Mexican Army.  

Robles lived his life as a man from the age of 24 until his death at the age of 95. Shortly before his death, he was finally recognized for his service to the country and decorated as a hero of the Mexican Revolution.

Revolutionary war hero Amelio Robles as a girl
Amelio Robles’ assigned gender at birth was female. As such, Robles was brought up learning “women’s tasks,” but from a young age preferred pursuits such as riding horses, managing cattle and marksmanship. (INAH)

His story became better known in 2022 with the publication of Ignacio Casas’ novel, “Amelio, Mi Coronel.” (Amelio, My Colonel).  

“Robles was a very complex person,” Casas states. “In order to understand him, you have to look at his life in three phases — his youth, the Mexican Revolution years, and the post-revolution years.”

Amelio was born Malaquías Amelia de Jesús Robles Ávila in 1889 in Xochipala, Guerrero to Casimiro Robles and Josefa Ávila. The youngest of three children, Robles was from the country but not poor — Casimiro was a well-to-do rancher and owned a mezcal distillery. Robles received a Catholic education from the Society of the Daughters of Mary of the Miraculous Medal, a congregation dedicated to the spiritual formation of young girls.

Robles was raised learning how to sew, cook and iron, but preferred riding horses, lassoing cattle and practicing marksmanship. After Casimiro died, Robles became rebellious. Josefa remarried and bore three children to a man with whom Robles didn’t get along; reportedly, Robles was jailed for killing one of these half-brothers, although this isn’t proven.

Women soliders of the Mexican Revolution
Robles initially joined the Mexican Revolution identifying as a woman. It was not uncommon for women to join the cause and fight alongside male soldiers as equals. (INAH)

In 1912, at the age of 23, Robles joined Emiliano Zapata’s army, not because of revolutionary beliefs but because it offered freedom from conservative rural society.

The war was forever life-changing for Robles, whom fellow soldiers initially called “La Güera Amelia.” However, Robles began to dress in typical male attire of the time, took the name Amelio and insisted — often at gunpoint — at being referred to by others as male, according to a history of Robles written by the Ministry of Culture.

Robles rose quickly through the ranks, attaining the rank of colonel. In his personal logs, he listed participation in 70 battles — gaining the respect of fellow revolutionaries with his prowess as a military leader — commanding up to 1,000 soldiers.  He was a skilled horseman, an excellent marksman and a fearless soldier.

There were also numerous examples of women who fought in the revolution alongside male soldiers, and some wore men’s clothing and took male names. Petra Herrera, credited with seizing Torreón as a Villista soldier in 1914, was known as Pedro Herrera. Ángela Jiménez, who fought with the Zapatistas and Villistas, became Ángel Jiménez.

Amelio Robles, Mexican revolutionary war hero
Years later, Robles began to fight for recognition as a veteran of the Mexican Revolution. He finally achieved this goal in 1970. (INAH)

Robles embraced his gender identity until his death in 1984 at the age of 95. In the 1950s, he even managed to alter records to reflect it.

After the military phase of the revolution ended in 1920, Robles supported revolutionary general Álvaro Obregón, who became president (1920–1924). He took up arms and fought with Obregón forces in the Agua Prieta Revolt, which brought an end to the government of Venustiano Carranza.

He then settled in Iguala for a time afterwards but was attacked by a group of men attempting to disrobe him so as to “prove” him to be a woman. Robles killed two men in self-defense and was incarcerated for a second time, confined to the women’s area of the jail.

Amelio Robles
Robles settled down to a civilian life, married a woman and adopted a daughter. (INAH)

In the 1930s, Robles met Ángela Torres and married, settling into civilian life and later adopting a daughter, Regula Robles Torres. He remained politically active, joining the Socialist Party of Guerrero and the League of Agrarian Communities. But he still had not received the recognition he deserved as a revolutionary leader.

Robles was determined to get that recognition. In 1948, he finally received the medical certificate required to officially enter the Confederation of Veterans of the Revolution — confirming that he had taken six bullet wounds in battle.

In 1955, he also began the process of changing his service files to identify him as Amelio Robles rather than his prior name; he even had a false birth certificate inserted into his personal files at Mexico’s military archives.

Regional Museum of Guerrero
Amelio Robles’ conribution to Mexico is recognized in some respects. He was acknowledged as a Legionnaire of Mexico and his house in Guerrero is a museum. He’s also featured in the permanent exhibit of the Regional Museum of Guerrero, his home state. (INAH)

According to historian Gabriela Cano, “The [false] document attests to the birth of the child Amelio Malaquías Robles Ávila. Except for the baby’s name and sex, all other data coincides with the original birth certificate from the Zumpango del Río civil registry book.”

Robles was in his 80s when the Ministry of National Defense finally recognized him as a veteran of the Mexican Revolution.  Shortly thereafter, he received the Legionnaire of Honor of the Mexican Army distinction and the Medal of Revolutionary Merit.

Before his death, he was recognized by three former presidents — Adolfo López Mateos, Manuel Ávila Camacho and Luis Echeverría — as an outstanding revolutionary.

But for all his attempts to change his identity records, some still refused to accept him as male: his childhood home became the Coronela Amelia Robles Museum.

Perhaps as a sign that Mexico is changing — becoming more tolerant and supportive of gender diversity — the Culture Ministry’s website states that “the participation in the [Mexican] Revolution [of Amelio Robles] as a transgender man whose identity was recognized and who was a colonel marks a milestone. And contrary to what is commonly thought, it indicates that people of gender diversity have always been present and have participated in many historical events of the country.”

Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive and professional researcher.  She spent 45 years in national politics in the United States. She moved to Mazatlán in 2021 and works part-time doing freelance research and writing.

Immigration chief charged in connection with fatal Cd. Juárez fire

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MND Staff
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Francisco Garduño head of the National Migration Institute in Mexico
Francisco Garduño remains the head of the National Migration Institute but was formally criminally charged on Tuesday. (File photo/Cuartoscuro)

National Immigration Institute (INM) director Francisco Garduño now faces a formal criminal charge in connection with a fire in a Ciudad Juárez detention center that claimed the lives of 40 migrants.

Garduño was accused of improper exercise of public service during a court appearance in the Chihuahua border city on Tuesday. The official, who reportedly declined the opportunity to speak at the hearing, faces a prison sentence of up to seven years if found guilty.

Emergency responders outside immigration detention center
The fire started on the night of March 27, killing 40 migrants in the deadliest tragedy ever to occur at a Mexican immigration detention center. (Juan Ortega/Cuartoscuro)

The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) said April 11 that Garduño and the INM’s general director of immigration control and verification Antonio Molina Díaz allegedly committed “criminal conduct” by “failing to fulfill their duty to supervise, protect and provide security to the people and facilities” under their control.

That announcement came two weeks after a fire in a provisional INM detention center that was allegedly lit by a Venezuelan man after he and other migrants were informed they would be deported or moved to another facility. In addition to the fatalities, close to 30 men were injured in the blaze.

Video footage posted to social media showed that migrants were left in a locked section of the detention center despite the outbreak of the fire.

Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that conditions at the detention center fell short of the standards required to house migrants. They alleged that Garduño was aware of that, but took no action to address the situation.

Prosecutors also said there is video footage that shows that private security guards employed at the Ciudad Juárez detention center asked INM officials for permission to release the migrants after the fire started, but were denied.

A video leaked shortly after the tragedy showed a security guard and an INM agent apparently evacuating the building without unlocking the door to the section where the migrants were being held. President López Obrador later said they didn’t have keys.

Vice News reported that the victims of the fire could not or chose not to pay a US $200 bribe to security guards to be released. Most of the men who died or were injured were reportedly detained earlier the same day while they were begging or washing car windscreens in Ciudad Juárez.

Mexico’s immigration detention centers are notorious for overcrowding and poor conditions. The National Human Rights Commission has described the conditions in INM detention centers as prisonlike and documented a range of abuses suffered by migrants at the hands of immigration officials and private security personnel.

Clothing and blankets collection for migrants event in Asuncion, Chihuahua
INM Chihuahua Commissioner Salvador González Guerrero, second from right, also faces criminal charges and is being held in preventive detention. (INM)

In addition to Garduño and Molina, four other INM officials who the FGR said are “directly linked to conduct that caused homicides and injuries” face charges in connection with the March 27 fire, the worst ever tragedy in an immigration detention center in Mexico.

One is the head of the INM in Chihuahua, Salvador González Guerrero, who was ordered to stand trial on charges including homicide and improper exercise of public service at a hearing on Saturday. He is in preventive (pre-trial) detention in a Ciudad Juárez prison.

Among the other suspects are three INM agents and a security guard who worked at the Ciudad Juárez detention center.

The agents and guard, and the Venezuelan man who allegedly started the fire by setting mattresses alight, face charges of homicide and causing injury and are in detention awaiting trial.

It was unclear when Garduño would next appear in court. The charge he faces doesn’t warrant mandatory preventive detention, and for the time being, at least, he will remain at the head of the INM.

With reports from El País, El Universal and AP

Transparency agency still out of action after failed legal challenge

By
MND Staff
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Senator Xóchitl Gálvez points to a banner protesting inaction over the appointment of new INAI commissioners, which has hobbled the transparency agency.(SEDEMA/Cuartoscuro)

The Supreme Court has ruled that the governing body of Mexico’s transparency agency cannot convene with just four of its seven members, a situation in which it currently finds itself due to the federal Senate’s failure to appoint three new commissioners.

The work of the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and the Protection of Personal Data (INAI) has come to a halt this month as the agency has only had four commissioners since April 1, one fewer than quorum. Over 2,300 appeals related to information requests that were denied or not adequately filled have been left pending due to the INAI’s current impasse, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Headquarters of the INAI, CDMX
The transparency agency has been called “useless” by President López Obrador. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)

Late last month, the INAI launched a legal challenge against the Senate due to what it described as an attack on its constitutionally-enshrined autonomy. It asked the Supreme Court to hand down a ruling that would allow its pleno, as the agency’s governing body is called, to convene with just four commissioners while they wait for the appointment of additional officials.

Justice Loretta Ortiz on Monday declined to issue the suspensión sought by the INAI, but the reasons for her ruling were not disclosed. The INAI said it would appeal the decision, and indicated it would even consider taking the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

“I understand that there is a lack of consensus in the Senate … to designate the people who will occupy the positions of INAI commissioners, but we will keep working and fighting,” said Adrián Alcalá Méndez, one of the four active members of the pleno.

The Senate last month named two new INAI commissioners, but their appointments were subsequently vetoed by President López Obrador.

Loretta Ortiz Ahlf, Mexican Supreme Court justice
Justice Loretta Ortiz declined the agency’s request to operate with only four of seven commissioners. (File photo/Twitter)

“The INAI thing was vetoed, which is my constitutional right, because there was an agreement — I do not know who carried it out, but everything indicates that one candidate was selected by [the ruling] Morena [party] and one by the National Action Party, and that should not be allowed,” the president said March 16, referring to allegations that selection was based on negotiations between the political parties and not on the candidates’ qualifications.

Since then, the upper house hasn’t reached a consensus on any appointments to replace commissioners whose terms have ended. Senators appear unlikely to come to an agreement before the summer congressional recess begins May 1, even as the United Nations pressures them to do so. Senator Ricardo Monreal, Morena’s leader in the upper house, has accused his own party of preventing a new vote to appoint INAI commissioners.

Almost a month after the president’s veto, the news outlet Latinus released leaked audio in which Interior Minister Adán Augusto López is heard informing senators that López Obrador had told him that he was trying to push INAI toward a “period of impasse.”

The president’s veto was consequently seen as an attempt to hobble the transparency agency.

Adán Augusto López and Ricardo Monrel
Ricardo Monreal (right), seen here with Interior Minister Adán Augusto López, has accused his own Morena party of stalling the vote on INAI appointments. (Ricardo Monreal/Twitter)

López Obrador has long been a critic of the INAI, saying in early 2021 that it is not needed as the federal government maintains “permanent communication” with citizens and guarantees the right to information.

He said last week that the INAI is “useless,” asserting that it “has not helped in any way to combat corruption” since it was created under a different name during the 2000-2006 presidency of Vicente Fox.

On the contrary, the institute has “legitimized thefts and hidden information,” he said, adding that it has cost the Mexican people 1 billion pesos (about US $55.2 million at the current exchange rate) a year since its creation.

“Hopefully the Congress does something so that the [transparency] function can be carried out by another institution … and the 1 billion pesos per year [can be] used to support the people who need it,” López Obrador said March 18.

He said in January 2021 that his government intended to incorporate autonomous organizations such as the INAI and the Federal Telecommunications Institute into federal ministries and departments. However, the plan – widely denounced as an attempt to further concentrate power in the executive – didn’t come to fruition.

The INAI commissioners are staunchly defending the transparency agency in the face of the attacks by López Obrador and other high-ranking federal officials.

“At INAI we will continue defending … the rights of access to information and the protection of personal data,” Blanca Lilia Ibarra, the agency’s chief commissioner, tweeted Tuesday. “… They are achievements of citizens that must be strengthened, not suspended or limited.”

During a recent discussion with The Los Angeles Times, Ibarra and two other commissioners said that the INAI functions as an essential check on government power.

Blanca Lilia Ibarra of INAI
The INAI’s chief commissioner Blanca Lilia Ibarra (center) at an anti-corruption conference this month. (Blanca Lilia Ibarra/Twitter)

It “empowers society to pressure government to be transparent, to pressure government to be accountable, and it allows society to participate in public decisions,” Ibarra told the Times.

The newspaper reported that the institute has “helped shape the course of Mexico’s history, ordering officials to grant previously denied information requests that have allowed journalists and activists to uncover massive corruption schemes, locate clandestine graves and investigate large-scale infrastructure projects.”

The Times said that the INAI resolved more than 18,000 appeals for information during the most recent fiscal year, and noted that it also “protects citizens’ rights to access personal data, such as medical records, and sanctions private and public entities for stealing personal information.”

With reports from El País, El Economista, El Universal and The Los Angeles Times 

Navy finds 11,250 tequila bottles filled with liquid meth in Manzanillo

By
MND Staff
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Bottles of liquid methamphetamine
Discovered after a sniffer dog alerted customs teams, the drugs were disguised as bottled of "añejo" — aged tequila. (Semar)

The Mexican Navy reported Monday that it had seized nearly 10 tons of concentrated liquid methamphetamine hidden in 11,520 tequila bottles bound for export.  

The interception occurred on Sunday at the Pacific seaport of Manzanillo, Colima, while marines were inspecting 960 cardboard boxes containing what appeared to be tequila bottles. 

A cargo ship leaves port in Manzanillo, Colima. Strong demand for exports has helped sustain economic growth this year.
The bottles of liquid methamphetamine were seized in the port of Manzanillo, Colima. (Depositphotos)

 According to the Associated Press, a sniffer dog alerted inspectors to the boxes, which contained liquid the color of añejo tequila.  

After an examination of the liquid by the Navy’s pharmacology and toxicology laboratory, the 750-ml glass bottles tested positive for methamphetamine. 

The bottles contained some 8,640 kilograms (about 19,000 pounds) of the illegal drug. 

The Navy reported that so far this year it has “seized and destroyed approximately 114.3 tons of methamphetamine.” 

Pallets of onions were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after finding packets of methamphetamine hidden in the shipment.
Methamphetamine is often smuggled in creative ways — including in this bust from February 2022, where it was hidden inside onions in an attempt to traffic the drug into the United States. (U.S. CBP)

In March, the U.S. State Department said it was alarmed by the expansion of Mexican criminal groups, which lead global production and drug trafficking of substances such as methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl and dominate the import and distribution of such drugs into the U.S.

Mexico has become one of the largest producers of methamphetamine in the world, according to the latest United Nations World Drug Report. The drug is mainly produced in the states of Baja California, Sinaloa, Jalisco and Michoacán.

To import methamphetamine, smugglers often fill windshield washer fluid tanks or other containers in their cars. The liquid meth is then taken to specialized facilities to extract the water and return it to its crystal form. 

With reports from El Economista, AP News,  Infobae, Council on Foreign Relations and El País.

Forest fires trigger air quality alert in Guadalajara area

By
MND Staff
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A firefighter in Guadalajara looks at a wildfire.
The Guadalajara Environment and Territorial Development Ministry issued the air quality alert Monday night. (@EnriqueAlfaroR/Twitter)

As three wildfires in Jalisco continued to blaze Monday and into Tuesday morning, the state Environment and Territorial Development Ministry (Semadet) declared an air quality alert on Monday night for the municipalities of Guadalajara, Zapopan and Tala.

“It seemed like we had woken up in a city filled with fog,” María Fernanda Solís, a Guadalajara resident, told Mexico News Daily. “The smell was so strong I had to close all the windows in my house,” she added. 

According to authorities, two of the three wildfires had been contained by Tuesday afternoon. (@EnriqueAlfaroR/Twitter)

Schools stayed open — but had to cancel all outdoor activities.

Two of the fires were extinguished as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Semedet, and air quality is expected to improve throughout the day, according to the governor.

However, throughout Tuesday, Semadet encouraged the population to avoid all outdoor activities, use face masks outdoors, avoid smoking, drink plenty of fluids and close doors and windows to prevent pollutants from entering homes and buildings.

On Tuesday, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro also tweeted that César Uriel “P,” 26, was detained by Zapopan police on the highway to Saltillo last night as a suspect in setting the fires.

According to the newspaper El Informador, when detained, the suspect was in possession of a flammable substance in a container as well as several lighters.

Fires in Guadalajara are frequent at this time of year, and according to local authorities, are mostly caused by arson or negligence.

In 2021, after seven fires broke out in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, Alfaro claimed that those blazes were lit simultaneously and deliberately to “destabilize” Jalisco. 

With reports from El Informador

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