Tonnes of avocado waste will be converted into clean energy in Michoacán

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August 5, 2022

The biodigestor breaks down organic waste like avocado seeds and skin to create fertilizer and fuel. ContraLuz

A company in Michoacán is putting avocado waste to good use, transforming it into biogas and organic fertilizer.

Using some 100 tonnes of waste such as seeds and skin, Energías Verdes de Michoacán (Green Energy of Michoacán) is currently producing 10,000 cubic meters of natural gas every 24 hours as well as 40,000 liters of organic fertilizer.

The transformation takes place at a plant in Peribán, a municipality some 200 kilometers northwest of Morelia on the border with Jalisco. Michoacán is Mexico’s largest avocado-growing state with annual production of some 1.8 million tonnes.

The origin of Energías Verdes de Michoacán (Enavem) can be traced back to a chance meeting between Rogelio Sosa López, a businessman and owner of a company that makes biogas out of nopal, and a young avocado oil producer identified only as Víctor in a report by the news website Mi Morelia.

After Víctor told him that his business was struggling to cope with the vast quantities of avocado waste generated by the oil-making process, Sosa suggested that a biodigester — a system that digests organic waste in order to convert it to biogas and fertilizer — could be a solution.

The two men decided to explore the idea and subsequently formed Enavem, a company whose work today wouldn’t be possible without the expertise and skills of a team of engineers, agronomists, biologists and other experts.

The company began operations six months ago and consequently solved Víctor’s gargantuan waste problem. Instead of the avocado refuse accumulating, rotting and emitting methane into the atmosphere, it is now fed into two biodigesters that transform the organic matter into gas and fertilizer without the need for any chemical additives.

The natural gas can be transformed into “any kind of energy,” Sosa said. “We currently use it just for the boilers at the [avocado] oil factory and for vehicles but this is the first renewable clean energy with the potential to substitute gasoline and any other kind of energy obtained from fossil waste,” he claimed.

An aerial view of the biodigestor facility. ContraLuz

Methane-rich biogas produced from a wide range of raw materials is in fact already used as fuel for vehicles, including in Michoacán where some cars with modified fuel tanks run on Sosa’s nopal gas.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States were the largest producers of biogas as vehicle fuel in 2016 and China, France, the U.K. and Scandinavian countries are among the nations that have strongly supported the transition to biogas use in the transport sector. The agency said that switching to biogas as vehicle fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 60% and 80% compared to fossil-based fuels like gasoline and diesel.

Sosa asserted that the avocado biogas produced in Peribán “doesn’t contaminate, although there is still combustion.”

The lower levels of contamination generated by the use of the biogas is compensated by the carbon capture capacity of avocado trees as they grow, he explained.

Enavem is planning to start using a third biodigester soon and intends to continue increasing its capacity to produce biogas and fertilizer from avocado waste. Greater production could open the door to broader use of the environmentally-friendly products outside the avocado industry. For now, however, Enavem’s ingenuity mainly benefits the sector on which it depends.

“For the extraction of [avocado] oil high temperatures are needed and they’re now generated with the natural gas. The fertilizer … is reintegrated in the same orchards … [from which the avocados came] in order to stop using chemicals. In this way we’re closing a complete cycle in agricultural production, we’re returning the nutrients to the land,” Sosa said.

“We’re proposing alternatives in order to have clean water, soil and air and to stop indiscriminately and criminally contaminating our natural resources,” he added. “It’s true that the change of land use for the cultivation of avocados generates other [negative] impacts but that’s within the purview of the state. We’re not going to get involved in that issue, what we’re doing is a … solution to one part of the problem.”

With reports from Mi Morelia

Government plans to create commission to reinforce efforts to combat homicides

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MND Staff

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August 5, 2022

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crime scene — Reducing violence was one of López Obrador campaign promises, and the goal of his "hugs not bullets" strategy.

The federal government is planning to create a temporary commission to assist efforts to combat homicides, which numbered more than 15,000 in the first six months of the year.

The Security Ministry (SSPC) outlined the proposed function and composition of the Internal Commission for Attention to the Crime of Intentional Homicide in a document submitted to the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement.

The ministry said the commission will be responsible for coordinating the anti-homicide efforts of the federal government’s security and law enforcement agencies. “Through coordination mechanisms,” the commission will also collaborate with state and municipal security authorities within the framework of the federal anti-homicide strategy, the SSPC said.

The commission — whose overarching aim is to support “the effective prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of the crime of intentional homicide — will be “the base for the subsequent formalization of the National Anti-Homicide Coordination,” the ministry said.

Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez has emphasized that intentional homicides are trending down, but AMLO's term remains on track to be the most violent of recent administrations. — Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez has emphasized that intentional homicides are trending down.

The head of the SSPC’s General Unit of Legal Affairs and Transparency will lead the commission, with other Security Ministry officials and representatives of the National Guard completing its composition.

“The assigned personnel will carry out the tasks entrusted to it,” the SSPC document said. “… To achieve its purpose the commission will have working groups that will meet periodically according to the needs of the service or at least once a month.”

The commission will manage a criminal information system containing homicide data, formulate bimonthly reports detailing actions carried out to combat the crime and provide advice on security policy and strategy to federal, state and municipal authorities, among other responsibilities.

Its establishment will occur after the government publishes a document to that end in its official gazette. The commission will be absorbed into the National Anti-Homicide Coordination once that institution has been established.

President López Obrador campaigned on a promise to reduce violence in Mexico, but his first full year in office — 2019 — was the worst on record for homicides with over 34,000 victims, and over 30,000 people were murdered in each of 2020 and 2021.

All told, over 120,000 people have been murdered since the president was sworn in December 1, 2018. Homicides declined 9.1% in the first six months of 2022, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez reported in late July, but AMLO’s six-year term nevertheless remains on track to be the most violent in recent decades.

With reports from Animal Político and El Universal

Oxtankah archaeological site holds clues about ancient Maya seafarers

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Thilini Wijesinhe

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August 4, 2022

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Tomb at Oxtankah site, Chetumal — This tomb at the center of Oxtankah's Bees Plaza has a replica skeleton, but it's been otherwise preserved the way it was found, right up to the position of the skeleton.

The ancient Mayas are widely known for their achievements in architecture and astronomy but are perhaps less known for their commercial and seafaring skills. But the archaeological site Oxtankah’s history reveals how its inhabitants used marine resources for economic purposes.

The Maya of Oxtankah were skilled sailors. The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says they used canoes to access the Caribbean Sea for trading. They supplied products to interior Maya communities.

While this Quintana Roo archaeological zone may not be as popular as the coastal Maya site of Tulum, its lush surroundings and interesting history make for a beautiful visit. And since it gets few visitors, you may even have it to yourself, as we did when we toured there. Many structures at Oxtankah are yet to be excavated.

Situated just 16 kilometers from Chetumal, you can combine a visit to the site with a trip to Bacalar and its famous Lagoon of Seven Colors. History fans can also spend a few days in the region exploring other sites, including Chacchoben, Dzibanché and Kohunlich.

Plate from Oxtankah archaeological site — This plate found at Oxtankah featuring a vibrant fish design pays testament to the city’s role in the ancient Maya world. INAH

According to INAH, researcher Alberto Escalona Ramos gave the site its modern name in 1937. Oxtankah can have three meanings: “place surrounded by Ramón trees,” “in the middle of three towns” or “three neighborhoods.” The site’s original name is unknown.

Oxtankah was occupied from about 600 B.C. to A.D. 1100, peaking around A.D. 200–600. At that point, the city had over 100 buildings and included even the Tamalcab island off the coast. The Maya inhabitants built a water system here with chultunes – ancient water cisterns – to store rainwater.

Its economy was diverse: in addition to making use of marine resources, it produced salt and engaged in agriculture and beekeeping.

Expect to spend a couple of hours at the site and remember to enjoy its beautiful surroundings. Similar to other archaeological sites in the region, you can spot many iguanas here.

Near the entrance is an interesting stela – a carved stone slab – and a round stone that was perhaps an altar. After entering the site, you can walk up to the Bees Plaza.

West of this plaza is a building called Structure IV, a multilevel platform with the remains of four rooms. A red stucco design adorns the step on the entrance toward the rooms.

Archaeologists have identified different signs in this stucco decoration, including features of a jaguar, which the Maya considered a sacred animal. A thatched roof covers this section of the building, so you can’t miss it.

East of the plaza is Structure I, a pyramid topped by a temple, thought to have had a funerary purpose. Two tombs of important persons were discovered here – in line with Oxtankah’s tradition of burying rulers in tombs built inside buildings.

Oxtankah archaeological site — Structure VI in the Columns Plaza, where tombs were found.

South of the plaza is a palace built on a long platform, which served as a residence for key city personnel as well as having administrative and other purposes. Its facade is believed to once have had colorful stucco decorations, but no signs of them exist anymore. You can see the remains of a few rooms here.

A must-see in the Bees Plaza is the altar in its center, also covered with a thatched roof. Building altars in the center of notable plazas is considered a Mesoamerican tradition.

Here you can see a tomb of an important person. Although the skeleton is a replica, it’s placed in the same position as the original burial, with its head pointing north, which was the direction associated with the dead.

After exploring the Bees Plaza, visit the Columns Plaza, where archaeologists discovered many tombs.

And then east of the Columns Plaza is the Structure VI pyramid, where several tombs of important persons with rich offerings were discovered. Look out for the replica skeleton placed in one of its tombs.

West of this plaza is a palace. A few rooms here are identified as possible royal residences. Another room was a kitchen. This building also once had colorful stucco decorations.

There are other buildings worth seeing, including the elite residence to the north of the Columns Plaza. But perhaps another must-see is the 16th-century chapel built by the Spanish. It will remind you of the chapel in Dzibilchaltún, if you have been there.

This chapel has two rooms on either side, one of which is in fairly good condition.

Finally, there is a building on a round platform toward the site’s north section that is speculated to have had an astronomical function. You can also see a chultun in this area.

And before you leave, remember to visit the small onsite museum for a glimpse into the life of the ancient Mayas.

Keen to learn even more about the Maya culture? Visit the Museum of Mayan Culture in nearby Chetumal.

Thilini Wijesinhe, a financial professional turned writer and entrepreneur, moved to Mexico in 2019 from Australia. She writes from Mérida, Yucatán. Her website can be found at https://momentsing.com/

In this Puebla community, migration to the US is longstanding tradition

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MND Staff

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August 4, 2022

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A man sits in the central plaza of Xoyatla, Puebla. — A man sits in the central plaza of Xoyatla, Puebla, a source of US migrants.

Reina Nolasco’s father and four of her brothers migrated to the United States to work and send money home to family members who remained in her small town in Puebla. But she is far from the only Xoyatla resident with relatives in the States: heading north to work is a long-established tradition in the community located about 60 kilometers southwest of Puebla city.

Nolasco, a teacher in Xoyatla — a town of some 2,000 people where Náhuatl is still spoken — told the newspaper El Sol de Puebla that her father left for the U.S. in 1980 and worked there for over two decades to support his family at home.

“He made a commitment to his family to give us [children] the best [life he could],” she said. “Since then we understood that giving your all for your children is the greatest [source of] pride. ”

Nolasco, one of nine siblings, said that four of her brothers followed in their father’s footsteps and migrated to the U.S. to work. The money they sent home put her and her sisters through university, she said.

[wpgmza id=”367″]

Nolasco’s father returned to Xoyatla in 2006 but her brothers remain in the U.S. and send remittances home to their parents, returning the favor to their hard-working dad. Together they send between US $200 and $300 home per month, or more if there is a religious festival or other special event coming up, Nolasco said.

“That’s the way it is in our town,” she said, referring to the longstanding practice of emigrating to the U.S. to work.

“It’s hard because we don’t see our brothers, uncles and fathers for maybe 20 or even 30 years, but that’s the tradition and we have to respect it,” Nolasco said.

With so many erstwhile Xoyatla residents in the United States, it’s no surprise that remittances are the main source of income in the town, where working-age inhabitants mainly work on farms, make mezcal or weave baskets and other craftwork with palm leaves.

With dollars flowing into the town — including cash — local businesses began accepting payments in greenbacks in 2000, El Sol de Puebla said, adding that purchases are still occasionally made with the United States currency. The newspaper reported that migrants return to Xoyatla when they reach a certain age, with some marrying once they’re back in their home town.

Families commonly build homes with money earned in the United States, where poblanos — as natives of Puebla state are known — are well represented among the Mexican migrant community, especially in states such as New York and California.

With reports from El Sol de Puebla

Jalisco cartel now has presence in 28 states: US Congress

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MND Staff

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August 4, 2022

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CJNG sicarios posed with their faces uncovered in a series of 2021 photos. cuartoscuro

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) operates in Mexico City and 27 states, and is the dominant criminal organization in six states, according to a report by the United States Congressional Research Service (CRS).

A map published in the report shows that Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango and Tlaxcala are the only states where the CJNG doesn’t have a presence. It also shows that the CJNG is the dominant criminal force in its home state of Jalisco as well as Nayarit, Colima, Guerrero, México state and Veracruz.

Entitled “Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations,” the report said the CJNG is an “extremely powerful cartel” with a “reputation for extreme and intimidating violence.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “considers the CJNG a top U.S. threat and Mexico’s best-armed criminal group,” the CRS said, noting that U.S. authorities have offered a US $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, “who is believed to be hiding in the mountains of Jalisco, Michoacán, and Colima.”

A map of cartel-controlled areas and zones of conflict in Mexico, compiled by the U.S. Congressional Research Service. U.S. CRS

Informed by media reports, the CRS report acknowledged that, according to some analysts, the CJNG has drug trafficking operations throughout the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

“The CJNG built its dominance internationally first through extending its presence through a rapid expansion inside Mexico,” it said.

“In 2016, many analysts maintained the CJNG controlled a territory equivalent to almost half of Mexico. The group has battled Los Zetas and Gulf Cartel factions in Tabasco, Veracruz, and Guanajuato, as well as the Sinaloa … [Cartel] in the Baja Peninsula and Chihuahua. The CJNG’s ambitious expansion campaign was characterized by high levels of violence, particularly in Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana.”

The CRS also said that the CJNG has consolidated “important components of the global narcotics supply chain” through its battle to dominate key ports on both the Pacific and Gulf coasts.

“In particular, the CJNG maintains reported control over the ports of Veracruz, Manzanillo, and Lázaro Cárdenas, which has given the group access to precursor chemicals that flow into Mexico from China and other parts of Latin America,” the report said.

“As a result, according to some analysts, the CJNG has pursued an aggressive growth strategy underwritten by U.S. demand for Mexican methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl. … Despite leadership losses, the CJNG has extended its geographic reach and maintained its own cohesion while exploiting the infighting among factions of the Sinaloa organization.”

The CRS described the cartel as “intensely expansionist” and acknowledged its “willingness” to attack government officials, such as Mexico City Police Chief Omar García Harfuch.

The report also profiled eight other major Mexican criminal groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel, the Gulf Cartel and La Familia Michoacana.

A roadblock manned by armed civilians surprised a group of reporters as they followed the president through northern Sinaloa in May. Video screenshot

Once headed by imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the Sinaloa Cartel is the “the Mexican crime organization with the largest international footprint,” CRS said. Its report cited a DEA estimate that the cartel was active in 15 of 32 Mexican entities in 2020 and noted that its leaders have successfully corrupted public officials from the local to the national level.

The report also said that many lawmakers in the current U.S. Congress are concerned about cartel-related violence in Mexico and its impact on border security.

“Some members have been evaluating the amounts and effectiveness of U.S. counternarcotics and security assistance to Mexico and assessing the overall U.S.-Mexico security relationship. Additional concerns focus on how … [cartel]-related violence has imperiled some licit economic sectors, negatively affected U.S.-Mexico trade, and contributed to the internal displacement and outmigration of Mexican citizens,” it said.

“Congress has engaged regularly with these issues, holding hearings, appropriating funds to support Mexico’s anti-crime efforts, and issuing directives and reporting requirements to U.S. agencies.”

Mexico News Daily

10 trapped in flooded Coahuila mine

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MND Staff

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August 4, 2022

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Military in Coahuila for miners rescue — The military arrived on the scene Wednesday, deploying a rescue plan for the 10 trapped miners. NG/Twitter

Ten miners remained trapped Thursday afternoon following an accident Wednesday at a coal mine in the northern state of Coahuila.

The tense situation began Wednesday afternoon when workers reportedly were excavating one shaft and ran into an adjoining shaft that was full of water, which caused a flood and trapped the miners.

According to an update early Thursday, five miners were able to get out shortly after the accident and were taken for medical care; three remain hospitalized.

Later, during the morning press conference of President López Obrador, an official reported that a group of 30 military personnel with specialized equipment left for the scene late Wednesday night, as did divers from the National Guard. A coordination post has been set up onsite, added Agustín Radilla Suástegui, the deputy minister of national defense, and there was an early-morning meeting among agencies to coordinate rescue efforts.

trapped miners in Coahuila — Families of the trapped miners said that their loved ones had been prohibited from entering the mine earlier this week due to flooding concerns but had re-entered when finances became an issue. Internet

The mine is located near the small town of Agujitas, which is about 110 kilometers from the Texas border in the municipality of Sabinas, Coahuila.

Radilla said the miners were trapped between two pits flooded with approximately 34 meters of water. The mine is made up of three 60-meter-deep shafts.

López Obrador said he had instructed the heads of the military (Sedena), CFE, Pemex and Conagua to streamline support. “What I wish with all my soul is that we rescue the miners,” he added.

According to an account from Sedena, the accident occurred while the miners worked with hand tools in a 50-meter-deep pit. When they tapped into the adjoining area full of water, a tunnel collapsed, causing the flood that trapped the men.

Governor Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís, center, conferring with the rescue team at the mine. Twitter

The newspaper El Sol de México reported that relatives of the miners said it had been known since Monday that working there was risky because a farm in the Agujita area had a pocito (well) with excess water. For that reason, “the workers were not allowed to enter [the mine] on Monday and Tuesday,” the newspaper wrote.

El Sol de México added that on “Wednesday it was decided that they should go down to work, since they are paid for each tonne of coal extracted, and a stoppage would” result in financial setbacks.

The goal of the rescuers is to get pumping equipment into place to drain the coal pit, sources reported, so search-and-rescue teams can enter. According to media reports, the rescue force in the mine area numbers 269 people, including nearly 100 soldiers and seven agencies of the federal government, as well as state and municipal organizations and four military canine pairs.

“It is complicated, but … the important thing is to place the pumps strategically to extract the greatest amount of water and have immediate access to the mines,” said national Civil Protection coordinator Laura Velázquez.

Napoleon Gomez Urrutia — Senator Napoleon Gómez, seen here in an old photo from when he was the head of a national mine workers’ syndicate, said the accident made a case for reforming the Mining Law. The miners were not unionized.

The mine began operations in January 2022 and hadn’t had any incidents before this week, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (STPS) reported, according to El Sol de México, which also reported that, like most mine workers in Mexico, the trapped miners are not unionized.

“For that and other fundamental reasons, we need a comprehensive reform of the Mining Law,” Morena Senator Napoleón Gómez Urrutia said.

Gómez’s father was a mining union leader for 40 years and he, too, has been involved in union leadership.

On Twitter, Gómez, the president and general secretary of the National Mining Union wrote that authorities do not comply with their obligation to inspect or supervise coal-mining operations, and “that is why these tragedies occur very often,” El Sol de México reported.

The accident recalls a previous disaster in February 2006 at the Pasta de Conchos mine, also in Coahuila, where 65 workers died. Only two bodies were recovered. Since then, there have been more than 100 deaths of miners in the area, the Excélsior newspaper reported.

The most recent accident was in June 2021, in the municipality of Múzquiz, Coahuila, when a flood caused the roof and walls of a mine to rupture, killing all seven miners who were trapped inside.

With reports from El Sol de México, Infobae and Milenio

Gunmen attack and kill Guanajuato journalist

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MND Staff

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August 4, 2022

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murdered Mexican journalist Ernesto Mendez — The director of the *Tu Voz* news website was shot while celebrating in a bar owned by his family. Article 19

A journalist was shot and killed in Guanajuato Tuesday, becoming the 13th media worker to be murdered this year.

According to Article 19, a press freedom advocacy organization, Ernesto Méndez, director of the Tu Voz news website, was attacked by gunmen at approximately 11 p.m. while in a bar owned by his family in San Luis de la Paz, a city in northern Guanajuato.

Article 19 said on Twitter that it was aware that Méndez had received threats prior to his murder and called on the federal Attorney General’s Office to investigate the case and consider the journalist’s work as a motive for the crime.

At least nine of the 13 murders of journalists this year were related to their work, the organization said. “We demand that the Mexican state act urgently to stop this phenomenon and join in the grief of Ernesto’s family, friends and colleagues,” Article 19 said.

amlo and mendez — This file photo of slain photographer Méndez and President López Obrador has been described as a metaphor for the reality of journalism in Mexico: the victim of the latest attack against a journalist has his eyes fixed on the president, who looks the other way.

The newspaper El País reported that Tuesday began as a day of celebration for Méndez because he had been awarded a permit to stage a regional festival. The journalist and businessman was celebrating with friends and family when gunmen opened fire.

Guanajuato Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez said that two other people were killed in the attack. “We strongly condemn the crime in which the businessman and journalist Ernesto Méndez and two other people lost their lives,” he wrote on Twitter.

The governor said he had instructed the state’s governance minister to provide support to the families of the victims and pledged that his government would ensure that justice is served.

With the June murder of Tamaulipas journalist Antonio de la Cruz, 2022 became the most violent year on record for Mexican media workers. There have been some arrests in connection with the crimes, but impunity remains common in cases involving journalists.

President López Obrador has been accused of fomenting violence against journalists with his frequent diatribes against them and against media organizations that are critical of him and his government.

Jan-Alberto Hootsen, Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in 2020 that reporters who have been criticized by López Obrador at his weekday news conferences have received thousands of adverse and hostile messages on social media and even death threats.

Article 19 said in 2019 that the president’s “stigmatizing discourse” against the media “has a direct impact in terms of the … risk it can generate for the work of the press because [his remarks] permeate in the discourse of the rest of society and can even generate attacks.”

With reports from El País

Bus and Metro parkour stunts alarm authorities

By

Lydia Carey

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August 4, 2022

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Several people recorded the stunt on cellphone cameras.

Videos went viral this week of a youth identified only as Noah jumping from the Hidalgo Park bridge in León, Guanajuato, onto a transit vehicle below as part of parkour, an increasingly popular form of athletic training.

Officially originating in the 1980s in France, parkour pulls from many ancient traditions and cultures from around the world. It is a kind of training and gymnastics where participants take on challenges to move from one obstacle to the next in the most fluid and efficient way, often including jumps and rolls. It takes place mainly in urban settings and groups of young people can often be found in parks practicing.

The pastime has become popular in the last several years across Mexico and recently in Mexico City, young people have been filming themselves jumping and riding on Metro cars and other public transportation.

The León incident was captured on several cellphone videos and shows the young man jumping from the bridge onto a city bus known as an oruga or caterpillar become of its several sections connected by moveable accordion-like connectors that allow one section of the bus to turn independently of the other and then pull the back section behind it.

Se hacen virales por hacer "parkour" en las Orugas del SIT

Watch this video on YouTube

Video of the stunt was posted on YouTube.

One of the biggest dangers, according to León public transport association president Daniel Villaseñor, is that the accordion-like middle sections could crush someone if they landed on it. He added that the fabric of those sections is not strong enough to take the force of a jump and could rip. The young man in the video does not land on the middle section of the bus, but Villaseñor said it was still disruptive for the driver and passengers when they heard someone jump onto the top of the bus and then run off into the traffic laughing.

Villaseñor warned against these kinds of tricks and feats and urged the public to report those involved to the authorities. The young man in question, Noah, is expected to have to pay some kind of fine or have to perform community service, but as of now, authorities have not located him.

With reports from AM and Noticias Vespertinas

Bank of America forecasts zero growth for Mexico in 2023; raises specter of recession

By

MND Staff

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August 4, 2022

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economic downturn graphic mexico — Bank of America said Wednesday that it expects a U.S. economic slowdown to eventually extend to Mexico. deposit photos

Bank of America (BofA) has lowered its 2023 growth forecast for the Mexican economy from 1% to 0%, predicting that GDP will stagnate as the United States economy slows.

In a note published Wednesday, the bank predicted that an economic deceleration in the United States, “in part driven by higher interest rates,” would be the main driver of a slowdown that would put Mexico on the brink of recession.

It said the fortunes of the United States and Mexican economies have historically risen and fallen together and that it expects that a U.S. slowdown will extend to Mexico “with a lag.”

BofA predicted that internal factors will also contribute to a slowdown here, specifically citing higher interest rates, tight fiscal policy and renewed uncertainty generated by the energy dispute between Mexico and its North American trade partners.

Bank of America building — Bank of America also cited internal factors: higher interest rates, tight fiscal policy and uncertainty over Mexico’s relationship with its North American trade partners. Ken Wolter/Shutterstock

The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 7.75% in June and is expected to lift its key rate again next week as it attempts to tame inflation that rose above 8% in the first half of July. BofA predicts that the benchmark rate will be 9.5% at the end of the year and remain at that level through 2023.

The energy dispute precipitated by federal government policies that favor the Federal Electricity Commission and state oil company Pemex over private and foreign firms intensified in late July when both the United States and Canada launched challenges under USMCA, the three-way North American trade pact.

BofA said the formal dispute resolution process requested by the U.S. and Canada due to Mexico’s “nationalist energy policies” would take “many months” and could result in the imposition of tariffs on Mexican exports. Uncertainty about the potential tariffs dissuades investment in Mexico, it said.

BofA said that one factor that could cushion the anticipated slowdown is remittances, which reached a record high of over US $27.5 billion in the first six months of the year.

US trade representative Katherine Tai and Canada trade minister Mary Ng — U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her Canadian counterpart, Minister of International Trade Mary Ng. Both countries have invoked USMCA rights to review Mexico’s “nationalist” energy policies, creating investor uncertainty.

The bank’s 2023 growth forecast for Mexico is below the current outlooks of many other financial institutions, but not as gloomy as Moody’s Analytics’ prediction that the economy will likely fall into recession next year.

On a positive note, BofA raised its 2022 forecast to growth of 1.9%, a 0.2% uptick compared to its previous prediction. Better than expected economic results in the first half of the year – annual growth was 1.9% in the April to June quarter – were the catalyst for the upward revision.

In contrast, Ve Por Más (BX+), a Mexican bank, cut its 2022 forecast by 0.2% to 1.8%. It also made a slight downward adjustment to its 2023 growth outlook, but at 1.7%, it is decidedly more optimistic than that of BofA.

BX+ chief economist Alejandro Saldaña said Wednesday that “the engines of economic growth are cooling due to inflation and [high] interest rates.”

“We’re no longer so worried about production obstructions, now it’s [consumer] demand that concerns us,” he told a virtual press conference. Saldaña noted that the government is following a policy of austerity and therefore federal expenditure won’t be an “engine for growth in the coming quarters.”

With reports from El Universal and Expansión

As turtles arrive on Chiapas beaches, their eggs appear in the marketplace

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MND Staff

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August 3, 2022

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olive ridley turtle in Oaxaca — Turtle eggs face several predators, but none worse than poachers, who can collect up to 20 dozen eggs a night. Carlos Slim Foundation

With sea turtles once again nesting on the coast of Chiapas, turtle eggs have reappeared on the black market in the southern state.

The newspaper Diario de Sur reported that poachers are removing olive ridley turtle eggs from beaches in Mazatán, a coastal municipality in southern Chiapas that borders Tapachula.

On the black market, a dozen eggs sell for around 70 pesos (US $3.40), according to José Alfredo González Gerardo, a biologist who collaborates with a Mazatán community group dedicated to the protection of flora and fauna.

Unfortunately, some people see the poaching and sale of turtle eggs as a money-making exercise, he told Diario de Sur. González said that a single poacher can collect up to 20 dozen eggs in a night and make 1,400 pesos (US $68) by selling them on the black market.

During nesting season, large numbers of poachers descend on Mazatán beaches to look for eggs, he said. Authorities do little to stop the illegal practice and volunteers attempting to protect nests are outnumbered and outpaced by the poachers, many of whom use quad bikes.

González said the eggs are subsequently sold in municipalities such as Tapachula, Tuxtla Chico, Cacahoatán, Unión Juárez and Suchiate. People from those municipalities come to Mazatán to remove eggs from turtle nests, he added.

González said the eggs are illegally sold in public markets and served as snacks in bars and cantinas.

He attributed the high demand for turtle eggs to the erroneous conception that they are an aphrodisiac. There is no conclusive medical evidence that they are, he said.

The biologist called on authorities to do more to stop the poaching, especially on the Emiliano Zapata ejido (communal land), which is easily accessible via a coastal highway that runs through Mazatán. Under federal law, the poaching of turtle eggs is punishable by imprisonment of up to nine years as well as large fines.

Despite a federal ban on the hunting, sale and consumption of sea turtle eggs taking effect over 30 years ago, they continue to be poached, sold and eaten in some other parts of the country, such as Oaxaca’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec region.

With reports from Diario del Sur