CFE plant in Guerrero produces electricity and death: anti-graft group

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July 7, 2022

Smokestacks of the Plutarco Elías Calles power plant in Petacalco, Guerrero. MCCI

A state-owned power plant on the coast of Guerrero is responsible for water and air pollution that has caused the deaths of a huge number of aquatic animals and sickened and ultimately killed some local residents, according to a report by an anti-graft group.

Located just south of the border with Michoacán, the Plutarco Elías Calles coal and fuel-oil fired plant in Petacalco is the Federal Electricity Commission’s most productive – and most contaminating – electricity generation facility.

A report by Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) exposes the profound negative impact the plant has had on Petacalco since it opened in 1993.

Published under the headline “La carboeléctrica que produce muerte” (The coal-fired power plant that causes death), the report said that turtles, crocodiles and fish die every day due to the operation of the plant. Sea turtles enter the Balsas River, into which a CFE-built canal flows, MCCI said. The plant disposes of water used in an industrial cooling process in the canal and consequently contaminates it, the Balsas River and the Pacific Ocean into which it flows.

Plant workers clean up dead sardines. MCCI

But it’s not just contamination that is killing turtles and other animals that enter the river and the CFE canal. Some are dying excruciatingly painful deaths when they inadvertently reach the power plant.

“Except for some buoys floating on the water, nothing prevents the passage of the turtles to the artificial canal, which leads them to death,” MCCI said.

Citing accounts from locals and environmentalists, the organization said that sea turtles including leatherbacks and olive ridleys are caught in grilles on the exterior of the power plant and are subsequently “pulled with rakes that sever their limbs.”

“Others are stranded in the sun for days and die of dehydration,” MCCI said, adding that residents and environmentalists have documented the death of as many as 76 turtles “in a single day under these conditions.”

“Moreover, they say that CFE personnel arrive with cranes or trucks to pick up the animals – even if they’re [still] alive – and take them to a dump inside the plant, where they’re covered with earth and grass,” MCCI said. The organization said that crocodiles and a range of different fish species have also become trapped in the power plant’s canal.

In January, Petacalco fishermen accused the CFE of killing approximately 150 tonnes of sardines by dumping chemicals in the canal. MCCI noted that a Guerrero Environment Ministry investigation concluded that the massive die-off was not caused by contamination generated by the power plant.

But local fishermen say that the plant’s improper waste disposal over a period of almost three decades is the cause of a drastic depletion of fish stocks.

“Fishermen, many of whom are now elderly, say that before the CFE smokestacks started operating, they caught up to a tonne of fish a day just a few kilometers from the beach,” MCCI said. “Today they have to travel more than 30 kilometers to set their nets and leave them for a day or two to catch a couple of fish. The reason, they explain, is that the CFE discharges its waste into the sea.”

One young girl recently died of aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease that can be caused by exposure to radiation or toxic chemicals. She wasn't the first in Petacalco to succumb to the exceedingly rare disease. — One young girl recently died of aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease that can be caused by exposure to radiation or toxic chemicals. She wasn’t the first in Petacalco to succumb to the rare disease. MCCI

Equally problematic is the air pollution generated by the Plutarco Elías Calles plant, which according to a 2017 study by National Autonomous University researchers, is the CFE’s largest emitter of mercury. The United States Geological Survey describes mercury as “a potent neurotoxin that can affect the human nervous system.”

The World Health Organization notes that coal contains mercury and other hazardous air pollutants that are emitted when it is burned in coal-fired power plants. It also says that the inhalation of mercury vapor can produce harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys, and may be fatal.

MCCI said it was able to confirm that almost one-third of all deaths in Petacalco between 2012 and 2020 were caused by illnesses linked to exposure to contaminated air. Of 176 reported deaths, “at least 56 were caused by tumors, anemia or lymphoma (22), respiratory ailments (14), cerebral infarction or nervous system diseases (11) and liver or kidney ailments (9),” the organization said.

The air that Petacalco residents breathe “stings the nose, throat and eyes,” MCCI said. “Those who live a few steps from the doors of the power plant say that there are days when the smoke that comes out of the chimneys … comes down to ground level and it’s impossible to breathe.”

One local man said that after days when it rains ash, tree leaves and the upward-facing sides of fruit get "burnt." — One local man described how after days when it rains ash, tree leaves and the upward-facing sides of fruit get “burnt.” MCCI

Bárbara Abarca, who lives near the plant, told MCCI that the contamination has recently worsened. “I would like to leave because I live [so] close [to the plant],” she said.

MCCI also said that smoke that belches day and night out of the power plant’s chimneys adversely affects a variety of crops grown in the area, including limes, coconuts, watermelons, bananas and plums. They are routinely covered with ash and some fruits are rendered inedible because they have “small burns” or have turned black inside.

Urbano Duarte, a fisherman and lime producer, told MCCI that the CFE is “fucking us over.”

“Look at the leaves on these trees, covered in ash … and the trees don’t even want to produce,” he said in an interview at his small farm. “… The government doesn’t take care and this [contamination] is affecting the entire municipality. … There are ranchers, farmers [and] fishermen, and they’re the people who are affected.”

Mexico News Daily

Energy regulator halts opening of US $150 million Guanajuato wind farm

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MND Staff

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July 6, 2022

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The Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) has put the brakes on a US $150 million wind farm built by Spanish energy company Iberdrola in Guanajuato.

The newspaper Reforma reported Wednesday that the federal regulator advised Iberdola on June 9 that it couldn’t begin operations at the wind farm, which is located in the northern municipality of San Felipe. According to the CRE, the Spanish company doesn’t have the permit it requires to operate there.

Iberdrola initially planned to build the project in Villa de Reyes, San Luis Potosí, and obtained a permit to operate the wind farm in that municipality. It asked the CRE over three years ago to modify the permit to allow operations in San Felipe but in March this year the regulator denied the request, telling the company it will have to submit an application for a new authorization.

Iberdrola has initiated legal action against the decision, but a court hearing isn’t scheduled until September 5. The judge who agreed to hear the case didn’t invalidate the CRE’s suspension order in the interim.

Earlier this year, the regulator refused to renew a permit for Iberdrola’s power plant in the Nuevo León municipality of Pesquería. In addition, the CRE – an ostensibly autonomous federal body – recently fined the company over 9 billion pesos (US $435.4 million) for violating a now-defunct electricity law.

President López Obrador, who is determined to “rescue” Mexico’s state-owned electricity and oil companies, holds Iberdrola up as an example of what he calls unscrupulous foreign firms that have “looted” the country. The company, one of the largest private energy generators in the Mexican market, has made significant cuts to its investment here since López Obrador took office in late 2018.

Meanwhile, United States Embassy official Laura Sima said Tuesday that a lack of clear rules in the energy sector is the reason behind legal battles between private companies and authorities. Speaking at a Mexico-U.S. business forum, the head of the embassy’s energy department also said that measures taken to strengthen the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and Pemex have affected private companies’ ability to operate freely in Mexico.

Authorities now think nothing of delaying or denying energy sector permits, which has a negative impact on foreign companies’ participation in the market, she said.

Ambassador Ken Salazar has made similar remarks, noting in March that U.S. energy companies are having problems securing the permits they need to operate without encumbrance in Mexico. Reforma reported earlier this year that gasoline retailers and other private companies were effectively being forced to purchase fuel from Pemex because the federal government wasn’t renewing import permits and has shut down some privately owned fuel storage terminals.

As part of his efforts to boost CFE and Pemex, López Obrador – who officially opened the new Pemex refinery on the Gulf coast of Tabasco last week – is betting big on fossil fuels, while making it harder for private renewable companies to operate here, although he’s more welcoming of those who intend to export clean energy to the U.S. rather than compete with the state utility.

Sima advocated additional development of Mexico’s renewables sector, noting that the country has abundant natural resources with which to generate clean energy. Taking full advantage of those resources could spur the creation of millions of well-paid jobs, she said.

With reports from Reforma and Milenio

Need a rest from Mexican fare? CDMX is a world cuisine lover’s paradise

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Lydia Carey

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July 6, 2022

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Mexico City restaurant Loncheria Suvai, chicken curry — Lonchería Suvai is located in a tiny spot in the capital's Navarte neighborhood. Its Indian food is the best in the city, in the writer's opinion.

Many tourists who visit Mexico City look for restaurants with classic Mexican cuisine, places like El Cardenal or Nico’s, or if they are less purist, contemporary Mexican like Maximo Bistrot or Quintonil. But visiting the capital doesn’t always have to mean tortillas and chiles, especially if you already live somewhere else in Mexico and already eat great Mexican food there.

Mexico City has some great stalwart world cuisine restaurants, with new ones popping up all the time, each adding their own spice to the food scene. You might be surprised at what you can find in this city to feed your craving for cuisine beyond Mexico’s borders.

For a taste of the old country, perennial favorite Kolobok has heavenly homemade borscht and Russian black bread at its family-friendly location in St. Maria de Ribera, just outside of the historic center. There’s also Polish experts Specia in the Condesa neighborhood, with its black vested waiters, steaming Strogonoff and the boiled, stuffed cabbage dish golabki.

Italian-Mexican restaurants like Rosetta and Sartoria offer a little Old World and a little New, blending handmade pasta with huitlacoche and chile de árbol in fine dining settings. Both have permanent slots on the best eating lists for Mexico City.

Makan restaurant, Mexico City, Singapore cuisine — Ever tried cuisine from Singapore? You can find it at Makan, located on Querétaro street.

Craving Middle Eastern cuisine? One of my favorite new additions to the foodscape is Pat Patz, created by the affable and award-winning chef Mijael Seidel, a local native who fell in love with Middle Eastern cooking while living in New York in the 1990s. His dishes pop with flavor, thanks to his sensibility for acid, salt, and citrus, but they are faithful enough to traditional recipes. Your craving for falafel, hummus or eggplant schnitzel (a fusion dish) will be more than satisfied.

Al Andulus is a more traditional option for Middle Eastern fare, in one of the city’s most iconic buildings in the section of the historic center that was once home to the city’s thriving Lebanese population.

A former pop-up in the working-class neighborhood of Doctores, Korean restaurant Dooriban now has a commanding location in the Roma neighborhood, on the corner of Jalapa and Tabasco streets. In the kitchen you’ll find Ju Hee Park — or Mama Park, as she is called — making her homemade kimchi, kimchi fried rice, spicy chicken wings with gochujang sauce and Korean liquors.

Bao Bao, a Taiwanese restaurant that opened right before the pandemic in 2019, makes a delicious variety of traditional steamed bun sandwiches and a heavenly beef soup that takes something like 16 hours to make.

Roma’s Galanga has been around for a while and is still a star: it was the first Thai restaurant to rise to gourmet status, offering crowd-pleasing pad thai and authentic curries of all stripes in a chic setting inside an old Mansion.

Makan arrived with Singaporean food in 2020, led by husband-wife team Maryann and Mario. Maryann hails from Singapore, and while I’m no expert on Singaporean fare, her pickled veggies with sambal and the marinated duck with noodles that are made in-house are to die for. The location isn’t too shabby either, centered around an intimate terrace on Querétaro street.

For some delicious Asian fusion, head to Cariñito, a tiny place in Roma Norte with only five different tacos on the menu, four made with pork belly and one with the most perfectly cooked eggplant. Each taco preparation is in homage to a different Asian flavor profile, and one, the criollo, is a slight nod to chifa (Chinese-Peruvian) food in Peru.

The Cantonese taco is pork belly with hoisin sauce, siracha made onsite and pickled veggies. The Thai taco — made with pork or eggplant — has Jim Jaew sauce with tamarind and fresh basil. Each is a perfectly balanced flavor explosion.

baklava at Pat Patz restaurant in Mexico City — Pat Patz, a Middle Eastern restaurant in the Roma Norte neighborhood, makes a traditional baklava with a bit of flair.

For an extra-hip vibe, stop by Roma’s Choza on the weekends (the only time they’re open) — which mixes and matches Thai influences, with sticky coconut rice, green mango salad, a whole fried fish and shots of small-batch Mexican mezcal. Hidden away behind a door without a sign, you have to be in the know to find this place, but once you do, you’re in for a delicious weekend feast al fresco on their upstairs patio.

Pandemic-born Lonchería Suvai, captained by Malini Shreedharan, was formerly delivery only, but now they have a tiny lunch spot in the Narvarte neighborhood. The South Indian dishes that make up the majority of the menu are the best Indian food in Mexico City. A tiny hole in the wall, their diner is open just for lunch and so reasonably priced that I want to eat there every day.

Masala y Maiz, which has been thrilling palates in the city since 2018, now has a location in the Juárez neighborhood. It combines Indian cuisine’s delights with Mexican ingredients and flair. Their crunchy Kuku Poussin is a twice-fried half chicken whose decadently rich side of melted ghee is balanced by a raw watermelon, jicama and grapefruit salad sprinkled with black sesame seeds. And the crinkly samosas filled with suadero (confit-style beef) have the perfect amount of tamarind and mint drizzled on top.

And for expats from the United States looking for a taste of the American South, the American Legion in Condesa has reopened post-COVID with a new southern-barbecue-focused specials list (full disclosure, I haven’t been there to try it yet) that includes things like brisket sandwiches and pulled pork. There’s also always Pinche Gringo BBQ, another longtime favorite for pulled pork or brisket and some downhome sides. For east coasters, a new New York-style deli is set to open up in the next few months in Roma, so stay tuned for news on that.

Obviously, this is just a partial list. There are so many places in Mexico City for a taste of great world cuisine, but this will give you a good start if you seek more than tacos and moles in the metropolis.

Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has been published widely both online and in print, writing about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of Mexico City Streets: La Roma. Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at www.mexicocitystreets.com.

Officials remove massage therapists from Nayarit beach

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Lydia Carey

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July 6, 2022

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torn down massage tent on Playa Bucerias, Nayarit — Forty female massage therapists were dispersed from a beachside massage tent on Playa Bucerías on Friday by local authorities with the help of the National Guard.

Citing the lack of a necessary permit, local and federal authorities arrived Friday at a massage tent on Playa Bucerías in Nayarit and tore down its awnings, saying its 40 female massage therapists were not permitted to work there and had to leave immediately.

The women, whose belongings were unceremoniously tossed out by agents of the federal environmental protection agency Profepa, local police and the National Guard, told the newspaper Tribuna de la Bahía that they have attempted several times to get the necessary permits for their business but have been repeatedly stymied by bureaucracy. They say that they have paid up to 2,000 pesos for the permitting process, money that has been lost after they were unable to complete their application.

The women also said the authorities acted “over the top” in a situation that didn’t require such brute force, adding that they did not present official orders to remove the massage tent and just told the women to take their things immediately or to pick them up later in the trash.

On Tuesday, the massage therapists reported that they had signed a letter to Nayarit Governor Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero, asking him to intercede on their behalf. They also said that they planned a visit to Bucerías Mayor Mirtha Villalvazo Amaya, hoping that she might be able to help them get the paperwork they need to work legally at their beachside stand.

Until that time, they say, they will be out of work indefinitely with families to feed at home.

With reports from Tribuna de la Bahia.

Substandard care led to amputation of woman’s legs and uterus: rights commission

By

MND Staff

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July 6, 2022

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The Querétaro hospital where a patient lost her legs and uterus after the preventable spread of infection.

The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has denounced the case of a woman who had to have her legs amputated and uterus removed after receiving “inadequate” medical treatment in Querétaro city.

The CNDH announced Tuesday it had submitted a recommendation to Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) director Zoé Robledo in relation to a case in which a 27-year-old woman allegedly received substandard care at two IMSS facilities in the Querétaro capital.

The woman, who initially felt unwell due to an out of place intrauterine device (IUD), suffered a system-wide infection in late 2018 after she received incorrect diagnoses and inadequate medical treatment and follow-up care, the rights commission said in a statement. Days after the removal of her IUD with an “erroneous procedure,” the woman suffered septic shock, which necessitated the removal of her uterus and an ovary, and the amputation of both her legs.

The septic shock she suffered was allegedly related to the improper extraction of the birth control device.

In a complaint she submitted to the commission, the woman said she went to an IMSS clinic (Family Medicine Unit 9, or UMF-9) at least three times in September 2018 because she was suffering from abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and colitis and a course of action was prescribed “without requesting laboratory studies.”

At the No. 1 General Regional Hospital (HGR-1) it was subsequently determined that the woman’s IUD was out of place and needed to be removed. “It was removed with forceps without previously carrying out an ultrasound or X-ray studies,” CNDH said.

Three days later, the woman presented at UMF-9 with back pain and was diagnosed with acute lower back pain without any analysis being carried out. When there was no improvement in her condition, she went to the emergency section of UMF-9 and from there was transferred to HGR-1, where she was admitted due to serious loss of blood, infectious gastroenteritis and severe dehydration.

The commission said it had collected sufficient information to confirm that when the woman arrived at HGR-1 she was in such bad condition that her life was at risk. It said that the loss of blood was due to a generalized infection caused by the incorrect IUD removal, and that the woman required intubation and a blood transfusion. She also had to be resuscitated after suffering a cardiac arrest, after which her uterus and an ovary had to be removed and her legs had to be amputated, the CNDH said.

“… the care provided was not timely or adequate, mainly that given at UMF-9, where the authorities … made a diagnosis without clinical laboratory studies, X-rays or ultrasounds and without taking the IUD removal procedure into account,” it said.

The CNDH said it was able to confirm that the removal of the IUD didn’t adhere to official standards. No clinical studies were carried out to detect vaginal infections or “the presence of collateral effects,” it said.

The commission said the woman’s right to sexual and reproductive health was violated and noted that she now uses prosthetics in place of her amputated legs.

“While the amputation of limbs was carried out to save the victim’s life, … this procedure was the result of inadequate medical care, a deficient and incomplete diagnosis and inadequate follow-up control that allowed the significant advance of an infection that could have been prevented,” it said.

The CNDH urged the IMSS director to pay “sufficient economic compensation” to the victim and ensure she has access to social programs that provide “development opportunities” for her. Two of her “directly affected” family members should be given scholarships, it said.

The commission also directed Robledo to ensure the woman has access to ongoing psychological and psychiatric care as well as any other medical care she requires throughout the remainder of her life. In addition, it instructed him to collaborate with the IMSS internal control body to ensure that the medical personnel accused of providing inadequate care to the woman are appropriately sanctioned.

Mexico News Daily

Indigenous gastronomy at risk from soft drinks and instant soups: traditional cook

By

Lydia Carey

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July 6, 2022

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Traditional dishes are losing their appeal to today’s young people, says celebrated local cook Raymunda Vásquez Hernández, one of more than 50 chefs to participate in the state’s Fourth Encounter of Traditional Cooks at the end of April. After a two-year suspension due to COVID, the gastronomic fair was a massive hit, with hundreds of people turning out for traditional barbacoa, moles, tamales and stews.

Despite that warm reception, Vásquez says that today’s youth are not interested in the traditional dishes she is famous for like beef pozole with yerbasanta or a fresh drink made from chilacayote. Around the world Oaxaca food is finally gaining the fame that it deserves, with Oaxacan restaurants popping up as far away as the west of the United States and the streets of London.

Yet Vásquez says she sees kids in her community opting to buy instant soup and sodas in the local convenience store instead of eating at her local eatery in San Andrés Chicahuaxtla, Puebla, where she lives. She worries that their diet is moving away from their traditional cuisine based on ancient varieties of corn, to one that is full of preservatives, artificial flavoring, and artificial coloring.

Oaxaca’s cuisine was officially designated as cultural heritage in 2010. Vásquez formed part of a team of renowned traditional cooks that were included in Oaxaca & Its Traditional Cooks, Gastronomic Treasure of Mexico (Oaxaca y sus Cocineras Tradicionales, Tesoro Gastronómico de México), a recipe book that highlighted 80 ancestral recipes. While this kind of work wins endless praise from chefs and food enthusiasts, indigenous communities around Mexico are inundated with cheap snacks and Coca-Cola and have a growing problems with diabetes among their residents.

Vásquez insists that she and other traditional chefs will continue to fight for the visibility and presence of local dishes on menus and in homes. She participates in expos across the country presenting her food and the products necessary to create them, and says that the value of traditional Mexican cuisine should also be given a voice in major media like television.

With reports from El Imparcial

AMLO defends US ambassador after report suggests his days may be numbered

By

MND Staff

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July 6, 2022

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U.S. envoy to Mexico Ken Salazar and President Lopez Obrador — U.S. officials have told the *New York Times* that envoy to Mexico Ken Salazar's close relationship with President Lopez Obrador isn't benefitting the United States.

President López Obrador has defended United States Ambassador Ken Salazar after the New York Times published an article that critically examined the diplomat’s close relationship with him.

Published in the Times‘ print edition under the headline “Biden Envoy’s Cozy Ties to Mexican Leader Worry U.S. Officials,” the article cited “what several U.S. officials say is a worrying pattern, in which America’s top diplomat in Mexico has appeared to contradict his own government’s policies in the interest of aligning himself with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.”

The Times, which interviewed the ambassador for its story, examined Salazar’s views on issues such as possible fraud at the 2006 Mexican presidential election, which López Obrador narrowly lost to Felipe Calderón, and reforms to Mexico’s energy sector.

It also considered the diplomat’s opinions about Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity, a nongovernmental organization that receives funding from the U.S. government and which has been critical of the López Obrador administration.

U.S. envoy to Mexico Ken Salazar — Ken Salazar said in the *Times* article that his “direct relationship” with AMLO benefits the United States.

At his regular news conference on Tuesday, AMLO said that his administration has a good relationship with the U.S. government before observing that the Times had launched an attack on Salazar.

“He’s my friend and a good, sensible man, a friend of President Biden, a very responsible politician,” he said of the ambassador, who succeeded Donald Trump appointee Christopher Landau last September. “He’s from Colorado, he’s from below, of Mexican origin, … and he’s a good person, and we have an extraordinary relationship.”

The president charged that the “reactionary conservatives” — his political opponents and critics — would prefer to have a “hawk” as ambassador.

López Obrador and Salazar have met frequently since the latter was posted to Mexico, and — in contrast with other U.S. officials who spoke with the Times — the ambassador believes that his “direct relationship” with the president benefits the United States.

Mexico President Lopez Obrador — President López Obrador slammed the *New York Times* for its critique of Salazar, saying “those from *The New York Times* have the idea that the United States should subjugate us.” File photo

According to one media report, Salazar has met with Mexico’s president at the National Palace 21 times since he assumed the post 10 months ago.

For his part, AMLO told reporters that Salazar “defends his country” before noting that the ambassador spent almost a week with him at the National Palace to meet with “18 owners of United States companies” with whom “we dealt case by case.”

“He’s one of the best people, but those from The New York Times have the idea that the United States should subjugate us; they think we’re a colony,” he said.

“Mexico is an independent, free sovereign country. It’s not subordinate to any power, any hegemony, any government of the world, whether it’s our neighbors in the United States, China or Russia. We’re respectful of all countries of the world; that’s why [we have] our policy of nonintervention and of self-determination of people. So, our support is for Ken,” López Obrador said. Instead of writing about Salazar, the Times should be defending Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the president said. “That’s defense of freedom, but they don’t touch [the issue]. It’s not a story, [as] they would say here.”

Ken Salazar, John Kerry, President Lopez Obrador — AMLO and Salazar with U.S. climate envoy John Kerry in March. AMLO cited this meeting, which included U.S. business owners, as an example of how Salzar “defends his country.” Presidencia

Writing in the newspaper El Universal, journalist and columnist Ana Paula Ordorica said the former U.S. deputy chief of mission in Mexico, John Feeley, told her that the criticism of Salazar published by the Times has been an open secret in Washington for some time.

“The article has the appearance of endorsement from the White House because, among other things, they cite Juan González, Biden’s Latin America adviser,” she wrote. “… The White House seems to be sending a very clear message to Ken Salazar: this is the prudent time to leave the embassy in Mexico.”

Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico, said on Twitter that the U.S. needs a “savvier, more experienced ambassador in Mexico,” while Mexico expert Duncan Wood, vice president for strategy at the Wilson Center, told the Times that the Biden administration is “being played by AMLO” with Salazar as its top diplomat here.

“The ambassador believes he’s close to AMLO,” Wood said. “Is there anything to show for it? I can’t find anything.”

Mexico News Daily

Animal sanctuary’s owner denies abuse after authorities seize 200 big cats

By

MND Staff

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July 6, 2022

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A police officer stands guard Monday at the animal sanctuary Black Jaguary-White Tiger. — A police officer stands guard Monday at the animal sanctuary Black Jaguar-White Tiger.

An animal shelter in the outer reaches of Mexico City that claims it rescues animals “from horrible circumstances” has been seized by government officials after complaints of mistreatment and poor conditions.

Approximately 200 felines — including African lions, white lions, tigers, jaguars and pumas — were found on the property of the Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation, according to reports from Profepa, Mexico’s environmental protection agency. Also found were 17 monkeys, four dogs, two coyotes and two donkeys, many in conditions of mistreatment, according to reports.

Black Jaguar-White Tiger is a well-known nonprofit that has provided a home to animals that are born or sold in Mexico, including animals from zoos or circuses and those that have been seized from breeders or collectors. In the past, it has received financial support from celebrities such as British race car driver Lewis Hamilton, Colombian singer Maluma and American actress Kristen Stewart, according to the newspaper El Universal.

In recent months, however, evidence of poor conditions on the property have circulated on social media, including videos showing cats that had lost weight, did not have enough food, supposedly ate each other’s tails and were confined to cages.

Contact with former workers and complaints to local officials confirmed the poor conditions for the animals, and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum called on Profepa to intervene. The shelter is located in the Tlalpan borough of Mexico City, in the San Miguel Ajusco neighborhood on the city’s southernmost edge.

The Association of Zoos, Breeders and Aquariums of Mexico (Azcarm) will be in charge of the rescue, containment, transfer, management, rehabilitation and protection of the animals that were found during the Monday raid. The Attorney General’s Office (FGJ) and the Ministry of Citizen Security (SSC) were among the other government entities involved. Legal notices were posted around the property citing animal abuse and operating an animal shelter without a permit.

Eduardo Serio, the founder of Black Jaguar-White Tiger, denied that his animals were suffering mistreatment, and he contended that the photos and videos on social networks — which show animals that have infections and are exhausted, in addition to being malnourished — have been taken out of context.

“The issue of tails, they don’t eat tails,” said Serio, who started the sanctuary in 2013 with a jaguar named Cielo. “At night, when they’re in groups, they bite each other. It’s not because of hunger. That’s what was taken out of context.”

Sanctuary founder Eduardo Serio and a big cat.

A former worker was quoted in El Universal as saying, “Money was coming in and it was not used for the animals. Their tails were ripped out due to hunger.” The paper also reported that complaints of mistreatment and poor conditions (such as tigers and lions with exposed wounds and confined to small cages) had come into the Tlalpan mayor’s office.

Around 60 members of the SSC surrounded the property’s perimeter during the raid. While Profepa reported that 190 felines were recovered, the news site Animal Político reported 201 and SSC gave the figure of 177. Some of the big cats are members of species that are in danger of extinction, according to Animal Poliítico.

Sheinbaum said the recovered animals will be taken to zoos, following thorough reviews and health examinations by Profepa, veterinarians and other officials. Some of the animals will be placed in locations where they can recover. Reports said that some of the animals living on the property had been rescued previously by Profepa from illegal or dangerous situations.

“The government no longer has its own spaces to deposit these animals, so it deposits them in places like Black Jaguar-White Tiger in order to get rid of the problem, which is how they see it,” said Arturo Berlanga, an animal rights activist-lawyer and director of AnimaNaturalis Mexico.

Black Jaguar-White Tiger achieved worldwide recognition before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Serio soliciting (often by video) and receiving donations from around the globe.

In an interview on Televisa, Serio said he has received animals that are malnourished, some with bad kidneys, livers or hearts, or even diabetes, but that the sanctuary tries to rehabilitate them and “save their lives.” But, he added, “We are not God. Sometimes we save [the animals] and sometimes we don’t. When not, we have no choice but to give him a dignified death.”

He also said that 70% of donations have dried up since the start of the pandemic, but he and his staff have continued to care for the animals. “In general, our little animals have suffered a bit from the crisis because they are a little thinner,” he said. “But when Profepa showed up, the animals were at 90 to 95% of their weight. The ones [in the videos], which look terrifying, were animals that we were trying to rescue. They were taken out of context.”

He explained the loss of tails by saying that the animals often bite each other’s tails in fun at night, and sometimes the lions lose their sensitivity and need to have an operation. He recalled rescuing 200 animals from a circus that were “super old and genetically bad.”

Ernesto Zazueta, president of Azcarm, called for a harsh punishment for Serio, whom he categorized as one of the “pseudo-animalists and pseudo-activists” who is doing “so much damage to the wildlife” in Mexico. “This man, as well as the owners of other animal rights foundations, become very famous and rich through lies and deceit. They are not wildlife specialists. They are only very good at profiting from animals, and when they achieve their economic goals and feed their enormous ego, they simply forget about them and let them die.”

With reports from Reforma, El Universal and Animal Político

AMLO sends bill to eliminate daylight saving; Mexico to return to ‘God’s time’

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MND Staff

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July 6, 2022

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President López Obrador on Tuesday sent a bill to Congress to eliminate daylight saving time, making good on a promise he made last month.

The bill only requires a simple majority to pass the federal legislature, meaning that it is likely to become law. With the support of its allies, the ruling Morena party commands a majority in both the lower and upper houses.

Energy Minister Rocío Nahle and Health Minister Jorge Alcocer appeared at the president’s morning press conference on Tuesday to present arguments in favor of getting rid of the twice-a-year time change.

Nahle asserted that there is widespread rejection of the practice among citizens and that the energy savings generated by daylight saving time are “very low with respect to total consumption.”

“There is no [positive] impact on family expenditure,” she added. “… According to scientific evidence, there are no significant changes in sunlight in countries near the tropics. Therefore there is no justification,” Nahle said.

To support her claim of widespread rejection of summer time, the energy minister noted that a recent Interior Ministry survey found 71% support for elimination.

Alcocer presented a long list of reasons why changing clocks twice a year is a bad idea. “Humans have biological clocks that are tasked with regulating the functions of different proteins and organs,” he began.

“… The time change alters the time we’re exposed to the sun and throws our biological clocks off balance. That’s why several international sleep societies recommend a time schedule without changes and they recommend maintaining winter time permanently. … Winter time promotes a more stable biological rhythm, … it improves intellectual performance and helps to decrease heart disease, obesity, insomnia and depression,” the health minister said.

Health Minister Alcocer: adults take three to seven days to adjust to the time change.

Alcocer said that adults take three to seven days to adapt to a time change, while children take even longer. “The lack of synchronization with the environment alters our internal temporal order and causes physical problems,” he added.

Alcocer cited numerous problems associated with the twice-yearly time change including drowsiness, irritability, difficulty to concentrate, an increase in the secretion of gastric acid, depression and suicidal thoughts.

“There is greater risk for those who need to concentrate to carry out tasks as the beginning of the day, such as pilots, schoolchildren, teachers, employees and certain workers,” he said.

“… We mustn’t forget that the possible impact could be greater due to the health changes caused by the pandemic,” Alcocer said.

“… There is an association between summer time and the increase in the occurrence of heart attacks, especially in the first week after it is implemented,” he said.

“… Finally, why should we abolish summer time? The first thing we have to consider is that the choice [to have] summer time is political and therefore it can be changed. Several countries are considering the elimination of summer time. Added to that, the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms concluded that the advantages of standard time exceed the advantages of changing the time,” Alcocer said.

“Studies are increasingly showing that the time differences between the social clock and the biological clock challenge health [and] even alter it. So if we want to improve our health we mustn’t fight against our biological clocks. The advisable thing is to return to standard time, which is when the solar clock coincides with the social clock, God’s clock,” he said.

However, God’s clock and health worries may not apply in parts of some northern states where clock changes have been synchronized with states in the southern U.S. to facilitate cross-border trade and other connections.

Energy Minister Nahle said on Tuesday that there would continue to be exceptions in some northern border municipalities.

Former president Ernesto Zedillo established the nationwide observance of daylight saving time by decree in early 1996. As mayor of Mexico City in 2001, López Obrador tried to do away with summer time in the capital.

However, his efforts to put an end to clock changes in the capital, including the publication of a decree, were stymied by the Supreme Court, which ruled that only the federal Congress has the authority to make time zone decisions.

With reports from El Universal and El Financiero

The Náhuatl language is slowly disappearing in this Puebla town

By

MND Staff

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July 5, 2022

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A woman stirs a pot of mole at a fair in San Lucas Atzala — Oaxacan mole, a complex sauce that can take days and dozens of ingredients to prepare, still doesn't receive the same recognition as fine European cuisines. (File photo)

Náhuatl – the language spoken by the inhabitants of the Mexica capital Tenochtitlán – is dying out in San Lucas Atzala, a small town about 30 kilometers west of Puebla city.

Before 1940, everyone in Atzala communicated in Náhuatl, the newspaper El Sol de Puebla reported. But today only an estimated 1,100 of the town’s approximately 2,500 residents – 44% of the total – continue to use the language. Almost half of its speakers are over 60, according to a former local official, and most of the others are in their 40s and 50s.

Some speakers of the ancient indigenous language, including ones who had never spoken Spanish, lost their lives to COVID-19 during the past two years.

Atzala residents who spoke with El Sol agreed that Náhuatl – which is still spoken by more than 1.5 million residents of central Mexico – is dying a slow death in the town. They cited a range of reasons for the language’s seemingly inevitable demise, including discrimination against Náhuatl speakers, a lack of Náhuatl teachers in schools, the migration of residents to the United States, scant interest to learn Náhuatl among young people and a failure of municipal authorities to guarantee its preservation.

“My grandchildren and great-grandchildren don’t want to speak Náhuatl. When I speak to them in Náhuatl they tell me they don’t know what I’m saying or what I mean,” said Maximiliana Joaquina Morales Ramos, a 73-year-old housewife.

She doesn’t know how to read or write Náhuatl, but uses the language to speak with her husband and other Atzala residents of a similar age.

“My [six] children didn’t learn because they were spoken to in Spanish at school and the same thing happens with a lot of children and young people now,” Morales said. “They no longer [want to speak Náhuatl], they’re embarrassed or they prefer to be on their phones.”

Pascuala Palillero, who is also in her early 70s, declared bluntly that “we’re losing our language.” She said that she speaks Náhuatl with her husband but has to use Spanish with her five children.

“We want to rescue our language and traditions because it’s sad that only a few of us speak [Náhuatl],” said 71-year-old Rogelia Ventura Ramos. “Even though we taught our children when they were little they forgot when they went to school and now they don’t want to speak it,” she said.

Ventura said she’s not at all embarrassed about her roots and being a Náhuatl speaker, but added that there are some people who look down on indigenous languages and customs. She also said she would be happy to offer classes to young people if it meant Náhuatl would be preserved.

“I would stop washing dishes and sweeping in order to teach what my parents taught me,” Ventura said. “I would like to see children and young people speaking Náhuatl and to put an end to what we see now, which is seeing them on their phones. ”

Agustín Medina Pérez, a former local official and one of just two expert writers of Náhuatl in Atzala, warned that the language could die out within 30 or 40 years from now because it’s older people who are currently keeping it alive.

He said he started learning the 4,000-year-old language from the day he was born. “I learned Spanish at school because the teachers discriminated against us if we used the ancient language. They said everything had to be in Spanish because … [Náhuatl] was no longer useful,” Medina said.

“I do hold a grudge because a lot of people wan’t to kill off our language,” he said, adding that efforts should be made to preserve what is truly Mexican.

“Náhuatl is a nice language to tell jokes and stories. It brightens the soul,” remarked Medina, who also writes poetry in the pre-Hispanic language.

“It enhances, respects and shows reverence to things and it’s very different to the Spanish language because … it has 20 consonants, four vowels and there are no words with the letters ñ, r, b and v because x, z and tl dominate,” he said.

With reports from El Sol de Puebla