Lawmakers’ meeting with army chief scrapped due to ‘disrespectful’ letter: interior minister

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October 20, 2022

Mexico's deputy interior minister — Luis Cresencio Sandoval, right, canceled the meeting with the National Defense Committee in the Chamber of Deputies. Daniel Augusto Sánchez Moreno/Cuartoscuro

A planned meeting between lawmakers and the Minister of National Defense to discuss a recent hacking incident was canceled because the latter received a “disrespectful” letter from one of the
former, Interior Minister Adán Augusto López said Monday.

López said that the meeting between members of the lower house of Congress’ National Defense Committee and Luis Cresencio Sandoval scheduled for Tuesday October 18 was scrapped due to a letter sent to the army chief by a deputy with the Citizens Movement (MC) party, Sergio Barrera.

The interior minister said that lawmakers and Sandoval were slated to analyze the need to increase he budget of the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) as part of efforts to avoid future hacking events such as that in which the Guacamaya hacking group stole a massive quantity of emails and documents from Sedena’s IT system.

Speaking at a meeting with Mexico City lawmakers, López said that the defense minister agreed to the meeting but asked that it be held at Sedena offices rather than the Congress. The lawmakers agreed and a date was set, he added.

Mexican federal deputy Sergio Barrera — Deputy Sergio Barrera, right, seen at an event on Oct. 12, said the public could form their own opinions about his letter and posted it on Twitter. Presidencia/Cuartoscuro

However, Barrera – secretary of the National Defense Committee – subsequently sent a letter to Sandoval saying that he wouldn’t go to the Sedena offices under any circumstances, the interior minister claimed.

“What has been suggested – that the defense minister didn’t want to be accountable [for the hacking incident] isn’t exactly true,” López said.

He said that Barrera’s letter set out his opposition to going to Sandoval’s workplace in “disrespectful” terms and that as a result, the meeting will not go ahead.

The MC deputy posted the letter in question to his Twitter account Monday afternoon, saying that citizens could consequently form their own opinion about it.

letter sent by Mexico federal deputy Sergio Barrera to Defense Minister — A copy of the letter Barrera sent to Sandoval. Barrera challenged Interior Minister Lopéz to explain what was found disrespectful in his missive. ChecoBarrera/Twitter

“The members of this committee are grateful that you have responded in a timely manner to our request to have a meeting with you but, on a personal note, I can’t let the opportunity pass to say to you with complete respect that the main idea of this work meeting was to … [have] an open exercise that is accountable to citizens,” Barrera wrote in his October 11 missive to Sandoval.

The objective wasn’t to hold “a closed meeting” at Sedena offices, he added.

Barrera wrote that he and other MC deputies didn’t agree with the “format” of the planned meeting because they believe that an “open and transparent” exercise in the Chamber of Deputies is needed “given the seriousness of the regrettable events caused by the hacking of Sedena servers and the risk that implies.”

Despite his opposition to the meeting being held at Sedena offices, the deputy said he “agreed to go … without hesitation because I believe we can’t allow more time to pass … [without] tackling these issues of national importance.”

“No matter the place where we hold this meeting we have to work to find solutions to these [cybersecurity] problems,” Barrera wrote.

His letter contradicts López’s claim that he refused to go to Sedena’s offices.

The media has recently obtained and reported on a wide range of emails and documents stolen by Guacamaya, which extracted six terabytes of data from Sedena computers.

There have been reports about President López Obrador’s health problems, the government’s plan to create an army-run commercial airline, a soldier’s sale of weapons to a criminal organization and the Mexican military’s planning and operational shortcomings, among other revelations.

With reports from El Financiero

Who’s to blame for Mexico’s shortage of medical specialists?

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Sarah DeVries

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October 20, 2022

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Medical students — Doctors heading into the Sante Fe Convention Center in Mexico City to take the ENARM exam, required to apply for a position as a medical resident and training as a specialist. Only 20% of applicants get a residency position due to the limited number available. CARLOS ALBERTO CARBAJAL/CUARTOSCURO.COM

A good friend of mine who’s part of Mexico’s Bienestar system (the public health system aimed at those who do not qualify for care through IMSS or ISSSTE or some employment-tied insurance system), recently had a health scare. A lump had formed in her breast, and it was hurting her more every day.

A mammogram revealed something that worried the doctor enough to send her for a biopsy. When she went to her designated hospital to make an appointment, she was told that there were no available appointments until January.

“January?!” I said, while I thought to myself, “If that’s what they think it is, she could be well past the point of no return by then.”

In the news last week was an article about how Mexico will be recruiting international medical specialists to fill open positions at IMSS hospitals, after having already planned to bring 500 Cuban doctors to fill positions earlier this year. We have a shortage of qualified Mexican doctors, the government claims.

Not so, doctors all over Mexico have responded. “We’re trying to find work and we can’t.”

So what’s going on here?

To find out, I spoke with several doctors throughout the country about what they were seeing “up close and personal” when it comes to hospitals and the public health system.

And like all things in life, the situation is more nuanced and complicated that it seems.

First, let’s talk about who gets to be a doctor in Mexico in the first place.

It’s competitive. University students can study medicine the way they study for any other major, and when they graduate, they’re officially “doctors.” This doesn’t mean that they can hang out their shingle right away, though. They must also complete a year of social service as well as other requirements to earn their right to legally practice as a “general doctor,” which is what the majority of the doctors in Mexico are.

The competition to become a specialist is even fiercer. For each medical specialty there are a certain number of residency program positions opened each year, for which there are thousands of applicants, who must take an exam known by its abbreviation, ENARM. The best scorers get a residency spot, but whether or not you “pass” the exam in any particular year depends on how many residency spots are available.

And as IMSS chief Zoé Robledo has said, 80% of applicants are rejected (luckily, the number of residency positions has recently improved).

A lack of interest among doctors in Mexico becoming specialists, there is not. But without participating in one of these residency programs, one cannot certify and practice as a specialist.

The logical conclusion? There can’t be enough specialists if you don’t let people through the gate in order to become specialists. And one of the major reasons that more residency positions are not open is because they’re expensive: residency students must all receive a scholarship while they’re practicing so that they can actually survive during that time.

I asked one doctor if he thought many of those rejected were qualified to enter residency programs. “Oh, certainly,” he said.

So the first issue is simply of supply and demand: lots of doctors want to specialize, and few are able to, meaning that most are relegated to continuing as general practitioners. Because of the nature of healthcare, we need “general practitioners” to be the biggest group anyway, but the “shortage” of specialists is directly linked to government-level decisions about how many Mexico can actually turn out each year.

Once doctors graduate from their residency programs, it’s time to find a job. If you are friends with any Mexican doctors, you have probably heard that the “holy grail” is a plaza (a permanent position not unlike tenure for a college professor) with Mexican Social Security (IMSS).

The number of plazas needed at any given hospital around the country, and for which specialties they’re for, is determined by the government rather than by individual hospitals. This means that while there might be truly urgent on-the-ground needs, there are not enough plaza positions available to fill the needs.

Most hospitals try to solve this issue by hiring low-paid contractors with promises of a plaza later on.

The issue is further complicated by, depending on the place, a lack of equipment and medicine to ensure that health professionals can actually perform their jobs, not to mention a lack of safety where these jobs are performed. This especially is the case in remote areas.

In a follow-up article, I’ll take a closer look at this system.

As for my friend, she’s going to be okay. After some major pain, she decided to go to the emergency room, where it was determined that it was an abscess, after all. Whew.

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

Want to see Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico but not sure where to go? Try these starter ideas

By

Leigh Thelmadatter

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October 20, 2022

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alebrije parade in Mexico City — The Museo de Arte Popular’s annual Alebrije Parade in Mexico City is on Oct. 22 this year. It’s been a fixture here for over 15 years. Sec of Tourism CDMX/flickr

So, you’re visiting here, or recently moved to Mexico, and you finally have the chance to experience Day of the Dead in the country where it originated, but what if you don’t know where to find the celebrations?

Firstly, you should know that there are actually different kinds of celebrations of Day of the Dead. The most important distinction is between those that are traditional, based on centuries and even millennia of tradition, and those done for entertainment.

Many of the latter have gained popularity and even were invented in only the past decades. The situation can be compared to Christmas in the United States, where you have religious celebrations of the birth of Christ – and Santa Claus marching in parades.

Because of the variety, let me go out on a limb here and recommend Mexico City as a template for Day of the Dead celebrations. Why? Because you can find both kinds of Day of the Dead celebrations in abundance in the nation’s capital.

Woman dressed up for festivities in Mexico City’s zócalo. — A woman dressed up for festivities in Mexico City’s zócalo. Fili Santillan/Unsplash

Tradition is not only found in homes, businesses and local cemeteries but also in museums, cultural centers and more, where representations of Day of the Dead traditions from other parts of Mexico can be found.

The public entertainment side is huge and widely varied.

The iconic family altars (ofrendas) traditionally made for dead loved ones are everywhere in Mexico City. Every plaza, public building and even many businesses have at least one that you can easily visit and take pictures of. They range from the purely traditional (check out the ones in local markets) to massive displays, often with themes or social messages.

The most important of the monumental ofrendas are located in the zócalo and another in Santo Domingo just to the north. Set up by the city and the National Autonomous University respectively, both take over their respective plazas entirely.

Calaveras Day of the Dead parade in Aguascalientes city. — The Calaveras parade passes in front of the main cathedral in Aguascalientes city. La Noticias Ya

Most of Mexico City’s cemeteries are located on the periphery, with the one in Mixquic being the most famous for Day of the Dead. Because of Mixquic’s distance (and Mexico’s City’s infamous traffic), you may wish instead to visit San Fernando or Dolores, which have the resting places of many of Mexico’s historic figures.

Thanks to the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, Mexico City’s popularity as a Day of the Dead destination has exploded. The parade in the movie’s opening scene was fictitious at the time, but city authorities made sure that there would be a real one for 2016. That move generated some controversy, but the city had already been creating new and larger Day of the Dead events for many years.

Mexico City’s Day of the Dead “season” kicks off with the annual Alebrije Parade and the Mega Catrina Procession about a week before, both of which fill Reforma avenue with gigantic colorful monsters and people in elaborate makeup and 19th-century costumes respectively.

The canals in the south of the city also host a unique theater production of La Llorona, the legend of the wailing woman who drowned her children and as a ghost forever wandered Mexico looking for them.

Mexico City Day of the Dead parade — Mexico City’s colorful, extravagant Day of the Dead parade draws a huge number of spectators.

Just about all of the many museums and cultural centers in Mexico City do something related to the holiday that will range from educational to pure entertainment. Recommended places to check out include the Museum of Anthropology, the Frida Kahlo Museum, the National Museum of Popular Cultures, Folk Art Museum (Museo de Arte Popular) and the Dolores Olmedo Museum for its highly-regarded monumental altar.

Mexico City has the advantage of having the infrastructure for the huge crowds that show up for the city’s annual events. Even at this late date, there are some accommodations available, but make absolutely sure you have reservations before you go because Mexico City is now one of the country’s main Day of the Dead destinations. Don’t count on just finding a hotel once you get there.

If you’re not located in Mexico City or inclined to travel there, all of Mexico’s other sizable cities will also offer traditional Day of the Dead events and public entertainment. You can see altars and skeletal figures and eat traditional pan de muerto (literally, bread of the dead).

Most of these events will have a local or regional flair to them. This is especially true in places like Oaxaca and San Cristobal de las Casas. One very large Day of the Dead celebration often overlooked in English-language articles is the Festival de Calaveras (Festival of the Skulls) in the city of Aguascalientes. It has a massive parade that existed long before the Bond movie.

Day of the Dead celebration in Xochimilco, Mexico — An organ grinder is honored in part of the mega-ofrenda set up by the Dolores Olmedo Museum in Xochimilco. Manuel Borbolla/Flickr

Those looking for a folkloric experience generally migrate to smaller towns in more rural areas. The most famous is, by far, on and around Lake Pátzcuaro in the state of Michoacán. Welcoming the dead on candlelight boats and all-night vigils brings tens of thousands of visitors to the municipalities of Pátzcuaro, Janitzio and other communities on the lake.

Although Pátzcuaro is no stranger to tourism, the accommodations infrastructure there is currently stretched to the maximum for the holiday, and the streets are filled to the brim. As of this date, I found only a handful of places with availability, and at exorbitant prices, so again, plan before you go.

This is, in fact, a good policy to follow if you’re going to travel to visit any of the most popular of Mexico’s Day of the Dead events. Also, a good idea is booking a tour to see the most popular of the events. Many other small towns near larger cities like San Cristóbal, in the state of Chiapas, have similarly ancient rites. Just investigate what the restrictions may be.

A tour is often your best bet to find out where you can go and when, since Mexico is typically not very good at publicizing event calendars, usually because planning is often not finalized until very close to the event.

All night Day of the Dead vigil in Tenango, Oaxaca, Mexico — An all-night vigil in San José Tenango Oaxaca. Candlelight vigils are common in small traditional communities. Valeria Orea

Research what you can online in local newspapers and tour advertisements, and local city and town Facebook groups can also be your friend if you can read Spanish. Your best bet is to come several days before Nov. 2 (although this year, many places — but not all — are holding festivities on Oct. 29 because of the weekend). Nov. 2 is normally when most, if not all, events will occur.

Ask around for event information in places like tourism stands and hotels, especially if you don’t know Spanish.

Below are some suggestions to get you started. Be aware that as noted above, the planning of events is finalized late and may be subject to last-minute changes, so it’s a good idea to check the site you got your information from again on the day before.

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

US may still invoke dispute panel under USMCA

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MND Staff

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October 20, 2022

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U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar confirmed during a press conference on Monday that USMCA consultations over energy policy are ongoing.

President López Obrador painted a rosy picture of the situation on Oct. 14, saying that both Mexico and the U.S. want to avoid resorting to convening a dispute panel and expressing confidence that the U.S. would not request the panel’s intervention.

However, according to the newspaper Reforma, the Office of the United States Trade Representative denied any such intention and still considers invoking the panel a possibility.

If the energy policy complaint first presented in July by the U.S. and Canada under the USMCA agreement is unresolved by December, the issue will be addressed at the North American Leaders’ Summit, according to a statement by the Mexican ambassador to the U.S., Esteban Moctezuma.

Ambassador Moctezuma — Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Esteban Moctezuma speaks at a panel in Mexico City with his American counterpart earlier this week. Twitter @amoctezumab

The U.S. has argued that the Mexican government’s energy policies undermine U.S. stakeholders and privately produced energy in favor of Mexico’s two state-owned energy companies: the Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, and Pemex.

Canada also joined the U.S. in requesting a dispute settlement consultation just days after the U.S. raised the issue.

Under USMCA rules, the three countries had until Oct. 3 to resolve the complaint. Talks, however, were extended past the initial consultation period by mutual agreement, rather than sending the case to a panel of experts to review.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s Economy Ministry has experienced a reshuffling in the midst of these trilateral negotiations.

Tatiana Clouthier resigned as Economy Minister on Oct. 6 and was replaced with the former head of the federal tax agency (SAT), Raquel Buenrostro. Deputy Economy Minister for International Trade Luz María de la Mora was also replaced by Alejandro Encinas Nájera, who previously worked at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), where he “was in charge of all the USMCA rapid response procedures” according to the head of the ministry, Luisa María Alcalde Luján.

The private sector appeared to welcome the appointment of Encinas Nájera. As pointed out by José Abugaber, the president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (Concamin), the main responsibility for Encinas Nájera will be to ensure a dispute panel is not convened.

If such a panel ruled in favor of the U.S. and Canada, punitive tariffs could be imposed on Mexican exports.

On Twitter, the Mexican Business Coordinating Council (the highest representative body of the private sector in Mexico) said that they were ready to start dialogue and cooperation with Encinas Nájera and with the new Deputy Minister for Commerce and Industry, Luis Abel Romero López.

Ambassador Moctezuma noted in his appearance at a manufacturing industry convention on Saturday that the U.S. and Mexico will celebrate 200 years of diplomatic relations in December.

“We’ve made sure that our bilateral mechanisms are as solid as possible and that there is a constant and institutionalized dialogue. That is what we achieved with the approval of the USMCA.”

With reports from El Economista, Reforma and La Jornada

Cashews: not just for snacking

By

Janet Blaser

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October 20, 2022

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The first time I had a chicken curry with cashews, I didn’t expect to like them — I hate nuts in ice cream, for example — and was leery of what the mouthfeel would be after they’d been cooked and simmered.

It was an unexpected and completely delicious revelation, though; swimming in a coconut milk broth with spinach, carrots, onion and chicken, with a touch of fresh basil, chiles and a few spices, the tender crunchiness and slightly sweet, nutty flavor of the cashews was just marvelous.

Come to find out cashews play a big part in vegan diets and are the secret to replacing dairy in a myriad of recipes, from savory and sweet sauces and creams to curries, soups and salad dressings, to cheeses and ice creams, dairy-free fettucine Alfredo and butternut squash soup. cashew butter (recipe below) is delicious, high in protein and healthy fats and easy to make.

I can hear some of you protesting: but they’re so expensive! There’s good reason for that, though.

cashews on the tree — Why are cashews so expensive? Each “fruit” on the cashew tree produces only one nut!

Each cashew fruit — called a drupe — produces only one cashew seed, or nut. It takes two to three months for that to happen. The tree itself is slow-growing too and, depending on the variety, takes three to eight years before the first harvest. To make things even more difficult, the shell around the nut contains a toxic oil — the same as in poison ivy — that causes skin and respiratory irritation. Sorting and processing cashews is hazardous and labor intensive.

And then there’s their popularity: with an impressive array of beneficial effects and nutritional values, international demand exceeds their availability.

Cashews have been shown to help boost the immune system, lower harmful cholesterol, boost HDL and fortify muscles and nerves. They’re full of antioxidants and fiber, unsaturated fats and plant proteins and act as a preventative factor against the development of type 2 diabetes.

The good thing is that just a handful of cashews goes a long way!

I buy one of those tiny cellophane bags of roasted, salted cashews in the mercado to have on hand to throw into that favorite curry, a salad, to make nut butter or just for snacking. (Would it be better to buy raw ones and roast them myself? Probably. We do what we can.)

Creamy Coconut Chicken with Rice

1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 2 equal-size pieces
¼ cup coconut, olive or neutral oil (safflower, canola)
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1½ cups Basmati or short-grain white rice, rinsed until water runs clear
1¾ cups chicken/veggie broth
1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
½ cup roasted cashews, coarsely chopped
½-1 medium white onion, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1½ cups chopped bok choy, spinach or other mild green leafy veggie

Heat oven to 375 F (190 C). Drizzle chicken with 1 Tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper.

In large Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium. Brown chicken, turning halfway, until no longer pink, around 10 minutes. Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate.

Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, ginger and garlic to empty pot; cook and stir 30 seconds. Stir in rice to coat with oil.

Add broth, coconut milk, bell pepper, cashews, onions, 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Stir to get browned bits from bottom of pot. Arrange chicken on top; bring to a boil over high.

Turn off heat, cover and bake until all liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, 25 minutes. Scatter greens over top of pot; cover and let sit for 10–15 minutes till tender-crisp. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Easy Roasted Cashew Butter

1 lb. raw cashews (about 3 cups)
Salt (optional)

Heat oven to 350 F (177 C). Spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and toasted, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Remove from oven; cool completely.

In a food processor, purée nuts until smooth, scraping sides and bottom as needed (mixture may clump, but will eventually become creamy). Season with salt, if desired.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to three weeks. Yield: 1¾ cups

Cashew “Whipped Cream”

2 cups whole raw cashews
1 cup apple or white grape juice
½ tsp. vanilla
Pinch salt

Rinse cashews in cold water; drain. Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Pulse until mixture gets creamy and a bit fluffy, 6–8 minutes. Refrigerate at least one hour. Serve atop your favorite dessert.

Cashew Romesco Sauce

Great over grilled chicken and veggies!

¼ cup roasted unsalted cashews
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 jarred roasted red peppers, drained
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar, plus more to taste
Salt to taste

In food processor, pulse cashews and garlic until finely chopped. Add red peppers, paprika, coriander, cumin, vinegar and ½ tsp. salt; pulse to mix. With motor running, drizzle in oil. Turn off and taste; add more salt and vinegar if necessary. Sauce should be thick but spreadable.

Cashew-Chipotle Sauce

4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup cashews
2 tsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. cumin
½ cup vegetable/chicken stock
3 whole chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add cashews and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook another 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant.

Add stock, chipotles, vinegar and sugar; bring to a simmer. Transfer to blender and process on high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes Season with salt and pepper. Serve atop grilled veggies, chicken or fish or with stuffed poblano peppers.

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

Mexican artist Betsabée Romero included in exhibit at London’s Kew Gardens

By

Lydia Carey

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October 20, 2022

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Betsabee Romero Altar — One of Romero's installations at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens

The 120-hectare Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London is hosting horticultural and art installations this month to “reflect the beauty and color” of Mexican culture, including two installations by well-known Mexico City artist Betsabée Romero.

“Flores de luz y canto” (Flowers of Light and Song) is a 10-meter tall hanging lamp made of thousands of flowers created by hand with recycled-synthetic materials.

“[Flowers] form a part of universal culture and in Mexico, they are integrated into our daily and spiritual life,” said Romero, quoted in El Economista newspaper.

The artist is dedicating her monumental work to those who died from COVID-19 around the world, noting that “celebrating the dead is something that brings us together, creates a bond, fortifies us in our sorrow…celebration is our essence in Mexico. I have always said: I celebrate, therefore I am.”

MX Embassy RU — “Flowers of Light and Song” installation by artist Betsabée Romero at Kew Gardens Mexican Embassy UK

“There are many artisanal elements,” said Betsabée about her second installation, a Day of the Dead ofrenda (offering), which is an homage to the diversity of traditions in the country.

“I integrated them together as part of a special homage to the Mayan altars. Day of the Dead is a multifaceted tradition in Mexico.”

Romero’s altar draws inspiration from traditions involved in Hanal Pixán, a variation of Day of the Dead celebrated in Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.

Visitors to the exhibit will get a chance to add the names of their own loved ones to the altar, allowing for reflection on this important Mexican ritual.

Kew Gardens event — Opening event held at Kew Gardens, with Romero’s altar installation in the background Mexican Embassy UK Twitter @Embamexru

The exhibit will be up through Oct. 31 at the Kew Gardens in the Temperate House and also includes pieces from artists Fernando Laposse and Jon Wheatley, the latter inspired by the surrealist gardens of Las Pozas in Xilitla, San Luis Potosí.

With reports from El Economista

Mexican military lacks operational capacity for joint missions, leaked analysis says

By

MND Staff

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October 20, 2022

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The Mexican military is incapable of planning and executing special forces operations with the United States army, according to a leaked document.

Neither the Mexican army nor the navy has that capacity, the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena), the Ministry of the Navy (Semar) and the United States Northern Command said in an analysis prepared in January.

The report was stolen from Sedena’s IT system by the Guacamaya hacking group and obtained and reviewed by the media outlet Latinus.

The Mexican armed forces lack the “codified roles and responsibilities” needed to carry out joint tasks with the U.S. military, the report said.

The document also said that there is limited capacity for Mexican and U.S. special forces to communicate with each other in a secure way during operations and training exercises.

The Northern Command, one of 11 unified combatant commands of the United States military, is concerned about the limitations of the Mexican army and navy and believes that their members need immediate training to raise their standards to U.S. levels, the report indicated.

The document paints a different picture to that presented by Mexican and U.S. officials at high-level security talks in Washington last week. Officials including Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sang the praises of the bilateral security collaboration since a new security pact formally called the Bicentennial Framework took effect late last year, although they did acknowledge that challenges remain and more needs to be done to enhance the partnership.

The leaked document outlines solutions and proposals so that “level 1” units of the Mexican army and navy have the capacity to successfully plan and execute joint special forces missions by 2029, Latinus said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard speaks at the high-level security talks in Washington last week. Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores

Among the capacities Mexican special forces are slated to develop is the ability to “neutralize weapons of mass destruction.”

Another leaked document among the six terabytes of data stolen from Sedena servers indicates that the United States wants Mexico’s military to strengthen its cybersecurity in order to better detect and respond to such threats.

“By the year 2028, Sedena and Semar will have advanced capacities … to monitor, detect, respond to and recover from cyber-threats,” states a document jointly prepared by the Mexican and U.S. military.

If the Mexican military had such capacities now, the massive data theft committed by “hacktivist” group Guacamaya could have perhaps been prevented.

President López Obrador has downplayed the seriousness of the security breach, asserting that he didn’t expect any negative consequences from it.

However, the hacking incident itself is a major embarrassment for the government, and security analyst Alejandro Hope warned in an opinion article that “it’s possible that there is highly sensitive information among the extracted documents – national security information that isn’t and shouldn’t be in the public domain.”

The apparent planning and operational deficiencies of the Mexican military would appear to fit into that category.

With reports from Latinus

Planned construction of section of Maya Train now in doubt

By

MND Staff

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October 20, 2022

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AMLO — President Lopez Obrador said at his daily press conference on Monday ANDREA MURCIA /CUARTOSCURO.COM

The construction of a stretch of the Maya Train railroad in Quintana Roo and Campeche is in doubt due to the opposition of local landowners, President López Obrador said Monday.

The president told his morning news conference that the section between Chetumal, Quintana Roo, and Xpujil, Campeche, might not be built if an agreement can’t be reached with the leaders of five ejidos, or communal parcels of land.

“Along the stretch from Xpujil to Chetumal, there are five ejidos where the leaders, not the campesinos … don’t want the train to pass,” López Obrador said.

“Or they do want it, but they’re conditioning [construction of the railroad] on the Ministry of Communications and Transportation paying them compensation from when the Escárcega-Chetumal highway was built,” he said.

Maya Train map — A map of the under-construction Maya Train. The section being opposed is located along the beige horizontal line running across the bottom half of the map.

The president raised doubts about their claim because the highway was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

“It’s a claim from more than 50 years ago, half a century ago. We’ll have to see whether the ejidos were already established then,” López Obrador said. “We have to see whether [the ejido leaders] are right.”

López Obrador indicated that the government wouldn’t meet the ejido leaders’ demand if it determined their claim wasn’t valid.

“The maxim that a problem that is resolved with money isn’t a problem used to prevail … because the budget wasn’t considered money of the people, it was thought to be the government’s money. No, the budget is the people’s money, and it’s sacred money that has to be looked after,” Lopez Obrador said. “ None of this ‘you’re not going through here if you don’t give me this much,’ that can’t be done, that’s corruption, let it be clear.”

López Obrador questioned the morality of the ejido leaders, asserting that they’re attempting to personally profit from the situation.

“It’s not … our adversaries [causing the problem] here; it’s another kind of thing. It’s part of the entrenched corruption, and we have to put an end to it, we have to banish corruption,” he said.

López Obrador also said that if compensation is owed due to the construction of the highway it will be paid accordingly but not to the ejido leaders. The money could be used to make improvements to the five parcels of land in question, he said.

If an agreement isn’t reached and blockades that impede construction are erected, there will be no railroad between Xpujil and Chetumal, López Obrador bluntly declared.

Workers — If an agreement isn’t reached and blockades impeding construction are erected by opponents, there will be no railroad between Xpujil and Chetumal, López Obrador said.

“It will be known who was responsible for stopping the project; it’s as clear as that,” he added.

Earlier in his press conference, the president noted that the government has overcome other challenges to the US $10 billion railroad, which will link cities and towns in five southeastern states and is slated to open in 2023.

“We already freed up about 1,000 kilomters, it’s known as right of way,” López Obrador said.

“We have already freed up Palenque, Escárcega, Campeche, Mérida, Cancún, Tulum – we already resolved [problems with] the most difficult stretch, the Cancún-Tulum stretch, where they wanted to strike us out because there are a lot of interests,” he said.

There was – and is – significant opposition to the Cancún-Tulum stretch of the railroad because the government’s decision earlier this year to reroute it means that large swaths of Mayan jungle have to be cut down.

Opponents of the project – dubbed pseudoenvironmentalists by the president – also say that the the tourism, commuter and freight railroad’s construction and operation poses risks to wildlife, the Yucatán Peninsula’s subterranean waterways and the area’s many archaeological assets.

Mexico News Daily

Mexico City’s international airport had a busy September

By

MND Staff

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October 20, 2022

0

886030_Posible Cierre T2 AICM-3_impreso — September 19 was the busiest day, with 146,837 passengers passing through the airport’s two terminals despite an earthquake that day. Passenger numbers are almost back to prepandemic levels at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM). Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro

More than 3.86 million passengers used the airport last month, a figure just 1.2% lower than in September 2019, the lowest negative differential recorded this year.

A total of 29,935 planes arrived at and departed from the airport, an average of 129 passengers on each flight.

AICM reported that the three busiest routes in September were those between the capital and the cities of Cancún, Guadalajara and Mérida.

It said that Monday September 19 was the busiest day, with 146,837 passengers passing through the airport’s two terminals. A powerful earthquake occurred the same day, but it didn’t affect the airport’s operations.

With over 3.8 million passengers last month, the cumulative total for 2022 rose to just over 33.71 million. That figure is 9.6% lower than that recorded in 2019’s first nine months.

In 2019, a record 50.3 million passengers used AICM.

Twenty-three Mexican and foreign airlines use the Mexico City airport, according to information on the AICM website. Among the international carriers are Air Canada, American Airlines, Colombia’s Avianca, Japan’s ANA and British Airways.

The federal government declared earlier this year that both AICM terminals have reached saturation point.

The government opened a new airport – the Felipe Ángeles International Airport – north of the capital in México state in March, but the number of passengers and airlines currently using the facility is dwarfed by the number using AICM.

With reports from El Economista

Well-being university students take protest to National Palace

By

MND Staff

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October 19, 2022

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university protests — Medical students enrolled at the UBBJ Tlalpan campus protested in downtown Mexico City, with signs asking the government to provide a physical campus location and teachers for the courses. Medicoblastos / Facebook

President López Obrador frequently insists that citizens have the right to protest, but one high-ranking government official last week advised disgruntled students to cease the public airing of their grievances and warned them they could become victims of “scandals” they create themselves.

Students who attend Benito Juárez García Universities for Well-Being (UBBJ), which were opened by the current government, have protested in recent months due to a range of shortcomings at their campuses including a lack of teachers and classrooms, and poor quality infrastructure.

Protests have been held in several states including Yucatán, Guerrero, Baja California and Oaxaca.

In Mexico City, students who study medicine at the UBBJ Tlalpan campus on the capital’s southside took their complaints to the National Palace last Thursday, where they denounced the government’s inattention to their plight.

At a protest outside the seat of executive power, students held up placards with messages such as, “[studying] Medicine online isn’t medicine,” “We demand quality facilities” and “At UBBJ we’re surviving, not learning.”

The students say that some of their required classes haven’t been offered due to a lack of teaching staff and that the building that houses the Tlalpan UBBJ campus – a former kindergarten school – is inadequate and was damaged in last month’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

Their ire was chiefly directed at Raquel Sosa Elízaga, a seasoned academic who has been head of the government’s well-being universities since the first campuses were established in 2019.

Sosa agreed to meet with the students but showed little sympathy toward them during an address at the UBBJ Tlalpan campus last Friday.

“Don’t be idle, don’t just go out to the street and protest, you’re better off doing useful work,” she told the students.

“… I’m not afraid of you going out to protest because I lived many years of my life doing that,” Sosa said before advising students to have more “discretion” about their grievances.

“Who would like the medical history of their family to be [publicly] exhibited? Raise your hand. Who wants a person’s illness to be published in the newspaper Reforma? … Would you allow your family’s clinical history to be published in Reforma? Yes?

The students responded in the affirmative to the third question, with one woman saying she would agree to the publication of personal medical information if it served the greater good.

A professor reportedly retorted that students took their complaints about the Tlalpan campus to the media because “you didn’t do your job.”

Continuing with her analogy, Sosa “invited” students to “expose the clinical history” of their family members in interviews with the media, but warned them not to subsequently take privacy violation complaints to the government.

“He or she who causes scandals will be a victim of them,” she charged.

The students appeared unintimidated by the unspecified threat, and spoke openly of their dissatisfaction with their experience at the government-run university when given the opportunity to address Sosa.

Estudiantes de medicina protestaron en Palacio Nacional para EXIGIR a AMLO atención ante corrupción y falta de apoyo a Universidad del Bienestar Benito Juárez en Tlalpan@Mx_Diputados – @GobiernoMX prefieren aumentar presupuesto a #Militarización de #EjércitoEspía que a Educación pic.twitter.com/ouVUdnlFDz

— Coordinadora1DMX (@Coordinadora1DM) October 15, 2022

Activists shared video from Thursday’s protest on Twitter.

“I’m Arturo, a first year student. I’m angry because of the six subjects we should be taking, we’re only studying two and they’re online,” the budding doctor said. “Why? Because there are no teachers.”

Arturo asserted that medicine students were destined to become “unprepared doctors” if the university didn’t address the situation.

“We’ll probably treat you in the future. Would you like an unprepared doctor to be treating you?”

A female student assured Sosa that their protests are not politically motivated and demanded solutions.

“We’re not acting as a political party and we’re not lazy. We didn’t go to the [National] Palace because we don’t have anything to do. We don’t see willingness from the authorities to provide the professors that are needed or adequate facilities. … We need solutions. That’s why we .. [took our complaints] to the media. If there was a response, we wouldn’t have reached that point,” she said.

With reports from Reforma, El Norte, Infobae and AM

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