López Obrador has little to show for his fight against corruption

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November 22, 2021

The former head of Mexico’s state oil company, Emilio Lozoya, was extradited from Spain more than a year ago over alleged bribes. But it was only after pictures of him eating Peking duck in an upscale restaurant triggered public outrage last month that prosecutors requested he be put into pre-trial detention.

President López Obrador called the lavish dinner “provocation.” Lozoya’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment, though local media has reported he denies wrongdoing. But for the government’s critics, the saga was illustrative of the Mexican authorities’ approach to fighting corruption: a strategy deeply influenced by politics and little to show for it.

Speaking at the United Nations this month — his second trip abroad in three years — López Obrador said that corruption in “all its forms” was “the biggest problem on the planet.” He added: “[In Mexico] we’ve applied the formula of banishing corruption and put the money saved into helping the people.”

But analysts say there are few advances back home to shout about. Mexico has long been plagued by corruption, from payoffs to avoid speeding tickets to multimillion-dollar theft from public works contracts. Each year, Mexicans pay hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to public officials for basic day-to-day paperwork such as starting a company or paying car taxes, statistics body INEGI estimates. Transparency International ranks Mexico in 124th place of 180 countries.

The federal anti-corruption prosecutor has only managed to secure two sentences for offences in more than 2 1/2 years in the job, one expert said. High profile cases are slow to advance.

corruption perceptions index — In terms of transparency, Mexico is in the red.

“They don’t have a criminal prosecution policy . . . they choose cases for very unclear reasons,” said Eduardo Bohórquez, head of Transparency International in Mexico. “That arbitrariness is a bad sign in a prosecutor’s office.”

More worrying is the apparent pattern of exoneration of political allies and the pursuit of government critics and political opponents by both the administration and the nominally independent federal prosecutors.

“Before, corruption wasn’t being fought so that people in power could make money illegally,” said Miguel Alfonso Meza, a former civil society lawyer who now works in the municipal government of Monterrey, run by an opposition party. “Now corruption isn’t being fought to allow the group in power to consolidate itself but also to hurt democracy and pursue critics.”

López Obrador insists corruption is being fought in his government and that more than 200 criminal complaints have been made. “No one is being protected,” he said. The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

The president’s image of being personally uninterested in amassing money for himself — something even many opponents believe is real — gives him credibility with voters on corruption. The problem is that institutions lack the independence or resources to sustain a real anti-corruption fight, activists said.

Thousands of accounts blocked by the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) have produced scant results in criminal cases. Earlier this month its head, Santiago Nieto, resigned after being rebuked by the president for his lavish wedding in Guatemala.

Other key oversight bodies like the Federal Auditor’s Office — part of the lower house of Congress — have presented far fewer criminal complaints during this administration than in previous years.

López Obrador has also undermined the National Anticorruption System — meant to co-ordinate different institutions — by calling it the “last straw” in a “pretend” anti-corruption fight.

“We still have the same problem, we don’t have institutions . . . that really work,” said Edna Jaime, director of think tank Mexico Evalúa. “The president hasn’t invested any of his political capital or resources, it’s not part of his project to strengthen these institutions.”

At one of his daily morning press conferences last month, López Obrador promised to publish details of those who have been sanctioned or accused of corruption. The subsequent release said thousands of officials had been barred from government and hundreds of criminal complaints had been made, but didn’t mention a single criminal conviction.

Defense chief criticized for remarks supporting ‘fourth transformation’

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MND Staff

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November 22, 2021

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Defense Minister Sandoval: 'Contributing to the fourth transformation is a badge of honor.' sedena/twitter

National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval has come under fire after publicly expressing support for the “transformation” President López Obrador and his government are carrying out in Mexico.

Speaking at a ceremony on Saturday to mark the 111th anniversary of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, Sandoval said the “fourth transformation” currently underway has the nation’s best interests at heart.

In that respect it’s like the previous three transformations, he said, referring to independence from Spain, 19th century liberal reforms and the revolution.

Despite differences of opinion about the federal government – colloquially known as the 4T for “fourth transformation” – Mexicans need to unite and support the “national project” it is carrying out, Sandoval said.

López Obrador has given the military a prominent role in the transformation he claims to be executing, assigning it a range of non-traditional tasks such as public security, infrastructure construction and management of the nation’s ports and customs offices.

The defense minister said the military “will continue putting all its efforts into compliance with the visions and tasks entrusted to us because we’re sure that this is the path for our country to continue developing.”

“… The army, air force, navy and National Guard are present in the entire country providing security to citizens, we’re present where the public’s assets and safety are at risk due to a disaster, we’re present where we can contribute to actions being carried out to avoid corruption … [and] we’re present where we’re needed to support progress and well-being,” the army chief said.

“… Being able to contribute to the transformation … is a badge of honor,” Sandoval said before echoing the president’s claim that the groundwork for such a monumental change has already been laid.

He said that actions being carried out by López Obrador and his administration are forging a “freer” and “more democratic” Mexico and addressing the “legitimate needs of the majority of Mexicans.”

“… On the verge of beginning the second half of the administration and in the context of the 111th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, the soldiers, marines and National Guard members affirm our loyalty [to the president] and commitment to continue working with honesty, integrity, discipline and professionalism in the projects entrusted to us,” Sandoval said.

At the same ceremony, López Obrador declared that members of the armed forces are loyal to the constitution and government institutions. There was speculation two years ago that there was a rift between the top ranks of the armed forces and López Obrador, leading military leaders to pledge loyalty to the president at the 2019 Mexican Revolution ceremony.

The president Saturday's event in Mexico City — The president Saturday’s event in Mexico City: ‘The Mexican soldier will never betray the homeland.’ sedena/twitter

“They [members of the armed forces] haven’t belonged nor will they belong, I’m sure, to the oligarchy. They come from below, their origin and identity is deep Mexico,” AMLO said Saturday.

“A soldier is a common man in uniform, that’s why he doesn’t betray the people and he will never betray freedom, justice and democracy. The Mexican soldier will never betray the homeland,” he said.

Sandoval’s remarks attracted criticism from academics and lawmakers. Catalina Pérez Correa, a law professor and researcher at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics, described his support for the 4T and his call for all Mexicans to back its political project as “very concerning.”

“I have no memory of any general openly supporting a political project in this way,” she wrote on Twitter, asserting that the army chief’s remarks were even worse given the power the military has been assigned.

Jacobo Dayán, a criminal law expert, said it was “regrettable” and “very worrying” that the armed forces had expressed explicit support for one side of politics and that Sandoval had called on Mexicans to join the 4T.

National Action Party Senator Lily Téllez and independent Senator Emilio Álvarez were also critical.

“Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval took sides with the 4T. How unfortunate,” Téllez wrote on Twitter.

Álvarez said on the same platform that the armed forces had shown they are “no longer a neutral institution of the state” but rather a “bastion of the 4T.”

“Sandoval’s call to join the 4T is concerning,” he added.

With reports from El Universal and Latinus

Municipal cops accused of murdering 3 state investigators in Puebla

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MND Staff

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November 22, 2021

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Governor Barbosa speaks at the funeral service for the three agents. twitter/miguel barbosa

The municipal police chief, his bodyguard and 12 officers have been arrested for the murder of three state investigators in Tecamachalco, Puebla.

After an attack on a Coppel store in the city on November 19, state investigators were called to the scene but were shot in the head by municipal police. Members of the force are allegedly linked to criminal organizations, the newspaper El Sol de México reported.

Minutes after the confrontation, state investigators arrested the 12 municipal officers and and Chief Alejandro Santizo,Santizo later turned himself in.

The victims worked for a department of the state Attorney General’s Office which specializes in high incidence crimes.

Mayor Ignacio Mier Bolaños initially said the attack was the result of confusion. However, Governor Miguel Barbosa confirmed at a ceremony for the victims on Sunday that the investigators were murdered intentionally. “It was an execution …”

Attorney General Gilberto Higuera Bernal said the three investigators were shot from a strategic position, supporting the murder hypothesis. “It is evident that there was a specific firing position to shoot our personnel, who at no time fired [their weapons],” he said.

Barbosa observed that the different public institutions must be synchronized to work effectively. “Society works due to the fact that the three orders of government are articulated, coordinated, and seek to maintain … the well-being that we all aspire to, but if something fails in that coordination of the public powers, the situation becomes complicated,” he said.

With reports from El Sol de México, Reforma and TV Azteca

Youths filmed brutal attack against senior for social media post

By

MND Staff

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November 22, 2021

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The youth hit the man three times on a sidewalk in Guadalajara.

A group of youths assaulted a senior in Guadalajara for no apparent reason last Thursday and shared a video of the attack on social media.

The video shows one of the youths approach the senior, who is waiting for a bus and doesn’t notice them. The youth struck the senior three times in the head before he fell to the ground.

The attack took place near the Alcalde Market in the city center, and the perpetrators were identified on social media.

Three of the four youths and their parents turned themselves into the state Attorney General’s Office. Two of them were identified as Jesús “N” and Alonso “N” through their social media profiles, but their names have not been officially confirmed, the newspaper Informador reported. The news website Reporte Índigo identified the youth who filmed the attack as Alan “N.”

Governor Enrique Alfaro confirmed that the senior was well and said the attack was the sign of a wider social problem.

Dos de los cuatro adolescentes señalados como probables partícipes en la agresión a golpes a un adulto mayor afuera del mercado Alcalde, ya comparecieron ante las autoridades correspondientes y se encuentran individualizados en torno a lo ocurrido. pic.twitter.com/r6iWDEZDAi

— jorge kirschner (@kirschner1) November 20, 2021

“The youths without conscience or values, who hit an elderly person for simple fun outside the Alcalde Market, are the harsh reality and consequence of when social decay spreads like cancer,” he said.

With reports from El Universal, Informador, Milenio and Reporte Índigo

Without support for renewable energy General Motors won’t invest in Mexico

By

MND Staff

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November 22, 2021

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The General Motors complex in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila.

General Motors won’t invest in Mexico without laws that support renewable energy, the company’s CEO in Mexico said.

Francisco Garza said that GM and other companies won’t invest here in the short and medium term without a legal and structural framework that supports the production of renewable energy

“General Motors is not going to halt its zero-zero-zero vision,” he said, referring to the company’s commitment to a future in which there are no car crashes, no vehicular emissions and no traffic congestion.

“… If the conditions [companies require] are not on the table I believe Mexico won’t be an investment destination in the short and medium term, and as our investments take between five and seven years … if the conditions are not present, the money that was going to be invested in Mexico will go to the United States, Canada, Brazil, China and Europe, and Mexico will cease to be an important [investment] destination,” Garza told the annual convention of the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives.

His remarks came as the federal government pursues reforms that seek to increase the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission’s share of the electricity market and give power generated at its fossil fuel-powered plants priority over renewable energy on the national grid. The government is also proposing the cancellation of self-supply permits which allow companies to operate on electricity they generate themselves, including that from sources such as wind and solar.

If enacted, the proposals would deal a significant blow to private renewable energy companies that have invested heavily in Mexico since the previous government’s energy reform took effect. They would also affect companies such as GM that want to increase their use of renewable energy.

While President López Obrador champions the continued use of fossil fuels and seeks to wind back the 2013 energy reform, Garza stressed the importance of transitioning to clean, renewable energy sources.

GM has committed to investing US $27 billion between 2020 and 2025 to accelerate its transition to the manufacture of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. The company announced in April that it would invest more than $1 billion in Coahuila to open a new paint plant and expand its Ramos Arizpe manufacturing hub so that it can begin making electric vehicles there in 2023.

“There is an important factor that will determine whether the hand brake is put on investment or not,” Garza said, referring to government support for the renewable sector.

GM’s objective is to operate on 100% clean energy by 2040, he added.

The United States Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Mexico’s Business Coordinating Council raised concerns about the federal government’s energy sector plans and policies in a letter sent to López Obrador, U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the eve of last Thursday’s North American Leaders Summit.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the leaders discussed energy – including a constitutional bill that seeks to overhaul electricity market rules – but the issue was not a major discussion point.

With reports from El Economista

Canadian Shari Bondy followed the whales to Baja after they saved her life

By

Leigh Thelmadatter

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November 20, 2021

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Grey whale in Ojo de Liebre Lagoon — A gray whale checks out a new boatload of Whale Magic Tours guests in Mulegé's Ojo de Liebre Lagoon. Photos by Shari Bondy

When she was 20, Canadian Shari Bondy, who worked on various boats in the Pacific, found her watercraft blown out to sea by a storm in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, off the coast of Oaxaca. At some point, she fell unconscious, came to, and found that the vessel was surrounded by whales, who were keeping the boat from flipping over.

She thinks she might have had a near-death experience or something similar because her memories of the event include the whales somehow “talking” to her, telling her that she would be OK and — when she realized she was safe and wanted to somehow thank them — urging her to tell people about them.

She later found out that it was not rare for whales to come to the aid of unlucky humans at sea. So back in Canada, she began studying whale behavior and working on tours that took people to view gray whales on the northern end of their migration route off British Columbia.

But to understand the whales meant to also know the southern end of that migration route — in Baja.

During Bondy’s first visit to Baja California Sur in 1988, she heard about a then-unknown lagoon in Mulegé where whales were so comfortable with humans that they regularly interacted with them, even bringing their babies along. She decided to check it out.

Tourist on a Whale Magic Tour — Guest on a Whale Magic tour kissing a whale.

What was supposed to be an hours-long visit to Ojo de Liebre in Mulegé, also known as Scammon’s Lagoon, turned into weeks. It changed her life.

She became pregnant there with her daughter, but that is certainly not the only way the trip profoundly affected her. The experience with the whales in Ojo de Liebre floored her, and she knew she needed to study them.

But finding a way to live here and finance her research wasn’t easy. For some time, she literally lived in a tent on the beach with her daughter and teamed up with local fishermen to give whale sighting tours in English for tips.

She says she was “flying under the radar” since she didn’t know that she needed a permit to do this.

The years went by, and after about a decade, one tour guest happened to ask her what her company’s name was.

She had never thought about it. It was just an informal thing she’d worked out with local fishermen, and most of what she got out of it was the chance take pictures and do other whale research activities.

This guest suggested that she formalize the tour business and asked her, “What is it? What is it that you do?”

Her answer was, “It’s not really what I do; it’s what the whales do. They do this whale magic.”

Hence the name she finally gave her business: Whale Magic Tours.

The tour company is based in that same lagoon that captivated her so many years ago, but today she works with her now grown-up daughter, Sirena. Both are bilingual guides who have lived with and studied the whales for decades.

Unlike other tour operators, they are able to educate visitors from all over the world about whale behavior and biology, the history of the lagoon and stories of the human and whale encounters they have witnessed. Bondy says that gazing into the eye of a whale is a “humbling, life-changing encounter you will never forget.”

At the peak of the whale sighting season here, which runs from January to March, there can be up to 2,000 mothers and babies in the lagoon.

blowhole in Bahia Asuncion, Baja California Sur — The blowhole, or marine geyser, that gives Bondy’s hotel, La Bufadora, its name. *Bufadora* is blowhole in Spanish.

So why do the whales approach people?

One reason is that there has been no hunting here in living memory, so the whales feel safe.

The other reason is that the whales here are kind of bored.

While in Baja, they are entirely focused on bearing their young and preparing them for the migration north. They are not even eating. So the gaggles of humans coming out to see them is a kind of entertainment.

They come close and like to be caressed by people’s hands. It is definitely a learned behavior, as it happens nowhere else in the world.

In the 1970s, Mexico began implementing the whale protection measures in the lagoon that are currently in place. The El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve was established in Mulegé in 1988.

Mexican authorities asked Bondy to help establish rules for the growing number of humans going out to see the whales in the lagoon.

But Bondy’s involvement in the development of this part of Baja has not ended there. Some years after settling in Mexico, she met and married a fisherman from the little-known town of Bahia Asunción, Mulegé, south of the whale lagoon.

The couple settled into a small house there in 2002 when it had no paved roads, no electricity and no running water. Despite that, they began receiving guests in 2006 and slowly expanded into a bed and breakfast.

It eventually became a hotel called La Bufadora, named for a nearby natural blowhole.

The two businesses keep the Bondy family busy, but Shari still wants to do more for this part of Baja. It attracts a certain kind of tourist, those looking for something off the beaten path or something more laid-back than the popular tourist destinations of Los Cabos and Ensenada.

Despite its growing fame due to the whales, the town of Bahia Asunción is still not terribly developed because even with a paved road, it is an hour from the main highway. “People are too busy to make the detour and check it out,” Bondy says.

Bahia Asuncion, Baja California Sur — Bondy lives in the small town of Bahia Asunción, Mulegé. She also works to promote the tourist economy there.

But it’s worth the trip for the miles of pristine beaches, fishing, boat trips to Asunción Island and, of course, fresh seafood, she adds.

Although the season for tours starts in January, Bondy suggests making arrangements now as spaces fill up quickly, especially with limited space due to COVID-19 rules.

• To book a tour with Whale Magic Tours, you can contact them at [email protected].

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.

Give us this day our daily bread: capirotada, or bread pudding, will do just fine

By

Janet Blaser

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November 20, 2021

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Mexican capirotada — Capirotada is named for a hat worn by Inquisition-era Catholic penitents, but it's sinfully delicious.

Some kitchen problems are universal, and what to do with stale bread is one of those.

In Italy, they came up with strata and budi; in England, it’s “the poor man’s pudding.” Spain and Mexico have capirotada.

Whatever you call it, bread pudding is eaten all over the world, albeit with slightly different ingredients.

Traditional Mexican bread pudding is quite different than what I’m used to, though; it includes cheese — aged and sharp cotija, creamy, melty asadero or even a light queso fresco. That’s part of its Moorish heritage.

The word capirotada originates from capirote, the name of a tall conical hat worn by penitents of an extremist Catholic sect during the Inquisition in Spain. (The hat has holes for the eyes and covers the face and allowed the flagellants to remain anonymous. It was later adopted by the American Ku Klux Klan as part of its ominous uniform.)

At any rate, the bread pudding, so named because of its humble main ingredient of stale bread and the symbology representing the body and blood of Christ, was brought across the ocean by Spanish conquistadores.

There are several variations on Mexican capirotada. Blanca (white), is made with more milk and white sugar, and oscura (dark) is sweetened with piloncillo (unrefined brown sugar). Some recipes call for frying the bread first, but most call for stale bread cut into cubes.

Although supposedly Good Friday and during Lent are the traditional times to serve it, I find it more common here in Mazatlán during the cool winter months. While peanuts, almonds and raisins are customary, there’s no reason not to experiment with other dried fruits and nuts.

Stale bread works best; if using fresh, toast it first or let it sit out for a day to dry out somewhat.

Simple Traditional Capirotada

1¼ cups grated piloncillo or packed brown sugar
1¼ cups water
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
4½ cups cubed bolillos or other soft white bread (can be stale)
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
¼ cup toasted peanuts, chopped
2 Tbsp. butter, in small pieces
¾ cup cotija or grated Chihuahua cheese

Combine first three ingredients in saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks.

Combine bread, raisins, nuts and butter in a bowl. Drizzle with warm sugar syrup, mixing gently. Spoon mixture into 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with cheese. Cover with foil; chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Serve warm.

Basic Bread Pudding

If you can find a sweet egg bread like brioche or challah, this pudding will be especially rich. Otherwise, use whatever soft white bread that’s available.

2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
⅓ cup sugar
Pinch salt
5-6 cups sweet egg bread like challah or brioche, in 2-inch cubes
2 eggs, beaten

In a saucepan over low heat, warm milk, butter, vanilla, sugar and salt. Continue cooking just until butter melts; set aside to cool. Meanwhile, butter a 4- to 6-cup baking dish and fill it with the cubed bread.

Whisk eggs into the cooled milk mixture; pour over bread. Bake at 350 F for 30–45 minutes or until custard is set but still wobbly and the edges of bread have browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tres Leches Bread Pudding

This is baked in a hot water bath like a custard.

Butter for greasing baking dish
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
1 (12-oz.) can evaporated milk
2 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. salt
About 8 cups brioche or other soft white bread, cut into 1½-inch cubes

Heat the oven to 350 F. Butter 9-inch square baking dish. In large bowl, beat eggs and egg yolks until combined. Whisk in 1 cup heavy cream, ¾ cup condensed milk, the whole milk, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt.

Spread bread in prepared dish; pour egg mixture on top. Press bread down gently with spatula so all pieces are immersed in liquid. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes.

Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. condensed milk over the pudding. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil, then set it inside a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan about halfway up sides of baking dish.

Bake until center of pudding is almost set but still slightly wet, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 30 minutes more until set in center and top is golden. Carefully remove roasting pan from oven; let pudding cool in the water about 20 minutes. Drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. condensed milk. Serve warm, cool or cold.

—nytimes.com

Goat Cheese and Broccoli Bread Pudding

Butter for greasing baking dish
6-8 cups stale baguette, bolillo or other bread, crusts removed
1½ cups milk
2-4 garlic cloves
½ lb. broccoli crowns, cut in small florets
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
1 cup (about 4 oz.) goat cheese, crumbled
4 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Rub bread slices, front and back, with cut cloves of garlic. Cut bread into cubes. Place in bowl and toss with 1 cup of the milk. Set aside. Butter baking dish.

While there are many sweet versions, bread pudding can also be a savory dish.

In large bowl, beat eggs and goat cheese; add remaining milk. Add salt and pepper, then add the soaked bread and any milk remaining in the bowl. Mix gently. Let sit 15–30 minutes.

Mince any remaining garlic. Steam or microwave broccoli until crisp-tender.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat in skillet. Add garlic, half the thyme, broccoli and a bit of salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, remove from heat and stir into bread mixture.

Scoop bread mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining thyme, salt and pepper; drizzle on remaining tablespoon of oil. Bake at 350 F for about 50 minutes until puffed, set and lightly browned.

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 Instagram at @thejanetblaser.

After another tough pandemic year, hope is on the horizon

By

Sarah DeVries

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November 20, 2021

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Despite the decline in cases, many pedestrians and drivers are still faithfully masking up.

Mexico, you’re doing good.

I mean, really. Almost the entire country green. Wow!

Today’s article will be a song of praise. It has been such a long year and nine months since COVID-19 showed up and ruined all our party plans.

I don’t want to get too excited, of course – I felt elated this summer after receiving my own vaccine, only to see the country gasping for breath (literally, in many cases) in the following weeks under the delta variant.

But now that such a large percentage of the population has been vaccinated (over 80% of adults countrywide, according to official statistics and over 90% of adults in Mexico City), it seems that there’s once again hope that we might get to a point where we can actually relax a bit.

And when I say “relax,” I mean maybe go to an outdoor concert where we can still sit far-ish away from one another and finally send all our kids back to school with their cute little cartoon-decorated masks, widely spaced desks and backpacks chock-full of hand gel.

Heartening, too, is the sight of so many people — at least in my city — still faithfully wearing masks in public. Some people seem to take it extra far, and it’s kind of adorable: I often see drivers wear masks even though they’re alone in their vehicles, and most people walking down the street without another soul in sight are masked up too. But, hey, I’ll take an abundance of caution over a devil-may-care attitude any day!

I’m so happy that people are for the most part not letting up, even in the face of a rosy current picture, rather than behaving like about half the population of my own country.

Reading the news from there has been disheartening to say the least. With the vaccine divide in the United States and in Europe largely causing a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” — with a few breakthrough cases turning up as a result of the absence of herd immunity — many countries seem to be facing yet another surge.

While I’ve certainly met people here who have refused the vaccine (and heard about several of their funerals as a result), most people tend to be fairly quiet about their opposition and are usually of the “essential oils will cure all that ails me” type rather than “the government is trying to kill us and make Pfizer rich, and it’s all a conspiracy” variety.

I mean, if this was indeed all planned — and I’m sure that I’ll hear about it from the readers that email me to tell me I’m an idiot every time I write in support of vaccines — all I can say is that they did a terrible job at execution, with just awful fumbles.

Anyway! The combination of vaccines and other efforts at stopping contagion is working, and I’m damn proud. What are we still doing?

Well, all major stores still insist on mask-wearing, using hand gel on your way in and taking patrons’ temperatures.

Taking temperatures seems fairly unnecessary. The result is usually comically low, and at places like the mall, one’s temperature is taken upon entrance to the building and then before entering most stores. How do they think I got in the building? Might I have developed a temperature during my walk from the main entrance to the Liverpool entrance inside the mall?

Once, I walked into a department store the wrong way, and someone chased me down a good 50 meters to make me go back and enter the right way so that I could receive my squirt of gel and get my temperature taken for the sixth time since arriving at the mall 30 minutes earlier.

There’s no need to give anyone a hard time, though. It’s not like those with the thankless job of policing such entrances made the rules. And who knows: maybe it’s prevented a contagion or two.

And, again, what a contrast to my own country, where a sizable portion of the population refuses to wear masks because face coverings are … uncomfortable? Unfashionable? I’ll admit, they can be annoying. But is it really that big a price to pay when we’re trying to free ourselves from this seemingly never-ending pandemic?

In more good news, vaccines have now been opened up to 15 to 17-year-olds in Mexico, in an about-face from the previous government argument that only those young people with existing health conditions would be offered vaccines.

Why the about-face? I have no idea, but I hope it continues down the line until all children are eligible.

With half of parents still too nervous to send their kids to school, it would be a big step in allowing children in Mexico to finally exercise their right to an education, something that minors in literally every other country in the world have been able to do for a while now.

And dare I wish for boosters? It was such an effort to get adults vaccinated that I don’t think we’ve even been discussing it yet, but one can hope.

In the meantime, I’m just so proud to be in a country where so many people are still working hard to take care of themselves and of each other. Time will tell if it pays off, but at least today, I’m optimistic.

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

Migrants, energy reform and COVID: the week at the morning press conferences

By

MND Staff

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November 20, 2021

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President López Obrador at his Wednesday morning press conference.

In 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the presidency after three tries. His first run was in 2006, when he lost by a sliver to Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party. Calderón had 35.89% of the vote to AMLO’s 35.31%.

AMLO cried foul and demanded a full recount, which he wasn’t granted. On November 20, 2006, the date when the Revolution is commemorated, supporters proclaimed him the legitimate president at a rally in Mexico City’s zócalo.

Since taking office in 2018, Andrés Manuel has derided the National Electoral Institute, and called for its dissolution. However, there are no grudges he often assures through one of his stock phrases: “Revenge isn’t my strength.”

Monday

The budget was approved on Sunday, bringing a smile to the Tabascan, and he thanked legislators for their work, save for those who voted against it.

Those battle lines were dug deeper on the subject of the energy reform: “If [opposition parliamentarians] do not approve the electricity reform, they will end up showing that they do not represent the people … it is not a matter of give and take. Principles and dignity are priceless, and cannot be negotiated,” he affirmed.

Attention turned to migration later in the conference, courtesy of the BBC’s Will Grant, who asked why the budget of the refugee agency COMAR hadn’t been bumped despite an unprecedented rise in asylum claims.

“Well, we help the migrants, we respect them, protect them, take care of them, their rights are not violated,” the president responded.

Tula, Hidalgo, returned to haunt the leader: a journalist suggested that the flooding in September, which killed 16 hospital patients, was not due to excess rainfall. “There are officials with first and last names responsible for this tragedy,” he said.

Did AMLO accept partial responsibility?

“No, no, no. Well, yes, yes, yes, of course, I’m responsible, even though I’m not culpable,” he clarified.

President López Obrador was pleased to see the budget approved on Sunday.

Tuesday

A series of numbers defined Tuesday’s conference: 16, 84%, 15-17, 38 million and 100.

COVID czar and Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell confirmed the third wave was still going in the right direction: it had been on a downward trend for 16 weeks, while 84% of the population was fully vaccinated.

López-Gatell dealt out another set of numbers: 15-17. With it, he revealed a shift in government policy: all youths aged 15 -17 were to be offered vaccines.

He left the big figures to the boss: 38 million, the president said, was the total of Mexican immigrants living in the United States. He previously called the expatriates “heroes” for their remittance payments, which could reach US $50 billion this year. “Just to give you an idea, the second largest Hispanic community is that of Puerto Rico, and there are five million, and the third … is the Cuban community, four million,” he added.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard offered a rounded number late in the conference: 100, he said, was the number of countries that had committed to or expressed interest in the president’s $1 trillion plan for the world’s poorest, proposed at the UN Security Council meeting in New York on November 9.

Wednesday

The Caribbean sun accompanied Wednesday’s conference in Cancún, Quintana Roo. Governor Carlos Joaquín González said tourism was back in good health, and expressed excitement about the Maya Train which he said would “unite the Maya region.”

While tourism was up, so was violence: Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval announced a new branch of the National Guard to patrol tourist hotspots.

Chief fake news debunker Ana García Vilchis addressed the president’s trip to New York for the UN meeting. Contrary to media reports, the gucci jacket-wearing passenger on the return flight who spoke to the president was not his son, Mexican migrants in New York cheering the president were not paid $100 each, the health budget hadn’t been cut and the energy reform would not create unclean emissions, she confirmed.

Thursday

Mexico bore breakfast without AMLO on Thursday: he was in Washington, D.C., at a conference with U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

López Obrador focused on North America’s shared economic interest, and economic fear: China. “Economic integration … is the best instrument to face the competition from the growth of other regions of the world, in particular, the productive and commercial expansion of China … If the trend of the last decade continues, in 30 years, by 2051, China will have control of 42% of the world market and we, the United States, Mexico and Canada, will have 12%.”

Liberalizing immigration policies, he added, was one way to promote economic growth. “Myths and prejudices must be put to one side. For example, stop rejecting migrants, [because] to grow you need a workforce that, in reality, is not sufficiently available in the United States or Canada. Why not study the demand for labor and open the migratory flow in an orderly fashion?”

Friday

Patience was required of AMLO-ites on Friday, as the morning conference took another day off.

So for the fervently patriotic, or just the intellectually curious, here is Mexico’s rather bloodthirsty, war-like national anthem:

“Mexicans, at the cry of battle
lend your swords and bridle;
and let the earth tremble at its center
upon the roar of the cannon.

“Your forehead shall be girded, oh fatherland, with olive garlands
by the divine archangel of peace,
For in heaven your eternal destiny
has been written by the finger of God.

“But should a foreign enemy,
Profane your land with his sole,
Think, beloved fatherland, that heaven
gave you a soldier in each son.

…

“War, war without truce against who would attempt
to blemish the honor of the fatherland!
War, war! The patriotic banners
saturate in waves of blood.

War, war! On the mount, in the vale
The terrifying cannon thunder
and the echoes nobly resound
to the cries of union! liberty!

…

Fatherland, before your children become unarmed
Beneath the yoke their necks in sway,
May your countryside be watered with blood,
On blood their feet trample.

“And may your temples, palaces and towers
crumble in horrid crash,
and their ruins exist saying:
The fatherland was made of one thousand heroes here.

“Fatherland, fatherland, your children swear
to exhale their breath in your cause,
If the bugle in its belligerent tone
should call upon them to struggle with bravery.

“For you the olive garlands!
For them a memory of glory!
For you a laurel of victory!
For them a tomb of honor!”

Mexico News Daily

Airbnb identifies new trends in travel as a result of COVID-19 during tourism event

By

MND Staff

-

November 19, 2021

0

Playa del Carmen is one of the top trending destinations for U.S. travelers.

A revolution in the way we travel is taking place in countries around the world including Mexico, Airbnb co-founder and chief strategy officer Nate Blecharczyk said Friday during an appearance at a tourism industry event in Mérida, Yucatán.

Speaking at the Tianguis Turístico – Latin America’s largest tourism industry event – Blecharczyk said the coronavirus pandemic has eliminated the need for people to work in specific places at specific times.

Tens of millions of people can now work from anywhere, travel whenever they want and stay away from home for longer, he said.

As a result, many people are living in Airbnb properties, Blecharczyk said, adding that the trend is occurring in Mexico.

“Traveling to Mexico has become a real trend for travelers from the United States. Tulum, Cancún, Mexico City and Playa del Carmen are some of the top trending destinations for U.S. travelers,” Blecharczyk said.

He presented data that showed that villas, cabins and country houses in Mexico were among the most searched listings on the Airbnb site.

The co-founder of the booking platform presented additional global data that showed that 20% of nights booked between July and September were for stays of one month or longer. More than 100,000 guests have stayed continuously on Airbnb for three months or longer during the past year and 45% of nights currently booked on the platform are for stays of one week or longer, up from 38% two years ago.

Six in 10 respondents to an Airbnb survey in Mexico said they were interested in working while traveling so that they can take advantage of their free time to explore and get to know new places, Blecharczyk said.

He also said there are Airbnb hosts in almost all of Mexico’s 132 Pueblos Mágicos, or Magical Towns. Listings in such towns have increased 170% since 2018, Blecharczyk said, adding that as of the end of last year 11,000 families in Pueblos Mágicos had obtained extra income by listing properties on the site.

Earlier this week, President López Obrador inaugurated the 45th edition of the Tianguis Turístico, which was originally slated to be held in Mérida in March 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. The event began Tuesday and concludes Friday.

“What in essence this act means is to inaugurate a new stage in the public life of our country, to come out of the tunnel of darkness we were in because of the pandemic,” López Obrador said.

Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco speaks at the Tianguis Turistico. — Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco speaks at the Tianguis Turístico.

He lauded the Yucatán Peninsula as a tourism destination, saying it is an “extraordinary region” filled with “archaeological riches.”

“That’s why [we’re building] the Maya Train [railroad], to connect the new and old Mayan cities. In what region of the world are there as many archaeological sites as the Mayan region?” the president said.

The railroad will spur tourists to go beyond the beach and explore, López Obrador said.

For his part, Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco said international tourism declined 46% in Mexico last year compared to a 73% worldwide contraction.

He said López Obrador’s instruction not to restrict the entry of international flights during the pandemic and the implementation of bio-health protocols designed by the Tourism Ministry in close coordination with the Health Ministry allowed Mexico to welcome more international tourists than most other countries. In addition, Mexico has never required incoming travelers to quarantine, present a negative COVID test result or show proof they are vaccinated.

Torruco predicted that international tourist numbers will total 31 million in 2021 and the economic spillover will be US $18.1 billion. It’s estimated that tourism’s contribution to GDP will be 7.1% this year and 8.3% in 2022, he said. The latter figure is almost on a par with 2019 levels.

The tourism minister noted that 490 tourism projects worth a combined US $9.1 billion are currently being built, generating more than 156,000 direct and indirect jobs.

“In addition, in the first half of 2021, Mexico attracted US $711 million in direct foreign tourism investment, and in the second quarter the number of people working in the [tourism] sector was about 4 million – 249,000 more jobs than in the first quarter of the year,” he said.

“… All these statistics are without a doubt encouraging. They show that tourism activity is in the process of recovery,” Torruco said.

With regard to the Tianguis Turístico, the tourism minister said that all 32 Mexican states were represented and that more than 1,500 tourism-sector buyers from 970 companies in 42 countries would be in attendance. Some 95% of all international tourists who come to Mexico are nationals of those 42 countries, Torruco said.

Mexico News Daily