The navy's Rafael Ojeda: 'If you have been told to set corruption aside, let's do it.'
Mexico’s corruption problem is due to a lack of honest public servants, navy chief Rafael Ojeda said Monday.
He told President López Obrador’s morning press conference that a lot of officials haven’t heard or haven’t acted on the government’s call to abandon corrupt practices.
However, members of the armed forces are an exception and can serve as an example to other public servants, Ojeda said.
“[In the military], we create public servants for Mexican society and let me tell you, because it’s something that is very true, Mexico lacks honest public servants; that’s why we have this big corruption problem,” he said.
“What we [the armed forces] give society are public servants, women and men, with a lot of ethics, a lot of values and principles, and that is what we would like the many young people and the many professionals within the public service to understand. If you have been told to set corruption aside, let’s do it.”
In contrast with other government institutions, the armed forces always impose sanctions on members who have done the wrong thing, the navy minister said, explaining that the military cannot afford to have bad apples within their ranks.
“We create women and men with values, with principles – personnel who have professional ethics, who know they must take a course or path … that will generate a full professional life for them and not get them involved in problems,” Ojeda said.
“We have young people who … take another course but they’re punished. The big difference between us and a lot of other institutions is that we can’t afford to have bad elements because from the general to the last soldier, from the admiral to the last sailor, we’re public servants,” he said.
A China state-owned automobile manufacturer has announced plans to enter Mexico.
Chang’an Automobile Group, better known as Changan Motors, will market five models through its local partner Motor Nation in 30 dealerships and will open five brand only showrooms in large cities.
Changan Motors is one of China’s “Big 4” automakers, along with Dongfeng, FAW and Shanghai General Motors, which partners with U.S. giant General Motors. Changan is present in more than 60 countries in the world and is more than 150 years old.
The models are to be sold in Mexico are the compact sedan Alsvin; the sports utility vehicles CS35 Plus, CS55 Plus Turbo and CS75 Plus Turbo; and the mini-SUV Uni-T.
Prices start at 259,900 pesos (about US $13,000) for the Alsvin, 300,000 to 415,000 pesos for the CS35 Plus and the turbo model ($15,000 to $20,700) and 490,000 to 560,000 pesos for the CS55 Plus ($24,400 to $27,900). Prices for the other models were not available.
In 2020, Changan Motors produced more than 2 million cars. The company was founded in 1862 by Hongzhang Li as a weapons manufacturer. In 1957, he entered the automotive industry.
In 2009, China produced 13.79 million vehicles, surpassing the United States as the world’s largest automobile producer by volume. Now, China dominates: in 2020 the Asian nation produced more than 25 million vehicles, while the United States produced fewer than 9 million, according to Statista.
Mexico produced 3.04 million vehicles last year and 3.75 million in 2019.
Marcelo Ebrard, center, with other signatories of the agreement to create a new space agency.
Six Latin American nations have agreed to form a new regional space agency, the foreign minister announced on Saturday.
Mexico joined Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay and Costa Rica in the commitment, which has been in the offing for a decade, at a meeting of the 32 country members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).
The plan was first announced in January 2020 when Mexico took over the rotating presidency of the organization, which was created in 2010 in Caracas, Venezuela, as a counterbalance to the Organization of American States (OAS), which is headquartered in Washington, DC.
“Now we are going to [work on space projects] in combination and the [shared] resources will multiply by 20 times … It means multiplying by 20 the technological and scientific potential and power of America and the Caribbean,” Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.
His Bolivian counterpart, Rogelio Mata, also voiced his optimism about the project. “It’s a fantastic way to not remain behind in knowledge development,” he said.
The Associated Press reported that satellite technology, international partnerships, national pride and local development are all potential benefits of space programs in less developed nations, while critics view them as vanity projects and a diversion from pressing problems on the ground.
Prospects of global internet access from satellites, offering access to data to guide crop-growing and natural disaster management, and to track other conditions linked to disease were further factors named by AP.
Costa Rica-born NASA astronaut Franklin Chang Díaz said criticism of space programs were par for the course. “A lot of people criticized the creation of NASA in 1958 when the United States was struggling with the worst economic recession of the postwar era,” he said in a March statement.
Representatives at the meeting also reached consensus on the necessity for collaboration to distribute Covid-19 vaccines. The meeting was attended by 24 foreign ministers, three deputy ministers and five special envoys.
Authorities are likely to present a concrete plan at the sixth meeting of the Celac Congress in Mexico City on September 18.
An estimated one-quarter of citizens over 60 remain unvaccinated.
The federal government will ramp up Covid-19 vaccination in the five states with the lowest vaccination rates as part of its strategy to blunt the third wave of the pandemic.
Veracruz, Puebla, Guerrero, Chiapas and Oaxaca will have “special treatment starting today,” President López Obrador said at his news conference on Monday morning.
“We’re intensifying vaccination because there’s no other alternative, no other option to confront the virus,” he told reporters in Veracruz city. “The best thing is the vaccine, … if we’re vaccinated we’re protected …”
López Obrador said the efforts to increase vaccination rates will be led by the army in Veracruz and Oaxaca, the navy in Guerrero, the National Guard in Puebla and the Mexican Social Security Institute in Chiapas.
The single-shot CanSino vaccine will be used to avoid having to return to administer second doses to adults who have not yet been vaccinated, he said.
“Complete universal vaccination” even in the most isolated areas of Veracruz, Puebla, Guerrero, Chiapas and Oaxaca is the goal by the end of October, he said, although convincing all unvaccinated people to get a shot – many of whom have already had the chance to be inoculated – will be no easy task.
In Chiapas, for example, many Mayan people have eschewed vaccines, choosing to place their faith in a traditional liquor and a beloved patron saint instead.
Across Mexico, there are some 3.9 million people aged 60 and over who are not vaccinated even though the government has offered shots to all seniors. The figure accounts for about one-quarter of all citizens in that age bracket.
Health Ministry data also shows that some 3.6 million people in the 50-59 bracket – or 29% of the cohort – are unvaccinated, while about 2.4 million of those aged 40-49 – 21% of the cohort – have not had a shot.
Only about one-fifth of Mexico’s population, including children, is fully vaccinated, although 47% of adults have had at least one shot, according to the latest data.
Meanwhile, case numbers are surging as the highly infectious Delta strain circulates across Mexico. More than 13,000 cases per day were reported between Tuesday and Saturday last week before dropping considerably on Sunday, a phenomenon seen throughout the pandemic due to a drop-off in testing and/or the recording and reporting of test results on weekends.
Women line up for vaccination in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.
Despite the worsening situation, the government is not advocating the kind of economic restrictions it recommended during the first and second waves, during which much higher numbers of people were hospitalized and died due to an absence of the protection now provided by vaccination.
Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said last week there would be no “total closures” of public spaces despite the increase in case numbers because people are tired of restrictions, while López Obrador said Monday there would be no shutdowns of businesses because Mexicans now know how to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
“We’ve already received a lot of information [about how to mitigate the risk of transmission of and exposure to the virus], besides … we’re adults,” the president said.
“We have to look after ourselves, not overdo [protection] measures. … The important thing is to save lives but not exaggerate measures that don’t help [stop the spread of the virus] but show … an authoritarian desire.”
López Obrador also noted that the third wave has – so far at least – been less damaging than the first two in terms of hospitalizations and deaths. A majority of recently detected cases have been detected among younger people, who are more likely not to be vaccinated and less likely to suffer severe illness.
AMLO defended the government’s management of the pandemic, asserting that it had found the right balance between guaranteeing freedom, looking after the economy – which shrank 8.5% last year – and protecting people’s health.
However, the government has been widely criticized for its response – especially for not enforcing strict lockdowns and not testing widely enough, and critics point to Mexico’s Covid-19 death toll, the fourth highest in the world, to support their claim.
The official death toll currently stands at 238,424 but that total – like Mexico’s accumulated case tally, which was 2.75 million as of Sunday – is considered a vast undercount. The government itself acknowledged in March that true fatality numbers were almost 60% higher than the official count of test-confirmed deaths.
Chef César Magrain opened SiMon to promote wine drinking as a casual, accessible experience and to support Mexico's burgeoning wine industry.
A bevy of little wine bars have been quietly opening up along the streets of Mexico City the past few years, winning over fans in a country more known for its beer and mezcal than its vinos.
As Mexico’s own wine industry has blossomed, so have the options for locals looking to taste new and exciting wines from here and beyond.
But for many of us, wine remains a mystery. We know what we like, but not much more.
So as I scouted out some of my neighborhood’s wine bars, I brought along an expert, my own double agent, if you will: Diana Serratos, a professional sommelier with more than 25 years of experience.
After studying and living in Argentina for 18 years, Serratos found her way back to Mexico and now works on a plethora of projects supporting Mexican food and drink. She agreed to be my wine guide, and we set off in search of a perfect glass.
Bottega isn’t just a place to get a glass of wine, it also sells high-quality foodstuffs like pasta, bread and Italian cheeses.
Bottega
One of my new favorite locations for enjoying a glass of vino, Bottega is the outpost of Sartoria across the street, an Italian restaurant whose young chef has garnered quite a bit of fame with his handmade pastas perfected during his time in Italy. Known for their thoughtful and saliva-provoking Italian cuisine, the folks from Sartoria opened Bottega two years ago to serve as their bodega (wine shop) and offer a variety of Italian wines (some very small batch productions) as well as high-quality foodstuffs like pasta, bread, canned sauces and Italian cheeses.
Dozens of labels line the shelves of their tiny barroom and deli, its dark wood crafting a cozy and old-world vibe. This year, Covid pushed their seating out into the open, along the relatively tranquil Orizaba street in North Roma, and it’s a nice spot for a sunset drink.
The limited by-the-glass menu is offered alongside small plates with the same Italian influence as their mother restaurant.
“The person who chooses their wine [here] knows what they are doing,” says Serratos of the list, which includes bottles from a range of excellent wine-producing regions, “They go well with antipasto.”
I try a Sangiovese from the Rocca Ventossa winery. It has a cherry flavor and tartness I wasn’t expecting. Serratos orders a fresh Nero D’Avola rosato, which she says is the perfect first drink for a hot day.
Loup Bar
Enormously popular since it opened in 2017, Loup has a list of natural wines that feels immensely overwhelming to the wine neophyte, not to mention the natural wine neophyte.
“Nobody’s going to take the time to look at a list this long,” says Serratos, “not when you’re sitting and chatting.”
But our congenial waiter offers to let us taste as many of the by-the-glass options as we like — the list changes daily. So I order a tangy rosé with slight effervescence, and Serratos has a white from Tierra de Peña, a Querétaro vineyard.
Natural wines — basically unadulterated fermented grape juice — can have a little too much funk for some casual drinkers. Taking your first baby steps at a place like Loup is probably your best bet for trying a wide range and seeing if natural wines are your thing.
The place itself is small and nondescript — with about half a dozen tables and a raucous seafood restaurant next door that significantly dampens the patio ambiance. So maybe sit inside for your natural wine lesson and order off the menu; folks rave about their food as well.
While Vigneron has plenty of pandemic-friendly shady spaces outside to drink and socialize, its interior calls to mind Parisian boho chic.
Vigneron
A creation of the pandemic, Vigneron sits in a mellow section of the Roma neighborhood with far fewer tourists and traffic than the more frequented Roma Norte.
The place’s ambiance is the star, with the majority of seating located outside under the shade of the trees and a few intimate spots inside at an overstuffed booth below Victorian portraits and old-fashioned wallpaper. This is another wine bar where the daily by-the-glass selection is on constant rotation and they usually have at least two options of red and white — and generally an orange and a rose — that you can taste before you order.
The wine list tilts heavily French with a menu that doesn’t seem to match the high-end prices of the wine they serve (pizzas and basic appetizers, mainly). My sommelier secret agent says someone here also knew what they were doing when they put together the wine list.
French wine is usually expensive, but for a casual spot in Mexico City, the list seems too expensive (there are few bottles under US $100) and doesn’t have much of a range.
“It’s not like there aren’t people who will pay those prices,” Diana says. “But for a bottle of wine and a small plate, you’ll never leave paying less than US $100.”
SiMon
One of the more established locations on this list (they opened in 2018), SiMon became super popular this year due to its additional outdoor seating a la pandemic. If you’re looking for a nice selection of Mexican wine, this is the place to go.
Once just a tiny offshoot of chef César Margain’s Broka restaurant next door, SiMon has developed a fan base of its own over the past few years. According to interviews with Margain, an essential part of the concept is to keep wine drinking casual and to support the burgeoning wine industry in Mexico, in particular Baja California, where he once lived. The unfussy style is a relief in a city that tends to like its wine fancy.
SiMon also sells gourmet products such as conserves and cheeses, and you can get some great dishes from the Broka kitchen while you sip.
“They have a good selection of Mexican wine at a good price, and the artichokes from Broka are the best,” says Serratos.
By the end of the night, we are saturated, but at least I am now more knowledgeable about what’s out there and ready to make a good choice when next hit by a wine craving. As more good wine bars open in the city, I plan to say salud! at each and every one.
Lydia Carey is a regular contributor to Mexico News Daily.
The allegedly fake doctor who was selling vaccines for up to 1,500 pesos each in Tapachula, Chiapas.
A man posing as a doctor was arrested in Tapachula, Chiapas, on Saturday for selling fake shots of Covid-19 vaccines for 1,000 to 1,500 pesos.
Gerardo “N,” 40, was found in a hotel — where he allegedly administered the vaccines — wearing a doctor’s uniform with state Health Ministry logos and in possession of a plastic bag with empty syringe cases, two empty bottles of sodium chloride, fake vaccination certificates and a list of people who had received the shots.
The border town is the primary entry point for immigrants entering the country from Central America, many of whom see the United States as their ultimate destination.
Chiapas has the second lowest rate of vaccination of any state in the country, according to information published by the Health Ministry. Only 29% of the adult population has received at least one shot; Puebla is in last place with 26%.
The low rate of uptake is attributable to a low rate of Covid-19 cases in the state and a widely dispersed population, which reduces the risk of transmission.
Meanwhile, trust in the federal government is low in the state where the militant Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) controls large swaths of territory. Faith in vaccines wasn’t helped by an episode in 2015 when two babies died after receiving vaccines, and 29 more were hospitalized.
In line with the national picture, Chiapas is experiencing a third wave of the pandemic. However, it has the lowest number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for any state: 236 per 100,000 people, compared to the most severe rate of 8,412 per 100,000 in Mexico City.
The state is one of three that are green on the coronavirus stoplight map, alongside Coahuila and Aguascalientes.
Covid-19 vaccines are provided free by the federal government, and their sale is illegal.
López Obrador also suggested that a common market similar to the European Union model could be created in Latin America.
Cuba is an “example of resistance” and the entire island nation should be declared a World Heritage site, President López Obrador said Saturday.
He made the remarks at an event in Mexico City to commemorate the 238th anniversary of the birth of Simón Bolivár, a military and political leader known as the “liberator of America” and a proponent of a unified Latin America.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez was among the guests at the event, held at the Chapultepec Castle.
“We can agree or not with the Cuban Revolution and its government but having resisted 62 years without subjugation is quite a feat. … For their struggle in defense of the sovereignty of the country, I believe that the Cuban people deserve the prize of dignity and the island should be considered the new Numantia [an ancient Iberian Peninsula city that clashed with Ancient Rome] for its example of resistance,” López Obrador said.
“And I think that it should be declared a World Heritage site for the same reason,” he said.
“… I also maintain that it’s now time for a new coexistence among all the countries of America because the model imposed more than two centuries ago is exhausted, it has no future, … it no longer benefits anyone,” López Obrador said two weeks after calling for an end to the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, which has recently seen large protests against the Communist Party government led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Mexico must ensure that it is not seen as a “protectorate, colony or backyard” of its northern neighbor, López Obrador said.
“… Obviously it’s no small thing to have a nation like the United States as a neighbor. Our proximity obliges us to seek agreements … but at the same time we have powerful reasons to assert our sovereignty,” he said.
The president also suggested that a common market similar to the European Union model could be created in Latin America.
“The proposal is neither more nor less than to build something similar to the European Union, but adhering to our history, our reality and our identities,” AMLO said.
In that context, the Organization of American States (OAS) should be replaced “by a body that is truly autonomous” and “not anybody’s lackey,” he said, insinuating that it takes orders from the United States.
“It’s a complex issue that requires a new political and economic vision. … [It’s] a large task for good diplomats and politicians, like those who fortunately exist in all the countries of the continent,” he said.
“What I’ve suggested here might seem to be a utopia but it must be considered that without ideals on the horizon you don’t get anywhere. Let’s keep the dream of Bolívar alive.”
The government plans to recruit another 50,000 members of the Guard.
The National Guard (GN) will receive an additional 50 billion pesos (US $2.5 billion) in funding over the next two years, President López Obrador announced on Sunday.
The new funding will “finish strengthening this institution by the end of 2023,” he said during the inauguration of new GN barracks in Xalapa, Veracruz.
López Obrador said the security force will have all the members it needs by the end of that year and they will be paid “fair salaries.”
It currently has 100,000 members, about three-quarters of whom were formerly soldiers or marines, but the government wants to increase its numbers to 150,000.
The additional funding will significantly increase the budget of the GN, which was created by the current government and inaugurated in June 2019. It received just under 29.3 billion pesos in funding last year and was allocated almost 35.7 billion this year.
An additional 50 billion pesos during 2022 and 2023 should lift the security force’s annual budget above 60 billion pesos (US $3 billion). Its announcement comes as Mexico continues to register very high levels of violent crime, although homicides decreased 3.5% in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period last year.
López Obrador also said Sunday that the GN will have all the facilities it needs by the end of 2023, which will be the last full year of his six-year term. In addition to barracks, housing for troops’ families will be built, the president said.
The president, who has relied heavily on the military during his 2 1/2 years in office, said he didn’t want the GN – which is officially part of the civilian Security Ministry – to end up as part of a ministry that doesn’t have the discipline and professionalism required to manage the security force.
“We don’t want … what happened with the Federal Police to happen again. … It was established in one ministry and then it came to depend on the Interior Ministry and it was completely spoiled by corruption, it rotted,” López Obrador said.
“This institution [the GN] has to adhere to ideal principles, be incorruptible so that it can last through the years, becoming a branch of the Ministry of Defense,” he said.
“That’s the way it’s done in other countries, the civil guard belongs to ministries of defense, that’s the model we’re going to carry out – from an initiative I’m going to send to Congress, of course,” López Obrador said.
However, the likelihood of the Congress passing such a reform appears low because a two-thirds majority is required. The ruling Morena party and its allies don’t have a supermajority in the Senate and lost the one they had in the lower house as a result of last month’s elections.
The president in Xalapa also defended his use of the military in public security tasks, even though he promised prior to winning the 2018 presidential election that he would withdraw the armed forces from the streets.
“We have to count on the support of both the Defense Ministry and the Navy Ministry in public security work because they’re two fundament institutions, pillars of the Mexican state, … institutions that have discipline and in which there is professionalism…” he said.
Not only has López Obrador used the military for public security – albeit with an order to avoid confrontation with criminal groups wherever possible – he has also assigned a range of other non-traditional tasks to the armed forces including infrastructure construction and the management of customs and ports.
The new cable car in the north of Mexico City has proved a hit with residents who are using the airborne transportation method far more than was predicted.
Line 1 of the Cablebús system, which went into full operation on June 11, has registered 56,000 users per day compared to the 48,000 predicted. That makes it the second most used cable car in Latin America, even by pre-pandemic numbers, according to city officials.
The 2.9-billion-peso line (about US $145 million) links Cuautepec, a working-class neighborhood in a hilly area of the Gustavo A. Madero borough, to the Indios Verdes Metro and bus station, taking 33 minutes end-to-end. It is the longest cable car line in Latin America at 9.2 kilometers, with six stations along 63 towers. It travels at five meters per second, or 18 kilometers per hour.
The new transit option has seen robust uptake, despite social distancing measures which only allow six people to travel in each cabin, leaving four seats empty.
Almost 10% of passengers so far have benefited from free transport through the the Inclusive Metro Pass for people with disabilities and seniors over 60.
The first section running between Tlalpexco and Campos Revolución stations at the Cuautepec end of the line first opened on March 4. At the time, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum highlighted the social benefit the cable car would generate. “It’s a historic day because we’re opening a new system of collective transport … it’s social transport … Having the best transportation for the poorest parts of the city reduces inequality,” she said.
The mayor added that a second cable car line is under construction in Iztapalapa, a sprawling, densely populated borough in the capital’s east.
Previous to the opening of Line 1, Guillermo Calderón, director of the electrical transportation system in Mexico City, said that residents in Gustavo A. Madero had long been deprived of adequate transport links. “They [currently] make their trips [to the Metro station] in small vans that descend through narrow streets, and that may take, from the highest point [of the area] … as long as 55 minutes or an hour,” he said.
The Associated Press reported that traditional transportation solutions like bus or subway lines are almost impossible in the area because there are no rights of way in the densely packed slums, which are crowded along hillsides on steep 15-degree slopes.
A public transit cable car system already operates in Ecatepec, a México state municipality that borders Gustavo A. Madero. The most used cable car in Latin America is the Purple Line in La Paz, Bolivia, which transported 58,000 people per day prior to the pandemic. In third place is the Yellow Line in the same South American city, which transports 45,000 passengers per day. Medellín in Colombia and Río de Janeiro in Brazil also have similar cable car systems.
A journey on Line 1 costs 6 pesos. It runs from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Monday to Friday; 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m on Saturdays; and from 7 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Sundays.
The federal government has determined that the average salary of police officers in Mexico should be 13,639 pesos (US $680) per month.
The National Public Security System (SNSP) and the National Minimum Wage Commission (Conasami) completed a study that found that state and municipal police as well as prison guards need to earn that amount, on average, to be able to satisfy their needs and those of their family with regard to diet, footwear, housing, health, education and recreation.
The study, whose findings were published in a report entitled A Living Wage for Police in Mexico, took a range of factors into account including officers’ age, gender, marital status, education level and government welfare support they receive as well as prices of essential goods and services in each of the country’s 32 states.
The SNSP and Conasami concluded that police in Veracruz can cover their expenses with the least amount of money while those in Quintana Roo need the highest.
“A living wage that will allow families of police to cover their most basic needs ranges between 8,651 pesos (Veracruz) and 18,024 (Quintana Roo) with a national average of 13,639,” the report said.
Low wages have been cited as a major reason for high levels of collusion between criminal organizations and police forces.
“The difference is due to the composition of [police] families in each state,” it added.
The study found that 14 states currently pay police salaries that are higher than the amount determined to be a living wage in each entity while the other 18 do not.
Those in the former category are San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Jalisco, Baja California, Querétaro, Zacatecas, Veracruz, Sinaloa, Durango, Yucatán, Nuevo León and Hidalgo.
Police in San Luis Potosí earn the highest wages in the country: officer receives a net salary of 21,091 pesos (US $1,053) per month on average. That’s almost 90% higher than the amount determined to be a living wage in that state.
Across Mexico, police are currently paid 13,283 pesos per month on average, 356 pesos below the national living wage threshold, the report said. Police in Tamaulipas, Quintana Roo and Aguascalientes earn more than that amount on average but their salaries are lower than the living wages in those states as determined by the SNSP and Conasami.
Police in Nuevo León and Hidalgo earn less on average than the national living wage but their salaries exceed the living wages determined for those two states.
Mexico City is one of the 18 states where police earn less than a living wage. Officers in the capital earn 11,705 pesos per month on average but a living wage was determined to be 21% higher at 14,221 pesos.
Mexico’s worst paid police are those in Chiapas, where the average monthly salary is just 6,357 pesos ($318). However, a living wage in the southern state is 64% higher at 10,413 pesos, according to the report.
Police in Tabasco, the second worst paid in the country, are even worse off. Their average monthly salary is 6,415 pesos but the state’s living wage is 116% higher at 13,871 pesos.
Low wages have been cited as a major reason for high levels of collusion between criminal organizations and police forces, especially those at the municipal level. Entire municipal police forces have been disarmed on numerous occasions due to suspected or proven links to organized crime. Among the municipalities where that has occurred are Acapulco, Guerrero, and Tlaquepaque, Jalisco.
