Community members had much to celebrate in Unión Hidalgo, Oaxaca, after a court ordered the Renovalia company to dismantle its wind farm in their community. CREDIT GOES HERE
The Unitary Agrarian Court, located in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, ordered the company Mexican Wind Developments (Demex) to vacate and return part of the land used for its Piedra Larga wind farm to the Unión Hidalgo Zapotec community. The ruling, made on November 15, rendered the company’s land lease contracts null. It will now have to remove its wind farm from the communal lands.
In its decision, the court recognized the communal and agrarian nature of the land, claiming that Demex improperly rented it as private property. Demex is a subsidiary of the Spanish energy firm Renovalia.
This is the second time a judge has ruled against Demex in favor of the Zapotec community. The first ruling, made in September, annulled 11 individual land lease contracts with the company.
In June, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) canceled contracts permitting the French energy company Électricité de France (EDF) to supply wind energy, making the construction of its wind farm in Oaxaca unviable.
ProDESC coordinator Juan Antonio López, seen here at a press conference after the ruling, called the court decision a major victory, ProDESC/Twitter
The Unión Hidalgo community, with the support of ProDESC, a nonprofit human rights defense association, has been fighting dispossession by Demex for over nine years. Beginning in 2006, company representatives went to the Unión Hidalgo community to convince members to rent their lands for the installation of the wind farm.
While individual owners signed contracts, there were complaints that community members were not given information in their native Zapotec language. They also did not receive any information about the possible environmental and social impacts.
ProDESC coordinator Juan Antonio López hailed the court’s decision as a major victory, stating that it not only directly benefits the Unión Hidalgo community, but Mexico’s entire Indigenous population.
“It sets the precedent for any community member, in the future, to declare the nullity of contracts that have been authorized by individuals and not by agreement of a General Assembly of Community Members,” López said when announcing the victory.
Oaxaca has over 20 wind farms operated by private companies, according to government data, like this one in La Ventosa, owned by the Spanish company Acciona. Government of Oaxaca
The Unión Hidalgo Zapotec community is located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico’s narrowest point between the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. The isthmus, which crosses through Oaxaca and Veracruz, has long been strategic for development projects. It is also the region with the greatest potential for wind energy.
One of President López Obrador’s priority projects is to develop the isthmus as a trade corridor, with the construction of 10 industrial parks, a trans-isthmus highway, and modernization of the railroad linking both coasts. He argues that it will encourage economic and social development in the region.
However, Indigenous communities and human rights organizations, among others, oppose the project on the grounds that it will cause environmental damage and adversely impact local communities’ way of life.
Development projects in the region have historically faced major barriers, with more US$15 billion in investment having been lost over the last 35 years, primarily due to local resistance.
The 16 reasons the president gave to participate in Sunday's pro-government march painted a picture of a Mexico that is just, egalitarian and cares for citizens with the least power. AMLO/Twitter
There is no shortage of reasons to participate in a pro-government march to be held in Mexico City this Sunday, President López Obrador declared on Tuesday.
AMLO last week called on his supporters to demonstrate in defense of the government’s proposed electoral reform, but said Tuesday that the purpose of the march had changed.
“It’s not about the electoral reform, that’s already set out, it’s already in Congress,” he told reporters at his regular news conference. He then proceeded to offer no less than 16 reasons why citizens should join him and march from the Angel of Independence on Reforma Avenue to the zócalo, Mexico City’s central square.
The march, the president and leader of what he calls Mexico’s “fourth transformation” said, is meant to accomplish the following:
A Morelos senior citizen poses with his government pension card. One reason the president gave for coming to Sunday’s march was that 85% of Mexican homes now receive at least a small portion of the public budget via social welfare programs. Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro
To celebrate that an oligarchy no longer dominates in Mexico.
To celebrate that corruption is not allowed.
To celebrate that tycoons now pay tax.
To celebrate that we have healthy public finances.
To say that 85% of Mexican homes now receive at least a small portion of the public budget (via social welfare programs).
To say that we feel very happy to be supporting the poorest people.
To say that we don’t want racism in Mexico and that we’re winning that battle.
To say that we don’t accept classism or discrimination.
To say that our strategy to attend to the root causes of violence is succeeding.
To say that peace is the fruit of justice.
To say that 12 million seniors now have a pension and they’ll get a 25% increase starting in January.
To say that workers’ salaries are going to continue going up.
To say that 11 million young students from poor families receive scholarships.
To say that we’re saving 50 billion pesos by not paying the media for advertising.
To say that there is hope and happiness among our people.
To say that, despite the pandemic and other calamities, Mexico is moving forward and its prestige among the nations of the world is growing.
“That’s why [we’re holding] the march,” López Obrador said.
“Everyone who wants to attend should wear the color of their choice and shoes, sneakers, [or traditional sandals called] huaraches. Take your hat, your sombrero, because it will be sunny; and if you have a guitar, take your guitar or accordion. … We’re going to celebrate that we’re making progress in the transformation of the country, and that we’re doing it without violence, peacefully, and that [the transformation] is for the good of all,” he said.
On Wednesday, AMLO, who has participated in countless protests over the years, said that Sunday’s march – which will be held four days before he celebrates four years in office – might be his last.
“We’re going to celebrate that we’re making progress in the transformation of the country,” AMLO told would-be marchers. Presidencia
“It could be the last, although I can’t say categorically that it will be because we don’t know what destiny has in store,” he told reporters at his news conference, held Wednesday in Manzanillo, Colima.
Asked whether a predicted 1.5 million people would participate, López Obrador declined to give a definitive answer.
“That isn’t known, it’s never known. It’s voluntary, people decide whether to go or not, it’s not, ‘You have to go, I’m going to check attendance,’” he said.
The march will be held two weeks after Mexicans took to the streets in some 50 cities to protest against his party’s proposed electoral reform, legislation that would replace the National Electoral Institute and state-based electoral authorities with one centralized body.
Critics of the constitutional reform – whose passage through Congress appears unlikely given that it requires the support of two-thirds of lawmakers – say that it’s a threat to Mexico’s democracy and that the government has put it forward to seize control of the country’s electoral authorities.
Historically, Mexico has dominated the U.S. in men’s soccer, but more recently, the Americans have been coming into their own. With both nations qualifying for this year’s World Cup in Qatar, a new Amazon Prime docuseries takes a look at their complex relationship on the soccer field.
The three-part documentary, “Good Rivals,” directed by Academy Award-nominated Nicaraguan filmmaker Gabriel Serra, premieres on Amazon Prime on Thursday.
“The rivalry is at the level of many important rivalries,” Serra said. “France and Italy, for example. Germany and England. Barcelona and Real Madrid … People really, really get passionate about it.”
The passion is on full display in this docuseries, whether it’s Mexico’s El Tri supporters wearing lucha libre masks at Estadio Azteca or American fans brandishing the Stars and Stripes at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Star player Rafael Márquez represents the Mexican perspective on the rivalry. In his heyday, he was known of the “Kaiser of Michoacán.” Courtesy of Prime Video
Yet the series explores other dimensions of the rivalry. There’s the border that both unites and divides the two nations, as well as tensions over immigration, jobs and crime that have been fanned by politicians through the years, from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.
There are also protagonists who embody the complications of the Mexico-U.S. relationship, many of whom are interviewed, including Mexico soccer legend Hugo Sánchez to Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber.
Filming included some memorable exchanges between Team USA coach Gregg Berhalter and his players, Serra said.
“Sometimes he would bring personal stories to the players,” he said, “or metaphors of animals, of fighting, intensity.”
The filmmaker called this year’s U.S. World Cup team “a very united group, a very diverse group. The talent [Berhalter] has on the team is impressive.”
As for El Tri, “I think Mexico has a very difficult group” to play against, which includes Argentina and Poland, Serra said.
Growing up in Nicaragua, the future director played soccer himself, mostly forward, but also right wing. In his 20s, he made the documentary short film “La parka” (“The Reaper”), in which a slaughterhouse became a metaphor for life and death. It was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short category in 2015.
“I think the connection that can be found in my life’s work,” Serra said, “is that the emotional and personal story is how I bring the storytelling and conflict, the drama and structure, to a project … I think emotions always have to be at the heart of a documentary.”
U.S. National Men’s team Landon Donovan is one of the two players who are heavily featured in the film. Courtesy of Prime Video
In making “Good Rivals,” Serra focused on two players – Rafael Márquez of Mexico and Landon Donovan of the U.S.
Growing up in Zamora, Michoacán, Márquez felt pain over his grandfather’s decision to abandon the family to migrate to the U.S. Meanwhile, Donovan came of age in Redlands, California, where he honed his soccer skills by watching Hispanic players who he said played better than their Anglo teammates.
Márquez’s and Donovan’s careers intersected at a critical moment 20 years ago. Team USA stunned Mexico, 2-0, in an elimination game at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea. Donovan scored the second goal, while Márquez picked up a red card – one of just two he would receive in his career.
“It was very intense for [Márquez] to play against the U.S.,” Serra said, citing Márquez’s feelings about his grandfather. “I think these personal issues, personal matters and things, bring a lot of passion to the rivalry.”
In Mexico, soccer is the national sport. The country has hosted two World Cups, in 1970 and 1986. The latter World Cup inspired a nation that was reeling from the devastating earthquake of the previous year. Under coach Bora Milutinović, Mexico reached the quarterfinals, its best showing to date.
By that point, the U.S. had a record of achievement in many other sports but not the internationally beloved game of soccer. Things began to change when the U.S. hired Milutinović to coach the national team. An improbable Gold Cup victory over Mexico followed in 1991.
“Bora Milutinović was a very important character in the [documentary] series,” Serra said. “He migrated to Mexico, was married with a Mexican wife, had a Mexican kid. Suddenly, he came to train with the U.S. in 1990.”
In 1994, the U.S. hosted a World Cup of its own. There exists man-on-the-street interview footage of Americans not knowing what the World Cup was. Yet, the following decade, savvy American fans would adopt a particular chant when their team played Mexico: “Dos a cero” – “two to zero” – a reference to an increasingly common margin of victory in these games.
Serbian coach “Bora” Velibor #Milutinović has attended 5 times the #WorldCup as manager with 5 teams, although he did it in 5 consecutive #WorldCups: Mexico (1986), Costa Rica (1990), the United States (1994), Nigeria (1998), and China (2002). @Trivia_WorldCup pic.twitter.com/L8LDLd6v0S
Coach Bora Milutinović took Mexico to a World Cup quarterfinals in the 1980s and the U.S. Team to a Gold Cup championship in 2022.
It wasn’t just the Mexican players who were stunned, but also Mexican and Mexican-American fans who attended Team USA’s home games at venues such as Los Angeles to cheer for El Tri. “It was a very uncomfortable situation,” Serra said, for “American players to be in their home and not having support.”
One result, he added, was the U.S. decision to hold games against Mexico in Columbus – “an incredible space where, for almost 15 years, Mexico couldn’t win [over] the U.S. I think for Americans, and also in the case of Landon, when they won in their terrain in Columbus, it was a very emotional, very important event for them, for the country and for soccer also.”
Yet, there were moments when wider events transcended the rivalry. In 2016, the teams played three days after Donald Trump was elected president. As a candidate, Trump had made an incendiary statement about Mexican migrants being drug dealers and rapists. When the U.S. and Mexican teams met in Columbus, Márquez’s goal propelled Mexico to a win. Arguably more compelling was what happened before play started: The teams posed for a photo together, hugging each other.
The docuseries envisions future cooperation between Mexico and the U.S. – including during the 2026 World Cup, when they will assist Canada with hosting duties.
“Hugo Sánchez makes a very important statement in the third chapter,” Serra said. “He … wishes for soccer to unite North American countries and relationships. He hopes the relationship between North American countries gets better and that soccer can be a path to it.”
Rich Tenorio is a frequent contributor to Mexico News Daily.
Fan photo of Harry Styles performing in Guadalajara Harry en México Twitter
After two successful concerts in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Harry Styles’ next stop on his ongoing “Love on Tour” concert tour is Mexico City, where he will give two performances on the nights of Nov. 24 and 25.
With Foro Sol as his stage, Harry Styles will promote his second and third studio albums, “Fine Line” and “Harry’s House”, after having been forced to cancel in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
After starting his tour in the U.S., the British singer has changed his set list twice because in mid-May he released the acclaimed album “Harry’s House”.
Among the songs to be performed in Foro Sol are hits “Daydreaming”, “Golden” and “Adore You”.
Although Harry Styles is known for wearing extravagant outfits with lots of sequins and feathers in his concerts, some fans expressed great disappointment after seeing him in a red and white striped shirt with straight-cut pants.
The tour, which started in Las Vegas in September 2021, will see its last concert in the RCF Reggio Emilia Arena, Italy, in July 2023.
Mexican fans have been a passionate presence at the 2022 World Cup, but some may have gone too far by yelling a prohibited antigay slur during Tuesday's match.
FIFA has launched an investigation after Mexican spectators allegedly shouted homophobic chants during the World Cup soccer match between Mexico and Poland in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.
Soccer’s international governing body told the Reforma media group that its disciplinary committee initiated a probe against the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) due to the chants of Mexican fans during the match, which was a scoreless tie.
Reforma reported that it detected the use of the “Eh, P-to!” homophobic slur when the Polish goalkeeper took a goal kick in the 26th minute of the game.
P-to means f-ggot or male prostitute in colloquial Spanish. Mexican soccer fans have long used the derogatory chant when the opposition team’s goalkeeper is taking a goal kick, but FIFA and the FMF have taken steps to eradicate the practice.
Mexican National Team member Héctor Herrera. While fans may debate whether whether they should be allowed to use the phrase, the team will be the target of any FIFA sanctions. Webcams de México
Consequences for the chant have included the suspension of games and forcing El Tri, as Mexico’s national team is known, to play World Cup qualifying matches without fans in the stands.
FIFA told the Reforma group that it will sanction any identified incidents of discrimination in accordance with its disciplinary code and policy of zero tolerance for all forms of discrimination.
The newspaper El Universal published an article about FIFA’s investigation under the headline “Mexican team in danger of being disqualified from Qatar 2022.”
Possible sanctions include a fine, the loss of points and “even exclusion from the tournament,” the newspaper said. El Universal also said that insults were hurled at the referee during the Mexico-Poland match, while Reforma reported that the word maricón (fag) was used in another chant shouted by Mexican fans.
Located off Veracruz, Pemex's Lakach offshore site would be Mexico's first operating deep water natural gas hub. It is believed to hold up to 937 billion cubic feet of gas reserves. Octavio-Romero-Oropeza/Cuartoscuro
U.S. company New Fortress Energy (NFE), said on Tuesday that it had finalized agreements with the state-owned oil company Pemex to resume gas extraction work in the country’s Lakach offshore natural gas field.
Located 93 km southeast of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico, Lakach is a deep water gas field owned by Pemex, and its first deep water development project. It is believed to hold up to 937 billion cubic feet of gas reserves.
In a statement, the U.S. company said it will develop and operate the project, committing to complete seven offshore wells over a two-year period. According to Pemex, production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024.
Under the terms of the deal, New Fortress Energy will invest US $1.5 billion in the project and provide exploration services to Pemex as well as a supply of natural gas and condensate. Pemex
Under the new agreement, NFE committed to provide an additional US $1.5 billion in investment. It will also provide upstream services to Pemex — services related to exploration and production, as well as natural gas and condensate — the latter a substance not unlike light crude that is extracted from natural gas and can be mixed with heavy crude — in exchange for a fee for every production unit delivered.
In a press statement, NFE said: “The fee is based on a contractual formula that resembles industry-standard gross profit-sharing agreements between the upstream service provider (NFE) and the owner of the hydrocarbons (Pemex).”
The contract also states that Pemex will sell 190 million cubic feet per day to NFE, while the remaining daily 110 million cubic feet will be allocated for Mexican consumption. In a statement, Pemex said that the agreement “[…] represents not only the rescue of an investment that was almost lost for Pemex, but a business that will bring economic benefits to the country.”
The state oil company also said there are other fields on the periphery of the deposits with three times more natural gas. Pemex authorities will begin an evaluation to find the best way to exploit all fields efficiently.
This isn’t the first investment of the U.S. company in Mexico. In October, President López Obrador announced that agreements had been finalized between the state-owned electricity commission CFE and NFE for the purchase of the Amaunet thermoelectric plant in La Paz, Baja California. NFE bought the plant for US $180 million. According to the president, the purchase would resolve the power outages in La Paz and Baja California, guaranteeing power for “eight years and beyond.”
The agreement also includes a supply of natural gas for the CFE plants in Baja California Sur and a supply for the first floating liquefied natural gas hub in Mexico, to be located off the coast of Altamira, Tamaulipas. CFE would supply the requisite feedgas to multiple NFE units, using CFE’s existing and underutilized pipeline capacity, according to a statement in October by NFE.
The document was signed by the conquistador in 1527. Hernán Cortés Wikimedia Commons
Special agents from the art crime team at the Boston Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have recovered a 495 year-old manuscript signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, which is believed to be one of several documents that were stolen from Mexico’s national archives some time prior to 1993.
The manuscript is a payment order signed by Cortés on April 27, 1527, authorizing the purchase of rose sugar for 12 gold pesos.
According to the Department of Justice, an individual submitted the historic manuscript to be auctioned online with a Massachusetts auction house.
Mexican authorities alerted US officials that the document was stolen and the item was pulled from auction.
This almost 500 year-old payment order carries the signature of Hernán Cortés. Boston FBI Twitter
“As a result of exceptional work by the Asset Recovery Unit in our office and our law enforcement partners, this historic artifact has been recovered,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins.
The document was recovered on Tuesday and that same day, Rollins filed a forfeiture action whose goal is to return the document to Mexico, its “rightful owner”.
A fog bank caused flight delays this morning at Mexico City International Airport (AICM) Volaris Twitter
The Mexico City International Airport (AICM) had a difficult morning on Wednesday with fog and an immigration system failure disrupting operations.
The airport said on its official Twitter account at 8:25 a.m. Central Time that a “fog bank” would affect “some flights” and advised travelers to consult with their airlines about the status of their flight. Just over an hour later it reported that landing and take-off operations returned to normal just after 8:30 a.m.
Aeroméxico said on Twitter that some of its flights were affected by the fog and directed passengers to check the status of their flights on the airline’s website. Volaris made a similar announcement on Twitter above a photograph of the fog-shrouded airport.
Volaris also said that some of its flights were affected by “adverse weather at the Toluca Airport,” located about 20 kilometers northeast of the downtown of the México state capital.
The AICM also announced on Twitter that its immigration system experienced a “technical failure” early Wednesday. International passengers have faced delays to enter the country as the immigration procedures facilitated by the system were being completed manually, the airport said just after 8.30 a.m.
The AICM said that its management was working with the National Immigration Institute and the telecommunications company Telmex to restore the system as soon as possible.
Over 60% of respondents to a 2022 Mexico News Daily survey experienced delays at the baggage carousel while traveling through AICM, with three in five of those people waiting for an hour or more for their luggage to appear.
The federal government declared in March that both AICM terminals have reached saturation point. The Felipe Ángeles International Airport, which opened north of the capital on March 21, was built to ease pressure on the Mexico City airport, but flight numbers remain low eight months later.
After easily stepping over a low barrier to the Kukulcán pyramid, the woman climbed to the top. Upon returning to the ground, onlookers attacked her. Social media
A word of advice for anyone planning to ascend the Temple of Kukulcán while visiting the Chichén Itzá archaeological site in Yucatán: don’t.
A woman who choose to defy the ban on climbing the pyramid was met by an angry mob of tourists when she descended from the 24-meter-high structure.
Footage posted to social media on Monday showed tourists dousing the scofflaw with water, pulling her hair and hurling abuse at her as she was escorted out of the ancient Mayan site, Mexico’s most visited archaeological zone so far in 2022, according to INAH. Some even called for the woman to be jailed or lynched.
Videos also showed the tourist climbing up the pyramid after stepping over a low barrier, eventually reaching the top of the Temple of Kukulcán, also known as El Castillo. She made her way down after a security official partially climbed the pyramid and ordered her to do so.
The woman, who nationality is not currently known, was caught on video during her illegal climb.
The woman’s nationality hasn’t been definitively established, although several reports said she was foreign. At least one identified her as Spanish. However, the news website Infobae reported that she appeared to be Mexican.
Climbing the ancient stairs of the pyramid at Chichén Itzá – one of the “New 7 Wonders of the World” – has been prohibited since 2008 due to concerns about the potential for damage to the structure. According to a report by the newspaper El País, the woman who defied the ban was turned over to local authorities and could be fined as much as 172,87o pesos (about US $8,900).
Continuing a decade-old tradition, social media users dubbed the offender “Lady Chichén Itzá.”
The titles “lady” and “lord” have been used on social media in Mexico since 2011 to identify and publicly shame people who have acted in questionable or controversial ways or with an attitude that reflects a sense of entitlement.
The first member of the hashtag nobility was #LadyPolanco, a woman caught on camera screaming insults at a police officer in the upscale Mexico City neighborhood of the same name.
Mexico City was the recipient of the largest amount of FDI this year at 32% of the total. deposit photos
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico increased 29.5% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period of 2021, according to preliminary statistics published by the Economy Ministry (SE) on Monday.
Just under US $32.15 billion flowed into the country between January and September, SE reported, an increase of $7.3 billion compared to the first nine months of last year.
The comparison is based on preliminary data for both 2021 and 2022. Final data typically shows that FDI was higher than first reported.
It was the first time since comparable records were first kept in 1999 that preliminary data has shown that FDI in Mexico exceeded $30 billion in the first nine months of a year. The data also showed that foreign investment in Mexico in the first nine months of the year exceeded the total for all of 2021, when FDI totaled just over $31.6 billion.
Manufacturing was the economic sector to receive the most FDI, followed by transport and mass media. Shutterstock
SE said that 45.2% of the $32 billion total was new investment, 43.7% was reinvestment of profits and 11.1% was movement of funds between companies.
The biggest foreign investor in the Mexican economy between January and September was the United States, with 39.1% of total FDI coming from that country. The next largest investors were, in order, Canada, with 9.5% of total FDI; Spain, 7.1%; Argentina, 4.9%; and Japan, 3.9%.
The manufacturing sector received 36.3% of the investment, SE’s preliminary data showed, well ahead of transport and the mass media, which got 14.5% and 13.6%, respectively. Financial services, retail and mining were among the other sectors that benefited from FDI in the first nine months of the year.
The manufacturing sector’s primacy coincides with a growing nearshoring phenomenon in Mexico. An increasing number of foreign manufacturing companies are setting up shop in Mexico, or planning to establish a presence here, in order to take advantage of the proximity to the United States, the world’s largest economy.
Northern and Bajío region states are particularly attractive in that respect, but none can compete with Mexico City when it comes to bringing in cash from foreign investors.
SE said that 86.2% of the FDI total in the first nine months of the year went to just 15 of the 32 federal entities. Mexico City received 32% of the total, or about $10.3 billion, and was thus easily the most popular destination for foreign money. Nuevo León, an industrial powerhouse, ranked second with 8.7% of the total, followed by Jalisco (7.5%), Chihuahua (5.2%) and Guanajuato (5.2%).
