Government closes privately-owned fuel terminals in move against oil industry

By

-

September 22, 2021

The IEnova terminal in Puebla is one of the storage facilities that the CRE has recently shuttered.

The federal government has dealt another blow to private companies in Mexico’s energy sector.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) has shut down three privately owned fuel storage terminals in the last month and a half, a move that will likely benefit the state oil company Pemex.

The terminals are used to import fuels such as gasoline and diesel and are located in Tuxpan, Veracruz, Puebla city and Hermosillo, Sonora.

Alejandro Montufar, CEO of the consultancy firm PetroIntelligence, said the reasons for the closures were not entirely clear.

However, unnamed energy sector sources cited by the newspaper Reforma claim that the government is seeking to link private companies to the distribution and sale of illegal fuel.

“The government wants to return to a gasoline monopoly,” the sources said, referring to the situation in Mexico before the 2013 energy reform.

The CRE temporarily closed the Monterra Energy terminal in Tuxpan on September 13, Reforma reported. Owned by the United States-based global investment firm KKR, the terminal imports fuel transported on ships owned by companies such as Total, Repsol and Marathon, which operate gas stations in Mexico.

The CRE, ostensibly an autonomous federal body, previously closed the IEnova terminal in Puebla, which supplies Valero gas stations, and a Bulkmatic terminal in Hermosillo, which supplies Valero and Marathon.

In addition to the closures, CRE personnel accompanied by the National Guard last week carried out an inspection of another private terminal in Tuxpan, where some 80% of gasoline consumed in Mexico enters the country.

The CRE officials temporarily prevented a ship from offloading fuel at the Invex terminal, Reforma said, adding that the vessel was placed under a closure order because it allegedly didn’t have the appropriate permits.

“… They put a closed seal on the boat but that boat was adhering to international legislation and it managed to unload in the end,” a source with knowledge of the matter told Reforma.

Pemex gas stations would benefit from a restriction on imports, but supplies might be a problem.However, the Energy Ministry subsequently canceled five import permits the ship had obtained to bring fuel such as diesel, gasoline and jet fuel into the country. The ship was allegedly conducting business with companies that don’t have the required permits to operate in Mexico’s energy industry.

Alicia Zazueta of the oil sector firm eServices described the government’s closure of terminals and the revocation of permits as discretional, suggesting that it is targeting private companies arbitrarily.

The cancellation of permits and the closure of terminals will limit fuel supply options and return control of the market to Pemex, she said.

Claudio Rodríguez, a lawyer with Holland & Knight who specializes in energy matters, said it was clear that the government is intent on returning the state oil company to a dominant position in the market, which was opened up to private and foreign companies by former president Enrique Peña Nieto.

However, there is a risk that Pemex won’t be able to satisfy market demand, he said.

“On the issue of medicines, a shortage was created by cutting private companies’ distribution networks … [because] the government didn’t have the capacity to supply the national market. There is an enormous risk of falling into the same situation with fuel … [because] Pemex doesn’t have the capacity to supply the market,” Rodríguez said.

“Dogmatism has dictated energy policies in Mexico for three years,” he added, referring roughly to the period President López Obrador – a staunch energy nationalist – has been in office.

“The fewer terminals there are, the less competition there is for Pemex. That’s a fact,” said Montufar of PetroIntelligence.

The CRE’s actions could lead to fewer privately owned gas stations in Mexico and higher fuel prices, he said.

“But that would be in a medium or long term scenario if we see the revocation of terminal permits,” Montafur said.

Since López Obrador – who has pledged to “rescue” Pemex and the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission from years of neglect – took office in late 2018, the government has enacted a range of policies designed to make the state a more prominent player in the energy sector.

Many have faced legal challenges from private companies, and some, including an Energy Ministry policy that imposed restrictive measures on the renewable sector, have been suspended by court order.

With reports from Reforma

Mexico the easiest country in the world to obtain a driver’s license

By

MND Staff

-

September 22, 2021

0

A transit police officer directs traffic at a Mexico City crosswalk.

Mexico is by far the easiest country in the world to get a driver’s license and hit the road, according to a ranking published by the driving education platform Zutobi.

The country scored 8.48 out of 10 for the ease with which citizens can legally get behind the wheel. Aspiring drivers are helped by incredibly loose regulation, Zutobi explains: “… in a large portion of the country, you do not legally have to take a practical test to get a license, just a theory test and moreover, prior to 2018 there was no test at all. Another reason is that you can legally drive at 15 in Mexico which is younger than the majority of countries (who will not let you drive before 18).”

The granting of licenses is regulated at the state level, and so requirements can vary widely. Nonetheless, it is generally a simple procedure, according to the news website Alcaldes de México.

It reports that the general process to gain a license requires an official identification, proof of address, the payment of fees, and in some cases a theoretical exam. Some states go as far as to demand proof of a driver’s competence in a practical exam. However, in Mexico City, one of the cities with the highest density of traffic in the world, there is no examination process.

Gaining official permission is also cheap. In Morelos, the process can cost as little as 686 pesos (about US $34) for a five-year license. In Mexico City, 871 pesos (about $44) does the trick for a three-year license, without any demands of knowledge, experience or proficiency.

The top 15 countries where it is easiest to get a driver's license — The top 15 countries where it is easiest to get a driver’s license. Zutobi

The second easiest country to gain a license is Qatar, where it is still significantly harder than in Mexico. According to the ranking, the nation on the Arabian peninsula scored a more modest 7.39/10.

Other countries that offer little obstruction to learners are Latvia, the United States and Canada. The most difficult countries to get qualified are Croatia, Brazil, Hungary, Bahrain and Montenegro.

Croatia, Zutobi informs “… is the toughest country to get behind the wheel due to their expensive and stringent driving tests that require a minimum amount of learning and monitoring to pass. Average Croatian driving lessons cover about 85 hours on average, and it is a legal requirement to have these lessons before you can even take a test. Croats also have to produce multiple medical clearances and spend around £930 to pass their test and obtain their license.”

The ranking was compiled based on seven indices: the age one can drive, the cost of an exam, whether a theory test is required, whether a practical test is required, whether an eye exam is required, whether a medical exam is required and the hours of mandatory lessons demanded.

With reports from Zutobi, Alcaldes de México and Imagen Radio

Heightened activity at El Popo volcano triggers preparations for evacuation

By

MND Staff

-

September 22, 2021

0

Though volcanic activity has remained light so far, Civil Protection has asked that the local population take precautions.

At least one México state municipality has set up shelters to receive potential evacuees as heightened activity continues at the Popocatépetl volcano.

There were 2,062 exhalations, 30 explosions, 13 volcano tectonic earthquakes and more than 6,000 minutes of tremors at El Popo during the first 21 days of September.

Activity at Don Goyo, as the stratovolcano is colloquially known, has increased in recent days, although the National Disaster Prevention Center (Cenapred) has not raised its alert from yellow Phase 2.

The yellow Phase 3 alert is the highest warning level before the red phase, in which people living near the volcano are advised to be ready to evacuate.

Even though the alert level is two notches below the red phase, authorities in Chalco, a municipality to the northwest of El Popo, have prepared seven shelters to receive residents who could be required to evacuate their homes.

Other municipalities in the southeast of México state, such as Amecameca, Ecatzingo and Ozumba, are on alert. A large eruption at Popocatépetl would also likely affect residents of Puebla and Morelos as the volcano straddles those two states and México state.

Cenapred has warned people not to go near the volcano, especially its crater due to the risk of further exhalations, explosions and other volcanic activity. A safety radius of 12 kilometers remains in effect around what is Mexico’s most active volcano.

Just over 100 exhalations of water vapor, gases and ash were recorded in the 24-hour period to late Tuesday. There were six explosions at the volcano last Friday, the highest number of any day this month, and small quantities of ash have reached several México state municipalities as well as some boroughs of Mexico City.

Authorities recommend that people in the vicinity of the volcano cover their nose and mouth with a face mask or handkerchief to avoid inhaling ash. They also advise residents to close the windows of their homes and stay inside as much as possible.

The Popocatépetl volcano, whose name comes from Náhuatl and means “smoking mountain,” woke up in December 1994 after 56 years of inactivity to blow ash over Puebla.

The eruption prompted Cenapred to install stations to monitor the volcano. The monitoring now occurs 24 hours per day, and webcams allow the public to view what is going on in real time.

With reports from El Universal

Searchers recover bodies of 2 missing in Tlalnepantla landslide

By

MND Staff

-

September 22, 2021

0

Searchers remove a body from the rubble. — Searchers remove a body from the rubble of the slide.

A search team recovered the bodies of two missing people buried under a 200-tonne rock Tuesday on Cerro de Chiquihuite (Chiquihuite Hill). The populous hill on the boundary of Tlalnepantla and the Mexico City borough of Gustavo A. Madero suffered a landslide on September 10, dislodging enormous boulders and killing four people.

Rescuers found the remains of Paola Campos Robledo, 22, and her son Dilan Armando, 5, in the same area where the body of Campos’ daughter, Mía Mayrín, 3, was recovered on September 14. The bodies were transported to the state Attorney General’s Office for their identities to be confirmed. The three victims are survived by the victims’ husband and father, Jorge Armando, 25, a construction worker who was not in the area during the landslide.

México state Governor Alfredo del Mazo previously pointed to heavy rains and the 7.1-magnitude earthquake on September 7 as probable causes of the slide, which buried at least 10 houses and left hundreds of families affected.

Tlalnepantla Mayor Raciel Pérez described the Cerro del Chiquihuite as a high risk area, and that Civil Protection officers were in the area to prevent further incidents.

Local authorities urged people to evacuate their homes in the days following the disaster due to the high probability of another landslide, but residents were slow to respond to the request. It is not clear how many people are still living on Cerro del Chiquihuite.

The federal government has declared a state of emergency in the municipality on the request of local officials. The declaration will facilitate the provision of resources to meet food, shelter and sanitary needs of those affected.

The other confirmed fatality was Mariana Martínez Rodríguez, a young student at the National Autonomous University.

With reports from Milenio and El Universal

COVID roundup: third wave has been on decline for 8 weeks, minister says

By

MND Staff

-

September 21, 2021

0

The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic has been receding for eight weeks, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said Tuesday.

But data from the Reuters COVID-19 tracker paints a slightly different picture, although it also shows that the delta-driven wave is on the wane.

The Reuters data shows that the average number of new infections reported each day has fallen by more than 7,500 over the past three weeks to 8,143. The latter figure represents just 43% of the rolling seven-day peak recorded on August 17, but that was just five weeks ago, suggesting that the pandemic might not have been declining for as long as López-Gatell claims.

However, the government has long stressed that the case numbers reported on a daily basis are not necessarily indicative of infections detected that day. Some may have been detected weeks or even months earlier, health officials have said.

Speaking at President López Obrador’s regular news conference, the government’s pandemic chief also said that the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients is declining.

covid vaccination — Migrants are vaccinated by health officials in Tapachula, Chiapas.

“We’re continuing to see this trend of the vacation of [beds in] COVID hospitals,” López-Gatell said. “… This is a maintained trend in the entire national territory.”

Federal data shows that there are just under 9,000 hospitalized COVID patients across the country. Durango has the highest occupancy rate for general care hospital beds – currently just under 58% – while 51% of beds with ventilators are taken in Tabasco, more than in any other state.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s accumulated case tally rose to 3.58 million on Tuesday with 12,521 new infections reported.

The official COVID-19 death toll increased by 815 to 272,580, and there are 64,175 estimated active cases across the country, a 6% increase compared to Monday.

Almost 96.1 million vaccine doses have been administered in Mexico, according to the latest official data, after just over 442,000 were given Monday.

“The epidemic is declining and vaccination is not stopping,” López-Gatell wrote on Twitter.

About 70% of Mexican adults have received at least one shot, while the population wide vaccination rate is 49%, according to The New York Times vaccinations tracker. About one-third of Mexico’s 126 million citizens are fully vaccinated.

Mexico News Daily

‘I put myself in their shoes,’ says Hidalgo woman who opened doors to flood victims

By

MND Staff

-

September 21, 2021

0

Angélica and Cristina Maturano — Angélica Maturano, left, with her sister Cristina Maturano opened their events hall as a public shelter after floods in Tula left neighbors without a place to sleep.

A Hidalgo businesswoman has become a community hero after opening a shelter for victims of flooding in the central state.

When severe flooding affected the municipality of Tula earlier this month, Angélica Maturano was approached by a neighbor looking for a dry and safe place where he and his family could sleep because their own home had been inundated with water.

Despite some initial reluctance, she decided to let them stay at a warehouse-cum-events hall she owns. Other flood victims soon arrived at the makeshift shelter, and Maturano let them in too, seeing the number of occupants swell quickly to a peak of 90 before declining over the past two weeks to the current level of 54.

“This [shelter] was opened by chance; on Monday [September 6] ‘Fili,’ a neighbor, arrived … to ask me for help,” Maturano told the newspaper Milenio.

“The truth is I didn’t want to [open the warehouse] but seeing the anguish on his face won my heart over in the end – I put myself in his shoes and opened the doors,” she said.

shelter in Tula hidalgo — Maturano expected to open her hall up to neighbors for a few days, but cleanup from the floods has been slow.

“There were about 90 people here the first day [and] those 90 people were given food. My sister Cristina and I took the decision to help … because we saw they didn’t have anywhere to sleep. … I thought that … the water would go down, we’d clean up like on other occasions and we’d all return to our normal lives [but] that hasn’t happened. We’ve been here 15 days,” said Maturano, who has provided mattresses and blankets to the shelter occupants.

She and her sister have also passed on donated food and medications to Tula residents whose homes weren’t as badly affected by the floods but nevertheless lacked the essential items they needed to survive.

Maturano said the homes of some of those taking refuge in the shelter sustained flooding damage that is so severe that they will never be habitable again. She also said that residents are living in fear due to the risk of more flooding.

“We’re living in fear, in desperation because a lot of people were left without a home and without work, and because there’s been four flooding alerts in 15 days,” Maturano said.

“I’ve gone to the [flooded] homes and schools and I come back crying because … I see the devastation and I say ‘that’s not the Tula where I grew up,’” she said.

“I call on the federal government to support those people who have lost everything. … their homes, their businesses.”

flood relief supplies, Tula, Hidalgo — Supplies the sisters have collected to distribute to Tula’s flood victims.

With reports from Milenio

2 albinos found among turtles born in Los Cabos

By

MND Staff

-

September 21, 2021

0

The albino turtles born in Baja California Sur.

A dole of 109 turtles was born Sunday in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, but two of the newborns particularly stood out.

They were albinos, and will be easy to recognize among their 108 siblings. “They are a rarity among their sisters,” wrote Carlos Villalobos, the head of the Network to Protect Sea Turtles in Los Cabos.

Graciela Tiburcio, from the same animal conservation group, said the two albinos were healthy and were released into the ocean together with the other baby turtles.

Tiburcio said the two albinos are not as miraculous as they might appear. “Albinism is not uncommon in the animal kingdom. In the case of sea turtles, some cases of albinism can be observed during the season during nest cleanings. What makes this case unique and exceptional is that the turtles appear to be in perfect health,” she added.

In recent years, work has increased among conservationists to protect sea turtles, by protecting their nests from human disturbance. Once born, the turtles are released into the sea with the purpose of promoting their reproduction since some species are in danger of extinction.

Los Cabos is one area where conservationists work to protect turtles. One of their methods sees locals and tourists invited to release the newborn turtles into the sea.

With reports from El Sudcaliforniano and BCS Noticias

Cold front season began Sept. 15, and here comes No. 1

By

MND Staff

-

September 21, 2021

0

Conagua map — From left to right, Conagua's listing of states that could be seeing some rain. Some areas could also experience thunderstorms or hail.

Mexico’s national weather service (Conagua) announced that Mexico’s first cold front of the year has arrived, bringing forecasts of falling temperatures as well as heavy rains, strong winds and even hail in some states, mainly in the north and northeast.

The fronts usually have a duration of between five and seven days.

Cold front season runs from September 15–May 15, generally affecting northern, eastern and southeastern states, and later reaching the center and west of the country. It is most intense in mid-winter from December to February.

Snow recently fell for the first time this year last week on the continent’s northernmost city, Utqiagvik (previously known as Barrow), Alaska, and the spread of arctic ice is in a greater amount than it has been for more than a decade, both signs that wintry conditions have arrived and are heading south.

The cold front, which is interacting with a low-pressure system, according to Conagua, arrived in Chihuahua and Coahuila Tuesday morning and will reach Nuevo León and Tamaulipas Wednesday and northern Veracruz Wednesday night. It is likely to reach the south of the state Thursday.

The front’s movement will bring heavy rains, some hailstorms and winds of 50 kilometers per hour to affected areas. In the north and east, Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas could see as much as 75 millimeters of rain, according to Conagua, as could Nayarit and Jalisco in the west.

Temperatures are predicted to be lower in the afternoon in the north, northeast, east and center of the country at 20–30 C. Sunrise is likely to record temperatures of 10–19 C, while higher areas of the Altiplano might not exceed 10 C. The first norte, a local wind phenomenon, will arrive for a prolonged spell on the coasts of Tamaulipas, Veracruz and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec with gusts of 60–85 kph.

With reports from Milenio and Meteored

Olympic medalist chides state for presenting a check without funds

By

MND Staff

-

September 21, 2021

0

Olympic weightlifting medalist Aremi Fuentes.

An Olympic medalist was grateful for the 50,000 peso check (about US $2,500) she received for her performance at the Tokyo Games — until she tried to cash it at the bank.

Aremi Fuentes won bronze in women’s weightlifting at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. She said she was later given a check by the Baja California Governor Jaime Bonilla but the bank said there were no funds to cover it.

“We were given a prize of 50,000 pesos in recognition of what we did in the Olympic Games. We even had an official photo taken … it’s not just that the check doesn’t have funds, I’ve been told that the check doesn’t exist,” she said.

“Other Olympic medalists who went to Tokyo 2020 were given 150,000 pesos for winning medals, plus a salary of 20,000 per month, while I earn 3,000 monthly plus 3,500 for food. I have been representing the state since 2014; it seems like a mockery what they have done, to give me a check in front of the media and it doesn’t exist; it doesn’t have funds,” she added.

The weightlifter posted on social media to explain that she feared she wouldn’t receive the money. “I don’t know if they will retaliate, it is possible that they will delay with speeches and promises until November when the government changes and for that reason it is now or never.”

Fuentes is also waiting for a prize that will be delivered by the federal government from money raised through the presidential raffle on September 15.

The weightlifter won her medal by lifting 245 kilos. Ecuador’s Neisi Patricia Dajomes Barrera won gold after lifting 263 kilos.

With reports from ESPN and El Universal

Extortionists suspected after bomb disguised as a gift kills 2 in Guanajuato

By

MND Staff

-

September 21, 2021

0

The Salamanca restaurant where a bomb was delivered Sunday.

Two men were killed and five other people were injured Sunday when a bomb disguised as a birthday present exploded in Salamanca, Guanajuato.

A courier on a motorcycle delivered a package with balloons attached to it to a restaurant/bar in the El Deportivo neighborhood on Sunday evening.

Owner Mauricio Salvador Romero and manager Mario Alberto Hernández took delivery of the package and were killed when it exploded seconds later.

Authorities are investigating what kind of explosive device was used in the attack.

Guanajuato Governor Diego Sinhué described the incident as “a terrorist attack unprecedented in the state.”

According to a report by the newspaper Milenio, Romero’s business – Barra – had been subjected to extortion demands for seven months prior to Sunday’s bomb attack. People who identified themselves as members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) were demanding payments of 50,000 pesos (about US $2,500) per week.

Family members of Romero also told Milenio that complaints about the extortion were filed with the Guanajuato Attorney General’s Office but it took no action.

Romero’s brother claimed that the attack was designed to intimidate residents of Salamanca, a city of almost 300,000 people where violence and extortion are common.

“My brother and Mario were the victims but the message wasn’t just for them,” Eddie Romero said.

“… This was a message to say that they [the CJNG] are here, … that they’re not leaving. It’s a message to cause terror, to force us to lock ourselves away in our homes,” he said.

However, the head of the Guanajuato public security system said in an interview that “this event doesn’t coincide with the intimidatory characteristics” traditionally used by criminal groups in Guanajuato, where the CJNG and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel are engaged in a violent turf war.

Sophía Huett told Radio Fórmula that one line of investigation is that the explosive device was sent to Barra to settle a personal matter – the non-payment of the weekly 50,000 peso derecho de piso fee.

But she stressed that non-compliance with extortion demands was not the only possible motive under investigation.

In a separate interview, Eddie Romero urged authorities to not just deliver justice in the case but also guarantee peace in Salamanca, located in Mexico’s most violent state.

“My family and I are completely devastated, it’s difficult,” he said. “… Beyond justice we want peace for those of us who are still here, for those who live in Salamanca.”

Sunday’s bomb attack wasn’t the first time explosives have been deployed in the city. Explosive devices were found in vehicles near the Pemex refinery in 2019 and 2020. The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, which is reportedly backed by the Sinaloa Cartel, allegedly planted the bombs but none exploded.

“In the state of Guanajuato, more than in other places, for some time now they have begun using explosives to commit crimes, and to try to spread fear and terror,” President López Obrador said Monday. “This is a delicate situation.”

With reports from Milenio and AP