Ken Salazar prepares to speak at a Monday press conference in Mexico City. Daniel Augusto Sánchez Moreno / Cuartoscuro.com
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar confirmed during a press conference on Monday that USMCA consultations over energy policy are ongoing.
President López Obrador painted a rosy picture of the situationon Oct. 14, saying that both Mexico and the U.S. want to avoid resorting to convening a dispute panel and expressing confidence that the U.S. would not request the panel’s intervention.
However, according to the newspaper Reforma, the Office of the United States Trade Representative denied any such intention and still considers invoking the panel a possibility.
If the energy policy complaint first presented in July by the U.S. and Canada under the USMCA agreement is unresolved by December, the issue will be addressed at the North American Leaders’ Summit, according to a statement by the Mexican ambassador to the U.S., Esteban Moctezuma.
Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Esteban Moctezuma speaks at a panel in Mexico City with his American counterpart earlier this week. Twitter @amoctezumab
The U.S. has argued that the Mexican government’s energy policies undermine U.S. stakeholders and privately produced energy in favor of Mexico’s two state-owned energy companies: the Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, and Pemex.
Under USMCA rules, the three countries had until Oct. 3 to resolve the complaint. Talks, however, were extended past the initial consultation period by mutual agreement, rather than sending the case to a panel of experts to review.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s Economy Ministry has experienced a reshuffling in the midst of these trilateral negotiations.
Tatiana Clouthier resigned as Economy Minister on Oct. 6 and was replaced with the former head of the federal tax agency (SAT), Raquel Buenrostro. Deputy Economy Minister for International Trade Luz María de la Mora was also replaced by Alejandro Encinas Nájera, who previously worked at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), where he “was in charge of all the USMCA rapid response procedures” according to the head of the ministry, Luisa María Alcalde Luján.
The private sector appeared to welcome the appointment of Encinas Nájera. As pointed out by José Abugaber, the president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (Concamin), the main responsibility for Encinas Nájera will be to ensure a dispute panel is not convened.
If such a panel ruled in favor of the U.S. and Canada, punitive tariffs could be imposed on Mexican exports.
On Twitter, the Mexican Business Coordinating Council (the highest representative body of the private sector in Mexico) said that they were ready to start dialogue and cooperation with Encinas Nájera and with the new Deputy Minister for Commerce and Industry, Luis Abel Romero López.
Ambassador Moctezuma noted in his appearance at a manufacturing industry convention on Saturday that the U.S. and Mexico will celebrate 200 years of diplomatic relations in December.
“We’ve made sure that our bilateral mechanisms are as solid as possible and that there is a constant and institutionalized dialogue. That is what we achieved with the approval of the USMCA.”
Cashews can replace dairy in a myriad of recipes, and they’re high in protein and healthy fats!
The first time I had a chicken curry with cashews, I didn’t expect to like them — I hate nuts in ice cream, for example — and was leery of what the mouthfeel would be after they’d been cooked and simmered.
It was an unexpected and completely delicious revelation, though; swimming in a coconut milk broth with spinach, carrots, onion and chicken, with a touch of fresh basil, chiles and a few spices, the tender crunchiness and slightly sweet, nutty flavor of the cashews was just marvelous.
Come to find out cashews play a big part in vegan diets and are the secret to replacing dairy in a myriad of recipes, from savory and sweet sauces and creams to curries, soups and salad dressings, to cheeses and ice creams, dairy-free fettucine Alfredo and butternut squash soup. cashew butter (recipe below) is delicious, high in protein and healthy fats and easy to make.
I can hear some of you protesting: but they’re so expensive! There’s good reason for that, though.
Why are cashews so expensive? Each “fruit” on the cashew tree produces only one nut!
Each cashew fruit — called a drupe — produces only one cashew seed, or nut. It takes two to three months for that to happen. The tree itself is slow-growing too and, depending on the variety, takes three to eight years before the first harvest. To make things even more difficult, the shell around the nut contains a toxic oil — the same as in poison ivy — that causes skin and respiratory irritation. Sorting and processing cashews is hazardous and labor intensive.
And then there’s their popularity: with an impressive array of beneficial effects and nutritional values, international demand exceeds their availability.
Cashews have been shown to help boost the immune system, lower harmful cholesterol, boost HDL and fortify muscles and nerves. They’re full of antioxidants and fiber, unsaturated fats and plant proteins and act as a preventative factor against the development of type 2 diabetes.
The good thing is that just a handful of cashews goes a long way!
I buy one of those tiny cellophane bags of roasted, salted cashews in the mercado to have on hand to throw into that favorite curry, a salad, to make nut butter or just for snacking. (Would it be better to buy raw ones and roast them myself? Probably. We do what we can.)
Creamy Coconut Chicken with Rice
1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 2 equal-size pieces
¼ cup coconut, olive or neutral oil (safflower, canola)
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1½ cups Basmati or short-grain white rice, rinsed until water runs clear
1¾ cups chicken/veggie broth
1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
½ cup roasted cashews, coarsely chopped
½-1 medium white onion, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1½ cups chopped bok choy, spinach or other mild green leafy veggie
Heat oven to 375 F (190 C). Drizzle chicken with 1 Tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper.
In large Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium. Brown chicken, turning halfway, until no longer pink, around 10 minutes. Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate.
Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, ginger and garlic to empty pot; cook and stir 30 seconds. Stir in rice to coat with oil.
Add broth, coconut milk, bell pepper, cashews, onions, 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Stir to get browned bits from bottom of pot. Arrange chicken on top; bring to a boil over high.
Turn off heat, cover and bake until all liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, 25 minutes. Scatter greens over top of pot; cover and let sit for 10–15 minutes till tender-crisp. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
Cashew butter: easy to make and very spreadable!
Easy Roasted Cashew Butter
1 lb. raw cashews (about 3 cups)
Salt (optional)
Heat oven to 350 F (177 C). Spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and toasted, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Remove from oven; cool completely.
In a food processor, purée nuts until smooth, scraping sides and bottom as needed (mixture may clump, but will eventually become creamy). Season with salt, if desired.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to three weeks. Yield: 1¾ cups
Cashew “Whipped Cream”
2 cups whole raw cashews
1 cup apple or white grape juice
½ tsp. vanilla
Pinch salt
Rinse cashews in cold water; drain. Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Pulse until mixture gets creamy and a bit fluffy, 6–8 minutes. Refrigerate at least one hour. Serve atop your favorite dessert.
Cashew Romesco Sauce
Great over grilled chicken and veggies!
¼ cup roasted unsalted cashews
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 jarred roasted red peppers, drained
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar, plus more to taste
Salt to taste
In food processor, pulse cashews and garlic until finely chopped. Add red peppers, paprika, coriander, cumin, vinegar and ½ tsp. salt; pulse to mix. With motor running, drizzle in oil. Turn off and taste; add more salt and vinegar if necessary. Sauce should be thick but spreadable.
Cashew-Chipotle Sauce
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup cashews
2 tsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. cumin
½ cup vegetable/chicken stock
3 whole chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper
Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add cashews and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook another 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
Add stock, chipotles, vinegar and sugar; bring to a simmer. Transfer to blender and process on high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes Season with salt and pepper. Serve atop grilled veggies, chicken or fish or with stuffed poblano peppers.
One of Romero's installations at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens
The 120-hectare Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London is hosting horticultural and art installations this month to “reflect the beauty and color” of Mexican culture, including two installations by well-known Mexico City artist Betsabée Romero.
“Flores de luz y canto” (Flowers of Light and Song) is a 10-meter tall hanging lamp made of thousands of flowers created by hand with recycled-synthetic materials.
“[Flowers] form a part of universal culture and in Mexico, they are integrated into our daily and spiritual life,” said Romero, quoted in El Economista newspaper.
The artist is dedicating her monumental work to those who died from COVID-19 around the world, noting that “celebrating the dead is something that brings us together, creates a bond, fortifies us in our sorrow…celebration is our essence in Mexico. I have always said: I celebrate, therefore I am.”
“Flowers of Light and Song” installation by artist Betsabée Romero at Kew Gardens Mexican Embassy UK
“There are many artisanal elements,” said Betsabée about her second installation, a Day of the Dead ofrenda (offering), which is an homage to the diversity of traditions in the country.
“I integrated them together as part of a special homage to the Mayan altars. Day of the Dead is a multifaceted tradition in Mexico.”
Romero’s altar draws inspiration from traditions involved in Hanal Pixán, a variation of Day of the Dead celebrated in Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.
Visitors to the exhibit will get a chance to add the names of their own loved ones to the altar, allowing for reflection on this important Mexican ritual.
Opening event held at Kew Gardens, with Romero’s altar installation in the background Mexican Embassy UK Twitter @Embamexru
The exhibit will be up through Oct. 31 at the Kew Gardens in the Temperate House and also includes pieces from artists Fernando Laposse and Jon Wheatley, the latter inspired by the surrealist gardens of Las Pozas in Xilitla, San Luis Potosí.
Lines of military vehicles rode into Acapulco, Guerrero, on Friday as part of an effort to bolster security in that area. Carlos Alberto Carbajal
The Mexican military is incapable of planning and executing special forces operations with the United States army, according to a leaked document.
Neither the Mexican army nor the navy has that capacity, the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena), the Ministry of the Navy (Semar) and the United States Northern Command said in an analysis prepared in January.
The report was stolen from Sedena’s IT system by the Guacamaya hacking group and obtained and reviewed by the media outlet Latinus.
The Mexican armed forces lack the “codified roles and responsibilities” needed to carry out joint tasks with the U.S. military, the report said.
The document also said that there is limited capacity for Mexican and U.S. special forces to communicate with each other in a secure way during operations and training exercises.
The Northern Command, one of 11 unified combatant commands of the United States military, is concerned about the limitations of the Mexican army and navy and believes that their members need immediate training to raise their standards to U.S. levels, the report indicated.
The document paints a different picture to that presented by Mexican and U.S. officials at high-level security talks in Washington last week. Officials including Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sang the praises of the bilateral security collaboration since a new security pact formally called the Bicentennial Framework took effect late last year, although they did acknowledge that challenges remain and more needs to be done to enhance the partnership.
The leaked document outlines solutions and proposals so that “level 1” units of the Mexican army and navy have the capacity to successfully plan and execute joint special forces missions by 2029, Latinus said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard speaks at the high-level security talks in Washington last week. Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores
Among the capacities Mexican special forces are slated to develop is the ability to “neutralize weapons of mass destruction.”
Another leaked document among the six terabytes of data stolen from Sedena servers indicates that the United States wants Mexico’s military to strengthen its cybersecurity in order to better detect and respond to such threats.
“By the year 2028, Sedena and Semar will have advanced capacities … to monitor, detect, respond to and recover from cyber-threats,” states a document jointly prepared by the Mexican and U.S. military.
If the Mexican military had such capacities now, the massive data theft committed by “hacktivist” group Guacamaya could have perhaps been prevented.
President López Obrador has downplayed the seriousness of the security breach, asserting that he didn’t expect any negative consequences from it.
However, the hacking incident itself is a major embarrassment for the government, and security analyst Alejandro Hope warned in an opinion article that “it’s possible that there is highly sensitive information among the extracted documents – national security information that isn’t and shouldn’t be in the public domain.”
The apparent planning and operational deficiencies of the Mexican military would appear to fit into that category.
President Lopez Obrador said at his daily press conference on Monday ANDREA MURCIA /CUARTOSCURO.COM
The construction of a stretch of the Maya Train railroad in Quintana Roo and Campeche is in doubt due to the opposition of local landowners, President López Obrador said Monday.
The president told his morning news conference that the section between Chetumal, Quintana Roo, and Xpujil, Campeche, might not be built if an agreement can’t be reached with the leaders of five ejidos, or communal parcels of land.
“Along the stretch from Xpujil to Chetumal, there are five ejidos where the leaders, not the campesinos … don’t want the train to pass,” López Obrador said.
“Or they do want it, but they’re conditioning [construction of the railroad] on the Ministry of Communications and Transportation paying them compensation from when the Escárcega-Chetumal highway was built,” he said.
A map of the under-construction Maya Train. The section being opposed is located along the beige horizontal line running across the bottom half of the map.
The president raised doubts about their claim because the highway was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“It’s a claim from more than 50 years ago, half a century ago. We’ll have to see whether the ejidos were already established then,” López Obrador said. “We have to see whether [the ejido leaders] are right.”
López Obrador indicated that the government wouldn’t meet the ejido leaders’ demand if it determined their claim wasn’t valid.
“The maxim that a problem that is resolved with money isn’t a problem used to prevail … because the budget wasn’t considered money of the people, it was thought to be the government’s money. No, the budget is the people’s money, and it’s sacred money that has to be looked after,” Lopez Obrador said. “ None of this ‘you’re not going through here if you don’t give me this much,’ that can’t be done, that’s corruption, let it be clear.”
López Obrador questioned the morality of the ejido leaders, asserting that they’re attempting to personally profit from the situation.
“It’s not … our adversaries [causing the problem] here; it’s another kind of thing. It’s part of the entrenched corruption, and we have to put an end to it, we have to banish corruption,” he said.
López Obrador also said that if compensation is owed due to the construction of the highway it will be paid accordingly but not to the ejido leaders. The money could be used to make improvements to the five parcels of land in question, he said.
If an agreement isn’t reached and blockades that impede construction are erected, there will be no railroad between Xpujil and Chetumal, López Obrador bluntly declared.
If an agreement isn’t reached and blockades impeding construction are erected by opponents, there will be no railroad between Xpujil and Chetumal, López Obrador said.
“It will be known who was responsible for stopping the project; it’s as clear as that,” he added.
Earlier in his press conference, the president noted that the government has overcome other challenges to the US $10 billion railroad, which will link cities and towns in five southeastern states and is slated to open in 2023.
“We already freed up about 1,000 kilomters, it’s known as right of way,” López Obrador said.
“We have already freed up Palenque, Escárcega, Campeche, Mérida, Cancún, Tulum – we already resolved [problems with] the most difficult stretch, the Cancún-Tulum stretch, where they wanted to strike us out because there are a lot of interests,” he said.
There was – and is – significant opposition to the Cancún-Tulum stretch of the railroad because the government’s decision earlier this year to reroute it means that large swaths of Mayan jungle have to be cut down.
Opponents of the project – dubbed pseudoenvironmentalists by the president – also say that the the tourism, commuter and freight railroad’s construction and operation poses risks to wildlife, the Yucatán Peninsula’s subterranean waterways and the area’s many archaeological assets.
September 19 was the busiest day, with 146,837 passengers passing through the airport’s two terminals despite an earthquake that day.
Passenger numbers are almost back to prepandemic levels at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM). Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro
More than 3.86 million passengers used the airport last month, a figure just 1.2% lower than in September 2019, the lowest negative differential recorded this year.
A total of 29,935 planes arrived at and departed from the airport, an average of 129 passengers on each flight.
AICM reported that the three busiest routes in September were those between the capital and the cities of Cancún, Guadalajara and Mérida.
It said that Monday September 19 was the busiest day, with 146,837 passengers passing through the airport’s two terminals. A powerful earthquake occurred the same day, but it didn’t affect the airport’s operations.
With over 3.8 million passengers last month, the cumulative total for 2022 rose to just over 33.71 million. That figure is 9.6% lower than that recorded in 2019’s first nine months.
In 2019, a record 50.3 million passengers used AICM.
Twenty-three Mexican and foreign airlines use the Mexico City airport, according to information on the AICM website. Among the international carriers are Air Canada, American Airlines, Colombia’s Avianca, Japan’s ANA and British Airways.
The federal government declared earlier this year that both AICM terminals have reached saturation point.
The government opened a new airport – the Felipe Ángeles International Airport – north of the capital in México state in March, but the number of passengers and airlines currently using the facility is dwarfed by the number using AICM.
Medical students enrolled at the UBBJ Tlalpan campus protested in downtown Mexico City, with signs asking the government to provide a physical campus location and teachers for the courses. Medicoblastos / Facebook
President López Obrador frequently insists that citizens have the right to protest, but one high-ranking government official last week advised disgruntled students to cease the public airing of their grievances and warned them they could become victims of “scandals” they create themselves.
Students who attend Benito Juárez García Universities for Well-Being (UBBJ), which were opened by the current government, have protested in recent months due to a range of shortcomings at their campuses including a lack of teachers and classrooms, and poor quality infrastructure.
Protests have been held in several states including Yucatán, Guerrero, Baja California and Oaxaca.
In Mexico City, students who study medicine at the UBBJ Tlalpan campus on the capital’s southside took their complaints to the National Palace last Thursday, where they denounced the government’s inattention to their plight.
At a protest outside the seat of executive power, students held up placards with messages such as, “[studying] Medicine online isn’t medicine,” “We demand quality facilities” and “At UBBJ we’re surviving, not learning.”
The students say that some of their required classes haven’t been offered due to a lack of teaching staff and that the building that houses the Tlalpan UBBJ campus – a former kindergarten school – is inadequate and was damaged in last month’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake.
Their ire was chiefly directed at Raquel Sosa Elízaga, a seasoned academic who has been head of the government’s well-being universities since the first campuses were established in 2019.
Sosa agreed to meet with the students but showed little sympathy toward them during an address at the UBBJ Tlalpan campus last Friday.
The UBBJ system director, Raquel Sosa Elízaga. Video screenshot
“Don’t be idle, don’t just go out to the street and protest, you’re better off doing useful work,” she told the students.
“… I’m not afraid of you going out to protest because I lived many years of my life doing that,” Sosa said before advising students to have more “discretion” about their grievances.
“Who would like the medical history of their family to be [publicly] exhibited? Raise your hand. Who wants a person’s illness to be published in the newspaper Reforma? … Would you allow your family’s clinical history to be published in Reforma? Yes?
The students responded in the affirmative to the third question, with one woman saying she would agree to the publication of personal medical information if it served the greater good.
A professor reportedly retorted that students took their complaints about the Tlalpan campus to the media because “you didn’t do your job.”
Continuing with her analogy, Sosa “invited” students to “expose the clinical history” of their family members in interviews with the media, but warned them not to subsequently take privacy violation complaints to the government.
“He or she who causes scandals will be a victim of them,” she charged.
The students appeared unintimidated by the unspecified threat, and spoke openly of their dissatisfaction with their experience at the government-run university when given the opportunity to address Sosa.
Activists shared video from Thursday’s protest on Twitter.
“I’m Arturo, a first year student. I’m angry because of the six subjects we should be taking, we’re only studying two and they’re online,” the budding doctor said. “Why? Because there are no teachers.”
Arturo asserted that medicine students were destined to become “unprepared doctors” if the university didn’t address the situation.
“We’ll probably treat you in the future. Would you like an unprepared doctor to be treating you?”
A female student assured Sosa that their protests are not politically motivated and demanded solutions.
“We’re not acting as a political party and we’re not lazy. We didn’t go to the [National] Palace because we don’t have anything to do. We don’t see willingness from the authorities to provide the professors that are needed or adequate facilities. … We need solutions. That’s why we .. [took our complaints] to the media. If there was a response, we wouldn’t have reached that point,” she said.
A man wrapped in a Venezuelan flag waits in Mexico City’s Central del Norte bus station, where many Venezuelan and Haitian migrants are currently seeking transit to Ciudad Juárez and Tamaulipas, en route to the U.S. Moisés Pablo Nava / Cuartoscuro.com
The United States has begun expelling Venezuelan migrants to Mexico after the neighboring countries reached a new immigration agreement last week.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)announced Oct. 12 that “effective immediately, Venezuelans who enter the United States between ports of entry, without authorization, will be returned to Mexico.”
The Associated Press and Reuters reported that expulsions of Venezuelans have already begun.
The DHS said in a statement that the “joint actions with Mexico” were designed to “reduce the number of people arriving at our southwest border and create a more orderly and safe process for people fleeing the humanitarian and economic crisis in Venezuela.”
The announcement of the deal came less than a month before midterm elections in the United States at which the Democratic Party – portrayed as being weak on immigration by its rivals – runs the risk of losing control of Congress.
The DHS said Oct. 12 that “almost four times as many Venezuelans as last year attempted to cross our southern border, placing their lives in the hands of ruthless smuggling organizations.”
“…The actions the United States and Mexico are announcing today are intended to address the most acute irregular migration and help ease pressure on the cities and states receiving these individuals,” the department said.
The DHS said that the U.S. government’s “comprehensive effort to reduce the irregular migration of Venezuelans also includes a new process to lawfully and safely bring up to 24,000 qualifying Venezuelans into the United States.”
A man recently expelled from the U.S. stands on the Mexican side of Tijuana’s El Chaparral border crossing with his phone and a bag of belongings, on Saturday. Omar Martínez Noyola / Cuartoscuro.com
“The United States will not implement this process without Mexico keeping in place its independent but parallel effort to accept the return of Venezuelan nationals who bypass this process and attempt to enter irregularly.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said that “these actions make clear that there is a lawful and orderly way for Venezuelans to enter the United States, and lawful entry is the only way.”
“Those who attempt to cross the southern border of the United States illegally will be returned to Mexico and will be ineligible for this process in the future. Those who follow the lawful process will have the opportunity to travel safely to the United States and become eligible to work here.”
The Mexican government noted in its own statement last week that the United States program is for Venezuelans who arrive to that country by air rather than by crossing the land border, and that it is based on the “Uniting for Ukraine” scheme, under which Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion have been able to enter the U.S. to live and work for a period of two years.
The Mexican government also said that the United States had accepted its request to “substantially increase” visas for workers from Mexican and other countries in the region, indicating that there was a precondition for its agreement to accept Venezuelans.
“The United States has announced it will grant 65,000 additional H2-B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers, of which 20,000 will be allocated to people from Central America and Haiti,” the federal government said.
With regard to the DHS announcement on expulsions, the government said it would “temporarily” allow “some people of Venezuelan nationality” to enter Mexico via the northern border.
Mexico has been accepting migrants expelled under the Donald Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy and the COVID-related Title 42 provision, but “Venezuelans who crossed illegally into the United States were often allowed to stay because it was difficult to send them back to Venezuela or Mexico,” Reuters reported.
A U.S. immigration official reviews the passport of an undocumented Guatemalan migrant at government office in Florida. The U.S. has promised to grant 65,000 additional visas for non-agricultural temporary workers this year, many of which are designated for people from Central America and Haiti. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Citing two unnamed U.S. officials, the news agency said that as many as 1,000 Venezuelans per day could be expelled to Mexico under the new agreement. About 300 were sent to Mexico after the deal was announced, the sources said.
The Associated Press reported that the United States expelled Venezuelans via several border crossings on Oct. 13. The news agency said it was informed of the expulsions by Catholic Church shelters in the border cities of Matamoros Ciudad Juárez and Piedras Negras.
“The people are very angry, very annoyed,” said Francisco Gallardo, a priest and director of the Casa del Migrante shelter in Matamoros, where some 120 Venezuelans arrived on last week.
“They’re surprised, they want answers and we don’t know what to tell them,” he said.
Yadimar, a young pregnant Venezuelan woman, and her husband were expelled from El Paso to Ciudad Juárez.
“They didn’t ask us anything. They put a bracelet on us and sent us back,” she told Reuters.
“We’re on the street. We don’t even have money to pay for a place to stay.”
In Mexico City, the director of a group that assists Venezuelan migrants told Reuters that “we’ve been overwhelmed by the news” that those who are apprehended after entering the U.S. illegally will be returned to Mexico.
Lizbeth Guerrero predicted that many Venezuelans who are already in Mexico will continue to the northern border and attempt to enter the U.S. because they have nothing to return to at home, where poverty and crime are major problems.
United States data shows that over 150,000 Venezuelans were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border between October 2021 and August 2022, compared to just under 48,000 in the 2021 U.S. fiscal year.
Rosa María González, a National Action Party deputy who heads up the migrant affairs committee of the lower house of Mexico’s Congress, called on the U.S. government to issue more visas to Venezuelans because Mexico’s labor market can’t accommodate all those who have arrived here.
If Venezuelans can’t find a job here and can’t seek asylum in the United States they are at risk of becoming prey for violent crime gangs, she said.
“They make more money out of migration than they do from drugs,” the lawmaker said.
Quintana Roo had its busiest September ever in terms of airline passenger arrivals.
More than 1 million people flew into the Caribbean coast state’s three airports last month, the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council (CPTQ) reported without citing an exact figure.
The state’s busiest airport is that in Cancún, followed by those in Cozumel – an island off the coast of Playa del Carmen – and Chetumal, the Quintana Roo capital.
A new army-built commercial airport is slated to open in Tulum in 2023.
Exceeding 1 million air arrivals in September is especially significant as the month is traditionally the worst for tourism in Quintana Roo. The high number of incoming travelers is welcome news for tourism-oriented businesses that were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and associated restrictions.
The CPTQ said in a statement that the 1 million + passengers arrived on 7,100 flights from 101 cities in 25 countries. Quintana Roo’s wide range of tourist attractions and “air connectivity” to Mexican and foreign cities spurred the influx of visitors, the council said.
The Quintana Roo economy is heavily dependent on tourism, but the sector has faced a range of challenges in recent years including the pandemic, violent crime and the annual arrival of sargassum, a brown seaweed that sullies the state’s white sand beaches and turquoise waters.
A jaguar metate (grinding stone) made of sculpted basalt rock by Juan Pérez’s El Caminchín workshop just outside San Lucas Evangelista, Jalisco.
YouTube video blogger Luigi Medina is dangerous. Don’t believe me? Watch one of his videos about interesting sites in the “Magic Circle” around Guadalajara, and you’ll find yourself possessed by a mysterious force to climb into your car — and off you go!
Case in point: I thought I knew about all the artisans hidden away in the little towns surrounding Lake Cajititlán — located 25 kilometers due south of Guadalajara — but Medina’s video blog introduced me to two more creative souls I couldn’t resist visiting.
The first is a sculptor of basalt rock named Juan Pérez. I believe he is badly misnamed, as “Juan Pérez” is the Mexican equivalent of John Doe. But this Juan Pérez is an amazingly talented artist, not at all your average man on the street.
Pérez’s workshop, called Taller El Camichín, can be found just outside San Juan Evangelista, along the south shore of Lake Cajititlán.
Juan Pérez’s El Caminchín workshop, on the road leading to San Lucas Evangelista, Jalisco.
I went there on a Sunday, and, even though the workshop was closed, neighbors said, “No hay problema! We will call him.”
A few minutes later, Juan Pérez drove up and welcomed us with a big smile.
San Lucas is famous for its molcajetes (mortars and pestles for making salsa) and metates (flat stones for grinding grain), both hand carved from the local basalt rock. Inside El Caminchín, we saw plenty of these, but also a collection of imaginative creations that told us, “Here can be found a true artist.”
I asked Pérez how he became a sculptor. “My parents,” he told me, “were farmers, and they wanted me to follow in their footsteps, but I’d go over to visit my uncle, who sculpted basalt.
Another Juan Perez creation: a basalt chair featuring rattlesnakes with personality.
“I started out making caballitos (little horses), and after that, I let my imagination run wild. The truth is that I’m no good at copying. Whatever I make has to come out of my own head.”
Then Pérez showed me what’s in his head: a chair made of rattlesnakes — yes, a full-sized chair carved out of a big block of basalt rock. “I’m delighted when I get ideas like this,” he said.
He immediately began describing each individual snake in his creation in great detail.
“These two snakes are sleepy; they can hardly keep awake. These other two are in love. They’re full of passion; just look how happy they are!” he said. “Now, this other snake is angry she has no mate and she’s all alone.”
The walls of Juan Pérez’s workshop are covered with awards.
Pérez’s walls are covered with awards.
“A lot of my sculptures ended up in England,” he told me. “A young Brit who called himself Simon would come to my studio twice a year, and he would carry off all my innovations. Every time I came up with something new, he wanted it.”
Pérez showed me a photo of an elegant sort of bird feeder where birds can also drink water. Pérez said that Simon loved this piece, bought it and then asked for its name, which he would need for registering it and for going through customs.
Pérez told him, “Well, I think I’m going to call it El Huevo Loco (the Crazy Egg).”
View of Lake Cajititlán from the malecón (boardwalk) at Cuexcomatitlán.
“But,” he continued, “I was just joking, and then I said to Simon, ‘Please help me to give it a real name.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘No, no, this one is going to be called El Huevo Loco, and that’s all there is to it!’ And he took that piece off to England and some Germans bought it, and then later they published a book and decided to put my Huevo Loco right on the cover. Later, they sent me a copy. It’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever seen.”
One day, Pérez told me, a Mexican architect who designs houses in tourist areas saw this book, loved the concept and asked him, “Can you make me sinks that look like this?”
“So,” said Pérez, “I ended up making forty bathroom sinks for him. I made them deeper, of course, and with a hole for the drain. So he set them in a base made of mesquite wood and sent me pictures, and you can’t believe how beautiful they look!”
Taller el Camichín is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, and the mobile phone of this far-from-ordinary Juan Pérez is 331-384-3900.
Noemí Enciso and her daughter. The artisan started Eco Arte Cuexco three years ago.
The second of these artisans who had previously escaped my attention is Noemí Enciso, who carries out her creative endeavors in the little town of Cuexcomatitlán, located at the west end of Lake Cajititlán.
Noemí told me she learned from her bisabuelo (great-grandfather) how to weave tule (also called tule in English), a reed or bulrush that grows everywhere in Lake Cajititlán. Long ago, he used to make sopladores (hand fans used to keep a fire going) and petates (sleeping mats that were also used as burial “coffins.”)
When she grew up, Noemí married and started a family, but her husband abandoned her, and she ended up in the home of her grandparents, who were weaving reeds to make chairs. They encouraged her to learn the skill.
When opportunities later came along to learn more weaving techniques, she took advantage, even following the teachers around.
Manuel Enciso (Noemí’s father) demonstrates techniques for weaving a chair seat.
“It was necessity that forced me to learn how to do this, but afterward it was pure pleasure: I love it!”
Thanks to her craft, Naomí Encisco was able to raise her children, and soon she began teaching her skills to others, starting her own business called Eco Arte Cuexco.
“We make handicrafts and also hold workshops on ecological themes,” she said.
She works with three other women and her father, weaving tule reeds from Lake Cajititlán as well as rattan, palm fronds and lianas, to make chairs, lamps, jars, picture frames, and all kinds of baskets colored with natural tints like cochineal.
A living room decorated with creations by Eco Arte Cuexco.
Eco Arte Cuexco was chosen to decorate the terraza (terrace) of Guadalajara’s widely acclaimed Santo Coyote Restaurant. And foreigners living around Lake Chapala have found out what she and her friends do, “so our work is being carried off to lots of faraway places,” she said.
“Believe it or not, you can now find our work at a hotel in Dubai.”
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.
“Weaving magic for over 17 years,” says this ad for Eco Arte Cuexco.
