AMLO aims to entice electrical workers

López Obrador says Alejandro Encinas would hire most SME electrical workers if elected governor of the State of Mexico

Mexico Weekly / April 15, 2011

Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday made a lofty promise to thousands of unemployed electrical workers in exchange for their electoral support.

During a political rally, the erstwhile presidential candidate said the 15,000-plus members of the SME electrical workers union who have refused severance payments would be rehired as state workers if López Obrador’s preferred candidate, Alejandro Encinas, is elected governor of the State of Mexico on July 3.
This campaign promise came only three days after 11 members of the SME were arrested during violent protests carried out by the union in Mexico City. Union leader Martín Esparza has been summoned by police for questioning in a related incident.
For those not rehired under an Encinas administration, López Obrador said that if elected president next year, he would restore the Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LFC) power company and restore them to their jobs.
President Calderón dissolved the LFC in October 2009, citing inefficiency and high operational costs. The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the country's only remaining state-owned power company, absorbed LFC operations and now provides electricity to the capital and surrounding areas.

López Obrador did not explain if the promise to hire SME members was his own idea or Encinas’, nor did he specify if he had discussed the proposal with Encinas, Milenio reported.

Speaking On Behalf Of Encinas

This is not the first time López Obrador has spoken on behalf of Encinas, who will compete as the PRD, Labor Party and Convergencia candidate in the State of Mexico gubernatorial election.

In late March, López Obrador claimed Calderón personally had asked Encinas to accept the nomination of a PRD-PAN alliance.
Encinas partially denied the claim.

“I have had no direct interaction with [Calderón] or with any of his advisers,” Encinas said, according to the magazine La Revista Peninsular. “Members of my party … proposed that I lead the alliance, which I obviously rejected."
Although nearly a quarter million State of Mexico residents who participated in a referendum on March 27 voted in favor of a PRD-PAN alliance, the PRD National Committee voted against the alliance two weeks later.
The possible alliance was seen by some as a strategy to topple eight decades of PRI government in the State of Mexico.

—By Bronson Pettitt

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Encinas candidacy up in the air

Despite assurances he resides in Texcoco, local authorities doubt his assertion, refuse to grant him proof of residency certificate

Mexico Weekly / April 14, 2011

Ruling party members in the State of Mexico say Alejandro Encinas does not fulfill residency requirements to become a gubernatorial candidate for the upcoming July state election.

Amado Acosta García, the PRI mayor of the municipality of Texcoco, says Encinas, who plans to run for governor as a leftist coalition candidate, submitted an application for proof of residency in the state, El Universal reported Thursday.

However, municipal authorities have not answered Encinas’ request, citing doubts that he is really a resident of Texcoco. Local officials insist it should be state electoral officials, not municipal authorities, who determine Encinas’eligibility, El Universal reported.

Acosta says that along with Encinas’ application for proof of residency, the former Mexico City mayor also submitted a recently issued IFE electoral ID that includes an address in a small town near Texcoco.

According to the state Constitution, candidates must be residents of the State of Mexico for at least five years before Election Day.

Encinas was born in Mexico City in 1954 and studied economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Currently on a leave of absence as a federal deputy and the PRD Chamber of Deputies bloc leader, Encinas previously served two terms as deputy (1985-88 and 1991-94). He was also interim Mexico City mayor from August 2005 to December 2006, after Andrés Manuel López Obrador took a leave of absence to run for president.

Reforma reported Thursday that Encinas changed his place of residency to the State of Mexico on Dec. 4, 2006, but the elections are to take place on July 3, five months shy of the five-year requirement.

However, the law itself appears to be unclear. Article 68 of the State of Mexico constitution establishes that for a State of Mexico resident (born there or elsewhere) to be eligible for the office of governor, he or she must have lived in the state for at least three years and should have had a permanent address in the state for at least five years.

Encinas defends his eligibility, saying he meets the three-year provision since he has resided in Texcoco since 1979, Reforma reported Thursday.

When asked to show his electoral ID with the Texcoco address, Encinas said he did not have it with him at the time.

“I don’t carry it with me, [because] if I lose it, imagine what would happen!” he said, according to Reforma.

— By Bronson Pettitt

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New Senate building finally unveiled

After a seven-month delay and 50 percent cost overruns, the new site was inaugurated Wednesday

Mexico Weekly / April 13, 2011

After months of delays and hundreds of millions of pesos in cost overruns, senators on Wednesday inaugurated their new home in central Mexico City.

The building, located on touristy Paseo de la Reforma, was meant to be finished last September, yet construction is still going on. The building will not be fully completed until the end of April, El Universal reported.

The company in charge of the project – Mexican-based GAMI – will be fined 5 million pesos ($416,667) for the delay, according to El Universal.

The construction was also 50 percent over budget. Costs have reached 2.6 billion pesos ($213.58 million), when only 1.699 billion pesos ($141.6 million) was originally allocated for the project back in 2007, La Jornada reported.

The total cost of the new Senate building is twice this year's total budget for the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM).

New Building Excesses

Indeed, some lawmakers have criticized apparent excesses in the new building – marble and granite were imported from China, and furniture was brought in from Italy and Spain.

Spanish company Sutega won a 170 million-peso ($14.2 million) contract to provide furniture for lawmakers’ offices and work areas, La Jornada reported.

“Are we going to inaugurate these excesses – with Italian chairs so that senators are comfortable – while there are construction workers here [in Mexico] who are unemployed?” asked Labor Party Sen. Ricardo Monreal, according to La Jornada.

The new building also includes touch-screen computers for senators to vote on, to reduce paper consumption; a solar water-heating system; energy-saving light bulbs;

and a rainwater recycling system, El Economista reported.

Tuesday marked the senators’ last day at the building on Calle Xicoténcatl, also in the Centro Histórico.

On their last day there, senators rushed through 17 bills, most of them passed without debate, Milenio reported. Among them was a law that will allow the military to transfer desk personnel to combat areas in emergency situations.

The Xicoténcatl structure was used by the Senate for 80 years, and will continue to be used as an alternate Senate building. Parts of the building will be turned into a museum.

Lawmakers will continue to hold the presentation ceremony for the Belisario Domínguez Award (the top prize given by the Senate to distinguished citizens) at Xicoténcatl.

— By Bronson Pettitt

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Montiel says he was threatened in 2005

In a new book, the former State of Mexico governor says he ended presidential hopes after masked men broke into his parents’ home

Mexico Weekly / April 12, 2011

Norma Meraz, wife of former State of Mexico Gov. Arturo Montiel, writes in her new book, “Arturo Montiel from Atlacomulco,” of her husband's career and his presidential aspirations in late 2005. Meraz asserts that Montiel’s aspirations were effectively ended when Madrazo went on national television and accused Montiel of embezzling millions of pesos and corruption.

The claims damaged Montiel’s image and his hopes to be nominated as the PRI presidential candidate in 2006. The PRI president, Madrazo, eventually won the nomination but did poorly in the presidential election, and Montiel disappeared from public life.

In an interview published in Excélsior Tuesday, Meraz said her book responds to the efforts by Montiel’s opponents to sabotage his image and presidential aspirations.

Meraz spent hundreds of hours interviewing her husband for the book. In it, Montiel says he received death threats as the election approached. Masked men also broke into his parents’ home, though Montiel did not report this at the time.

In the book, Montiel says not reporting the threats and the break-in were among the biggest mistakes of his career.

Some politicians have interpreted the book as a possible return to politics for Montiel.

But Meraz said she hasn't given it too much thought. “He [Montiel] is a relevant politician, he keeps up on what’s going on in the country and is in contact with a lot of people. But for him to get back into politics … I would rather continue to enjoy spending time with my family.”

Meraz insists that the book's release was not originally planned for publication just a few months before the crucial gubernatorial elections in the State of Mexico, Excélsior reported.

— By Bronson Pettitt

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SME members clash with riot police

Protest by members of the electrical workers' union quickly escalates into anarchy

Mexico Weekly / April 11, 2011

Clashes between members of the electrical workers' union and riot police in central Mexico City on Monday left five cars incinerated and several people injured.

Television footage shot early Monday showed members of the SME electrical
 workers union (SME) confronting capital officers and riot police
 outside the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) headquarters. At least eight people were arrested.

The SME was holding demonstrations to mark the 18-month anniversary of the dissolution of the Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LFC) power company by President Calderón.

About 16,000 of the total 43,000 SME members have refused to accept severance payments. The CFE took over LFC operations to become the country's only state-owned power company.

In a nationally televised address on Oct. 11, 2009, President Calderón said the decree to disband the state-owned company was a result of its spiraling financial losses and its inefficiency.

However, the CFE might not be as efficient as the federal government claims.

According to a Chamber of Deputies study released earlier this year, the CFE generated less electricity in 2009 but spent more to purchase power from private companies.

'Vandalism Won’t Be Tolerated’

Following Monday’s clashes, SME members marched toward the Zócalo to demand that several members who were arrested in the incident be released.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said vandalism would not be tolerated.

“This was a very serious error and we aren’t going to allow this to happen in the city,” Ebrard said, according to El Universal.

City officials predict SME demonstrations will continue. SME-led protests and blockades in Mexico City have become a common occurrence since the LFC was dissolved, and are likely to continue indefinitely.

Electrical workers are not the only ones at odds with the federal government.

In 2007, the Miners and Metal Workers Union went on strike at the Cananea mine in Sonora allegedly over mine owner Grupo México’s refusal to remedy health and safety hazards. However, in June 2010 hundreds of federal and state police invaded the mine and ended the nearly three-year-long strike.

Both unions have been fractured amid internal power struggles.

SME members are fighting union leader Martín Esparza's grab for greater power, and the miners union is divided by Napoleon Gómez Urrutia’s leadership such that dissident unions have gained ground.

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Big business defends big-box stores

++ A group representing Mexico's business community says it is against a proposal by the Mexico City government to limit the distance supermarkets can open from traditional markets.

The Business Coordinating Council said in a full-page advertisement in Reforma Thursday that it “energetically rejects these types of controls because they violate basic liberties of businesses protected by our laws.”

Earlier this week, City Hall sent a bill to lawmakers to impose rezoning regulations in areas near traditional markets. The bill is meant to curb the influence of supermarkets and department stores in areas where traditional market culture thrives.

The bill does not specifically define the distance a supermarket or department store can open from traditional markets.

“Limits to economic activity affect free competition, inhibit private investment and employment, and negatively impact the interests of consumers in the capital,” the advertisement stated.

Mexico City has 318 traditional markets, officials say.

— Mexico Weekly

Televisa to invest $1.6 billion in Iusacell

TV giant joins forces with Iusacell to fight Carlos Slim’s grip on the cell phone industry

Mexico Weekly / April 7, 2011

Grupo Televisa announced Thursday it will invest $1.6 billion in cell phone operator Grupo Iusacell.

The transaction means Televisa will own half the shares of Iusacell, allowing the television giant to enter the cell phone industry, dominated by Carlos Slim’s Telcel.

Iusacell, Mexico’s third-largest cell phone operator, has announced it will use $1.565 billion to pay off debts and the rest to expand its network.

Iusacell is part of Grupo Salinas, which also owns TV Azteca, Televisa’s main television competitor.

The two TV networks, along with 20 other cable TV operators, recently formed an alliance that has launched an aggressive media campaign against Slim’s telecoms empire.

Through its 51-percent participation in Cablevisión, Televisa has been able to offer triple play services (cable TV, fixed phone and broadband Internet).

Grupo Salinas, on the other hand, launched its Total Play service last year, which also offers triple play services.

“Carlos Slim is an enemy who's too strong for [Grupo Televisa and Grupo Salinas] to face on their own,” El Universal columnist Salvador García Soto wrote on Wednesday.

This is Televisa's second attempt to step into the cell phone industry. Last year, Televisa sought to acquire 30 percent of Nextel de México, but the bidding process was terminated after other operators – among them Iusacell – challenged the deal in courts.

MVS Also Wants A Piece

Also on Thursday, MVS Communications announced it had signed a partnership with Intel, Alestra and Clearwire to build and operate a national 4G Internet network.

MVS president Joaquín Vargas said the next-generation service would be up to 20 times faster and 50 percent cheaper than current broadband offerings.

The consortium does not yet have approval from the Federal Competition Commission, but it does have the support of some commissioners from the Telecommunications Commission, Excélsior reported Thursday.

“Joaquín Vargas has put something on the table that no one else [has]: ultra-high speed mobile Internet that is now possible for Mexico,” business commentator Carlos Mota wrote in his column in Milenio on Thursday.

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Mexicans march for an end to violence

Marches against violence have been planned for dozens of cities following the killing of Javier Sicilia's son

By Bronson Pettitt

Mexico Weekly / April 6, 2011

Marches will take place in dozens of cities on Wednesday to demand an end to violence and to call for peace amid escalating drug-related violence.

The mobilization in at least 32 cities and more than a dozen in other countries (http://marchaporlaseguridad6deabril.blogspot.com/ ) is believed to be the largest of its kind since late 2006, when President Calderón decided to launch an armed offensive against drug cartels that have left tens of thousands dead.

The movement, organized by the Network for Peace and Justice, was created in response to the torture and murder of five young people in Morelos last week.

Among the victims was Juan Francisco Sicilia, 24-year-old son of poet and columnist Javier Sicilia.

Sicilia met with Calderón Wednesday morning, but details of their meeting were not immediately known.

‘No More Poetry'

Wednesday's movement comes amid a widespread frustration of violence and homicides.

“The death of my son Juan Francisco has prompted solidarity and outrage of citizens and the media, which my family and I appreciate from the bottom of our hearts,” Sicilia wrote in a letter directed at politicians and criminals published in Proceso magazine Sunday.

The tragedy also prompted Sicilia to announce that he will no longer write poems.

He wrote his last poem, dedicated to his son, on the flight back to Mexico from the Philippines after he was informed of his son’s death.

The last half of the eight-line poem reads:

“And the pain does not leave me / There is only one world left / For the silence of the just / Only for your silence and my silence, Juanelo."

Failed Strategies

In his letter published in Proceso, Sicilia criticized politicians for their “poorly planned, poorly executed, poorly directed war” against drug traffickers that have left more than 35,000 people dead - 9,000 of whom have not been identified, according to the National Human Rights Commission.

“We are sick and tired, because the corruption of our justice system generates complicity with crime and impunity,” Sicilia wrote. “We are sick and tired because [as a result of violence] citizens have lost confidence in politicians, police officers and the Army.”

On Wednesday, Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna defended the federal government’s strategy against drug cartels, and said “protests should be directed against criminals,” not the government.

In a television interview with Carlos Loret de Mola, García Luna said the armed offensive against drug cartels was not “poorly planned” nor “poorly directed,” as Sicilia wrote.

“The strategy is dynamic, not static. I don’t share the opinion that the Mexican government should make deals with criminals,” he said, referring to reports that Sicilia had called on the government to negotiate with drug trafficking groups to put an end to violence.

However, in a press conference Tuesday Sicilia said his remarks were taken out of context.

‘Sick and Tired'

Mexican columnists have elaborated on the phrase Sicilia has popularized in recent days: “Estamos hasta la madre” (We are sick and tired).

In his Wednesday column in Excélsior, political commentator Ricardo Alemán said the phrase went from being a colloquial phrase of annoyance to a powerful call for street protests.

“The majority of Mexicans have adopted the poet’s call: ‘estamos hasta la madre’,” wrote Alemán.

One of Wednesday’s main protests will take place in Sicilia’s home city of Cuernavaca, where protesters will march to the main city square.

Other marches will be held in Mexico City, Cancún, Ciudad Juárez, and at least 21 other cities.

Elsewhere, marches will be held near Mexican embassies and consulates in Barcelona, Buenos Aires, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, The Hague, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Copenhagen and Santiago.

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Mexico City government wants to protect 'mercados'

A new bill aims to ban supermarkets from operating near traditional markets in the city

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / April 5, 2011

The Mexico City government says it wants to ban new supermarkets and department stores from opening near traditional markets.

City Hall will send a bill to the Federal District Legislative Assembly (ALDF) to impose rezoning regulations in areas near certain markets.

City officials say the bill, if passed, will only apply to new supermarkets and department stores, not those already operating near traditional markets.

The extent of the bill is unclear, since it does not define how close a supermarket or department store can open from a traditional market. It is also unclear how many of the 318 existing markets would be affected by the bill.

At a Monday press briefing, Leticia Bonifaz, the city's legal adviser, said supermarkets will not be allowed to be build in neighborhoods where traditional markets play an important role in the lives of residents.

Bonifaz cited the case of the southern Xochimilco and Tláhuac boroughs where residents prevented certain stores from setting up shop.

“The central areas of neighborhoods in each borough and their markets, parks, churches ... must be protected [from supermarkets],” Bonifaz said.

Curb Supermarket, Department Store Influence

The proposal comes as Wal-Mart has announced ambitious expansion plans. Last year, Walmart de México (Walmex) opened 267 stores in Mexico, 147 of which were Bodega Aurrerá Express stores (mini supermarkets).

Markets are an important part of daily life in some areas of the capital. La Merced, in central Mexico City, is one of the largest markets in Latin America and sells just about everything Mexican.

Nearby is the Sonora Market, famous for its herbal and witch remedies and even the sale of live, endangered animals. Also downtown is the San Juan Market that sells exotic meats, fruits, vegetables and other imported products.

Mercado Medellín, in the Roma neighborhood, offers South American products, while the extensive Mercado de Plantas Cuemanco in Xochimilco sells plants and flowers native to Mexico.

The proposed bill is meant to curb the influence of supermarkets and department stores in areas where traditional market culture thrives.

The bill would affect chains such as Waldo’s (similar to a dollar store), Wal-Mart and its subsidiaries (Sam's Club, the discount chain Bodega Aurrerá and Superama, which carries higher-quality products), Comercial Mexicana (and its subsidiaries Mega and Sumesa) and Soriana.

Critics of these chains say they unfairly compete with traditional markets.

According to its website, Walmex operates 134 stores in Mexico City. Soriana has 27 stores in the capital, and Comercial Mexicana (including Sumesa and Mega) has 42 stores. Waldo's has 27 locations.

Not A Ban

“We aren't going to ban [supermarkets]; it's important that they continue to operate in the city, but not next to neighborhood markets so as not to create unfair competition,” Assemblywoman Alejandra Barrales told reporters Monday during a tour of the Jamaica Market in central Mexico City.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard says he also supports the measures.

“We want markets to survive and prosper, because more than 80,000 families work in markets,” said Ebrard, who accompanied Barrales on Monday.

Barrales said the ALDF is also considering extending the measures to convenience stores.

Chains such as Oxxo, 7/11, Circle K and Extra are increasingly ubiquitous in Mexico City.

However, Bonifaz said convenience stores are not considered a direct threat to markets, since they offer fewer items and have longer operating hours.

For its part, the Association of Supermarkets and Department Stores (ANTAD) is preparing to aggressively lobby City Hall to reconsider parts of the bill, according to the business gossip column Desbalance in Tuesday's edition of El Universal.

According to the column, ANTAD argues the measures would harm growth of supermarkets.

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PAN wants public to have a say in Mexico City

A new bill would force City Hall to hold 'consultations' before starting construction projects

Mexico Weekly / April 4, 2011

A PAN assemblyman has proposed a bill that would force City Hall to hold public consultations before beginning construction on any public works project.

PAN lawmaker Federico Manzo has submitted a bill to the Federal District Legislative Assembly to modify the city's law on public projects, at a time when social movements claim City Hall has not maintained dialogue with residents near the sites of several major construction projects.

“We want the city government and the boroughs to be obliged, by law, to hold public consultations before beginning any project that implies alterations to the lives and habits of capital residents,” said Manzo, a member of the Transportation Committee, Reforma reported Monday.

Although the current law on public projects recommends that government officials “listen to and evaluate” the opinions of citizens, the provisions do not specify if the opinions are binding.

Bill Faces Hurdles

Manzo's bill would oblige the city government to hold such consultations in certain cases: when public areas would be affected; when streets would be closed permanently; when the project would impact the income of nearby businesses; and when the structure of nearby real estate would be affected.

The consultation would also need to take place six months before project bidding begins, the bill proposes.

Some residents and social groups say the capital government has lacked communication and transparency as several projects are underway: the Supervía (a bypass to connect the Santa Fe district with southern Mexico City); Line 12 of the Metro (in the southeastern-southern areas); an arena and stadium in Azcapotzalco; and the recently completed Line 3 of the Metrobús (in central Mexico City).

A common complaint among people living near project sites is that the extent of the impact on the environment, traffic, noise, pollution and aesthetics was never made clear before construction began, and was not made clear until after the project was well under way.

The bill faces several hurdles. Among them that the PAN only holds 14 seats in the 66-member Legislative Assembly. In contrast, the governing PRD holds 34 seats, with which they practically control the assembly.

Public works projects have been one of the shining points of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard.

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Long rumored, Attorney General Chávez tenders resignation

President Calderón proposes Marisela Morales, currently the special prosecutor for organized crime, to take over as top prosecutor

By Bronson Pettitt

Mexico Weekly / March 31, 2011

After 18 months as attorney general, Arturo Chávez resigned his post as the country's top prosecutor on Thursday.

At a Los Pinos press conference, Chávez told reporters is decision is based “strictly on personal reasons.” President Calderón said Chávez's tenure as attorney general had been critical “to ensure the security of Mexican communities.”

“I deeply and personally appreciate the great job he has done and the dedication he demonstrated as attorney general,” Calderón said.

The president also praised Chávez's efforts to fight drug trafficking organizations and his long-term vision to modernize and transform the Attorney General's Office (PGR).

At the same press conference, Calderón presented Marisela Morales as his nomination to succeed Chávez.

Morales is the PGR's special prosecutor for organized crime. She must go through a confirmation process in the Senate. In the meantime, Jorge Lara, assistant legal prosecutor for international matters, will serve as interim attorney general.

If the Senate confirms Morales, she would become the first female attorney general in Mexico's history. She was the first woman ever appointed as a special prosecutor for organized crime.

Morales boasts a 23-year career in legal circles and was instrumental in creating Mexico's first witness protection program and in prosecuting the first federal human-trafficking case.

“She has a long career in the PGR … and has national and international prestige,” Calderón said.

On March 8, Morales became the first Mexican woman to be awarded the International Woman of Courage Award presented by the U.S. State Department.

Morales will become the third attorney general in Calderón's administration.

Chávez took over as top prosecutor in September 2009, when his predecessor, Eduardo Medina Mora, resigned to become Mexico's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

In a 2009 diplomatic cable made public by WikiLeaks earlier this month, U.S. Embassy officials in Mexico City credited Medina for his efforts to modernize the PGR and maintain positive relations with the U.S., but his relations with Federal Police Chief Genaro García Luna were said to be an obstacle to cooperation between the two offices.

In contrast, when Chávez took office there was fierce criticism from opposition parties and human rights organizations.

Critics said Chávez had done little to solve or prevent femicides during his role as Chihuahua attorney general (1996-98).

In another cable leaked on March 9, U.S. Embassy officials termed Chávez's appointment “totally unexpected and politically inexplicable.”

“Chávez has strong detractors within the Mexican human rights community because of his perceived failings in dealing with the murder of a large number of women in Ciudad Juárez, at a time when he was ratcheting up the fight against drug cartels,” U.S. diplomats wrote.

Drug-related violence prompts tens of thousands to flee

Geneva-based organization claims more than 100,000 people have left their homes in 2010 as a result of drug-related violence

By Bronson Pettitt

Mexico Weekly / March 30, 2011

The number of people in Mexico displaced due to drug-related violence marked an all-time high last year, a new report suggests.

According to a report released last week by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), last year about 115,000 Mexicans living in violent areas decided to move elsewhere within the country as a direct result of increased violence.

In total, more than 230,000 people have decided to relocate since President Calderón launched an armed offensive against drug trafficking organizations in December 2006.

As opposed to refugees, who look for shelter in other countries, internally displaced people are forced to live elsewhere within their home countries due to violence, wars or disasters, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Most people being forced to leave their homes due to drug-related violence are from Chihuahua and Tamaulipas (most have moved to the neighboring Durango, Coahuila and Veracruz), the report says.

In 2010, there were 571 execution-style killings related to drug-trafficking in Tamaulipas and 4,246 in Chihuahua, according to official figures.

Ciudad Juárez is the city in Chihuahua most battered by drug-related violence while in Tamaulipas the most violent municipalities are Guerrero, Mier, Miguel Alemán, Camargo and Díaz Ordaz.

Back in November, as many as 400 people fled Ciudad Mier after the Zetas cartel threatened to kill everyone there, according to the IDMC. There were 93 homicides in the city of the same name last year and 21 in November, the federal government says.

In Ciudad Juárez, where there were 2,661 execution-style slayings last year, there are as many as 116,000 empty homes, according to local authorities.

'Government Has Done Little to Help'

“There have been few attempts to define the scale of displacement in small rural towns in Tamaulipas and Chihuahua, even though the violence is believed to be even more intense in those rural areas,” the report says. “Furthermore, forced displacement has taken place alongside strong economic migration flows, making it harder to identify and document.”

The report also says the Mexican government has done little to help internally displaced people.

“In 2010, federal authorities did not acknowledge, assess or document the needs of the people displaced, instead focusing their efforts on fighting the drug cartels,” the report says.

In the Americas, Colombia has the highest number of internally displaced people with between 3.6 million and 5.2 million, the report says.

The report also states that the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti displaced more than 1.5 million people, 800,000 of whom were still in shelter camps in late 2010.

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Mexico City drivers face 'ghost' fines

More than 13,000 drivers have challenged tickets, claiming they did not commit infraction

By Bronson Pettitt

Mexico Weekly / March 30, 2011

Thousands of Mexico City residents are complaining they have been mistakenly slapped with baseless or arbitrary driving fines.

So far in March, 13,028 drivers have challenged fines they say are incorrect, Reforma reported Wednesday.

The Federal District Public Security Secretariat (SSP-DF) says 12,886 of these fines were in fact valid, and only 142 (0.91 percent) were wrongly issued, El Universal reported Wednesday.

Drivers who feel they were unfairly fined have gone to SSP-DF offices, where in many cases city officials search on a database and pull up a photograph of the driver speeding or having illegally parked, authorities told Excélsior.

But that is not always the case.

Reforma published an article Wednesday detailing the story of a taxi driver named Bernardo Olvera, who discovered he had been fined for making an illegal left turn across a Metrobús lane in southwestern Mexico City. The only problem is that there is no Metrobús lane in that part of the city.

Olvera must first pay the 2,298-peso fine ($192) before he can challenge it in administrative court.

Other drivers told Reforma they were issued fines for cars that were not even theirs.

“I was issued a fine for 4,597 pesos ($383), supposedly for stopping and letting people get into my car in a no-parking place. The only thing accurate [on the infraction] is my license plate number, but the make, model and color [of my car] are wrong, and the place where the infraction supposedly took place is not identified,” said Mexico City resident Víctor Oropeza.

The process to challenge a driving infraction is complicated.

Drivers must first enter their license plate numbers into the SSP-DF website to check if they have been issued any fines. If a driver discovers he was issued a fine and wants to challenge it, he must go to one of the two SSP-DF offices in Mexico City or call a hotline, where city officials offer more details or photos of the infraction in question.

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Higher water fees frustrate Mexico City residents

City officials offer 70 percent discounts to residents whose water bills have risen sixfold

By Bronson Pettitt

Mexico Weekly / March 29, 2011

Thousands of Mexico City residents have recently received water bills that are six times higher than usual.

Last week, residents started receiving their first water bills of 2011 (for January and February) that include new rates. City officials decided last year to increase water rates to encourage residents in high-consumption areas to install water meters.

In addition, water usage for those residents without a water meter will now be estimated using an average of consumption in nearby areas. Rates will then be calculated based on what the water is used for (residential or non-residential), how much is used and the area's socio-economic status (marginalized, low-, middle- or high-income.)

Bills for January and February in several central neighborhoods were reportedly as high as 1,369 pesos ($114), a drastic increase from the approximately 250 pesos ($21) typically charged before the fee hikes.

The unusually high water bills have prompted thousands of residents to seek a reduction at the city's water system main offices. Water system officials have had to extend business hours to deal with people's demands.

“I've spent five hours inside the [city's water system offices] and I'm still waiting. There are 115 people before me in line!” wrote Adita De Aguirre, a Del Valle neighborhood resident, on her Twitter account Monday.

To quell residents' frustration, city officials announced Friday they would offer immediate discounts on lofty bills. The head of the city's water system, Fernando Núñez, said in various radio interviews Tuesday that people without water meters who were charged the fixed-rate fee of 1,369 pesos would only have to pay 410 pesos ($34), and would be able to pay off their bill over a six-month period.

In addition, he said residents can now buy water meters at a discounted price of 1,800 pesos ($150).

Water Meter Installation Surges

Of the 20,000 people who on Monday visited the city's water system offices or who called the offices' customer service hotline, about 900 of them requested that water meters be installed in their homes, Reforma reported Tuesday.

“It might seem like a small number, but if we consider that in all of last year 5,000 meters were purchased, that's an historic number for one day,” Núñez said, according to Reforma.

“Having a [water] meter is extremely important, and it keeps people from paying too little or too much,” Núñez said Tuesday on a radio interview.

For its part, city government officials are working on a list of people and areas affected by the water rate hike.

On Tuesday, Reforma published a poll on its front page asking readers if they would favor an increase in water fees if the quality of the service was improved. Fifty-seven percent said “yes” and 40 percent said “no”.

The water fee fiasco comes as Mexico City enters its dry, hot season, when many parts of the city suffer from water shortages due to a lack of rain.

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Lucha libre movie dropped from film festival line-up

Screening of El Santo film with scenes of topless women canceled at bequest of iconic wrestler's son

By Bronson Pettitt

Mexico Weekly / March 29, 2011

“El Vampiro y el Sexo” (The Vampire and the Sex) will not be shown at this week's Guadalajara International Film Festival, after the son of Rodolfo Guzmán (aka El Santo) argued that restored scenes in the movie feature scenes of topless female vampires.

The film is a director's cut from the 1968 film “Santo in the Treasure of Dracula.” The nude scenes were originally shot for the film's release in Europe, but were omitted from the Mexican version, Milenio reported.

In his arguments for not screening the director's cut, the son of El Santo (who is also a masked wrestler who goes by the name Son of Santo) claimed he only wanted to protect the image of his father, Milenio reported Tuesday.

“My father left a legacy to my brothers and me, and his only request was that we defend it,” Son of Santo told Milenio.

In a press release, Cinematográfica Calderón, the film's production company, argues that the director's cut should be screened given that “the value of the film as a historical document is more important than a gentleman's agreement made between [Santo] and producer Guillermo Calderón.”

The gentleman's agreement referred to a deal made by El Santo and the film's director, René Cardona, to shoot the nude scenes for the European release but not to show them in Mexico.

The director's cut was locked away by Calderón because of concerns it would taint the wrestler's family-friendly image at a time when even miniskirts raised eyebrows in conservative Mexico, Reuters reported last week.

The son of El Santo says his father made only one other movie (“Operación 67”) in which he appears with topless women.

At Stake

The head of Guadalajara's International Film Festival, Iván Trujillo, told El Universal the disagreement between El Santo's son and the production company also has to do with copyright issues and money.

“More than censorship, I think this has to do with an economic arrangement,” Trujillo said. “There are movies that have never been released due to money issues.”

However, El Santo's son insists his reluctance to give the go-ahead to the screening has nothing to do with profit or distribution rights.

“It isn't a question of money … I'm not going to sell out El Santo or whore him around. I haven't done it before, nor will I do it now,” he told Milenio.

Son of Santo owns and manages a chain of gift shops in the Condesa neighborhood and at the Mexico City airport where he sells products featuring his father, including t-shirts and action figures.

In his four-decade career as a “luchador,” El Santo appeared in more than 50 films, many of which were box office hits and have become cult classics.

El Santo's legend began in 1952 when he appeared in the comic book called “Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata” (Santo, the Man in the Silver Mask). By the end of that decade, El Santo began starring in films in which he was often pitted against zombies, vampires, mummies, demons, monsters and other beasts.

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Carpinteyro cleared of breaking privacy laws

Former top SCT officially had been accused of illegally taping boss' phone, leaking conversations to media

By Bronson Pettitt

Mexico Weekly / March 25, 2011

On Thursday, a federal judge ruled there is not enough evidence to charge Purificación Carpinteyro of breaking privacy laws by leaking illegally tapped phone conversations of her former boss in 2009.

“I'm exonerated and the scandal that has damaged my credibility [is over],” Carpinteyro said Friday in a radio interview with MVS News anchor Carmen Aristegui.

Carpinteyro served as deputy secretary at the Communications and Transportation Secretariat (SCT) from September 2008 to February 2009. She was fired two years ago amid revelations of a series of phone conversations in which then-SCT chief Luis Téllez spoke harshly of federal government officials and accused a former president of stealing billions of pesos.

Alejandro Caballero, a judge at a Mexico City prison, also canceled an arrest warrant issued against Carpinteyro last year, El Universal reported.

On March 22, 2010, a federal judge ordered a criminal investigation over Carpinteyro's alleged role in leaking the phone conversations.

“The PGR is probably going to fight this decision,” Carpinteyro said Friday in an interview with Ciro Gómez Leyva on Radio Fórmula.

Last month, an important part of the case against Carpinteyro wherein the Mexico City Attorney General's Office determined she had not written a letter attempting to blackmail Téllez, threatening to leak the phone conversations to the press.

In one of the leaked phone conversations, Téllez could be heard dropping President Calderón's name to manipulate conflicts between the SCT and the Federal Telecommunications Commission, El Universal reported back in 2009.

However, the conversation that generated the most attention was one in which Téllez said former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari “stole half of the secret presidential fund,” referring to a discretionary presidential fund.

The fund was eliminated at the end of former President Ernesto Zedillo's term (1994-2000).

Téllez eventually confirmed the authenticity of the conversations, initially broadcast by Aristegui and published by the online magazine Reporte Índigo in early 2009.

As a result of the leaked phone conversations, Téllez was forced to resign from his Cabinet post, becoming an adviser to President Calderón. He is currently the head of the Mexican Stock Exchange.

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ALDF cracks down on truants

Mexico City lawmakers agreed to enforce fines on lawmakers who fail to attend committee meetings

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 24, 2011

The Mexico City Legislative Assembly (ALDF) agreed on Wednesday to enforce fines on lawmakers who fail to attend committee meetings amid a mountain of bills that have not been debated.

The sanctions include a 50-percent deduction from the offending legislator's daily food stipend (approximately $96) for each committee meeting missed. The fines have never been enforced since the assembly was established back in 1997, Milenio reported Thursday.

As of Wednesday night, 24 of the 36 committees in the ALDF submitted attendance lists, Milenio reported. The lists also include tardy arrivals and specify if absences were justified (due to illness, or if committee meetings coincide with other committee meetings to which a legislators belongs).

ALDF bylaws say that any member who misses three consecutive committee meetings without permission or justification will be removed from that particular committee.

The ALDF president, Alejandra Barrales of the PRD, said the fines are meant to increase productivity and efficiency. ALDF leadership will even consider removing committee presidents and changing committee structure if attendance does not improve, Barrales told Milenio.

Earlier this week, the ALDF fined 18 lawmakers a total of 50,521 pesos ($4,210) for missing one or more of the seven floor sessions that took place in December. This was the first time such fines have ever been handed out in ALDF history, Milenio reported Tuesday.

PRD members accumulated the most absences in December, followed by PAN, PRI and Labor Party members.

In an attempt to tackle the two-year backlog of 347 bills still waiting to be debated in various committees, the ALDF announced earlier this month it would increase its weekly sessions from two to three. The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, with lawmakers from every state in the country, only meet twice a week.

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Manual seeks to discourage sexist language

Federal employees are given manual to avoid machista language inside government buildings

By Bronson Pettitt

Mexico Weekly / March 23, 2011

A new state-produced manual aims to reduce sexist language and machismo within the government.

The Interior Secretariat and the Commission to Prevent and Eliminate Violence against Women on Tuesday unveiled the “Manual for Non-Sexist Language,” which is being distributed to all federal government employees, Reforma reported Wednesday.

The text urges public officials to avoid sexist language, such as “vieja” (a disrespectful slang term used for woman) or phrases that objectify women like: “la mujer de Pedro” (Pedro's woman).

In addition, the manual underscores the importance of matching the genders of nouns and adjectives.

“It's very common that without knowing the gender of the people to whom we refer to we normally use the masculine form,” the manual states, according to Terra News. “What's [worse] is that we use the masculine in adjectives and professions when we know the subject is feminine.”

The manual comes as several states try to address the issue of femicides.

The Citizens' Femicide Watchgroup reported 1,728 femicides in 18 states from January 2009 to June 2010.

This past January, the Gender, Citizens, Labor and Family Equality organization reported there had been 7,765 femicides in the past 18 years.

In mid-February, the Mexico City government announced it had organized an inter-institutional commission to reform the city's criminal code to include femicide as a specific offense. The Legislative Assembly (ALDF) is currently debating the proposed reforms and, if approved, the city would join Chihuahua as the only other state to have a specific offense for femicide.

State of Mexico Gov. Enrique Peña Nieto announced in mid-February the creation of a special office within the state Attorney General's Office that would specialize in crimes against women. He also said the local Congress was considering classifying femicide as a specific offense.

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Mexico City wants to save one billion liters of water per day

City officials will monitor water consumption in over 250 buildings to design a new consumption model

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 22, 2011

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced an ambitious program to save one billion liters of water per day in the capital.

Ebrard unveiled his proposal on Tuesday, which marked World Water Day.

For two months, city officials will monitor water consumption in 20 government buildings, 20 private buildings, 50 schools, 100 households and 100 homes of city officials, according to the Mexico City government website.

Some of the buildings to be monitored are the Torre Mayor (the tallest building in Mexico), the World Trade Center and the Mexican Stock Exchange.

With these results, the city government will design a new consumption model that will eventually save up to one billion liters of water per day.

Ebrard called on citizen's to reduce water consumption as well.

“The government can't do this alone – each one of us has to participate,” Ebrard said at one of the city's water testing facilities. “The government must reduce consumption by 20 percent in prisons, offices and the entire Metro system.”

Water Shortages Expected

The measures come two days after spring officially began, which marks the dry and hot season in many parts of Mexico. With little precipitation to refill aquifers until June, many residents, especially in poorer areas, are expecting water shortages.

City officials say a third of the capital's 1,815 neighborhoods are affected by water shortages.

However, the city consumes more water than other states.

Each Mexico City resident consumes an average of 300 liters of water per day, according to the head of Mexico City's water system Ramón Aguirre. The goal is to reduce that figure to 120 liters of water per day, per person, Aguirre said.

One way of reducing water consumption might be through higher water fees based on socio-economic levels.

In low- and medium-income neighborhoods, 1,000 liters of water currently cost two pesos ($0.17); in neighboring Naucalpan in the State of Mexico, 1,000 liters of water costs 10.2 pesos ($0.85). In high-income capital neighborhoods, water costs 9 pesos ($0.75) per 1,000 liters, while in affluent State of Mexico suburbs that same amount of water costs 15.1 pesos ($1.26).

The city has taken other measures as well. In many Metro stations, the government sells discounted water-saving shower-heads.

National Campaigns

On Tuesday, the country's water commission (Conagua) launched a campaign to promote smart water consumption by giving out kits containing a toothbrush, toothpaste and a 200-milliliter cup. The idea is to encourage people to use the cup while brushing their teeth, since an average of 10 liters of water are wasted when the faucet is left running.

Conagua is also promoting another national campaign to urge people to turn off the faucet while soaping up their hands, and to place a bucket in the shower to catch water to use for toilet flushing.

World Water Day began in 1993, after an initiative from the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development. The day is meant to raise attention to the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources, according to the initiative's website.

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Cleaner fuels: Quickest way to reduce pollution

Social and environmental organizations call on president to enforce and update a series of federal regulations meant to reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 17, 2011

Social and environmental organizations on Thursday called on President Calderón to enforce and update a series of federal regulations that are meant to reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality.

At a forum in Mexico City Thursday, six groups – the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA), the Center for Sustainable Transportation (CTS), the Jalisco Ecology Collective (CEJ), the Power of the Consumer (EPC), the Network for Children's Rights of Mexico and the Institute of Policies for Transportation and Development (ITDP) – said the federal government has not complied with or updated four regulations setting guidelines for cleaner-burning fuel that have become laws throughout the past decade.

The regulations establish maximum limits on certain contaminants that new diesel motors and heavy trucks are allowed to burn; the amount of acceptable sulfur in gasoline and diesel; and measures to provide more incentives to car manufacturers to increase gas efficiency on new car models by 2016.

Particularly, the groups called on Pemex to adhere to NOM086, which includes guidelines on ultra-low sulfur permitted for gasoline and diesel fuel.

'Lack of Political Willpower'

Sandra Guzmán, coordinator of the CEMDA's air and energy program, said these regulations are some of the most effective and quickest ways to reduce air pollution in the country. However, she believes there is a lack of political willpower in the federal government and Congress to enforce and update the regulations.

“This administration is among those that has advanced the least in terms of norms in the transportation sector,” Campuzano said.

The groups' demands come as vehicle sales and fuel consumption have risen dramatically over the past decade.

In 2006, there were 20 million vehicles in Mexico, said Hilda Martínez, manager of the air quality and climate change office at the CTS.

“If we continue this trend, we are talking about 70 million vehicles by 2030,” Martínez said at the forum.

Víctor Hugo Borja, an expert in public and environmental health, warned of the consequences that emissions and suspended particles can have on children and older people. Polluted air can cause respiratory illnesses such as asthma, and can prompt serious side effects in people who have diabetes or heart disease or who are obese, Borja said.

In fact, the World Health Organization estimates exposure to particles smaller than 10 micrograms is responsible for 9,000 premature deaths in Mexico each year – 20 percent of which occur in Mexico City.

“We estimated in 2000 that a 20-percent reduction in particles would prevent nearly 500 children from dying each year [in Mexico]. This reduction would also prevent illnesses in adults,” Borja said.

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