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.

Link

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.

Link

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.

Link

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.

Link

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.

Link

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.

Link

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.

Link

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.

Link

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.

Link

Pepenadores walk out on strike

Mexico City's largest waste facility was temporarily closed after garbage sifters complained about the amount of garbage

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 16, 2011

Trash pickers on Tuesday temporarily closed Mexico City's largest waste facility after operations at a sorting and separation plant were suspended.

“Pepenadores” – as the trash pickers are called in Spanish – closed the Bordo Poniente waste facility for most of Tuesday morning and afternoon, after the plant became saturated with trash on Monday night and was unable to process it, said Isaías Villa González, general coordinator of the city's Public Projects Program.

Dozens of semis and trucks loaded with garbage waited on Periférico Oriente – a major highway in the city – for as long as nine hours outside Bordo Poniente, one of the largest dumps in Latin America.

The landfill re-opened by late Tuesday and trucks were allowed to unload trash, said Villa, who went to the site to negotiate with the pepenadores and other employees.

“According to [pepenadores], there was too much trash accumulated and they couldn't work,” Villa said.

In some landfills in Mexico, pepenadores still sort through trash by hand. Such was the case at the Bordo Poniente until a separation facility was installed several years ago.

Villa told Mexico Weekly that corruption is one of the main reasons why the processing plant becomes saturated. Bordo Poniente, which now receives about 8,500 tons of trash per day, is meant to receive trash produced exclusively in Mexico City. However, corrupt Bordo Poniente employees sometimes allow trucks from unauthorized companies or from other states to throw their trash inside the landfill, including trucks from the State of Mexico and Puebla, Villa said.

“The problem with the leaders of the pepenadores is that they have made a way of life off [valuable trash] the trash pickers find,” Villa said.

Not all of these workers are corrupt, says Héctor Castillo Berthier, a sociologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) who has spent more than 30 years studying pepenadores and waste disposal in Mexico.

Job Security

Trash pickers are also worried about the future of their jobs.

The city has less than nine months to find another site to dump its trash before the Bordo Poniente closes permanently. The Mexico City government and federal government signed an agreement last year to end operations on Jan. 1, 2012.

Villa says trash pickers will have jobs even after the Bordo Poniente closes.

“We're preparing a proposal so they can have alternatives. We're not going to leave them up in the air,” he said.

Villa estimates there are 500 pepenadores at Bordo Poniente based on lists provided by leaders of trash pickers who work at the site, but Castillo estimates there are as many as 2,000.

As for trash, its future is less certain. The city produces 14,000 tons of garbage per day, but 6,500 tons are recycled, used for biogas or sent to sites other than Bordo Poniente.

The capital government (GDF) has already taken measures to reduce the production of trash. In recent weeks, the GDF announced stricter measures requiring residents and businesses to separate inorganic and organic trash. Last year, businesses were banned from giving away plastic bags, and were ordered to charge a small fee for them.

But these measures are not enough, Castillo says.

“One of the most common complaints of stay-at-home moms is, 'I separate my trash, I take it to the trash truck and they mix it all together again',” he said.

“We have to see [a reduction in trash production] as a medium- and long-term process. Laws don't bring about change, habits do.”

Link

Government site attacked by hackers

Social Development Secretariat website attacked on March 7, 8 and 9 by a group known as 'Resistencia Cibernética Mexicana'

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 15, 2011

The Social Development Secretariat (Sedesol) said on Tuesday hackers tried to access private information on its website.

The attacks occurred on March 7, 8 and 9, but Sedesol's media office told Mexico Weekly the hackers were unsuccessful in their attempt to steal information from databases containing 308 million “pieces of information” including information on beneficiaries of social development and anti-poverty programs.

The hackers posted a message on the website, which was removed promptly, but Sedesol did not comment on its content.

“Fortunately, [the hackers] were not able to extract or modify substantial or sensitive information,” said a Sedesol statement released on Tuesday.

Resistencia Cibernética Mexicana

Sedesol filed a criminal complaint to the Attorney General's Office (PGR), alleging a group of hackers known as “Resistencia Cibernética Mexicana (RCM)” was responsible for the attack. The secretariat said it also ordered its employees to secure data and increase cyber protection measures.

RCM is reported to have attacked other government websites recently.

In January, an image of a skull above two crossed swords and a message appeared on the home page of the National Council for Culture and the Arts (Conaculta). The message called for an end to crime, violence and homicides in Mexico, according to El Informador.

It said: “This comes as a result of the lack of security in Mexico ... We Mexicans are sick of seeing this (violence) every day not just on TV but on our streets because of the lack of security.”

“With this message, we intend to gain the attention of not just the government, but all of the people (in Mexico), to fight for a better future.”

The group also included the same message and its signature on the home page of the Guerrero government website on Jan. 31, the day of the gubernatorial election in this southern state, La Voz de Zihuatanejo reported.

Symantec, a data protection and IT consulting firm, says more than half of hacking attacks on public organizations are done so out of political reasons.

Link

Mexico City's bars and restaurants must remain smoke-free

The Supreme Court's rulings this week upheld the constitutionally of laws banning indoor smoking in public places in Mexico City

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 15, 2011

The Supreme Court on Monday and Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of laws banning indoor smoking in public places in Mexico City, and overturned eight injunctions filed by several businesses and individuals.

The 11 justices unanimously rejected the injunctions including some filed by restaurant and hotel owners.

They were challenging parts of the capital's Business Operations Law and the Law to Protect the Health of Non-smokers, which were passed in 2008. These laws requires businesses to have open-air spaces if they wish to give clients the option to smoke.

With the court's decision, justices ruled the Mexico City Legislative Assembly (ALDF) has the authority to create anti-tobacco laws.

“Tobacco is extremely dangerous for the health. I would know – I smoked for 44 years,” Justice Salvador Aguirre said Monday. “I totally agree [on the health risks]. But on the other hand, tobacco sales are legal activities, and I believe the government has the obligation to persuade smokers to abandon this unfortunate vice.”

Restauranteurs say the open-air provisions are discriminatory and violate their rights to free commerce. Business owners were also challenging laws requiring them to post non-smoking signs in restaurants; encourage clients who smoke to stop the habit; and call on the police if the clients refuse to stop smoking in banned areas.

The court's debate was based on Justice José Ramón Cossío's prepared deliberations on the injunctions. He argued that the Mexico City and federal anti-smoking laws are constitutional.

For its part, Costco filed an injunction against the General Laws to Control Tobacco, arguing against provisions that require supermarkets and stores to keep cigarettes in display cases which only employees can access.

The court also overturned Costco's injunction, arguing the provisions were not a violation of free commerce or discriminatory.

None of the 11 justices is a smoker, according to La Jornada.

Link

Mexicana: Still a sexy airline

At least six groups of investors have shown an interest in acquiring carrier

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 10, 2011

At least six different groups of investors have shown an interest in investing in Mexicana de Aviación, Mexico's once largest airline. The air carrier suspended all flights last summer amid severe financial problems.

Tenedora K, Mexicana's current majority stockholder, on Thursday denied it has received or will receive an early payment from any of the would-be investors to acquire stocks in Nuevo Grupo Aeronáutico (NGA), the owner of Mexicana and its two low-cost subsidiaries, Mexicana Click and Mexicana Link.

Tenedora K's statement came after Reforma and other newspapers reported that TG Group had paid $2.5 million in advance for half of NGA's shares.

“No commitment has been signed with any of the [six] groups and this will only be done when everything is in order and abides by the law,” Tenedora K said in a statement Thursday.

The other five groups include: BMC (investors from Monterrey); corporate financing and investment banking firm Avanza Capital; Logística Internacional; Ivan Varona; and Ahcore Int'l, NGA administrator Gerardo Badín said Thursday.

Deadline Extended

Badín also announced the deadline to submit written investment proposals would be extended; initially, it was Thursday, but investors now have until March 15.

“By extending the dates … there will be enough time to consider all of the options, in order to be able to choose the one that best suits [Mexicana's] business model,” he said.

Mexicana will choose the option that “offers the most financial security and which adapts to labor agreements” with pilots and staff.

Investors must provide documentation proving they have at least $250 million required to restart Mexicana operations, as well as the means to sustain about 3,000 employees.

On Thursday, more than 500 Mexicana pilots and flight crew protested at the Mexico City international airport, calling for the airline to restart operations as soon as possible.

Flight staff told El Economista they had done everything humanly possible to get Mexicana back in the air.

Link

Azcapotzalco stadium and arena project suspended – for now

Construction project in jeopardy following months of protests and opposition from local residents

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 9, 2011

Construction of a stadium and arena in northern Mexico City is in jeopardy, following months of protests and opposition from local residents that prompted the project to be suspended Tuesday.

On Monday, Economic Development Secretary Laura Velázquez said the the project would no longer be built in Azcapotzalco Borough.

However, her husband and Azcapotzalco Borough Mayor Enrique Vargas, said he was unaware the project was suspended, Reforma wrote.

In fact, only Tuesday Mexico City official José García Ochoa said the government was still studying several alternatives, and are still considering going ahead with the project as planned originally.

The stadium was to be located on 7.2 hectares of land located within the limits of Eje 5 Norte, San Pablo, El Rosario and Matlacoatl streets. In the initial project plans, parts of the Reynosa Athletic Center and the adjacent Alameda Norte – said to be the only important green spaces left in the heavily industrial borough – were be cleared to make room for the 55,000-seat stadium.

Local residents argued that streets adjacent to the construction site would bring in traffic to streets not designed to handle such an influx. Opponents also said that the city was opaque in the information it released regarding the project and land rezoning.

The three plots of land, totaling 16.5 hectares and valued at 1.5 billion pesos ($125 million), were rezoned to establish three trusts under the name Acting by Cooperation, in which the city provides the land and businesses provide the investment.

Responding to reporters on what will happen with the plots of land on which the unfinished stadium and arena stand, Velázquez said: “It's not up to the borough [to decide] because the project isn't going to be [built] there,” reported Reforma.

Back on Jan. 29, Azcapotzalco Borough posted the following message on its website: “To restore peace among citizens, and as long as there is not enough information … we oppose the arena-stadium [project].”

Calls made by Mexico Weekly to city officials Wednesday to confirm if the project was indeed suspended were not answered.

Link

Lobbyists register for the first time

450 have registered with the Chamber of Deputies in what is considered the first attempt to control lobbying practices in Mexico

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 9, 2011

So far 450 lobbyists have registered with the Chamber of Deputies in what is considered the first attempt to control lobbying practices in Mexico, El Universal reported Wednesday.

Grupo Estrategia Política, a lobbying and political consulting firm, has requested registration for 17 lobbyists, followed by Philip Morris Mexico that has so far requested eight registrations. Javier Medina, the head lobbyist for Grupo Salinas (owner of the television network TV Azteca and the cell phone provider Iusacell) has also requested his registration. Medina also heads the National Association of Professional Lobbyists (Procab).

Other firms that have requested registrations for their lobbyists include the Mexican Banking Association, and the political lobbying and consulting firms Stratta Consulting, Safie Consultores and Dynamis Consultores.

The first phase of the two-month registration period ended Monday.

Influencing Lawmakers' Decisions

The registration seeks to control and identify who is attempting to influence lawmakers. Lobbyists' full names, addresses, activities and the committees or legislative blocs with whom they meet will be reported on the Chamber of Deputies' website.

When the PRI lost control of the Chamber of Deputies in 1997 it ushered a new era in which lobbyists became more influential in lawmakers' decisions, El Universal reported.

This measure comes five years after the so-called “Televisa Law,” which was approved after just minutes of debate in Congress. The controversial law secured the power and influence of Mexico's TV duopoly, consisting of Televisa and TV Azteca, by declaring television networks a public good and therefore freeing them from paying for access to the digital frequency spectrum.

Much of the law was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

After the Superme Court's ruling, some lawmakers admitted Televisa had harassed them into passing the law, threatening them with a full media-attack if they refused.

After leaving public office, the 1994-presidential hopeful and former PAN Sen. Diego Fernández de Cevallos spent most of his time lobbying for big transnational firms (mostly fighting off hefty tax bills). Fernández de Cevallos was recently released after being kidnapped and held for ransom for seven months.

In 2000, for instance, Fernández de Cevallos' legal firm helped Jugos del Valle (a juice-drink company) recoup 1.8 billion pesos ($190.47 million) in value-added tax (IVA) payments.

PAN Deputy Dolores del Río Sánchez, who heads the Chamber of Deputies Governing Body and is in charge of overseeing the registration of lobbyists process, said information on lobbyists and firms will be soon published online, El Universal reported.

Link

Mexico City: A city built for cars

Transportation experts say capital city is built around cars and that public officials do little to promote or develop public transportation

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 8, 2011

Transportation experts say Mexico City, in particular, and most urban areas in the country in general, are built around cars and do not do enough to promote or develop public transit.

In 1990, there were about 1.9 million cars circulating on the streets of Mexico City. This number rose to 2.9 million in 2000 and skyrocketed to about 3.5 million in 2008, said Gabriel Tarriba, a researcher from the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness (IMCO), during Tuesday's forum “Policies for Sustainable Urban Mobility” at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN).

Not surprisingly, traffic congestion has also worsened. In 1990, the average car drove at 38.5 kilometers per hour (kph) in Mexico City. By 2003, drivers moved at 28.1 kph and by 2007, only 17 kph.

The problem is only going to get worse, says Jorge Coxtinica, operations director of the Metrobús system. An average of 325,000 cars are registered in the capital each year and numbers are expected to keep growing.

“If this trend continues … we're going to get to the point where average speeds within the city will be practically zero,” Coxtinica said.

Public Transportation Underused

The country, as a whole, has seen car ownership grow quickly in the last three decades. In 1980, there were 4 million cars registered in the country. This number grew to 6.6 million in 1990, and to 10.2 million by 2000. By 2009 the figure had doubled to 20.5 million.

For its part, the capital government has taken measures it says are designed to dissuade vehicle use.

Since it was inaugurated nearly six years ago, Metrobús Line 1 (that runs along Insurgentes) has prompted at least 6 percent of commuters who use this route to stop using their cars, Coxtinica said, citing data from ridership surveys. Similarly, Line 2 (that runs along Eje 4) has reduced the number of driving commuters by 10 percent.

The number of users traveling on the Metrobús three-line system has also increased. This year, construction will begin on two more lines, and the Mexico City government promises to inaugurate Metro Line 12 (Tláhuac to Mixcoac) by April 2012.

But despite all of these efforts, both local and federal governments have not done enough to encourage people to use public transportation, according to the experts.

In 2008, Mexico spent 217 billion pesos ($19.47 billion) on gasoline subsidies, Tarriba said. This money could have paid for 75 new Metrobús lines spanning 20 kilometers each; 11 new Metro lines similar to Line 12; or 26 new Suburban Train lines similar to Line 1.

“Gasoline subsidies promotes the use of cars and is an obstacle for sustainable movement,” Tarriba said.

Opportunity Costs

In 2007, traffic jams in the Mexico City and its surrounding region cost a collective 3.3 million working-hours lost per day, or 3,700 pesos ($338) lost in productivity per worker, per year, according to the IMCO.

Tarriba and other experts called on the city to act quickly to promote sustainable mobility.

Two-thirds of capital residents use public transportation, and microbuses are by far the greatest means of mass movement: 14.1 million trips were taken each day in Mexico City and its surrounding region, compared to 6.3 million trips by car and 4.2 million trips by Metro, according to Mexico City government data.

However, public transport information is not always easily accessible or clear. For instance, Tarriba pointed out that each transit system – the Metrobús, Metro, Light Rail and Suburban Train – has its own website where information is not always clear and readable.

“There isn't a website that incorporates all of the information,” Tarriba said.

In fact, a Swedish Web programmer who wondered why it was so hard to find information on how to get from point A to B in Mexico City, designed VíaDF, a website that combines all means of public transportation and offers commuters possible routes using Google Maps. Though the instructions are not always 100 percent accurate, Tarriba said, the site has great potential.

Javier Hernández Hernández, a professor at IPN and organizer of the forum, said the two-day event was meant to inspire engineering students to consider the political and social aspects of urban infrastructure.

Link

Manual developed for Mexico City prosecutors

Thirty-two experts produced a 1,698-page booklet distributed to more than 4,000 employees of the city Attorney General's Office

Mexico Weekly / April 8, 2011

The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office will distribute a manual to improve the efficiency of thousands of employees.

Officials say the 1,698-page text includes comprehensive information on policies and procedures, and it will be given to more than 4,000 employees.

The manual contains information on constitutional and criminal law, criminal policies, criminology and investigation methodologies for police officers, forensic scientists and other employees, Reforma reported Friday.

The text also includes information on criminal proceedings, injunctions, human rights, justice for children and how to conduct interviews and interrogations.

Capital Attorney General Miguel Ángel Mancera said 32 experts had developed the manual. It was created amid public requests for more professional and competent prosecutors, Mancera said.

'Unprecedented'

Miguel Ontiveros, academic director of the National Institute of Criminal Sciences, said the manual is unprecedented, Reforma reported.

“Never in the history of attorney general’s offices anywhere in the country has there been such a manual … this fills a historic shortcoming,” he said.

The manual comes weeks after the release of “Presunto Culpable” (“Presumed Guilty”), a hit documentary that exposes an unjust and disorganized criminal justice system in the capital.

The film tells the story of Antonio Zúñiga, a Mexico City resident who in late 2005 was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a homicide he did not commit. The primary evidence in the case was the flimsy and contradictory testimony of a single witness.

After spending more than two years in prison, Zúñiga was freed after his case attracted the attention of the film’s producers (who are also attorneys).

The manual also comes as Mexico's incoming attorney general promises to remove incompetent and corrupt officials.

Marisela Morales, whose appointment to become the first female attorney general in Mexico’s history was ratified by senators on Thursday, has promised to “transform” the Attorney General's Office by making its staff more professional.

Link

Street muggings on the rise in Mexico City

Assaults on pedestrians in the past two years have risen 32.3 percent, says Attorney General's Office

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 7, 2011

According to the Federal District's Attorney General's Office (PGJDF), assaults on pedestrians in the past two years have risen 32.3 percent, Reforma reported Monday.

In 2008, the PGJDF investigated 13,196 cases of muggings, or an average of 36 per day. In 2009, this number rose to 15,625, or 42 per day. Last year, there were 17,471 reports of muggings, or 48 per day.

The Cuauhtémoc, Gustavo A. Madero and Iztapalapa boroughs registered the most reports, PGJDF official Luis Genaro Vásquez told Reforma. The latter two boroughs are the capital's most populated.

“Most street muggings involve violence,” Vásquez said. While burglaries have a pattern – many occur during Holy Week and in December – muggings are unpredictable, he said.

While the number of street muggings has risen since 2008, many of them go unreported.

The Citizen's Institute for Crime Studies shows that 80 percent of street muggings are never reported. Using this figure, Reforma estimates that as many as 139,768 such crimes could have been committed last year, or 383 per day.

For its part, the PGJDF estimates that only one of three street muggings is reported.

“Of course [street muggings] are going to be the least reported crimes because people are walking and they get a watch or 20 pesos stolen and decide it's not even worth filing a police report,” Vásquez said.

PGJDF data show muggers make away with an average of 500 pesos ($42).

Link