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Frontera
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NUEVO LAREDO NEWS by Alma Jiménez Rodríguez and Doris Acevedo Barajas |
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Frontera
NorteSur |
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NUEVO LAREDO NEWS by Alma Jiménez Rodríguez and Doris Acevedo Barajas |
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May 7, 2001 Reyes said that while 4,400 jobs have been lost statewide due to the economic situation in the US, Tamaulipas currently knows of 51 corporate plans or proposals to be developed in the state. These new investments would spend US$1.25 billion in Tamaulipas and would create 24,700 jobs for the state. 45 of the plans are industrial in nature while 6 are linked to the tourist industry, Reyes stated. Reyes also said that Tamaulipas is specifically trying to attract industries that can use the state's skilled labor in the electronics and petrochemical fields. New investment will come to the state primarily from US and European companies in the petrochemical, auto-parts, and electronics sectors. Most of the investments will be made in the cities of Matamoros, Tampico, Madero, Nuevo Laredo and Altamira, according to Reyes. Source: El Bravo, May 2, 2001. Article by Annette Sedas. Pedro Alonso Pérez, president of the PRD's state executive committee, stated that Fox's attempt to tax food and medicine are a typical neoliberal act and will only bring greater poverty and marginalization to the country and will exacerbate social tensions. PAN response Guzmán went on to say that unionized workers were manipulated by their leaders and that they did not even know why they were marching. Guzmán also stated that in the end it will be the National
Congress that modifies and approves Fox's fiscal proposals. He
added that, " . . . all serious financial analysts are talking
about the advantages that the reforms could have for the country
and if there are not more resources then it will be difficult
to create more employment and a better standard of living." May 1, 2001 The companies were penalized after they were 20 days late in submitting monthly reports, said Ignacio Guajardo Galindo, Secretaría de Economía delegate. Guajardo told El Mañana that the import sanctions are not an extreme measure given that the companies registered themselves in the beneficial import programs that require them to turn in monthly reports. Exports at the companies, which comprise 20% of the city's
maquiladoras, can continue until the supply of warehoused goods
is exhausted. However, the companies will not be allowed to import
any future production material. April 20, 2001 Federico Alanís Peña and Ernesto García Marín, both of the Canacintra, told Rufo Appel that the state's border cities lack necessary, basic infrastructure and suffer from crime, a lack of housing, and water shortages. The Canacintra members also stated that, "Economic growth is 13% per year and although this is a relative bonanza a high social cost is being paid that should be covered by the federal government to avoid continued anarchy in this region." The Canacintra members continued by saying that the high concentration of people in the Tamaulipas border cities is overwhelming city services at the same time federal resources fail to arrive to the area. Alanís and García believe that people are drawn to the border by industrial growth or by the hope of crossing illegally to the US. Many of these people settle at the border, they said. The men admitted that there is primarily low-paying work in the area because that is what the maquiladoras offer. "We need high-tech industry here, not just ties to textile and similar businesses," they stated. In hopes of bringing in high-tech companies the Canacintra supports better education for the region's residents. Source: El Mañana, April 20, 2001. Valdez concluded that litter is a problem in the city and that an anti-littering mindset must be formed in Reynosa if the city wishes to be a clean city. While the city has recently added 25 garbage-collection trucks Valdez says that more must be done to improve the city's image. At an outside mall, and just a few meters from city hall, Valdez found large quantities of garbage in the street due to the insufficient numbers of waste receptacles in the area. Valdez and the Cámara recommend that Reynosa add more waste receptacles to public areas and require that sidewalk food vendors have a place for the waste that they and their customers generate. Valdez also noted that even in areas where waste receptacles are available people often throw garbage on to the ground. To combat this Valdez recommends that Reynosa work toward establishing an anti-littering mindset. Valdez concluded by saying that business owners are willing
to pay for better trash collection as long as service is improved.
Alvarez said, "It is not possible that after 13 years the union has not given to us our property." The drivers allege that for the past thirteen years the land has been registered in the name of a local woman who now wants 150,000 pesos (approximately US$16,000) to turn over the land to the drivers. The union allegedly purchased the land, according to the drivers, for a sum equal to 250,000 pesos (approximately US$26,000) in 1988. Alvarez also stated that the drivers will not abandon the land that has been paid for in its entirety. The drivers are also threatening to take over the FUTAAMMYC offices because of anomalies they see in the way the union is run by Báez. The more than 2000 union members pay the equivalent of US$42 per month in dues to the union. "We are tired of the union's behavior, they charge us high dues but do not defend in situations like these with our lands when people want to take away what belongs to us," Alvarez said. Source: El Mañana, April 9, 2001. Article by
Mauro de la Fuente. The operation was carried out solely on the basis of military intelligence, according to Jaime Antonio López Portillo Leal, the military's attorney general. López said that the PGR (Procuraduría General de la República, Federal Attorney General's Office) was kept in the dark about the case against the officers so as to avoid tipping off people allegedly involved with the cartel as has happened in the past. López also stated that more than 1,500 special forces agents are involved in operations against the Gulf Cartel in Tamaulipas and six other states, Coahuila, Durango, Veracruz, Tabasco, Sonora and Chihuahua. The military will also lead all of these investigations. Investigations against other military leaders and members
of the PGR are also being carried out by the military, according
to the Mexican Department of Defense which has also said that
it will not tolerate corruption. Martha Sahagún, spokesperson for President Fox, said that the operation captured the primary cell of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén. Cárdenas is the alleged leader of the Gulf Cartel since the fall of Juan García Abrego. Cárdenas was not arrested. Seized at the time of the arrests were 8.5 tons of marijuana,
71 guns, numerous bullet clips, bullets and four fragmentation
hand grenades. Officials also took 43 vehicles including an armored
Jeep Grand Cherokee with offensive and defensive devices installed
on it. Mexican officials have said that with the capture of the 21 individuals new investigations have begun into the possible involvement of other civil and military officials. Cárdenas, a former federal law-enforcement agent, was previously arrested but he walked out of PGR (Procuraduría General de la República, Attorney General's Office) custody from the hotel where he was being held. Prior to that Cárdenas escaped from an anti-drug unit's installation run by the brother, Humberto García Abrego, of the previous head of the Gulf Cartel, Juan García Abrego. Source: Reforma, April 3, 2001. Universal, April
2, 2001. Juan Villafuerte Morales, spokesperson for the Maquiladora Industry Workers' Union (Sindicato de Jornaleros y Obreros Industriales de la Industria Maquiladora, SJOIIM), stated that two Matamoros companies have closed and that eight automobile-industry related maquiladoras are facing a difficult situation. According to Villafuerte, the companies that have terminated the most workers are those in the autoparts and auto-electronics industries such as Rimir, Deltrónicos, Componentes Mecánicos, Trico, Teccor, Kemet, Condura, Autotrim and Shott. While companies in these industries have stopped hiring, Villafuerte says that other electronics and textile maquiladoras are still hiring. The SJOIIM organizes over 50,000 workers and reports that
in the last two months 1,100 workers have lost their jobs. Another
1,500 have been laid off and receive 60% of their salary. |