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Frontera
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Frontera
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Updated Every Weekday |
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January 30, 2001 According to the new CEE president, Víctor Everardo Beltrán Corona, among the council's responsibilities are the guidance and protection of BC voters' political freedoms which have developed a high degree of maturity in recent years through the dependability of voting procedures and mechanisms. With the help of the other council members, political parties and candidates Beltrán will make an unprecedented effort to raise voter participation in the July elections. January 26, 2001 Armando Arteaga King, director of computing for the state, explained in a press release that internet auctions will become a normal process in BC's purchasing department. The bidding is hosted by the company Artikos which is related to the company Commerce One. Prior to the bidding the state invited five suppliers to a meeting to explain how the auction would work and how to use the software that is necessary for the on-line bidding. Arteaga said that the use of the internet is good for participating
suppliers because the medium is highly transparent. Former Méxicali mayor Eugenio Elorduy Walter has been elected the PAN gubernatorial candidate for the state of Baja California. Elorduy won 54.07% of the votes cast in the PAN's internal election. Current Tijuana Mayor Francisco de Lamadrid received the second-largest number of votes, 27.22%. Former Tijuana Mayor José Guadalupe Osuna Milán received 11.47% of the vote and former federal Deputy Fortunato Alvarez Enríquez received only 7.4% of the votes cast. Voting took place simultaneously in Méxicali, Ensenada and Tijuana. The Tecate and Rosarito PAN delegations voted in Tijuana. There were 3,265 PAN members in the state that had the right to vote in the election. The number of PAN members that actually voted was not stated. As FNS previously reported, Elorduy has stated that he will work closely with the people of Baja California on such problems as crime, housing, infrastructure and health. One of Elorduy's priorities is to change BC's violent image.
He emphasized that he will combat crime with sports programs
and cultural events that will integrate families and further
communication. The program will begin by recycling plastic, paper, aluminum and organic material out of the university's garbage flow. If the program goes well the university will also begin recycling cardboard and glass, according to Carolina Armijo de Vega, an investigator in the Instituto de Ingenieria. Other aspects of the program include a class on recycling offered via computer, multimedia material, an internet page with a suggestion box, workshops and talks about the recycling initiative. Source: La Crónica, January 19, 2001. Magdalena López Cerecer. January 17, 2001 PAN gubernatorial precandidate and previous Méxicali mayor Eugenio Elorduy Walter is confident that he will be elected as the PAN candidate for the Baja California gubernatorial election in July, 2001. Elorduy also stated that he is the only candidate who plans to work closely with the people of Baja California on such problems as crime, housing, infrastructure and health. After a PAN meeting at which a new voting system was introduced Elorduy said that while his opponents deserve respect he is the candidate with clearest and most believable plans for change. One of Elorduy's priorities is to change BC's violent image. He emphasized that he will combat crime with sports programs and cultural events that will integrate families and further communication. About the PAN's new, digital voting system that it will use for internal elections, Elorduy stated that while it is good that the party is taking advantage of advances in technology, the most important thing for the party is to have safe, transparent elections. January 11, 2001 Internal elections for party candidates for mayors and state deputies will take place on February 4 and February 17, respectively. García Burgos said that he hopes that all the party's
active members participate in the election. He also stated that
the internal elections are nothing new for the PAN as it was
the first party to elect candidates rather than appoint them.
"Salvemos a Méxicali" will work out a program that seeks to protect air, water and land quality and energy availability. The group will look at issues like a plan to line the All-American Canal with cement, a move that many fear will affect aquifers. They may also examine such themes as fair prices for electricity and natural gas and the preservation of the Consejo Estatal de Energía (State Energy Council). One of the group's founders, PRI regidora (city council member) Lucina Guadarrama Mena, stated that until now city government has not given enough attention and importance to environmental aspects of issues. She also said that the new organization is open to anyone without regard to their political or religious affiliation. Source: La Crónica, January 9, 2001. Article by Carina Rodríguez Moreno. January 5, 2001 Osuna told Tijuana's Frontera newspaper that Mexico is losing in competitiveness to countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and China. "The federal government needs to understand this, it's part of what we are trying to resolve. In terms of financial matters we are trying to learn what benefits us and what hurts us." Mexico, he believes, should look at what other countries are doing in this sphere. The states and cities also have responsibilities that they
must fulfill like making sure that crime does not scare industry
out of Mexico. January 3, 2000 One of the decorated agents, Fermín Ayala Méndez, said that the integrity and discipline of local police should be recognized. Ayala also stated that the police serve their community 365 days a year and that it is an honor to form part of the police force. Méxicali currently has 1,200 police officers. Also recognized were eight police officers who had completed
20, 25, 30 or 35 years of service. December 14, 2000 - January 2, 2001 December 13, 2000 Medina says that this phenomena occurs every year and will continue to do so until Mexican authorities decide to take action. Children are most affected by the increased level of air pollutants. In addition to problems with smoke, Méxicali citizens
that live along Calle Colón are oversprayed with pesticide
by planes spraying Calexico fields. Medina hopes that recent,
preliminary actions taken by Mexico will help to resolve some
of these issues. December 11, 2000 Baja California has the sixth highest public debt of all states in the country according to figures from the Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público. In the last seven years the debt has increased by a factor of four to 1,787,000,000 pesos (US 178 million dollars). This figure includes state debt and the debt of municipalities as well. The pay period for the debt has gone from 8.2 years to 10.9 years since 1994. This will help the state avoid a financial crunch. Accelerated growth in BC also means that the debt will be less problematic in the future. Source: La Crónica, December 4, 2000. Article by Roberto Valero. December 8, 2000 Controlled burns of agricultural fields have begun in Imperial County, according to Miguel Monroy, of the Imperial County Agricultural Commission (Comisionado de Agricultura de Imperial) and an official in charge of air quality for the area. Monroy assures that the burns will not affect the air quality in the county or in Méxicali. "We are inspecting the burns to insure they are done correctly and do not affect the environment," said Monroy. "The period for controlled burns will last approximately one month, and we expect that the burns will be completed by the end of December," he continued. "So far the burns have not had an effect on the environment because they are done when it is windy and this keeps smoke from concentrating in urban areas. We are also very careful that the burns do not affect visibility on the roads," Monroy stated. A calendar was made that told each grower which day to burn. However, the date of the burn is dependent on favorable weather. Monroy emphasized that every effort will be made to avoid problems that could have a negative impact on the environment and Méxicali. Source: La Crónica, November 30, 2000.
Article by Edgar Fabián Chávez. Mario "N" is a Méxicali bus driver who doesn't care about hear-say and recognizes that he is addicted to marijuana. "While I'm working I don't use it, only when I'm done
with my route do I buy a portion of marijuana," he said. "There are other fellow drivers that come to work "high"
and put passengers' safety at risk," continued Mario. Regarding the new plan for drug testing of bus drivers in Méxicali, Mario said that he doesn't fear losing his job. "I don't care because I have plans to find new work," he said. Source: La Crónica, November 20, 2000. Article by: José Manuel Yépiz. December 1, 2000 [FNS note: yet another example of Mexico and its relationship to neoliberal economics as portrayed in the Mexican press.] The Baja California state government received a Standard & Poor's credit rating of "mxAA" which is bested in Mexico by only the federal government's credit rating, according to S&P representative Horacio Aldrete. Aldrete stated that BC received this strong credit rating because S&P recognized the state's solid economy and its attractiveness to investors among other things. BC also has an economic growth rate of 5.15%, solid financial will and a manageable debt level. Aldrete also stated that S&P has over 140 years experience in evaluating state, local and bank finances. Aldrete made this announcement during an official state event in the State Government's Audiovisual Hall which was attended by business leaders, city government representatives and the representatives of banking institutions. Attending on behalf of the BC governor was the Secretary of Finances, Victor Adán López Camacho, who stated that BC's economic plan has been to maintain a good fiscal state by limiting expenditures to income and by increasing income without affecting the productive capacities of businesses and without furthering burdening the state's population. However, the state was also criticized by Aldrete. Aldrete
said that BC has limited financial flexibility in its income
and expenditures as determined by the National System of Fiscal
Coordination (Sistema Nacional de Coordinación Fiscal).
The state also lacks independently audited financial statements
and has financial obligations to municipal debt throughout the
state. |