Frontera NorteSur
 December 2002-January 2003

January 27, 2003
Tamaulipas' Burgos Gas Basin Described as a Corrupt, Environmental Disaster

In a report on the 2002 Tamaulipas activities of the Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Medio Ambiente (Federal Environmental Protection Agency, Profepa), Jesús Antonio Ibarra Carecer, the Tamaulipas head of Profepa, said that violations at gas drilling sites in the Burgos Basin stood out among the state's environmental problems. The Burgos Basin is currently planned to play a significant roll in Mexico's energy future.

According to Ibarra, five of the basin's 359 gas wells were closed because "they committed grand excesses" related to their disposal of residues. When Profepa investigated the matter it found, in Ibarra's words, "a large mafia that operated around Pemex gas extraction permits, the problem being that companies would subcontract to other companies who would then subcontract to others which led to a lack of responsibility by a few firms that resulted in the abandonment of 20,000 metric tons of waste in the first months of 2002."

The improper treatment of hydrocarbon-contaminated mud and waste that came from the drilling of some wells led to the closure of four companies, said Ibarra. Most of the problem was near Reynosa, Tamaulipas. 

Héctor Manuel Sánchez López, of the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, Semarnat), told the Reynosa newspaper El Mañana that "nearly 7,000 hectares of grazing and other land have been devastated" in the Burgos Basin. 

Commenting on the problem of the drilling waste, José Antonio Suárez Fernández, the director of scientific research at the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas (UAT), said that the pollution problem stems from the fact that the area does not have a designated waste disposal site. "It's impossible to have waste sites because of people's reaction to them," he said. He continued by saying that a lack of environmental supervision is also part of the problem.

During 2002, Profepa issued nearly 24 million pesos (approximately US$2.4 million) in fines to entities that broke environmental and safety regulations. The industrial sector of the Tamaulipas economy paid half of these fines, 12 million pesos. 

Profepa also seized nearly 3 million cubic meters of illegally forested wood materials as well as illegally trafficked animals and animal skins. 

Source: El Mañana (Reynosa), January 27, 2003.

January 24, 2003
Two Tamaulipas Reservoirs Rise Significantly

With good rains during most of the months of 2002, two Tamaulipas' border reservoirs, the Falcón and the Marte R. Gómez, have increased substantially in the volume of water they contain.  

According to Héctor Vela, who runs the Falcón dam, the reservoir there is at 33% of its capacity of approximately 3.3 billion cubic meters of water. This is in contrast to the beginning of 2002 when the reservoir was at only 7% of its total possible volume. 

Vela also stated that fish stocks in the reservoir are recovering. Pelicans, ducks and other species of birds are also returning to the water there. 

According to the Nuevo Laredo newspaper El Mañana, Vela said that the border reservoirs have enough water in them that they can meet the consumption needs of people on both sides of the border. Not specifically mentioned was how these new water levels might relate to the long-going water dispute between Texas and Mexico.  

The Marte R. Gómez  reservoir is now at 67% of capacity, according to El Mañana. This means that growers farming land along the lower Río San Juan are guaranteed irrigation water for the next agricultural cycle. 

Since the construction of the El Cuchillo dam in Nuevo León, the Marte R.Gómez reservoir was drying up. However, recent months of rain have meant a "miraculous recuperation of water" at the dam in the words of El Mañana.

Within a few months, authorities hope to reopen the Marte R. Gómez reservoir to commercial fishing, fishing tournaments, and water sports like skiing and jet skis. 

Source: El Mañana (Nuevo Laredo), January 24, 2003. Article by Alma Leticia González. 

January 15, 2003
Increase in Mexicans Returned from US is Overwhelming Some Nuevo Laredo Agencies

In January 2001, 296 Mexican citizens were returned to Mexico from the US via the bridges that link Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. In January 2002, this figure was 718. Now, in just the first two weeks of January 2003, more than 2,000 Mexicans have been returned to their country by way of Nuevo Laredo. 

This sudden influx of returned migrants is overwhelming the city's aid organizations. Father Leonardo López, the director of Nuevo Laredo's Casa del Migrante, said that the Casa del Migrante is filled to capacity. Due to the large number of returned Mexican citizens, López has not been able to feed and house everyone that arrives at the facility. 

Rafael Sandoval, the head of Nuevo Laredo's Civil Protection Unit (Unidad de Protección Civil), noted the huge increase in immigration and says that the Civil Protection Unit has arranged to find food and shelter for the migrants and has provided them with free transportation back to their places of origin. 

Source: El Mañana (Nuevo Laredo), January 15, 2003. Article by Ricardo Flores. 

January 9, 2003
Border Governors Agree on Energy Reform and Foreign Investment During Fox Visit

After touring Tamaulipas with President Fox, the governors of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León held a press conference at the Reynosa airport to discuss Mexico's energy future. All three governors--one from Fox's PAN and two from the opposition PRI --called for a special session of the national congress to push through reforms of the energy and electric industries. The state leaders also called for further foreign investment in the energy sector which ultimately supports national growth and development. 

Summing up Fox's tour of Tamaulipas, the governor of the state, Tomás Yarrington Ruvalcaba of the PRI, stated that the visit began in Ciudad Madero where the renovation of a refinery was inaugurated. Yarrington said that the renewed plant will help guarantee Mexico's and especially Northwest Mexico's gasoline supply. 

Later, the governors and the president went to the Puerto Industrial de Altamira which Yarrington described as a successful joint project between the federal and state governments. Highlighted there was the city's petrochemical industry. 

Finally, the group went over the Burgos Basin which contains substantial undeveloped natural gas resources, said Yarrington. 

Governor Martínez y Martínez of Coahuila stated that it was very useful to go out to the gas basin which links the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León. Martínez, also of the PRI, went on to say that Mexico needs electric reform that can guarantee a steady supply of power to fuel national growth. 

Curiously, the PAN governor of Nuevo León, Fernando Canales Clariond, either did not speak at the press conference or his comments were not noted by the Reynosa newspaper El Mañana. Nor was he mentioned by name. 

Source: El Mañana (Reynosa), January 9, 2003. 

December 16, 2002 
Some Tamaulipas Cities Raise Fines and Fees during Christmas Season

To take advantage of the Christmas bonuses that workers receive in December, some Tamaulipas cities are raising fees and fines, said Ramón Antonio Sampayo Ortiz, president of the PAN's Comité Directivo Estatal (PAN State Leadership Committee). 

Sampayo complained that the state capital of Ciudad Victoria and the border cities of Río Bravo and Matamoros are increasing fees for things such as city cleaning services and the towing of vehicles. Fines issued by city police and traffic officers are also being raised. These increases come despite recommendations from the Tamaulipas congress that the cities be more sensitive to their citizens. 

Regarding taxes in general, Sampayo stated that the congress approved only 23 of 43 tax or income bills. The remaining bills have been delayed pending resolution of property-tax and legal issues. 

Sampayo emphasized that neither the congress nor the governor is to blame for the tax increases. It is not local congressional representatives that request these sorts of fiscal changes he said, but rather city officials that "live on a daily basis with economic difficulties."

Source: El Mañana (Reynosa), December 16, 2002.

December 6, 2002
Desertion and Corruption Force Tamaulipas State Police to Recruit Outside of State

The Tamaulipas State Police (Policía Ministerial del Estado, PME) will begin recruiting agents in the neighboring states of Nuevo León, Coahuila, and San Luis Potosí. 

Francisco Cayuela Villareal, the Tamaulipas attorney general, complained that 50 to 60% of new state police officers quit during the first year of service and are only looking for a badge to protect them as they commit unlawful acts. 

Cayuela also stated that until the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas (Autonomous University of Tamaulipas) offers a major in public security, the state will no longer recruit young graduates that have completed other courses of study. 

The PME, which is responsible for all criminal investigations in the state except those related to drugs, currently has 774 agents. However, it should have 1,200 agents according to Cayuela. 

Not only will the PME target law enforcement officers from other states but it will also try to recruit agents that are Tamaulipas natives. Cayuela believes that there are many Tamaulipas law enforcement officers working in other states and that would like to work in their home state. 

Source: El Mañana (Reynosa), December 6, 2002.