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Frontera
NorteSur |
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by Martín Borchardt |
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June 28, 2001 The pharmacy in Tijuana's Hospital General was closed by the state's Instituto de Servicios de Salud Pública del Estado (State Public Health Services Institute, Isesalud) because it was filling some prescriptions with expired medicines and because adequate records were not being kept at the pharmacy. So as to meet patients' demand for drugs the hospital is now filling prescriptions out of its storage area. The hospital was closed after a randomly-chosen inspection was ordered from Méxicali, the Baja California state capitol. The Hospital General has between five and thirty days to fix the problems that Isesalud found. While the hospital faces a penalty, Alberto Escalante, a state health official, says that the pharmacy may only receive a warning. So far this year Isesalud has closed four other pharmacies although the majority of these were closed because citizens complained that the stores were illegally selling prescription medication. Source: Frontera, June 27, 2001. Article by Kenia Rojas. Officials from Isesalud closed the clinic's anesthesia room because it did not have a register or logbook present as required by law. Enrique Dorantes Maríñez, an Isesalud health inspector, said that the clinic, which offers laser-based surgeries such as scar, tattoo and wrinkle removal, was storing biological waste on the premise instead of having it removed by another company. Some people working in the clinic also did not have needed medical credentials with them. So far this year, in an attempt by health officials to improve the quality of Tijuana's medical centers, sixteen medical clinics have been permanently or temporarily closed throughout the city. Isesalud asked for city police support to clear the clinic of patients but the police said that such an action was not in their jurisdiction. Throughout Mexico, city police are only permitted to stop crimes that are occurring in their presence. They do not have investigative powers. The Frontera article did not mention which other room in the clinic had been closed by Isesalud. Source: Frontera (Tijuana), June 26, 2001. Article by Said Betanzos. June 22, 2001 The remains of five fetuses were found near the US-Mexico border by a Border Patrol agent during a routine check of the Mesa de Otay area. The agent made the discovery Tuesday night, June 19, 2001, on Media Road near the fence that separates the cities of San Diego and Tijuana. Police investigators arrived at the location where a fetus was found inside a plastic container. The agents also found a plastic bag containing the remains of four other fetuses in their last trimester of gestation. The remains were found about three meters from the boundary
fence which led US authorities to believe that they were thrown
from Mexico into US territory. The San Diego police have begun
a homicide investigation to determine the fetuses' origins and
to resolve other questions. Jim Duncan, a homicide investigator with the San Diego police department, says that this is the first case in which a group of fetuses have been found in the same location. Duncan speculated that the fetuses could possibly have come from an abortion clinic. Source: Frontera, June 21, 2001. Articles by Abraham Nudelstejer & Ernesto Alvarez. June 20, 2001 Last Wednesday, June 13, at the Tijuana airport, the Mexican
Army and the Policía Federal Preventiva seized four million
medical pills of the type that are used in the production of
methamphetamine. Jorge Peña Sandoval, state director of
the Procuraduría General de la República (Federal
Attorney General's Office, PGR), believes that the pills originated
in Asia and then went to Los Angeles, California, then to Mexico
City and then on to Tijuana. A spokesperson from Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) states that Baja California Norte's 600 maquiladoras legally employ more than five thousand foreigners. The INM also said that these employees are mainly from Asian nations and are employed in Asian-based electronic firms. The foreign employees work as trainers and managers in the plants, the INM stated. The INM keeps files documenting the maquiladora industry's employment of foreigners and maquiladoras are required to report any changes related to the employment status of foreign workers. According to the INM's numbers, approximately 50 percent of Tijuana's foreign maquiladora workers are from Japan. The majority of Japanese maquiladora employees live in San Diego and cross the border daily to work in Tijuana. Source: Martin F. Borchardt, June 13, 2001. June 14, 2001 On June 11, 2001 fire fighters responded to a toxic gas leak at the "Square de México" maquiladora located in the Otay industrial zone. Officials said they believed that it was a release of acetylene gas that sent 26 workers to the hospital. According to Dr. Ana Rosa Leos Oropeza, director of the Unidad Médica Familiar No. 36 of the IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social), three of the 26 workers remained under medical observation because they were showing high blood pressure and a serious allergic reaction to the gas. The other 23 workers showed symptoms of intoxication but were not so badly affected. Source: Martín Borchardt. June 12, 2001. According to Carlos Silva Tonche, the Tijuana environment director (director de ecología), the city now requires that industrial, commercial and service projects produce environmental impact statements before beginning work. The city will then review the statements and decide whether or not to consent to the projects. All projects must have the consent of the city before they are begun or the projects will be stopped by city officials. Silva said the new city requirement fulfills Article 29 of the Reglamento Municipal para la Protección al Medio Ambiente (City Environmental Protection Regulations). The new environmental requirements went into effect on June 6, 2001 when it was published in the Periódico Oficial del Estado (Official State Newspaper). The city will either authorize a project based on the environmental impact statement, give conditional authorization for a project or will turn down a project. Environmental impact statements and final city approval will be required for the construction of factories, subdivisions, pharmacies, bars, stores, auto shops and all similar projects. Source: Frontera, June 7, 2001. Article by Aline Corpus. Treated waste water, which currently is almost unused, will in the future be utilized in industrial applications and for the irrigation of gardens and parks, Castro said. However, for this to happen waste water must be treated more efficiently and an expensive infrastructure of supply pipes must be installed. The water pipes themselves must be kept in better condition to prevent breaks in the lines which cause massive losses of water in BC, according to Castro. The researcher also said that water utilities must reduce the number of over-due and bad accounts so that this money can be reinvested into the water system. Water theft must also be reduced. The aquifers beneath Tecate should be studied more as these could add to the city's future water supply. Other possible sources of water for the state are the desalinization of sea or bad aquifer water and a new aqueduct that could be built between the Colorado River and Tijuana-Ensenada. Castro also mentioned that while new technology has lowered the price of desalinization, it is too expensive for household use. Water conservation throughout the region will also have to
improve according to Castro. A financial support accord that will assist with the decentralization of the Baja California state government was signed yesterday between the state and the cities of Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito. BC Governor Alejandro González Alcocer said that the decentralization program will allow for more efficient governing. The money which the accord relates to will be used for infrastructure needs in the cities. González, surrounded by members of his cabinet, announced the transfer of 43 million pesos (approximately US $4.8 million) to the Rosarito city government. The money will be spent on such things as sewage pipes, the paving of city roads and regional development. Tijuana Mayor Francisco Vega de Lamadrid also expressed his support for the accord which he believes will allow city governments to better living conditions for their residents. Source: Frontera, May 30, 2001. Article by Isabel Tejeda. |