Frontera NorteSur
March 2001

March 30, 2001
BC Church Criticizes US Spring Break Behavior

The Catholic Church in San Felipe, Baja California, a city on the Gulf of California, approximately 100 miles south of the US-Mexico border, has criticized the behavior of US students on spring break.

Some of the problematic activities engaged in by US students include outdoor, topless competitions, excessive alcohol consumption and general debauchery.

For San Felipe priest Francisco Javier Magallanes Cortéz, this sort of behavior by US students sets a bad example for local youth. The priest also asked how the money earned from spring break could outweigh the negative impact on the city. He continued by saying that spring break only benefits a few individuals in the community and he wishes that US youth would respect San Felipe.

Criticizing his own town, Magallanes said that San Felipe does not have sufficient recreation areas and sports facilities for its young. "I'm making a call to local sports authorities," he said, "because we only have one basketball court and one soccer field and these are not sufficient."

For the first time in at least three years the priest will lead an Easter youth retreat for those ages 14-18. Magallanes said, "We are making an effort to bring young people to a Christian life so that they don't fall into bad habits such as drugs that only damage people's lives." The retreat is to be held at the Rotary Club facility located near the city port. So far 80 youth have registered to attend.

Source: La Crónica (Méxicali), March 30, 2001. Article by Edgar Fabián Chávez.

March 28, 2001
San Luis Cotton Farmers Are Not Using Genetically-Modified Cotton

Cotton farmers in the area around San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora will not plant genetically-modified cotton this season, according to the local office of the Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Nutrition, Segarpa). No reason was given for the farmers' preference for traditional seed.

The Segarpa announcement also states that local cotton producers are not interested in acquiring genetically-modified cotton seeds even though they have been demonstrated as an efficient means of protection against a number of cotton pests.

Segarpa says that the genetically-modified seed costs the same as traditional seeds but that farmers must pay for the patent right to plant the modified seed.

Last year the genetically-modified cotton seed was planted in the valley and resulted in economic gains for the farmers that used it. The modified seed was purchased locally from a Monsanto vendor.

So far this year 38 cotton growers have received permission to seed 804 hectares in cotton.

Source: La Crónica (Méxicali), March 28, 2001. Article by Manuel Angulo.

March 26, 2001
Benefits for Méxicali-Area Farm Laborers

A director of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (Mexican Social Security Institute, IMSS), Aureliano Cruz Monreal, asked local landowners to sign up their workers for IMSS benefits.

Cruz said that farm workers and their families have the right to belong to the IMSS which offers them medical attention, economic support and pension funds.

In Baja California and San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Cruz says that there are currently 111,000 farm worker members of the IMSS. This year he wants to add 45,000 more farm workers to the IMSS system.

Members, their spouses and children all have access to IMSS clinics when they are affiliated with the organization. In case of a work accident or illness, IMSS members can receive economic support and in the case of death surviving family members can also receive a pension. A retirement pension is also given to workers at age 60.

Source: Frontera (Méxicali), March 21, 2001. Article by Javier Mejía.

March 22, 2001
Marijuana Arrest on Isla de Cedros

Two men were arrested by local police on the Isla de Cedros for possession of nearly one kilo of marijuana. The men were then transferred via plane to the Federal Attorney General's Office (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR) in Ensenada, Baja California.

Police captain Juan Bosco said that he did not know if the drug was for personal consumption or if the men were drug traffickers.

The men were arrested at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 20.

Isla de Cedros is an island off of the Pacific coast of Baja California.

Source: Frontera (Tijuana), March 22, 2001. Article by Magdalena López Cerecer.

March 20, 2001
Parents Along Border Fear Children Are Being Photographed

In the final months of the year 2000 in Ciudad Juárez, newspapers focused much media attention on the subject of children being photographed while on school playgrounds. A number of adults were arrested for taking pictures, some from inside vans with mirrored windows. Pornography found in one van led police to believe that there may have been a link to child pornography. Parents across Cd. Juárez feared not just unauthorized picture taking but also began to worry that the photography was a prelude to kidnapping.

Now, unauthorized picture taking of children and the resultant parental fear is being reported on in the Méxicali press as well.

Méxicali's La Crónica reported that parents in a city neighborhood are complaining that a man in a white van with mirrored windows is taking photos of girls as they go to school.

Francisco Martínez, the city coordinator of school security for the State Education System (Sistema Educativo Estatal, SEE), said that he has already asked the director of city law enforcement, Francisco Iribe, to provide greater protection to prevent the kidnapping of children.

Parents have also complained that a van similar to the one described above was dropping off two young women in neighborhoods to offer free photo sessions to parents without identifying for whom they work. They have also said that the women have given them false addresses for the business.

Source: La Crónica, March 20, 2001. Article by Magdalena López Cereer.

March 16, 2001
BC 2000 Growth Rate 7.7% says Governor

During the swearing-in ceremony of the board of directors for the Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana (Mexican Business Owners Association, Coparmex) in Tijuana, Baja California Governor Alejandro González Alcocer said that his state registered 7.7% economic growth in the year 2000 which is above the national median. González also said that BC had the second-highest growth rate in Mexico last year which demonstrates the investment confidence that national and foreign business owners have in the state.

González stated that economic growth has allowed workers' incomes to increase since 1996. At that time 25% of employees statewide earned only the equivalent of one or two minimum salaries a day (approximately US$4-$8 per day). Now however only 15% of workers statewide are located at this low income level.

March 14, 2001
Funds for Isla de Cedros--BC's Most Populated Island

On a visit to Isla de Cedros, an island off of the Pacific coast of Baja California, BC Governor Alejandro González Alcocer announced the Isla de Cedros 2001 Investment Program which will channel 3,000,000 pesos (approximately US$316,000) to the state's most-populated island.

The island's 6,500 residents will benefit from two million pesos that will be spent on five major projects. The projects consist of the construction of a drinking water network, the repair of bathrooms in the public park, the installation of fencing, and drinking water fountains for two parts of the city.

The remaining one million pesos will be spent on the construction of a rural gasoline filling station.

Also, for the first time ever, the Isla will receive money from the Programa Proyectos Productivos with the objective of providing residents with capital to start their own businesses.

March 12, 2001
Pollero Arrested Near San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora

Mexican federal police (Policía Federal Preventiva, PFP) arrested a man who was allegedly trying to cross 28 people into the US through a desert zone near San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora.

Over the past few years crossings in such dangerous, remote locations have become more common as human traffickers try to avoid the increased US Border Patrol presence near more-populated regions. While there are regular arrests of human traffickers known as "polleros" along the length of the border it has also been reported by the press that some pollero organizations pay protection money to Mexican law enforcement.

The alleged pollero identified himself as Mario Hernández Vargas, 38 years old, of Phoenix, Arizona. Police say that Hernández had 28 people packed into a van.

The would-be migrants to the US say that Hernández had charged them US$1000 each. Among the group of 28 Mexicans were a three-year old boy, youths ages 14-22 and others between the ages of 28 and 52. Many of the people were relatives, police stated. Most were from the central Mexican state of Guanajuato.

Source: La Crónica, March 12, 2001. Article by Samuel Murillo.

March 5-9, 2001
No articles. FNS in Tamaulipas.

February 28, 2001
Solar Panels for the Méxicali Valley

State authorities gave out contracts to companies on February 21 to provide solar panels to 160 families in the Méxicali Valley. César Mancillas Amador, coordinator for Desarrollo Social (Social Development), said that the Solar Panel Program (Programa de Páneles Solares) started as a pilot program in the south of the Ensenada district in 1999.

Mancillas said that the project's goal is to provide electricity for all Baja California communities no matter how poor they are. The indigenous communities of Santa Catarina, La Huerta and Kiliwas as well as 17 Méxicali Valley agricultural areas are already being provided with electrical systems.

Source: La Crónica, February 22, 2001. Article by Jesús Jiménez Vega.