Frontera NorteSur November 2000

Three deaths from starvation have been confirmed in the Carichí, Chihuahua region according to congressional Representative Humberto Ramos Molina.  Federico Saracho Weber, Director of Health Services (Servicios de Salud) confirmed that between January and July of this year, 12 deaths by starvation have been confirmed. This compares to 36 in all of 1999 and 35 in 1998. These statistics, compiled by the state, are for children under the age of five.

Ramos was informed of three deaths about three weeks ago after meeting with indigenous people from the Carichí area. A nine-year long drought in that part of Chihuahua is contributing to the problem.

Ramos added that Catholic clergymen and the Santa Teresita Clinic in Creel, Chihuahua also knew about the cases of starvation. The Santa Teresita Clinic attends children with advanced states of malnutrition and diarrhea and treats adults suffering from tuberculosis.  Ramos added that some children die on their way to the clinic.

Since 1998, 1,042 cases of malnutrition have been registered in children under five years of age.  Of these cases 802 have been mild, 189 moderate, and 51 severe.

Even with these figures, the National Nutrition Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Nutrición) places Chihuahua among the states with the lowest malnutrition figures. This can be attributed to the state's 114 Rural Health Centers and 50 mobile units.  Saracho Weber added that when a malnutrition case is identified medicine and complimentary food are given to the patients.  In severe cases, children are sent to the Chihuahua Children's Hospital.  "However, in no way is this problem being minimized, that is why it is given so much attention," said Saracho Weber.

Carlos Comadurán Amaya of the PRI, president of the Indigenous Affairs Commission (Comisión de Asuntos Indígenas) said that talks between the National Indigenous Institute (Instituto Nacional Indigenista) and the State Tarahumara Coordinator (Coordinadora Estatal de la Tarahumara) have been initiated.

"There is a problem because of lack of food, but donation and collection efforts remain in Creel and Guachochi and the people in the remote mountains are forgotten.  That is were the alert is," Comadurán added.

Source: El Diario, October 6, 2000. Article by Luis Rodríguez Vázquez.

Transplants on Rise in Mexico

Federico Juárez de la Cruz, director of the Department of Transplants in the Torreón Medical Center's Specialist Hospital, said that in the last five years 5,000 kidney transplants have been performed in Mexico. The doctor himself has performed over 800 transplants of which 17 were of the liver, two of the small intestine and the rest were kidney transplants.

According to Juárez, who was attending a Northern Region Congress of Gastroenterologists, President Zedillo should be thanked for having advanced the availability of transplants in Mexico.

Juárez stated that between 1995 and 1997 transplants were only available in the La Raza, Militar, and Pemex hospitals located in Mexico City. Now however transplants can be performed in smaller cities like Puebla, Ciudad Obregón, Tijuana and Guadalajara where 25 transplants have taken place.

Juárez emphasized that while 90% of kidney donations are from living donors more are coming from the recently deceased as more people are aware of this cause.

He added that accords are being reached with airlines so that ice chests carrying organs can be moved at a discounted rate. Previously patients were being moved to the location of the organ.

Anti-addict Campaign Begins in Cd. Juárez

[Editor's note: El Diario has reported several times in the last few months about US addicts going to Cd. Juárez to buy street drugs or controlled-drugs in pharmacies. In stark contrast to some US reactions to similar events when roles are reversed, the Mexican government, society and press do not seem "outraged" about an "invasion" of US citizens committing illegal acts. Rather the problem is presented as a public health problem and at times as local crime problem.]

Ciudad Juárez police began an operation on October 20, 2000 to detect drug addicts in the city center and send them to treatment centers, said Aurelio Suárez Núñez, police spokesperson.

The operation began at 9:00 a.m. and the first arrests were of three US men that were caught allegedly shooting up heroin. The arrests occurred at the corner of Juárez Avenue and Colón. The three men, who were not identified, were between the ages of 30 and 35.

The goal of the police sweeps, implemented in part by bicycle agents, is to arrest drug addicts in the center of town that are committing crimes to get money for drugs. Suárez said, "When these people are suffering from withdrawal they are capable of killing for a few coins as they need to be able to buy their drugs."

Through working with the city's five police stations, social workers, statisticians and psychology students the program also hopes to get an idea of why people 18 to 55 years old commit crimes. New apprehension techniques will be based upon the study's results.

According to Suárez the police have records on 1,180 arrested people all addicted to drugs or alcohol who robbed homes and businesses to feed their habits.

Source: El Diario, October 21, 2000. Article by Javier Saucedo Alcalá.

BC Needs More Money to Send Home Children Expelled from US

Silvia Estela Varela, state Director of the Sistema para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (Family Development, known in Mexico as DIF), said that she lacks the budget to return to their homes migrant children that arrive at the BC-US border.

Because BC is a state where people arrive to cross into the US many children arrive with either their parents or alone. Varela stated that when families are deported from the US often members of the same family are released at different border crossings.

In such situations, abandoned minors are taken to children's shelters by Mexican authorities. However, these shelters lack the money to return children to their home towns. So far this year BC's DIF has received over 200 children from southern Mexico states in migration incidents.

Another problem that children face is that often they are released into Mexico late at night. This can put the children in very vulnerable circumstances. Varela has asked authorities to take action on this matter, including Foreign Chancellor Rosario Green.

Varela estimates that the number of deportations will increase this year in BC, especially in the Tecate and Méxicali regions as a result of Operation Guardian. Also, December is the month with the greatest number of deportations and when there are the highest number of migrants in Baja California.

PROFEPA to Monitor Disposal of Fish by Large Boats in Gulf of California

PROFEPA, the Federal Environmental Protection Office (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente), will make a formal recommendation to owners of large fishing boats in San Felipe that they no longer throw dead fish in the sea. San Felipe is about 75 miles from the top of the Gulf of California.

According to reports received by La Crónica, large quantities of dead fish are washing up on beaches and their smell and appearance is unpleasant and a threat to tourism.

In addition to prohibiting the disposal of dead fish at sea, port officials will ask that the city participate in cleaning fish off of beaches.

If ships continue with their illegal disposal they will be fined anywhere from 20 to 2,001 daily minimum salaries. In severe cases, where endangered fauna or flora are affected, including seals and dolphins, the fines could range up to 20,000 daily minimum salaries [Editor's note: in Mexico fines are often based on what the daily minimum wage is in a state or federal entity].

Source: La Crónica, September 3, 2000. Article by Carolina Ortega Aguayo.

Red Tide Hits Matamoros Coast

Three days after red tide arrived in Matamoros beaches are vacant of fishermen and fish sellers. The sale of fish and shell-fish is also down 30% in the city's stores.

Health authorities have already taken the necessary measures to protect public health and the export of seafood to the Mexican interior and the US has been stopped.

Red tide is caused by blooms of neurotoxic plankton in the Gulf of Mexico and has arrived for the fourth year in a row to Matamoros beaches. The phenomena has already killed thousands of fish that have begun to wash ashore. Business at the Matamoros Bagdad beach restaurants has been paralyzed by the arrival of red tide.

The Matamoros city government has set up check points near the beach to make sure that no one picks up dead fish there to sell in Matamoros or elsewhere.

Fish resellers in the area have also been unable to do business because no one wants to buy seafood from Matamoros even if it has been declared safe for consumption.

Source: El Bravo, October 16, 2000. Article by Víctor Manuel Villegas.