Frontera NorteSur
 November  2002

Tired of turning out for the lottery and tired of not knowing their future, some of the youth in attendance destroyed tables, lottery equipment and other material items at a city facility. Unable to quiet the crowd, punches were thrown between the teens and military personnel at the event.

One mother complained that she and her son arrived at 4 a.m. for the lottery which was supposed to have begun at 8 a.m. The mother complained to the official in charge, Ricardo Alanís Quintero, head of military recruiting for the city, that the lottery was becoming a waste of time and money for her family. 

Alanís said that the violence was due to the large number of youth that were in attendance. He also recognized that the teens got upset when it was announced that the lottery was being postponed. 

Last year, on the other end of the border, in Matamoros, 4,000 young men began throwing stones at homes, attacking neighborhood residents and burning cars in the early hours of January 24 while they awaited a military-service lottery. In 2000, there was also a similar disturbance in Matamoros. For more on this story go to http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/dec00/Matamorosnews.html

Source: La Crónica, November 25, 2002. Article by Rodrigo Pedrin Caballero. 

November 19, 2002
Baja Food for Gun Campaign Nets 1,140 Firearms in 13 Days

A program that seeks to remove firearms from Baja California homes has brought in 1,140 weapons in its first thirteen days. In just Méxicali 447 guns have been turned in, according to Marco Antonio Carrillo, the director of crime prevention for the state. 

The gun turn-in program runs until December 15 and is sponsored by the federal Secretariat of Public Security and the Secretariat of National Defense. For each weapon that is surrendered, a certificate worth 1,000 pesos (approximately US$100) in food is awarded. 

This is the second year in a row that the state has participated in the Donación de Armas (Weapons Donation) program. In a description of the program's benefits, Carrillo stated that "A reduction in violence has been achieved, we are sure that there are 5,000 less weapons in the state and this is also part of an integrated strategy to reduce violence." 

In San Felipe, a city on the Gulf of California, 30 weapons have been surrendered. Of these guns, six were pistols and the rest were long arms. Among the weapons surrendered in Tijuana was a cannon. However, the size of the artillery piece was not given. 

At a press conference in which many surrendered weapons were displayed, Carrillo invited citizens to get rid of any guns they have in their homes because the weapons expose their families to intolerable risk. 

Source: La Crónica (Méxicali), November 19, 2002. Article by Samuel Murillo.

November 7, 2002
Prohibited Cell Phone Use by Fiscal Police Continues Near Méxicali Border with US

Agents belonging to the Policía Fiscal Federal (Federal Fiscal Police, PFF) continue to use personal cell phones at Méxicali border check points, according to an article in the Méxicali newspaper La Crónica. The prohibition on cell phone use was put in place last year by President Fox in attempt to help end corruption in the PFF. The PFF is primarily responsible for stopping shipments of contraband in Mexico.

An investigation into cell phone use by the newspaper Reforma found that PFF agents were being called on by people that did not want to declare what they were transporting. The agents would then help the people avoid inspection or seizure of their goods. In turn, PFF agents were paid for their services. 

PFF agents claim that they are forced to use cell phones because they lack sufficient radio equipment.

Prior to President Fox's move to reform the PFF, a study of corruption in Mexico found that customs-related law enforcement drew the greatest number of corruption complaints. 

Source: La Crónica (Méxicali), November 4, 2002. Article by Samuel Murillo.