Frontera NorteSur September 2001

TIJUANA NEWS by Martín Borchardt

September 26, 2001 Tijuana Maq Organization Wants Predictability, Not Tax Break Like Juárez While in late August, 2001, Ciudad Juárez maquiladoras asked for a state and federal tax amnesty until the the US economy begins to recover, the director of the Tijuana Asociación de la Industria Maquiladora (Maquiladora Industry Association), Daniel Romero Mejía said that maquiladora economic problems are not related to tax obligations. Romero said that companies need predictability, according to the Tijuana newspaper Frontera (no relation to Frontera NorteSur). Romero also stated that before considering tax exemptions, it is necessary to create a legal structure that will let investors know what their financial obligations are for a period of at least six years. This would help avoid the constant change in laws which is troublesome for the maquiladora industry. Romero added that legal certainty will let businesses plan and grow. Mario Aguirre Ibarra, president of the Asociación de Maquiladoras de Hermosillo, told the Frontera newspaper, "Maquiladora companies that are having problems are obliged to cut personnel to lower their costs because they are not sufficiently liquid to maintain their operations." Aguirre says that it will be hard to pass a tax amnesty but not impossible. He also stated that the amnesty is just and necessary. Aguirre's plan to attract new companies is to give them a three-year long exemption from state and federal income and payroll taxes. Source: Frontera (Tijuana), September 26, 2001. Article by Rosa Arce & Alejandro Romero. September 19, 2001 Mexican Anti-Drug Agent Killed in Tijuana, Used Cocaine and Opium Derivatives Just weeks after recent statements by US officials about Mexico's increased reliability in the war on drugs, a member of an elite Mexican anti-drug unit was found dead in a Tijuana-area motel on Sunday, September 16, 2001, according to Tijuana's Frontera newspaper. The newspaper also reported that a PGR spokesperson said that Gregorio Vázquez Torres, a 26 year old Feads agent (Fiscalia Especializada para la Atención de Delitos Contra la Salud), was strangled to death and had used cocaine, alcohol and an opium derivative prior to his death. The Feads is part of the Federal Attorney General's Office, the Procuraduría General de la República (PGR). According to Frontera newspaper (no relationship to Frontera NorteSur), Vázquez had attended the Feria Tijuana 2001 with friends where they drank beer, tequila and whiskey. Vázquez and his friends later checked into a motel and his friends left him and a woman alone there. When his friends returned in the morning they discovered Vázquez's body and the woman was gone. There was no robbery related to the case and the PGR does not have a motive for the killing. In a separate story, Frontera newspaper reports that out of 403 surprise drug tests, 27 Rosarito city employees tested positive for drug use. Of the 27 people that tested positive, sixteen were city police officers. The most commonly used drug was methamphetamine which turned up in nineteen of the cases. Cocaine was found four times, marijuana three times and another drug once. A Rosarito city counselor said that it is worrying when police officers test positive for drugs because people begin to suspect that the police are linked to drug dealers. Source: Frontera, September 19, 2001. Articles by Said Betanzos and Manuel Lomelí. August 28, 2001 Tijuana Rain Runoff Canals Fill with Large Garbage The rain runoff canals of the Infonavit Presidentes neighborhood in Tijuana become health hazards every year as they fill up with large pieces of garbage that sanitation trucks refuse to haul away. Hundreds of families live in homes that border the dry stream beds that are strewn with old couches, domestic appliances, tires, pieces of wood and cars. While the city cleans out the canals every year before the rainy season they quickly fill up again with unwanted waste. María Alvarez Villalobos, a neighborhood resident, says that many people in the area find themselves in need of a place to throw large garbage that the waste trucks will not remove from the area. Alvarez said that sometimes trucks come through the area and haul off things to resell them but this does not occur with enough frequency. Some area residents believe that authorities should fine everyone that dumps in the canals. They also advocate the city posting signs so that people understand how much they will be fined if they are caught. Source: Frontera (Tijuana), August 28, 2001. Article by Luis Adolfo San.