Frontera
NorteSur
October 2000
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Tuesday, October 31, 2000 Despite not reaching certain educational goals and despite not reducing its drop-out rate the state of Chihuahua is ranked fourth in educational quality in Mexico. The Secretary of Education and Culture stated that the drop-out rate is a serious, complex problem and there will be many challenges that will have to be met to reach the goals of the plan. Enrollment, which includes students from preschools to universities, is 850,000 students in 6,193 education facilities. The state government with the support of the federal government offers public education to 92 % of enrolled students for a total of nearly 782,000 students. The remaining 8 % (68,000 students) attend private institutions. In secondary education, general education in 1999-2000 was 647,003 students in 5,468 schools with 27,812 teachers. The state government has provided preschool education to 8,075 children ages 0-4 with the help of parents and family. While this news is good for the state, it seems that Cd. Juárez is having trouble keeping some of its teachers. Afraid of what they perceive to be unacceptable crime rates in some areas of the city teachers are willing to give up a significant portion of their wages or pay thousands of pesos to obtain an "exchange" that makes it possible for them to return to their places of origin. Exchange practices have existed for long time, but lately
a larger number of exchange requests have been put in by
Cd. Juárez teachers that offer up to 5,000 pesos (US$550)
to anyone that agrees to take their spots. "I am afraid to stay here. My parents are very worried and fear that something bad will happen to me. They live in distress due to the recent events in Juárez: the deaths, the dead women found in the desert, and other never-ending news that is released each day in this city," Armendáriz said. Armendáriz is offering $5,000 pesos to anyone who desires to take her place and assures that the salary is a good one since Cd. Juárez is an expensive city and higher salaries must be given. Sources: El Diario, October 11 and 16, 2000.
Articles by Norma Gómez Hernández. Miguel Angel Flores' execution date is approaching and neither his defense lawyers nor the Consul General of Mexico in Houston have received a reply on the clemency petition submitted last week to the Governor's Office and the Texas Bureau of Pardons. In respect to the clemency petition Mexican Government representatives have arranged a meeting with Texas Governor George W. Bush hoping that he will intervene in Flores' favor, said defense attorney Elizabeth Cohen. "Lamentably, we have not had a reply on the clemency petition but we have hope that, through the Mexican government, our request will be approved," stated Cohen from Austin in a telephone interview. She added that the Mexican Consul General had yet to receive a reply on the petition request. Also, neither Cohen nor the Consul had yet to hear anything from a petition made to the Supreme Court a few months ago. Cohen said that representatives of the Mexican government will meet with Governor Bush and ask him to intervene and commute Flores' death sentence scheduled for November 9, 2000. The Mexican Consulate could not be reached to confirm the date of the meeting with Governor Bush. Cohen said that despite the fact that there are less than two weeks until his execution, Flores is calm. "He's calm but very sad. He is very sorry for the crime and feels sorry for the victim's family," she said. Flores was given the death penalty after being found guilty in the kidnapping, rape and murder of the minor Angela Tyson, a student at Eastern New Mexico University. The young woman was working at a video store in the town of Borger, northeast of Amarillo, TX when she was murdered June 28, 1989. Prosecuting Attorney Clay Ballman said that Flores was a legal
resident of the US and that he had attended public school in
El Paso. Flores, 31 years old, was sentenced September 14, 1990. Thursday, October 26, 2000 [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. Wednesday, October 25, 2000 A woman's body in an advanced state of decomposition was found yesterday, October 24, 2000 in a desert field in the colonia Villanueva. A priest reported the finding to authorities after he was alerted to the position of the body by two men that had gone out to hunt rabbits. According to the Special Investigator into Women's Murders, Suly Ponce Prieto, the victim showed signs of a violent death including bruises and internal injury. Her clothing was intact however which leads police to believe that the attack on the woman was not a sexual assualt. The body has yet to be identified and the exact cause of death will not be known until an autopsy is completed. In a related story police have yet to find "Lupita," Guadalupe Luna de la Rosa, an Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez student, who disappeared September 30, 2000. Concerned family members and students have mounted an intense campaign to locate her. The Cd. Juárez press reports on her case daily with two or more articles in each paper. At one point a special dog was flown in from Puerto Rico to try to locate her. There is a US$10,000 reward in her case, partly supported by the government. Over the weekend officials searched the river and canals for her body but found nothing. Verónica Martínez Hernández, an 18-year old maquiladora worker was reported missing October 22, 2000 and police are currently searching for her as well. Young, and similar in appearance to other women who have disappeared in the past years in Cd. Juárez, her co-workers are extremely worried that she will not be found. One missing woman was recently found in Cd. Juárez after she disappeared October 17, 2000. Martha Martínez Rocha, age 21, said that she left her home because of constant physical abuse from her husband. The Chihuahua State Police (PJE) are now investigating her claims and may file charges against her husband. Source: El Diario, October 22 & 25, 2000. Articles by Luz del Carmen Sosa. Tuesday, October 24, 2000 Despite promises by high state officials to protect one of Chihuahua's most important ecosystems the Samalayuca dunes have been reopened, at least in part, to commercial exploitation. PAN state deputy Pedro Alvarado Silva said that the state Secretary of Government should explain what criteria will be used to prevent unrestrained abuse of the land. Alvarado also questions why the government backed away from protecting the dunes when no permanent solution has been made to regulate what will become of Samalayuca. The representative also submitted a formal plea to the State Congress that will require the state government to resolve the state of the sand dunes. "On previous occasions we have denounced, among other things, the uninhibited plunder that occurs daily at the desert dunes. Now it appears that the authorities do not have the will to eradicate this problem." [For more information on this subject go to the FNS September, 2000 archives and check the Samalayuca article in the Environment section] Norfluor As part of the plan, 50% of the waste would be deposited in the city dump in the first 2 years and after that 100% of the company's waste will be deposited there. Under the agreement Norfluor would pay transportation costs to the dump and a disposal fee of 20 pesos (US$2.20) per ton versus the regular price of 120 pesos per ton. However, the waste-transfer agreement has come under attack from various sectors in the last few days. A city government department said that the environmental department that struck the deal with Norfluor does not have the authority to offer lower disposal rates. This alone could hold up the deal or terminate it entirely. Environmental groups in the area also are against the agreement. Félix Pérez, spokesperson for Alianza Internacional Ecologista del Bravo, told El Diario that Norfluor's production of the byproduct anhydrite is industrial waste and should not be disposed if in the city dump but in a toxic waste disposal site. The agreement with Norfluor also violates el Acuerdo de Paz (Peace Accord) which states that waste may not be disposed of within 100 kilometers of the border. Also, the anhydrite is exposed to wind and water which could cause the material to be spread beyond the dump. Manuel Robles, one of the Mexican leaders of the fight against the Sierra Blanca, TX nuclear dump, said that his group is now targeting Norfluor and wants the government to hire an independent agency to examine Norfluor's waste under international guidelines. Both Robles and Pérez were interviewed at a celebration to mark the second anniversary of the stopping of the Sierra Blanca waste disposal site. [See FNS's July-August 2000 Environment article in our archives section. It deals with previous shut downs of Norfluor and leaks that have occurred at the plant.] Sources: Samalayuca article, El Diario, October 23,
2000. Article by Luis Rodríguez Vázquez. Monday, October 23, 2000 According to Adrián Pacheco Sánchez, director of the Octava del Snte [sic] section, young teachers recently graduated from school are assigned to teach in such areas where there are a shortage of teachers. However, it is quite common that they resign from the positions either before or after visiting their assigned communities. Pacheco recognizes that there are many obstacles for new teachers in the Sierra Tarahumara. Much of the region lacks phone lines and there is a lack of adequate transportation across the region's large distances. Pacheco also stated that physical risk and crime are not reasons for teachers giving up jobs in the area. At this current point in time, Pacheco says that education officials are now trying to fill the vacancies. Tarahumara Protesters Gassed In a separate story, ten Tarahumara women were sprayed with tear gas by a guard when they occupied the offices of the Tribunal Agraria (Agriculture Tribunal). The women took over the offices because of the Tribunal's inaction regarding unauthorized logging on communal land in the ejido de Arareco. Jesús Emiliano García, advisor to the Frente Democrático Campesino (Peasants' Democratic Front), said that continued abuses of indigenous people will not be tolerated and the group will file a complaint against the Tribunal, "especially as they don't want to reconcile with us but only attack us instead." Source: El Diario, October 18. Articles by Mario Flores
and Edgar Prado Calahorra. A law-enforcement group comprised of two helicopters, 27 vehicles, 60 state police agents from the Policía Judicial del Estado (PJE), 30 military personnel, twenty agents from the Public Ministry (Ministerio Público) and four local police agents from Chihuahua stormed a town of Belisario Domínguez early Wednesday, October 18 but needed half an hour to locate the seven homes of the alleged Zepeda family-drug ring they were hoping to break up. Belisario Domínguez is located about one and half hours be car from Chihuahua City. The operation's findings did not seem to be very significant either in comparison with the amount of force brought in for the occasion. Seized were a .22 pistol, an M-1 rifle, 3 presses to compact marijuana, US$10,000, 60 kilos of marijuana and 5 vehicles, one stolen. The operation came after the Sunday, October 15 shooting deaths of Norberto Zepeda Sáenz and Ever Escobedo Ruiz and was aimed at a breaking up an alleged Zepeda-family drug ring. The raid may have been given away by heavy police surveillance of Norberto Zepeda's funeral. A helicopter and road inspections points had been used in that operation and after Norberto Zepeda's death. A rumor circulating Belisario Domínguez after Zepeda's death was that he was to be the successor of Francisco Javier Ríos Balderrama. Ríos was the alleged head of the Ojinaga marijuana cartel, known as Los Tres de la Sierra, that was arrested (along with the other Dos de la Sierra) in Hawaii while coming back from the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia (see FNS article for October 4, 2000). The operation was designed, ordered and headed by the subprocurador
of the Zona Centro, Oscar Castrejón Rivas. At 3:30 a.m.
all the agents for the raid gathered in Chihuahua City and at
5:00 a.m. they left in a caravan for Belisario Domínguez.
However, once the group arrived at the small town they needed
thirty minutes to find the homes they were going to raid, according
to an unidentified PJE agent that took part in the action. While the PJE and the Public Ministry agents went through the homes, the military guarded the streets and helicopters illuminated some of the homes' windows. Five of the homes that were searched belonged to the brothers Eduardo, Alfredo, Luis, Rodolfo and Norberto Zepeda Sáenz. Nothing was found in these homes. The other two homes belonged to the brothers Leonel and Ubaldo Zepeda Andazola. In Leonel's home 60 kilos of marijuana, a .22 pistol, marijuana presses and a stolen truck with Wyoming plates was found. Leonel's home was seized because drugs were found there. Leonel was arrested along with his unnamed wife. Their two children were left in the custody of Leonel's father. When police raided the home of Ubaldo he handed them an M-1 rifle and was not immediately arrested. He was however later taken into custody. Four trucks in the town were also seized because they had marijuana residue in them and spent AK-47 shells. Chihuahua State Attorney General Arturo González Rascón indicated that one of the reasons behind the raid was to prevent revenge killings in retribution for the death of Norberto Zepeda and Ever Escobedo. Astolfo Venzor Loya, who was wounded in the same attack, has told officials that the killings in Belisario Domínguez have nothing to do with narcotrafficking in Ojinaga. Source: El Diario, October 19, 2000. Article by David
Alvídrez. "We are currently monitoring air in the state with equipment
that Semarnap [Mexico's EPA] loaned us last year. All indicators
tell us that pollution is down in Cd. Juárez and Chihuahua,"
said Cano. "Cd. Juárez: La Biblia es la Verdad, Leela" (Cd. Juarez: The Bible is the Truth, Read It) can be read on a mountainside from almost anywhere in the Ciudad Juárez-El Paso area. The message, composed of white-painted rocks formed into letters on the side of a mountain, was touched up by members of more than 60 Christian congregations. "We want this message to stay alive," explained Gerardo Bermúdez García. The letters, some of which are 50 meters high, were whitened using lime, white cement, water and salt. Volunteers started the enormous task by forming a human chain and sending buckets of the whitener up the mountain. Besides the touch-up their was also an effort to remove accumulating weeds. Bermúdez added that the intention of their display is that people in Cd. Juárez and El Paso will live the testimony that "the truth is in the Bible." The team of volunteers was unable to finish the entire tasks because they ran out of supplies. However all of them came down from the mountain with smiles on their faces, while others took advantage of the extra time and had a "discada" (barbecue). "This is mountainside sign is the truth about the Christ's life, everyone who reads the Bible knows the truth," exclaimed Juan Palomino Pérez, a volunteer from the El Sembrador Temple. He noted that many of his "brothers" left work that day to work on the letters. "It's a civic duty," he assured. Bermúdez stated that 13 years ago the mountain was chosen because it could be seen from just about anywhere in the El Paso-Cd. Juárez area. "We want everyone to read the Bible because that is where the truth is found." Bermúdez also stated that the message belonged to all Cd. Juárez-El Paso citizens and not just the Evangelic churches. Source: El Diario, October 8, 2000. Article
by Araly Castañón. It was Canacintra that approached URN to organize the program. URN has promised to provide the books and materials necessary for the the course and Canacintra will adapt a hall so that 15 people can study there. A technology preparation course may also be offered in the
future in the prison. This course of study would prepare inmates
to go straight into the maquiladora program upon their release.
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. According to an El Diario article, Mexican computer
users cringe at the release of Microsoft's Windows ME (Millennium
Edition). The new release from Microsoft promises to make
some computer functions more accessible and easier to use but
Mexican computer users say that it is a nightmare waiting to
happen. With technology rapidly advancing in the US, Mexico
is struggling to keep up. Windows ME is designed to take
advantage of newer technology and does not accommodate aging
machines. The video editing capability offered by ME allows users to import, edit, narrate, and add special effects and graphics to video from analog or digital devices. The new Movie Maker helps construct video suitable for use online. The requirements for the new feature are very demanding on computers however. ME also includes a new way to import pictures to your hard drive. You simply connect your camera to your computer and ME will launch a task wizard that will simplify the process and store images in the new "My Pictures" folder. The new folder allows you to browse your photographs and allows you to zoom in on them if so desired. The problem for Mexican users on older machines or with older cameras and software is that older image programs will not work with ME. For the music lover, ME makes it easy to create a music library
with high quality CD sound. You can listen to steaming
music and apply visual effects that move to your favorite music;
that is if you have 500 MB available on your hard drive.
One thing that aggravates computer users new and old is when a system crashes. ME allows you, in a sense, to turn back time with it's new system restore function. If your machine runs at speeds below 166 mhz ME will not install this new technology. Thus, for many Mexican computer users on older machines, this function is not available. Networking your home computers is also another feature. ME allows networking to be made simple because the operation system automatically detects and shares available resources. The problem with this feature is that it is often slow and will freeze constantly. This instability also affects the ME's gaming feature that allows users to battle it out with family members on different computers or other gamers on the internet. Furthermore, as El Diario points out, not many Mexican families have more than one computer to network. Outlook Express, MSN Messenger and NetMeeting have all been combined in ME to facilitate communication. You can now connect to the internet anywhere in the world and check your e-mail and chat with friends. Unfortunately this feature is affected by the same instability. Help menus have all been combined in the latest edition of Windows. Online Technical support is also available. Unfortunately technical support will cost US$90 and El Diario reports that it fails to be useful. Perhaps one of Windows ME's most useless features is the feature to program your VCR. ME takes the support for USB (Universal Serial Bus) offered in Windows 98 one step further. In the future you will be able to take cable listings from the internet and drag them into your VCR or DVD player, as well as regulate your homes temperature. To most Mexican consumers this feature is as useless as programing a coffee maker. Source: El Diario. Monday, September 25, 2000.
Article by Guillermo Padilla Díaz. It appears that Martinez last thoughts were of her baby brother as a picture of him that she kept in her wallet was found tucked in her bra. Police theorize that she asked Berkley for the picture before he killed her with more shots to the face. Jacques is not being charged with anything related to the crime. He is in jail for family violence and probation violation. He and Berkley were friends since grade school, went to high school together and were employed at the same pool hall for a time. Martinez's family has expressed satisfaction that someone finally appears to have been linked to the case. They are however still greatly upset that their daughter lost her life for $200. Source: El Paso Times, October 3, 2000. Article by
Louie Gilot. Later Pinedo asked Benavides why he took Roberto Corral and Javier Sánchez to work with him at the Instituto Nacional para el Combate a las Drogas (INCD) when they had previously been fired from other positions because their bosses were suspicious of them. Also, both men had been previously pointed out as having ties to the drug cartels according to Heriberto Lachica, former head of the state police. Benavides replied that he could take whomever he wanted with him to the INCD and at the time, as he remembered it, both men were still state police agents while there was an arrest warrant out for Lachica. Finally, Pinedo asked Benavides how he got rich mentioning that in the early 1980's Benavides owned an automotive body shop. Now he owns a real estate and land company. Benavides replied by saying that, "I'm not responsible for your being a mediocre businessman. Five years ago I sold an orchard of 1,000 walnut trees. Then, with two partners we bought eight hectares, divided them and successfully sold them." Source: El Norte, September 22, 2000. Article by Carlos
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