About Secret History

Commentary on Latin America.
Mostly about Mexico - but not always.
Designed to encourage readers to learn about
the apparently "secret history" of 500 million people
spread across two continents
- but not always.
You can always count on a little snark.

Showing posts with label Juarez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juarez. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Fast Pass to Mexico (with an extra side of snark)

As Harry Shearer advises - read the trades. It looks like maquiladora managers are angling to get businesses to come back to Mexico from Eastern Europe and China because, as maquiladora fix-it man Rick Thompson says:
Yes, the violence is a concern and a few companies have decided not to locate in Juarez but most are forging ahead. In the end, economics, not fear, has been the determining factor for a company’s decision.
Rick, you see, works in Juarez and is interested in getting business back into the border town. To do so, he offers practical advice:
There are some standard precautions I take that could be applied to many foreign locations. I spend the night in the closest safe and secure place possible – in this case, El Paso – and commute over the border daily. I don’t go out late at night and I stay away from the worst part of Juarez where most of the violence happens. I drive an ordinary car and advise others to leave the Escalade at home.
You see, Juarez is cool... if you live in Texas. At any rate, it appears the biggest fear for businesses is not violence or workers being robbed on the bus to the maquila, but labor laws and perceptions of Mexico:
You have to consider the pro-labor laws in Mexico, or any other country being considered, especially if you are in a highly seasonal business. If you lay someone off in Mexico, there’s a three months minimum severance, plus a month for every year of service.

You have to get along with your new employees. Historically, Mexicans had a reputation for taking siestas and two-hour lunches. That’s in the past. Companies along the border are copies of U.S. companies, with sophisticated lean manufacturing and Six Sigma programs. Mexicans are very hard workers. New technology can sometimes be a challenge, but is improving all the time. All my staff spoke English in Mexico. This is night and day compared to Hungary or China.
Oh, and if you are worried about that wait to cross the border because of all that "inspection" silliness, Homeland Security offers a fast pass for those crossing the boarder called SENTRI. Just buy a SENTRI pass and hop in the SENTRI line and your wait to cross into Mexico is 10 minutes, not an hour. It is all part of the "Trusted Traveler" programs offered by DHS.




Thursday, February 25, 2010

Human Rights and Security (Part 2)

Part two in a multi-part series of petitions and letters to Felipe Calderon asking for new approaches to the security issues in Juarez and Mexico.
__________

Cd. Juárez, Chih. a 11 de Febrero de 2010

Lic. Felipe Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente Constitucional de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Distinguidas autoridades
Presentes

1. Falló el Operativo.
Hablamos desde el dolor de nuestra ciudad, desde el dolor de las víctimas, de sus madres y sus familiares, de los más de 7,000 niños huérfanos, de todos los que se han visto obligados a irse de su ciudad, o a pagar extorsión. Del dolor de todos los juarenses. El número de homicidios dolosos pasó de entre 200 y 300 a más de 1,600 en 2008 y a más de 2,.650 en 2009. La cantidad de secuestros denunciados aumentó más de 300% durante 2009. La mayoría del comercio ha sido y es extorsionado. Por todo lo anterior afirmamos, como la inmensa mayoría de los juarenses, que en la forma como ha sido planteado actualmente el Operativo no tiene posibilidades de éxito.

2. Aunque el problema es complejo, causa central se encuentra en la corrupción de las policías municipal, estatal, federal y del ejército. (Nadie resiste 9,000 efectivos federales si no cuenta también con un gran número de policías y militares)

3. No planteamos la salida de las fuerzas armadas, pero sí la necesidad de un pacto político entre los diferentes niveles de Gobierno y fuerzas políticas, que permita una acción efectiva, sin importar los intereses que se afecten. El Estado en conjunto, necesita mandar el mensaje de respeto a la legalidad, repudiando la muerte y la destrucción. Señor Presidente, en la corrupción participan grandes empresarios, políticos y funcionarios de gobierno.

4. En cualquier esquema, necesitamos policía de investigación. Cada muerte de un policía de investigación es un golpe al corazón del Estado de Derecho. Exigimos la presencia de Ministerio Público Federal, en cantidad suficiente (al menos 200 agentes), profesionales, capacitados y cuidados con la protección del Estado. A esos sí que los cuiden los militares. Lo mismo
pedimos al nivel estatal, cuya Procuraduría se encuentra actualmente colapsada.

5. Esquemas de Inteligencia con presupuesto, y con todo el cuidado, la tecnología más moderna y el profesionalismo de los mejores sistemas disponibles en el mundo.

6. Mando Civil Único para el operativo, consensuado entre los tres niveles de Gobierno y la sociedad, que conjunte las fuerzas federales, estatales y municipales en un solo esquema de coordinación; y con un enlace civil claro de cara a la sociedad.

7. Acción efectiva contra los dirigentes y el lavado de dinero, y de ninguna manera sólo contra las pandillas. Operativo anti-extorsión y grupo antisecuestros profesional y de élite y apoyado en esta inteligencia y policía de investigación.

8. Acción policíaca y del Ejército, y leyes en consonancia con ello, con respeto irrestricto a las garantías individuales y los derechos humanos.

9. Necesitamos una auténtica política de Estado en materia social y de reactivación económica, y generación de empleo, porque con los niveles de desempleo y hambre actuales, no hay política de seguridad que alcance.

10. Y finalmente, el establecimiento de una mesa de seguimiento permanente a las acciones de seguridad, mediante el establecimiento de un Consejo Ciudadano con la presencia de los tres niveles de gobierno y la sociedad civil. Una lista con propuestas operativas concretas ha sido entregada al Señor Secretario de Gobernación.

Lic. Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, Presidente Constitucional de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Bienvenido a Ciudad Juárez, ésta su casa. A esta ciudad que ha sido siempre conocida por su hospitalidad y que hoy se encuentra devastada. Los juarenses hablamos desde nuestro dolor, desde el corazón. Estamos convencidos, quizá como Usted, que la viabilidad no de su Gobierno sino del Estado Mexicano está en juego en Ciudad Juárez. Su responsabilidad es grande.

Muchas gracias.

Mesa de Seguridad Pública

Thursday, February 18, 2010

"I desire you would remember the ladies... ."


Where have all the women gone? Lost in the all the chatter of Ciudad Juarez as an apocalyptic end-time nightmare or a soon-to-be ghost town (or even of the Catholic Church's encouragement of a new strategy) is the old coverage of the women of Juarez. World War 4 Report says that a monument is in the pipe as artists from accross Mexico are called upon to submit proposals for a monument to the hundreds of women killed in Juarez. Most of the homicides in the drug violence have been men - is there anything to this disappearance of the femicides in the eyes of the outside world as the bodies of men pile up? Have the femicides stopped, or has the purpose and function they served to outsiders simply been replaced? Juarez, even amidst the end of days (apparently), has not forgotten the ladies, it seems.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Menonitas, Mormons, Water Rights, and Crime

Excelsior is reporting that the Mennonites in Chihuahua are starting to feel the pinch of security problems. The coverage is fairly pithy, but here is the video link. CBC carried out a fairly melodramatic mini series about Mennonites and crime (two years ago?) called The Mennonite Mafia. Of course Mennonites have been involved in drug smuggling and the like for some time (ahem, shameless self promotion of my chapter in Martin Nesvig's edited volume on religion in Modern Mexico).

Having been in Chihuahua in May, my larger concern with the Mennonites is more environmental. Seems that there are sections of Chihuahua where there is VERY strict control on drilling wells. Turns out the Mennonites punch wells anyway and then simply pay the fine: They make more on the crops than what the fine costs them.

Water has always been an issue in Chihuahua, but the tension is growing. Ejidatarios, so abusive of their own land, are spilling on to land held by the Mormon Colonists near Colonia Juraez. Last may I met one Mormon farmer who was set to give up his land until a narcotraficante neighbor decided that it was best to have a Mormon buffer between him and the ejidatarios. The squatters were paid a visit (no gun play) by the traficante and the next day the land claim was withdrawn and the squatters were gone.

Water, space, drug violence, religious colonists, etc.... Chihuahua was so much like the Montana that I grew up in I was completely won over by the idea of looking at areas in history according to watershed and rain similarity.

And incidently...the famous Mormon apple orchards are giving way to peaches, pecans and apricots. Climate change, baby.