Week of April 15-19
The federal government exposes gas prices across the country
Energy Secretary Rocio Nahle showed a gasoline prices list for each service station in the country, which offered the highest and cheapest prices in the national territory. The president applauded this action; yet, El Sol de Mexico newspaper exposed that some of the stations were not in use. The president blamed the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) for this discrepancy.
El Sol de México, Forbes México, Expansión
President Lopez Obrador presents new Social Communication Policy
Jesus Ramirez, the Presidency’s Social Communication Coordinator, presented the new Social Communication Policy. The policy establishes that using government propaganda to pressure communicators or the media will be prohibited; a transparency portal should be established for information about campaign spending; and there will be a limit to the amount of money spent on political campaigns, among other considerations.
El Sol de México, Aristegui Noticias, El País
Presidential memo on Education Reform causes controversy
President Lopez Obrador signed a memorandum where he canceled former president Peña Nieto’s Education Reform. The document was sent to the Secretariats of Public Education, Interior, and Finance and Public Credit, which would now acquire control of teaching positions. Institutions such as the National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) strongly rejected the president’s document because of lack of consultation on the autonomous institutions.
ADN Político, El Sol de México, El Universal
National outrage over a kidnapped baby in Mexico City
Police officers are looking for a woman who stole an eight-month-old baby while she was in the care of two minors outside a Mexico City hospital. Testimonies mentioned that the mother took her daughter and two nephews (minors) to the hospital to visit her sister; however, minors were not allowed in, so they stayed outside. Days later, the incident sparked a national debate on child trafficking.
El Universal, Excélsior, Reporte índigo
Campeche fire consumed 500 hectares of mangroves
A fire in the area of Los Petenes, Campeche consumed more than 200 hectares of mangroves. Civil Protection reported that since Monday night, firefighters are trying to mitigate the incident. According to Cesar Uriel Romero Herrera, Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve Director, the damages were limited to leaves and branches, since coastal wetlands and mud prevented the passage of fire further inland.
El Financiero, El Sol de México, La Jornada Maya
Migrants gather in Huixtla, Chiapas
Reports indicate that somewhere between 1,500 and 5,000 migrants from Central America and the Caribbean, along some Africans, are currently congregating in Huixtla. The purpose of gathering in the town is to form a caravan to depart soon northward to the U.S.
Telemundo, La Jornada, El Economista
Mexico regrets the U.S. Helms-Burton Act
The Government of Mexico regretted the U.S. decision to apply, for the first time in history, the Helms-Burton Act Title III. The Secretariat of Foreign Relations said that the measure could affect foreign companies doing business in and with Cuba so the Mexican government will protect Mexican companies that do or have an interest in doing business with the island nation.
Excélsior, MVS Noticias, Aristegui Noticias
