By Kathleen Bohné
Below you will find three excerpts from the Feb. 13 edition of “La Semana” newsletter. To read the complete articles and subscribe, please visit www.themexpatriate.com.
Mexico’s Marine Biodiversity at Risk
“It is war between illegal fishing and those of us trying to save the species.”
Biologist Diego Ruiz Sabio (quoted from El País México)
The vaquita marina is the world’s smallest living cetacean, the family which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. If cetaceans had to nominate their cutest representative, the vaquita might be it: at a maximum length of 5 ft, vaquitas (or “little cows”) have a rounded snout and big eyes set in a circular dark patch. This species is endemic to a limited range in the Sea of Cortéz. Scientists know little about the longevity of the vaquita marina, but they are estimated to reach reproductive maturity around 6 years, and females birth calves approximately every two years. This makes them vulnerable, slow to recover from their losses to “illegal by-catch.” The questions we have about the vaquitas and their behavior may forever go answered: there are estimated to be only 8-10 of them left.
On Feb. 10, the government of the United States announced two significant actions against Mexican illegal fishing. The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office filed its first environmental complaint against Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade pact, in defense of the vaquita marina. “Illegal fishing is out of control in Mexican waters, and the vaquita is paying the highest possible price. We are glad that the U.S. government is pressuring Mexico for failing to meet its environmental obligations and putting the survival of the vaquita at risk,” stated Sarah Uhlemann, director of the Center for Biological Diversity.
The U.S. also officially closed its ports to Mexican fishing vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, citing repeated incursions into U.S. waters by small fishing vessels using long lines, which are prohibited. These actions highlight the severity and complexity of Mexico’s illegal fishing problems…
Can Guadalajara be a leader in global climate change policy?
Mexico’s second most populous city could become a leader in urban environmental policy: Guadalajara has initiated a plan to be carbon neutral by 2050. At the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November, 2021, representatives from the city received an award for climate leadership. The two other recipients were Paris, France which has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 25% since 2004, and Samsø, Denmark, an island that is now run entirely on renewable energy.
“The achievement of Guadalajara so far is to have a plan,” notes Eugenia Coppel in a Feb. 4 article in Gatopardo. This award-winning plan was approved in 2020 and is known as the Plan de Acción Climática del Área Metropolitana or PACMetro. It is unprecedented in scale, not just in Mexico but in Latin America—it isn’t limited to the city proper, it includes the eight other municipalities that make up the urban area. Guadalajara joined the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group in 2018, which is formed by mayors from 97 cities around the world who have committed to halve emissions in member cities within a decade. The PACmetro was developed as part of the municipality’s commitment to the C40.
According to research included in the report, if the city makes no effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions, they will triple in the next 30 years. As of today, the metropolitan area emits 3.3 tons of CO2 per capita per year, mostly from the energy sector (43%), followed by transportation (39%) and waste treatment (18%). The city has suffered poor air quality, waterways contaminated with heavy metals and has lost thousands of hectares of trees to development. The PACmetro sets targets in these three broad categories to bring net emissions to zero by 2050…
AMLO vs Loret: the president’s vendetta sparks condemnation
“AMLO exposes confidential data about a citizen, who is not a public servant…this is abuse of power.”
Denise Dresser
“Today we have crossed a very dangerous line when the president exhibits in an illegal manner the supposed income of journalist Carlos Loret de Mola.”
Azucena Uresti
These are just a few of the expressions of outrage and of professional solidarity from journalists and columnists after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Feb. 11 morning press conference, in which he displayed the purported salary of journalist Carlos Loret de Mola and insinuated that SAT (Department of Tax Administration) should investigate him.
AMLO has been trying to do damage control after Loret’s investigative reporting on his son—which revealed his mansion in Houston and the $70,000 Mercedes he drives—led to a firestorm of accusations of hypocrisy and conflicts of interest.
“The president is cornered,” according to Loret. “He doesn’t know how to get rid of the scandal of his son’s house.”
