Salem-News.com Mexico articles Page 7

Taking a Stand on the Rio Grande

In the final days before the expected destruction of the Asarco stacks, critics have not ceased their demands for a halt to the demolition.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - The clock is rapidly ticking on the two towering smokestacks of the former American Smelting and Refinery Company (Asarco) plant on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas.

As workers ready the ground for the planned demolition on April 13, at about the break of dawn, local photographers are scurrying to get what may well be the last images of a historic symbol of the Paso del Norte borderland.

Deportation, Drugs and Delinquency in Tijuana

Of an average of 200 deportees who arrive daily to Tijuana, it is estimated that at least 30 percent have ties with southern California gangs.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Are U.S. and Mexican deportation and reintegration policies fomenting delinquency in Tijuana?

According to a prominent academic researcher and immigrant rights activist, the answer is yes.

Jaguars, Ranchers, Loggers and Bureaucrats

“It’s a protected animal, but there’s nobody there to protect it except us” - Abner Rios, lifelong local resident

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Last summer, Mexican rancher Abner Rios noticed a curious thing. Cows that were ready to give birth wandered off only to come back from pasture alone. “We began to notice that pregnant cattle were not returning with calves,” Rios told FNS.

Lobbying for Border Military Base

The sequester cuts come at a time when Ft. Bliss’ big spurt of growth is winding down.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - As budget cuts stare down from the so-called sequester agreement in Congress, El Paso officials are lobbying Washington for continued support of Fort Bliss.

The campaign unfolded as a new University of Texas at El Paso study analyzing the local economic impact of Ft. Bliss and William Beaumont Army Medical Center was released to the media.

The Magic Tree of Acapulco

For a long time, Café Astoria was a favored place for press conferences of all kinds.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Many colorful personalities have shared the shade of Acapulco’s Café Astoria. M

Mayors, politicians, artists, famous singers, writers, tourists, journalists, and revolutionaries of all stripes have all sipped their Guerrero-grown coffee...

The Fall of La Maestra

"This is a distraction to try to divert attention away from the reform" - Elizabeth Rendon, Guerrero State Coordinator of Education Workers

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Was last week's historic detention of long-time Mexican union leader and political broker Elba Esther "La Maestra" Gordillo a long overdue act of justice and a renewed commitment to the rule of law?

Was it the climax of lingering conflicts between Gordillo and leaders of her former PRI party?

Capitalism and Crisis in Acapulco

The resolution of the Tropicana labor conflict has run into complicating factors.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - For more than four years, Lauro Salinas and Julian Magana have been on strike.

The Beatles, Love and Murder in Acapulco

In important ways, the pattern of contemporary violence in Acapulco resembles Ciudad Juarez from 2008 to 2012.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - There was something almost reassuring in hearing the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love” rising from the bus sound system as the driver lumbered into what has now been tagged as the world’s second most murderous city.

Showdown over Education Reform

This month, thousands of teachers in the southern state of Guerrero joined colleagues across Mexio in repeated street protests.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Recently approved by the Mexican Congress and ratified by a majority of state legislatures, the country’s new education law is touted as a centerpiece of the Pact for Mexico agreed to by the nation’s major political parties.

Currently, an intense media campaign is underway to promote a law that reforms articles 3 and 73 of the Mexican Constitution.

Puerto Vallarta: After the Storms

Since 2008, the Pacific resort has lost well over one million tourists, including 800,000 air travelers and about 250,000 cruise ship passengers...

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Clemente Perez remembered with fondness a pivotal moment in the development of modern Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.

Perez said that as a younger man he helped ferry by canoe the cast and crew of the 1964 John Huston classic “The Night of the Iguana” to the film shoot in nearby Mismaloya.