$Unique_ID{COW02417} $Pretitle{279} $Title{Mexico The Solidarity Efforts} $Subtitle{} $Author{Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC} $Affiliation{Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC} $Subject{mexico mexican national party drug drug-trafficking areas government public efforts} $Date{1990} $Log{} Country: Mexico Book: Mexican Agenda Author: Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC Affiliation: Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC Date: 1990 The Solidarity Efforts In his Inaugural Address, President Salinas de Gortari stated his commitment to address the most urgent social needs without waiting for the economic transition period to end. With that responsibility in mind, the National Solidarity Program (known as Pronasol), began in March 1989 as the joint effort between the government and those Mexicans living in both the poorest rural areas and popular neighborhoods in the cities, to create or improve the most basic services and means of well-being. In order to keep a strict discipline in public finances, the Pronasol program does not imply money printing by the Bank of Mexico, on the contrary, these actions are financed by the privatization of public enterprises and by some of the resources freed by the debt renegotiation process. Pronasol actions are related to health, education, nutrition, foodstuffs distribution, urban or basic services and educational projects. These efforts have been concentrated in Indian communities in the least developed states and the slums of major cities. During 1990 the following public works and social infrastructure will be built. In the health sector, 40 hospitals and health centers will be constructed or rehabilitated in urban areas and 528 medical units will be installed in rural areas. These actions will give health service to an additional 3 million Mexicans. "Economic growth is an indispensable but insufficient condition for upgrading Mexicans' standard of living. We intend to make headway in meeting the people's demands for social well-being in all its aspects." In the education sphere, the construction and expansion of 5,000 schools, 3,000 attached facilities, 220 laboratories and 250 workshops in the elementary and secondary levels, will be continued, giving priority to those states who need them most. Besides, through the Solidarity Program for a Dignified School and with the support and advice of parents, teachers and municipal authorities, the improvement and maintenance of 28,000 education spaces for elementary level and 6,000 for secondary level, will take place with a budget of 180 billion pesos. In order to meet the demand for potable water and sewage systems in urban areas and in rural communities, the water network will be introduced or expanded in 764 neighborhoods, sewage systems will be built in another 582 and both services will be constructed in 358 rural communities. Furthermore, 21 priority projects will be continued, like the Tijuana and Monterrey aqueducts, the potable water and sewage systems in Mexico City and in the Valley of Chalco (a depressed urban conglomerate outside the capital), and the construction of four large water treatment plants. To enhance the distribution of basic foodstuffs where private commercial activity alone does not satisfy demand, more than 2,600 shops, warehouses and popular dinning rooms will be established in the neediest rural and urban areas, in order to assure the distribution of food at comparatively low prices. Also, in order to increase the production and distribution of milk, 4 large rehydration plants will be put into operation and the construction of 3 more will begin. Given the disorderly growth of urban areas in the past, the normalization of land property rights will be continued, thus providing security to low income urban dwellers. In 1990, 327,000 plots will receive legal status, benefitting an equal number of families, mainly in the City of Mexico, the Chalco Valley, the metropolitan areas of Guadalajara, Acapulco, Reynosa, Ciudad del Carmen, Celaya, Gomez Palacio, and Ciudad Juarez, among other cities. In relation with public electricity works, 4,253 rural communities will be connected into the national power grid, as will also happen to 1,448 popular neighborhoods around the country. More than 2,700,000 inhabitants will thus have this basic service by the end of the year. To enhance the full economic incorporation of remote regions, the highway system will be expanded, overhauled and modernized with special emphasis in the most critical areas. Outstanding are the rural road systems in Baja California and in Oaxaca; and the highway systems in Michoacan and Zacatecas. With these actions, more than 2,000 communities will be linked with the national road system. Phone services and more than 64,000 public phone booths will be made available in many popular neighborhoods. The telephone service will also be introduced in 8 small towns each day, reaching an annual total of 2,889. On the other hand, 1,300 post offices will be installed in popular neighborhoods and 3,220 in rural communities. In order to support reforestation and environmental restoration, agreements with campesino organizations will be made, so as to profit from the existing ecological reserves and production areas and promote the creation of new ones. To aid the development of regions with low productivity and depressed social and economic conditions, more than 420 billion pesos have been targeted to create Solidarity Funds for production. These funds are given to support productive and social development projects, defined in terms of each community's needs. These will be mainly applied to the Indian communities in the least developed areas around the nation. To foster training and employment opportunities for the young and the neediest groups, the Solidarity Program for Job Opportunities has been implemented, and will count with the support of different government agencies. Pronasol will also support feasible alternatives to improve the living standards of farmers who face difficult climate and soil conditions, for example, through the introduction of higher yield crops and aquaculture projects. "Today, the National Solidarity Program, which was launched to combat extreme poverty, unites the efforts of all Mexicans in attaining the justice to which we aspire for all our fellow countrymen." ELECTORAL REFORM During his Inaugural address, President Salinas called for a public discussion regarding possible reforms to the electoral code. On January 1989, the Chamber of Deputies began public hearings for that purpose, which took place between February and April, 1989. The agenda included political rights, national representation, access to mass media, National Electoral Registry and political representation in the Federal District. Several majority agreements were reached: 1. - The creation of a new public-nature body in charge of the electoral process, endowed with authority and made up with its own independent officials. 2. - The Electoral Contentious Court will continue operating as before, only that now it may function either in general assembly or in regional tribunals, resolving without appeal in a single instance and through public hearings. It will be integrated with magistrates (as up to date) and with instructor judges (innovation). 3. - The Legislative branch will suffer no change in its integration --300 relative majority deputies and 200 of proportional representation. However, proportional representation deputies will be assigned to those political parties which contend with at least 200 relative majority candidates in the same number of electoral districts and obtain no less than 1.5% of the national ballot. No political party will be able to hold more than 350 seats, under any circumstances, although the party who obtains the largest number of entries and 35% of the national vote will be favored with the assignment of enough deputies in order to reach a majority in the Chamber. "The voice of change ... expresses the demand ... for electoral processes in which impartiality, accuracy, and mutual respect and recognition prevail." On October, 1989, reforms and additions to the Constitution, regarding the electoral system, were initially approved by the Chamber of Deputies and ratified later by the Chamber of Senators. Since any Constitutional amendment needs the vote of two thirds of the members of The Chamber of Deputies, and due to the fact that up to date there is no single party with such majority, the Revolutionary Institutional and the National Action parties joined forces to pass the reform bill. The final voting was of 346 in favor, 70 against and one abstention. The Chamber of Deputies will begin discussions over secondary legislation issues as of April 15th, 1990. The electoral reform should come in force before 1991, when the next federal elections take place. ABREVIATIONS Abs: Abstentionism PCM: Mexican Communist Party PSUM: Socialist Unified Party of Mexico PMS: Socialist Mexican Party PDM: Democratic Mexican Party PSD: Social-Democratic Party PFCRN: Cardenist Front of National Reconstruction Party PARM: Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution PPS: Popular Socialist Party PRT: Revolutionary Party of the Workers PMT: Mexican Party of the Workers PST: Socialist Party of the Workers PAN: National Action Party PRI: Revolutionary Institutional Party Note: Some of these parties have either disappeared, lost their registry or integrated into other political organizations. THE BATTLE AGAINST DRUG-TRAFFICKING Mexico fight against drug-trafficking is based upon three fundamental reasons, in the following order of importance: for the health of Mexicans, for national security reasons and for international cooperation. Fortunately, drug abuse is not a serious problem in Mexico. Marihuana consumption does not reach alarming proportions. Heroin abuse is nil and cocaine use is virtually nonexistent. Nonetheless, permanent prevention programs are underway through education, promotion of community involvement, medical care and legislation. In defining his government's policy, the President of Mexico considered the fight against drug-trafficking to be an affair of State and a national priority. He offered to strengthen governmental structures, reform the law to increase penalties for drug-traffickers and increase the corresponding human, financial and material resources to that end. In order to combat drug-trafficking more effectively, in his inaugural address the President announced the creation of the Assistant Attorney General's Office for Investigation and Combat of Drug-Trafficking which has recruited highly qualified personnel (more than 1,500 agents) and has considerable resources at its disposal in order to carry out its mission. Moreover, despite the economic difficulties the country is facing, the 1989 budget for the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic was increased by 174% compared to the previous year, of which over 61% was assigned for the campaign against drug-trafficking. Furthermore, the iron handed man in charge of this effort, Javier Coello Trejo, the Mexican drug czar, has spent many years fighting drug-traffickers with remarkable results. By specific orders from the President of the Republic, the Mexican armed forces, assist the Federal Judicial Police locating and destroying illicit crops, dismantling drug processing laboratories and breaking up drug networks which traffic, distribute and sell narcotics. The Armed Forces arrest drug-traffickers only when caught in the act, as stipulated in the constitutional provision which allows any person to arrest a criminal and his accomplices and place them at the immediate disposal of the Federal Public Prosecutor. The Defense Ministry is organized in 36 military zones covering the entire country and assigns 22,400 men (25% of the total armed forces on active duty) to the fight against drug-trafficking, with special plans and operations during seasons that have been statistically determined as being of high incidence for the planting and harvesting of drug-producing crops. MARIHUANA 1,6 MILLION POUNDS WERE SIZED Since drug-trafficking is a worldwide problem which involves both the supply and the demand for drugs, the Mexican government does not attribute any significance to foreign "certifications". Only joint efforts of international cooperation, based upon respect for national sovereignties, can contribute to fight drugs on a meaningful level. After intensive negotiations over a period of several years, the Treaty for Cooperation on Mutual Legal Assistance between Mexico and the U.S. was signed by the end of 1987. The treaty covers the prevention, investigation and pursuit of offenders in general, through the implementation of more streamlined mechanisms for coordination between the two countries, under the direct responsibility of their own law enforcement officials. The treaty has been approved both by the Mexican and U.S. Senates. COCAINE 94,400 POUNDS WERE SIZED Mexico has also signed the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Within the framework of this Convention, the governments of Mexico and the U.S. subscribed a Cooperation Agreement to improve coordination of their efforts in the fight against drug-trafficking and drug dependence. Mexico has contributed to the international effort by setting up dozens of police posts along the length of its borders with the United States, to the north, and Guatemala and Belize, to the south. The Mexican Army also cooperates in all of these operations. It should also be mentioned that federal agents have shot down airplanes which are suspect of carrying drugs and do not answer the calls demanding immediate landing. Significant results have been obtained in a very short time. Among the most outstanding cases are: the arrest, in February 1989, of Giuseppe Catani -an international drug trafficker who was associated with the "French Connection" case and later on with the Medellin cartel; and the capture, in April, thanks to the police posts mentioned earlier, of an important gang of drug-traffickers, referred to as the "narcosatanic" group because of its participation in more than a dozen ritual murders. However, the most important arrest so far has been that of Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, considered the main contact in Mexico of the Colombian mafia for shipment of a monthly average of two tons of cocaine into the United States. On June 1989, the most important drug seizure of 1989 took place when 4,167 kilos of pure cocaine coming from Colombia were intercepted. Also, on August 1989, the most important seizure of pure heroin in the history of the battle against drug-trafficking in Mexico, was made: 54 kilograms worth more than 100 million dollars. From December 1, 1988, to March 31st, 1990, the following drugs were seized: 1) Pure cocaine: almost 43 tons; 2) Dried and packaged marihuana: nearly 750 tons; 3) Heroin and opium gum: close to 730 kilos. In other words, these seizures kept 4,489 million doses of marihuana, 1,819 million doses of heroin and 686.34 million doses of cocaine from entering the drug market. Other results are: almost 58,000 poppy plantations, covering nearly 5,000 hectares, and more than 44,000 marihuana fields, covering another 5,000 hectares, were destroyed; 40 laboratories were dismantled; and 350 drug-trafficking organizations were dismembered. 14,732 persons were arrested and held for trial; 7,342 firearms of different types and calibers were seized; 4,435 land vehicles, 89 aircraft and 8 ships were confiscated. It should also be mentioned that the huge amounts of money which have been confiscated (more than 6 billion pesos and 15,763 million dollars) through agreements between the Ministries of Finance and Public Credit, and of Budget and Programming, have been deposited in the General Treasury of the Federation. Once the respective penal procedures end these resources will be used to finance law enforcement. HEROIN 1,600 POUNDS WERE SIZED The efforts made by Mexico to hunt down and arrest drug traffickers and the seizure of very large amounts of drugs have resulted in a significant toll in human lives. Nearly 100 Mexican soldiers and policemen have already died. Among the various recognitions of Mexico's efforts are the following: 1. PRIDE (Parents' Resource Institute for Drug Education), with a membership from more than 50 countries, and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, gave their 1989 "Spirit of Freedom" award to Mexico, in recognition of its efforts and results in the war against drug-trafficking and drug dependence. 2. CICAD, a drug prevention agency of the Organization of American States, paid tribute to Mexico stating that "an outstanding example of this heroic struggle is the Mexican government and people". 3. The United Nations Drug Division, commended Mexico for the high priority placed by its government on the fight against drug-trafficking. 4. The President of the United States of America, during the Seventh International Conference on Drug Control, held in Miami, Florida, on April 1989, recognized the efforts of Mexico in combatting drug-trafficking. 5. The Senate of the United States of America acknowledged Mexico's efforts in a letter presented by Senator Christopher J. Dodd to the President of Mexico and signed by a total of 67 U.S. Senators. Unfortunately, Mexico has found out that certain irresponsible and simplistic views prevail in some areas concerning our country's fight against drug trafficking, and has taken steps to raise public awareness on the true nature of its commitment. "We are fighting drug-trafficking energetically as a matter of State and to protect the health of Mexican families; since this issue is of major concern to our northern neighbor, our coinciding viewpoints on combatting it are mutually beneficial." ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION Environmental protection is a major priority of the present government. Accordingly, it has implemented comprehensive protection programs. Significant efforts have been made to protect the vast wealth in natural resources and wildlife which Mexico enjoys. Therefore, the National System of Protected Natural Areas has been extended and now covers 5.6 million hectares, distributed in a total of 66 ecological reserves. Outstanding is the creation of the Biosphere Reserve of Calakmul in Campeche, with 723,000 hectares, and which protects the middle jungle ecosystems, habitat of species which are rare, threatened or in danger of extinction, like the jaguar, the spider monkey, the howling monkey, the hocopheasant and the pheasant. The Biosphere Reserve of El Vizcaino in Baja California Sur covers 2.5 million hectares and protects the hibernation and reproduction area of the grey whale and other species in danger of extinction like the wild lamb, the berrendo and the golden eagle. Survey flights have shown that, contrary to what could have been thought about changes in their normal natural habitat, based in the irregularity of the 1988-1989 season, in 1989-1990 the whales arrived normally. A recent census proved that, only in Magdalena Bay, there were more than 400 specimen and that in Guerrero Negro Bay there were more than 1,000 grey whales. Another issue which has received special attention from the Mexican government is the protection of different species of marine turtles that find refuge in our coasts. Almost all of the existing species nest in Mexican beaches. Turtles are still an important food source of local economic significance. In recent years, however, demand for turtle skin in the international markets has increased the threat for these species. To confront this situation, the government has promoted several measures and, since 1972, the gradual prohibition of turtle capture has been implemented. The National Program for Research, Protection and Fostering of Marine Turtles, which began as a purely scientific project in 1964 is the main effort towards these ends. The Program has nine turtle reserves in the Caribbean, which have protected 1,183,000 newborns and marked 6,000 turtles; and 27 refuges in the Pacific, which have protected 126,000,000 newborns and marked 50,000 specimen. Non government and official organizations are active in the Program, both at the national and international levels; FAO and World Wildlife Foundation, being two outstanding examples. As a part of the MEXUS-Golfo Program, 22,057 eggs and 2,000 newborns coming from the refuge in Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, have been donated to the U.S. government. A fishing franchise of 23,000 Golfina turtles are granted every year to indigenous and marginal coastal communities. However, for 1992 the prohibition will be total and alternative economic activities are planned for these fishing communities. Mexico suffered last year a great environmental tragedy, when more than 100,000 hectares of tropical jungle in Quintana Roo were destroyed by fire. The background of this disaster was the Gilbert hurricane that entered this state on September 1988, devastating a million hectares of jungle,and leaving the broken wood that a few weeks later ignited. Federal and state officials estimate that the zone will not be regenerated in less than ten years. The official rehabilitation program includes the establishment of surveillance posts that may prevent such unfortunate tragedies. Mexico City has been suffering from unacceptably high levels of air pollution which worsen in winter time. The extremely critical situation in 1988 forced the new government to take drastic measures: emissions control and verification programs and a one-day-a-week ban on car use. This last measure was conceived for winter time, but was extended due to the wide-ranging public acceptance. By itself, it diminishes air pollution by 2,000 tons every day. "The fundamental objective is to harmonize economic growth with the recovery of environmental quality by promoting the conservation and rational utilization of natural resources." With respect to industrial pollution, Air Control Networks have been established in the main industrial areas, and many agreements have been subscribed with the private industrial sector to ensure the installation of anti-pollution equipment, relocation of certain industries and changes in industrial techniques. Additionally, fuel is being substituted by natural gas in the thermoelectrical plants in the Valley of Mexico. Because of the shortage of potable water for Mexico City and the metropolitan area, the government subscribed an agreement to take full advantage of water resources and to start the rehabilitation of the Lerma-Chapala basin, where most of the water used in the Valley of Mexico comes from. This program seeks to avoid the river disposal of toxic waters, the construction of plants to treat residual waters, the reforestation along the Lerma river and the development of a hydraulic and fishing complex in the Lake of Chapala. More than 130 billion pesos have been targeted for this project. Given that Xochimilco and the Ajusco mountain represent the only area of water recapture for the metropolitan area, the city's authorities began an ambitious project to turn this area into another ecological reserve. In relation to international treaties, Mexico ratified, in March 1989, its position regarding the ozone layer, as agreed in the Montreal Convention. A few weeks later, in an international conference held in Bassel, Switzerland, Mexico signed an agreement to prevent transnational traffic of toxic waste. Dangerous waste and its transnational movements, the activities of the "maquiladora" industry and, generally, the border economic activities, are subject to a Mexican regulation that states that every dangerous waste resulting from the utilization of raw materials introduced under the regime of temporary import must be returned to their country of origin.