Text description provided by the architects. Bicentennial Park is a twenty-hectare intervention in Ecatepec, the second most populous municipality in Mexico and part of the metropolitan area of Mexico City. It’s built on a formerly enclosed and abandoned public space. Its transformation combines soft infrastructure strategies for water management through public space, addressing social and environmental needs. The design results from an efficient construction system to build water retention terraces and control erosion on sloped terrain. L-shaped concrete retaining walls and a very limited number of architectural details, such as bleachers and ramps, do the job. The project integrates landscape, water management, and urban design into a typology where the project functions as an active agent for the better functioning of both environmental and urban contexts. © Rafael GamoThe project introduced activities on the new cross streets: play areas, calisthenics, and parkour zones were added. A series of new rest areas and kiosks were placed in different parts of the park. Pre-existing and deteriorated sanitary structures were recycled, becoming buildings that allow for sound permeability, natural light, and ventilation. This intervention has transformed the conditions of the former park, whose high-maintenance design created a negative perception among the community. Today, it has become an important soft infrastructure for water management that has decisively improved the community's relationship with its immediate environmental and urban surroundings. © Rafael GamoWe are convinced of architecture’s power to become an agent of urban transformation reestablishing a harmonious relationship with the environment and providing safe places for human encounters Our profession is capable of and needs to deeply commit to solutions for the world’s current ecological and social problems Architecture has always been a catalyst for environmental transformation it must become a powerful tool to restore balance You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Find out more information about this bridge in Edomex Its construction is attributed to Gustave Eiffel the same engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris there are not enough records about the construction of the Iron Bridge of Ecatepec Historians and specialists have determined that it could have been the work of Gustave Eiffel although the government of the State of Mexico assures that there is no document to prove it Popular history affirms that its construction was requested by Porfirio Díaz with the purpose of being a railroad line The Puente de Fierro de Ecatepec was built in 1870 and for 80 years it saw hundreds of railroads pass by Its golden age was over until they stopped being frequented and a new highway was built For some years it was forgotten, but in 2000 a rescue program was developed. Thus it became a cultural center that offered workshops, artistic activities and even exhibitions The project ended in 2016 and the bridge was abandoned again Now you know that this construction has more than 150 years watching visitors and residents of the municipality pass by. Did you already know the history of the Puente de Fierro de Ecatepec? Heavy rain fell during the afternoon of 06 September triggering the flash floods in Ecatepec and parts of neighbouring Nezahualcóyotl Authorities said 24 mm of rain fell in 90 minutes mainly in the central area of ​​San Cristóbal and in the communities of the Sierra de Guadalupe Images shared on Social Media showed mud and flood water flowing through streets dragging along vehicles and debris in Ecatepec Many of the main roads in the area were blocked Local authorities deployed trucks and buses to assist people stranded by the floods reported that floods were recorded in 19 neighbourhoods in the municipality adding that one person died in Almárcigo Norte This is the second flood event in central Mexico in the last few days. Intense rainfall caused rivers and streams to overflow in several municipalities of the state of Morelos on 02 September 2021 a storm and heavy rain caused flooding in the municipality of Tlaquepaque in Jalisco State on 03 September The municipal government said over 1,000 homes were damaged and flood water was 50 cm deep in some areas #Ecatepec #lluvia pic.twitter.com/5ryivFaM76 — Enrique Vidal (@evidal33) September 7, 2021 Ecatepec #Edomex pic.twitter.com/jfjel5V6wz — Mariano Riva Palacio (@JMRivaPalacio) September 7, 2021 Richard Davies is the founder of floodlist.com and reports on flooding news Cookies | Privacy | Contacts © Copyright 2025 FloodList This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Titansports Agenda de nuestros Atletas mexicanos (COPAME OFICIAL) Sigue a nuestros atletas mexicanos en París 2024 Calendario Oficial de los Paralímpicos Iniciar Sesión Soccer Football basketball Motor Bullfighting Baseball Adapted Box captivating fans in one of the company’s biggest events: the Royal Rumble Penta Zero Miedo kicked off the Royal Rumble match alongside his friend and idol The scene at Lucas Oil Stadium erupted in cheers as both luchadores showcased mutual respect shaking hands before delivering a spectacular display of Mexican wrestling prowess Penta Zero Miedo put on an impressive performance holding his ground and battling for 42 minutes in the ring his Royal Rumble journey came to an end when he was eliminated by Finn Bálor making him the 14th competitor to be thrown out Penta left a lasting impression on WWE fans and his electrifying debut suggests that a bright future awaits him in the world’s biggest wrestling promotion We strive to provide the best sports experience Phone Number: +52 1 55 8035 9375Email: redes@titansports.mxLocation: Enrique Pestalozzi 346 Mexico City’s Distrito Federal is the nation's largest urban administrative unit Of the 22 million residents of the metro area If you were to ask most Mexicans what the country’s “second city,” the runner-up in terms of population While Guadalajara is in fact the second largest metro area in Mexico the country's second largest municipality is Ecatepec—a growing multi-faceted district of greater Mexico City More than 1.6 million people live in Ecatepec; in adjacent Tecámac is home to some 800,000 residents (including the previously-mentioned Ciudad Satélite) There's no particular message in to tying together these images as a set they're all taken in the Estado de México in Mexico City's rapidly growing hinterland in these different municipalities around DF there is a huge amount of diversity in architectural and neighborhood form until you pass to the next neighborhood to find it with rough dirt roads shadowed by a tangle of DIY electrical wiring with manicured plantings and modern amenities Given that Ecatepec alone is more populous than all but the four largest cities in the U.S. we should expect a palpable multiplicity of styles Thanks to Brenda Bernaldez at the Biblioteca Benjamín Franklin a project of the State Department here in Mexico City I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a number of teachers around the metropolitan area who was generous enough to take me to Neza last week and this week I’m sharing some images from my time in some of the other large municipalities in the Estado de México Big thanks to Rolando and Jaffid for taking me around About The National Geographic SocietyThe National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world National Geographic has pushed the boundaries of exploration investing in bold people and transformative ideas providing more than 15,000 grants for work across all seven continents reaching 3 million students each year through education offerings and engaging audiences around the globe through signature experiences To learn more, visit www.nationalgeographic.org or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036 ECATEPEC, Mexico — It's not hard to tell when you are leaving the relative safety of Mexico City and entering this violence-torn, crime-ridden suburb in the neighboring state of Mexico. A metal cross marks the spot where the body of a murdered woman was thrown on the side of the road leading into the sprawling hillside slums, among the poorest, most densely populated and most dangerous in Mexico. They are grim reminders of the killings, particularly of women, that have terrified residents here. On Sunday, just hours before Pope Francis would celebrate Mass before hundreds of thousands of people in another part of the city, a layer of choking smog hung over the municipality at dawn. "This is the gateway to hell," said Manuel Amador as he drove past the crosses. The 40-year-old Mexico City resident and human-rights activist has taught high school for the past nine years in one of the suburb's most violent neighborhoods, Colonia Hank Gonzalez. Amador agreed to show visitors around the day that the pope spoke at the Ecatepec Study Center. During his homily, the pope denounced "the three temptations" of wealth, vanity and pride, and alluded to the drug lords who have controlled the city in recent years. But the pope did not venture into Ecatepec's neighborhoods to see the conditions for himself. Earlier Sunday morning, a woman stood by a hillside road waiting for a ride to work. Nearby, packs of stray dogs poked through heaps of trash in search of scraps of food. When Amador and the visitors parked on the opposite side of the road and approached on foot, the woman turned and walked away briskly. After being convinced that Amador and the visitors were not a threat, the woman said she had been afraid she was about to be attacked. The woman, 28-year-old Maria Garcia, said she came from Veracruz six months ago to live with relatives in Ecatepec, which is about the size of Phoenix.  Many of the city's estimated 1.6 million residents are migrants who fled poverty in other states in search of better opportunities near the nation's capital, Mexico City. But now she wants to go back because she does not feel safe, especially after dark, when assaults, kidnappings and robberies are common. She works at a tortilla factory about a 20-minute walk from her home. As she spoke, her hand trembled violently inside the pocket of her sweater. "I go from my house to my work, and that's it," Garcia said. Across the road, a row of shacks lined the street, indicative of a municipality where more than 100,000 residents live in extreme poverty, according to a 2010 report by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy in Mexico. Answering a knock on a door, an elderly woman pulled open a wooden gate a few inches and peered out, revealing a head of knotted gray hair. Eighty-five-year-old Selerina Guadalupe Villa then invited the visitors inside. She said she is originally from the southern state of Oaxaca and has lived in Ecatepec for 10 years. Her house was constructed from old wood planks, covered by a corrugated metal roof. There was no running water, no electricity, no bathroom and only a dirt floor. To keep warm in the early morning cold, the woman wore two thick sweaters layered on top of each other. To bathe, the woman said, she used a bucket of water. There were two simple beds, one for her and one for her 75-year-old brother, Agripino. Moments earlier, he had shuffled outside, wearing a dirty hat and clothing that looked like it had not been washed in months, on his way to sell scrap wood at the market. He hacked violently as he made his way up the road. Clutching a cup of coffee she had just brewed on a tiny gas stove, Villa said she had heard that Pope Francis was going to celebrate Mass in Ecatepec later that day. "How great that he has come," Villa said, seated on her bed, her knees shaking in the cold, "and to see the poverty that we live with here." At an outdoor market, state police officers wearing florescent colored vests stood guard on street corners. The police officers were for purely for show, deployed there in anticipation of the pope's visit, said Diego Antonio Garcia Tapia, 39. "We rarely see police here," Garcia Tapia said. He and his wife, Ana Maria Mojica, 37, have a business selling fresh vegetables at the market. Garcia Tapia is also president of the association that oversees the market. The couple said people live in constant fear because of the gangs that control the various Ecatepec neighborhoods. A year ago, the couple became two of the victims. While driving with a load of vegetables in their truck, four young men in a pickup blocked their way, got out and pointed a pistol at Garcia's head. They stole his truck, 20,000 pesos in cash (about $1,050 U.S.) and the vegetables. The couple reported the attack to police, but nothing happened. "They took a report; that's all that happened," Garcia Tapia said. At another stall, a woman sold statues of Santa Muerte, Saint Death. The saint has become popular with criminals who believe worshipping her will protect them from death. The river of deathA short while later, Amador, the high-school teacher, climbed out of a taxi and walked down to the banks of the Rio de los Remedios, the waterway that cuts through parts of Ecatepec. The stench of raw sewage permeated the air, and laying in the muck down below was a life-sized doll. From a distance, the doll resembled the body of a naked woman, arms and legs stretched in the air. It was a potent reminder of what the river has become: a popular dumping ground for the bodies of murder victims, most of them women. Between 2012 and 2015, 1,431  women have been killed in the state of Mexico, often after being raped and mutilated, said Alejandro Melgoza, citing government statistics. Ecatepec is the municipality that had the highest number, with 203. , Melgoza is a journalist who has written extensively about crime and "femicides" in Ecatepec for Proceso, a news magazine, and other publications. In July, under pressure from human-rights activists, the government issued a "gender violence alert" to warn the public that women were being systematically targeted and murdered in Ecatepec. However, the killings have continued, Melgoza said. Since then, 52 more women have been killed in the state of Mexico, including 16 in Ecatepec, he said. Amador said he hopes the pope's visit to Ecatepec will focus attention on the poverty, crime and violence taking place there, especially the femicides, and force the government and police to take action. The killings continue, Amador said, because criminals know they operate "with impunity." Print Reporting from ECATEPEC Mexico  — A bag bulging with trash fell from the garbage truck and a sanitation worker watched as it tumbled into the canal Tiny rectangle homes patched together with concrete and tin cover the nearby hills and most days the local radio stations broadcast a warning: High-alert for armed robberies impoverished and violent parts of the country Ecatepec — a bedroom community of Mexico City — is home to nearly 2 million people which Enrique Peña Nieto governed before his presidency Ecatepec registers one of highest rates of killings and disappearances of women in the country Mexico’s Secretariat of the Interior declared an alert in the state of Mexico “This place is terrifying,” said Guadalupe Reyes whose 18-year-old daughter disappeared from Ecatepec in 2014 “If you’re talking about people on the margins Pope Francis has vowed to give voice to the downtrodden during his trip to Mexico and many in Ecatepec posting pictures online of the pope gasping and describing it as the moment he found out he’d visit Ecatepec who works at a tarot card shop along the pope mobile’s route said she has mixed feelings about the visit weeds pulled — she knows the expenses must be adding up including $140,000 for a high-tech vehicle christened the “Papa ambulancia.” “There are so many people dying of hunger here and we’re throwing money at this?” Padilla said Back at the edge of the city — near the dirty canal — a gust of wind whipped plastic bags through the air The smell of sewage and burning diesel mixed with sizzling carne asada A taxi driver yanked his steering wheel to miss a mangy tan dog and another driver swerved around a huge pothole A billboard nearby showed a teenage girl with big offering a reward for any information on her disappearance A different teenager — Reyes’ 18-year-old daughter Mariana Yáñez Reyes — disappeared on a Wednesday evening in September 2014 She had just turned 18 and planned to start college in a month She left to make photocopies for a scholarship application and never returned her mother got a phone call from someone identifying themselves as a member of the Familia Michoacána drug cartel They asked for roughly $25,000 and hung up Reyes said local authorities did little but ask questions that felt accusatory: Was Mariana a difficult kid officials called saying they’d pulled Mariana’s remains from one of Ecatepec’s many trash-clogged waterways They took a DNA sample from Reyes and said it was a close match to the cadaver “The investigation isn’t even really an investigation,” Reyes said Join the conversation on Facebook >> Her mind still runs fresh with memories of her daughter The one who sang in the church choir and loved to play flag football Sometimes Reyes considers leaving Ecatepec And some small part of her still thinks the authorities were wrong and 5 major themes of Pope Francis’ trip to Mexico ‘Finally, brother,’ Pope Francis says in historic meeting with Russian Orthodox patriarch Los Angeles man traveling with Pope Francis will offer a simple gift - a shoeshine box How the Virgin of Guadalupe embodied Mexican identity and inspired millions, including Pope Francis Marisa Gerber is a former enterprise reporter at the Los Angeles Times. A finalist for the Livingston Award, she joined The Times in 2012. World & Nation Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Any resource that runs through government-owned pipelines – petroleum, LP gas and even water – is fair game for Mexican thieves 1 million liters of water are being stolen every day in the municipality which adjoins the northeastern Mexico City borough of Gustavo A The crime generates huge profits for criminal groups that prey on people who are desperate for water, a resource that has become increasingly scarce in Ecatepec and many other parts of the country director of the Ecatepec water and sewer utility Sapase said that an estimated 365 million liters are stolen annually from the local water service He said the quantity stolen on a daily basis would fill 100 pipas “That’s the size of the problem we’re seeing,” Luna said The only municipality where more water is stolen is Tijuana Sapase has identified numerous points where water has been illegally extracted in recent months a period in which the incidence of the crime has increased significantly Most of the illegal taps were found in a part of Ecatepec known as the Quinta Zona a densely populated area where water shortages are common “The most complicated area is the east of the municipality where there are neighborhoods adjacent to the México state Outer Loop Road,” Luna said “They’re the most critical points because they depend 100% on the Cutzamala [water] system and if there’s a problem there Thieves use pumps and hoses to extract water which witnessed the crime being committed in broad daylight The stolen water is diverted into large containers in vehicles such as pickup trucks or vans or to tanks in nearby houses and businesses Lookouts warn thieves if the police or Sapase personnel are approaching later sell the water to families whose homes are not connected to the water system El Universal reported that 1,000 liters are sold for 1,000 pesos (US $49) and thieves can make up to 100,000 pesos (US $4,900) per day Groups specifically dedicated to the crime use sophisticated equipment to steal the water “It’s clear that it’s now something that is very organized,” he said adding that the crime is driven by supply and demand for water “There is a great need due to the more than 15 billion liters we haven’t received in the past 37 months,” the water utility chief said referring to a reduction in supply from the México state water commission that has been exacerbated by theft One Ecatepec resident told El Universal that many families have no option but to buy water from thieves … As we need water we have to buy it from them who lives in the Novela Mexicana neighborhood “We’re living in a vicious circle,” said Ricardo Galindo a resident of the México Prehispánico neighborhood “The thieves take advantage of our need because we really need water … There’s none in the faucet so we have to buy it … We’re part of the problem but … we’ve lived [without running water] for many years,” he said While illicit water entrepreneurs steal large quantities of water connect hoses to illegal taps just to get enough water to satisfy their own needs But those quantities are also very large in some cases: one of the businesses taking free water is a laundromat The deputy director of Sapase said water theft affects the utility’s finances because less water reaches the homes of people who pay for the liquid Ecatepec authorities have initiated at least 13 investigations in the municipality but there have been no arrests Mayor Fernando Vilchis recently reached an agreement with the state government to crack down on the crime which also occurs in other México state municipalities albeit not to the same extent as in Ecatepec State lawmakers with the Morena party have proposed a law that would jail water thieves for three years but it has not yet been put to a vote in Congress With reports from El Universal  ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC Embed on your websiteClose×Copy the code below to embed the WBUR audio player on your site<iframe width="100%" height="124" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://player.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/04/26/mexico-ecatepec-aerial-tram"></iframe> EmailA view of cable cars in Ecatepec Dozens of murals were painted on buildings in a neighborhood in Ecatepec on the route of a new cable car that started running in 2016 (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images)A suburb of Mexico City has built an aerial cable car to solve two intractable problems: traffic and crime Now commuters who had to brave Ecatepec's woes on the ground have another option They can soar above the city to get where they need to go Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with Carrie Kahn (@ckahn), NPR's international correspondent based in Mexico City. A view of cable cars over a neighborhood in Ecatepec, Mexico, on Aug. 25, 2016. (Mario Vazquez/AFP/Getty Images)A view of the aerial tram in Ecatepec. (Jeremy Hobson/Here & Now)Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson on the aerial tram in Ecatepec (Courtesy Carrie Kahn)This segment aired on April 26 In Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico City's roughest and most populated suburb most residents travel to work in the inner city Navigating the notoriously congested traffic on the main road through the favela-like neighborhood takes at least an hour nearly 30,000 commuters every day soar above the rooftops of the one of the busiest areas of Mexico In 2016 Mexico launched its first public cable car service As you swiftly drift in one of the Mexicable's colorful cabins (which can hold around 10 people each) a 3-mile journey through the ropeway's seven stations can take as little 17 minutes and costs just 6 pesos This novelty has also brought more security to the crime-riddled community The colorful houses dotting the metropolitan area are now covered in fascinating street art created by famous local and international artists thanks to the Mexicable project Many of the murals are painted on the rooftops enlivening the already exciting omnipresent view passengers get from the cable car.  Please be aware that Ecatepec is not located in Mexico City but in a municipality near to Ecatepec is known for being not only dangerous even for locals but specially for women since it has one of the highest femicide rates in the country Take the free Mexicable bus from the outside of Indios Verdes metro station—this will leave you right in front of station 1 Open hours from Mondays to Saturdays are 4 a.m Purchase an electronic card from one of the windows inside the cable car stations which can be used by any amount of people at the same time as it uses the touch and enter system Walking up the valley from the top station you'll quickly find yourself in quiet nature (stock up on a bottle of water from one of the shops along the way) A moderately strenuous walk brings you up to Pico del tres Padres But if you continue west thru the forest you'll end up getting great views and you can descend into the next valley and take the other cable line down to Indios Verdes from there One of London's lost rivers runs through a pipe over the tracks of this subway station When local government began removing public benches community-built seating now outnumbers the official shelters at Chattanooga bus stops An unexpected public exhibit showcases the diversity of Dutch street posts A bike traffic circle showcasing the works of local graffiti artists London’s first road overpass is so old that it was originally built for horse-drawn carriages This statue of one of the engineers who created the London Underground hides a ventilation shaft for the tube lines that run under the street This jellyfish provides clean water for an entire Dutch province Sandra Martínez Martínez shows the dirty tap water she and her family are using as toilet water at her home in the municipality of Ecatepec MEXICO CITY — María Cristina Peláez holds up a bottle of a dark brown liquid It looks like Coca-Cola and smells like sewage This is the water that has come from her neighbor's tap since 2022 It's unusable — too dirty to wash the dishes with or even clean the toilets "Half the street gets this water through the tap And half the street gets no water at all," says Peláez who lives on a residential street in Ecatepec a working-class city on Mexico City's northern edge Around 40 of Peláez's neighbors crowd around they pay for private companies to truck in nondrinkable water so they can do basic household chores Peláez spends about $70 a month on the deliveries That's on top of the clean drinking water nearly all Mexicans have to purchase as well It's a bad situation on the verge of becoming exponentially worse Climate change and mismanagement have exacerbated the inequalities between those who have access to water and those who don't María Cristina Peláez fills a Pepsi bottle with dirty tap water at a neighbor's home in the municipality of Ecatepec The reservoirs that supply the Cutzamala water system, which furnish about 20% of the water used by the greater Mexico City area's 22 million residents, are drying up. They have fallen to historic lows — around 38% capacity according to the country's water agency — due to abnormally low rainfall in recent years The reservoirs have historically topped 70% capacity at this time of year "The water situation in Mexico City is at a very critical level and it's getting more severe throughout the years," says Tamara Luengo a water expert in Mexico City and founder of the consulting firm Aqueducto Authorities are warning of major water shortages across huge swaths of Mexico City until the rainy season begins in June and refills the reservoirs water stopped running in her apartment building located in one of Mexico City's upscale neighborhoods water is so precious that armed guards accompany water tanks to make sure they aren't stolen Local media has been brimming with stories about a possible "Day Zero" — when water would stop flowing from the Cutzamala altogether — as early as June 26 The sun shines over roofs of the Ciudad Azteca neighborhood of Ecatepec on Sunday Politicians have downplayed those concerns. Mexico City's interim mayor, Martí Batres, said in a Feb. 20 news conference that "there is no water emergency" and attributed reports of an impending Day Zero to fearmongering by conservative political opponents President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has also dismissed worries and said officials are addressing the water shortage by drilling new wells as well as repairing equipment to extract more water from existing wells María Cristina Peláez poses for a portrait in her home in the municipality of Ecatepec on Sunday Luengo says mismanagement and aging infrastructure play a huge role in the current crisis noting that the city loses 40% of its water supply due to leaks in the pipes "This unsustainable water management accentuates the severity of the water situation in the city," Luengo says Climate change is compounding an already volatile situation Mexico City's chief resilience officer from 2014 to 2018 and now a partner at the accounting and consulting firm EY working on its Climate Change and Sustainability Services Line what we know is that droughts will become more drastic more extreme in this region," Matus Kramer says "And you don't know if the drought conditions will continue for the next three Rebeca Almaraz walks beside the bucket where she and her family are recycling shower water at her home in Ecatepec on Sunday Peláez says news reports of the impending water crisis have left her panicked she and her neighbors are hardly getting by on the water they buy "We make do with the thousand liters we receive Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed About 12 hours after the water stopped running in this reporter's apartment building A worker from the private company connected a tube from the tank to the building's cistern Ten-thousand liters (over 2,640 gallons) of water began pouring in Within minutes the sink faucet was working again Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have found 11 pre-Hispanic images in a tunnel in Ecatepec that is part of a dike system that dates back to colonial days Among the images discovered on the sides of the 8.4-meter-long tunnel are petroglyphs and stucco relief panels The tunnel is part of the four-kilometer-long 17th-century dike system known today as the Albarradón de Ecatepec the head of a bird of prey and a “paper ornament” are among the images carved into the walls of the tunnels while a teocalli is etched into the central stone of the arch entrance The temple is dedicated to the rain god Tláloc Some of the images are still being studied to determine their exact nature and meaning coordinator of a project to preserve the archaeological treasures of the dike system said that one hypothesis is that the images were made by indigenous people who lived in the pre-Hispanic towns of Ecatepec and Chiconautla Residents of both towns worked on the construction of the dike The archaeologist explained that the tunnel where the images were discovered is in a section of the dike known as the Patio de Diligencias all of which have been damaged by hundreds of years of rain The Albarradón de Ecatepec was declared a historical monument in 2001 and will soon be incorporated into a public park México state INAH director Antonio Huitrón said the opening of the park will allow people to enjoy the “cultural heritage to which they are heirs.” The tunnel where the images were discovered will also be open to the public although the originals won’t be on display Huitrón said the stones featuring the petroglyphs and stucco panels will be removed and transferred to the Casa Morelos Community Center in Ecatepec Stones with replicas of the images will be installed in their place Mexico’s second most populous municipality is located just north of Mexico City and is part of the Valley of Mexico metropolitan area Members of a search group carry the coffin of Pedro Huesca as they walk to a cemetery in Veracruz disappeared in 2013 and was found in a mass grave His remains were among more than 250 skulls found over the past several months in what appears to be a drug cartel mass burial ground on the outskirts of the city of Veracruz Ten years after the government launched its war on drugs and sent the military to combat cartels homicides are at levels not seen since the height of that offensive but it remains most prevalent in a few hard-hit towns and cities struggling suburb of nearly 2 million outside Mexico City "It's probably one of the three most problematic in the whole country," he says Del Angel isn't that far off. According to new government figures nearly half of all homicides in the country occur in just 50 cities; Ecatepec is near the top The past two years have seen a jump in violence in cities throughout Mexico according to Mexico's executive secretary for the National Public Security System putting 2017 on track to be one of the deadliest years in a decade As his employees unlock the chains around bar stools and high tables del Angel opens his small pizza parlor in the food court of one of the city's largest shopping centers five men came into the restaurant and demanded service we're going to take everything you have,' " del Angel recalls they were beating him and his young employees The management stopped running the escalators and most of the lights "I can see the city's violent situation reflected in the total abandonment of the mall," says del Angel Many blame last year's capture of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman for the spike especially the upstart New Generation Jalisco cartel are making a play for El Chapo's territory and unleashing feuds between smaller groups which branch off into extortion and robbery for funds — especially in places like Ecatepec the state of Mexico's most problematic city "The state of Mexico has always been very violent and has been the problem child for this administration," says Ana Maria Salazar a security expert and analyst in Mexico City President Enrique Peña Nieto hasn't been able to calm the violence in the state of Mexico — or elsewhere in the country he launched a plan to combat violence in the 50 most violent cities interagency coordination and a countrywide emergency phone service are all key to his plan Crime has led to a shopping mall's decline in Ecatepec the emergency calls are fielded by an operator at a brand-new police center in the city where a floor-to-ceiling bank of monitors plays real-time images captured by the city's 10,000 new cameras Flores plays back a recording of a kidnapping "You see four guys get out of a Ram pickup truck and run into this small grocery shop," says Flores they come out and shove a person into the vehicle reported the crime and no one at the grocery shop would talk to officers highlighting a distrust of police that even the highest technology and coordination can't overcome Peña Nieto's 50-city plan is not doing too well. A review by the Mexican investigative website Animal Politico shows that homicides in nearly three-quarters of the cities rose in the past six months no change over the same period in the year before Pizza owner del Angel says he still feels unsafe "we got a call demanding 10,000 pesos" — about $500 — a month Del Angel says he's hoping they don't make good on the threat Become an NPR sponsor A couple known as the “monsters of Ecatepec” — they admitted to killing at least 20 women in México state — have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a 13-year-old girl in 2012 Juan Carlos Hernández Bejar and Patricia Martínez Bernal, arrested in Ecatepec, México state, in October 2018 while wheeling a baby carriage containing human remains have now been sentenced for 10 crimes including nine femicides a sprawling municipality that is notorious for crime agreed that evidence presented by the México state Attorney General’s Office was sufficient to prove their guilt in the murder of the girl Hernández and Martínez were also issued with a fine of 311,650 pesos (US $15,250) The victim was lured into the couple’s home on April 12 2012 and Hernández attacked her with a sharp object He then mutilated the girl’s body and together with Martínez placed the various parts in plastic bags and a sack that were dumped on a vacant lot The couple, who confessed to eating the remains of some of their victims, were first sentenced in April 2019 to 15 years’ imprisonment for the murder of a woman whose baby they sold they were given an additional 4 1/2 years in jail for human trafficking namely the selling of the baby to another couple The couple were given several separate prison sentences between June and October 2019 for the murder of seven woman and a child The sentences added up collectively to more than 300 years in jail An additional 40 years were added to the couple’s jail time in March 2020 for another femicide while the latest life imprisonment ruling was handed down on Wednesday Investigators found that Hernández, a self-declared misogynist, and Martínez lured women to their apartment on the pretext of selling used clothes and other items. Some of the women were sexually abused before they were killed and Hérnandez maintained a relationship with one of his victims before Martínez grew jealous and ordered her murder Prosecutors said in 2018 that both Hernández and Martínez had been subjected to psychiatric testing The former was found to have both psychotic and personality disorders while the latter has suffered from mental retardation since birth and also presented signs of delirium know the difference between right and wrong Source: El Universal (sp)  were sentenced to 15 years each today in the first of seven gruesome cases that earned the couple the moniker “the monsters of Ecatepec.” Juan Carlos N. and Patricia N., who have confessed to killing at least 20 women, were also fined 800,000 pesos (US $42,000) Today’s sentencing was for the disappearance of Nancy Nohemí N The couple laughed as they heard their sentences maintaining a cavalier attitude they showed during previous court appearances victims’ relatives who were present in the court shouted One later declared “give them 15 years or a fucking life sentence it doesn’t matter because nothing will bring my daughter back.” The couple were arrested in October as they were transporting the dismembered human remains of two of their victims in a stroller More body parts were found by investigators in the couple’s home and other locations and both confessed to eating parts of their victims Source: Milenio (sp) A couple who admitted to killing at least 20 women in México state have confessed to eating remains of their victims State prosecutor Dilcya García Espinoza de los Monteros said Juan Carlos N confessed separately to committing acts of cannibalism mentioned that they ate some parts of their victims,” she said Juan Carlos and Patricia, who were arrested in the municipality of Ecatepec on October 4 in possession of a baby carriage containing human remains allegedly lured their victims to their home under the pretext of showing them clothes for sale the couple allegedly cut their bodies into small pieces Investigators found body parts in buckets and freezer bags at the couple’s home a nearby vacant lot and two other addresses in the same Ecatepec neighborhood where they lived who has been dubbed in media reports as “The Devil of Ecatepec,” has also confessed to sexually abusing some of the women after he killed them and feeding body parts to his dogs “I prefer that my dogs eat the flesh of those women than that they keep breathing my oxygen,” he said during a psychiatric assessment Juan Carlos said he was driven to commit at least 20 murders over the past six years because of his hatred for women was cultivated by the treatment he received from his mother who dressed him in female clothing when he was a boy and forced him to watch her having sex with several men Prosecutors said at an initial hearing that psychiatric testing had determined that Juan Carlos has both psychotic and personality disorders Patricia has suffered from mental retardation since birth Juan Carlos told his psychiatric examiners that he didn’t expect to be ever released from custody but added: “If I do get out México state Attorney General Alejandro Gómez who described the serial murder case as “the most horrifying we’ve had,” also confirmed the cannibalism confessions and said that Juan Carlos had given specific details and descriptions of 10 of his victims who confessed to selling the baby of one of their victims are also suspected of selling human bones to practitioners of the Santería religion known as santeros State authorities are seeking two people who allegedly bought the bones The newspaper Milenio said that as a result of its own investigations it had determined that a single human bone can sell for up to 1,500 pesos (US $80) and that a skull is the most sought-after told Milenio that buying or selling bones is a federal crime warranting up to five years’ imprisonment Both Juan Carlos and Patricia remain in preventative custody at México state’s Chiconautla prison Their crimes were the catalyst for a march in the sprawling municipality of Ecatepec Sunday during which participants chanted and held up signs emblazoned with “ni una más” (not one more femicide victim) Source: Milenio (sp)  Pope Francis again underscored the importance of social justice and human dignity while delivering Mass in Ecatepec on Sunday using his homily to denounce the "three temptations" of wealth vanity and pride and their divisive effects on society held outdoors in the Mexico City suburb of more than 1.6 million drew what organizers believe will be the largest crowds of the pope's six-day Mexican tour After enduring years of pervasive corruption Ecatepec residents were hungry for messages of peace and unity The pope did not explicitly criticize Mexico’s elected and church leaders failure to ensure basic rights and security for citizens — as he had in multiple speeches Saturday But he spoke of the perils of being a "a society of the few and for the few." He urged attendees to open their eyes "to the frequent injustices which stand in direct opposition to the dream and the plan of God," pointing to wealth vanity and pride as three hallmarks of individualism that "try to corrode us and tear us down." He described wealth as "seizing goods destined for all and using them only for me or for my people," saying bread begotten through the toil of others and then taken from them "tastes of pain He called vanity the "the pursuit of prestige based on continuous relentless exclusion of those who are 'not like me.'" which he called the worst of the three temptations as "putting oneself on a higher level than one truly is on" and praying every day: “'I thank you that you have not made me like the others.'" "How much have we become accustomed to a lifestyle that thinks only of wealth with Mexico's patron saint Our Lady of Guadalupe behind him "To what point do we feel that caring about others .. and the dignity of others are sources of happiness and hope?" The pope was similarly frank in his Angelus address a weekly reflection and prayer recitation that follows Sunday Mass He invited attendees to "be first in all the initiatives which help make this blessed land of Mexico a land of opportunities" so that there would be "no need to emigrate in order to dream no need to make the despair and poverty of many the opportunism of a few." Mexico "will not have to mourn men and women young people and children who are destroyed at the hands of the dealers of death," he said Ecatepec is one of 11 municipalities in Mexico state where an emergency "gender alert" was issued in 2015 after nearly 2,000 women were reported murdered or missing over a two-year span Pope Francis had lunch in Ecatepec's diocesan seminary next before he returned to Mexico City proper Sunday afternoon he visited the Federico Gomez Children's Hospital where he delivered a greeting and met with staffers The hospital is in the Colonia Doctores neighborhood which has deep historical roots but has struggled with high crime and incarceration rates in recent years The pope had originally planned to meet with "cultural representatives" in Mexico City's National Auditorium Sunday evening That meeting was canceled after the Ecatepec mass The pope will stay the night in Mexico City before heading to the Mexican state of Chiapas early Monday morning 12 p.m.: Lunch with the papal entourage in the Ecatepec diocesan seminary families and staff at the Federico Gomez Children's Hospital of Mexico vehicles were swept away by powerful floodwaters and six neighborhoods were flooded after torrential rains struck Ecatepec Authorities identified the victims as a 39-year-old woman who was carried away by the current in a street in the neighborhood of Tulpetlac and a 73-year-old man who was in a building that collapsed The downpours lasted around 90 minutes and affected more than 19 neighborhoods The Ecatepec general hospital also flooded causing damage to the emergency ward and operating rooms In one street where floodwaters ran like a river a man rescued a baby by negotiating his way through the current in water nearly waist high With reports from El Universal, CNN and Milenio The first bishop of Ecatepec – a former lawyer stockbroker and banker who founded the Inbursa financial group with Mexico’s richest person Carlos Slim – died of complications related to COVID-19 on Monday night was anointed bishop of Ecatepec in 1995 and remained in the position until his retirement in 2012 He was born in Mexico City in 1937 and became a priest in 1970 His death came weeks after he was admitted to hospital in serious condition The former Catholic Church leader was a larger-than-life figure wealth and links to the once omnipotent Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) National Action Party and some of Mexico’s most powerful and influential businesspeople the separation of church and state was “nonsense,” abortion was murder and the leftist Democratic Revolution Party – whose logo features a shining sun –  was a party with “a sun that is darker than the moon.” Cepeda was also identified with a money laundering scandal involving a supposed US $130 million loan to a businesswoman and an art collection containing works by renowned artists such as Frida Kahlo A formal complaint was filed against him with the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office but he was never arrested or convicted of any crime appointed to the newly formed diocese of Ecatepec by Pope John Paul II also attracted attention for his ostentatious dress (including his oversized cross necklace) his security arrangements – he had bodyguards and traveled in an armored vehicle with a machine gun under his seat according to one report – and the parties he hosted His wealth earned him the nickname millonésimo which roughly translates as the million-dollar man Asked in his twilight years how he would like to be remembered Cepeda responded as “a friend of the poor” – which describes many of the parishioners he served in Ecatepec a heavily-populated municipality adjoining Mexico City that is plagued by crime and poverty But in a blunt assessment of his character the newspaper Milenio declared that’s not who Cepeda was Instead he may be more aptly described as an “eccentric” and “extravagant” religious man with a talent and passion for hobnobbing with the nation’s rich and powerful and a love and appreciation of the good life The former bishop will be buried in the Panteón Francés With reports from Milenio, El País and Infobae  The prosecutor’s office had said it reviewed evidence of the suspected involvement of Juan Carlos “N” and Patricia “N” in the death of a woman in Apr. 2018, and has decided to investigate the couple. The prosecutor’s office added that it hoped to conclude the investigations in two months. The couple, who confessed to having taken part in the murder of more than 10 people in the same locality, faces six charges - including three for femicide, and violation of burial and respect of human remains laws. They also face charges of human trafficking and forced disappearances perpetrated by individuals. The couple was arrested on Oct. 4 in Ecatepec - among the most densely populated and violent localities in the country - while pushing along a stroller containing human remains. After their arrest, two houses were searched where authorities found eight buckets with human remains that were covered with cement, as well as a refrigerator containing body parts wrapped in plastic bags. The authorities also rescued a two-month old baby whose mother was allegedly murdered by the couple. The couple was in the process of selling the baby to other individuals, who were also arrested and charged with human trafficking and illegal adoption. Two days after their arrest, they were sent to the social reintegration and penitentiary center in Ecatepec. Their crimes, which came to light in October last year, caused outrage among the people of Mexico. Two weeks ago, the couple were tried on a second count of femicide, although they are estimated to have killed at least 10 people and are likely to face more charges, according to sources in the judiciary. According to National Citizens’ Observatory on Femicide data, 1,420 women were murdered between 2014 and 2017 in the State of Mexico. In 2015, several municipalities in the State of Mexico, among them Ecatepec, issued a gender violence alert to reinforce measures to protect women against increasing number of femicide cases. EEUU Internacional California on the weekend ruling that horses and donkeys can no longer be used to haul trash a bid to end a longstanding practice that continues to this day even in some urban neighborhoods Mayor Fernando Vilches Contreras said the new law aims to end the exploitation and abuse of horses and donkeys Ecatepec will have zero tolerance for those attempting to flout the new law which prohibits using animals to haul or carry waste of any kind Waste hauled by animals to Ecatepec’s landfill will not be accepted we take a vanguard step toward the protection of the rights of living beings.” The equines have been heretofore used to haul all kinds of refuse including household trash and landscaping waste number in the hundreds in Ecatepec and have been accused of overworking the animals with little regard to their care Animal welfare organizations such as Defensoría Animal had been calling on Vilches to end the practice in his municipality since at least 2018 eight horses used in four neighborhoods to collect garbage have been seized by the city’s environmental office due to their maltreatment by carretoneros The animals were rehabilitated at municipal facilities for Ecatepec’s mounted police and at the Ehécatl Ecological Park and then sent to live at equine sanctuaries in México state and Puebla Source: El Financiero (sp), Reporte Indigo (sp) corruption and poverty explain why leftwing populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the frontrunner in election one of Mexico’s most violent and deprived cities and thousands of followers have gathered under a vast white tarpaulin to hear their pathfinder rage against the machine For the next hour Andrés Manuel López Obrador – or Amlo to his fans – will deliver a unyielding assault on the scoundrels, mafiosos and influence peddlers he claims have plundered Latin America’s second largest economy and plunged it into a cauldron of thievery, bloodshed and want. Read more“This official banditry is going to end!” the 64-year-old leftist will rail López Obrador pauses at the foot of a scaffolding stage plucks a chesnut-coloured comb from his pocket and calmly runs it through his silver mane “It feels like a dream – but we are just a few days away from achieving the transformation of Mexico!” That transformation is almost certain to begin on Sunday when 88 million Mexicans head to the polls to pick their new president who is making his third run for the presidency has towered above his rivals in the polls for months “We’re 30 points ahead!” he boasted to the sea of supporters before him in Ecatepec Experts say three interlinked crises – security corruption and poverty – explain why López Obrador now stands on the cusp of the Mexican presidency and nowhere are they more visible than in Ecatepec neglected conurbation that is just 30km (18 miles) from Mexico City’s chic central districts but feels like another world “Environmental degradation, femicide the disappearance of women … Ecatepec is a microcosm that illustrates all of the country’s most serious problems,” said Azucena Cisneros Amlo has built his campaign around pledges to eradicate corruption and rule for the poor many described him as the only man capable of saving them from a crime wave they blamed on venal politicians A cry for help had been painted on to one banner next to the stage: “We are the most violent municipality We have been robbed and ignored by these corrupt politicians “It’s so terribly insecure,” complained Gaby Mejía “My students are always coming up to me and saying: ‘Miss did you hear about the shootout near my house recalling how she had recently been held up by group of armed car thieves describing Amlo as Mexico’s salvation: “He’s one of those men who is only born every 100 years.” Many describe Amlo’s rise as the result of a furious popular revolt against the two parties that have ruled Mexico since the end of one-party rule in 2000 – the Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) and the National Action party (Pan) – and which are widely blamed for the current crises It’s a collective awakening,” said Germán Rufino Contreras a former federal deputy and Amlo supporter in Ecatepec an Ecatepec-born member of Democracia Deliberada a collective of young leftist Mexican thinkers said she believed despair better explained why voters were embracing Amlo and change “I think it is just that a lot of people haven’t noticed we have created a country where a lot of people have nothing to lose.” Fifty-three million Mexicans live in poverty Ríos pointed out: “It’s a humanitarian crisis.” “[Voting Amlo is] a gamble and when you have nothing to lose you can gamble more riskily.” Azucena Cisneros: ‘Environmental degradation kidnapping … Ecatepec is a microcosm that illustrates all of the country’s most serious problems.’ Photograph: Tom PhillipsTwo days after Amlo’s triumphant rally Cisneros and a group of Morena activists embarked on a pre-election march through some of Ecatepec’s most marginalized corners places where many have shockingly little to lose a rickety shanty built on a rubbish-strewn wasteland a Morena campaigner and seamstress who supports her daughter and two grandchildren on an income of about 600 pesos (£22) a week showing off her family’s battered stone-and-asbestos abode which had a bullet hole in its roof and had been built directly under a transmission line ShowWhy did Mexico launch its war on drugs Felipe Calderón launched Mexico’s war on drugs by sending 6,500 troops into his home state of Michoacán where rival cartels were engaged in tit-for-tat massacres Calderón declared war eight days after taking power – a move widely seen as an attempt to boost his own legitimacy after a bitterly contested election victory around 20,000 troops were involved in operations Mexico’s decade-long war on drugs would never have been possible without the injection of American cash and military cooperation under the Merida Initiative The funds have continued to flow despite indisputable evidence of human rights violations. Under new president Andrés Manuel López Obrador murder rates are up and a new security force is being deployed onto the streets despite campaign promises to end the drug war Improved collaboration between the US and Mexico has resulted in numerous high-profile arrests and drug busts Officials say 25 of the 37 drug traffickers on Calderón’s most-wanted list have been jailed although not all of these actions have been independently corroborated The biggest victory – and most embarrassing blunder – under Peña Nieto’s leadership was the recapture, escape and another recapture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán While the crackdown and capture of kingpins has won praise from the media and US Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFPWas this helpful?Thank you for your feedback.On one moldy wall hung a photograph of Gutiérrez’s son a portrait of Jesus carried the phrase: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” a semi-retired rickshaw driver from Oaxaca state said he also planned to vote Amlo: “More than anything because we all have the right to an opportunity in life.” Cisneros’s next stop was La Cuesta, a tumbledown slum cobbled together from cardboard, wooden crates and repurposed advertising hoardings above a natural gas pipeline. “It’s a timebomb,” said Arnulfo Reyes Lara, a social worker who fights to keep the community’s kids off drugs and off the streets. At every turn, Cisneros was bombarded with tales of deprivation and crime. told of how her son had been murdered just a few streets away “They shot him in the head … These are people with a future with a reason to live and it’s not fair that the druggies just take their lives when they are on their way to work.” described how criminals had beaten his brother to within an inch of his life: “They had to put a titanium plate in his face,” he said adding: “These days when we go out we feel fear a sobbing mother approached Cisneros to recount how her daughter had been abducted and raped before she somehow managed to escape alive I know we have to go on.” “You will get through it,” Cisneros replied Cisneros grabbed her loud-hailer and marched on through the community “Es urgente un cambio en este país!” she shouted A husband-and-wife pair who terrorized the sprawling Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec are facing at least 114 years behind bars after being sentenced for four crimes that include femicide hiding human remains and human trafficking a judge sentenced Juan Carlos Hernández Bejar and Patricia Martínez Bernal known as the “Monsters of Ecatepec,” to 40 years each for the femicide of Arlet Samanta on April 25 Hernández told the court that he had maintained a relationship with Samanta who lived in the same apartment building as the couple in Ecatepec But after Martínez grew jealous of Samanta she “gave the order” that her husband’s lover be killed Hernández and Martínez conspired to lure Samanta to their apartment where Martínez stabbed her to death in the bathroom The couple had previously been sentenced to 40 years for the September 2018 femicide of Nancy Noemí four years for selling Noemí’s baby to another couple and 30 years for hiding a body The sentences will run consecutively and total 114 years They also face five other criminal proceedings for femicide and one for forced disappearance Hernández and Martínez were arrested on October 4 when they were transporting human remains in a baby carriage In a subsequent police search of their residence Police say that for six years the couple had been killing women by luring them to their apartment with the pretext of selling used clothes and other items The couple has confessed to killing as many as 20 women and eating and sexually abusing some of their remains Source: El Financiero (sp), Milenio (sp), Excelsior (sp) With those words the smiles disappeared from the faces of Juan Carlos N self-confessed killers of at least 20 women The words were spoken by a judge in México state yesterday to indicate to the suspects the likely fate that awaits them she ordered the couple to stand trial on charges of femicide and human trafficking having determined that there is sufficient evidence to prove that they killed one woman last month and sold her baby the couple faces imprisonment of up to 70 years for the former crime and between three and 10 years for the latter The judge set a time frame of two months for the conclusion of investigations into the murder of the woman identified as Nancy N and one month for the “illegal adoption” case Juan Carlos and Patricia were detained earlier this month in Ecatepec a sprawling municipality in greater Mexico City notorious for crime in particular the disappearance and murders of women the couple had a baby carriage with them that was filled with human remains Investigators later found body parts at the couple’s home and other locations in the same Ecatepec neighborhood where they lived, and both confessed to eating parts of their victims. Prior to hearing the judge’s fateful words — prisión vitalicia — the suspects’ demeanor was playful and they were seemingly indifferent to the seriousness of the crimes of which they are accused Back together for the first time since they were arrested Juan Carlos and Patricia whispered to each other dubbed in media reports as the “monster of Ecatepec,” even dozed off at times during the hearings while at other moments he stroked his beard rocked in his chair and alternatively diverted his gaze to the ceiling and floor the mother of one of the couple’s suspected homicide victims who was present during the second hearing But their demeanor eventually changed: both closed their eyes their jaws tightened and an outward appearance of indifference was replaced with one of anguish and concern as they learned they would most likely spend the rest of their lives behind bars A defense lawyer argued that despite his clients’ confessions “there was no conclusive evidence against them” but prosecutors countered by saying that not only had they confessed to the crimes but in the case of the sale of the baby a couple who have also been arrested “confirmed their participation.” Family members of victims are hopeful that the México state Attorney General’s office will soon be in a position to charge the couple with more of the murders they are believed to have committed they will remain in preventative custody in Ecatepec’s Chiconautla prison There is no death penalty in Mexico but life in prison is very good Source: Milenio (sp) On average more than one woman per week is killed in Ecatepec But despite living with this constant threat of brutality local female hip-hop artists are using their music to try to change attitudes As darkness descends over the imposing green mountains on the outskirts of Mexico City steps under a faded orange tarp and through a metal security door into the underground venue Though a veteran of the city’s hip-hop scene she admits she still gets unnerved by the constant threat of assault in the areas around Ecatepec’s clandestine concert venues this barrio has been plagued by a grisly series of abductions and murders a woman was found burned on an empty patch of grass The victim somehow survived the brutal attack and was still alive when police found her People here know better than to expect investigations and arrests – but lately the neighbourhood has been on edge residents have banded together to beat and publicly shame alleged criminals on several occasions Luz couldn’t even find a taxi driver willing to drop her off at the venue for her show: an empty Ecatepec lot She had to walk from the main avenue down desolate streets where kidnappings can happen unnoticed The neighbourhood has become regarded as Mexico’s “capital of violence against women” Luz knows the stories about women disappearing on average more than one woman has been killed every week in Ecatepec The dynamic is similar to what happened in in the northern border city of Ciudad Juárez Earlier this month a Spanish woman was kidnapped from a wealthy area of the city killed and dumped in a canal in the state of Mexico no fewer than 3,604 women were killed in the state of Mexico It’s an alarming trend – yet each individual murder is just another statistic that barely gets mentioned in the capital’s biggest newspapers Ecatepec is a residential area that has grown in fits and bursts A generation of people from the countryside came to settle here in the 1980s and 90s trying to carve a niche for themselves on the fringe of Mexico’s rapidly transforming A man hangs a banner showing photographs of missing and dead women in Ecatepec Photograph: Henry Romero/ReutersThe streets surrounding the venue hosting Luz and her friends tonight are a shabby agglomeration of dull-grey cinderblock buildings most of which were improvised one storey at a time the rappers look like fireworks of fluorescent pink and purple their gold watches and neon attire shimmering over the sea of cement Luz psyches herself up for her performance She eyes a cadre of teenagers in t-shirts holding plastic cups of beer and Buchanan’s whisky (the local favourite) who form a semi-circle in front of the small a few scruffy men cut up lines of cocaine on a cell-phone the thumping music creates a warm refuge from the world outside I don’t see a future here.Luz Reality“We’re women and we deserve respect!” Luz shouts into her microphone One of Mexico’s best-established female rappers she has made a career out of bringing positivity to a negative environment As she steps out to join her three rapper friends in the centre of the second-floor stage ebullient group-mate) grabs the microphone and shouts: “Ladies In Tha Hood in the casa!” Alix’s beet-red hair and gold chains dance as if they are pulsating with an electric current Then Luz steps out towards the edge of the stage and shouts: “In Mexico there are a lot of femicidios so this song is called For My Girls.” minimalist beat streams out of the DJ’s speakers bobs her head and unleashes a rapid-fire volley of lyrics: “I don’t deal with fiction It’s better to run your mouth … Where are the people who want to criticise me broad-shouldered man in black clothes and sun-glasses holds up his smart phone to take video while a group of teenage boys rises from their refuge along the cement wall to watch the performance Luz and Alix dance frenetically to the energetic beat jumping up to rap in unison for the song’s chorus: “I still help my girls in the street; I still help my girls on the stage!” High heel shoes are seen in front of a cross outside the Municipal Palace of Ecatepec during a protest against the murders of women Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesEven with a few technical difficulties the show is a welcome respite from what has been a difficult period in Ecatepec an entire family was dismembered and stuffed into bags in the railyard that runs through the neighbourhood two policemen were killed during their lunch break rap has helped Luz process the world around her She first heard about it as a teen in the early 1990s Her friends’ families came from different parts of Mexico so hip-hop became the common chord that tied them together Ecatepec exploded as a byproduct of Mexico’s shift from a corrupt state-led development strategy based on protectionism and nepotism to the current paradigm of neoliberal economic policy and export promotion Subsidies that had supported small-time agriculture were dismantled rural residents flooded down from the mountains into the valley in Mexico City As Mexico’s economy dipped into crisis and nearly collapsed the newcomers found themselves in a precarious position Families built small shacks using found materials and the neighbourhood expanded up into the hills leaving hundreds of thousands of workers competing for jobs in the informal economy – hawking sodas at stoplights selling tacos from carts or working as foot soldiers in Mexico City’s expanding criminal enterprises As kidnappings surged to unprecedented levels and every day was marked by multiple homicides it became known as the world’s most dangerous city Luz and her friends learned to navigate the streets shopping for hip-hop cassettes at open-air markets called tianguis and finding solace in the bravado of early-90s gangster rap Cypress Hill were Luz’s favourite group; the lyrics helped her take ownership over a difficult environment the [guns] be smoking / I’ll be damned if you think I’m jokin’ / Know that I’ll come with the static It’s is a Cypress Hill verse that was written about LA but also reflected the mentality in Ecatepec Luz was inspired; she started penning her own raps to Cypress Hill beats but tried to find a way to forge her own version “We’re not chicanas [Mexican-Americans],” she explains families have replaced cardboard and sheet metal with sturdy cement bricks and added multiple storeys to their homes Mexico City has seen a boom of real-estate investment and a new wave of renovation Now the city centre is filled with the hulking skeletons of new skyscrapers and upper-middle class neighbourhoods are enjoying a surge of new construction and rehabilitation As infrastructure and security have improved, Mexico City has become recognised as a major hub of cultural activity. The New York Times named the capital as the top place to visit in 2016 The situation on the periphery of the city Luz Reality stands next to graffiti on the outskirts of Mexico City Photograph: Nathaniel Parish Flannery“Now in the parks there are drug addicts “Most people go to Mexico City to work; they don’t work here.” The US Chamber of Commerce in Mexico ranks Ecatepec as the second most challenging security environment for businesses in the country Tamaulipas – the border city that serves as a base for the notorious Zeta cartel – in terms of security problems or in taxiLuz RealityA number of multinational companies have built new factories in Ecatepec To work you have to go to Mexico City or find self-employment selling things at the markets,” she says After she saw a female colleague get kidnapped Luz left a job teaching kindergarten for a post at a small stationery store near the main plaza While she has friends who have found jobs in IT and marketing departments in the steel and glass skyscrapers downtown Luz herself – like nearly 60% of the women in Ecaptepec – works in the sprawling Ecatepec is now home to 1.6 million people more than half of whom live below the poverty line Too many aspects of life here still feel improvised and incomplete There may police patrols on the wide throughways but on the side streets security is scarce Luz pulls on a pair of headphones while recording a rap video in the main plaza in Ecatepec Photograph: Nathaniel Parish FlanneryA few weeks after the concert Luz meets up with bandmates Alix and Maya at a pizza place The women have broken their self-imposed curfew to have a celebratory dinner to mark the end of a successful day recording a video they revel in the activity in the bustling square rapping to the camera in the golden afternoon light The plaza brings together old men who have spent decades working in the fields with young parents taking their toddlers to watch the clowns As is the case in small towns in the mountains Ecatepec’s main plaza is the centre of community life: “It’s representative of Ecaptec’s culture Luz and her band-mates bounce in front of big graffiti murals down the street from Luz’s house using a friend’s car headlights to illuminate the last few shots of the day The pizza restaurant’s windows and doors are made of heavy steel bars that look strong enough to stop a truck from crashing through Although a few people gather at a nearby taco restaurant and a food truck still stands down the road Luz ties Ecatepec’s hip-hop culture to the cholo culture popularised by Mexican-Americans in early-90s California She and the rest of her generation are still wedded to these traditions of DJing But she fears the neighbourhood’s younger generation is more tuned in rapping as a form of aggression – notably in rap battles – and The younger rappers are less interested in painting murals or organising dance competitions and far keener to embrace criminal culture A grey graffiti mural in the Ecatepec neighbourhood Photograph: Nathaniel Parish FlanneryWaiting for her pizza to arrive Luz explains: “What I want is young people to know me fewer graffiti artists now.” She sees her neighbourhood’s cholo culture fading away The hard-edged bravado of the new generation may be more in tune with the current reality of Ecatepec where drug gangs recruit teens and local mob bosses have turned the neighbourhood into a depot for the retail narco trade The crime wave has overrun the local police and created a new environment of violence and impunity now it’s the most dangerous municipality in Mexico state It’s the worst place in Mexico for femicidios,” Luz explains the body of a young woman was found near a canal in the nearby town of Zumpango The pizza parlour is empty and playing loud banda music when I have to go to the Río de los Remedios neighbourhood They say that girls coming out of the subway there get kidnapped and taken away in cars The subway stop is next to a highway and few tarp-covered stands selling bootleg CDs From the stairs that lead down from the train tracks visitors can see a long expanse of cement buildings and only a few patches of green in the distance “It takes a lot of risk to go on the road,” says Luz softly The attacks on women have been well documented by the local tabloids police discovered the body of a 20-year-old and beaten to death in an empty lot in Ecatepec 2016 one of Ecatepec’s own police officers fled town after torturing and killing his own girlfriend Taking a moment to cut and serve slices of pizza Her brother was carjacked right in front of the security post at the entrance to her neighbourhood. “They put a gun on him and took everything he had, even his gum,” Luz explains. But she continues to grind, penning lyrics and recording videos. One of her new songs, I’m Still On My Feet, sums up her attitude. Over a bouncing, bass-driven beat she raps: “After everything I’ve been through, I’m still on my feet. I don’t let myself get beaten.” She tries to stay positive but the situation in Ecatepec is heart-breaking: “[Now] it’s worse. There are more femicidios than Ciudad Juárez, more kidnappings.”. In some cases, the violence is meted out by partners and ex-partners. In others it’s organised crime, kidnapping women to force them to work in the sex trade. Other times random assaults are carried out by gangsters in a realm of impunity. infuriated residents banded together and cornered two thieves beating them severely before police arrived Luz knows that many neighbourhoods now hang signs warning would-be criminals that burglars will be lynched The vigilantism doesn’t make her feel safer behind the security gate at the entrance to the street “It’s stagnating – I think it will get worse Luz isn’t the only local artist trying to draw attention to the violence in Ecatepec a group of activists had staged a demonstration by the murky Remedios River that cuts through the neighbourhood Wearing trash bags around their bodies and rope around their arms (the accoutrements routinely found tied to corpses that wash up on the river’s shore) they shouted in protest: “The river has become a watery grave!” “Women are kidnapped and left here in trash bags!” “Ecatepec is a tomb!” Meanwhile the traffic zoomed by on the freeway next to the canal Then a police car stopped on the side of the highway “There are thousands of women who have disappeared We are asking for justice!” a woman shouted Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook to join the discussion Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Patricia Lopez carries a hollow chrome pipe or a baseball bat. Sofia Hernandez Espinosa brings an umbrella, rain or shine. Carmen Geovana Nuñez Colin walks down the middle of the street, giving her a head start if she needs to run from someone on the sidewalk. And Veronica Rosas Valenzuela has surveillance cameras mounted above her front door and garage, and keeps a can of pepper spray in her purse. But mostly, she tries to keep out of sight, moving in and out of her apartment like a ghost. All live in Ecatepec in the state of Mexico, where 180 women were killed in the first eight months of the year, making it one of the deadliest regions for women in the country. Sixty-four of the homicides were classified as femicides, typically involving sexual assault or domestic abuse. Rape and kidnappings are common here too, though many residents have so little confidence in the police that some cases simply go unreported. But it was the arrest last month of a suspected serial killer who allegedly boasted that he killed as many as 20 women in Ecatepec over the years — sometimes eating the bodies — that ratcheted up the anxiety that wears on this city. Why such violence has fallen upon Ecatepec is unclear. But tor the women here, there’s a feeling that the line between paranoia and credible fear has been erased. “Here in Ecatepec, everything is real,” Nuñez said. The accused serial killer — Juan Carlos “N” as he’s been identified by authorities — and wife Patricia “N” were arrested in October, reportedly pushing a stroller containing body parts. Police said Juan Carlos “N” confessed to killing 20 women over more than a decade — though he provided specific details about 10 victims only. His wife confessed that they sometimes cooked and ate the remains, or fed them to their dogs, police said. The couple is in custody and awaiting trial. Residents said they found it unnerving that the accused killer seemed to operate with impunity in Ecatepec, apparently storing victims’ remains in rented rooms or dumping them in an empty lot in the heart of Jardines de Morelos, an urban neighborhood in the municipality. He and his wife lured the women to their home with promises of employment, or by selling cheese, corn or cellphones, authorities said. “It could have been me,” said Nuñez, who lives in the neighborhood. “You’re afraid to go out, and when you do, you look at the people around you and wonder who you’re dealing with. We leave home afraid and we return afraid.” Dilcya Garcia, who prosecutes gender-related crimes in the state of Mexico, acknowledged errors were made in investigating some of the cases but said it also took good police work to catch the suspected serial killer. Still, Garcia said she understands the fears and frustrations of residents here. “It’s distressing to hear, but really the only way we can work for these victims is if they see that the authorities are empathetic, and know that we are going to continue our work and not stop until we find the person,” she said. In 2015, Ecatepec became one of the first municipalities in Mexico to go under an “alerta de genero,” or gender alert. The alert requires authorities to investigate the cause of an increase in violence against women and take steps to combat it, such as increased police training and better technology. A search unit created in 2016 in response to the gender alert has now located more than 500 people who had disappeared in Ecatepec. Ana Yeli Perez Garrido, the legal advisor for Mexico’s National Citizen Observatory on Femicide, is among those who believes the official number is a deliberate undercount meant to obscure the extent of the problem that women face here. “They’re making the rest of those murders invisible,” said Perez Garrido. “It’s part of the larger theme of impunity in Mexico, in which the authorities keep the real data hidden from view.” Guadalupe Roman Avila, a federal representative of her district in Ecatepec, said residents here feel as though they are living in a failed state. “There are no patrols from police, who are you going to ask for help?” she said. (Los Angeles Times) Jorge Miranda came home from work one day in 2012 to find the door to his one-room apartment wide open and the television on. He figured his 13-year-old daughter, Luz del Carmen Miranda, had gone to the store, but as the hours passed he grew anxious. Miranda and his wife, Araceli, had lost one child at birth and their surviving daughter was everything to them. The three slept in the same bed, and when they went out, people often thought his wife and daughter looked like children, dancing and giggling as they walked down the sidewalk. The couple would spend the next five years searching for their daughter, traveling as far as Chiapas and Veracruz with families of others who had vanished. The year after she went missing, they learned that a body matching Luz del Carmen’s description had been found in the neighborhood, but when they made inquiries they were told the body had already been buried in a communal grave by authorities and no DNA testing had been conducted. It took four years and three exhumations to finally confirm that it was their daughter “I was able to rest a little, because I knew where she was,” her father said. “When we couldn’t find her, I always worried about what was happening to her. What are they doing to her? Is she eating or not? Are they hitting her or not? How is my poor daughter?” Since then, Miranda and his wife visit her grave whenever they have an excuse — Mother’s Day, Day of the Dead, Children’s Day. On her last birthday, they brought her tostadas de tinga, her favorite dish, shared a birthday cake and sang “Las Mañanitas.” “Imagine for a moment how much we loved her,” he said. Jorge Miranda is his one-bedroom home, where he lives with his wife, Araceli Gonzalez Perez. (Jordi Ruiz Cirera / For The Times) His wife continues attending meetings with the mothers of other children who disappeared in Ecatepec. “Truthfully, I don’t see any improvement in the new situations compared with what happened with my daughter’s case. The authorities don’t have any interest in looking for our daughters.” Perez Garrido, the legal advisor for the National Citizen Observatory on Femicide, said authorities should have caught the serial killer who preyed on the women of Ecatepec years ago, given the abundance of evidence. “This case shows the indifference of authorities to do their job — when it comes to searching for disappeared people, you actually have to go look for them.” Garcia said that while some may have the impression that the accused serial killer was sloppy, he was actually calculating and careful, and that he was caught not by accident but as part of a well-conducted investigation that involved tracking one of the missing women’s cellphones. Angelica Guadalupe, who still carries a wooden pole to her job at a bakery, said there was little response from authorities when she was grabbed by two men and raped in an alley en route to a job interview five years ago. Though she reported the crime and went to the hospital for an examination, nothing came of it, she said. With little faith in the police, street justice has taken root in Ecatepec. A rooftop view of the neighborhood surrounding the Jardin de Morelos neighborhood in Ecatepec. (Jordi Ruiz Cirera / For The Times) On Angelica Guadalupe’s street, they’ve installed an alarm and each house has its own remote control. When a suspected criminal, or “ratero,” is seen and the alarm is sounded, neighbors flood the street. “Sometimes they lynch them,” she said. “The neighbors kill the criminal. If not, you look for the authorities and they don’t respond.” Unlike the other women in her neighborhood, Araceli has lost the illusion that a baseball bat or a can of pepper spray will help her survive. Sometimes she lights a candle and prays next to several picture frames, all with the same photo of her daughter. When she leaves home, a prayer is on her lips but her hands are empty. “To be honest, I just take God’s blessing. You don’t know when you’ll meet one of these people in the street, or if you’ll come home again.” Print MEXICO CITY — They waited for hours outside Las Américas hospital for word about their loved ones Then the small group ran out of patience and stormed inside Upon discovering bodies on gurneys packed into the pathology ward “I unzipped the bag of my son to confirm that it was him,” María Dolores Castillo later told a television interviewer The coronavirus pandemic has battered sophisticated healthcare systems in Europe and the United States Members of the Mexican security forces stand guard as family members wait for news about their relatives near the General Hospital in Ecatepec (Marco Ugarte / Associated Press) The country’s fragile medical infrastructure appears to be in danger as hospitals become overloaded The unrest at the hospital Friday in Ecatepec attracted widespread attention and became a potent symbol of how the public is losing patience After authorities dispatched dozens of national guard troops and state police officers in riot gear to quell the disturbance hospital officials vowed to improve communication with families The capital and adjoining areas in the state of Mexico — a metropolitan area that is home to more than 22 million people — account for 44% of the country’s confirmed 24,905 coronavirus cases and almost a third of the 2,271 deaths Because relatively little testing has been done officials acknowledge that the real numbers are probably much higher Mexican health authorities said they expected cases to peak this week Medical professionals who complained publicly for weeks about shortages of masks and other necessities “The situation in the hospitals in Mexico City is critical — basically I can tell you that we are at war,” Dr chief of kidney care at the National Institute of Cardiology overwhelmed physicians face “drastic” decisions about whom to save A paramedic in a protective suit comforts a colleague at the Hospital de las Américas in Ecatepec (Cristopher Rogel Blanquet / Getty Images) “For those patients who have little possibility of moving forward basically compassionate sedation,” Madero said “There is a brutal frustration among our health personnel.” Such dire warnings contrast sharply with official reassurances, notably from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador “Look, we don’t have problems with hospital beds,” the president told reporters last week. “Fortunately, until now we have the capacity to attend to the sick.” He blamed conservative opponents for disseminating “false news” accounts of people denied care. In the Mexico City area, however, at least 22 hospitals designated as coronavirus treatment sites — 40% of the total — had run out of beds by Monday, according to an official city website. Outside the November 20 National Medical Center in the Valle Sur neighborhood, a banner declared: “For the moment we have exceeded our capacity to attend to patients with Coronavirus COVID-19, and we have no more beds available. We appreciate your understanding.” Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that 68% of Mexico City hospital beds for coronavirus cases were occupied. On Monday, she added that 60% of 1,700 beds in the metro area equipped with ventilators were in use. Authorities have been scrambling to transform other facilities — including a bank building, a car racetrack and military hospitals — into treatment hubs. On Monday, the government said that the former presidential compound of Los Pinos would be converted into a hostel for besieged medical workers. People with symptoms can call 911 or text a hotline. Those judged to require hospitalization are referred to facilities that still have beds available. Ambulances are dispatched in emergency cases. For care, most Mexicans rely on the country’s long-neglected public hospitals, especially the vast network run by the Social Security Institute, a lumbering bureaucracy that boasts of being the largest public health service in Latin America. A joke here is that the institute’s Spanish acronym — IMSS — stands for an expletive-laced declaration that roughly translates as: Your Health Is Worth Nothing. “For a long time, Mexico has ranked near the bottom in terms of development of the health sector,” Dr. Hugo López-Gatell, the undersecretary of health who heads the country’s response to coronavirus, recently told reporters. Moreover, the Mexican population exhibits elevated rates of diabetes, hypertension and obesity, factors that can heighten vulnerability to COVID-19. As available hospital beds have dwindled, some people have been forced to travel a long way to find care. “We heard they weren’t accepting any more patients in the hospital near where we live, so we decided to bring our brother here,” said Blanca Díaz, 30. She and her two sisters were among clutches of relatives of patients awaiting updates on a recent morning outside the 1,200-bed General Hospital Dr. Eduardo Liceaga in central Mexico City. Family visits to coronavirus patients are banned because of fear of infection. With beleaguered doctors and nurses often too busy to deliver updates to families, the job often falls to guards. The Díaz sisters had brought their brother — Julio Cesar Díaz, a 43-year-old diabetic who was having trouble breathing — from Iztapalapa, a teeming borough on the city’s east side that has become a coronavirus hot spot. Residents there live in close quarters, and many have had no choice but to continue working despite shut-down orders. “Careful! You are entering a zone of high contagion,” read yellow banners that officials have raised in Iztapalapa and other high-risk precincts. Julio Díaz died the day after he was hospitalized. Doctors told the family that he had succumbed to complications from coronavirus. Before passing, he had managed to send a video message to his wife: “I love you, gordita,” using a common term of endearment. Despite objections from hospital staff, the family demanded that a relative view the body. Rumors of hospitals mixing up or misidentifying bodies have circulated on social media. “We wanted to be sure it was my brother,” said Blanca Díaz. A brother-in-law was allowed to enter the hospital to see the remains, and relatives and friends chipped in to pay the more than $1,000 funeral home fee, inflated because of special sanitation procedures. Open-viewing wakes are banned. “My brother went into the hospital, and suddenly he was gone and we couldn’t even see him, embrace him, say farewell,” his sister said. “There is now a very profound sadness.” Foreign correspondent Patrick J. McDonnell is the Los Angeles Times Mexico City bureau chief and previously headed Times bureaus in Beirut, Buenos Aires and Baghdad. A native of the Bronx, McDonnell is a graduate of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and was a Nieman fellow at Harvard. Ten yards was the nearest we could get to the river Any closer and the smell was too much to bear and the passage of floating trash was ceaseless Amid the old tires and mattresses dumped on the riverbank mounds of rank green weeds gave refuge to birds and grasshoppers which didn’t seem bothered by the fecal stench a densely populated satellite of Mexico City the river serves as the main drainage line for the vast monochrome barrios that surround the capital I was standing on a stretch of the canal just north of Ecatepec with a twenty-three-year-old photographer named Reyna Leynez Reyna was the one who’d told me about the place and what it represents is said to be one of the largest mass graves in Mexico the most recent discoveries included the body of a woman whose whole head had been wrapped in bandages; a teenage girl in a black plastic bag; and a woman about whom the police disclosed no information El Río de los Remedios is not the only dumping ground in Ecatepec the bodies of at least twenty women appeared on street corners and sidewalks and vacant lots known as baldíos the police found a mother and daughter who had been raped and beheaded officers were summoned to open a sack that contained two legs In a trash-filled ditch in the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood a body was found in a transparent plastic bag At an abandoned construction site in the middle of a cornfield a motorist stopped on the side of the road discovered a woman with her pants around her ankles Most of the women in these cases have not been identified El Río de los Remedios has become emblematic of a plague of unsolved murders—more than a thousand in the past year—that is being described as a feminicidio This is happening not just in Ecatepec but throughout the State of Mexico a smoggy and mountainous region that borders Mexico City on three sides The causes of the epidemic are not well understood and its relationship to organized crime is ambiguous The government is disinclined to acknowledge its existence walking along a path through yellow-flowering weeds The afternoon sky was overcast but luminous The ground was spongy and uneven where the earth had healed over earlier deposits of garbage Reyna stopped to photograph a beach made up entirely of trash Reyna describes herself as a “post-punk lesbian dominatrix.” She doesn’t shave her armpits and she keeps her jet-black hair in a vamp bob that looks like a wig I’d met her the week before at a feminist rally in the capital held to protest the government’s inaction in the face of rising violence against women She said then that she was planning to go to the river to take photos Reyna descended to a lower level of the embankment to get a better shot a native of Ecatepec whom I’ll call Joaquín—a friend of a friend who was doing this favor for little more than gas money In his early twenties he had been a dreadlocked pothead and a volunteer at a turtle refuge he was a maintenance man for Ecatepec’s cable-car company and a screen-printed trucker hat that commemorated two deceased friends He kept the cord of his headphones draped over one ear at all times one fender of which was painted in gold glitter who was something of a joker—twice he’d made cracks about having me kidnapped—asked Reyna if she considered herself a “feminazi.” “How can you compare us to Nazis?” she said The grin on Joaquín’s face amounted to an admission of this Far be it from him to argue that things weren’t messed up in Mexico “I was thirteen when I was attacked for the first time Another guy followed me for more than a kilometer on the street You know this.” She recited a litany of recent atrocities cases in which terrible things were done and no one was punished speaking so rapidly that I couldn’t always follow her Spanish She asked how it could be that there is nowhere in Mexico where a woman is safe from rape “We’re not asking politely anymore,” she said Timeless stories from our 175-year archive handpicked to speak to the news of the day Of the thousands of femicides that have taken place in the State of Mexico over the past decade about a dozen cases have come to represent the phenomenon These are the faces that appear on placards at protests the portraits that are stenciled in spray paint the names that stand for the far more numerous unnamed One such case is that of Fátima Varinia Quintana Gutiérrez has spent the past five years hoping to see her daughter’s killer convicted She now lives in hiding in another part of the country but I managed to reach her by phone in early September Lorena thought for a moment and said that if you were to go into the evidence room of the state prosecutor’s office and look inside her daughter’s backpack you would know exactly what kind of girl she was She always kept her books and notebooks organized Her favorite books were the Hunger Games trilogy Her favorite poem was “A Margarita Debayle,” by Rubén Darío “She didn’t have a ton of girlfriends,” Lorena said “She went everywhere with her little brother dressed in a navy peacoat over a teal dress They lived in a rural part of the State of Mexico in the terraced and deforested mountains west of Mexico City The name of their tiny hilltop town was La Lupita Casas Viejas Lorena was cooking lunch for her family when she realized that Fátima was an hour late coming home from school Children are expected to adhere to strict timetables in Mexico and ran out of the house without pausing to tie her shoes Fátima’s bus stop was on the edge of Casas Viejas where the asphalt road descends into Lerma A pair of brothers named Luis Ángel and Misael Atayde Reyes lived in the house nearest to it Three times in the course of her frantic search that afternoon Lorena went to the Atayde place to ask if they had seen Fátima pass by on her way home from school as did a third young man who was at the house Lorena noticed a bucket of water that looked pink “I had no doubt that those three had done something to my daughter.” The Atayde brothers had known Fátima since the day she was born Photos taken before the incident show three young men mean-mugging for the camera throwing up cholo mudras and middle fingers Misael and Luis Ángel were seventeen and nineteen years old “He had been telling everyone that he liked Fátima,” Lorena said Only about three hundred people live in Casas Viejas and more than half of them came out to look for the missing girl The search party turned into a lynch mob when they found her body in a ditch behind the Atayde residence “They had stabbed her more than ninety times,” Lorena said At first her telling of the story was matter-of-fact but by the time she finished she was crying as if to ask how it was possible that any of this was true “The cut across her face was ten centimeters They did all of this while my daughter was still alive How could they have such hatred for a twelve-year-old girl?” The Atayde brothers and Hernández de Cruceño tried to run but they couldn’t escape the outraged crowd that had formed around the house In the absence of reliable law enforcement the suspects had been soundly beaten and doused in gasoline They escaped being burned alive only because a state marshal convinced Lorena and Jesús to intercede with the crowd the three men were handcuffed in the back of a police truck and driven to a hospital in Toluca Lorena said she would have let the people of Casas Viejas exact a fiery retribution then and there The word “feminicidio” first came into usage in Mexico in the late Nineties amid a similar epidemic of unsolved killings in and around Ciudad Juárez Nearly four hundred murders between 1993 and 2005 left the city with an enduring reputation as a dark necropolis Those deaths are thought to have been caused by sex trafficking and forced prostitution and the deplorable conditions in the shantytowns that developed around the border factories known as maquiladoras after the passage of NAFTA But no one has been able to fully explain the savage mutilations and sometimes bizarre details that characterized many of the killings Several bodies were found with one breast sliced off and the opposite nipple bitten off; others had symbols carved into their scalps; still others appeared to have been dressed after their deaths and snuff-film producers have all been hypothesized The idea that Juárez might have been some kind of sick playground for one or more foreign-born serial killers became a prominent theme in literary treatments of the crimes particularly after local authorities arrested an Egyptian chemist named Abdel Latif Sharif Sharif—a violent rapist with a long rap sheet—and charged him with several murders In Roberto Bolaño’s thousand-page novel 2666 which was in part inspired by the killings a Mexican congresswoman uncovers a sinister sex-trafficking ring that caters to narcos is an enigmatic German-American computer-store owner whose blue eyes may be able to see into the future partly in response to international condemnation of the killings in Juárez the Mexican Congress passed a federal law making femicide a distinct category of murder that carries harsher punishment not unlike a hate crime in the United States have similarly amended their penal codes.) Femicide is defined as the killing of a woman for gender-based reasons including murder committed in connection with rape or kidnapping; murder preceded by stalking or abuse; murder committed by a romantic partner; murder characterized by sexual violence or desecration; and murder followed by display of the body in a public place According to a judicial ruling issued in 2015 authorities must investigate every violent death of a woman as a potential femicide but police and prosecutors do not apply these criteria in any systematic way and the records kept are flawed and incomplete it is clear that the rate of femicide has at least doubled in Mexico over the past four years and has risen even more precipitously since 2017 One of the most severely affected states continues to be Chihuahua where Juárez is located; the killings there never really ended The cartel battleground states of Nuevo León and Veracruz are even more dangerous But nowhere is femicide more common than in the State of Mexico there have been 368 cases in the past three years and that is almost certainly an undercount as even the officials in charge of record keeping admit There’s reason to believe that the true number is closer to four hundred or five hundred a year Ecatepec today is an order of magnitude deadlier for women than turn-of-the-century Juárez a few days after visiting El Río de los Remedios I met a cabinet-level official who told me straightforwardly that the problem of femicide was overblown “It’s statistically insignificant,” he said there were 33,753 homicides in Mexico in 2018 Mexico has been caught in an interminable meatgrinder of a dirty war instigated by the United States and fed by American guns and money that ranks among the twenty-first century’s deadliest conflicts The Mexican military has recently disengaged to some degree but fighting among the cartels is raging hotter than ever homicide is now the leading cause of death for men under the age of thirty Mexico’s falling life expectancy looks more like an androcide: the systematic killing of men and boys “The overall problem that’s happening is sicarios and drug dealers fighting among themselves,” the official said the social democrat Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected in 2018 on a promise to demilitarize the narco war The administration has created a commission on femicide and issued a number of “gender alerts”—a toothless protocol similar to the United States’ terror alert level—but violence against women is a subject that López Obrador rarely mentions in his famous harangues he tends to pivot to the more general theme of reestablishing public security Mexico’s feminist movement is broadly aligned with López Obrador but activists criticize the administration’s failure to take the problem of femicide seriously only generalized violence,” said María de la Luz Estrada director of the National Citizen Observatory on Femicide “But one kind is committed by men fighting for territory Sexual violence is different.” According to her the real reasons authorities are reluctant to acknowledge the epidemic are their unwillingness to investigate organized crime and the complicity of the military and police in sex trafficking The authorities in places such as Ecatepec are wary of the stigma that became attached to Ciudad Juárez five have characteristics of femicide,” María said or otherwise desecrated in an intentional display of desprecio they would sometimes find victims wearing three pairs of underwear which someone must have put on them after death the kind that baffled and obsessed Bolaño’s fictional reporters in 2666 indicate a different species of violence from narco killings One clue as to the killers’ motivations comes from Lydiette Carrión a journalist who wrote a book about Ecatepec and El Río de los Remedios When I asked her about the seemingly irrational sadism on display in which a band of revolutionaries commits a murder is to “reinforce the bonds of complicity.” “Typically the aggressors in these cases are very young guys they have initiation rituals.” She alluded to analogous rites among football teams “In the case of criminal groups,” she said the elder Atayde brother was convicted of Fátima’s murder and sentenced to seventy-three years in prison The younger got off with five years because he was a minor at the time of the crime But Hernández de Cruceño turned out to be connected to organized crime prosecutors told her that he and his family were involved with the New Generation Jalisco Cartel the most powerful criminal militia in Mexico the CJNG is a nationwide paramilitary alliance of hundreds of armed gangs and corrupt military and police units chiefly dedicated to trafficking drugs and stealing oil and gas from the state Shortly after Hernández de Cruceño was arrested unfamiliar vehicles were spotted around Casas Viejas the front windows of their house were shot out was on his usual route when a truck cut him off and another pulled up alongside but their purpose was clear: “To show me they knew where I worked,” Jesús said He quit the same day and hasn’t held a steady job since Fátima’s little brother had to be withdrawn from school Lorena still insisted on giving testimony against Hernández de Cruceño even after the state’s special prosecutor for femicide warned her in private that she was risking her life “The government wants me to shut up,” Lorena said Lawyers with offices in the wealthy Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City arrived to defend Hernández de Cruceño in court They introduced a video purporting to show the defendant at his job as a security guard at the time of Fátima’s killing about half a day’s drive from Casas Viejas Lorena said the video’s metadata had been manipulated He was admitted to the hospital.” Nevertheless a judge found him innocent and ordered his release The defendant’s father stood up in the courtroom and pointed at Lorena “You already signed your own death sentence.” Fátima’s entire family—parents and siblings and nephews seven adults and five children—fled Casas Viejas for Toluca and later left the State of Mexico altogether The family has a place to stay near the U.S It’s not safe for them to walk to the park Jesús found a job at an establishment willing to pay him in cash under the table but the work is not much more than mopping floors or anything else that could be used to track them covering nearly as much area as Mexico City with no real center and an outline like a bomb blast To identify the streets or neighborhoods where the most femicides have been recorded I turned to an activist named María Salguero Bañuelos who has created a digital map that is far more detailed and complete than the government’s records María is a forty-year-old engineer who studied geophysics at Mexico’s most prestigious polytechnic school but she still lives in the rough neighborhood in downtown Mexico City where she was raised and was still wearing her helmet as she took a seat I congratulated her on being named to Forbes’s 2019 list of the most powerful women in Mexico “My pockets don’t reflect it,” she said with a grin A map of the distribution of femicides in Mexico between January 2017 and December 2019 The distribution of femicides in Ecatepec and its surrounding region in the same period Maps by Mike Hall after noticing news reports of sharply rising numbers of femicides all over Mexico and seeing little recognition of the problem by the government and a network of informants to keep her map up-to-date Her efforts have earned her media coverage and a job offer from the new presidential administration that turned out to be illusory “Nothing has changed since the election of López Obrador the pace of femicides across the country has increased markedly María scoffed at the government’s claim that there were only 112 femicides in the State of Mexico in 2018 and she expects the yearly totals to continue to rise “The authorities have no idea how many there have been,” she said placing her arms on the table for emphasis The whole country appeared carpeted in red pins the largest of the moons orbiting Mexico City the surface of the earth here looked scraped to the bone “Ecatepec is a trash can for human beings,” she said Many people say it’s the worst part of the country.” When the government subdivided Ecatepec People have to travel two hours to get into Mexico City Forty percent of the victims María has identified had a man in their family or social circle involved in organized crime She calls these “feminicidios por pertenencia de un enemigo,” femicide related to an enemy by the use of high-powered American weapons such as AR-15s and semiautomatic handguns This pattern is common in Ecatepec.” According to María the victims of femicide get younger with every passing year She said the state prosecutors are saturated with cases and carry out very few investigations Police lack the resources to order DNA tests and are untrained in the basics of investigative practice she got pregnant and ran off with a boyfriend Or they’ll say she committed suicide.” She estimated that there were around four thousand orphans as a result of femicide if they’re with the family of the aggressor Sometimes the children of victims are sold.” Asked to identify the most violent part of town María narrowed it down to two neighborhoods on the east side of the city with a combined area of three and a half square miles where the digital pins were most concentrated: fifteen cases in the roughly hexagonal barrio of Ciudad Cuauhtémoc and twelve in the triangular Jardines de Morelos subdivision This swath of Ecatepec is said to be a redoubt for gangs of armed robbers where every business establishment and form of transport is subject to the derecho de piso an illegal tax imposed by a dozen-odd local mafias—some old-school some newer—working under the aegis of two or three major cartels This part of the city is considered too dangerous to visit a “black hole,” as it was described to me on more than one occasion he said he could take me there safely because he worked for the cable-car company sufficiently opaque to obscure the pale visage of a gringo I decided to take him up on the offer one day in mid-September We met at the Mexicable station on the south side of Ecatepec Our driver for the day was Joaquín’s buddy He wore a long T-shirt thoroughly stained with engine grease He had a tattoo of the evil clown from the movie It on one forearm the drawing skillfully done but incomplete “I’m waiting for the sequel,” he explained Joaquín told us about a party he went to at the house of a trafficker in exotic animals where someone had offered to sell him a girl of about seven or eight for two thousand varos “Everyone here has a family member who has disappeared,” said Joaquín His sixteen-year-old niece went missing a few years ago “I don’t want to imagine her life if she’s not.” Joaquín pointed out a slaughterhouse and hastened to roll up his window There are many industrial sites in Ecatepec—including canning and bottling facilities and a thermoelectric plant—but none smell as bad as the meat-processing facilities We drove by the La Costeña factory where they pickle the jalapeños I buy at my grocery store in Austin was a “lost world,” a makeshift encampment of drug users and underage sex workers stationed at an intersection: an armored truck with a machine-gun turret that looked like it had been through battle The main avenues were bleak expanses of concrete and the sky was smudged with brown exhaust The pedestrians looked like the working class anywhere in Mexico: wearing jeans and sneakers trudging to the bus stop or buying food from street vendors Despite the neighborhood’s forbidding reputation there were few obvious signs of organized crime but to me they looked more pitiful than intimidating “The really bad guys come out at night,” Pelón said Robbery is the most pervasive crime around here Whole blocks were closed off by barred gates an old man in filthy clothes crouched on the sidewalk methodically wrapping rocks of crack cocaine in aluminum foil it was likely because he had paid his weekly bribe of 2,500 pesos “There may be a city in Mexico where the police aren’t corrupt,” Pelón said and an overpopulated graveyard where faded pinwheels spun A sad little garden plot in the median of the road had a hand-painted sign that read: no se roben las plantas (“Do not steal the plants”) the only trees were invasive eucalypti and chinaberries that looked dusty and sick One next to a mechanic’s shop depicted frogs and birds and jaguars arrayed around an indigenous warrior in a headdress a spray-painted memorial to the pre-Columbian paradise that once existed here It wasn’t a coincidence that every feminist I met in Mexico was also an environmentalist I’d seen graffiti scrawled across the side of a building in Mexico City: “The killing of Mother Earth is the biggest femicide of all.” we slowed to a stop in front of a plain concrete house near a vacant lot On the sidewalk down the street was a taco stand where a man in a soiled apron was chopping raw chicken on a table This used to be the home of Juan Carlos Hernández Bejar The pair killed at least twenty women—the real number may be closer to fifty—some of whom they cooked and ate We had all read about the Monster of Ecatepec in the tabloids the neighbors had noticed strange things about Juan Carlos and Patricia just cardboard boxes and black plastic bags A bad smell hung over the empty lot nearby Reeking fluids sometimes trickled into the gutter They made money selling secondhand clothes and used cell phones but Mexico’s homicide crisis gives them cover by greatly reducing the chance that any given murder will lead to an investigation Then they saw her for five minutes and told her to come back the next morning we’re working on it,’?” María Guadalupe told me “But nothing happened with the file.” Another young woman who lived nearby disappeared in July “Three cases with the same pattern of characteristics,” she said: “Young all of them dark-eyed brunettes with long hair.” María Guadalupe learned from a local tabloid reporter that the other two women were last known to have answered an advertisement for secondhand clothes that Patricia had placed The mothers of the victims and the reporter took the information they had gathered to the police “The prosecutor wouldn’t listen to us,” María Guadalupe said a vigilante posse including María Guadalupe returned to the police station to inform the authorities that they intended to deal with the couple on their own It must have been clear that they were serious because the police finally sent officers to check out the house they happened to catch the pair outside pushing their baby stroller It would later be reported that Patricia had served her husband tamales made with flesh from Samanta’s body They had sold her bones to a practitioner of Santería Both husband and wife were swiftly convicted on multiple counts of femicide and murder they were sentenced to a combined 327 years in prison There’s a video online of a police psychologist questioning Juan Carlos about his motivations and state of mind he rants about what a whore his mother was brags about how smart he is and how many women he’s had sex with and talks about a head injury he suffered as a child María Guadalupe had the opportunity to confront him in court “I told him he was a coward because he only killed women ‘I also killed men.’ I told him my daughter was a queen who calls herself a woman and is an embarrassment to our gender ‘Your daughter is never coming back.’ I don’t know where I got the strength to speak to him without crying and at times his girlfriends had cheated on him That he couldn’t bear to see us go on breathing.” I knocked on the door of a publishing house in La Condesa a tranquil and tree-lined enclave of Mexico City I had come to meet four members of a collective called Marabunta an “assemblea autodefensa feminista” whose name evokes a swarm of ants Three of the four women were recent graduates of Mexico’s biggest and best university Part of their ethos is not to discuss the collective but they agreed to talk about their individual participation in the protests that had disrupted downtown Mexico City over the previous two months We settled into a lamp-lit conference room where they arranged themselves on a couple of couches They were fashionably attired in baggy sweaters and jackets The largest demonstration of the summer had taken place on August 12 incited by the rape of a seventeen-year-old girl by four Mexico City police officers What appeared to be one or two thousand self-described radical feminists had shown up wearing the green bandannas that symbolize the movement They marched to Paseo de la Reforma carrying portraits of murdered women tagged sidewalks and walls with spray paint and left broken glass everywhere they went into the blender,” greatly understates the profanity of the original.) The police formed a cordon around the attorney general’s office and stoically withstood being berated at close range and hit with handfuls of glitter The riot culminated in the vandalism of the Angel of Independence méxico feminicidio was painted across the plaque of the pedestal On the monument’s base was written estado violador: rapist state a thirty-year-old director of content at a software company said it was the first time she had ever seen a group of men move out of her way with fear in their eyes I asked if they could rightly compare the dangers and annoyances they face here in the city to the horrors stalking poor working women in the surrounding state “The situation of women in La Condesa is not the same as in Ecatepec but in general the situation of women in Mexico is terrible,” said Aura García-Junco Even rich women are at risk in their mansions “The so-called suicides,” said Irasema Fernández “It mostly affects the most vulnerable women but it’s also something that can happen to you at any time,” Aleida said a woman was gunned down not far from my hotel in Coyoacán; her abusive ex-husband Femicide is distinct from the cartel violence that constitutes the bulk of homicides in Mexico who was twenty-three and had recently completed a degree in literature “Men don’t suffer this kind of triple death,” she said They believe that femicide is only the most extreme manifestation of Mexican machismo “I can’t go one day without being accosted in public,” Irasema said “The police are just going to revictimize you,” said Sujaila ‘Why were you carrying valuables?’?” Aura interjected “Their attitude is that if you weren’t killed “The reality is that the ones who are supposed to protect us are the first to attack us It’s well known—the violence of the police In the case of the rape that provoked the August 12 march the four accused police officers were initially put on leave but were ultimately allowed to return to the force “The law is totally patriarchal,” Aura said “The institutions are permeated by machismo.” That may be why when asked to articulate their specific demands on society and the government “Recognizing the problem is the first thing,” Irasema said “They must no longer disguise the number of femicides Just this first step will require a great deal.” The most elaborate social rituals include the quinceañera Women with tattoos and dyed hair marching in the street are seen as importing a global culture that is alien to traditional values the professor asked those students who identified as feminists to raise their hands “And it was a course on feminist literature,” she said Attitudes toward feminism are even more hostile outside Mexico City But the mothers I interviewed who had lost a daughter to femicide all had good things to say about the chicas feministas who had been setting off smoke bombs and lighting trash cans on fire to draw attention to the killings “Of course they are helping,” Lorena said when I asked her opinion Lorena has not given up trying to hold Hernández de Cruceño accountable for her daughter’s murder grueling bus trips to and from Mexico City Articles about Fátima have proliferated online the organization led by María de la Luz Estrada Lawyers associated with the Observatory filed a petition in federal court to force the State of Mexico to reopen criminal proceedings against Hernández de Cruceño they succeeded in having the charge of femicide reinstated he was jailed pending the outcome of the case I arranged to meet Lorena and Jesús during their trip to the capital to attend the hearing the grand plaza beside the Palacio de Bellas Artes and hurdy-gurdy men cranking barrel organs sanitation workers were scrubbing graffiti from the latest green-bandanna rally They had three hours before the eighteen-hour bus trip back north followed by a taxi ride and a long walk to the place where they live as inconspicuously as possible They were not trying to reach the United States “We think Canada is a more peaceful country,” Lorena said They had gone to the Canadian Embassy but were not allowed past the gates They had only a vague understanding of the process of applying for asylum “We need help getting out of here,” she said Because they will kill us all here in Mexico.” They feared they could disappear at any time A truck would pull up and men would step out and that would be it or one of those military bases where the ground is packed with bones “Sometimes I think it’s all a conspiracy,” she continued The family will never go back to Casas Viejas “Fátima was murdered in 2015,” Lorena said “They are killing twice as many women and girls now more frightening.” In October and November the instances of femicide in and around Ecatepec that María Salguero added to her map included a woman in her thirties whose naked body looked to have been mauled by a pack of dogs and a woman of unknown age found beaten and gagged on the side of a highway a woman was thrown from a van and set on fire and an eighteen-year-old girl’s body was found alongside a footpath on a weed-grown lot in the ambiguous phrasing of María Salguero’s informant in a manner said to have caused “indignation” in the neighborhood This article was supported by the MacDowell Colony “An unexpectedly excellent magazine that stands out amid a homogenized media landscape.” —the New York Times A couple suspected of killing at least 10 women and selling the baby of one of their victims has been arrested in México state State police detained the man and woman Thursday after they left a house in Ecatepec a densely populated municipality in greater Mexico City that is notorious for crime including femicides México state Attorney General Alejandro Gómez said in a video posted to Facebook that the couple came under investigation after reports were filed relating to the disappearance of three women in Ecatepec in April we have been able to establish that the three women reported as missing had some kind of relationship with this couple,” he said One of the women disappeared along with her two-month-old baby daughter Gómez said the couple was placed under surveillance and observed Thursday in the neighborhood of Jardines de Morelos with a baby carriage inside which police hoped to find the missing baby investigators found a black bag containing human remains that the couple intended to dispose of in a nearby vacant lot Police are working to recover more body parts from the vacant lot and two other addresses in Jardines de Morelos that were allegedly used by the couple to hide their crimes The remains will be subjected to forensic testing for identification purposes According to a report in the newspaper El Universal lured women to the couple’s home in the neighborhood of Jardines de Morelos under the pretext of showing them clothes To allay any concerns the women may have had he also provided them with the telephone number of his wife cut their bodies into small pieces before disposing of them in a vacant lot near their home or burning them Juan Carlos admitted to killing at least 10 women but said the number could be as high as 20 The couple also admitted to selling the missing two-month-old baby the infant girl was found and the couple who “purchased” her were arrested She has now been returned to her grandmother “safe and sound,” he added There were at least 2,585 murders of women in Mexico in 2017 and of the total México state recorded the highest number Source: El Universal (sp)  got a makeover just in time for the Pope Francis' visit which will undoubtedly show the schism between Francis' progressive church and Mexico's conservative hierarchy whitewashed nearly 4 miles of a wall along the pope's travel route and gave 50 local graffiti artists a spot to lay-up their best Francis-inspired drawing HOST: Pope Francis is about to start a trip that will include stops in Mexico's poorest and most violent places The six-day visit will take him from indigenous areas in the South to the U.S He's bringing a message that might not go down well with the country's conservative Catholic elites but that's not the audience the Pope is focused on BYLINE: Alejandro Hernandez and his crew assembled dozens of bleachers along the main thoroughfare in the dusty sprawling city of Ecatepec outside Mexico City.ALEJANDRO HERNANDEZ: (Speak Spanish).KAHN: "These are just for the 2000-or-so people who watch the pope drive by," says Hernandez Another 300,000 are expected to pack into a nearby college to join the pontiff for Sunday mass Ecatepec is infamous for its poverty and high rate of crime against women The pope's stop here is fitting with his focus on marginalized communities And this city of 2 million is notorious for its endless graffiti.It's hard to find a concrete surface not covered with a piece or a tag so the city whitewashed nearly four miles of the wall along the pope's travel route and gave 50 of Ecatepec's graffiti artists a spot to lay up their best Francis-inspired drawing the pope as a mariachi singer and even the pope spraying some art himself.DANIEL MACIEL: (Speaking Spanish).KAHN: Thirty-year-old graffitero and computer instructor Daniel Maciel says it's a nice break from tagging walls or vandalizing the subway He says he stayed away from crosses and bleeding hearts and instead painted the pope a 10-foot-tall Aztec woman and an eagle warrior.MACIEL: (Speaking Spanish).KAHN: "Before anything "we have our roots." During a six-day stay Pope Francis plans to travel to the southern state of Chiapas and authorize the use of indigenous languages in mass celebrations He'll travel north to Juarez across the border from El Paso and hold a bi-national mass in solidarity with migrants he'll visit some of the most violent regions of the country hit hard by drug trafficking Pope Francis said he understands what Mexicans are living through - their own "little piece of war."(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)POPE FRANCIS: (Speaking Spanish).KAHN: "And of course I don't want to overlook any of that," said Francis in a video message on Mexico's Notimex news agency "I will exhort you to fight every day against corruption and organized crime." Pope Francis's words aren't getting the warmest welcome in some circles an anthropologist and religion expert.ELIO MASFERRER KAN: (Speaking Spanish).KAHN: "His outspokenness is a thorn in the side of the conservative sectors of Mexico's Catholic hierarchy," says Masferrer "the ones allied with the wealthy and political elite," he adds Francis's visit comes as the Mexican economy is slumping and the current administration is plagued by corruption scandals and human rights abuses She smiles as she rides her bike past the new pope-inspired murals painted for his arrival this weekend in Ecatepec.OLIVIA SALAZAR: (Speaking Spanish).KAHN: He's coming to all these difficult places," she says "because we need him and we need his faith." Carrie Kahn Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information 43,000+ global companies doing business in the region 102,000+ key contacts related to companies and projects news and interviews about your industry in English This piece was published as part of a collaboration between Latino USA and NACLA MEXICO — Viviana Muciño climbs out of her black Saturn in the parking lot of Ecatepec’s Women’s Justice Center a building perched on a hill overlooking a vast array of multi-colored concrete homes etched into green mountains Muciño works as a volunteer assisting women who have experienced gender violence in Ecatepec and their families Ecatepec is a city of sprawling slums that’s the ninth largest in North America once considered the femicide capital of Mexico and still holding one of the highest femicide rates in the country Muciño is an expert in Mexican law and gender crimes she tells relatives of women murder victims to ensure that no one tamper with crime scenes and that forensic experts take all the appropriate photos It is also essential that the public prosecutor documents and collects all of the evidence for the investigation file Muciño doesn’t have a law school education She became an expert after her sister Nadia Alejandra Muciño Márquez was killed by her husband and her brother-in-law in 2004 hung from a beam that supported the cardboard sheet roof of her home they have contested a poorly conducted government investigation into the murder Nadia’s death was initially ruled a suicide by authorities in 2004 until Muciño’s nephew testified that he saw his father and uncle drown his mother in a water tank setting off a court battle that would last 13 years “I learned everything I now know about femicide because of my sister’s murder ,” Muciño told Latino USA “We would pay lawyers that would disappear Muciño helps women who speak with government officials advocate for themselves as the liaison for the Citizen’s Observatory Against Violence Disappearance and Femicide in Mexico State a nonprofit group that monitors officials at the center that opened in 2016 as part of a government initiative to address violence against women in Ecatepec She also counsels relatives of murder victims Muciño says her work at the Women’s Justice Center in Ecatepec is an effort to help victims face the daunting task of petitioning for justice She says that when her family started to prod the government’s investigation Doors slammed in our face throughout these 13 years,” says Muciño Women like Muciño are leading the fight against femicide in Ecatepec They are women who have themselves sought help from official channels and have become activists in Ecatepec in the face of misogyny and sexism from government employees and men in their communities Grassroots groups have varying registers of femicide rates but Muciño’s group says 168 femicides took place in the state in 2017 who is familiar with dozens of femicide cases in the municipality recalls the chilling details of Nadia’s murder based on her rigorous study of the investigation Bernardo Lopez Gutiérrez and his brother Isidro beat Nadia Muciño to death in front of her three children in Cuautitlán Izcalli One afternoon the men and Nadia were in the house drinking beers when they threw her in a water tank only to drag her into the bathroom and hang her there according to Nadia’s youngest son’s testimony to officials They altered the crime scene to make it look as if Nadia had hanged herself Muciño’s family caught on to the public officials’ failure to conduct a thorough investigation Forensic experts left the scene without the rope Nadia allegedly used to hang herself The investigators didn’t take photos of the scene nor did they collect DNA evidence from Nadia’s body a criminology expert from the state attorney general’s office determined that Nadia had committed suicide Though Bernardo was sent to prison for murder the family wants Isidro detained and tried as well and the public officials involved in the investigation sanctioned for gross negligence after 13 years of pressing the government for a fair and thorough investigation Nadia’s husband Bernardo Lopez Gutiérrez was sentenced to 42 years of prison for homicide The ruling falls short of her family’s hopes They’re pressuring the court to rule the case as a femicide Gender violence is pervasive at the national level more than half of all women have been victims of violence by men Of Mexico’s 46.5 million women over 15-years-old sexual or economic violence in their lives while 43 percent have been abused by husbands or partners and 53 percent have faced violence perpetrated by strangers according to Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography made femicide a crime with a mandatory sentence of 20 to 60 years in prison one of the Ecatepec’s most dangerous neighborhoods It is made up of brightly colored houses stacked atop rolling hills and sits west of the Pan-American highway that connects the city to Mexico’s capital Navarrete was almost kidnapped while walking with her father to school A black van with tinted windows pulled up to them and men brandishing semi-automatic rifles attempted to drag her into the vehicle which they gathered was full of kidnapped women They escaped after a scuffle inside the van distracted the men But she says the brush with the kidnappers made her feel extremely vulnerable in her neighborhood “I was 16 years old at the time,” she says “and it was completely a traumatic experience I feared I would see that van again on my way to school Navarrete is a member of Invisibles Somos Visibles (Invisibles We are Visible) a collective that uses performance art to denounce femicide The collective puts on performances throughout the state dramatizing the stories of local women who have been killed take on the roles of women who were killed making public and visible the violence they say is so often made invisible They seek to generate discussion about machismo and misogyny within their communities and the legal impunity surrounding these crimes Women arrived with white paper-mâché masks They’ve seen a great deal of crime throughout the years Lucero’s former neighbors said they have discovered women’s bodies abandoned in a nearby overgrown and dried up river the neighbors decided to collaborate with the group to help teach their community about femicide Arranging themselves across the uneven pavement each woman took turns sharing the stories of women who were slain in Ecatepec. Navarrete says representing women who were murdered helps her confront the violence plaguing her community. “I feel as if I were that woman who is often from my same neighborhood and my same age but who left an unfinished life,” she says “I relate to them because I remember my experience I feel free to express what they could not The prevalence of violence against women has sent ripples throughout the State of Mexico. Further west in Ecatepec’s colonia Las Americas, Mariana Joselín Baltierra stepped out of her house in July 2017 and walked 200 meters to buy groceries at a corner store Baltierra was found later that day lying dead across a butcher’s table She was raped and killed by a 28-year-old man who worked in the shop but escaped the scene of the crime and still remains at large The National Citizen Observatory of Femicide played an important role in defining femicide as a specific crime by pressuring the government to recognize an international court ruling in 2009 Estrada says the government does not prosecute perpetrators of femicide it is an open invitation for more violence,” Estrada says “If the husband kills his wife and you do not do anything to him the government demonstrates a certain sanctioning of the violence.” Women human rights defenders are searching for ways to use the law to successfully prosecute cases which means strategizing around making innovative legal arguments a lawyer who was named the national expert in gender violence by Mexico’s National Institute for Women and assigned to the National Observatory for Gender Equality in 2015 says the issues that she and other gender experts confronted while trying to implement some of the mandates of the gender law remain rampant femicide seems like a crime that is inevitable like nothing can be done to stop it,” she says “When you stop to think about what the government is failing to do you realize that femicide can be deterred if the state does the following: protect they don’t address cases and they don’t prevent violence.” Back in Viviana Muciño’s neighborhood in Nicolás Romero, news reports emerged in July 2017 about a family identifying the lifeless body of their relative riddled with knife wounds Although she moved from their home in Cuautitlán Izcalli a few years ago to avoid the Gutiérrez family Muciño’s family still live in the neighborhood and she says she often runs into Isidro the brother and accomplice to her sister’s murderer that his freedom is a reminder that justice has yet to be served Most days Muciño has to travel to the Women’s Justice Center and her other appointments by bus She gathers some of the money she makes from sewing ball gowns and party decorations to pay for the trips Unpaid and seemingly against great odds as an activist fighting gender violence and the corruption permeating Mexico’s institutions Muciño says she has no choice but to continue “Long ago we decided that we are committed to this flight for the long haul,” she says “For Nadia and because we cannot allow more men to get away with killing women.” Editors’ Note: An earlier version of this article stated that Ecatepec has the highest femicide rate in the country Editor’s Note: Opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author or interviewees and do not reflect the views of Latino USA How Women of Color Are Embracing and Confronting #MeToo Brazilian Women Rise Up Against Racism and Sexism and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Grief-stricken families plead with Mexican authorities to stop the violence that experts say is associated with gender hate crimes Mexico's most dangerous place to be femaleThis article is more than 10 years oldGrief-stricken families plead with Mexican authorities to stop the violence that experts say is associated with gender hate crimes Diana’s skull and feet had been found in a plastic bag dredged from a foul-smelling waterway known as the Great Canal which runs through the State of Mexico – the country’s most densely populated state a devoted fan of One Direction and Justin Bieber was the first to be positively identified after the remains of dozens of people were recovered last year from the black waters of the canal Her funeral on 26 March was attended by members of several other families whose own missing daughters are among the thousands of young women to have disappeared in the past decade from the state The mourners’ sorrow was shot through with anger as they called on the country’s authorities to stop the violence which has made Edomex the most dangerous place in Mexico to be female A staggering 1,258 girls and women were reported disappeared in Edomex in 2011 and 2012 – of whom 53% were aged between 10 and 17 according to figures obtained by the National Citizens Observatory on Femicides Many of their mutilated bodies were left displayed in public places like roads parks and shopping centres – an act which criminologists and feminist scholars say is associated with gender hate crimes Edomex is the powerhouse of Mexico City’s modernisation: a sprawling conurbation of industrial sites and anonymous dormitory settlements that wraps round the capital its population has increased to around 16 million as huge numbers migrated towards the capital in search of work Piecemeal urban growth has created a patchwork of disparate communities lacking a discernible centre or shared identity “Edomex is no-man’s land; it doesn’t exist to the outside world,” said Cynthia Galicia a legal expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico the state was governed by Mexico’s current president who was heavily criticised for failing to tackle violence against women: a further 1,200 were murdered in the state in the same period The violence in Edomex is disconcertingly reminiscent of a previous epidemic of femicides: between 1993 and 2005 Many were sexually assaulted and dismembered before their bodies were left in the desert Protests in Juárez prompted media coverage north of the border which in turn helped galvanise international outrage new legislation and at least two Hollywood movies But in the same period, 10 times as many women were murdered in Edomex than in Ciudad Juárez. Most of these killings have gone unreported and unnoticed by the outside world, the victims mourned only by their loved ones. “Edomex is a poor state, people are anonymous, and there are no campaign groups, so it has remained invisible,” said Galicia. Activists say there is no single explanation for the wave of violence against women in Edomex. As in Ciudad Juárez, evidence suggests that some girls and women have been trafficked into prostitution, while others have fallen victim to gender hate murders, said Lucia Melgar, a leading culture and gender academic. “We can also hypothesize the violence is linked to big business owners, corrupt politicians and organised crime just like in Juárez, but we really don’t know as there are no investigations. The impunity in Edomex is brutal,” she said. But fewer than 5% of murders – and only a handful of trafficking cases – are successfully prosecuted in Mexico, and activists worry that a full reckoning of the Edomex killings may never be possible. Perseo Quiroz Rendon, the director of Amnesty International Mexico, said: “The dreadful inefficiency in the criminal justice means we don’t know why the violence has increased, or even exactly how bad it is.” Diana was last seen at 4.30pm on 7 September 2013, crossing the bridge which connects Ecatepec to the neighbouring municipality of Tecamac. Her family reported her as missing that evening, but authorities said nothing could be done for 72 hours. So, Diana’s relatives knocked on doors, begged CCTV footage from local shops, plastered missing posters across the state, and started trawling through Diana’s social networking accounts. “After six months, the prosecutors told me that they’d hit a brick wall, there were no clues and no witnesses,” her mother, Maria Eugenia Fuentes, told the Guardian. “I’d always worried that if she’d been killed they’d throw her in the canal, so when they told me they’d found remains there, my world caved in.” In September, DNA tests and a distinct canine tooth confirmed that a skull and feet found in a plastic sack belonged to Diana. “I asked for further tests to be sure, and in January they confirmed it was my daughter. The authorities have done their best but they can’t tell me when she died, or how or where or why ... It’s given me some peace knowing that she hasn’t been trafficked and isn’t suffering, but burying her means that’s it – there’s no more hope,” said Fuentes. Authorities have downplayed the horrific discoveries in the canal. The official version is that a plastic sack containing the remains of one body was discovered during a routine clean last September, triggering a dredging operation. More than 7,000 bones and bone fragments have since been recovered from 11miles of the canal, which included 79 bones belonging to two humans, but 98% were animal bones, the state attorney general said last October. But other families with missing daughters say they have been told that partial remains of between 40 and 60 bodies have been recovered, and their DNA is currently being cross-checked with these remains. Fuentes said she was told by prosecutors that the canal was first inspected in March last year, not September, after authorities received a tip-off. The second victim to be identified from the remains lived just a couple miles from Diana. Mariana Elizabeth Yañez Reyes, 18, left home just before 9pm on 17 September 2014 to print off documents for a scholarship application at a nearby internet cafe, leaving her father and little sister dozing on the couch. Mariana’s route was a six-minute walk along two well-lit streets, but she never reached the cafe. Her mother, Guadalupe Reyes, returned from her call centre job in Mexico City at 10.30pm, to find her daughter had not returned. She ran to the cafe but it had closed for the night; one woman who lives on the same block as the cafe said she had heard a girl scream, but saw nothing. “She was a good student and a good daughter with so many dreams, but the authorities painted her as a depressed drug taker and tried to stain her name,” her mother said. In January, prosecutors said they had positively identified Mariana from remains – the top section of both thigh bones and a fragment of skull recovered from the canal a month after she disappeared. They did not offer any theory to explain how or why Mariana was abducted and killed. “They refused to show us the bones or even photos, said we weren’t psychologically ready. I want to know everything, step by step how they found her, who found her, everything, but I don’t know anything. They said we needed to accept it, but it makes no sense. How could her body be so decomposed after one month? I don’t believe it, I don’t believe them,” said Reyes. Guadalupe Reyes, in the bedroom of her daughter Mariana. Photograph: Ginnette RiquelmeNeither the state government, nor the attorney general’s office or specialist federal prosecutor responded to multiple requests for comment by the Guardian. There is still no national DNA databank in Mexico, so thousands of unidentified bodies are buried in common graves. Reyes is applying for permission to excavate the three bones which authorities say belong to Mariana, in order to commission independent DNA tests. Since 2010, the Observatory – a coalition of 43 groups that documents serious crimes against women – has been petitioning for a gender-based violence alert to be activated in Edomex. The emergency mechanism, introduced into law in 2007 as part of the post-Juárez reforms, would oblige the state government to launch an in-depth investigation into violence against women, and take concrete steps to tackle the problem. But officials have repeatedly said they need more proof that women in Edomex are being systematically targeted because of their gender, rather than falling victim to the violence of Mexico’s drug wars. Last year, the state governor’s spokesman said there were “more serious issues to deal with” than gender-based violence. Maria de la Luz Estrada, director of the Observatory, told the Guardian: “The situation in Edomex is grave and desperate. This is an emergency, authorities must start investigating and sanctioning perpetrators. Access to justice for women must be a reality, not just something which exists on paper.” Subscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownThis City Hopes That These Beautiful Giant Murals Will Change LivesGovernment officials in Ecatepec, a suburb of Mexico City, hope a major renovation will bring down violence but residents aren't so sure. by Karla ZabludovskyBuzzFeed News World Correspondent, Mexico Densely packed houses turned its hills into drab, concrete-covered lumps over the decades. About five years ago, the government started painting the exteriors of some of these houses with bright greens, pinks, and blues in an effort to make residents feel more connected to their surroundings and become less aggressive, according to the city’s authorities. So far, about 120,000 houses have been painted. Its 1.7 million residents face homicides, robberies, and extortions daily and the problem has only been on the rise since 2014. Women, in particular, are at risk in Ecatepec — femicides, or the killing of women because of their gender, went from three in 2013 to 12 by June of this year, according to local government statistics. Making matters worse, Ecatepec is a major hub for industry, making it a highly polluted area. But it’s also poverty-stricken: When Pope Francis visited the area in February, he spoke about the temptation of wealth, which some interpreted as a veiled dig at the country’s ruling class. “Our taxes are being used on something that doesn’t even work,” Raul Luna, who owns a wood furniture store in the area, told BuzzFeed News. At the bottom of the hill, close to the highway, is one of José María Morelos, a Mexican revolutionary who led the war of independence but was later executed by Spanish forces. Karla ZabludovskyBuzzFeed News World Correspondent, Mexico Alameda (15-0, 9 KO’s) of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico had an excellent amateur career and since his professional debut in April of 2014 has quickly become one of the top prospects in Mexico. The 22 year old is promoted by Promociones del Pueblo and TGB Promotions. Alameda made his debut in the United States earlier this year and stopped Andre Wilson in Los Angeles; since then, he has won two fights in Mexico. In his most recent bout on June 18, he stopped Hector Bobadilla in Toluca. “I started boxing when I was 13 years old. My family has been into boxing since I can remember and I just followed them to the gym. That’s how I got into boxing and I just love the sport. I had success as an amateur and fought in many international tournaments representing Mexico, but I always felt my brightest future would be in professional boxing,” said Alameda. A good boxer with power, Alameda has made a great transition into the pro level. In 2014, his first year as a pro, he was 6-0 with 6 KO’s; in 2015, he was also 6-0. So far this year he has a 3-0 record. “I feel that I am getting better with every fight. I was very happy to have fought in the United States earlier this year, and I am looking forward to fighting back in the states very soon,” said Alameda. The crafty lefty with thunder in both hands is just starting out but he has shown enough talent to quickly become one of the must watch prospects in Mexican boxing. His return will be at the Centro Regional del Deporte de Las Americas in Ecatepec, Mexico.  This website may contain adult language. TM & © 2025 BoxingScene.All Rights Reserved. This website may contain adult language TM & © 2025 BoxingScene.All Rights Reserved Mexico (AP) - One evening in September 2014 Mariana Yanez left her home in this crime-plagued Mexico City suburb saying she was going to make some photocopies authorities called her mother to say her 18-year-old daughter's head and thighs had been found in a sack in a sewage-choked canal Yanez's disappearance is a story shared by all too many in Mexico and nowhere more so than Ecatepec where Pope Francis is to hold the largest public event of his visit to Mexico when he celebrates Mass on an outdoor esplanade here on Sunday just miles (kilometers) from that canal "It's not just one daughter," said Guadalupe Reyes violence and drug-trafficking in Mexico ahead of his Feb and he is expected to address those same themes when he delivers his homily in Ecatepec disastrously mismanaged suburb of 1.6 million people The pontiff's decision to stop here shines an uncomfortable spotlight on the government's failure to solve entrenched social ills that plague many parts of Mexico - inequality crooked cops and failed city services - even as President Enrique Pena Nieto has sought to make economic reform modernization and bolstering the middle class hallmarks of his administration One of Mexico's most shocking crimes in recent years was the 2014 mass disappearance of 43 students in the southern state of Guerrero "His Holiness will be in the country's violent poor and miserable places," and government officials will not be able to gloss over those ills a weekly publication by the Archdiocese of Mexico and Francis is not coming for the tidy and whitewashed trumpery of the event Known for his work ministering to slums as a cleric in his native Buenos Aires the Argentine-born pontiff is no stranger to places like Ecatepec It's the most heavily populated municipality in the country and part of Mexico state where Pena Nieto was governor from 2005 to 2011 before leaving office to run for president Ecatepec is usually all but forgotten except at election time when political bosses arrive with handouts to try to mobilize voters Decades of unplanned and unrestrained development have fashioned the city into a carpet of gray slums that climb the surrounding hillsides intertwined with some better-off areas and industrial zones that generate almost 10 percent of the country's GDP Its location on the northern edge of the capital also makes it a strategic point for drug cartels Researcher Victor Manuel Sanchez says as many as five were in operation here in 2014 Crime thrives in the shadow of the cartels unemployed youths and a police force so corrupt that last year the government temporarily barred officers from enforcing traffic laws to keep them from shaking down motorists for bribes Homicides rose 9 percent in Mexico last year and some corners where the cartels are firmly in control suffer the kind of sky-high murder rates seen in neighboring El Salvador and Honduras Mexico is also among the most corrupt countries in the world and the second-least likely to punish crimes according to the University of the Americas in Puebla At least 1,554 women have disappeared in Mexico state since 2005 according to the National Observatory on Femicide and last year the government issued an alert over the killings of women in Ecatepec and 10 other parts of Mexico state "Ecatepec is the center of the problem," said Observatory coordinator and lawyer Maria de la Luz Estrada who is representing the victims in Mariana Yanez's case Reyes said she hopes to tell Pope Francis about how she doesn't trust the authorities who she thinks are in cahoots with the gangs and about the pain she felt when police said they had found "39 bodies And about her desperation when state officials then denied those reports yet didn't even bother to try to determine whose body parts they were "That's why I want to speak with the pope." A number of victims' groups have requested meetings with Francis The Mexican Bishops' Council has not ruled it out but says his schedule is very tight Francis has met before with those who suffered from organized crime violence holding a March 2014 prayer vigil in Rome with families of mafia victims He has called corruption one of humanity's worst sins and speaks pointedly against drug trafficking In a private letter to an Argentine cleric that provoked controversy last year he worried about the prospect of "Mexicanization" in his home country and said Mexican bishops told him the drug violence was "terrifying." Francis said he would pray with Mexicans who confront such challenges of drug-trafficking and cartels is not the Mexico that our mother (the Madonna) wants," he said However Papal Nuncio Christophe Pierre has made it clear that the pope who generally addresses thorny political issues with a diplomat's deft touch is not coming to Mexico to talk policy or solve the country's problems the church has stressed the visit's pastoral nature But a simple message of hope may not be enough "Hope loses meaning if it is not mentioned in the same breath as truth and justice," she said "I hope he will bring a strong message of encouragement and faith but also an appeal for authorities to fulfill their responsibilities and not continue demagoguery and simulation." While activists hope the visit will draw attention to human rights concerns authorities are busy beefing up security to avoid any surprises The government has assigned more than 10,000 police soldiers and agents of the presidential guard to protect the pope's motorcade and Mass in Ecatepec "They told us we could not bring placards or banners," said Guadalupe Fernandez apparently kidnapped by the Zetas drug cartel If Fernandez gets one of the 300,000 free tickets being handed out for the papal Mass where she beseeched him to pray for Mexico's disappeared Now she hopes he will pray for the more than 100,000 people killed and 27,000 missing in gangland violence that exploded after the Mexican government launched an offensive against the cartels in 2006 Billboards and posters have gone up all over Mexico City welcoming the pope ahead of his visit Some buildings in Ecatepec have gotten a fresh coat of paint And police have reportedly been quietly removing transients and migrants from Ecatepec's streets for the last month While workers were putting finishing touches on the outdoor stage for the Mass a dead body was found dumped on the street a few blocks away Local media said the killers apparently tried to set the corpse on fire Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report Feike de Jong walked the entire perimeter of one of the biggest cities in the world, to capture the strange scenery of the fringes of Mexico’s capitalFeike de Jong is the creator of the app Limits: On Foot Along the Edge of the Megalopolis of the Valley of Mexico Several new municipal governments in México state will face high levels of debt poverty and violence when they take office on January 1 according to a report by the state auditor’s office (Osfem) Tlalnepantla and Atizapán de Zaragoza – all part of greater Mexico City – also face other problems including poor water services bad roads and underperforming government officials robberies of homes and businesses and muggings have made Ecatepec the most dangerous municipality in the country The most recent National Survey on Urban Public Security released by statistics institute Inegi in October shows that 96.3% of Ecatepec residents consider their city an unsafe place to live The most shocking criminal conduct reported in the municipality this year was the murder of as many as 20 women by a man dubbed the “monster of Ecatepec” and his partner who also allegedly sold the baby of one of their victims Naucalpan and Tlalnepantla have public debt of 246.7 million pesos (US $12 million) and 624.2 million pesos (US $30.4 million) respectively the state’s 2017 Public Accounts report reveals meaning that the new governments will face the challenge of finding funds to repay it The Osfem assessment said that levels of transparency and institutional development in Coacalco are in a critical state and issued 181 recommendations to municipal authorities the municipal government had committed to repaving roads but made no progress on the project For the next Atizapán de Zaragoza government one pressing challenge will be to update the municipal development plan because no studies identifying work that needs to be done have been completed since 2003 México state municipal governments will also inherit a collective 5-billion-peso (US $243.6-million) debt related to the supply and chlorination of water Municipalities that form part of the Valley of México metropolitan area The debt is payable to the México State Water Commission Source: Milenio (sp)  your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt SCENES shines a spotlight on youth around the world who are breaking down barriers and creating change The character-driven short films will inspire and amaze as these young change-makers tell their remarkable stories The Ramirez family's main goal is to keep young people off the gritty crime-ridden streets in Ecatepec de Morelos so they wanted to share it with the community They found a derelict space underneath one of the city's busy bridges and transformed it into a boxing gym Gym Ramirez is different from most ordinary gyms its primary aim is to deter children from criminal activity by teaching them boxing At the head of the family is Miguel Ramirez who founded the gym with his family 14 years ago He told SCENES that it was important to them to impact their community positively "Ecatepec is known everywhere in Mexico as a red spot for crime we want to help these people," says Miguel Ramirez Miguel runs a small street food business selling Mexican Tacos he devotes time to training young aspiring boxers His family's unique sports centre has become a sanctuary for many young people and Miguel finds himself helping in more ways than one Miguel believes that by instilling the strong discipline of boxing those who practise it have fewer opportunities to fall into a life of crime "We want the young people to have another vision," he says daughter and grandson have all been involved in the sport is an aspiring boxer who hopes to become a World Champion one day "Gym Ramirez is a very nice place with very good coaches They motivate me to keep fighting for my dreams," he says a doctor and a therapist," Miguel says proudly "When you have been with a student for many years he is already part of your family," he adds There are times when young people cannot afford to eat or do not have money to attend the gym "I tell them I will not charge you a penny but the condition is that you come and train," he says firmly Miguel has witnessed and shared the achievements of the young people he trains His dedication and expertise have led to several of his boxers excelling in local and national competitions "I have been named manager of the year three years in a row," Miguel says "Because I have trained six boxers who delivered the most gold Miguel is constantly aware that he is responsible for the safety of the young boxers in his care He takes proactive measures to protect them from potential harm during training "It is such a big responsibility because boxing is not easy She has trained students for over twelve years and says she enjoys positively influencing young people's lives "Many children learn how to defend themselves because many suffer from bullying," Fernanda tells SCENES "I like to teach people that come here looking for refuge says she takes pleasure in steering young people away from negative influences and towards a healthy lifestyle "I like boxing because it's one of the most complete sports It's where you can de-stress in all aspects," says Fernanda "It's a sport that can change lives," she adds The Ramirez family are motivated by seeing the young people achieve recognition in boxing Their passion for the sport and guidance have helped steer young people away from crime and other negative influences "Gym Ramirez is something that my whole family and I enjoy The positive impact of the family's gym extends far beyond the bridge and into the community Miguel hopes that every young person in the area finds the motivation to change their lives for the better archaeologists in Mexico were forced to rebury a peculiar monument they had discovered on the outskirts of Mexico City concealing a significant historical object that may or may not see the light of day in the future According to ScienceAlert's report the discovery is a tunnel that was part of the Albarradón de Ecatepec a flood-control network of dikes and rivers designed to defend the ancient city of Tenochtitlan from rising waters But in the early years of Spanish colonization the conquistadors could not recognize this indigenous infrastructure's genius and destroyed many pre-Hispanic buildings However, the Albarradón de Ecatepec and several flood-control systems of its kind were erected or renovated in the early 1600s after repeated floods overwhelmed colonial Mexico City Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) found such a structure within the Albarradón de Ecatepec in 2019; the tunnel they found preserved a distinctive blend of the cultures that produced it which was just 8.4 meters (27.5 feet) long was a minor portion of the enormous Albarradón de Ecatepec monument which was constructed by several native workers and spanned a total distance of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) the discovery of numerous pre-Hispanic glyphs in the structure was significant and unusual It's believed that non-Hispanic citizens from the villages of Ecatepec and Chiconautla who assisted in building the Albarradón de Ecatepec may have erected the symbols within the tunnel Researchers explained in 2019 that one goal of the project was to understand the road's construction system which allowed the team to demonstrate that it does not use pre-Hispanic techniques but rather semicircular arches and andesite voussoirs centuries-old blend of Aztec and Spanish cultural components was supposed to be transformed into a public exhibit so that people could visit and examine it Researchers from INAH announced last year that the tunnel section would have to be reburied once more due to a lack of finances to construct the display and maintain the magnificent structure properly According to analysts, the COVID-19 issue in Mexico's economy had a significant economic impact on the decision. ⓒ 2025 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage! by NICOLE WINFIELD, PETER ORSI, Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) Pope Francis heads into the capital's crime-ridden suburb of Ecatepec on Sunday to see firsthand the reality of the Mexican "periphery," where drug violence, gangland-style executions and kidnappings are daily facts of life. The pontiff is expected to bring a message of hope and solidarity to residents with a Mass featuring readings about not being tempted by the devil a common exhortation from a pope who frequently invokes the threat of "the evil one." The Mass is to take place at an outdoor field with an estimated capacity of 400,000, and the pope's choice of Ecatepec for what figures to be his biggest event in Mexico says volumes about his priorities. The city of some 1.6 million people is a sprawling carpet of cinderblock slums mixed in with some better-off neighborhoods. It's also a strategic point for drug gangs that thrive amid poverty, unemployment and impunity. It will be a strikingly different backdrop from the pageantry of Friday night's red-carpet welcome at the Mexico City airport, where President Enrique Pena Nieto and first lady Angelica Rivera greeted Francis alongside performances by folkloric dancers and mariachi musicians. Pilgrims in white baseball caps wrapped themselves in blankets against temperatures that dipped into the 30s Fahrenheit (3 celsius) early Sunday as they trudged along roads to the site of the Mass. Conchita Tellez, 65, from the northwest Mexico border city of Mexicali, said she spent 38 hours on a bus to get to Ecatepec and was among the first in line for a spot at the Mass. She expressed hope Francis can help ease the troubled soul of the country, where 100,000 people have been killed and 27,000 disappeared in gangland violence since Pena Nieto's predecessor launched an offensive against drug cartels shortly after taking office in late 2006. "The pope comes to Mexico at a very ugly moment," Tellez said, "and he comes to pray for us and for all those who lost hope and have submerged the country in blood and violence." Francis' is visiting Ecatepec a day after his grueling schedule appeared to be already taking a toll. He seemed tired and winded at times Saturday, and he appeared to nod off at an evening Mass and also lost his balance and fell into a chair set up for him to pray. The first two days of the 79-year-old Francis' trip were filled with back-to-back public events and he logged dozens of kilometers (miles) standing in his popemobile in Mexico City while adjusting to a seven-hour time zone difference from Rome. The capital's more than 7,200 feet (2,200 meters) of altitude can also be a challenge for anyone not acclimated, perhaps more so for Francis who lost part of one lung as a young man. On Saturday, he issued a pair of tough-love messages to Mexico's political and church elite, telling them they have a duty to provide security, justice and courageous pastoral care. Speaking to the president and other members of government at the National Palace, the pope said public officials must be honest and not be seduced by corruption and privilege that benefits the few to the detriment of the many. In a subsequent address to his own bishops, he challenged church leaders known for their deference to Mexico's wealthy and powerful to denounce the "insidious threat" of the drug trade and be true pastors instead of career-minded clerics who spew inoffensive denunciations that make them sound like "babbling orphans beside a tomb." Francis urged bishops to get close to their flock and help Mexicans "finally escape the raging waters that drown so many, either victims of the drug trade or those who stand before God with their hands drenched in blood, though with pockets filled with sordid money and their consciences deadened." Francis ended his public activities Saturday at the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is the largest and most important Marian shrine in the world. After delivering his homily, the pope sat silently in front of the image of the Virgin for nearly five minutes while the Mass continued. Later, he moved into a chamber behind the altar where the image is kept for nearly 30 minutes, fulfilling a wish to pray quietly before Mexico's patron saint. "Just by looking at (the Virgin), Mexico can be understood completely," Francis said earlier. The pope's five-day trip to the world's largest Spanish-speaking Catholic country is shining an uncomfortable spotlight on government and church shortcomings in dealing with social ills. According to government statistics, about 46 percent of Mexicans live in poverty, including 10 percent in extreme poverty. Meanwhile, the homicide rate rose precipitously between 2006 and 2011, before declining somewhat for the next three years and then ticking up again in 2015. Since 2005, at least 1,554 women have disappeared in Mexico state, where Ecatepec is located, according to the National Observatory on Femicide. On Saturday, vendors hawked pope T-shirts in Ecatepec as thousands of workers and security agents directed pilgrims and kept the peace. Francis' schedule Sunday includes three popemobile motorcades and a visit to a pediatric hospital. Originally he also intended to meet with cultural figures, but that was nixed when the Vatican delayed his Ecatepec Mass by an hour so worshippers could arrive in the morning rather than camp out overnight in potentially freezing temperatures. "The pope is coming to Ecatepec because it needs him and because the faith is reeling," said Petra Arqueta, a 62-year-old from Morelos who nonetheless spent a night waiting in line. "The poor and the working people are here, and this pope prefers to talk to the humble." Associated Press writer Jacobo Garcia in Ecatepec contributed to this report. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Bottling plant 'consumes more than a million litres of water a day' I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Coca-Cola factory in Mexico is reportedly draining wells dry forcing local residents to buy bottled water Natural supplies have run out in the indigenous town of San Felipe Ecatepec in the state of Chiapas meaning people must walk for two hours to fetch drinking water consumed 1.08 million litres of water a day in 2016 "People sometimes walk two hours a day to get water. Others have to buy their water.” Mr Urmano said people in the region had repeatedly asked both state and federal governments to install a deep well in the community for 12 years, to increase the community's access to water, but authorities had not done anything. Although Chiapas has the highest level of renewable water resources per capita in Mexico, one in three people in rural regions reportedly lack safe drinking water. Climate change and outbreaks of salmonella have exacerbated the problem. In response to reports that it was leaving indigenous communities near San Chrisobal without water, FEMSA said it was "committed to the sustainable development of its associates, communities and the environment". A spokesperson said: “We operate according with the legal framework and under internal processes to guarantee efficient water use. Additionally we run programmes to replenish to communities and the environment the same amount of water we use in our beverages." Coca-Cola has previously come under fire in the country for the negative health impact of its sugary drinks. Mexico has high levels of obesity and more than 70 per cent of the population is overweight or obese. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies