Mayor Jorge Pivac Carrillo attended an important meeting with directors of the SESELEC company, the group that will be responsible for the construction of the photovoltaic plant near Puerto Peñasco. The plant will represent the first solar power plant of this magnitude in the country, and will be the seventh largest solar power plant in the entire world.

The mayor promised to be a facilitator and a problem solver and to help facilitate the needs of the project, as the representative for the city. The plant is important for Rocky Point in that it will strengthen the economy and provide both direct and indirect jobs for residents, and the mayor promised to do all in his power to make it go as smoothly as possible.

Engineer Vladimir Ortega Maldonado, general director of SESELEC announced that the work that will be carried out for the installation of this solar power plant has already begun. The plant will be built on a two-thousand-hectare site near the Mar de Cortés airport and will supply electric power to both Sonora and Baja California.

In this project, nine thousand six hundred forty-one million pesos will be invested in the construction of the project through both the federal and state governments.

“In Peñasco there will be guaranteed employment, improving the quality of life for the people of Peñasco and their families, and this great project will strengthen the presence of Puerto Peñasco on the national map. In addition, various opportunities will be generated for our people that we must not miss out on,” commented Mayor Pivac.

The mayor added that the municipality will promote a job bank in support of the company's recruitment and hiring area and mentioned that those interested in filling any of the vacancies which will be opened at the time of starting this project can come to city hall to leave a job application. Available positions will soon be announced.

Phase I of the Photovoltaic Plant will have an installed capacity of 420 MW in alternating current, beginning with 120 MW which will flow directly into our municipality. The second stage will generate 300 MW and will feed energy to nearby cities. It is expected around 400 direct and indirect jobs will be generated from the project.

By Russ Black

DETAILS: www.mermaidsmarket.com

Mexico resumed the crown as the main trading partner of the United States, measured by the sum of imports and exports, closing February with an accumulated balance of 113.2 billion dollars, according to official data from the neighboring country.

According to information from the Census Bureau of the US Department of Commerce, between January and February, Mexico accounted for 14.5 percent of the world trade of the main economic power, slightly surpassing China and Canada.

The return of Mexico as the largest trading partner of the US was thanks to a rebound in February, when the balance of the exchange of goods and services totaled 56.3 billion dollars, surpassing the aforementioned nations.

Mexico had closed December 2021 as the third partner of the US, registering in that month a commercial exchange of 57 billion dollars, while for January it was in second place with 56 thousand 900 million, on both occasions, the position of honor was occupied by China.

 “Today the US Census Bureau gives us the news that, during the first two months of 2022, Mexico was placed as the number 1 trading partner of the US with a total trade of 11.3 billion dollars. We continue to strengthen our productive integration”, said Tatiana Clouthier, Secretary of the Economy, on her social networks.

More than 365 tons of garbage were collected following the Semana Santa celebrations in Rocky Point. Trash was collected from public streets, outside of homes and businesses, along the beach, and throughout town, concentrated mostly in the tourist areas.

The Agency for the Comprehensive Management of the Municipal Cleaning Service redoubled their efforts, added more staff, and extended work hours to accomplish the task after the very busy holiday.

 ZOFEMAT reported on the beaches and Federal zones alone, more than 53 tons of garbage was collected and kept from going into the sea. Cesar Garcia, director of ZOFEMAT, explained that in the cleanup operation after Easter, garbage collection was carried out in Playa Hermosa, Sandy Beach, La Cholla beach, La Cholla estuary, Mi Playa, Mirador beach, as well as the accesses and avenues that connect to them.

Both Oomislim and ZOFEMAT personnel extended working hours and the crews, equipment, and machinery were on the job from 4:00 am until midnight cleaning the city.

Mayor Jorge Pivac applauded the efforts and the extra hours put in by the city agencies as well as by personnel from the security and rescue divisions of the city. He also called for the residents and tourists to help keep the beaches clean of garbage and to keep house yards and the areas around their homes picked up.

As inflation soars to almost 8%, the federal government is seeking an agreement with private companies to limit price increases on basic food items.

Jesús Ramírez, President López Obrador’s spokesman and communications coordinator, told the news agency Bloomberg that the pact would focus on the approximately 25 products that make up the canasta básica, a basic selection of foodstuffs including beans, rice, eggs and sugar. He said in a phone interview that it hadn’t been decided exactly which products would be included in the agreement.

Two other Bloomberg sources said that government officials had met with representatives of leading companies to discuss the plan. López Obrador said three weeks ago that the government was considering placing price controls on basic food items as part of efforts to control inflation. Consumer prices were up 7.72% annually in early April, a 20-year high well above the central bank’s target of 3% give or take a percentage point.

López Obrador indicated Monday that a government program to confront inflation would be presented next week. “We’re doing well in tax collection, we’re doing well in job creation, the peso is resisting and we’re going to … start a program to confront inflation, we’re working on that,” the president said at his morning news conference.

López Obrador, whose government subsidizes gasoline and last year attempted to cap LP gas prices, said that electricity and fuel prices were only up 0.6%, but acknowledged that the government has to act on food prices by “seeking agreement with producers.” “I’ll take the opportunity to tell farmers, small producers, that we’re already delivering support and we have to sow new crops, we have to produce,” he said. “No country can get ahead if it doesn’t produce and at this time it’s essential to sow corn, beans, rice. … Just as we must be self-sufficient in energy, we have to be self-sufficient in food, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve now,” López Obrador said.

He said his main current concern as president was to control inflation because of the impact it has on family budgets. “We’re working on that. I believe that we’ll present the plan in a week,” López Obrador said. “We’ve made a lot of progress, we’re speaking with businesspeople, with producers,” he said. “… We’re going to produce, we’re going to plant now that it’s time … in order to have corn, to have beans, to have basic foods. [Production] helps a lot because there is a global imbalance that was produced or precipitated with the pandemic and then it worsened with the war [in Ukraine],” López Obrador said.

A notable aspect about Mexico is the great variety of foods and dishes that can be easily identified with the country.

Most of the traditional foods are available all year round, although certain dates and holidays are associated with particular dishes.

September, the Mes de la Patria because of the Independence Day, brings chiles en nogada, hot green peppers filled with walnuts and raisins, covered with cream and sprinkled with pomegranate; and pozole, a broth with large grains of corn, red or green chili, chicken or pork, radish, and other trimmings.

October is when bakeries bring out the Pan de Muerto bread for the All Souls Day celebrations, although some stores, particularly supermarkets, start selling it during late August, presumably to maximize their sales opportunity.

Christmas dishes include bacalao, specially prepared codfish; romeritos, dried shrimp and rosemary sprigs in mole; and the Rosca de Reyes cake is cut at Epiphany (Three Kings Day) on January 6th.

Tamales - a traditional (and ancient) food made using corn dough steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf, and flavored with savory or sweet fillings are eaten all year round, but traditionally at Candlemas, on February 2nd. Also by tradition, if your slice of Rosca de Reyes contains a baby doll figurine (baked into the mix of every cake), you are obliged to host a party on this date to serve the tamales to family and friends.

For newcomers to Mexico, some local dishes, particularly spicy ones, take a while to get used to, and some people at first turn their noses up at the different tastes and smells. Quite understandably, many Mexicans are astounded someone wouldn't like pozole, or mole, or some other dish that people here get excited about, and they assume you haven't tried it. If you say you have, then obviously "no has probado el que hace mi tía" - you haven't tried the one my aunt makes.

Perhaps one of the most acquired tastes in Mexican food is mole. This sauce is made from dried and ground chile peppers mixed with other spices and ingredients-famously chocolate used in making mole poblano (from Puebla) or black mole of Oaxaca. There are many kinds of mole, which are usually mixed with meat, rice, chicken, or vegetables.

Mole recipes vary, and local restaurants renowned for their mole often keep the precise recipe (moreover, the proportions of the ingredients) a closely-guarded secret.

Mole is one of the truly mestizo (mixed indigenous and Spanish) dishes of Mexico. The Aztecs were making sauces from chili peppers to which they attached the suffix -mulli or -molli. Following the Spanish conquest, other spices were introduced and different kinds of sauce were developed.

Mole Recipe (one of countless shared and secret recipes):

Ingredients

 

  2 Chipotle peppers     

  1 Onion, sliced

  2 cloves Garlic               

  2 Tomatoes   

  1 tablespoon Raw Peanuts (Moongphali)         

  1 Star anise    

  1 inch Cinnamon Stick (Dalchini)           

  2 Cloves (Laung)          

  2 inch Dark chocolate

  1 teaspoon Dried oregano      

  1 teaspoon Black pepper powder        

  1 tablespoon Raisins  

  1 tablespoon Maize flour (Corn Meal)               

  1 tablespoon Butter   

  1 cup Chicken stock    

  Salt to taste

 

Preparation:

 

To begin making the Homemade Mole Sauce Recipe we will first, roast the tomatoes by heating a sauce pan with oil, add the whole tomatoes.

 

In the meanwhile preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes.

 

Once the tomatoes roasted slightly and got light brown on skin, switch off the heat. Take a foil add the tomatoes and drizzle some olive oil and cover the foil and place it in the oven and roast them for about 15 minutes.

 

In the same pan add some more oil, sliced onions and cloves of garlic and saute until it softens.

 

Once the onions are sauted switch off the flame, allow it to cool down. Add them into a mixer along with star anise, cloves, cinnamon and raisins. Add little water to blitz it into a smooth paste. Keep it aside.

 

Take the tomatoes out and chop them up and blitz them also along with toasted peanuts and chipotle chilies to a smooth paste.

 

Let's start to make the sauce. Heat the pan with butter once the butter starts to melt, add maize flour and keep whisking it to make a roux.

 

Add chicken broth and mix well so that there are no lumps formed. Keep whisking till the sauce thickens.

 

Add in the onion paste and tomato paste and bring it to a boil. Add in your seasonings and broken chocolate now and whisk well. Adjust the salt level and boil for 10 more minutes switch off the flame.

 

Use the Homemade Mole Sauce to make Chicken mole sauce with brown sweet corn rice recipe to make a nice lunch meal for yourself.

When shopping in a supermarket in Mexico, you are likely to see senior citizens bagging groceries at the checkouts. These seniors are not employees, but volunteers, subsisting entirely on tips.

Mexico does not have age-based labor discrimination laws. Employers can advertise for a position and include the age range they are willing to hire. Even when these age ranges are not explicitly stated, it is nearly impossible to find a job in Mexico after turning 60. This creates a desperate situation for senior citizens whose pensions do not cover living expenses.

Supermarket chains take advantage of this desperation by hiring them as volunteers instead of employees, at great benefit to their bottom line. Although they have none of the benefits or protections of regular employees, they are still expected to follow many of the same rules. If they want to go on vacation, they must ask for permission in advance but receive no vacation pay. If they miss a day of work, they must bring a written justification, such as a doctor’s note. Their only medical insurance is through pensions from their previous careers.

Diego, 66, who asked that we not publish his name, has been bagging groceries at Super Ley for four years. “I’ll keep working until I fall over. I have to.”

So how are the tips?

“Some people tip better than others. You might get 10 pesos [US $0.50) for two bags, or you might bag a week’s worth of groceries and get a smile, or a blessing.” Diego used to be self-employed but retired with a government pension.

María Guadalupe Zarate, 64, has also been at Superama for four years. She previously worked as the head cashier for the IMSS Social Security Institute, and is also on a government pension. “I can make about 200 pesos a day. That money is important for my personal economy. If I need to rest when it isn’t my break, one of the other volunteers will cover for me,” she said. What she makes in tips is almost double the minimum wage for a day of work in Mexico City — 102.68 pesos.

Walmart has a long history of shady business practices and strained labor relations in Mexico. In March of this year, the company narrowly avoided an 8,000-employee strike by meeting some of their demands. In 2012, the New York Times published an exposé on their history of using bribes to circumvent zoning laws, including opening a store next to the pyramids at Teotihuacán, which led to prolonged protests by local residents.

In 2008, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled Walmart’s employee payment scheme was unconstitutional. It had been paying employees with vouchers only redeemable in their stores.

The federal government reached an agreement recently with pension funds that will reduce commissions and give a person entering the workforce today 10% more upon retirement. Unfortunately for current retirees, there are no plans to increase their pensions.

Mexico’s senior citizens will have to continue to make ends meet however they can, and for many that will mean bagging groceries for tips.

April 2022