Mexico Accused of Violating the USMCA/Escobar's Third Autopsy

US and Canada have accused Mexico of violating the USMCA trade. The US and Canada have requested trade consultations within USMCA´s framework, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador emphasized that Mexico's policies are considered a national matter and no other country is going to influence them. “We are going to do everything in our part to make it clear that there has been no violation of the USMCA. Our policies are defined in Mexico, and not in other countries.”Yesterday, the US and Canada requested trade dispute talks with Mexico, arguing that due to its energy policies, Mexico is not fulfilling its obligations under the USMCA. Both countries said that Mexico is favoring state-owned companies CFE and PEMEX over private and foreign ones, and as a consequence is hurting their investments and restricting market access. The Mexican Minister of Economy announced that the country is interested in finding a win-win solution for all countries. Experts argue that if the USMCA complaint remains unresolved, Mexico would face retaliatory tariffs.

SEDATU invests significantly to improve housing in Mexico. Deputy Minister of Territorial and Agrarian Planning Edna Vega highlighted that the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU) has granted more than 253,000 subsidies to improve housing in Mexico. Vega stressed that most of the support has been given to the southern areas of the country.  “So far, we have given 253,051 subsidies. We offer the possibility for families living in marginalized areas to have a better quality of life. Our programs benefit 313,000 families, that is, more than a million people.”According to SEDATU, 69,668 subsidies have been delivered for expansion works; 90,429 subsidies for work improvements and 92,954 subsidies for new housing. In addition, 857 urban improvement works have been carried out in 25 states and 135 municipalities across Mexico, totalingMX$21 billion (US$1.02 billion).

Feminicide of Debanhi Escobar. Deputy Minister of Security Ricardo Mejía stressed that after the new findings of the exhumation of Debanhi Escobar's body, López Obrador has given the order to clarify facts and guarantee that her feminicide does not go unpunished. “We have indications from the President to seek the truth and  facts, as well as guarantee that there is no impunity and that justice served. We are already working to find more clues.”

On April 21, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) reported that a body rescued from a water tank in Nuevo León matched the description of Escobar, the 18-year-old girl who disappeared on April 9. The Attorney General's Office autopsy exposed that Escobar's cause of death was due to an intracranial hemorrhage. It is believed that she drowned and did not experience sexual abuse. Nevertheless, the autopsy provided by the family confirmed that she died before falling into the water tank and that there were signs of sexual abuse. Faced with social pressure and criticism, the authorities decided to request the exhumation of the body to perform a third autopsy. According to the new results, Escobar died of asphyxiation between three and five days before her body was found. Likewise, no injuries were found that indicate that there was any sexual violence.

Arrests for the murder of two priests. Deputy Minister of Security Ricardo Mejia reported that 14 people have been arrested for their link to José Noriel Portillo Gil, “El Chueco”, who allegedly murdered Jesuit priests Javier Campos Morales and Joaquín Mora Salazar. In addition, Mejía stressed that of the 14 detainees, nine are already being prosecuted for various crimes.

Last month, a man running from a hitman sought refuge at the church where the two Jesuit priests were working. When the hitman reached the precincts, he began firing  killing the two priests and the man. The suspect of killing the priests is apparently part of a criminal gang. Jesuit priests condemned the state of violence in the Sierra Tarahumara, where everyday men and women get murdered, mainly by criminal organizations.