Referendum to Try Former Presidents Falls Short/Gas Distribution

Jalisco situation. Jalisco’s Gov. Enrique Alfaro highlighted the improvement in his state’s crime rate, saying that the number of homicides is falling, although the figures remain high. “In total, homicides have been falling consistently (81 percent) for at least the last three years (although) we are still above what we had in 2018.” Secretary of the Navy Rafael Ojeda Durán added that there has also been a downward trend in extortion, business robberies and femicides.

LP gas distribution. Ricardo Sheffield, head of the Federal Consumer Prosecutor’s Office (Profeco), announced that the price at which LP gas is sold by distributors will be reviewed so that the maximum authorized price is respected. He added that those who do not comply will lose their distribution permit, provided by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). “We want to monitor and sanction those who sell above this maximum price. Prices vary a great deal because the distribution also varies a great deal ... the Ministry of Economy considered 145 regions throughout the country, then the Ministry of Energy made the calculations, which take into account not only a fair profit but also the expenses, the transfer and the price by each of the distributors throughout the country.”

Referendum. The referendum on whether former presidents should be prosecuted for corruption and other crimes attracted a small turnout yesterday but President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the results were nonetheless “really important.” The referendum attracted only 7.4 percent of voters, far short of the 40 percent threshold needed. Of those who voted, 90 percent were in favor. López Obrador said that the low turnout should be blamed on the National Electoral Institute (INE). “I think there was a lot of talk about participatory democracy in the discourse, there was much demagogy, but it was not put into practice,” he said.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish