Rescue of Mine Workers/Violence in Several States

Rescue of mine workers. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that foreign rescuers could help the Mexican government in its search for the lost miners in Coahuila. “It is not ruled out because we want to do everything possible to rescue them. If necessary, we will bring rescuers from anywhere in the world.”

On August 3, 15 miners were working at a depth of 60m in the coal mine located in Sabinas, Coahuila, when the walls of the tunnels collapsed, flooding the three pits. For a week, authorities have been draining the water to enter the mine and rescue the miners, whose health status remains unknown. At the time of the accident, five of the 15 mine workers managed to escape. Currently, the relatives of the victims have complained about the lack of transparency and progress of the authorities. The authorities explained that they have not been able to rescue the miners because the water levels in the wells rose significantly this weekend. Consequently, the government strategy has been changed to permanent pumping of the pits,  drilling 20 wells and injecting cement to seal galleries in the coal plate.

Violence in several states. López Obrador assured that governability exists despite violent acts such as blockades and property burnings carried out by members of organized crime.

Last week, drug trafficking groups were responsible for carrying out several violet incidents in Jalisco, Guanajuato, Chihuahua and Baja California. On August 9, burning of vehicles, clashes and arson were reported in Guanajuato and Jalisco. Later, a deadly confrontation was reported between  Los Chapos and Los Mexicles groups in Chihuahua, leaving 11 people dead. On August 12, several municipalities in Baja California suffered acts of violence, where 19 cars were set on fire. Authorities explained that there were 96 hours of violence, which left 12 dead, six injured and 20 detained.

New minister of education. López Obrador announced that since the current Minister of Education Delfina Gómez will leave her position to become a candidate for governor for the State of Mexico, Head of Citizen Attention Leticia Ramírez will be the new Minister. “I want to take the opportunity to introduce you to the person who is going to replace Delfina. She is also a teacher, and her name is Leticia Ramírez. We have known each other for 28 years. I trust her.”

Recently, it was announced that Gómez would leave the Ministry of Education after winning the MORENA polls to be candidate for the governorship of the State of Mexico in 2023. Goméz assumed the position of minister in December 2020 when former Education Minister Esteban Moctezuma Barragán was appointed Mexico's Ambassador to the US. For her part, Ramírez was previously Head of Citizen Services from 2000 to 2012. Later she was an advisor to the Ministry of the Environment from 2012 to 2018. Ramírez has also been a leader of section 9 of both the National Union of Education Workers and the Coordinator National Education Workers.