CFE complaints
Nine out of ten complaints filed against the Commission Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico’s electric utility, concern disputed charges, the federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) reports.
In 2015, Profeco received 29,000 complaints; the figure dropped to 21,700 last year. One out of every three complaints was settled in favor of the plaintiff.
Spring breakers
According to witnesses, U.S. spring breakers descending from a cruise ship in Cancun chanted “Build the wall, build the wall” much to the displeasure of Mexican onlookers and passengers of other nationalities. One report indicated that the youths continued to chant the abuse even after they were asked to stop.
Saving mariachi
The Jalisco Secretariat of Culture in Guadalajara was the site of a meeting between various institutions and individuals to draw up a national plan to “safeguard” mariachi music for the future. Government representatives, universities, academics and musicians took part in the encounter. Mariachi music is already one of eight Mexican “elements” on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Homicides up
The first three months of 2017 registered the highest number of murders in Jalisco for the past three years, with 212 confirmed homicides. The figure for January, February and March of 2016 was 196, while in 2015 the total was 151.
Farm animals’ rights
The Mexican Senate has approved a farm animal protection bill that raises the maximum sentence for abuse to four years in prison. The new regulations impose sanctions for castrating pigs without anesthesia, as well as dehorning livestock and docking cow’s tails.