Yearly Archives: 1996
BORDER ENVIRONMENT
By Ana Vinas and Kelly Simmons In November, it was announced that a new alternative for treating Ciudad Juarez’ raw sewage (Aguas Negras or “Black Waters”) would be 20% cheaper than a conventional sewer treatment plant. The alternative treatment would not clean up the water well enough for human use, but it could be used…
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BORDER COMMERCE
By Kelly Simmons, managing editor and senior writer Mexico’s national electricity company, known as CFE (Comision Federal de Electricidad), will not renew its contract to purchase electricity from the beleaguered El Paso Electric company, it was announced in November. CFE’s contract with the El Paso Electric Company, which was for the supply of 200 megawatts…
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BORDER TRANSPORTATION
by Kelly Simmons, managing editor and senior writer A joint U.S.-Mexico pilot program to speed the time it takes for commercial trucks to cross the border was announced by Federico Pena, the U.S. Secretary for Transportation at a meeting in San Antonio, Texas. The program is being tested at crossings in El Paso/Ciudad Juarez and…
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BORDER POLITICS
By Dr. Jose Z. Garcia, Professor of Government, New Mexico State University National Election Issues Elections and electoral reform dominated the news in November. At the national level, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) installed a new president (Jose Waldenberg), a new executive secretary (Felipe Solis Acero), and a Federal Electoral Tribunal (Trife) composed of 22…
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PROTESTS LEAD TO LOCAL EFFORT TO CHANGE ELECTRIC RATES
By Kelly Simmons and Ana Vinas Protests have been mounting against the federally owned and operated Electric Commission (Comision Federal de Electridad, CFE) over the rise in prices for electricity as well as increases in disconnections against people who cannot pay their electric bills. The public outcry has led to a suit by the Association…
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BI-NATIONAL AIR QUALITY GROUP MEETS TO SOLVE BORDER POLLUTION
The first meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee on Air Quality for the Paso del Norte Region (Cuenca Paso del Norte para Control del Aire) took place in November in El Paso, Texas to discuss ways of solving air pollution problems that have plagued El Paso, TX, Ciudad Juarez, Chi and Sunland Park, NM for…
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DEBT RESTRUCTURING LEADS TO BANKING CONTROVERSY
By Kelly Simmons and Ana Vinas The January 1995 peso devaluation and ensuing financial and economic crisis in Mexico has created havoc for the nation’s creditors and debtors. According to reports in Diario de Juarez and El Norte, the Mexican government created a program to restructure debts, the Additional Benefits Program, with a deadline for…
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BORDER COMMERCE
by Kelly Simmons, Managing Editor and Senior Writer The Trade Secretariat (SECOFI) announced during October that it is taking steps to promote the purchase of domestic components for the assembly processes in maquiladora plants. The new effort includes designating suppliers of maquiladora plants as “submaquilas” and extending the tax breaks and other favorable treatment granted…
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BORDER ENVIRONMENT
Special on Air Quality by Kelly Simmons and Ana Vina Mexico’s air quality standards for ozone have been violated in Juarez on 14 occasions over the past 5 months according to the director of the Urban Development and Municipal Ecology agency, Oscar Ibanez. Among the main contributors are vehicle emissions. There are currently 350,000 registered…
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BORDER TRANSPORTATION
The Governor of California, Pete Wilson, and a Texas Senator who is running for re-election, Phil Gramm, are both calling for a change in the U.S. position on Mexican trucks entering and traveling in the United States under the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a letter to President Bill Clinton, Governor Wilson requested permission…
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