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Single tickets for all San Francisco Symphony 2021–22 Season Concerts  

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra with Daniel Stewart, music director and conductor, in rehearsal at Davies Symphony Hall, on Saturday afternoon, October 5, 2019.

Compiled by the El Reportero‘s staff

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Single tickets for the San Francisco Symphony’s 2021–22 season go on sale starting 8am via the Davies Symphony Hall box office on Tuesday, August 31 and will be available online and via phone beginning 10am the same day. For the full 2021–22 concert schedule, please refer to the 2021–22 Season Calendar. To learn more about the 2021–22 season, read the Season Announcement press release.

Added holiday concerts include Holiday Soul, conducted by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and featuring vocalist Yolanda Adams and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, December 8; A Merry-Achi Christmas with Mariachi Sol de México® de José Hernández,

Other performances added to the San Francisco Symphony’s 2021-22 season schedule include Best in Brass featuring the SF Symphony brass section, March 6; Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story—Film with Live Orchestra, conducted by Christopher Dragon, March 18–19.

 

Circus Bella is pleased to announce its triumphant return to the San Francisco Bay Area Parks

The circus has arrived with its twelfth annual, all-new outdoor show: Humorous. A post-pandemic season of mischief! Featuring some of the dazzling talents of the Bay Area circus and beyond, this FREE performance series will delight and wow audiences of all ages at a treasured family event for children of all ages.

Humorous is a celebration of the fantastic world that we discover together through the simple gifts of wonder and laughter. Directed by Abigail Munn, the 60-minute performance features the lively Circus Bella Company, a diverse and talented company of acrobats, aerialists, jugglers and clowns, performing to live music from Rob Reich and the Circus Bella All-Star Band.

HUMOROUS is led by Abigail Munn (Co-Founder and Director of Circus Bella).

Aug. 26 through Oct. 9, 2021. Multiple locations in Bay Area parks *

Limited participation – Only 12 presentations!

– Thursday preview. Aug. 26 – 5:15 p.m. – DeFremery Park, West Oakland

– Press Opening – Saturday, Aug. 28 at 11:45 a.m. – Yerba Buena Gardens, SF

 

CHCC announces its 42nd Annual Statewide Convention

California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce to announce lineup for their 42nd annual state convention September 9-11 in Indian Wells, California

More than 500 attendees are expected to attend as the Chamber honors the Hispanic community and entrepreneurs, as well as business leaders in the Coachella Valley after the pandemic.

The California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (CHCC) will announce their line of conventions, including on-site assistance for business owners applying for California Relief Grants, the latest rounds of government assistance for small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during the next Annual State Convention.

This year’s Annual State Convention, “Beyond the Boundaries”, will take place September 9-11, 2021 in Indian Wells, California. The annual convention fosters Hispanic and diverse economic development for the great economies of California and the United States.

The CHCC attracts participation from Hispanic business and community leaders, corporate representatives, government officials, and Hispanic business members of our more than 105 local and regional Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and diverse members of business associations throughout the state, as well as chambers of the whole country.

On Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021 at 10 a.m., Webcast. CHCC 42nd Annual State Convention Virtual Press Conference

Time: Aug. 5, 2021 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join the Zoom meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89254774376?pwd=TXNQYk1qTzBkMExENDdaejhoMkdQdz09

Zoom Dial 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID 824671 #

 

 

 

The nuclear option in the legislature

by José López Zamorano

for La Red Hispana

 

In the corridors of power in the White House and the US Capitol, an idea that could change the face of US politics and social policies began to spread rapidly: “the nuclear option.” Understanding the implications of that concept is key because it could have a significant impact on our community in the immediate future.

Under the rules of the United States Senate, 60 senators are required in practice to bring any bill to a final vote. This means that a minority of 41 senators of the Republic have de facto veto power over the decisions of a majority of 59 senators.

On paper, this procedure known as “filibuster” in English forces the two main parties to seek areas of consensus in the major pieces of legislation. In practice, it is a mechanism that has allowed the Senate to periodically become hostage to a minority of radical senators from both sides.

If the Democrats decide to apply the “nuclear option” to end the “filibuster”, it would open the door to the approval of capital bills, such as new legislation for the regulation of firearms, as a result of the new incidents of armed violence, the comprehensive immigration reform that would legalize 11 million undocumented immigrants and the massive infrastructure plan to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the midst of the pandemic.

President Biden has left open the possibility of making changes to the rules. Senator for Delaware from 1972 to 2009, when he was chosen by Barack Obama as his. Vice President, Biden knows firsthand the effects of the “filibuster,” and how it has been regularly used by both parties to block legislation such as immigration reform.

It is, however, a difficult political decision. On the one hand, “moderate” Democrats like Joe Manchin do not support the idea and their vote is crucial. On the other hand, the nuclear option is a two-edged sword. At the moment the Democrats are in control of the White House, enjoying a relatively comfortable majority in the House of Representatives and a meager majority in the Senate. If in the future the Republicans regain control of both houses, they would use their majority to impose nominees or conservative social or budget policies.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky and leader of the senators of that party in the Upper House, warned the Democrats that if the nuclear option were put into effect there would be a “nuclear winter”, that is, the Democrats would have the certainty of count on the obstruction of Republicans for the rest of the legislature.

It seems to me that the “nuclear option” is a legitimate tool of the exercise of power and the Democrats should not worry about Republican threats. If none of the representatives of that party voted in favor of the popular economic relief package, in the middle of a pandemic, what else can you expect.

They knew: Leaked State Department memo warned of Afghanistan collapse

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

 

Dear readers:

 

The release of accurate information about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan where approximately 15,000 Americans could still be trapped without being able to reach the airport and be flown out, after the collapse of the government, seems to have two fold. One is an official and the other an unofficial one.

Here, journalist Tyler Durden shows in the article below, his own perspective of what could be another version of events that seem to be putting the United States of America, in an international embarrassing political situation. What is the truth? Was all this planned? –Marvin Ramírez

 

by Tyler Durden

 

Around two dozen State Department officials at the US embassy in Kabul warned of a potential collapse following the Aug. 31 troop withdrawal deadline, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a ‘person familiar with the cable.’

Using a special ‘dissent channel’ within the State Department, the cable – sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and another top State Department official – warned of ‘rapid territorial gains by the Taliban and the subsequent collapse of Afghan security forces,’ and offered suggestions on how to speed up evacuation and mitigate the obvious crisis slated to ensue, two people told the WSJ.

In total, 23 US Embassy staffers – all Americans, signed the July 13 cable, which was given a rush status ‘given the circumstances on the ground in Kabul.’ In addition to Blinken, it was sent to the Director of Policy Planning, Salman Ahmad.

Blinken received the cable and reviewed it shortly afterwards according to the report.

The cable, dated July 13, also called for the State Department to use tougher language in describing the atrocities being committed by the Taliban, one of the people said.

The classified cable represents the clearest evidence yet that the administration had been warned by its own officials on the ground that the Taliban’s advance was imminent and Afghanistan’s military may be unable to stop it. -WSJ

According to the report, some 18,000 Afghans and their families who had applied for special US Immigrant Visas remained in Kabul in areas under Taliban control, while efforts to reach the airport have become increasingly difficult.

US intelligence officials have sparred with the White House over who was warning of what, and when. And as the Journal notes, the existence of this confidential State Department memo warning of impending doom adds a crucial piece to our knowledge of how this all went down.

Why Blinken and Biden didn’t take immediate action despite receiving a ‘dissent channel’ emergency communication from their staff on the ground in Kabul is unknown, however Blinken is apparently so bad that John McCain called him “dangerous to America” in a 2014 Senate speech, adding that he was “one of the worst selections of a very bad lot” as Obama’s nominee for Secretary of State.

In July, Biden confidently said the collapse of the Afghan government and a Taliban takeover was “highly unlikely,” suggesting that the country’s US-trained National Security Force could handle the threat.

Gen. Mark Milley, the ‘woke’ chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, said that the rapid fall of Kabul was unanticipated – saying on Wednesday “There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days.”

The signatories of the dissent channel cable urged the State Department to begin registering and collecting personal data in advance for all Afghans who qualify for Special Immigrant Visas, aimed at those who worked as translators or interpreters; locally employed embassy staff; and for those eligible for other U.S. refugee programs while there was still six weeks left before the withdrawal deadline.

It also urged the administration to begin evacuation flights no later than Aug. 1, the people said.

On July 14, a day after the cable was sent to the State Department, the White House announced Operation Allies Refuge to support the relocation of interested and eligible Afghan nationals and their immediate families who supported the U.S. government for the special immigrant visas. Evacuations didn’t kick into high gear until last week and have been complicated by the Taliban takeover of Kabul on Sunday. –WSJ

After the Taliban swept in and took Kabul over the weekend, the US evacuated its embassy staff from Kabul – some of whom were relocated to a makeshift location at the Hamid Karzai International Airport surrounded by US troops.

5 Health benefits of coconut, a versatile superfood full of potassium

by Joanne Washburn

 

Coconut once had a bad rap due to its high calories and saturated fat content. Dietitians used to caution against eating too much coconut and coconut-derived ingredients — such as coconut oil, coconut milk and coconut flour — because of the health risks associated with saturated fat.

But over the past few years, more and more people have begun to embrace coconut as a promising health food, and for good reason. For one, it has been shown to improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It’s also packed with essential nutrients and antioxidants that protect against inflammation.

Plus, coconut is an extremely versatile food. It can also be turned into sugar, butter and cream. You can simply eat coconut meat or drink coconut water as is, too. Additionally, you can use coconut or coconut-derived ingredients in savory recipes for a slightly sweet and nutty flavor.

Here’s a closer look at some of the health benefits of coconut:

  1. Provides nutrients and antioxidants

Coconut is packed with several essential vitamins and minerals, as well as potent antioxidants.

Here’s what one cup of fresh coconut meat contains:

  • Protein: 6 percent of the Daily Value (DV)
  • Zinc: 9 percent of the DV
  • Phosphorus: 14 percent of the DV
  • Selenium: 16 percent of the DV
  • Potassium: 6 percent of the DV
  • Iron: 11 percent of the DV
  • Copper: 41 percent of the DV
  • Vitamin B1: 5 percent of the DV
  1. Improves cholesterol levels

About half of the saturated fat in coconut comes from lauric acid, which helps raise levels of “good” cholesterol. This cholesterol helps remove other forms of cholesterol from your bloodstream that could otherwise clog your arteries and raise your risk of heart problems.

In one study, researchers found that coconut milk increased good cholesterol and lowered “bad” cholesterol better than soy milk.

Take note that coconut oil is 100 percent fat, the majority of which is saturated. Saturated fat can increase bad cholesterol levels, which is why it’s considered unhealthy. Still, there’s nothing wrong with using small amounts of coconut oil in the context of a healthy diet. Just make sure it’s not the only oil you’re using.

  1. Lowers blood pressure

Coconuts contain potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining healthy blood pressure levels. It helps widen your blood vessels for better circulation and ensures that your heart is beating steadily.

  1. Reduces inflammation

Coconut is an excellent source of potent compounds that help reduce inflammation, such as caffeic acid, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid. Food processing can lead to the loss of these compounds, so choose fresh, unprocessed raw coconut and coconut-derived ingredients.

  1. Promotes blood sugar control

Coconut has also been shown to help control blood sugar. In a 2011 study, researchers fed diabetic rats coconut kernel protein and found that the rats experienced an improvement in diabetes-related pancreatic damage. They attributed this improvement to the ability of the amino acid called arginine in coconut to promote the regeneration of beta cells in the pancreas. Beta cells make insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar.

How to incorporate coconut into your diet

You can see both brown and green coconuts at Asian grocery stores and specialty markets. They’re actually the same variety but differ in terms of maturity. Green coconuts are younger and have more juice than meat, whereas brown coconuts are fully mature and have more meat than juice.

To choose the best coconut, find one that feels heavy for its size. Shake the coconut and listen for liquid inside. Avoid coconuts with cracks.

It can take a lot of work to extract coconut meat from the whole coconut, which is why many people buy either freshly shredded or dried and shredded coconut meat. The meat is also processed to make coconut milk, while the juice inside the coconut is available as coconut water.

UN commission expresses alarm over US ‘expulsion flights’ of migrants

The US policy violates the 1951 Refugee Convention, says spokesman

 

by the El Reportero news services

 

The United Nations has rebuked the U.S. government for deporting migrants under the pretext of Covid-19 legislation — the Title 42 order — that allows for the rapid expulsion of border arrivals.

The Biden administration has been sending Central American migrants by plane to southern Mexico after denying them access to protection screening and U.S. asylum procedures, a tenet of international refugee law, according to the the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The Title 42 order was introduced by the Trump administration, but has been continued since Joe Biden took office in January.

The UN has warned that the practice will test the “already overloaded humanitarian response capacity” in southern Mexico and northern Guatemala, and could raise the risk of the spread of Covid-19 at the borders at a time when Mexico is experiencing a third wave of the pandemic.

Both the U.S. and Mexico have experienced unprecedented arrivals of migrants in recent months. The U.S. has recorded 1.2 million arrests of illegal migrants since last October, while Mexico recorded that in the first seven months of 2021 when it received a record 64,378 asylum applications, according to Comar, the Mexican refugee agency.

UNHCR representative to the U.S. and the Caribbean, Matthew Reynolds, voiced his concerns. “These expulsion flights of non-Mexicans to the deep interior of Mexico constitute a troubling new dimension in enforcement of the Covid related public health,” he said.

He added that the strategy was in contravention of international law and the humanitarian principles of the 1951 Refugee Convention. “All governments have the obligation to uphold these laws and principles at all times,” he said.

Reynolds added that risks associated with Covid-19 were no barrier to operating an effective and safe system for processing migrants. “Even where Covid-19 has surged at times, many countries have put in place effective protocols such as systematic health screenings, testing and quarantine measures that have simultaneously and successfully protected both public health and the human right to seek asylum,” he said.

In Mexico, a collective of migrant advocacy groups condemned what they called a new accord between Mexico and the U.S. and insisted that the government meet its obligation to guarantee the right to request asylum.

The collective said the first “expulsion flight” left McAllen, Texas, on Monday for Tapachula, Chiapas, where its passengers were then transferred across the border to Talismán, Guatemala, by immigration agents and National Guardsmen.

The U.S. and Mexico have undertaken a flurry of bilateral dialogue on the migrant issue this week. The president spoke with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris by telephone on Monday, and delegations from the two countries met on Tuesday, where migration and cooperation on Central America were discussed. The president subsequently announced that President Biden would be invited to Mexico in late September.

However, past U.S. rhetoric on migration has left little room for dialogue. During a visit to Guatemala in June to address the root causes of migration, Harris addressed would-be migrants with a simple message: “Do not come.”

With reports from El País and Proceso

Latino city councilman, 5 others charged with election rigging in race decided by just 1 vote

by Team TC

 

Election fraud is re-emerging as a hot button issue after a member of the Compton City Council in California was charged with conspiring to rig votes to secure his own victory.

The Los Angeles Times reported that 34-year-old councilman Isaac Galvan, a Democrat, was arrested Friday on election fraud and bribery charges.

According to the report, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said a criminal complaint had been filed alleging that Galvan conspired with Jace Dawson, one of his opponents for the council seat in the April primary, to “direct voters from outside the council district to cast ballots for Galvan in a June runoff.”

Considering the narrow margin between Galvan and runner-up Andre Spicer, the conspiracy would have been decisive.

The Times reported that he defeated Spicer by one vote, 855-854.

It’s easy to see how any fraudulent practice could sway the results when the numbers are that close, right?

But Galvan’s narrow “victory” appears to only be an illusion, one that led to his arrest and the arrests of five others, including Dawson.

The report said that at least three “improper ballots” counted during the runoff election swayed the outcome in Galvan’s favor.

The district attorney’s Bureau of Investigation arrested Galvan and Dawson on Friday and charged four others — Kimberly Chaouch, Toni Morris, Barry Reed and Reginald Streeter — with two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud, it said in a news release.

Morris, Reed, Chaouch and Streeter are accused of voting in the City Council elections despite living outside the district.

In court, both Galvin and Dawson pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance, according to the Times.

They are set to reappear in court on Sept. 17.

The other four defendants were not arrested.

Though this is only a small-scale example of what can happen in America’s elections, it negates the claim that election fraud is a myth.

Since November, we’ve heard plenty of allegations of election fraud, including claims about several swing states in the presidential election and the January Georgia senatorial runoff vote that tipped the U.S. Senate blue (thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote).

Though there is no indisputable proof of widespread, decisive fraud in either of those races, it’s important to consider the possibility and hear the evidence.

In Galvan’s case, an “insignificant” three bogus votes made him the “victor” of his race, according to authorities.

“Elections are the cornerstone of our democratic nation. We must do everything in our power to protect the integrity of the electorate process and to ensure that elections are free and fair,” LA County District Attorney George Gascón said, according to the Times.

Galvan now faces one charge of conspiracy to commit election fraud and another of bribery for allegedly trying “to bribe an employee of the registrar’s office with concert tickets” when both the employee and an election observer reported the incident.

The county’s top elections official, Dean Logan, said the arrests show that residents can trust in elections despite a plethora of questions surrounding the November presidential vote.

“[O]ur referral and the District Attorney’s subsequent investigation and charges demonstrate that attempts to perpetrate fraud on the voting process are trackable and will be prosecuted,” Logan said, according to the Times.

But perhaps knowing incidents like Galvan’s can occur anywhere isn’t too reassuring.

 

Expiación, by Vicky Contreras, closes film festival in Los Angeles

Shared from El Porvenir

 

It took 35 years of acting career for Francisco Gattorno to decide to go behind the movie camera and become a director.

And his debut feature Expiación (Atonement), the ghost of the cabin, will be the drama that closes the Standalone Film Festival at the iconic Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, on August 12.

The producer Vicky Contreras was the one who convinced the Cuban actor (El bienamado and El señor de los cielos to shout action! and cut! at the beginning of last year, before the pandemic arrival of Covid-19.

The story begins with a woman (Contreras) who feels guilty for the suicide of her husband (Gattorno), but he actually has a relationship with another woman (Alicia Machado).

In the middle there is a young man who suddenly disappears, but in reality he has been dead for years.

“It is the first film that he directs, I had already worked with him (as an actor in El buen Parricida (2015), we had already talked about doing a team project and now, when I presented the script, he said it was the one he wanted for debut and he did, “says Contreras, also a writer.

The Mexican has been living in the US for 18 years trying to promote Mexican cinema and Latin talent. In 2011, she created Ella Films Producción, a company with which she has produced about 20 feature films such as Frontera on the way to hell.

In Expiación, shot over three weeks on locations in California and Nevada, she brought together Mexican, Cuban, Venezuelan and Spanish talent.

“We are seeing that the union is strength to create cinema, now we have a lot to give, a lot of potential that we are offering, Francisco, Alicia and I have been working hand in hand, a lot, to achieve it”, she considers.

The Standlone Film Festival, specialized in indie cinema, where Expiación will be, takes place from Aug. 6 to 12 in Los Angeles.

The film is one of the 24 chosen, from a universe of 1,700 registered, from 70 countries, that make up the program of the contest.

“Closing the festival for us is wonderful, especially after having passed so much filters, and being in the legendary Chinese Theater, who wouldn’t want to. After this there are invitations for more festivals and later, we will see what is the best way for it to reach the public”, she said.

 

MARIACHI USA’s 32nd annual music festival

After a year of absence due to the temporary closure of the Hollywood Bowl, caused by the pandemic, MARIACHI USA is back to delight audiences with the best of mariachi music.

MARIACHI USA artists and production team are beyond excited to return to the Hollywood Bowl after the difficult year we’ve all endured. We have missed our fans and are preparing a phenomenal show to celebrate family, pride & tradition.

MARIACHI USA’s 32nd annual music festival line-up includes two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Mariachi Divas, Mariachi Nuevo Mujer 2000, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan, Mariachi Los Reyes, Mariachi Los Toros, special guest Lupita Infante and featuring Mi Tierra Ballet Folklorico.

Pre-show Plaza festivities, hosted by Rodri Entertainment, will be taking place at on August 22. It begins at 12 p.m. Doors open at 4 p.m. The show begins promptly at 5:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. concluding with the traditional sing-a-long finale and fireworks by Pyro Spectaculars.

BOXING OF NICARAGUA – Eduardo “Ratón” Mojica, the “Champion without a crown” of Nicaragua, dies

EFE agency shared

Managua, Aug 20 (EFE) .- Former boxer Eduardo “Ratón” Mojica, known in Nicaragua as the “Champion without a crown,” died this Friday at the age of 82, the victim of a heart attack, his relatives reported.

Mojica, one of the first references in Nicaraguan boxing, died in a Managua hospital where he had been admitted in the middle of the week due to “chest pains and fatigue,” according to information from his family.

El “Ratón”, the first great boxing idol in Nicaragua, owed his local fame as “Champion without a crown” to the fact that on June 8, 1968 he defeated the flyweight monarch, the Thai Chartchai Chionoi, in a fight in which the title of the world was not at stake.

His triumph over the Asian boxer was not accidental, since Mojica defeated several of the best classified to be world champions at the time.

His successful international career created the foundation for boxing as Nicaragua’s second most popular sport, behind baseball.

He also inspired the then young Alexis Argüello (1952-2009), a neighbor of his neighborhood in western Managua, who became a three-time world champion and today is considered the greatest athlete in the history of Nicaragua.

According to BoxRec, which registers the official international boxing records, the “Mouse” won 53 fights, 34 of them by knockout, and lost 22, without being knocked out.

Mojica, who suffered from Alzheimer’s in the last years of his life, was inducted into the Nicaraguan Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, an organization that defines him as “the best fighter produced in our country after Alexis Arguello.”

3,000 Michoacán avocado producers arm themselves against cartels

‘It’s cheaper to buy a rifle than to pay extortion’

 

by Mexico News Daily

 

Fed up with being besieged by criminal organizations, avocado and blackberry producers in Michoacán formed their own armed group that is successfully keeping cartel members out of four municipalities.

Some 3,000 farmers and farmhands from Salvador Escalante, Ario de Rosales, Nuevo Urecho and Taretán have taken up arms over the past eight months to defend themselves and their land from attacks by criminal organizations. A spate of kidnappings in the area and frequent demands for extortion money motivated them to act.

Now, according to a report by the newspaper Milenio, an armed private security force — “a parallel authority” — operates in the four neighboring municipalities, located approximately 100 kilometers southwest of Morelia.

“With high-powered weapons, they have shut off access to their communities for drug traffickers and hitmen, choosing who comes in and who doesn’t,” the report said.

Although the armed group — called Pueblos Unidos, or United Towns — has similarities to self-defense groups that have emerged in Michoacán and some other parts of Mexico in recent years, its members reject the autodefensas tag.

“We want to be very emphatic: we’re not autodefensas; we’re not a criminal group. Here in our lives, the only things we knew how to use were machetes. … Recently there has been the need to purchase some weapons, even though we’re afraid of not knowing how to use them correctly,” one of the men told Milenio.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and Los Viagras posed the main threat as both criminal groups have sought to establish themselves in the region in recent years and have engaged in a turf war with each other.

But with their 54 roadblocks across all four municipalities the avocado and blackberry producers have kept the criminal groups out. One roadblock on the road to La Huacana, a municipality controlled by the CJNG that neighbors Ario and Nuevo Urecho to the south, is manned night and day by up to 150 heavily armed men.

Among the Pueblos Unidos members are men who have been hired by avocado producers to bolster the ranks of the fledgling security force.

“It’s cheaper to buy a rifle than to pay extortion,” one member said, referring to payments demanded of avocado producers by criminal groups, including Los Viagaras, whose members were reportedly asking for a 50,000-peso (about US $2,500) per hectare “protection” fee.

In the eight months that it has been protecting the four Michoacán municipalities, the Pueblos Unidos group has achieved good results, members say. It has driven criminals out of the area, and homicides, kidnappings and extortion have all declined.

One commander of the armed group told Milenio that there is no longer any trace of Los Viagras in Los Ates, a community in Ario.

“We had to follow them [the criminals] wherever they were. We combed the hills, walking — something that the government hasn’t done. We came together in groups of 20 to 60 to comb the hills, and we frightened them away,” he said.

The commander said that he and the other members of Pueblos Unidos don’t want to live “on the margin of the law” but have no choice due to authorities’ inaction. If municipal, state and federal forces were able to guarantee their security, the farmers would return to full-time work on their land, he said.

If the authorities don’t do that, he said, the avocado and blackberry producers should be allowed to set up their own government in the region and be given permission to legally bear arms, as has occurred in some other parts of Michoacán.

“They should give us permission to defend ourselves,” the commander said. “We also don’t want to be disarmed, and we want to be respected. … They should do the work we’re doing, and maybe we’ll withdraw.”

President López Obrador on Friday made his views clear about the formation of the armed group.

“My opinion is that … autodefensas shouldn’t exist, because the responsibility for security corresponds to the state. I’m not in favor of people arming themselves and forming groups to confront crime because that doesn’t yield results,” he said at his regular news conference.

The president also said that self-defense groups are used to hide or shelter criminals. He said “they disguise themselves as people fed up with violence.”

He called on Pueblo Unidos to trust authorities, including official security forces, claiming that they no longer collude with criminals, as occurred during past governments.

However, the federal government, which officially inaugurated a new security force — the National Guard — in 2019, was unable to reduce Mexico’s high levels of violent crime in its first two years in office, with homicide numbers reaching an all-time high of more than 34,000 in 2019 and decreasing just 0.4% last year.

López Obrador asserted Friday that his administration is now making progress in the fight against violence, a claim supported to some extent by data that shows that homicides fell 2.9% in the first five months of 2021.

“We’re advancing little by little but we’re making progress,” he said before acknowledging that the security situation had “broken down a lot.”

With reports from Milenio 

These steps can help protect your money and your information.

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How a simple email or text message could open you up to fraud

Sponsored content from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The pandemic has accelerated identity theft – and the impact on people is significant. In fact, Americans have lost more than $382 million to scams related to stimulus checks and unemployment benefits, fake treatments for COVID-19 and more, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Even worse, Latino and Black consumers are more likely to be victims of fraud than their white counterparts.  That’s why it’s crucial to recognize activity designed to steal your hard-earned money.

JPMorgan Chase is available to help consumers learn to spot suspicious activity – from fake emails and texts to bogus claims about ways to stay healthy.  We sat down with Jeeny Freire-Ku, Market Manager for San Francisco, to discuss tips and best practices for securing a better financial future.

El Reportero: What should consumers be looking for when it comes to scammers?  

Jeeny: Let’s start with emails and texts. Phishing is the fancy name for emails pretending to be from reputable companies – including banks. They’re really from criminals who are trying to get your personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

The email could ask you to reply or click on a link that takes you to a website that looks like your bank’s site. Then they’ll ask you to give your username, password, account number, personal identification number (PIN), Social Security number or other personal information. Also, if you click on an attachment to that email, it could download software called malware that tracks or steals your information.

So, be very careful about clicking on a link in an email; instead go directly to the company’s website. And don’t click on attachments unless you’re sure it’s from someone you know and trust.

Scammers are increasingly starting to contact victims by text message or phone, most often from a number you don’t recognize, and telling you there’s a problem with your bank account, including that it’s closed, frozen or will be terminated unless you call a phone number or go to a website listed in the message and give your personal and/or account information.

El Reportero: Are there specific signs to look for?

Jeeny: Yes, here are a couple of surefire ones:

  • Scammers will often tell you there is a problem or a prize. They might say you are in trouble with the government, you owe money, someone in your family has an emergency, there is a problem with an account of yours, or that you won lottery money. Remember – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • After setting up the problem or prize, scammers will pressure you to act immediately. They want you to hand over your sensitive information before you have time to think. They might threaten you, stress a sense of urgency, or say time is running out. However, no legitimate business or government agency will pressure you in this way or ask for your personal information, like your Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers over the phone or email.

El Reportero: How can consumers protect their money and their information?  

Jeeny: Here are few best practices:

  • Guard your online information. Download and update antivirus software for your computer, and don’t enter sensitive information into public computers or on unsecured networks. Also, be careful about giving out your financial username and passwords on the internet – this includes financial websites and apps that offer tools to help you manage your accounts, invest or prepare your taxes.
  • Make purchases only on secure websites. Look for the symbol of a lock in the address of an internet site. That will help protect your credit card number, expiration date and three-digit CVV.
  • Change your passwords often. Change your passwords frequently and use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters. Don’t use your pet’s name, your child’s name, or anything else that could be easily figured out.
  • Create a separate password for each financial institution. This provides an additional level of protection in case there is an issue at one institution.
  • Monitor your accounts. Log into your accounts frequently – even daily – through online banking or on your mobile banking app to monitor transactions and your account balance. Look for transactions you don’t recognize. Also, check out your monthly statements and if there’s an issue, contact your bank right away.
  • Set up extra confirmation. The proper name is two-factor or multi-factor authentication. It just means you’ll need to take an extra step or two to access your information. For example, it could be requesting a text with a code be sent to the mobile phone number you gave the company before. At Chase, when you sign into your Chase account electronically for the first time or with a device we don’t recognize, we’ll ask you for your username, password and a temporary identification code. And we’ll send it to you by phone, email or text message.
  • Shred sensitive documents. Shred banking records, checks that you deposited through mobile banking and other documents that have your account information. Keep monthly checking and savings account statements in a secure location until you file your taxes and then shred those as well. Chase and other banks offer paperless statements, letting you see the information online without having to worry about paper.
  • Check your credit report. At least once a year, read through your credit reports carefully. You can request a free annual credit report from each of the three national credit reporting agencies, even if you don’t suspect any unauthorized activity on your account. Visit annualcreditreport.com.

El Reportero: How does Chase protect customers from fraud? 

Jeeny: We see it as a partnership; we help protect your accounts and information, and so do you. We monitor all of our accounts around the clock, including using security measures you can’t see.

Also, if we find or you flag a transaction that you didn’t authorize, we offer Zero Liability Protection, meaning you won’t be held responsible for it.

Stop by the Chase Market and Kearny Branch on 700 Market St to learn more about JPMorgan Chase’s commitment to customer security through our fraud prevention and protection tools. I look forward to working with you!

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