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Oliver Quintero

Baja Norte, Columns

Que Pasa in Baja?

Baja Sees Growth in Medical Tourism. Currently, 4.5 million visitors are seeking medical treatments in Baja California, with Ensenada seeing a significant recovery since the pandemic, as highlighted by Atzimba Villegas Pérez, president of the Health Tourism Association. After speaking at the Ensenada Business Coordinating Council, Villegas mentioned that Tijuana attracts 57% of these medical tourists, while Ensenada now receives 15%, showing recent growth.

Popular services include plastic surgery, orthopedics, stem cell treatments, and gynecology. This demand has led to projects like Epione Medical Plaza, which aims to become a comprehensive health tourism district, offering a mix of medical facilities, hospitality, and dining.

Villegas emphasized that Baja California is a leader in responsible medical tourism, promoting only accredited professionals and infrastructure. Ensenada is also poised to become a major wellness and assisted living destination, attracting more investment and economic growth as it caters to aging baby boomers.

Hugo Torres Chabert Shares His Journey in New Book. In an emotional event, businessman and politician Hugo Eduardo Torres Chabert presented his book, “Mi compromiso con Rosarito 1943-2023”, reflecting on his commitment to Rosarito’s prosperity and the growth of Hotel Rosarito. The event was held at the Hotel Rosarito’s Salón Mexicano, with friends, family, and special guests in attendance.

The book details Torres Chabert’s journey, including Rosarito’s municipalization, his retirement from politics, and his family’s management of the hotel. It also highlights his contributions to local culture and education, such as promoting civic life in schools and supporting cultural events.

Dedicated to the people of Rosarito, his family, and his friends, this 149-page book contains exclusive images of Rosarito’s history. Torres Chabert expressed that the book is a reflection on his legacy and a gift to inspire future generations.

Credit Rating Boost for Baja. The financial management of Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda has led to an improvement in Baja California’s credit rating, as per the latest HR Ratings report. The rating has been upgraded from HR BBB to HR BBB+, thanks to the administration’s focus on transparency and responsible spending.

Governor Ávila highlighted that this financial success has allowed Baja California to strengthen its economy, attract investment, and create better jobs. The state achieved a financial surplus in 2023, marking its third consecutive credit rating upgrade.

Valuable infrastructure projects, like the expansion of the La Nopalera water treatment plant in Tecate and the rehabilitation of Rosarito Norte’s wastewater treatment plant, were key factors in this rating improvement. The agency also acknowledged the strength of Baja California’s manufacturing sector, which plays a significant role in contributing to the national GDP.

Rosarito Tourism Suffers Due to Poor Policing. According to Rosario Castillo, a local restaurateur, 2023 and 2024 have been the worst years for tourism in the city, largely due to the poor performance of the municipal police, especially the Traffic section. Castillo expressed hopes that with a change in local authorities, the issues of police extortion and rising insecurity can be addressed.

He highlighted that police officers often take advantage of tourists’ lack of knowledge, stopping them on Benito Juárez Boulevard for minor reasons like tinted windows, and using these as excuses for extortion. The new traffic regulations haven’t been widely publicized, leaving drivers vulnerable to intimidation.

Castillo is optimistic about the incoming administration led by Rocio Adame, who he believes listens more to citizens and organized groups. He hopes the new government will focus on preventive policing rather than punitive measures.

Baja to Benefit from New Social Housing Program. Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda announced that the incoming president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, has a social housing program that will benefit Baja California, among other states. This announcement was made during the opening of a new Infonavit Service Center (CESI) in Tijuana, where Infonavit’s Director General, Carlos Martínez Velásquez, was also present.

Ávila Olmeda emphasized the importance of the State Housing Plan, describing it as unique in the country. She mentioned how they have helped San Quintín, where new, spacious homes for workers have been built.

The governor also highlighted that Baja California will be a focus for the new social housing program, with plans to eliminate local taxes to make the process more accessible. She also noted the ongoing efforts to rescue abandoned properties and create more affordable housing options, addressing the lack of attention from major developers to workers’ needs.

45th Rosarito-Ensenada Bike Ride a Success. This weekend, over three thousand cyclists participated in the 45th edition of the Rosarito-Ensenada Bike Ride, bringing in an estimated economic boost of over a million dollars. Claudia Ley, the event promoter, noted that the ride coincided with a long weekend, leading many visitors to extend their stay, which further boosted the local economy.

The ride featured cyclists from across Mexico, the U.S., and even participants from Peru, Colombia, and various Central American countries. The event’s economic impact was estimated by the State Tourism Department, which considered not just the number of cyclists but also the additional companions each brought along.

Ley thanked everyone who has supported the event over the past 45 years, acknowledging that while there have been challenges, they are proud of promoting family-friendly and healthy tourism in Ensenada. Moving forward, a new company will take over organizing the ride.

Sheinbaum Outlines Major Plans for Baja California. After receiving the Presidential Sash, Claudia Sheinbaum announced plans for significant infrastructure projects in Baja California. Among her 100 commitments are efforts to ensure water supply and reuse, build the Punta Colonet port, and maintain current tax incentives in border areas.

In her first national address, Sheinbaum emphasized the promotion of clean energy, including private participation, and pushing for less gasoline consumption and more electromobility. She aims to maintain the energy generation split—54% state and 46% private.

Sheinbaum also announced initiatives for water management, starting this month, and plans to improve irrigation on over 200,000 hectares. On the port front, she revealed investments to construct Punta Colonet and expand several other ports across Mexico.

Additionally, Sheinbaum intends to start a large-scale housing registration program in Tijuana and implement solar panel installations to help reduce electricity costs for residents in high-tariff areas.

Baja California’s Strong Export Numbers in Q2 2024. Baja California ranked as the third highest contributor to Mexico’s total exports in Q2 2024, reaching $14.35 billion, representing 10.3% of the national total. According to data from Inegi, Baja California saw a 4.4% annual increase in export value.

The state stood out particularly in exporting computing, communication, and electronic equipment, contributing $4.03 billion, or 19.5% of the national total, coming second after Chihuahua.

Baja California also ranked fourth for exports of electrical components and power generation equipment, with $882.8 million, accounting for 10.2% of the country’s total.

In the agricultural sector, Baja California placed fifth, with $307.8 million in exports, although it saw a decrease of 23.1% compared to the previous year. Overall, Baja California continues to play a significant role in Mexico’s export landscape, especially in technology and manufacturing sectors.

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 Baja Norte, Columns

Que Pasa in Baja

Minors to get COVID vaccine in Baja. This past October 1st, Alonso Perez Rico, head of the state health office stated that they had already started registering kids from 12 to 17 years old with comorbidities that make them more susceptible to serious infections.

The acceptable diseases that would allow minors to get a vaccine are chronic cardiac disease, pulmonary disease, kidney disease, teen pregnancy, spleen disfunction and others.

Perez Rico didn’t say when they were going to start with the vaccination, and he also did not provide with a timeframe on when healthy kids would be vaccinated.

Ensenada Mayor Under Hot Water. Armando Ayala, Ensenada Mayor, has landed himself in hot water because of his forced advances to the municipalization of the water company.

When the subject was debated in the local council, the municipalization was rejected with 8 votes against and 7 in favor; but just a few minutes after the vote, the mayor called for a new meeting, but he “forgot” to inform his opponents about the meeting. In this completely illegal new meeting, the municipalization of the water company was approved.

Now seven of those eight affected councilmen and women are demanding a trial against mayor Ayala which has already passed its first step which was the approval in the local council.

The Water Company Gets Their Electricity Cut Off. Tijuana’s water company was left without electricity for a week, after the federal electricity commission (CFE) decided to cut their power because they said they were owed over 8 million USD in past due bills.

The head of the water company, Eli Topete, confirmed that their power was cut off but said that they had reserves for 40 days to supply water to the population.

Topete said that their reason for not paying the bill was because they were being charged a “potency” surcharge in excess of the electricity they used and were trying to sort it out.

Fortunately, the state and the CFE were able to strike a deal 7 days later and they were able to turn the lights back on.

About 5,000 tires found at sea. A collaborative effort has taken place in Campo Kennedy, in the Punta Banda area of Ensenada where about 5,000 tires were found in the bottom of the sea.

With the help of 100 divers, 200 of these tires were taken out of the sea, with a couple thousand more still laying there.

Jorge Arturo Cruz Gayoso, coordinator of the environmental group “The sea is for everyone” stated that they have no idea who is responsible for all the tires there but that there is a space of about 500 square meters, with anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 tires.

Cruises are back! After 19 months of absence, cruise ships are finally back in Ensenada. This past September 29, the Miracle cruise ship from the Carnival cruise line, docked in Ensenada inaugurating this new season of cruise ship arrivals.

The miracle came from Long Beach, California, with a total of 1,265 passengers and 934 crew members, about 67% of its capacity.

Cruises were an integral part of the Ensenada economy, and many businesses that catered to this sector only had to close their doors during the pandemic.

Baja relapses with COVID-19. Even though Baja California is the State with the highest vaccination rate in all of Mexico, it is also the only one that went back to orange from yellow in the epidemiological stoplight this week.

Alonso Perez Rico, head of the state health office, stated that the higher rate of COVID-19 disease came because of the lower temperatures that came on recent days.

Perez explained that the state is getting ready for the cold season, which is expected to bring lots of COVID-19 patients with severe cases.

Plate in CEART honors Jorge Luna. In order to remember and honor the work in favor of the childhood and youth of Rosarito that late Jorge Luna did, a plate was installed in the Graphic room in the CEART museum in Rosarito naming the room after him.

The room was the one that master Luna used for his classes, and an exposition of his work is being organized before the end of the current administration.

Costco buys an ambulance for the Cruz Roja. A brand-new ambulance, totally equipped with all the bells and whistles was bought by Costco Mexico and donated to the Cruz Roja in Ensenada.

Costco informed that this donation is part of their commitment with the communities where it does business and that since 2007, they have donated a total of 16 ambulances to different delegations of the Cruz Roja Mexicana.

Costco started operating in Mexico 29 years ago and has a membership base of 5.7 million in 39 stores in Mexico.

Wine Valley gets protection from state judge. The different wine valley winemaker associations received great news this week when a state judge approved their demand to force the city of Ensenada to apply the Zoning Regulation for the valley, which has been a little less than a recommendation for the current government.

The zoning regulation prohibits the development of housing projects, event regulations and the sale of small lots, all of which have been on the rise on the past few years, making the winemakers protest because of the water crisis that the valley is already suffering.

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 Baja Norte, Columns

Que Pasa in Baja?

Solar power park coming soon. Our state government announced this week that a new solar power park will begin construction in the “Laguna Salada” area of Mexicali as soon as the elections pass in June.

The federal government has already given the go ahead and issued all necessary permits for the park, which will allow Baja California to be energy independent from the interconnected California grid.

The investment will be made by a private company called Next Energy, which will then sell all the energy produced to our state at a lower price than the one being paid to the CFE, this will allow the state to save over 3 million USD per year in energy costs.

Low turnout for COVID-19 vaccine. The state health office announced that there has been a lower-than-expected turnout for the vaccination of the 50-59 years old group. In Ensenada, it was announced that only 8,500 persons came for the vaccine on the first day with even lower turnouts for the remaining days.

A total of 250,000 persons have been vaccinated in the state of Baja California, 6.57% of the state’s inhabitants that has a current population of 3.8 million.

Baja Governor in Top 3. According to the 14th ranking of Mexican governors by the Campaign & Elections magazine, Jaime Bonilla, governor of Baja California, was ranked in the third place of the most approved governors in Mexico, with a 67% approval rate.

The first place went to Mauricio Vila Dosal, governor of Yucatan with a whopping 71.9% approval rate, followed by Queretaro’s governor Francisco Dominguez with 68.5%.

Bonilla was the highest ranked governor coming from the Morena party as the first two came from the PAN party.

U.S. – Mexico Trade Breaks Record. The combined import-export figure of commerce between the U.S. and Mexico reached a staggering $56.9 billion in the month of March this year, a figure never seen before for one month. It represents a 17 percent increase over February this year and 13 percent over March of 2020. Thus, Mexico ended as the biggest commercial partner of the U.S. this quarter, above Canada, Japan, Germany, and China.

Baja Recovering Fast! According to the Statistics and Geography Institute of Mexico, Baja California won the second place of national growth with a 3.7% increase in economic activity compared to the same October-December quarter of 2019.

This data puts Baja as one of the fastest States in the country to recover from the pandemic hit, as most states in the country are showing no increase in economic activity or even a decrease.

It was also noted that Baja California was able to get 3.3 billion USD of private investment during 2020, signaling a sustainable economic growth for our state.

The Wish to Move to Mexico is Growing. As reported by the online magazine Expats in Mexico, the interest to move to Mexico is growing among Canadian citizens. The magazine conducted a survey and found that 54 percent of the respondents said they were highly likely to move to Mexico, up 5 percent over their 2019 survey. Unfortunately, we did not make the favorites places list which, they stated, are Puerto Vallarta, Lake Chapala, Los Cabos and Merida and Playa del Carmen in the southern Quintana Roo state.

Major Cruise Development Planned for Ensenada. Mexico’s ITM Group and Carnival Corporation are teaming up to develop La Española Village, a cruise ship terminal that would feature Mexican gastronomy with casual and fine-dining food and beverage outlets, wine tasting, music, and other live entertainment. And an expansive adventure park tentatively dubbed The Isle at Ensenada would be packed with activities for children and adults such as a river ride, hot springs, bubble rapids, pools, tequila and chocolate experiences and the replica of a historic exploration ship.

The 25 million USD project is expected to begin construction in October of this year with completion targeted for the summer of 2023. ,

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 Baja Norte, Columns

Que Pasa In Baja?

Table dance converts to a restaurant overnight. After a decision from the local city council in Ensenada to refuse to allow table dances to reopen yet, the popular table dance “Hot Fox” switched all its outdoor signs to “restaurant bar”, in a clear effort to bypass the council decision and open its doors.

Representatives from the Ensenada government stated that “Hot Fox” is not yet capable of operating under the “restaurant bar” category since it’s not as easy as changing the signs to be allowed to open as a “restaurant bar”. In order to be classified as such the business needs to have special permits and prove they actually have a kitchen and offer prepared foods to their patrons.

Tijuana Mayor Announces Leave of Absence. Arturo Gonzalez, mayor of Tijuana, surprisingly announced that he had submitted a leave of absence effective next Wednesday because he is interested in participating in the internal process of choosing a state coordinator for the Morena party.

He emphatically denied that he was leaving his post because of the many allegations by Governor Bonilla criticizing his work in the city.

He stated that the governor has repeatedly tried to discredit him and uses illegal tactics to diminish his odds of winning the governor’s seat in the coming election.

Both the Governor and Tijuana Mayor come from the Morena party, but they have not been able to get along since May.

Big Investment From Sempra Energy. Most of Baja’s construction and engineering sectors have expressed their excitement over a $2.3 billion dollar investment that Sempra Energy is planning for the expansion of its current operations in Baja.

It is estimated that at least 30% of this investment will be spent hiring local companies, providing a much-needed source of revenue to businesses that suffered greatly from the pandemic.

The new facility will process natural gas brought from the US, mostly Texas, to liquify it and export it to the Asian markets.

The investment will be made over a 4-year period, with an estimated $50 million being spent every month. For comparison, that is approximately the same amount as the total annual budget for the city of Ensenda.

Ensenada Starts Issuing Ecologic Fines. A total of 17 fines have been issued by the recently-created Ecological Police, mostly for pouring sewage illegally, excessively loud music, abuse or neglect of pets, vandalizing cars in the street among others. Oswaldo Portillo, head of the Ecologic Police, stated that the fines were issued in just a 6-day period.

Violators have 5 days to appear before the judge to appeal their case or pay their fine, which can be up to $140, depending on the case.

Reports to the Ecological Police can be made directly to the 911 phone number, where operators will then pass on the report to the police.

San Pedro Martir Sierra National Park Reopens. Starting this past October 8th visitors are again allowed in the San Pedro Martir National Park, along with the usual precautions.

Mario Escobedo Carignan, head of the state economy and tourism office, said that the park will be open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and those visitors wishing to stay overnight must make advance  reservations by phone at (646) 172-3000 ext. 3229.

Don’t forget that face mask! In order to register your vehicle, you will have to apply at the receptionist there, and they won’t allow anyone into the park who isn’t wearing a mask.

U.S. / Mexico Border Not Opening This Month. After several social media news sites announced that the border was finally opening for non-essential travelers after 7 months of being closed, authorities from the Customs and Border Protection office have stated that the information is false and they do not have a date to reopen the border yet.

On September 30, chancellor Marcelo Ebrard stated that the US had agreed to open the border only when the border states were declared to be in the green, regarding the COVID-19 crisis.

Couple arrested in Frank Aguilar’s disappearance. State police apprehended Fanny “N” and Santos “N” regarding the 7-week old disappearance of Los Angeles fireman Frank Aguilar.

They were stopped on the road to Rosarito and in a preliminary inspection they were found to have in their possession Frank’s Bank cards. When asked about it they denied even knowing Frank.

Authorities have already stated that Frank met with Fanny at a house in Mision del Mar, where Santos and she had planned to kidnap him.

The suspects have refused to give any statements to authorities, and they are being charged with “forced disappearance” until Frank is found.

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 Articles, Cuisine, Ensenada

Hidden Gem Found In La Bufadora

Whenever I think of food sold in the Bufadora area, fish tacos, seafood cocktails and churros come to my mind. BajaMed cuisine is something that never crosses my mind.

That all changed last week when my wife and I visited La Bufadora Tequila Grill, which, judging solely by its name,  seemed to have even more of the same; the name somehow evoques fish tacos and margaritas in my experience, but oh my god was I wrong!

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were met by the owner, Alex Malpica, popular in the area as a resident of the Rosa Negra Ranch, one of the most popular properties in the area, having already been featured in 4 movies. In contrast to the fabulous property he calls home, I was not impressed with the restaurant, which seems to have a funky ambiance; I asked Alex about it and he said that he just wants to maintain a relaxed, easygoing atmosphere to his restaurant.

Alex told us that he came here from the US several years ago, retiring from the restaurant industry over there, and decided to acquire this restaurant. For many years it did very well, selling the usual combination of affordable Mexican dishes that are a staple for Bufadora tourists, but about a year ago Alex had an idea: What if he could bring food similar to the meals served in the wine valley to his Bufadora restaurant.

It seemed like an impossible idea. How would he even begin to succeed in such a daunting task, but in the process of searching for a solution, he met local Chef Temo Cortez. Temo brought to the table exactly what Alex was looking for, being an experienced chef who could create fine BajaMed cuisine at his restaurant.

Alex is not an easy man to impress, in my opinion; it’s even harder to impress him in the restaurant industry, as he has more than 40 years of experience in that area; so naturally I was very curious about Chef Temo that he talked so highly of.

Since I’m more easily impressed by actions than by words, I listened to what the pair had to say but decided to reserve my opinion until I tasted the food there.

We asked for a menu and got a letter sized sheet with about 14 different dishes, we decided on the shrimp, aguachile style, and a Tomahawk steak.

While we waited, Alex explained that one of his passions was Tequila, and that he makes his own Extra Añejo tequila, for which he has recently started distribution in the States. While we waited for our food we tasted two of his tequilas, Xedda and Escortauro, which were very good.

Chef Temo surprised us with an octopus tentacle appetizer, served sizzling in a mini iron pan. As soon as the plates arrived, I was impressed with the presentation; here I am thinking that I’m once again going to be let down with the food at one more restaurant, and this beautifully constructed plate comes to our table, and when I tasted it, oh my god, the savory, meaty, octopus just instantly takes me to the Valley; this is actually wine valley food, I say to myself.

A couple minutes later the shrimp aguachile comes, nope, it was definitely not your typical Mexican seafood restaurant aguachile, this one had a very subtle flavor, acidic but very well balanced. Later I learned that this was achieved by chef Temo by adding white wine and olive oil to the green chili and lemon juice. The presentation was immaculate, adorned with Salicornia and beet sprouts, which also helped bring the flavors of the plate together.

A few minutes after we finished with the shrimp, the Tomahawk was brought to the table. Another one of Temo’s gems, beautifully presented, cut into pieces, with the bone still left on the plate. By that time, after the first two dishes, I was already expecting greatness and I was not disappointed; in fact, I was once again impressed. The steak was beautifully accompanied by a dab of Oaxacan mole with balsamic, and roasted vegetables

When we finally finished the steak, we were already stuffed, but we opted for the  crème brûlée anyway, it was a great finish to our meal.

The Bufadora Tequila Grill is located on KM 22.5, on the road to La Bufadora, just a few meters before getting to the arches that mark the start of La Bufadora. They open Tuesdays from 12:00pm to 8:00pm and Wednesday to Sunday, from 8:30am to 8:00pm. BajaMed style cuisine is only available from 2pm to 8pm, and Sundays all day. ,

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 Baja Norte, Columns

Que Pasa In Baja?

Tijuana-Tecate Passenger Train Announced. Mario Escobedo, head of the state economy and tourism office, said that the Tijuana-Tecate passenger train is already in the works with an initial investment of $136 million USD for a 17-mile section.

He stated that the train would be a secure, sustainable option to connect with Tijuana and Tecate, with seven stations and two terminals. A minimum of 30,000 passengers are expected to use the train every day.

This project should not be confused with the existing tourism train that goes from Tijuana to Tecate (pictured above).

Initially, the project considered a route to Ensenada. And although the plan hasn’t been cancelled, Escobedo stated that “it’s not a priority right now”, mainly because the current state government administration will only last two years and will not be able to finish a project of such magnitude.

Ensenada Mayor Under Hot Water. Armando Ayala Robles, mayor of Ensenada, found himself in hot water this past week after local councilwoman Brenda Valenzuela protested about how he has been stamping his name in cement while still fresh in several public works.

Valenzuela stated that article 134 of the Mexican constitution clearly states that a person in public office cannot publicize himself in the public works they perform. “It’s also a very bad parody of the Walk of Fame in Hollywood”, said Valenzuela.

Baja Launches Tourism Campaign. In order to reactivate the local economy, which is being severely affected by COVID-19, the state of Baja California launched a promotional campaign named “Disfruta Baja California & Drive South” to attract tourists from California and Arizona.

“We are preparing for, when the time comes, promoting our state’s natural, cultural and gastronomic richness, in order to attract tourists that can drive over here and increase traffic to the most important tourist sites in Baja”, said Mario Escobedo, head of Economy and Tourism for the State.

The main objective of the campaign is to support the tourism sector in its reactivation, as well as to make people want to rediscover Baja or visit it for the first time.

Abandoned Ship To Be Unloaded Soon. The “Triumph” cargo ship, which has been abandoned since 2017 in the coasts of Ensenada due to a lengthy legal battle in England, is being finally unloaded soon, the Mexican Navy announced.

The Triumph has been reported to contain 47,000 tons of bauxita, a rock that is processed to obtain aluminum, and about 270 tons of high sulfur fuel. The ship has been all over local news lately as it was discovered that it has been slowly sinking due to the lack of maintenance.

It has been reported by local environmentalist groups that if the ship would completely sink, and the cargo and fuel would spill, a dangerous ecological disaster would ensue in the Ensenada bay.

Independence Celebrations Will be Online. The different independence celebrations in the cities of Baja California will be performed without public attendance, but will be available for viewing live online on social media.

Every year on September 15th, independence is celebrated with the traditional “grito” or shout, where mayors, governors and the president of Mexico go out to their balconies of their city hall and shout “Viva Mexico!” in front of a huge public audience that goes on to enjoy several cultural shows and dine on  traditional Mexican food.

On September 16th, a civilian and military parade goes through the most important streets of our cities, but this year it will be severely limited due to the pandemic, so authorities are encouraging people to watch it online instead.

Mexican Army Seizes Drug Load Valued at $16 million USD. Soldiers from the Mexican Army seized a massive load of  various drugs in the La Rumorosa area in Tecate.

The illicit drugs were found in an uninhabited area about 6 miles south from the town of La Rumorosa.

The army reported that 1 ton of crystal meth was found, along with 6 kilos of powdered fentanyl and 5,000 pills of that same drug. About 5.3 kilos of heroin and 4 gallons of marihuana (THC) oil were also found.

The army stated that the bust would considerably affect the financial structure of local crime organizations since the total street value of the drugs was about $16 million USD.

The drugs were found abandoned on a dirt road when the military was doing a surveillance drive through the area. No arrests were made in connection with the drugs.

No in-person classes for Baja. Governor Jaime Bonilla stated this week that students will continue with virtual classes at least for the remainder of the current school cycle, which continues until July 2021.

He said that public schools will use this time to maintain and improve school facilities.

Baja California has 639,452 students registered for virtual classes, from K to 12.

Labor Day increases hotel occupancy. There was a slight increase in occupancy in the Labor Day weekend of 11%, much less than the normal increase during that weekend, but a much needed increase for our area.

About 194,000 tourists visited our state, and brought just about $40 million USD to local businesses.

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 Baja Norte, Columns

Que Pasa In Baja?

Local University Gets Paid. After numerous problems with the last State Government, the UABC autonomous state university system is finally receiving the 81 million USD that was pledged to it by the federation but was held up by the state in the past administration.

Governor Bonilla announced that he not only would he pay up the money but that he would offer space in the government center in Zona Rio to create a new campus.

Coronavirus Update. Oscar Perez Rico, head of the state health office, stated that Baja California is already “flattening the curve” of new coronavirus cases, as it has consistently had fewer infection cases in the last week.

Although the state, as a whole, has seen a decrease in cases, the city of Ensenada has been increasing the number of infections. In response to this, Perez Rico called upon the people of Ensenada to respect social distancing and to try to stay home as much as possible.

“We want to be one of the first states to get to the new normality, and our focus is not only to have a green light to restart everything, but to reactivate our economy in an orderly manner. If we start reopening prematurely we will only cause economic and health problems in the long run”, said Perez Rico.

Musicians get some relief. Baja’s State Government announced that about 400 musicians from Mexicali have received alimentary support from the State, as they are one of the many professions that hasn’t been able to do almost anything to support their families.

Jesus Alejandro Ruiz Uribe, delegate for the State Government, announced that they will continue to support up to 6,000 musicians, waiters and taxi drivers at this stage.

“Musicians give us joy and they cheer up the population; we shouldn’t leave them alone in these tough times,” said Ruiz Uribe.

Ex-Mayor charged for embezzlement. Gilberto Hirata Chico, former mayor of Ensenada, and a very controversial one, has been charged along with his treasurer Samuel Aguilar Jaime for allegedly misappropriating federal funds amounting to $165,000 USD.

This is the first time a Mayor of Ensenada has been officially charged for crimes committed during his tenure.

This is the first allegation of a couple that were made that was accepted to be tried in court.

Justice is coming slowly to citizens of Ensenada in this case, as the first accusation was presented in May of 2017, and although it has already been accepted into court it has yet to be tried.

La Mision museum catches fire. A classroom in La Mision’s elementary school that was being used as a local museum, caught fire last week and was reduced to ashes.

The community museum was founded in 1938 by the then president Lazaro Cardenas.

“Unfortunately, it looks like we lost all of that heritage that encourages and fosters future generations to recognize their ancestry, culture and effort from this town”, said Isidro Escobar, a resident of La Mision.

Arturo Rivera, local representative for the INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History), stated that residents have already displayed an avid interest in rebuilding the museum.

Baja 1000 confirmed. Ensenada Mayor and Score International authorities signed an agreement to celebrate the Baja 1000 Off- Road race from November 17th to the 22nd, beginning and ending in the city of Ensenada under strict sanitary protocols.

Although the Baja 500 is moving to San Felipe this year, local business groups and authorities worked to make sure that the Baja 1000 stays in the city.

Score announced that the race this year will not be having meet and greet events, press conferences, opening ceremonies, and that the mechanical revisions won’t be open to the public.

State Congress wants to reduce local wine taxes. A new proposal has been submitted to state congress that would allow local wines to pay only half of the IEPS taxes which today amounts to 26.5% of the sales price.

Congress also wants to keep the remaining half of the tax, to be used specifically to support the wine industry in different projects, instead of having to send it to the federation.

This would make local wines more competitive, as one of the main concerns of local producers is that their prices are not competitive compared to other foreign wines because of this tax.

Playas Toll Booth Free for Residents. Although the complete removal of the toll booth was not achieved, the state government along with a local residents group were able to negotiate free transit with electronic cards for residents of Playas de Tijuana.

A total of 18 neighborhoods, where 10,000 families live, will be benefited with these actions as they won’t have to pay any more to exit or enter their homes.

The fight for the removal of the Playas toll booth has been ongoing for decades by residents, and was one of the commitments of governor Bonilla’s campaign.

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 Baja Norte, Columns

Que Pasa In Baja?

Did school start yet? Last week was supposed to be the start of the new year, but that wasn’t the case for more than 700,000 students from Kindergarten to high school that were left without classes since teachers from public schools are still on strike. Although the government has been paying most of the teachers that have a permanent position, they have been falling short on payments to retired and interim teachers.

The strike started while students were on their summer break, and it still hasn’t been resolved. The teachers union says the total amount owed to them totals $5.5 million USD.

Governor Kiko Vega said previously that the state government didn’t have any more money for them at that time since the federal government hadn’t fulfilled their promise to send the usual funds to our state. Federal authorities have vowed to send the money ASAP so students can resume classes starting in September.

Another excuse to drink! Like we needed more here in Baja. Recently, the state tourism office and Grupo Modelo (makers of Corona Beer here in Mexico), announced the “Beer Route” project. It consists of a website and an app for your phone that will enable you to see a map with the location of most of the craft beer breweries here in Baja.

A couple of years ago, the same office launched the “Ruta del Vino” project, which is basically the same but for wine, and it worked great for them. Now that craft beer is so popular here, they have decided to expand the idea for beer.

The app will launch at the end of September and will be available in both Spanish and English languages.

Possible new free zone. Since the lower taxes for the border have worked out, bringing an increased economic activity, Ruben Roa, incoming head of the economy office for our state, has stated that there is a plan to create a free trade zone with the US and Baja, where most merchandisers would not have to pay any import fees.

He already stated that Ensenada would be included if they go forward with this idea, although for other border states it would only cover about 20 miles from the border.

Ensenada will offer free WiFi for tourists and just about anyone else who is in the area. It is a new plan that the hotel association in Ensenada, along with the economic development council, have launched. The projects will offer free wireless internet in tourist areas of Ensenada, and although the project will be financed by the economic council, its maintenance will be self-sustainable with the sale of an ad space that will appear upon connecting to the network.

On its first stage, the areas covered will be from the start of Costero Boulevard (entrance to the city), to the Riviera Cultural Center and First Street from Ruiz to Castillo.

Bonilla vows to have the best police force in Mexico. Our incoming governor, Jaime Bonilla, has stated that Baja California will have the best police force in all of Mexico and that the head of it will be someone very well trained and without any ties to organized crimes.

“Our state will be a reference point for other states and for our president Lopez Obrador; my administration will be the first one elected during his governance, and for that reason he has stated that he is fully committed to Baja California. I won’t let you down,”  said Bonilla during a press conference. ,

One of his first strategies will be to correctly assign the police elements to each city: Tijuana needs about 800 more, Ensenada about 200 and Mexicali just 25. Meanwhile, Tecate has 40 more police officers than it should have and Rosarito is already at the recommended number. The number of officers needed per city is based on a norm established by the United Nations.

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 Baja Norte, Columns

Que Pasa In Baja?

New cultural Plaza in Ensenada. Grupo Pando, the parent company of Santo Tomas winery, just got the approval from the city to close Miramar street to vehicular access, between 6th and 7th streets, in order to develop a plaza that will house an open-air forum, areas for art exhibits, gardens, and seating spaces.

The city agreed to let them use the street because the city lacks cultural spaces and also lacks money to develop them. This fixes both problems, since the city is not paying anything to establish this new plaza.

Grupo Pando already owns the lots and buildings on both sides of the street, and they were just waiting for approval from the city to use the street, as well as to develop the uninterrupted 27,000 sq/ft space.

Toll booths back to normal. You may think it is bad news that you have to pay the toll to use the scenic road again, but it’s actually excellent news. About two weeks ago, the federal police finally decided it was time to put their feet down and stop the illegal “toma casetas” (the people that were taking over the toll booths), and bring the law back into our state.

It was about time: We were hearing a lot of comments from tourists that were actually afraid of what was going on in the toll booths. We heard comments along the lines of “it looks like there is no law here,” or “people just don’t respect the police, they are 10 feet from them and they won’t do anything.”

Most locals were not unhappy with the situation, as they were saving money when using the road, but in the long run, it was affecting every one of us who lives here.

Jaime Bonilla, governor-elect, has already stated that he won’t allow for this kind of unlawful acts, and that our state will not be held hostage by groups that have ulterior motives.

It wasn’t me. That’s what our current governor is saying regarding the current financial situation that the state is in. Governor Kiko Vega recently stated that the federation owes our state about $500 million USD; this is money that used to come in from the federal government every month, but hasn’t been received here for the last 6 months.

The lack of funds has caused the state to get behind on payments for education, which amounts to 57% of the total budget for our state. Teachers are already on strike waiting for their payments.

State finances are managed differently in Mexico, as most of the revenue from taxes goes directly to the federal government and then the federation sends back what they see fit. This system has caused a lot of problems, since it undermines the autonomy of the state, especially when the government of a state is from a different party as the one from the federal government.

Cruises on the rise. And that’s not only for Baja, but country-wide there has been an increase of cruise visits in all of Mexico’s ports. An estimated 8 million people are expected to visit this country through a cruise ship, and while the Mexican Caribbean has seen an 8 percent increase, it has been our Pacific that has had the most significant rise in cruise visits with a whopping 15%.

Arturo Musi, president of the Mexican association of businesses, focused on cruise ship tourism (yes, that is a real thing), said that the Pacific will be able to receive the scheduled cruises until 2020. However, he also said that investments in infrastructure will be needed in order to catch up with the demand for 2021.

Cruise ship passengers leave about 50 million dollars every year in our country, from goods or services that they buy while they visit our country. It may not seem like much, but considering that all cruises include food and beverages, and that not even half of the passengers get off the ship, it’s not really that bad.

Ensenada gets blacklisted. The center for the study of public finances, based in the federal congress, issued a report that qualified a total of 655 municipalities in the country based on their debt and payment capacity. Of those, 64 were blacklisted as having high deficits and a low payment capacity compared to their debt. Ensenada headed the list, meaning it’s the municipality from the list that is in the worst shape financially.

Of course, there are worst municipalities in Mexico, but a lot were not even analyzed because the researchers couldn’t even gather data on those places.

Baja still popular for tourism. Our state head of tourism, Oscar Escobedo, has stated that last year we received 27 million tourists, and that Baja has been one of the states that has seen the most growth in the tourism sector, thanks to a policy of “selling experiences” and not places.

He said that the new trend is not to promote visits for a specific place, but promoting how being in that place would make you feel or what you can do while there; this has brought great results for Baja.

The tourism growth has been seen in the hotel industry as well, as there have been 38 new hotels developed in Baja during the last 6 years.

The Cross Border Express bridge has also boosted arrivals in the Tijuana airport, going from 3.9 million entries per year before the CBX to over 8 million after it.

Another crucial area that keeps growing is medical tourism, which, Escobedo stated, is generating over $500 million USD annually.

And not only in tourism. The state office for economic development stated recently that our state was first in economic growth in the last quarter from the states in the northern border, and the third place in all of Mexico.

Baja’s growth in the last quarter was 2.1% and the national average was just 0.2%, so we were significantly higher than other states. We have been steadily growing for 36 of the last 37 quarters, with an average growth of 3.7% annually. That’s not bad at
all!

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 Baja Norte, Columns, Ensenada, Rosarito, Tijuana

Que Pasa In Baja?

How long will the new state government last? Boy, has this been a toughie for our state. The standard governor term for each of the states in Mexico is 6 years and has not been changed for many years. This year, though, it was decided (before the elections), that the new government would only last 2 years in order to merge our next governor’s election with the federal midterms. The reason behind this change was supposed to be an economic one, as our state would be able to have fewer elections. This was seen as a good move, since our state had a whopping 5 different elections in the last 6 years, costing us millions of pesos.

The move was approved by Congress a couple years ago, but just a week ago (and after Jaime Bonilla from Morena was elected governor), the congress reversed that change and said that the government was going to last 5 years instead of 2, merging it with another election.

This was seen as preposterous by the federal congress, which said that the people had voted for a 2-year governor, which was now being converted into a 5-year term, and they deemed it anti-democratic. Local congress representatives were accused of receiving a million dollars each from Bonilla’s team in exchange for their vote in favor of extending his term, which is an entirely plausible assumption, considering representatives from all different political parties voted in favor of the move.

After much fighting between the state and federal congress, the actual governor has stepped in and said he won’t support the change, making it difficult but not impossible for the 5-year term to kick in.

Federal congress has gone so far as to saying that our state congress should be eliminated because of their anti-democratic spirit. All of the congress representatives that voted in favor are being threatened to be fired from their political parties.

We have yet to see how this turns out, as the state congressional term ends this month and a new one comes in, which could reverse the measure.

I’m doing my part, what about you? Hans Backoff, head of Monte Xanic winery and the current chief of the local wineries’ association Provino, stated that wine consumption in Baja has increased to 9 liters per capita, per year, although our national average is just 1 liter.

For comparison, the United States drinks 9 liters, Chile and Argentina drink 15 and 20 liters respectively.

Tijuana taxi companies pissed off. Taxis from Tijuana have threatened the city of Rosarito saying that they will stop taking tourists there, in retaliation of $400 USD fines imposed about 3 months ago for working there without the proper permits.

The fines are a result of Rosarito taxi companies pressuring the city to crack down on foreign transportation services, claiming that it’s unfair competition for them. For their part, Tijuana taxi companies say that they are not breaking any laws, because they don’t pick up tourists in Rosarito, they just take them there; also, other cities like Ensenada and Mexicali do not have any problems with this, because they deliver the tourists who will spend their valuable money in the destination they’re taken to.

Governor-elect promises cleaner beaches. Jaime Bonilla, our newly elected governor, has just signed an agreement with San Diego County that will allow them to work together in projects to clean local beaches.

San Diego’s port commissioner said that they can support the future government with 15 million dollars in 15 programs developed by them that will help put an end to beach contamination that originates in Mexico but affects San Diego county directly.

Beaches in Ensenada ready for tourism. The clean beaches committee in Ensenada stated that all the beaches in the city are suitable for swimming this year.

Officials from the local environmental agency said that contamination in local beaches are well below the norm, saying that samples were taken from La Mision, Playa Hermosa, Pacifica, Monalisa and La Joya, and all passed the test without any issues.

The city is encouraging the general public to avoid smoking on the beach, as in the 2018 international beach cleaning effort, the most common trash found in the sand was cigarette butts.

No more “chocolate cars.” Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it, but as of press time, the governor-elect Jaime Bonilla has stated several times now that he will fix the problem with illegal cars circulating here in Baja.

Nowadays is hard to see a legal car at any stop sign, especially in Ensenada, where some officials are saying that up to 90% of vehicles in the city are illegal (meaning they haven’t been imported or have current plates).

The problem has been left to grow worse for many years, as it will be a political blow to whoever decides to crack down on these cars. The only solution, which has been tried once before, seems to be making a special program to regularize illegal cars cheaply and after that start cracking down on the newly illegal vehicles. ,

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