The Cozumel Sun News June 4, 2018

This week in the Cozumel Sun News: The U.S. Dollar Continues to Rise, Cozumel Taxis Protest New Mobility Law, Cozumel Airport Shuttle Cost, Directors of Foundation of Parks and Museums Cozumel (FPMC) Inaugurate New Facility, The Sargassum Forecasted to Arrive in Cozumel This Year, In Aurita’s Corner, Watching the Cozumel Elections with Interest, an Editorial, and More!

Cozumel Taxis Protest Government Mobility Law

Earlier this week, Taxis blocked part of the Cozumel boardwalk for four hours, protesting the state government’s approval of the Mobility Law, which will allow Uber’s entry into the transportation business. At 6:30 p.m. a sit-in began with the closure of one lane of the pier, from the Airport Boulevard to Adolfo Rosado Salas Street. Around 150 taxis with their respective drivers accompanied by relatives, made a tour of Rafael E. Melgar Avenue through more than nine streets of the Colonia Centro.

They went to the Esplanade of the Flag, located in the street First South, where with placards in their hands they protested against the Congress of the State, having approved the Law of Mobility Quintana Roo, which allows the entry of the new line of workers of the Uber federal transportation. There the taxi drivers demonstrated against Jesus Zetina Tejero and Gabriela Angulo Sauri, deputies from Cozumel who supported the initiative of the state government which they say will harm drivers. Taxi drivers shouted slogans such as “Traitorous deputies,” “Chucho Zetina and Gabriela Angulo,” and “Taxistas Unidos, never will be defeated.”

The contingent of more than 350 people who protested peacefully, sent the message to state governor Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez, that the approval was a “government betrayal” that will damage their income. Herbert Cetina Marrufo, Labor Secretary of the Taxi Workers’ Union “Adolfo López Mateos”, who led this blockade as a solidarity action with the Quintana Roo taxi drivers’ union, said that the situation affects more than three thousand family members of the 700 taxi drivers in their Union.  He criticized that the deputies of Cozumel, Jesus Zetina and Gabriela Angulo’s, part of that approval.

The Cozumel Social network has lit up with approval of the new mobility law by locals who are tired of not finding a Taxi during the days that the cruise ships are in town as well as criticism of Cozumel Taxi service in general. Locals complain of taxis passing them by as they rush off to line up to offer their services to the tourists who will pay a higher fare plus tip. The monopoly has resulted in drivers that see no need to open doors or assist with luggage as they are the only service in town. The consensus has been that competition might improve their service.

As explained to me, the Mobility Law will prevent current drivers from owning their Taxi license plates forever, as they do now. The current owners of Taxi License Plates will be grandfathered in. The new drivers that are currently renting will be allowed to own a license plate, but there will be a limit on the number of years that they can own it. When that time is up, someone else gets a shot at owning plates, and the driver must go back to renting.

This position of a driver that rents the plates is referred to as “Martillo” or hammer, and unfortunately is being held by the majority of the drivers under the organization of the Union. The license owners, (many who own multiple licenses) rent the plates to a “Martillo” for approximately $35 US dollars per day. Keep in mind, the driver also has to pay vehicle, gas, and maintenance. Now you see why the rush to the tourist area, that is a lot of pesos!

In the past the driver’s family would have the plates to rent or sell after a driver retires or dies. Drivers consider their taxi plates as their pension plan and insurance for their families. Under the new law, when they die, they leave nothing to their family for their support.

From what was explained to me, the rental of plates will now be in pesos. One driver told me that you will be able to bid for the plates, so the person with the most money will have the advantage over the lower income drivers.

The law will further enable Hotels to provide their own transportation. This can potentially take away their income from serving the hotels and the airport. Having friends in the Taxi industry, I am aware of their expenses for gas, vehicle, maintenance, and rental of Taxi plates from people in the Union that hold multiple plates and charge outrageous monthly fees. I am told that the high overhead is the reason they run to the tourist areas where the pay is better.

I do not see the Union going down quietly, as this definitely seems to be a move to take at least some of power that they hold over the drivers. I anticipate a Statewide strike or demonstration to take place in the near future in an attempt for them to remain in control of the transportation services.

Buccanos Beach Club Bar & Grill

Rated one of the top beach snorkeling sites in Cozumel with natural sand walk-in beach, ocean view swimming pool, seaside restaurant with bar, umbrellas & palapas, showers & lockers, beach massage, snorkel equipment & kayak rental, wave runners and parasailing, poolside internet, on property tequila tour, and repel/rock climbing facility. The Beach Club is Open Daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. To make Reservations call  01 987 872 0100 or  Email  buccanos@yahoo.com.

 Cozumel Airport Shuttle Cost

Papeleria y Novedades Mama Lilly
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Directors of Foundation of Parks and Museums Cozumel (FPMC) Inaugurates New Facility

SHELTER WORKSHOPS AND OFFICES

THE MUSEUM TO THE COMMUNITY MEETING

Noemí Ruiz de Becerra and Emilio Villanueva Sosa, President and General Director of the Foundation of Parks and Museums of Cozumel (FPMC), respectively, cut the inaugural ribbon of the new facilities that will house the offices of the Directorate of Pedagogy, Museum of the Island and Social Communication, as well as the workshops that the institution imparts to 180 students.  With the temporary closure of the Museum of the Island for remodeling, the workshops and offices that were in that building were moved to Plaza Salomé, located at 65 Avenue with 11 avenues, which will also bring the activities offered to the community the FPMC, said Villanueva Sosa, during the inaugural event.

They welcomed the students of the workshops, including children, youth and adults, and congratulated the teachers of the workshops on the new facilities, since they are the ones who really bring the salons to life, adding that although the Museum of the Island is temporarily closed, it is alive and will continue operating as an itinerant museum.

Mrs. Ruiz de Becerra explained how the Museum is going to continue serving the community with a program that will bring exhibitions and other activities to the lobbies of hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and other public spaces. The museum activity will not stop, on the contrary, art and culture will reach more places and more people.

Along with Noemí Ruiz de Becerra and Emilio Villanueva Sosa, in attendance were the Director of Pedagogy and Social Assistance, Dianela Cervantes Chi, the Director of the Museum, Isela Carrillo Cupul and the Director of Social Communication, Nora Hernández Rivera, who all have offices in the new facilities.

The directors made a tour of the rooms where 180 students will take different workshops. Some of the workshops are Mayan language, English, children and adult painting, textile painting, theater, Latin dances, guitar, piano, solfege, youth and adult choir, vocal technique, melodic, and singing for children and adults. Some workshops are free and others have a recovery fee for materials.

Registration is open for these workshops at the new facilities, located at 65 Avenue with 11 avenue. The community is invited to request information and be part of the Cozumel Parks and Museums Foundation family, that promotes culture and art in the community.

Congratulations to Baldwin’s Guest House on Receiving the 2018 Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisors! Baldwin’s Guest House Cozumel is the only B & B on Cozumel with a consistent 5-star review rating on TripAdvisor. We are a small boutique hacienda with 4 suite guest rooms in the main house and a casita with living room, kitchen, bedroom and bath. Our beautiful and clean pool has a waterfall set in an oasis containing over 400 species of plants. We have free cable TV, Wi-Fi and an outdoor kitchen for guests. Manager provides Happy Hour every day with your choice of drinks. We provide a breakfast every day with fruit, yogurt and a hot entree. Cleaning service provided daily. Laundry service provided for a small fee. We are in a residential area 12 blocks from the Malecon and close to local restaurants including Casa Mission, Mr. Taco and El Sazón del Camerón. Come and see why we have been a guest favorite for over 20 years!

 

Sargassum Forecasted to Arrive in Cozumel This Year

Arrival of Sargassum in Cozumel could be worse than in 2015. Noticaribe published that a month and a half ago Cristopher González Baca, the Director of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas of Cozumel (Conanp), announced the forecast of a typical amount of sargassum this year, which will damage tourist activities.  According to the official, for now the beaches of the east and west of the island are monitored, in order to know how much sargassum reaches the coasts, which this year may represent a contingency.

Sargassum is a genus of brown (class Phaeophyceae) macroalgae (seaweed) in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral reefs, and the genus is widely known for its planktonic (free-floating) species.

González Baca mentioned that work is being done on emerging programs, since studies indicate that the summit could be greater than in 2015, especially the west, in South and North hotel areas, Malecón de la Isla, and on the East Coast, mainly in Playa Bonita.

Although for Cozumel it is a large amount of sargassum, it does not compare with the quantity that arrives in the areas of Akumal, Tulum, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Cancun, where the arrival reaches 70 or 80 meters from the coasts and up to 80 centimeters deep, detailed.

The director of Conanp indicated that they are already working with the University of Quintana Roo (Uqroo) and the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat), to improve the work that was done in 2015.  Removal of the Seaweed must be done by hand, not with machinery, because the beaches are turtle nesting areas.

 

U.S. Dollar Continues to Rise

The US dollar continues to rise because of the lack of negotiation regarding the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), among other factors.  The situation will affect some parts of the country in Mexico, but tourist areas such as Cozumel the products are priced in dollars. However, the continual decline of the peso and raise in the cost of products due to the new tariffs will eventually affect the lower income population. In this, Mexico is not alone, as Canada and Europe will be facing the same challenges.

Aurita’s Cozumel Corner

Welcome to my little Corner of Paradise. If you are new to The Cozumel Sun, please follow us on Facebook for day to day activities on our Island Paradise. There is a Cozumel Sun Group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thecozumelsun/    and a Cozumel Sun page at: https://www.facebook.com/CozumelSun/. Please join the group and “LIKE” the page if you have not already done so!

The Cozumel Sun’s mission is two-fold: To provide news and information to English speaking residents and visitors to Cozumel, and to support local low income families.  Your donations to The Cozumel Sun through PayPal and donations to the garage sale enable us to keep this publication going that is also a tool for many fundraising projects that assist local low income families. We have opened two businesses “Papeleria y Novedades Mama Lilly” and the new “Arenas Mini Super” that along with providing employment, is teaching business ownership to a local family and other members of the community, with the ultimate goal of enabling them to be self-sufficient. We have incorporated the Garage Sale Items into the Papeleria so they can be purchased at any time. We welcome you to stop by and say hello anytime! The Papeleria is located in our home, and the Mini Super is right down the block.

Sun Garage Sale:  Now collecting items for Distribution and Sales: Please keep donating the items you do not need, drop it off anytime day or night, or call and we will pick up! We are currently displaying the garage sale items in Papeleria y Novedades Mama Lilly .

 

Watching the Cozumel Elections with Interest, an Editorial

Since I am a permanent resident in Mexico, I am not allowed to vote.  I can only watch the election process from the sidelines. I cannot explain why this election is different than all the others, but I am for the first time paying attention and watching with interest how this drama unfolds. Maybe it is because I have had interactions with the current Municipal President, Perla Tun Pech, and recently met and spoke to one of the candidates running against her. Do I connect with her because she is the first woman to hold that office in Cozumel? Maybe, but I do not think that is the reason.

During her short term in office she has reminded me of a Corporate headhunter. You know, when a company runs amuck and has to be set back on track you bring in an expert to clean house and get everything back in order. This person is very unpopular, as they go about cutting back departments and getting rid of the bad apples. So unpopular in fact, that it is a short term job. This person sets everything up for a new CEO to come in and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

President Tun Pech’s first move (and possibly politically fatal) was to stop paying the newspapers. It made sense to me, being raised in the United States were the press and politics are separate. But in Mexico, as in my native country, the Dominican Republic, anything goes. Previous administrations had daily front page coverage of politicians doing great work in the community. Instead, daily criticism of her every move by the newspapers has been her cross to bear. The next move was removal of some police officers that she deemed corrupt. This caused a shortage of Patrols, but were they actually patrolling before?  The only presence that I saw the previous two years were police officers stationed 24/7 within sight of a house by our OXXO to prevent the ladies of the night that lived there from selling their wares.

Another unpopular move was taking away the school crossing guards. These positions were held by senior citizens that depended on that little income to support themselves. The locals were ready to burn her at the stake that week.

She started her term in debt millions, with the Municipal Palace empty of all computers office equipment and supplies. Consequently, everything was done on a smaller scale due to the lack of funds. The City owed money and creditors wanted their money now. Even I have forgotten some of the details, it seems to me the employee’s retirement fund was in debt also.

 

The other candidate that I met is Pedro Joaquin, a very charismatic man, that formerly held a position at the Cozumel Museum. He comes from a political family, son of current Secretary of Energy Pedro Joaquin Coldwell, and grandson of Cozumel’s Don Nassim Joaquin. They are kind of like the Kennedys of Cozumel. His family has held positions in all levels of local, state and federal government. While his father is currently in the PAM party, Joaquin Junior is running for the PRI party. This is the party that left Cozumel in debt, and that has many former office holders currently in jail or pending trials throughout  Mexico for theft and fraud.  Will the locals hold this against him? I do not know how this will play out, I can only watch with interest!

I have not met the other candidates yet. To be fair, I will try to get information on them before the first of July.

 

 

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Aura Holguin-Resch
The Cozumel Sun News
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