Salem-News.com New Mexico articles Page 1

International Bank Considers Ciudad Juarez Redevelopment Loan

While homicide rates have dipped since 2010, the Ciudad Juarez press routinely reports fresh murders, frequently several killings each day.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Representatives of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank scouted out downtown Ciudad Juarez last week in anticipation of a possible loan package.

The tour was promoted by the Chihuahua state and Ciudad Juarez municipal governments as part of a $50 million investment drive to revive the Mexican border city’s long decaying downtown core.

The Winds of May Day: 2006-2012

Occupy has undoubtedly shifted the parameters of political debate and popularized the notion of the 99 percent.

(LAS CRUCES, NM FNS News) - Revived in the United States on a mass scale by the immigrant rights movement six years ago, the annual commemoration of International Workers’ Day is fast becoming an established tradition across the country.

And if anything captured the essence of the 2012 celebrations, it was the convergence of issues popularized by Occupy Wall Street-influenced movements with demands for justice long pushed by immigrant community organizations.

Last Stand in Lomas de Poleo

In 2005, one resident, Luis Guerrero, was beaten to death by a group of 20-30 men. In another incident, two young children burned to death in a blaze of mysterious origin...

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Descending down the long road that curves down from the heights of Lomas de Poleo, a panoramic view of the borderland dazzles the eyes.

Below the now-paved Anapra highway sits the town of Sunland Park, New Mexico, with its big border landfill, racetrack and casino, El Paso Electric plant and scandal-ridden politics.

FNS Feature: The Surprise that Keeps Surprising

"Without economic development here, we cannot help our people.." - Javier Perea, elected Mayor of Sunland Park.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - It was a stunning political development.

The often-fractious Sunland Park City Council took action by a vote of 3-2, with one abstention, to install 24-year-old New Mexico State University graduate Javier Perea as mayor.

Immigrant Workers Score Victories

Immigrant workers score wins.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Despite an adverse economic and political landscape, immigrant and low-income workers celebrated victories this past week.

In California, labor and community activists announced the winning of two new union contracts for car washers, or carwasheros, as they are called locally.

U.S. and Mexico Military Play Increasing Role in Border Operations

Our team at Salem-News, and also Narco News, were the first to report on the activities of this joint task force.

(SALEM) - Robert Plumlee and I enjoy watching the national media play catch-up with our reports from years ago. The game is on again as information about the U.S./Mexican military Joint Task Force continues to emerge.

A new article in the El Paso Times illustrates the reason that officials from both countries have been hesitant to confirm the existence of this military border group; the 1997 shooting death of a young Mexican national by a U.S. Marine.

New Mexico: Susana Strikes Out

Pro-repeal partisans laced online postings with politically-charged and/or outright racist language and symbolism.

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - For the third time in a year, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez failed in her bid to repeal a 2003 state law that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

The 2012 New Mexico State Legislature adjourned this past week without approving repeal of the legislation...

Cross-Border Battery Pollution Investigated

The CEC's decision to compile documentation on the burgeoning lead-acid battery trade followed recent stories in the U.S. and Mexican media.

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - Across the Rio Grande and over numerous desert land crossings, the golden scraps of U.S. throwaway society head south. Used clothes, appliances, cars and other commodities are shipped to the huge, second-hand Mexican market where low wages guarantee steady sales.

And during the last five years or so, a new market has opened up for used lead-acid batteries.

Mexican Workers Pulverized in the 21st Century

In 2012, a new round of price hikes bodes further ills for workers' purchasing power.

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - A new study reconfirms what many people know from first-hand experience: Mexican workers' purchasing power has plummeted since the turn of the century.

According to the analysis, Mexican workers earning the daily minimum wage had to toil 11.38 hours in December 2011 to buy a basic basket of commodities...

Third World-Style Economies Proliferate

Sprawling, open-air markets are located in low-income sections of cities populated by many immigrants.

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - Pirate profiteers and street merchants are central players in the economies of Mexico and other nations of the developing world.

Although informal businesses are far from new in the United States, recent reports indicate they are growing in scope and diversity.