Emma Veleta and Toribio Muñoz were married 40 years ago and had seven children, four boys and three girls. They lived in the town of Anáhuac, 100 km from the capital of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. But on Jun. 19, 2011, as they were celebrating Father’s Day, tragedy struck.
The United Nations’ 56
th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) begins today in New York, with the empowerment of rural women high on a list of priorities for this year.
Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in strong plastics, is banned in baby bottles in Canada and the European Union. But Mexico has made no move to outlaw it from plastic bottles or the lining of food cans, despite the threat to health.
The Mexican government announced a 54 billion dollar economic recovery plan Wednesday aimed at helping the local economy weather the global financial crisis, with measures like freezing gasoline prices and boosting spending on public works.
Thousands of fishermen in Mexico have gone on strike over the last few days to protest the rise in the cost of diesel fuel which, they say, has reduced their profit margin to zero. But the industry's problems, which have been simmering for decades, go beyond the question of fuel prices.