Latest news with #Mexicali
South China Morning Post
15-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
How the oldest and largest Chinatown in Mexico rose despite terrible xenophobia
Chinatowns are often portrayed as gritty underworlds riddled with prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking. Some of this is rooted in truth, but that unfair depiction is largely the result of rampant xenophobia and cultural ignorance, especially in the West. In a series of articles , the Post explores the historical and social significance of major Chinatowns around the world and the communities that shape them. Given the distance and language barrier, it is hard to imagine how, a century ago, the Chinese population of Mexicali, a border city between Mexico and the US, outnumbered the local Mexican population in size. It was that generation of Chinese migrants who built La Chinesca, or 'The Chinese' in English – the oldest Chinatown in Mexico. One of the earliest records of Chinese presence in Mexico goes back to 1635, towards the end of Imperial China's Ming dynasty. That year, Spanish barbers protested about competition from the Chinese, which saw the municipality propose to cut the number of Chinese barber shops. Lanterns line the street outside restaurants in La Chinesca. Photo: Instagram/sl_mr05 By the 1870s, the Mexican government had started to encourage Chinese immigration after failing to attract more Europeans to settle, especially in the hot desert state of Baja California, where Mexicali is located.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The damning photo that led to governor having her visa revoked by Trump
A photograph with a prominent drug cartel figure may be behind the Trump administration's refusal to grant a top Mexican politician a visa to enter the United States. The picture showed Baja California governor Marina del Pilar Avila hugging Emmanuel 'El Botas' Serrano while she was campaigning for mayor of the border town of Mexicali in 2019. Serrano allegedly reports directly to Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who leads half of the infamously brutal Sinaloa Cartel. The photo first emerged in September 2022, with the governor's office disputing allegations that she had any ties to the so-called El Botas. 'It's a common knowledge that during political campaigns, hundreds of people approach to take a photo and even mingle with a candidate, as was the case during the four electoral campaigns in which the governor has contested,' del Pilar's office said in a statement. Del Pilar Avila announced on Sunday that she and her husband, Carlos Torres, had their tourist visas revoked. While she did not provide any reason for the revocation in her X post, Torres wrote on Facebook Saturday that it 'does not represent an accusation, investigation or formal incident by any authority, neither in Mexico nor in the United States.' Torres, who serves as the coordinator of special projects within the Baja California state administration and for the city of Tijuana, also claimed that the revocation is 'a measure that, as is with many people in similar contexts, responds to internal arrangements of the State Department.' 'Currently, the application of these administrative criteria has become increasingly common and like so many others, I am included in that universe,' Torres told his followers. Senators under ruling National Regeneration Movement, which is also known as Morena, issued a statement offering their support del Pilar Avila and called the visa revocation a move by the opposition to damage the governor's reputation. "The Morena parliamentary group strongly condemns the malicious speculation and smear campaign waged by conservatives to harm the governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila, and her family, who have our full support," said the group led by Senator of the Republic, Adán López. Del Pilar's and Torres' visa ban comes just weeks after Colombian President Gustavo Petro claimed the Trump administration revoked his visa to attend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It also comes amid President Trump's war of words with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for her refusal to deal with drug cartels in her country. Trump had pressured Sheinbaum last month to allow US soldiers into her country to help fight the drug gangs that produce and smuggle fentanyl into the United States, but she declined the offer, according to the Wall Street Journal. That prompted Trump to blast Sheinbaum, the leader of the Morena party - of which Pilar Avila and Torres are both members, as being 'afraid of the cartels.' Now, Torres says he has contacted an international immigration lawyer 'who is evaluating the submission of a motion to reopen or reconsider the decisions or begin the process for a new visa application, in strict adherence to official channels.' 'I make this information public with responsibility and transparency, not only to avoid speculation, but also to limit political opponents' misuse of this situation,' Torres wrote, adding: 'Believe me: these are people without limits or scruples, willing to turn any fact into slander if they think it will give them an advantage.' 'Throughout my public life, I have acted out of respect for the law and [am] fully aware of the commitment I serve,' Torres concluded as he vowed that the situation 'will be handled with seriousness and confidence in legal procedures.' Pilar Avila also stood by her man in her post on X, saying he 'has always acted with integrity, dedication and a deep commitment to Baja California. 'My support for him isn't just personal, it's moral and political,' she wrote. 'Because I know who he is and because he has always stood up and taken responsibility for things that aren't his.' She also noted that 'this situation is taking place in a complex binational context that requires my composure and prudence.' Still, the Baja California governor said she has full confidence 'that the situation will be satisfactorily clarified for both of us.' The dramatic move to revoke her and her husband's visas comes just weeks after Pilar Avila took a trip to San Diego to promote tourism in Mexico, according to KUSI. It remains unclear what may have provoked the US State Department to suddenly revoke their visas. But the Trump administration has been cracking down on who can obtain visas in recent weeks. In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent diplomats overseas a directive to scrutinize the social media content of any visa applicant in an effort to bar those suspected of criticizing the US or Israel from entering the country, according to the New York Times. His order specifically stated that applicants can be denied visas if their behavior or actions show they bear 'a hostile attitude toward US citizens or US culture (including government, institutions or founding principles).' Then on April 30, Rubio announced he was implementing a 'one-strike' policy for all temporary visa holders in a document marking Trump's first 100 days in office. He declared that 'a visa is a privilege, not a right,' and noted that under the Immigration and Nationality act, any noncitizen who 'endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization' is not welcome into the country. 'There is now a one-strike policy: Catch and Revoke,' Rubio wrote. 'Whenever the government catches non-US citizens breaking our laws, we will take action to revoke their status.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sempra to sell Mexican natural gas business to fund transmission expansion in Texas
This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. Sempra plans to sell Ecogas Mexico, a three-utility conglomerate that provides natural gas service in the Mexicali, Chihuahua and La Laguna-Durango regions in Mexico, and a minority stake in its development arm Sempra Infrastructure in order to finance expansion plans in Texas, company leaders said during a Thursday earnings call. The company plans to spend $13 billion on energy infrastructure this year alone, with $10 billion of that investment destined for the United States, Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Martin said. Analysts at Morningstar welcomed news of the sale and the company's desire to refocus on its regulated utilities. Sempra disappointed analysts and investors in February when it cut its earnings projections amid rising costs and will 'need to continue strong execution,' according to Morningstar strategist Andrew Bischof. Sempra's Texas subsidiaries continue to draw what analysts described as 'huge numbers' from would-be customers hoping to connect to the utility's electric system. And to bring those customers online, Sempra plans to invest heavily in new transmission projects. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas anticipates a need for $32 billion to $35 billion in new transmission to serve a projected 150 GW peak load by 2030, and Texas-based electric distributor Oncor is 'well-positioned to construct a significant portion of the required transmission infrastructure,' according to Karen Sedgwick, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Sempra. Sempra owns 80% of Oncor. The company is already involved in the $15 billion to $17 billion Permian transmission project, which is set to become ERCOT's first extra-high-voltage transmission project following a decision by the Public Utility Commission of Texas in April. Sempra originally anticipated that the construction of the Permian project would stretch beyond 2030, but recent regulatory decisions have shortened the timeline, prompting a need for greater near-term funding, Martin said. And Oncor itself continues to attract a record number of requests from large prospective customers, with new requests up 30% since the end of the year, Oncor CEO Allen Nye said. The company's customer queue now consists of 156 GW of requests from data centers, and 22 GW from other industrial sectors, he said. Oncor has 'high confidence' that 29.5 GW of that load will come online by 2031, and has signed interconnection agreements for an additional 9 GW of new load, Nye said. 'They've got a backlog that's 5x of their current peak load,' Martin said. 'So I think the goal really is to make sure that we are building the critical infrastructure that continues to support the economic growth in the state.' Selling Ecogas and a minority interest in Sempra Infrastructure, which primarily owns and operates natural gas and liquefied natural gas facilities, should fund needed capital expenditures 'in a much more efficient way than we originally proposed,' Nye said. It would also de-risk the company's portfolio by ensuring 90% or more of its earnings come from regulated utilities, he said. He anticipated the company would have more information on the sales by the end of the second quarter of this year, but Sedgwick said that initial interest in the sales has been 'robust.' Morningstar's Bischof agreed that investors would be 'best served' if more of Sempra's earnings came from regulated utilities, but also cautioned that it will be 'vital' for Oncor to recover its growing costs via a base rate case company leaders said they still plan to file during the second quarter. Recommended Reading Sempra announces $56B capital plan amid rapid Texas growth Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 years since the pandemic: How has Bakersfield's economy bounced back stronger than ever?
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — To mark five years since the COVID-19 outbreak, 17 News took a deep dive into the effects of the pandemic here at home, including the economic recovery efforts. Studies show downtown Bakersfield is one of few cities nationwide to have bounced back better and stronger than before the pandemic. 'We expected the impact of COVID at the outset in 2020 to really negatively hit Kern County,' said CSUB Associate Professor of Economics, Dr. Richard Gearhart. CSUB Professor of Economics, Dr. Aaron Hegde added, 'It was the uncertainty. Nobody knew what was happening, temporary or this.' On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in California due to COVID-19. Kern County followed suit on March 16, 2020, then the City of Bakersfield on March 19. Regulations meant social distancing, masking up and businesses shutting down. 'It's not so bad if you were one of the businesses that could adapt and could come back,' Dr. Hegde noted. BPD asking public for help in locating missing adult Mexicali, a multi-generational family restaurant founded in 1932, was one of those businesses. 'Well, when it hit, it was 'baam,' just like that. One night, we get the notice, you have to close,' said Irene Ramirez, owner and manager of Mexicali. Ramirez recalled, it was all hands on deck. 'We could sell our margaritas to go. That was the game changer,' she remarked. Mexicali was already known for its hard-hitting margaritas, and a global pandemic did not slow that demand. 'We sold as much as we did in food in margaritas,' Ramirez said. 'Probably, sometimes even more.' One of their bartenders told 17 News he probably made thousands of their to-go mason jar margaritas. 'The law [initially] said we have to have it with food. So, [customers] said then we'll have chips and hot sauce. So, they said give us some tacos, give us some burritos, and then they realized 'hey, I can get anything I want,' Ramirez explained. Mexicali soon opened up outdoor dining too. '[At the City, we] closed the streets off and allowed for restaurants to open up outdoor dining,' said Ward 2 City Councilmember Andrae Gonzales. Many, including 94-year-old Kenneth Blanton, Mexicali's oldest regular customer, took advantage of that. 'Me and my wife and my dog, who can't come in here, but he can go in the tent,' Blanton recalled of the pandemic dining days. The restaurant is still adapting, planning to sell — for the first time — its famous enchilada sauce. Ramirez said overall, business is better than the pre-pandemic days. Simultaneously, downtown Bakersfield has bounced back stronger than pre-pandemic days, according to a study by the University of Toronto. 'Because we were working on development, working with the private sector, entrepreneurs, developers, to bring in new spaces, new amenities, new restaurants,' explained Councilmember Gonzales. Gonzales represented downtown before, during and now after COVID. He credits the resilience of businesses but also the revitalization of downtown — making it an urban core with businesses, restaurants, bars, cafes and homes placed within a small vicinity. 'Walkability is a key factor,' Dr. Gearhart said of downtown's success. Gonzales specified, 'You can park your car, and you can literally walk to an underground bar, you can go to a Tulum-inspired patio, go to a Tiki bar…you can do all these different things in one night in downtown Bakersfield.' And Dr. Hegde noted, 'As [people] come into the downtown area and foot traffic increases more, you've got more people and more spending, so then the downtown becomes more vibrant than it was, let's say before the pandemic.' Hegde also said our population has trended younger post-COVID. As many were forced to return home, they ended up settling down and building families locally. 'Historically, the younger population has left, right? So, either go away for college, or after college, go away for job opportunities.' And, Hegde said, it's these folks taking advantage of downtown housing. '17th Place Townhomes, The Cue, 918, there's another 85 units on the way. So, that also contributes to what we call that 24-hour downtown,' Gonzales said. Gonzales further explained that the City continues to push its Economic Opportunity Area program, encouraging businesses to settle downtown. 'We have invested over $3.4 million in downtown and in Old Town Kern over the last three to four years in grants to over 75 businesses and property owners within the downtown and Old Town Kern area,' Gonzales said. He noted the moving of larger businesses such as Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) has been helpful. 'The whole economic engine of a county, of a city, is the small businesses,' Gearhart added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
