Truths and Rumors

"Where there are complaints, they are addressed," said President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, and she is right, which is why the visit to this region of Omar García Harfuch, Secretary of National Security, who has already proven to be much more than a pretty face, is essential. He has already proven to be much more than a pretty face, so that he can hear firsthand all the testimonies of agricultural producers, transporters, drivers, builders, businessmen and even taco vendors and other small business owners who have suffered from the issue of extortion. And why is it that no one can assist them there in Durango? Doña Claudia will ask, and the sub-agents respond with another question: Would she report an issue to Salinas de Gortari expecting it to be resolved through justice? Since Durango and Coahuila are two PRI states where La Comarca Lagunera meets, what goes and is reported on one side goes and filters down to the other, and in the particular case of La Laguna de Durango, members of the productive sectors have said loud and clear that it is the same elements of the state Attorney General's Office of said territory who, on orders from figures in the "malandrín" union, give them their "warm-up" and even "plant" illicit substances if they do not pay the "quotas" they ask for, such that there is no confidence in going to report to this institution...

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But it would be very different if they had García Harfuch directly addressing this urgent call, and they would see the accusations pouring in, and in droves, if these testimonies weren't leaked to corporations that are colluding. Going to file a complaint with the Durango Prosecutor's Office is the same as going directly to tell the CATEM leaders in Durango that they are being accused, and even why. If they don't believe it, let Don Omar investigate, and they'll be in for a surprise. Incidentally, this Friday, the leader of the Autonomous Confederation of Workers and Employees of Mexico (CATEM) in Durango, Nassael Armando Cobián Duarte, angrily and using harsh language, blamed the CCI for what he called a smear campaign and revealed that he maintains communication with the Durango Secretary of Government, which is good that he points it out. "Don't help me, buddy," Héctor Vela will surely say.

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On the afternoon of August 20th, during the distribution of food supplies by the Mejora program in Torreón, there was something our sub-agents didn't miss. It was evident that both municipal and state government officials were wearing their green vests. Now, there were no excuses about "they don't have my size or I don't like the color." The smiles were obvious, the eyes wide-open, and the batons were almost militarized, with fists raised shouting "Manolo, Manolo, Manolo." What happened? Something has definitely changed in Laguna politics because it's the same actors but with different roles. The one who seemed most open and smiling was Gabriel Elizondo, representative of Mejora Coahuila, who, along with the most well-rounded mayor in the country and the world, was in charge of distributing the food supplies to the residents. The sub-agents say that at that same event, the odious press approached the most polished, Mr. Román Alberto Cepeda, who confirmed the "changes" that will occur in the municipal high command and said that there will be "at least" six and that it is not due to a lack of capacity but to necessity; the need is the urgency of everyone coordinating.

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After Pepe Ganem, City Council Secretary, said goodbye at the Security table and thanked everyone for their support, the next announcement from the well-spun party came as no surprise. The sub-agents' attention was drawn to the fact that he didn't say "goodbye" but rather a "see you later," because in politics, we know that one day they're in fashion and the next they fall into error. The one who didn't miss the opportunity to celebrate what he called the fall of his "favorite villain" was the frenzied deputy of the "green" party, Antonio Attolini Murra. A day later, on Thursday the 21st, the treasurer, Óscar Luján, treasurer of the Torreón City Council, was kind enough to bid farewell to his small team and announce that Javier Lechuga will be in his place. Luján is leaving, but only to another office and will perform the duties of municipal comptroller. The one leaving completely is Eduardo Terrazas, from Monterrey, the current comptroller and who, during Román's first term, was in charge of Simas Torreón. Our sub-agents are anyway wondering, "What will the delivery of the public accounts be like?" Who will oversee them? This is an important issue considering there are lawsuits filed by the opposition involving several officials, such as the Nuevo Mieleras case. The good news is that Eduardo Olmos will surely take charge as he usually does. And another figure who came forward to give his opinion was the rather cool Luis Fernando Salazar, who described the moves as a desperate intervention by the "Echado Pa' Delante" government to contain corruption, "dishonesty, and inefficiency" in municipal administration. For the Morena senator, the city smells of sewage, lacks pavement, water, and is in total disarray. He again recalled the complaint he has filed with the UIF and the FGR regarding an alleged embezzlement of 66 million pesos in Simas Torreón. What a moment Torreón is going through.

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The one who actually threw down his harp and let chaos reign in the middle of a Shakira concert was the jack-of-all-trades, Luis Morales, who apparently remains very upset since he believes he has done a good job both during the campaign and within the municipal administration. The deputy agents say that Shakira's concertgoers took longer to reach the Territorio Santos Modelo than the concert itself and the entire route along the ring road and the Torreón-San Pedro highway, while the blessed Traffic Department officers were conspicuous by their absence. Surely Don Luis will soon recover from his tantrum and start getting back on track, and the gossipy deputy agents say that not all of their work consists of encouraging tax collection or issuing orders to hunt down motorists. It's not pleasant for citizens to encounter traffic jams every half hour that delay their destination, although, to be frank, not all of these jams are caused by the Traffic Department.

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The one who's super happy and laughing out loud at the announced departure of the city clerk, José Elías Ganem, is the trustee and beloved member, Natalia Fernández, who held the same position as Ganem during Román's previous administration, a time when Natalia thought it would be a great idea to move to Saltillo, since from there she claimed she could address local issues. This week, the sub-agents report that she's taking advantage of the opportunity and is gloriously walking through the halls of the city's most expensive building alongside "the lady in question," who prefers gossip to the odious job of having to attend to the things that matter most to Román. Natalia has already taken advantage of the situation to take control of the "Distinguished Citizens" event and is deciding who will and who won't be recognized. All that's left is for Don Román to give his initiative the green light, which he believes he has the money for, and with this clear confidence, he's already pulling his strings in Saltillo to resurrect the Office of the Comptroller from the ashes that he believes to be.

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Another who hasn't kept her secret despite all this political chaos is Claudia González, coordinator of Civil Protection for the state of Coahuila. Our sub-agents report that gas station owners, restaurateurs, and even those in the health sector are fed up with her "extortions." This issue is compounded by the dispute she had with Pablo Fernández, director of Inspection and Verification, who has been making a killing but has also taken advantage of it to air dirty laundry. The latest report on Claudia is that she reached an agreement with a hotel to waive fines in exchange for some furniture she liked for her notary's office and her home. The envious sub-agents point to the three properties she owns along the green line on Los Profesionistas Street and the third on the Torreón-Matamoros highway, which she acquired while working hard at the Cadastre. The "donations" he has obtained have been very valuable, since they give him 50 thousand pesos a month in gasoline vouchers and 10 thousand half-liter bottles of water from a well-known company in the region, in addition to about 500 food supplies to a company called ELAMEX. The worst thing is that everything is done in the name of the Governor, since the unwary are told that there is no money and it is the only way to obtain resources. Gossips say that the modus operandi is very simple, since there is no evidence, since to ask businessmen for money, he takes their cell phones before entering their offices. The detail that most outraged the sub-agents was an attempt to close a private hospital where the outraged partners went to Saltillo to discuss the issue, since according to the partner doctors, there was no reason for the fine. But don't think she's such a bad person, since she has a personal assistant on the state payroll, earning 10,000 pesos a month, who lends her the state vehicle so she has no problem coming and going to clean her house and the notary's office. Others who are very upset are the bar managers, from whom she asks for 10 to 20,000 pesos a month, claiming it's from Manolo Jiménez, all because "there's no money." It's already common, say the sub-agents, to hear business owners upset about these forced "donations" that Doña Claudia demands... Could it be?

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The sub-agents have well documented that it's around three in the morning—seriously, the exact time seniors start arriving to register for benefits and support from the Ministry of Welfare, a campaign promise of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. Thus, by 9 a.m., when the offices at the Federal Palace in Torreón open, there's a long line of up to 200 people waiting to be served. The sub-agents say things aren't changing; they charge for everything, even to save space, and it's really valuable since they only get to hand out up to 30 tokens. And the rest? 'Thank you for participating, come back tomorrow.' Those who like to dig into the core of the Welfare delegation in Coahuila say that all this bureaucracy, which takes us back to 1980, is related to the internal disputes between the Morena groups. On one hand, there's Karla Zamora, regional director of the Welfare Department in the Laguna Region, who is part of Cintia Cuevas' group. She hasn't understood that her functions are already legislative and continues to interfere in the area, knowing full well that this is where the voter registration lists for the next elections come from. And on the other hand, there's Brandon Pérez, representative of the Coahuila delegation of the Welfare Secretariat, led by Américo Villarreal, who hasn't been able to fully take office due to Doña Karla's blockades. Those in the know say this visceral dispute over "the voter registration" has beneficiaries on tenterhooks, as the registers and lists are poorly designed, there are biases and a lack of professionalism, and even corruption issues, as it has been documented that some people charge 100 pesos to expedite the process. Will they restore order? Remember, an angry senior citizen is a lost vote for the "guindas" (green party), along with the votes of their families.

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In Allende, El Nazas, everything is ready for tomorrow's inauguration of Morena member Betzabé Martínez Arango as president of Gómez Palacio and Susy Torrecillas as president of Lerdo, both municipalities in La Laguna de Durango. The events will be on Sunday, August 31st, as required by law, and they expect the support of the "governor," who sings rancheras well. August 31st is the last day the outgoing mayors will govern these cities, and until midnight, since the new municipal administrations for the 2025-2028 period formally begin on September 1st. "The good must continue," Doña Lety Herrera recently declared to the gossip press, which is also Doña Susy Torrecillas' motto. We'll see and decide how the new incoming presidents fare, who, according to the sub-agents, haven't yet figured out the size of the package they'll be receiving, especially the second one, who will have a line of creditors for what Don Homero is leaving behind.