Calderón's hushed Reynosa visit draws public ire

REYNOSA — Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s low-key visit to Reynosa on Thursday afternoon drew criticism from residents of this border city, where anti-government protests have been common in recent years.

Dozens of military convoys patrolled roads leading to Pemex’s Burgos Gas Processing Complex, where Calderón highlighted the completion of two cryogenic plants.

The isolated facility, miles from the city’s bustling center, was heavily guarded during the president’s visit and no one was allowed to stand outside its gates.

“We were expecting a protest,” taxi driver Juan Garcia said in Spanish. “But this place is only for important Pemex personnel, not for the public.”

Amalia Chavarria Blanco, like several other Reynosa residents, said she was unaware of the president’s visit to the city that day. The woman said Calderón likely kept his visit low-key to avoid facing the multitudes of protesters who often cry out against the city’s heavy military presence and against government corruption.

“Why kick up dust where it’s already clean?” the woman said in Spanish. “This zone and this state have been hit so hard.”

Calderón has dispatched thousands of troops to Tamaulipas’ northern border since 2006 as part of a nationwide campaign to weed out entrenched drug trafficking organizations.

The Mexican government has said the Reynosa protests along with many other recent demonstrations across the country have been organized by the drug cartels. Human rights organizations have said the protesters’ complaints are legitimate.

Despite flare-ups in cities such as Reynosa and Rio Bravo — where narco-traffickers battled federal agents in the streets in January 2008 — the state’s border cities have not experienced the systemic violence that has besieged cities farther west such as Ciudád Juarez, across the border from El Paso.

“He probably didn’t want to deal with the problems he’s had with soldiers,” Francisco Rios said of Calderón in Spanish. Rios was walking through the city center with his wife and daughter during the president’s visit. “It upsets me. I read the newspaper every day and haven’t heard a thing (about the president’s visit to Reynosa).”

Groups of protesters — mostly taxi drivers, shop owners and car lot owners — have also complained about rising fees and taxes to import used vehicles from the United States.

During Calderón’s visit to Reynosa’s Pemex plant, the president vowed to fight against criminal organizations that have stolen fuel from Pemex for years.

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Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.