Acapulco News

(Acapulco, AN 21 March) On the second day of the long weekend, Acapulco reached 93.4% occupancy, according to the municipal secretary of tourism, Erika Lührs. The beaches in the traditional zone were all very busy, as well as those near Diana, Condesa and Icacos. ... more»

(Acapulco, El Sur 19 March) Yesterday, providers of tourism services criticized the “line” being followed by the federal secretary of tourism, the governor of the state, and most recently by newly-appointed municipal secretary of tourism, Erika Lührs. This government version of the story is that violence and insecurity is not... more»

(Acapulco, NA 19 March) Drivers of the colectivos (the yellow, shared taxis) yesterday hiked up the $12 peso fare to $20 pesos for the hours between 4 and 8 pm. The reason? The incredible traffic snarl in the cloverleaf at Puerto Marqués, where the main road from Acapulco to the... more»

(Acapulco, NA 18 March) The traffic police have announced that the beach side of the Costera will be off limits for parking during this long weekend so that traffic will flow better and tourists will have better access to available services. Only pick-ups and drop-offs will be permitted. The prohibition... more»

(Acapulco, El Sur 17 March) The Trust for the Promotion of Acapulco Tourism (Fidetur) presented an accounting of its activities and expenditures for the current six-year mandate. Personnel have made 125 international trips, 246 trips within Mexico, and have spent $206.8 million pesos on radio, TV and print promotion. The... more»

(Tehuacalco, AN 15 March) The Yope were indigenous people in Guerrerro who were never dominated by the Mexica culture around them. Like their Aztecan and Mayan neighbors, they developed an advanced understanding of astronomy and the passage of time. The Spring equinox was especially meaningful for them. ... more»

(Acapulco, NA 14 March) Once again, a water main has broken along the new “Bicentennial Overpass” on Cuauhtémoc in Acapulco. In the five months since the road opened, work crews have had to close it several times to repair broken water pipes. This time it was a 6-inch main near... more»

(Chilpancingo, El Sur 14 March) According to state auditors, in 2009 the State Department of Family Services (called “DIF” for its Spanish initials) paid for 12.6 metric tons of powdered milk that never was delivered. “Phantom acquisitions” is a favorite form of government corruption. The milk, in various flavors, was... more»

(Mexico City, NA 11 March) The attorney general of Mexico said yesterday that the government has no knowledge of an undercover operation conducted by the US government on Mexican soil. On Wednesday, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Ms. Napolitano, testified to the program before Congress. She said she had not... more»

(Acapulco, NA 10 March) To stop flooding and clogged drainage in the 72 pluvial canals that run through Acapulco to the sea, the city is mounting an intense cleanup campaign. The work must be finished before the beginning of rainy season, in about 6 weeks’ time. The head of Municipal... more»

(Acapulco, El Sur 8 March) Benjamin Flores Reyes, otherwise known as “El Padrino” (the Godfather), was arrested yesterday in Acapulco. He is a 33-year-old underworld figure, who went to college in the United States, where he majored in Criminal Psychology. ... more»

(Acapulco, NA 8 March) Yesterday at 11:00 pm three armed commandos forced their way into the state office building in the Laja area of Acapulco. After tying up the watchman, they sprinkled gasoline on all the files they could find, and then set the whole place on fire. Then they... more»

(Acapulco, NA 7 March) Gabriel Morlet Campos, 35, was killed in a drive-by shooting in front of Starbucks in Costa Azul on Saturday night around midnight. He was an architect, and the son-in-law of a cousin of outgoing governor, Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo. It was the first openly violent incident in... more»

(Chilpancingo, JG 5 March) State governor Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo called upon the communications media yesterday not to give press attention to organized crime. He said that the drug thugs do their disgusting work because it gets them attention, both from the public at large and from rival drug groups. ... more»

(Acapulco, El Sur, 4 March) Today various government and private sector leaders contradicted yesterday’s pronouncement by the Federal Secretary of Tourism. She had said that reports of violence were just one of several factors to explain the drop in Acapulco’s tourism and just one factor should not be given so... more»

(Acapulco, AN 2 March) Brand new Guerrero State Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara rejected the explanation that the drop in Spring Break business in Acapulco was caused by the violent image that Acapulco has suffered in the international press of late. ... more»

(Acapulco, El Sur 1 March) Last night the city council, in open session, approved Manuel Añorve’s nomination of Erika Lührs Cortés as the city’s Secretary of Tourism. In the first two years of his administration, Ms. Lührs occupied the position of Secretary of Social Development, resigning to work on the... more»

(Acapulco, AN 28 February) The 7,500-seat stadium was filled to capacity to watch Spaniard David Ferrer win the Mexican Open Tennis Tournament on Saturday night, defeating countryman Nicolas Almagro in three sets. The venue was center court at the Fairmont tennis center near the Acapulco Princess and Pierre Marques hotels... more»

(Acapulco, El Sur 28 February) Antelmo Alvarado García, the head of the Guerrero office of the Mexican Confederation of Labor, the country’s largest labor group, accused the embattled Federal Secretary of Tourism Promotion, Gloria Guevara, of incompetence because the Spring Break tourist market in Acapulco has been lost. Alvarado is... more»

(Mexico City, El Sur 25 February) Mexico’s Senate unanimously approved yesterday a new Immigration Law designed to establish rights on behalf of foreigners in Mexico. In a last minute amendment, the legislators approved a provision that says no one can be declared “illegal” by virtue of his or her immigration... more»

(Acapulco, JG 22 February) Acapulco mayor Manuel Añorve Baños held a press conference in his office yesterday, in which he affirmed that the recent acts of violence have not changed the economic and social life of the port city. “We are calm and in peace,” he said. ... more»

(Acapulco, 21 February) Local papers continue to display prominently the latest atrocities committed by drug gangs in the poorer communities outside of Acapulco, without bothering to clarify for foreign readers exactly where the crimes occur. Evidently such stories boost circulation or advertising revenues, or else the genre would not get... more»

(Acapulco, El Sur 15 February) The Guerrero delegate of the federal Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), Daniel Vega Villanueva, made a review of the businesses on Icacos beach, concluding that of the 12 he visited, only 2 were in compliance with legal requirements. ... more»

(Acapulco, NA 15 February) Manuel Añorve Baños, upon his return to the office of Mayor of Acapulco, announced yesterday that through his efforts Acapulco has received more than 7.7 billion pesos in new investment, especially in the traditional zone, also called “Acapulco Nautica.” The investment in question is the construction... more»