Page 12 - aruba-today-20190430

A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 30 april 2019
Mexico president kicks off new capital airport project

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN approved the project," he
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexi- said. There was no descrip-
can President Andrés Man- tion of when or how those
uel López Obrador on Mon- consultations were per-
day symbolically launched formed.
work on a new airport for When the time the airport
Mexico City to replace the it begins to operate in mid-
nearly half-built $13 billion 2021, it could handle nearly
project he cancelled upon 20 million passengers.
taking office. One of the looming ques-
López Obrador promised tions is how flights will be
the new Felipe Ángeles air- divided between the capi-
port northeast of the capi- tal's main airport, Benito
tal won't exceed its budget Juárez International, and
and will save the govern- the new one at Santa Lu-
ment money even with the cia. The environmental
cancellation of the partially impact statement for the
built airport. project mentions that ini-
"It's going to resolve the tially two airlines will be op-
problem of saturation at erating there, but it does
the current Mexico City air- not say which.
port , but also be an exam- The new airport would con-
ple of how you can carry nect to the existing one
out a rational, austere pol- via a 28-mile (46 kilometer)
icy based on honesty that In this April 9, 2019. file photo, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador answers questions route with dedicated bus
needs to establish itself as from journalists at his daily 7 a.m. press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City. lanes to speed passengers
the way to live and the way Associated Press to their connecting flights.
to govern in our country," About 5 miles of that route
López Obrador said. ing airport, but in a report gallons) per day from an aquifer. would actually be along a
The new airport — named by the military, consultant already severely overtaxed On Monday, the Zeferino perimeter road built for the
for a general allied with Navblue said they could aquifer that the capital de- Ladrillero Human Rights now-cancelled airport at
revolutionary icon Pancho operate simultaneously in pends on, and that's not in- Center called on the gov- Texcoco.
Villa — is at the Santa Lucia terms of air space. cluding consumption from ernment to consult with the In October, before López
military air base and the One of the early hitches hotels and other businesses more than 20 communi- Obrador had taken office,
army is in charge of getting pointed out in the military's that will spring up around it, ties around the airport. The he held an unofficial refer-
it built for $4.1 billion. environmental impact the report said. group warned that the wa- endum on cancelling the
It is supposed to begin op- statement is a small moun- Three existing wells on the ter consumption would di- $13 billion Texcoco proj-
erating in mid-2021, though tain named "Paula" that sits air base should provide rectly impact livestock and ect, which was already
construction has not yet beside one of the runways. enough water, but that is agriculture, and with it the nearly half completed. He
begun. It would be too close for expected to lower the wa- livelihoods of thousands of proposed converting the
Two new runways would be commercial airliners to use ter table in the aquifer, so families. Santa Lucia air base and
added to its existing one that runway, so the report some wells could go dry. López Obrador, though, making improvements at
and the commercial air- says it would be dedicated The report says that could said consultations had al- Benito Juarez, which had
port would share the space exclusively to military use. be mitigated by creating ready taken place. been targeted for closure.
with the military. But the biggest concern recharge zones in the area "I can tell you now that the The plan received 70% ap-
Critics have argued that raised in the report has to to put water back into the consultation with the com- proval, though critics com-
the new airport will have do with water. The airport aquifer. Another possibility munities around Santa Lu- plained that fewer than 2
difficulty operating simul- would consume an estimat- would be bringing water cia happened and what percent of Mexico's regis-
taneously with the exist- ed 6 million liters (1.6 million from another, less-stressed do you think? The people tered voters took part.q

Rights group alarmed by ouster of Bolivian judges

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A nent positions have been Judges who can be re-
prominent human rights ousted. placed by officials "are
group said Monday that Government officials con- much more vulnerable to
Bolivia has undermined ju- tacted by The Associated pressure that the govern-
dicial independence by Press said they would have ment can exercise," said
arbitrarily dismissing nearly no comment before read- the organization's Americas
100 judges since 2017 and ing the report. director, Jose Miguel Viv-
it asked the Organization of The New York-based or- anco. "HRW has received
American States to address ganization noted that the credible complaints of
the issue. OAS Democratic Charter pressure by senior govern-
Human Rights Watch said calls for the "separation ment officials for judges to
the judges were not given of powers and indepen- try opponents."
any reason for the dismiss- dence of the branches of He also cited a Constitu-
als by a Magistrates Coun- government" and said sev- tional Tribunal ruling de-
In this Nov. 7, 2017 file photo, a supporter of Bolivia's President
Evo Morales waves a party flag during a march supporting his cil dominated by allies of eral international treaties claring that Morales has a
re-election, despite a referendum ruling out his run for a fourth President Evo Morales. signed by Bolivia demand "human right" to run for re-
term, in La Paz, Bolivia. It said even judges who an independent and im- election indefinitely despite
Associated Press supposedly had perma- partial judiciary. a constitutional ban.q