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on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Saturday, March 7, 2015

Literally nothing in La Tuta’s birthplace

Borderland Beat posted by DD republished from Milenio. 
Translated by Mexico Daily News

“He was born rich like his father, who was the owner of a hacienda nearby. . . . He was always rude.”
 
House that belonged to Tuta in Arteaga
By Eriko Flores
In Arteaga, Michoacán, a municipality of some 20,000 inhabitants that can claim a notorious cartel leader as a native son, there is — literally — nothing.

It’s a four-hour drive from the state capital Morelia. The last hour is the hardest as the road winds its way up into the mountains of Tierra Caliente. On arrival, the visitor is greeted by a sign bearing the optimistic message, “Welcome to Arteaga, a municipality important for education, cattle ranching, fishing and mining.”

But it’s a lie, says Doña Juana Ríos, the operator of a modest restaurant, in an interview with Milenio. Ríos is open every day, even though customers are few.



“Life is very sad here, there is no work, the people are on their own . .
The streets are empty, more than half the residents are unemployed and in the main square the old folks play cards to avoid dying from boredom.
Everyone yearns for the prosperity that mining brought to Arteaga. Until 2012 there was an economic boom generated by foreign and domestic companies that extracted the minerals, bringing a constant flow of traffic and people. Those were times when Doña Juana served a lot of meals and José Rodríguez earned 200-300 pesos a day shining miners’ shoes.

Today the 70-year-old earns less than 150, and he doesn’t see anything changing until “all the scoundrels that accompanied La Tuta,” Arteaga-born Servando Gómez, the Caballeros Templarios leader who was arrested Friday, have been punished.

But he also offers the worrying information that another gang, Los Viagra, is rumored to be replacing the Caballeros.

The town’s thriving economy was dealt a few severe blows: the cartel insisted on the payment of “dues,” and it took over several mines. Then came the self-defense groups, followed by federal authorities. On top of that, the Environmental Secretariat shut down mining projects for operating without authorization.

The town has restructured since. The only people who receive a steady income are teachers and municipal workers. They use disposable income to add on to their homes by employing ex-mineworkers as bricklayers, and so a somewhat precarious economy stumbles along.

As for La Tuta, whose family is believed to have owned some 20 houses in Arteaga, 79-year-old Juan Flores remembers him well as a child, but the memories are not pleasant. “He was born rich like his father, who was the owner of a hacienda nearby. . . . He was always rude.”

There is some optimism in the community, for a new mayor will be elected in June. The current mayor, residents say, was under the gang leader’s control, and municipal resources flowed into his own pockets or those of La Tuta.

One candidate stands out for being honest, is the current feeling, and once elected will erase the name of Servando Gómez from the community.

If the town’s image can be cleaned up, says Don José, there will be lots of work and lots to eat.

35 comments:

  1. Just like when you go to badiraguato where chapo and other cartel leaders are born, nothing is there, no education or schools or hope for a better life.

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    1. Yeah and look at what they do with their crimes, they end up making those places even worse with their corruption, and by putting corrupted crooks in control of entire towns. Those peoples in those places are practically in their own, sometimes without any hope from the govt or from above. Fck this world and all the shiets in it.

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    2. Yeah, but many of the peoples that kept accepting his monies tuta would pass out helped to create nothing. Was it worth it accepting $1's, 10's & maybe 20's for the devatation of your own town? That's a question reporters "never" ask of the citizens. Personal responsiblity can be a bitch

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    3. @8:10 - oh really! LOL! And how many times have you been to Badiriguato? Never b/c if so you would know that it's a town of rancheros and very good people and there are schools, tiendas, churches, and people living happy. Badiraguato is less than 70 km from Culiacan and my family go with good friends family every summer whose brothers have an inn and two taquerias and the town is nothing as you have ignorantly described. Why slander what you don't know pindejo?

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    4. Carretero, not my fight, but I got out of mexico about 40 years ago, due to bad situation, and back then I could walk freely on cd juarez, el DF, guanajuato, Aguascalientes, durango, zacatecas, pachauca hidalgo, all over the city, no problems, and did not like what I saw, it was just warming up, never had one death, now I don't go for about 35 years, because it all is not worth the risk, but you are free to do as you please, not necessarily because you are a pendejo, all the bad things about mexico we read, are not "slander"...

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    5. 2:50 I been reading your fake ass comments for a while pendejito. You are a cds nut hugger and are allways lying how you go here go there but NEVER been there. Lol your the average sinaloa that is in denial, allways claims the cartels are good to locals but it's the total opposite. They had A special in univision and they took cameras to badiraguato and they had only one school and only one teacher that was a volunteer, children that wanted to go to school had to go early and walk for miles around rough terrain and mountains because they only had one road so most kids didn't go to school. Most locals dont know how to read and right, why do you think chapo cant even write his name. your a joke! They even had a story here in borderlandbeat of badiraguato, where were you at? Probably making up one of your fake stories lol como ay gente pendeja lol can't wait to see what lie you come up with next lol

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    6. 2:50 The article says the streets are empty and more than half of the citizens are un-employed. And most acknowledge Tuta & his gang ran the town down and want to see him prosecuted. Hopefully the new mayor can petition to reopen the mines where most of the town can be gainfully employed.

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    7. @11:58. I appreciate your perspective and at least you have one. What I take offense to is the false generalizations about all of Mexico and its people. I am throughout central, northern and western Mexico and as in the USA; there are areas I avoid. However, most of the people in Mexico are good, and whoever implies "all of Mexico is corrupt","Mexico is in the dark ages" etc has no clue and probably has never left their sofa and laptop. I don't favor any gang or cartel but what I know is as long as their is a multi-billion dollar demand in the US drugs are going to go north. I only pray that whoever is filling the US's demand does not victimize the Mexican people and thriving legit businesses that I have worked with for almost 20 years- and in my experience this is what I see and continue to experience. Peace to you

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    8. No where on this site have people stated ALL of Mexico is corrupt, however large parts are. Many don't need to travel to Mexico to know what is going on...many of your fleeing citizens the churches in U,S, France & other countries have helped as well as other organizations have.

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    9. The problemo in mexico is that if the criminals catch you, you will be 100% in trouble, due to corrupt politicians, police and military, it is only a matter of time...

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    10. 1:09 Yes, we have gotten much info from the people running from Mexico. The cartel crimes spring directly from the corrupt Mexican government. However you all seem to miss the point in that there is much much crime coming from the individuals & other places that has helped Mexico spiral downward. If all the weed crops and drug labs were burned down, Mexico would still have a terrible crime problem yet you all can ONLY focus on the supply/demand of drugs. Mexico seems to have given up on having a clean system of anything. You all appear to have a one track mind and blame everyone but yourselves, when in fact most of your crimes are committed by Mexicans; your corrupt government is mainly Mexican & many Mexicans have large drug habits also from Mexican dealers. The extortion, car jackings, kidnappings are also done by Mexicans. The stealing of the land is done by Mexicans and your Mexican politicians have let other countries come in and take your natural resources yet you still blame everyone but yourselves. This is why many countries believe you are kind of "backwards thinking."

      I have not read where posters feel Mexico is in the "dark ages" and believe you may have quoted those words out of context.

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  2. Haha looks just like my grandma's house

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  3. how la tuta and the govt ruined the city. pink is a fitting color for the sissy la tuta. they should burn down all the properties. la tuta totally ruined the city fucking scum that he is and will always be.

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    1. 9:20 burning properties does nothing for the people, they should confiscate and keep it all as community property, also they do not a mother fucking mayor to sell their ass down the river, but a business manager and a comptroller that are not compadres and watch each other and are watched by everybody, without sovereign impunity...

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    2. Good information 4:25 lets hope they take some of it to heart and act upon it.

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    3. sorry it was a figure of speech, metaphorically....i did not mean actually torching the buildings. should have said it different. my apologies.

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  4. My husbands father (deceased over 20yrs natural causes), was born in Arteaga in the 1930's. My husband was born in Apatzingan...we lived there in 2008 for a while and have been back there several times since to see the relatives. There is NO comparison. Been through Arteaga a few times it is a small poorer looking place, the main street the highway ends up going through from what I recall. Not much was going on there. In contrast, Apatzingan was booming many rich people in big fancy trucks and those 4 wheel things driving all over at night, people hiring bands, lots of businesses doing well.

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    1. Lots of drug traficking and illegal activities is that what you are saying? at the end who pays the price...

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    2. 8:56 That sounds like what is being said. One thing I have learned from this site is you really have to look and question carefully the posters as well as some of BB staff. Some will only tell you want they want you to know (only partial facts). If you question them you may get an insensitive or defensive response.

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    3. 3:14 You are right on that one

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  5. La puta tuta spent all of his money buying protection and favours from the government, police and military, like el chapo and los zetas, los Beltran Leyva, who were thightlikethis to pena nieto and genaro garcia luna,
    -- all of the biggest mexican narcs have behaved like the puppets of the president in charge who have used the worse of their private police to run drug trafficking in mexico and the US, call it CIA Branch DFS, policia judicial, de transito, de caminos, aduanas...
    --when the capos get rich enough, like puercos, their madrotas in mexican government take them to their narco-mierdocracia's cleaners por "criminales"

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    1. Oh no the porky pigs never know what they are doing

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    2. After all the murdering & stealing and if they live to get old then they request from their corrupt judicial court under some silly Amparo to live out their jail time at home! What a joke!

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    3. 'Throwing out unsubstantiated rhetoric makes you sound like an idiot'

      Its more distasteful than an idiot.
      You just met manic millie,the resident racist and hater of the US.

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    4. Manic Millie? Lord help us all.

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    5. Ooh my god!!! comerse las uñas time, "millie in da' house"

      The US is a lot more than amerikkkan drug traffickers, dirty money launderers, corporate welfare shills or private military trouble makers, those you can keep, mil mascaras de jocoque

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  6. la tuta have the nerve to sell drugs or act bad azz , & comes from rich good family

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  7. tuta should be ashamed of himself , went on to sell drugs or start a cartel. like he really struggle or grew up poor. which is still no excuse , he was allready rich

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  8. Who gives a rip if he was already rich... evil is evil, any kind of illegal activities will spawn evil acts because there's no recourse if there's betrayal. The poor that decide to turn to that lifestyle sign their morality away, they just don't realize it yet. There is no justification or positive outlook in any kind of organized crime. If tuta grew up poor would that have made a difference? Tuta is no special case. If he's born in America, he's just another ignorant pompas ass. Mexico provides the worst kind of opportunity no matter if you're rich or poor.

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  9. 1:10 Good comment but I think the citizens are slowly realizing what they have done because now they are crying to heaven for some help. I have never seen a country so corrupted by its own peoples, participating in all types of crimes and then blames other countries for their own criminal personal behaviors.

    At least Tuta was honest enough to state he knew he was a criminal!

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  10. Perra tuta malnacido. Ya me cayo mal ese wey. Aprovechado, Rata abusadora

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  11. The current governing mexican narco-mierdocracia and their sponsors, still are trying to make us believe.they are just wise cultivated and experienced businessmen and politicians...
    --It is impossible for them to comprehend their corruption and their crimes...
    --it was not the mexican people that invested 3+ billion dollars in mexico's MIERDA INITIATIVE.
    SO, WHO ARE WE TO BLAME FOR THE MILITARY GRADE WEAPONS THE US SENDS TO OUR GOVERNING NARCO-MIERDOCRACIA'S GENOCIDAL CRIMINALS?

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  12. Maybe thats what the locals want you to think.

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  13. 3:09 Many people fleeing Mexico come to the U.S. & France's churches with their horror stories. Some of the crimes we are hearing is almost unbelievable. We know what is happening over there.

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