CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas – In fulfillment of the Tamaulipas State Law, Gov. Egidio Torre Cantú delivered his annual Government Report, delivering it in writing to Congress and in a speech to citizens in the 43 municipalities of Tamaulipas.
During his sixth and last Government Report, Torre Cantú thanked the support received by the federal government, and at the same time he highlighted the work done by agents of the federal police, mexican army, mexican navy, and federal special forces. He also spoke of programs which, he said, helped in reinforcing the aspects of education, social, cultural, sports, and safety.
Legal
According to Torre Cantú, during his 2011-2016 tenure, citizens of Tamaulipas were able to reach a legal system to protect its rights in any form. This was done thanks to reforms related to human rights, transparency, balance statement, and the new criminal legal system. “We have a legal system to provide a wider spectrum in rights, such as gender equality, those that protect our children, those which guarantee a humane treatment to immigrants, those which prevent bullying, those which protect crime victims and the ones that fight against crime activities, just to mention some,” he said.
Security
Torre Cantú said that during his tenure, one of his goals as governor was to bring back security, peace and harmony to Tamaulipas, while maintaining a strong institution. He said the State of Tamaulipas has seen a higher number of federal forces agents during these past six years. New military headquarters were built in Ciudad Mier, San Fernando, and El Mante; while the military headquarter in Matamoros got an extension built; and inside the municipality of Hidalgo, the State donated a piece of land to the Mexican Army where a new military headquarters will be built in the near future.
Torre Cantú added that since 2011 the State of Tamaulipas has been paying for all the salaries, lodging, life insurance, and any other benefits to military personnel who have been doing the job in absence of the state and city police around the state.
Additionally, Tamaulipas built hospitals for the Navy in Matamoros and Soto la Marina, and airstrips were donated also in Soto La Marina.
He also informed that after building an evaluation and trust control state center, at present 100 percent of the police officers get official credits and are continuously evaluated.
Nowadays, Torre Cantú said, Tamaulipas works with a surveillance system composed by 2,196 cameras inside the cities of Ciudad Victoria, San Fernando, Tampico, Madero, Altamira, Reynosa, Rio Bravo, El Mante, and Matamoros. The city of Nuevo Laredo is in the process of getting the system.
It was in 2014 when national and state authorities created the Tamaulipas Security Strategy with the help of almost 10,000 state and federal agents, he said. Thanks to this strategy they were able to counteract 15 of the priority goals, and 428 of regional relevance. “From May 13, 2014 to the present day, we have had 122 meetings with Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas,” Torre Cantú said.
Other Items
In the health area, Torre Cantú said that during the past five years, five new hospitals were opened to provide services, and at the same time other six hospitals got improvements to their facilities. Another nine hospitals with special units were built, and three general hospital were built to replace old buildings.
In education, Torre Cantú said one in every three students in Tamaulipas has some kind of scholarship; and 93 percent of schools have internet service.
In farming area, Tamaulipas occupies first place nationally in the production of sorghum, soy, and aloe vera. It occupies second place nationally in the production of orange and olives; and third place in the exportation of livestock to the U.S. Tamaulipas is first in the nation for catching shark and dogfish; first in catching mullet; and third in catching catfish.
And, in the area of transportation, Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo get 50 percent of the commercial rail traffic from Mexico, while Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo get 41 percent of the commercial highway traffic from Mexico.
Last but not least, Torre Cantú spoke directly to the Gov. Elect of Tamaulipas, Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Cabeza de Vaca. He wished him luck and success in his new endeavour which will begin on October 1.
“I wish the Governor Elect Francisco Garcia, the greatest success, that it will go well and it will go very well for Tamaulipas; and to the deputies and mayors elected, I wish them well in their next responsibility,” Torre Cantú concluded.
Editor’s Note: This story was translated into English by Melva Lavín of ML Agenda Cultural. Click here to read her blogs. The story in Spanish first appeared here. The images accompanying this story were taken by Blanca Zumaya Escobedo.
