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Noisy neighbors are under the eye of authorities in northern and central Mexico. Officials in Torreón, Coahuila, have begun enforcing noise regulations, fining two residents last week as

part of the Noisy Neighbor program. “We give warnings beginning at 10:00 at night, but after 1:00am we apply fines,” said the head of the city’s environmental department, Felipe Vallejo

López. He said that each of the residents cited were fined 20 UMAs amounting to 1,689 pesos (US $89). (The UMA is a reference unit used to set fines.) “If they reoffend, the fine can go up

to as much as 40 UMAs,” he said, adding that the number of noise reports soared from 80 to 200 in the last week. The two who were fined were on a list of 50 homes marked as reoffenders in

the five months since the program was initiated. Vallejo said his office is looking into expanding the operation during the holiday season as the number of complaints has significantly grown

since the beginning of the festivities. Elsewhere in the country, Mexico City is also looking to strengthen regulations to crack down on noisy neighbors. According to city lawmaker Lilia

Rossbach Suárez, noise complaints are on the rise in the capital, and she urged authorities to review the regulations. She said previous attempts to regulate noise in the city have not

yielded positive results, and there are more noise complaints being made by residents. The regulations call for fines for exceeding established noise levels, but the infractions are rarely

punished with fines and usually end in a request to lower the volume. To make her case, she referred to Mexico City’s ranking of No. 8 on the World Health Organization’s list of the 50

noisiest cities. _Sources: Milenio (sp), Excélsior (sp)_