Mexico Solidarity Network
MailBucket
Updated: 2 min 44 sec ago
December 23, 2008 - 6:11am

MERRY CHRISTMASTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009
JOY, PEACE, HAPPINESS:
These are the feelingswe wish you for this
very special season.And may all your
wishes come true
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009
December 16, 2008 - 1:45pm
Mexico Solidarity Network
Red de Solidaridad con Mexico
MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DECEMBER 8-14, 2009
1. 81 femicides this year in Ciudad Juarez
2. Narcos hang banners condemning Garcia Luna
3. Festival of Dignified Rage
4. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (Contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [1])
1. 81 femicides this year in Ciudad Juarez
Ciudad Juarez registered 81 femicides so far in 2008, more than doubling the
worst years of 1996 and 2001 in which the city recorded 37 women murdered. El
Diario de Juarez provided the following accounting of femicides since 1993, when
Esther Chavez Cano, a local human rights activist, first called attention to
problem:
Year                      Femicides
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 19
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 19
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 36
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 37
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 32
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 36
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 18
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 32
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 37
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 36
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 28
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 19
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 33
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 20
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 25
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
81Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Of the 81 cases so far this year, 55 deaths resulted from organized crime,
while the Special Investigator for Deaths of Women (FEIHM) is handling the other
26 cases. Sixteen of these 26 cases remain under investigation while the other
ten cases have been declared resolved. Two twelve-year-old girls are among the
victims.
2. Narcos hang banners condemning Garcia Luna
Mexicoâs leading drug cartels continued their very public media battle this
week, hanging huge banners in a dozen major cities in at least six states. The
most popular message targeted Secretary of Security Genardo Garcia Luna, who is
under suspicion of links to the Sinaloa Cartel. In the border city Reynosa, at
least four banners accused Garcia Luna of being âthe most powerful
narco-traffickerâ and of protecting the powerful Zambada family. Over the
last few months, Mexicoâs two major cartels have carried out a virtual media
war using banners as large as 30 feet hung from bridges, pedestrian walks, and
even Catholic church steeples. The most recent barrage was probably the work
of the rival Gulf Cartel under the control of the Beltran Leyva family, widely
believed to be aligned with the recently deposed head of the Federal
Preventative Police Gerardo Garay. Garay is currently in federal prison
without the possibility of bail as he awaits trial on charges of abuse of
authority, links to organized crime and robbery. Banners appeared
simultaneously in Neuvo Leon, Tamaulipas, Morelos, Tabasco, Guerrero and
Veracruz. The banners accused Garcia Luna of being responsible for the
September 15 Independence Day grenade attacks in Morelia and of managing a group
of kidnappers and assassins as part of the Grupo de Reaccion Gopez within the
Federal Preventative Police.
3. Festival of Dignified Rage
At least 236 national and international collectives are registered to
participate in the Festival of Dignified Rage, according to an update by the
Comision Sexta of the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Some 154 national
groups are registered from 26 states, while at least 82 international
organizations will attend. Formal registration is open only to invited groups,
but the Festival is free and open to the general public. The Festival kicks
off December 26-30 in Lienzo Charro, part of the Pancho Villa movementâs
facilities on the south side of Mexico City in Iztapalapa, near the Cabeza de
Juarez. The Festival moves to Oventic, Chiapas, on December 31 and January 1,
then winds up at the Universidad de la Tierra in San Cristobal de las Casas on
January 2-5.
4. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (Contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [2])
STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM:
Mexico Solidarity Network study abroad programs are accredited at the
undergraduate and masters level by the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, one
of Mexicoâs most prestigious public universities. Hampshire College is the
US school of record and provides official transcripts.
Fall 2008, September 7 â December 13: Study in Chiapas, Tlaxcala, Mexico City
and Ciudad Juarez, focusing on the theory and practice of M
Long message truncated by MailBucket.
December 7, 2008 - 9:35am
Mexico Solidarity Network
Red de Solidaridad con Mexico
MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DECEMBER 1-7, 2008
1. Economic crisis hits hard
2. More bad news for Secretary of Public Security
3. Police Chief arrested for drug ties
4. US releases part of military/police aid package
5. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (Contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [1])
1. Economic crisis hits hard
Mexico expects to lose about 27,000 jobs, mainly in automobile plants, during
2009 as exports decline by an expected 16%. The economy is expected to grow by
only 0.3% in 2009, according to estimates offered by the Bank of Mexico.Â
Automobile production, the centerpiece of Mexicoâs export economy, will
decline by half in 2009, according to the Mexican Automobile Industry
Association. Â Automobiles and parts account for 20% of industrial production
and one-fifth of the countryâs exports. In Ciudad Juarez, the five largest
maquiladoras, Lear, Jones Plastic Engineering, Electrolux, Arneses de Juarez and
Edumex, are working only partial shifts, with workers paid as little as two days
a week.Â
Despite financial problems faced by the US âBig Threeâ auto producers,
investment in Mexican facilities has not declined this year. Â Very possibly the
automakers are banking on Mexicoâs low wages â less than US$3 an hour in the
automotive sector â to recover from their current financial problems. Yet new
foreign investment in general declined by 56% during the first nine months of
this year compared to the same period last year, according to the National
Commission on Foreign Investments. Â This follows a 15% decline during the first
nine months of 2007 compared with 2006.
Despite the economic crisis, federal Senators plan to have a merry Christmas.Â
At least US$3.5 million will be distributed to 128 Senators in December,
including their monthly expense accounts of US$10,000 plus a year-end bonus of
US$13,000.
2. More bad news for Secretary of Public Security
One week after publicly defending his embattled Secretary of Public Security
(SSP) Genaro Garcia Luna, President Felipe Calderon sent a mixed message this
week by appointing Javier del Real Magallanes, a General and member of the
Estado Mayor, to the post of Assistant Secretary for Strategy and Intelligence
in the SSP. Del Real Magallanes replaces Facundo Rosas, one of Garcia Lunaâs
closest collaborators. The Army has little confidence in Garcia Luna, and the
move gives the armed forces increasing influence in Calderonâs war on drugs,
the centerpiece of his administration. Del Real Magallanes will report first
to the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) and only secondarily to Garcia
Luna. Del Real Magallanes assumes a post with expanded powers under a modified
SSP command structure as Garcia Luna has come under increasing suspicion of
links with drug cartels. Only last week, the Federal Attorney General
interrogated his personal secretary, suspected of accepting money from cartels
in exchange for intelligence.
3. Police Chief arrested for drug ties
Former federal police chief Gerardo Garay was arrested this week on charges of
collaborating with the Sinaloa cartel and stealing money during a drug bust.Â
Garay had been under preliminary detention for a month, but the formal charges
against him were released only this week. Garay is one of three dozen high
level officials arrested as part of âOperation Clean House,â initiated by
the Attorney General after the arrest in January of Alfredo Beltran Leyva, a
lieutenant in the Sinaloa cartel. Beltran Leyva has apparently fingered a
number of high level officials, perhaps in hopes of negotiating a short prison
sentence.Â
President Calderon announced his war on drugs with fanfare at the beginning of
his presidency and deployed more than 30,000 soldiers to at least eleven states
in an unsuccessful attempt to demolish Mexicoâs powerful drug cartels. The
corruption of some of his leading officials may account, in part, for the
failure. Garay assumed his post earlier this year after his predecessor was
murdered by cartel assassins.
4. US releases part of military/police aid package
The Bush administration released on Wednesday US$200 million in aid, part of a
three-year, US$1.4 billion package dubbed the Merida Initiative that will
provide training and equipment to Mexicoâs police and army as part of the war
on drugs. The aid package includes special X-ray equipment for cargo
containers and trucks, forensic equipment, polygraph machines, computer
technology for tracking money laundering, and a computerized registry that will
track police officers fired for corruption. US Ambassador Antonio Garza was
hardly upbeat in his formal presentation of the funds: âSometimes the
narcotraffickers are better coordinated and integrated in their transnational
activities than those that are confronting them.â
5. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (Contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [2])
STUDY ABRO
Long message truncated by MailBucket.
November 30, 2008 - 6:34am
Mexico Solidarity Network
Red de Solidaridad con Mexico
MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
NOVEMBER 24-30, 2008
1. World Festival of Dignified Rage
2. Plans to drill for oil in Chiapas
3. Noose tightens around Garcia Luna
4. First official break with ACE
5. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (Contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [1])
1. World Festival of Dignified Rage
Subcomandante Marcos and Lieutenant Colonel Moises reported Friday on the
progress of the First World Festival of Dignified Rage. The Festival is
scheduled for Mexico City December 26-29, Oventic December 30-January 1, and San
Cristobal de las Casas January 2-5. The Mexico City festival will include
hundreds of booths set up by political organizations, collectives and solidarity
groups. Presentations in Mexico City are organized around the four
âwheelsâ of capitalism (exploitation, dislocation, repression and contempt)
with the mornings dedicated to the impacts of capitalism and the afternoons
dedicated to alternatives. Comandantas Susana, Miriam, Florencia, Hortensia
and Everilda, Capitana Elena, Comandantes David, Tacho, Zebedeo and Guillermo,
Lieutenant Colonel Moises, and two children â Lupita and Tonita â are
scheduled to be present in Oventic. A Zapatista communiqué said, âEntrance
to all of the activities of the festival are free and open for anyone who wants
to come and find out about the dignified rage that is organized in Mexico and
the world.â
2. Plans to drill for oil in Chiapas
Energy Secretary Georgina Kessel announced plans this week to begin drilling
for oil in the Lacandon rainforest. Citing a study conducted by Pemex, Kessel
estimated by 2021 Chiapas fields could be producing 500,000 barrels a day from
17,000 new wells. Kessel also announced the construction of a bio-energy plant
to produce biodiesel from the jatrofa curcus, a hardy plant that can be grown in
marginal soils. Experts predict the facility will require at least 7,500 acres
of mono-culture production. The plant uses technology developed in Colombia
and is financed by at least US$800,000 in federal and state funds. Two
previously funded bio-energy plants in Cintalapa and Huehuetan consumed about
US$500,000 in state investment, but both plants are now abandoned, due in part
to the lack of a market for the relatively expensive bio-diesel. Some
communities participating in the federal ProArbol (Pro-Tree) program are
reportedly receiving seeds to plant jatrofa curcus instead of trees.
Kesselâs announcement is part of an ambitious resurgence of Plan Puebla
Panama, now renamed the Mesoamerica Project, that contemplates four regional
development engines: tourism, minerals, oil and bio-energy. Plans include
construction of a controversial highway linking San Cristobal de las Casas and
Palenque. Canadian mining companies have been particularly active in the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas region. The plans are generating substantial
community-based opposition from indigenous communities and environmentalists.
3. Noose tightens around Garcia Luna
The law enforcement noose tightened around Security Secretary Genaro Garcia
Luna this week as the Federal Attorney General (PGR) interviewed his former
personal secretary, Mario Velarde, for possible links to drug cartels.Â
Velardeâs name surfaced during interviews with a protected witness code-named
Felipe who accused several high ranking officials of selling information to the
Beltran Leyva cartel. Velarde is the only official questioned as a result of
Felipeâs testimony who is not currently under arrest, though he remains under
investigation. President Felipe Calderon went out of his way to publicly
defend his Security Secretary. The Presidentâs speech was heavily criticized
across the political spectrum, including by Manuel Espino, former President of
the PAN and a rival of Calderon.
In related news, about half of Mexicoâs federal, state and local police have
failed evaluations this year that include psychological, toxicological,
socio-economic and medical exams plus a lie-detector test. The highest failure
rates, between 60 and 89%, were registered in states where drug cartels are
particularly active, including Baja California, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Tamaulipas
and Nuevo Leon. The evaluations included 56,000 police, of which only 42%
received a passing grade.
4. First official break with ACE
Following increasingly militant demonstrations by teachers and supporters, the
State Institute of Public Education of Oaxaca announced plans on Friday to work
with Section 22 of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE) to produce an
alternative to the Alliance for Quality Education (ACE). The agreement to open
negotiations followed a mass demonstration by Section 22 and the Popular
Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) commemorating the second anniversary of
police repression in the state capitol during the 2006 popular uprising.Â
Meanwhile, dissident teachers
Long message truncated by MailBucket.
November 25, 2008 - 3:48pm
Mexico Solidarity Network
Red de Solidaridad con Mexico
2009 Study Abroad Opportunities in Mexico
TWO SPOTS OPEN FOR SPRING 2009 STUDY IN MEXICO
Hereâs a unique opportunity to study in an accredited program with some of
Mexicoâs most important living social movements, including:
-Â Zapatistas in Chiapas
- The Frente Popular Francisco Villa Independiente, Mexicoâs largest urban
housing movement
- The Consejo Nacional Urbano Campesino, one of Mexicoâs most important rural
movements
- Families of femicide victims and maquiladora workers in Ciudad Juarez
These unique study abroad programs feature home stays with members of social
movements, encouraging unprecedented learning opportunities with organizers and
activists on the front line in popular struggles. The program combines
experiential learning with theoretical work in a seminar and workshop based
pedagogy focused on student participation.
The programs are accredited by the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, one of
Mexicoâs most important public universities. Hampshire College and
SUNY-Albany are the US schools of record and provide official transcripts. The
program is also formally recognized by the University of Texas-Austin, New
Mexico State University, Appalachian State University, and more than 70 others.
Fall and Spring semesters are 14 week, 16-credit programs that travel the
length and breadth of Mexico, including Chiapas, Mexico City, Tlaxcala and
Ciudad Juarez.
Spring 2009: January 25 â May 2
Fall 2009: September 6 â December 12
Two summer 2009 programs focus on:
Border dynamics, with an emphasis on third world feminism. This six week
course offers 8 credits and is based in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. The course
is Spanish immersion with classes and most readings in Spanish.
June 14 â July 25
Mexican social movements. This eight week course offers 11 credits and is
based in Chiapas, Mexico City and Tlaxcala.
June 7 â August 1
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Programs have a tendency to
fill quickly, so apply early to assure your spot. Most financial aid programs
from your home university are applicable, and you can apply for aid through our
US schools of record. The Mexico Solidarity Network also offers a scholarship
program. Weâll work with you to make sure this unique study abroad
opportunity is affordable.
For more information, see our web site at www.mexicosolidarity.org [1] or
contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [2].Â
[1] http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/
[2] MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org
November 23, 2008 - 5:25pm
Mexico Solidarity Network
Red de Solidaridad con Mexico
MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
NOVEMBER 17-23, 2008
1. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR DRUG TIES
2. NEW INVESTIGATION INTO DIGNA OCHOA DEATH
3. ZAPATISTAS CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF EZLN
4. NEW CHIAPAS POLITICAL LEADER â BACK TO THE PAST
5. CALDERON REJECTS RENEGOTIATION OF NAFTA
6. IMMIGRATION DROPS 42% IN TWO YEARS
7. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (Contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [1])
1. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR DRUG TIES
With the detention of drug czar Noe Ramirez and two former heads of Interpol in
Mexico, President Felipe Calderonâs war on drugs may be on the verge of
falling apart. In an interview this weekend with a Spanish newspaper, Attorney
General Eduardo Medina Mora was forced to answer probing questions in the
negative: âThe institutional capacity has not been destroyed. The fact that
we eliminated these people does not destroy the institution. They are
infiltrators, but there is absolutely no institutional collapse. Itâs these
same institutions that are carrying out the cleanup.â But with many of
Mexicoâs most powerful anti-drug officials under investigation, including
Ricardo Gutierrez Vargas, Director of Interpol Mexico, and Rodolfo de la Guardia
Garcia, the number two official at the Federal Investigative Agency from 2003 to
2005, the war on drugs may be crumbling in the face of massive narco-bribes.Â
Gutierrez Vargas enjoyed access to an international database on narcotics
trafficking, and reportedly received as much as US$450,000 per month for turning
over information to the Sinaloa Cartel.Â
Former federal police commissioner Gerardo Garay, Miguel Colorado Gonzalez and
Fernando Rivera Hernandez, both members of the Attorneyâs General organized
crime task force (SIEDO), Javier Herrera Valles, former Coordinator of Regional
Security for the Federal Preventative Police, and four military officers are
among the high level officials accused in recent weeks of working for the
cartels. The case of Herrera Valles is particularly complicated. The former
police official has accused Genaro Garcia Luna, the Secretary of Public Security
in Calderonâs cabinet, of a series of irregularities, and claims the charges
against him are retribution by the Calderon administration. While there is
currently no investigation of Garcia Luna, the name of his former personal
secretary, Mario Velarde Martinez, surfaced recently in a related investigation
of narcotics trafficking. Garcia Luna has been publicly critical of the number
of investigations touching the highest levels of his department, indicating a
potentially nasty feud between the Secretary of Public Security and the federal
Attorney General.
Corrupt officials are nothing new in Mexico. Ten years ago, the first drug
czar, Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, who presided over the now defunct National
Institute for Combating Drugs, was detained for links to the Juarez Cartel.
2. NEW INVESTIGATION INTO DIGNA OCHOA DEATH
Mexico Cityâs Attorney General opened a new investigation this week into the
death of Digna Ochoa, an internationally known human rights lawyer who was
murdered in 2001. In 2003, former Special Investigator Margartia Guerra
characterized the death as âsimulated suicide,â a controversial finding that
depended on questionable post-mortem psychological evaluations of the victim.Â
The finding was disputed by human rights organizations, including the Mexico
Solidarity Network. In September 2007, two campesinos from Guerrero provided
testimony to the Attorney General, accusing Rogaciano Alvarez, the former mayor
of Petatlan, Guerrero, and a notorious power broker from the region, of ordering
the assassination of Ochoa. Digna was investigating human rights violations in
Guerrero around the time of her death.   Â
3. ZAPATISTAS CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF EZLN
The Zapatista movement celebrated the 25th anniversary of the founding of the
Zapatista National Liberation Army on November 17 with food and music in
Oventic, one of five Zapatista cultural/political centers. Lore has it that
the EZLN was founded by six people, three indigenous and three meztizos, in
1983. From these humble beginnings, the movement has grown to arguably the
most important popular movement in Latin America.
4. NEW CHIAPAS POLITICAL LEADER â BACK TO THE PAST
With the designation of Noe Castañon as state Interior Secretary, Chiapas
Governor Juan Sabines is returning to his PRI roots â and returning Chiapas to
the violence and corruption of the late 1990s. Elected in 2006 under the PRD
ticket, Sabines has turned to his former party mates in the PRI to fill the most
influential positions in the state bureaucracy. Castañon served as head of
the state Supreme Court under former Governor Roberto Albores, the principle
promoter of the 1998 rezonification of Chiapas which gave local PRI powerbrokers
and ex-military officials
Long message truncated by MailBucket.
November 18, 2008 - 3:39pm
Mexico Solidarity Network
Red de Solidaridad con Mexico
MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
NOVEMBER 10-16, 2008
1. CALDERON NAMES NEW INTERIOR SECRETARY
2. INFLATION HITS POOREST CONSUMERS
3. ORTEGA WINS PRD PRESIDENCY
4. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (Contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [1])
1. CALDERON NAMES NEW INTERIOR SECRETARY
Six days after a plane crash claimed the life of Juan Mouriño, President
Felipe Calderon named a new Interior Secretary. The choice of Fernando Gomez
Mont came as a surprise to many analysts and broke with Calderonâs tendency to
name inexperienced but loyal cabinet members. Gomez Mont is a well-known
lawyer and long-standing member of the National Action Party (PAN). His
father, Felipe Gomez Mont, was a founder and principle ideologue of the PAN.Â
He is close to Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, one the most polemic, corrupt and
conservative figures in PANismo.Â
During several decades as a lawyer, Gomez Mont defended many high profile cases
involving important political figures, including Raul Salinas de Gotari, brother
of former President Carlos Salinas de Gotari, who was charged with corruption
and receiving illicit funds from drug trafficking. In one of his first high
profile cases in 1994, Gomez Mont successfully defended Carlos Cabal Peniche
against corruption charges. This led to a series of important corruption cases
in which he defended high level officials, including Tomas Peñaloza, former
treasurer of the IMSS, Gerardo de Prevoisin, former Director of Aeromexico,
Jorge Lankenau, former bank executive, and Rogelio Montemayor, former Director
of Pemex. He served briefly as a federal Deputy along with Calderon during the
55th legislature, but has held no other elected office. However, Gomez Mont
knows Mexicoâs electoral system well, having served as a member of the Federal
Electoral Commission and as the PAN representative to the Federal Electoral
Institute. He vigorously defended PAN electoral victories over the past
decade, including the fraudulent election of President Calderon.Â
During his formal presentation of the new Interior Secretary, President
Calderon emphasized that his administration would not negotiate agreements with
Mexicoâs increasingly violent drug cartels. Calderon may have felt obliged
to make this statement given Gomez Montâs defense of drug dealers and corrupt
government officials, as well as the defense of members of the Sinaloa cartel by
his close friend and political ally Diego Fernandez de Cevallos. The new
Interior Secretary will likely focus on Calderonâs most important current
political initiatives, including reform of the justice system, establishment of
a unified national police force, and the 2009 mid-term elections. The next
election cycle could prove decisive for an increasingly weak President
Calderon. Most experts expect the PAN to suffer significant loses at local,
state and federal levels, which could leave an already fragile Calderon
administration as little more than a caretaker government for the next three
years. In this context, Gomez Montâs broad experience with electoral
dynamics could portend manipulation or fraud during the mid-term elections.Â
The Interior Secretary is the second most powerful position in the Mexican
government and is traditionally seen as a stepping stone to the presidency;
however, Gomez Mont is unlikely to vie for his partyâs nomination in 2012.Â
Look for Gomez Mont to serve through the 2009 elections, then be replaced by
someone closer to Calderon.Â
2. INFLATION HITS POOREST CONSUMERS
Rampant inflation during the first two years of Felipe Calderonâs presidency
is hurting the poorest consumers most. Since December of 2006, the cost of the
basic food basket (CAR â an important measure of costs particularly for the
poorest consumers) increased by 43%, while the minimum wage increased by only
8%, according to a report by the Center for Multi-disciplinary Analysis of the
Economic Faculty of the UNAM. Almost two-thirds of Mexican workers earn three
minimum wages or less.
3. ORTEGA WINS PRD PRESIDENCY
The Federal Electoral Tribune (TEPJF) awarded Senator Jesus âChuchoâ
Ortega, leader of the New Left wing of the PRD, the partyâs presidency this
week, nearly eight months after highly controversial elections marred by fraud
left the party badly divided. In a unanimous decision, the TEPJF gave the
disputed election to Ortega by a margin of 35,000 votes, despite widespread
fraud documented during the competition. Ortega filed a formal complaint with
the TEPJF, but his nearest competitor, former Mexico City Mayor Alejandro
Encinas, refused to file with the Tribunal. Encinas is close to former PRD
presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost a fraudulent 2006
election after the TEPJF lined up behind current President Felipe Calderon.Â
The Tribunalâs ruling noted that 23% of voting booths produced fraudulent or
unrel
Long message truncated by MailBucket.
November 16, 2008 - 8:57am
=2EheaderTop { background-color:#ffffff; border-top:0px solid #000000; =
border-bottom:0px solid #FFCC66; text-align:right; } .adminText { =
font-size:10px; color:#FFFFCC; line-height:200%; font-family:verdana; =
text-decoration:none; } .headerBar { background-color:#fcd200; =
border-top:0px solid #fcd200; border-bottom:0px solid #333333; } .title { =
font-size:30px; font-weight:bold; color:#336600; font-family:arial; =
line-height:110%; } .subTitle { font-size:11px; font-weight:normal; =
color:#666666; font-style:italic; font-family:arial; } td { =
font-size:12px; color:#000000; line-height:150%; font-family:trebuchet ms; =
} .footerRow { background-color:#FFFFCC; border-top:10px solid #fcd200; } =
=2EfooterText { font-size:10px; color:#333333; line-height:100%; =
font-family:verdana; } a { color:#0063be; color:#0063be; color:#0063be; } =
=20
=20
=20
=20
D'Fiti=20
Defeats Graphiti.D'Fiti=20
is the environmentally safe and biodegradable solution to you=20
graffiti problems. D'Fiti offers the liquid and gel for big =
jobs and=20
wet wipes for one step removal on little jobs. Whether the =
graffiti=20
or paint is on smooth, porous or especially sensitive =
surfaces,=20
D'FITI will do the job. D'FITI is suitable for schools,=20
municipalities, maintenance crews and anyone who needs to =
remove=20
paint or graffiti from small or large surfaces.
Clean=20
Plus=AE wants to simplify you life, to make the cleaning =
process quick=20
and fun, to deliver nothing but the best.
To=20
learn more about Clean Plus=AE, click here.
And=20
For the Best Hand Cleaning Results Try Clean Plus=AE Hand =
Care=20
Products.Industry,=20
automotive, maintenance, office.... Clean Plus=AE Hand Care =
offers=20
hand care products for every professional. Traditional =
granulated=20
soaps, super-cleaning hand wet wipes fro people on the move =
and=20
special creams to protect and restore your skin.
To=20
learn more click
|
|