Church security

One of Mexico's most important religious festivals will require special security measures this year.

Alejandro Flores, the Father of the Sancutary of San Juan Diego in Mexico City, said he expects more than 30,000 pilgrims to visit the Sanctuary over the weekend, according to El Universal.

The festival of San Juan Diego and the Virgin of Guadalupe, which takes place between Dec. 9 and 12, annually draws thousands of visitors to the Sanctuary from all parts of Mexico, Central and South America, and even parts of Africa.

Officials said the city is ready to handle the influx of visitors, but extra security measures will be put into effect in order to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.

Mexican poet robbed

Mexican poet Efrain Bartolome was robbed last Wednesday.

Police are analyzing fingerprints found at Bartolome's home in the hopes that some of them will give them a lead.

Miguel Angel, the Federal District's Attourney General, said law enforcement will review footage from security cameras around the poet's home and interview Bartoome's neighbors, according to El Universal.

Bartolome is one of Mexico's most well-known poets. He has been honored with many awards, including the Carlos Pellicer National Poetry Prize, the Jaime Sabines International Poetry award, and the Literary Arts Legacy Award at the International Latino Arts Awards

Taxi Wars

The Federal District is having trouble maintaining control of its own public transport system.

Despite strict guidelines and regulations, unregistered or 'pirate' taxis abound in the District's frontiers, according to El Universal.

Other illegal services, such as bicycle taxis, motorcycle taxis, and even golf cart taxis have found niches in distant areas of the District.

The Secretary of Roads and Transport, or Setravi, has struggled to regulate the taxi system with some success.

For example, taxis that are more than 10 years old are regularly replaced.

Setravi has also managed to standardize taxi fares throughout the District. However, there are problems there, too. Taxi drivers have to deal with rising fuel costs, reducing the effectiveness of 10 percent fares increases every four months.

Some wonder whether Setravi is capable of dealing with the pirate taxis and other problems facing the District's 13,000 taxis.

"The passengers complain about poor service, and the taxi drivers complain about Setravi," Eloisa Alvarado said in a comment left on the article by El Universal.

Archbishop blames delinquency on the government

Archbishop Juan Sandoval Íñiguez says that the Mexican government itself is responsible for the creation of its own worst enemy.

Íñiguez said today that corruption at all levels of the Mexican government is the primary cause of the rise of so many powerful drug cartels in Mexico, and that unless this corruption is eliminated, the war on organized crime will never end.

Íñiguez said, for example, that salaries for many government officials rise every year, reducing the funds available for education. Mexicans are unable to receive adequate schooling to obtain jobs that will support their families and turn to drug dealing instead.

He specifically cited the congress of Jalisco, a state in central Mexico that borders the Pacific, that for months has failed to disclose spending records, annual budgets, and worker payment records. He said that the congress reports having about 1700 employees, but that nobody is sure what they do or where they work.

Íñiguez also said that the national congress has failed to pass reforms because the legislators only look out for themselves and close friends.

He also said that the judicial system is too corrupt to effectively put criminals behind bars. He indicated that judges too often side with criminals because they are either poor or greedy and therefore susceptible to bribes.

Finally, Íñiguez said businesses and syndicates only look out for their own interests and not the interests of the community at large.

"All this creates inequality, resentment, ignorance, misery, hunger, and sickness... From there come the complaints of so many who now stand across Mexico with weapons in hand to  do justice and take the goods that Society doesn't allow them to obtain through decent paths, whether it be for lack of education or lack of honorable work," he said.

Íñiguez said that unless the high powers of government eliminate corruption, they would ultimately have to answer to a higher power still - that of the judgement bar of God.

Zeta communication network dismantled

Drug gangs will have a harder time evading the law if they don't know where it's coming from.

Mexican soldiers dismantled a secret communication network spanning four states. They suspect the network was used by the Zetas drug cartel to communicate and locate law enforcement officials.

The network functioned in Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí, four states in Mexico's northeastern corner. Officials suspect the network could have been used to locate law enforcement patrols in rural areas, thus allowing the cartel to evade them with ease.

Officials captured and dismantled 51 antennas, 43 repeaters, 73 generators, and other equipment such as radios and cellular phones.

A military spokesman said they also seized weapons and tactical equipment.

Hopefully, the military will have an easier time of catching cartel members now that the gangs can't see them coming.

Thee killed in Hermosillo

Three women were found dead today in Hermosillo, a city in Mexico's northern state of Sonora.

Police arrested a man at a nearby party. According to reports, the victims reprehended him for urinating in public. This bothered the man, and he decided to kill the three women.

The police will be giving a detailed report later today.

Mexico sides with journalists

Those who silence journalists will now have to answer to the federal government.

Congress voted today to federalize crimes against journalists and organizations who help disseminate news.

The motion came in response to several murders and kidnappings against those who report on drug cartels. The cartels have targeted those who report on cartel activities in an attempt to silence them.

Nazario Norberto Sanchez, a member of the PRD party, said that attacks on journalists "deprives the general public of their right to be informed," according to El Universal.

In July of last year, the government created a special office for the attention of crimes committed against the freedom of expression, which has yet to penalize anyone.

Interior minister dies in crash

Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake Ebrard died today in a helicopter crash in southern Mexico City.

Ebrard, who was nominated Interior Minister last July by President Felipe Calderon, played a significant role in the war against organized crime.

"For Calderon it's certainly a blow, but his strategy will continue," Alejandro Schultmann, head of research at the Emerging Markets Political Risk Analysis consulting firm in Mexico City, told the Christian Science Monitor.

Ebrard was the fourth person to serve as interior minister during Calderon's presidency. A previous interior minister, Juan Camilo Mouriño, died in a place crash three years ago.

The cause of the crash is still unknown. Many Mexicans suspect drug cartels are behind it.

Government officials suspect conspiracy theorists will try to connect Ebrad's crash with Mouriño's and blame it on the cartels. Officials suspect the pilot of Mouriño's plane flew too close to a jet and lost control, but many Mexicans believed the government was hiding the real cause.

Many Mexican politicians have expressed condolences to Ebrad's family.

Narro named rector of UNAM

For the seventh time in history, a rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM, has been reelected.

Jose Narro Robles was named rector of the UNAM today for the second time in a row. He is the university's 63rd rector. Five others were considered for the position.

Robles obtained his license in 1973 with honors and completed postgraduate studies in 1976 and 1978 at England's University of Birmingham. He has been teaching at the UNAM since 1974.

He has also worked as General Director of Public Health in the Federal District and in the Mexican Institude of Social Security. He has also been honored by the Ricardo Palma University in Peru, the Autonomous University of Juarez in Tabasco, Hidalgo State College, Ramon Llull University of Barcelona, and the government of Chile.

Calderon gives his condolences

President Felipe Calderon gave his condolences to the family of Ricardo Guzman today. Guzman, mayor of La Piedad, Michoacan, was gunned down two days ago while campaigning for Calderon's sister.

Calderon said that Guzman's death should motivate all to fight for a more peaceful Mexico.

"For me and many others, this is an incentive to fight with greater boldness for a safe Mexico and Michoacan," Calderon said according to El Universal.

Guzman was passing out campaign material for Luisa Maria Calderon, sister of President Calderon, when an SUV drove by and fired on him, according to the state Attorney General's office.

Officials did not say whether the assasination was carried out by drug cartels or political rivals.

Luisa Calderon is campaigning to become governor of Michoacan, a state in western Mexico.

At least five other mayor have been killed this year in Mexico, and more than a dozen were killed in 2010.

Twenty-six rescued in Mexico

Some people look for candy on Halloween. The Mexican army looks for hostages.

Soldiers liberated a total of 26 people being held against their will on Oct 31. Fifteen of them were from Honduras, and all of them were in the country illegaly.

The National Defense secretary said that soldiers pulled over a car for suspicious driving. The driver admitted during the encounter that he was holding 15 Hondurans against their will.

Soldiers arrested the driver and took the Hondurans into custody. None of them had documents indicating they had legally entered the country.

Soldiers liberated 11 other people on the same day who lacked legal documentation. It remains to be seen whether the government will give them a trick or a treat.

Elections delayed

Some states in the U.S. like moving their primaries forward. One party in Mexico is pushing them back.

The Demorcratic Revolution party postponed its elections again to Nov. 6 amidst allegations of irregularity in several states.

The elections were supposed to take place on Oct. 23. Party leaders agreed to move them back to Oct. 30 and then to Nov. 6.

The affected areas are Veracruz, Oaxaca, Zacatecas, Chiapas, and the Federal District. The National Politics Commission said that more time is needed to ensure organized voting in these areas.

Chapo Guzman hunted

The U.S. and Mexico attempt to close in on Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

According to the Washington Post, three special forces teams from the army, marines and federal police are searching for El Chapo dead or alive.

According to El Universal, President Calderon will need to capture Guzman soon to show his war on crime really works.

Senate recieves income report

In the midst of global economic turmoil, Mexico is taking steps to set its budget for next year.

The Mexican Senate recieved the income law for 2012 today and are in the process of approving it.

This is surprising because the agencies involved in creating the plan are still discussing its details.

The law includes planned gas price increases, which began on Sept. 11 of this year and will continue through 2014.

The Senate will hopefully approve at least part of the law next Tuesday.

Ammunition Siezed

Sometimes little trucks can hold big surprises.

That was the case for one pickup traveling from Phoenix, Arizona to Los Mochis, Sinaloa, which was carrying over 6,000 cartridges of various sizes.

The truck was intercepted just south of Navojoa, about 102 miles from Los Mochis. Authorities stopped the truck after receiving a report from a local citizen that the truck was carrying hidden weapons.

Authorities arrested the two men who were operating the truck. The truck, along with its contents and occupants, are being held by government officials.

The two men are being charged with violating federal firearm and explosive laws.

Too Much Rain

Intense rain in southern Mexico is causing a flood of problems.

The United Nations estimates that over 600,000 people in southern Mexico and South America have been affected by heavy rains. Flooding has caused mass evacuation and massive property damages in the region.

In Mexico alone, about 92,500 people have been affected by the flooding. Six of the ten rivers in Tabasco, a state that runs along the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, have overflowed.

El Salvador has been hit the hardest and has been in a state of emergency since October 16. El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras have solicited humanitarian aid.

Flooding is a constant problem in Southern Mexico, where large rivers run through large cities. When these rivers overflow, homes and businesses can be flooded, forcing people to relocate their families and businesses to other parts of the city.

In 2010, for example, flooding in Minatitlán forced an open-air market to relocate. The city closed several streets to make room for the merchants.


Many cities in Mexico are built on slopes that funnel rainwater to bodies of water, such as rivers and lagoons. During heavy rains, this can cause massive flooding in lower parts of the city.

PRD Leader to Recieve Award

Cuautémc Cárdenas, a leader in Mexico's Democratic Revolution Party, will receive the prestigious Belisario Domínugez Medal of Honor in the coming days.

The award may improve his chances of  winning the candidacy of his party for the presidential elections next year.


Cárdenas, who is considering running for the Mexican presidency in 2012, said his decision will be based on the competition he will face.


Cárdenas has said that if Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Marcelo Ebrad, both from his party, run for the party's candidacy, he will not run.


"I'm not going to go in to take the candidacy from the people who want it," he said to El Universal.


The Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor is given annually to one eminent Mexican who contributed most to the welfare of Mexico and mankind. It is named after Belisario Domínguez, who spoke against Victoriano Huerta's coup of the Mexican government in 1913. Domínguez was assassinated later that year.

President Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez established the award in 1953. It was first awarded in 1954 to Rosaura Zapata, who helped found the national education system in Mexico, and posthumously to Domínguez himself.

The medal is the highest award given by the Mexican government. It will undoubtedly boost Cárdenas' prestige among members of his party and the people of Mexico in general.