Spain on Mexico

Some say that while Mexico's war on crime is necessary, its strategy is backwards.

El Universal reported today that Felipe González, former prime minister of Spain, said in a course entitled "Latin America: Themes for an Alternative Agenda" that while the war on crime is inevitable, the strategy implemented by President Calderón needs to be modified.

"The problem is that Mexico's approach to the war on crime is 85 percent operation and 15 percent intelligence," said González. "It should be the other way around."

González also commented on the upcoming elections in 2012, saying that he believed the Institutional Revolutionary Party will win, but only if the party can unify its constituents. He also lamented the lack of a progressive leftist movement in Mexico.

González believes that Mexico has the potential to be a powerful nation, and that it will eventually overcome its crime problem.

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/37279.html   

Work Force Strikes Back

Workers have finally decided to get even with the Social Security system.

The Independent Worker's Union has called for an audit of the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers, reported El Universal today. The union accuses the institute's director, Jesús Villalobos, of mismanaging resources, and particularly medicines.


Government workers, meanwhile, are staging their own protests. Workers stand on street corners holding signs that demand the institute be audited by the Superior Auditor of the Federation, while others have called press conferences to voice their opinions.


Juan Manuel Garduño Moreno, general secretary of the union, accused Villalobos of refusing to meet with union representatives and discuss the demands of union members.


The Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers administers health care and social security systems and provides assistance in cases of disability, old age, risks in labor, and death. The institute is charged with providing benefits to all government workers. The Mexican Social Security Institute covers workers in the private sector. Together, they cover between 55 and 60 percent of the population of Mexico.

Moreno said that unless the union's demands are met, lawsuits and strikes will probably ensue.

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/778762.html

War on Crime

Mexican law enforcement is learning that as one gang falls, another will inevitably take its place.

Monterrey, considered the industrial capital of Mexico, has long been controlled by the Gulf Cartel, one of many cartels that exist in Mexico. The marines have been working hard to suppress their power, and other gangs have taken notice. Los Zetas, a rival cartel, has begun moving in on the Gulf Cartel's turf - and the results have been increasingly violent.

"They're well-armed," said Commander Praxedis, who runs one of many nighttime patrols in Monterrey. He said that the illegal firearms cartel members carry are more powerful than their own, and their armored vehicles are capable of tearing apart one of theirs.

Law enforcement officials have not gone without victories here and there. Praxedis said that once he and his men arrested four Gulf Cartel members guilty of kidnapping civilians. Those who witnessed the arrest applauded. "We were just doing our job," said Praxedis.

Praxedis says the conflict began with the killing of a woman identified as "La Pelirroja," a lover of a Gulf Cartel leader. Members of Los Zetas hung her from a bridge. Since then, the violence in Monterrey has escalated.

"We go there to make peace," said Praxedis, speaking of the nightly conflicts between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas. "Then they both attack us."

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/778471.html

Sunday's Elections a Preview for 2012

Last Sunday's elections in Mexico may say much about who might win and who might lose in the presidential elections in 2012, and what the political parties can do about it.

Macario Schettino of El Universal said that increased support for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, is the result of poor candidate choices and disunity on the part of the other parties. These two factors may determine who wins the presidency in 2012.

Schettino reports that each of the three major political parties in Mexico will have to deal with these issues if they hope to win the 2012 elections. The PRI, for example, faces problems with unity. The National Action Party, or PAN, appears to be unified but has not yet chosen a candidate. The Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, is lacking in both categories.

The results of Sunday's election show a continued support for the PRI, in all parts of Mexico, and that in most states, voting patterns are holding steady. There was one exception, however. In Mexico state, the PRI received 60 percent of the votes, compared to only 42 percent in 1999. The PRD continues to win between 21 and 25 percent of the votes, but those who have voted for the PAN seem to have deserted to the PRI camp. Twelve years ago, 35 percent of Mexico state residents voted for the PAN. This year, that number has dropped to just 12 percent.

Schettino attributes this shift to poor candidate choices and a lack of unity in parties opposing the PRI.

Schettino says that unless the PAN and PRD can unite behind a solid candidate, the presidency will likely go to the PRI candidate once again.

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/editoriales/53666.html

Media and the Elections

The National Radio and Television Chamber raised fears that a lack of media access may jeopardize the 2012 presidential elections.

El Universal reported that the chamber  presented 700 challenges to the TV and Radio Access Regulation today, dealing with election materials. The chamber fears that unless candidates can get access to TV and radio broadcasts, they will be unable to present themselves as viable runners for the presidency, and the election could be considered invalid.


The director of the Access Regulation, Pedro Zamora, said that it would be impossible to comply with Federal Election Institute rules regarding the transmission of political messages.

The validity of the upcoming elections is a hot topic for Mexico. The last elections, held in 2006, were overshadowed by a cloud of illegitimacy when Andrés Manuel López Obrador, candidate for the Party of the Democratic Revolution and his party called for a judicial appeal of Felipe Calderón's election, alleging irregularities in over 30 percent of the nation's polling stations.

This season's candidates will hopefully get the media access they need to effectively campaign and leave no doubt that next year's election will be a fair one.

Cartel Leader Captured

The criminal known as "El Mamito" has run out of places to hide.

Police arrested Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, one of the founders of the drug cartel Los Zetas,  in Mexico state yesterday. Rejon has been at the top of the most wanted lists of the United States and Mexico for some time, and the United States offered a reward of $5 million for his capture.

Rejon was the third in command of Los Zetas and has a long history with drug cartels. He began his professional career as a soldier in 1993, and in 1997 he was assigned as an agent to the Attorney General's office. In 1999 he deserted his post and joined a group called Los Catorce, a branch of the Gulf Cartel that later became Los Zetas. This group later aided drug boss Osiel Cárdenas Guillén in an attack on two U.S. agents escorting a Gulf Cartel informant through northern Mexico.

Now it appears he's reach the end of his career as he awaits his trial in Mexico.

Calderón - Science Solves Court Cases

President Calderón thinks science will be a determining factor in the war on crime.

El Universal reported today that Calderón asked judges to consider forensic evidence in court cases, saying that this will help the nation put more criminals behind bars.


His speech comes after the inauguration of the Central Laboratory of Forensic Services, a state-of-the-art forensics lab that Calderón believes will be instrumental in the ongoing war on crime.

Calderón said that the lab can help find the one responsible in a shooting, for example. The forensics lab would be able to positively confirm that a certain gun was used in a shooting based on bullet casings left at the scene. "That's the kind of evidence I ask judges to examine and not dismiss," he said.

Calderón made reference to his recent talks with the National Peace Movement, led by poet Javier Sicilia, stating that the testimonies he heard add to the urgency of ending violence and impunity in the country.

Calderón did not specifically mention the case of Jorge Hank Rhon, the former mayor of Tijuana who was arrested a month ago for possession of illegal firearms. This kind of forensic evidence could be crucial in his case, since authorities suspect some of the siezed weapons were involved in three homicides currently under investigation.


Whether or not the evidence will be allowed in court is up to the judges, but Calderón hopes the new forensics lab will become a major asset in the war on crime.

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/776468.html