Mexico Today

News Summary for May 28th, 2012

2012-05-28T00:09:00.001-05:00

Meeting Saturday in Tlatelolco square, students belonging to the “I am 132”, movement reaffirmed their non-party stance, and agreed to promote the “NO to the Null Vote” on election day and called for the next presidential debate to be broadcast on national television.

///

While in Zacatecas, PRI presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto called on citizens not to fall into trickery, populism or violence in the campaigns.

///

Meeting with women in Ciudad Juárez, PAN presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota said her rivals are sending protesters to her campaign events because they are afraid she is gaining ground.

///

On a tour of Oaxaca, leftist presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he admired the “I am 132” movement and rejected any attempt to manipulate them by political parties.

///

New Alliance candidate Gabriel Quadri said that those who are accusing the National Teachers Union led by Elba Esther Gordillo, of holding back education in Mexico are launching empty attacks to discredit teachers…

///

The Federal Electoral Institute said that a vote by vote tally in July’s federal elections will be carried out on the Thursday following the polls, and will last 24 hours.

///

Education Secretary José Ángel Córdova and National Teachers Union leader Elba Esther Gordillo are set to announce an agreement to implement teacher evaluation tests.

///

The National Centre for Disaster Prevention said that the Popocatéptl volcano has continued to show activity with 60 moderate-intensity exhalations in the last 24 hours… The warning system remained on yellow alert phase three.

AMARILLO FASE TRES.

///

Mexican director Carlos Reygadas won a Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival for his movie "Post Tenebras Lux".

///

More than 60,000 people were present at the 2012 Wirikuta Fest in Mexico City to listen to concerts offered by Caifanes, Café Tacvba, Enrique Bunbury, Ely Guerra, Calle 13 and other artists… Funds gathered are to be sent to aid the Huichol communities in the Wirikuta mining region…

///

Es Mexico un pais en Guerra... Opinion de esta semana..

2012-05-25T19:52:00.003-05:00

Estamos en guerra

México es un País en guerra, por lo menos esto señalan las escalofriantes cifras de seguridad y justicia que tenemos en este País. Como en toda guerra tenemos muertos, muchos muertos. Del total de 60 mil 420 muertes relacionadas con el crimen organizado durante los últimos cinco años, 48 mil 692 corresponden a 12 estados. Es decir, 12 entidades federativas donde se concentran 80.5% del total de crímenes. De esos muertos, 4 mil son menores de edad que han muerto a causa de la guerra contra el crimen organizado. Hay pocas democracias del mundo donde se puede encontrar fosas de 300 personas torturadas y asesinadas como lo que se encontró hace un año en San Fernando en el Estado de Tamaulipas.

Hay demasiados huérfanos en México. Sólo en Ciudad Juárez se calculan que hay 12 mil menores huérfanos por la violencia. Pero algunos dicen que tal vez 60 mil niños mexicanos se han quedado huérfanos por la violencia criminal desde finales de 2006, basándose en la suposición de que las más de 60 mil personas asesinadas, aunque la cifra oficial del Gobierno es de 3,700 huérfanos.

Una de las características de un país en guerra es que aparece una población importante de refugiados. En la primera encuesta nacional que mide este fenómeno, elaborada por la empresa Parametría, se encontró que sólo en el último año aproximadamente 700 mil personas han tenido que dejar atrás sus casas, empresas, tierras, cultivos, hasta sus animales para escapar de los violentos. Un estudio de la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez sugiere que más de 230 mil personas han abandonado Juárez en los últimos tres años. De éstos, alrededor de 124 mil personas habrían buscado refugio en El Paso. Para continuar hacer click aqui.

Today`s Comment... Is Mexico at war?

2012-05-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

My column today highlights the numbers that seem to indicate that Mexico is a country living a war-like situation.

Estamos en guerra

News summary for May 25th, 2012

2012-05-25T00:44:00.000-05:00

++ Hurricane Bud, a category two –three storms is located at the southwest of Manzanillo, Colima… The Mexican Navy Secretariat reported that the storm has sustained winds of 167 kilometers per hour with gusts of up to 204 kilometers per hour. The storm was expected to affect Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco with moderate to strong rains.

++ In anticipation of the storm schools were to be shut in the municipalities of Cihuatlán, La Huerta, Tomatlán and Cabo Corrientes, in the Jalisco southern coastline.　

++ PRI national chairman Pedro Joaquín Coldwell called on the National Party Justice Committee to meet and order the expulsion of former Tamaulipas governor Tomás Yarrington who is under investigation in the United States on charges of receiving money from drug lords.

++ The former head of operations at the Federal Electricity Commission, Néstor Félix Moreno Díaz, who is accused of corruption, will face his trial in prison after a federal court rejected a petition to allow him to be released..

++ Authorities arrested Lucio Moreno Silva, former official with the now defunct States Housing Institute, who is accused of fraud and abuse of public office. He was arrested at the Tapachula airport.

++Also arrested in Nuevo Leon the former governor of Baja California Sur, Narciso Agúndez Montaño who is being acussed of fraud.

More news..

++ A car bomb was detonated in the parking lot of a hotel in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, where state police were staying… Ten people were hurt, among them eight police agents.

++ The U.S. State Department included the case of former Coahuila governor Humberto Moreira, who recently stepped down as PRI party president, in its annual report on Human Rights… The case was included as an example of government corruption in Mexico.

++ Interior Secretary Alejandro Poiré guaranteed the right to freedom of expression and demonstration as long as the law is respected as are the rights of others… He was referring to the student demonstrations demanding equity in information regarding the upcoming elections on July 1.

++ Former UNAM rector Juan Ramón de la Fuente applauded the recent demonstrations by university students and called on society to stop criticizing them… He said that students have shown a talent to organize and civic courage and their mobilizations is a sign of dissatisfaction.

News Summary for May 23, 2012

2012-05-23T06:08:00.000-05:00

++ During the Fourth National Security and Justice Forum President Felipe Calderón said that his comprehensive strategy against crime can be criticized, but the issue now is whether the next President will continue fighting organized crime. During this same meeting the head of the México S.O.S. organization Alejandro Martí thanked President Calderón for proposing criminal system reform however he pointed out that a large number of politicians oppose these same reforms.

++ An invited speaker to this Forum was Attorney General Marisela Morales said there is no reason not to attack corruption and to circumvent the professionalization of the Attorney General`s Office. Also participating was Supreme Court justice Sergio Valls Hernández called on legislators to move forward quickly with approval of the new Criminal Procedures Code and the Amparo or Legal Protection Law.

++ The four presidential candidates took part in the first Citizens’ Summit to Build a Peaceful and Just Mexico. PRI politician Enrique Peña Nieto said he would become president promoting a democratic vision. PAN presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota said that in her administration the strategy against crime would include punishing money laundering. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the candidate who represents the Mexican left, said he would create a clear dividing line between authorities and criminals, since currently one cannot tell the difference between the two. New Alliance candidate Gabriel Quadri said that more solutions are needed to oblige politicians to take actions to bring about the changes needed.

++ Former PAN President who was expelled from the party, Manuel Espino, has given his support to Enrique Peña Nieto in the presidential race.

++ The PRI proposed that at the next debate on June 10 there not be a moderator, just a fair and impartial judge and proposed IFE chief Leonardo Valdés.

++ The Popocatépetl volcano continues to spew out volcanic ash… In the last 24 hours there were 22 medium intensity exhalations.

++ The Federal District government announced a water distribution restriction program to avoid waste and cut back on consumption by up to 15 percent.

What happens to those that return..Report from Seguridad Total

2012-05-22T18:15:00.000-05:00

On my weekly tv program "Seguridad Total TV" we analyzed the drama lived by migrants who are returned to Mexico through Baja... Check out this report click here

News Summary for May 21st, 21012

2012-05-21T00:29:00.001-05:00

*Hundreds of people gathered in the Zócalo to show their backing for leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador… Organizers said there were simultaneous rallies in different cities around the world…

* And some 46,000 people on Saturday marched from the Zócalo to the Angel of Independence monument to protest against Enrique Peña Nieto of the PRI… There were no reports of disturbances during the “Anti-Peña” march, also held in 16 other cities in Mexico. López Obrador said his movement is not involved in the protests against Peña Nieto, and called for peaceful demonstrations and not to fall into provocations…

* The PRI presidential candidate said he was respectful both of those who are with him and those who are against him… Peña Nieto called on his sympathizers not to be overly confident that his election is a certain thing…

* PAN presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota called on young people and women to avoid the return of the old regime… She said that mobilizations carried out in different parts of the country are evidence of an awakening of the Mexican youth…

* New Alliance candidate Gabriel Quadri took a break from his campaign to travel to the United States to attend his son’s Masters’ graduation ceremony at Yale University…

*The National Defense Secretariat announced that Daniel de Jesús Elizondo Ramírez, a.k.a. "El Loco", or the “Crazy One,” was arrested… He is accused of being the head of the "Los Zetas" cell in Cadereyta, Nuevo León, and of being linked to the killings of 49 people in last week in Cadereyta...

*Candidates, religious leaders and journalists spoke out to condemn the assassination of journalist Marco Antonio Ávila García in Ciudad Obregón... He was a crime reporter with the "El Regional de Sonora" newspaper and was kidnapped last Thursday by three masked individuals at a car wash… Authorities found his body Friday afternoon…

*George Washington University granted Mexican businessman and billionaire Carlos Slim a "Honoris Causa" degree because of his ample career in philanthropy and public and community service…

News Summary for May 19th, 2012

2012-05-19T00:40:00.000-05:00

++ President Felipe Calderón said that those who have put obstacles to the approval of structural reform are holding back Mexico’s growth. He said that as long as labor reform is not approved, unemployment will continue to increase. Legislators were annoyed with the President`s comments. PRI deputy César Augusto Santiago criticized President Felipe Calderón because he continues to blame the Legislative Branch for failing to approve structural reforms. (Comment: Who else is to blame?)

++ All four presidential candidates took part in the 75 National Banking Convention held in Acapulco, Guerrero. PAN presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota said that finances are healthy in Mexico and evidence of that is that the economy grew 4.6 per cent in the first quarter. PRI presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto said that Mexico needs most urgently are the fiscal, energy and labor reforms. Leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that Mexico is facing a crisis of violence because of lack of development because over the last 29 years the average rate of growth has been 2.3 per cent. New Alliance presidential candidate Gabriel Quadri said he is the candidate who most strongly stands in favor of structural reforms and should he win the presidency he would cut in half funding for political parties. More news...

++ Education Secretary José Ángel Córdova Villalobos said that performance testing for primary school level teachers will be voluntary… He said that even though the agreement signed with the National Teachers Union said that it would be obligatory, the first round of tests will be for those who want to undergo the evaluation. (Comment: Who would submit themselves to these tests voluntarily?)

++ Activities were returning to normal at the San Nicolás de Hidalgo Michoacana University after an 11 day of student protest. Rector Salvador Jara Guerrero said that on Monday classes would be back to normal as many students were away from Morelia.

++ Defense attorneys for Brigadier General Roberto Dawe González are seeking an amparo or protection writ against the 40-day temporary arrest ordered by a criminal judge for alleged links to the Beltrán Leyva drug cartel.

++ Authorities found the body of Marco Antonio Ávila García, a reporter with the El Regional de Sonora newspaper who covered the police beat and who was kidnapped on Thursday in Ciudad Obregón.

News Summary for May 18th, 2012

2012-05-18T00:21:00.003-05:00

++ A federal judge ordered the detainment of retired general Tomás Ángeles Dauahare and of Brigadier General Roberto Dawe González, on charges of alleged links to the Beltrán Leyva drug cartel. The two military men are accused of having given protection and information about federal and military operations to the organization that was headed, at the time by Alfredo Beltrán Leyva, a.k.a. "El Mochohomo", who was arrested in 2008. Also on Thursday, authorities made arrested another retired general, Ricardo Escorcia Vargas, who is also accused of ties to the Beltrán Leyva cartel. (Comments: The timing of these arrests is very very strange..)

++ Three Mexican brothers were sentenced to death by hanging in Malaysia, accused of drug trafficking… The Foreign Affairs Secretariat said it would appeal the sentence.

More news..

++ The Public Education said it hopes the National Teachers Union will accept the proposal to have teachers at the primary level undergo performance evaluation tests on June 23 and June 24. The Education Secretariat said the test will serve teachers as a tool to improve their ranking… The test is voluntary, those who do not take the test will not be sanctioned.

++ Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Mexican José Ángel Gurría, said that the economic crisis is evident in unemployment among youths a problem that is growing in G-20 countries, where there are 109 million unemployed.

++ The president of the Bankers Association of Mexico, Jaime Ruiz Sacristán, said the country will change its government with stability, since the macroeconomic variables are solid investor trust is high. He ruled out capital flight as has occurred at other times when a government comes to an end, since, he said, Mexico has protected its finances.

++ Billionaire Carlos Slim said that México will become a developed country in 10 or 15 years as it has the excellent macro-economic, financial and human potential conditions.

++ The National Disaster Prevention Center said that the Popocatépetl volcano continues to show high activity with 14 exhalations in the last 24 hours.

News Summary for May 17th, 2012

2012-05-17T00:22:00.001-05:00

++ Writer Carlos Fuentes lay in state at the Palace of Fine Arts where family, friends and other mourners paid tribute to the writer who died Tuesday of a massive digestive tract hemorrhage… Fuentes was 83 and his death Tuesday came as a surprise since he had not been known to be suffering from any illness…President Felipe Calderón spoke at the tribute to Fuentes saying his work will never die because by reading his books Fuentes’ works will be immortalized. Carlos Fuentes’ widow Silvia Lemus said that Carlos Fuentes’ remains will be cremated and sent to Paris.

++ Authorities arrested retired general Tomás Ángeles Dauahare, who had been up to 2008 Deputy National Defense Secretary. Also arrested was Brigadier General Roberto Dawe González.

During the administration of Ernesto Zedillo, Ángeles Dauahare was director of the Military College and aide to then Defense Secretary Enrique Cervantes Aguirre. Government sources have provided no official reason for the arrests.

++ The Federal Electoral Institute`s General Council approved a fast count on the night of elections in the presidential race… The council also approved bringing forward campaign spending audits. (We analyzed this decision on Imagen News radio with a former IFE Commissioner.)

++ Members of the Fighting University Students Coordinating group are still holding facilities at the Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo University.

They took over the university campus nine days ago to protest over the arrest of their fellow students, but the protest did not end when they were released… More than 55,000 students, teachers, researchers and administrative employees called for activities to be renewed.

++ Dissident Section 22 of the National Teachers Union in Oaxaca announced a strike starting on May 21 at the more than 10,000 schools at the elementary level in the state… The union lamented that neither state nor federal governments met their demands.

++ Bank of Mexico Governor Agustín Carstens said that a worsening of the crisis in Europe could affect resource availability for emerging economies like Mexico.

++ The U.S. embargo on Mexican tuna has ended after nearly 30 years. The World Trade Organization said that rules for tuna labels valid in the United States do not match international rules.

++ Activity at the Popocatépetl volcano remained high with 67 medium-strength exhalations in the last few hours.

News Summary for May 15th, 2012

2012-05-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

++ Interior Secretary Alejandro Poiré blamed Los Zetas and Pacific drug cartels for the wave of massacres in the last two weeks in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas; Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos in Jalisco and in Cadereyta, Nuevo León. He said that the turf war between these two criminal groups to gain control of the drug market in those states is what is behind the slayings.

++ Nuevo León Security spokesman Jorge Domene said that by Thursday they hope to have initial results in the process of identifying the 49 mutilated and dismembered bodies found Sunday in Cadereyta.

++ Michoacán Governor Fausto Vallejo said that for the good of all in Michoacán the government dropped legal charges against the 10 students accused of setting fire to official vehicles. The 10 members of the University Students in the Struggle group were released from the Mil Cumbres penitentiary in Morelia after having spent 15 days in prison.

In other news...

++ President Felipe Calderón said that the fiscal measures taken by his government helped to increase revenue and even though there were high political costs for his administration, helped avoid for Mexico a crisis similar to the European countries.

++ According to the latest survey by BGC Enrique Peña Nieto continues as the frontrunner in the presidential race with 45 percent of voter intent while Andrés Manuel López Obrador grew in backing reaching Josefina Vázquez Mota and both now have 26 percent of voter sympathies. Gabriel Quadri also rose in voter sympathy and now has three percent of voter backing.

++ PAN presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota met with La Salle students and told them that she was willing to engage, in a responsible fashion, in the debate on the legalization of marihuana.

++ Leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he was happy to see that people are realizing that the media want to forcibly impose Enrique Peña Nieto in the presidency.

++ New Alliance candidate Gabriel Quadri said he would permit private investment in Petróleos Mexicanos and criticized the proposal to reduce fuel prices.

News Summary for May 14, 2012

2012-05-13T23:55:00.001-05:00

Bad, very bad weekend for Mexico. Authorities found 49 decapitated and dismembered bodies in Cadereyta, state of Nuevo León… The Nuevo León Security spokesman Jorge Domene said the killings might be a settling of accounts among criminal gangs and did not rule out that the victims could be Central American migrants. (Comments: On Imagen News radio security expert Alejandro Hope said it was a Chapo/Zetas battle..)

///

The Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office said that in the last 12 hours authorities found six corpses of people killed in violent actions throughout the state.

///

Spokesman for the Morelos Attorney General’s Office Efráin Vega Giles said that state police found the body of journalist René Orta Salgado, who worked for the Sol de Cuernavaca newspaper and who was the state leader of Entrepreneurs for the Nation… His body showed signs of having been tortured…

///

The director of the Apodaca penitentiary in Nuevo León, Valentín Díaz Reyes, resigned for personal reasons after less than a month at the job…

In the wake of countless threats, the director of the Social Pastoral group Human Mobility of the Tehuantepec Diocese in Oaxaca, Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, has withdrawn from his activities defending undocumented migrants…

///

The National Disaster Prevention Center said that the Popocatéptl volcano continues to show high levels of activity with 26 exhalations and spasmodic and harmonic tremors with low and median amplitudes, over the last day…

///

President Felipe Calderón met with a group of Mexicans living in Arkansas, and pledged to defend the rights of Mexicans living in the United States, regardless of their immigration status…

///

After being fined nearly 30,000 pesos because he wore shorts with a PRI logo on them during a boxing match, fighter Juan Manuel Márquez said he would make every effort not to pay the fine because it is unfair and violates his right to freedom of expression.

///

The Federal District Electoral Institute said that campaign races in elections for deputies and borough chiefs in Mexico City were set to begin this week…

///

Listen to Imagen News Live at 23:00 hrs

2012-05-13T23:02:00.000-05:00

Why the massacres lately? Great show tonight at 23:00! Again at 05:30 AM... Listen live at www.imagen.com.mx

News Summary for May 12, 2012

2012-05-12T18:27:00.000-05:00

++ On Friday, PRI presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto met with students at the Iberoamericana University in Mexico City. A group of students questioned him about his role in the 2006 Atenco violent incident, in which Mexico State authorities attacked farmers, including women, when he was governor… Peña Nieto left the event amid boos and catcalls. Strong debate taking place in the social networks as to who, if anyone, was behind the protest.

You decide.

More political news...

++ At an event to sign a common platform with the Business Coordinating Council PAN presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota urged business to remember that the council was born in a moment of antagonism, when the private sector was at odds with the PRI-led government.

++ Speaking in Minatitlán, Veracruz, leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said it was a shame that the IFE had spent more than four million pesos in organizing the first presidential debate.

++ New Alliance presidential candidate, Gabriel Quadri, said Mexico needs more political players in the political scenario.

++ The IFE Complaints Committee refused to pull out of the air a spot sponsored by the PRD called “Mexico’s History”, which criticizes the PRI and the PAN.

++ One step closer to flying again. Med Atlántica is the new owner of Mexicana de Aviación airline and its affiliates, said bankruptcy judge Felipe Consuelo.

++ Special operations now… in Michoacan. The federal government authorized deployment of 800 federal police to avoid road blocks on Michoacán highways. According to a press release by the Michoacán state government youths demanding the release of 10 students from the San Nicolás de Hidalgo Michoacana university, have been blocking various highways, including entry points into Michoacán and the highway that leads to Lázaro Cárdenas port.

++ The Jalisco Attorney General’s Office captured three alleged murderers in the case of the kidnap and murder of 18 people in Tala and Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos. These murders took place near Ajijic, a municipio with a large comunity of expats...

++ President Felipe Calderón called on candidates to be honest with their proposals, since he said, to eliminate the gasoline subsidy would lead to a huge price increase.

News Summary for May 11th, 2012

2012-05-11T00:59:00.000-05:00

++ Interior Secretary Alejandro Poiré and Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina signed an agreement to extend the presence of federal forces in the state until November 30. Also in Nuevo Leon, the authorities found the bodies of Raúl and Fortino de la Garza, the brothers-in-law of Nuevo León state PRI leader, Sergio Alanís. The corpses were found in the town of Montemorelos. They were kidnapped on Monday.

++ The Morelos government confirmed that as of Thursday, Army troops and Federal Police agents will be deployed in Morelos as part of the new “Safe Morelos Operation.”

++ Officials said the number of mutilated bodies found on the highway to Chapala in Jalisco increased to 18… The Medical Forensic Service said that all of the victims died because of decapitation but they also showed signs of other mutilations.

++ Unknown attackers in Hermosillo, Sonora, beat up Gerardo Ponce de León, known as “Dr. Zhivago”, journalist owner of www. marquesinapolítica.com or “Political Marquee” and who is also a political columnist.

++ Students from the Cherán Indigenous Teacher Training College blocked the Pátzcuaro-Uruapan highway and took over the Zirahuén toll booth on the Siglo 21 Highway.

++ The head of the Organization of American States, the OAS, election observer’s mission, former Colombian president César Gaviria said that up to now the mission has received no information to indicate that security issues in Mexico could interfere with the elections.

++ The National Statistics and Geography Institute said that more than 13 million mothers in Mexico work outside their homes and that single mothers support one of every four households in Mexico.

++ Activities were suspended for the second consecutive day at the Hermanos Serdán airport because of falling ash from the Popocatéptl volcano activity. Also, volcanic ash from the Popocatéptl fell in Tlaxcala state in towns located in the risk perimeter, among them Tenancingo and Papalotla. The alert system continues as yellow-phase three.

News Summary for May 8th, 2012

2012-05-07T23:49:00.001-05:00

++ IFE chief councilor Leonardo Valdes condemned a ruling by the Federal Electoral Tribunal to throw out an IFE decision to do a fast count in the presidential race on election night. In response, the Federal Electoral Tribunal said it had not prohibited the IFE from conducting fast counts… The Tribunal said that the IFE general council can conduct those kinds of fast counts, but that it had requested the IFE to clarify the terms of the fast count to guarantee certainty and objectivity.

++ PRI presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto denied he is a product created by television and said that television does not make presidents and the nomination is hard earned by those who can come up with results.

++ PAN presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota said she voiced her proposals during the debate to assure families that she will continue the fight against organized crime… She said she was the only candidate who offered to help crime victims.

++ Leftist presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would insist that the IFE make the second debate more flexible and give more time to participants to propose and defend their platforms.

++ Meeting with students at the Del Valle University in Mexico City, New Alliance candidate Gabriel Quadri insisted that as a candidate he is not following instructions, but rather he is proposing ideas and a viable cpresent a candidacy.

++ The Guanajuato section of the Green Party reported that a party leader has been kidnapped in the town of Cortázar, identified as Luis Enrique Torres León.

++ President Felipe Calderón said Mexico has a growing economy with low inflation and a macroeconomic base.

++ Students belonging to the University Students in the Struggle group have taken over all schools and departments of the San Nicolás de Hidalgo University in Michoacán to protest over the arrest of 10 of their comrades, accused of hijacking and burning government vehicles and sent to a high security penitentiary.

++ The National Disaster Prevention Center did not rule out that fine volcanic ash could reach parts of Puebla because of activity in the crater of the Popocatépetl volcano.

News Summary for May 7th, 2012...

2012-05-07T00:27:00.002-05:00

Presidential Debate is over… Thank goodness.

Presidential candidates Josefina Vázquez Mota, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Enrique Peña Nieto and Gabriel Quadri de la Torre took part in the first debate organized by the Federal Electoral Institute.

* As he opened the debate, Enrique Peña Nieto said his proposal means responsible change with direction, to generate stability and better conditions… Peña Nieto charged that in the past four years 12 million Mexicans have joined the ranks of the poor…

* “Mexico’s problems can be solved and we are going to achieve the transformation of the country,” said Andrés Manuel López Obrador in his first participation in the debate. López Obrador said that Mexico’s current situation is not due to 'bad luck', but rather that a small group has taken control over everything, and above all, to bad government…

* Josefina Vázquez Mota said that she is a different candidate because she wants a free Mexico in which citizens can rule… She said she does not belong to groups of power or privilege… The PAN candidate said she wanted a united Mexico, with quality education and freedoms…

* Gabriel Quadri said that Mexico demands a “new Revolution” that transforms energy, labor, fiscal, urban farming and environment policies… He said the country is facing two choices on July 1, the populist mediocre one, and the liberal, modern one, which he represents…

And the winner is the “Edecan” did you see her pic…

----

At the event to mark the 150^th anniversary of the Cinco de Mayo Battle of Puebla, President Felipe Calderón called on citizens to protect democracy so that no authoritarian power can destroy conquests Mexicans have achieved…

----

PAN president Gustavo Madero said that former Education Secretary Alonso Lujambio’s health has improved and he is doing very well… Madero’s remarks came in response to a Twitter campaign saying that Lujambio had died..

----

The Attorney General’s Office began an investigation into the murders of 23 people killed Friday in Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas… Officials suspect the killings score settling between the Gulf Cartel and the Los Zetas drug cartel…

----

The death toll from an attack in Iztapalapa, in which armed assailants opened fire on citizens, rose to six… The latest victim died in the Red Cross hospital in Polanco… Initially he was one of two youths who had survived the attack…

----

Members of the Safe Guerrero Operation arrested 13 alleged members of the La Barredora, or Devil’s Command criminal group, in Acapulco… Among those arrested was the head of the group, Jesús Ricardo Tapia López, a.k.a. "El Chuy de Sinaloa"... Agents seized vehicles, guns and drugs…

----

The National Disaster Prevention Center said that in the last 24 hours the Popocatépetl volcano has kept a high level of activity with 83 exhalations and sending out a plume of water, gas and small amounts of volcanic ash… The volcanic alert warning system remains on Yellow Phase Three…

News Summary for September 13th, 2011

2011-09-12T23:36:00.000-05:00

++ The Nuevo León Congress approved a measure to set up a special committee to investigate the attack on the Casino Royale. Local PRI deputy César Garza Villarreal said that if the local Attorney General’s Office finds evidence inculpating mayor Fernando Larrazábal, either directly or indirectly on the Red casino case, the state Congress will impeach the mayor.

++ PRD national leader Jesús Zambrano called on PAN national chairman Gustavo Madero to punish Fernando Larrazábal, the Monterrey mayor, because he refused to take a leave of absence during investigations. Security spokesman in Nuevo León, Jorge Domene, announced that the Attorney General’s Office might release more information about the investigation into attack on the Casino Royale.

++ Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina asked the Interior Secretariat to speed up the process to close down 30 casinos operating illegally in Nuevo León.

++ President Felipe Calderón said that it will be up to the next president to see the final results of his organized crime policies.

++ U.S. President Barack Obama said he opposed a solution to Mexico’s organized crime problems by reaching an agreement with criminal gangs.

++ Authorities in Tampico, Tamaulipas, captured Manuel Alquisires García, "El Meme", who is accused of being the Gulf drug cartel financial operator.

Officials had already detained "El Meme" in July 1998, together with Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, leader of the gang…. Both were incarcerated in a Matamoros penitentiary, but an armed commando rescued El Meme in December 2002.

++ Navy troops captured 13 suspected members of the Los Zetas criminal gang in Veracruz… Among those arrested was Héctor Tejeda Vázquez, "El Pitufo", who is accused of killing a military officer last August.

++ Authorities in Mexico State arrested 19 alleged members of the La Familia Michoacana drug cartel among them public prosecutor’s office agent in Jilotepec, Elizabeth Lemus.

++ The Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity arrived in Oaxaca where poet Javier Sicilia demanded justice from the state government for victims of repression under former governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.

++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard complained that the new federal budget for 2012 once again cuts back on federal funding for Mexico City.

News Summary for September 8th, 2011

2011-09-08T13:25:00.002-05:00

++ Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina denied that he would ask for a leave of absence as governor during investigations into the attack on the Casino Royale as requested by the PAN.

++ Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal said he would stay on the job and orders a survey to see what citizens think about him asking for a leave of absence.

++ The Attorney General’s Office identified another 18 suspects in the attack on the Casino Royale that killed 52 people… The Attorney General’s Office is offering a reward of 15 million pesos for each one for information leading to their arrest.

++ Among the suspects believed to have ordered and carried out the attack are commanders "Quemado" and "Mataperro", identified as heads of the Monterrey section of the Los Zetas drug cartel.

++ Raúl Rocha Cantú, owner of the casino Royale, presented an affidavit at a Mexican government office abroad, said Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina.

++ Speaking in Jalisco President Felipe Calderón said he does not intend to fight with any branch of government but he insisted that the judicial branch must review its own methods of reviewing criminal cases.

++ The Attorney General’s Office asked Interpol for help to search for Néstor Félix Moreno Díaz, former Operations director for the Federal Electricity Commission who is accused of illegal enrichment.

++ National Human Rights Commissioner Raúl Plascencia said it was unnecessary to create a special office of attention for crime victims… He said he hoped the new bureaucratic structure would not mean more headaches for crime victims…

++ The Federal Electoral Tribunal said that civil organizations can call on citizens to vote, but must do so with no funding from the state.

++ PAN politician Santiago Creel challenged his rival Josefina Vázquez Mota to a debate on security, the economy and politics… She accepted immediately.

++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said he dismissed Martí Batres as social development secretary because he criticized him for shaking hands with President Felipe Calderón at an event to address the nation about the state of the government.

++ Martí Batres denied he ever criticized Ebrard and said he was fired for political reasons.

++ The Interior Secretariat declared an emergency in Cuautitlán and Teoloyucan because flooding there forced 1,700 families from their homes.

News Summary for September 6th, 2011

2011-09-06T00:06:00.000-05:00

++ UNAM rector José Narro presented a security strategy designed by UNAM academicians to President Felipe Calderón. The president said he was willing to adopt new methods to guarantee the safety of Mexicans but he said that facing up to crime was not a matter of choice. Later, at a conference with citizens on security, Calderón expressed frustration at the legal system, since he said the government arrests criminals and judges set them free on technicalities.

++ A federal judge in Nuevo León rejected an amparo sought by the former Operations Director at the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE)… The former electricity commission operations director, Néstor Félix Moreno Díaz, who is accused of illegal enrichment, could be arrested…

++ Investigations began at the Eurodólar currency exchange house… Murdered journalist Rocío González Trápaga was a shareholder in the currency exchange center. Chief justice of the Federal District Superior Tribunal Edgar Elías Azar said that an autopsy showed that both female reporters died from strangulation and gunshot wounds.

++ During the current administration authorities have captured 1,044 minors accused of organized crime, drug and people trafficking, homicide, kidnapping, arms possession and for giving information to criminal groups.

++ The Finance Secretariat said that the risk exists of a new world crisis that could cause economic slowdown in Mexico.

++ Mexico State Governor Enrique Peña Nieto urged authorities to recover security in Mexico.

++ Mexico State is on alert because of flooding in several municipalities among the Cuatitlan Izcalli and Cuatitlan México, Melchor Ocampo, Teoloyucan and Tepozotlán. Some 1,200 homes in Cuautitlán México, were flooded with sewage sludge. There was also a risk of flooding in Ecatepec and Nezahualcóyotl, after the Río de los Remedios sewage canal showed signs of damage and leaking near the bridge that connects with a highway.

Conversation with former President of Colombia

2011-09-05T19:57:00.001-05:00

I was interviewed by @NTN24. Also participating was former President of Colombia Cesar Gaviria, who had very interesting comments regarding Mexico. Please watch.

News Summary for September 5th, 2011

2011-09-05T00:31:00.002-05:00

PAN politician Josefina Vázquez Mota said she will step down on Tuesday from her position as leader of PAN deputies to seek her party’s nomination for the presidency…

++++

Senator Manlio Fabio Beltrones called on his fellow lawmakers to approve political, fiscal and security amendments to move forward in attacking corruption and impunity.

++++

The Monterrey Human Development secretary Miguel Ángel García Domínguez was caught on video together with the brother of the mayor, Manuel Jonás Larrazabal, negotiating the re-opening of the Red Casino with its owner, Sergio Gil. Civil groups and citizens gathered together at the Macro-plaza to demand that Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Median and Mayor Fernando Larrazabal resign… Their slogan was “Monterrey Says Enough”.

The Catholic Church charged that behind the tragedy in the Casino Royale lie not only criminals, but also public servants who fail to carry out their tasks.

++++

Heavy rains over the last few days left a slew of damage in several states among them Guerrero, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Colima, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Mexico State and the Federal District. The National Water Commission and the Civil Protection issued a warning for the next 48 hours because of heavy rains expected in the Valley of Mexico. The Cuautitlán sewage canal flooded over early Saturday flooding more than 1,600 homes in Cuautitlán and Teoloyucan, in Mexico State. Residents forced from their homes because of flooding in Cuautitlán staged a protest on the Mexico City-Querétaro highway to demand that Mexico State Governor Enrique Peña and National Water Commission chief José Luis Luege, travel to the submerged area to listen to their demands.

Heavy rains in Tacubaya district in Mexico City caused a wall to collapse in a housing compound damaging three apartments and two vehicles…

++++

Amnesty International and the Mexico Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights repudiated the murders of two journalists Marcela Yarce and Rocío González Trápaga.

++++

The U.S. Embassy and consulates in Mexico would be closed because of Labor Day…

News Summary for September 2d, 2011

2011-09-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

++ The Nuevo León Attorney General’s Office initiated an investigation against Jonás Larrazabal Bretón, brother of the Mayor of Monterrey, Fernando Larrazabal, on suspicions he was charging extortion money to casinos operating illegally in Monterrey. Operations director for the Nuevo León Firefighters Andrés Molina said that if the Casino Royale had installed appropriate security measures the arson attack would not have spread so quickly nor would 53 people would have been killed. He said he only saw one emergency exit and the other one was false one, even though security requirements stipulate six emergency doors.

++ Unknown assailants lobbed two smoke grenades in a betting hall belonging to Grupo Caliente in Tijuana, Baja California.

++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said there is no evidence of extortion operations in Mexico City in connection to Casino businesses.

++ Authorities found the bodies of two women linked to Contralinea investigative journalism magazine. The naked bodies of Contralinea founder Ana Maria Marcela Yarce Viveros and independent journalist Rocio Gonzalez Trapaga, were found in a park in Iztapalapa borough in Mexico City…

++ Local officials said a bodyguard was suspected of firing on a school bus in Huixquilucan, Mexico State.

++ UNAM rector José Narro presented the university’s proposal on peace and security to PAN senators… He said the proposal embodies many Mexicans’ demand that there be “no more” crime in the country.

++ UNAM rector José Narro was set to meet Monday with President Felipe Calderón to review an anti-crime strategy proposed by academicians to face violence in Mexico.

++ Jean Succar Kuri was sentenced to 112 years and a half in prison for corrupting minors and child pornography.

++ Interior Secretary Francisco Blake delivered President Felipe Calderon’s state of the nation report to Congress. In the report President Calderón said that after five years his government is moving forward determinedly to transform Mexico, to raise quality of life for Mexicans and modernize institutions.

News Summary for August 29th, 2011

2011-08-29T01:52:00.003-05:00

The Defense Secretariat sent 800 additional troops to Monterrey as reinforcements to assist local authorities. The full deployment of an additional 1,500 soldiers is expected within the next couple of days. State and local authorities in Monterrey denied that two of the suspects in Friday’s attack on the Casino Royale had been arrested. Authorities said that 45 of the fatal 52 victims of the attack on the Casino Royale had been identified and their bodies delivered to their relatives… Funerals for the victims began over the weekend…

+++++++++++++++++

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development sent a condolence message from secretary general Mexican José Ángel Gurria whose remarks joined the chorus of national and international outrage at the attack on the casino in Monterrey. Fifty civic groups joined together in Monterey to launch a campaign for Peace and Justice with the “Peace Is Ours” slogan… Youth groups said they would stage a rally on Saturday October 8^th at the Angel of Independence

The National Human Rights Commission sent a team to Monterrey to meet with victims of the attack at the Casino Royale and their families and verify their conditions…

++++++++++++++++++

Authorities conducted an operation at 11 casinos and betting halls in Nuevo León and the Federal District… Three people were arrested and authorities impounded more than 3,500 coin machines…

+++++++++++++++++++

Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera invoked punishment on earth and in heaven for those responsible for the attack on the Casino Royale, which killed 52 people… Rivera Carrera called the crime “diabolical” and said it robbed Mexico of its peace and plunged the country into mourning…

+++++++++++++++++

Authorities suspended search tasks at mass grave found Saturday in Mexico State… Excavation teams had unearthed five bodies…

++++++++++++++++

The Finance Secretariat warned that financial volatility would continue for some time but said that contrary to other developing countries, Mexico continues to bear the brunt without showing signs of an economic meltdown…

+++++++++++++++++

One year after Mexicana was forced to ground its airplanes the Flight Attendants Union asked President Felipe Calderón to step in to find a rapid solution so that they can recover their jobs.

News Summary for August 26th, 2011

2011-08-26T01:32:00.000-05:00

++ Armed assailants attacked the Casino Royale building in Monterrey, Nuevo León… The attack set off a fire… More then 50 people died and dozens were wounded… Authorities fear the number of victims could increase as people were trapped inside the building…

++ A group of gunmen fired at the “Caliente” betting casino in Saltillo, Coahuila... One person was hurt…

++ Authorities captured one of the suspects in the shooting Wednesday at a primary school in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, in which one man was killed and four women, whose children were at the school, were wounded.

++ Federal police captured María de los Ángeles Garibay Uribe, who is also known as “Angy”, and is an oficial with the Michoacán government... She is accused of belonging to the Knights Templar criminal organization envolved in drug dealing and extortions...

++ Authorities in Culiacán, Sinaloa, found the body of journalist and director of the Internet magazine “A Discusión”, Humberto Millán Salazar, who had been kidnapped on Wednesday.

++ President Felipe Calderón said that the least that can be hoped from Congress is that it approve a national security bill that will give certainty to soldiers who fight organized crime. At a meeting of PAN deputies in Morelia, Michoacán, Calderón called on them to redouble efforts to bring about amendments on laws to fight organizad crime.

++ The Finance Secretariat filed a criminal lawsuit seeking to find out who was to blame for inconsistencies in debt contracting on the part of the Coahuila government. PAN senators leader José González Morfín said there is evidence that officials with the Coahuila government falsified documents in order to obtain more loans.

++ The National Statistics and Geography Institute said that unemployment in July reached 5.62 per cent... That is a total of 2.7 million Mexicans have no job... The rate is the highest in the last nine months