MexicoPerspective.com

A leading source for news and analysis about Mexico and the U.S.-Mexican border.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Carlos Slim sees Mexico overcoming its security problems and becoming a major developed country in 10 or 15 years

Telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim said in Cancún on Thursday that Mexico has developed the foundation to become a major developed country in 10 or 15 years. He said the country's security problems will be overcome and expects the country to have a per capita income of $15,000 within those 10 to 15 years. Speaking at a World Travel and Tourism Forum, he disagreed that security issues will cause major long-term damage to Mexico's "brand," saying: "The brand will last 100,000 years. Mexico has a positive image in the world, in every sense, in its history, in its appearance, its culture," Slim said.
Slim, according to Forbes magazine, is the world's richest man.
Story in Frontera (PDF).
Protest planned against George Washington University's plans to give Slim an honorary degree Sunday.
Last year's story on former Finance Minister Pedro Aspe's claim that Mexico is on the cusp of a "demographic bonus" that will move the country dramatically forward.

Peña Nieto seeks to eliminate 32 at-large Senate seats

Institutional Revolutionary Party presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto, who last year said he would seek to eliminate 100 at-large federal deputy posts, has called for the elimination of 32 at-large Senate seats as well. He said eliminating these posts would make it easier for a party to gain a legislative majority and pass the reforms the country needs to advance.
The country currently elects three senators per state every six years: two from the party whose ticket finishes first in voting in the individual states, and one from the party that finishes second. In Baja California, for example, the National Action Party finished first in Senate voting in 2006 and sent two senators, former Gov. Alejandro González Alcocer and Jaime Rafael Díaz Ochoa, to Mexico City. Fernando Castro Trenti and his PRI running mate finished second in the voting; Castro Trenti became Baja California's third senator.
The 32 at-large Senate posts are based on proportional representation, meaning that parties that wouldn't have a ghost of a chance of electing a senator in any state still wind up with representation in the Senate. This reduces the advantage parties gain through the direct election of their senators.
The PRI, because it has the best nationwide organization, stands to benefit most from Peña Nieto's proposal. PAN presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota also has been proposing the reduction of at-large legislative seats.
Story in Frontera (PDF).
Peña Nieto's October proposal to reduce at-large Chamber of Deputy seats.
His October interview with Reforma about the issue. Proceso's article on Peña Nieto and Congress.

CRIME NEWS

• Six alleged members of group that kidnapped migrants arrested in Tijuana; 13 were arrested earlier; Of 6 recent arrests, 5 were women, one of whom gave birth in the last month
• Officials say uncle provided weapons used in drug-dealer shootout that killed his nephew, 10, last month in Cerro Colorado area of Tijuana

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

CRIME NEWS

• 2 Mexicans who died in plane crash in Ecuador had links to Mexicali; 1 had been arrested twice; $1.3 million in cash found in aircraft
• Two generals detained under suspicion of links to organized crime had been under investigation since 2010
• Alleged Gulf Cartel cell in Nuevo León linked to 17 killings, 4 kidnappings; 8 arrested

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Zetas disclaim responsibility in dumping of 49 bodies

Columnist says killings are part of failed drug war and says collateral damage from drug war is increasing
Still, death toll so far this year shows projected decline despite high-profile massacres

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Author Carlos Fuentes dies at 83

Novelist was key player in boom of Latin American literature

In 1997 interview, author said he did not want to investigate evidence that might disprove his assassination conspiracy beliefs

Fuentes also made recommendations of Mexican novelists to read

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Columnist says López Obrador setting stage to contest likely Peña Nieto victory by claiming PRIista is candidate imposed on nation by Televisa

Excélsior columnist Leo Zuckermann writes that Democratic Revolution Party presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador is setting the stage for a protest of Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate Enrique Peña Nieto's likely July 1 victory. Zuckermann said it appears that López Obrador will claim, if Peña Nieto wins July 1, that Peña Nieto's victory is illegitimate because of the strong push he received from Televisa in the years leading up to the election. In the May 6 debate, López Obrador cited a huge advertising contract that the Mexico state government signed with Televisa when Peña Nieto was governor. Peña Nieto countered during the debate, however, by saying that López Obrador engaged in a huge public relations campaign when he was mayor of Mexico City beginning in 2000 and that if such campaigns were so key, López Obrador would have won the presidency in 2006. López Obrador narrowly lost that election, and then claimed Felipe Calderón's victory was illegitimate.
Zuckermann said he sees López Obrador's strategy as one of trying to bolster the left in the long term and also to pressure Peña Nieto to take action to counter Televisa's monopolistic practices. Zuckermann's column (PDF).

Ensenada turns 130

Ensenada on Tuesday celebrates its 130th anniversary.
In 1870, gold was found in Real del Castillo south of Ensenada, and the Baja California Norte territorial capital wound up there. But when the mines petered out, the capital was moved to Ensenada, which had better transportation connections, on May 15, 1882. In 1915, the capital was moved to Mexicali. Story, Frontera (PDF).

Tijuana man who went to Sinaloa for slain brother's funeral is killed

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Monday, May 14, 2012

Violent deaths of minors rose from 174 in 2010 to 244 in 2011, group says

The group Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (Mexican Childhood Rights Network) says the number of violent deaths of minors rose from 174 in 2010 to 244 in 2011. It said that through March 27 of this year, the number was 50, putting the nation on a trajectory have more than 200 such deaths by the end of 2012. It said most of those who were killed were ages 15 to 17, at that 72% of deaths resulted from gunfire. The proportion of those killed who were girls fell from 27% 2010 to 23% in 2011. Chihuahua, Durango and Sinaloa states registered the highest violent death rate of minors, while Nayarit, Baja California, Guerrero and Morelos were in the second tier. Story in Frontera (PDF). The report (PDF).

López Obrador passes Vázquez Mota for second place

Democratic Revolution Party presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador has passed National Action Party candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota for second place, an Universal poll conducted by Buendía & Laredo says. It has Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate Enrique Peña Nieto at 49.6%, López Obrador at 24.8% and Vázquez Mota at 23.1%. Story in Frontera (PDF). Jump.

 

Peña Nieto gets audience with Catón

If you ever wondered why MexicoPerspective cites Catón so often, the answer may have come Saturday, when Enrique Peña Nieto met with the Saltillo columnist at the Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate's request. <<<Read more>>>

Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City gives UNAM run for its money for intolerance after its booing of Peña Nieto, columnist says

The Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City is giving the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) a run for its money in terms of intolerance of people with different points of view following the booing of and verbal attacks on Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday, columnist Sergio Sarmiento writes. "Peña Nieto remained calm and sought tolerance, but left at the end to shouts and boos," Sarmiento wrote. He said the catcalling reminded him of 1994, when National Action Party candidate Diego Fernández de Cevallos was booed and had eggs thrown at him at the UNAM.
Days before Peña Nieto's appearance, Democratic Revolution Party candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador had been well-received at the Jesuit university once attended by Vicente Fox, PAN president from 2000-2006.
Sarmiento said much of the noise Friday had to do with a 2006 protest in San Salvador Atenco in Mexico state where two people were killed and more than two dozen women sexually assaulted. Peña Nieto was governor at the time. The National Human Rights Commission blamed state and federal police; Sarmiento said that after the commission's report, some state police were convicted and are still serving sentences, but that the federal government did not send up any of the federal police in the case. Sarmiento's column (PDF). Story about Friday's event, in Frontera (PDF).
PRI at-large Senate candidate Emilio Gamboa, in a visit to Baja California, said he is ashamed of the Universidad Iberoamericana, which he attended. Gamboa said López Obrador now has moved into second place; on March 1, Gamboa had said he thought López Obrador would wind up being Peña Nieto's main rival in the July 1 election. Gamboa's visit to Tijuana, Frontera (PDF).
Peña Nieto will likely have to go through Gamboa to get legislation passed.
Update, May 17: Catón publishes missive (PDF) from Iberoamericana student defending how students reacted to Peña Nieto.

49 bodies dumped in Nuevo León

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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Nuevo Laredo newspaper attacked with high-caliber bullets; no one hurt
Tijuana police free woman held in panel truck by 4 men

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Saturday, May 12, 2012

2012 is likely end of cheap gasoline for Mexico, Colef economist says; gas price goes up for fifth time this year in Tijuana, but regular price is still only 10.18 pesos per liter, or $2.82 per gallon; gas price across border is generally over $4 a gallon

Alejandro Díaz Bautista, an economist at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte, told Frontera that the country is breaking its budget with gasoline subsidies. On Saturday, the gasoline price rose to 10.18 pesos per liter, or $2.82 a gallon, from 10.09 pesos per liter. While it was the fifth gas hike in Mexico this year, the cost of gasoline across the border in San Diego is generally over $4 a gallon. The story said Mexico's gasoline subsidy cost around 55.4 billion pesos ($4 billion) during the first quarter of 2012; the subsidy was around $12 billion for all of 2011. Díaz Bautista said the subsidy is greater than the amount that goes to the Popular Insurance program or the Oportunidades anti-poverty program and encourages the use of the air-polluting automobile, points made by New Alliance presidential candidate Gabriel Quadri during Sunday's debate. Story, Frontera (PDF).
President Felipe Calderón defended the gas price increases, saying the subsidy needs to be eliminated; the question, he says, is how best to do it. Story in Frontera (PDF).

41 Guerrero schools damaged by March 20 earthquake to be demolished

Officials in Guerrero state said that 41 schools damaged by the March 20 7.4-magnitude earthquake will be demolished. Rebuilding the schools will cost 23 million pesos, or $1.7 million. Story in Frontera (PDF).

Vatican investigating 7 Legionaries of Christ in sexual abuse cases

The Vatican is investigating seven priests from the conservative Legionaries of Christ, whose Mexican founder, Marcial Maciel, was accused of abusing seminarians and also of having had children. He died in 1978. Story in Frontera (PDF). Story, GMA News.

 

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Friday, May 11, 2012

MOTHERS DAY NEWS

• Peña Nieto's actress wife, 41, says she would like to have his child
• Vázquez Mota's daughter campaigns in Tijuana
• Economist says remittances are the greatest on Mother's Day; remittances are up 5.3% so far this year

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Catón defends same-sex rights

The Mexican columnist Catón, also known as Armando Fuentes Aguirre, made an impassioned defense of same-sex rights on Friday. His column was inspired by President Barack Obama's endorsement this week of gay marriage. Catón's column (PDF).

Man killed in Tijuana bus

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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Post-debate poll shows Peña Nieto with continuing big lead, with Vázquez Mota putting a little more distance between herself and López Obrador

A Con Estadística post-debate poll for Grupo Fórmula showed Institutional Revolutionary Party presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto with 49% to 26% for Josefina Vázquez Mota of the National Action Party and 22% for Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party. Some pre-debate polls had López Obrador nearly catching up with or even passing Vázquez Mota. New Alliance Party candidate Gabriel Quadri, who turned in a strong performance in Sunday's debate, rose to 3% from 1%. Columnist Leo Zuckermann said the poll showed that Peña Nieto was the true debate winner, because he did not suffer a major drop in voter confidence for the July 1 election. Zuckermann's column, in Frontera (PDF).

Environmental official says Baja California has 458 bird species

A state environmental official, speaking in advance of International Migratory Bird Day, said Baja California has 458 bird species, including the endangered Yuma Clapper Rail (Palmoteador de Yuma) found in the Colorado River Delta. State wildlife coordinator José Luis García Chavira said there are three birds that are only found in the state, Frontera reported. García Chavira is the former director of Mexicali's largest park and zoo, Bosque y Zoológico de la Ciudad. Story, Frontera (PDF).
Photo of Palmoteador de Yuma. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service page on Yuma clapper rail (Nevada). USFWS page (Arizona).

 

18 dismembered bodies dumped on road between Guadalajara and Lake Chapala

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

San Diego mayor urges Americans to visit Tijuana, which he says is safe; Tijuana mayor cites new statistics showing crime having gone down further

Both speak at Tequila Talk at Institute of the Americas; Tijuana Mayor Carlos Bustamante says that despite recent arrests of Tijuana police for drug possession and slayings of 2 police linked to organized crime, he is satisfied overall with his force

U.S. consul in Tijuana, Steven Kashkett, repeats that State Department "does not advise Americans to avoid travel to Tijuana"; it also is announced that Kashkett is moving to Florida to advise Southcom

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Tuesday, May 8, 2011

Analysts see Peña Nieto as having fended off attacks in debate

IFE apologizes over busty model used as debate window dressing; debate outdoes soccer game in ratings, but loses to other TV show

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Female PRD candidate, 6 other women go topless in campaign billboard

Natalia Juárez, a Democratic Revolution Party candidate in Jalisco state for Congress, is appearing in a campaign billboard topless, along with six other women. The women use their arms for strategic coverage in the photo. Juárez, 34, teaches philosophy at the University of Guadalajara and is running against two well-known politicians, Jorge Salinas Osornio of the National Action Party and Leobardo Alcala Padilla of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. EFE story on foxnews.com. Story, diariolibre.com.
Tijuana is making efforts to enforce a law against sexually provocative billboards; would this billboard be banned in the border city?

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Monday, May 7, 2012

Attacks prevail at first presidential debate

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Tijuana police arrested in possession of crystal meth

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Sunday, May 6, 2012

THE WEEK IN MEXICO

While Denise Dresser sees Mexico lurching toward a "Putinization," non-governmental organizations say they'll stand up to and educate whomever wins the presidency; López Obrador, in visit to Tijuana, appears to be looking backward; meanwhile, groups in San Ysidro work to improve the quality of their community

An action-packed week in San Diego and Tijuana saw López Obrador visit, UCSD's "Mexico Moving Forward," Denise Dresser at USD, a border transportation forum and a Casa Familiar conference on air pollution at the border.
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Saturday, May 5, 2012

"El Buho" Valle, journalist and 1968 student movement leader, dies at 65

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Former Mexicali policeman shot to death; marijuana dropped off by plane in Mexicali Valley seized

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Friday, May 4, 2012

Governor, federal transportation minister say Puerta México will not close in October when new El Chaparral port of entry opens

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3 Veracruz photojournalists, girlfriend killed

Three Veracruz photojournalists who covered crime and one of their girlfriends were killed and their bodies dumped in a canal. They were among a number of journalists who fled their homes last year after they had been threatened. The victims were identified as Gabriel Huge; his nephew, Guillermo Luna of the website www.veracruznews.com.mx; Luna's girlfriend,  Irasema Becerra; and Esteban Rodriguez. Huge and Luna formerly worked for Notiver, and Rodríguez had worked for AZ. Two Notiver journalists were killed last year. 5 quit Notiver in July.
Last week, a journalist in the state capital, Xalapa, was killed.
Associated Press story. Story in Frontera (PDF). Story, El Mexicano (PDF). Jump.
Update, May 5: Javier Hernández Valencia, the United Nations' Human Rights office representative in Mexico, says freedom of the press does not exist in the country. Story in El Mexicano (PDF). Jump.

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Thursday, May 3, 2012

López Obrador, in Tijuana, makes promise after promise; in blasting Wal-Mart, he says it pays 0.2% in taxes, when the real figure is more than 25%

He pledges pensions for everyone over 78, says he will create an additional 700,000 jobs annually, will lower gasoline and electricity prices, and will provide higher education to everyone who wants it

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Hank Rhon expresses disappointment that former bodyguard has not been released from prison in 1988 killing of Tijuana journalist

Gambling magnate says former bodyguard, recently moved to Tecate prison, will have a job with Caliente Group when his 25-year sentence ends

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Mexican soccer quarterfinal to be at same time as Sunday's presidential debate

Paper says it appears that soccer federation scores goal against Federal Electoral Institute

Although Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute sought to have the Mexican soccer federation not schedule a quarterfinal playoff game during Sunday's presidential debate, the Tigres-Monarcas is scheduled to begin at the same time, 8 p.m. Mexico City time, or 6 p.m. Baja California time, Reforma reported. It said it appeared Mexican soccer had scored a goal against the IFE. The playoffs begin on Wednesday; Tijuana will host Monterrey at 8:30 p.m. that day (PDF) and then plays the Rayados in Monterrey again on Saturday. Story, Frontera (PDF).

López Obrador says that if elected, he would name Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas head of Pemex

Democratic Revolution Party candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas said Monday that if elected president, he would name Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas head of the Pemex oil monopoly. Cárdenas's father nationalized foreign oil companies in 1938, creating Pemex. The other two main candidates, front runner Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party and Josefina Vázquez Mota of the National Action Party, both favor more foreign investment in Mexico's energy sector.
It is a grand move, and one that, had it been made six years ago, might have given López Obrador the push he needed to win the presidency. But he was on the outs with Cárdenas in 2006 and narrowly lost the PAN's Felipe Calderón. Cárdenas lost presidential elections in 1988, 1994 and 2000. Both he and López Obrador are former Mexico City mayors for the PRD. Story (PDF). López Obrador on Tuesday made a campaign appearance in Tijuana.
Previous story on López Obrador-Cárdenas rapprochement.

 

Head of Franciscans in Baja California leaves to become bishop in Salto, Durango

Juan María Huerta Muro left Tijuana on Monday for his new post as bishop in Salto, Durango. He had been head of the Franciscan order for Baja California, Baja California Sur and Sonora states the past six years. He told Frontera he spent 23 years in Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada and the San Quintín Valley. He said the Franciscans are dedicated to the poorest and said that perhaps is "why I was chosen, as a Franciscan, above all to serve communities so relegated and marginalized as those in the Sierra of Durango." He said his diocese will be serving 300,000 inhabitants distributed over 30,000 square kilometers with 28 priests, four of them under loan, and 20 sisters. The area he will be serving is about three times the size of San Diego County.
He said he had been re-elected to head the Franciscans for three more years in northwestern Mexico before he was called to Durango. He said he had hoped to increase the number of Franciscans in the region during that time, but that that will now happen under someone else's watch. "I had 50 (Franciscans) six years ago and there are 50 now, but in the seminary there are 25 with temporal vows," he said. Story, Frontera (PDF).
Update, May 2: Ensenada Bishop Sigifredo Noriega Barceló says seminary has added eight students this year, giving it 24, many of them from Tijuana. Story, El Mexicano (PDF).
Update, May 15: Church officials say it may have been a sign from above that when Huerta Muro was ordained as a bishop, two planes crossed overhead and left a cross in the sky. Mention in Frontera (PDF).

Frontera presents monthly report on state legislature

Frontera presented its monthly report on the Baja California state legislature, noting who presented initiatives and how they voted on certain bills. Story, Frontera (PDF). Jump.

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April 2012 files

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