Friday, November 5, 2010

Bizarre commemoration of Juan Camilo Mouriño, two years after his death

The death of Juan Camilo Mouriño two years ago was spectacular. Not only was Mouriño, a close friend of President Felipe Calderón, as Minister of the Interior the closest Mexico had to a Vice President, but the manner of his death was the stuff of movies: His Learjet plunged to the ground in Mexico City, killing all eight on board, as well as a handful on the ground. The only reason this spectacular event, which many still believe was not an accident, didn't get more attention was that the world's focuswas elsewhere: The same night, Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. 


Two years after his Nov. 4 2008 death, PAN held a homage to Mouriño, which was attended by a range of PAN bigshots, including outgoing party president César Nava and all five contenders to succeed him, and the president's wife, as Calderón got delayed. 


Notably, a bronze bust was revealed, and many a eulogy uttered. 

I just don't get it. One shouldn't speak ill of the dead, the exhortation goes (though it is not clear to my why), and while Moriño's death was a tragic event, no question, why does he deserve this honor? He even got his own model in Mexico City's was museum! 



Nava declared the party had "a debt of gratitude to preserve the memory of those who have shown us the way and have given until their breath in this fight. This is an elementary duty"


Margarita Zavala, the First Lady, hailed him as an "enthusiastic Mexican who left an economically convenient life for the benefit of his country."


Two comments:


1) Why on earth this excessive homage? Very few panistas have had the great honor of a bronze bust, located among far more prominent party members in  PAN's national headquarter in Mexico City. While Mouriño was very close to the president, what exactly did he achieve in these years? 


2) "Left an economically convenient life"? Let's not forget the massive scandal Mouriño was involved in that related exactly to how he had abused his political position to directly benefit his family! Many Mexicans, and not just AMLO, demanded that he resign from the post when evidence surfaced that he awarded petroleum contracts that directly benefited his family, while holding various political positions, most notoriously Undersecretary of Energy. His boss? Felipe Calderón.

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