Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Yunque Strikes Back

The courageous, intrepid reporter Lydia Cacho just held an interesting chat in El Universal


Her Monday column in El Universal  is very well worth looking at as it details the gruesome policies of the ultraconservative Guanajuato government of Juan Manuel Oliva.


Her latest book, Esclavas del Poder, deals with the victims of human trafficking. I only read an excerpt in Proceso but it appears a crucial read on this topic.


Where are the Mexican philanthropists?

Yet another great article from ITAM's Denise Dresser in this weeks's Proceso. 
If important people like Oprah Winfrey, Eli Broad, Ted Turner, David Rockefeller, Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, John Doerr and  Pete Peterson –among others– are ready to consider and assume the challenge of giving away half of their net worth, where are Carlos Slim, Jorge Larrea, Emilio Azcárraga, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, and other comparable Mexican  multimillionaires?

Presidential interference during election time: Pending business for electoral reform

President Calderón was deemed  by the Federal Electoral Institute to have interfered unduly in the recent election and directly having violated electoral law through broadcasting "electoral propaganda" in TV channels. This brings to mind sour memories regarding Vicente Fox´s brazenly illegal interference in the 2006 election. 


(read Luis Carlos Ugalde´s 2008 Así lo viví for a great rundown).


Yet just like with Fox in 2006, IFE also declared it is powerless to sanction Calderón, as the president enjoys virtual "immunity." Yet another pending issue of electoral reform. 


More info from El Universal and La Jornada on the topic.