Kudos to PRD federal deputy Leticia Quezada Contreras and Mexico City legislator Claudia Elena Silva Aguilar for creating awareness of the brutal treatment of women in Guanajuato, by chaining themselves to the State Attorney building in Guanajuato, responsible for prosecuting at least 160 women accused of having aborted.
Recently it was also known that the vast majority of these women, many of whom were denounced by the very boyfriends who impregnated them or doctors who treated them, are extremely poor and illiterate.
The PRD legislators denounced the Guanajuato authorities and Governor Manuel Oliva "machista, misogenous, and aggressive." To this they may also add: Despicable cowards, for attacking poor illiterate in need for support and not state repression.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Dangers of a new "cochinero": Electing the PRD et al's presidential candidate.
PRD declared it will decide shortly on how to elect the party's presidential standard bearer: Either as an open election through the urns - and not just PRD members, that is - or, through an opinion poll.
Both methods bring great dangers. Within the PRD, every single election for its presidential candidate carried out by mass party base vote has been an unmitigated disaster, and if this process is not carefully monitored, the party's election of its presidential candidate has a very high potential to become a disaster as well, in the process greatly diminishing the party/coalition's chances of winning in 2012.
Yet there is also a major problems with polls in Mexico: They are not only notoriously reliable, but also seen as highly politicized. The July 4 elections, for instance, showed an enormous disparity between what the polls said and what the outcome was, and in most cases this had to do with the PRI, which did far worse than the polls anticipated. This led of course to claims that the pollsters had been bought and paid for by the PRI to "fix" the polls in order to portray their candidates as all-but-invincible.
I recently had an interview round with several of the current IFE councilors, and most agreed that this was indeed a very serious issue that needed to be addressed ahead of 2012, through a new electoral reform or otherwise.
Both methods bring great dangers. Within the PRD, every single election for its presidential candidate carried out by mass party base vote has been an unmitigated disaster, and if this process is not carefully monitored, the party's election of its presidential candidate has a very high potential to become a disaster as well, in the process greatly diminishing the party/coalition's chances of winning in 2012.
Yet there is also a major problems with polls in Mexico: They are not only notoriously reliable, but also seen as highly politicized. The July 4 elections, for instance, showed an enormous disparity between what the polls said and what the outcome was, and in most cases this had to do with the PRI, which did far worse than the polls anticipated. This led of course to claims that the pollsters had been bought and paid for by the PRI to "fix" the polls in order to portray their candidates as all-but-invincible.
I recently had an interview round with several of the current IFE councilors, and most agreed that this was indeed a very serious issue that needed to be addressed ahead of 2012, through a new electoral reform or otherwise.
As for the PRD/PT/Convergencia, I still hope they will do it through a poll - an evil, yet still a lesser one.
Peña Nieto: No to legalization. Church: PAN is inept.
Mexico State Governor Enrique Peña Nieto, in response to a rather tepid acceptance by President Felipe Calderón that legalization of drugs is indeed an option in Mexico, immediately declared himself against any such talk, but rather that "one needs to work much more on prevention." Prevention is clearly a key component of a greater scheme to fight drugs and, of course, the gangs themselves, but a blanket rejection of any discussion of legalization again places Peña Nieto on the right, aligned with the church's position on this.
The Church, incidentally, through Bishop Abelardo Alvarado, " of the arch-conservative Archdiocese of Mexico, declared that "panistas do not know how to govern."
Given the Catholic church's animosity toward the PRD - the church, in blatant breaches of the Constitution, has in many cases clearly asked its followers not to vote for the party - one might ask, what party is left to vote for that the church has not condemned, but rather cozied up to in recent years? Ironies of ironies, the party of Calles.
The Church, incidentally, through Bishop Abelardo Alvarado, " of the arch-conservative Archdiocese of Mexico, declared that "panistas do not know how to govern."
Given the Catholic church's animosity toward the PRD - the church, in blatant breaches of the Constitution, has in many cases clearly asked its followers not to vote for the party - one might ask, what party is left to vote for that the church has not condemned, but rather cozied up to in recent years? Ironies of ironies, the party of Calles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)