It was indeed a conspiracy: Fidel Castro confirms the plot against AMLO

Fidel Castro, in a lengthly letter published today, confirms what was already pretty much well established:

In 2004, leading politicians of PRI and PAN conspired to damage AMLO's standing among the electorate through leaked videos made with hidden camera where René Bejarano, a very close ally of AMLO and technically his "private secretary," was seen stuffing wads of dollars into bags, while his secretary of finance Gustavo Ponce was recorded high rolling in Las Vegas

(This must not be confused with the desafuero of 2005, which sought to prevent him from legally participating by stripping him of his immunity for prosecution and charging him, and where President Vicente Fox destroyed his credentials as a fighter for democracy due to his role in this process).

While Carlos Ahumada, the Argentine-Mexican shady businessman central to the plot, published his own auto-défense last year where confirmed much of AMLO's suspicions, today, Castro now apparently finally found it opportune to confirm this, seemingly based on the the interrogation of Ahumada when he had fled to Cuba to avoid capture by Mexican authorities for fraud against the Mexico City government. And yes, Jefe Diego was part of the plot, as was, more surprisingly to me, Santiago Creel.

Castro:

“[Carlos] Salinas de Gortari and [Diego] Fernández de Cevallos  saw the videos first and , with the Interior Secretary and the Federal Attorney General of the government of [Vicente Fox], Santiago Creel and Rafael Macedo de la Concha respectively, organized the carrying out of the formal accusation and its later disclosure, offering [Ahumada] in exchange economic help in his businesses and legal protection for him and his family."

Why now, so late? This is pretty powerful stuff, and while it will very likely never lead to an indictment, certainly should.

I should also note that I find the full article by Castro pretty dishonest as it brushes over Cuba's relationship with Salinas. Recall that Cuba immediately recognized Salinas' government, despite the obvious 1988 fraud that brought him to power - and yes, in 1988 there was an electoral fraud, unlike in 2006 - yet Castro's comments on this is pretty self-serving, as is his downplaying of the fact that Salinas was allowed to buy and own a house in Cuba (when will Cubans be allowed to do the same?).

Lame-duck Oaxaca legislature exonerates Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. For now.

The PRI-dominated state legislature of Oaxaca on its "own" initiative absolved governor Ulises Ruiz for having violated the state constitution when he ordered the gunning down of protesters in the summer and fall of 2006.

Note that that Mexican Supreme Court last October found Ruis guilty of grave violations of citizen rights. 

The vote by the Oaxaca legislature, strictly along party lines, is clearly a preemptive strike, part  of Ruis' efforts to avoid legal persecution as he leaves his position. 

The last word is not said in this case; expect the incoming state legislature to look into this and many other issues concerning Ruis' conduct. They will have their hands full. 

Onésimo Cepeda makes one declaration that makes sense, and one that does not

Onésimo Cepeda, bishop of Ecatepec and a very important clergyman in Mexico State - he is very close to current governor Enrique Peña Nieto - is hardly known for any intelligent declarations. He is also of highly dubious morals, whether one uses the bible or not as reference point: He has long been under investigation for transgressions such  money laundering and fraud, and may well face federal charges soon.

Be that as it may, Onésimo Cepeda declared yesterday that drug kingpins should be excommunicated from the church. If nothing else, I gather it would end some of the highly ambivalent attitude of the church toward the narcos, which have given the church substantial amounts of donations over the years, and attach at least a minimum of further stigma. 

Yet it is what follows that seems rash to me: Cepeda suggests that priests should also turn into informers. While he didn't mention the practice of Confession specifically, he said:

"One must denounce those that are behind the drug violence, and many times we know where they are." It seems to me that is turning every priest as well into a direct target for assassination by the drug gangs. We know very well how the drug gangs deal with informers, perceived or real, and if a priest may be perceived as having given information that led to the apprehension or gunning down of a gang member, I fear this opens up for revenge killings of perceived - or real, given Cepeda's comments - priest informers, and that Cepeda's comments may end up endangering the clergy.

From Tabasco, AMLO appreciates Castro's praise

Following Castro's praise of AMLO and his recent book - Castro coincides, for one, that AMLO won in 2006 but that "the empire didn't let him assume power" - AMLO responded from Tabasco:

"I appreciate the comments and opinions of the distinguished personality of Fidel Castro, and whether or not we agree with his ideas and his political practice, he is without doubt one of the most important world leaders of our time, as were Gandhi, Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Martin Luther King, Ho Chi Minh, Salvador Allende and our beloved Nelson Mandela:"

As it were, in Tabasco, tierra natal of AMLO, the PRD is undergoing a massive internal turmoil. AMLO claims to not be part of it and that he stays away from the party organization in his home state, yet plenty of evidence exists to the contrary. Recently, the Tabasco PRD leader Javier May Rodríguez, frankly admitted that while the party has several candidates for the 2012 gubernatorial election, in the end the candidate will be whomever AMLO chooses. 


It is worth recalling that AMLO as well in 2008 imposed his brother José Ramiro López Obrador as PRD leader, who finally stepped down in  after wreaking havoc within the party, and is under investigation for embezzlement and criminal conspiracy following his stint as mayor of the municipality of Macuspana, though as coming from a new local government controlled by PRI, it might well be political in nature.


While on this topic, it is worth noting that another AMLO brother, Arturo López Obrador resigned from the PRD last May, yet unlike AMLO, who not casts his lot with PT, Arturo joined his brother's stated arch-enemy PRI to back Javier López Zavala as the PRI candidate to replace the protector of pederasts and harasser of journalists, outgoing governor Mario Marín. 
Despite AMLO's little brother Pedro Arturo campaigning for López Zavala, Marín's anointed successor lost badly, if surprisingly.