Martí Batres Guadarrama

The once-powerful Mexico City Secretary of Social Development Martí Batres Guadarrama will likely leave the government of the Distrito Federal headed by Marcelo Ebrard in near future. After Ebrard made it tacitly (or not so tacitly) clear that Batres would not be the next Chief of Government of Mexico City, Ebrard stepped up his activism and participation of AMLO events. Ebrard retaliated by taking away several responsibilities from Batres' portfolio. 


Batres is one of the top leaders of Izquierda Social, a social-movement oriented offshoot of the IDN, led by the Bejarano couple, and represents the most radical wing of the PRD - not necessary radical in terms of left/right, but radical as in having absolutely no respect for institutions, preferring to storm the Congress podium and engage in fistfights to seek to block legislation from being passed. Now, Batres has stepped up his criticisms of the PAN-PRD alliances, which are backed by Marcelo Ebrard, to the point of participating in AMLO's barnstorming of Mexico State to oppose them. Expect him to be replaced soon. 

Ortega agrees with Aguachile and Aguachile with him: IFE bows to church

Especially considering that we are now celebrating the 20th anniversary of IFE, the Mexican Federal Electoral Institute, it's decision to refrain from commenting on the blatant illegality of the church's interference in politics and simply pass on PRD's complain to the Interior Ministroy, was simply evading responsibility, as Jesús Ortega, president of the PRD put it - giving in to church pressure. Without sounding too alarmist, this to me bodes ill for 2012, especially with Ebrard as the left's candidate: If the church can get away with calling the party "fascist," Ebrard a "dictator," the Supreme Court "corrupt" - what is yet to come? 

Five years of Peña Nieto: Mexico State worst in country for femicides.

The many and mostly unresolved murders in Júarez, Chihuahua, introduced into the mainstream a horrifying word, "femicide," or the deliberate killing of women. 

Yet according to the Observatorio Ciudadano Nacional del Feminicidio, the state that topped the list of most women murders in 2009 was not Chihuahua or any of the "drug war" states, but Mexico State: Out of 1700 registered murders of women, 309 happened in Edomex. 

Now these are, to be sure, absolute figures, and Mexico State's huge population base must be taken in mind, but it is nonetheless an alarmingly high figure, particularly as Mexico City only counts 80 cases. 

Yet another dent in Peña Nieto's media-created image.