Oaxaca to plant 30 million trees. Gabino Cué delivers.

Via The Mexico Institute, here's finally some English-language of Oaxaca's progressive governor Gabino Cué, published in the Miami Herald:

"There were no computers," he recalled. "We found that the staff payroll didn't match who actually was working. ... The bank statements were out of balance. The state automotive fleet was in terrible shape."On his way out the door, outgoing PRI Gov. Ulises Ruiz installed dozens of loyalists in state jobs with union protection even though they had no jobs to perform, Cue said. Ruiz also offered gifts to key allies, among them the head of the state electoral commission, for unexplained "services rendered."

On the topic of Cué, whose government so far has seem notably intent on delivering on his campaign promises, the governor launched the state's Comité Estatal de Prevención y Combate de Incendios Forestales, or committee to prevent and fight forest fires, and declared that Oaxaca would plant 10 million trees in 2011 - Cué attributed the low figure to unexpected adminsitrative difficulties (see above) - yet that a notable 30 million trees would be planted in 2012. Change to believe in? Hopefully these news will be picked up in English-language media; the state-level initiatives to combat deforestation remains an untold tale (and something I hope to work on the coming fall).