Spoken like a true yunquista: Guanajuato governor wants "religious education" in the schools

Guanajuato governor Juan Manuel Oliva, following up on a "proposal" from the archbishop of León, declared he was in favor of "analyzing" whether to reintroduce "religious education" in the schools in Guanajuato.

According to Oliva, who is a member of the extremist catholic secret El Yunque society:
"I am a believer that parents should choose the education for their children, and because of this right that they have, we will need to consider a request of this nature." Oliva also added that even though the secular state remains "protected," this does not imply living in a society that is "absent of principles and values."

Where does one start... for one, to even call it "religious education" is disingenuous. What Oliva wants is to indoctrinate the children with the catholic gospel, period - no need pretending. And exactly whose parents are demanding it? Yet even more fundamentally still: It is utterly pathetic to hear the old canard of these believers in invisible friends chime in on "principles and values." Does not teaching catholicism truly mean not teaching "principles and values"? Does this religion really have a monopoly on teaching children good "principles and values"? Unfortunately, this is what ignoramuses like Oliva believe in - that absent the (highly selective, mind you) teaching of bronze-age scriptures, students will simply not learn the good values and principles Olivia is obliquely referring to.

Is it truly so that the more one teach catholic values, the better human beings the students will come out?  Is it truly so that in societies that do not teach religion in this manner in school - Scandinavia, most Western European countries - its students turn out to have less "principles and values" than those who are indoctrinated in catholic values, say e.g. in conservative regions in southern Italy? Let's put it this way: Quite a few scientific studies do show a clear correlation with church attendance/religiosity, and "social trust" and crime rates. Unfortunately for Oliva, the relationship runs in the other direction: The less religious a society is - and the less religious its education system is - the better off a society is.

And lest we forget: Guanajuato is one of the states in Mexico with the absolute (and relative) higher number of teen pregnancy, as well as rapes and abuses of women. Guess what state does not teach any sex education in the schools, thanks to pressure from the Catholic Church?

If Oliva is truly interested in inculcating good "principles and values" in Guanajuato, religious education in general, and the pernicious teachings of of the Catholic Church in particular, much be lessened, not strengthened.

Step forward toward PAN-PRD alliance in Coahuila

PAN and the PRD are having direct conversations these days regarding a possible electoral alliance in Coahuila, the state where now-PRI president Humberto Moreira is seeking to install his brother Rubén Moreira as new governor.

The likely candidate is PAN's Guillermo Anaya Llamas, a national senator for the party. He's earlier had quite a fews spat with the ex-governor, such as when Humberto accused him in 2007 of having ties to the narcos, a charge often repeated but never substantiated with any actual evidence.

The chances of beating Rubén are slim, but they do exist.