The Guanajuato state government earlier faced harsh criticism after a public audit revealed that Governor Juan Manuel Oliva had spent two million pesos to buy foodstuffs with public money, to be distributed by the state, from the mother of his son-in-law.
It gets worse: It has now been revealed that the pious governor - the same who has in recent days issued blatantly unconstitutional calls to reintroduce religious education in the schools to instill "principles and values" could use a further refresher course on ethics himself, not to mention laws on corruption and conflicts of interests.
The new revelation: The state government has spent at least 80 million pesos purchasing foodstuffs from a company belonging to the daughter-in-law of Elías Villegas Torres, the regional leader for the ultra catholic extremist secret society El Yunque. The company, mind you, was created only four months after the coming to power of Oliva in late 2006, yet managed to beat out well-established competitors for contracts to supplying the state's DIF, which the current investigation has revealed as something close to a snake pit of crooks.
As for "principles and values," at least the way most decent citizens recognize them, they appear increasingly absent from the state government of Governor Juan Manuel Oliva.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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? 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 highest rates of teen pregnancy. Guess what state does not teach any sex education in the schools?
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? 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 highest rates of teen pregnancy. Guess what state does not teach any sex education in the schools?
The great John Ross is dead
I just saw the sad news that John Ross died this very morning, at age 73, due to liver cancer.
I was by coincidence just reading his absolutely amazing book of Mexico City, El Monstruo, which only came out in 2009. It is a great read, even if you have not lived there for a couple of decades like him.
Here is a wonderful obituary of a most extraordinary man.
I was by coincidence just reading his absolutely amazing book of Mexico City, El Monstruo, which only came out in 2009. It is a great read, even if you have not lived there for a couple of decades like him.
Here is a wonderful obituary of a most extraordinary man.
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