Luisa María Calderón Hinojosa, or "Cocoa," is the sister of President Felipe Calderón. Quite controversially, she now seeks to become PAN's nominee for the 2011 gubernatorial contest, the last state election ahead of the 2012 presidential elections.
The controversy may be obvious: As the president's sister, "Cocoa" will almost by default have accusations launched that the president is loading the dice in her favor. She admitted there will be "tension" in the fight over the nomination, but rejected any dirty play. Her main opponent is Marko Cortés Mendoza, who is suggesting a dirty campaign is already being waged, but rejects to step down from seeking the nomination even if Calderón asks him.
Things are likely to heat up in PAN Michoacán.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas: No fraud in 2006
In an interview with Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas late 2007, I asked him about the differences between the 1988 and 2006 federal elections. He told me what he just told Milenio yesterday: While there was a fraud in 1988, there was none in 2006.
His comments, made in Guanajuato, followed a visit there by none else than Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who argued, again without a shred of evidence, that PAN in Guanajuato contributed in 2006 300,000 fraudulent votes.
His comments, made in Guanajuato, followed a visit there by none else than Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who argued, again without a shred of evidence, that PAN in Guanajuato contributed in 2006 300,000 fraudulent votes.
Basilia Ucán Nah set free
Basilia Ucán Nah, in prison since 2007, was set free yesterday, after the Quintana Roo state supreme court ordered here immediate released. The United Nations six weeks ago had requested a review of this case.
For more on this case, which appear an egregious case of injustice, see this post.
How many more cases like this exist in Mexico today?
For more on this case, which appear an egregious case of injustice, see this post.
How many more cases like this exist in Mexico today?
Oaxaca shut down for second day after teachers protest
Fourteen thousand schools shut down in Oaxaca. 1.3 million students left without school, as their teachers are continuing their actions against the state government of Oaxaca, protests that appear increasingly radical: Yesterday, members of the 73-thousand strong teachers union, SNTE Sección 22, having earlier shut down virtually the entire Oaxaca downtown, upped the ante by blocking down shops and commercial centers, government offices, and even taking a highway tollbooth.
From what I can tell, Governor Gabino Cué has bent over backwards to appease the teachers, which insist the state has been awarded much more money meant for them, and demand the firing of several government functionaries.
Yet far from being a case of a downtrodden, overworked, and underpaid union demanding its legitimate rights, there is much more to this than meets the eye: Mexico's federal auditor has detected at least 10,000 aviadores or teachers in name only, who appear on government payrolls yet have never set their foot in any classroom. SNTE 22 demand the regular incorporation of 3,000 people, yet refuse to accept any auditing of these and their credentials. How many of these are now blocking downtown Oaxaca?
Moreover: What will be the financial cost to Oaxaca, on of the poorest states in Mexico, and what will the future cost of again depriving students of their eduction?
Another shot fired in IFE's internal war: Comptroller General's salary
Things are stormy in Mexico's electoral institute, Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE), these days. IFE is still three councilors short, given the Chamber of Deputies' failure to agree on three new replacements, and various reports have been flying around in misuse of funds, most recently when IFE allegedly paid more than five times the market value for a building.
The latter issue, and other possible irregularities was raised by IFE's comptroller general, Gregorio Guerrero Pozas, who has also earlier denounced IFE functionaries of an attempt in 2009 to raise their salaries.
It goes perhaps without saying that reations with IFE president Leonardo Valdés have been less than harmonious. And now, another shot fired, yet this time against comptroller Guerrero: His very, very high salary. Indeed, as El Universal reports, he pulls home a hefty 200,985 pesos in monthly salary, or roughly $17,000 per month. Not only that: Guerrero's salary might be illegally high, as it even surpasses that of an IFE executive director.
I am not sure who is right or wrong here - whether Guerrero is on a misguided warpath against IFE, or whether Leonardo Valdés truly has been an incompetent president in administrative matters. Yet as Mexico approaches the 2012 federal election, and with crucial state elections barely two months away, I have a hard time seeing any positive fallout from IFE's internal war for Mexico's democracy.
The latter issue, and other possible irregularities was raised by IFE's comptroller general, Gregorio Guerrero Pozas, who has also earlier denounced IFE functionaries of an attempt in 2009 to raise their salaries.
It goes perhaps without saying that reations with IFE president Leonardo Valdés have been less than harmonious. And now, another shot fired, yet this time against comptroller Guerrero: His very, very high salary. Indeed, as El Universal reports, he pulls home a hefty 200,985 pesos in monthly salary, or roughly $17,000 per month. Not only that: Guerrero's salary might be illegally high, as it even surpasses that of an IFE executive director.
I am not sure who is right or wrong here - whether Guerrero is on a misguided warpath against IFE, or whether Leonardo Valdés truly has been an incompetent president in administrative matters. Yet as Mexico approaches the 2012 federal election, and with crucial state elections barely two months away, I have a hard time seeing any positive fallout from IFE's internal war for Mexico's democracy.
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