Mexico: 80 percent of murders in 162 municipalities

Here's an excellent graphic from an accompanying article in El Universal, detailing not only where most of the murders happen, but also what internal cartel wars they are largely a product of:

(Click here for high-resolution PDF).

The vast majority of deaths are the result of fights between the Sinaloa cartel and its rivals.

PRI president Moreira in trouble: Coahuila debt scandal expands

I've written on the Coahuila's massively expanded debt under ex-governor Humberto Moreira Valdés, now PRI president, before (e.g. here and here). As it stands, the current debt is 32 billion pesos - up from only 200 million  when Moreira took office. The figures are shocking in themselves, yet now a new scandal is brewing that speaks of clear illegalities: that the Moreira government falsified documents given to its creditors where it pretended the state congress had approved of the contraction of new loans.

These are really serious offenses, and might land Moreira in trouble. Already there are reports that Enrique Peña Nieto, 2012 front runner, is quietly distancing himself from his own party president. One particularly recommended read is today's column by Jorge Zepeda Patterson in El Universal, where he outlines how Moreira has even been removed as head of important negotiations, such as Beatriz Paredes taking over talks with the ministry of finance over financial transfers to the states.

Watch for this growing scandal, and whether the two "golden boys" of the misnamed "new PRI" will be able to ride it off.