Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Vicente Fox, a "pathological clown" - and a quote of the day

Former president Vicente Fox has been rambling on in the media the past days, shooting off in all directions. He's criticized the Federal Electoral Institute, and (there's much right in his criticism) for its arguably excessive regulation of primary debates, but as IFE pointedly shot back, Fox should truly keep his mouth shut when it comes to anything related to IFE - after all, his blatant intervention in the 2006 election was much of the cause for the 2007-8 electoral reform in the first place.

Then, he has the guts to sling dirt on Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, three-time presidential candidate and founder of the PRD, arguing that giving the Senate's Belisario Domínguez order to him would degrade its value.

I'm a longtime critic of Cárdenas for many reasons, but let us put things in perspective: This is a man who constantly fought for democracy, always firm (or rigid) in his convictions, and whose ardent opposition to the PRI dictatorship opened up political space for clowns like Fox to become a governor of Guanajuato, and then president, in the first place. To hear Fox, someone who blatantly sought to debase Mexico's institutions through launching the amazingly idiotic impeachment process against Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2005, with the admitted purpose of barring him from the 2006 presidential election, almost defies belief, hadn't it been for the fact that we are now well accustomed to Fox' many utterly stupid comments, which seems to multiply by each passing year since he left the presidency.

I find PRD president Jesús Zambrano's characterization of Vicente Fox as a "pathological clown" quite accurate.

PRI's Senator Francisco Labastida, the opponent of Fox and Cárdenas in the 2000 presidential election, and one of the absolutely more reasonable PRI legislators, said in a response to Fox's verbal diarrhea:

"Again he lost the golden opportunity to shut the hell up."

Quote of the day.

Make no mistake: Manlio Fabio Beltrones IS going for PRI's nomination

Amidst throngs of rumors that Manlio Fabio Beltrones is not really serious about seeking the PRI's nomination, given the enormous advantage/advance enjoyed by Peña Nieto, and is really only using a possible candidacy to extract concessions from the former Mexico State governor, he has recently made it clear, such as to the usually very well-informed Bajo reserva column in El Universal that, come hell or high water, he is serious about trying to get PRI's nomination.

Wonderful news, on so many levels.

A reasonable Green Party initiative: To ban bull fighting in Mexico City

That the Mexican "Green Party" presents a reasonable proposal is a remarkably rare event, but that ought to be celebrated nonetheless: Together with the PRI, they suggest banning bullfighting in Mexico City.

I agree. I was raised on a farm and don't try to come between me an a bife the chorizo, but bull fighting, beyond history and traditions,  is cruelty to animals, no matter how you put it.

It's not the first time they've presented this initiative, and it might finally pass with PRD backing.
Good. Ban it. Look to Barcelona.