"Go f*ck your mother" Guiness Record?

Mexicans' penchant for Guinness Records has long been noted by Jorge Castañeda and, with far more creative literary talent, Burro Hall.

Here's what I'll regard the most creative record attempt so far: In Jalisco, many are very happy to see Emilio González Márquez leave the governor's chair soon. In recalling his famous line to critics of his blatantly illegal tax payer-funded money gift to the ultra-reactionary church in the state -"Etilio" told them to "Go fuck your mothers" - the organization Consejo Estatal de Comerciantes y Prestadores de Servicios will arrange the "World's Largest Go-Fuck-Your-Mother" march in his honor.

Hat's off to creative collective efforts!

Source: 

Convocan a “megamentada de madre” contra el gobernador de Jalisco. Proceso online, June 22, 2012.

PRI appoints Aristóteles Sandoval as Jalisco governor candidate

In a meeting of its national committee, the PRI, through its old-style mechanism of the dedazo, simply appointed Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz as its candidate to be governor of Jalisco. Why bother with primaries?

Sandoval is currently the PRI mayor of Guadalajara, and despite the state being a PAN stronghold, does stand a real chance of winning Jalisco.

Gay unions in Jalisco: Conservative panista's 180 degree turn

Its a most welcome conversion (and not the kind that many ultra-conservative panistas have in mind):

Fernando Guzmán Pérez Peláez, regarded as one of the most ultra-conservative members of the Jalisco government, where he is government secretary, declared that he is in favor of legalizing gay marriage unions.

The same man, less than a year ago, was an active supporter of the ridiculous "gay conversion" movement.
What happened? Welcome news, regardless.

Next in line, the state governor, a drunken falangist who have stated that gays disgust him?

Emilio González Márquez well on his way to bankrupt Jalisco

The drunkard and foul-mouthed governor of Jalisco, Emilio González Márquez, is well on his way to bankrupting  the state of Jalisco. According to Milenio, which cites a report to the state congress, the state's debt has quadrupled to nearly 15 billion pesos - all in barely four years of "governing" the state.

I'll let the article speak for itself:

"The growth in liabilities of the state has not come solely from the procurement of new loans, but also for renegotiations of debts inherited by the governor, where he has favored the payment of interest, which means a growing burden on the state's finances, currently amounting to 1.9 billion pesos annually. To that amount must be added the 1.5 billion pesos more authorized by the congress for security purposes, and, the case it will be authorized, 5.612 billion more pesos which the governor has asked for, for various projects"

I do not think the end of González Márquez' government will be a happy one.

Dirty dealings in Mexico's National Forestry Commission?

Mexico's National Forestry Commission, Comisión Nacional Forestal (Conafor), has seen its budget increase 32-fold since its foundation in 2001 during the government of Vicente Fox. Its 2010 expenses stand at 6.57 billion pesos. All good and well, one might think, given Mexico's continued emphasis on reforestation and restoration of the country's forests.

However, Milenio has gotten access to a report by the organization's own comptroller, which strongly suggest that Conafor's procurement committee has drastically favored and overpaid some actors for tree plants and tree production. The report in particular signals business owners Carlos Urrea and Raúl Jiménez Michel, both from Jalisco and members of prominent PAN families from the state, as apparent beneficiaries of favoritism from Conafor - and its increased budget. One can only hope that a criminal investigation will be launched as well.

The disastrous misrule of Emilio González Márquez, governor of Jalisco

Admittedly we are talking about an impartial source here; the study is made by the PRD of Jalisco, an ardent opponent of the ultra-reactionary government of Emilio González .

Yet the report, put together by federal PRD deputies from Jalisco, is primarily based on reputable sources, including quantifiable indicators of e.g. health, education, crime, the environment, economic competitiveness, and unemployment and offers a very damning picture of González Márquez' government.

With a play on words, it is entitled, El desgobierno en Jalisco: Las verdaderas cifras, or the Misrule of Jalisco: The real figures. It is well worth your time.

Direct link for pdf download here.
Direct link for annoying flash presentation here.

Breakin' the law: Jalisco gov. Emilio González Márquez "illegal propaganda"

The general council of Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) declared that Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez broke the country's electoral law by turning ads announcing his "state of the state" into personal political propaganda. González Márquez, infamous for a range of drunken appearances and showering public money on the most arch-conservative sectors of the Catholic church, is also on a quixotic quest to gain the presidential nomination of PAN.

Given the rules under which IFE operates, however, it cannot penalize the governor with a fine, as no legislation exists that stipulates the actual penalty for public servants breaking the law, but IFE did send the case over to the Auditoría Superior of Jalisco state to revise the case and possibly sanction the governor. Don't hold your breath that it will. 

Enoé Uranga: Jalisco governor suffers from "grave problem of homophobia"

Federal deputy of the PRD, said it best: Governor  Emilio González Márquez of Jalisco is "suffering a grave problem of homophobia," and offered to facilitate a training course for the governor with CONAPRED, the Mexican National Council to Prevent Discrimination, in response to the Jalisco governor's slurs and sponsoring of "gay conversion" events.

PRI's  Jorge Carlos Ramírez Marín, president of the Chamber of Deputies, simply stated, "One cannot spend public money on whims," and said he will push for a federal audit by the Auditoría Superior de la Federación to determine the extent to which the Jalisco government has abused public funds for these and other events, which has made Governor Emilio González the laughing stock of the nation.

Excellent El Universal editorial on "gay conversions"

The Mexican media is finally giving more attention to the ludicrous and illegal practices of the Jalisco state government, led by the perennial drunkard Governor Emilio González Márquez, to help sponsor a "conference" of charlatans that purport to "heal" and "convert" gays - as if it were a mere matter of choice, or worse yet, a disease to be healed from. Jalisco's secretary of government, the crackpot Fernando Guzmán Pérez Peláez, has been accused of directly sponsoring the event with state funds, and is finally the subject of a criminal complaint filed by the state congress for diverting public money for a religious event. The case is front page news on El Universal today, which it rightfully should be.

In its editorial, the newspaper writes:

"Its been 30 years ago that homosexuality was taken off  the  list of diseases of the World Health Organization. Almost 10 years ago, the Mexican Constitution embodied in its Article 1, paragraph 3, the non-discrimination clause on grounds of sexual preference. The Supreme Court already upheld the same-sex marriages despite resistance from the government of Jalisco. From what argument can one rationally and reasonably prescribe as  'cure' a procedure that contravenes any universal human rights and verifiable knowledge?"

El Universal is far too generous. At this point in his tenure, no one should attribute any rationality or reason motivating the behavior of Emilio González Márquez's government. It lost control of the state house in 2009 due to his increasingly erratic behavior and poor job performance; it is now time to be held accountable to the law.

Great profile of Governor Emilio González Márquez of Jalisco

A highly recommended read: Ignacio Alvarado Álvarez of El Universal profiles the ultra-conservative, ultra-polarizing, ultra-incompetent, ultra-drunk Governor of Jalisco, Emilio González Márquez, and  his political trajectory.

The title of the article: "The Tracing of an Ultra-Conservative Government."

Jalisco congress summons Governor Emilio González Márquez to explain budget

Governor Emilio González Márquez has some explaining to do. The Jalisco state congress voted 20-0, with 15 abstentions, to summon the governor to appear in congress to explain his projected budget for 2011. 


The case is this: Last year's final budget had an extra sum of 10 billion pesos of income that had not been linked to concrete budgeted expenditures. That means in practice that the governor had a bunch of extra money available that nobody knows how or where was spent, according to PRD legislator Raúl Vargas López. 


This is quite troubling. The governor has been known in the past to have tried on several occasion to shower public money on the church and dubious private interests, with little accountability or even in direct breach of the law. Moreover, Jalisco is struggling with funds shortages for everything from underfunded education to medical facilities, and it now appears the governor for the previous year drastically underestimated the state's income, which allowed him to use the surplus as he saw fit. 


Emilio González Márquez, a foul-mouthed alcoholic, is a gift that keeps on giving, and I predict his government will come tumbling down far before his term is due, either due to his impeachment, or through new scandals yet to see the light of day. He will now legally have to appear before the state congress to explain this discrepancy, which quite likely is only the tip of the iceberg regarding the financial irregularities of his administration that will eventually be uncovered. 

The impeachment papers of Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez

The impeachment papers filed with Chamber of Deputies by PRI federal deputies from Jalisco, can be accessed here. Thanks to cyberpueblo.com, a social-political networking site that contains a wealth of information and prime material, including eye witness reports and videos, regarding the now-infamous case of Tenacatita beach, which lead to the impeachment petition being launched against Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez days ago. 

Impeachment! PRI delivers on its threat against Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez

PRI finally delivered on its threat to seek impeachment against Emilio González Márquez, and filed a petition in the federal chamber of deputies to have the Jalisco governor removed from power for a range of impeachable offenses, including violating the Constitution as well as various federal and criminal laws.


The issue at hand: A social conflict regarding the Tenacatita beach in Jalisco in the municipality of La Huerta. A group of villagers were kicked off property adjacent to the beach, as the surrounding property has allegedly been sold to a company that wants to turn it into a a beach resort. The case appears to be as nasty as it sounds: The locals have been harrassed, beaten, received death threats, by both private security guards as well as local Jalisco state police backing them, in order to force them off the land they say is theirs and noone's to sell.


Federal deputies from PRI, such as David Hernández Pérez and Salvador Caro Cabrera, wants to have the governor impeached. In a seeming "nailing-Al-Capone-for-tax-fraud" maneuver, they argue the governor has blocked a federal highway that gives access to the disputed property, violating free transit, to the beach, which the Mexican Constitution establishes as a public good. While future investigations of the alcoholic governor will likely show up much worse malfeasance than this (particularly showering taxpayers' money on Catholic church ,which in Jalisco is remarkably reactionary), this one may actually well come to a fruition: Reportedly, Francisco Rojas, who is head of PRI's huge parliamentary group, is backing the petition of the Jalisco legislators.


Notably, less than two months ago, the lower house of Congress voted unamimously to demand that the Jalisco government follow recommendations by the state's Human Rights Commission) to remove police forces, unblock the road, and end its siege and allow free access to La Huerta. The governor's response? Completely ignoring it.


Should this really come to be - should governor González Márquez' arrogance finally take him down - there will be some serious celebration by your truly fueled by the finest product of Jalisco - a state that so much deserves a better government than its current foul-mouthed drunkard.

Jalisco gov denies sponsoring "gay conversion" - yet attacks opponent as "intolerant"

The state government of Jalisco, far too often the laughingstock of the nation, in a statement denies sponsoring the "gay conversion" event to be held there in November, arguing that the use of the official logo of the government in material promoting the event was due to it being used without permission, as the conference will be attended by Jesús Manuel Fonseca, of the state General Coordination of Social Affairs. In the same, however, the state government offers no explanation why Fonseca should attend such a quack event in the first place, but rather lauds him as an internationally "accredited psychologist." Instead, the government, rather than acknowledging the local PRD deputy Raúl Vargas López for having discovered what suuuuurely must be the unauthorized use of the state logo, denounce him as an "intolerant" - for standing up to the charlatan fearmongers that promote the nonsense of "gay conversion" through prayer and snake oil. 

De-homofy thyself! Jalisco does it again: State sponsors "gay conversion" events

Raúl Vargas, local deputy for the PRD in Jalisco, is denouncing the state administration and secretary of state Fernando Guzmán Pérez Peláez for embezzlement. Why? Because the secretariat he heads is sponsoring the event Camino a la Castidad - yes indeed, the "Path Toward Chastity," which has as "motivational speakers" characters such as Paul Check of "Courage International" and Richard Cohen, an "ex-gay" and guru of "conversion therapy," which purports to convert gays through prayer and meditation. 


By sponsoring the event, the state government secretariat is not only embezzling tax payers' money, who given Jalisco's many social problems would most likely rather have their money spent on police, schools, and hospitals rather than this idiocy; it is also fomenting discrimination of gays and, of course, utterly violating the separation between church and state. Richard Cohen is a psychotic charlatan who is, among others, linked to the 2009 Anti-Homosexuality Bill of Uganda, or "Kill Gays bill" as it was quickly known. Now, the state government of Emilio González Márquez, is giving these hate mongers an additional platform - and  yet again making the state the laughingstock of Mexico. 


Poor Mexican gays, so far from god, and so close to Jalisco.

For the record: Panistas also have a sense of humor!

A group of young panistas or members of the ruling Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) symbolically "closed" the Government House of the state governor, Emilio González Márquez, distributing stickers with the face of the governor, who is an ultra-conservative and has gained much notoriety for appearing drunk in public, and the slogan, "If you drink, don't govern, " and "PAN, yes - El Yunque, no"
Who ever said the panistas don't have a sense of humor!

More importantly, it is a reflection of what to me seems to be a growing internal PAN divide between more  younger cadres, pro-business yet quite socially liberal, and the ultra-conservative elements in the party linked to the secret catholic society El Yunque. 

Emilio González Márquez, governor of Jalisco, a gift that keeps giving

Emilio González Márquez, governor of Jalisco, is on the offensive, and wants to ride the coattails of the Mexican Revolution like everyone else, despite his tenure as one of the absolute most right-wing governors of the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN): "I am a revolutionary, and a juarista," he declared yesterday in conference of newly elected PAN mayors. He is most decidedly not. As governor of Jalisco, he has preceded over, among many things, extremely reactionary education policies that includes an attack on sex education policies, and a very, very cozy relationship with the Mexican Church's most extremist, falangist elements, above his close friend (and, many have argued, his real boss), Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez. Among a rash of scandals, González Márquez was caught red handed a couple of years ago trying to pass off millions of pesos of tax payers money to pay for a sanctuary for cristero fighters, fanatical catholics who rebelled against the Mexican state in the 1920s - an attempt at counter revolution.

 No, there is absolutely nothing linking Emilio González Márquez to the Revolution; he is as counter-revolutionary as they come, and appears more far right than even El Chacal himself, the counterrevolutionary Victoriano Huerta who had Madero murdered.

If nothing else, the latest utterances of Emilio González Márquez, shows that the Mexican Revolution still is powerful enough to lead even the most counter-revolutionary of Mexico's governors to seek to link himself to it. In this case, it just won't work. 

A present for Emilio "Etilio" González Márquez: Dramamine and alcohol ed manual

Couldn't help but noting this one: Nearly 2,000 students from Universidad de Guadalajara's Centre of Health Sciences, as part of a larger protest against sitting Governor Emilio González Márquez and his refusal to hand over federal funds owed to the country's second most important university, left for the governor a present of a box of Dramamine, against nausea, and a leaflet on how to drink responsibly, the former present a response to the governor's statement that gay marriages disgust him/make him nauseous ("Me dan asquito"), the latter a reference to González Márquez' very serious problems with... well,  engaging in irate speeches and acts while drunk out of his mind. 


Poor Jalisco: Stuck with Etilio for three more years, until 2013. Does any clearer example exist in Mexico that the country would be well served with reducing the terms for state governors to a maximum of four years?

Cecilia Romero and the Dunning effect

David Dunning, a professor of psychology at Cornell University, and Justin Kruger, of New York University, are the brains behind the Kruger-Dunning Effect, which in all essence spells that most incompetent people are simply not even aware of how drastically incompetent they are, and consequently the cards are stacked against their learning from their mistakes. Unfortunately, society as a whole tend to pay their price for this illusory superiority.

Currently, I can think of no better example than Cecilia Romero, formerly of the  Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM). Following the Tamaulipas massacre of 72 migrants, she was finally forced out from the national migration institute, yet she almost literally had to be thrown out as she refused to leave. It was hardly the first time her job had been on line; she has been an utterly inefficient and incompetent leader, who only was able to cling on to her position thanks to her friendship with Señor Presidente, Felipe Calderón. 

Yet rather than quietly disappear and seek to leave her shameful tenure at the INM behind her, Romero is not only denying any responsibility for not doing enough to prevent the murder of these and countless other migrants, as well as an amazing rise in corruption within the INM, but is amazingly moving on with her previously declared intention to become the next party president of the PAN, the fourth declared candidate for the party presidency, yet one with a snowball's chance in hell to be elected by the PAN council. 

Yes, to paraphrase, Kruger-Dunning, some people are simply too dumb to realize how stupid they are.
Another case in point: Emilio "Etilio" González.

Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez disgusted by gays

Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez recently informed us that gay marriages "disgust" him. 
I am not really convinced that the moral credentials of a publicly elected governor who calls on his critics to "go fuck their mothers" warrant that Emilio González Márquez should opine on... well, anything.