Lázaro Cárdenas Batel, son of Cuauhtémoc, grandson of El Tata, finally declared he will not be a candidate for the PRD presidency. In the cardenasspeak typical of his father, it is far from clear exactly why he will not do so. He mentioned his commitment to his current visiting position in the U.S., though that is hardly a new factor that came up. Moreover, he does, in an interview with El Universal, state that he will back Encinas in Mexico State, so presumably he will return well in time for the July 4 election there.
Two theses that have been put forth:
1) Batel had demanded at least a majority of positions on the PRD executive committee, and didn't get it (can't find the link right now for this one)
2) According to the Transcendió off-the-record column in Milenio, he did not get a clear commitment from the supporters of Andrés Manuel López Obrador that they would respect the institutional rules of the game in the party - above all, of course, with regards to the future presidential candidacy.
Note that these two unofficial reasons are, to be sure, not mutually exclusive.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
French diplomacy not what it was: Diplomatic spat reflects poorly on France
Everything about the "Cassez Case," that of French citizen Florence Cassez, arrested and sentenced to 60 years in prison for being a member of a gang of kidnappers, has been out of the ordinary.
Cassez, to recall, was captured in 2005 in an operation seemingly shown live on TV - seemingly, as it was later discovered that the operation was merely reenacted and that Cassez and the kidnapping gang had been apprehended two days earlier! It was quite possibly one of the stupidest acts carried out by Genaro García Luna's SSP or secretariat of public security, as it put the whole case into question: Was Cassez merely the stupidly naive girlfriend of the head of the kidnapping gang, or was she an active part of the gang's activities?
Mexican authorities argued the second version, and Cassez got 60 years. On Friday, Mexican judges rejected her lawyer's argument that her conviction was tainted by the authorities.
Without knowing anything of her guilt or lack thereof, France's reaction seems, to put it mildly, quite a stunning overreaction: Michèle Alliot-Marie, the French foreign minister strongly criticized the court's decision, calling it "deplorable," and threatened, as did other senior French officials, to boycott or cancel all cultural events involving Mexico in France, which was, irony of ironies, to be celebrating the "Year of Mexico." It seems, to put it mildly, an overreaction, a remarkably strong political offensive against the decision of another country's judiciary.
In Mexico, notably, prominent anti-kidnapping NGOs such as Isabel Miranda de Wallace''s Alto al Secuestro, Alejandro Martí's México SOS and María Elena Morera's Causa en Común, are convinced of Cassez' culpability and call on the French President, the mercurial Nicolas Sarkozy, to stay out of the case.
Cassez, to recall, was captured in 2005 in an operation seemingly shown live on TV - seemingly, as it was later discovered that the operation was merely reenacted and that Cassez and the kidnapping gang had been apprehended two days earlier! It was quite possibly one of the stupidest acts carried out by Genaro García Luna's SSP or secretariat of public security, as it put the whole case into question: Was Cassez merely the stupidly naive girlfriend of the head of the kidnapping gang, or was she an active part of the gang's activities?
Mexican authorities argued the second version, and Cassez got 60 years. On Friday, Mexican judges rejected her lawyer's argument that her conviction was tainted by the authorities.
Without knowing anything of her guilt or lack thereof, France's reaction seems, to put it mildly, quite a stunning overreaction: Michèle Alliot-Marie, the French foreign minister strongly criticized the court's decision, calling it "deplorable," and threatened, as did other senior French officials, to boycott or cancel all cultural events involving Mexico in France, which was, irony of ironies, to be celebrating the "Year of Mexico." It seems, to put it mildly, an overreaction, a remarkably strong political offensive against the decision of another country's judiciary.
In Mexico, notably, prominent anti-kidnapping NGOs such as Isabel Miranda de Wallace''s Alto al Secuestro, Alejandro Martí's México SOS and María Elena Morera's Causa en Común, are convinced of Cassez' culpability and call on the French President, the mercurial Nicolas Sarkozy, to stay out of the case.
René Bejarano shows his movement's muscles.
Bejarano's back for sure - indeed, I am not entirely sure one can even argue he was really "gone."
While René Bejarano received a heavy blow following the video scandals of 2004, where a tape of Bejarano was shown on national TV where AMLO's personal secretary stuffed bags full of cash in illegal contributions, he simply relegated nominal control over his faction in the PRD, known now as Izquierda Democrática Nacional (IDN), to his wife Dolores Padierna, one of PRD's most controversial politicians (even AMLO vetoed her cnadidacy for a senator seat in 2006), who like her husband has been embroiled in a long list of scandals the past two decades or so.
Regardless, Bejarano kept somewhat quiet and keeping a relatively low profile, until the formation of a "new" "social movement, " Movimiento Nacional por la Esperanza (MNE) or the national movement of hope.
This weekend, MNE held a rally at the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City, even drawing in high-profile AMLO loyalists such as national deputies of the PT, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo and Gerardo Fernández Noroña, and senator Ricardo Monreal. The latter two are currently fighting over AMLO's blessing for a Mexico City mayoral candidacy.
Note, though, that also high-profile backers of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard shared the platform with the disgraced Bejarano, such as José Ángel Ávila, secretary of government, and Alejandra Barrales, head of the city legislature. Both of them as well want to be Mexico City mayor, and as such are seeking to woo Bejarano and his MNE, a clientelist, top-down "social movement" simulacrum. So, to be sure, do AMLO and Ebrard: Both seek the 2012 presidency, and Bejarano will sell his support to the highest bidder.
While René Bejarano received a heavy blow following the video scandals of 2004, where a tape of Bejarano was shown on national TV where AMLO's personal secretary stuffed bags full of cash in illegal contributions, he simply relegated nominal control over his faction in the PRD, known now as Izquierda Democrática Nacional (IDN), to his wife Dolores Padierna, one of PRD's most controversial politicians (even AMLO vetoed her cnadidacy for a senator seat in 2006), who like her husband has been embroiled in a long list of scandals the past two decades or so.
Regardless, Bejarano kept somewhat quiet and keeping a relatively low profile, until the formation of a "new" "social movement, " Movimiento Nacional por la Esperanza (MNE) or the national movement of hope.
This weekend, MNE held a rally at the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City, even drawing in high-profile AMLO loyalists such as national deputies of the PT, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo and Gerardo Fernández Noroña, and senator Ricardo Monreal. The latter two are currently fighting over AMLO's blessing for a Mexico City mayoral candidacy.
Note, though, that also high-profile backers of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard shared the platform with the disgraced Bejarano, such as José Ángel Ávila, secretary of government, and Alejandra Barrales, head of the city legislature. Both of them as well want to be Mexico City mayor, and as such are seeking to woo Bejarano and his MNE, a clientelist, top-down "social movement" simulacrum. So, to be sure, do AMLO and Ebrard: Both seek the 2012 presidency, and Bejarano will sell his support to the highest bidder.
Family International, Christian pedophile sect, hiding in Nuevo León. Will authorities act?
La Jornada has a story in today's newspaper that is almost to the point of defying belief, had one not been so hardened, for lack of better word, by previous pedophile scandals predominantly in the catholic church:
Santiago, Nuevo León, is the sanctuary of Sara Kelley, real name Prisca Kelley, the author of what goes under the name of the "bible of pedophilia," a 762-page manual for pederasts. Kelley, a U.S. citizen, is a founder of "Children of God," known today as "Family International," a religious sect that apparently combines its version of christianity with the advocacy of pedophilia. Neighbors in Santiago are now warning that this sect is not only harboring Kelley, wanted for pederasty in several countries, but is continuing is "preaching" in the area, trying to ensnare more children for abuse.
The obvious question: Why aren't Nuevo León authorities immediately arresting Kelley and the perverted psychopaths of the "Children of God? The La Jornada article is not for the faint of heart; one can only hope it will draw more attention to this deranged cult and warn those in the area.
(Here's a Rolling Stones article on the Family International, from 2005)
Santiago, Nuevo León, is the sanctuary of Sara Kelley, real name Prisca Kelley, the author of what goes under the name of the "bible of pedophilia," a 762-page manual for pederasts. Kelley, a U.S. citizen, is a founder of "Children of God," known today as "Family International," a religious sect that apparently combines its version of christianity with the advocacy of pedophilia. Neighbors in Santiago are now warning that this sect is not only harboring Kelley, wanted for pederasty in several countries, but is continuing is "preaching" in the area, trying to ensnare more children for abuse.
The obvious question: Why aren't Nuevo León authorities immediately arresting Kelley and the perverted psychopaths of the "Children of God? The La Jornada article is not for the faint of heart; one can only hope it will draw more attention to this deranged cult and warn those in the area.
(Here's a Rolling Stones article on the Family International, from 2005)
PRD in Mexico City rejects 2012 PAN-PRD alliance for city mayor
Hardly a surprise, yet now it's official: The PRD's council in the federal district rejected a possible PAN-PRD alliance in Mexico City for the 2012 mayoral election. The PRD's council in Mexico City/Federal District is dominated by AMLO loyalists, but seems quite united nonetheless that the only possible alliance behind a candidate Mexico City, the main bastion of the PRD, is with the PT and Convergencia.
The PRD-DF also presented a 10-point strategic plan for 2011 to promote the party vote and build the organization ahead of 2012, notably also including the point "Support the actions of the Legitimate Government and the Movimiento de Renovación Nacional (Morena)," the latest name for AMLO's movement. Reports are circulating that Valencia Guzmán, the PRD's secretary general in Mexico City and regarded as close to Ebrard, is complaining that PRD-DF is openly backing AMLO's movement, presumably also materially - and, by extension, AMLO's 2012 presidential bid, to the detriment of Ebrard.
In my eyes, however, the rupture between Ebrard and AMLO has already happened.
The PRD-DF also presented a 10-point strategic plan for 2011 to promote the party vote and build the organization ahead of 2012, notably also including the point "Support the actions of the Legitimate Government and the Movimiento de Renovación Nacional (Morena)," the latest name for AMLO's movement. Reports are circulating that Valencia Guzmán, the PRD's secretary general in Mexico City and regarded as close to Ebrard, is complaining that PRD-DF is openly backing AMLO's movement, presumably also materially - and, by extension, AMLO's 2012 presidential bid, to the detriment of Ebrard.
In my eyes, however, the rupture between Ebrard and AMLO has already happened.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Ronald Reagan and Mexico
In line with Counterpunch's corrective, via MexFiles, to the nauseatingly hagiographic portrayals of Ronald Reagan these days - the excellent recent pieces in The Real News (search "Reagan") another exception - here's one oft-forgotten fun fact on Reagan and Mexico:
Who was the first to congratulate Carlos Salinas after the highly fraudulent presidential election of 1988, calling personally to recognize the outcome?
Reagan was.
Yes, despite highly substantiated claims of fraud, including the embarrassingly blatant "collapse" of the new and vaunted computerized voting system, as well as the brutal murder of opponents of the regime on the eve of the election, Reagan didn't even bother to hear the opposition out - and, lest we forget, that included both the left and right, including the conservative PAN - yet immediately gave aid and comfort, as it were, to what was when all is said and done an increasingly brutal and dictatorial regime that did all it could to cover up that it had either lost the election, or certainly won it by less than 50 percent (that's what Manuel Camacho told me, at least, but fact remains we'll never know).
I won't jump too far into the pitfalls of counter factual history here, but when it comes to Mexico's democratization process, it seems fair to me to posit that Reagan by congratulating Salinas that very night, did his part to kick the feet under Mexico's democracy promoters.
Who was the first to congratulate Carlos Salinas after the highly fraudulent presidential election of 1988, calling personally to recognize the outcome?
Reagan was.
Yes, despite highly substantiated claims of fraud, including the embarrassingly blatant "collapse" of the new and vaunted computerized voting system, as well as the brutal murder of opponents of the regime on the eve of the election, Reagan didn't even bother to hear the opposition out - and, lest we forget, that included both the left and right, including the conservative PAN - yet immediately gave aid and comfort, as it were, to what was when all is said and done an increasingly brutal and dictatorial regime that did all it could to cover up that it had either lost the election, or certainly won it by less than 50 percent (that's what Manuel Camacho told me, at least, but fact remains we'll never know).
I won't jump too far into the pitfalls of counter factual history here, but when it comes to Mexico's democratization process, it seems fair to me to posit that Reagan by congratulating Salinas that very night, did his part to kick the feet under Mexico's democracy promoters.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Ortega calls out Cárdenas and López Obrador for hypocrisy on electoral alliances
In a lengthy interview with El Universal, which makes for highly interesting reading, PRD national president Jesús Ortega has this to say regarding the electoral alliances the PRD under his leadership made with the PAN:
Here is where they think that one may lose one's principles making alliances of this nature. But el ingeniero (Cuauhtémoc) Cárdenas didn't lose his principles when we made an early alliance with the PAN in San Luis Potosi. Andrés Manuel (López Obrador) didn't lose his when we made early alliances with sectors of the PRI. I did not initiate the alliances with PAN; the first were in San Luis, Durango, Coahuila, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Chiapas. Since when did the PAN became a right-wing party -since I became president of the PRD? That is ridiculous. Andrés says that the PAN was formed to fight general (Lázaro) Cárdenas, yes, but why can't he remember when we made an alliance with Salvador Nava, who was from the PAN, and why doesn't he remember when he celebrated the triumph of Pablo Salazar or Toño Echevarria? [PAN-PRD alliance candidates in Chiapas and Nayarit]Because that would completely contradict his discourse.
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