Biden the diplomat

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden is meeting tomorrow with Mexico's presidential president, first with Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), then Enrique Peña Nieto, then Josefina Vázquez Mota.

Why in that order, you may ask?  From the White House,

the Vice President will also sit down with each of Mexico's three major party presidential candidates -- in alphabetical order, I might add -- to reaffirm the United States' commitment to respecting Mexico's democratic process in a totally impartial manner

Alphabetical order! Biden, the diplomat - whowoulda thunk!

Calderón's approval ratings now below Obama's

I see so many contradicting polls on Calderón's approval ratings that I take anything with a pail of salt, but this one is nonetheless interesting, as it begins with his inauguration: At 49 percent, from what I've read recently, he has now been surpassed by Obama.

(I note this because a quote from George Grayson on how Obama could "only dream" of having Calderón's approval ratings stuck in mind. That was perhaps then, but this is now).

Milenio

Free speech or slander? Case of Anabel Hernández

An interesting case to be tried on free speech vs. unsubstantiated claims that may or may not be slander:
Journalist/writer Anabel Hernández, author of Señores del Narco, is facing a claim from former Attorney general and former head of the federal electoral institute of slanderous, false accusations.

Her book, among many other (and far more explosive claims), suggests Carpizo nabbed a big sum of money set aside for the hunt against El Chapo Guzmán. Yet the problem is only this: There seems to be very little concrete evidence for this rather incendiary claim, at least as offered in this book.

It is an interesting case as it raises some complicated yet crucial issues: To what an extent can a journalist really rely on what appears to be the lack of clear and concrete evidence, in order to make very strong accusations against public figures? I haven't read her book, so I have no idea of the merits of these claims, but reading an excerpt in Proceso this truly struck me as very sensationalist work, which, if it had the evidence to back up its many other claims, should really have made an impact on the political scene. And I don't think it has.

On principle I think the bar should be set very, very high for what a public official will have to endure. Yet should there be no limits at all on what s/he can be accused of, especially if, it appears, the evidence is very thin?

I am trying to put myself in the shoes of Carpizo, who I think is generally pretty well regarded. If he never took any of this money, he would naturally be interested in clearing his name - and, for good and for bad,  it seems the burden is on him to prove his innocence - and how would he do this except by suing Hernández?

Perhaps he was dirty, but it seems to me when you make a very concrete claim, you should have some matching concrete evidence. I would be very interested in opinions from others familiar with her work and the case, in particular as I may well be wrong here.

AMLO, now with movie stars!

A great picture from La Jornada today: AMLO with Demián Bichir, the Oscar-nominated actor from A Better Life. Bichir has stated his support for a left candidacy in 2012, which, from my point of view, makes absolutely sense.

La Jornada

Just what Jesus would have ordered

Ahead of Pope Benedict's visit to Guanajuato, Mexico:

Raúl Villegas, spokesperson for the Arcdiocese of León, said the municipality would be responsible for the rearrangement of  beggars, prostitutes and street vendors.

Yes, by all means - remove the beggars and prostitutes from the dear Pope's sight so as not to inconvenience him - just what Jesus would have done.

IFE's Lorenzo Córdova calls for calm on opinion polls

Lorenzo Córdova Vianello, one of the nine councilors of Mexico's federal electoral institute, called for political actors - candidates, public servants - to be "responsible" in their use of public opinion polls ahead of Mexico's 2012 election, and not "contaminate" the electoral enviroment.

I think that can safely be taken as a finger pointing at Felipe Calderón, who happened to display, proud as a rooster, a poll that showed PAN's candidate trailing by only a few percentage points. No other poll - none - has showed anything remotely close to these figures.

Córdova also drew attention to the "irresponsibility" of politicians pointing to dubious and made-to-fit polls, an increasing problem in Mexico. All parties should feel this criticism sting a bit.

(On another note: Lorenzo Córdova is a man to keep in mind for future higher offices. I have been reading much of his work recently, and most of it is very brilliant stuff. I don't think being an IFE councilor - as important and prestigious as that job is - will be the zenith of his career.)

Mexico "drug war" affecting 52 % of municipalities

While the violence, as is often pointed out, is concentrated in a far fewer number, Mexico's attorney general office PGR stated that the 1269 municipalities, or 52 percent, have nonetheless been directly affected by the government's fight against organized crime (and their own infighting), according to today's El Universal.

For instance, in 97 percent (!) of the municipalities in Morelos, there have been deaths directly attributed to the drug "war" debacle. Michoacán, "my" state for a range of reasons, have as well as stunning 95 percent of its municipalities as having experienced drug war murders.