This is truly some inconsequential news, but it is too hard to resist commenting on it. In Chetumal, capital of the state of Quintana Roo, the state DIF (a social assistance association of sorts) held a raffle, where the prizes included a car and a house. Quintana Roo is headed by Governor Félix González Canto (PRI); Chetumal is headed by Mayor Andrés Ruiz Morcillo.
You'd never guess who won the lottery... the car and the house go to.... the children of governor González Canto and Mayor Ruiz Morcillo! Now isn't that just extraordinary; what are the odds of this?!
Pretty damn high it turns out, especially if the notary in charge of the raffle is the sister-in-law of the government secretary.
Pinche ladrones sinvergüenzas, que chinguen a su madre - why do you even bother - steal it outright and spare us the trouble.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Chinese government-orchestrated repression in Mexico City?
Quite an unusual piece of news: Senator René Arce accused employees of the Cuauhtémoc borough in Mexico City of harassing practitioners of Falun Gong, following a request by the Chinese embassy.
It seems the embassy had sought to pay some local political boss to harass the religious group; Most Mexicans have very likely never heard of the Falun Gong; this brutal and stupid attack, seemingly ordered by the embassy, will not only create more awareness of the group, but further expose the authoritarianism of the Chinese.
It seems the embassy had sought to pay some local political boss to harass the religious group; Most Mexicans have very likely never heard of the Falun Gong; this brutal and stupid attack, seemingly ordered by the embassy, will not only create more awareness of the group, but further expose the authoritarianism of the Chinese.
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas honored by Notre Dame University
Three-time presidential candidate and PRD founder Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas was honored by Notre Dame University Wednesday, for his leadership in democracy promotion. Cárdenas received the Prize for Distinguished Public Service from the university, which lauded him as a "statesman and defender of democracy." Hard to argue against that.
Cárdenas used the occasion to call for the replacement of neoliberlism with an economic project that emphasises growth with equity. He also called for replacement of the army in law enforcement by an elite police corps especially designed to fight organized crime.
Cárdenas used the occasion to call for the replacement of neoliberlism with an economic project that emphasises growth with equity. He also called for replacement of the army in law enforcement by an elite police corps especially designed to fight organized crime.
TEPJF verdict rejects Xóchitl Gálvez' complaint: Hidalgo election to be valid
Finally, the TEPJF, Mexico's highest electoral tribunal, presented a verdict regarding Xóchitl Gálvez' major complaint against the Hidalgo gubernatorial election of July 2010: The tribunal rejected it as unfounded.
While TEPJF has yet to rule on another complaint lodged by Gálvez against winning candidate José Francisco Olvera, this pretty much settles the issue, as it is highly unlikely now that the Hidalgo election will not end in the outcome of Olvera belatedly assuming the governorship.
Specifically, Olvera was accused of a false start - of illegally jump starting his campaign for governor by holding a mass rally in a bullring. Yet the judges ruled that as this was technically only for PRI supporters, it did not amount to actually campaigning. The judges also rejected two more complaints on use of government resources to promote the candidate, and "black propaganda," thought the "false start" complaint was Gálvez' most important card.
Note that Gálvez' political trajectory has hardly come to an end or even slowed down; she will likely be a mayoral candidate in the upcoming Hidalgo state elections. Then, many see her even in Los Pinos.
While TEPJF has yet to rule on another complaint lodged by Gálvez against winning candidate José Francisco Olvera, this pretty much settles the issue, as it is highly unlikely now that the Hidalgo election will not end in the outcome of Olvera belatedly assuming the governorship.
Specifically, Olvera was accused of a false start - of illegally jump starting his campaign for governor by holding a mass rally in a bullring. Yet the judges ruled that as this was technically only for PRI supporters, it did not amount to actually campaigning. The judges also rejected two more complaints on use of government resources to promote the candidate, and "black propaganda," thought the "false start" complaint was Gálvez' most important card.
Note that Gálvez' political trajectory has hardly come to an end or even slowed down; she will likely be a mayoral candidate in the upcoming Hidalgo state elections. Then, many see her even in Los Pinos.
More on Oaxaca disturbances: Who's the aggressor, Cué or SNTE section 22?
In Oaxaca, the "dissident" Sección 22 of the SNTE teachers union, which was engaged in violent clashes with the police, arranged a march through the streets of Oaxaca city that according to its own reports drew 70,000 (according to police 20,000), and demanded an apology from governor Gabino Cué, and the resignation of three members of his cabinet.
The demands were ostensibly due to the violent attack on Section 22 during President Felipe Calderón's visit here two days ago, where 20 people were injured, including 15 police.
Repeat: Out of 20 injured, three quarters were police, which were violently attacked by the "teachers.
I put this in quotation marks as it is well known, as Carlos Marín also notes today, a big chunk of them have never set foot in a classroom yet remain on the payrolls of the state of Oaxaca - a state that, to be sure, ranks near the bottom in terms of educational achievement. Yesterday's march certainly didn't help in this regard: Given that their teachers were busy marching, school was canceled yesterday for Oaxaca's 1.2 million students.
Be that as it may: I also noted another story on the violent clashes demonstrators-police, from Milenio. In a rough translation, here is a section of it that I found particularly telling:
The demands were ostensibly due to the violent attack on Section 22 during President Felipe Calderón's visit here two days ago, where 20 people were injured, including 15 police.
Repeat: Out of 20 injured, three quarters were police, which were violently attacked by the "teachers.
I put this in quotation marks as it is well known, as Carlos Marín also notes today, a big chunk of them have never set foot in a classroom yet remain on the payrolls of the state of Oaxaca - a state that, to be sure, ranks near the bottom in terms of educational achievement. Yesterday's march certainly didn't help in this regard: Given that their teachers were busy marching, school was canceled yesterday for Oaxaca's 1.2 million students.
Be that as it may: I also noted another story on the violent clashes demonstrators-police, from Milenio. In a rough translation, here is a section of it that I found particularly telling:
The event that was scheduled with President Calderón at the Government Palace lasted barely half an hour. At that time, the head of state public security, Marco Tulio Lopez, tried to mediate, but was attacked. He carried a shield and tried to get close to have a dialogue, but he was disarmed and beaten. Protesters covered with scarves seized and held him. His bodyguards tried to rescue him, which started a second clash that left more injured, including the former member of APPO, Marcelino Coache. During the clash the teachers took three policewomen hostage, who were moved to one of their union headquarters. Later they were rescued by police. Some police cars were destroyed, and a bus was burned.Azael Santiago Chepi, head of Section 22, argued that their demonstration on Tuesday was pacific, but that they were attacked by the police. With three police hurt to every wounded teacher, for being school teachers, they sure knew how to defend themselves.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
New Oaxaca disturbances: The smell of a rat
Something doesn't add up in Oaxaca.
Yesterday, teachers of the dissident Section 22 of the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE), clashed with federal and state police in Oaxaca city, site of a visit by President Felipe Calderón. Notably, the teachers (if that is what they are) loudly attacked the government of Gabino Cué for its "aggression," and declared it would launch a strike, blockades, "take" and occupy the government house, and so forth.
This just doesn't make sense. This rush to denounce Gabino Cué smells of a rat. For one, most of the police were federal, and were there due to Calderón's visit. To pin the tag of "depressor" on Cué seems really out of place.
Second, yesterday I watched Milenio TV, a very decent canal of live Mexican television news (if you can stand the usual sexism of Mexican TV: Weather ladies dressed like prostitutes). From these images, rather than a group of peaceful demonstrators being attacked by cruel police, the picture actually looked quite the opposite: The police were cowering behind shields, while very aggressive demonstrators were attacking them, hurling objects, and setting police and other cars on fire, and including a huge bus.
I don't mean in any way to downplay the very serious and recurrent issue of police brutality, especially from the Federal police and the EMP, the presidential guard, which has been on display far too often. In this case, the demonstrators might, for instance, well have been angered by previous police actions. But from what I saw in the televised images from Milenio, SNTE Sección 22 simply looked ready for a fight.
While their anger against Calderón would seem to stem from the recent decree that allows tax deduction for tuition for private schools - in effect, a subsidy of the middle and upper class - it seems to me the teacher union was simply too eager to take on the state government, which, as it were, only weeks ago declared it would eliminate the so-called aviadores from the state's pay rolls, or "teachers" who are teachers in name only yet still draw a salary from the state.
In Oaxaca, then, I think I smell a rat.
Yesterday, teachers of the dissident Section 22 of the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE), clashed with federal and state police in Oaxaca city, site of a visit by President Felipe Calderón. Notably, the teachers (if that is what they are) loudly attacked the government of Gabino Cué for its "aggression," and declared it would launch a strike, blockades, "take" and occupy the government house, and so forth.
This just doesn't make sense. This rush to denounce Gabino Cué smells of a rat. For one, most of the police were federal, and were there due to Calderón's visit. To pin the tag of "depressor" on Cué seems really out of place.
Second, yesterday I watched Milenio TV, a very decent canal of live Mexican television news (if you can stand the usual sexism of Mexican TV: Weather ladies dressed like prostitutes). From these images, rather than a group of peaceful demonstrators being attacked by cruel police, the picture actually looked quite the opposite: The police were cowering behind shields, while very aggressive demonstrators were attacking them, hurling objects, and setting police and other cars on fire, and including a huge bus.
I don't mean in any way to downplay the very serious and recurrent issue of police brutality, especially from the Federal police and the EMP, the presidential guard, which has been on display far too often. In this case, the demonstrators might, for instance, well have been angered by previous police actions. But from what I saw in the televised images from Milenio, SNTE Sección 22 simply looked ready for a fight.
While their anger against Calderón would seem to stem from the recent decree that allows tax deduction for tuition for private schools - in effect, a subsidy of the middle and upper class - it seems to me the teacher union was simply too eager to take on the state government, which, as it were, only weeks ago declared it would eliminate the so-called aviadores from the state's pay rolls, or "teachers" who are teachers in name only yet still draw a salary from the state.
In Oaxaca, then, I think I smell a rat.
Mexico and the negation of reality
Early chroniclers of Mexico often noted that they had never been in a country where so often people spoke of the virtues and importance of following the law, yet that to such a remarkable degree went on to completely disregard it.
I find one parallel to this in the various interviews the past days with the PRI front runners to replace Enrique Peña Nieto as governor of Mexico: All deny the personal ambitions, as they are desperately jocking for positions behind the scenes, while they at the same time outwardly emphasize it really only is a case of what is best for the party and the state - no personal ambitions here!
Latest in the line of denial: Ricardo Aguilar, head of the PRI in the state:
I find one parallel to this in the various interviews the past days with the PRI front runners to replace Enrique Peña Nieto as governor of Mexico: All deny the personal ambitions, as they are desperately jocking for positions behind the scenes, while they at the same time outwardly emphasize it really only is a case of what is best for the party and the state - no personal ambitions here!
Latest in the line of denial: Ricardo Aguilar, head of the PRI in the state:
Q: "Would you like to be a candidate?Right.
A: "It is not a personal issue, as I have said before. At this point it will be whomever best suits the party, and best suits Mexico State."
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