Religious extremism in Puebla: Archbishop acts like fascist thugs

This is about as extreme as it gets, given that the bigotry is promoted by none less than the archdiocese of Puebla: In San Rafael Tlanalapan Wednesday, 50 catholic extremists gathered outside a christian evangelist chapel to threaten the worshipers with lynching(!). Why this anger and hatred? Because they want to construct a church in a predominantly catholic area.

Yet what is the response of the archbishop? To give full backing to Ascensión Benítez González, the priest leading the mob, deny that he is advocating any religious intolerance at all, but that the congregation is simply using its "freedom of expression."

This is the face of the archdiocese of Puebla in 2012: Clerical fascism.

PRD's senate faction demands freedom for arrested Veracruz twitterers

The PRD's senate group demanded the immediate release of the two persons accused of terrorism ("causing panic") in Veracruz for publishing in their twitter account warnings of attacks by organized crime.

This is a truly horrid case, and it is nothing but shameful that governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa has not taken charge to shake up his state prosecutor's office. It is a yet another worrisome signal for 2012, and the PRI's likely return to the presidency.

Mexico's new secretaries

La Jornada has profiles on the new secretaries/minister of Calderón's government.

- Finance minister José Antonio Meade, taking over the post left by Ernesto Cordero as he pursues PAN's nomination for the presidency.
- Secretary of energy, Jordy Herrera Flores
- Secretary of health, Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg
His goal is to complete Calderón's goal universal health coverage, which despite its deficiencies likely will stand as the major achievement of his administration.

Islamic terrorism threat in Mexico?

I found it really notable that outgoing head of the Mexican intelligence-counter espionage agency CISEN (created in the same year as CIA, whose function it resembles), Guillermo Valdés, who is being replaced by Alejandro Poiré, would say in his farewell statement that "we can not rule out the risk of an eventual presence of Islamic terrorism on our soil."

I cannot recall to ever have heard anything concrete regarding islamic terrorist threats in Mexico. If Valdés knows of something new, why did he not elaborate? And if there aren't any specific threats, why make this statement?

AMLO "accepts" Salinas debate

Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he accepted having a debate with Carlos Salinas, who notably challenged him to one a couple of days ago. Yet, there is a "but"... only if the "30 potentates" and  Enrique Peña Nieto appear for the debate as well.

Cocoa favors gay marriage - what would Felipe say?

Now this is interesting: President Felipe Calderón's sister Luisa María Calderón Hinojosa, or "Cocoa," who is now running to be governor of Michoacán, said she is not against gay marriages, as they "give certainty" to couples. How wonderfully refreshing from a PAN candidate - how far the party has seemingly come. Yet I wonder what her brother the president thinks of this social liberalism.

Salinas challenges AMLO to debate

I missed this part: Carlos Salinas yesterday invited Andrés Manuel López Obrador to a debate, to see which one has the best proposals. "He is going to lose," Salinas said.

Now that would be fun: An AMLO-Salinas debate! Since AMLO keep bringing up the "unnameable one" at every campaign stop, why not accept the challenge?