El País to Mexico's left: Drop AMLO

An editorial in Spain's El País offers a straightforward recommendation to Mexico's left:

The Mexican left has been failing since 1988 in its attempt to win the presidency. Lópese Obrador's brethrhen the time seems to have come to ask whether they should follow a twice-defeated leader prone to conspiratorial victimhood, and whose abrasive and stagnant style has alienated a part of its natural vote. Obrador is a drag.

Source:
Obrador es un lastre. El País, July 15, 2012.

Calderón ignores Senate, signs ACTA

Just a few days ago, the European Union rejected the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta): Its parliament voted a massive 478-39 against what is being presented as an anti-piracy initiative but that risks seriously stifling freedom on the Web.

In Mexico, president Calderón made no indications at all he intended to sign ACTA, and the Mexican Senate in any case unanimously advised him against it and to consult it, especially given the massive rejection in the European Union, as it arguably goes against Mexico's constitution

But no: Calderón decided to sign the agreement anyway. The Senate is very upset, and rightly so: The president has from the beginning kept Congress in the dark, not even bothering to inform it that he had started the ACTA negotiations in the first place. He just happened to as well keep mum of his intentions to do so until after the election, given the unpopularity of the legislation.

Beyond being classically Calderón - an absolute tone-deafness to any criticism and utter unwillingness to accept any mistake - a larger question is: With all of Mexico's current woes, is really promoting anti-pirate legislation pushed by U.S. media companies truly the best way to spend the last months of a truly mediocre presidency?

Source:
Ola de críticas contra Calderón por suscribir en lo oscurito el ACTA. La Jornada, July 13, 2012
Es un ataque a la libertad de expresión y un freno a la movilización social. La Jornada, July 13, 2012

NYT profiles Alejandro Solalinde

Kudos to The New York Times and Elisabeth Malkin for this profile of Oaxaca migrant defender Alejandro Solalinde:

He returned this week to his beloved state of Oaxaca, where he runs a shelter in Ciudad Ixtepec, a sweltering railroad town where migrants wait to scramble atop cargo trains that will take them on the next leg of their wearying trip to the United States.More migrants will be arriving, he said, pushed by poverty and violence at home. A long-suspended train service directly from the Guatemalan border is being renewed. “That means the merchandise is coming, the captive customers,” Father Solalinde said.He expected the threats to continue as well. For the criminals, he said, “there is a problem: Father Solalinde is in the way; he won’t let us do our work comfortably so we have to pressure him, threaten him, kill him so he won’t disturb us.”

Source:
A Priest Stands Up for the Migrants Who Run Mexico’s Gantlet. The New York Times, July 13, 2012.

Solalinde's back, with bodyguards

Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, target of much intimidation and death threats due to his work in Oaxaca for migrants, above all in his shelter "Hemanos en el Camino," returned recently to Mexico after credible and concrete plans of his assassination were revealed.

The federal PGR announced he will from now on have four bodyguards.

Solalinde notably called on the church he belongs to - the Catholic Church - to assume a more active role in defense of migrants. If only the church had more men like Solalinde, and less thugs like Juan Sandoval Iñiguez and Noberto Rivera.

He also came out against all of Mexico's parties, for their lack of any proposals on migration, though he noted that "the worst of them all, it is clear to me, comes from the PRI: It doesn't have any." Make sure to read his interview with Animal Político here.


Source:
Solalinde contará con cuatro escoltas. El Universal, July 11, 2012
La propuesta más pobre en migración es la del PRI: Solalinde. Animal Político, July 11, 2012
Regresa hoy Solalinde a Ixtepec, sin más seguridad, pero con mucho entusiasmo. La Jornada, July 11, 2012

Ebrard: His 2018 campaign starts this Dec. 6

Marcelo Ebrard said that his campaign for the presidency in 2018 will start on Dec. 6, 2012, the day after he steps down as mayor of Mexico City. Presidential campaigns, he noted, now tend to start six years in advance.

No cigar for guessing who taught him that.


Source:

Anuncia Ebrard próximo arranque de su campaña presidencial. Proceso Online, July 10, 2012.

Mexico 2012-5 Congress count complete, no PRI majority

The final count by IFE confirmed that PRI will not have a majority in either of the two houses of Mexico's congress, even with backing of the PVEM, it's electoral ally since 2000:

For the Chamber (500 in total, 300/200)

PRI: 207 deputies (157 Single-member districts and 50 proportional representation).

PVEM:  33 (19 SMD and 14 PR)

PAN: 114 (52 SMD, 50 PR)

PRD: 101 (57 SMD, 44 PR)

PT: 19

MC: 16

For the Senate:

PRI: 51
PAN: 38
PRD: 22
PVEM: 9
PT: 4
MC: 2
PANAL: 1



Source:
Congreso no tendrá mayorías. El Universal, July 10, 2012.
Atlas Electoral. Eluniversal.com.mx.

How Calderón destroyed PAN

A very recommended read from sinembargo.mx and Alejandro Páez Varela on the stunning collapse of PAN on Calderón's watch, playfully entitled "It's Calderón, stupid."

He reminds us what he did:

Fue Felipe Calderón el que hizo funcionarios de primer nivel del PAN a dos incondicionales que son una bofetada para la mayoría de los ciudadanos: Juan Molinar Horcasitas y Cecilia Romero...
Fue Felipe Calderón el que dio larga vida a Elba Esther Gordillo (y a otros líderes sindicales corruptos) y le permitió transitar sin dificultad hasta un siguiente sexenio, en el que ha comprado, otra vez, impunida...
Fue Felipe Calderón el que dio larga vida a Elba Esther Gordillo (y a otros líderes sindicales corruptos) y le permitió transitar sin dificultad hasta un siguiente sexenio, en el que ha comprado, otra vez, impunida...
Fue Felipe Calderón el que convirtió en la voz del PAN a un golpeador repugnante como Javier Lozano; el que entregó a sus amigos de pachanga la imagen del país y del mismo partido; fue Calderón el que ordenó expulsar a las voces disidentes (en un partido fundado por el pensamiento disidente) y fue Calderón el que lo puso, en 2012, en manos de ineptos pero muy compadres.

In short, Calderón, in complete control of PAN with his wife Margarita Zavala since 2006, bear the brunt of blame for PAN's destruction. Don't expect Calderón to express even the slightest hint of self-criticism: He has not once did this since July 2, 2006 - why start now?

Source:
Alejandro Páez Varela: Es Calderón, estúpidos. Sinembargo.mx, July 9, 2012.