In Baja California, a woman was in 2008 sentenced to 22 years in prison for infanticide, or the killing of her baby, despite all evidence indicating that she suffered a miscarriage.
Now, after suffering three years in prison, it was finally announced by the state supreme court that she should be let go, following massive pressure from her legal representatives and civil organizations: No evidence whatsoever existed that she had killed her baby, yet the poor woman, now 22, had to languish for three years.
How many more share a similar fate in Mexico's prisons, in particular the states run by the PAN and PRI?
Saturday, May 7, 2011
PRD campaign in Mexico State: Remarkable unity
In a remarkable display of unity, PRD leader in Mexico State, Luis Sánchez Jiménez, appeared together with the left coalition candidate Alejandro Encinas for the start of the latter's campaign.
Remarkable, because Sánchez Jiménez, who was the vice president of the chamber of deputies and a man I had the pleasure of interviewing on many occasions, was also a big proponent of a PRD-PAN alliance in the state, and complained bitterly of the campaign of Andrés Manuel López Obrador to scuttle said alliance, which he did succeed in doing.
Luis Sánchez was, to boot, appointed officially as Encinas' campaign coordinator, though it remains to be seen if this will merely be de jure rather than de facto - something akin to Jesús Ortega's position as the nominal head of AMLO's 2006 campaign.
Yet regardless, in Sánchez' words: "I am an institutional man and I think institutions is something that Mexican politics urgently needs."
¡Órale! If only the PRD had more people like Sánchez. You lose, but then you rally behind your party candidate regardless.
Also of note: El Universal reports that even Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas will appear with Encinas. While I regard a photo of AMLO-Encinas-Cárdenas a remote possibility, it would be of immense importance for the party, which still stands a chance, however small, of winning the state.
Remarkable, because Sánchez Jiménez, who was the vice president of the chamber of deputies and a man I had the pleasure of interviewing on many occasions, was also a big proponent of a PRD-PAN alliance in the state, and complained bitterly of the campaign of Andrés Manuel López Obrador to scuttle said alliance, which he did succeed in doing.
Luis Sánchez was, to boot, appointed officially as Encinas' campaign coordinator, though it remains to be seen if this will merely be de jure rather than de facto - something akin to Jesús Ortega's position as the nominal head of AMLO's 2006 campaign.
Yet regardless, in Sánchez' words: "I am an institutional man and I think institutions is something that Mexican politics urgently needs."
¡Órale! If only the PRD had more people like Sánchez. You lose, but then you rally behind your party candidate regardless.
Also of note: El Universal reports that even Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas will appear with Encinas. While I regard a photo of AMLO-Encinas-Cárdenas a remote possibility, it would be of immense importance for the party, which still stands a chance, however small, of winning the state.
Ebrard wants PRD to decide on candidacy the coming November
Marcelo Ebrard, in a speech held in honor of the 22nd anniversary of the founding of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD), said he wanted the party to decide who should be its 2012 candidate - himself or 2006 candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) - by the coming November.
Ebrard also suggested that two debates be held between him and AMLO in October. Then, the candidacy will be decided by some kind of poll or open primary.
AMLO, for his part, has earlier agreed to the PRD deciding on the candidacy by late 2012.
Yet he notably did not attend the PRD's anniversary celebration, and has no direct excuse for not doing so, given that the remaining PRD-PAN alliances in Nayarit, Coahuila and Hidalgo look increasingly defunct.
Ebrard also suggested that two debates be held between him and AMLO in October. Then, the candidacy will be decided by some kind of poll or open primary.
AMLO, for his part, has earlier agreed to the PRD deciding on the candidacy by late 2012.
Yet he notably did not attend the PRD's anniversary celebration, and has no direct excuse for not doing so, given that the remaining PRD-PAN alliances in Nayarit, Coahuila and Hidalgo look increasingly defunct.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Happy Cinco de Mayo = Happy Birthday, PRD
Today is Cinco de Mayo, which is also the birthday of the PRD: The party was officially established on May 5, 1989, nearly a year after the 1988 electoral fraud that might or might not have deprived Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas of the Mexican presidency.
As El Universal reports, the party is indeed undergoing a process of "repositioning," or the separation of waters between its main poles, which are now aligned essentially around either Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) or Marcelo Ebrard. Unless we will actually see the promise being kept - that either will step down in favor of the other who is ahead in the polls - it is hard to imagine that the left will arrive at the 2012 election united.
As it were, I'll be in El Paso, TX for the day - and I will cheer both the Mexican army's victory over the French in Puebla on May 5, 1862, but also the birth of Mexico's only real leftwing party, the Partido de la Revolución Democrática. Happy birthday, PRD.
As El Universal reports, the party is indeed undergoing a process of "repositioning," or the separation of waters between its main poles, which are now aligned essentially around either Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) or Marcelo Ebrard. Unless we will actually see the promise being kept - that either will step down in favor of the other who is ahead in the polls - it is hard to imagine that the left will arrive at the 2012 election united.
As it were, I'll be in El Paso, TX for the day - and I will cheer both the Mexican army's victory over the French in Puebla on May 5, 1862, but also the birth of Mexico's only real leftwing party, the Partido de la Revolución Democrática. Happy birthday, PRD.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Manuel Espino's expulsion from PAN final
Manuel Espino, PAN member since 1978, secretary general 2002-2005, and party president 2005-2007, was finally officially expelled from the party by the PAN' somewhat Orwellian-named Commission of Order, after a long and drawn-out process.
Espino says he will continue to fight it, taking it to the TEPJF, or Mexico's federal electoral tribunal.
While there were admittedly some instances were Espino did criticize some PAN candidates, which from what I recall was one of the reasons for his expulsion, it is hard not to see this as a personal crusade from Calderón, whose political strategies, particularly against the narcos, Espino has criticized.
And lest we forget: In April 2006, Espino referred to the PAN's presidential candidate as "the little bald guy with glasses." Now it's personal!
Espino says he will continue to fight it, taking it to the TEPJF, or Mexico's federal electoral tribunal.
While there were admittedly some instances were Espino did criticize some PAN candidates, which from what I recall was one of the reasons for his expulsion, it is hard not to see this as a personal crusade from Calderón, whose political strategies, particularly against the narcos, Espino has criticized.
And lest we forget: In April 2006, Espino referred to the PAN's presidential candidate as "the little bald guy with glasses." Now it's personal!
Monday, May 2, 2011
AMLO taking it to the next level: Accuses government of narco collusion
AMLO has said very little on the subject of the Mexican government's fight with the drug cartels, except for perhaps calling it "stupid." Yet in speech in Cuernavaca yesterday, he certainly used the topic to ramp up his discourse more than a few notches:
He accused the federal government, as well as state governments, of "colluding with organized crime."
As far as I can tell, this is a first.
He accused the federal government, as well as state governments, of "colluding with organized crime."
As far as I can tell, this is a first.
Mexico no longer has a free press, according to Freedom House
Freedom House's Freedom of the Press Report 2011, available here and released this morning, notably lists Mexico as "Partly Free" due to the deteriorating conditions for its journalists.
While the narcos will of course share the blunt of the blame for this, sadly they're not the only actor threatening journalists:
Yesterday, during the May 1 celebration, members of the Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME) again attacked journalists, beating up at least five for trying to take photographs of what appeared to be a collapsing stage.
While the narcos will of course share the blunt of the blame for this, sadly they're not the only actor threatening journalists:
Yesterday, during the May 1 celebration, members of the Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME) again attacked journalists, beating up at least five for trying to take photographs of what appeared to be a collapsing stage.
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