A full fifth all of senators elected in 2006 have been chapulines (a type of grasshopper that I once got really sick from eating in Oaxaca), meaning that they have left their senate seats to pursue even higher office, usually a governorship - 10 of them have been elected governors since 2006. From El Universal.
I wonder what the equivalent figures are from e.g. the United States and Argentina.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Martí Batres Guadarrama, AMLO loyalist, is out of Mexico City Government
I missed with 10 months - I first thought Ebrard would fire Martí Batres last October, when Ebrard relieved him of several important powers. Yet now finally Ebrard fired the man who has held what is in practice the second-most important position in the Mexico City government since 2006, and used it for all it is worth - the secretariat of social development.
More to come here, but note there is no "I renounce for personal reasons" schpiel - Ebrard told him to step down straight out.
Batres in my opinion represents the most "radical," anti-democratic, clientelist elements of the PRD, and he was widely considered an imposition by AMLO in Ebrard´s government. It is most natural that he should now leave the position - I am only surprised it did not happen sooner.
More to come here, but note there is no "I renounce for personal reasons" schpiel - Ebrard told him to step down straight out.
Batres in my opinion represents the most "radical," anti-democratic, clientelist elements of the PRD, and he was widely considered an imposition by AMLO in Ebrard´s government. It is most natural that he should now leave the position - I am only surprised it did not happen sooner.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Peña Nieto's teleprompter
This info from Milenio, regading his last informe or State of the state, is just too good to let pass for those of us highly critical of the packaged media product that is Enrique Peña Nieto:
The speech was provided to the governor by three teleprompters visible to half the auditorium, with color difference in the letters, according to which intonation was needed. Even the most heartfelt messages to his wife and daughters were read directly from the screens.
Peña Nieto's kind-of-informe: Direct response to Beltrones
How interesting. A couple of days ago, Senator Manlio Fabio Beltrones argued - and quite wisely so - that it would be a "danger" if the PRI returned to power in Mexico without a clear project. It sounded like a stab at Peña Nieto - and at least that is how the outgoing governor saw it.
In yesterday´s speech for PRI and other elites, which was not technically his state of the state address (he handed that in writing to the state congress, Calderón-style), Peña Nieto appeared to directly respond to Beltrones when he said, "Let there be no confusion, Mexico does have a clear project, is contained in its Constitution."
Merely playing to the gallery, or are tensions increasing Beltrones-Peña Nieto?
In yesterday´s speech for PRI and other elites, which was not technically his state of the state address (he handed that in writing to the state congress, Calderón-style), Peña Nieto appeared to directly respond to Beltrones when he said, "Let there be no confusion, Mexico does have a clear project, is contained in its Constitution."
Merely playing to the gallery, or are tensions increasing Beltrones-Peña Nieto?
Monday, September 5, 2011
Christian Sánchez Venancio: The murder of a gay rights activist
Past July 22, Christian Sánchez Venancio, a member of the PRD an among the party's most profiled pro-gay rights advocates, was murdered in Mexico City, in what appears a possible hate crime and a brutal robbery: His apartment was sacked, and he was found with more than 100 stab wounds in his body, having put up a fight against his attackers.
Here is a most-recommended in-depth article from El Universal of what is truly a heart-wrenching story.
Here is a most-recommended in-depth article from El Universal of what is truly a heart-wrenching story.
Mexico, now largest silver producer in world
Some interesting data on mining: Mexico surpassed Peru to now become the biggest silver producer in the world, with 1.88 million kilogram of silver churned out Jan-June 2011, much from the Fresnillo mine in Zacatecas, the world's largest. Other large operations are found in Chihuahua, Durango, and Sonora.
This January I happened to make a road trip that included Zacatecas and a visit to the now-defunct silver mine that sits literally right in the capital. It is funny how Mexico has now reclaimed its position as the top producer in the world.
This January I happened to make a road trip that included Zacatecas and a visit to the now-defunct silver mine that sits literally right in the capital. It is funny how Mexico has now reclaimed its position as the top producer in the world.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
One major difference Mexican and U.S. political campaigning: God
Here's one major difference in campaigning between U.S. politicians and Mexican, and entirely in Mexico's favor. From Milenio's interview with Silvano Aureoles Conejo, the left's candidate to be governor of Michoacán:
"Do you believe in god?
"Very little - I am not much of a believer."
That's it - no follow-up questions, no scandal, nothing. What a fresh breath compared to the constant groveling to the religious camps in the United States - how often does it happen that a major candidate to a major state simply states that s/he is not religious? And more so, that the candidate is not attacked for this?
"Do you believe in god?
"Very little - I am not much of a believer."
That's it - no follow-up questions, no scandal, nothing. What a fresh breath compared to the constant groveling to the religious camps in the United States - how often does it happen that a major candidate to a major state simply states that s/he is not religious? And more so, that the candidate is not attacked for this?
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