Manuel Clouthier, commonly known as "Maquío," was the PAN's 1988 presidential candidate, and a very decent man - he actively joined the possible yet defrauded winner Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas in denouncing the fraud, until his own party quieted him down and made deals with president-elect Carlos Salinas.
His family, from their stronghold in Sinaloa, has continued in politics (Maquio died in a mysterious car crash in 1989): Both his son Manuel and his daughter Tatiana have been active in the PAN.
Yet they have been highly critical of Calderón's armed onslaught against the drug cartels and the manner in which is being fought. That is likely the main cause why Manuel was recently rejected as a senate candidate for PAN for 2012, despite his very significant political weight in Sinaloa.
The fight has been long brewing with the PAN, and a break with this emblematic neopanista family with its party seems very imminent: Don't be surprised if in a few weeks we'll see Manuel Clouthier Carrillo as a candidate for AMLO's 2012 coalition.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
1.7 million houses left with dirt floors
As a recent editorial in El Universal points out, the Mexican government's program of piso firme, or hard floor, is of extreme importance: Where the program has implemented - that is, where the federal government has helped construct cement floors in poor houses - parasites have been reduced with 78 percent, diarrhea with 49, and anemia with 81 percent.
This as very real, and extremely important gains, as they particularly affect children.
There are 1.7 million houses left, and El Universal rightly calls for completing this project before the end of 2012. With Calderón increasingly eager to leave a "legacy" that goes beyond the utterly failed "drug war," here's at least one chance to leave a lasting mark.
This as very real, and extremely important gains, as they particularly affect children.
There are 1.7 million houses left, and El Universal rightly calls for completing this project before the end of 2012. With Calderón increasingly eager to leave a "legacy" that goes beyond the utterly failed "drug war," here's at least one chance to leave a lasting mark.
Morelos: PAN governor's christmas present for himself
Marco Antonio Adame Castillo (PAN), despite making a hefty sum as Morelos governor, awarded himself an aguinaldo, essentially an extra month's pay as christmas bonus, of cool 300,000 pesos.
That's about 22 times more than that of a worker in his government.
Adame explained he would use the bonus for "family development."
I am sure he will.
That's about 22 times more than that of a worker in his government.
Adame explained he would use the bonus for "family development."
I am sure he will.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Jorge Emilio "Niño Verde" González and the dead Bulgarian in Cancún
Jorge Emilio González Martínez, until recently president of the Mexican "Green" party PVEM (after succeeding his father in this sultanistic enterprise which is not a Green party as we know them elsewhere), is an utterly failed "politician" who have absolutely no interest in politics, ideology, or programs, as has been amply demonstrated by his, to put it mildly, undistinguished trajectory in public service.
His world is the world of holidays to Disneyland and New York City, sports clubs, extreme consumption, and partying. He is most recently in deep trouble for exactly the latter, after a party that was held in his huge luxury department in Cancún, where a young Bulgarian woman, Galina Chankova Chaneva, "fell from a window" this past April. As investigative reporter Lydia Cacho has confirmed, González tried to kill the story and denied it was even his apartment, yet Cacho states that he was indeed present, and called the governor of Quintana Roo to try to quiet the whole affair down.
Regardless: Now PRI, in "partial alliance" with the PVEM (which means that in some of the 300 single-member districts of Mexico, they will field common candidates, as well as for some Senate seats), has the guts to put forth Jorge Emilio González as its candidate for Senate for Quintana Roo, paired with ex governor Félix González Canto, reportedly under investigation for corruption.
Even Jesús Martínez, who was the first governor of the state in 1975 (it only became a state in 1974), has come out against the alliance, which he calls "shameful." Other members of PRI have also criticized the proposed candidacy, pointing out that González, once nicknamed the "Green Kid," a term now used ironically, is more famous for scandals and corruption than his legislative achievements.
One thing bears pointing out: If elected to the senate, both the Gonzálezes would have six years of immunity for prosecution.
His world is the world of holidays to Disneyland and New York City, sports clubs, extreme consumption, and partying. He is most recently in deep trouble for exactly the latter, after a party that was held in his huge luxury department in Cancún, where a young Bulgarian woman, Galina Chankova Chaneva, "fell from a window" this past April. As investigative reporter Lydia Cacho has confirmed, González tried to kill the story and denied it was even his apartment, yet Cacho states that he was indeed present, and called the governor of Quintana Roo to try to quiet the whole affair down.
Regardless: Now PRI, in "partial alliance" with the PVEM (which means that in some of the 300 single-member districts of Mexico, they will field common candidates, as well as for some Senate seats), has the guts to put forth Jorge Emilio González as its candidate for Senate for Quintana Roo, paired with ex governor Félix González Canto, reportedly under investigation for corruption.
Even Jesús Martínez, who was the first governor of the state in 1975 (it only became a state in 1974), has come out against the alliance, which he calls "shameful." Other members of PRI have also criticized the proposed candidacy, pointing out that González, once nicknamed the "Green Kid," a term now used ironically, is more famous for scandals and corruption than his legislative achievements.
One thing bears pointing out: If elected to the senate, both the Gonzálezes would have six years of immunity for prosecution.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
AMLO's future cabinet: Ebrard as Interior Secretary, de la Fuente, Education
AMLO is taken the time and liberty to declare the names of desired members of his future cabinet:
Marcelo Ebrard, Interior secretary
Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Education secretary
Rogelio Ramírez de la O, Finance secretary.
Very, very solid names. Quite bold to declare them in this manner and not without risks, but might very well pull in some votes.
Marcelo Ebrard, Interior secretary
Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Education secretary
Rogelio Ramírez de la O, Finance secretary.
Very, very solid names. Quite bold to declare them in this manner and not without risks, but might very well pull in some votes.
Cherán votes to ditch elections in favor of "usos y costumbre"
The village of Cherán in Michoacán, where its mainly Purépecha indigenous inhabitants have since March taken up arms against illegal loggers and organized crime, and in the process kicked out its PRI mayor, voted two days ago to ditch elections, in favor of the system of "usos y costumbres" used chiefly in indigenous areas in Oaxaca, and in a few areas in Sonora.
Usos y costumbres are a traditional and pre-hispanic - and mightily complicated - means of selecting leadership and solving conflicts. Yet they are not without their critics. There is often no semblance of a secret vote, and often women are left out of the equation, as office holders as well as voters.
Cherán is the only municipality to introduce them in Michoacán, after a roughly 4841-500 vote that was recognized by the state electoral institute. Yet as much as Cherán's anger with political parties unable to solve their problems is understandable, I don't really see the usos y costumbres as a panacea for anything.
I will be off to Paracho the coming days, the "world capital of guitars," to by me a nice Vihuela, and hope to stop by Cherán, unless the situation is too tense.
Usos y costumbres are a traditional and pre-hispanic - and mightily complicated - means of selecting leadership and solving conflicts. Yet they are not without their critics. There is often no semblance of a secret vote, and often women are left out of the equation, as office holders as well as voters.
Cherán is the only municipality to introduce them in Michoacán, after a roughly 4841-500 vote that was recognized by the state electoral institute. Yet as much as Cherán's anger with political parties unable to solve their problems is understandable, I don't really see the usos y costumbres as a panacea for anything.
I will be off to Paracho the coming days, the "world capital of guitars," to by me a nice Vihuela, and hope to stop by Cherán, unless the situation is too tense.
In this Cristiada-mass time... Grabman's Gorostieta and the Cristiada
Many of us are awaiting with dread the new movie "Cristiada," about the 1926-9 conflict, an armed uprising of catholics against a strongly anti-clerical Mexican state.
Dread, because it appears the this will be a very distorted and pro-cristero portrayal of reality - in other words, a very political movie, yet of the reactionary kind. The trailer for the movie strongly suggests so: To dramatic images of churchgoers being massacred, we are told that "When the government outlawed faith... the faithful became outlaws." Oh, dear. "Based on a true story," the trailer boldly claims. One might add, "Only the facts have been changed to protect the innocent."
For a quick, entertaining, enlightening, and, most importantly, even-handed read on the Cristiada and particularly Enrique Gorostieta Velarde, a general hired to be the leader of the rebellion, I recommend Richard Grabman's Gorostieta and the Cristiada: Mexico's Catholic Insurgency 1926-1929. It proves a quick and accessible overview and background to the event, and seeks to hone in on Gorostieta himself - a highly ambitions army officer that, irony of ironies, had long been considered an anti-clerical and possibly atheist. Keep that thought in mind as you watch the trailer. Yet what motivated him to join the rebellion, then? For one good and highly readable attempt at answering this question, which appears to have been the author's motivation, you can check out Grabman's book.
It is a very useful antidote to what appears to be a very, very flawed film, whenever it will be released.
(available now as an e-book here, or here, it costs less than a beer)
Dread, because it appears the this will be a very distorted and pro-cristero portrayal of reality - in other words, a very political movie, yet of the reactionary kind. The trailer for the movie strongly suggests so: To dramatic images of churchgoers being massacred, we are told that "When the government outlawed faith... the faithful became outlaws." Oh, dear. "Based on a true story," the trailer boldly claims. One might add, "Only the facts have been changed to protect the innocent."
For a quick, entertaining, enlightening, and, most importantly, even-handed read on the Cristiada and particularly Enrique Gorostieta Velarde, a general hired to be the leader of the rebellion, I recommend Richard Grabman's Gorostieta and the Cristiada: Mexico's Catholic Insurgency 1926-1929. It proves a quick and accessible overview and background to the event, and seeks to hone in on Gorostieta himself - a highly ambitions army officer that, irony of ironies, had long been considered an anti-clerical and possibly atheist. Keep that thought in mind as you watch the trailer. Yet what motivated him to join the rebellion, then? For one good and highly readable attempt at answering this question, which appears to have been the author's motivation, you can check out Grabman's book.
It is a very useful antidote to what appears to be a very, very flawed film, whenever it will be released.
(available now as an e-book here, or here, it costs less than a beer)
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