With the election today of PRD's new coordinators, all three major parties in Mexico have now chosen their congressional leaders for the foreseeable future (up to three years for the Chamber of Deputies, and six for the Senate).
PAN: For the Senate, Calderón managed to install the inept Ernesto Cordero as coordinator of the PAN's legislative group. Yet for Chamber leader, PAN chose Luis Alberto Villarreal, ex-mayor of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, who is loyal to PAN leader Gustavo Madero, in conflict with Calderón over control of the party. One for each one.
For PRI, its former Senate coordinator Manlio Fabio Beltrones will now take on that role in the Chamber, while Emilio Gamboa Patrón will lead the PRI's Senate group - he was coordinator for its Chamber group 2006-9, and after that became head of CNOP, PRI's "popular sector."
Say what you will about Beltrones and Gamboa, but the "New PRI" they ain't.
For PRD, the Nueva Izquierda social-democratic faction critical of AMLO won control of the Senate group, with Miguel Barbosa Huerta. They notably also won control of the Chamber coordinator, with ex-senator and ex-candidate of Michoacán governor Silvano Aureoles Conejo, who although he is a member of another party current (Foro Nuevo Sol) is regarded as very close to NI.
Don't expect PRD's new coordinators to follow any renewed calls for "legislative strikes," which AMLO so often proclaimed in 2007-9.
Source:
Elige PRI a coordinadores en el Congreso. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012
PAN: Cordero y Villarreal, coordinadores en Congreso. El Universal, Aug. 14, 2012
Lanzan a “matador” al ruedo de San Lázaro. El Universal, Aug. 14, 2012
Define PRD jefes de bancadas. El Universal, Aug. 15, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Calderón faces PAN after the defeat
Calderón faced the PAN's national council this weekend, where a low-key but nonetheless intensive fight is playing out over the future of the party. In essence, Calderón wants to hold some kind of "refoundational congress" or a party congress (PAN calls "Asamblea Nacional) while he is still in power, obviously given that his clout will be drastically on the wane when he leaves office. Most deputies and leaders of state branches opposes this, preferring instead one in the spring of 2013, when his presidency is over. So does Gustavo Madero, PAN's president, and an antagonist of Calderón
Instead, some kind of compromise appears to have been knitted behind the scenes where a commission will be set up to decide when the next party congress will be held. But even if Calderón has a majority of loyalists on this commission, it seems very unlikely that he'll manage to block its postponement. As such, he faced a clear defeat this weekend.
During his speech, in an extremely rare moment of self-criticism, he said he and PAN had "shared responsibility" for the July 1 results, but also emphasizes that the PAN did a poor job of promoting the "achievements" of his administration. Earlier he made the statement that PAN had presented to many "pygmy candidates" in a meeting with PAN elites in late July.
Others might instead point out that Calderón's PAN has been corrupted and run into the ground much thanks to his very control of it, including the PRI-style dedazos he used to pick two terrible party presidents. It was a sign of his waning control that Gustavo Madero was not his favorite. Nor was Josefina Vázquez Mota.
Calderón is estimated to maintain the loyalty of only around 120 of 380 councilors, or 1/3.
Madero's group is estimated at around 100. With around 60 councilors, those who can tip the balance are regarded the most conservative of its groups, represented by its secretary general Cecilia Romero Castillo (who was an absolute disaster as head of the INM migrants institute) and Juan Manuel Oliva Ramírez (who was an absolute disaster as governor of Guanajuato).
The PAN is need of a refoundation for sure, but while Calderón obviously thinks it needs more calderonismo, perhaps through his wife's 2018 candidacy, many others in the party regard this not as the cure, but as the very cancer the party has suffered from.
Source:
Calderón llega con desventaja al Consejo Nacional del PAN. El Universal, Aug. 11, 2012
Requiere el PAN cambio con rapidez, dice FCH. El Universal, Aug. 10, 2012.
FCH: tuvo el PAN candidatos pigmeos. El Universal, July 27, 2012
Panistas ponen fecha para iniciar la "refundación". El Universal, Aug. 12, 2012.
Madero, contra reflexión rápida. El Universal, Aug. 12, 2012.
Derrotan a Calderón en el consejo del PAN; la reforma, hasta 2013. La Jornada, Aug. 12, 2012
Clientelismo y ruptura moral de AN, causa de la derrota: Calderón.La Jornada, Aug. 12, 2012
Instead, some kind of compromise appears to have been knitted behind the scenes where a commission will be set up to decide when the next party congress will be held. But even if Calderón has a majority of loyalists on this commission, it seems very unlikely that he'll manage to block its postponement. As such, he faced a clear defeat this weekend.
During his speech, in an extremely rare moment of self-criticism, he said he and PAN had "shared responsibility" for the July 1 results, but also emphasizes that the PAN did a poor job of promoting the "achievements" of his administration. Earlier he made the statement that PAN had presented to many "pygmy candidates" in a meeting with PAN elites in late July.
Others might instead point out that Calderón's PAN has been corrupted and run into the ground much thanks to his very control of it, including the PRI-style dedazos he used to pick two terrible party presidents. It was a sign of his waning control that Gustavo Madero was not his favorite. Nor was Josefina Vázquez Mota.
Calderón is estimated to maintain the loyalty of only around 120 of 380 councilors, or 1/3.
Madero's group is estimated at around 100. With around 60 councilors, those who can tip the balance are regarded the most conservative of its groups, represented by its secretary general Cecilia Romero Castillo (who was an absolute disaster as head of the INM migrants institute) and Juan Manuel Oliva Ramírez (who was an absolute disaster as governor of Guanajuato).
The PAN is need of a refoundation for sure, but while Calderón obviously thinks it needs more calderonismo, perhaps through his wife's 2018 candidacy, many others in the party regard this not as the cure, but as the very cancer the party has suffered from.
Source:
Calderón llega con desventaja al Consejo Nacional del PAN. El Universal, Aug. 11, 2012
Requiere el PAN cambio con rapidez, dice FCH. El Universal, Aug. 10, 2012.
FCH: tuvo el PAN candidatos pigmeos. El Universal, July 27, 2012
Panistas ponen fecha para iniciar la "refundación". El Universal, Aug. 12, 2012.
Madero, contra reflexión rápida. El Universal, Aug. 12, 2012.
Derrotan a Calderón en el consejo del PAN; la reforma, hasta 2013. La Jornada, Aug. 12, 2012
Clientelismo y ruptura moral de AN, causa de la derrota: Calderón.La Jornada, Aug. 12, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Peña Nieto's narco photos
The PRI politician Rafael Humberto Celaya Valenzuela was arrested in Spain Friday with other presumed members of the Sinaloa cartel. Here are two photos of Celaya with, as he is referred to in media these days, "the candidate who received the most votes in the presidential election" (pending the tribunal verdict in September): Enrique Peña Nieto.
Mexican drug cartel members arrested in Spain. Al Jazeera, Aug. 10, 2012
Calderón signs thinned-out political reform
Calderón's political reform - it is referred to as the political reform, as it was originally a relatively broad-reaching and comprehensive proposal when it was launched in 2009, and is the only major such during his sexenio - was signed by the president last week. It includes 8 components:
* Citizen initiatives (to be introduced into Congress)
* Independent candidacies (but not for president)
* Popular consultations allowed (referenda)
* "Preferential initiative" from the president (a type of fast-track authority where president can send two initiatives per congressional period to be voted on within 30 days)
* Review of the public accounts prolonged one month
* Senate will ratify regulatory organs of telecommunications, energy, and economic competition
* Presidential succession established if something happens to the executive (the Interior Secretary would take over until Congress names an interim or substitute president)
* Alternative ways for presidential swearing-in (recall 2006 here)
Key original components that Congress removed from the reform, and which interior secretary Alejandro Poiré designated "pending," are: reelection of lawmakers and mayors, reducing number of lawmakers, a second round in the presidential election, allowing Supreme Court to present law initiatives, presidential veto over budget, and others.
Here's a graphic from El Universal on the changes:
Source:
Ocho cambios en materia política. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012
Calderón firma decreto de la reforma política. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012
Promulga Calderón la reforma política. La Jornada, Aug. 9, 2012
* Citizen initiatives (to be introduced into Congress)
* Independent candidacies (but not for president)
* Popular consultations allowed (referenda)
* "Preferential initiative" from the president (a type of fast-track authority where president can send two initiatives per congressional period to be voted on within 30 days)
* Review of the public accounts prolonged one month
* Senate will ratify regulatory organs of telecommunications, energy, and economic competition
* Presidential succession established if something happens to the executive (the Interior Secretary would take over until Congress names an interim or substitute president)
* Alternative ways for presidential swearing-in (recall 2006 here)
Key original components that Congress removed from the reform, and which interior secretary Alejandro Poiré designated "pending," are: reelection of lawmakers and mayors, reducing number of lawmakers, a second round in the presidential election, allowing Supreme Court to present law initiatives, presidential veto over budget, and others.
Here's a graphic from El Universal on the changes:
 |
| El Universal |
Ocho cambios en materia política. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012
Calderón firma decreto de la reforma política. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012
Promulga Calderón la reforma política. La Jornada, Aug. 9, 2012
Former mayor murdered for refusing drug gangs
Former mayor Margarito Genchi Casiano of Florencio Villarreal, Guerrero, was murdered in June ahead of the elections when he sought to become a local deputy in the legislature.
According to authorities, which have now arrested six presumed culprits from the fittingly entitled outfit Comando del Diablo, Genchi was murdered because he "did not want to align" with them.
A sad story that again belies the charade that only those guilty of "something" are the ones who die in Calderón's war.
Source:
Caen seis presuntos asesinos de ex edil. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012
According to authorities, which have now arrested six presumed culprits from the fittingly entitled outfit Comando del Diablo, Genchi was murdered because he "did not want to align" with them.
A sad story that again belies the charade that only those guilty of "something" are the ones who die in Calderón's war.
Source:
Caen seis presuntos asesinos de ex edil. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Aguachile relaunch
Summer's almost gone, at least in Norway where I have stayed the past months working on my book on the PRD and the Mexican left, which I hope will be out on this side of 2012. The blog has very much suffered as a result, but with a book off to the publisher as of Friday night - duly celebrated with copious amounts of oak-aged tequila - it is a fitting occasion to take stock of this blog, which I've maintained and updated several times weekly for two years now, even if much neglected the past few months.
I've been very happy to see the blog's view hits rise steadily the past years, and I've interpreted this, perhaps a tad pretentiously, to mean that it has helped fill a niche on blogging in English on domestic Mexican topics and particularly party politics. This, and the great conversations and new contacts and friends that have come out of it already, encourages me to keep on blogging, or essentially to share some thoughts on what I think are important topics in Mexico that deserves more attention, and that perhaps are overshadowed particularly by the ill-fated "war" on Mexico's drug gangs, more correctly the mafia.
I made a big decision some months ago to resign from the college where I have been teaching for three years, and which hired me right after finishing my U.S. Ph.D. There were many reasons involved, but in essence my wife and I found that it was time to make a move after many years in the United States. I also wanted to pursue other interests beyond teaching at a liberal arts college, which in many ways was more exciting than I imagined, but in other ways also somewhat disillusioning from what I had expected. My two bases will now be Norway and Mexico.
I've used the blog as a companion to my own academic writing on Mexico, and I've created it solely because of a passion for Mexican politics, which became my field of study. It has been a fantastic medium to reach and interact with others who share my love for the country and a deep interest in its politics.
I've been very happy to see the blog's view hits rise steadily the past years, and I've interpreted this, perhaps a tad pretentiously, to mean that it has helped fill a niche on blogging in English on domestic Mexican topics and particularly party politics. This, and the great conversations and new contacts and friends that have come out of it already, encourages me to keep on blogging, or essentially to share some thoughts on what I think are important topics in Mexico that deserves more attention, and that perhaps are overshadowed particularly by the ill-fated "war" on Mexico's drug gangs, more correctly the mafia.
I am a trained political scientist but no security specialist, and in any regard a range of excellent sources already exist on this topic - and I am not referring to Stratfor. Given a change of jobs, and the coming to an end of my book, I will also have more time available: What disillusioned me perhaps more than anything about working in a U.S. academic environment, wonderfully rigorous and professional as it is, was the extreme workload and lack of sufficient own time. I therefore plan to continue the blog in one way or another, though I have yet to settle on the coming format. In the meantime I only want to say thanks to those who have stopped by here already and who I hope to interact with even more in the future.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Church stabs Alejandro Solalinde, migrant defender, in the back
Alejandro Solalinde, tireless defender of Latin American migrants in Mexico, has been threatened and harassed by organized crime countless times, but nothing has prevented him from maintaining and running a migrants shelter in Ixepec, Oaxaca, the Hermanos en el Camino, and speaking their cause. Now he may be forced to leave the shelter after being stabbed in the back, figuratively speaking, by his own bishop, Óscar Armando Campos Contreras of Tehuantepec.
Solalinde said the bishop had asked him to leave the shelter by November:
Let's hope it is.
Whoever is right here, I'll let Solalinde have the final word:
Source:
Dejará Solalinde albergue; seguirá en el activismo. El Universal, Aug. 8, 2012.
Solalinde sigue en albergue: obispo. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012.
Solalinde said the bishop had asked him to leave the shelter by November:
"This how he put it, that I was a protagonist. He is a conservative for sure and that's no problem, the problem is that with his power he does to me what no criminal group had been capable of... I don't know if there is a hidden motive... I can fight against cartels but not against the Church," he said in an interview with El Universal.It seems the bishop of Tehuantepec got cold feet: In today's El Universal he said that he had never told Solalinde such a thing, and that it was a strange misunderstanding.
Let's hope it is.
Whoever is right here, I'll let Solalinde have the final word:
I do not think this is very evangelical. I was told to devote myself to the poor in my free time only, but the poor should get more than 'leftovers.' So I will not take a parish.
Source:
Dejará Solalinde albergue; seguirá en el activismo. El Universal, Aug. 8, 2012.
Solalinde sigue en albergue: obispo. El Universal, Aug. 9, 2012.
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