Mexican View: John M. Ackerman: "The G20´s Choice of Calderón is a grave error"

While John Ackerman is a U.S. citizen and academic, he has lived in Mexico for many years where he is a university professor of political science and editor of the Mexican Law Journal. He has thoroughly immersed himself in understanding Mexican politics and writes with a very Mexican voice. 

The Guardian,: "The G20 committed a big mistake by naming as its chair for 2012 a possible war criminal who is in the midst of an intense electoral battle in his home country. Mexico's President Felipe Calderón will not push the G20 mandate of "promoting open and constructive discussion … on key issues related to global economic stability". His only interest will be to use this international forum for political purposes. In the context of widespread protest against global financial management, with Calderón at the helm, the G20 exposes itself to even greater popular anger.

Calderón has already convinced the G20 to move up its 2012 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, so that it takes place only a few weeks before the 1 July presidential elections. The Mexican president hopes to use the presence of the international leaders to boost his failing credibility and overcome his party's weakness in the polls. But precisely the opposite could be the case, since the highly-charged political environment in Mexico might lead to new social protests against the world leaders." read more