Washington Post. By William Booth and Nick Miroff
November 30, 2012
MEXICO CITY — On the eve of his inauguration and his party’s return to power, Mexico’s incoming President Enrique Peña Nieto has vowed to reshape his country’s education, business and energy sectors in ways that could have profound effects on the United States.
A dynamic politician, from an old autocratic political party, Peña Nieto has said he wants to change the conversation about Mexico in the United States, away from headless torsos and drug cartels to trade and manufacturing.
Together with the United States, Peña Nieto and his top advisors say Mexico wants to drill more oil, assemble more cars and build “better, faster, smarter bridges” to grow the $1 billion a day commerce across the the 2,000-mile border, already the busiest crossing in the world.
Peña Nieto, who takes office Saturday, and his team say they are ready to help the Obama administration and U.S. Congress implement a guest worker program to regulate the flow of Mexican labor to the United States, where an estimated 6 million Mexicans live illegally. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the CIP Americas Program monitors and analyzes international press on Mexico with a focus on the US-backed War on Drugs in Mexico and the struggle in Mexico to strengthen the rule of law, justice and protection of human rights. Relevant political developments in both countries are also covered.
Nov 30, 2012
Nov 29, 2012
Mexico murders at over 101,000 in past 6 years, report says
Fox News Latino
A total of 101,199 murders were registered in Mexico during President Felipe Calderon's six-year administration, with about 50 percent of the killings drug-related, a report released Tuesday by the Mexico Evalua think tank says.
Homicides rose 37 percent from December 2006, when Calderon took office, to October 2012.
A total of 74,586 homicides were registered during the 2000-2006 administration of President Vicente Fox, the public policy research center said.
Mexico Evalua used National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI, and National Public Safety System Executive Secretariat, or SESNSP, data in preparing the report.
The increase in homicides, according to the report, is related to organized crime, with the proportion of murders linked to "criminal rivalries" at just 30 percent before 2008.
Today, that figure is around 50 percent, with some states, especially in northern Mexico, seeing 80 percent of murders linked to drug trafficking. Read more.
A total of 101,199 murders were registered in Mexico during President Felipe Calderon's six-year administration, with about 50 percent of the killings drug-related, a report released Tuesday by the Mexico Evalua think tank says.
Homicides rose 37 percent from December 2006, when Calderon took office, to October 2012.
A total of 74,586 homicides were registered during the 2000-2006 administration of President Vicente Fox, the public policy research center said.
Mexico Evalua used National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI, and National Public Safety System Executive Secretariat, or SESNSP, data in preparing the report.
The increase in homicides, according to the report, is related to organized crime, with the proportion of murders linked to "criminal rivalries" at just 30 percent before 2008.
Today, that figure is around 50 percent, with some states, especially in northern Mexico, seeing 80 percent of murders linked to drug trafficking. Read more.
Nov 27, 2012
Returning Migrant Children Pose Educational Challenge
Frontera NorteSur
November 25, 2012
In different migrant-sending regions of Mexico, educators are coping with the new challenge of teaching children of return migrants who speak little or no Spanish. In the north-central state of Zacatecas, for instance, 150 teachers began a crash course this month in English to help them communicate with new students coming from the United States.
Sponsored by the state education department, the class will consist of 60 hours of Saturday sessions, video-conferences and field work. Antonio Jacobo de Luna, Zacatecas under-secretary for educational planning and support, said the new teacher program is addressing the concerns of U.S.-based migrant clubs from Zacatecas that got in touch with state officials about the presence of young, primarily English speakers suddenly thrust into a Spanish-language learning environment. Read more.
November 25, 2012
In different migrant-sending regions of Mexico, educators are coping with the new challenge of teaching children of return migrants who speak little or no Spanish. In the north-central state of Zacatecas, for instance, 150 teachers began a crash course this month in English to help them communicate with new students coming from the United States.
Sponsored by the state education department, the class will consist of 60 hours of Saturday sessions, video-conferences and field work. Antonio Jacobo de Luna, Zacatecas under-secretary for educational planning and support, said the new teacher program is addressing the concerns of U.S.-based migrant clubs from Zacatecas that got in touch with state officials about the presence of young, primarily English speakers suddenly thrust into a Spanish-language learning environment. Read more.
Nov 23, 2012
Mexico Name Change: Felipe Calderon Tries To Change Country Name From United Mexican States
HuffPost By E. Eduardo Castillo 11/22/12
The name "United Mexican States," or "Estados Unidos Mexicanos," was adopted in 1824 after independence from Spain in imitation of Mexico's democratic northern neighbor, but it is rarely used except on official documents, money and other government material.
Still, President Felipe Calderon called a news conference Thursday to announce that he wants to make the name simply "Mexico." His country doesn't need to copy anyone, he said.
Calderon first proposed the name change as a congressman in 2003 but the bill did not make it to a vote. The new constitutional reform he proposed would have to be approved by both houses of Congress and a majority of Mexico's 31 state legislatures.
However, Calderon leaves office on Dec. 1, raising the question of whether his proposal is a largely symbolic gesture. His proposal was widely mocked on Twitter as a ridiculous parting shot from a lame-duck president. Read more.
Mapping the Unidentified Victims of Mexico's Drug War
InSight Crime, Written by Geoffrey Ramsey Sunday, 18 November 2012
An investigative report by Milenio suggests that of the 60,000 people killed in the last six years in Mexico's fight against organized crime, nearly half have not been identified by the government. It also finds evidence that state officials may be tampering with the public record of these deaths.
The months-long investigation published in October found that at least 24,102 of the 60,000 Mexicans that have died in circumstances related to the fight against organized crime since 2006, have yet to be identified, and are classified by officials as "NN," ("ningun nombre," or no name). Below is a map compiled by the paper of the states with the highest reported concentrations of these unidentified victims.
Even more alarming, this is a conservative estimate. State officials were extremely uncooperative with the investigation. The state of Tamaulipas, for example, simply refused to release any data on the number of NNs to the newspaper, saying that it was a federal matter and not the state's responsibility.
The government of Veracruz also put up a fight against releasing the data to Milenio, arguing that to do so would put its officials "at risk" and potentially violate the privacy of the victims. While a freedom of information request filed by the paper was approved in Mexican courts, the state has yet to provide a comprehensive list of cases of unidentified murder victims. The local governments 30 of 212 municipalities in Veracruz did provide information to Milenio, however; according to this data, it was the state with the most unidentified victims in the country, with 5,245. Read more.
An investigative report by Milenio suggests that of the 60,000 people killed in the last six years in Mexico's fight against organized crime, nearly half have not been identified by the government. It also finds evidence that state officials may be tampering with the public record of these deaths.
The months-long investigation published in October found that at least 24,102 of the 60,000 Mexicans that have died in circumstances related to the fight against organized crime since 2006, have yet to be identified, and are classified by officials as "NN," ("ningun nombre," or no name). Below is a map compiled by the paper of the states with the highest reported concentrations of these unidentified victims.
Even more alarming, this is a conservative estimate. State officials were extremely uncooperative with the investigation. The state of Tamaulipas, for example, simply refused to release any data on the number of NNs to the newspaper, saying that it was a federal matter and not the state's responsibility.
The government of Veracruz also put up a fight against releasing the data to Milenio, arguing that to do so would put its officials "at risk" and potentially violate the privacy of the victims. While a freedom of information request filed by the paper was approved in Mexican courts, the state has yet to provide a comprehensive list of cases of unidentified murder victims. The local governments 30 of 212 municipalities in Veracruz did provide information to Milenio, however; according to this data, it was the state with the most unidentified victims in the country, with 5,245. Read more.
Nov 22, 2012
The man who remade Mexico City
Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has given Mexico's capital – once infamous for its pollution, lawlessness, and general chaos – new appeal thanks to environmental and civic programs.
The Christian Science Monitor By Sara Miller Llana, Staff writer / November 22, 2012
Mexico City
Jose Guadalupe Gonzalez walks among giant paper-mache renderings of fantastical dragons and serpents, called alebrijes, with his wife and two teenage daughters in the middle of Mexico City’s Zocalo to celebrate Day of the Dead. Later, the family considered catching a play for free, also in the main plaza, or strolling along the nearby, new pedestrian streets of downtown Mexico.
In the winter the Gonzalez family goes ice-skating in the same spot. And on Sundays, any time of the year, they can hop on free bicycles and ride along Reforma, the city's most icononic thoroughfare.
In many ways, Mr. Gonzalez says his native city is an unrecognizable place, having transformed under leftist administrations and particularly the city’s outgoing Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who has become an international star of sorts among the municipal set. Read more.
The Christian Science Monitor By Sara Miller Llana, Staff writer / November 22, 2012
Mexico City
Jose Guadalupe Gonzalez walks among giant paper-mache renderings of fantastical dragons and serpents, called alebrijes, with his wife and two teenage daughters in the middle of Mexico City’s Zocalo to celebrate Day of the Dead. Later, the family considered catching a play for free, also in the main plaza, or strolling along the nearby, new pedestrian streets of downtown Mexico.
In the winter the Gonzalez family goes ice-skating in the same spot. And on Sundays, any time of the year, they can hop on free bicycles and ride along Reforma, the city's most icononic thoroughfare.
In many ways, Mr. Gonzalez says his native city is an unrecognizable place, having transformed under leftist administrations and particularly the city’s outgoing Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who has become an international star of sorts among the municipal set. Read more.
Nov 20, 2012
US marijuana legalisation fuels Mexico drugs war debate
BBC November 20, 2012
Earlier this month, two US states voted to legalise, regulate and tax marijuana. The BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City looks at what this shift in stance could mean for Mexico and its fight against the drug gangs.
Every year, pro-marijuana campaigners in Seattle hold their annual Hempfest, a two-day festival along the city's shoreline.
Thick pungent clouds of pot smoke waft over the crowd who are sitting out with a joint in their hand, listening to the live music, or pottering among the dozens of stalls selling bongs, pipes and other smoking paraphernalia.
The police are on hand to ensure there is no open buying or selling of the drug. But at the next 'Hempfest', they may not even need to do that.
On the day voters in Washington state chose to re-elect President Barack Obama, they also chose to legalise the recreational use of marijuana. Over the Rockies in Colorado, it was a similar story. Read more.
Earlier this month, two US states voted to legalise, regulate and tax marijuana. The BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City looks at what this shift in stance could mean for Mexico and its fight against the drug gangs.
Every year, pro-marijuana campaigners in Seattle hold their annual Hempfest, a two-day festival along the city's shoreline.
Thick pungent clouds of pot smoke waft over the crowd who are sitting out with a joint in their hand, listening to the live music, or pottering among the dozens of stalls selling bongs, pipes and other smoking paraphernalia.
The police are on hand to ensure there is no open buying or selling of the drug. But at the next 'Hempfest', they may not even need to do that.
On the day voters in Washington state chose to re-elect President Barack Obama, they also chose to legalise the recreational use of marijuana. Over the Rockies in Colorado, it was a similar story. Read more.
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