The Atlantic
By Keegan Hamilton
February 27, 2013
The rumor started Thursday afternoon when the newspaper Prensa Libre reported that several narcos were killed during shootout in Guatemala's remote Petén region. Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez said one of the corpses was "physically very similar" to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, top boss of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. Other outlets, including the unfiltered drug war diary Blog del Narco, spread the word on Twitter, piquing the interest of the international press, and sending Mexican and Guatemalan officials scrambling to confirm the powerful drug lord's purported demise.
The rumor was soon thoroughly debunked. There was no shootout, let alone one that claimed the life of the modern day Pablo Escobar. (Lopez, the Interior Minister, later apologized for the "misunderstanding" and blamed contradictory reports for the confusion.) Not only is El Chapo still very much alive, his legend has grown larger than ever. Already a billionaire according to Forbes, the Sinaloa capo has supplanted Osama bin Laden as the State Department's top international target, and the Chicago Crime Commission recently named him Public Enemy No. 1, a title originally reserved for Al Capone. 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.
Feb 28, 2013
Arrest of union boss rivets Mexico
People inside and outside the country speculate on what message the new president aims to send with the charges against the infamous Elba Esther Gordillo.
Los Angeles Time
By Richard Fausset
February 27, 2013
MEXICO CITY — The reversal of fortune could not have been more striking. And for many Mexicans, the images, broadcast live on national television Wednesday, could not have been more unexpected.
Here, once again, was Elba Esther Gordillo, the powerful boss of Mexico's massive, sclerotic teachers union. But instead of the image Mexicans were used to — Gordillo standing in front of adoring followers, defiantly speechifying, dressed to the nines — her famous face was now barely visible through the bars of a Mexico City jail.
The face scowled above a simple white turtleneck as a federal court official read the charges against her. They allege that she illegally diverted more than $156 million in union funds, which she used to support her famously lavish lifestyle: the plastic surgery procedures; the Neiman Marcus spending sprees; the private jets like the one she had landed in Tuesday at the Toluca airport, where she and three others were promptly arrested by federal officials. Read more.
Los Angeles Time
By Richard Fausset
February 27, 2013
MEXICO CITY — The reversal of fortune could not have been more striking. And for many Mexicans, the images, broadcast live on national television Wednesday, could not have been more unexpected.
Here, once again, was Elba Esther Gordillo, the powerful boss of Mexico's massive, sclerotic teachers union. But instead of the image Mexicans were used to — Gordillo standing in front of adoring followers, defiantly speechifying, dressed to the nines — her famous face was now barely visible through the bars of a Mexico City jail.
The face scowled above a simple white turtleneck as a federal court official read the charges against her. They allege that she illegally diverted more than $156 million in union funds, which she used to support her famously lavish lifestyle: the plastic surgery procedures; the Neiman Marcus spending sprees; the private jets like the one she had landed in Tuesday at the Toluca airport, where she and three others were promptly arrested by federal officials. Read more.
Feb 27, 2013
Mexico counts 26,121 missing during Calderon era
The LA Times
By Cecilia Sanchez, Daniel Hernandez and Richard Fausset
February 26, 2013
Mexico City - The number of people who went missing in Mexico during the six years of former President Felipe Calderon’s administration stands at 26,121, government officials said Tuesday, a figure that would rank among the worst episodes of "disappearances" in Latin American history.
The official statistic, which includes people reported missing between December 2006 and November 2012, was released at a news conference by Lia Limon, the subsecretary for legal affairs and human rights under new President Enrique Peña Nieto, who took office Dec. 1.
Her announcement came days after Human Rights Watch issued a scathing report that blamed Mexican security forces for many disappearances during the government’s crackdown on domestic drug cartels, which began in earnest in December 2006. The report also blamed the Calderon government for failing to adequately investigate the disappearances. Read more.
By Cecilia Sanchez, Daniel Hernandez and Richard Fausset
February 26, 2013
Mexico City - The number of people who went missing in Mexico during the six years of former President Felipe Calderon’s administration stands at 26,121, government officials said Tuesday, a figure that would rank among the worst episodes of "disappearances" in Latin American history.
The official statistic, which includes people reported missing between December 2006 and November 2012, was released at a news conference by Lia Limon, the subsecretary for legal affairs and human rights under new President Enrique Peña Nieto, who took office Dec. 1.
Her announcement came days after Human Rights Watch issued a scathing report that blamed Mexican security forces for many disappearances during the government’s crackdown on domestic drug cartels, which began in earnest in December 2006. The report also blamed the Calderon government for failing to adequately investigate the disappearances. Read more.
Mexico's Zetas gang joins coal mining business for bigger profits
Public Radio International
February 26, 2013
Mexico's drug cartel, the Zetas, have joined the coal mining business to increase their profits outside of their lucrative drug trading business. But legal and illegal coal mining practices in the region have mining advocates concerned for the miners' safety and future coal mining practice.
The Zetas, one of Mexico's drug cartels, is adding another source of income to their arsenal with illegal coal mining in the Mexican state of Coahuila.
Mines in Coahuila produce 95 percent of Mexico's coal. From small-scale mines, the Zetas can sometimes make a greater profit margins with coal than selling illegal drugs. John Holman, a reporter for Al Jazeera, says Coahuila is home to numerous pothos, small mines, with very little regulation.
The Zetas typically use miners who aren't highly trained, Holman says, so they can pay them poorly and make greater profits. Read more.
February 26, 2013
Mexico's drug cartel, the Zetas, have joined the coal mining business to increase their profits outside of their lucrative drug trading business. But legal and illegal coal mining practices in the region have mining advocates concerned for the miners' safety and future coal mining practice.
The Zetas, one of Mexico's drug cartels, is adding another source of income to their arsenal with illegal coal mining in the Mexican state of Coahuila.
Mines in Coahuila produce 95 percent of Mexico's coal. From small-scale mines, the Zetas can sometimes make a greater profit margins with coal than selling illegal drugs. John Holman, a reporter for Al Jazeera, says Coahuila is home to numerous pothos, small mines, with very little regulation.
The Zetas typically use miners who aren't highly trained, Holman says, so they can pay them poorly and make greater profits. Read more.
Head of Mexico's Powerful Teachers' Union Jailed
ABC News
By Olga R. Rodriguez Associated Press
Mexico City February 27, 2013 (AP)
One of Mexico's biggest political kingfish sits in a women's prison in the capital, accused of embezzling millions in funds from her teachers' union to pay for property, private planes, plastic surgery and her Neiman Marcus bill.
Elba Esther Gordillo, 68, leader of the 1.5 million-member National Union of Education Workers, was arrested late Tuesday afternoon as she landed at the Toluca airport near Mexico City on a private flight from San Diego. Assistant Attorney General Alfredo Castillo told the Televisa network that she was taken off the plane and flown by authorities to Mexico City.
Upon arrival in Mexico's capital, she asked to see a doctor then was taken in a caravan of Federal Police and Marine vehicles to Santa Martha Acatitla prison, Televisa reported. Read more.
By Olga R. Rodriguez Associated Press
Mexico City February 27, 2013 (AP)
One of Mexico's biggest political kingfish sits in a women's prison in the capital, accused of embezzling millions in funds from her teachers' union to pay for property, private planes, plastic surgery and her Neiman Marcus bill.
Elba Esther Gordillo, 68, leader of the 1.5 million-member National Union of Education Workers, was arrested late Tuesday afternoon as she landed at the Toluca airport near Mexico City on a private flight from San Diego. Assistant Attorney General Alfredo Castillo told the Televisa network that she was taken off the plane and flown by authorities to Mexico City.
Upon arrival in Mexico's capital, she asked to see a doctor then was taken in a caravan of Federal Police and Marine vehicles to Santa Martha Acatitla prison, Televisa reported. Read more.
Feb 26, 2013
Mexico Reverses Foreign Investment Flows
The New York Times
February 25, 2013
MEXICO CITY (AP) — After decades of depending on inflows of foreign capital to develop its economy, Mexico turned a corner and become a net exporter of direct investment capital in 2012, according to a report released Monday.
Mexico's central bank said that Mexican corporations invested about $25.6 billion last year in buying up foreign plants and companies, more than twice the $12.6 foreigners invested directly in Mexican firms. An official confirmed that was the first time in recent memory that outflows exceeded inflows.
For a country that still has one foot planted firmly in the developing world, that news worried some analysts and delighted others. Read more.
February 25, 2013
MEXICO CITY (AP) — After decades of depending on inflows of foreign capital to develop its economy, Mexico turned a corner and become a net exporter of direct investment capital in 2012, according to a report released Monday.
Mexico's central bank said that Mexican corporations invested about $25.6 billion last year in buying up foreign plants and companies, more than twice the $12.6 foreigners invested directly in Mexican firms. An official confirmed that was the first time in recent memory that outflows exceeded inflows.
For a country that still has one foot planted firmly in the developing world, that news worried some analysts and delighted others. Read more.
Mexico's Pena Nieto enacts major education reform
BBC News
February 26, 2013
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has enacted a major reform of the education system that includes new standards for hiring teachers.
Under the changes, a census is to establish the exact number of schools, teachers and pupils in the country.
The reforms appear set to weaken the powerful teachers' union, led by Elba Esther Gordillo, which has largely controlled access to the profession.
The union has argued that reforms could lead to massive lay-offs.
Critics also say the changes could signal the start of the privatisation of education in Mexico. Read more.
February 26, 2013
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has enacted a major reform of the education system that includes new standards for hiring teachers.
Under the changes, a census is to establish the exact number of schools, teachers and pupils in the country.
The reforms appear set to weaken the powerful teachers' union, led by Elba Esther Gordillo, which has largely controlled access to the profession.
The union has argued that reforms could lead to massive lay-offs.
Critics also say the changes could signal the start of the privatisation of education in Mexico. Read more.
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