MEXICO: After Calderon, Who? Handsome, Young Ex-Governor Peña Nieto Is Front-Runner For President.

NYTIMES/ E. Malkin

2 screen read combined

Mexico state's handsome outgoing PRI Governor Enrique Peña Nieto, 44, is the early front-runner for the 2012 presidential election campaign.

Twelve months before the next presidential election, Peña Nieto leads in opinion polls with about 40%.

The opposition says frankly of Pena Nieto: “What we are seeing is the return of the worst of the PRI”. 

MEXICO / USA : Report Claims 70% Of Seized Weapons From USA.

BBC

A US Senate report says that almost 70% of the guns seized in Mexico... and submitted to an ATF gun-tracing program...came from the USA.

Of the 29,284 firearms recovered by authorities in Mexico in 2009-10, 20,504 came from the USA.

With more than 38,000 dead since he took office in 2006, President Felipe Calderon is attacking the U.S. weapons industry.

"I accuse the U.S. weapons industry of (responsibility for) the deaths of thousands of people that are occurring in Mexico," Calderon said. "It is for profit, for the profits that it makes for the weapons industry."

MEXICO: Without Shame, Sinaloa Flaunts Narco Roots...And Raises More Questions About Calderon Strategy.

AP/ A.Olson 


   The state of Sinaloa is the birthplace and home of some of Mexico's most infamous narcos.
   So, many ask, why President Felipe Calderon hasn't tried to clean it up during his 5-year war on narcos.
   There are only a couple hundred federal police there...while thousands were sent to Chihuahua and his home state of Michoacan.
   Even a member of Calderon's own party is outraged. "It has been a safe state for organized crime to live there and work there and develop with total tranquility," Congressman Manuel Clouthier charges.
   Notorious narco capos Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada are thought to be  protected by corrupt officials and hiding in its or Durango's mountains.
    In Sinaloa "part of it is the perception that legal activity and illegal activity has become so blurred. There is pressure from the legitimate economic interests who don't want their economic interests to be touched," an observer said. "There is a broad sense that there is a lot of money laundering and visible activity related to drug trafficking that has not been fully addressed or combated."

MEXICO: 16 May UPDATE: PR/AD Campaign Launched To Promote Tourism And Combat Narco Fears; Many USA Businesses Will Expand Elsewhere.

REUTERS/

    Mexico is spending millions on print and billboard ads in the USA cities to stop Americans from cancelling visits.
    "Those travel alerts that were headlining 'If you want to stay alive, don't travel to Mexico,' we felt they were not only totally inaccurate but irresponsible," said a Mexico Tourism Board official.
     Foreign visitors spent $11.9 billion there last year...up 5% from 2009 when the global economic crisis and H1N1 virus decimated global tourism.
    But the 2010 figures are down 10% from $13.3 billion in 2008.
    President Felipe Calderon's recent hour-long TV interview...in English (See link on 11 May post)...could be considered part of this campaign to sway USA opinion about the safety of tourism and investments in Mexico...despite intensive media coverage of seemingly endless, widespread violence, mayhem and death.

 AND:   A recent U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce survey reports that only half of USA firms said they would go ahead with new investment plans in Mexico.
    Several companies, including Whirlpool, recently announced they would put new factories elsewhere because of safety worries.
     In the survey one out of 10 companies reported kidnappings while 60% said their employees were beaten or threatened in 2010. Also that cargo thefts from trucks and trains are rampant and soaring.

 http://www.stltoday.com/news/article_6f78ed57-2de7-5663-8499-184357eef89e.html

MEXICO: President Felipe Calderon Interviewed...In English...By Charlie Rose.

charlierose.com/ 54 minutes

   Last night, Charlie Rose interviewed Mexico's President Felipe Calderon.
   It was the first time I had heard Calderon expound on the many issues challenging Mexico...and in English!
   Prior to this interview, I had only seen snippets of Calderon pronouncements.
   Surprisingly, he speaks excellent English...better than I speak Spanish or Portuguese.
   After about 30 minutes, Calderon seemed to visibly relax. 
   Perhaps he realized that Rose was not going to play 'gotcha" with him, ie, no questions about alcohol abuse.
   My overall impression of Calderon now is more favorable.
   That President Calderon can be a charming free market salesman...with a willingness to take on the narco thugs...but only until his term ends in 2012.
   What's your impression?
 ---------------------------------
   While in NYC, Calderon, speaking with BLOOMBERG, addressed Mexico's inflation...saying it is "under control."
   Annual inflation there in April was 3.36%...or about half Brasil's 6.51%...and close to the c.bank’s target of 3%.
  Calderon also said that GDP grew to more than 5% in Q1...from 4.6% in Q4.
  “I would like to see even better growth, but it’s not bad,” Calderon said. “Under the circumstances it’s a very good performance.”
   He also said he would like to see Pemex become more efficient like Brasil's Petrobras...with a second reform of it...but that Pemex is unlikely to sell shares.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-11/calderon-says-inflation-under-control-as-commodities-sink-mexico-credit.html

MEXICO: Protest March Vs Violence...Turns Into A Happening.

LATIMES/ K. Ellingwood

   A 4-day march from Cuernavaca to Mexico City's zocalo gathered followers and culminated in perhaps 150,000 demonstrators and others calling for an end to the nation's narco violence.
   Protestors carried placards saying "No more blood!" and "We're fed up!"
   They want President Calderon to drop his military strategy against the narcos.
   "Mexicans can't take more of this fear. This country is overwhelmed by violence as never before," said one marcher.
   More than 34,000 people have been killed since 2006.
   Besides political activists, the throng included angry electrical workers, women's rights advocates, drum groups and hula-hoop dancers.

 TO SEE MARCHERS: :49 AFP English VIDEO REPORT:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukoHcm79RCA&feature=player_embedded#at=12

MEXICO: 20 Mar. UPDATE: Ambassador Pascual Resigns; Calderon Lobbied Hard For His Ouster.

LINK CHANGE / LATIMES /



     After weeks of hard lobbying by Mexico's President Calderon, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual is...GONE!
  After only 19 months on the job, Pascual is the first top diplomatic victim from WikiLeaks revelations.
  Why?
  Calderon said publicly he didn't trust Pascual and barely spoke to him.
  Analysts believe Calderon was really angry because of critical WikiLeaks cables written by Pascual about Calderon's ineffective war against the narcos...and because Pascual's girlfriend is the daughter of an opposition legislator.
    Pascual served for 23-years in the State Dept.and U.S AID.

MEXICO: U.S. Will Allow Mexicans To Keep On Trucking...Past Border.

BLOOMBERG

   President Obama and President Felipe Calderon announced that after the Congress approves the agreement, the U.S. will begin to permit Mexican trucks to cross the border, ending a long simmering dispute  that saw Mexico impose tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of U.S. pork, cheese, corn and fruits.
    Unions are reportedly dismayed by the agreement but business leaders are applauding it.
    Mexico will suspend 50 percent of the tariffs when the accord is signed.
   The remaining tariffs will be eliminated when the first Mexican truck crosses the border into the United States.
    The announcement comes at a low point in U.S./Mexico relations with "bad blood" from recent WikiLeak cables revelations and growing heat on Calderon at home over his failure to stop the fearsome narco violence.

MEXICO: Calderon Hikes Military Pay; Creates 4 New Border Battalions.

LAHT/

    To cement the military's support in the ongoing fight against the narco terrorists, President Felipe Calderon announced new pay increases.
    “With this new increase, the soldier with the lowest pay in the armed forces will have seen his compensation rise by nearly 120 percent, compared to what he received at the start of my administration (in December 2006)."
    Also Army and air force second lieutenants and lieutenants will receive the additional pay for the first time.
    Lifetime pensions no less than 10,000 pesos ($833) monthly for the widows of soldiers killed in action will also be provided.

AND:   4 new army battalions will be created for the northeast border region to combat the surge in drug-related violence there. “We know the difficult situation that people in the northeast border of the country are dealing with,” Calderon said in Reynosa.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=387557&CategoryId=14091

MEXICO: 17 Feb UPDATE: 15 Injured As Oaxaca Teachers Protest, Clash With Police During Calderon Visit.

LINK CHANGE/ LAHT / New Details /

     Twelve teachers and 3 photographers were injured in Oaxaca as teachers and police clashed for hours during a tear gas clouded protest over a visit by President Felipe Calderon.
   The three reporters filed a criminal complaint against the state and federal police for assault.
   Two teachers are hospitalized in serious condition,
   The protest leaders said they are against a decree that Calderon just signed giving parents tax breaks on private school tuition. They believe it undermines public schools and have threatened more protests and roadblocks.
   During a similar protest in 2006, a least a dozen people died in Oaxaca and paralyzed it for five months, killing the important tourist trade.

MEXICO: 10 Feb.UPDATE; Journalist Aristegui Fired For Discussing Whether President Calderon Is...An Alcoholic; Free Speech Debate Begins.

LINK CHANGE/ AP/ More Details/

   Radio journalist Carmen Aristegui is out of a job, fired by MVS Comunicaciones for violating ethics policy by commenting on a “rumor.”
   Last week on her popular radio program, Arisregui referred to an opposition placard she had seen that said: “Would you let a drunk drive your car? No, right? So why are you letting one run the country?”
  “Does Felipe Calderon have problems with alcoholism or not?” Aristegui said.
"This deserves, I insist, a serious, formal and official response from the presidency of the republic.”
    Meanwhile her firing has fired-up a debate over freedom of expression there and allegations that the government has too much influence over the media.
     After initially ignoring the issue, a Calderon spokesman finally stated that "During the four years of his administration, he (Calderon) has never missed any event because of health problems. This work pace is the best proof of his good health, physical strength and integrity."

MEXICO: Prisons Fail To Keep Convicts Inside During Narco Wars.

WA.POST/ NICK MIROFF
/ Annoying 2 Screen Read /

(The Wash.Post has apparently hired former G.Post Cuba freelancer Nick Miroff full-time. Congrats on this astute action. He's a story breaker. Period.)

  As the Mexican army, marines and federal police battle and die to arrest narco terrorists, Mexico's prisons fail to keep the convicted felons...locked-up.
    Embarrassingly, recently hundreds have escaped.
    "I lock them up, and they( local officials) let them out," said President Felipe Calderon.
    The Calderon government is moving to build more federal penitentiaries from the present eight facilities to as many as 20 by the end of next year.
    Nationally there are 223,000 prisoners with 45,000 are federal prisoners, convicted for drug trafficking, gun violations or drug-related killings.
    But today only 9,000 of the federal inmates are held in federal facilities.

MEXICO/ VENEZUELA / EL SALVADOR : Despite Extremely Violent 2010, Mexico Ranks 7th In Murder Rate Behind El Salvador And Venezuela; Public Isn't Buying Calderon's Security Plan.

LAHT /

     Mexico may get most of the media's attention for an escalating murder rate from drug terrorist violence.
     But it actually ranked seventh in 2010.
     Brasil, Jamaica, Belize, Colombia, Venezuela, South Africa, and El Salvador all outpaced Mexico in murders.

ALSO:  President Calderon claims a decline in murders for the last quarter of 2010. But the public doesn't believe it. A recent poll shows that more than 70 percent believed that the country’s security had actually worsened since 2009. For the first time in years, Mexicans are more worried about safety than the economy.
FOR DETAILS:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/world/americas/02mexico.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all

MEXICO: Clinton Visit Supports Calderon Narco Fight, Damage Control After Wiki Cable Leaks.

BBC/

   Secretary of State Hilary Clinton stopped in Guanajuato to repeat her support for President Felipe Calderon's fight against the narco terrorists.
    Clinton said there was "no alternative" to confronting the narcos. "It is messy. It causes lots of terrible things to be on the news," she said. "The drug traffickers are not going to give up without a fight".
    Observers speculate that the visit was  intended as an exercise in damage control after Wikileaks revealed that some US officials were sceptical about the ability of Mexico to fight the narcos.

MEXICO: President Calderon Reshuffles Cabinet -- Again; New Energy Minister.

BLOOMBERG/ 
 Jens Erik Gould and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez/

   President Felipe Calderon has appointed Deputy Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade, 41, as the new energy minister, replacing Georgina Kessel.
  Calderon wants more more progress on measures in Congress to boost oil production, reduce Pemex taxes and pension liabilities. 
   "In addition to being a very good economist, he's (Kessel) a smooth political operator,” says economist Gabriel Casillas.
  Also, the Finance Ministry's Dionisio Perez-Jacome will replace Communications and Transportation Minister Juan Molinar Horcasitas.
        Calderon has shuffled his cabinet often since December 2006, naming four interior ministers, three economy ministers and three social development ministers.

MEXICO: WikiLeaks Expose U.S. Unease Over Calderon's Narco Terrorist War.

LATIMES/ TRACY WILKINSON /
     In newly released WikiLeaks cables about Mexico's war against the narco terrorists, U.S. officials seemed uneasy over a "risk averse" Mexican army and rivalries among security agencies.
     The cables quote officials who feared that the government was losing control of parts of some territory and that time was "running out" to rein in drug violence.
       "Official corruption is widespread, leading to a compartmentalized siege mentality among 'clean' law enforcement leaders and their lieutenants," wrote diplomat John D. Feeley. "Prosecution rates for organized crime-related offenses are dismal; 2% of those detained are brought" to trial.

MEXICO: Calderon Revises Casualty Figures Upward To 28,000 Killed; May Consider Drug Legalization.

BBC/       Officials now report that more than 28,000 have died in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels in 2006...an increase of 3,000 from previous estimates. Calderon also says that he is opposed to legalizing drugs but would be open to a debate about it. Three former presidents, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia, and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brasil, have called the US-led war on drugs a failure and called for the legalisation of marijuana to be considered.

MEXICO: Mixed Election Results For Calderon And Opposition PRI.

BLOOM/      Official results show that the PRI did not garner as many victories as expected while President Calderon's PAN party and allies took some governorships held by the PRI. The PRI held on to 6 states and retook Zacatecas, Tlaxcala and Aguascalientes. But the PAN and its allies won 3 states previously held by PRI, including Oaxaca, long controlled by the PRI, Puebla and Sinaloa, the home state of many drug thugs. “The PRI took it on the chin,”said professor George Grayson. The states that the PAN alliance won are larger than the states it lost, helping the PAN increase the total population it governs by more than 30%. (Foto of generic election workers)

MEXICO/U.S.: Calderon Visits Washington, Preoccupied By Troubles.

NYTIMES/ Analysis-- MARC LACEY/           "When Calderón addresses a joint session of Congress Wednesday, he will face a tricky task: How can he discuss the violence in his country with enough urgency to secure more assistance from Washington but also reassure American lawmakers that Mexico is not spinning out of control?"  And this..." relations between Calderón and Obama are close, say aides on both sides. The state dinner that Obama will hold for Calderón on Wednesday is evidence, since such events have been rare in the Obama presidency."

MEXICO: Calderon's PAN Party Faces Gale Force Headwinds In Yucatan.

LATIMES/     Recent polls predict a near-sweep in the Yucatan and elsewhere for the PRI, President Calderon's opposition, as voters in about half the states pick state and local officeholders. PAN leaders said they were even having trouble recruiting candidates in Tamaulipas, a PRI stronghold, because of violence. In the Yucatan, voters choose 106 mayors and 25 state legislators,where the prize is the mayor's seat in Merida, the capital. If PAN loses Merida, it will be a serious blow," said pollster Jorge Buendia.