Hemisphere Highlights: Congressional Elections in Mexico

Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hemisphere Highlights, 1/31/2009
With congressional elections in Mexico scheduled for July 5, the primary season gets underway this month, as prospective candidates for seats in the national legislature enter the electoral process’ precampaign phase. Under reforms that take effect this year, those who hope their names will appear on ballots [...]

Protesters rally in Mexico City

BBC, 1/30/2009
Thousands of people in Mexico City have protested against what they say is the inadequate response by the government to growing economic problems in Mexico.
The protesters – most of them from rural areas – were angry at President Felipe Calderon’s recent move to freeze the price of petrol but not diesel.
Read more…

Senate Approves Children’s Health Bill

The New York Times, 1/30/2009
The Senate passed a bill on Thursday to provide health insurance to more than four million uninsured children, as a newly empowered Democratic majority brushed aside Republican objections. The vote was 66 to 32, with nine Republicans joining Democrats to support the bill.
President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar legislation. But [...]

Calderón and Uribe agree on detention of drug traffickers (in Spanish)

La Reforma, 1/30/2009
The Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, warned that the Colombian and Mexican governments agreed to pursue criminals in a reciprocal manner.
He explained that the subject was discussed during his meeting with Mexican President, Felipe Calderón, at the annual meeting of the Global Economic Forum.
“We agreed to capture criminals in Mexico that are sought by [...]

Mexico City braces for water rationing

Los Angeles Times, 1/30/2009
One of the world’s largest cities is launching a rationing plan in a drastic — and some say overdue — effort to conserve water after rampant development, mismanagement and reduced rainfall caused supplies to drop to dangerously low levels.
Starting Saturday, water will be cut or reduced to homes in at least 10 [...]

Mexico’s Cemex posts $707m loss

BBC, 1/30/2009
Mexican cement maker Cemex has posted its first quarterly loss in a decade amid lower demand and a strong dollar.
The company lost $707m (£495m) in the last three months of 2008. Its profit fell 92% to $203m during 2008, compared with 2007.
“In response to the challenging times we are facing, we remain focused on [...]

Mexico Peso Stuns UBS, Car Dealers With Biggest Drop Since 1995

Bloomberg, 1/30/2009
The steepest decline in Mexico’s peso in 13 years blindsided everyone from UBS AG economists to Gustavo Huitron, the local marketing manager for Mercedes-Benz.
After weakening 20 percent last year, the currency fell to a record closing low of 14.2431 per dollar this week. RBS Greenwich Capital Markets in Greenwich, Connecticut, now predicts another 5 [...]

Poll: Mexicans would support a voucher program for education (in Spanish)

Cidac, 1/29/2009
The quality of education remains a problem in Mexico, despite recent increases in government spending. A new poll by the  Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo asked Mexicans how they would view a voucher program that would give families “coupons” to use at public or private schools. Few responded negatively.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Read more…

Mexico drug bosses may have set truce

Los Angeles Times, 1/29/2009
Have some of Mexico’s most notorious drug bosses declared a truce? After a record year of bloodshed, killings have dropped by two-thirds from the December level in the state of Sinaloa, the historic center of Mexican drug trafficking, according to tallies kept by local and national news media.
Riodoce, a respected weekly [...]

VW lays off 800 workers in Mexico

BBC, 1/29/2009
German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) has said it will cut 800 jobs at its Mexican plant in Puebla, the site that produces the firm’s Beetle model.
Production in Mexico could be cut by up to 20% this year after VW admitted it was considering further layoffs. The plant employs about 9,400 people.
Read more…