The Mexico Institute, AL DÍA: News and Analysis from the Mexico Institute, 2/15/12
Each morning, through the Mexico Portal feature, “¿Qué opinan? Firmas del día”, we will bring you an assortment of op-ed pieces from five major Mexican dailies: Reforma, El Universal, La Jornada, Excelsior and Milenio. Enjoy!
Cada día, por la entrada titulada, “¿Qué opinan? Firmas del día”, vamos a traerles un surtido de artículos de opinión de cinco periódicos populares de México: Reforma, El Universal, La Jornada, Excelsior y Milenio. ¡Que lo disfruten!
Reforma:
- Templo Mayor: José Luis Vargas, soon to be expelled from the PGR has clashed with prominent women in Mexico such as Attorney General Marisela Morales or former PAN candidate Luisa María Calderón. As a 45 day pause in political campaigning begins today, it would be helpful to know if any of the three major candidates consider judicial reform to be on their agenda. The National Forum on oral trials, whose purpose is to press for judicial reform, begins today in Chihuahua.
http://www.reforma.com/editoriales/nacional/646/1290038/
- Sergio Aguayo, “País bananero”: Sergio Aguayo affirms that Mexico needs an independent ISAI and demands that the President respect its autonomy. The IFAI is the federal institution tasked with protecting public access to governmental information. Sergio Aguayo continues to criticize the evolution of Mexico-Spanish relations and in particular the voracity of Spanish companies in Mexico and their mistreatment of Mexican democratic institutions. Aguayo attributes the permission of Spanish aggression to the mentality held by Mexican authorities of being an inferior ‘banana country’.
http://www.reforma.com/editoriales/nacional/646/1290044/
El Universal
- Bajo Reserva: Egidio Torre, current governor of Tamaulipas, mourned his brother Rodolfo who was murdered in 2010 as he campaigned as the PRI candidate for governor of the state. Governor Torre has received no new information from the federal investigation. Instead, the governor has ordered his own investigation into the matter as three former PRI governors have recently caused controversy due to their alleged ties to the narco. The PAN’s leadership is reviewing electoral polls and is optimistic about their candidate’s rise against the PRI’s lead. The PRD’s coalition continues to face internal disputes in the eve of their party’s national council meeting.
http://www.eluniversalmas.com.mx/columnas/2012/02/94433.php
Jornada
- Enfrentamiento por la Fepade, “Clase Politica”: The change of the head of Fepade heightened the confrontation between the PRI and the government of President Felipe Calderón. The TEPJF confirmed the validity of the elections in Michoacán. Enrique Peña Nieto said the biggest challenge is to respond to Mexican demands without avoiding responsibility. The national director of the PRD condemned the death threat against Victor Páez Calvillo, and demanded that local authorities investigate. The Federal Deputy of the PRI, Carlos Joaquin González denied speculations that he is seeking to join the PRD.
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2012/02/15/opinion/006o2pol
Excelsior
- Jorge Fernández Menéndez, “Los enamorados linchados”: Three young men were lynched in San Mateo Huitzilzingo after a group of women accused them of attempting the kidnapping of two high school students. The three men were just residents from a neighboring town and one of them was attempting to court a young lady rather than attempting to kidnap her. The municipal forces, either by complicity or incompetence, did not inform the state authorities of the attempted lynching for two hours after the mob was formed. This tragic episode mirrors previous lynchings were local people, accustomed to impunity and distrust in the authorities, attacked alleged kidnappers.
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&seccion=opinion&cat=11&id_nota=810568
- Leo Zuckermann, “¿Sumará Calderón la rabia de los priistas?”: Due to the consistency of current electoral preferences in favor of Peña Nieto, it is speculated that the PAN administration of Felipe Calderón will attempt to move against the PRI in an effort to secure a lead in the polls for Josefina Vázquez Mota. There are rumors that the federal government will soon catch a PRI “Big Fish” that will attach the label of corruption, criminality and even narco to the PRI. According to Zuckermann this is an old Mexican political tactic, the use of justice for political gain.
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&seccion=opinion&cat=11&id_nota=810570
Milenio
- Trascendió: The removal of José Luis Vargas from the PGR has caused indignation amonst the PRI party due to the way in which the Attorney General’s office ignored a petition by the PRI’s leader and sacked Vargas instead of asking him for his resignation. The PVEM has officially recognized Enrique Peña Nieto as its presidential candidate. Concluding his tour of Morelos, Felipe Calderón has returned to the capital to film the “Diálogos ciudadanos” strategy; a recent initiative that has most recently met citizen anger in San Luis Potosí.
http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/impreso/9113083
- Ciro Gómez Leyva, “Calderón sí trae ‘cash’”: Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, Secretary of Organization for the PRI, laments the sudden removal of José Luis Vargas. Manlio Fabio Beltrones has expressed that the federal government is shamelessly demonstrating its partisan political and electoral intentions. The PRI has perceived the removal of Vargas to be politically motivated due to his refusal to obey President Calderón. Osorio Chong states that it seems that the federal government is determined to prove it is manipulating Mexico’s institutions.
http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/impreso/9113066
