MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Calderón reveals he was alerted of plans by Mexican cartels to kill him
Mexican President Felipe Calderón was warned during the early years of his administration of a credible threat to assassinate him while he was in the presidential jet, Mexican media reported on Sunday. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesCalderon's rule has been a disaster, and Pena Nieto is gearing up to be just as bad if not worse. Its a shame the electoral cycle in Mexico is so long and it will be 6 years before they have the chance to do the now totally obvious thing and elect PRD
Aug 20th, 2012 - 08:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0Is hard to go for the PRD when their candidate is just parading around saying how he is the “Legitimate president” and doing campaing since 6 years ago. So he basically was asking for a reelection(which is ilegal in mexico), given he was already “legitimate president”. Also, when asked about what he would do about violence he was very vague and just offering asking “professional ppl” , not that diferent from the other candidates really, his foreing policy was too centered about Mexico´s relationship with the US, which would have affected Calderon´s recent aproaching of Latam after Fox´s dissater, especially with the Pacific Alliance, but, to be fair, all candidates were talking like that, again, not that much of a difference between him and the rest.
Aug 20th, 2012 - 05:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Also, Michoacan, a traditionaly PRD led state is very much in danger and in constant crisis too, given the relaxed actitude autorities had about crime in general and organized crime in particular. Something that repeates itself in the municipalities most affected by this, that is just really the result of years of weak institutional leadership and a need of judicial reforms, nobody is giving Calderon any medal for his security policy but during his reing there was some reforms passed and improving police specially federal.
But indeed, with all problems with security, ppl thought PRI could take care of them with their style, PRI is a especial case in relation to political ideology in Mexico, they can take either the right or the left side if that beneficies them , PAN-PRD knew this, they knew they would need to make an alliance if they espected to have a chance at taking on PRI this elections, but Obrador would have none of it and imposed on PRD a repeat of his candidacy with the other left parties. his actual digust´s and PRD is in part his and the party´s fault really.
Now PRI, yes, is horrible they were elected IMO, the only thing I liked about this elections was that they dont have congress majority.
2 Elena,
Aug 20th, 2012 - 05:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Excellent take on the Mexican situation. Indeed Lopez Obrador is nothing but a populist demagogue with no real solutions to fix many of the huge problems the country faces.
I have voted for PAN for many years and I did so in the last election with Josefina Vazquez Mota, so I was not at all sympathetic to the idea of having the PRI back in power.
I have to disagree with you in that PRI can take either right or left, the PRI of the sixties and seventies defended leftist agendas, nationalizations, centralization of resources and economic activity and created the state monopolies like PEMEX, CFE and others. But the PRI changed with Salinas de Gortari, new technocrats, or more market-oriented politicians, took the control of the party and it has been ever since.
Peña Nieto is market-oriented and will seek infrastructural reforms to continue the modernization of the mexican economy. Although I did not vote for him, I don´t buy all the negative propaganda that the left and left-leaning newspapers and media have thrown at him for the past year. I´d give him the benefit of the doubt.
Thanks Jose and yes, I voted for Pan too :) I think that even if they lost too much this elections, it will help them go back to their origin with politicians that hold their party values honestly.
Aug 20th, 2012 - 08:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I know, the actual PRI is more free market oriented and technocratic since Salinas, what I said was more about the psycology PRI invokes on people, for example, I knew of some sympatizers of PAN that have PRI as a second option before PRD because they are afraid of what PRD policies would be like, especialy economic ones, and PRD sympatizers have PRI too as a second option because they can´t stand PAN and remember PRI in its 60´s left days and think they will be more understanding of the left than the PAN. I think PRI knows they have this psycologic point in favor and actively use it on campaing, their sugerences about free medicines and suposed free cuotas at official schools seemed more left leaning, while at the same time, EPN sugerence of privatization of PEMEX seemed more right leaning.
On EPN, Well, I dont believe either all they say about EPN but I dont like what we have seen on his results as governor of Estado de México, also I am not too trusting on PRI in general because they tend to centralize power around them, something which changed slowy and too little for the country needs since Zedillo´s reing, and that is in part why Mexico has had problems lately developing not only economic reforms needed for faster grow, but Judicial, fiscal and educational reforms too.
Lets not forget that at congress PRI oposed this type of reforms when PAN proposed them, because they wanted to pass them after getting power back, they traditionaly hold the good of the party first and the good of the country second, and I am not really too hopeful that they are too diferent now.
4 Elena,
Aug 21st, 2012 - 02:30 am - Link - Report abuse 0It is true that the PRI did not help PAN achieved the reforms the country needed and many panistas loved to blame EPN for that but the reforms could have been passed with PRI´s help if Calderon and PAN had not pursued alliances with PRD in many states to defeat PRI election after election, year after year.
Calderon had to offer something to the PRI, some horse-trading, instead of expecting the PRI to come forward to help him achieve all those reforms while Calderon attacked the PRI with the other hand. Everyone was supposed to make sacrifices and Calderon and PAN speculated too long.
EPN´s has extensively spoken in favor of reforms, Manlio Beltrones is a good political operator, experienced, same as Gamboa Patron, they will appeal to the reform seekers in the PAN, like Cordero and Josefina Vazquez Mota, and they are willing. The PRD will not be able to stop them anymore, movilizations hurt them in elections, that´s why they don´t want anymore today.
We might be at the threshold of another era of important reforms.
5 Jose
Aug 21st, 2012 - 03:44 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That sounds promising :) indeed we are in for a time of change if we take the chance correctly, but to give the benefice of the doubt to any of the partys from the citizens part after everything that has happened, well, I think they will need to speak with their leadership, work and honestly instead of their lips and earn the citizens trust. Actions speak louder than words, and so far I have yet to see them changing their ways but I admit is too early to tell, If I come to see them working for the benefice of the country, passing reforms without taking away that which they would consider “dangerous” for their “friends” at syndicates and bussines, or to their hold on goverment, then I will be the first one to aplaud their work and admit I was wrong. I will not mind doing that because that would mean Mexico finally is reaching its potential in base of a goverment and institutions we can trust, and that can only be good for everyone.
Please, forgive me if I came away as hostile, politics can get me a little carried away, but I really apreciate your insight on Mexico´s situation, and bussines in general.
again..Mexico is a cesspool of corrupt puppets who are in the hands of US banking cartel. It's that simple. Fox and Calderon, all what they did was sending more illegal aliens to the US (duh, number one money income, pathetic) and that clown of the PRI will be no difference...another corrupt figure and mexicans continue to flee that hell hole.
Aug 22nd, 2012 - 04:35 am - Link - Report abuse 0funny..there is one that here dares to type how great mexico is compare with other south american nations (wrong..it isn't). Give yourself a break with that nonsene fantasy ...tacohead.
7 Fido Dido
Aug 22nd, 2012 - 12:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Please come back after you stoped seeing fox news or whatever brainwashing, sorry, media news program of your preference sponsored by US , read something else that wasn´t battered into your head by media manipulation and learn some basic modals ,until then, I will not bother to answer to such a “person” like you again.
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