Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Elton at Chichén
Friday, March 26, 2010
Playas sin mosquitos
PLAYAS SIN MOSQUITOS Autoridades de Acapulco arrancaron el programa de fumigación y abatización en playas, con el objetivo de combatir el dengue | Ver nota | Gráfico | |||
(Foto: Adriana Covarrubias) | |||
![Ampliar foto](javascript:despliega("http://fotos.eluniversal.com.mx/fotogaleria/w_foto.html?p_nombre=/img/2010/03/hom/fumigarplayas_gde.jpg&p_ancho=700&p_alto=525&p_fotografo=Adriana%20Covarrubias&p_fecha=2010-03-26",760,625);){kind=link}
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Operativo por Clinton
Secreatry of State Clinton travelled to Mexico for bilateral discussions on anti-drug cartel actions. Needless to say, securityu was exceedingly tight. Travelling with her were Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, Secretary of Defense Gates, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Mullen and Director of national intelligence Blair.Both the NY Times and El Universal had stories on the trip; clearly for Mexico it was a much more important deal. The Mexican media outlet had video reports, pictures, and stories. One picture caught my eye.
ANALIZAN LUCHA ANTINARCO
La reunión que encabezan la canciller Patricia Espinosa y la secretaria de Estado de EU, Hillary Clinton, tiene como fin revisar la estrategia conjunta contra el crimen organizado | Ver nota (Foto: NTX)mex
ANALIZAN LUCHA ANTINARCO
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Las ratas ayudan
Fascinating piece in El Universal's website about drainage in the Valley of Mexico City.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Burla
BURLA La bancada del PRI llevó una piñata de Pinocho al salón de sesiones, asegurando que era César Nava. La diputada María Estela de la Fuente la trasladó a la zona de curules del PAN | Nota | Fotogalería | |
(Foto: Lucía Godínez /EL UNIVERSAL) | |
Slim es el hombre más rico del mundo: Forbes
Gates and Buffet have had rough years, Slim has not. Even though he's aplutocrat, Mexico (some of it, anyway) takes pride in a Mexican being the richest man in the world. On paper, but the richest.
| Slim es el hombre más rico del mundo: Forbes |
| El magnate mexicano desbanca a los estadounidenses Bill Gates y Warren Buffet con una fortuna de 53 mil 500 millones de dólares 16:58 |
 El Chapo repite entre los millonarios de Forbes 19:30 |
| El Chapo, empatado con Harp Helú 20:26 |
| En muestra de confianza en México: Elías Ayub 19:45 |
| Entérate Los nueve mexicanos en la lista de Forbes |
| Entérate Los 10 más ricos según Forbes |
| Fotogalería Los 10 nuevos millonarios de Forbes |
| Fotogalería Los mexicanos más ricos del mundo |
| Video Slim desplaza a Gates como el más rico del mundo |
| Entérate Los criterios de Forbes para lista de millonarios |
| Perfil: Carlos Slim Helú |
| Prensa internacional destaca fortuna de Slim |
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Yucatán
Foto: NTX 03 de marzo de 2010
TOMAN PRECAUCIONES
La entrada del frente frío número 35 sobre la Península de Yucatán, ha ocasionado fuertes vientos, bajas temperaturas y cielo nublado
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Cumbre en Riviera Maya
Presidentes aprueban nueva integración latina
Jorge Ramos y Silvia Otero / Enviados
El Universal
Riviera Maya.-
Martes 23 de febrero de 2010
Raúl Castro dijo que espera que se definan los estatutos y la forma de operación de la comunidad de estados latinoamericanos y caribeños en la cumbre de Río en Venezuela el próximo año
Los presidentes de América Latina y del Caribe aprobaron un nuevo organismo, sin Estados Unidos ni Canadá, que se crea la “comunidad de estados latinoamericanos y caribeños”.
Raúl Castro, presidente de Cuba, calificó el hecho como trascendental porque existen las condiciones para ello.
Ayer en el almuerzo, sino país por país participante. Raúl dice que el nombre puede ser lo de menos y que quizá en Venezuela, en la cumbre de integración, y en Chile, probablemente en Santiago, podemos visualizar un nombre definitivo, pero es importante dar identidad”, dijo Calderón.
Castro dijo que se deben definir estatutos y forma de operación y que esperan que se defina esto en la cumbre de Río en Venezuela en el 2011.
Aún esperan llevar a cabo la reunión de Río en Chile en el 2012, independientemente de cómo avance el nuevo mecanismo aprobado esta mañana a las 9:45 horas.
Calderón y Castro... cada quien agarró a su “gallo”
Jorge Ramos y Silvia OteroEnviados
El Universal
Martes 23 de febrero de 2010
politica@eluniversal.com.mx
RIVIERA MAYA, QR.— Lapresencia de los presidentes de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, y de Cuba, Raúl Castro, a la Cumbre de la Unidad de América Latina y el Caribe del Grupo de Río, a la que fueron invitados por el presidente mexicano Felipe Calderón, cerró la página de desencuentros vividos en los últimos años.
Contento desde su arribo la noche del domingo, cantando, Chávez ayer gritó: “¡Viva México!” ante Calderón, durante la salutación a los jefes de Estado y de Gobierno que asisten a los trabajos de la Cumbre de Río.
Sonriente, lanzando besos a las cámaras, Chávez saludó efusivo a Calderón y a Margarita Zavala.
El último en llegar fue el presidente de Cuba, Raúl Castro.
Aunque los tres últimos presidentes mexicanos han tenido desencuentros con Cuba, la presencia del líder cubano en territorio mexicano aparace como un nuevo intento por retomar la relación bilateral.
Después de semanas de especulación acerca de la asistencia de Chávez y Castro a la cumbre, finalmente ambos estuvieron ahí para trabajar en conjunto con Felipe Calderón.
Ayer, los tres mandatarios no sólo intercambiaron saludos y posaron para las cámaras: los tres presidentes —en polos ideológicos opuestos— tratan, junto con los demás mandatarios de América Latina y el Caribe, de crear una organización americana en cuyas decisiones Estados Unidos no tenga injerencia.
Calderón y Chávez se reunieron 25 minutos en privado para hablar sobre detalles de la nueva organización, que será lanzada en México y nacerá formalmente en Venezuela.
Castro y Calderón incluso tuvieron que apagar un fuego: aseguran los asistentes a esta cumbre —totalmente cerrada a medios de comuniación— que llegó un momento durante el almuerzo en que los presidentes Chávez, de Venezuela, y Uribe, de Colombia, se trabaron en una dura confrontación.
Según asistentes, el choque estuvo a punto de reventar la cumbre. Chávez acusó a Uribe de tolerar grupos paramiliatres y delincuenciales que comprometen la seguridad de la región y de que el colombiano lo había mandado a matar. Cuando Chávez se levantaba para abandonar la cumbre Uribe dijo: “Sea varón, quédese aquí, porque a veces usted insulta en la distancia, pero cuando estamos cara a cara no hablamos”.
Fue entonces que intervinieron Castro y Calderón. Cada quien agarró a su “gallo” y la cumbre pudo continuar, luego de que se acordó integrar un grupo de países amigos de Colombia y Venezuela para resolver con diálogo los diferendos.
Jorge Ramos y Silvia Otero / Enviados
El Universal
Riviera Maya.-
Martes 23 de febrero de 2010
Raúl Castro dijo que espera que se definan los estatutos y la forma de operación de la comunidad de estados latinoamericanos y caribeños en la cumbre de Río en Venezuela el próximo año
Los presidentes de América Latina y del Caribe aprobaron un nuevo organismo, sin Estados Unidos ni Canadá, que se crea la “comunidad de estados latinoamericanos y caribeños”.
Raúl Castro, presidente de Cuba, calificó el hecho como trascendental porque existen las condiciones para ello.
Ayer en el almuerzo, sino país por país participante. Raúl dice que el nombre puede ser lo de menos y que quizá en Venezuela, en la cumbre de integración, y en Chile, probablemente en Santiago, podemos visualizar un nombre definitivo, pero es importante dar identidad”, dijo Calderón.
Castro dijo que se deben definir estatutos y forma de operación y que esperan que se defina esto en la cumbre de Río en Venezuela en el 2011.
Aún esperan llevar a cabo la reunión de Río en Chile en el 2012, independientemente de cómo avance el nuevo mecanismo aprobado esta mañana a las 9:45 horas.
Calderón y Castro... cada quien agarró a su “gallo”
Jorge Ramos y Silvia OteroEnviados
El Universal
Martes 23 de febrero de 2010
politica@eluniversal.com.mx
RIVIERA MAYA, QR.— Lapresencia de los presidentes de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, y de Cuba, Raúl Castro, a la Cumbre de la Unidad de América Latina y el Caribe del Grupo de Río, a la que fueron invitados por el presidente mexicano Felipe Calderón, cerró la página de desencuentros vividos en los últimos años.
Contento desde su arribo la noche del domingo, cantando, Chávez ayer gritó: “¡Viva México!” ante Calderón, durante la salutación a los jefes de Estado y de Gobierno que asisten a los trabajos de la Cumbre de Río.
Sonriente, lanzando besos a las cámaras, Chávez saludó efusivo a Calderón y a Margarita Zavala.
El último en llegar fue el presidente de Cuba, Raúl Castro.
Aunque los tres últimos presidentes mexicanos han tenido desencuentros con Cuba, la presencia del líder cubano en territorio mexicano aparace como un nuevo intento por retomar la relación bilateral.
Después de semanas de especulación acerca de la asistencia de Chávez y Castro a la cumbre, finalmente ambos estuvieron ahí para trabajar en conjunto con Felipe Calderón.
Ayer, los tres mandatarios no sólo intercambiaron saludos y posaron para las cámaras: los tres presidentes —en polos ideológicos opuestos— tratan, junto con los demás mandatarios de América Latina y el Caribe, de crear una organización americana en cuyas decisiones Estados Unidos no tenga injerencia.
Calderón y Chávez se reunieron 25 minutos en privado para hablar sobre detalles de la nueva organización, que será lanzada en México y nacerá formalmente en Venezuela.
Castro y Calderón incluso tuvieron que apagar un fuego: aseguran los asistentes a esta cumbre —totalmente cerrada a medios de comuniación— que llegó un momento durante el almuerzo en que los presidentes Chávez, de Venezuela, y Uribe, de Colombia, se trabaron en una dura confrontación.
Según asistentes, el choque estuvo a punto de reventar la cumbre. Chávez acusó a Uribe de tolerar grupos paramiliatres y delincuenciales que comprometen la seguridad de la región y de que el colombiano lo había mandado a matar. Cuando Chávez se levantaba para abandonar la cumbre Uribe dijo: “Sea varón, quédese aquí, porque a veces usted insulta en la distancia, pero cuando estamos cara a cara no hablamos”.
Fue entonces que intervinieron Castro y Calderón. Cada quien agarró a su “gallo” y la cumbre pudo continuar, luego de que se acordó integrar un grupo de países amigos de Colombia y Venezuela para resolver con diálogo los diferendos.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Issues before Israel joins OECD
January 20, 2010
Issues Stand Before Israel in Joining Elite Group
By ETHAN BRONNER
JERUSALEM — Israel, which has catapulted in the past two decades from a minor state-dominated economy to a market-driven technology hothouse, is in the final stages of accession to the exclusive club of advanced countries, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But its secretive weapons trade, patent-bending drug industry and occupation of Arab lands are raising last-minute questions.
The secretary general of the O.E.C.D., Ángel Gurría, currently in Israel to discuss the issues with senior officials, said that he was confident they could be resolved and that Israel might miss the original target of May but would become a member this year. But he acknowledged that Israel, unlike other small countries in the process of accession — Chile, Slovenia and Estonia — might face objections unrelated to the technical questions still to be answered.
“We have to keep the substantive issues on the straight and narrow,” Mr. Gurría, a former Mexican finance minister, said in an interview held after meetings at the Bank of Israel. “We should not allow technical issues to be used as masks for something that is in reality a political issue.”
That political issue is Israel’s declining international reputation because of its Gaza war a year ago and its continuing construction of Jewish housing in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Professional staff employees of the O.E.C.D., which is based in Paris, say all 30 member states must approve the accession of a country, and it remained unclear if any would object. But the three technical issues all still needed to be solved.
Let those nations free of issues lead the charge of the pure.
The first involved the organization’s convention to combat bribery of foreign officials, which it considers one of its more significant accomplishments. Some years ago, bribes were tax-deductible in several European countries. Now, all of the organization’s members are required to fight bribery through domestic legislation and regulation.
The arms trade is notoriously filled with palm-greasing across the world, and Israel is a large arms trader. It has signed the antibribery convention as part of its accession process, but the way it handles the issue is causing difficulty, O.E.C.D. officials say.
The main concern is that Israel’s Defense Ministry has the power to censor the results of any investigation of bribes paid by Israeli companies to foreign officials on the grounds that the publicity could harm Israel’s national interests. The censor can ban publication and is under no obligation to tell the authorities about the investigations. The O.E.C.D. wants both practices changed.
The second concern, regarding intellectual property rights, involves the Israeli company Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the world’s largest producers of generic drugs. Major American and Swiss companies have long accused Israel of insufficient regulation of the way Teva markets its products in the face of patent regulations in other countries.
Finally, the O.E.C.D. is unhappy with Israel’s definition of its territory in collating economic data. Israel includes activities in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, both of them won in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war; most of the world views those areas as occupied, but Israel considers them its own through annexation.
All three issues, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials say, are being addressed at the technical level and will be solved.
Israel’s candidacy got off to an unusual start. Mr. Gurría, the secretary general, said that four years ago Israel’s widely admired central bank governor, Stanley Fischer, began attending O.E.C.D. functions with large studies of Israel’s economy aimed at demonstrating its readiness for membership.
“It’s the only country that’s ever done that,” Mr. Gurría said. “They were actually using O.E.C.D. regulations to modify their practices so as to qualify. In May 2007 Israel was invited to join because of its good economic management focused on knowledge, technology and education. The O.E.C.D. can gain from its membership, and so can Israel.”
The O.E.C.D.’s purposes are to bring together market-oriented democracies, promote good business and economic practices, and increase employment and international trade. For Israel, membership would not only help it continue to modernize its economy but also fight efforts to delegitimize and ostracize it over its dispute with the Palestinians.
Issues Stand Before Israel in Joining Elite Group
By ETHAN BRONNER
JERUSALEM — Israel, which has catapulted in the past two decades from a minor state-dominated economy to a market-driven technology hothouse, is in the final stages of accession to the exclusive club of advanced countries, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But its secretive weapons trade, patent-bending drug industry and occupation of Arab lands are raising last-minute questions.
The secretary general of the O.E.C.D., Ángel Gurría, currently in Israel to discuss the issues with senior officials, said that he was confident they could be resolved and that Israel might miss the original target of May but would become a member this year. But he acknowledged that Israel, unlike other small countries in the process of accession — Chile, Slovenia and Estonia — might face objections unrelated to the technical questions still to be answered.
“We have to keep the substantive issues on the straight and narrow,” Mr. Gurría, a former Mexican finance minister, said in an interview held after meetings at the Bank of Israel. “We should not allow technical issues to be used as masks for something that is in reality a political issue.”
That political issue is Israel’s declining international reputation because of its Gaza war a year ago and its continuing construction of Jewish housing in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Professional staff employees of the O.E.C.D., which is based in Paris, say all 30 member states must approve the accession of a country, and it remained unclear if any would object. But the three technical issues all still needed to be solved.
Let those nations free of issues lead the charge of the pure.
The first involved the organization’s convention to combat bribery of foreign officials, which it considers one of its more significant accomplishments. Some years ago, bribes were tax-deductible in several European countries. Now, all of the organization’s members are required to fight bribery through domestic legislation and regulation.
The arms trade is notoriously filled with palm-greasing across the world, and Israel is a large arms trader. It has signed the antibribery convention as part of its accession process, but the way it handles the issue is causing difficulty, O.E.C.D. officials say.
The main concern is that Israel’s Defense Ministry has the power to censor the results of any investigation of bribes paid by Israeli companies to foreign officials on the grounds that the publicity could harm Israel’s national interests. The censor can ban publication and is under no obligation to tell the authorities about the investigations. The O.E.C.D. wants both practices changed.
The second concern, regarding intellectual property rights, involves the Israeli company Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the world’s largest producers of generic drugs. Major American and Swiss companies have long accused Israel of insufficient regulation of the way Teva markets its products in the face of patent regulations in other countries.
Finally, the O.E.C.D. is unhappy with Israel’s definition of its territory in collating economic data. Israel includes activities in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, both of them won in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war; most of the world views those areas as occupied, but Israel considers them its own through annexation.
All three issues, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials say, are being addressed at the technical level and will be solved.
Israel’s candidacy got off to an unusual start. Mr. Gurría, the secretary general, said that four years ago Israel’s widely admired central bank governor, Stanley Fischer, began attending O.E.C.D. functions with large studies of Israel’s economy aimed at demonstrating its readiness for membership.
“It’s the only country that’s ever done that,” Mr. Gurría said. “They were actually using O.E.C.D. regulations to modify their practices so as to qualify. In May 2007 Israel was invited to join because of its good economic management focused on knowledge, technology and education. The O.E.C.D. can gain from its membership, and so can Israel.”
The O.E.C.D.’s purposes are to bring together market-oriented democracies, promote good business and economic practices, and increase employment and international trade. For Israel, membership would not only help it continue to modernize its economy but also fight efforts to delegitimize and ostracize it over its dispute with the Palestinians.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Detienen a jefe de sicarios de El Muletas
GOLPE.Soky Martínez tenía la encomienda de realizar levantones, secuestros, ejecuciones y agresiones en contra de las corporaciones policiacas
Detienen a jefe de sicarios de El Muletas
Héctor Rodrigo Soky asumió el control de una célula criminal de Raydel López Uriarte El Muletas, a quien se ubica a su vez como jefe de sicarios de Teodoro García Simental El Teo
Julieta Martínez / Corresponsal - El Universal
TIJUANA, BC Martes 19 de enero de 2010
Elementos del Ejército Mexicano detuvieron a tres individuos, entre ellos una mujer y un ex-policía identificado extraoficialmente como antiguo escolta de periodistas e integrante de una célula criminal al servicio de Teodoro García Simental, alias "El Teo" o "El Tres Letras".
Elements if the Mexican Army arrested three individuals, among them a woman and an ex-police officer unofficially identified as an old escort (guard) of journalists and member of a criminal cell at the service of "El Teo." [who was arrested last week, or so.]
En el domicilio donde se les detuvo se encontró el cadáver de una persona en una tina de baño, armas largas y mariguana, además se les identificó como responsables de agresiones contra policías, la ejecución de personas, secuestros y levantones.
In the house where theu were arrested a body was found in a bathtub, rifles and marijuana; they were also identified as responsible of attacks against police, executions, kidnappings and ?
La Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional identificó a este individuo como Héctor Rodrigo Soky Martínez, originario de Tijuana. Versiones extraoficiales lo ubicaron como ex-escolta de uno de los hijos del periodista Jesús Blancornelas, director del periódico Zeta de Tijuana.
De acuerdo con información oficial, Soky Martínez asumió el control de una célula criminal de Raydel López Uriarte "El Muletas", a quien se ubica como jefe de sicarios de Teodoro García Simental, enlace del cártel de Sinaloa en Tijuana.
El Ejército mexicano confirmó que este hombre ascendió en la estructura delictiva de "El Teo" como jefe de sicarios de "El Muletas" a raíz de las detenciones de Moisés Ruiz Flores "El Cabezón"; Édgar Zúñiga Nuño "El Mono" y José Manuel Gómez Bastida "El Chocho", todas en noviembre del 2009.
Tras el arresto de éste último individuo, Soky Martínez, alias "Diego" o "Adán", asumió el cargo, y junto con ello la encomienda de realizar levantones, secuestros, ejecuciones y agresiones en contra de las corporaciones policiacas.
El detenido se encontraba en un domicilio de la colonia Ex-Ejido Mariano Matamoros, delegación La Presa, junto con una mujer identificada como Mónica Paniagua Parra, de 20 años y Guillermo Aurelio Mendívil Ríos, de 30 años, ambos originarios de Tijuana.
Tenían en su poder 43 paquetes de mariguana que daban un peso de 117.1 kilogramos, tres armas largas y una corta. Además, los militares encontraron un cadáver en una tina de baño en el domicilio donde realizaron la detención.
La Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional identificó a esta célula criminal como responsable de varios secuestros, el más reciente registrado el 12 de enero contra una estudiante universitaria.
Detienen a jefe de sicarios de El Muletas
Héctor Rodrigo Soky asumió el control de una célula criminal de Raydel López Uriarte El Muletas, a quien se ubica a su vez como jefe de sicarios de Teodoro García Simental El Teo
Julieta Martínez / Corresponsal - El Universal
TIJUANA, BC Martes 19 de enero de 2010
Elementos del Ejército Mexicano detuvieron a tres individuos, entre ellos una mujer y un ex-policía identificado extraoficialmente como antiguo escolta de periodistas e integrante de una célula criminal al servicio de Teodoro García Simental, alias "El Teo" o "El Tres Letras".
Elements if the Mexican Army arrested three individuals, among them a woman and an ex-police officer unofficially identified as an old escort (guard) of journalists and member of a criminal cell at the service of "El Teo." [who was arrested last week, or so.]
En el domicilio donde se les detuvo se encontró el cadáver de una persona en una tina de baño, armas largas y mariguana, además se les identificó como responsables de agresiones contra policías, la ejecución de personas, secuestros y levantones.
In the house where theu were arrested a body was found in a bathtub, rifles and marijuana; they were also identified as responsible of attacks against police, executions, kidnappings and ?
La Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional identificó a este individuo como Héctor Rodrigo Soky Martínez, originario de Tijuana. Versiones extraoficiales lo ubicaron como ex-escolta de uno de los hijos del periodista Jesús Blancornelas, director del periódico Zeta de Tijuana.
De acuerdo con información oficial, Soky Martínez asumió el control de una célula criminal de Raydel López Uriarte "El Muletas", a quien se ubica como jefe de sicarios de Teodoro García Simental, enlace del cártel de Sinaloa en Tijuana.
El Ejército mexicano confirmó que este hombre ascendió en la estructura delictiva de "El Teo" como jefe de sicarios de "El Muletas" a raíz de las detenciones de Moisés Ruiz Flores "El Cabezón"; Édgar Zúñiga Nuño "El Mono" y José Manuel Gómez Bastida "El Chocho", todas en noviembre del 2009.
Tras el arresto de éste último individuo, Soky Martínez, alias "Diego" o "Adán", asumió el cargo, y junto con ello la encomienda de realizar levantones, secuestros, ejecuciones y agresiones en contra de las corporaciones policiacas.
El detenido se encontraba en un domicilio de la colonia Ex-Ejido Mariano Matamoros, delegación La Presa, junto con una mujer identificada como Mónica Paniagua Parra, de 20 años y Guillermo Aurelio Mendívil Ríos, de 30 años, ambos originarios de Tijuana.
Tenían en su poder 43 paquetes de mariguana que daban un peso de 117.1 kilogramos, tres armas largas y una corta. Además, los militares encontraron un cadáver en una tina de baño en el domicilio donde realizaron la detención.
La Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional identificó a esta célula criminal como responsable de varios secuestros, el más reciente registrado el 12 de enero contra una estudiante universitaria.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Zihuatanejo
A little piece in today's Journal, on page D4: Off the Beaten Track - Zihuatanejo, Mexico, by Nicholas Casey, a Mexico-City based reporter, brought back memories.
A lighthouse near Playa Las Gatas
What to do: For those looking for a getaway along Mexico's beaches—but not the commercial bustle of Cancun or Puerto Vallarta—Zihuatanejo offers a charming alternative. Once just a sleepy village on Mexico's Pacific coast, the town now also boasts an array of cozy inns and delicious restaurants all overlooking a picturesque bay where fishermen still cast their nets every morning. Take a stroll down Paseo del Pescador ("Fisherman's Promenade") near Playa Municipal and check out the catch of the day. In the afternoon, grab a water taxi to Playa Las Gatas and enjoy a cold Mexican beer while watching the surf. Or hire a fisherman to take you to Playa Manzanillo, a secluded, rocky beach with views of nearby islands and a craggy reef that's good for snorkeling.
It certainly is (was) much more laid-back than Cancún (and Playa del Carmen, for that matter). When we were there there were plenty of choices of places to stay and places to eat.
Where to eat: Come prepared for seafood. For refined dining, try Kau-Kan Restaurant, with its romantic rooftop vistas overlooking the bay and a menu that includes exotic dishes like sting ray in black butter and sauteed baby octopus.
We ate there. It was rather more formal than most other places. Its vistas were magnificent: the restaurant sits on a hillside above the Bay, behind Playa La Ropa, one of four beaches in Zihuatanejo Bay. Food was good.
We took a small boat from Playa Municipal to Playa Las Gatas, the only way to get to that left-hand-most beach. It was very laid back, very pretty. Little houses with palm-leaf roofs had restauarants that served food to people sitting in the chairs under palapas in front, along the beach. Walking out on the water was tough: the bottom of the water was covered in coral, or some other stone that made tough walking.
My photos of Zihua and Taxco.
This shot looks out toward Las Gatas; those rocks are what make walking to it impossible. I took that shot on 4 January 2005.
This shot I took also on 4 January 2005, from the balcony of Hotel Palacios, where we first stayed in Zihua. It looks out toward the left side of the Bay; inside those mountains in Las Gatas. The beach immediately in front of our hotel is Playa Madera.
This shot looks right, toward Playa Municipal.
Zihua had great beaches.
What to do: For those looking for a getaway along Mexico's beaches—but not the commercial bustle of Cancun or Puerto Vallarta—Zihuatanejo offers a charming alternative. Once just a sleepy village on Mexico's Pacific coast, the town now also boasts an array of cozy inns and delicious restaurants all overlooking a picturesque bay where fishermen still cast their nets every morning. Take a stroll down Paseo del Pescador ("Fisherman's Promenade") near Playa Municipal and check out the catch of the day. In the afternoon, grab a water taxi to Playa Las Gatas and enjoy a cold Mexican beer while watching the surf. Or hire a fisherman to take you to Playa Manzanillo, a secluded, rocky beach with views of nearby islands and a craggy reef that's good for snorkeling.
It certainly is (was) much more laid-back than Cancún (and Playa del Carmen, for that matter). When we were there there were plenty of choices of places to stay and places to eat.
Where to eat: Come prepared for seafood. For refined dining, try Kau-Kan Restaurant, with its romantic rooftop vistas overlooking the bay and a menu that includes exotic dishes like sting ray in black butter and sauteed baby octopus.
We ate there. It was rather more formal than most other places. Its vistas were magnificent: the restaurant sits on a hillside above the Bay, behind Playa La Ropa, one of four beaches in Zihuatanejo Bay. Food was good.
We took a small boat from Playa Municipal to Playa Las Gatas, the only way to get to that left-hand-most beach. It was very laid back, very pretty. Little houses with palm-leaf roofs had restauarants that served food to people sitting in the chairs under palapas in front, along the beach. Walking out on the water was tough: the bottom of the water was covered in coral, or some other stone that made tough walking.
This shot looks out toward Las Gatas; those rocks are what make walking to it impossible. I took that shot on 4 January 2005.
This shot I took also on 4 January 2005, from the balcony of Hotel Palacios, where we first stayed in Zihua. It looks out toward the left side of the Bay; inside those mountains in Las Gatas. The beach immediately in front of our hotel is Playa Madera.
Zihua had great beaches.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
No Es Canadá... Es El Estado De México
Las bajas temperaturas registradas ayer provocaron que la zona limítrofe entre el pueblo de Santo Tomás Ajusco, en Tlalpan, con el municipio de Xalatlaco, en el Edomex, se tiñera de blanco | Ver nota | Galería
Low temperatures recorded yesterday caused the boundary between the town of Saint Thomas Ajusco, in Tlalpan, and the municipality of Xatatlaco, in Mexico State, to be tinted white.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tourism
Curious reasoning. The government of the Federal District of Mexico City states that gay weddings will stimulate tourism.
Bodas gay promoverán más turismo: GDF
Bodas gay promoverán más turismo: GDF
Friday, December 18, 2009
Top Mexican Drug Lord Killed in Shootout
Miguel Tovar/Associated Press - Soldiers in Mexico City Thursday escorted an unidentified man arrested in the Cuernavaca raid.
He might have well been unidentified, but take a look at his face. He certainly has been injured, whether in the fight or when arrested.
Mexican Navy special forces killed one of the country's top drug kingpins in a shootout in the central city of Cuernavaca, notching an important victory in President Felipe Calderón's three-year-old clampdown on narcotics trafficking.
The death of Arturo Beltrán Leyva, who called himself "The Boss of Bosses" and was one of Mexico's three most-wanted drug lords, came after a four-hour battle Wednesday evening at a condominium complex in Cuernavaca, a retirement destination for Americans and weekend getaway for Mexico City residents.
Leyva was an ally of hiw now-biggest rival, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Mexico's most wanted man. The death of Mr. Beltrán Leyva is seen as likely to strengthen the hand of Mr. Guzmán. Which begs the question, of course, of who fingered Leyva?
Another question: why the Navy? In Cuernavaca? Sailors?
* The Drug Lord Who Got Away (6/13/09)
View Slideshow
Key dates in the fight: View Interactive
He might have well been unidentified, but take a look at his face. He certainly has been injured, whether in the fight or when arrested.
Mexican Navy special forces killed one of the country's top drug kingpins in a shootout in the central city of Cuernavaca, notching an important victory in President Felipe Calderón's three-year-old clampdown on narcotics trafficking.
The death of Arturo Beltrán Leyva, who called himself "The Boss of Bosses" and was one of Mexico's three most-wanted drug lords, came after a four-hour battle Wednesday evening at a condominium complex in Cuernavaca, a retirement destination for Americans and weekend getaway for Mexico City residents.
Leyva was an ally of hiw now-biggest rival, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Mexico's most wanted man. The death of Mr. Beltrán Leyva is seen as likely to strengthen the hand of Mr. Guzmán. Which begs the question, of course, of who fingered Leyva?
Another question: why the Navy? In Cuernavaca? Sailors?
* The Drug Lord Who Got Away (6/13/09)
View Slideshow
Key dates in the fight: View Interactive
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Luis Donaldo Colosio
Hace diez años. Revelaciones sobre el magnicidio ordenado por los neoliberales mexicanosEl asesinato de Luis Colosio apunta al Estado mayor presidencial de Carlos Salinas
por Gastón Pardo*
Muestra un noticiario que el segundo disparo recibido por Luis Donaldo Colosio, candidato del PRI a la presidencia de la República, en México, hace diez años, le fue disparado en el interior de la camioneta que lo conduciría al hospital.
Luis Donaldo Colosio en una foto oficial por su partido político: PRI Partido Revolucionario Institucional. Detrás la foto del presidente mexicano Carlos Salinas actualmente viviendo fuera del país. Foto PRI
Luis Donaldo Colosio en una foto oficial por su partido político: PRI Partido Revolucionario Institucional. Detrás la foto del presidente mexicano Carlos Salinas actualmente viviendo fuera del país.
Foto PRI
Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta recibió un segundo disparo en la camioneta a bordo de la cual fue trasladado al hospital después de haber sido herido en la cabeza en Lomas Taurinas, Tijuana. Esto lo establece una videograbación aportada por la Universidad de Guadalajara.
La grabación es prueba indiscutible de que Luis D. colosio fue víctima de un complot en el que estarían involucrados miembros del Estado Mayor Presidencial que tenían a su cargo la seguridad de Colosio, encabezados por el general brigadier Domiro Roberto García Reyes. La grabación fue desvelada por el noticiario Esferas, que se trasmite en la ciudad de Guadalajara, capital del estado de Jalisco, donde acaba de tener lugar la III cumbre de la Unión Europea y América Latina.
La videograbación fue revelada al público al cumplirse 10 años del crimen del entonces candidato a la Presidencia de la República, y en ella, en cámara lenta, se aprecia el caos que hubo para el traslado de la víctima desde el sitio donde se le dio el primer disparo en la cabeza, hasta la camioneta que usaba en su gira, así como la intromisión en la escena de varios extraños.
En las videograbaciones obtenidas por La Crisis en la página web del noticiario jaliciense, se demuestra que Colosio, ya herido, es subido a la camioneta por la portezuela derecha trasera, y es ahí cuando el conductor de noticiero señala: «Observen al individuo que está atrás de la camioneta; un tipo corta estatura, de lentes, pelón, que luego se le ve por la portezuela trasera izquierda y luego se oye el clarísimo ruido de la detonación y el destello del fogonazo que ésta produce». A continuación el periodista, que pide se pase en cámara lenta la videograbación, va narrando punto por punto los hechos y encerrando con un círculo el destello que produce el fogonazo de la segunda arma utilizada contra el sonorense.
Y para no dejar ningún lugar a dudas, el narrador establece que: «entonces si el balazo no se lo dieron en el sitio del primer atentado, cuando iba cayendo al piso; se lo dispararon en el interior dela camioneta, y con ello se refuerza la teoría del complot en contra del candidato del PRI a la presidencia de la Republica».
Esto concuerda con la primera postura que se dedujo del informe forense de la doctora Patricia Obanel, especializada cardióloga, quien el día de los hechos participó en la autopsia realizada al asesinado y que, al salir del hospital regional de Tijuana, perturbada, declaró que no sólo había sido una herida, sino que tenía más y dejaba entrever que no fue uno el atacante sino varios. Al respecto, el fiscal federal dijo que en su oportunidad fue investigada la versión de la doctora, pero que ésta retiró su declaración argumentando que fue producto de la confusión.
De acuerdo con la investigación realizada por el Fiscal federal Diego Valadez a petición del senador Luis colosio, padre del asesinado, de se reabriera el caso, al señalar por primera vez que su hijo había sido víctima de un clima de profundo deterioro de sus relaciones con (Carlos) Salinas, presidente de la República en el periodo 1988-1994, no se demostró la hipótesis del complot, que al fin, quedó demostrada sin lugar a dudas.
La hipótesis del complot fue respondida las vísperas del décimo aniversario del asesinato del sonorense por el ex presidente Salinas de Gortari, quien aseguró que mantenía una relación muy cordial con Colosio y señaló que en todo caso a quien habría que preguntar es a Ernesto Zedillo, quien sustituyó al asesinado en la candidatura del Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) y alcanzó la Presidencia de la República, además de que fue el principal beneficiario de la muerte de Colosio.
En el marco del décimo aniversario luctuoso de Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, el Gobernador del Estado de Nuevo León (México), José Natividad González Parás, develó una placa en el Monumento al ex candidato Presidencial del PRI que se ubica en la avenida principal de Ciudad Solidaridad.
Foto y texto Estado de Nuevo León (México)
Reabrir el caso Colosio
Mientras tanto, en la conferencia de prensa que dio el 16 de febrero pasado, la coordinadora general de Investigaciones de la Fiscalía federal (PGR), Maricela Morales, dijo que la PGR analiza los 178 tomos del expediente del caso Colosio para definir si el Ministerio Público llama o no a declarar a los ex mandatarios y añadió que el caso «no puede reabrirse por capricho». De tal manera, la funcionaria de la fiscalía se alinea con el autoritarismo inaugurado por Vicente Fox, quien se ha manifestado por el cierre del expediente.
La postura oficial señala que sólo hubo un asesino, Mario Aburto, quien cumple una condena de 45 años de prisión. Por ello, Luis Colosio ha pedido que la fiscalía interrogue a Salinas y Zedillo. Además pidió que en esta confrontación participe el ex regente de la ciudad de México y actual diputado del PRD, Manuel Camacho, quien participó de manera determinante en el empeño de entorpecer la campaña de Colosio. Al respecto, Camacho Solís aceptó el careo y pidió que se reabra el caso, para que se aclararen los puntos oscuros.
Esta postura fue apoyada por el jefe de Gobierno de la Ciudad de México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, en declaraciones realizadas el 16 de febrero pasado. Dijo que era necesario abundar en todas las pesquisas para conocer quien se confabuló con quién para cometer el crimen. Camacho es el protector del jefe de la policía de la Ciudad de México, Marcelo Ebrard, a quien el periodista Héctor González acusó de proteger a 70 mil expendios de droga en la capital mexicana.
Ni Aburto ni Othón Cortés
La recuperación de la libertad de Othón Cortés Vázquez, detenido y acusado por Antonio Lozano, cuando fue fiscal federal, como el segundo que disparó en el crimen de Lomas Taurinas, con lo cual se fortalecería la tesis de complot, que manejó en su momento el subprocurador Pablo Chapa Bezanilla, que sería el puntal para llegar al Estado Mayor Presidencial (EMP), pues dejó abierta la posibilidad de que otro individuo haya hecho el segundo disparo.
Los peritos Alejandro García López e Isaac Manuel Urrutia Hernández emitieron una conclusión luego de analizar el certificado de la autopsia, un sin fin de dictámenes de balística y criminalística, diversas testimoniales, material audiovisual y juicios de colegas suyos: «Única: Que es prácticamente imposible que Mario Aburto Martínez hubiera podido desplazarse a la izquierda y por detrás del licenciado Luis Donaldo Colosio momentos después de que se produjo el primer disparo, por la rapidez con que que se suscitaron los hechos, la cantidad de gente agrupada y compactada en torno del hoy occiso, así como la acción inmediata de sometimiento de que fuera objeto Mario Aburto Martínez».
Pero vendría un conflicto de constitucionalidad. Mario Aburto Martínez ya fue declarado asesino solitario y condenado como tal. Por tanto, para la Fiscalía no puede haber un segundo participante.
Esta tesis del asesino solitario, que resultó la más favorable para que la clase política mexicana consiguiera impunidad cerrando el paso a una investigación más profunda del asesinato, es echada por tierra por la videograbación presentada en Guadalajara, a la que se ha tratado de desestimar.
Gastón Pardo
Saturday, December 12, 2009
La Morenita
FERVOR GUADALUPANO. Miles de peregrinos continúan llegando a la Basílica de Guadalupe, otros más inician la retirada con la fe renovada y la satisfacción de haber estado a los pies de la virgen morena Ver notaHoy, 12 Diciembre, es el día de la Virgen de Guadalupe. In our just-ended trip to Yucatán, we saw signs of devotion to La Guadalupeña.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Fear not the vaccine
El secretario de Salud dijo que la inmunización contra el virus A H1n1 es confiable | Ver notaThat is a lot of media.
Mexico's Taste for Ketchup
Mexicans eat more ketchup by sales value than consumers in all but eight other countries. Many of them slather the thick red sauce on chicken, pasta and eggs—even pizza.
At the start of 2007, U.S. ketchup giant H.J. Heinz Co. held less than 1% of the Mexican ketchup market. In fact, Mexico was such a low priority that Heinz had fewer than 10 salespeople in the country, which is nearly three times as large as Texas. Tuesday, when Heinz releases quarterly earnings, its executives plan to boast that Heinz now accounts for 12% of the ketchup poured in Mexico, where a spokesman says the company now has 150 ketchup sales and marketing employees.
Mexicans love sweet food, and as the middle class grows, they seek out foods that represent that sort of progress: Mexico is one of Coca-Cola's biggest markets.
Though Heinz doesn't break out its ketchup sales in Mexico, the entire Mexican market for ketchup is a tiny fraction of the company's total annual sales of around $10 billion. Still, Heinz is excited about Mexico because the company's combined retail and food-service sales of ketchup there are growing at an annual rate of 25%, and Mr. Johnson said he expects that growth rate to continue for the next five years. By contrast, Heinz's overall sales, excluding the impact of currency translation, grew 5.5% during the fiscal year ended April 29, 2009.
In April 2005, Heinz's Latin American management bought a small manufacturer in Guadalajara that supplied its own ketchup, mustard and hot sauces to restaurant chains. Among its clients were Mexican outlets of Domino's Pizza Inc., Burger King Holdings Inc. and Yum Brands Inc.'s KFC brand.
Soon, Heinz began to see how popular ketchup was with Mexicans. Janet Aceves, a 28-year-old office worker is a case in point. At a Domino's one day last week, Ms. Aceves poured Heinz ketchup all over her cheese pizza before taking a big bite. The pizza sauce didn't provide enough zing for her taste buds, she said, adding, "It needs more."
I can not imagine putting ketchup on pizza; that's what powdered garlic and red pepper flakers are for, but, that's me.
Heinz's Mexico team scored a coup in mid-2006 by winning the contract to supply Domino's. Although the ketchup would be distributed in Domino's-branded packets, Mr. Pocaterra said the contract introduced millions of Mexican consumers to the taste of Heinz, which is a bit sweeter in Mexico than the company's U.S. ketchup formulation.
Sodas are sweeter in Mexico, too, than in the US (and that is incredible).
At the start of 2007, U.S. ketchup giant H.J. Heinz Co. held less than 1% of the Mexican ketchup market. In fact, Mexico was such a low priority that Heinz had fewer than 10 salespeople in the country, which is nearly three times as large as Texas. Tuesday, when Heinz releases quarterly earnings, its executives plan to boast that Heinz now accounts for 12% of the ketchup poured in Mexico, where a spokesman says the company now has 150 ketchup sales and marketing employees.
Mexicans love sweet food, and as the middle class grows, they seek out foods that represent that sort of progress: Mexico is one of Coca-Cola's biggest markets.
Though Heinz doesn't break out its ketchup sales in Mexico, the entire Mexican market for ketchup is a tiny fraction of the company's total annual sales of around $10 billion. Still, Heinz is excited about Mexico because the company's combined retail and food-service sales of ketchup there are growing at an annual rate of 25%, and Mr. Johnson said he expects that growth rate to continue for the next five years. By contrast, Heinz's overall sales, excluding the impact of currency translation, grew 5.5% during the fiscal year ended April 29, 2009.
In April 2005, Heinz's Latin American management bought a small manufacturer in Guadalajara that supplied its own ketchup, mustard and hot sauces to restaurant chains. Among its clients were Mexican outlets of Domino's Pizza Inc., Burger King Holdings Inc. and Yum Brands Inc.'s KFC brand.
Soon, Heinz began to see how popular ketchup was with Mexicans. Janet Aceves, a 28-year-old office worker is a case in point. At a Domino's one day last week, Ms. Aceves poured Heinz ketchup all over her cheese pizza before taking a big bite. The pizza sauce didn't provide enough zing for her taste buds, she said, adding, "It needs more."
I can not imagine putting ketchup on pizza; that's what powdered garlic and red pepper flakers are for, but, that's me.
Heinz's Mexico team scored a coup in mid-2006 by winning the contract to supply Domino's. Although the ketchup would be distributed in Domino's-branded packets, Mr. Pocaterra said the contract introduced millions of Mexican consumers to the taste of Heinz, which is a bit sweeter in Mexico than the company's U.S. ketchup formulation.
Sodas are sweeter in Mexico, too, than in the US (and that is incredible).
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Dos presidentes
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took a pretend oath of office on Nov. 20, 2006.
Slideshow
Like a lot of countries, Mexico has a federal government. It meets in a number of imposing colonial and modern buildings around the country. But Mexico has another body, the so-called "Legitimate Government," which claims to be running the republic, too. It meets here in the capital every 15 days in a former garage at 64 San Luis Potosí St.
There, on a recent evening, sat Bernardo Bátiz Vázquez, the Legitimate Government's attorney general, shuffling papers on a foldout table. Not far away was Health Secretary Asa Cristina Laurell, a half dozen other ministers, representatives from various Mexican states, and handlers. At the head of the table sat Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
"You may call me the Legitimate President of Mexico," he said in an interview.
Modest, isn't he?
But while the leftist has faded from international headlines, he never really went away in Mexico. He went on to found a parallel executive branch of government that proposes new laws, issues statements, holds elections, officiates during Mexican Independence Day, and even circulates its own form of identification card for Mexicans (some 2.8 million Mexicans carry them, according to a Legitimate Government spokesman).
Some Mexican newspapers have journalists assigned to cover this imaginary government. "I've been doing this for years," says Heliodoro Cárdenas, a reporter from the Mexico City daily El Milenio. Did he volunteer for the beat? "No, I was sent." He adds: "It's difficult to cover, shall we say, Mexico's political ugly duckling."
While Mr. Cárdenas thinks there was a strong likelihood of fraud in 2006, he says Mr. López Obrador understands he's not actually running the republic. "It's a strategy to raise his political profile," he says. If so, it hasn't paid dividends. Support for the leftist hovers at around 16% of the population -- about half what he got in the 2006 election -- according to a June poll in the Mexican daily La Reforma.
Imaginary executive branches of the government have their problems, too. Héctor Vasconcelos, the secretary of international affairs of the Legitimate Government, has had trouble getting any country to recognize his title, despite his many trips abroad, including one to Ecuador to fete the presidential inauguration of leftist Rafael Correa.
If even Correa's government didn't bite, that's sad.
Slideshow
Like a lot of countries, Mexico has a federal government. It meets in a number of imposing colonial and modern buildings around the country. But Mexico has another body, the so-called "Legitimate Government," which claims to be running the republic, too. It meets here in the capital every 15 days in a former garage at 64 San Luis Potosí St.
There, on a recent evening, sat Bernardo Bátiz Vázquez, the Legitimate Government's attorney general, shuffling papers on a foldout table. Not far away was Health Secretary Asa Cristina Laurell, a half dozen other ministers, representatives from various Mexican states, and handlers. At the head of the table sat Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
"You may call me the Legitimate President of Mexico," he said in an interview.
Modest, isn't he?
But while the leftist has faded from international headlines, he never really went away in Mexico. He went on to found a parallel executive branch of government that proposes new laws, issues statements, holds elections, officiates during Mexican Independence Day, and even circulates its own form of identification card for Mexicans (some 2.8 million Mexicans carry them, according to a Legitimate Government spokesman).Some Mexican newspapers have journalists assigned to cover this imaginary government. "I've been doing this for years," says Heliodoro Cárdenas, a reporter from the Mexico City daily El Milenio. Did he volunteer for the beat? "No, I was sent." He adds: "It's difficult to cover, shall we say, Mexico's political ugly duckling."
While Mr. Cárdenas thinks there was a strong likelihood of fraud in 2006, he says Mr. López Obrador understands he's not actually running the republic. "It's a strategy to raise his political profile," he says. If so, it hasn't paid dividends. Support for the leftist hovers at around 16% of the population -- about half what he got in the 2006 election -- according to a June poll in the Mexican daily La Reforma.
Imaginary executive branches of the government have their problems, too. Héctor Vasconcelos, the secretary of international affairs of the Legitimate Government, has had trouble getting any country to recognize his title, despite his many trips abroad, including one to Ecuador to fete the presidential inauguration of leftist Rafael Correa.
If even Correa's government didn't bite, that's sad.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Amid Rising Violence, Mexicans Fight Back
A soldier guards policemen from the town of García who were detained after the shooting of the police chief on Wednesday
View Interactive
in the northern town of García, near the industrial hub of Monterrey in Nuevo León state, the town's new police chief, retired Brig. Gen. Juan Arturo Esparza, was gunned down in an attack by some 30 assailants believed to be working for a drug cartel. Five of his bodyguards also died.
Mr. Esparza was responding to a call for help from García's mayor, who told the police chief that five vehicles with heavily armed men had just sprayed his house with bullets. Mr. Esparza had just taken over as police chief on Oct. 31. He is one of scores of military men taking over policing duties across Mexico because of police corruption. On Thursday, Mexican soldiers entered the town and held some 60 policemen for questioning about the killings, stripping the police of their weapons.
Mexico's war on drugs took a grim twist this week, as a prominent mayor said he had created an undercover group of operatives to "clean up" criminal elements -- even if it had to act outside the law. Underscoring why the mayor may have felt compelled to take such steps, the new police chief in a neighboring town, a retired brigadier general, was shot and killed Wednesday, four days after taking up his post.
Mauricio Fernández, mayor of San Pedro Garza García, said this week he had created a special group to 'clean up' criminal elements in the municipality
"We're tired of sitting around on our hands and waiting for daddy or mommy Calderón to come to fix our fights. We in San Pedro took the decision to grab the bull by the horns," Mr. Fernández said in a radio interview. "Even acting outside the limits of my role as mayor, I will end the kidnappings, extortions and drug trafficking. We are going to do this by whatever means, fair or foul."
Asked if his new squad would operate outside the law, Mr. Fernández said: "In some ways, that's right. What the criminals want is that they can break every law, but that we have to respect every law. Well, I don't get that."
The comments ignited a firestorm. Analysts say that as local and federal officials in Mexico struggle to fight the cartels, they could be tempted to follow in the footsteps of Colombia, where paramilitary gangs and death squads killed thousands of suspected leftists, criminals, and drug traffickers in the late 1990s and early part of this decade.
"This is where we've come in our war on drugs," says Leo Zuckerman, a political analyst in Mexico City. "A mayor justifies, brags, and celebrates that he has carried out justice by his own hands, outside the judicial institutions. This is bad news for those of us who believe that a civilized society is one where criminals get due process."
Interior Minister Fernando Gómez Mont on Thursday criticized the statements by Mr. Fernández, who previously served as a federal senator in Mr. Calderon's conservative PAN party. "The Mexican state, in its different levels, can't act above or beyond the law. Whoever does so is ... a lawbreaker, and we can't accept using criminals to resolve the problem of crime." The Mexican attorney general's office, which could investigate the killings of the four men, said it had no comment.
View Interactivein the northern town of García, near the industrial hub of Monterrey in Nuevo León state, the town's new police chief, retired Brig. Gen. Juan Arturo Esparza, was gunned down in an attack by some 30 assailants believed to be working for a drug cartel. Five of his bodyguards also died.
Mr. Esparza was responding to a call for help from García's mayor, who told the police chief that five vehicles with heavily armed men had just sprayed his house with bullets. Mr. Esparza had just taken over as police chief on Oct. 31. He is one of scores of military men taking over policing duties across Mexico because of police corruption. On Thursday, Mexican soldiers entered the town and held some 60 policemen for questioning about the killings, stripping the police of their weapons.
Mexico's war on drugs took a grim twist this week, as a prominent mayor said he had created an undercover group of operatives to "clean up" criminal elements -- even if it had to act outside the law. Underscoring why the mayor may have felt compelled to take such steps, the new police chief in a neighboring town, a retired brigadier general, was shot and killed Wednesday, four days after taking up his post.
Mauricio Fernández, mayor of San Pedro Garza García, said this week he had created a special group to 'clean up' criminal elements in the municipality
"We're tired of sitting around on our hands and waiting for daddy or mommy Calderón to come to fix our fights. We in San Pedro took the decision to grab the bull by the horns," Mr. Fernández said in a radio interview. "Even acting outside the limits of my role as mayor, I will end the kidnappings, extortions and drug trafficking. We are going to do this by whatever means, fair or foul."
Asked if his new squad would operate outside the law, Mr. Fernández said: "In some ways, that's right. What the criminals want is that they can break every law, but that we have to respect every law. Well, I don't get that."
The comments ignited a firestorm. Analysts say that as local and federal officials in Mexico struggle to fight the cartels, they could be tempted to follow in the footsteps of Colombia, where paramilitary gangs and death squads killed thousands of suspected leftists, criminals, and drug traffickers in the late 1990s and early part of this decade.
"This is where we've come in our war on drugs," says Leo Zuckerman, a political analyst in Mexico City. "A mayor justifies, brags, and celebrates that he has carried out justice by his own hands, outside the judicial institutions. This is bad news for those of us who believe that a civilized society is one where criminals get due process."
Interior Minister Fernando Gómez Mont on Thursday criticized the statements by Mr. Fernández, who previously served as a federal senator in Mr. Calderon's conservative PAN party. "The Mexican state, in its different levels, can't act above or beyond the law. Whoever does so is ... a lawbreaker, and we can't accept using criminals to resolve the problem of crime." The Mexican attorney general's office, which could investigate the killings of the four men, said it had no comment.
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