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Article on violence against Mexican politicians


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The retaliation and continuation of this war will be worth monitoring. Meanwhile, after the next elections the narcos "crowning glory" is to have political control of the government as noted in the article in the OP. If this does not make you be concerned then nothing will and you may want to move to say Colombia. :-).

This kidnapping is akin to a John Kerry or John McCain being kidnapped.

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press

MEXICO CITY – A former Mexican presidential candidate who has remained a power

broker in the ruling party was missing amid signs of violence, the federal

Attorney General's Office said Saturday.

Prosecutors said that the car of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos was found near his

ranch in the central state of Queretaro. It said some of his belongings were

found inside the car as well as unspecified "signs of violence."

The Mexican newspaper El Universal reported that federal sources said Fernandez

de Cevallos had been kidnapped, but a federal prosecutor's spokeswoman said she

could not confirm that.

Queretaro state Attorney General Arsenio Duran told the radio station Formato 21

that investigators found some of Fernandez de Cevallos' belongings inside the

car and a small pair of scissors with traces of blood on the ground near the

car.

Duran said a night watchman told police Fernandez de Cevallos was supposed to

arrive to his ranch in the town of Pedro Escobedo on Friday night but that he

never made it.

Relatives who had planned to have breakfast with him Saturday morning reported

him missing, Duran said. Relatives told authorities no one had contacted them to

ask for a ransom.

Fernandez de Cevallos, 69, was the 1994 presidential candidate of the National

Action Party that now governs Mexico and he has continued to be an influential

figure, as well as one of Mexico's most successful attorneys.

The bearded, cigar-chomping candidate emerged from relative obscurity during

Mexico's first televised debate by presidential candidates in 1994, striking a

chord with the middle class with his calls to topple the Institutional

Revolutionary Party, which had held power since 1929.

He finished second to Ernesto Zedillo that year, but his party finally won the

presidency six years later when Vicente Fox was elected.

President Felipe Calderon said in a statement he has ordered federal authorities

to help Querataro state investigators in the search for Fernandez de Cevallos,

calling him "a key politician in the Mexican transition to democracy."

Fernandez de Cevallos became an elder statesman for the party, a power broker

who split his time between Mexico's Senate and his practice as an attorney for

some of Mexico's richest businesses.

He shrugged off critics' allegations that there was a conflict of interest in

representing companies that won lucrative lawsuits against the government while

serving in Congress.

Fernandez de Cevallos' father helped found the PAN in 1939.

One of 15 children, Fernandez de Cevallos grew up in the central state of

Queretaro and eventually joined law firms linked to some of the PAN's founders,

creating ties that continued throughout his life. He was a close friend of

several senior Cabinet ministers, including current Interior Secretary Fernando

Gomez-Mont.

Kidnappers often target the wealthy in Mexico but rarely go after such

high-ranking politicians or public officials.

Another version ...

... Diego Fernandez de Cevallos represented the PAN in an election ultimately won

by the PRI candidate Ernesto Zedillo. He has been kidnapped and there were

traces of blood located at the scene where he was grabbed from his truck. This

is big news. Anyone who reads the papers knows that there is a surge of

politicians being captured and killed but this man is the most important thus

far. Twitter contains unconfirmed reports both that he has been killed and also

that a narcomensaje has been left at the scene threatening the life of President

Calderon who is also a member of PAN.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Fern%C3%A1ndez_de_Cevallos

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5glw5J4TwFInUa9JPu2X\R_tti6Log

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I've been reading the articles and blogs on the issue. Seems like the PRI is the alleged party of the narcos from the news reports and responses as they want to eliminate any PAN candidates and / or coincidentally the only people left to run in many narco areas are from the PRI party. Many Chilangos were not big supporters of de Cavallos who was kidnapped and while not denouncing the act actually have blogged about it being a good thing and that now the politicians will taste the violence and crime that the average Mexican is living.

When will enough be enough for the people?

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I agree Spencer and have also been told by Mexicans that de Cavallos was somewhat less than an upstanding person ... being polite. :-)

In sharing emails with friends who follow these issues they all state, when will the Mexican population say .... stop the madness. Until then it will continue to deteriorate.

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Another enlightening article:

http://www.borderlan...-2010.html#more

Great Article from a Mexican perspective

Denise Dresser, a renowned Mexican intellectual, puts it this way “The drug war is a product of a war of longer duration in which the last generation of Mexicans has participated. It is the war for getting a good education, getting a good job, negotiating a reasonable line of credit, buying a car, joining the ranks of the middle class.”

“It is the war for promotion. The war of social mobility. A fight that Mexicans are not winning. In Mexico, the rich are still rich, the poor remain poor, and belonging to one or the other group remains largely hereditary. Mexicans ask, Why study? Why work?"

Denise Dresser is well respected by educated people here-

One of the reasons you see the rise in crime, especially in Lakeside is the "pueblo mentality- the people"- Why study? Why Work?-

How many times have you seen a laborer at your home, bring his young son- age 12-15 to work every day- Why??- "my kid doesn't like school" in uneducated families parents accept it as being normal because that's the way they were brought up- exceptions, sure- but few. Most will never insist that he go to school- only earn some money to contribute to the family and life goes on.

Crime will continue to rise in areas where there is a visible difference between the haves and have nots. Monterrey is a good example.

It's much easier to take from those who have - than to go to school or get a job.- at Lakeside it's Ex Pats who become the target. There are a large number of young men who have been living in the US who are returning to their village homes in Chapala, San Juan Cosela, etc where options for employment are virtually non existent. No education, no job opportunities, no money- more crime and getting more violent and now probably more drug related as the shooting last week of the 2 Police officers seems to indicate.

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Privado great post and leads to some of my thoughts on education.

If anyone has children in school look at your children's text books. I understand the SEP science textbooks had not been updated in 35 years.

Learn about the education system and issues such as 6th grade achievement test and the need for your child's school to be certified.

Mexican 6th grade achievement exam: If a student does not past the Mexican government 6th grade achievement test, he or she can NOT continue in public school, no matter what your grades were!!!!

Certified Schools: I read an article which refers to a mother who's child attended a private school and could not get a certified diploma and did not pass the 6th grade achievement exam. The private school was NOT certified by any government agency to award such a program! After 6 years of attendance and paying tuition, her 12-year old youngster had no place to go. The mother then found another private school but did not know the same charade would be repeated. The new school is NOT certified either and does not prepare its students to take the state test!

When some parents hear words like "music", "art". "peace", "culture","environment" their blood flows faster. The results of the government tests often determine whether the children are promoted from one grade to the next, if they graduate from elementary to high school, what high school they can attend, whether they are accepted for college, etc.

The best free university in Mexico and the 26 countries of Latin America is UNAM. Private Mexican universities also have their own rigorous entrance requirements. For every level they demand a birth certificate and the government CERTIFICATION for EVERY prior level of education. if the student does not have them, he or she can NOT be admitted to ANY publicly financed school in Mexico!

If your child attends a private school ask about their certification, pass rate of government exams etc.

This all ties back to hopelessness, crime, etc

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Thanks guys, for your very good posts. And for Borderland Beat, I will follow it daily, what a resource! I've been following all this too, they did predict a bloodbath this weekend, they delivered.

I'm interested in speculation on the future of Mexico, say 5 years, and wonder what you think. How do you see the country in 5 years or so.

If Calderón lives out his term, clearly the next Presidente will be PRI and will have been placed in the position by the cartels. What if Calderón is assassinated? Who inherits the position? What happens then?

What else might you see in the future? Thanks for a great discussion!

The question "When will enough be enough for the Mexican people?" is one I've been asking them for years. How long will you stand for hours in line at a bank to give THEM your money? Why do you allow monopolies to so blatantly exist. Always met with a shrug and quien sabe. I've come to the conclusion they will never stand up for themselves. BUT, they will survive, laugh, and love in spite of it all.

Mexican Trailrunner

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Any way you slice it, there will be blood spilled. You have so many people who have profited from the drug trade and who have not educated themselves for a number of reasons and who will fight to the death (and die as a result) instead of letting go of their way of life. So many people live an easy life with women, money, respect and an easy life due to the drug trade and going honest will mean struggle, working menial labor jobs while studying and hoping to find work that paid a fraction of what they were earning before.

Mexico is not a culture of education. In our area there are many educated people as Guadalajara is close and has world class educational institutions but in other areas it isn't like that and many people figure if there aren't jobs, why bother, that is why statistics show that 50% or more of Mexicans don't finish junior high. This is the big problem as I see it, you have people who have made poor choices and their only way of life is the one to easy and illicit riches. In other countries where I've visited and have friends you have people living in 3rd world conditions and jobs are scarce but the thing that separates those countries from Mexico is the education level of most people. You may actually find doctors and lawyers driving taxis to make more money. Here in Mexico you'll find people in positions in the government who never went to college. It is easy for someone with education and options to change professions but if someone is in their 30's and has no education and has made poor choices in their life than it will be very hard.

We can help the youth by encouraging education and by the giving of scholarships and emphasizing the need to be bilingual, know computers and to think of the end goal and work backwards from there and avoid drugs, alcoholism and tattoos.

Unfortunately there is a large group of people who are now late teens to late 30's with no education who are accustomed to the good life by means of criminal activity. There people have no education and will not educate themselves and will not change. This is the immediate problem and threat.

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I appreciate the posts as well. Thanks for the insight as it broadens my perspective. I will say I have no plans to leave Mexico as I can not live in New Mexico legally 12 months a year which I love nor can I afford the health insurance. And, while I miss Canada the weather sucks.

Here is another web site for information but no where as good as Borderland Beat. http://m3report.wordpress.com/

5 years ... at least a slow decline for the reasons Spencer, Trailrunner and Privado have stated. The money made illegally which goes way beyond drugs is simply too huge. The next national election as stated will have the PRI back in power and the hopelessness by the poor means they have thrown their hands up in the air in resignation.

It was mentioned how they stand in line at banks. Sometimes at Bancomer here the lineup is out the door. Where is the respect for the customer. When I go to the local Mega they stand in line for several minutes waiting to price 3 fresh buns or 6 donuts etc. NOB we would never tolerate that. Again, where is customer respect. IMSS is basically bankrupt. PEMEX is in steep decline, CFE rife with corruption as is every aspect of government, tourism down and remittances dropping quickly and will get worse with anti-immigration sentiment NOB. Education which most noted is a cornerstone deteriorates as those called teachers often have fake certificates and bought their job from those leaving teaching jobs (meanwhile your maid or gardener gets paid more). On a side note, the local paper in San Miguel reports the average education in the city is 5.6 years and after having been associated with the schools I can say 5.6 would equate to grade 3 academically NOB.

Sadly, 5 years from now will make today look very good, but just my opinion.

Thanks again for an intelligent, non-personal and objective discussion.

PS will add this article and my thoughts why are they arrested vs killed on the spot in the same way narcos kill police etc without any thought. Many of the narcos caught ultimately get off.

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/05/rumors-bound-that-nacho-coronel-has.html

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Part of the article I posted above states:

In recent months, military intelligence has been following his steps, but according to reports by federal authorities they started a new strategy to find his whereabouts. The armed forces conducted an operation in one of the exclusive subdivisions in the area of Lake Chapala and located the residence of the capo in a place known as El Molino.

For those who think you found paradise so did the narcos. :-)

This article also implies the criminals have no worry whatsoever of being brought to justice. many articles have interesting reader comments.

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/05/massacre-in-torreon-coahuila.html

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Part of the article I posted above states:

In recent months, military intelligence has been following his steps, but according to reports by federal authorities they started a new strategy to find his whereabouts. The armed forces conducted an operation in one of the exclusive subdivisions in the area of Lake Chapala and located the residence of the capo in a place known as El Molino.

For those who think you found paradise so did the narcos. :-)

This article also implies the criminals have no worry whatsoever of being brought to justice. many articles have interesting reader comments.

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/05/massacre-in-torreon-coahuila.html

El Molino is a small ejido village on the road from Jocotepec to the Guadalajara-Colima cuota.

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"Sadly, 5 years from now will make today look very good, but just my opinion." I'm afraid this is probably right. I agree, more of the same, more blood, more poverty, more violence, less control by law enforcement and politicos. . .eventually they will be in total control of the country if not stopped. Doesn't look like they can be stopped.

I also wondered: They said the Joco cop was snatched on duty and in uniform right off the street. Why didn't he open fire? Why didn't he see it coming? Presumably he was armed. Perhaps he was friendly with them and didn't suspect an untoward event.

There is clearly no impunity and everyone knows it. The guys that carjacked my friend in Joco went to her house after taking her car with kayaks on top, one of them tried to get in, probably with keys, but was deterred by a neighbor who was watching them and yelled at them. They then drove up main street into central Joco as they were seen by a Mexican friend driving past the plaza where the municipal building is and cops often stand around. No impunity and they knew it.

I appreciate this discussion as well, if it gets hijacked by one of the geeks on this board, please, just ignore them, they will go away.

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By chance I viewed the movie on Bravado on Sunday night.."Traffic" made in 2000 featured Michael Douglas as the US anti drug boss combating the drug trade coming into the US from Mexico ..all very scary and 10 years on the situation has worsen

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By E. Eduardo Castillo,

The Associated Press

Attackers fired more than 100 bullets and threw at least three grenades at a television station in Mexico's western state of Nayarit before dawn Monday, causing damage but no injuries, a company spokesman said.

Enrique Berumen, a spokesman for Mexican broadcasting giant Televisa, said the raid on its XHKG channel in Nayarit was the eighth attack on one of the company's facilities in recent years.

A watchman was the lone employee on duty at the time of the attack and was away from the building when it occurred. Station employees usually end daily transmissions and leave the station around midnight, about an hour and half before the attack occurred.

Investigators found 102 spent cartridges from high-powered rifles as well as pieces of an exploded grenade and two grenades that didn't go off.

Berumen said he didn't know the motive and declined to speculate whether he thought the attackers were from an organized crime group.

"We report confirmed information," he said.

In January 2009, a Televisa station in the northern city of Monterrey was attacked by assailants that authorities later said were associated with the Gulf cartel, one of several drug gangs blamed for a wave of violence that has killed 23,000 people in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon cracked down on organized crime three years ago.

Nayarit isn't known for high levels of drug violence, but the small Pacific coast state is surrounded by other states where cartels are very active.

The international journalism advocacy group Reporters Without Borders says the government hasn't done enough to protect journalists during the drug violence. Five or possibly six journalists have been murdered in Mexico this year and a total of 62 have been murdered since 2000, says the group, which ranks Mexico and Honduras as the Western Hemisphere's two most dangerous countries for the media.

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Mexico Today Similar to 1980's Colombia

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 | Borderland Reporter Gerardo

The Age of Narcoterrorism

During a press conference this week in Spain President Felipe Calderon admitted for the first time that Mexico today faces some similarities with Colombia in the 1980’s.

In Colombia during the 1980’s and early 90’s violence, terror and drug cartel warfare was so extreme that these years are known as the “age of narco-terrorism”.

During this era Pablo Escobar, head of the Medellin cartel, declared war on the Colombian government and nation in his fight against extradition to the U.S.

The Medellin cartel was held responsible for car and truck bombings beginning in 1989 that killed hundreds in Bogota and throughout Colombia. Isolated incidents of car bombings have continued in Colombia to this day.

The U.S. Justice Dept charged Pablo Escobar with the bombing of an Avianca Airlines jet over Colombia that killed 110 passengers and crew, including 2 Americans. A presidential candidate, Cesar Gaviria, was to be on the flight but did not board.

The assassinations of Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara in 1984 and presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan in 1989 and countless mayors and provincial officials ordered by Escobar mirror the current attacks on Mexican political figures and candidates.

Illegal paramilitary groups(AUC) and guerilla armies(FARC) ,both largely financed through cocaine trafficking, murdered kidnapped and disappeared thousands of civilians beginning in the early 1990’s.

In 1985 Colombia’s Supreme Court building was attacked by leftist guerillas with links to the Medellin cartel. The incident left 95 people dead including 11 supreme court justices. On the day of the attack the Supreme court was to deliberate the validity of the extradition treaty with the U.S.

The Medellin cartel’s violent battles against the Cali and Valle del Norte cartels left thousands of dead and dismembered bodies dumped on the streets of Colombia’s cities. This is the same situation in today’s cartel on cartel warfare in Mexico.

The anarchy and killings that made Medellin, Colombia, the global murder capital of the 1980’s is the equivalent of today’s murder capital, Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.

Mexico Today

Speaking in Spain, President Calderon said that Mexico is not nearly as threatened today by drug cartels as Colombia during the 1980’s.

"In Mexico we acted in time to prevent organized crime linked to drug trafficking from having the same power as in other neighboring countries like Colombia, where cartels took over entire areas of the national territory."

"We have taken decisive action and hope to resolve this scourge faster than Colombia, but this will take time and will be expensive."

He said that while there are stages that resemble the South American country, "probably we can resolve it more quickly."

“Stages like the attempts to dominate regions and communities , the confrontation between these criminal groups that lead to a very bloody war leaving countless dead and then the breakdown of cartels and the fall of their leaders, like Pablo Escobar."

The President even compared the death of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar with that of Arturo Beltran Leyva, killed last December at the hands of Mexico’s marines.

Calderon also stated the level of violence in Mexico is much lower than in Colombia today, where there are 39 murders per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 12 that occur in Mexico. During the height of the violence in the 1980’s Colombia’s murder rate approached 100 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

DEA's View

In a 2009 interview, DEA intelligence chief Anthony Placido also compared Mexico today with Colombia in the 1980’s

“The situation in Mexico is now similar to that experienced in Colombia at the beginning of the 1980’s,” says Mr. Placido “The Mexican government’s challenge is to transform a threat to national security into a problem that can be resolved by civil police.”

“And, from our point of view, that is the path that Mexico is following, but it will take time and a greater sacrifice of people will be required. The situation will worsen just befor the problem is resolved.

Placido said that the DEA could even accept agreements with Mexican drug traffickers, similar to agreements made in Colombia in order to make it easier for them to hand over drug lords, although at this time he does not see conditions for it.

"If they are willing to surrender on terms that are acceptable to us, we would be happy to accept their proposals, but none of the Mexican criminal organizations would surrender at this time, not unless they feel really threatened by the operations of the Mexican government."

"None of the kingpins of the drug cartels feel really at risk by the actions of President Felipe Calderón.” Mr. Placido added "The main reason they don't feel threatened is because they have broad powers of corruption that gives them a kind of immunity, we say, guaranteed,"

In the late 1980s and for most of the nineties, several of the major Colombian cartel kingpins (Medellín, Cali, and Northern Valley) negotiated, through the DEA, their surrender to U.S. authorities.

"People who have been involved in drug trafficking for years and agree to cooperate, by providing information and evidence to solve the problem, could receive a reduction in their sentence, which I think is one of the most appropriate ways to agree to negotiate with the drug traffickers," said the agent in charge of worldwide DEA planning and operations against drug trafficking.

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I've seen the similarities and have said Mexico is the new Colombia. Mexico is now the world kidnapping capital although most kidnappings happen in border areas, DF or Guerrero and Sinaloa. Colombia accepted US military and other law enforcement aid. It seems as if Mexico just wants the money but has a poor track record. In Colombia they terminated with extreme prejudice the bad guys, in Mexico they capture many only to have them slip through the cracks or run their enterprises from jail.

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This morning Calderon gave a speech in English to a joint session of the US Congress It was good to see that MSNBC ran a sub text- showing that Calderon got his Masters at Harvard at the JFK School of Government. He again pointed out (in an obviously very controlled response) Mexico's perception that the war on drugs in Mexico is the result of inaction by the US Government.

He went on to say that , without US Laws controlling Drug Consumption and Gun Dealers in the US and the re-enactment of Diane Feinsteins Bill (over the ARA opposition )on the sale of Automatic Weapons -- that despite what he does in Mexico- there must be a partnership between the two countries that share a border. The Republican side congress gave a tepid applause to this point.

It was pointed out by a news analyst that Calderon is taking all the Risks that the US Gov and politicians refuse to do "(It's Mexico's fault that Drugs and Illegals are crossing the border) and that Calderon - despite drops in popularity, was willing to take the political heat and risk to do the job- and that he should be applauded for his strong stand at the border. Unlike the US politicians ( who basically pay lip service) and don't deal with the illegal trade on the US side of the border or with the 7,000 Gun Dealers lined up along the US-Mexican Border selling arms to Cartels in Mexico. Only this week the announcement by Obama that finally the US is inspecting 100% of all cargo trains crossing the border.

Calderon of course also commented on the Arizona law- but MSNBC cut to a commercial- so missed the reaction to that- News analysts pointed out that US citizens continue to believe that it's Mexicos fault that illegals are flooding the country despite the fact that US businesses continue to hire them and suffer no consequences.. Calderon pointed out that Mexico's Economy was growing faster than the US and had added 400,000 new jobs. (US only 100,000) Congress looked a little surprised by this ,as many in the US will also if anyone pays attention .

I lost PBS yesterday with the DISH Shapkeup but I'm sure the NewsHour will be giving a good analysis of the reaction to the speech.

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This morning Calderon gave a speech in English to a joint session of the US Congress It was good to see that MSNBC ran a sub text- showing that Calderon got his Masters at Harvard at the JFK School of Government. He again pointed out (in an obviously very controlled response) Mexico's perception that the war on drugs in Mexico is the result of inaction by the US Government.

He went on to say that , without US Laws controlling Drug Consumption and Gun Dealers in the US and the re-enactment of Diane Feinsteins Bill (over the ARA opposition )on the sale of Automatic Weapons -- that despite what he does in Mexico- there must be a partnership between the two countries that share a border. The Republican side congress gave a tepid applause to this point.

It was pointed out by a news analyst that Calderon is taking all the Risks that the US Gov and politicians refuse to do "(It's Mexico's fault that Drugs and Illegals are crossing the border) and that Calderon - despite drops in popularity, was willing to take the political heat and risk to do the job- and that he should be applauded for his strong stand at the border. Unlike the US politicians ( who basically pay lip service) and don't deal with the illegal trade on the US side of the border or with the 7,000 Gun Dealers lined up along the US-Mexican Border selling arms to Cartels in Mexico. Only this week the announcement by Obama that finally the US is inspecting 100% of all cargo trains crossing the border.

Calderon of course also commented on the Arizona law- but MSNBC cut to a commercial- so missed the reaction to that- News analysts pointed out that US citizens continue to believe that it's Mexicos fault that illegals are flooding the country despite the fact that US businesses continue to hire them and suffer no consequences.. Calderon pointed out that Mexico's Economy was growing faster than the US and had added 400,000 new jobs. (US only 100,000) Congress looked a little surprised by this ,as many in the US will also if anyone pays attention .

I lost PBS yesterday with the DISH Shapkeup but I'm sure the NewsHour will be giving a good analysis of the reaction to the speech.

Thanks for posting this - and he is right on - if the US refuses to take action re drugs/guns, nothing will change.

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Thanks for posting this - and he is right on - if the US refuses to take action re drugs/guns, nothing will change.

there will be a change-the next administration will be from PRI and things will go back to the way they were. The US won't take action but Mexicans will, by their votes.

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Thanks guys, for your very good posts. And for Borderland Beat, I will follow it daily, what a resource! I've been following all this too, they did predict a bloodbath this weekend, they delivered.

I'm interested in speculation on the future of Mexico, say 5 years, and wonder what you think. How do you see the country in 5 years or so.

If Calderón lives out his term, clearly the next Presidente will be PRI and will have been placed in the position by the cartels. What if Calderón is assassinated? Who inherits the position? What happens then?

What else might you see in the future? Thanks for a great discussion!

The question "When will enough be enough for the Mexican people?" is one I've been asking them for years. How long will you stand for hours in line at a bank to give THEM your money? Why do you allow monopolies to so blatantly exist. Always met with a shrug and quien sabe. I've come to the conclusion they will never stand up for themselves. BUT, they will survive, laugh, and love in spite of it all.

Mexican Trailrunner

Your question is a good one- and Ajijic also mentioned it- I recently had a conversation with an Architect who has a construction company- we were talking about Customer Service- I related an incident of 2 American friends who were staying at my home- we all decided to go out for Sunday Breakfast at Appleby's- we all ordered Eggs, various styles, hashed browns and sausage or bacon-

What we received was, eggs fried hard and black around the edges, small spoonful of Frijoles and 1/2 of a fried Hot Dog- We complained and the cook came out to explain, that they did not have sausage or hashed browns and offered to recook the eggs-we asked why the waiter did not tell us that when we placed our order- WE GOT THE SHRUG - they sent back the same hot dog cold, same with the beans. We paid the bill which was over 450.00MN and left.

We were all furious- I wrote an email to Appleby's and got a phone call from the manager of Appleby's here and also a letter from International Sales Dept. asking to return to the restaurant for Free Dinners and to talk with the manager personally. I never went back!

The Architect was amazed and told me "We as Mexicans would never consider writing a letter to the management or even complaining at the restaurant- we would just leave and maybe never go there again - but never complain.We could use some training from Americans on how to get better customer service in Mexico". This response from and educated man- so I asked a few more people and the response was the same. It was considered impolite, rude and bad manners to complain about anything. This from college graduate professionals.

I then asked a friend who was a Professor at UNIVA University about this- and was told that this behavior is part of Mexican History and the Hacienda Age- when the peons lived on the land, did the work - much like the slaves in the southern US- never would even conceive of the idea to question the Patron about anything- no matter how miserable their lives or conditions- as they were treated in some ways like children. That attitude has continued for generations of poor people and has been used as part of the political concept of PRI for 70 years- which is one of the reasons they stayed in power for so long.

My guess, power comes to the people in various forms, as when the plumber, electrician or gardener just never show up at the agreed upon time and never call or walk away from a job leaving it half done.

Quien Sabe?

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Privado excellent post. My partner is Mexican and at first never stood up for what she believed in. I have encouraged her to not take it any more so to speak. She is now a different woman and while still a lady will certainly let others know when the system or a person is not as it should be. Also, by her traveling to Canada and her first time outside of Mexico her eyes were wide open and unlike most Mexicans has a clue as to how many changes would improve Mexico stating with education and diet.

Yes, why do they stand in line and say nothing. It is total disrespect yet they do if so much as we have noted. Line-up to price 3 donuts at Soriana and lineups to be served at a bank when the line extends to the door. The ATM machines do not accept deposits even... geesh. ( On a side note the Preferred Customer line at Bancomer really bothers me and so threw away my PC card). The productivity per capita in Mexico is one-third of that NOB!

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there will be a change-the next administration will be from PRI and things will go back to the way they were. The US won't take action but Mexicans will, by their votes.

Is it fair to assume that things will go back to "normal" where the narcos pay off the PRI and the quid pro quo is live and let live?

Frankly, I think the Mexicans should make a deal with these people called, "you leave us alone and sell your crap to the Americans and we'll leave you alone."

Mexico can't win this on their own and clearly the problem is U.S. drug users who finance the whole deal and the incredibly stupid "war on drugs" that is a far greater failure than prohibition for the same reason.

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The problem MC is what I saw happening when I was living in Cancun. Increased border protection makes the drug pushers want more Mexican clients and they were hooking the Mayan kids on drugs which only creates more crime. It is much easier to sell drugs here in Mexico than risk shipping them up north. Herein lies the problem.

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