Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Forever Years War

RÍO BRAVO, Mexico — These days, it is easy to form the impression that a war is going on in Mexico. Thousands of elite troops in battle gear stream toward border towns and snake through the streets in jeeps with .50-caliber machine guns mounted on top while fighter jets from the Mexican Navy fly reconnaissance missions overhead.

Gun battles between federal forces and drug-cartel members carrying rocket-propelled-grenade launchers have taken place over the past two weeks in border towns like Río Bravo and Tijuana, with deadly results.

Yet what is happening is less a war than a sustained federal intervention in states where for decades corrupt municipal police officers and drug gangs have worked together in relative peace, officials say. The federal forces are not only hunting cartel leaders, but also going after their crews of gunslingers, like Gulf Cartel guards known as the Zetas, who terrorize the towns they control.

Read the whole article.

Importance: This article is really cool if you think about it. If you compare Mexico's drug war to the U.S.'s this article shows exactly how two countries so close with the same problem handle the problem in two completly different ways. It's also interesting that neither one seems to be fixing the problem...

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The Fence


Of all the issues in this year's US presidential election, immigration is the one that touches the rawest of Democratic and Republican nerves.

After last year's failure by President George W Bush to get his comprehensive immigration plan past Congress, it has become fertile and divisive ground for candidates in the race.

But there is one area of immigration policy that is proceeding, despite the political stalemate: the building of the border fence between the US and Mexico.




Importance: The fence between Mexico and the U.S. is going up fast. However, after reading this article it seems the people of Mexico that want to come to the U.S. still plan to do so. The real question is what will the Mexican government do about this since many Mexicans are so open about wanting to break international laws.
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Traffic normal at San Diego border despite new crossing rules


Waits at California border crossings were no longer than usual Thursday, the first day of stricter rules for entering the United States.

Drivers waited about an hour at 6 a.m. to cross through the San Ysidro port from Tijuana, Mexico. Pedestrians were delayed about 10 minutes, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"It's been great—a nonevent," said Gurdit Dhillon, CBP's field operations director in San Diego.
Thursday was the first day U.S. and Canadian citizens 19 years and older had to show documents proving citizenship. Passports work, as do "trusted traveler" cards that have been issued to frequent crossers.

A driver's license must be accompanied by another document, like a birth certificate.

Inspectors were flexible with those who didn't have the right papers. Orville McFarlane of San Diego forgot his birth certificate but was allowed to return from Tijuana with a driver's license. The pharmacy technician knew the rules were changing but forgot when.


Full story... here


Importance: This article shows that the Calderon administration is making sufficient efforts to tackle illegal emigration. It also shows that the plan is working pretty well and it appears as if it will continue to be a success. Plans like these are needed in the future to completely get rid of the probl


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Seeing US Slowdown, Mexico Cuts Growth


Mexico indicated Wednesday it expects the downturn in the U.S. will mean much slower growth this year for its own economy, which depends on its northern neighbor for the bulk of its trade and investment.

The Treasury Department said it was lowering its forecast for Mexico's 2008 economic growth to 2.8 percent from 3.7 percent — a 24 percent drop.

"It is expected that the prevalent international economic scenario in 2008 will be less favorable for Mexico than what was anticipated," the department said in a report posted on its Web site.
More than any other country in Latin America, Mexico's economic fate is tied to the U.S., its partner in the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico sends more than 80 percent of its exports to the U.S., which is also Mexico's largest source of direct foreign investment and remittances.

Full story...here

Importance: This shows that Mexico relies heavily on the U.S. in terms of economic growth. When our economy drops, Mexico's does as well. This coupled with the economic problem of farming and farmer's income has many wondering when the Mexican economy will get back on track.

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Prepaid Television


Mexican media company Grupo Televisa SAB (TV), moving to snap up customers as greater competition looms in the pay TV market, started this week selling the country's first prepaid satellite television cards.


Prepaid cards for Sky Mexico, Televisa's satellite service in partnership with DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV), "use the same payment systems as cell phones, and you only pay for what you use," Televisa said Thursday in a press release.


The idea comes at a time when the country's telecom and cable companies are implementing "triple play" - the bundling of Internet, phone and video on the same network.


Televisa unit Empresas Cablevision SAB (CABLE.MX) is among cable companies that have started offering phone service, while the country's biggest fixed-line phone company, Telefonos de Mexico SAB (TMX), or Telmex, plans to start selling video this year.


Marco Rojas, director of marketing at Sky Mexico, said in a telephone interview that the rollout of prepaid television was more than partly motivated by the prospects of increased competition.


Here's the full article


Importance: Mexican economists often worry about the level of competition in many of the nation's industries; here is an example of a firm in the cable industry that has worked to become the market leader and is working to remain that way. The concerns Mexico is facing about its economy reveals the degree of modernization the nation has reached; it makes it hard to believe that a country that is beginning to succeed at fostering a growing, stable economy is also struggling with abolishing the drug cartels that have been plaguing many of its cities for so long.
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Farmers clog Mexico City to protest for corn tariffs


Thousands of farmers on foot and on lumbering tractors clogged Mexico City Thursday to protest the lifting of corn tariffs under a free trade agreement, which they say is hurting their pockets.

"No corn, no country" was the byword of the protest plastered in signs on tractors and buses, as the angry farmers, some of them leading herds of cattle through the streets, demanded equal treatment with farmers in the United States and Canada.

While it was mostly peaceful, there was some tension late Wednesday when a column of slow-moving tractors ground to a reluctant halt before a phalanx of anti-riot police that barred access
to the Zocalo, the city's main square.

Some 1,500 police have fanned out across the city to prevent any unrest stemming from the protest, as farmers from across the country have made their way here, some on foot for 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), since January 18.

A provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) lifting tariffs on corn -- Mexico's staple food -- kicked in on January 1, 14 years after the agreement between the three neighbors came into being.

Full story... here

Importance: This article brings to life the disadvantages that farmers have to deal with via NAFTA. Mexican farmers can no longer live off their own crops and their income has been gradually been decreasing since the birth of of the agreement. This protest clearly shows that the farmers are significantly upset.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Samba Pa Ti


Click here to see Carlos Santana. If you like jam bands or sweet dance music you'll enjoy this.

The American Mexico


MEXICO CITY - Mexico indicated Wednesday it expects the downturn in the U.S. will mean much slower growth this year for its own economy, which depends on its northern neighbor for the bulk of its trade and investment.




Imortance: It seems that Mexico might be leaning on the U.S. a little to hard if so much of there hopes ride on the U.S. economy alone, but now that NAFTA is doing their thing and Mexico is losing their farmers it could be a bad situation.


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Mexican Maize


IT WAS in a valley somewhere in central Mexico at least 5,000 years ago that maize (corn, to Americans) was first domesticated. Many Mexicans see the crop as part of their national patrimony, much as potatoes are to Peruvians or pasta is to Italians. So it is understandable that when on January 1st import tariffs on maize (along with beans, sugar and milk) were finally eliminated, many Mexicans felt a twinge of regret. The end of the tariffs marked the culmination of a 14-year transition to free trade between Mexico, the United States and Canada under the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Nevertheless many Mexicans are no more enthusiastic about the treaty than Americans are. Opposition politicians, from both the centre-left Party of the Democratic Revolution and the formerly ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, argue that NAFTA should be re-negotiated. Peasant farmers are to stage a demonstration in Mexico City on January 31st to which they hope to attract 100,000 people (although, as is customary, many of these will be bused in and paid to attend).

In practice, little changed on January 1st. Tariffs on maize have gradually been dropping since 1994 (when they stood at over 200%). Nearly all maize imports already entered tariff-free under government import quotas. Most of the imports are of yellow corn, used to feed livestock, while Mexico produces mainly white corn. Even so, without cheap imports Mexicans would pay more for their daily tortillas. They were reminded of that a year ago when a temporary shortfall in imports combined with distribution snags to cause the price of tortillas to soar.

Read Full Article

Importance: Once again, Mexico is facing problems with poor competition leading to the development of monopolies. Though free trade is ultimately beneficial, small scale farmers are going to have trouble when prices of maize fall.

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Monday, January 28, 2008

Police Chief Arrested in Drug Case

Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo

Mexico arrested two alleged drug cartel enforcers over the weekend, including a purported hit man accused of threatening officials and bribing police, and a suspect in the 1993 slaying of a Mexican cardinal.

Former local police chief Hector Izar Castro was detained on Sunday in the north-central state of San Luis Potosi on weapons, armed robbery and drug charges, federal police spokesman Edgar Millan said.

Police said Izar Castro had a rifle, pistols and cocaine in his possession at the time of his arrest, as well as three wooden clubs marked with the letter "Z" -- apparently signifying the Zetas, the gang of Gulf cartel hit men for whom he allegedly worked.

Late on Saturday, the commander of an army base in Tijuana announced that another alleged drug gunman had been collared: Alfredo Araujo Avila, also known as "Popeye," who allegedly worked for the Arellano Felix drug cartel as a hit man for more than two decades.

Araujo Avila is suspected of participating in the slaying of Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, who was riddled with bullets on May 24, 1993, while he sat in his car at the airport in the city of Guadalajara, General German Redondo told reporters.

Full article available here

Importance: Mexico seems to have so much drug violence and corruption that the arrest of two offenders appears to be a mere drop in the bucket; however, these arrests are of import as they reveal that the president's 'crack down' on crime is making headway. They give the hope that his plans will not be as futile as his predecessor's.

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Sunday, January 27, 2008

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Mexico announces squad for Beijing Olympics qualifier




MEXICO CITY, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Mexico soccer coach Hugo Sanchez announced on Thursday the 24-player list that will train to seek a Beijing 2008 Olympics ticket at the qualifier to be held in the United States.


The qualifier, to be played under the name of the Confederation of North, Central American and




Caribbean's (CONCACAF) Pre-Olympic soccer tournament, is slated for March 11-23.


Mexico plays in Group B together with Canada, Guatemala and Haiti.


The 24-player list presented by Sanchez includes players from 12 Mexican soccer clubs.


The Mexican team will not be able to include its European-based players since the Olympic qualifying tournament is not scheduled on the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) calendar where soccer clubs are obliged to hand over the players to their national teams.




Full story... here




Importance: This may not seem significant but it is. In Latin America, Soccer is bigger than all U.S. sports combined. The Mexican people need something to look forward to. The 2008 olympics will show that Mexico is extremely passionate about Soccer.




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UPDATE 2-INTERVIEW-Mexico Senate sees April energy law proposal


MEXICO CITY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Mexican senators expect to have a proposal ready in April for an energy reform aimed at revitalizing the sector and possibly bringing vital deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil within reach, a senior legislator said.

After a year consulting with Mexican and foreign experts, lawmakers from all parties agree the oil sector needs a shake-up to ensure Mexico's future as a world class oil exporter, Sen. Ruben Camarillo told Reuters in an interview Wednesday evening.

"I estimate it should be during April," Camarillo said, referring to when the senate committee would have a draft proposal ready to submit. Some lawmakers had seen a bill ready by end-February but most feel more time is needed.

The reform attempt will be conservative President Felipe Calderon's most ambitious yet since he took office a year ago and shook up Mexico's pension, fiscal and justice systems.

Full story...here

Importance: This article plainly states that there will be a proposal in April concerning energy reforms. It also concerns the halting of a major oil monopoly, Pemex. Mexico will likely gain more oil from the Gulf of Mexico.

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Mexican Farmers in Trouble


The rally is organized by the Francisco "Pancho" Villa Farmers Resistance Movement and has received the support of other regional movements that have joined the project. Meetings are being organized by demonstrators to explain the serious implications of the treaty's neoliberal model to the public.

At the beginning of the initiative, organizers issued a public message denouncing NAFTA and the agriculture and trade policy established in 1982, arguing that the opening of the Mexican border and the eliminatin of tarrifs on products with which national producers can not compete constitute a war against farmers and indigenous agriculture. Each US agriculture worker is "subsidized by the US government with more than US $20,000 a year, while some Mexicans (those who are privileged enough) receive 700 dollars from the hands of corrupted politicians."

The treaty therefore facilitates an average annual deficit of US $2 billion in the country's agricultural exports and an increase in the dependency of the food imported free of taxes.




Significance: So now NAFTA is adding to the immigration problem. If the Mexican agriculture industry falls through the Mexican government is going to have a lot larger problems than just some angry farmers.


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Mexico anti-drug official says target of hit men


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's deputy attorney general said on Thursday that three men arrested in Mexico City last week with shoulder-fired rockets, rifles and a submachine gun were planning to kill him.

Jose Luis Santiago, the point man in the country's war on drug gangs and the official in charge of extraditing drug bosses to the United States, said the suspected hit men may belong to the Sinaloa Cartel, which dominates Mexico's Pacific Coast cocaine smuggling routes.


In northern Mexico, drug gangs frequently murder local police, judges and politicians in the middle of the conflict. But attacks on senior federal authorities are rare.

Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, head of the Sinaloa Cartel, escaped from prison in 2001 and remains at large. One of his top lieutenants was arrested this week.


Full story... here


Importance: This article shows that the war on drugs is continuing to be a major problem all over Mexico. The last paragraph above states that the man in charge of the largest cocaine smuggling gang is still at large and has been since 2001. This shows that major improvements need tobe made in order to cut down on the smuggling.
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Mexico Seeks U.S. Aid on Drug War


Even as President Felipe Calderón dispatched more than 24,000 military and security forces to pacify areas overrun by drug gangs, the country saw more than 2,500 deaths related to the drug trade in 2007.

Mexico has logged important successes, from extraditions to drug seizures, and Mr. Calderón's administration has been lauded by many observers as the boldest in recent history in the face of organized crime. On Monday, officials announced the arrest of one of Mexico's top operatives, a suspected leader of the infamous Sinaloa cartel.

But with each victory comes another daylight shootout, another federal agent down, and a heightened perception that the problem is bigger than Mexico can solve alone.




Significance: Mexico is looking for help to fight their drug war however; the U.S. drug war isn't the most succesfull project in the world. We'll see how much the U.S. actually helps.


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Turf Wars Continue


Juan Carlos Reyna had been driving a Jeep Liberty through Cancun's wealthiest neighborhood on a sweltering December afternoon when he was surrounded by three cars. A masked man bearing a Kalashnikov rifle leaned out of the car in front of him and shot Reyna in the head. Against all odds, the Cuban-American survived and was airlifted from Mexico's Caribbean resort to a U.S. hospital, where he is fighting for his life.

Others have been less fortunate. Since June, at least four Cuban-Americans, including Reyna's brother Maximiliano, have been shot dead on Cancun's glitzy boulevards in gangland-style hits. Mexican officials allege that these killings, and those of at least five Mexicans, stem from what they say is a turf war over lucrative human smuggling routes of Cubans via Mexico to the United States.

The blood being spilled in broad daylight in Mexico's most popular international tourist spot has raised the pressure on a police force already struggling against heavily armed drug cartels.

Read the full story

Importance: This article shows that the U.S. may have immigration problems but, Mexico also has a severe problem. It will be interesting to see how how the two governments handle the situation.

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Military Replace Police


Local police were relieved of duty Tuesday in the border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and Reynosa as army troops disarmed the officers and searched for evidence that might link them to drug traffickers.

In Nuevo Laredo, soldiers surrounded police headquarters at 8 a.m. and ordered officers to remain inside. Federal troops conducted a similar operation in Tijuana last January, at the beginning of an offensive against Mexico's drug cartels and their allies in the police.

During the first 14 months of his rule, President Felipe Calderon has sent federal troops to at least half a dozen states, including Michoacan in the south and Veracruz on the Gulf. Calderon has vowed to break the power of the traffickers, who wield wide influence over local authorities and intimidate local news media.

At least two drug-trafficking organizations are fighting for control of Nuevo Laredo and its border crossings, a lucrative source of income for smugglers. President Vicente Fox, Calderon's predecessor, sent army troops there in 2005.

Read the rest of the story

Importance: The article reveals Calderon's efforts at breaking down the drug trade in Mexico as well as unraveling the layers of police corruption. However, similar efforts have been made in the past, and things have not changed. Whether the president's attempts will be effective remains to be seen.

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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Investigation of Possible Phone Monopoly


Mexico's antitrust agency on Wednesday began a probe into market dominance in the fixed-line telephone market, a thinly veiled challenge to the power of market leader Telmex, owned by tycoon Carlos Slim.

The Federal Competition Commission, without naming any company, said it will investigate if there was any "substantial power" and "real competition" in various fixed-line long distance and local telephone markets.

Telmex, a former state monopoly that Slim bought in a 1990 privatization, has around 90 percent of Mexico's 20 million fixed lines and was declared "dominant" several years ago by antitrust regulators.

Slim, reckoned by some to be the world's richest person, overturned that ruling in Mexican courts.

Full story here

Importance: This investigation reveals Mexican attempts to reform some of the corruption which seems to be inherent in its government and economy.

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Monday, January 21, 2008

Peso Falls




Mexico's peso fell the most in 10 weeks amid falling global stock prices and mounting speculation the world economy is slowing.


The peso weakened 0.75 percent to 10.9858 per dollar at 11:44 a.m. New York time from 10.9045 on Jan. 18. The currency's decline was the largest since Nov. 9.


Rising unemployment and a contraction in manufacturing output in the U.S. have reinforced speculation that the world's largest economy is slipping into recession. The European economy may be starting to suffer from the U.S. subprime mortgage slump as industrial production shrinks and investor confidence wanes.


Slowing global growth threatens to trim consumer demand for Mexican exports, accounting for about 30 percent of gross domestic product.



Read full article


Importance: The drop in the Mexican peso is one of many possible economic indications of a world economic "slow-down," apparently instigated by the recessing of the U.S.'s economy. Now in addition to the increased crime, President Calderon must contend with fostering economic stability and growth.
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Sunday, January 20, 2008

Friday, January 18, 2008

Schlumberger Moved 17 Rigs Into Southern Mexico In 2nd Half 2007

Oil services firm Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) moved 17 drilling rigs into southern Mexico during the second half of 2007, expanding the firm's strong presence in the Mexican oil services market.

Large start-up costs at two projects eroded Schlumberger's operating margins for Latin America in general in the fourth quarter, Schlumberger Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew Gould said during a Friday conference call.

Schlumberger is a major supplier of equipment and services to Mexico's state- owned oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. In 2007 Schlumberger and construction company ICA Fluor won a $1.4 billion contract to develop the Chicontepec field, which stretches across the states of Veracruz and Puebla.

Full story...here

Kidnap victims found dead after Mexico gunfight

The bodies of six kidnap victims were found inside a house in Mexico yesterday following a three-hour shootout between gunmen and soldiers and police.

The victims, all male, were blindfolded and gagged and had been shot in the head. The authorities in the city of Tijuana, near the US border, said the men had probably been abducted for ransom, or picked up for association with a rival gang.

The three-hour battle between a handful of gunmen in a house and about 100 soldiers and police outside has highlighted fears that a military-led offensive aimed at quelling a gruesome turf war between drug cartels is turning into a more general conflict.

Soldiers and state and local police were sent in to help control the gunfight, which began when federal agents prepared to raid a house police now say was a shelter for a cell of the Arellano Félix drug cartel.

Full story...here

Importance: This is just news that reflects the society of many Mexican cities. It is a representation of the frequent rebellions in Mexico, especially near the border.

Marijuana, Guns, and Rocks


The US has said it will give Mexico access to an electronic database to trace weapons smuggled from the US to powerful drug gangs across the border.

US Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Mexican police who seized arms could use the system to notify the US who would then target the dealers.

Mexico has been struggling to deal with heavily-armed drug traffickers.
It has complained that its northern neighbour is not doing enough to stop the flow of illegal arms into Mexico.

"What happens is that there is organised rock-throwing to divert border guards, who then become involved in whatever exchanges they're involved in, then you get a bunch of backpackers running across the border with backpacks full of marijuana," Mr Mukasey said.

Read this article.

This article just goes to show that like at the beggining of the revolution throwing things at soldiers always gets the job done.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Mexico's Calderon places ally in key reform post


...Mexican President Felipe Calderon fired his interior minister and replaced him with a close ally on Wednesday in a cabinet shake up to help his government push economic reforms through Congress.


Calderon said he had removed Francisco Ramirez, criticized for failing to build alliances with the opposition, and put his chief of staff, Juan Camilo Mourino, into the post...


...In Mexico, the interior minister has a key role in negotiating with the opposition. Calderon's conservative National Action Party is the biggest party in Congress but lacks an absolute majority and needs to negotiate laws with opposition leaders.

Mourino, 36, said Calderon had told him to work closely with Congress to speed up planned reforms, the biggest of which is an overhaul of the energy sector to halt declining oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico...


Full story... here
Importance: This event is more important than meets the eye. It shows how Calderon is slowly gaining more approval. It also shows how he plans to get various tasks accomplished as the president of Mexico.

Economic Freedom


Mexico's economy is 66.4 percent free, according to our 2008 assessment, which makes it the world's 44th freest economy. Its overall score is 0.1 percentage point higher than last year. Mexico is ranked 9th out of 29 countries in the Americas, and its overall score is higher than the regional average.

Mexico scores relatively well in business freedom, fiscal freedom, trade freedom, government size, property rights, and financial freedom. Commercial operations are becoming more streamlined, and business formation is efficient. Income and corporate tax rates are moderate, and overall tax revenue is low as a percentage of GDP. Government expenditures are fairly low.

Freedom from corruption is the only factor that is worse than the world average. Foreign investment in many sectors is deterred by special licensing requirements, although the government is working to make commercial regulations more investment-friendly. A weak judicial system produces slow resolution of cases and is subject to fairly significant corruption.
Importance: Of the six countries we are studying in AP Government, Mexico comes in second only to Great Britain with regard to economic freedom. One of the major deterrents of Mexico further developing its economy is the abundance of drug crimes which the current president, Felipe Calderon, has dedicated much of his administrative powers. With increasing economic freedom, Mexico will increase its affluence and world power.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Attempt at Oil Reform


CANTARELL, in the Gulf of Mexico, was once the world's biggest offshore oilfield, holding over 35 billion barrels of the black stuff. Now, after nearly three decades, it is running out. At its peak in 2004 it produced 2.1m barrels of oil per day (b/d), making up 60% of Mexico's total output. That figure has already fallen by more than 500,000 b/d and could fall by another 200,000 b/d by the spring.


This is a worry for both Mexico and the world. Although Mexico contains less than 1% of the world's proven oil reserves, it is the sixth-largest producer. Its output of 3.1m b/d is well above that of Venezuela or Kuwait. And although oil no longer dominates the Mexican economy—even at recent high prices it provided 16% of exports in 2006, down from 68% in 1982—it lubricates the public finances, contributing nearly 40% of federal revenues.


The obvious solution is to privatise the industry, but that is politically impossible. The state oil monopoly is both popular and constitutionally mandated. So Mr Calderón and other politicians have been searching for ways to loosen the monopoly while respecting the constitution.


The Senate's energy committee is holding a “private, technical debate” on how to do this, according to Rubén Camarillo, a senator from Mr Calderón's centre-right National Action Party. The purpose is to try to reach an all-party consensus by February. So far there is “agreement about what needs to be done, but not how to do it,” says Mr Camarillo.
Importance: Reforming its oil production would be helpful to Mexico's economy as would increased privatization. Politically, President Calderon could risk his precarious legitimacy by implementing these reforms that could test the Mexican constitution as well as bring into conflict political parties.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Mexico News! (of sorts...)


A few interesting stories from Mexico this past week:
Writer and poet Andrés Henestrosa, a Zapotec Indian who defended and promoted his native language, died Thursday after a months-long battle with pneumonia. He was 101. Henestrosa, who was born in Oaxaca state and didn't learn Spanish until he was 15, wrote a Zapotec-Spanish dictionary in 1936.

A 10-year-old Mexican boy dreaded returning to school after Christmas break, so he glued his hand to his bed. Sandra Palacios spent nearly two hours Monday trying to free her son Diego's hand with water, oil and nail polish remover before calling authorities to get the industrial glue off, Police Chief Jorge Camacho said from outside Monterrey. Paramedics managed to unstick him in time for class; his hand was fine.

Scientists using improved methods of analyzing the chemistry of ancient soils have detected where a large marketplace stood 1,500 years ago in the Maya city of Chunchucmil on the Yucatan Peninsula. The findings, archaeologists say, are some of the first strong evidence that the Maya civilization, at least in places and at certain times, had a market economy similar in some respects to societies today.


(courtesy SignOnSanDiego.com)


These short headliners serve mostly to bring us up to date with current happenings in Mexico.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Helpful Suggestions and Constructive Criticisms

I will post stuff here to help you from time to time.