New Drug Laws

Mexico's lower house of congress approved a softened version of President Felipe Calderon's anti- drug bill.

The 462-to-6 vote today came after lawmakers eliminated a clause that would allow police to search homes without a warrant in life-threatening situations. The modification lets ``citizens have a reform that helps them, not one that assaults them,'' said Ruth Zavaleta, speaker of Mexico's lower house and a member of the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution.

The package is part of Calderon's efforts to combat organized crime and quell violence. It would allow lawyers to make oral arguments to speed up trials and would give police the right to record conversations to be used as evidence.

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Importance: Mexico is still fighting the war on drugs, but it is good to see that the house of congress is thinking about the peoples rights while working on their problems.

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Transcontinental Calves

Mexico will partially lift its five-year long ban on live imports of Canadian beef and dairy calves in March, allowing females under 30 months to enter the country provided they come from herds where no instances of BSE have been detected, the Mexican agriculture ministry said on its website.

Enrique Cruz, Director-in-chief of the National Sanitation, Inoculation and Agrifood Quality Service (SENASICA) within the Ministry for Agriculture, Cattle, Rural Development, Fishing and Food (SAGARPA), said in a statement that lifting the ban for female calves would give Mexican farmers access to breeding stock that would help them boost milk production for the local market.

Cruz said a protocol signed between Mexico, the United States and Canada in January would allow the animals to pass through U.S. territory in transit. That agreement was reached after a meeting between Mexico's Agriculture Minister Alberto Cardenas and his Canadian counterpart Gerry Ritz.

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Importance: More good news for Mexico's trade. Since NAFTA has been worked with Mexico has been doing very well. Hopefully Mexico can continue to grow.

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A Greener Mexico

Within four years, Mexico wants to produce 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, the country's energy secretary said.

"The goal is that in 2012 renewable energy sources will account for more than a quarter of total capacity," said Georgina Kessel.

One of the Mexican government's priorities is to promote renewable energy as a means of ensuring the country's energy security, Spanish news agency EFE reported.

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Importance: It's good Mexico is taking a step towards the gren side of life. When we run out of oil the countries that didn't think ahead are going to have some large problems to deal with.

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'Virtual' fence along U.S.-Mexico border delayed

The Bush administration's plan to outfit the U.S.-Mexico border with a "virtual" fence consisting of sensors, cameras, and drone aircraft is running into technical snags.

Federal officials told a congressional committee on Wednesday that the first phase of the project--consisting of about 100 miles near Yuma and Tuscon, Ariz., and El Paso, Texas--won't likely be completed until 2011, about three years later than expected, according to The Washington Post. The task is being overseen by the Department of Homeland Security and has been contracted out to Boeing.

For years, the Bush administration has been heralding the concept of a "high-tech" fence as a sophisticated, 21st-century way to help border patrol agents nab foreigners trying to sneak into the country--and supplement physical fences, which are also in the works. In 2006, it estimated that it would cost $7.6 billion to secure the entire 2,000-mile southern border. Critics, including Democrats in Congress, charge the effort has been wasteful and poorly executed so far, and civil libertarians have raised questions about privacy.

Full story here

Importance: This article concerns the implementation of a new high tech security border that would supposedly be less expensive and more efficient. It cannot be completed until 2011. Many have said it is a poorly resoned plan. Look here for future updates.

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UPDATE 2 ON POLLICE BOMBING

MEXICO CITY – Drug traffickers from outside Mexico City ordered the assassination of a top city police commander and contracted local cocaine distributors to carry out the botched bombing attempt early this month, authorities said Wednesday.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said in a TV interview that the drug hit was planned in retaliation for a series of police raids against drug cartel cells in the capital and the seizure of assault rifles, grenades and shoulder-fired rockets designed to penetrate armored vehicles.

Investigators don't know yet which drug cartel was behind the attack, the mayor said.

Both the Sinaloa cartel based in northern Mexico and the Gulf cartel that operates along the Mexico-Texas border are believed to have lost important operatives and weapons in the seizures, analysts and authorities have said.

Full story here

Importance: This is most likely the last story in this horrible situation. Finally, we find out that the attack was in response to numerous raids on drug cartels in Mexico City. Better yet, the attack was carried out by local cocaine dealers. The alleged men mentioned in the previous update were likely the ones who carried out the attack. However, the men behind the attack have not been identified and it is likely they will not be identified any time in the near future.

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Smoking Ban

The news for smokers was bad. The question was how bad.

Smokers and restaurateurs and other business owners in Mexico City on Wednesday were debating the ramifications of not one but two groundbreaking laws seeking to curb smoking.

Some were scratching their heads over which they would have to obey, and many others expressed skepticism that either would be effectively enforced.

"I'm sure that neither . . . is going to succeed," said Andres Romero Olivares, a 47-year-old accountant, who saw the restrictions as the wrong solution to the nation's health woes.

On Tuesday, the Mexican Senate passed nationwide restrictions on smoking in workplaces, restaurants, bars and other public enclosures, requiring stiff fines for violations and possible 36-hour jail stints for smokers who refuse to comply. That measure, already passed by Congress' lower house, is expected to be signed into law by President Felipe Calderon.

The same day, Mexico City's legislative assembly approved even tougher rules for the capital that would ban indoor smoking in public places. The law tightened restrictions passed last fall, which had allowed bars and restaurants to set aside sections for smokers.


Full Story


Importance: I find it interesting that this law is coming into effect just as the judicial system is being overhauled in order to cut down on the number of people being held in jail for more mundane reasons. More legal confusion and delegation of police activity cannot be good for Mexico with its corrupt system being revamped and a rather unsuccessful war on drugs going on. But I suppose legislators need to feel as though they are getting something accomplished...

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New Justice System

Mexican legislators are expected today to overhaul the country's famously ineffective justice system, implementing public trials nationwide while turning up the heat on organized crime.

The long-awaited "justice reform" bill — the result of several years of fierce debate among security experts, academics and human rights activists — would amend the constitution to include the presumption of innocence and other guarantees. It would also provide alternatives to jail for minor crimes, in an attempt to reduce overcrowding in Mexican prisons.

Many of the new rights, however, would not apply to suspected members of the criminal mafias, who could be held for up to 40 days without charges. The bill would also insert in the constitution a liberal definition of "organized crime" as "a group of three or more people formed with the intention of repeatedly breaking the law."

The bill's supporters say such tough measures are needed to combat the narcotics gangs, whose bloody feuds killed more than 2,000 people last year, including dozens of police and soldiers.

"In this moment when organized crime is tearing Mexico apart, we can't protect the criminals," said Juan Francisco Rivera, a legislator from northern Nuevo Leon state, one of the cartels' bloodiest battlegrounds. "We have to give the police and security agents tools so they can take immediate action."

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Importance: So Mexico is changing their justice system to one similar to the U.S. which will operate under innocent until proven guilty, as opposed to its current system which runs more as guilty until proven innocent. The question is whether the proposed reform will help cut down on organized crime, as many hope it will, or push Mexico closer to becoming a police state with the amount of leeway it is giving police and military in times of "imminent danger."

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UPDATE ON POLICE BOMBING

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Police are holding four suspects in connection with an explosion that killed a man as he apparently tried to plant a bomb targeting a police commander, Mexico City's top prosecutor said Monday.

The four were placed under house arrest over the weekend, said Mexico City Attorney General Rodolfo Felix Cardenas. One of the detainees is Tania Vazquez, 22, who was wounded in the Feb. 15 blast after surveillance cameras captured her walking with the dead man. She is being held at a local hospital where she is undergoing treatment for burns.

Cardenas did not identify the other three suspects, but an employee of the prosecutor's office said they are believed to be minor drug dealers.

Full story here

Importance: This is a follow up on a story last week about somone bombing a police commander. Four suspects have been put on house arrest. It was my personal theory that the bombing had something to do with drugs and it proved to be true. This just gives more evidence that most crime in Mexico is traced back to the drug war. Look here for future updates on the case.

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Private Investment for Pemex?

Oil output in Mexico, the third-biggest supplier to the US, is declining, and the state company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) lacks the technology to explore for new reserves. For many the answer seems simple: more capital.

But now that senators have begun debating ways to attain that capital – a top priority of President Felipe Calderón – resistance has mounted, particularly to the idea to allowing in private enterprise.

In no place is there more opposition than along the industrial corridor in this resource-rich, steamy stretch of Veracruz State. "This oil is from here, and it belongs to us," says Francisco Lopez Martinez, who inspected oil barges at Pemex for 36 years before retiring this year.

Pemex has been Mexico's sacred cow since foreign companies were kicked out in 1938. Since then the Constitution has barred private ownership. Pemex is a source of national pride, but it's been crippled by inadequate funding, corruption, and inefficiency.

High oil prices have helped mask the decline, says Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy analyst at the James A. Baker III Institute at Rice University in Houston. Pemex generated revenue of about $100 billion last year. But the situation, under the surface, is dire.

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Importance: The drop in oil output is bad for Mexico; Pemex supplies around 40% of the national budget, so losing the company does not appear to be an option. Mexicans are weary of foreign investment, though, because they feel it will take jobs away from them. Something will have to be done, however, to get the company the needed funding to investing in more technology. The company has also been subject to claims of corruption, indicating yet another instance when corruption has hindered Mexico's strides toward increasing development and democracy.

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Assessment Complete

Mexico offers reward for information in deadly blast

MEXICO CITY: Police have offered a US$9,300 (€6,300) reward for information leading to the arrest of additional suspects in the explosion of a homemade bomb allegedly intended for a police commander in Mexico City.

The bomb exploded last Friday just two blocks from police headquarters, killing the man believed to be carrying it and injuring a woman who was captured on videotape with him. The woman, 22-year-old Tania Vazquez, is being treated as a suspect.

Police are seeking "reliable information" that results in more arrests, the capital's police department said in a news release Wednesday night.

Authorities are seeking six additional suspects, according to Mexico City Attorney General Rodolfo Felix Cardenas, who is in charge of the investigation.

Full story here

Importance: In this situation, autorities are basically offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person behind the homemade bombs. This could prove to be a problem if they the problem is not taken well care of.

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Mexico Sweetens the U.S.

MEXICO CITY, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Mexico sugar producers said on Wednesday they plan to export 750,000 tonnes of sugar mostly to the United States over the next three months to fill demand after a blast destroyed a major U.S. sugar refinery.


The exports take advantage of new trade rules that lifted all barriers to free trade in sweeteners on Jan. 1 between Mexico and the United States, one of the last protected industries under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

U.S. sugar producers fear an increase in Mexican sugar imports will crush U.S. prices but Mexico says they can fill demand after last week's fire and explosion in a Georgia sugar refinery owned by Imperial Sugar.

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Importance: Mexico is taking advantage of its new freedoms, which is a great thing. Since they seem to want to intergrate our economies they are moving in t right direction.

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US drug czar: marijuana now biggest moneymaker for Mexican cartels

MEXICO CITY - Marijuana is now the biggest source of income for Mexico's drug cartels and the U.S. is committed to cracking down harder on traffickers, U.S. drug czar John Walters said Thursday.

"We're trying to increase the force with which we're attacking this problem," Walters said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This is a focus because of the overlooked importance marijuana has in the violence."

Walters made the comments following a meeting with Mexican officials who want the U.S. to prosecute marijuana cases more zealously to reduce the amount of cash gangs can spend on guns.

Full story here

Importance: The war on drugs is acknowleged by many to be the greatest problem facing Mexico today. Here we see that Mexico is trying to work with the U.S. to cut down on marijuana. This includes stiffer and more harsh punishments.

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Mexico peso off on US worries; stocks up on miners

MEXICO CITY, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Mexico's peso currency weakened for the third straight session on Thursday as investors worried about the health of the U.S. economy, while stocks jumped on international metals prices.

The peso MEX01 lost 0.05 percent to 10.7930 per dollar, while the benchmark IPC stock index .MXX rose 0.47 percent to 29,361.32 points.

Data in the United States showed manufacturing output in the mid-Atlantic region slowed to a seven-year low in February.

Economists say trouble in the U.S. economy could translate into less demand for Mexico's exports and the peso.

Full story here

Importance: This is important not only to Mexico but also to the world economy. The article indicates that because of this, there is less demand for Mexico's exports and the Peso. On a different note, U.S. manufacturing in the mid-atlantic is at a seven year low. This could also be relevant to the apparent upcoming recession.

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New Mexican Airport

MEXICO CITY, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Mexican airport operator Asur will fight to take part in the bidding process for a planned airport in the Riviera Maya region which will drain passenger traffic away from its key runways at the resort of Cancun.

Chief Financial Officer Adolfo Castro said on Thursday Asur will take the case to court if government authorities do not allow the company to bid for the rights to build and run the airport in Quintana Roo state.

The government has not yet decided if Asur can participate in the bidding process. The sticking point is competition because Asur already operates nine airports in Mexico's southeast, including Cancun.

"If they do not allow us to participate we will use all the legal tools that we have in hand in order to protect our rights and in order to be part of the bidding process," Castro told a conference call with analysts.

Full Story

Importance: Yet another case of stifling "monopolies" in the name of competition in the Mexican government-business relationship. With the world economy in a decline, I find it odd that the Mexican government is increasing its business taxes. On an economic side note, the Mexican stock market gained on Thursday and the peso strengthened (another Reuters story...)

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Human Rights follow up

Mexico's human rights commission on Wednesday said it was investigating allegations that soldiers opened fire on a car at a checkpoint south of the Texas border, killing a man and wounding a U.S. citizen.

Jose Antonio Barbosa Ramirez solicited the National Human Rights Commission's help after the Mexican army opened fire on a car he was traveling in with his brother-in-law, Sergio Meza Varela, early Saturday morning in the border city of Reynosa in Tamaulipas state, the commission said in a statement.

The statement said the men had been drinking and doing drugs and decided to drive around the city. At about 4 a.m. Saturday, they were chased by a military-style Jeep and ended up at an army checkpoint where they attempted to flee by putting the car in reverse.

Barbosa, who said he was a U.S. citizen living in Reynosa, then felt a pain in his arm, lost control of the car and crashed into a pole. The soldiers fired more than 10 shots at the pair, the statement said.

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Importance: Another bad hit for human rights in Mexico. The troops that Calderon has sent to control drug trafficking have been accused of several violations of rights including torture and rape. The High Commissioner for the human rights commission has vocalized his warning about using military for the persecution of domestic crimes, but it has fallen on deaf ears.

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Mexico and Cuba Sitting in a Tree...

MEXICO CITY, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican government said Tuesday that it would continue to push for the development of Mexico-Cuba relations to realize the normalization of bilateral ties at an early date.

The Foreign Ministry statement was issued following the announcement by Cuban leader Fidel Castro that he is stepping down as president of the Council of Ministers and president of the Council of the State of Cuba.

The statement reaffirmed Mexico's willingness to promote the development of its relations with Cuba, adding that Mexico respects the independent decision and the will of the Cuban people on the issue.

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Importance: Mexico is jumping to get a foot in Cuba since Castro seems to be out. Some rumors are going around that he's actually dead already, but we'll see. It's hard to guess how this will all turn out since Cuba has been introverted for so long.

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Smokers on the Run

On February 21st, the Mexican Senate is scheduled to vote on an anti-tobacco measure which, if it becomes law, would severely restrict public smoking nationwide.

This proposed law is not to be confused with a Mexico City smoking restriction law which is only for that city. The new measure is for the whole country.

Smoking tobacco has a long history in Mexico. It was practiced by the Mayan culture at least since the 900s. A carving from a temple in Palenque, Chiapas, portrays a Mayan priest smoking.

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Importance: The Mexican government already has enough problems with the Durg War, and by enacting this law the problem is only going to grow. What will the solution be? Stay tuned to find out.

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Assessment Complete

Drug Violence Reaches Mexico City

MEXICO CITY - A lunchtime blast that killed one person and injured two on a main street near a tourist district has shocked residents of the Mexican capital, which has so far largely avoided the drug violence raging in the rest of the country.

City and federal officials say the homemade bomb, which exploded two blocks from a Mexico City police compound Friday afternoon, was likely the work of organized crime rather than leftist rebels.

The country has suffered from a wave of shootouts, grenade attacks and execution-style killings that left more than 2,500 dead nationwide last year. But authorities say Mexico City traditionally has been more of a meeting place for traffickers looking to close drug deals than a base for their operations.

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Importance: Mexico City has never before been a target of drug cartel's violent plans. Though no one has yet taken responsibility for the explosion, most indicators point to one of the many divisions of organized crime that are beginning to control Mexico. This new attack marks a new extent to which the cartels have come due to President Calderon's increased drug survelliance and crack down.

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Pemex and Petrobras

Brazil's state oil company Petrobras is trying to interest its Mexican counterpart Pemex in joining one of its offshore exploration projects in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, a Petrobras executive said on Thursday.

State-controlled Pemex is banned by law from forming joint ventures in oil exploration and production within Mexico, but it is allowed to form joint ventures abroad.

Samir Awad, executive manager for the Americas, Africa and Eurasia, said Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) (PBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) suggested working together in U.S. waters as part of an informal cooperation agreement the two companies have had for some time.

"This was offered some time ago on a very informal basis, in a meeting between the two (chief) executives, without any particular block or area in mind," Awad said by e-mail.

He said Pemex's response was that it could not accept the offer in the near term, for internal reasons, but that it would evaluate the possibility of joining Petrobras in the U.S. Gulf in the medium to long term.

Full story

Importance: Petrobras has been a model of sorts for Pemex as a state-run company that has embraced privatization at some levels. Drilling in U.S. oil, though, has some worried that it will draw revenue from the Mexican stores of oil.

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Mexican Human Rights

MEXICO CITY — A leading international organization charged Wednesday that the Mexican government's human rights commission has proved largely impotent in preventing abuses of its citizens.

Human Rights Watch, the New York-based organization, said in a report that Mexico's National Human Rights Commission, a semi-autonomous body, has proved adept at criticizing violations of citizens' rights but has failed to halt or prevent the practices.

"The commission could have a much greater impact on human rights in Mexico, but it doesn't," Jose Miguel Vivanco, the group's director for the Americas, said. "While it does a decent job documenting abuses and identifying problems, it doesn't take crucial steps needed to bring about change."

"The (commission) should be a catalyst for human rights progress, not merely a chronicler of the status quo," Vivanco said.

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Importance: Once again corruption in the Mexican government is detracting from the country's over all level of democracy and freedom. Currently, Calderon is touring the U.S. to promote better treatment of Mexican immigrants to the U.S., but apparently his efforts are needed just as much in Mexico itself.

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Mexico Anti-anti Immigration

Mexican President Felipe Calderón on Monday decried anti-immigrant perceptions in the United States and argued that Mexican immigrants complement American workers.

On his first trip to the U.S. as Mexico's president, Calderón said he is working to combat anti-Americanism in Mexico and to improve job prospects there to reduce migration. He said he hopes that Americans resist anti-Mexican sentiments.

“The worst thing that happened in this country is this anti-Mexican or anti-immigrant perception of people. We need to contain this,” Calderón said after a speech at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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Importance: While the U.S. is building fences Mexico tries to build bridges. The way Calderon talks it sounds like he really wants to blend the two economies.

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Bus Saves Women

Fed up with lecherous men taking advantage of the cheek-to-jowl conditions in the North American country's crowded transport system, Mexico's most populous city is running women-only buses.
"There are good men in Mexico, but they’re not the ones on public transport," Mariana Vasquez, 30, told The New York Times on Monday, February 11.

"They try to touch you. They don’t give you a seat. Where are the gentlemen?"

Mexico City began in January running women-only buses to reduce unseemly behavior on public buses.

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Importance: It's always good to see people protecting others. Mexico seems to be making lots of steps to being for the people.

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Helping Deportees

Carlos Martinez was in a state of total panic after being deported from the United States to the Mexican border city of Matamoros — he had no money, nowhere to go, and, worst of all, he didn't speak Spanish. The 30-year-old New Yorker had left Mexico as a baby; when the Department of Homeland Security sent him south last May after he had served a prison term, he landed in a foreign land.

"I was crying when I went over the border. It was just a big joke to the U.S. immigration officials to have this Mexican who doesn't speak Spanish. But I was terrified," Martinez said.

Eventually, a fellow deportee invited Martinez to his family home in Santa Maria Zoyatla, a dirt-poor village of corn farmers, and they hitchhiked 1,000 miles south from the border. Having worked as a limo driver in New York, Martinez had no idea how to work the land, and after a few months he moved onto a nearby town to sell clothes in a market.

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Importance: Mexico is helping out the people the U.S. sends to them, and it will be the next step to see if the people Mexico helps try and return to the U.S. (legally or illegally) or if they decide to stay in Mexico.

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Judicial Reform and more Drug Violence

OVER the past few weeks, gunfights between police and drug gangs along Mexico's border with the United States have left dozens dead. At the same time, two assassination attempts against a senior official in the public prosecutor's office have been foiled—the latest on January 17th when three men with grenade launchers and assault rifles were arrested.

On taking over as Mexico's president a year ago, Felipe Calderón decided to deploy the army to combat Mexico's escalating drug violence. Originally sent in as a temporary measure, the troops are still there. Faced with a relentless drugs war, Mr Calderón is now seeking to overhaul the justice system, too. The measures are ambitious; whether they will actually work is a different matter.

The very size of recent drug seizures might be seen as a sign of failure, underlining the magnitude of the trafficking. In October officials seized 23.5 tonnes of cocaine, the largest seizure ever reported in Mexico, though only a tiny fraction of the estimated 530-710 tonnes that cross into the United States every year, according to a recent report commissioned by an American senator, Richard Lugar. Mexican gangs already control America's lucrative methamphetamine trade. They have also been expanding their custom in heroin. In 2006 Mexican heroin production leapt by 58%.

Sometimes an apparent victory can actually make matters worse—at least in the short term. Last month Mexican troops arrested Alfredo Beltrán, a big shot in the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico's biggest drug gangs. But this may create a power vacuum leading to even more violence. Osiel Cardenas, head of the Gulf cartel, another powerful gang, has been in jail in Houston, Texas, for a year, with little discernible effect on the flow of drugs.

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Importance: Drug problems continue to escalate in Mexico. President Calderon has delineated judicial reforms that will change the current Napoleanic system to an Anglo-American system, but many are skeptical whether this change will help correct the problem of corruption and drug violence. The recession pending in America is not going to help matters, giving the drug trade more impetus as the Mexican economy declines.

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Assessment Complete

Biofuels a Problem?

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico said on Monday it will issue permits to companies for the first time to produce biofuels in a bid to cut emissions from cars and boost incomes for impoverished farmers.

The energy ministry said in a statement that companies will be allowed to produce ethanol and biodiesel, which can be used as additives in gasoline and diesel.

The government said in December it would encourage biodiesel production over ethanol because it would be hard for Mexican companies to compete against Brazil and the United States in ethanol production.

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Importance: Mexico is trying to go green; however now might not be a good time considering the current agricultural problems. Now not only will Mexican crop prices go up but imported food prices will rise as well putting strain on many of the lower class Mexican citizens.

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FDA Issues Warning on Toxic Fish in Gulf of Mexico

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning this week to seafood processors regarding toxic fish in the Gulf of Mexico, after several outbreaks of ciguatera fish poisoning were confirmed.

The letter from the FDA was sent Tuesday and warns seafood processors that fish such as grouper, snapper, amberjack and barracuda feed on fish that have eaten toxin marine algae, which makes them a threat to consumers, the Associated Press reported.

The toxic fish were all harvested in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, near the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, the FDA said, near the coast of Texas and Louisiana.

Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning include nausea, vomiting, vertigo and joint pain; the illness can be debilitating, as neurological symptoms can last for months or even years, the AP informs.

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Importance: This story is especially relevant to both the U.S. and Mexico. This one instance can make or break future relation between the two countries. The illnesses resulting from the toxic fish need to be regarded as serious and highly dangerous.

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Rebels Withdraw

POLHO, Mexico (AP) — Nearly 200 families have abandoned the Zapatista rebel movement in one of its strongholds, turning to the government for aid at a time when the insurgents are complaining about the loss of outside support.

On Wednesday, each family received initial payments of $43 in a ceremony with Salvador Escobedo, a top official with the federal government's Social Development Department. The government is promising similar payments every two months, as well as a school and medical center.

The ceremony in Polho, long a backbone of the Zapatista movement, appeared to be the most prominent desertion from the insurgency since 2004, when about 400 families in the unofficial rebel capital of La Realidad broke away to accept government help, dividing the village in two.

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Imporstance: This article shows that Mexico is slowly moving to a more legitiment government. The rebel groups are not even able to keep a following. Take that with the fairly smooth Presidential election and Mexico seems to be headed in a new direction.

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Mexico's Calderon to reduce army role in drug war

MEXICO CITY, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon said on Wednesday he wants to phase out the army's role in fighting drug traffickers as the country works to reform its notoriously corrupt police forces.

"We must clean up and strengthen the police forces across the country so that the participation of the army in the fight against crime will become less and less necessary," Calderon said at an event with Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human rights.

Calderon has mobilized some 25,000 Mexican troops since taking office in December 2006 to try to crush powerful drug cartels that are warring over lucrative smuggling routes to the United States.

Arbour, who is in Mexico on a visit to review Mexico's human rights record, on Tuesday criticized Calderon's military campaign against drug traffickers as dangerous and warned that military forces should not be taking on civilian roles.

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Importance: In what seems completely unexpected and without reason, Calderon makes a bold move in order to progress in the war on drugs. His main reason for this is to decrease the corruption in the police force and the military. This will ultimately decrease the intervention of military into certain crimes.

The Bolsa Rises!

Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Mexico's Bolsa rose for the first time in three days as investors bought shares that have declined the most in a global selloff and construction companies rallied on a plan to increase spending on roads, ports and dams.

``Long-term investors are accumulating shares of some of these companies that have fallen to good levels,'' said Gerardo Copca, equity analysts at Metanalisis in Mexico City.

The Bolsa index of 35 most-traded shares rose 159.03, or 0.6 percent, to 28,088.32.

Construction company Impulsadora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en America Latina SA, controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, rose the most since Jan. 23, gaining 7.5 percent to 14.83 pesos. Slim had joined President Felipe Calderon for the announcement of the $3.7 billion infrastructure fund yesterday

Empresas ICA SAB, Mexico's largest construction company, rose 1 percent to 66.25 pesos. Cemex SAB, North America's largest cement maker, rose for the first time in three days, gaining 1 percent to 27.69 pesos, paring its loss for the past 12 months to 31 percent.

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Importance: Mexico must be doing something right, or at least its construction industry must, as it is showing economic increase where everywhere else is showing the steady road to a recession. Is this a fluke rise, or genuine economic increase? Only time will tell...

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Flooded and Moving

Villahermosa, Mexico - At first Socorro Osorio considered herself fortunate. When the flooding put nearly 70 percent of the state of Tabasco under water last November, many had no workplace the next morning. In her case, the home where she labored as a cleaning lady survived the flood.

But the single mother says she couldn't leave her three young children alone in their flooded home. Her employers found a new cleaner. "I'm trying hard to find something else, to bring food to my kids, but it's not easy," says Ms. Osorio.

Three months after one of Mexico's worst natural disasters hit this petroleum-rich state in southern Mexico, signs of normalcy abound. The roads are navigable, the debris is cleared. Of 158,656 people once living in shelters, only a fraction remain homeless. Last week, the last food supplies were distributed by the state. New homes are on the rise, and of the 10,000 companies that were forced to temporarily shut down, many have been renovated and reopened.

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Importance: It is a good sign that after such a large nartural disaster the citizens of Mexico are bouncing back and rebuilding. It is also good to see the government assisting those in need.

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Mexico News: Sports Edition

Baseball

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Robert Saucedo hit a three-run homer in the top of the 10th inning to lead Mexico's Obregon City Yaquis to a 7-4 victory over the Dominican Republic's Licey Tigers on Wednesday in the Caribbean Series.

Mexico (1-4) won its first game in the four-team tournament and broke Licey's (4-1) unbeaten streak. Mexico scored three runs in the ninth to tie it.

Soccer

HOUSTON -- "All right," was the assessment of legendary Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos as he left his luxury box following Mexico's 2-2 tie with the U.S. on Wednesday. "Next time we'll win," he said, before cracking a smile and sticking his tongue out to reveal he wasn't so sure.

El Tri failed for the 10th straight time to beat the U.S. on American soil, but this time the dominating contingent of Mexican supporters in the Houston crowd of 70,103 wasn't left as disappointed as usual.

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Importance: It is vital that we take notice of Mexico's succes in the world of sports. Sports often provides something for Mexicans to rally behind and have pride in. This is especially true with regard to the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing.

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Six-Year-Olds in Jail

What to do with children born to women serving time is a social dilemma that tests even the most advanced prison regimes.

In Mexico, the authorities believe they are starting to deal with the problem head on, with some dramatic results.

They have started allowing babies born in jail to stay with their mothers until they are six years old.

Compare that to England or Scotland, where typically mothers can only keep their babies until they are 18 months old, and then only in exceptional circumstances.

Or Canada, where historically children have only been allowed to stay until they are around three years old.

Sweden has traditionally taken an even more restrictive view, not allowing any children to stay in jail, arguing prison is not the place for them.

In part it is because these countries have unsuitable jails that were not designed to house children, but there is also a view that women should forfeit their rights when they are convicted, including those of parenting.

Countries such as Bolivia and India do allow children to stay with their mothers until a similar age to those in Mexico, but the difference with the Mexican experience is the time and effort is devoted to the mothers as well.

Importance: This program of keeping children in jail until the age of six seems to have many benefits, however, these benefits are more aimed at the mother than the child. While keeping the child with the mother, there are less separation issues and a decrease in repeated crimes, is jail really the best place for a developing child to, well, develop? It will be interesting to see the ramifications of being born and raised in jail in the lives of these children.

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Investigating Crimes against Women

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico has created a new federal position to prosecute violence against women and human exploitation, as rights groups urge the government to do more to investigate the killings of women, especially along the U.S. border.

The position, announced on Thursday, will replace a similar post created in 2006 and will add migrant smuggling, child labor and other human exploitation to its caseload.

The new prosecutor, Guadalupe Morfin - who previously served in a similar post aimed at combatting violence against women in Ciudad Juarez - will report to Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora.

The attorney general told Radio Formula that he welcomes the expanded role for his office.
Human exploitation "is a serious problem that we see daily, and we don't have the adequate structure to deal with it," Medina Mora said.

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Importance: Mexican citizens rising concern in human rights indicates the country's move into post-industrialism. In addition to the crimes many Mexican women have been subject to, many are also faced with a struggle for basic civil liberties garuanteed by the constitution, especially women from indigenous groups whose culture and traditions bar from such civic acts as voting. (Watch the video on the website).

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