Nahuatl Revived

MEXICO CITY – Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard wants all city employees, from hospital workers to bus drivers, to learn the Aztec language Nahuatl in an effort to revive the ancient tongue, the city government said Friday.

Leftist Ebrard, seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, presented his government's development plan this week translated for the first time into Nahuatl.

“This publication is not just a symbolic act, it is the first step to institutionalizing the use of Nahuatl in the government,” his office said a statement.

The next step will be offering Nahuatl classes to city government officials, including the mayor and his cabinet, and distributing booklets about indigenous culture to 300,000 public servants, said Rosa Marquez who runs the program.

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Importance: This press for learning the Aztec language is an interesting step for minority rights. Recently Mexico has been hit by a lot of bad press concerning its emphasis, or lack thereof, on human rights. Perhaps this is the first sign of a reversal of this trend.

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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.

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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.


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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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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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