La politica es la
politica will post periodic English language translations sourced from the
Americas Mexico Blog.
The following come from press reports in English and
Spanish:
January was the most
violent month in half a year
Milenio:
"During January there were 960 executions in 24 states in Mexico,
representing the most violent month since July last year when 1,036 executions
were committed.
In the month that ended yesterday, 55 percent of homicides
related to organized crime occurred in five states, 230 were killed in
Chihuahua, which has been on the top of the list for more than two years. Nuevo
Leon was in second place, accounting for
83 deaths,...doubling the 39 recorded in December.
Also, the increase in executions in the State of Mexico
stands out, where they went from 18 in December to 69 in January, an increase
of almost 400 percent. ... In Guerrero, 69 executions were carried out, three
more than December. Despite being the third most violent state, the number in
January does not come close to the 132 murders committed in October 2010.
Another of the states that had a significant increase was
Michoacan, where 66 murders occurred related to organized crime. The figure has not been as high in that state
since June of last year. In Jalisco,
homicides increased 115 percent over the last month of 2011, 64 deaths
occurring in January, 21 of them committed on January 27.
In contrast, in Sinaloa, the number of executions fell by
more than 200 percent over the previous month. 51 murders were recorded in
Sinaloa, which is the lowest figure for the state since October 2009.
The most violent day of the month was recorded on January
27, when 61 people were executed in 12 states: 21 of them were committed in
Jalisco, 15 in Chihuahua and more 13 more persons were killed in clashes in
Veracruz, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.
During January 35 police were killed, 19 of them were
municipal police, nine were state and four were federal. Two soldiers were also
killed. Also killed were 32 women, 19 minors and three people who were working
as civil servants."
Wave of cop killings
forces Ciudad Juarez Police to stay in guarded hotels
kvue.com Austin:
"Police in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez are spending their
time between shifts in heavily guarded hotels after a wave of killings
targeting police. Eight officers were gunned down in January. Most were off
duty. The murders are the latest challenge for police chief Julian Leyzaola as
he works to restore law and order in Mexico’s murder capital."
Mexican youths
abducted by drug gangs, forced into lives of crime: rights groups
National Post:
"Young Mexicans are being abducted from poor towns and villages and forced
to work for drug gangs, rights groups say, alleging the authorities are failing
to do anything to stem the problem. Stories of young people disappearing, as if
swallowed up by the earth, are spreading .... Non-governmental groups in the
northern states of Nuevo Leon, where Monterrey lies, as well as Coahuila and
Michoacan, to the west, have documented more than 1,000 disappearances from
2007 to 2011."
80% of children in
medical consultation in Ciudad Juarez suffer post-traumatic stress
Milenio: "A
study of children aged between five and 12 years of age attending the
Children's Hospital, showed that 80 percent suffer from post traumatic stress
disorder caused by violence. The head of the Psychology Department at
Children's Hospital, Leila Ruiz Escalona, said the study was carried out among
children who were inpatients or outpatients attended the Children's Hospital in
the last year.
Post-traumatic stress is generated by high levels of
violence and if the patient is silent and says nothing, symptoms begin to
occur, which in turn generate more problems until therapy becomes essential,
she said.
Mexico investigating
3 former border state governors from old ruling party
The Washington Post:
"Mexican federal prosecutors said Tuesday they have launched an
investigation of former officials from the violence-wracked northern border
state of Tamaulipas, and three ex-governors say they are the among those being
probed."
Political firestorm
in Mexico over 1.9M in cash found in suitcase
Fox News Latino:
"Months before Mexico's presidential elections, political rivals are
trading accusations over $1.9 million in cash found stuffed into a state
official's luggage at a Mexico airport, a find that has inflamed rampant
speculation about the possibility of organized crime or illegal campaign money
influencing the July 1 presidential election."
Mexican movement for
peace starts campaign "In another's shoes"
Milenio: "In
another's shoes" is a campaign that is being initiated to raise the
awareness of Mexican society regarding disappearances in the war against
organized crime.
The group "The Strongest Cry," a group of
actresses, actors, filmmakers and journalists took on the task of developing a
campaign through the mass media, which proposes "a very simple action: to
put one's self "In the Shoes of the Other" and plans the distribution
of a video and spots in the media that tell the experiences of families of the
disappeared.
With the support of the arts community, voice is being given
to the families of the victims of the war. Because they deserve to be heard and
we seek to join forces. "If we start in our home, then in our
neighborhood, in our town, our city, if one sees what others see and feels what
others feel, in this way we can contribute to the reconstruction of this
country. It has to do with recognizing ourselves in the other."
Attorney General's office plagued with inefficiency, corruption
La Jornada:
"The Attorney General of the Republic of Mexico (PGR) is currently facing
weaknesses, such as 'tasks improperly performed by major staff members
(federal agents, prosecutors, and experts), deficient criminal investigations,
and arrest warrants granted by judges that are not executed' according to
a risk assessment carried out by the Inspector General as part of a plan to
combat corruption in the institution.
This report was released as part of the inauguration of a
series of 'corruption seminars' in which the Secretariat of Civil
Service (SFP) reported that in the past six years, 7,550 public servants have
been punished for committing crimes.
During the event, PGR representative César Alejandro Chávez
Flores noted that the PGR had already carried out an assessment of the risks in
order to find out why those who work in the department become corrupted. He
explained that, among the factors, what stood out was that there is a lack of
sufficient oversight over those who have access to information, which causes
leaks that later affect the investigations.
Additionally, he said, those who work in the PGR believe
that there is an inability to sanction those who violate rules. Added to these
factors is the lack of public confidence in the institution.
In this context, under-prosecutor Miguel Ontiveros Alonso
revealed that between April 2011 and January of this year, the strategy to
combat corruption had resulted in the investigations of 1,790 public servants
for the violation of rules and acts of corruption; another 655 found themselves
subject to administrative sanctions, and 188 public employees--of which 120
were delegates, subdelegates, or directors of their area--were subject to
criminal proceedings.
Max Kaiser, chief of staff of the Secretariat of Civil
Service, said that for the first time in the history of the institution, 7,500
members of staff have been disqualified or fired and 3,629 economic sanctions
have been imposed due to corruption."
Heckled during
speech, Mexico's president defends drug war
latimes.com:
"Mexican President Felipe Calderon has once again clashed with a citizen
angry about the effects of the country's drug war, this time during a speech in
which a man in the audience shouted, ‘How many more dead?’
A man identified by local news outlets as animator Tonatiuh
Moreno reportedly went on: ‘When will this war be over? Where will you live
when your term is finished?’ Calderon appeared to take the shouts gamely, and
took the opportunity to defend his policies. He responded quickly to the last
question, ‘Maybe here in Guadalajara, mi estimado,’ a phrase meaning 'my
dear' or 'my esteemed.'"
Twitter: @TimothyEWilson
Email: lapoliticaeslapolitica [at] gmail [dot] com
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