tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49425842452250516802024-02-18T18:24:44.436-08:00La politica es la politicaLa politica es la politica is an English language news blog covering the Americas and, at times, parts beyond. We give specific attention to politics and breaking stories...Read us...Follow us.TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.comBlogger433125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-78449630822039979592019-06-03T13:24:00.002-07:002019-06-04T18:21:34.404-07:00Jamilah Taib Murray continues campaign against Swiss NGO<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2019/02/jamilah-taib-and-sean-murray-ordered-to.html" target="_blank">Back in February of this year</a> a Swiss court ordered the Malaysian-Canadian
entrepreneur <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamilah_Taib_Murray" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib Murray</a> and her Canadian husband Sean Murray to pay
C$220,000 in damages, as well as C$26,000 in court costs, to the Swiss NGO
<a href="https://bmf.ch/en" target="_blank">Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF)</a>, which campaigns on behalf of rainforests and the people who live in them.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8DyHcAcBCZeZIuyTxh_zcUu2rgqSUlSDlsEIdx0GUCr6rTGGg8Ybjk7RtQAbUa0tv2VJYVfKxlE_nlb94Nq-Lrb4QWr7pEjKVN_Q8mAoPffkfHfY5IAbWYwRoVySChE0FDNsGr4921g/s1600/Jamilah-Taib-Twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8DyHcAcBCZeZIuyTxh_zcUu2rgqSUlSDlsEIdx0GUCr6rTGGg8Ybjk7RtQAbUa0tv2VJYVfKxlE_nlb94Nq-Lrb4QWr7pEjKVN_Q8mAoPffkfHfY5IAbWYwRoVySChE0FDNsGr4921g/s320/Jamilah-Taib-Twitter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jamilah Taib Murray</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The initial ruling was <a href="https://bmf.ch/en/news/taib-daughter-loses-in-swiss-court---again" target="_blank">upheld at the end of May</a>, with the Court of Appeal ordering payment of an additional C$18,000 in damages and $C13,500 in court costs.<br />
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But this battle is far from over. Directly after the loss of the appeal, <a href="https://www.vischer.com/en/team/thomas-weibel/" target="_blank">Thomas Weibel</a>, the Swiss lawyer for Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray, confirmed that the defamation lawsuit against BMF and its Executive Director, Lukas Straumann, was continuing.<br />
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As with the initial attempt at an injunction, the claim is that BMF and Straumann have engaged in a multi-year campaign of unfounded allegations against the Taib Murrays. On the Canadian front, the Taib Murrays' Canadian lawyers at noticia LLP, <a href="https://www.thefactsmatter.ca/news.html" target="_blank">via the website TheFactsMatter.ca</a>, have said that the "full legal attention" of the complainants will now be directed at resolving the defamation suit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Specifically, the Taib Murrays and their real estate firm Sakto Corp have invoked the statutory right to claim so-called “infringer’s profit”. This means that BMF will have to account for the ways in which it has raised
money to finance its campaign against Sakto and the Taib Murrays.</div>
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It is unclear how effective this policy will be. <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2019/02/jamilah-taib-and-sean-murray-ordered-to.html" target="_blank">As has previously been reported</a>, <i>La politica</i> has been in contact with Dominik Bucheli, BMF Chairman, and he has declared that "BMF's legal strategy in Canada has
been fully endorsed by the Board of BMF,” further stating that “BMF members are annually updated on BMF's finances and
activities, and have the opportunity to question and discuss the use of funds
at the annual general meeting.”</div>
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Part of the argument presented by Wiebel is that BMF has, in fact, done little to help the people of the rainforest. Given that BMF is named after the Swiss environmental activist Bruno Manser, who devoted his life to saving the rainforest in Borneo, the argument is that BMF has put more effort into <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/lady-luck-keeps-shining-on-ottawas.html" target="_blank">its legal campaigns </a>than into <a href="https://bmf.ch/en/projects-and-campaigns/schweiz-pro-regenwald/" target="_blank">environmental work</a>.</div>
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This is a remarkable and audacious claim, given that BMF's core argument is that it is in fact Jamilah Taib Murray, via her relationship with her father, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Taib_Mahmud" target="_blank">Abdul Taib Mahmud</a>, the former Chief Minister of Sarawak, Borneo, who has benefited financially from the destruction of the rainforest. As a further irony, it would presumably be money from these alleged illegal practices that is now helping to finance the campaign against BMF.</div>
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As it stands, Mrs. Taib Murray has to date been <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/08/jamilah-taib-chair-of-ottawas-sakto.html" target="_blank">unable to account for her astounding wealth</a>. She has never worked for anyone other than herself, yet beginning in the 1980s she began accruing a real estate portfolio that is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Her father and her extended family are also awash in cash and real estate. Like her, they have never explained how this "rags to riches" story came to pass.</div>
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According to BMF, the answer is simple enough. During his decades in power, Abdul Taib Mahmud oversaw the destruction of over 90% of Sarawak's rainforest, and its conversion to palm oil plantations. The theory is that Abdul Taib Mahmud, who is considered by some to be among Asia's most accomplished kleptocrats, employed <a href="https://bmf.ch/en/projects-and-campaigns/corruption-in-the-tropical-timber-trade/" target="_blank">a number of corrupt practices</a> to ensure that revenue from timber concessions came his way.</div>
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Incredibly, Sakto has written to BMF’s Board of Directors to "question
the legitimacy and validity of the campaign against Sakto and its founders in
Canada, asking about any measurable benefits to the indigenous tribes and the
rainforest in Malaysia after Lukas Straumann’s decade-long effort."</div>
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One counter-argument is that, should Sakto and its owners come clean as to the origins of their remarkable wealth, there might be an opportunity to provide funds in support of the indigenous people of Sarawak, who have seen their ancestral lands devastated, leaving them impoverished. As it stands, Jamilah Taib Murray and her husband are <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/07/in-cozy-ottawa-philanthropy-provides.html" target="_blank">active in philanthropic circles in Ottawa</a>, but appear to have little interest in the poverty suffered by the people of Borneo.</div>
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Given Jamilah Taib Murray's access to such significant wealth, with no legal requirement for her to account for where her money came from, or how it is spent, we can expect this legal action to extend for many more months - if not years.</div>
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TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-30498321077997118042019-02-26T11:25:00.000-08:002019-06-06T11:09:48.512-07:00Scotiabank offices raided by prosecutors in Costa Rica<span style="color: #222222;">On February 21, 2019, the Prosecutor in the Central
American country of <a href="https://www.crhoy.com/nacionales/allanan-scotiabank-por-caso-de-alejandro-toledo/" target="_blank">Costa Rica raided the offices of the Canadian multinational Scotiabank</a>, claiming that the
bank had failed to provide the government with information on accounts and
deposits that could allegedly implicate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Toledo" target="_blank">Alejandro Toledo</a>, the former president
of Peru, with money laundering.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZ7ZNZGSoAxFQTMzzEleKQzDpQ72cP9mIheGZqmOGgcsWZT2PcngZlZJM8eau58VF127Fb4t9vQIWyn7_oezBhJMPTeMCjg8t0Mau7ajieZBwipxq_O8jAdgQjOYHrWKFuSfqtkl2OkY/s1600/Scotiabank-Costa-Rica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="1000" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZ7ZNZGSoAxFQTMzzEleKQzDpQ72cP9mIheGZqmOGgcsWZT2PcngZlZJM8eau58VF127Fb4t9vQIWyn7_oezBhJMPTeMCjg8t0Mau7ajieZBwipxq_O8jAdgQjOYHrWKFuSfqtkl2OkY/s320/Scotiabank-Costa-Rica.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Scotiabank's offices in the Sabana Norte district, <br />in San Jose, Costa Rica, were raided on February 21</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222;">During his presidency, Toledo is believed to have
received C$26 million in bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht
S.A. as payment to secure infrastructure contracts.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222;">Toledo was last reported to be in the United
States, with Peru having requested extradition. Interpol has had a red notice
out for the former politician since May, 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">Bribery <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43825294" target="_blank">allegations against Odebrecht</a>
broke in Brazil in 2015. Since then, the company has been connected to
corruption in at least ten countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, with
some of the allegations dating back many years.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">The government of Costa Rica claims that it made
four requests to Scotiabank in 2018 for information on accounts allegedly
connected to Toledo – in May, June, July, and December. The
Prosecutor in Costa Rica lost patience with the bank when, after the fifth
request for information early in 2019, Scotiabank provided documentation that
the government claims "did not correspond to what had been repeatedly
requested."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">This led to the raid on February 21<sup>st</sup> in
the Sabana Norte district of the Costa Rican capital, San Jose. In Costa Rica,
financial institutions are required to determine the identity of an account’s
beneficial owner.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcrv3aKuk5LOb3iBn0iAj3WhbxA9mXHw_QLOilAUjqZVpH5iYybElMGOVftt8jqoI8KgGbt9BsIQraHSPM8SldV3cqQgfZpwkeKFS-_f9Ib0WCMwdjOF49pSdx2kviiw79FrtAPaI58g/s1600/2-Toledo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcrv3aKuk5LOb3iBn0iAj3WhbxA9mXHw_QLOilAUjqZVpH5iYybElMGOVftt8jqoI8KgGbt9BsIQraHSPM8SldV3cqQgfZpwkeKFS-_f9Ib0WCMwdjOF49pSdx2kviiw79FrtAPaI58g/s1600/2-Toledo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alejandro Toledo, the former president of Peru</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #222222;">The first transaction by Toledo in Costa Rica was
revealed in 2013, when the Peruvian press uncovered a real estate purchase
valued at more than C$4 million. After this revelation, prosecutors
investigated further, and now allege that Toledo used his mother-in-law, Eva
Fernenbug, and a businessman named Josef Maiman, to help him launder bribes
from Odebrecht through Scotiabank.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222;">Prosecutors claim that Odebrecht deposited the
bribes in Scotiabank accounts controlled by Maiman, who in turn moved the money
to a Costa Rican company called Ecoteva, which was owned by Fernenbug.
Specifically, the Prosecutor’s Office in Costa Rica claims that between 2006
and 2010 Ecoteva received more than C$23 million in illicit payments.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">This money was also allegedly used to secure a loan
for the C$4 million purchase of property by Fernenbug in Peru. The authorities
in Costa Rica are specifically interested in those banking procedures related
to the conversion of the deposits into certificates, which were then used as
collateral as part of the “Scotiaflex” loan approval process.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222;">In a written response to a query in Spanish from
the Associated Press, Scotiabank claimed that as a bank it had "an important
role in helping to protect the integrity of the entire financial system."
The bank further stated that "we have collaborated with the judicial
authorities at all times, and will continue to do so."</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222;">On April 18, 2018, the General Superintendency of
Financial Institutions of Costa Rica (Sugef) imposed a fine of approximately
C$2.6 million on Scotiabank for breaching anti-money laundering regulations.
This is specifically related to the money coming from Odebrecht to Toledo, and
the fact that Scotiabank’s compliance unit failed to issue an alert.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSx0ExNl9CjEzr6JXYs7uLeIYdYdRXbZB0qfJnVAFBDqzcZRfgB8hepnug2e47SITc5_i5IaVDiI89OuqNgcloB3ehUePI-UeKKGqEqsaHFpu-erxQxIytl5qEU7JnYRpzUDupQyab-N0/s1600/Keiko-2--arrested.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSx0ExNl9CjEzr6JXYs7uLeIYdYdRXbZB0qfJnVAFBDqzcZRfgB8hepnug2e47SITc5_i5IaVDiI89OuqNgcloB3ehUePI-UeKKGqEqsaHFpu-erxQxIytl5qEU7JnYRpzUDupQyab-N0/s320/Keiko-2--arrested.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Keiko Fujimori was arrested on October 31, 2018</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222;">Scotiabank was also sanctioned for violating
anti-money laundering regulations in 2018 by Peru’s Superintendency of Banking
and Insurance (SBS). This was connected to a scandal involving Keiko Fujimori,
the daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who allegedly used
a series of frontmen to deposit C$1.3 million from Odebrecht in Scotiabank
accounts, with the money allegedly being laundered as part of her 2011
presidential campaign.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222;">On October 31, 2018, Fujimori was sentenced in Peru
to pretrial detention for three years.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;">With regard to the Keiko Fujimori scandal, Peru’s
SBS claims that Scotiabank failed in delivering a mandatory alert to the
Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) for a flood of fractional deposits by
numerous people – a known strategy to avoid triggering suspicion – which at
that time was required within 30 days from detection. The law was tightened
further in 2017, with mandatory reporting now required within 24 hours.</span><br />
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-18288016329700579042019-02-22T09:12:00.002-08:002019-06-06T13:43:25.665-07:00Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray ordered to pay $220,000 to Swiss NGOA Swiss court has ordered the Malaysian-Canadian
entrepreneur <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamilah_Taib_Murray" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib Murray</a> and her Canadian husband Sean Murray to pay C$220,000
in damages, as well as C$26,000 in court costs, to the Swiss NGO Bruno Manser
Fonds (BMF).<br />
<br />
(For an update on this story, see <i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2019/06/jamilah-taib-murray-continues-campaign.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib Murray continues campaign against Swiss NGO</a></i>.)<br />
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This decision is the first round in a larger defamation
suit. Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray, who are <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/07/in-cozy-ottawa-philanthropy-provides.html" target="_blank">active in philanthropic circles in Ottawa</a>, are continuing to seek a permanent injunction that would ban
255 publications and 1,100 “infringing statements” allegedly made by BMF. The
Ottawa couple are specifically named as plaintiffs in the suit, as are two of
their companies, Sakto Corporation and Sakto Development Corporation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnaS7RWWXz6Zl-DLvXgg6guh_Q2VgAQVD42Sk-9s2j-e4q0OFj1Zav1mLNpFR1qYY3sp9ve4brGycTFgaUu9_YFFzZfUIFbSKXlxsrt_EYdDtJWhD-SqBvNMq1eigfsG_pOk7es-5WNQg/s1600/BMF-Team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1466" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnaS7RWWXz6Zl-DLvXgg6guh_Q2VgAQVD42Sk-9s2j-e4q0OFj1Zav1mLNpFR1qYY3sp9ve4brGycTFgaUu9_YFFzZfUIFbSKXlxsrt_EYdDtJWhD-SqBvNMq1eigfsG_pOk7es-5WNQg/s320/BMF-Team.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The BMF team after the court victory in Basel, Switzerland</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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BMF, named in honour of the late Swiss environmentalist
Bruno Manser, has been running a campaign against deforestation in the Malaysian
state of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. It claims that over many years
Jamilah Taib Murray, as the daughter of Sarawak’s chief minister, Abdul Taib
Mahmud, has received significant financial support from her father, who is
alleged to have engaged in corrupt practices in Malaysia. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jamilah Taib Murray
and Sean Murray file main civil court proceedings<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The most recent Swiss court decision rejected the argument
that there was an urgent need for an injunction. In response to the decision on
Friday, February 8, lawyers for Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray immediately
followed up by <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.thefactsmatter.ca/news.html">filing main civil court
proceedings</a></span> against BMF. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This next stage of the court proceedings, which was not
unexpected, could now take years to resolve, with Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean
Murray’s stated goal being for the court to “order the permanent removal of the
defamatory material from the public domain.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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All told, BMF estimates that Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean
Murray control over $250 million in real estate assets in Canada, Australia,
the United Kingdom, the United States and Malaysia. In Ottawa, the couple own
Preston Square, which consists of three office towers and a condominium complex
west of downtown. They also own a significant amount of real estate in London,
England.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thomas Weibel, attorney at law and partner at VISCHER in
Switzerland, has asserted that the Ottawa couple “will pursue every legal
avenue” in the hopes of restoring their reputation, further stating that the
application for an injunction “was only the first step” in the legal action in
the Basel civil court.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5ufG4Xg9sm1iMnCVhY29CA0bLdIplWz5MGSiB3nbk7dAxM-WHJy5Gparu0rdV0K6cQCmTOBAqQP9bLCLBuNa5wx8P93mFNpdqMDzmxMbARmkAy4xjUk48fbkeY8iYMsuJgrSktVi7Uc/s1600/Jamilah+and+sean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="747" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5ufG4Xg9sm1iMnCVhY29CA0bLdIplWz5MGSiB3nbk7dAxM-WHJy5Gparu0rdV0K6cQCmTOBAqQP9bLCLBuNa5wx8P93mFNpdqMDzmxMbARmkAy4xjUk48fbkeY8iYMsuJgrSktVi7Uc/s320/Jamilah+and+sean.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray</i></td></tr>
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This recent court decision is a rare piece of good news for
BMF. For years, the Swiss NGO has alerted authorities around the world,
alleging that Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray have been engaged in money
laundering. Not one jurisdiction – including Canada – has pursued the
allegations. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Most recently, BMF took the couple’s flagship Canadian
company, Sakto Corporation, to court in Ontario in order to obtain confidential
financial information from some Canadian banks and investment firms. In
February 2018, the judge in that decision, Sean Dunphy, rejected BMF’s claim,
stating that much of information relating to the corruption allegations
"is of the hearsay variety," with none of it having been proven in
court. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwR0ThgfS-x5CFkJZ7bBznhCAaZK8ypUGsTvqicHBYHPab8_XJY-8w1l8RczSwV3ZKmjAI-hoChmXxMKCk0_bS5prKNu5GMDD86j8WqhgsV9nq0SmsEIxyeqHr7i3NHnjEsoWtvAL9_Vs/s1600/rainforest-palm-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwR0ThgfS-x5CFkJZ7bBznhCAaZK8ypUGsTvqicHBYHPab8_XJY-8w1l8RczSwV3ZKmjAI-hoChmXxMKCk0_bS5prKNu5GMDD86j8WqhgsV9nq0SmsEIxyeqHr7i3NHnjEsoWtvAL9_Vs/s1600/rainforest-palm-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Deforestation in Borneo</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The court in Switzerland, however, was in no rush to comply
with an injunction against BMF. The case was first heard on December 7, 2018. It
took two months for the judge to rule not only that there was no urgency to the
defamation concerns, but also that Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray were on
the hook for significant court costs and legal fees.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sakto Corporation
seeks BMF financial records<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During this next stage of the case, the lawyers for Jamilah
Taib Murray and Sean Murray have the legal right to claim so-called
“infringer’s profit,” which would give them legal access to BMF’s financial
records. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Specifically, lawyers for the couple have called into
question BMF’s fundraising practices. They have expressed concern that
supporters of BMF may be misinformed, and unaware of the extent to which they
are donating funds to support an ongoing legal campaign, as opposed to
activities specific to saving the rainforest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In response to a query from La politica, BMF Executive
Director Lukas Straumann stated that in the past two years BMF has spent
C$771,000 in legal fees and court costs in Canada. The annual budget for BMF is
over C$2,750,000.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Please be assured that BMF's legal strategy in Canada has
been fully endorsed by the Board of BMF,” Dominik Bucheli, BMF Chairman, told
La politica. “BMF members are annually updated on BMF's finances and activities,
and have the opportunity to question and discuss the use of funds at the annual
general meeting.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BMF is also fighting back. Late last year the NGO lodged a <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.bmf.ch/fr/news/le-bruno-manser-fonds-porte-plainte-contre-cabinet-prive-de-conseils">criminal
complaint in Switzerland</a></span> for defamation against two employees of the
influential Geneva public relations (PR) agency <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.cpc-pr.ch/cpc/en/">Cabinet Privé des Conseils (CPC).</a></span>
BMF alleges that CPC, which Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray have engaged, sent
a letter with “allegations against the honor of Lukas Straumann.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">With most recent
decision, BMF documents still available<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a result of the recent decision by the Swiss court, the
BMF documents alleging wrong-doing on the part of Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray
remain accessible to the public.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These include the book <span class="MsoHyperlink"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Money-Logging-Trail-Asian-Timber/dp/3905252686">Money
Logging</a></i></span>, written by Straumann, which includes a section specific
to the allegations against Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They also include the BMF-sponsored document <span class="MsoHyperlink"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.bmf.ch/upload/berichte/bmf_report_safe_haven_canada.pdf">Safe
Haven Canada</a></i></span>, which maps out Jamilah Taib Murray’s remarkable
ascent into upper echelons of Ottawa’s business elite. As a young, unemployed
student in 1983, Jamilah Taib Murray began acquiring significant amounts of
property in the Ottawa area. She once claimed her website that her unlikely
success was due to "a little luck, coupled with a great team, and a
‘can-do’ attitude."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the next stages proceed, BMF will be under intense
scrutiny to defend the accuracy of its allegations. Jamilah Taib Murray and
Sean Murray will also be afforded the opportunity to indicate why the
allegations against them are false. Should the power couple present a
legitimate narrative that supports their remarkable business success, it would
be a strong counter to the persistent allegations that they owe their success
to criminal activity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One challenge to BMF has been that Abdul Taib Mahmud has
significant influence and political protection within Malaysia. This may be slowly
changing, however, given that on February 19, offices in Sarawak were raided by
the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past, MACC has largely ignored Sarawak,
but now its probe into alleged corruption and bribery within the Companies
Commission of Malaysia (CCM) is intensifying. Specifically, MACC has been investigating
the CCM over allegations that it bypassed the open-tender process in the award
of contracts. This has been a standard practice that has allowed Abdul Taib
Mahmud, his family, and cronies, to profit from the logging of the rainforest
and subsequent investment in palm plantations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-43111400827638750932018-10-16T16:05:00.000-07:002018-10-16T21:06:30.661-07:00Ashbury alumnus and son of Taib Mahmud ordered to pay $9.4 million to ex wife<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A Shariah Appeal Court in Kuala Lumpur has ordered Mahmud
Bekir to pay RM30 million (C$9.4 million) for “mutaah” or conciliatory gifts to
his former wife, Shahnaz Majid. Bekir is the son of Taib Mahmud, the governor
of the state of Sarawak, and younger brother to Jamilah Taib, Chair of Ottawa’s
Sakto Corp.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeLgnJKVp-MOPWm65nBX4MJxqYKurrB8rL4bQmrKQH5OJy3n3bC6XGz2y4XGmDIkcSRjshO1lxSabSeqDggcgrZwfoCRv4bNcY6fqEuYs4_meIf0WnyZz8GYhjx3Q9CL8stsACRQWSjI/s1600/MahmudAbuBekirAbdulTaib_0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="840" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeLgnJKVp-MOPWm65nBX4MJxqYKurrB8rL4bQmrKQH5OJy3n3bC6XGz2y4XGmDIkcSRjshO1lxSabSeqDggcgrZwfoCRv4bNcY6fqEuYs4_meIf0WnyZz8GYhjx3Q9CL8stsACRQWSjI/s320/MahmudAbuBekirAbdulTaib_0611.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Abu Bekir Taib</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The appeal court in Malaysia upheld a 2016 ruling, with the
judge saying that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“there is no error
under Islamic law and principles made by our Shariah High Court colleague in
awarding the RM30 million.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The court proceedings were notable for revealing some of the
unsavoury aspect of Sharia law. Bekir’s lawyers claimed he found out his wife
was not a virgin on their wedding night, and that according to Sharia law this would
then be a mitigating factor with regard to compensation. The judge subsequently
allowed Bekir’s lawyers to include this information in their submission, but to
no avail.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the early 1980s, Bekir attended Ashbury College in Ottawa,
where he befriended Sean Murray, who later became Jamilah Taib’s husband. At the
time, Jamilah attended the all girls Elmwood School. Both Bekir and Jamilah
graduated in 1982. In 1986, the Taib’s third child, Sulaiman Abdul Rahman, also
graduated from Ashbury College.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1983 Bekir, along with his sister Jamilah and their uncle
Onn Mahmud, founded Ottawa-headquartered Sakto Corporation. However, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bekir soon left Ottawa for the United States,
as did his brother Sulaiman. Both Bekir and Sulaiman now reside in Malaysia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1987 Sean Murray, who is two years younger than Jamilah, converted
to Islam and adopted the name “Hisham” in order to marry. The enterprising
couple, who appear to only have ever worked for themselves, now control real
estate holdings in Canada and the United Kingdom worth hundreds of millions of
dollars.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bekir’s divorce proceedings have been of interest to
observers in Malaysia and beyond as it has helped shed light on the fabulous
wealth of Taib Mahmud’s family, much of which has been shrouded in secrecy. For
example, Taib Mahmud, who has lived for years on the modest salary of a public
servant, has admitted to providing the seed capital to get Jamilah started in
the real estate business in Ottawa – but neither Jamilah nor her father have
indicated how much money was involved.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And back in 1987 Taib Mahmud’s wife, and mother to his
children, purchased a house in Ottawa’s tony Rockcliffe park for C$945,000,
which she subsequently gifted to her daughter Jamilah and son-in-law Sean. It is unclear how the wife of a public servant on a modest income, and with no
independent means of support, could have afforded such a purchase. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where, then, was all the money coming from? For years there
have been allegations that Taib Mahmud gained his substantial wealth via
control over logging concessions in his native Sarawak, as well from numerous
private enterprises that have benefitted from untendered contracts with the
Sarawak government.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leading the charge to uncover the alleged corruption has
been the Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fonds, which is now facing a defamation suit
brought by Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray in a Swiss court. This is welcome news.
If it can be shown that Taib Mahmud, a life-long politician, as well as his
children and their many enablers – including bankers, accountants, and lawyers –
have been financed purely by the entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen of a
remarkable family, then matters can finally be put to rest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If, however, Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray are unable to
indicate how they have generated such remarkable wealth, then the questions regarding
the legitimacy of their many enterprises will likely remain.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>La politica</i> has written extensively on this topic, and will
continue to do so. Below is a list of related posts:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/09/malaysian-fugitive-jho-low-takes-leaf.html#more" target="_blank">Malaysian fugitive Jho Low takes a leaf from Jamilah Taib’s playbook</a> (September 17, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/08/jamilah-taib-chair-of-ottawas-sakto.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib, Chair of Ottawa’s Sakto Corp, May Soon be of Interest to Authorities in Malaysia and Canada</a> (August 9, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/07/in-cozy-ottawa-philanthropy-provides.html" target="_blank">In Cozy Ottawa, Philanthropy Provides Good Cover for Sakto Corporation</a> (July 13, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/lady-luck-keeps-shining-on-ottawas.html" target="_blank">Lady Luck Keeps Shining on Ottawa’s Sakto Corporation</a> (May
18, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tips are always welcome at
lapoliticaeslapolitica[at]gmail[dot]com.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-81853936879183708662018-09-17T15:10:00.001-07:002018-10-16T16:31:31.522-07:00Malaysian fugitive Jho Low takes a leaf from Jamilah Taib’s playbook<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lawyers for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jho_Low" target="_blank">Low Taek Jho</a> (known as Jho Low), a Malaysian
financier who is now <a href="https://www.todayonline.com/world/malaysian-court-charges-jho-low-dad-money-laundering-interpol-red-notice-issued-duo" target="_blank">wanted by Interpol </a>in connection with the massive <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1Malaysia_Development_Berhad_scandal" target="_blank">1Malaysia Development Bh (1MDB) scandal</a>, have <a href="http://www.jho-low.com/" target="_blank">launched a website in his defense</a>, with the
language and tactics almost identical to those used by Ottawa-headquartered
<a href="https://www.sakto.com/" target="_blank">Sakto Corp</a> and its Chair, Jamilah Taib, who are fighting back against allegations that Ms. Taib laundered funds coming from her father, the Malaysian politician
and <a href="https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06KUALALUMPUR1935_a.htm" target="_blank">alleged kleptocrat Abdul Taib Mahmud</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQxrWt4x7t67CxJS8tRXWvR3SHFIl4dh3vnp0HZVDLEueelSCWLoZF_azUy_WZVrRrPrQa0TLj5HnchyphenhyphenwC_LzfDitmEkPci-Yb-mtRC3blobkwrz3XW1jNiBRttCS0XLj1Ve0oMrm5QA/s1600/Finding-J-Lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="900" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQxrWt4x7t67CxJS8tRXWvR3SHFIl4dh3vnp0HZVDLEueelSCWLoZF_azUy_WZVrRrPrQa0TLj5HnchyphenhyphenwC_LzfDitmEkPci-Yb-mtRC3blobkwrz3XW1jNiBRttCS0XLj1Ve0oMrm5QA/s400/Finding-J-Lo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) is on the run from Interpol</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://qz.com/1392064/1mdb-corruption-jho-low-responds-to-billion-dollar-whale/" target="_blank">Proclaiming his innocence</a>, Jho Low laments <a href="https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/09/15/book-on-jho-low-selling-fast/" target="_blank">the publication of <i>Billion Dollar Whale</i></a>,
an account of the 1MDB scandal written by Wall Street Journal reporters Tom
Wright and Bradley Hope. Jho Low <a href="http://www.jho-low.com/statements-to-media" target="_blank">writes of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Billion Dollar Whale</i></a> that: “Many of the allegations have originated
from blog posts, improper leaks from within Governmental agencies around the
world, or unproven allegations filed in court.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In describing the tactics used by<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8553179.Lukas_Straumann" target="_blank"> Lukas Straumann</a> – the executive director of <a href="https://www.bmf.ch/en/homepage/" target="_blank">Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF)</a>, a Swiss NGO which is now <a href="http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/canadian-co-coowned-taib-mahmuds-daughter-seeks-injunction-against-swiss-ngo" target="_blank">facing a gag order</a> from Jamilah Taib and Sakto Corp in civil court in Switzerland – Ms. Taib’s
lawyers <a href="https://www.thefactsmatter.ca/bmf-tactics.html" target="_blank">similarly write </a>that BMF and Mr. Straumann: “Make aggressive use of
social media, multiple websites and blogs to create the impression that their
allegations of money laundering are valid and widely accepted.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jho Low’s London-based libel lawyers have
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/14/bookshops-threatened-with-legal-action-jho-low-billion-dollar-whale" target="_blank">sent threatening letters to booksellers</a> in the UK in an effort to block distribution
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Billion Dollar Whale</i>. In much the same way, Taib
Mahmud’s legal representatives in London, <a href="https://www.mishcon.com/" target="_blank">Mishcon de Reya</a>, <a href="https://www.money-logging.org/news/detail/taib-lawyers-bully-the-bbc-over-money-logging-interview" target="_blank">attempted to stop the publication in 2015</a> of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Money-Logging-Trail-Asian-Timber/dp/3905252686" target="_blank">Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia</a></i>, by Lukas Straumann, which alleges that Jamilah Taib
financed Sakto Corporation, at least in part, from her father's connections to unethical logging practices in Malaysia. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Taib Mahmud has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkd6JdIyt_w" target="_blank">admitted to giving his eldest daughter money to purchase land in Canada</a>, but claims it came from a "gratuity" upon his resignation from the federal government.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is also much similarity in how the two successful Malaysian business
people describe themselves. Jho Low refers to himself as a "global
philanthropist, investor and entrepreneur," and on her Twitter profile
Jamilah Taib says she is a “businesswoman, global citizen and <a href="https://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/07/in-cozy-ottawa-philanthropy-provides.html" target="_blank">philanthropist</a>.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, there are some notable and important differences here. Jho Low is
an international fugitive, whereas Jamilah Taib has never been charged with any
crime, despite attempts by BMF to engage authorities in Australia, Canada,
Germany, the United States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That said, the use of law firms to engage in PR is a
function of the evolving counter-spin employed by affluent clients to protect their
reputations, something that is increasingly common as global anti-corruption campaigns ramp up. For its part, Sakto’s Ottawa-based lawyers, <a href="https://www.noticialaw.com/" target="_blank">noticia LLP</a>, are using as their
platform <a href="http://thefactsmatter.ca/">TheFactsMatter.ca</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The structure of the website – i.e. financed by Sakto, and
using the law firm noticia LLP – was initially unclear. Now TheFactsMatter.ca
is fully transparent, and does a good job of presenting Sakto’s case, though in
its efforts to assert the “true facts” (sic) noticia LLP has strayed somewhat,
becoming more aggressive in its tactics against BMF. These include asking
rhetorical questions with regard to Lukas Straumann’s communication to BMF’s Board,
and whether or not Mr. Straumann has been transparent and accountable with
regard to his use of BMF funds. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Specific to Ms. Taib, while she is still <a href="https://obj.ca/article/inspiring-women-prove-fearless-and-fabulous-ladies-who-lunch" target="_blank">active in Ottawa’s social and philanthropic circles</a>, her profile as Chair of Sakto is low key. Despite
being the owner and Chair of the corporation, her name appears nowhere on Sakto's website, which instead promotes the role of her husband, <a href="https://www.sakto.com/sean-murray/" target="_blank">Sean Murray</a>, who acts
as president and CEO. Likewise, her personal webpage is no longer active, and
her name appears nowhere on TheFactsMatter.ca.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Ms. Taib is the central figure here. As the daughter of Abdul
Taib Mahmud, she qualifies under Canadian law as a <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/08/jamilah-taib-chair-of-ottawas-sakto.html" target="_blank">Politically Expose Person(PEP)</a>. All of the unproven allegations of money laundering, specifically as
outlined in the <a href="https://www.bmf.ch/upload/berichte/bmf_report_safe_haven_canada.pdf" target="_blank">BMF-funded report Safe Haven Canada</a>, have her as the nexus. Despite
TheFactsMatter.ca’s exclusive emphasis on Sakto Corporation, the defamation suit in
Switzerland specifically names her along with her husband Sean Murray.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With regard to the fugitive Jho Low, it appears that he’s
hiding out somewhere where he believes he’s beyond the reach of the law. He has
a passport for St. Kitts & Nevis, an island country in the Caribbean, which has an active and popular <a href="https://csglobalpartners.com/citizenship-st-kitts-nevis/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwof3cBRD9ARIsAP8x70Ov9BpCihI0inBPXt0kH-bQb7PSgPg2pQzYRjxRFD-3N76XHKY-ydQaAjtDEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Citizenship by Investment Programme</a>. Some
have speculated that he might be there, or even floating around in
international waters.</div>
<br />
But he can’t float forever, and St. Kitts & Nevis might
not provide sufficient cover. The island country’s Interpol National Central
Bureau (NCB) is part of the RSCNPF’s Intelligence Department – Special Branch.
As well, St. Kitts & Nevis has an extradition treaty with the United States
(1996), and a mutual legal assistance treaty in (1997).<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, St. Kitts & Nevis is in the business of selling passports
– one reason why it’s popular with well-heeled clients of questionable
character. Last year, the United States Department of State Money Laundering
Assessment Report deemed St. Kitts and Nevis a “Jurisdiction of Concern”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Specifically, in its report <a href="https://sflcn.com/u-s-hammers-st-kitts-and-nevis-on-corruption-and-money-laundering/" target="_blank">the Department of State wrote</a> that “St. Kitts and Nevis derives a significant portion of its revenue from its
program offering citizenship through investment (CIP); however, this program’s
prior lax vetting created AML [e.g. ‘anti-money laundering’] and security
vulnerabilities domestically and internationally.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Worryingly, the country has “no guidelines to provide law
enforcement the authority to conduct an investigation based on a foreign
request for assistance.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meanwhile, Jho Low continues to conduct his counter-campaign against
“allegations disguised as fact and gossip passed off as legitimate reporting”
from his undisclosed location. And Jamilah Taib – or perhaps only her
representatives – will soon be making similar arguments in a Swiss court.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<i>La politica</i> has written extensively on this topic, and will continue to do so. Below is a list of related posts:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/10/ashbury-alumnus-and-son-of-taib-mahmud.html" target="_blank">Ashbury alumnus and son of Taib Mahmud ordered to pay $9.4 to ex wife</a> (October 16, 2018).<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/08/jamilah-taib-chair-of-ottawas-sakto.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib, Chair of Ottawa’s Sakto Corp, May Soon be of Interest to Authorities in Malaysia and Canada</a> (August 9, 2018).<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/07/in-cozy-ottawa-philanthropy-provides.html" target="_blank">In Cozy Ottawa, Philanthropy Provides Good Cover for Sakto Corporation</a> (July 13, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/lady-luck-keeps-shining-on-ottawas.html" target="_blank">Lady Luck Keeps Shining on Ottawa’s Sakto Corporation</a> (May 18, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tips are always welcome at <i>lapoliticaeslapolitica[at]gmail[dot]com</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-17058636136985986942018-08-17T07:28:00.002-07:002018-08-17T07:28:52.219-07:00Hundreds of trans women are being murdered in Mexico – and nothing is done<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since June 14 of this year at least ten trans women have
been murdered in Mexico, continuing a cycle of violence and impunity that has
claimed over 400 lives in the past decade.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The most recent case was the killing of the winner of a
beauty queen pageant in the municipality of Martínez de la Torre, in the State
of Veracruz. The half-naked body of Alaska Bout was found on July 25 with signs
of torture and barbed wire wrapped around her neck.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebUCwTH8_pT_3Jp9CfCIL-ifY9ptKZ1Gv8loY41V97Nn4UuYrVQfZKOfgMGmuD_w8CTuAwsYabjpF5AnNHmBdjv-kwE9F5TZXhSStCNM2PtdSA3hdWOr51II5dvy8W-qUoH319AsZYto/s1600/Alaska-Bout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1598" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebUCwTH8_pT_3Jp9CfCIL-ifY9ptKZ1Gv8loY41V97Nn4UuYrVQfZKOfgMGmuD_w8CTuAwsYabjpF5AnNHmBdjv-kwE9F5TZXhSStCNM2PtdSA3hdWOr51II5dvy8W-qUoH319AsZYto/s320/Alaska-Bout.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alaska Bout</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her death has resulted in a complaint from the United Nations
Human Rights Commission. Specific concern has been raised with regard to
security in Veracruz. According to the social anthropology research center (known
as CIESAS, or “Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología
Social”), Veracruz ranks first for the murder of trans people.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alaska Bout was the second gay pageant queen to be
assassinated this year. In May Yamileth Quintero, winner of a beauty contest in
Elota, Sinaloa, was killed in the state capital of Culiacán. As a beauty queen,
the death of Alaska received widespread media attention in Mexico, unlike the
murders of other trans women, which were much lower profile. This has resulted
in a critique that Alaska, as a well-known and talented performer, had a life
that was valued higher than those trans women who lead more marginal lives,
given that some of the murdered individuals were sex trade workers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Among the most recent dead since June 14 are: “Katty N.” in
Morelos; Alexa Gutiérrez in Aguascalientes; Alexa Altamira, in Guanajuato;
Nataly Briyith in Chiapas; a person named “Chanel” as well as two as of yet
unidentified individuals in the State of Mexico; and two other unidentified
dead women in Colima and Michoacán.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to data provided by Mexico’s Trans Identity
Support Center (<a href="http://centroapoyoidentidadestrans.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Centro de Apoyo a las Identidades Trans</a>), of the 422 murders
that have been documented from 2007 to 2017, the last two years have been the
worst. 2016 had 80 recorded murders of trans people, and in 2017 there were 59.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Support Center’s analysis highlights that these murders
have occurred in a culture where impunity is rampant, with a lack of consequences
for those responsible. The killings can function as a form of "social punishment"
of the victims, and are often characterized by torture and the overt display of
the bodies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Center would like these murders to be considered as
specific hate crimes. At present, the murders of trans women are not considered
to be “transfemicides”. Given that the individuals are not legally considered
to be women, their deaths are not even tracked as femicides. Often, the press
will report on the crimes against trans women with overt prejudice. While the
murder of a gay man is often a “crime of passion”, crimes against trans women
are often derogatory, referring to them as “men dressed as women”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Research by Ana Karen Sánchez of the Department of Social
Anthropology at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico indicates that
the life expectancy of a trans person in Mexico is 35 years. At present, life
expectancy for cisgender men in Mexico is 74, and for cisgender women it is 79.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many factors contributing to this dire
circumstance – all of which have prejudice at their core. Suicide rates are
high, as is murder, and many trans individuals are denied medical treatment by
transphobic doctors.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of greater concern is that the extent of the violence is
almost certainly even worse than reported. According to Jazz Bustmante, a trans
activist from Veracruz, for each recorded death there may be two or three that go unreported. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to <a href="https://tgeu.org/" target="_blank">Transgender Europe (TGEU)</a>, the ongoing violence
against trans people makes Latin America the most dangerous region in the world
to be trans. TGEU claims that there were 325 registered transgender murders
between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Of these, Latin America
accounted for 267. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-81413540218733129352018-08-09T08:44:00.000-07:002019-09-25T13:38:58.255-07:00Jamilah Taib, Chair of Ottawa’s Sakto Corp, May Soon be of Interest to Authorities in Malaysia and Canada<br />
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Calls in Malaysia to expand the new government’s
anti-corruption campaign to the province of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, are
echoing across the Pacific to the small and insular commercial real estate
community in Ottawa, Canada. </div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_f9PbwIWtzXDTHMj1IEVRTDazY-78SLsk8fhaFf7vrGXkrx0VZCvVapCATeEQVv2Adea5dKilmtKi0VGBTkk1QQlHWtjRRexUOtKycX5T5WlOnZhIgyNaucjsAUIXiTgVhWHqIptONE/s1600/Jamilah-Andrew-Leslie-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_f9PbwIWtzXDTHMj1IEVRTDazY-78SLsk8fhaFf7vrGXkrx0VZCvVapCATeEQVv2Adea5dKilmtKi0VGBTkk1QQlHWtjRRexUOtKycX5T5WlOnZhIgyNaucjsAUIXiTgVhWHqIptONE/s320/Jamilah-Andrew-Leslie-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><i>Jamilah Taib and Andrew Leslie, MP for Orléans</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At the center of the brewing storm is Ottawa-headquartered
<a href="https://www.sakto.com/" target="_blank">Sakto Corporation</a>, which has hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate
assets in Canada. Sakto Corporation’s Chair is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamilahtaibmurray/" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib</a>, the eldest
daughter of Abdul Taib Mahmud, the governor and former chief minister of
Sarawak.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Abdul Taib Mahmud is a <a href="http://www.fintrac-canafe.gc.ca/guidance-directives/client-clientele/Guide12/12-eng.asp" target="_blank">“politically exposed person” (PEP) </a>as defined by Canada’s <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-184/" target="_blank">Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations (PCMLTFR)</a>.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<br />
Jamilah Taib started her career in real estate in Ottawa
with a financial gift from her father. The amount of that gift has never been
revealed, though Abdul Taib Mahmud, a career public servant of humble origins,
has claimed that the source of the money was a gratuity from the federal
government of Malaysia.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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Abdul Taib Mahmud himself <a href="https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/209353" target="_blank">is a multi-billionaire</a>. Given that
his only income is as a public servant, there has been widespread speculation
that the Sarawak governor is one of the world’s most accomplished kleptocrats, allegedly
siphoning billions of dollars from the timber trade. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probed
Taib’s wealth before the current prime minister, Pakatan Harapan, came to power.
The investigation lapsed, largely due to lack of political will.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But now Kelvin Yii, a member of parliament in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandar_Kuching_(federal_constituency)" target="_blank">Bandar Kuching, Sarawak</a>, is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=-J6TeOZIR-g" target="_blank">asking that the MACC release its findings</a>. There have also
been calls from numerous sources within Malaysia for <a href="https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/432454" target="_blank">Taib Mahmud to declare his assets</a>. This follows on the unprecedented move on the part of the new Malaysian
government to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-07/malaysian-anti-graft-agency-said-to-summon-najib-for-questioning" target="_blank">charge former Prime Minister Najib Razak with money laundering</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During Abdul Taib Mahmud’s multi-decade tenure, over 90% of
the rainforest in Sarawak was decimated, with the local population left in
poverty. Coincidentally, during this timeline Jamilah Taib and her Canadian
husband, Sean Murray, also miraculously built a real estate empire in Canada
and the United Kingdom worth many hundreds of millions of dollars.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_K7dzYxVzUXgCGDQlvuqhU0AB8ng5Ktb-sQF53jP4DkMekvMp6eircEl8BrR3lbWmxPJhBhw-gw-CZ4w3_sPWUnLhp7vI1B3_3ehXEgOw6XBjtRxkpxVO_kKLZsISxs62tfhxAQpyQJk/s1600/Taib%252BWife.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="500" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_K7dzYxVzUXgCGDQlvuqhU0AB8ng5Ktb-sQF53jP4DkMekvMp6eircEl8BrR3lbWmxPJhBhw-gw-CZ4w3_sPWUnLhp7vI1B3_3ehXEgOw6XBjtRxkpxVO_kKLZsISxs62tfhxAQpyQJk/s320/Taib%252BWife.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jamilah Taib's father, Abdul Taib Mahmud, and his wife</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To this day the Ottawa socialites, who are <a href="https://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/07/in-cozy-ottawa-philanthropy-provides.html" target="_blank">active in political and philanthropic circles,</a> sit atop a dizzying array of real estate
assets, including Ridgeford Properties and W1 Developments in London, England. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To date, no rational explanation has been provided as to how
a real estate juggernaut of this magnitude could have grown organically. However,
a report by the Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Funds titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.bmf.ch/upload/berichte/bmf_report_safe_haven_canada.pdf" target="_blank">Safe Haven Canada</a></i> has provided detailed evidence of close financial
links of Sakto Corporation to Taib family interests. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Canadian side of the story begins in 1983 – only two
years after Abdul Taib Mahmud became first minister of Sarawak – when his
daughter, the 23-year-old Jamilah Taib, at the time an unemployed student,
incorporated Sakto Corporation. Jamilah Taib’s uncle Uncle Onn Bin Mahmud and
two other family members were also registered shareholders. The purpose, as
stated by Sean Murray to Paul Clarke of the Toronto Star, in June 2014, was “to
acquire, develop and operate real estate.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, no clear explanation has been given by Sean Murray
or Jamilah Taib as to where the acquisition funds originated from, or how much
was invested in Sakto. Jamilah Taib told Kathrin May of the Ottawa Citizen in
January, 1989, that all of Sakto’s shareholders were “from the Pacific Rim –
Australia, Hong Kong and Malaysia – and rarely come to Ottawa – except the
chairman who flies in from Malaysia twice a year for meetings.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wherever the funds came from, over the next few years they
helped Sakto build an impressive portfolio, mostly in residential properties. Then,
starting in the late 1980s, Sakto shifted gears to focus on commercial real
estate, specifically the construction of four large buildings at Preston Square
in Ottawa, which were completed in four phases between 1988 and 2007, for a
cumulative value of over $146 million.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE29D_1LbkMK4DJTB1H0Snkxm5ok47MUvi_uoGjZrfTLmczk2nFcH0bqKC7-si03wMRg87I1aaLElQJY9nU1-lpJgsRt2FvohYylOC1SfHOsxrjb2zyqpW-7y8v1ZeLSWKF5ifgPUzi0/s1600/preston-square-development-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE29D_1LbkMK4DJTB1H0Snkxm5ok47MUvi_uoGjZrfTLmczk2nFcH0bqKC7-si03wMRg87I1aaLElQJY9nU1-lpJgsRt2FvohYylOC1SfHOsxrjb2zyqpW-7y8v1ZeLSWKF5ifgPUzi0/s320/preston-square-development-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Preston Square in Ottawa</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sean Murray’s ambitions soon outgrew Ottawa. The real estate
whiz kid was on the hunt for a more lucrative market, a place where big,
incomprehensible investments would hardly raise an eyebrow. He found it in one
of the most expensive places on the planet to set up shop. In 1996 <a href="http://www.ridgeford.com/" target="_blank">Ridgeford Properties</a> was established by Sean and his cousin Chris Murray in London,
England, a city where vast fortunes are regularly laundered in an inflated,
recession-proof real estate market.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this jaw-dropping growth didn’t escape scrutiny. The
media inquired as to Ridgeford’s ownership structure. The result was a story
that changed – and still doesn’t add up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, Christopher Murray on his personal Wikipedia entry
falsely stated that “Ridgeford is the sister company to the Murray family’s
property company, Sakto Corporation, which started out in Ottawa”. He repeated
this claim in an interview with Sarawak Report. However, Sakto isn’t and never
was a “Murray family property”, insofar as the Murray family apparently neither
invested money nor controlled the share structure of the firm. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On his blog, which has since been taken down, Sean Murray
also claimed that Ridgeford was an autonomous Murray-owned business, writing
that the UK enterprise was “owned by Sean Murray (Chairman) and Chris Murray
(Managing Director)”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> However, </span>Ridgeford appears to have had limited
capital investment on the part of the Murrays, despite their ownership claims. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why this mysterious and contradictory story? Sean and
Christopher’s fathers were brothers, and successful architects in Ottawa. But
they didn’t have that kind of money. The simple answer appears to be that the
majority-stake owners – whoever they are – would rather not be identified.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But bucketloads of money are coming from somewhere. Over the
past two decades Ridgeford’s portfolio has exploded. It now includes the only “newbuild whole city-block development opportunity in Marylebone, W1.” The <a href="http://www.ridgeford.com/development-marylebone-square.aspx" target="_blank">value of this 0.75 acre lot in downtown London is astronomical</a>. It is mathematically
impossible for it to have been financed by profits generated by Sakto’s
investments in Ottawa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc8DWHhGArp7HkqbzS920u8j4sEmwfS9-8nBh4JDptLgelMXzFGYIsLgA7rWhrfDyULz1vj-R7tZ8Ql7D-_cSUMmzckl86g4z4lTiSrLxqjBB6tROsvPiX9Tt2CVnhXk5mnUBZ0bmXQs/s1600/marylebone-square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="958" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc8DWHhGArp7HkqbzS920u8j4sEmwfS9-8nBh4JDptLgelMXzFGYIsLgA7rWhrfDyULz1vj-R7tZ8Ql7D-_cSUMmzckl86g4z4lTiSrLxqjBB6tROsvPiX9Tt2CVnhXk5mnUBZ0bmXQs/s320/marylebone-square.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of Ridgeford's developments: a full city block in London</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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Just as difficult to explain is <a href="https://w1developments.com/" target="_blank">W1 Developments, which is now building a 50-storey tower in London</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The company was founded in 2013, with Christopher Murray referring to
himself as the sole founder and managing director. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Given that Sean and Christopher Murray have no independent
access to such abundant sources of capital, and given Jamilah’s status as the
eldest daughter of a PEP, it’s possible that the Murrays are fronting ownership
for politically exposed “ghost” investors who are putting up the money and
assuming a majority stake. This would make sense, given that Ridgeford Properties
has received £17 million in unsecured loans from an offshore trust in the
British Virgin Islands named Tess Investments Ltd.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvGfU8bjlqVcFn7wSABgn6Lb0bvvnopO7yCk6jWvH8VaW4LO5KAXGxdqW2Bxp7JinJIcUNNe8GQutd3jvDk05Zs-q9o5OtTv4uUFfyMa2Wij-sx59NX1F4qXpwJo2X_HZ0M1w3UFP73w/s1600/Principal+tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvGfU8bjlqVcFn7wSABgn6Lb0bvvnopO7yCk6jWvH8VaW4LO5KAXGxdqW2Bxp7JinJIcUNNe8GQutd3jvDk05Zs-q9o5OtTv4uUFfyMa2Wij-sx59NX1F4qXpwJo2X_HZ0M1w3UFP73w/s320/Principal+tower.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>W1's golden "Principal Tower" dominates the London skyline</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This is, in fact, how the ownership of Sakto itself
functions. Though Sean Murray is President and CEO, it is his wife Jamilah Taib
who acts as Chairman, and who is the major shareholder and true owner. Ownership
is a critical factor here, and it is why Jamilah Taib, as the daughter of a
Politically Exposed Person, would be of interest to law enforcement officials
investigating money laundering.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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To date, efforts by the Canadian government, including law
enforcement, have been stymied by the lack of cooperation from Malaysia: it’s
clear that nothing will happen without movement on the part of Malaysian
authorities. But now it also appears that Abdul Taib Mahmud and his family are
about to lose their political cover. If Malaysia does act, Canadian law
enforcement would then be in a position to investigate and potentially answer
many questions with regard to the extent of the wealth transfer from<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abdul Taib Mahmud to his daughter Jamilah.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In Canada and elsewhere, the law doesn’t allow for public
access to the financial data of private corporations. As a result, a legal
challenge by Bruno Manser Funds to seek financial records from RBC, TD Bank,
Manulife Financial, and Deloitte – all of whom have done business with Sakto
Corporation – was thrown out of an Ontario court in February of this year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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At the time, much was made of this decision by Sakto’s
lawyer, <a href="https://www.noticialaw.com/about-us.html" target="_blank">Duncan Fraser of noticia LLP</a>, who <a href="https://business.financialpost.com/business/judge-dismisses-bid-by-swiss-non-profit-for-financial-info-related-to-malaysian-corruption-allegations" target="_blank">told the Financial Post</a> that “foreign
‘vigilante citizens’ groups” (sic) are not allowed to “get access to private
records where they don’t have evidence any crime was committed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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However, the judge in his dismissal didn’t weigh in on the allegations
themselves, which have not been tested in court – the decision only referenced
the proposed disclosure order. The court challenge itself was odd, given that Abdul
Taib Mahmud and his daughter Jamilah have not been found guilty of any crimes. But
it did have one important purpose, in that it allowed Bruno Manser Funds to
introduce hundreds of pages of evidence, which is now part of the public
record.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And that record is devastating. It establishes how ludicrous
it is to believe that Jamilah Taib – a graduate of Algonquin College of Applied
Arts and Technology in Ottawa who, it would appear, has never been employed by
anyone other than herself – could create a real estate corporation in a
relatively short period of time that had sufficient assets to secure over $100
million in third party loans. These include $8.2 million from the Toronto
Dominion Bank (1986), $20 million from the Royal Bank of Canada (1989-95), and
$73 million from Manulife (since 2003).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Assuming that Sakto was initially financed by the PEP Abdul
Taib Mahmud, as he himself has admitted, the question remains: how much money
came to Canada to support his daughter’s real estate venture, and what was its
origin? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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To date, there has been limited action to ascertain whether
or not profiteering off of environmental devastation and human suffering has
helped fuel Sakto’s remarkable growth. But judging by the changes afoot in
Malaysia, it looks like that may soon change.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Got a tip? Email it
to <a href="mailto:lapoliticaeslapolitica@gmail.com">lapoliticaeslapolitica[at]gmail[dot]com</a>)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ENDNOTE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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Manulife has defended its loans to Sakto Group. In the
report <i><a href="https://www.bmf.ch/upload/berichte/bmf_report_safe_haven_canada.pdf" target="_blank">Safe Haven Canada</a></i>, Stephen Sigurdson, Executive Vice-President &
General Counsel, Manulife, stated in May, 2014 that:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Our commitment to
responsibility extends to all Anti-Money Laundering requirements, including
those relating to Politically Exposed Foreign Persons. (...) We also check
third parties in whom or with whom we invest against commercially available
lists of Politically Exposed Foreign Persons (PEFP). Those on the list appear
not for any wrongdoing, but affirmative matches require a higher level of due
diligence and confirmation, which becomes part of the investment evaluation
process.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
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A year later in March, 2015, Mr. Sigurdson further stated:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Various public
reports…indicate that you have referred the Taib family to law enforcement
entities for investigation. They will have investigative tools at their [hands]
that are not available to entities such as Bruno Manser Fonds and Manulife. I
respectfully suggest your concerns [be] handled by law enforcement.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
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However, as of June 17, 2017, things have changed. The Proceeds
of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations (PCMLTFR) have
put in place much higher expectations when it comes to monitoring high risk
clients such as the family members of politically exposed persons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Canadian government has made it clear that it’s fully
aware of how family members are used for the purposes of money laundering.
Below is an excerpt from the Regulations:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It is critical to
consider family members or close associates of PEPs and HIOs as part of your
PCMLTFA obligations. It is an established trend that criminals carrying out, or
directing, criminal activity will distance themselves from the proceeds of that
crime as much as possible until they have laundered the money. FINTRAC [e.g. Financial
Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada] has observed that many
criminals rely on family members or other personal relationships to conduct
transactions on their behalf in order to create this distance until they can
establish a safe way to spend these assets.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
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As well, the Regulations make it clear that:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On a periodic basis
you must take reasonable measures to determine if an existing account holder is
a foreign PEP, a domestic PEP, a HIO, a family member of one of these people,
or a close associate of a foreign PEP.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
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Which is to say that Jamilah Taib is on the radar as never
before. According to the PCMLTFR, “Foreign PEPs, their family members and their
close associates must automatically be treated as high-risk clients.” Jamilah
Taib and Sakto Corporation are therefore now subject to the policies and procedures
for high-risk clients, including a risk assessment. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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PCMLTFA obligations are also clear that, when dealing with
the family member of a PEP, measures need to be taken to establish the source
of the funds deposited or expected to be deposited into an account. Senior
management approval is also required in order to keep an account open.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As well, the PCMLTFR regulations now flag electronic fun
transfers (EFTs) of $100,000 or more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
effect, FINTRAC requires that all EFTs of $100,000 or more to or from Jamilah
Taib, or entities controlled by her, are to be monitored. That said, it’s
unclear whether or not her husband, Sean Murray, or other members of the Murray
family, would be considered high risk clients and subject to the Regulations. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<i>La politica</i> has written extensively on this topic, and will continue to do so. Below is a list of related posts:<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2019/06/jamilah-taib-murray-continues-campaign.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib Murray continues campaign against Swiss NGO</a> (June 3, 2019)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2019/02/jamilah-taib-and-sean-murray-ordered-to.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray ordered to pay $220,000 to Swiss NGO</a> (February 22, 2019)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/10/ashbury-alumnus-and-son-of-taib-mahmud.html" target="_blank">Ashbury alumnus and son of Taib Mahmud ordered to pay $9.4 million to ex wife</a> (October 16, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/09/malaysian-fugitive-jho-low-takes-leaf.html#more" target="_blank">Malaysian fugitive Jho Low takes a leaf from Jamilah Taib’s playbook</a> (September 17, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/08/jamilah-taib-chair-of-ottawas-sakto.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib, Chair of Ottawa’s Sakto Corp, May Soon be of Interest to Authorities in Malaysia and Canada</a> (August 9, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/07/in-cozy-ottawa-philanthropy-provides.html" target="_blank">In Cozy Ottawa, Philanthropy Provides Good Cover for Sakto Corporation</a> (July 13, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/lady-luck-keeps-shining-on-ottawas.html" target="_blank">Lady Luck Keeps Shining on Ottawa’s Sakto Corporation</a> (May 18, 2018).</div>
<br />
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Tips are always welcome at lapoliticaeslapolitica[at]gmail[dot]com.</div>
</div>
<br /></div>
TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-12358622252365615662018-07-13T13:44:00.000-07:002019-09-25T13:40:44.497-07:00In Cozy Ottawa, Philanthropy Provides Good Cover for Sakto Corporation<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pressure is mounting on Ottawa real-estate power couple
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/lady-luck-keeps-shining-on-ottawas.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib Murray, her husband Sean Murray, and their Ottawa-headquartered firm Sakto Corporation</a>. A new government in Malaysia is <a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/07/07/ag-urged-to-order-probe-into-taib-mahmuds-wealth/" target="_blank">facing calls to investigate</a> Jamilah Taib Murray’s father, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Taib_Mahmud" target="_blank">Taib Mahmud</a>, and if necessary to
press criminal charges. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taib Mahmud is a
Malaysian politician who has faced decades of accusations that he accumulated
billions of dollars of ill-gotten gains by raping the rainforest in Sarawak,
Borneo, and then hiding that money in companies controlled by him and his
family. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFEHh4qIjVZsQL35OmoWXt81iXSD7qEhOEiTEDtPKNxEgdUJjzR7yrnvmeZ2_JArLMoCJOWZrKefyQCnzDKu5oBhrmo1YerW1d0lLSlCUglZZfgjxY_gK45LI5ko1NIDXZ5MoeXuo_Z0/s1600/Jamilah-Sean_Elmwood.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFEHh4qIjVZsQL35OmoWXt81iXSD7qEhOEiTEDtPKNxEgdUJjzR7yrnvmeZ2_JArLMoCJOWZrKefyQCnzDKu5oBhrmo1YerW1d0lLSlCUglZZfgjxY_gK45LI5ko1NIDXZ5MoeXuo_Z0/s320/Jamilah-Sean_Elmwood.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray at a gala <br />for Elmwood School in Rockcliffe Park </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Inevitably, the pressure from Malaysia is raising the temperature
back in Canada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To date, the Canadian
courts, and even Canada’s National Contact Point for the OECD, have been either
unable or unwilling to draw back the curtain on Sakto Corporation. But as the
heat is turned up abroad it will be harder to avoid the speculation that some
of Taib’s ill-gotten gains have found their way across the Pacific.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
It was back in the 1980s when Jamilah, who came to Canada
originally to go to school, received seed capital from her father to grow Sakto
Corporation, which was incorporated in Canada by her uncle Onn Mahmud. In the ensuing decades Jamilah and her Canadian husband Sean built
an empire that includes <a href="https://waterfordpg.com/" target="_blank">Waterford Property Group in Ottawa</a> and <a href="http://www.ridgeford.com/" target="_blank">Ridgeford Development Limited</a> in England.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stretching the credulity of many observers, the couple has
claimed their meteoric financial ascent is the direct result of hard work and
uncanny business acumen. However, the Taib Murray real estate empire, now worth
hundreds of millions of dollars, has followed a recession-proof trajectory
marked by a constant and impressive rate of high-value acquisition, with
limited leverage and turnover. Try as one might, there is no mathematical
formula to explain this growth other than consistent and significant infusions
of cash.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The inevitable suspicion is that money has been laundered
over the years from Taib senior, who is considered by some to be one of the
world’s most successful kleptocrats. Over the past decades Sarawak has been
pillaged, with over 90% of the rainforest gone. Taib and his family are accused
of acting as modern-day timber barons, enriching themselves to the tune of many
billions of dollars, and leaving the people of Sarawak to scrape by. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Given this reality, it is perhaps not surprising that
Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray have been active philanthropists. By
spreading their money around to various causes in Ottawa, they can bolster
their reputation as caring, community-minded people, while also building layers
of influence and goodwill. The right amount of financial dependency can lessen
the likelihood of close scrutiny – particularly among the affluent and the politically
connected. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jamilah Taib Murray: a
feminist for the (very) few</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On her Twitter profile, Jamilah Taib Murray says of herself
that she’s “a mother, businesswoman, global citizen and philanthropist
committed to causes relating to women, children and education.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her philanthropic activity – if not the source of her wealth
– appears to reflect this. In the tony neighbourhood of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockcliffe_Park,_Ontario" target="_blank">Rockcliffe Park</a>, Taib
Murray is a strong supporter of Elmwood School, a private girls-only
institution that’s only a stone’s throw from her palatial, $10 million home. At
a black-tie dinner on Saturday, April 21 of this year, Taib Murray acted as the
gala patron for the school’s 29th annual <a href="http://www.obj.ca/article/elmwood-gala-raises-record-breaking-325k-all-girls-private-school-rockcliffe" target="_blank">"Dare to Dream" gala, which raised $325,000 </a>– the most in its history. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As patron, Jamilah Taib Murray elaborated on her egalitarian
views, appearing in <a href="https://vimeo.com/266159551" target="_blank">a promotional video for the event saying</a> that “Elmwood has
taught our girls to be more empathetic to those around them, and to those less
fortunate than themselves. We have the responsibility to raise these girls up
by encouraging them, by building up their self-esteem, by truly believing in
their dreams. And when the door of opportunity opens up, these girls will have
the confidence and the courage to walk through that door and make this world a
better place.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqowxlZpF5YKbyynIlFVR6FLWv2M8qzq9o5zcdixrmdN3MockjvWwvDjL2RZQwucAgDI1CJ3L8f6CMt2Y4IALZkiuRmpVGbDqXaAHsXmusoA3ILMi3Aiv3nGX66e5B5ESFVMr6ApW6so/s1600/Jamilah-NAC-gala.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="825" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqowxlZpF5YKbyynIlFVR6FLWv2M8qzq9o5zcdixrmdN3MockjvWwvDjL2RZQwucAgDI1CJ3L8f6CMt2Y4IALZkiuRmpVGbDqXaAHsXmusoA3ILMi3Aiv3nGX66e5B5ESFVMr6ApW6so/s320/Jamilah-NAC-gala.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jamilah Taib Murray at a National Arts Centre (NAC) gala</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Noble aspirations, to be sure. However, when speaking of
better places in this world, she is perhaps excluding Sarawak, which has been
ripped to shreds from decades of logging, and where poverty remains endemic.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, Jamilah Taib Murray has been consistent in her
emphasis on gender parity. In April of 2016 she <a href="http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/ottawa-businesswoman-jamilah-taib-murray-sakto-corporation-contributes-50000-support-2114259.htm" target="_blank">donated $50,000</a> to <a href="https://girls20.org/programs/bootcamp-for-brains/" target="_blank">“Bootcamp For Brains”</a>, a one-week course designed to teach 15 to 17-year-old girls
leadership skills, which was held at Ashbury College, a co-educational school
in Rockcliffe Park that her husband Sean attended as a child, and where he now
<a href="https://www.ashbury.ca/about/foundation" target="_blank">sits on the Foundation Board</a>. When donating the money, Jamilah Taib Murray said
that “Strong role models and mentors are what made me into the person I am today.
Investing in the education and leadership skills of young women is one of the
most important missions we have as a society. I firmly believe that women's
empowerment will create a better future for generations to come.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is unclear whether or not some of these girls will become
investigative journalists, or if the libraries at either Elmwood or Ashbury
contain the book <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.money-logging.org/order-now/" target="_blank">Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia</a></i></b>, which
includes extensive research into the Taib family and its staggering wealth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taib Murray also travelled to Lithuania on June 6-8 of this
year for the Women Political Leaders (WPL) Global Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The WPL
Summit is supported by the WPL Global Forum, and includes the worldwide Girl2Leader
campaign, an initiative that seeks to get more girls involved in politics. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One could argue that the political cover provided by this
sort of activity is limited. However, the “soft power” exerted in the affluent
and influential communities that surround Ashbury and Elmwood is not
insignificant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ottawa mayor Jim Watson
is a regular at the annual Elmwood fundraising gala, as are members of the city’s business elite.
The push is consistently to present Jamilah as a kind-hearted person standing
up for the underdog, usually with a cheque at the end of her outstretched hand.
Recipients, perhaps willfully ignorant of the controversy surrounding Taib
Murray’s wealth – though that is a generous assessment – accept the money and
turn a blind eye. Once they’ve become complicit, they’re certainly not going to
call out their benefactor for getting stinking rich off of environmental devastation
and human suffering. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is thematic consistency as well in Taib Murray’s
now-defunct web page, where her interests gelled around women’s entrepreneurship,
bullying, working mothers, gender equality, the Children’s Aid Society, and
the Ottawa Food Bank. In one notable event Jamilah Taib Murray – usually in
these instances identified as the “Chairman of Sakto Corporation” – hosted
Heels for Meals, a networking luncheon and fundraiser for the Ottawa Food
Bank’s Baby Basics Program.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taib Murray’s full statement on her old site is important in
understanding her personal psychology, and how this might be a reflection of
the real anxiety she feels with regard to the origins of her considerable
fortune:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The most rewarding
part of growing a successful business is the opportunities it has afforded me
as a mentor and philanthropist. I was fortunate to have choices when shaping my
career and recognize that many individuals, especially women, do not. I see it
as a personal responsibility to encourage future generations to pursue their
own empowerment, create and take advantage of opportunities, and emphasize the
importance of education for all people.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Helping others is a
humbling and meaningful act, and I am truly grateful to use my success to
better the lives of others. It is a privilege and a passion, and I am fortunate
to see the impact of my efforts and contributions in local and national causes.
I share these values with my husband, Sean Murray, and we hope to impart our
commitment to philanthropy on our children and inspire others to as well.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCpAS7mU00hnFzUY5f5GS7gbc9zqyMHRn44GlQXpiDIU8DkShzWfbmYJwDSGpFVcxhTE25zSD-iNOZOQ2yCkXbUOdQPwMz23Fk6xdB85yVSj2rnb0VTWSU-deqwipi1TxfGscppw-re0/s1600/Rockliffe-home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCpAS7mU00hnFzUY5f5GS7gbc9zqyMHRn44GlQXpiDIU8DkShzWfbmYJwDSGpFVcxhTE25zSD-iNOZOQ2yCkXbUOdQPwMz23Fk6xdB85yVSj2rnb0VTWSU-deqwipi1TxfGscppw-re0/s1600/Rockliffe-home.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The family home in Rockcliffe Park</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sean Murray: a
fascination with courage and sacrifice<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A similar struggle can be seen in the actions of Jamilah
Taib Murray’s husband, Sean, who was raised in Ottawa as the youngest son of
the well-known architect and Irish immigrant Tim Murray. With his brother Pat,
Tim founded and ran the successful firm Murray and Murray Architects. However, Sean
was an unexceptional student, and rather than follow in his father’s footsteps
and study architecture – as did his two older siblings – he instead teamed up
with his wife Jamilah to get into the real estate business. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a win-win for the two like-minded and ambitious souls: Jamilah Taib had
now married into a respected Ottawa family that was at least peripherally
connected to real estate, and Sean had access to the capital that would form
the basis of his empire.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But to the extent that Sean’s success is due to his
father-in-law’s kleptocracy, and the very real damage that the Taibs have
inflicted on both human society and the environment, it is perhaps not
surprising that Sean’s philanthropy focuses on human courage and sacrifice, two
qualities rarely associated with men who marry heiresses.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgl7w4x59Z1QZ_bOUKxIRglwEXQN0ArXLfRkD63ospEGI7LP2ipbHXlvGev9tlrhQ4-Sp61MXiqupcDZHlJbwYMNGE8iVNepn9KCKf9ZD5cIZo3-XpRj-BnGDWA44dCdgF4QIlz6odeg/s1600/sarawak-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgl7w4x59Z1QZ_bOUKxIRglwEXQN0ArXLfRkD63ospEGI7LP2ipbHXlvGev9tlrhQ4-Sp61MXiqupcDZHlJbwYMNGE8iVNepn9KCKf9ZD5cIZo3-XpRj-BnGDWA44dCdgF4QIlz6odeg/s1600/sarawak-house.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A typical home in Sarawak</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And where do we find courageous men who are willing to
sacrifice all for abstract values, and the benefit of others? Why, at war, of
course. Specifically Hill 70 in WWI, which is being honored by the <a href="http://www.hill70.ca/About-Us/Hill-70-Board-of-Directors.aspx" target="_blank">Hill 70 Memorial Project</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sean Murray’s biography on his web page sums it up: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Outside the real
estate industry, Sean is committed to the protection and betterment of his
country and is a strong supporter of the Canadian Armed Forces. He is a
longtime supporter of the Stormont Dundas Glengarry Army Regiment, one of the
oldest, most prominent, and most respected in the Canadian Army. He was
honoured by the military with his appointment to the position of Honorary
Lieutenant Colonel, then subsequently promoted to Colonel before retiring from
the position in 2013. Sean continues to maintain a longstanding relationship
with the Canadian Armed Forces and its civil liaison affiliations. He is
currently part of a team which intends to build a monument in northern France
to commemorate the forgotten World War I battle of Hill 70.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Hill 70 Memorial Project allows Sean Murray to link
himself to a noble cause <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/canadas-forgotten-battle-being-remembered-in-new-memorial-618535233.html" target="_blank">that honours the brave and the honest</a>. It is also the
kind of philanthropy that builds networks of support which can come in handy
when a person is under political pressure. And Murray, who is also active in the
<a href="https://www.vimyfoundation.ca/about/boards/" target="_blank">Vimy Foundation</a> – where <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Hillier" target="_blank">General Rick Hillier</a>, former head of The Canadian
Military and Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff, acts as Honorary Chairman –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is doing this under the cover of Sakto
Corporation, getting more out of the effort by presenting the philanthropy as a
kind of corporate patriotism. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In effect, Sean Murray and Sakto Corporation get double mileage,
while also being in good standing with the national spokesperson, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hadfield" target="_blank">Col. Chris Hadfield</a> (the first Canadian to walk in space), and the many honorary advisers.
The advisers themselves are retired heavy hitters in the Canadian establishment:
the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverley_McLachlin" target="_blank">Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin</a>, (former Chief Justice);<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Allen_Fraser" target="_blank">Hon. John Fraser</a>, (former Speaker of the
House of Commons), the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Milliken" target="_blank">Hon. Peter Milliken</a>, (another former Speaker of the
House of Commons); the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Blaikie" target="_blank">Hon. Bill Blaikie</a>, (member of the Queen's Privy
Council); the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perrin_Beatty" target="_blank">Hon. Perrin Beatty</a>, (former Secretary of State for External
Affairs); the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Graham_(Canadian_politician)" target="_blank">Hon. Bill Graham</a>, (former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister
of National Defence); <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Chastelain" target="_blank">Gen. John de Chastelain</a>, (former Chief of the Defence
Staff; former Ambassador to the United States).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s a lot of political heft. We know that Canada’s <a href="http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/ncp-pcn/index.aspx?lang=eng&menu_id=1&menu=R" target="_blank">OECD National Contact Point (NCP)</a>, when it was trying to mediate a “remedy” between
the Swiss NGO <a href="https://bmf.ch/en" target="_blank">Bruno Manser Fund</a> and Sakto, gave Sakto a slap on the wrist for
<a href="https://ricochet.media/en/2553/political-interference-may-have-helped-scuttle-investigation-of-canadian-corporation" target="_blank">“involving a Member of Parliament during the confidential NCP assessment.”</a> That MP was Andrew Leslie, the member for Orleáns, who is a personal friend of the Taib Murrays.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And who are the members of the Memorial Team that act within
the larger Hill 70 Project Team? It consists of Sean and his sister Sarah and
brother Thady, as well as their father Tim. (It is worth noting that all of the
executive-level positions for Sakto Corporation, Ridgeford Properties, and
Waterford Property Group, are held by either Sean or his cousins. In the case
of Sakto, Sean is President and Jamilah is Chair. It’s believed by some that
one reason there are no leaks is that Sean and Jamilah have strategically
placed family members – and only family members – into the upper management of
their various real estate interests). <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6U5mSdD0CkFoMaBqd4irHfTHLcumvY19skGHzCTjNEMut9FqyriBfNoXCjUYRe863WmB7H8ihKzSrr3QBvTpp0c1Jd6JDuz1XDxwdi8MCSDOV5TU-MKAXHQH4FL4tx8KWIjiTIurBGM/s1600/protesters-rockliffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="470" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6U5mSdD0CkFoMaBqd4irHfTHLcumvY19skGHzCTjNEMut9FqyriBfNoXCjUYRe863WmB7H8ihKzSrr3QBvTpp0c1Jd6JDuz1XDxwdi8MCSDOV5TU-MKAXHQH4FL4tx8KWIjiTIurBGM/s320/protesters-rockliffe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Protesters outside the Ottawa home</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A press release from last year is also telling. It has
extensive quotes from Sean Murray with regard to the sacrifice of the over
1,500 young Canadian men who lost their lives at the Battle of Hill 70.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, at the bottom of the release, the
explanatory note for Sakto Corporation says, among other things, that “Throughout
its three decades of operation, Sakto Corporation has remained true to its core
standard of excellence and integrity.” Integrity is important and needs to be
called out with some frequency. Why? Because it’s what’s on their minds. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So far – and these accusations have been leveled for many
years, even resulting in people picketing in front of the Taib Murray mansion –
no one in the business community in Ottawa, or among the Rockcliffe neighbours,
appears to be overly perturbed by the allegations of money laundering against
Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray. To our knowledge, no private school or food
bank has said “no” to the money, and no financial services firm has had any
qualms working for Sakto Corporation. Even Sakto Corporation’s tenants are blue
chip, with the Attorney General of Ontario renting office space at Preston
Square in Ottawa. Ironically enough, that pile of real estate, valued at ~$250 million, is in Ottawa Centre, the riding of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_McKenna" target="_blank">Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there are some signs that Sakto Corporation has taken a
more defensive stance. It’s Twitter feed and Facebook page have been taken
down, as have the personal web pages of both Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean
Murray.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is wise. An earlier iteration of Sean Murray’s personal
web page said that “Looking beyond the Canadian market in the early 1990s, and
attracted by his family European origins (sic), Sean Murray’s first project
outside North America was a successful hotel project in Poznan, Poland.” From
there the page said that “Sean went on to co-found Ridgeford Properties with
Christopher Murray in 1996 and opening an office in London’s west end in 1998.
The firm has enjoyed considerable success thanks to its use of recognized
architects and a sound business strategy balancing industry expertise, user
requirements, investment returns, and environmental concerns.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At one point Christopher Murray (Sean’s cousin) claimed that
the provenance of Ridgeford Properties – <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which now owns tens of millions of dollars
of prime real estate in London, England – <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was from the architectural firm run by Tim and
Pat Murray. This is not – and never was – true: Ridgeford Properties is
controlled and owned by the Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray, and always has been.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even in these earlier years Sean was trying to pass himself
off as a man driven by a strong sense of community, with his web page claiming
that “Sean Murray is passionate about philanthropy and community activity. He
is a…co-founder and active supporter of the Ashbury Cadet Corps and member at
Young Presidents Organization.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The story that won’t
break, and the culture of secrecy<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some final words on how snobbery works in a place like Rockcliffe
Park. The private schools in the area will almost always take your money (they
might argue that to do otherwise would hurt the “children”, as if a prep school
were a charity). Importantly, local denizens also won’t ask nosy questions about where
your money comes from. That’s poor form and bad manners. Ottawa is a small town
with big pretensions, and the people who are drawn to places like Rockcliffe
are often conflict averse. Appearances count – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a lot </i>– and people would rather mingle with the rich, no matter how
suspect, than risk the social discomfort of having to make an ethical decision
with regard to “dirty money”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But here’s the rub. That same craven attitude that looks the
other way can just as easily shift when there is no social advancement – in
effect, nothing to be gained, and perhaps much to be lost – from associating
with people who are potentially connected to criminal activity. If that ever
gets established, then the reputational risk associated from those who use
philanthropy as a form of public relations is simply too high.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That might be just what’s (finally) coming down the pipe
toward Jamilah Taib Murray and Sean Murray. This March Sakto and its legal team
were jumping for joy – downright gleeful – when the Ontario Superior Court
threw out a challenge from the Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fund, with the Honourable
Justice Sean F. Dunphy stating that the allegations of money laundering against
Sakto Corporation were based on <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/sakto-corporation-wins-court-case-brought-by-bruno-manser-fund-677964343.html" target="_blank">"conjecture and suspicion more than evidence."</a> Fair enough. But the problem now is that Malaysia’s Attorney
General, Tommy Thomas, is being urged to look into Taib Mahmud’s inexplicable
wealth. Over the years, activists have assumed that Canada, with its reputation
as an upstanding member of the OECD, would be the place where the story might
break. That turned out to be false. Canada – whether we are talking about local
charities, law enforcement, the courts, politicians, even to some extent the
media – has little appetite for this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keep in mind that though things are changing in Malaysia, a
full investigation of Taib Mahmud is by no means a certainty. The new prime minister
in the Pakatan Harapan government, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, is a long-time ally of
Taib Mahmud. Mahmud himself is a savvy operator, often influencing political
decisions by proxy and seeding his loot among hundreds of companies spanning
the globe, mostly controlled by loyal family members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Tuesday July 3 the head of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_Anti-Corruption_Commission" target="_blank">Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)</a>, Dr. Kelvin Yii, said that MACC had initiated 15 separate
investigations, and that “there was truth in some of the allegations made
against Taib” – a significant admission. But Dr. Yii then said that Taib was
off the hook as he was not directly implicated in the decision-making with regard to timber concessions. Dr. Yii
has also said that MACC is not in possession of all the original complaints made against
Taib.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In effect, MACC is standing back
and waiting for a new series of complaints to be delivered to the government,
claiming that the former administration buried them. It is unclear whether or
not this is a stalling tactic. What is certain is that <a href="https://www.malaymail.com/s/1646950/submit-your-complaints-against-taib-to-macc-again-dap-tells-sarawakians" target="_blank">a tsunami of new complaints is expected from the people of Sarawak</a>. From there, it will be hard
for MACC to plead ignorance and do nothing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As well, Attorney General Tommy Thomas has been proving his
mettle, putting together a prosecution team that has charged former premier
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak with three counts of criminal breach of trust and
one count of using his position for financial gain. This is part of a probe
into money missing from state fund <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1Malaysia_Development_Berhad" target="_blank">1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No system is airtight. At some point, the truth gets out.
And when that happens with Taib Mahmud, the world might find that there’s a
pretty straightforward explanation for the sudden rise in the fortunes of Mr.
Sean Murray, who went from being an unremarkable kid playing air guitar in his
parents’ basement, to one of the richest men in Canada, and all, it seems,
because he married a girl from Sarawak whose dad just happened to be a super
successful politician.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>La politica</i> has written extensively on this topic, and will continue to do so. Below is a list of related posts:<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2019/06/jamilah-taib-murray-continues-campaign.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib Murray continues campaign against Swiss NGO</a> (June 3, 2019)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2019/02/jamilah-taib-and-sean-murray-ordered-to.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray ordered to pay $220,000 to Swiss NGO</a> (February 22, 2019)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/10/ashbury-alumnus-and-son-of-taib-mahmud.html" target="_blank">Ashbury alumnus and son of Taib Mahmud ordered to pay $9.4 million to ex wife</a> (October 16, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/09/malaysian-fugitive-jho-low-takes-leaf.html#more" target="_blank">Malaysian fugitive Jho Low takes a leaf from Jamilah Taib’s playbook</a> (September 17, 2018).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/08/jamilah-taib-chair-of-ottawas-sakto.html" target="_blank">Jamilah Taib, Chair of Ottawa’s Sakto Corp, May Soon be of Interest to Authorities in Malaysia and Canada</a> (August 9, 2018).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/lady-luck-keeps-shining-on-ottawas.html" target="_blank">Lady Luck Keeps Shining on Ottawa’s Sakto Corporation</a> (May 18, 2018).<br />
<br />
Tips are always welcome at lapoliticaeslapolitica[at]gmail[dot]com.</div>
<br />
<b>ADDENDUM</b><br />
<br />
Below is a sample of some tweets from Jamilah Taib Murray in which she expresses her <i>bona fides</i> with regard to the status of women and girls, indigenous rights, the Ottawa Food Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and global warming. Nowhere is there mention of the economic, environmental, and social devastation in her home of Sarawak, where her father has overseen the destruction of the rainforest and the impoverishment of indigenous people.<br />
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<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-63858051875068267292018-06-26T20:16:00.005-07:002018-06-27T16:50:55.523-07:00Last minute PRI spending won't stop Morena in Zacatecas<b><i>La politica es la politica has posted 32
articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of
the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i></b><br />
<br />
The Mexican state of Zacatecas is located
in north-central Mexico, with a population of about 1.6 million. The capital is
Zacatecas City. As has been true since the colonial period, Zacatecas’ dominant
sector is mining, accounting for about 13% of the state’s GDP. This is followed
by manufacturing, at 12%, which is also the main source of foreign direct
investment.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Politically, Zacatecas is quite diverse. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Its governor, Alejandro Tello Cristerna, is a
member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>, the same party as the sitting
president, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto" target="_blank">Enrique Peña Nieto</a>. Of the three federal senators from Zacatecas,
two are members of the left-of-center Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD),
with the third being with the right-of-center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN).</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Zacatecas will be
deploying 3,000 officers – municipal, state, and federal – to ensure that things
go peacefully on July 1, with special attention given to the municipalities of
the City of Zacatecas, Guadalupe, Fresnillo, Nochistlán, and some towns in the
southeast. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Much of the security will be committed to protecting the counting and
transport of the ballots themselves, and will include elements of the uniformed
military. However, <o:p></o:p></span>Two candidates in Zacatecas have requested police protection: one from a candidate in Trancoso, and another from Fresnillo.</div>
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Journalists should feel relatively free to provide coverage of the election in Zacatecas, though back in 2013 Reporters Without Borders claimed that some local media had made a pact with the state government not to report on controversial topics, particularly crime. The only recorded death of a journalist in Zacatecas is Nolberto Herrera Rodríguez, a television reporter, who was found in his apartment stabbed to death on July 30, 2014.<br />
<br />
In this election cycle the PRI candidates
were given a boost in late June when the general director of the Mexican
Institute of Social Security (IMSS), Tuffic Miguel, announced that Zacatecas
was getting an additional 136.3 million for infrastructure spending, mostly for
healthcare. This almost completes the 300 million peso promised to Zacatecas by
PRI President Enrique Peña Nieto at the beginning of his six-year term.<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But it doesn’t look
like that will be enough. According to a poll conducted by Exe Consultores
Asociados S.A. de C.V. on June 18, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)</a>, the
presidential candidate for the left leaning, Morena-led "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juntos_Haremos_Historia" target="_blank">Juntos Haremos Historia</a>" (Together We’ll Make History) coalition has the support of 45%
of respondents in Zacatecas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGhsOk2AMWnobYPrHMYngLhIE63CN2UG1wV8JDfdAM_oHCEp2HLD0R9YcTIgDmxlNDv1HWjjaXrpJqyb3phTJv7qFp-vhpC5X0XA3yls5GrukP56kGYyyaRQZqbnT4QE9NmvlpfWclmE/s1600/casilla-zacatecas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="768" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGhsOk2AMWnobYPrHMYngLhIE63CN2UG1wV8JDfdAM_oHCEp2HLD0R9YcTIgDmxlNDv1HWjjaXrpJqyb3phTJv7qFp-vhpC5X0XA3yls5GrukP56kGYyyaRQZqbnT4QE9NmvlpfWclmE/s320/casilla-zacatecas.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Voting in Zacatecas</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By comparison, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya</a>, who is the presidential candidate for the PAN-led “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Por_M%C3%A9xico_al_Frente" target="_blank">Por México al Frente</a>”
coalition polled in Zacatecas at only 29%, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">José Antonio Meade </a>of the
PRI-led “Todos por México” is lagging at 13%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As is true in other
states, in Zacatecas the independent candidate, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, known
as “El Bronco”, barely registers with 2% support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It looks then likely Morena that will do well in Zacatecas, both in the election for senators and for federal deputies. </span><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<b><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
<br />
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-12005241746868449932018-06-26T18:12:00.002-07:002018-06-27T15:39:53.843-07:00In Yucatán, it's a horse race between PAN and PRI candidates for governor<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><i>La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The state of Yucatán is in southeast
Mexico, occupying the the northern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. The state
population is about 1.1 million, and the colonial city of Mérida is the state capital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Yucatán has one of the lowest crime rates
in Mexico, and this is reflected in the polling. For the upcoming election –
the people of Yucatán are voting for a new governor as well as federal deputies
and, of course, the president of the republic – the major concern is the
economy and unemployment (29% of respondents). This is followed by combatting
corruption (25%), insecurity (21%), and poverty (20%).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOkX6DkgL5OLcSv68Ep2OlsEzBZnDzu-m5EjydtFjcay7xhrM-XqBGqBBPAxdKhen632rofXTCm2AGT6prqVoCXcPW8RSTGwUqOhAxkVO1qosUPEWuvC69Ys3WUVWoCqOvQobjTLSsV0/s1600/MX_YUCA.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOkX6DkgL5OLcSv68Ep2OlsEzBZnDzu-m5EjydtFjcay7xhrM-XqBGqBBPAxdKhen632rofXTCm2AGT6prqVoCXcPW8RSTGwUqOhAxkVO1qosUPEWuvC69Ys3WUVWoCqOvQobjTLSsV0/s1600/MX_YUCA.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Aside from the low crime rate, Yucatán also
has some good economic news. In March the state announced it would invest 35
million pesos (~US $1.9 million) to enhance the restoration of ancient Mayan cities.
As well, in early May the German manufacturer Leoni AG – which makes wires,
cables and wiring systems, primarily for the automotive industry – announced
that it had started building a 40,000-square-meter factory in Mérida, where it
will provide direct employment to 2,000 people, and estimated indirect
employment to an additional 10,000.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Politically, the state’s governor, Rolando
Zapata Bello, is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The
polls have Zapato Bello leaving office with a 51% percent approval rating. Of
the three sitting federal senators, two are members of the National Action
Party (PAN) and one is PRI.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Because Yucatán has not suffered the same
level of turmoil as other states, this is not a change election. The
polls support his notion, with PRI candidate Mauricio Sahuí Rivero and PAN
candidate Mauricio Vila Dosal tied with 39% support. By comparison the
left-of-center Morena candidate Joaquín Díaz Mena, is far behind with only 19%
support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhydaVNbX6kiKwQ0sIqgBKuB04AzVjWyE9BeeSUT7XGdP_LnPz-waB91ZAw3ovu16lGORHI1A9jCrJQ0LgQ7hC6a24Z3_YqpO_9tPsUe-lXTy9pfXfDwY-mbJqMA7nBuZHoNCSVZfNYMcw/s1600/encuestas-yucatan.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhydaVNbX6kiKwQ0sIqgBKuB04AzVjWyE9BeeSUT7XGdP_LnPz-waB91ZAw3ovu16lGORHI1A9jCrJQ0LgQ7hC6a24Z3_YqpO_9tPsUe-lXTy9pfXfDwY-mbJqMA7nBuZHoNCSVZfNYMcw/s320/encuestas-yucatan.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>PAN and PRI are tied in the run for governor</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of note is that at the state level in
Yucatán the PAN has not allied with the left-of-center Party of the Democratic
Revolution (PRD). As the result the PRD candidate, Jorge Zavala Castro, is
scraping the barrel with 3% support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is a similar story when it comes to
federal deputies. Here, the PRI has 34% support and the PAN 30%. Morena, by
comparison, has only 23% support – low, but slightly higher than the support
for the Morena candidate for governor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It should be noted that corruption is a
concern in Yucatán, the difference being that it has not been connected to
cartel activity and violent crime, as in other states. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Local PAN-Citizens’ Movement (MC) candidate
for state deputy, Lily Romero, was formerly a city councilor in Mérida, where
she was tasked to monitor the management of public resources. She did,
whereupon she found irregularities, leading to an administrative sanction. The
result has been harassment and legal intimidation on the part of the state
government, which is allied with PRI force on council. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BFhlk9MmgwQaSBaZrSQL6zCze7XPWWaloFkXL3_O19GQBwOPEqxj6JHOZ1iK2tNNcCXkcXsCEp89wjPQiaksbXky88nInwVhp2pqXbDQhWfajfJIksSSrxzOhFK5VveDJ6oAlCzfNiY/s1600/Mily-Romero.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="681" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BFhlk9MmgwQaSBaZrSQL6zCze7XPWWaloFkXL3_O19GQBwOPEqxj6JHOZ1iK2tNNcCXkcXsCEp89wjPQiaksbXky88nInwVhp2pqXbDQhWfajfJIksSSrxzOhFK5VveDJ6oAlCzfNiY/s320/Mily-Romero.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mily Romero campaigning</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The plan for the PAN, as with the other
political parties, is to take control of as many levels of government as
possible. In Yucatán, it is critical to also gain power at the municipal level
in Mérida. In this light, the PAN candidates for mayor and governor, Renan
Barrera Concha and Mauricio Vila Dosal, recently signed a declaration titled
"Mérida 2050", which covers issues such as sustainable urban
development , healthcare, transportation, and economic equality. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">It should be noted that the relatively low crime rate has translated into a safer environment for journalists. </span>Yucatán has recorded one murder of a reporter – back in 1921.</div>
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<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
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<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-65054447651657848292018-06-26T15:41:00.001-07:002018-06-27T15:37:08.774-07:00Veracruz emerges from PRI nightmare to elect a new governor <b><i>La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The state of Veracruz, which has a
population of about 8.2 million, snakes down Mexico’s eastern coast with the
Gulf of Mexico. Veracruz, which has as its capital the port city of the same
name, is an important economic driver for Mexico, particularly in the agriculture
and petroleum sectors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEwmMh19GiQCb5be1WbefMYuoF5plVychmH1ztfU-fPno5SxkYehEgwb1RW8GkRbkFLh0dPKzz6EJfDQc8KI00lRQnH4WbvsPxvlOV7rNy4KLmHDD2Qjv30q6vj6w2WId2aggiG3kqOw/s1600/MX_VERA.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEwmMh19GiQCb5be1WbefMYuoF5plVychmH1ztfU-fPno5SxkYehEgwb1RW8GkRbkFLh0dPKzz6EJfDQc8KI00lRQnH4WbvsPxvlOV7rNy4KLmHDD2Qjv30q6vj6w2WId2aggiG3kqOw/s1600/MX_VERA.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Politically, the state’s governor, Miguel
Ángel Yunes Linares, is a member of the right-of-center National Action Party
(PAN), as is one of the two federal senators. The other two senators belong to
the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which is also the party of the
sitting president, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto" target="_blank">Enrique Peña Nieto.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To understand what’s going on in Veracruz one
has to address its recent political history. For 48 days until December 1,
2016, there was an interim PRI governor, Flavino Ríos Alvarado, who assumed
power after the disastrous rule of Javier Duarte de Ochoa (1 December 2010 – 12
October 2016), a notorious kleptocrat whose administration was marked by excessive
violence and corruption. Federal auditors allege he and his associates
misappropriated more than 55 billion pesos (~$US 3 billion at the time of the
alleged crimes) via a series of shell companies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">In public interviews, Duarte delivered numerous
threats to journalists, helping to create a climate of fear for reporters. In
the past seven years in Veracruz it is estimated that a total of 26 journalists
have been murdered, and another four have disappeared. Many others have simply
fled. Mostly these crimes have been committed with complete impunity, although
two men were recently sentenced to 25 years in jail for the 2015 kidnapping and
murder of Veracruz journalist Moisés Sánchez.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sadly, though the violence has slowed it
hasn’t stopped. Journalist Ricardo Monlui Cabrera was killed March 19, 2017,
when two gunmen shot him as he was getting into his car at his home in
Gutiérrez Zamora. Exactly one year later </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">– </span><span lang="EN-US">on March 19, 2018 </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">–</span> Leobardo Vázquez, 42, who ran an
online news outlet called Enlace Informative Regional, was shot dead at a taco
stand. Several of Vázquez's recent posts were highly critical of Juan Ángel Espejo,
the mayor of a nearby town, Tecolutla. On March 6 of this year Vázquez reported
on an alleged illegal land occupation by the administration of Juan Ángel Espejo.
Then on March 9 Vázquez posted on Facebook that he had received threats and
bribe offers to stop writing about Espejo.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0o91dssC6l-J4sxqzv58r0LQdGVKb3nxTgGRH-lskNh2goDtZGufr6lR_ctMOb3SV0jdwuGXH6VT5YVLcvMgbZkmU2rNNCE_JtqPbKU8vNkrrSjtxgehhdQGCPWmaqvYIEY27viuFdg/s1600/duarte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0o91dssC6l-J4sxqzv58r0LQdGVKb3nxTgGRH-lskNh2goDtZGufr6lR_ctMOb3SV0jdwuGXH6VT5YVLcvMgbZkmU2rNNCE_JtqPbKU8vNkrrSjtxgehhdQGCPWmaqvYIEY27viuFdg/s1600/duarte.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Duarte in his heyday</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There has also been some election violence.
The mayoral candidate in the municipality of Hidalgotitlan, Santana Cruz Bahena,
was gunned down at his home on November 20, 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The ongoing insecurity is largely a legacy
of Duarte’s corrupt and violent administration, which federal and state prosecutors
have finally begun to address.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On February 8, 2018, a Mexican federal
judge charged 31 members of the Veracruz state police, including Veracruz’s
former Secretary of Public Security, Arturo Bermúdez, for the forced
disappearance of 15 people between April and October 2013. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the middle of June, Luis Ángel Bravo
Contreras, Attorney General during the Duarte administration, was jailed for
allegedly ordering the forced disappearance of 13 people, and for obstructing
the investigation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The police allegedly used death squad
tactics to abduct, torture, kill and dispose of the bodies of their victims.
They did this while also stealing a lot of money: at the end of May authorities
in Veracruz seized three ranches that allegedly belonged to Arturo
Bermúdez Zurita. As well, relatives of Javier Duarte have donated a 100-million-peso
(US $5.4-million) ranch to the state in order to avoid prosecution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In late May of this year an arrest warrant
was also issued for Karime Macias, Duarte’s wife. It’s alleged that Macias played
a critical role in the embezzlement of state resources. She remains at large,
and is apparently living the good life in England, though the Mexican government is pursuing the possibility of her detention and extradition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieaJr9YVmdL_zstS6u7pjchC0gaYycLTY_5B9gA-Mj0_zJha0VhZ-YCeV-SlbenqbFgyEsMLt-oBdU42jXIdfVKVSAqb5yGENu2_kPYMqA_h6KM0Yz4vh95vwEG0gNZgJjgDE4fUFYu3s/s1600/duarte+wife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="696" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieaJr9YVmdL_zstS6u7pjchC0gaYycLTY_5B9gA-Mj0_zJha0VhZ-YCeV-SlbenqbFgyEsMLt-oBdU42jXIdfVKVSAqb5yGENu2_kPYMqA_h6KM0Yz4vh95vwEG0gNZgJjgDE4fUFYu3s/s320/duarte+wife.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Karime Macias</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When the excessive violence and corruption finally
caught up to Duarte, he was forced to resign in disgrace. Interim governor Flavino
Ríos Alvarado then helped the former-governor escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On March 12, 2017, Rios was arrested. He has
since been sentenced to one year in jail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For almost five years no one knew where
Duarte was, leading many to speculate that he was benefitting from the impunity
afforded to the political class, particularly members of the PRI. He was finally
arrested in Guatemala on April 15, 2017, and extradited to Mexico on July 17,
2017.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which brings us to this year’s election
cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This year Veracruz is in deck to elect a
new governor on July 1. There are only four candidates: José Francisco Yunes
Zorrilla, who is running with a PRI-Green coalition; Cuitláhuac García Jiménez,
who is running for the left-leaning Morena-led “Juntos Haremos Historia”
(Together We’ll Make History) coalition; Miguel Ángel Yunes Márquez of the “</span>Por Veracruz al Frente” (Mexico First)
coalition, which includes the right-of-center National Action Party (PAN), the
left-of-center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a>, and the progressive
Citizens’ Movement (MC); and finally Miriam González Sheridan of New Alliance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7n3WSeqJ_RRZAoOsA4wvC9ERXvX4uauutOi0r70FH7rgzVfJOs8KMgZxPOJpYO6brl-62QyeT6X4KOGOnVP3lh34ZAT2hUwiX_qT0k9MHc_I8WO5wlVNmaa7tOZnr_VUjv6OX2Hkmb8/s1600/duarte+prisoner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7n3WSeqJ_RRZAoOsA4wvC9ERXvX4uauutOi0r70FH7rgzVfJOs8KMgZxPOJpYO6brl-62QyeT6X4KOGOnVP3lh34ZAT2hUwiX_qT0k9MHc_I8WO5wlVNmaa7tOZnr_VUjv6OX2Hkmb8/s1600/duarte+prisoner.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Duarte in custody</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Two candidates are effectively
out of the game. Miriam González Sheridan of New Alliance, which often runs in
a coalition to gain more support, simply doesn’t have the votes. And the PRI
has been so discredited by the administrations of Duarte and </span><span lang="EN-US">Ríos that there is little hope Yunes Zorrilla will win. One caveat:
as is true elsewhere in Mexico, the PRI can mobilize on the ground, and has an
effective system for rigging ballots at the local level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That leaves us with a two-way race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The present PAN governor has not been
burdened by controversy, despite the fact that he was formerly a member of the
PRI. As well, he ran previously on the bizarre PAN-PRD-MC coalition, so there is
some evidence that that combination can deliver success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And the Morena candidate, Cuitláhuac García
Jiménez, is riding a national wave of support for the leftist party and its presidential
candidate, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The most recently released poll by </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Grupo Reforma and Grupo Radio Centro</span><span lang="EN-US"> (June 24) indicate that it’s a close race. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Cuitláhuac García Jiménez of Morena now edges Miguel
Ángel Yunes Márquez of the PAN-led “Frente” Alliance by two points, 43% to 41%.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One mark that works
both for and against Yunes Márquez is that his father is </span><span lang="EN-US">the sitting PAN governor, Yunes Linares. According to the poll, </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">65% of Veracruzans think that if Yunes wins
there would be interference from his father. However, that isn’t a major
concern for 50% of respondents, who presumably think that the help would be
beneficial.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There is an
interesting breakdown of support, which will likely also be reflected in the presidential
contest. Morena is stronger in the rural north and south, whereas the PAN has
more support in the urban areas in the center of the state. Morena does better
with women and more educated voters; the PAN does better with older voters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it comes to the
presidential race, AMLO is doing much better than his main opponent, Ricardo
Anaya of the PAN-led <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Por_M%C3%A9xico_al_Frente" target="_blank">“Por México al Frente”</a> coalition. AMLO is polling at 48%
in Veracruz, and Anaya is at 36%. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">José Antonio Meade </a>of the PRI-led “Todos por
México” is bringing up the rear at 15%.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As with other states
this election cycle, Veracruz will be sending three senators to the federal
senate. We could see some big changes here, too, given that at present two
senators are with the PRI, and the party is in a free-fall in Veracruz. So, we
could see senators from Morena and PAN, with the PRI shut out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-30263236145207186942018-06-25T18:35:00.002-07:002018-06-27T15:34:55.113-07:00In Tlaxcala the PRI ground game will matter <i style="font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Tlaxcala is the smallest state in Mexico, representing
only 0.2% of the country’s territory. It’s located in east-central Mexico, in
the altiplano region, with <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a> to its north, east, and south. <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">Edomex </a>is to Tlaxcala’s
west and <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a> to the northwest. The population is ~1.3 million.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZP6WIp6BmYBxyWENxszIf8edln3NMyWwFJcWVVOP-VU_5j3JT57XC6E3LrOz_QASsjPv5ocyizT95NofcawVO-cgSvFpajXxMBzcXPcHOHMQo2DP87dShg7wkbcaNV9PJlLPtWWJp8s/s1600/MX_TLAX.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZP6WIp6BmYBxyWENxszIf8edln3NMyWwFJcWVVOP-VU_5j3JT57XC6E3LrOz_QASsjPv5ocyizT95NofcawVO-cgSvFpajXxMBzcXPcHOHMQo2DP87dShg7wkbcaNV9PJlLPtWWJp8s/s1600/MX_TLAX.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The state has a diverse political culture. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Tlaxcala’s governor, Marco Antonio Mena
Rodríguez, is a member of the PRI and assumed office on January 1, 2017. Of the
three federal senate seats, one is held by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Party of the DemocraticRevolution (PRD)</a>, one by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers%27_Party" target="_blank">Workers’ Party (PT)</a>, and one by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN)</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Much of the local media
in </span><span lang="EN-US">Tlaxcala, such as El Sol de Tlaxcala, lean toward
the PRI, publishing puffball articles on local PRI candidates, and sometimes
PAN candidates, as they attend various events and make predictable pronouncements
against violence and corruption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On the electoral front, July 1 is a busy
day for Tlaxcala, given that the concurrent election will result in voters
choosing local and federal deputies and senators, as well as the president of the
republic. The National Electoral Institute (INE) in Tlaxcala has reported a
record-level of voter registration, which in Mexico takes the form of a valid credentialing
process and the issuing of a voter’s card.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Despite the media bias toward traditional
parties, Tlaxcala has a history of open-mindedness and ideological fluidity.
The former governor of Tlaxcala, Héctor Ortiz Ortiz, was born in Oaxaca, and
was a member of the PRI most of his life. When he lost the PRI nomination to
run as governor, he switched to the PAN, whereupon he won the nomination and
then the election.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now polls are showing that left-leaning <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Regeneration_Movement" target="_blank">Morena</a> is
leading in the polls for the federal senate in Tlaxcala, which should bode well
for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)</a>, the presidential candidate for the
Morena-led “Juntos Haremos Historia” (Together We make History) coalition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However, the PRI has a strong ground game
in Tlaxcala, and will be getting out the vote. PRI senate candidate Anabel
Alvarado Varela has secured the support of the public transit union, which might
also translate into support for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">José Antonio Meade</a>, presidential candidate for
the PRI-led "Todos por Mexico" coalition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya</a>, the presidential
candidate for the PAN-led “Por Mexico al Frente” coalition? Tlaxcala has a PAN
senator, but this election cycle the support in Tlaxcala appears to be shifting
to Morena. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Thankfully, to date Tlaxcala has also been a relatively safe place to be a journalist </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">–</span><span lang="EN-US"> the only reported murder was back in 1913.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-59030775251625631132018-06-25T16:22:00.002-07:002018-06-27T18:57:56.788-07:00The PRI is toast in Tamaulipas<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Located in northeastern Mexico, Tamaulipas’
eastern border is on the Gulf of Mexico, with its northern border covering 370
kilometers (230 miles) with the US state of Texas. This includes a thin strip
of land extending west to Nuevo Laredo, with Laredo Texas being the sister city on
the US side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9FQXYm8eohwh0jmJpMA8dwD1xC8LkdfKAvLcjCcdBolzuin3iFMuylVItL_BcBJ70RTgENwQoapMHaXOePxGEw0uIpEPvP7-itXIbnr_hsCNrCCb7MxlhEKD7lRfBl7sTQ1VM2DR76Q/s1600/MX_TMPS.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9FQXYm8eohwh0jmJpMA8dwD1xC8LkdfKAvLcjCcdBolzuin3iFMuylVItL_BcBJ70RTgENwQoapMHaXOePxGEw0uIpEPvP7-itXIbnr_hsCNrCCb7MxlhEKD7lRfBl7sTQ1VM2DR76Q/s1600/MX_TMPS.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Other border cities in Tamaulipas include Reynosa and
Matamoros, which are across from the US cities of McAllen and Brownsville,
respectively. The capital of Tamaulipas is Ciudad Victoria, which is located in
south-central part of the state, at the foothills of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Madre_Oriental" target="_blank">Sierra Madre Oriental</a>.
The state has a population of ~3.5 million.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In recent years Tamaulipas has become infamous
for battles between the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Cartel" target="_blank">Gulf Cartel</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Zetas" target="_blank">Los Zetas</a>, and government forces for control of the “plaza” (territory). Due in large part to the brutal tactics
of Los Zetas, particularly in the context of human smuggling, Tamaulipas has
developed a reputation as being one of the most troubled states in Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Politically, the state has historically been controlled by
the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>, under whose watchful eye it fell into a
morass of corruption. </span>The examples are too numerous to include in this post, but at the highest levels we have the last two PRI governors, Eugenio Hernández Flores (2004-2010) and Tomás Yarrington (1999 to 2005).<br />
<br />
Eugenio Hernández Flores has
been indicted by the US government for money laundering, with his extradition
pending, and Tomás Yarrington has been accused of receiving millions
of dollars from the Beltran Leyva Cartel, Los Zetas, and the Gulf Cartel.<br />
<br />
With regard to Yarrington, arrest warrants were issued in both Mexico and the United States in 2012, and after a
five year search Yarrington was finally arrested in Florence, Italy, on 9 April
2017. He was then extradited to Texas a year later, in April 2018. It should be
noted that the web of corruption here is wide, with ongoing investigations into Yarrington’s friends and relatives, as well as functionaries in the Tamaulipas
government, and other politicians.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As a result of the depth of the PRI’s
corruption, and in particular its close connection to organized crime,
Tamaulipas is now largely under the control of the right-of-center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN)</a>. The state has three federal senators. Two are members of
the PAN, and one is a member of the PRI. Governor Francisco Javier García
Cabeza de Vaca is also a member of the PAN.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Governor García assumed office in 2016. García
is the first non-PRI governor in 86 years. He won with 50.1% of the vote, with
some controversy over his undeclared properties, including a $2.5 million home in Mexico
City, allegedly purchased in 2015 – directly before the gubernatorial campaign.
As well, the left-of-center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a> claimed
that it and other political parties had been threatened in three municipalities
to support García.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The brutal tactics employed by Los Zetas, generally
understood to be one of the most violent criminal organizations in the world, has
made its eradication a top priority of the Mexican government. This has resulted in some
criticism that other cartels, notably the <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa Cartel</a>, were receiving less attention,
and that the government itself committed human rights abuses. However, the government
has had some success: Los Zetas has now effectively been dismantled into
smaller groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But insecurity remains.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In 2017, 1,623 people were murdered in the state. </span>Most recently, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Regeneration_Movement" target="_blank">Morena</a> campaign worker Leonardo Díaz was
killed in the early hours of June 25<sup>th</sup> when coming home from a
meeting. Díaz was working on the campaign of Jaime Hinojosa Peña, candidate for
mayor of Miguel Alemán. His body was found in a campaign vehicle that had been
pumped full of bullets and set on fire.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And</span><span lang="EN-US"> Tamaulipas remains a dangerous place for journalists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In January of this
year the journalist Carlos Domínguez Rodríguez, 77, was stabbed 21 times inside his vehicle in
the presence of his daughter and grandson. Domínguez worked independently and
wrote a column on political issues. Previously, he had worked for the newspaper
El Diario de Nuevo Laredo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Three months after the
murder, six people were arrested in connection with the crime: two were hitmen,
and three were allegedly journalists – Luis Ignacio Valtierra Hernández, who was president
of the local journalists' union, and the reporters Gabriel Garza Flores y Juan
Jesús González Zúñiga.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQAAUxIFKjeORZ2l0uQvVL1JEJ61_1_QQQZjb5gqh4MyrjhVY7sFdsyHczzXfTZezwSXcDTLVN9ZUTgGIwrUdvtLAKOlHBtAylZ-11xDOYkrEaMT6KmGcKbcJZk3Pml0gmPrJ8zG-1As/s1600/carlos-dominguez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="1078" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQAAUxIFKjeORZ2l0uQvVL1JEJ61_1_QQQZjb5gqh4MyrjhVY7sFdsyHczzXfTZezwSXcDTLVN9ZUTgGIwrUdvtLAKOlHBtAylZ-11xDOYkrEaMT6KmGcKbcJZk3Pml0gmPrJ8zG-1As/s320/carlos-dominguez.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Carlos Domínguez Rodríguez</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The sixth was Jorge
Alfredo Cantú García, the nephew of Carlos Cantú Rosas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a member of the PAN, the uncle Cantú Rosas was mayor
of Nuevo Loredo. Now he has switched to the left-leaning <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Regeneration_Movement" target="_blank">Morena</a> party, and is running to be mayor
again. Cantú Rosas has been accused of corruption and of having links to the
Cartel del Noreste, a remnant of the fractured Los Zetas cartel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Authorities as well as
Domínguez Rodríguez’ son believe that the murder was a political vendetta. The
killing was set up by what Domínguez Rodríguez’ son has called the “pseudo-journalists”,
who wanted his father to go to a meeting at a restaurant. Suspicious,
he didn’t go, but was nonetheless killed later in his car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In another instance, Tamaulipas reporter
Héctor González Antonio, 39, who worked with the nationwide news service Grupo
Imagen and the newspaper Excélsior – as well as his own news website, Todo Noticias
– was killed either on the evening of May 28 or early in the morning on May 29,
</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">in Ciudad Victoria</span><span lang="EN-US">. He appeared to have been bludgeoned to death by a rock. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A motive has yet to be determined, but </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">González’s most recent articles for Excelsior,
according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) “were on crime in
Tamaulipas, including criminal gangs involved in shootouts and blockades in the
city of Reynosa and the arrest of four police officers accused of involvement
in a May 26 kidnapping.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Tamaulipas has always been a dangerous place to be a journalist, and things didn't improve after the drug war officially started in December, 2006. During the 20th century, and up until the beginning of the drug war, there were an estimated 21 murders. Most of these were recent: there were 10 murders between 2000 - 2006. However, since the start of the drug war there have been another 15. As noted above, two of these have been in 2018.</span><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdm6iwiHKyH6xP1i1TBBAd59De9N8Qxf90wspRaHzA68Es4szhZP4AcqxXqtG-Dxn0Tbd8L7Akc5Y88LHk4-_31PMLHXHPNI1T6NtoTBIg0CKT5WdU8TjmtTQQqSlMmzl94j0fv1RQds/s1600/senadores-proyecciones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdm6iwiHKyH6xP1i1TBBAd59De9N8Qxf90wspRaHzA68Es4szhZP4AcqxXqtG-Dxn0Tbd8L7Akc5Y88LHk4-_31PMLHXHPNI1T6NtoTBIg0CKT5WdU8TjmtTQQqSlMmzl94j0fv1RQds/s320/senadores-proyecciones.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Voting preferences for the federal senate - by state</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Despite the fact that most
of the violence in Tamaulipas is committed by organized crime, a significant
amount of international attention has been given to the human rights abuses committed
by the Mexican military and federal police.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">At the end of May the
United Nations reported that there were</span><span lang="EN-US"> “strong
indications” that federal security forces were responsible for the
disappearance of 23 people, including at least five minors, in Tamaulipas from
February until May 16, 2018, with three additional disappearance occurring after
that date. According to the UN Human Rights Office, a federal security force allegedly
perpetrated the disappearances, “often late at night or at dawn.” As well,
local human rights organization recorded at least 40 disappearances during
roughly the same period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Despite the ongoing struggles in
Tamaulipas, a security agreement between the state government and federal sources has fallen apart. As a result, beginning in mid-March
and into May,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2,466 troops were withdrawn
from Tamaulipas, despite their deployment not being scheduled to end until
December. The agreement was first signed in 2011, and has been renewed annually
ever since, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">The reason for the breakdown was the unwillingness
of the state of Tamaulipas to help pay for the cost of deploying the troops.
One could argue that this is a good sign, in that the state may be more
confident in its ability to provide security, but it’s unclear whether or not
the state is willing or able to fill in the security vacuum – in 22 of 43
Tamaulipas's municipalities Mexican soldiers have acted as local police officers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Even with this depletion of the military presence,
3,500 troops remain in Matamoros, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Mier, Tampico,
and the state capital Ciudad Victoria. Of note: a Mexican non-government organization ranked
Ciudad Victoria as Mexico’s fifth – and the world’s eighth – most violent city
in 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When it comes to the July 1 election, the
PAN-led “Por Mexico al Frente” coalition is leading in the polls. This is not
surprising given that left-leaning parties have tended not to do well in Tamaulipas.
As well, some Morena candidates have had to weather their own corruption
allegations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On the federal front we can also expect
Ricardo Anaya, the presidential candidate for the PAN-led “Por Mexico al Frente”
to out-poll Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) of the Morena-led “Juntos
Haremos Historia” (Together We make History) coalition. Given the atrocious behavior of
the past two PRI governors in Tamaulipas, as well as the unpopularity of the
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto" target="_blank">PRI president Enrique Peña Nieto</a>, the candidate for the PRI-led "Todos por Mexico" coalition, <o:p></o:p></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">José Antonio Meade</a>, will be lucky to get into the double digits.<br />
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<span lang="ES-MX"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Below is a list of eight candidates for
the federal senate from Tamaulipas:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Gustavo Cárdenas Gutiérrez:
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_Movement_(Mexico)" target="_blank">Citizens’ Movement (MC)</a></li>
<li>Jorge Valdéz Vargas:
Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)</li>
<li>Hector
Garza González: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Regeneration_Movement" target="_blank">National Regeneration Movement (Morena)</a></li>
<li>Francisco
Javier García Cabeza de Vaca: National Action Party (PAN)</li>
<li>Abdíes Pineda Morín: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Encounter_Party" target="_blank">Social Encounter Party (PES)</a></li>
<li>Armando Vera García: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers%27_Party" target="_blank">Workers Party (PT)</a></li>
<li>Baltazar Hinojosa
Ochoa: Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</li>
<li>Francisco
Chavira Martínez: Independent</li>
</ul>
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b>
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-34756225576333107462018-06-24T18:28:00.000-07:002018-06-27T16:42:29.502-07:00Tabasco is fully behind local hero López Obrador<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/search?q=Tabasco" target="_blank">Tabasco </a>is a state in southeast Mexico,
with a population of about 3.4 million. It is located on the northern part of
the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isthmus_of_Tehuantepec" target="_blank">Isthmus of Tehuantepec</a>, at the base of the Yucatan Peninsula, with a northern shoreline on
the Gulf of Mexico. There is heavy rainfall year-round, with most of the state
covered in rainforest. The capital city is Villahermosa, an important business
center for the Mexican oil industry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01SJ-6yL81l4B6yU5WzVQhpSWEU7iYjb1PD5PTYasR8yrzC31WIlV4-BgsYizERz2AdW-wo4Dc1uYzJ0sRPQr-TylQnlSm8qy1yLftkz4BfAMIZm1QG-6DaZmOV76LhvHkiUQ6CK7Ojc/s1600/MX_TABA.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01SJ-6yL81l4B6yU5WzVQhpSWEU7iYjb1PD5PTYasR8yrzC31WIlV4-BgsYizERz2AdW-wo4Dc1uYzJ0sRPQr-TylQnlSm8qy1yLftkz4BfAMIZm1QG-6DaZmOV76LhvHkiUQ6CK7Ojc/s1600/MX_TABA.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The current governor is Arturo Núñez
Jiménez. </span>Núñez Jiménez is with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a>, but was formerly with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>. The previous governor,
the PRI's Andrés Granier Melo, completed his term as governor in December 2012.<br />
<br />
On 14 June 2013, Granier was arrested on charges of corruption and embezzlement
of public funds. He was subsequently charged with tax fraud and money
laundering more than 196 million Mexican pesos (US$ 9.5 million at today’s
rate, but worth more at the time of the embezzlement). In March of this year
Granier was sentenced to ten years and ten months in prison.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tabasco is one of eight Mexican states with a gubernatorial election on July 1. A poll conducted in late May by Opinión
Pública (Public Opinion) found that Adán Augusto López Hernández of the left-leaning and Morena-led “Juntos Haremos Historia” (Together We make History) coalition had
the support of 45.6% of the electorate. This is a commanding lead, with López
Hernández 28 points ahead of his nearest competitor, Georgina Trujillo Zentella
of the PRI, who polled at 17.6%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The
other candidates – Gerardo Gaudiano Rovirosa for the PAN-led “Por Tabasco al
Frente” (For Tabasco In Front) coalition, which includes the left-of-center<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank"> </a>PRD and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_Movement_(Mexico)" target="_blank">Citizens’ Movement (MC)</a>; Manuel
Carlos Paz Ojeda from Nueva Alianza (New Alliance); and Óscar Cantón Zetina for
the Green Party (PVEM) – appear to be out of the running entirely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tabasco also has three federal senate seats up
for grabs. Polling here, again from Public Opinion, for some of the named candidates shows that Mónica Fernández
Balboa of the Morena-led Together We make History is well in the lead in her contest, with
53.1% of respondents supporting her. In a distant second place is the PRI’s
Candita Victoria Gil Jiménez, with only 15.2% support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One reason why there might be such strong
support for Morena is that Tabasco is the home state of Morena presidential candidate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel LópezObrador’s (AMLO)</a>. The local fondness and sense of solidarity with a
fellow “tabasqueño” is so strong that a PRI federal senator representing Tabasco,
Humberto Mayans Canabal, has announced publically that he is voting for AMLO,
even as he remains a member of the PRI.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hcVo9mVPe5Ny3Lpe0TpLnsJbR3ODamm4N4DkZufyqrQHm_b91ceRzyCD2PlEeFCegO3K6lSGnlMvvQ_aCllLTIQCyp1R7aTMUbMGUv62SvRrcd0k1vNLV3j_8SWni_zcpM3QiIRZt0E/s1600/2007_Tabasco_flood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1296" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hcVo9mVPe5Ny3Lpe0TpLnsJbR3ODamm4N4DkZufyqrQHm_b91ceRzyCD2PlEeFCegO3K6lSGnlMvvQ_aCllLTIQCyp1R7aTMUbMGUv62SvRrcd0k1vNLV3j_8SWni_zcpM3QiIRZt0E/s320/2007_Tabasco_flood.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Flooding in Tabasco (2007) </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">It therefore goes without saying that AMLO has the advantage over<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank"> Ricardo Anaya </a>of the PAN-led “Frente” coalition and the struggling <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">José Antonio Meade</a> of the PRI-led “Todos por México” (All for Mexico) coalition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">AMLO might also be a good bet for Tabasco,
given that social inequality is a major issue in the state. Tabasco produces
significant quantities of petroleum and natural gas, yet the state has about
150,000 families, or about half a million people, living in poverty. Last year
the Tabasco economy contracted by 2.3%, with that number increasing to 8.82%
when reduced petroleum revenue is taken into account.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There has been some election violence in
Tabasco. On May 15, television and radio broadcaster Juan Carlos Huerta
Martínez, 45, was pulling out of his subdivision in the outskirts of
Villahermosa in his silver BMW sedan when two vehicles blocked his way. Gunmen
then riddled his car with bullets, killing him. In the months preceding his
death Huerta had provided extensive coverage of the July 1 elections.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Tabasco has also become a dangerous place to be a journalist. Before the modern drug war, which began in December, 2006, three journalists had been killed: two in 1912, and one in 1920. It was 87 years until the next death, on January 20, 2007, but that was sadly a harbinger of things to come. Within the last 12 years a total of nine journalists have been killed in Tabasco, including Juan Carlos Huerta.</span><br />
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According to the National Electoral Institute (INE), on June
25, 11,000 ballots were stolen in Macuspana, Tabasco. INE claims it is working to
correct the issue, including reprinting new ballots.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-36392913232293262822018-06-24T15:33:00.000-07:002018-06-27T16:40:50.893-07:00PRI has the organizational advantage in the State of Mexico<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The State of Mexico is often abbreviated in
Spanish from “Estado de México” to be "Edomex" in order to
distinguish it from the nation as a whole. Edomex is in a horseshoe shape,
surrounding Mexico City (the former Federal D</span>istrict) on the west, north, and
east. Its capital is Toluca, a city to the west of Mexico City.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF02pQQnZi-_jqu12lAaBoEhSG1YMXHKWPlqUXflVf0zUV-jWeQwjr2CakIs4kdP-kAPRe-z3wD0j1hk_iybYZVgxg-35kzaHLrHrw9j6UeUlrjq2YxWVD70_m_WsMv0eprghYoYmCZY/s1600/MX_MEXI.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF02pQQnZi-_jqu12lAaBoEhSG1YMXHKWPlqUXflVf0zUV-jWeQwjr2CakIs4kdP-kAPRe-z3wD0j1hk_iybYZVgxg-35kzaHLrHrw9j6UeUlrjq2YxWVD70_m_WsMv0eprghYoYmCZY/s1600/MX_MEXI.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With a population of over 16 million, much
of Edomex functions as part of the greater metropolitan area of Mexico City. Edomex
is a stronghold of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The current president
of Mexico, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto" target="_blank">Enrique Peña Nieto</a>, is a member of the PRI and was governor of
Edomex from 2005-2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The current governor of Edomex is the PRI’s
Alfredo del Mazo Maza. During his 2017 gubernatorial campaign he was accused of
breaking at least 16 election laws, receiving 619 official complaints.
Irregularities included vote buying and breaking campaign spending limits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Edomex helps generate a lot of the economic
activity associated with Mexico City – its annual gross domestic product (GDP)
is estimated to be over US$ 71 billion. The growth rate in the state was more
than double the national average in 2017, at 4.22%, representing about 10% of
Mexico’s GDP. However, Edomex is also one of Mexico’s most violent states: it
ranked fourth in murders in the first four months of 2018, with 703 people
killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Edomex is also a dangerous place to be a
politician. Early in May Adiel Zermann Miguel, 39, the Morena party candidate
for mayor of Tenango del Aire, was found dead in Ixtapaluca. Zermann was not a political
neophyte, having served a term as mayor between 2013 and 2015. His murder was
particularly brutal, with investigators saying he’d been tortured and dumped in
the street.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">It's also a dangerous place to be a journalist. From the late 19th century until the start of the modern drug war in December, 2006, an estimated ten journalists lost their lives, mostly int he 1980s and 1990s. However, since the beginning of the drug war in December, 2016, six journalists have been killed.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Population pressure in Edomex can result in
conflict between residents, developers, and the government, even as efforts are
made to solve problems. From January to April of this year construction on the
57-kilometer Mexico City-Toluca intercity passenger train project was stalled
due to an injunction brought by residents of San Jerónimo Acazulco in the
Edomex municipality of Ocoyoacac. The new train service is intended to relieve
congestion on the Toluca-Mexico City corridor, cutting travel time between
Mexico City and Toluca to 39 minutes, with capacity of up to 230,000 passengers
daily. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A judge granted the injunction on January
19 after community land owners filed a complaint in a federal court in 2017.
The landowners argued that 42,000 square meters of land being used for the
project was not included in the right of way, and was not covered by a
compensation agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">The Secretariat of Communications and
Transportation (SCT) says that project completion is under risk due to such
actions, further arguing that the land was expropriated by the Federal
Electricity Commission (CFE) in 1943, when the population of Edomex was only
1.2 million, and then ceded to the federal government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Politically, as with other states, Edomex
has three federal senators. One of these is a member of the PRI, and another is
a member of the left-of-center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a>. The
third is a member of the fraudulent “Green” Party (PVEM), which largely
functions as a client of the PRI and tends not to run on environmental concerns,
preferring instead populist issues such as capital punishment for kidnappers
and expanded food banks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As in other states, three senate seats are up for grabs in Edomex
this July 1, with two named "first past the post" candidates. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The first PRI candidate
is César Camacho Quiroz, a PRI stalwart who was governor of Edomex between 1995
and 1999. The second candidate is Alejandra Del Moral Vela, a party stalwart – she was a deputy in
Mexico City (2012-2015) and the mayor of Cuautitlán Izcalli (2009-2012). Both candidates are relying on a solid base of activists and election observers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRV_63sFUL7Mt6HZQPAIbVBIqcT7qk1R27LUEorI6W8q1cENARKAvq74U1LmY2pJ8ncSqYRVxaK-QqjR7h96I4Oo1tlJmRgRpCESYLOQXiGatvwUhzgxZeZSMnl4IQmh7MZxO39lc-ng/s1600/casillas-edomex.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="589" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRV_63sFUL7Mt6HZQPAIbVBIqcT7qk1R27LUEorI6W8q1cENARKAvq74U1LmY2pJ8ncSqYRVxaK-QqjR7h96I4Oo1tlJmRgRpCESYLOQXiGatvwUhzgxZeZSMnl4IQmh7MZxO39lc-ng/s320/casillas-edomex.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The PRI has a strong presence at the polls</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Juan Manuel Zepeda
Hernández is running for the PRD. He is campaigning along with María Fernanda
Rivera Sánchez, the National Action Party (PAN) candidate who also has a track
record as a local deputy. This is an odd – and some think cynical – alliance
given that the PRD is left-of-center and the PAN is right-of-center.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The left-leaning Morena coalition is running Delfina Gómez, formerly
mayor of Texcoco (2013-2015), and Higinio Martínez, another mayor of Texcoco who
resigned to run for the federal senate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The polls suggest that most senate votes will go to Morena. However,
with regard to the federal senate seats, it’s possible that Morena will either be
shut out or will take only one seat. This is due to the PRI’s ability to
mobilize large numbers, and also the fact that it has activists at almost every
poll. In those areas where the only observer is from the PRI, it’s highly
likely that the party will attempt to orchestrate fraud, as it has in past
elections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When it comes to the federal vote, the plurality – if not the majority –
of votes will almost certainly go to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)</a> and the
Morena-led coalition “Juntos Haremos Historia” (Together We’ll Make History).
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya</a> of the PAN-led <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Por_M%C3%A9xico_al_Frente" target="_blank">“Por México al Frente” </a>coalition, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">José Antonio Meade</a> of the PRI-led “Todos por México” (All for Mexico) coalition, are 20 to
30 points behind.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><br />
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-72463510378710545522018-06-23T21:19:00.001-07:002018-06-27T16:38:18.919-07:00The PAN stays strong in Sonora<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The northern Mexican state of Sonora borders
on the US states of Arizona and California, with a western coastline on the Sea
of Cortez (Gulf of California). It also borders the Mexican states of Chihuahua
to the east, Baja California to the northwest, and Sinaloa to the south. The
capital is Hermosillo and the population is just shy of three million.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOxnDCHiJSBKFSfhGfDA81Da4vASWFgJH5su2URwcD2wqQ1omNtX0WUz22uubUdnwDkGNzUjSKEx-xBRD9TeDyPc3nKaGA1mT3xHRQUw2tCCFPx6y3lCR4wroIusYKQRbB-6be3p7QWI/s1600/MX_SONO.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOxnDCHiJSBKFSfhGfDA81Da4vASWFgJH5su2URwcD2wqQ1omNtX0WUz22uubUdnwDkGNzUjSKEx-xBRD9TeDyPc3nKaGA1mT3xHRQUw2tCCFPx6y3lCR4wroIusYKQRbB-6be3p7QWI/s1600/MX_SONO.gif" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The state is well-known for the eponymous
Sonoran desert, with significant reserves of copper, silver, and gold, which
supports a large mining industry. Sadly, it also has a reputation for corrupt
political practices. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Politically, the state is mostly
represented by politicians from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>,
the same party as President Enrique Peña Nieto, and the right-of-center
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN)</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The governor of the Sonora, Claudia
Pavlovich Arellano, is from the PRI. Pavlovich, who assumed office in September
2015, is suitably corrupt: there is a recording of her during her campaign
brokering deals with entrepreneurs. She was further accused by respected
Mexican news magazine Proceso of "misuse of functions, conflict of
interest and influence peddling."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After his term in office the previous PAN
governor Guillermo Padrés Elías (2009-2015) was wanted by the Mexican
government and Interpol on multiple charges of corruption, embezzlement, and
extortion. The manhunt lasted until 10 November, 2016, when he surrendered to
federal authorities. Padrés is accused of transferring US$ 8.9 million in
public funds from Mexico to bank accounts he controlled in the United States.
He remains in jail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Sonoran government has begun the
arduous task of cleaning up after Padrés. On May 1st of this year Sonora’s
Attorney General announced that the state was initiating legal action to
expropriate 13 properties owned by Padrés and other officials who served in his
administration, including ex-PAN deputy Mónica Paola Robles Manzanedo,
ex-finance secretary Carlos Manuel Villalobos and former party state president
Juan Bautista Durazo. The total property value – which includes three ranches
owned by the imprisoned ex-governor – exceeds 561 million pesos (US $29.4
million).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbd27J03DbwaAMeZ6tujLknJpQd-rLEqgs-G8B7jIhokesOa7zxq69mLAuis-2c2-jtHJSqanqQrFC1LFbVnQUiOny_qI3H1dEocM-yMR4Si4zZzadN8A8J1Ai89fuKEJ2qHtoIxvkWtM/s1600/Reuni%25C3%25B3n_con_Claudia_Pavlovich%252C_Gobernadora_Electa_de_Sonora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbd27J03DbwaAMeZ6tujLknJpQd-rLEqgs-G8B7jIhokesOa7zxq69mLAuis-2c2-jtHJSqanqQrFC1LFbVnQUiOny_qI3H1dEocM-yMR4Si4zZzadN8A8J1Ai89fuKEJ2qHtoIxvkWtM/s320/Reuni%25C3%25B3n_con_Claudia_Pavlovich%252C_Gobernadora_Electa_de_Sonora.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>PRI governor Claudia Pavlovich Arellano</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Former government secretary Roberto Romero
López was also wanted but had escaped to the United States. However, at the
beginning of this year </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Romero
López was extradited to Mexico, with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of
Sonora charging him with influence peddling and abuse of power. Soon after, on
February 23, Padrés' chief of security was also returned from the United States
to Mexico, where he faces charges of robbery, false imprisonment, and torture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Mining in Sonora
continues to be a big – and sometimes controversial – economic driver. It's relevance ensures a base of support for the PAN </span>– despite corruption scandals. To a lesser extent, this is true also of the PRI. The media in Sonora, which is tied to business interests, tends to maintain a suspicious view of left-of center parties like Morena, the Workers Party, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Business interests and specifically mining
was the top of the agenda during the Arizona-Mexico Commission Summit, held in
Tucson in the middle of June. This is understandable given that mining
represents a significant chunk of the $15 billion in trade between Arizona and Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">During the Summit
there was much talk of “new” mining, which is to say mining that is cognizant
of social and environmental impacts, but the truth of the matter is that mining
companies operating in Mexico – no matter if they are Mexican, Canadian, or
American – operate to lower standards than in the United States and Canada. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This was made evident
early in May when Baskut Tuncak, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on
human rights and hazardous substances and wastes, said that Grupo México’s
failure to remediate the damage caused by a toxic spill in Sonora was a “shameless
and flagrant example of impunity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Some background: in 2014 Grupo Mexico
spilled 40,000 cubic meters of copper sulfate and other toxic substances into
the Sonora and Bacanuchi rivers from its Buenavista copper mine. An estimated
22,000 people in seven municipalities were affected by the spill. Medical
problems have been linked to the accumulation of heavy metals in the blood of
more than 1,000 residents, including skin conditions, neurological damage, and
various kinds of cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhum80VYO07pJp22tH8Qk8piEF9rDj24pZUxqkAsBBwPiciZW6M0dqp-q9GiFrEvOat2qFgLE_J6eAJhz1nVLnYeB7e0LvtajXwwqcCGC6QqO14QRUbtdsZhsamosnQ2JRTVM9fM-wq5C4/s1600/PAN-governor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="500" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhum80VYO07pJp22tH8Qk8piEF9rDj24pZUxqkAsBBwPiciZW6M0dqp-q9GiFrEvOat2qFgLE_J6eAJhz1nVLnYeB7e0LvtajXwwqcCGC6QqO14QRUbtdsZhsamosnQ2JRTVM9fM-wq5C4/s320/PAN-governor.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Former governor Guillermo Padrés Elías soon after his arrest</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In 2015, Grupo México
— the country’s largest mining corporation — in conjunction with the federal
Health Secretariat, promised to build a medical clinic and 36 water purification
plants. To date, none of these promises have been fulfilled.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One challenge is that reporting on bad actors in Sinaloa can get journalists into trouble. In the 20th century, eight journalists were killed in Sonora, and in the early 21st century three more lost their lives. Since the start of the drug war in December, 2006, four more have been killed.</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This election cycle
three federal senate seats in Sonora are up for grabs. A poll in central Sonora taken by Consulta
Mitofsky in May indicated that support for the PAN-PRD was at 33.6%, support for
the PRI-led coalition with the Greens and New Alliance at 25.9%, with the
Morena and Workers Party coalition bringing up the rear at 21.8%. A total of
18.7% were undecided.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The poll is perhaps surprising
given Sonora’s experience with the notoriously corrupt PAN governor </span><span lang="EN-US">Guillermo Padrés Elías, but voters in Sonora tend to feel that they have only two choices: PAN or PRI. This was evident in the the June 2015
election for governor, with the winning PRI candidate Claudia Pavlovich Arellano taking an impressive 486,944 votes, or 47.58% of the total.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Morena has another problem in Sonora in
that support the traditional leftist PRD is
low. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Consulta Mitofsky has PRD
party identification in central Sonora at only</span><span lang="EN-US"> 2.8%.
This means that Morena leader <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)</a>, who resigned
as leader of the PRD to form Morena, doesn’t have much residual PRD support to
count on.</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it comes to
choosing a president, therefore, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya of the PAN</a> should do well here.
And <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">Antonio Meade</a> of the PRI? He might do better in Sonora than in other
states, but there’s little evidence that he’s inspiring the electorate.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-46492689833797034332018-06-23T17:13:00.001-07:002018-06-27T16:37:16.390-07:00Sinaloa struggles for stability in the post El Chapo era<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The state of Sinaloa is located in northwest
Mexico. It has a long coastline on the Pacific coast and on the Sea of Cortez (Gulf
of California). Its border to the east is with Durango and Chihuahua, along the
Sierra Madre Occidental. Sinaloa’s population is about three million, and
includes the capital Culiacán and the port and tourist city of Mazatlán.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91-mzXxo6ZeWQlOqYavAt6PmfQmCTvioO858-xgvIk_cXob2MLvXEEatdho8KqRagfTlZXSV58BRun-XonenHGqKl9MgqXV83D_WTPtcr974hxIuahkBe8r7HIuycBNQvqS1OUxeyQsI/s1600/MX_SINA.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91-mzXxo6ZeWQlOqYavAt6PmfQmCTvioO858-xgvIk_cXob2MLvXEEatdho8KqRagfTlZXSV58BRun-XonenHGqKl9MgqXV83D_WTPtcr974hxIuahkBe8r7HIuycBNQvqS1OUxeyQsI/s1600/MX_SINA.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sinaloa is also well-known as the home of
the Sinaloa Cartel (also known as the Pacific Cartel), and its erstwhile leader
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who is now in US custody. The cartel is
emerging from a period of instability. El Chapo’s two sons have made peace with
El Chapo’s elderly partner, the semi-retired <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismael_Zambada_Garc%C3%ADa" target="_blank">Ismael "El Mayo"Zambada</a>, and have successfully pushed aside El Chapo’s godson, Dámaso López
Núñez (“Licenciado”), who was captured by police on May 2, 2017. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The result is that, despite some setbacks,
the Sinaloa Cartel is thriving and still considered one the largest criminal
organizations in the world, though there is ongoing conflict – both with federal
government forces and with other criminal organizations. Nonetheless, The Sinaloa Cartel has
lost some control over street-level criminal activity in Culiacan and Mazatlán</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">, as well as in some villages in the
countryside</span><span lang="EN-US">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The Sinaloa cartel appears to be taking the
fight to the remnants of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel and its henchmen Los
Mazatlecos. This is <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">most evident directly south of Sinaloa in Nayarit</a>, where
the “plaza” (territory) is also being contested by Sinaloa’s main rival, the
Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sinaloa’s state governments, whether from
the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN)</a> or
the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>,<span lang="EN-US"> have been accused of giving the Sinaloa Cartel
favourable treatment. Similar suspicions have applied on the federal level to
the National Action Party (PAN) presidency of Felipe Calderón (2016-2012), who
initiated the militarization of the drug war, and to the early days of the PRI government of Enrique Peña Nieto
(2012-2018). </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The rationale for this theory is that the Sinaloa Cartel was a
stabilizing force, focusing almost exclusively on drug trafficking, whereas Los
Zetas and the CJNG were ultraviolent and actively engaged in human trafficking,
extortion, and petroleum theft. However, now that Los Zetas are less of a
threat, federal forces appear to be giving more attention to the Sinaloa
Cartel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14bBzzEk6nAGW5n2JUU3TQ39S04MMl1TIvRyJ1zzgDuJ-aCkmIuBiZeGSEUs_MhylGZK491QiomVlXwXi1fLLhP3-7PFhVNk15vOgqbpY7pt1_9-88nDKuBzEEIiC1DF3dpD6Ga7ERgA/s1600/senado-sinaloa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1404" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14bBzzEk6nAGW5n2JUU3TQ39S04MMl1TIvRyJ1zzgDuJ-aCkmIuBiZeGSEUs_MhylGZK491QiomVlXwXi1fLLhP3-7PFhVNk15vOgqbpY7pt1_9-88nDKuBzEEIiC1DF3dpD6Ga7ERgA/s320/senado-sinaloa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The poll for federal senate candidates</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Historically, the political landscape in
Sinaloa has been dominated by the PAN and the PRI. The current PRI governor, Quirino
Ordaz Coppel, is from Mazatl</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">án,
where he owns the Océano Palace and Luna Palace hotels. Of the three federal
senators from Sinaloa, two are from the PRI, and one is from the right of
center PAN.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Corruption in Sinaloa has functioned
differently than in other states, due to the entrenched influence of the
Sinaloa Cartel. Unlike elsewhere in Mexico, the influence of drug cartels on
the state government is less a cause for outrage than accepted as a fact of
life. Given the corruption and incompetence of the police, both at the state
and the municipal level, the Sinaloa Cartel was often credited with maintaining
street-level law and order. This involved everything from strict controls on
extortion rackets, to an overall policing of delinquency and protection of
tourist zones. Part of the rationale for maintaining tourism is that Mazatlán's</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> hotel industry is a
vital resource for money laundering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As a result, accusations that the former
PAN governor Mario López Valdez (known as “Malova”), has had close connections with
the Sinaloa Cartel, or that other politicians have engaged in
the all-too-common practice of washing drug money through hotels, has been
met with resignation. In Sinaloa, these types of accusations are never
investigated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Which is one reason why being a journalist
in Sinaloa is one of either two things: deadly boring, or plain deadly. The
newspapers in Sinaloa have for years functioned under the watchful eye of the
Sinaloa Cartel, and are skilled at self-censorship, usually reporting on crime
without providing any context or analysis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Something went terribly wrong, however, when
the well-known Sinaloa journalist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Valdez_C%C3%A1rdenas" target="_blank">Javier Valdez Cárdenas</a> was murdered in
Culiacán on May 15, 2017. Valdez, a 2011 recipient of the Committee to
Protect Journalists International Press Freedom Award, was one of the founders
of the weekly Ríodoce, as well as being a local correspondent for the national
paper La Jornada. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His death was shocking, as he was a
seasoned reporter who had successfully navigated the pitfalls of reporting in
Sinaloa for many years. He was known as much for his empathetic portrayal of
the victims of crime, and of cartel culture, as for his independent journalism.
Valdéz was also skilled at judicious self-censorship. He was not on a suicide
mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However, before his death Valdez conducted
a telephone interview with Dámaso “El Licenciado” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>López Nuñez, the leader of the Dámasos gang – the splinter cell that was then fighting for control of the Sinaloa Cartel
against El Chapo’s sons. The interview was published in Ríodoce in February,
2017. It’s believed that the interview, or perhaps another report, drove t</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">he Dámasos gang to kill Valdez. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">At this point the gang
is not much of a threat to El Chapo’s sons, given that </span><span lang="EN-US">López Nuñez
is now in custody in Mexico awaiting extradition to the US. As well, his son </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Dámaso “El Mini Lic” López Serrano is in jail
in California</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There has been some progress on the case. The alleged killer, a 26-year-old named Heriberto “El Koala” Picos Barraza, was
arrested in Tijuana, Baja California, on April 19 of this year.
Another suspect, Juan Francisco Picos Barrueto, “El Quillo,” has also been
arraigned as an accomplice. A third suspect, Luis Idelfonso Sánchez Romero, also
known as "Diablo," was murdered in Sonora in September, 2017.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">The Valdez case should also be considered in the overall context of press freedom in Sinaloa. The state has always been a dangerous place to be a reporter: from the late 19th century until the beginning of the modern drug war in December, 2006, an estimated 19 journalists have been killed, with the worst decade being the 1980s, when 9 journalists were murdered. By comparison, in the 12 years since the beginning of the drug war ten journalists have been killed.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Thing may improve now that the intense conflict within the Sinaloa
Cartel appears to have been resolved, but with the leadership fractured and at war,
some control was lost on the ground, and <a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2017/10/fractured-sinaloa-cartel-creates.html" target="_blank">that remains true to this day</a>. For
example, pipeline theft has now become commonplace. In Sinaloa this year the
state oil company Pemex is finding on average three new illegal pipeline taps
on its pipelines <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">per day</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This is more likely the work of local gangs
than the Sinaloa Cartel, and has resulted in a significant increase in violence
in Culiacán and the town of Mocorito, about 120 kilometers to the north,
including shootouts, kidnappings, and arson. Authorities have asked the
populace not to buy stolen fuel, but, as is so often the case in Mexico, many
average citizens and even businesses appear to be disconnected from the
consequences of supporting criminal and corrupt practices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3yMlB9VhHqOeSIlq7sgEoC5StyNxNIPewhjNZwBXXnGWcqzNJgoc63EWEw4XgDyyA1Jerp-D0ekhg8KWPNIbk2YRv-wwbpsU84FsdVI94mfBXZk_PuIeNSO9Exp_9oplphYTX0V0uio/s1600/amlo-culiacan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3yMlB9VhHqOeSIlq7sgEoC5StyNxNIPewhjNZwBXXnGWcqzNJgoc63EWEw4XgDyyA1Jerp-D0ekhg8KWPNIbk2YRv-wwbpsU84FsdVI94mfBXZk_PuIeNSO9Exp_9oplphYTX0V0uio/s320/amlo-culiacan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>AMLO campaigning in Culiacán</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is some good news in Sinaloa. The
tourism sector has been unaffected by the violence, and in late March Governor
Ordaz Coppel announced a new 120-bed hospital in Culiacán. As well, the
all-important agricultural sector is doing well, despite issues with machinery
theft, and there’s a good chance that approval will come this year to export sorghum
to China.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the political front, there are three federal senate seats open in Sinaloa for the July 1 election. Based on the most
recent poll for one slate of candidates, Ruben Mocha Roya of the Morena and Workers Party coalition leads
with 45%, followed by Hector Melesio Cuén Ojeada of the PAN-PRD alliance with
35%, and Mario Zamora Gastelum of the PRI-led coalition with New Alliance and
the Greens with 20%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The polling for the Sinaloa senate seat is
remarkably similar to the national support for the three major candidates. As a
result, it’s likely that in Sinaloa the presidential vote will follow a similar
pattern, with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)</a> from Morena receiving a strong
plurality, followed<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank"> Ricardo Anaya </a>of the PAN-PRD, with the PRI’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">José Antonio Meade</a> bringing up the rear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-67475966042994521352018-06-22T22:04:00.003-07:002018-06-27T16:35:03.722-07:00Corruption charges hurting the PRI in San Luis Potosi<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">San Luis Potosi is located in north-central
Mexico, with a population of over 2.7 million. The capital and largest city is
also called San Luis Potosi. The state is located in between Mexico’s three
major cities, Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, while also being a link to the ports of Manzanillo and Mazatlán on the Pacific coast, and Tampico and
Altamira on the Gulf coast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8KTEHDZ81FvD0dUP1zWQ6aFukhJhhvJPXFC_YbBYpDwBpxexzhyphenhyphenWEJAGSR8ecINrJeNB3M9rY3GYrfDQr4pHqVsTVz2QzpoDTBrONWY5ekTc80_2vYsE_bxSf6ZprkHaZnYAwQCygHU/s1600/MX_SLPX.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8KTEHDZ81FvD0dUP1zWQ6aFukhJhhvJPXFC_YbBYpDwBpxexzhyphenhyphenWEJAGSR8ecINrJeNB3M9rY3GYrfDQr4pHqVsTVz2QzpoDTBrONWY5ekTc80_2vYsE_bxSf6ZprkHaZnYAwQCygHU/s1600/MX_SLPX.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The governor of the state, Juan Manuel
Carreras Lopez, is from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>, which is also
the party of the sitting president, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto" target="_blank">Enrique Peña Nieto.</a> Carreras Lopez was sworn Governor on September 26, 2015 for a
six-year term.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The security situation isn’t as bad in San
Luis Potosi as it is in other states, and is stable, but it is nonetheless top
of mind. In a recent poll corruption topped the list of voter concerns, at 37.3%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">During the month of May, 2018, in San Luis
Potosi there was a </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">decrease in overall crime of
3.02% over the same period in 2017, though there was a modest increase in
serious crimes. According to an official from the state’s</span> <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">National Public Security System (SNSP), about
half of all murders committed in San Luis Potosi are related to organized
crime.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The state government
has been shamed somewhat by the family of Elionahe Chávez Rivera, who was
murdered in 2014. As is almost always the case in Mexico, police took no action
in attempting to solve the crime. The family of Chávez Rivera hired a private
detective, whereupon the case was solved, with the accused now thought to be
responsible for the murder of four other girls and teenagers from the
municipality of Tamuín, San Luis Potosi. The police, in their defense, claim
that the problem was a lack of resources, and not a lack of will.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Press freedom is also a concern. Only one journalist was killed before the drug war began in December, 2006, and that was back in 1989. Since the drug war, however, three journalists have been murdered, with the most recent being in October, 2017.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The bigger issue in San Luis Potosi is
corruption. On May of this year a group called </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">the Citizen Anti-Corruption Front (FCA)</span><span lang="EN-US"> claimed
that the governor </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">had knowledge of corruption in high places, but was doing
nothing to fight it. In private meetings Carreras Lopez has apparently
acknowledged the problem, saying that he is waiting for the new state anti-corruption
system to be in place – but there is no sense of when that might happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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As well, the
non-partisan Citizen’s Anti-Corruption Front (FCA) has argued that Carreras Lopez's failure to act has made him an accomplice by omission. The FCA has produced
a file on corruption in San Luis Potosi and sent it to the three major
presidential candidates: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">José Antonio Meade</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).</a> According to Hugo Stevens Amaro, spokesman of the FCA,
the evidence was sent to the presidential candidates due to the inaction on the
part of the governor and the state prosecutor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One burning issue is
the </span><span lang="EN-US">La Maroma dam. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ejidatarios
</i>(community landowners) from the town of La Presa, in the municipality of
Villa de Guadalupe, filed injunction applications against the dam in agrarian
courts in March, claiming that it stripped them of their historic land and
water rights, and threatens agriculture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The result, say the landowners, is that water
researchers from the San Luis College (Colsan), as well as a legal team made up
of professors and students from the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí
(UASLP), have suffered harassment by State Water Commission (CEA) and National
Water Commission (</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">CONAGUA</span><span lang="EN-US">) personnel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There are a lot of interests that want this
to go forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President Enrique Peña
Nieto committed to build the La Maroma dam during his 2012 election campaign,
and both private enterprise and state government agencies stand to benefit from
its construction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Meanwhile, Governor Carreras Lopez is pushing the "Las Escobas" dam. He has acknowledged that there
is local resistance, and is calling for coordination on the part of all three
levels of government to “unblock the conflict”, while also stating that CONAGUA
and the State Water Commission are behind the project.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There is plenty of good news in San Luis
Potosi. GM has an assembly plant in the state, and a new BMW plant is 70% complete and set
</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">to begin production in the first
half of 2019. One of the largest solar plants in the Americas is under
construction in San Luis Potosi, with 45 solar farms and 20 wind farms already in place.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZWqYFjnUTAHvOXhSzFQCjGGBYjOFOTwqGjCsaM-44qsOhnEdloGHfX-JNMNOwxf-tQidu0LmAFgDvsFGQfUf2MxWRVa2wbcbHvvb8485IhmufGWGo3xQ-qjW8D9tAJf85exg6IKOeRc/s1600/Encuesta-SLP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="681" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZWqYFjnUTAHvOXhSzFQCjGGBYjOFOTwqGjCsaM-44qsOhnEdloGHfX-JNMNOwxf-tQidu0LmAFgDvsFGQfUf2MxWRVa2wbcbHvvb8485IhmufGWGo3xQ-qjW8D9tAJf85exg6IKOeRc/s320/Encuesta-SLP.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The PRD candidate has a strong lead in the mayoralty race</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">But it looks like this is a change election
nonetheless. For example, </span>the
mayor of the capital, the left-leaning Party of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a>
candidate, Juan Ignacio Segura Morquecho is polling with a strong lead, at
39.5%. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following him is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN)</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_Movement_(Mexico)" target="_blank">Citizens' Movement (MC) </a>coalition candidate Xavier Nava
Palacios, at 18.5%. In third place is the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI)
Cecilia Gonzales (14.5%), followed by Leonel Serrato Sánchez (11.3%), who is running
for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Regeneration_Movement" target="_blank">Morena</a>-led coalition that includes the Workers Party (TP) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Encounter_Party" target="_blank">Social Encounter Party (PES</a>), and Alejandro García (10%), who is running for the fraudulent "Green" Party (PVEM).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">What does this mean?
First, it needs to be understood that the PAN-PRD coalition on the national
level is not necessarily operative at the state level. As well, the so-called “Green”
Party – which campaigns on populist ideas such as expanded foodbanks and
capital punishment, with no environmental message – is often used by the PRI to
split votes. If that’s the PRI’s strategy in San Luis Potosi it certainly isn’t
working. Clearly, in this election the people are fed up with both the PAN and
the PRI. It should be noted, too, that Ignacio Segura Morquecho of the PRD is popular
and charismatic candidate in his own right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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At the federal level,
if people want to reject both the PRI and the PAN the PRD is not an option,
because it has embraced its ideological opposite, the right-of-center PAN, in a
bizarre coalition. However <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya</a>, who leads the PAN-PRD-MC coalition, will
likely attract his fair share of centrist, right-of-center, and middle class
votes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the left, and among
the disaffected, there will be support <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) </a>and
the Morena-led “Together We Make History” (Juntos Haremos Historia) coalition. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And José Antonio Meade
of the PRI? He’ll do terribly, suffering the double curse of an unpopular PRI
president and an unpopular PRI governor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Given that the major
parties are also running slates for the three federal senatorial seats up for grabs, it’s likely that these trends will be reflected in those elections,
as well.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
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</div>
TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-52323187602838853092018-06-22T13:28:00.000-07:002018-08-22T19:49:05.887-07:00There are good reasons for the PRI's collapse in Quintana Roo<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The state of Quintana Roo has a population
of about 1.5 million and is located on the eastern part of the Yucatán
Peninsula. Its capital is the drab port town of Chetumal, which also home to a
federal prison. Quintana Roo covers Mexico’s entire Caribbean coast, and
includes the city of Cancún, the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, and the
town of Playa del Carmen, as well as many ancient Maya ruins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVYLTLeTMIvZ4XJH1ymt9SwIdwIB7VWpV1UxyGE8zwlEmVYjPzVQE2m3uSdwN8vB0-RNUL0oCLAj0RvmUYkqQae0UcGbVgdVyTTSbvmk-tNEYr5Dpvbn9-PrAIrA23jN21itBCjdkmP4/s1600/MX_QUIN.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVYLTLeTMIvZ4XJH1ymt9SwIdwIB7VWpV1UxyGE8zwlEmVYjPzVQE2m3uSdwN8vB0-RNUL0oCLAj0RvmUYkqQae0UcGbVgdVyTTSbvmk-tNEYr5Dpvbn9-PrAIrA23jN21itBCjdkmP4/s1600/MX_QUIN.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Clearly, tourism is critical to Quintana
Roo’s economy, and plays a role in its politics. In this context security is a
critical issue. The fact that the hyper-violent Jalisco New Generation (CJNG)
cartel has been moving into Cancun over the last year, pushing out other gangs,
has been cause for serious concern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On the political front, Quintana Roo is
quite diverse. The governor represents the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN)</a>. Of the
three federal senators, one is a member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>, one is a member of the fraudulent “Green” Party (PVEM), and one a
member of the left-of-center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With regard to security and press freedom, there have been two reported murders of journalists: one in 2000, and another back in 2009. However, </span>the “plaza”
(territory) in the tourist mecca of Cancun is now at the center of a conflict between
the Gulf Cartel and the CJNG.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Alfonso Contreras Espinoza, “El Poncho”, a
drug trafficker believed to head the Cancún operations of the Gulf cartel,
was arrested in July 2017 on weapons charges. He was allowed out of a local prison
under guard for treatment at a private hospital for leg problems, when in early
March of this year four gunmen burst into the facility, overcame a guard, and shot to death Contreras
Espinoza and his wife. When assessing motive, as well as the
brazenness of the attack, it can be assumed that the CJNG was likely behind the
murder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This attack followed on some disturbing events
on the tourist ferry that runs between the Caribbean resorts of Playa del
Carmen and the island of Cozumel. A blast on 21 February shook a ferry plying
the route, injuring 19 Mexicans and at least five US citizens. Then on March 1 undetonated
explosive devices were found on another tourist ferry, again on the route
between Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Things began to go awry in Quintana Roo back
in January, 2017, when a shooting at a music festival in Playa del Carmen left
three foreigners and two Mexicans dead. The next day, gunmen attacked the state
prosecutor's office in Cancún, killing four people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The ongoing conflict between the two
cartels sometimes overshadows other issues. Quintana Roo, which has a lot of
valuable low-lying land near the coast, is often the site of disputes between
real estate interests, many connected to corrupt officials, and
environmentalists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At the end of May this year the federal environmental
commission, called Profepa (</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Procuraduría
Federal de Protección al Ambiente), </span><span lang="EN-US">halted five construction
projects near the archeological site of Tolum for environmental violations. The
work on the resort properties </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">was</span><span lang="EN-US"> shut down after inspectors found that the projects were in violation of
environmental regulations, and did not have the necessary permits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The developments, which include 19,000
square meters of oceanfront real estate, were caught with a number of infractions. Wildlife and
plant species from the area’s wetlands and coastal dunes were taken from their
natural habitats.</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> F</span><span lang="EN-US">our cabins were built with wood sourced from within the coastal
wetland ecosystem.</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> Protected areas</span><span lang="EN-US"> had been replaced with leisure facilities, a water treatment plant
and an artificial wetland, including a wetland that was filled in to make a
parking lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Earlier in April, the Secretariat of
Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), said in a statement that an
urban development plan for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_Holbox" target="_blank">Island of Holbox</a> was unconstitutional, and
threatened the island’s environment as well as the greater Yum Balam protected
area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Semarnat and the Commission for Natural
Protected Areas (Conanp) have even presented a formal constitutional complaint
in the Supreme Court against the plan, which was prepared by the municipality
of Lázaro Cárdenas, in which Holbox is located. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The municipality has proposal a development
along 22 kilometers of otherwise virgin beaches. The proposal is almost
certainly illegal, given that the entire island is within northern Quintana Roo’s
“Natural Protected Area” (ANP) of Yum Balam, created by decree in 1994 for the
protection of plant and animal life. There was a similar dispute last November,
but that time the locals were complaining about a federal land use plan, which
they considered to be heavy handed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When it comes to local conflicts, there’s
been some disruption as Uber, yet again, tried to establish a presence in Quintana Roo. Ride-hailing
services stopped operating late in 2017 after several conflicts with taxis, but
at the end of May Quintana Roo’s state Congress approved modifications to the
Mobility Law, which now allows ride share services to operate freely in the
state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As has happened elsewhere in Mexico, the response
from local taxi drivers was not pretty. Drivers in Cancún blocked traffic in
the city’s hotel zone and downtown, and in the state capital, Chetumal, cab
drivers set up an hour-long blockade. However, a local survey has found that
90% of respondents in Quintana Roo said that they specifically wanted to see
Uber continue operating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Then there is the matter of Mayan-rights
activist and journalist Pedro Canché, who was arrested in August 2014 for
criticizing Quintana Roo’s PRI governor, Roberto Borge (2011-2016), after
covering a protest over increased water tariffs in the city of Felipe Carrillo
Puerto. Canché was held on trumped up charges of sabotaging the local water
supply. On February 24, 2015, a Quintana Roo district judge ruled that the
proceedings brought against him were arbitrary, and that he had been denied due
process; however he was not released from prison until May 29, 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The story is relevant today because Canché
has since pursued damages against state officials, including the ex-governor.
There is substantial evidence that Canché was jailed because Borge was angry at </span> Canché's reporting, which exposed various offenses committed against the Mayan people.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Canché has had some success. In early May of this year the federal prosecutor's office declared that neither the investigative officer
nor the judge had "any evidence whatsoever" to support a prosecution
against him. Canché is still pursuing his complaint against the former
governor, alleging that it was Borge who specifically ordered his detention, as
well as attempting to over-ride the judicial decision demanding Canché’s
release from jail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However, Borge has bigger problems. At the
end of his term the Mexican government declared him a criminal – surprising,
given that the PRI is in power, and that it usually requires egregious transgressions
for the federal government to act against a state governor. Borge was arrested
in June 5, 2017 at an the Tocumen International Airport, in Panama, as he was
about to board a flight to Paris. He is alleged to have laundered millions of
dollars via inflated contracts with public aircraft. Though it has not been
proven, the contracts would have been with organized crime groups, with the “legitimate”
money then flowing back to Borge and his criminal clients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Why does all this have bearing on the federal
election? Because, as this article has shown, the Mexican federal government
plays a strong role disciplining rogue elements in Quintana Roo. It’s the federal
government that goes after developers and protects the environment – not local
or state officials, many of whom are compromised. And it’s the federal
government that brings rogue governors into line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqHnzQPVsG9d5REY51AmGxs3uHbCs6Sm7lVVfEccZOxVq88Eo-gP0v3Z1Sprzo7Fvtk1u789wPZHjnJRp4mydXAgdbDHgNn9kTGq2bTLmI4Y8N55CNpGk5etRS0ChL0snfLhyphenhyphen5nCtdYE/s1600/mara-lezama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqHnzQPVsG9d5REY51AmGxs3uHbCs6Sm7lVVfEccZOxVq88Eo-gP0v3Z1Sprzo7Fvtk1u789wPZHjnJRp4mydXAgdbDHgNn9kTGq2bTLmI4Y8N55CNpGk5etRS0ChL0snfLhyphenhyphen5nCtdYE/s320/mara-lezama.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Maria Elena Lezma Espinosa: The new mayor of Cancun?</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">According to a poll conducted in April, in
Quintana Roo <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) </a>and his Morena-led “</span>Together We Will Make History<span lang="EN-US">” coalition leads with </span>33.6%
support. He is followed by<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank"> Ricardo Anaya</a> of the right-of-center PAN-led “Frente” coalition –
which bizarrely includes the struggling, left-of-center PRD – with 22.7%
support. And bringing up the rear, as he is in national polls, is the PRI’s José
Antonio Meade with 16.9%.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The simple message is
that the people of </span><span lang="EN-US">Quintana Roo have lost all faith in
the PRI. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Even in the City of
Cancun the Morena candidate, María Elena Lezama Espinosa, leads with 34.1%
support. As much as this election is the story of Morena as a new and legitimate
political party, so is it also the story of the collapse of the PRI.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
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<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-74642309366722768882018-06-21T16:43:00.003-07:002018-06-27T14:51:20.120-07:00Querétaro's support for the PAN will stay strong<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Querétaro is a small state located in
North-Central Mexico, with a population of just over 2 million. The state is in
a region known as Bajío, which is known for its high quality of life and
safety. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qZISVVbJa5zb1bg0LNii91bwwQrKaXeeiDuFS0sbNURoKM7xH9oGbiMRNUELF0XkuuxyIJgGwodiTwMcxRU_JFLYsQ_pEn2q8L3bu7TCwLkgflh6pWZ1bmyy2ivEsEBcBGDXcNWiwj0/s1600/MX_QUER.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qZISVVbJa5zb1bg0LNii91bwwQrKaXeeiDuFS0sbNURoKM7xH9oGbiMRNUELF0XkuuxyIJgGwodiTwMcxRU_JFLYsQ_pEn2q8L3bu7TCwLkgflh6pWZ1bmyy2ivEsEBcBGDXcNWiwj0/s1600/MX_QUER.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Among the electorate of Querétaro there is
strong support for the right-of-center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN).</a> The governor and
two of three federal senators are members of the PAN. The third federal senator
is a member of the<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank"> Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>, which is also the
party of Mexico’s unpopular president <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto" target="_blank">Enrique Peña Nieto</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The capital city, also named Querétaro, is
known throughout Mexico for its safety, and for the integrity of its police force and public
administration. There has never been a reported murder of journalist in the long history of the state.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">But even Querétaro has its problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On May 18 of this year Querétaro’s attorney
general announced that eight Querétaro municipal police officers were arrested
on charges of robbery, extortion, home burglary and abuse of authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The actions were brazen. On-duty officers
started by forcing two people into a cruiser in the Santa Rosa Jáuregi borough
of the city of Querétaro, stealing their mobile phones and 5,000 pesos (~US
$250) in cash. They then attempted to extort 20,000 pesos (~US $1,000) from
their victims in exchange for their release, before abandoning them in an
unpopulated area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Apparently not satisfied, the officers then
accosted a third person in the same area, and violently forced him into a
cruiser. They demanded he take them to his home, from where they then stole US
$4,800 in cash as well as personal effects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To its credit, the Querétaro Attorney
General’s office (FGE) acted quickly, obtaining arrest and search warrants in short
order. Incriminating evidence – including drugs – was seized from the officers’
homes. It was also notable that the Querétaro municipal Secretariat of Public
Security (SSPMQ) fully cooperated with the FGE – in other jurisdictions police
forces often work against interference from a state Attorney General. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To date, this appears to be an isolated
event. However, the SSPMQ has said that it is conducting a review, and that of necessary
criminal and corrupt officers will be purged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And overall, the news
from </span><span lang="EN-US">Querétaro is positive. The area is home to a large
cluster of aerospace and automotive production. With regard to automotive, BMW,
Nissan and Mazda have production facilities, as do many tier-one suppliers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In May German automotive manufacturer
Continental AG announced that it had opened a new research and development
center focusing on collision avoidance systems, with an investment of 50
million euros (~US $59 million). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Given the anxiety over NAFTA, </span>Querétaro's <span lang="EN-US">pro-business climate, and historical
voting patterns, Querétaro is one state where support will likely remain strong for the PAN. In the </span>Querétaro mayoral race on July 1,<span lang="EN-US"> p</span><span lang="EN-US">olls indicate that the PAN candidate for</span> the "Por Mexico al Frente" coalition, Luis Bernando Nava, will win. The PRI and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Regeneration_Movement" target="_blank">Morena</a> candidates are trailing at 16% and 13%, respectively.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As well, at the federal level presidential PAN candidate
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya</a> should do well here. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">PRI leader Antonio Meade’s support will likely be lukewarm, as it is in most
of the country. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And what of the leading candidate, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)</a> of the Morena-led “Together We Will Make History” (Juntos Haremos
Historia) coalition? His populist, left-leaning message won’t have much traction
in Querétaro, where it’s the PAN that's been able to deliver prosperity, security, and
transparency.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
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<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-51129375707181338332018-06-21T14:43:00.001-07:002018-06-27T16:29:07.429-07:00Fuel theft is the big issue in Puebla<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The state of Puebla is located in
central-east Mexico, with a total population of about 6.2 million. Its capital
city, also called Puebla, is a beautiful colonial town only 100 kilometers
southeast of Mexico City. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Politically, the right-of-center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN) </a>is strong in Puebla. The governor is a member of the PAN, as is one
federal senator. The other two federal senators are members of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>, which is also the party of the sitting president, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto" target="_blank">Enrique Peña Nieto</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2GkLMe5pHNLGpjXUyIK7TbzDXlpoKEAqDMd99y_03OJ47teD-0Fmqsa9Qn77-iGZypIceIq6UbGgN75orWdxm55othLC0S213zNQOzFoUtYWsDpwZq1DJFDR2-TtHEa7rX3SOHi9Zj4/s1600/MX_PUEB.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2GkLMe5pHNLGpjXUyIK7TbzDXlpoKEAqDMd99y_03OJ47teD-0Fmqsa9Qn77-iGZypIceIq6UbGgN75orWdxm55othLC0S213zNQOzFoUtYWsDpwZq1DJFDR2-TtHEa7rX3SOHi9Zj4/s1600/MX_PUEB.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Puebla is one of the eight states that is electing
a new governor. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There are five
candidates: Alejandro Romero Carreto for New Alliance (Nueva Alianza); Enrique
Doger Guerrero for the PRI; Luis Miguel Barbosa Huerta for the Morena-led
coalition “Together We make History”; Michel Chaín Carrillo for the Green Party
(PVEM); and </span><span lang="EN-US">Martha Erika Alonso Hidalgo for the “Frente”
coalition, which includes the PAN teaming up with an unlikely partner, the left-of-center
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a>, as well as Citizens Movement and two
smaller parties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">How does all this break down?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Green Party candidate, </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Michel Chaín Carrillo, doesn’t stand a chance –
polls have him in the single digits. As has been noted in other blog posts in
this series, the Green Party (PVEM) in Mexico is one of the most cynical political
organizations in any modern democracy. It has very little to do with the
environment, and instead runs on crude populist policies such as expanded food
banks and capital punishment for kidnappers.</span> <span lang="EN-US">The Green
Party is a creation of the PRI, and is used by the PRI to peel off undecided
voters from its opponents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">PAN candidate Martha Erika Alonso Hidalgo
should be a long shot due to the weakness of her campaign, but she is polling
in second place at 29.6% – and she has been as high as 36.4%. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is the wife of former PAN governor Rafael
Moreno Valle Rosas (2011-2017), and she is running as PAN candidate in alliance
with the left-of-center PRD. The PRD, in freefall after its leader <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) l</a>eft to form Morena, then made the desperate and
illogical alliance with its ideological opposite and political rival, the PAN.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66tChynBFmRli7IDmeu3129ZiLEIvsNhmdTPgMyhwE2zjXGwoMJeklNVFw825TajsT0ZnMxStwjP7gX2IRsy9RYG8gdQrBcXQc-Oz0ho6Rw6fvUSn2jAMhsGEifMzriieXXLW9IwarnM/s1600/encuesta_gobernador.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66tChynBFmRli7IDmeu3129ZiLEIvsNhmdTPgMyhwE2zjXGwoMJeklNVFw825TajsT0ZnMxStwjP7gX2IRsy9RYG8gdQrBcXQc-Oz0ho6Rw6fvUSn2jAMhsGEifMzriieXXLW9IwarnM/s320/encuesta_gobernador.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The most recent polling for governor of Puebla</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">According to the polls, the New Alliance candidate,
</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Alejandro Romero Carreto, is
lingering with single digit support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The PRI candidate, Enrique
Doger Guerrero, is polling at 14.3%, and has been trending down slightly
throughout the campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That leaves us with Luis
Miguel Barbosa Huerta and the Morena-led coalition “Together We make History”. Barbosa
Huerta is in the lead at 36.8%. It should be noted that this is a significant
jump from recent polls that had him at 31.7%, behind the PAN’s </span><span lang="EN-US">Martha Erika Alonso Hidalgo, who was then polling at 34.3%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The big issue in this
election campaign is delinquency related to fuel theft. This may seem odd to
non-Mexican readers, but fuel theft has become big business in this part of
Mexico, with gangs known as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">huachicoleros</i>
benefitting from corruption at the state-owned oil company, Pemex, poor infrastructure </span>– which makes it easy to tap lines – and of course the bottomless capacity for
complicity on the part of local security forces.</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">At the end of May Liliana
Hernández Carlos, a suspected leader of a gang of pipeline thieves, drug
dealers and murderers, was captured in Puebla. State authorities said she
controlled retail drug sales in the southern part of the city of Puebla. Hernández,
who has been linked to multiple murders, including of a 12-year-old girl, also
filled a power vacuum in the municipality of Santa María Xonacatepec after the death
of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) member Jesús Martín “Kalimba” Mirón
López in October last year. Mirón was killed in an internal CJNG quarrel. At
the time of his death he was recovering from surgery to alter his face and
remove his fingerprints.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">On May 17 of this year
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">huachicolero</i> Ángel Villegas,
known as El Pelón, was arrested in San Martín Texmelucan, Puebla. At the time his
pet tiger was also taken into protective care. El Pelón is believed to head a
gang called Las Villegas with ties to the CJNG. Earlier in the month, also in San
Martín Texmelucan, state police raided municipal police headquarters and took
185 officers into custody. Ultimately 119 officers — including the chief — were
charged with various crimes. But to call these individual “officers” is an overstatement:
most had not been assigned an official identification code nor had they passed
or even taken evaluation tests. As well, at least four of the “real” </span><span lang="EN-US">cops were charging the fake officers up to 5,000 pesos (about US
$260) to keep their jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It should be noted that last year San
Martín Texmelucan Mayor Rafael Núñez Ramírez wrote 60 official letters to the
president and other politicians and government agencies. His effort was broad
and insistent: he wrote to the president of a Congress public security
committee, the Federal Police general commissioner, the president of the
Senate, the CEO of Pemex and several state and federal politicians, among others.
In great detail he outlined the specific security challenges in his town, and
how criminal gangs were gaining influence in the police and elsewhere — mostly in
the context of fuel theft. Nothing was done, even as the community spiraled into
violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As the apathy on the part of authorities
continued, homicides spiked again in the first quarter of 2018. Núñez then wrote
to the state public security secretary on April 9, reminding him of previous
security agreements. Nothing was done until the recent arrest of the officers. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The situation is made worse, as in other parts of Mexico, due to the stresses being put on the press to self-censor. From the late 19th century until the beginning of the drug war in December, 2006, four journalists were killed in Puebla. However, since 2006 three journalists have been murdered: in 2012, 2013, and 2016.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The level of apathy on the part of
officialdom in Mexico can be astounding, but when they act, it can also
backfire. Early in April specially-trained soldiers from an elite division of
the army dedicated to combating pipeline theft were repeatedly attacked in the
area around San Martín Texmelucan, also known as the Red Triangle. The soldiers
went to San Martín Texmelucan to support Pemex employees dismantling illegal
taps on fuel pipelines. After closing several perforations on the
Minatitlán-Mexico City pipeline, they were attacked by gunmen in a pickup truck,
and a gunfight ensued.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Two of the gunmen in the truck were left
wounded by the side of the road 50 meters ahead of the altercation. When the military
attempted to provide first aid, a group of local residents arrived and acted aggressively
toward the soldiers, yelling “Burn them!” and “Take out the AK-47.” To avoid
further conflict, the soldiers left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But that wasn’t the end of it. Residents
set up a roadblock, where again they confronted the soldiers and verbally abused
them, claiming that the military had come to San Martín Texmelucan to “make war”.
Soon rocks were thrown and soldiers pushed. One was pulled from his vehicle and
kicked on the ground, with a member of the mob shouting “Burn the bastards,
kill them already!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This bizarre behavior may be due to
confusion with regard to the locals and an “agreement” that they felt they’d
made with some elements of the military and a corrupt Pemex official. It’s
likely that the deal would have allowed locals to steal fuel and deliver
kickbacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Corruption in Puebla is big business, and
therefore a desperately serious matter. On June 16 two senior police officers
in Amozoc, Puebla, were arrested in connection with the murder of six municipal
police officers. The six murdered officers had made an official complaint
before the municipal controller. They were allegedly lured by the senior
officers to an ambush, whereupon they were kidnapped, tortured and executed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1b8XDH_gxAvMf04JBKX2Usq1uphkeHjPf4dpSZu5t_BwBGEyBEmPElMnlZfGfD0nCyGSDXIjt3vrB8ukgs8rlLmYzbzqCVpU79wkJTDoGMUhKlz6L2znE_iCMXqZhFUxJRFq6heBNa7k/s1600/police-officers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="850" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1b8XDH_gxAvMf04JBKX2Usq1uphkeHjPf4dpSZu5t_BwBGEyBEmPElMnlZfGfD0nCyGSDXIjt3vrB8ukgs8rlLmYzbzqCVpU79wkJTDoGMUhKlz6L2znE_iCMXqZhFUxJRFq6heBNa7k/s320/police-officers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>After calling out corruption,, killed by two senior officers</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US">Overall, the CJNG is winning the war against
Los Zetas cartel for control over fuel theft in Puebla. CJNG now has a presence
that surrounds the capital city of Puebla, and is in the process of taking
control of the Red Triangle municipalities of Quecholac, Palmar de Bravo,
Tepeaca, Tecamachalco, Acajete, Amozoc and Acatzingo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With this level of instability it’s not
surprising that there’s been some election violence in Puebla. On June 1 </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">the Green Party (PVEM) candidate for the district
of Huauchinango in the state Congress, and a municipal councillor from Juan
Galindo, were attacked near Cacahuatlán, Zihuateutla. Candidate Juana Iraís
Maldonado was riding in a vehicle with Erika Cázares when armed civilians
opened fire, killing both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">On May 17 an
independent candidate for mayor of Palmar de Bravo in the Red Triangle region
was abducted from his vehicle as he was traveling between Tecamachalco and
Cañada Morelos. Ángel Morales Ugalde had just dropped off his children school
and was on his way to his campaign headquarters. The state’s interior secretary
has reported that was kidnapped, with a ransom demand of 15 million pesos (~US$
740,000). Morales Ugalde, who remains missing, is the brother of ex-mayor Pablo
Morales Ugalde, who was arrested in June 2017 for alleged ties with fuel
thieves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Social activists are
also not safe in Puebla. Manuel Gaspar Rodríguez, leader of the Popular
Indigenous Movement for Workers and Peasants, was an opponent of open-pit mining,
fracking, and the proposed electrical substation in Cuetzalan, Puebla. He worked
toward the cancellation of the dump in Cohuatichan, in the municipality of
Cuetzalan. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had received death threats
and was found murdered in a hotel room in Cuetzalan on May 14.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Is there any good news
in Puebla? Well, </span><span lang="EN-US">production of the first electric cars
made in Mexico by a 100% Mexican-owned company will began in April, after a new
Zacua plant was officially opened in Puebla.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In April a major Mexican pork producer
started a US $264-million project to build a slaughterhouse and five farms in
Puebla, despite local protests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And Puebla’s
economy experienced the second highest growth of the all the Mexican states in
2017, accelerating by 6.84%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But the real issue
is insecurity, particularly in the context of fuel theft. The CJNG is now a
strong presence in the state, and has cultivated mutually beneficial relations
with local population, the police, politicians, and officials at Pemex.</span></div>
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With everyone on
the take, it’s a tough nut to crack. Who can solve this? Given the support for
the Morena candidate for governor, we can expect the people to bet on AMLO as
their presidential candidate – he is the only politician to have consistently connected
corruption with insecurity. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya</a>, the candidate for the PAN-PRD alliance, will
maintain a respectable level of support. However, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">Antonio Meade</a> of the PRI doesn’t
have much traction in Puebla, and will likely not fare well.</div>
<br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
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TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-84624590662198899992018-06-20T20:07:00.000-07:002018-06-27T14:42:50.294-07:00In Oaxaca on July 1 there will be no "free and fair" election<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Oaxaca is a state in
southern Mexico, with a population of about 4 million. There is a significant
indigenous populations in Oaxaca – sixteen groups are officially recognized,
with the largest and best known being the Zapotec, Mixtec, and Chatino people.
Almost three quarters of Oaxaca’s 570 municipalities are governed according to
local tradition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxGFT3OepXbpY4l3FxenqAQyX8ybAacDz4OzQNLu00aT7TFInhZ_obSC9Fh06J8z5S6MS4f6lEGEOv4FBo7NQvcaTsLsWAVZ1W-MbtEdFLLj6z3Gxg3pFqSW_ZrQQdSxvtVuOqBXTnQU/s1600/MX_OAXA.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxGFT3OepXbpY4l3FxenqAQyX8ybAacDz4OzQNLu00aT7TFInhZ_obSC9Fh06J8z5S6MS4f6lEGEOv4FBo7NQvcaTsLsWAVZ1W-MbtEdFLLj6z3Gxg3pFqSW_ZrQQdSxvtVuOqBXTnQU/s1600/MX_OAXA.gif" /></a></div>
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Oaxaca has a long
history of brutality and corruption. In the past century, this has been almost
entirely at the hands of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>, which is
the party of the sitting president, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto" target="_blank">Enrique Peña Nieto</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The present governor
of Oaxaca is the PRI stalwart <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Murat_Hinojosa" target="_blank">Alejandro Murat Hinojosa</a>, who served as housing
coordinator for Peña Nieto's presidential campaign. Murat Hinojosa ran for
governor under a typical PRI-PVEM (Green)-New Alliance coalition. He won on
June 5, 2016, and began his six year term on December 1<sup>st</sup>, 2016. Murat
Hinojosa was born in the State of Mexico but his father, José Murat Casab, was the
PRI governor of Oaxaca from 1998 to 2004.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Two of Oaxaca’s federal
senators belong to the left-leaning Party of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">Democratic Revolution (PRD)</a>,
with the third being PRI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The state is often
beset by social unrest, usually related to land conflicts, issues of
self-determination, and union-based demonstrations. The most common unrest is driven by the CNT teachers’ union, which frequently holds mass demonstrations
protesting Peña Nieto's education reforms. The most significant period </span><span lang="EN-US">of conflict was in 2006 and 2007. At that time the city of Oaxaca was a veritable war zone,
with 30 people killed. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In total it
is estimated that during the conflict </span><span lang="EN-US">311 people were
illegally detained, 248 were tortured, and at least two were forcibly
disappeared. In 2016, another teacher protest in Nochixtlán killed eight
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In early June of this
year, the teacher’s union set up street blockades that gridlocked traffic in
the capital (also called Oaxaca). As of this writing, encampments remain in
place in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">zocalo</i> (town square) and
surrounding streets. It is estimated that these protesters represent about 20%
of the union membership. The main demand of the union, the repeal of the 2013
education reform law, is beyond the state government’s ability to address. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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At the south end of
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">zocalo</i>, outside of the governor’s
offices, there is a semi-permanent encampment of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trique" target="_blank">Trique people</a> from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Copala" target="_blank">San JuanCopala</a>, in western Oaxaca. Much of the population has been displaced as a
result of government-coordinated violence in response to the indigenous
population’s assertion of self-determination. The violence began when in 2008
two Trique women were shot dead by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubisort" target="_blank">UBISORT</a>, a militia supported by the PRI. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">UBISORT has allied
itself with MULT (also known simply as “MULT-PUP”, which is the political wing
now affiliated with the PRI), a Trique paramilitary group that was originally
allied with leftist liberation organizations like the Zapatistas (EZLN) in
Chiapas. The government, in response to political reforms in the 90s that
legally permitted indigenous communities to be governed by their own “usos y
costumbres” (uses and customs), actively co-opted MULT via financial support
and the insertion of PRI activists. The group was then transformed into a
pro-government paramilitary organization. The machinations even went as far as
creating the aforementioned political party, “MULT-PUP”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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After the murders in
2008, the Trique people in San Juan Copala continued to resist the government.
In response, in January of 2010 UBISORT and MULT blockaded the community,
cutting off supplies of food, medicine, electricity and water. Efforts were
made to provide humanitarian assistance. In one attempt on April 26, 2010, human
rights observers <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Cari%C3%B1o%20https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyri_Jaakkola" target="_blank">Jyri Jaakkola</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Cari%C3%B1o" target="_blank">Bety Cariño</a> were killed – allegedly by UBISORT
and MULT. Twelve other people were disappeared and are presumed dead. Despite international pressure – Jaakkola was Finish, and <o:p></o:p>Cariño a well-known activist – the murders have not been solved.</div>
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The violence hasn’t stopped,
which explains why there are still entire Trique families from San Juan Copala
living in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">zocalo </i>in Oaxaca. They
are, in effect, refugees from an internal conflict. Most recently, on January
12, 2015, the Trique leader Julian Gonzales Dominguez was forcibly taken from
his home by paramilitaries; he was found dead outside only minutes later. To
this day the paramilitaries control the Trique communities “using the most
savage methods, from beatings, rape, wrongful killings – exercising ‘the
faculty of article 42’ – meaning killing the disobedient ones with a 42 caliber
gun, food deprivation, slavery and even imposing a state of siege if necessary,
all under the watchful eyes of a complacent government.” (Quote excerpted from,
<i>Paramilitaries in Mexico and the State’s acquiescence: The story of the Trique
peoples of Oaxaca</i>, by Priscila Rodriguez Bribiesca).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In other parts of
Oaxaca, the oppression of the indigenous peoples, as well as the resistance,
remains strong. On April 18 of this year </span><span lang="EN-US">about 500
people from Santo Domingo Teojomulco came to the capital city to demand a new
trial for Manuel Roque and Fortunato Osorio, two Zapotec leaders who have
served six years of 35-year sentences for homicide and torture. The people of
Santo Domingo Teojomulco believe the men to be innocent victims of political
persecution, and demanded a meeting with the president of the state Supreme
Court. After getting no response, they occupied the judicial offices and courthouse,
effectively taking 2,000 people hostage. Finally the Interior Secretary Héctor
Anuar Mafud arranged a meeting, though the issue remains unresolved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At times local communities simply take
matters into their own hands. Early in June of this year </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Froilán Gaspar Pedro, who is the PRI municipal
president in San Francisco del Mar, arrived at the community of El Vergel del
Maiz, thinking that he was going to get a tour of the town office. Instead, he
was held hostage, with the residents wanting to know what happened to the money
he was given, and the promises he made, with regard to road works, potable
water, and sanitation. Other towns, notably Santa Rita and Villanueva, jumped
on board and wanted to know what happened to their projects too. After negotiations
that included the public works officer and the municipal treasurer, Gaspar
Pedro was released, presumably with assurances that he would fulfil his
promises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Though less of a
problem than in other states,</span><span lang="EN-US"> Oaxaca has its fair share
of drug conflicts, particularly in the south and along the coast. On March 30,
in the small town of San José Obrero Paso Ancho, in the municipality of Sola de
Vega, 50 families were forced to flee when armed men from the neighboring town
of San Vicente Coatlán attacked them and set their houses on fire. The problem?
A 45-year conflict over 19,600 hectares of land, now being used to cultivate
drugs. No one died in this attack, but last February in a similar incursion a
12-year old boy was killed by a stray bullet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Which brings us back
to the election. Clearly, in Oaxacan communities such as San Juan Copala it is
impossible to exercise a free vote. In the federal race, the winner in these
villages will be the PRI’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Meade" target="_blank">Antonio Meade</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltvG4cc14csKFHTZAwsUzHL5K3K0ybjPOKLmFg7mQdaZ2oG2NMnN_htowNPeNw-iaIqChvkE0KDAXylPqYkeCW9DSxssFtK1F-U06iP3r-QnTggId8LQgFwmK_wdPhgqm0chDlpnTcuY/s1600/Truck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="1144" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltvG4cc14csKFHTZAwsUzHL5K3K0ybjPOKLmFg7mQdaZ2oG2NMnN_htowNPeNw-iaIqChvkE0KDAXylPqYkeCW9DSxssFtK1F-U06iP3r-QnTggId8LQgFwmK_wdPhgqm0chDlpnTcuY/s320/Truck.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of Hernández López's ill-fated trucks</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This is even true to
some degree in more urban setting such as Santa María Jacatepec. There, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Por_M%C3%A9xico_al_Frente" target="_blank">Frente coalition </a>candidate for the municipal presidency – this is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">PAN</a>-PRD-MC block – Víctor
Raul Hernández López, has been mercilessly harassed by the PRI. Early in the
campaign a group of men armed with machetes, sticks and firearms arrived at Hernández
López’s country house, where his mother lives, and destroyed several trucks and
broke windows. Most recently on the night of Monday, June 18<sup>th</sup>, Hernández
López and members of his campaign were stopped and threatened by PRI activists
in the community of La Joya. A few hours later ten people led by PRI candidate Gerardo
Domínguez Gerónimo arrived outside Raúl Hernández’s house in a gray Toyota
Tacoma. They proceeded to set off explosions and fire weapons, destroying three
trucks and generally terrifying the neighbourhood. Hernández López has since
filed an official complaint. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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Violence against candidates has been a problem since late in 2017. On September 7th, Claudio Merino Pérez, a Citizens' Movement (MC) candidate in Santiago Jamiltepec, was killed. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Then on May 17, 2018, the Workers' Party (PT) leader in Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Hernán de Mata, was shot to death in broad daylight after an event, with his attackers fleeing on foot. </div>
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Most recently, on June 25, a Morena candidate seeking a seat in Congress in the 21st district in Oaxaca, Emigdio López Avendaño, was shot to death on a rural road along with four members of his campaign.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And the PRI is not immune
to violence. On February 15, 2018, Francisco Hernández Sánchez, the PRI mayoral candidate in Ejutla de Crespa, was shot to death on the street.</div>
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<br /></div>
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At times violence visits a candidate, often with the PRI, when criminal organizations become more
powerful, and there is some conflict over the cut in profits. For example, on
June 2 Pamela Itzamaray Terán, the PRI candidate for municipal council in
Juchitán in southern Oaxaca, was attacked and killed by gunmen after she, her
driver, and a photographer left a bar in the city center. The motivation is
unclear, but it’s worth noting that Terán was the daughter of Juan Terán, the
presumed leader of the Juchitán Cartel, who was arrested last year.</div>
</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In response to the
killing of Terán, Governor Alejandro Murat Hinojosa announced he was deploying
500 members of Oaxaca’s Special Security Force to the region. This is a typical
PR and window dressing. Rather than investigate and solve the crime – which almost
never happens – the government instead puts on a big show, to little or no
effect.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">With politicians facing this level of violence in Oaxaca, it's perhaps not surprising that journalists are under pressure, too. From 1975 until the beginning of the drug war in December, 2006, it is estimated that eight journalists were killed in Oaxaca. Sine then, in only the past 12 years, 19 journalists have been murdered. Most recently, on June 2, 2018, photojournalist Sol Cruz Jarquín was killed in Juchitán Zaragozar.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Amongst all this dire
news there has been some absurdity. Earlier this year the Oaxacan electoral body
</span><span lang="EN-US">rejected the applications of 17 men from across the
political spectrum who had tried to register as transgender female candidates
for the July 1 elections. The reason? </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Political parties </span><span lang="EN-US">had been unable to conscript
enough female candidates, and filled the available spots with men claiming to
be transgender women. It’s worth noting that Oaxaca has a tradition of “muxes”:
people born male but who, on the gender spectrum, identify as closer to female
than most men. They are sometimes recognized as a third gender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">By now, most readers will have concluded
that politics in Oaxaca is at its worst terrifying, and at its best a joke.
There will be no “free and fair” elections in Oaxaca. In places like Santos
Reyes Yucuná, in the Mixteca region of the state, a recent newspaper article
found that most of the residents, many of whom are illiterate, are unaware
there is even an election on July 1. If they do vote, their information will
mostly come from television, given that</span> very few homes are connected to the internet. On television, the
duopoly of Televisa and TV Azteca ensures that the PRI is given favourable
coverage, lip service is payed to the right-of-center PAN, and the left-of-center
Morena and its leader <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador</a> are properly demonized.<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
<br />
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-36502246427210236332018-06-19T09:08:00.002-07:002018-06-27T14:09:32.243-07:00Surprise: polls show Nuevo León going to AMLO, with mayoralties sticking to PAN and PRI<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The state of Nuevo León is located in
northeastern Mexico. The geography of the state is unusual, as the state of Tamaulipas
has a sliver of land that extends between Nuevo León and the United States. The
Nuevo León border with Texas is only 15 kilometer (9 mi) long. The population
of the state is about 5.2 million, and the capital city is Monterrey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCKzHOOqqGtK_jErzmzqwQuT-j1xIyqgYkqYwRQWjBTpPxkylBhfIxj56YJzwbncy6G-5H8sp4LbgrQX56ofB5dbSwmhkK6Q00zcRZ7YXLBbAP1wibrvgcmZihneIs4r9UQ2K0134Sk4/s1600/MX_NLEO.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCKzHOOqqGtK_jErzmzqwQuT-j1xIyqgYkqYwRQWjBTpPxkylBhfIxj56YJzwbncy6G-5H8sp4LbgrQX56ofB5dbSwmhkK6Q00zcRZ7YXLBbAP1wibrvgcmZihneIs4r9UQ2K0134Sk4/s1600/MX_NLEO.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Monterrey is a commercial center and the
home to many large corporations. It’s not uncommon for Mexicans and Americans,
some with dual citizenship, to cross the border on a daily basis for work.
Monterrey is also one of the wealthiest cities in Mexico with a total annual
GDP of US$142 billion (2017).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There have been some big changes in
Monterrey over the last decade. In 2005 and 2006 the city was ranked one of the
safest in Mexico, but then the Mexican government began its country-wide
militarization of the drug war, and things deteriorated rapidly, with 2011
being the most violent year in the city’s history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">As a result, there has been a profound effect on the press. Up until the beginning of the drug war in December, 2006, there was not one recorded killing of a journalist in Nuevo León. Now, in only the past 12 years an estimated eight reporters have been murdered. The most recent example is </span>Alicia Díaz
González, a journalist for El Financiero, who was killed in Monterrey in early June.<br />
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<span lang="ES-MX"><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">This insecurity might play to the conservative base in the state. Due to the large commercial presence, and
Monterrey’s solid middle and business class, the right of center <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Action_Party_(Mexico)" target="_blank">National Action Party (PAN)</a> tends to do well here. Two of the three federal senators are
from the PAN, with the third being from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However, Nuevo León has an independent streak.
The current governor, </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Manuel
Florentino González Flores, is an independent, and has been in power since
January 1, 2018, when Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, also an independent, stepped
aside to run for the presidency. Rodríguez Calderón, also known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Calder%C3%B3n" target="_blank">“El Bronco,”</a>
was formerly a member of the PRI, and was the first independent candidate ever
to have won a governorship in Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">(In this series of 32
blog posts El Bronco is not receiving coverage as a national presidential
candidate. This is due to the fact that he is polling in the single digits, and
is somewhat of a “fringe candidate”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Much like the Green Party of Mexico, El Bronco has a strong law and
order message: during a debate in April, 2018, he said that, "We have
to cut off the hands of those who rob. It's that simple." He has proposed
the death penalty not only for murderers, but also for drug traffickers and
kidnappers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In the battle for the
presidency, the polling in </span><span lang="EN-US">Nuevo León</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> has <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Manuel_L%C3%B3pez_Obrador" target="_blank">Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) </a>from
the left-of-center Morena in the lead, followed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Anaya" target="_blank">Ricardo Anaya</a> of the PAN-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_the_Democratic_Revolution" target="_blank">PRD</a>
alliance, and José Antonio Meade of the PRI. AMLO's main task is going to be to
get out the vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This support is somewhat
surprising, given that, historically, </span><span lang="EN-US">Nuevo León has
had a large right-of-center electorate. It suggests that the deteriorating
security situation in the state, and the larger issue of corruption, is of
greater importance than anxiety with regard to AMLO’s left-leaning economic
preferences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">AMLO, like the other candidates, is not
crystal clear on what his security policy will be, but his public statements
have suggested that he believes in reduced militarization, with increased
investment in the social realm and a strong anti-corruption drive. But it’s
hard to see how that addresses problems like those faced in </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Nuevo León where, for example, robberies in
local schools for the first five months of 2018 (96 cases) have almost equaled those for the entirety of 2017 (110 cases). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpCigzGpgAPh0jlkvQr91BHfkxWNPbhexR-q4K9Ian1LHnOn5FBhYbSBQnSe0v8rpgv_WPwX4K956LkvVFcxhF4oT8fkyNeW_iNNpAOZbi_PH2lGj_uBZhkRvJyIRWq51cASv_JAK_kQ/s1600/incendio-nuevo-leon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="933" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpCigzGpgAPh0jlkvQr91BHfkxWNPbhexR-q4K9Ian1LHnOn5FBhYbSBQnSe0v8rpgv_WPwX4K956LkvVFcxhF4oT8fkyNeW_iNNpAOZbi_PH2lGj_uBZhkRvJyIRWq51cASv_JAK_kQ/s320/incendio-nuevo-leon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The battery fire at Santa Catarina</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It could be argued
that the people of </span><span lang="EN-US">Nuevo León would have an ally in
AMLO with regard to environmental issues. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Residents of Mina and Hidalgo are fighting hydraulic fracturing in the
state and have started petitions demanding that their local governments declare
their communities off limits for shale gas extraction via fracking. Their main
concern is the depletion of water tables, as well as air and soil
contamination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Despite promises that
industrial practices in </span><span lang="EN-US">Nuevo León are set to the same
standard as in the United States or Canada, the truth is that lax oversight and
poor practices have resulted a significant amount of pollution. This was
exemplified on June 17, when a fire at an automobile battery plant in Santa
Catarina, Nuevo León, sent sulfuric acid and toxic chemicals from burnt plastic
into the air, with 200 people evacuated.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span>
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
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<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-58644270871632694842018-06-18T15:54:00.002-07:002018-06-27T14:03:30.122-07:00In Nayarit, Tepic is caught in the fight between the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Mazatlecos, enforcers for the Beltrán Leyva Cartel<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Nayarit is a small state in Western Mexico
with a population of 1.2 million. Its capital is the inland city of Tepic.
Nayarit has a significant shoreline on the Pacific Coast and popular tourist
areas along the "Riviera Nayarit". The state is bordered by
Sinaloa to the northwest, Durango to the north, Zacatecas to the northeast and
Jalisco to the south.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvJZISu3PXHIfj717HlQHL8jWR4RkUoKOdn9gkkj0IKh6vc2fFvQFBrzkort9Rqdw7lhZ5Mk4xcs1-3V7gT4rtyesMIUFZZKOdpwvTq34RYoSgc8XgDuEDnBZ7-EWH4k57J7XwxikKL0/s1600/MX_NAYA.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvJZISu3PXHIfj717HlQHL8jWR4RkUoKOdn9gkkj0IKh6vc2fFvQFBrzkort9Rqdw7lhZ5Mk4xcs1-3V7gT4rtyesMIUFZZKOdpwvTq34RYoSgc8XgDuEDnBZ7-EWH4k57J7XwxikKL0/s1600/MX_NAYA.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The political representation in Nayarit is
diverse. The governor is Antonio Echevarría García from the National Action
Party (PAN). Echevarría is a business man and political neophyte who defeated
the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate by 11 points, garnering
38% of the total.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Of the three federal senators, two are with
the PRI, and one is with the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Nayarit is known for its
tranquility, particularly in the resort areas – the tourism industry is
estimated to be worth $200 million annually. However, Nayarit is
unfortunately located along a major transit point for drugs, and is squeezed
between competing territories of two major cartels: the Sinaloa Cartel and </span>the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. It is estimated that 600 people are missing
in Nayarit, with the number perhaps much higher, given the fear some people feel
in reporting to the authorities.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDyRtHNTXeVQzjc0bD_2YKsa7ddFbx46peymSZWYKTArcP1kk83b7X4HrSaVjH_kmHX2KAU5u8LwpTmbOMd1mmFUdpyzsuTTnUu_wuLEX91rtrxjKFXtNjObQlbodfqKIMFQOIuVwLHg/s1600/tepic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1200" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDyRtHNTXeVQzjc0bD_2YKsa7ddFbx46peymSZWYKTArcP1kk83b7X4HrSaVjH_kmHX2KAU5u8LwpTmbOMd1mmFUdpyzsuTTnUu_wuLEX91rtrxjKFXtNjObQlbodfqKIMFQOIuVwLHg/s320/tepic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tepic leads the country in % murder increase in 2018</i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">The capital city Tepic, which has about half
a million people, has been affected by this turmoil, especially recently. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Among
the 30 municipalities with the most violent indexes for the first four months
of 2018, Tepic registered the highest percent increase, at 555%. Between
January and April of 2018, the authorities recorded only nine murders with
firearms. In the first four months of 2018 there were 59 cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This ongoing violence likely the result of continued fallout from the death of “H2”, also known as “El Chico”, the leader of the Beltrán Leyva, who was killed by the armed forces, along with 15 other people, in a confrontation in Tepic in February, 2017. Los Mazatlecos, an enforcer gang of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, is still battling it out with the Sinaloa Cartel. Seeking opportunity, the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalisco_New_Generation_Cartel" target="_blank">Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)</a> is also actively trying to take control of the "plaza" (territory).<br />
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There has been some pressure on journalists in Nayarit. Leading up to the drug war – which began in December, 2006 – there was one reporter killed in the state, in 1957. However, since the start of the drug war two journalists have been killed, both in 2015.<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">During this election
cycle, Nayarit has also faced fairly typical accusations of corruption, with the local National
Action Party allegedly offering $1,500 pesos (about US $75) in exchange
for electoral cards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And what does it mean
at the federal level? It would be surprising if there’d be much support for
federal PRI candidate José Antonio Meade, given the unpopularity of the sitting
PRI president Enrique Peña Nieto. However, the PRI has a solid ground game,
with party representatives at virtually every poll, thus increasing their ability
to counter corrupt practices from other parties – and at times promote their
own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgNk4LCWs9vTdPUQoZz84ko87RdUBWQqKnehqliBzb_QF9p2C5LtTLdnu9tcG6Zx49tsKHjmeWRDzehYnvh14pp0xt0npS6cTD7Jj-doI_NIfggOY5WhvjiDS3wPFrXmuG-2gW3T5yME/s1600/encuestas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="589" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgNk4LCWs9vTdPUQoZz84ko87RdUBWQqKnehqliBzb_QF9p2C5LtTLdnu9tcG6Zx49tsKHjmeWRDzehYnvh14pp0xt0npS6cTD7Jj-doI_NIfggOY5WhvjiDS3wPFrXmuG-2gW3T5yME/s320/encuestas.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Party presence at ballot boxes in four states, including Nayarit</i></td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The PAN candidate Ricardo
Anaya will also have his fair share of support. Given the success of governor </span><span lang="EN-US">Antonio Echevarría García, those citizens of Nayarit that fear the
perceived leftism of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) will happily park their
vote with the PAN.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And AMLO himself? He’ll do as well here as
elsewhere – which is to say he’ll win the plurality – particularly given the
emerging crisis in Tepic.</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4942584245225051680.post-221989648320409352018-06-18T14:21:00.002-07:002018-06-27T14:00:22.696-07:00Morena fends of corruption charges, links to organized crime in Morelos<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: 700;">La politica es la politica has posted 32 articles - one for each state in Mexico, including Mexico City - in advance of the July 1, 2018, presidential election. For links to all 32 articles, scroll to the bottom of this post.</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Mexican state of Morelos is located in
South-Central Mexico. Its capital city is Cuernavaca, a short drive through the
mountains directly south of Mexico City. Morelos has a population of about 2
million, and is a small state – only Tlaxcala covers less area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRKGTiGDNXRp2efgjcvLlwLaOpv9-i5ybqcIGBd1n_9_jYk5VTWcFlc-Gocqo6YtVQ1ri8MkQOaEpJI-UEAk_g2qh6aU-gN3YTXxWaK5m1SAczQDSwHA7B4ppBXoaKfF2Fsoi8WGuFiA/s1600/MX_MORE.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRKGTiGDNXRp2efgjcvLlwLaOpv9-i5ybqcIGBd1n_9_jYk5VTWcFlc-Gocqo6YtVQ1ri8MkQOaEpJI-UEAk_g2qh6aU-gN3YTXxWaK5m1SAczQDSwHA7B4ppBXoaKfF2Fsoi8WGuFiA/s1600/MX_MORE.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Morelos is one of the eight states that’s
electing a new governor on July 1. There are eight candidates:</span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Rodrigo Gayosso Cepeda for the left of
center Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).</li>
<li>Alejandro Vera Jiménez for New
Alliance (Nueva Alianza).</li>
<li>Jorge Meade Ocaranza for the Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), the same party as sitting president, Enrique Peña
Nieto.</li>
<li>Cuauhtémoc Blanco for the Morena-led Together We make History (Juntos
Haremos Historia).</li>
<li>Víctor Manuel Caballero Solano for the National Action
Party (PAN).</li>
<li>Nadia Luz Lara Chávez for the Green Party (PVEM).</li>
<li>Mario Rojas Alba
for the Humanist party; and Fidel Demédicis Hidalgo as an independent.</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The latter two candidates, Rojas Alba and Demédicis
Hidalgo, are longshots. Without a party apparatus behind you, it’s pretty hard
to get elected in Mexico.<br />
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Nadia Luz Lara Chávez for the Green Party
is also an unlikely candidate. The Greens in Mexico are allied with the PRI,
and thought they do win the odd election, they are more often than not rolled
out as a foil to peel disaffected votes away from opponents. This is one of the
most cynical parties in modern politics. Its policies have almost nothing to do
with the environment, and instead push populist agendas such as expanded food
banks and capital punishment. Not surprisingly, Lara Chávez is polling at 5%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Similarly, Alejandro
Vera Jiménez for New Alliance doesn’t stand a chance. He was the rector of the
Autonomous University in Morelos, has limited political experience, and is
poorly connected, given that the New Alliance party has broken its ties with
the PRI. He is polling at 3%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The PRI candidate Jorge Meade Ocaranza will
also struggle here. Morelos had lukewarm support for the PRI in the last
election, and PRI president Enrique Peña Nieto is unpopular. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meade Ocaranza is a 30-year PRI activist who
has “earned’ his seat to represent his party. He has served as a federal deputy
in the past, but will likely come up short this time. A recent poll showed him
with only 8% support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Given that the present governor, Graco
Ramírez, is a member of the PRD, it might be expected that the PRD candidate Rodrigo
Gayosso Cepeda would have a shot at this. The only problem is that since the
last presidential election, when Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) was the PRD
candidate, AMLO has since left the PRD to form Morena. The result? The PRD fell
into a crisis, and made an ill-advised alliance with the right-of-center PAN at
the national level. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going head-to-head
with Morena at the state level can only hurt the PRD. Recent polls show PRD
support at about 20%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Caballero Solano from the PAN will have decent support. Cuernavaca is a bedroom community to Mexico City, with many
affluent families having second homes there. There is a significant conservative
populace that will throw its support his way, as is evidenced by the fact that
two of Morelos’ three federal senators are from the PAN. But his support is
also hovering at around 20%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But the man to beat is Morena candidate in Cuauhtémoc
Blanco. Blanco, a former professional football player, Blanco currently serves
as mayor of Cuernavaca as a representative of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
As a political neophyte representing a small party, Blanco rode his name
recognition to narrowly defeat the PRI candidate in the 2015 mayoralty election.
This time around, polls show him to be the preferred candidate of 50% of
voters, 30 points ahead of his closest rivals </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Rodrigo Gayosso (PRD), Víctor Manuel Caballero (PAN).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLVQrio7NA7R9YdBckTPpmhd9adh1zCUU8cOi2iWMVCO4V58pIQjsT4Q3wS8nw0NigPK8wibX_Mf24PrW2YJlrYXeMAysj_nPjIXBu0ZoIrcgxd0a0w_Lqf1FFqGni4PLAsmfyZLkgfg/s1600/Cua-Morelos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLVQrio7NA7R9YdBckTPpmhd9adh1zCUU8cOi2iWMVCO4V58pIQjsT4Q3wS8nw0NigPK8wibX_Mf24PrW2YJlrYXeMAysj_nPjIXBu0ZoIrcgxd0a0w_Lqf1FFqGni4PLAsmfyZLkgfg/s320/Cua-Morelos.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cuauhtémoc Blanco</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">On the federal level,
Blanco’s strong showing should consolidate support for leading presidential candidate
AMLO. The PRI candidate, </span><span lang="EN-US">Antonio Meade, is in the
doldrums. However the conservative base in Morelos should show up to vote for PAN
candidate Ricardo Anaya.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anaya will also be helped by some local
scandals that will negatively affect Morena. Since 2016 Cuauhtémoc Blanco has
been investigated for allegedly signing a 7 million peso with the Social
Democratic Party (PSD), and for having a dual voting card.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The former accusation is of course the more
serious. There is evidence to support the allegations of the contract, with the
Attorney General validating Blanco’s signature along with one of the then
leaders of the PSD, Roberto Yáñez, and Cuauhtémoc Blanco, does correspond to
that of the ex-football player. However, being subject to a judicial process is
not sufficient to force a candidate’s withdrawal. For that, there would have to
be a conviction, and to date there is no evidence that a judicial process is
proceeding. For his part, Blanco has denied the charges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There is also the case of Alfonso Miranda Gallegos, 62, a former Labor
Party (PT) mayor of Amacuzac (2009 to 2012). Miranda is running again, this time for
the Morena party-led “Together We Will Make History” coalition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, Miranda was arrested early in May on
charges of organized crime and kidnapping his political rivals. Specifically, authorities
say the ex-mayor ordered the abduction of his political opponents while in
office. He has been identified by victims’ family members as an intermediary
for the payment of ransoms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Miranda is also accused of using his
political positions, which included as a member of the State Congress for PT, to
provide protection to the Los Rojos criminal gang. There is a family connection
here: Miranda is the uncle of Los Rojos leader Santiago Mazarí Hernández, also
known as El Carrete.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Miranda’s nephew Mazarí Hernández is a major
criminal figure in Morelos. In exchange for impunity to carry on criminal
activities, it is alleged that Mazarí financed the campaigns of 11 candidates
for mayor in Morelos in 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Incredibly, the Morena led coalition plans
to go ahead with Miranda’s candidacy. This is an astounding move for a
political party campaigning against the political “mafia”. Should Miranda win,
he’ll be protected by the immunity from prosecution known as the “fuero.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">As for press freedom, Morelos is cause for some concern. It is estimated that 11 journalists were murdered in the state during the 20th century. Since the drug war </span>– which began in December, 2006 – two more journalists have been killed.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The state itself is doing fairly well, with
the economy growing at 4.78% in 2017 – double the national average. That has
given the present governor the confidence to defend the new 495 million pesos
(US $26.3 million) state Congress building, an expense that has been criticized
by both Víctor Caballero Solano (the PAN candidate for governor) and Blanco.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The building is located in the Amatitlán
neighborhood of Cuernavaca, Mayor Blanco has tried to shut it down by refusing
building permits, but to no avail – the state went ahead and built it anyway. </span>Caballero Solano has also pointed out that if
the 495 million pesos had been invested in sports infrastructure, the families
of Morelos could be enjoying 200 new sports facilities.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;">
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Below are the links to the posts for each state: </i></b></div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;">
<b style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><br /></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/05/in-aguascalientes-mexicos-presidential.html" target="_blank">Aguascalientes</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/its-violence-stupid-baja-california.html" target="_blank">Baja California Sur</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-drug-trafficking-and-water.html" target="_blank">Baja California</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-old-guard-in-campeche-move-to-morena.html" target="_blank">Campeche</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chiapas-to-choose-new-governor-amidst.html" target="_blank">Chiapas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/chihuahua-big-state-with-big-problems.html" target="_blank">Chihuahua</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-coahuila-shadow-of-pri-is-long.html" target="_blank">Coahuila</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/no-end-in-sight-for-drug-war-in-colima.html" target="_blank">Colima</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-durango-mining-is-always-election.html" target="_blank">Durango</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/violence-and-economic-uncertainty-are.html" target="_blank">Guanajuato</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/guerrero-will-go-morena-if-it-can-get.html" target="_blank">Guerrero</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-main-in-hidalgo-corruption-which.html" target="_blank">Hidalgo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/jaliscos-new-governor-will-be-staring.html" target="_blank">Jalisco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/claudia-sheinbaum-will-have-her-work.html" target="_blank">Mexico City</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/twelve-years-ago-felipe-calderon-called.html" target="_blank">Michoacán</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/morena-fends-of-corruption-charges.html" target="_blank">Morelos</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-nayarit-tepic-is-caught-up-in-fight.html" target="_blank">Nayarit</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/surprise-polls-show-nuevo-leon-going-to.html" target="_blank">Nuevo León</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-oaxaca-on-july-1-there-will-be-no.html" target="_blank">Oaxaca</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/fuel-theft-is-big-issue-in-puebla.html" target="_blank">Puebla</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/queretaro.html" target="_blank">Querétaro</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/there-are-good-reasons-for-pris.html" target="_blank">Quintana Roo</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/corruption-charges-hurting-pri-in-san.html" target="_blank">San Luis Potosi</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/sinaloa-struggles-for-stability-on-post.html" target="_blank">Sinaloa</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pan-stays-strong-in-sonora.html" target="_blank">Sonora</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/pri-has-organizational-advantage-in.html" target="_blank">State of Mexico (Edomex)</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/tabasco-is-fully-behind-local-hero.html" target="_blank">Tabasco</a></i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/the-pri-is-toast-in-tamaulipas.html#more" target="_blank">Tamaulipas</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-tlaxcala-pri-ground-game-will-matter.html" target="_blank">Tlaxcala</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/veracruz-emerges-from-pri-nightmare-to.html" target="_blank">Veracruz</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/in-yucatan-its-horse-race-between-pan.html" target="_blank">Yucatán</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><b><i><a href="http://www.lapoliticaeslapolitica.com/2018/06/last-minute-pri-spending-wont-stop.html" target="_blank">Zacatecas</a></i></b></span></div>
</div>
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</div>
<br />TimothyEWilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08843666161241764204noreply@blogger.com0