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Thomas M Buckley

The document summarizes recent political events in Mexico, including: - The start of the new congressional session was marred by partisan antagonism as Labor Party deputies disrupted sessions with protest banners, causing sessions to be cancelled due to lack of quorum. - Earlier optimism for cross-party cooperation and progress on key bills was undermined by an internal PRI conflict over a fiscal reform proposal, increasing doubts about real legislative achievements. - The document provides context on these political tensions and setbacks in the early days of the congressional session.

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Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas does not pull punches when he discusses the current state of the Left and his new book offers a rewarding look at a truly historical figure : 8, 22 Reflection with an eye on the future www.mexicotoday.com.mx 0018920360242 MEX$25 EUR€2 USD 3.50 FRIDAY 11 February, 2011 Mexico City Year 00 00 Congress’ best intentions appear to have been scuttled : POLITICS 6 The CFE earns kudos from Calderón, but are they deserved? : ECONOMY & FINANCE 16 Protests take shape in Guadalajara after violence spikes : SECURITY 32 Team Mexico wins in Chepo’s debut yet 2014 is still far away : LIFE & LEISURE 28
Mainstream mass media aren’t going to give you a comprehensive idea as to what’s happening in Mexico, but we can. Our corporate intelligence reports provide thorough insight on specific political figures, industries, trends and current events. OurEnglish-languagecorporateintelligencereports –one-of-a-kindinMexico–includeextensiveanal- ysis on news topics that impact your investments or interests. We can research anything that’s going on in the news – potential presidential contenders, state governors, the auto industry, sugar-cane pro- duction,petfoodsalesandtechnologyuseinclass- room–andputitintocontext. Mexico Today, Eficiencia Informativa and C3 haveaccesstoadatabasethatcollectsthousandsof storieseachdayfromhundredsofsourcesofMexi- canmassmedia.Weuseinformationfromwritten media–newsstories,columns,editorials,investi- gativereports–aswellasweb,radioandTVbroad- casts.Ourreportsincludeaneclecticandpercep- tiveapproachthatwillhelpyoumakeeducatedin- vestmentdecisions. Isyourinformation onMexicoreliable?
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I met Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas in 1989, when I was a law student sent to Mexico City to interview politicians for a case study that would be used at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Public Policy. When I interviewed him for Mex- ico Weekly on Jan. 28, I was shocked that he remembered that conversation over 20 years ago. Nothing about Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas should surprise us. He is a legend in Mexi- can politics and that is why we chose him for this week’s cover. He could have been overshadowed by his father Lázaro Cárdenas, one of Mexi- co’s best-loved presidents. But when you read Cuauhtémoc’s new autobiography, “Sobre mis Pasos,” you get a real sense that you are talking with a man who played a fundamental role in Mexico’s democratic transition. Reading Kelly Garrett’s book review is a must. If you want to understand our re- cent history, you have to read “Sobre Mis Pasos.” Although many would think that this three-time presidential candidate is out of the loop on Mexican politics, they’d be wrong, so wrong. During the interview, it became quite clear that he plans to play a role in the future of the Mexican Left. In fact, based on public comments made afterward, he may be in a position to help unite a divided PRD, a party he founded 22 years ago. Will he run for president for a fourth time? With Cuauhté- moc you never know. If you want to see an excerpt of our interview with “Ingeniero Cárdenas” go to www.mexicotoday.com.mx Also in this edition we examine the Guerrero and Baja California Sur elections, both featuring peaceful processes but confusing results. We also look at the recently begun congressional session. Among the issues identified as a priority for legislative debate are labor reform and the national secu- rity bill. But party politics – especially electoral politics – often have a habit of hin- dering good faith negotiations. In our Business & Finance section, we examine the performance of the Feder- al Electricity Commission since it was given greater responsibility after President Calderón forcibly shuttered the Luz y Fuerza del Centro operation. Our security section looks at the violence linked to organized crime that has ex- panded to other cities and how the public is responding. How bad will it get? These are the kind of stories that we know are important to you and we will follow them upcoming editions. Once again, welcome to Mexico Weekly. Iconic political figure still has much to say LETTERS © “MEXICO WEEKLY”, ES UNA PUBLICACIÓN SEMANAL PROPIEDAD DE YUMAC S.A. DE C.V. CON OFICINAS EN DIVISIÓN DEL NORTE #925 1ER PISO COL. NARVARTE DELEGACIÓN BENITO JUAREZ CP 03020 TEL 2455 5555 IMPRESA EN LOS TALLERES DE SERVICIOS PROFESIONALES DE IMPRESIÓN UBICADOS EN MIMOSAS NO. 31 COLONIA STA. MARÍA INSURGENTES CP 06430 DEL CUAUHTEMOC MÉXICO D.F. FECHA DE IMPRESIÓN: 17 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2010 © “MEXICO WEEKLY” INVESTIGA SOBRE LA SERIEDAD DE SUS ANUNCIANTES, PERO NO SE RESPONSABILIZA CON LAS OFERTAS RELACIONADAS POR LOS MISMOS. ATENCIÓN A CLIENTES: ZONA METROPOLITANA TEL. 3099-4987. LOS ARTÍCULOS Y EL CONTENIDO EDITORIAL SON RESPONSABILIDAD DE SUS AUTORES Y NO REFLEJAN NECESARIAMENTE EL PUNTO DE VISTA DE LA PUBLICACIÓN, NI DE LA EDITORIAL. TODOS LOS DERECHOS ESTÁN RESERVADOS. PROHIBIDA LA REPRODUCCIÓN TOTAL O PARCIAL DE LAS IMÁGENES Y/O TEXTOS SIN AUTORIZACIÓN PREVIA Y POR ESCRITO DEL EDITOR. Oscar McKelligan PRESIDENT Ana Maria Salazar VICE PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tom Buckley EDITOR IN CHIEF Carlos Martínez Cruz MANAGING EDITOR Fernando Ortiz LEGAL ADVISER Cecilia Garza V ADMINISTRATION Iker Amaya CORPORATE SALES David Alvarado ART DIRECTOR Kelly Arthur Garrett LIFE & LEISURE EDITOR Armando Palacios-Sommer COPY EDITOR Susana Pérez SENIOR DESIGNER Blake Lalonde WEB EDITOR R E P O R T E R S Rebecca Conan Bronson Pettitt Zach Lindsey Francisco Cándido IT & OPERATIONS MANAGER B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S Oscar McKelligan Ana Maria Salazar Yurek McKelligan José Antonio Valdes Fernando Ortiz John Barson C O V E R P H O T O G R A P H MEXICO WEEKLY / SUSANA PÉREZ Ana Maria Salazar Executive Director anamaria.salazar@mexicotoday.com.mx WWW.MEXICOTODAY.COM.MX@MEXICOTODAY_MX 4 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011
NOTIMEXPHOTO/NICOLASTAVIRA Elections favor party switchersThe first two gubernatorial elections of the year produced potentially confusing outcomes as the victories went to politicians who had built solid reputations in parties that had ‘rejected’ them : 10 An appeals court upheld the conviction of a French woman, Florence Cassez, whose imprisonment for kidnapping has causedfrictionbetweenthetwocountries.Thecourtsaidpros- ecutorshadprovedCassezguiltyinthreekidnappingsin2005 and her 60-year sentence would stand. The French govern- mentsummonedMexico’sambassadorfortalks. Cassezrulingcriticized byFrenchas‘deplorable’ JURISPRUDENCE Q & A PARTIES STATE OF MEXICO GOV. IN SPOTLIGHT Gov. Enrique Peña Nieto dis- cussed the death of his first wife in an interview with Univision Thursday. Mónica Petrelini, then 44, died of cardiorespiratory fail- ure in January 2007. Press re- ports have called it “suspicious.” CREEL CALLS FOR PLATFORM TALKS Sen. Santiago Creel criticized party leader Gustavo Made- ro who said the PAN boasts 10 presidential candidates. Creel, who aims to contend in 2012, said “we aren’t putting together a soccer team.” www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/politics Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 5
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 76 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 POLITICS CONGRESS M ostpoliticalobserverspredicted the Spring congressional ses- sion would provide little in the way of real progress. The 2011 and 2012 election calendar would generate parti- sanantagonism. ButinJanuary,lawmakersfromallpar- tiestalkedoptimisticallyaboutapproving severalreformbillspendingfromthepre- vious session. Labor reform, judicial re- form,anti-monopolylegislationandfiscal reformwerealltoutedasareaswhereprog- resswasimminent. InlateJanuary,partycau- cuses produced ambitious agendasandproductivetalk- ing points and party leaders spokepositivelyaboutreach- ing across aisles to get some workdone. But a funny thing hap- pened before the first gav- el sounded. The PRI fought among itself and two minor stateelectionsstirredthepot of partisan resentment. On thefirstsessionoftheCham- ber of Deputies, three Labor Partydeputiesdecideddefamingthepres- ident was more important than doing the people’sbusinessandtheSpeakerthought it wiser to end the session prematurely to preventadonnybrook. Roll call had barely been taken and al- readyitnowseemsthatpoliticalcoopera- tionisanimpossibility.Actually,therewas one thing legislators were able to quickly agreeupon.OnThursday,withoutanyde- bate,theChamberofDeputiesapproveda motiontotakean11-dayvacationinmid- ApriltoobserveHolyWeek. SHOW OF UNITY InlateJanuary,astheopeningoftheSpring session approached, lawmakers were ev- er-present,talkingfrequentlytoprintand electronicmediaandofferingglowingex- pectationsforlegislativetriumphs. Thetopicsmentionedbypartycaucus leadersevenoverlapped,suggestingthere wasconsensusforpassageofbills.Support for labor reform and the an- ti-monopoly law was voiced by the PRI and the PAN. All three major parties declared their backing of the Nation- al Security Law reform that specified when military per- sonnel could be tried in civ- ilcourts. “Weseeverypositivecon- ditionsforprogress,”saidthe PAN’s No. 2 in the Chamber of Deputies, Carlos Alberto Pérez,onJan.31.“Theirstat- edlegislativeprioritiesdove- tail with ours and we are ea- ger to discuss the PRI’s proposal for com- prehensivefiscalreform.” OnFeb.2,partyleadersfrombothhous- esofCongressmettosetanagendaforthe 13-week session and staged a joint press conference afterward. The smiling group saideachfactionwascommittedtoquick- lyaddressingpendinglegislation. “We’ve moved forward considerably withthePRI,thePRDandthefederalgov- ernment to prepare final debate on labor APPHOTO/MIGUELTOVAR AHouse dividedThe early days of the new legislative session were marred by political and physical sparring on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies reform,” said PAN Chamber leader Jose- finaVázquezMota. PANSenateleaderJoséGonzálezMor- fínsaidhispartywasengagedintalkswith thePRIandtheInteriorSecretariattore- formimmigrationlaws. PRI VS. PRI Despite this promising show of unity, the cracks in the façade had already become visible. Surprisingly, the damage was promptedbyaninter-partyconflict. Inmid-January,SenatepresidentMan- lioFabioBeltronesannouncedwithmuch fanfarethathewouldsubmitacomprehen- sivefiscalreformbill.Theproposalinclud- edloweringthevalue-addedtaxby4points (from16percentto12percent)buttaxing formerly exempt products – specifical- ly medicines and most foodstuffs – at 12 percenttoo. No sooner had Beltrones confident- ly explained the rationale for the propos- althatfellowPRIistaFranciscoRojas,the party’scaucusleaderintheChamber,an- nouncedthebillwouldneverseethelight ofdayinthelowerhouse. Partyleadersscurriedintotheshadows to avoid taking sides, while PRI senators soughtwaystoencourageRojasetaltoat leastconsiderdebatingtheproposal. ThisweektheSenateannouncedplans to hold fiscal reform hearings and Sen. FranciscoLabastidadefendedthebill,say- ingheandBeltroneshadspentayearand ahalfstudyingtheissue. In the Chamber, PRD deputies were stunned when Sen. Carlos Navarrete en- couraged them to support debate on the bill.“Hispositionshouldbeseenasstrictly personalandnotapartymandate,”Deputy AgustínGuerrerotoldMilenio.“ThePRD positionintheChamberisthatwewillnev- ersupportlegislationthatisproposedasan electoralcalculation.” ItnowseemsvirtuallycertainthatBel- trones–amanwithwell-knownpresiden- tialaspirations–willseeapetprojectscut- tled by a lack of support within his own party. WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE As the internal PRI squabbles continued and pundits speculated that Rojas was blockingBeltronesforpoliticalreasonsand notideologicalorfiscalreasons,Congress formallybeganitsnewsessiononFeb.3. In the Chamber of Deputies, all prior talkofworkingtogethertodothepeople’s business went up in flames in a matter of minutes. As the session was just getting under way, three Labor Party deputies strode to the podium and unfurled a banner fea- turing an unflattering photo of President Calderón.Thebannerread:“Wouldyoual- lowadrunkardtodriveyourcar?Ofcourse not.Whyarewelettingonedrivethecoun- trythen?” The deputies refused to remove the bannerdespiterepeatedcallsfromSpeak- erJorgeCarlosRamírezMarín(ofthePRI) to step down off the dais. PANistas went ballistic and a brawl almost ensued while members of other parties sought to con- vincetheoffendingdeputiesthattheywere violatingthenewChamberConductRules thathadjustbeenpassedinDecember. The PAN delegation walked out of the building and the lack of a quorum forced cancelation of the session. Later, Deputy GonzaloFernándezNoroñaexplainedthat the Labor Party had risked disrupting the session“becauseweweren’tgoingtocon- ductanybusinesstodayanyway.” However,anangryRamírezMarínlat- er pointed out that the agenda for the day hadfeatured53items,includingthreebills thatwerescheduledfordebate. Nonplussed, Fernández Noroña and thePTrepeatedtheirstuntintheverynext session,onFeb.8. This time the banner was draped over seatsinthePT’sdesignatedsectiononthe Chamber floor. But after several scuffles, the PT folded up the banner and the ses- sioncontinued. The next day, the Employers Confed- eration held a press conference in which membersbitterlycriticizedthelegislature forhurtingthenation’seconomicrecovery byfailingtodotheirjobs. Legislatorsrespondedthefollowingday during the next scheduled session by vot- ingthemselvesan11-dayEasterholiday. Allthingsconsidered,thatmightprove tobegoodnewsforMexico. TOM BUCKLEY / MEXICO WEEKLY “We see very positive conditions for progress ... legislative priorities dovetail with ours.” Carlos Alberto Pérez PAN deputy Lawmakers have many items on the docket but the Spring session got off to a testy start and progress will likely be quite difficult.
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 98 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 POLITICS SUBSECTION uauhtémoc Cárdenas has been taking a close look at the party he founded more than two decades ago, and he doesn’t like whathesees. It’s not just the major electoral disap- pointmentsthathavebeenpilingupsince the PRD’s narrow loss in the 2006 presi- dentialrace.Endemicstructuraldysfunc- tionandinternaltribalismthreatentoren- derMexico’sonlymajorpartyoftheleftir- relevantsoonerratherthanlater. “Thepartyisfractured,”Cárdenassaid. “Ifthatdoesn’tchange,it’sonlygoingtore- duceits[electoral]possibilities.” In fact, said the man still portrayed as the“moralleader”ofthePRD,thepartyis closetoessentiallyforfeitingitschancesin the2012nationalelections. “Ifthereisn’tsomeveryimportant,very intense, organizational work done before the election, there’s no use even having a candidate,” he said in a recent interview withMexicoWeekly. Cárdenas, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo and othersstartedtheDemocraticRevolution Party (PRD) in 1989 to continue and for- malize the coalition under which he had runforpresidentin1988.Thatpresidential bid failed, probably owing to what is now widely accepted as ruling party fraud, but it ushered in a new political era in which partiesfromtheleft(PRD)andright(PAN) now had legitimate shots at defeating the PRI,oreachother,forelectedoffices. Born as it was of a coalition, the PRD wasabig-tentpartyfromtheoutset,bring- ingtogetherapoliticalpopulationthatin- cludedsocialandpro-democracyactivists, laboradvocates,formerguerrillas,veteran communists,dedicatedprogressives,tradi- tionalU.S.-stylepoliticalliberalsandcareer PRI members disillusioned with the offi- cial party’s shift to the right under Presi- dent Miguel de la Madrid (1982-88) and CarlosSalinasdeGortari(1988-94). the states,” he said. “You have to give the party a presence in these states, you have tomakeitgrow.” That’s not happening inside the PRD. What’shappeninginsteadisahyper-stra- tegictrendtowardfindingwaystowinthat havelittletodowithconvincingvotersthat theparty’splatformisworthvotingfor. Onesuchstrategyissimplypickingoff awould-becandidatefromthepartyyou’re trying to defeat and make him your own. ThePRDheldontotheGuerrerogovernor- shiponJan.28bydoingpreciselythat–re- cruitinglongtimePRIistaÁngelAguirreas itscandidateafterhe’dbeendeniedthePRI nomination.Aguirrewoneasily. Anotherstrategyistoruninanalliance withanotherparty–notwithaminorparty ofsimilarpoliticalpersuasion,asthePRD LEFT BEHIND?22 YEARS LATER, three-time presidential candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas fears for the future of the Democratic Revolution Party BY: KELLY ARTHUR GARRETT/MEXICO WEEKLY The diversity worked in the party’s fa- vorinthe1990s,whenitbegantocapture significantblocsinCongress,somegover- norshipsand,withCárdenashimselfasthe mayoralcandidate,boththeexecutiveand legislative leadership of the Federal Dis- trict. But in recent years, internal squab- bles have cost the party a significant per- centageofseatsinCongress,aswellasits holdonstatesitformerlycontrolled.They havealsoseverelydamageditsimage. That squabbling, Cárdenas is con- vinced,isnotaboutpolicydifferences,but personal ambition. “Yes, there are some differences in the political positions and declarations of the group leaders inside the party,” he said. “But they’re giving pri- oritytotheirpersonalinterestsinsteadof tothepartyandthenation.” HEADING IN WRONG DIRECTION Cárdenas made his comments before the Feb.6stateelectionsinBajaCaliforniaSur, butwhathappenedtherevalidatedhiscrit- icisms.Internaldivisionsinthestateorga- nizationpromptedmanykeyfigurestobolt theparty,andthePRDendeduplosingcon- trol of the state government, and most of the municipalities, that it had won hand- ilysixyearsearlier. Inthatsense,thePRDismovinginre- verse,constrictingitsreachinsteadofex- panding it. That’s a serious concern to Cárdenas, because there are still large chunks of the Republic where the PRD hasverylittlepresence. “You have to consider that in the last federalelectionin2009,votesforthePRD werevery,verylowinabouttwo-thirdsof C FRONT PAGE hasdonewithLaborPartyandConvergen- cia,butwithitsmajorideologicalrival,the PAN.Thisunlikelyromanceisfavoredfor the key July State of Mexico election by partyleaderJesúsOrtega,butopposedby theprobablePRDcandidate,AlejandroEn- cinas, as well as 2006 presidential candi- dateAndrésManuelLópezObrador. Cárdenas was the victim of a similar ad hoc strategy in his presidential bid of 2000,whenmanyofhiswould-besupport- ers thought it wiser to throw their vote to thePAN’sVicenteFoxtoincreasetheodds ofoustingthePRIfromitsseven-decade- longgrasponthepresidency.Thestrategy worked,inthatFoxwon,butCárdenassays manymustnowregrettheploy. “Thatkindofvotinghasitsplaceinpol- itics,”hesaid.“ButIthinkinthiscasethat thosewhoexpectedarealchangebecause ofanalternationintheheadofstatedidn’t getwhattheywerehopingfor.” Notsurprisingly,Cárdenasisn’thappy with the PRD’s Guerrero strategy or the proposedcoalitionfortheStateofMexico. “The party should be reorganizing its base around the country and coming up withaproposalthat’sbetterforthenation,” hesaid.“Ifyoudon’thaveagoodproposal to present to the people, what’s the use of runningacandidate?” OPPOSED TO ‘SELLING OUT’ As for the notion of a PRD-PAN alliance, Cárdenas voiced similar concerns as the politicalscientistandtelevisioneditorial- ist José Antonio Crespo, who pointed out recentlythatacandidateelectedtorepre- sent two ideologically opposed parties is essentiallyaccountabletonothingandno- body.“It’slikehandinghimablankcheck,” Cresposaid. Cárdenasalsoopposestheideaonprac- ticalgrounds. Suchacoalitionwouldnotonlybeaca- pitulationtowhatthepoliticalauthorand commentator Sergio Aguayo calls “re- sultism,” it would also in all likelihood be sellingouttoocheaply. “What proportion of the power would the PRD share?” he asked rhetorically. “WouldthePRDreallybeparticipatingin theimportantdecisions?” Cárdenasadmitstobeing“disappoint- ed”withthestateofhisPRDtoday,andhas saidasmuchinasteadyflowofinterviews thathehasgrantedaspartofapromotion blitzforhisrecentlyreleasedmemoir“So- bremispasos.” PHOTOCOURTESYOFEDITORIALAGUILAR NOTIMEXPHOTO/PEDROSANCHEZ Dependingonhoweachindividualpub- licationormediaoutletchosetophraseits questions and handle his comments, his prognosisfortheparty’sfuturehasranged fromproblematictohopeless. TRYING TO REMAIN HOPEFUL DuringhisinterviewwithMexicoWeekly, whichheconductedinnearlyperfectEng- lish,hestruckacautiouslyoptimistictone, withanemphasisontheword“cautiously.” “I’mhopingthekindsofstatementsI’m making will serve to change things and makethemawarethatwhatthey’redoing isnottherightthingforthepartyandnot right forMexico’s progressive sectors,” he said.“I’dliketothinkthattheywillrealize what the real priorities of a party like the PRDshouldbeatthismoment.” And those priorities are? “Strengthen the citizen base, offer a clear proposal for thenation,andsetanexampleforperson- alconduct.” Can this happen in time for 2012? “I thinkitcanhappen,”Cárdenasanswered. “Iwanttobeoptimistic.Butthey[thepar- ty leaders] will have to make some hero- icdecisionsandleavetheirpersonalinter- estsbehind.” And if they don’t? “I would expect that after the election there will be a taking of stock by the leaders of the party, so it can resurrectitselfandbecomewhatthePRD canbeandhastobe.” Cárdenasaddedthathismainconcern is that the PRD’s woes could mean that Mexico will have to move forward “with no progressive alternative that is attrac- tivetothepeople.” So if all else fails, would he consider starting a new party of the left? “I think that’sataskforothers,”saidCárdenas,76. Butthenheadded,“IfnecessaryIcould participate.” Cárdenas formally presented his book on Feb. 9 in Mexico City : LIFE & LEISURE 22 Cárdenas and founding members of the PRD gather in Los Angeles in November 1989.
As the PRI insists it will pursue legal challenges with the state’s Electoral Tribunal, the victor is set to work with a defeated rival ÁngelAguirre’svictoryintheGuerrerogu- bernatorialelectionwasvalidatedbyelec- tion authorities on Feb. 6, but the story in thatsouthwesternstateisfarfromover. Losing candidate Manuel Añorve in- tends to return to his post as mayor of Acapulco, but there is a growing grass- rootsmovementtopreventhimfromdoing so. His backers say they intend to contest thevotecountinover1,000votingbooths acrossthestate. ThenationalleadershipofthePRIhas beentryingtoreversethespinonavariety of stories about how the for- merrulingpartyhaslosttwo elections in a row while the curiouscaseofthePANcan- didateandhisdecisiontobow outhasreceivedsomeexami- nationaswell. STRANGE BEDFELLOWS If Aguirre’s triumph holds up against PRI challenges, he will be sworn in as gover- nor on April 1. Upon receiv- ing the certificate authen- ticating his victory, Aguirre announced he would em- phasizedialogueandharmo- nywhilepromisingtotakestepstoendim- punity in the impoverished and violence- pronestate. “Wewoncleanlybyadecisivemargin,” he said. “But this is not a triumph of one group over another. This is a victory for anaggrievedpeoplethatdesiredagovern- mentthatwouldworkforeveryone.SoIsay withoutpretense,theentirestatehaswon.” Nowtheone-timeinterimgovernorfac- es the ironic challenge of working closely withhisbiggestrival,Añorve,whointends toreturntohisofficeasmayorofthestate’s biggestcity. Aguirreinsistshewillhavenoproblems working with Añorve, his second cousin, andAñorvesayshewillnotstrivetomake thingsdifficultforthenewgovernor.How- ever,thePANisleadingamovementtope- tition the state Congress to block Añorve fromreturningtooffice.Thegoalistocom- pile 1 million petitions to deliver to Con- gress to demonstrate that the electorate disapproves of Añorve, though state law suggeststheliftingoftheleaveofabsence isjustaformality. Still, Añorve’s announced intention to endhisleaveofabsencesug- gests he will not personally muddle Aguirre’s transition by challenging the results of theelection. “I am a man who knows howtoputtheinterestsofthe people above personal inter- ests,”Aguirresaid.“Iamsure thatourfocuswillbeonwhat isbestforGuerrero.” POISED TO FIGHT ON StatePRIleaderEfrénLeyva isnotsosanguine. “We will not back down andwewilldemandthateach vote be respected,” he said on Feb. 6. “We intend to ask the Election Tribunal to ex- amine the results at 1,000 or more voting booths.Ourteamoflawyersiscompilinga list of irregularities and violations to sub- mittothecourt.” There were 4,886 voting booths in op- erationonElectionDay. Leyva told reporters that a principal Guerreroready tomovepast electionspats Aguirre shows supporters the certificate authenticating his victory in the Jan. 30 election. NOTIMEXPHOTO/ALEJANDRINOGONZALEZ PRDtrouncedin BCSbutofficial votecountjust gettingstarted OfficialvotecountingfortheBajaCali- forniaSurgubernatorialracebeginson Feb. 13, but the PRD has already con- ceded defeat and the PRI says it will challenge the outcome if PAN candi- date Marcos Covarrubias is declared thewinner. The PRD has ruled the northern state for 12 years, but finished a disap- pointingthirdinearlyreturnsafterthe Feb.6vote. PRD president Jesús Ortega was rather blasé. “Let’s not be melodra- matic,” he said. “We lost one election and in the grand course of events we’ll winsomeandwe’lllosesome.” Other prominent PRD politicians did not take the apparent loss so easi- ly.DoloresPadiernaaccusedOrtegaof sacrificing Baja California Sur in ex- change for PAN support in the July 3 elections. Ortega and the PAN leader- shipdismissedtheallegationsoutright. “Everythingaboutthiselectionwas aboveboard,”saidAlfredoZamoraGar- cía, the local PAN president. “I don’t know what [national PAN president] Gustavo Madero and Jesús Ortega mighthavediscussed,butvoterturnout wasveryhighheresoitwouldhavebeen impossibletomanipulateanoutcome.” The PAN is poised to become the top party in the state Congress, while thePRDwaspunishedbadly.ThePRD held 14 seats in the outgoing Congress and is likely to retain only three in the new Congress. The PAN leaped from oneseattonineseats. Ortega said the electorate simply voted for a change. “Voters obviously didnotapproveofthejobdonebyGov. [Narciso]Agúndezanddecidedtopun- ishtheparty.” Although Covarrubias ran on the PAN ticket, he was a member of the PRD until November and is expected tofeatureapluralisticCabinet,includ- ingPRDistas. MEXICO WEEKLY focus of his complaint will be the actions of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard who he accuses of using public resources to support Aguirre’s campaign. Leyva al- soallegedthatthePRDwaspayingvoters 500pesosonelectiondaytocasttheirbal- lotsforAguirre. “We simply want the courts to make suretheoutcomeiscleanandfair,”hesaid. But at the national level, the PRI has stepped out of the spotlight, licking its wounds and downplaying the results. PartypresidentBeatrizParedesandpres- ident-elect Humberto Moreira were em- barrassedbyAñorve’sill-advisedelection night decision to declare victory before the official vote count had begun (he lost by160,000votes). On Feb. 7, Paredes told reporters that losinginastatethatiscontrolledbyanoth- erpartyisnotaloss.Moreira’ssupporters have emphasized that the two losses in quick succession don’t count against his record because he doesn’t formally suc- ceed Paredes until March. But of course, this ignores the fact that Moreira active- ly campaigned in both Guerrero and Baja CaliforniaSur. In addition, State of Mexico Gov. En- rique Peña Nieto has distanced himself from the results even though he cam- paigned for Añorve on more than one oc- casion and then proclaimed the week be- foretheelectionthatthePRIwouldsweep tovictory. On the other hand, the PAN barely survivedinthestateafteritsgubernatori- al candidate stepped down only five days beforeElectionDay. The decision by Marcos Efrén Parra – whoisbankingongettinganadministrative post in the Aguirre government – nearly cost the PAN its registration in the state. The conservative party garnered only 16,272 votes, just 1.34 percent of the total ballots cast, barely superseding the minimum requirement to maintain registration. Local PANistas were angered by the decision and some were confused as they wentintothevotingbooth,especiallysince ParrahadstridentlyattackedbothAguirre andAñorveonthecampaigntrail,ElUni- versalreported. His campaign coordinator Enrique CastroSotoexplainedthatthepartyfailed tofullyexplaintopartymembershowthey shouldvoteandthisresultedinmanybal- lotsbeinginadvertentlyannulledbyunin- formedvoters. “Manyofussimplyabstainedfromvot- ing,”saidbusinessmanMaxTejeda. TOM BUCKLEY / MEXICO WEEKLY “This is a victory for an aggrieved people who desired a government that would work for everyone.” Ángel Aguirre Gov.-elect of Guerrero Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 1110 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 POLITICS ELECTIONS ELECTIONS POLITICS
12 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 13 POLITICS PUBLIC TRANSPORT MexicoCityunveils thirdlineofMetrobús Supervíaprojectwillcarry ondespitepublicprotests TheMexicoCitygovernmentappearsun- willingtobudgefromitsdecisiontobuilda bypasstotheSantaFedistrict,despiteop- positionfromtheHumanRightsCommis- sion(CDHDF),nearbyresidents,activists andurbanexperts. TheSupervía,a5.4-kilometersystemof tunnels,bridgesandhighways,isaproject thesouthwesternpartofMexicoCityhas needed for 17 years, Mayor Marcelo Eb- rardsaidonFeb.10.Heclaimsitistheon- lymeanstosolveconnectivityproblems,W Radioreported. “Thereisnootherwaytomakethecon- nection … if the Supervía isn’t finished, [250,000] people will continue to lose 2.5 hours of their day getting to the western partofthecity,”Ebrardsaid. MexicoCitywouldalsoloseitsedgeas themostcompetitiveregioninthecountry, as businesses would be more attracted to theStateofMexico,Ebrardsaid. About100artists,intellectualsandmu- sicians – including José Emilio Pacheco, Margo Glantz, Barbara Jacobs and Vi- cente Rojo – signed a petition earlier this week, calling on Ebrard to adhere to the non-bindingrecommendationmadebythe CDHDF,whichcallsforthesuspensionof theprojectuntilapublicdiscussionisheld. About 33,000 Santa Fe residents and visitorssignedanotherpetitionthisweek, thisoneinfavoroftheSupervía.Thepeti- tion insists that “for no reason should the project be suspended” but due to drastic environmental impact “mitigation mea- sures should be taken seriously,” Notim- ex reported. The CDHDF non-binding recommendation to suspend the project, thepetitionsaid,is“partial,excessiveand missingproperlegalfoundation.” BRONSON PETTITT / MEXICO WEEKLY The 17-kilometer route has 32 stations and spans from the Narvarte neighborhood in the central part of the capital to Tlanepantla in the State of Mexico.Head north on the capital’s newest line of theMetrobúsandyou’llquicklyrealizehow theairqualitylooks,smellsandtastesdif- ferent. The northern part of Mexico City and the surrounding regions of the State ofMexicoarehometoconcentratedindus- trial and shipping sites, and this area has someofthemostsevereproblemsoftraf- ficcongestioninthemetropolitanzone. Infact,airpollution,acidrainlevelsand visibility in this area are among the worst in the valley, according to the capital’s At- mosphericMonitoringSystem. But the city government hopes to re- duce headaches caused by pollution and trafficwithLine3oftheMetrobús,which beganoperatingonTuesday.TheBusRap- idTransitsystemaimstoreducepollution by discouraging people from using their cars and by removing about 430 ancient, rickety microbuses from circulating the avenuesthatthousandsofcommutersuse eachday.Withlow-emissionstechnology, the 54 articulated units quietly whizzing along the 17-kilometer route will prevent about 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide from enteringtheatmosphereeachyear,accord- ingtothecitygovernment(GDF). STILL SOME WORK TO DO City Hall also says the stretch from TlanepantlaintheStateofMexicotoMex- icoCity’sNarvarteneighborhoodsouthof downtown reduces commuting times by 40percent,toabout55minutes. In addition, about 120,000 passengers Riders wait to board the new Metrobús line at the Etiopía terminal. The route runs parallel to 12 Metro stations. MEXICOWEEKLYPHOTOS/BRONSONPETTITT PUBLIC WORKS POLITICS The new 17-km line, built to reduce pollution and commuting times from the State of Mexico to central Mexico City, has its kinks thelaneschangeddirections. Some intersections, such as the Hi- dalgo, Reforma and Balderas confluence downtown, are considered among the busiestinthecapital:aMetrostation,mi- crobuses, trolleybuses, cars, cyclists, pe- destrians (including the hundreds of San Judas Tadeo followers who flock to the San Hipólito Church on the 28th of each month)andnowtheMetrobúsallconverge here,buttheGDFsaysitwillmakeadjust- mentstopreventaccidents. Fortheirpart,driverscomplainthatitis illegaltomakeleftturnsacrossMetrobús lanes. Instead, they must find sidestreets that run perpendicular to the BRT route. Residentssaythisbringsintraffictostreets that never had much of it, and businesses saytheMetrobúsreducesaccessibility. TRANSPARENCY LACKING Some of these problems could have been avoided if the city would have held more consultations with residents, said Gerar- do Moncada, coordinator of the Efficient Transportation office at the consumer rightsgroupElPoderdelConsumidor. In late December, hundreds of riot po- liceenteredtheNarvarteneighborhoodto secure construction of parking lanes and a turn-around access for Metrobús units. Residents had held a blockade for nearly threeweeks,complainingthatthecitygave shortnoticeontheprojectandpubliccon- sultation was insufficient. Moncada said that when the government does not pro- vide enough information on public proj- ects,theycanbackfire. “It leaves one with the sensation that transportation projects are always nega- tive,”hesaid. SincetheGDFplanstobuilduptofour more lines by the end of Mayor Ebrard’s termin2012(nolongerthe10linesprom- ised earlier in his administration), public consultation and transparency are even moreimportant,Moncadasaid. BRONSON PETTITT / MEXICO WEEKLY will use some or all of Line 3’s 32 stations each day, densely placed along the Eje 1, Balderas,GuerreroandVallejoavenues. Unlike the other Metrobús routes, ev- ery station on Line 3 has free bathrooms, security cameras and facilities for people withdisabilities.The5-pesofareincludes transferstothe81stationsonlines1and2. “ThenewMetrobúsimprovestheflow oftrafficinthisarea,”saidRubénGonzález, an office worker who was boarding at the Tenayucaterminal. “Iwouldsay,though,thattheroutesig- nage to La Raza and Etiopía is confusing –itisn’tclearwhereonegetsonandoff.” Despite Line 3’s benefits, the city gov- ernment admits the Metrobús still has somekinkstoworkout. About220transitofficersweredirect- ing traffic on Line3 thisweek. Their mis- sion: toaccustomdriverstoavenueswhere
Ebrard defends alliances Inaspeechat a conferenceat theUniversi- dadIberoamericana onFeb. 10, MayorMar- celoEbrarddefendedpoliticalalliancesbe- tweenpartiesfromtheright and theleft, ar- guingtheyareawaytodefeatthePRI. “Politicalcoalitionsareheretostay;not necessarilyofthekind wearecurrentlysee- ing astherecouldbeothers,butwithout themyoucannotreachamajorityinlocalor federalCongresstogovern,”said Ebrard,El Universalreported. ReferringtoPRD-PANalliancesinPue- bla,Oaxaca and Sinaloa,Ebrardclaimed “suchalliancesshouldhaveawell-defined governing program.” Whenastudentsaidpoliticalalliances confusevoters,Ebrardsaid“themessageis very clear:Wewantachange.Thisisnotjust oneparty, it’sa regime.” : fact: back: next BRIEFS Reasons for firing popular journalist remain unspecified The controversial firing of journalist Car- men Aristegui has received international coverage while the owners of the radio sta- tion have indicated they will further explain their decision “in the coming days.” In Mexico, the firing has been examined overwhelmingly as a question of freedom of expression while in U.S. newspapers the issue has included an even-handed discus- sion of journalistic responsibility. Aristegui, an internationally renowned broadcaster who was honored by Colum- bia University with its Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 2008, declared in a Wednesday press conference that President Calderón pressured the radio station into firing her. She offered no evidence for the claim. Aristegui also said “that limited com- petition and a haphazard system of grant- ing licenses left Mexico with a few major broadcasters that are vulnerable to political decisions and official pressure,” the Los An- geles Times reported. The MVS radio station originally said Aristegui violated the code of ethics she agreed to by “reporting rumors as news.” No specifics were offered in the statement but as the controversy continues to sim- mer, the Vargas family released a state- ment saying they will present more details about their decision and Aristegui’s version of events. Lozano: Encinas is ineligible Labor Secretary Javier Lozano insists Ale- jandro Encinas is ineligible to run for gov- ernor of the State of Mexico. In an opinion piece published in El Universal, Lozano ex- plained that a cursory examination of elec- tion laws in Mexico City and the State of Mexico make it apparent that Encinas does not meet eligibility requirements. Encinas served as Mexico City mayor in 2005-2006, a job that specifies that official residence be maintained in the capital. He left office on Nov. 30, 2006. StateofMexicolawrequiresanon-native candidateforgovernortohavemaintained an officialresidenceinthestateforatleast five yearspriortodeclaringhiscandidacy. Lozanoinsiststhat would meanEncinas– assuminghehasan“officialresidence”inthe StateofMexico–wouldnotbeeligibleuntil Nov.30, 2011. TheelectionisJuly3. BACK NEXT FACT www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/briefssearchonweb: 14 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 JUSTICE POLITICS Senateselects PardoRebolledo tofillvacancyat SupremeCourt Almost four-and-a-half months af- ter the death of José de Jesús Gudiño Pelayo, the Senate has finally filled the vacancyontheSupremeCourtjustice. On Feb. 10, with 97 votes in favor (outofatotalof128),JorgeMarioPardo Rebolledo,50,wasappointedSupreme Court justice for a 15-year term. The other two candidates, Jorge Higuera Corona and Alberto Pérez Dayán re- ceived12andfourvotes,respectively. ThiswasthesecondtimePardoRe- bolledowasnominatedforaseatonthe Supreme Court. Back in 2009, he lost out to cur- rent Justice Luis MaríaAguilar. Inapresscon- ference after his appointment, Pardo Rebolledo, who was born in thecoastalstateof Veracruz, said, “I reaffirm my com- mitment to per- formthedutiesof this post with the vocation, dedication and responsibil- itythatthepeopleofMexicorequire.” Healsodeniedreportsthatsuggest- edhehasacloserelationshipwithfor- merSen.DiegoFernándezdeCevallos andotherprominentlawyersinsidethe PAN.NewspapersreportedFernández deCevallosandformerInteriorSecre- tary Fernando Gómez Mont were lob- byingaggressivelyonhisbehalf. “It is absolutely false,” he said. “I maintain that my appointment to the SupremeCourtisdueexclusivelytomy judiciarycareer.Ihavenoties,nocom- mitments with anyone else other than withseeingthatjusticeisdone.” CARLOS MARTÍNEZ CRUZ / MEXICO WEEKLY NOTIMEXPHOTO NOTIMEXPHOTO/JOSEPAZOS Pardo Rebolledo is the new justice.
NOTIMEXPHOTO/JAVIERLIRAOTERO Taking aimat TopFiveTourism Secretary Gloria Guevara wants to make Mexico an elite tourist destination : 19 Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero said policymakers may increase the amount of dollar options they auction monthly to soften the impact on the peso if there is a sudden outflow of capital. Mexico won’t follow other emerging market coun- triesinadoptingcurrencycontrolsorinterveninginthemar- ketnomatterhowmuchthecurrencyadvances,Corderosaid. Corderodescribesplanto protectpesofromoutflow CURRENCY INVESTMENT COMMODITIES BANORTE LOOKING TO U.S. MARKET Grupo Banorte is looking to ex- pand its presence in the U.S. market, especially via new ac- quisitions in regions that feature large Hispanic populations. The financial institution is also look- ing at cross-border real estate. CORN CROP DOWN DUE TO COLD SNAP The severe decline in corn pro- duction in three northern states hit hard by freezing tempera- tures this winter has prompted calls for the federal government to take action to prevent specu- lation and hoarding. www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/economy Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 15
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 1716 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 Saltillo Hermosillo Campeche Chihuahua III Naco-Nogales Mexicali Monterrey III Mérida III Río Bravo III Río Bravo II Río Bravo IV Tuxpan V La Laguna II Baja California III Norte II Tuxpan III, IV Tamazunchale Tuxpan II Valladolid III Bajío Altamira II Altamira III, IV Altamira V Guadalajara I Norte II CC Noreste PAYMENTS MADE BY CFE FOR ENERGY According to a report by the Chamber of Deputies, from 2000 to 2009 CFE spent an annual average of $2.5 billion to buy energy from private companies. Amount to be paid by 2041 Source: El Universal/Chamber of Deputies 7 15 7 15 6 20 8 16 8 19 11 32 15 30 16 28 14 32 16 30 17 31 9 40 8 41 12 42 27 66 26 73 19 92 115 121 128 12 83 55 88 15 33 7 41 9 37 Amount paid up to 2009 Justbefore11p.m.onOct.10,2009–while most people were still celebrating Mexi- co’squalificationtothe2010WorldCup– around500federalpoliceofficersdiscreet- ly surrounded a power facility in Mexico City. Less than 30 minutes later, the offi- cershadseizedcontrol(withouttoomuch resistance) of one of the most emblemat- ic public companies in the country: Luz y FuerzadelCentro. In a nationally televised address less than 24 hours later, President Calde- rón said he decided to disband the state- owned company due to spiraling finan- ciallosses andadeadlock in talks with its 43,000unionizedworkers.Healsoproud- ly announced that the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) – another state-con- trolled company – would take over Luz y Fuerza’soperationsinsupplyingelectricity toMexicoCityandthesurroundingregion. And just last month, Reuters report- ed that in a speech to electricity work- ers, Calderón boasted that less than three months after CFE took over Luz y Fue- rza’soperations,electricityserviceinMex- icoCityhadalreadyimproved. NOT A ‘WORLD-CLASS’ COMPANY DespiteCalderón’soptimisticpronounce- ments, recent studies suggest CFE is not muchmoreefficientthanLuzyFuerza. For instance, even though in some re- spectsCFEisconsideredthelargestutility Powerfailure?company in Latin America, figures from the World Bank reveal that when its pro- ductivityiscomparedwithotherelectric- itycompaniesintheregion,Mexico’spub- licelectricitycompanyranksinthemid30s outofatotalof81. It is not surprising, then, that a report by the Chamber of Deputies shows the amount of electricity generated by CFE dwindledfrom191.4gigawatthours(Gwh) in2000to157Gwhin2009.Incomparison, privatecompaniesgenerated93Gwhmore in2009thanin2000.Infact,in2009alone, CFEspent268billionpesos($22.2billion) tobuyelectricityfromprivatecompanies, andby2041,thatamountwillreach1.6tril- lionpesos($131billion),inrealterms. Indeed, CFE – just like Luz y Fuerza – operates under an incentive scheme that discourages the search for better quality or cost-reduction, says Eduardo Mar- tínez Chombo, a researcher at El Colegio deMéxicowhowrotein2008anin-depth studyaboutMexico’sstate-ownedelectric- itycompanies. “Inprinciple,thereisnodirectrelation- shipbetweentheoperatingcostsofstate- ownedelectricitycompaniesandthereve- nuetheygeneratefromenergysales,”wrote MartínezChombo. On top of that, under the current scheme, the difference be- tween operating costs and sales revenue is covered by the federal government throughso-called“transfers,” which,accordingtoMartínez Chombo, implicitly create a scheme contrary to the effi- cientuseofresources.Actual- ly,thatwashowLuzyFuerza delCentromanagedtoamass a debt of more than 23.1 bil- lion pesos ($1.9 billion), ac- cording to an audit commis- sionedbytheChamber. Figures compiled by the Chamber suggest that CFE is not in a muchbetterstatethanLuzyFuerza. NOT SO DIFFERENT According to the Chamber’s report, from 2001to2009CFEreceived–intheformof subsidies–562billionpesos($46.6billion), thatis,morethanseventimesthe2010So- cialDevelopmentSecretariatbudget. In fact, Mexico’s electricity industry records the biggest losses among OECD countries. Bizarrely enough, figures from the Interna- tional Energy Agency show that since the beginning of the decade, mean electricity prices in Mexico have sur- passed those of the United States. By 2008, electricity prices in Mexico were gen- erally18percenthigherthan intheU.S. And although the Fi- nance Secretariat is legally responsible for setting elec- tricity rates across the coun- try, there is no independent “The corruption allegations are just a taste of the unaccep- tably poor performance of the CFE.” César Augusto Santiago PRI deputy NOTIMEXPHOTO/JAVIERLIRAOTERO In the fall of 2009, Calderón ordered CFE to take over Luz y Fuerza’s operations. ELECTRICITY ECONOMY &FINANCE Is the Federal Electricity Commission really more efficient now than Luz y Fuerza was before President Calderón closed it down in 2009? bodyinMexicowiththetechnicalcapaci- tyorinformationtomonitorcostsincurred byCFE–thisislikelywhysomelegislators haveaccusedthestate-operatedcompany oflackingtransparency. “Let’smakeanefforttoclarifytheissue of[CFE]tariffsbecausethisisareallysen- sitiveissue,”saidPRIDeputyCésarAugus- toSantiagoduringaSept.10sessioninthe Chamber. Santiago claimed he and other legisla- torshadsentmorethan30officialrequests forinformationtoCFEontheissuewith- outreceivingasingleresponse.Healsoac- cusedtheelectricitycompanyofexcesses andcorruption. CORRUPTION AND EXCESSES Indeed–asinmoststate-controlledcom- panies in Mexico – the salaries and com- pensationsofCFEworkersarewellabove thoseintheprivatesector. FigurescompiledbyMartínezChombo fromtheSocialSecurityInstitute(IMSS) showtheelectricitysectorhasthehighest average wages in the country’s industrial sector.Actually,anexaminationofthelat- estCFEcollectivebargainingagreements revealthatcompensationsfortransporta- tion,mealsandrentaccountedfor77.8per- centofitspayrolltab. Butperhapsmoreworrisomeisthatthe medianmonthlywage–includingcompen- sation–ofanactiveCFEworkerisapproxi- mately27,645pesos($2,276),whiletheme- dianmonthlywageofaretireeis28,016pe- sos($2,332),thatis,1.01timesthemonthly wage,inpesos,ofanactiveworker. Theelectricitycompanyhasalsobeen marred by highly publicized corruption scandals. On Oct. 4, 2009, the former director of operations at CFE, Néstor Félix Moreno Díaz,wasfiredaftertheHoustonChroni- clereportedhehadparticipatedinalleged acts of corruption in a case involving the swisscompanyABB. “The corruption allegations are just a taste of the unacceptably poor perfor- mance of the CFE,” wrote Santiago in a lettersenttootherdeputies. But beyond the usual political point- scoring, a closer examination at CFE’s balance sheet and performance begs the question of whether President Calderón should have used the Federal Electricity Commissionasasymbolofwhatmodern publiccompaniescanachieve. CARLOS MARTÍNEZ CRUZ / MEXICO WEEKLY
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 1918 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 AVIATION ECONOMY &FINANCE TOURISM ECONOMY &FINANCE After being grounded for six months, the airline is poised to reach for the skies once more After six months of intense, on-again off- again wrangling with creditors, potential investors and unions, Mexicana has an- nounceditsimminentreturntotheskies. On Aug. 2, 2010, Compañía Mexicana deAviaciónfiledforbankruptcyprotection in the U.S. and Mexico, claiming a debt of $1billion.Suchcolossaldebtshavebeenat- tributedtothecompany’sequallycolossal payroll.Mexicanapilotsreputedlyearned 49percentmorethantheirequivalentsat U.S. carriers, while flight attendants en- joyeda32percentdifferential. According to a Mexicana press state- ment from Aug. 3, 2010, the impact of the global economic crisis, the swine flu out- break in 2009, and the “current structure oflaborcostsaremakingitimpossiblefor thecompanytocontinue.” When trouble hit in August, Tenedo- ra K bought 95 percent of Nuevo Grupo Aeronáutico for a token amount and at- tempted to capitalize the company with investment from private equity fund Ad- ventInternational. However, the failure to agree to a sala- ry reduction program with the pilots and flight attendants closed the door on at- temptstokeepthecompanyrunning.Nue- voGrupoAeronáutico,theparentcompa- nythatoperatesMexicana,MexicanaLink and MexicanaClick, grounded all flights and suspended its operations on Aug. 28, 2010. DEAL FORGED Over the past six months PC Capital, a Mexican private equity firm appointed under the Mexican bankruptcy proce- dure,hasbeenbusynegotiatingarestruc- turingplan.AccordingtoaMexicanastate- ment dated Jan. 24, the restructuring is “advancing favorably,” the requisite num- berofcreditors,50percentbyvalue,areon board, PC Capital has amassed a group of investors to capitalize the company and TenedoraKhasagreedtosellitssharesin NuevoGrupoAeronáuticototheinvestors. The statement also confirmed that agreements had been reached with pi- lot and flight attendant unions. “We have 39 pilots, 80 airhostesses and 846 main- tenance technicians. All of them are Mexicanais preparingto takeoffagain Mexicana ground crew members staged a protest in August 2010 but have since come to terms. NOTIMEXPHOTO/CARLOSPEREDA recertified to commence operations in thecomingdays.Mexicanawillre-launch withsevenairplanes,whichwillriseupto 40 during the second half of the year. Ini- tially our operations will cover Los Ange- les,Chicago,SanAntonio,Miami,Havana and,withinMexico,Guadalajara,Monter- rey,Cancún,Oaxaca,TuxtlaGutiérrezand Veracruz.” The press statement also confirmed Mexicana’s commitment to honor tickets boughtpriortothegroundingofitsopera- tions.Themethodforapplyingforreplace- mentticketshasnotyetbeenconfirmed. It’s not just the passengers or Mexi- cana’screditorswhoarehotlyanticipating thereturnofMexico’soncelargestairline. Business owners in Mexico City’s airport have spent the last six months watching theirprofitsdropoffthesideofacliff. TRICKLE-DOWN TROUBLES PriortothegroundingofMexicanaflights, shops in the airport’s Terminal One en- joyed an almost constant stream of po- tential customers. However, according to taco franchise owner Gabriel Pando “foot fallintheterminalhasdroppedby60per- centsincelastAugust.” “Many of the shops have had to close down, particularly duty free shops and restaurants and roughly 7,000 employees have been made redundant. We original- lyhadnineemployees,nowwehavefive.” Inmobiliaria Fumisa, S.A. de C.V, the company in charge of renting commer- cial space in the terminal was “not ini- tially open to reducing rents” said Pando. However, a recent agreement has provid- ed a backdated 10-percent rent reduction to all businesses that have paid their rent infull,saidPando. Askedifhewasoptimisticaboutthere- turnoftheairlineanditsattendantpassen- gers,Pandosaid:“Ithinkthesituationwill improvelittlebylittlebutitwilltakealong timetoreturntoAugust2010levelsofbusi- ness.Giventhattheairlinewillbeginwith onlyasmallnumberofroutes,ourcustom- erbasewillbesmallerthanitusedtobe.” Mexicana once dominated 40 percent of the Mexican market but during its six- month sabbatical, Aeroméxico and low- cost airlines such as Interjet have tak- en over its routes and assumed a larger market share. Mexicana’s return to oper- ations is set to be small scale. It remains tobeseenwhethertheairlinehaslosttoo much ground over the past six months to regainitssupremacyinthemarket. REBECCA CONAN / MEXICO WEEKLY Tourismsecretary boldlypushesSectur D espite increasingly prominent headlines about violence and murder, President Calderón is not afraid to promote tourism in Mexi- co. Speaking at the inauguration of the National Tourism Convention on Jan. 25,Calderónbluntlydeclaredthatsecu- rityconcernsdonotaffecttourists. “99.99 percent of tourist have com- pletely enjoyable visits,” he said, adding that,“Wearepreparinganewworldwide publicity campaign to highlight the nat- ural beauty and tourist attractions that aboundinourcountry.” Official figures for the industry do indeed indicate that Calderón is not whitewashing reality. Despite high-pro- fileU.S.mediacoverageofviolencehere, theTourismSecretariat(Sec- tur)reportedlastmonththat the number of U.S. visitors arriving to Mexico by air in- creased to 5,907,528 people in 2010. That is a 9.7 percent increase over 2009, a year plagued by the global eco- nomic crisis, the swine-flu epidemic and publicity sur- roundingnarco-violence. Tourism still represents Mexico’sthird-largestsource of foreign exchange (behind oilandremittancesfromem- igrants in the U.S.) and ac- counts for 9 percent of GDP. Thesectoralsoprovides2.5millionjobs andanother2.5millionjobsareindirect- lylinkedtotourism.ButGloriaGuevara isnotsittingonthissuccess. AMBITIOUS CAMPAIGN Guevara, 43, was named tourism secre- tary on March 10, 2010, and she seems wellsuitedforthejob. Shehasmaster’sdegreesinmarketing fromtheUniversidadAnáhuacinMexi- coCityandbusinessadministrationfrom Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Before moving to Sectur, Gue- varawasCEOofSabreHoldingsCorp.’s Mexican unit. Sabre manages software for travel websites used by hotels, air- linesandrentalagencies,andhandles71 percentofMexicanhotel,airlineandcar rentalreservations,accordingtoBloom- bergNews. Lately,Guevarahasbeenaggressively promotingMexicoinEuropeandSectur hasprojectedthatMexicowillreceive26 milliontouristsin2011.Sectursaysthis figure would deposit $15.4 billion in the economy. Thehopefulprojectionisbasedonthe recovering global economy and an am- bitious promotional campaign that tar- getstheUnitedStatesandCanada,while boosting an advertising presence in Eu- rope,AsiaandSouthAmerica. Already this year, Sec- retary Guevara has trav- eled to Spain – where she at- tended the Madrid Interna- tional Tourism Fair – and France.InParis,shemetwith FranceAirwaysCEOLaurent Magnin. On Feb. 3, Guevara announced that France was increasing tourism-related investmentinMexicofeatur- ing 22 new projects. She also saidsheexpectsthattourism from France will increase by 20percentthankstothepro- motionalcampaign. Spearheading the cam- paign is the fact that 2011 has been des- ignated “The Year of Mexico in France,” andactivitiesthroughouttheyeararein- tended to strengthen trade and cultural relations between both nations. Mexico has been invited by the French govern- ment to stage a variety of promotional activities, showcasing the diversity and richnessofitsculturalandeconomiclife beforetheFrenchpublic. Sectur also inked a deal with the WorldTourismOrganizationwhosegoal istomakeMexicoaTop5worlddestina- tionfortourists. TOM BUCKLEY / MEXICO WEEKLY Gloria Guevara took over in March 2010. NOTIMEXPHOTO/JUANCARLOSROJAS
20 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 BRIEFS ECONOMY &FINANCE GREEN ROOFS ON RISE As part of Mexico City’s “Green Plan,” city residents are being encouraged to con- vert their roofs into green oases. Under the plan, which began Jan. 1, residents who install green roofs are eligible for a 25-percent reduction in property taxes. Rather than using common roofing materials such as tiles or concrete, the green roof system uses plants embed- ded in a waterproofing membrane. The environmental benefits include the miti- gation of urban heat island effects, lower- ing the levels of carbon dioxide in the air, improvement of building insulation and absorption of rainwater that would oth- erwise run off into the drainage system. Eli Neri Carrasco, director of Green Roof Systems of Mexico said, “a green roof is a long-term investment. [They] cost $150 per square meter but ... come with a 10-year guarantee.” According to the Environment Secretariat, 58 house- holds have installed a green roof this year. IBERDROLA INVESTMENT At the Davos World Economic Forum in January, Spanish energy group Iberdro- la announced an investment in Mexico of $365 million. The investment will be used to construct an electricity co-generation plant in Salamanca, Guanajuato, and a 20-megawatt wind farm in Oaxaca. The project in Guanajuato was award- ed following an international tender in 2010 and will generate 500 jobs once construction begins later this year. Construction of the wind farm in Oaxaca is expected to generate more than 500 jobs and, according to the com- pany, will “contribute to economic growth in the area and promote the incorpora- tion of regional providers who worked on a similar project two years ago.” Iberdrola president Ignacio Galán confirmed his promise to promote sus- tainable development in Mexico and to consolidate the country’s position as a suitable target for further investment. Iberdrola is a world leader in wind power and already has 106 MW of in- stalled wind capacity in Mexico. It owns two operational windfarms in Oaxaca and is constructing a third in the state. CORDERO HAS CAUTIOUS EYE ON PUBLIC DEBT ISSUES Incidents of illegal logging have increased by over 40 percent in the past 10 years. PHOTOCOURTESYOFGREENPEACE Deforestationaconcernbutgov’t hastroubleenforcingthelaw According to the United Nations report “StatusoftheWorld’sForests,”Mexicohas lost195,000hectaresofforestoverthelast decade. SergioMadrid,directoroftheMexican CivicCouncilforSustainableForestry,said that the forestry sector is facing an enor- mouscrisisthatincludes“economicloss- es and a reduction in the creation of em- ployment. Deforestation is causing an in- crease in the price of wood products and, according to the latest estimations, the il- legal wood market is worth over 4 billion pesosperyear.” According to the Federal Attorney for EnvironmentalProtection,offensescom- mittedagainstthenation’sforestshaveris- enby40.2percentin10years. The government organization has had difficulty investigating the crimes due to alleged intimidation from illegal loggers and one government inspector was mur- dered in 2003 while trying to investigate illegallogging. AccordingtoaGreenpeacestatement, “as long as the government does not take the problem of deforestation seriously andestablishpoliciestocombatit,attacks against those trying to protect the forests willcontinue.” ENERGY ENVIRONMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero called on state and local governments to be cautious about public debt as a safety measure, while at the same time asserting that it is not a se- rious problem at present. “We aren’t talking about a potential time bomb here,” Cordero said. “But public offi- cials must be prudent.” Cordero said that the practice of issu- ing debt has been careless at times and the overall debt for states and municipalities is now about 63 percent of federal outlays to state and local governments. “Unfortunately, the practice of accruing debt has not been based on the principle that future revenues will cover the debt,” he said. “Instead, it is simply used to ac- quire funds that are needed in the short- term without fully considering the future consequences.” While the finance secretary indicat- ed it was best to be alert to the debt situa- tion now, since it will likely “imply sacrifices for some local governments, perhaps even some local tax hikes,” he was not alarmed. “But let’s be clear, it does not rise to cri- sis levels such as we faced with the pension crisis that was addressed by IMSS reforms and the elimination of the Central Power and Light,” Cordero said.
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 21 “The U.S., like every country, is not homoge- nous.” Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas life& leisure www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/lifeleisure CULTURE DANCE ARTON SCREEN ON STAGE Hold Still Still life photography by 18 young finalists in a year-long com- petition is on display through March 5 at the Anglo Mexican Foundation at Anto- nio Caso 127. Young Swans “Ópera Prima en Movimiento,” a TV search for dancers, is accepting apps. Resident foreigners are eligible. (www. canal22.org.mx/ operaprima). Oui and Sí “Discover the Other Mexico,” a year-long tribute to Mexican culture featuring hundreds of events across France, kicked off formally on Feb. 3. Border Bound Cineteca Nacional, the nation’s top site for showcasing homegrown and international films, has opened a ven- ue in Tijuana, its first outside Mexico City. A Nobel Act Mario Vargas Llosa, he of the 2010 No- bel Prize for Liter- ature, will act in his own adaptation of “The 1001 Nights” at Bellas Artes on March 5 and 6. Porfirian PleasureArchitecture: Visual elegance ... and mail service too : 24 MEXICOWEEKLYPHOTO/FRANCISCOCANDIDO
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 2322 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 BOOKS life& leisure ACaseof ConvictionCuauhtémoc Cárdenas is seen by some as the man who triggered the nation’s democratic opening. How well do we really know him? “Sobre mis pasos” By Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas (Aguilar 2010) 614 pages CuauhtémocCárdenasbeginshismemoir justaswe’dexpecthimto:withtheaccount of an admired public servant who breaks withtherulingpartytowagehisowncam- paignforthepresidency.Hisgoals:adem- ocratic opening and a reversal of the in- cumbent administration’s rightward drift from revolutionary ideals. The election results released by the official party were widely doubted, but the ruling PRI quick- ly quashed the ensuing protests and con- tinueditsgriponpowerundertheunspec- tacularAdolfoRuizCortines(1952-1958). Themaverickcandidatewasnotnamed Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. The author’s his- toricrunforthepresidencywouldcome36 yearslater.ItwasMiguelHenríquez,apo- liticalfriendofCuauhtémoc’sfather,there- vered Gen. Lázaro Cárdenas, who served aspresident from1934to1940.Cuauhté- moc,ateenageengineeringstudentatthe time,hadsympathyfortheHenríquezcan- didacy,butdidnotparticipateinthecam- paign.(Hispoliticalactivismwouldtakeoff in1954when,likemostofLatinAmerica, he was horrified at Eisenhower’s gutting oftheGoodNeighbor Policy via a military coupinGuatemala.) Still,hisbriefsynopsisofthe1952elec- tionsetsthetoneforthe600-pageguided tour of modern Mexican political history that follows. It locates the author’s 1988 campaign in a broader historical context; his may have been the most consequen- tial challenge to PRI authoritarianism, but it wasn’t the first. More important, in myview,ishowtheepisodeservestointro- duce the implacable, almost astonishing, personalintegrityofCárdenaspèreandfils. LázaroCárdenashadvowedtostayun- involved in electoral politics once out of office, a precedent mostly honored by his successorsuntilrecently.Henríquez,mis- reading the former president’s character, assumedthepolicywasflexible.Cuauhté- mocCárdenaswrites,“IthinkthatGener- alHenríquez,whobeforebecomingacan- didateandthenthroughoutthecampaign had been meeting on different occasions with my father — who had reiterated to himhisunalterabledecisionnottopartici- pateinmattersofelectoralpolitics—firm- lybelievedthatintheend,ifthingsweren’t goingwellforhim,myfatherwouldinter- veneandfixthingsinhisfavor.” Theelder Cárdenas did no such thing, and the rela- tionshipbetweenthetwogeneralscooled. From cover to cover, Cuauhtémoc is consistently,sometimesfrustratingly,un- sentimental in matters political and per- sonal. But his deep regard for his father is omnipresent,andit’sclearthatheinherited morefromhimthanalastnamethatguar- anteedhewouldbetakenseriouslyasapo- liticalplayer.LázarowasCuauhtémoc’spo- litical inspiration, instilling a steel-willed commitment to citizen participation, so- cial equality and an activist government that intervenes on behalf of the margin- alized — in short, the outlook of the left. He was also his moral model, and the be- queathedintegrity,respectforthelawand insistence on dignified behavior present themselvesonvirtuallyeverypageof“So- bremispasos”likemarginnotes. Of course, if you want to come off as ethicallybeyondreproach,ithelpstowrite yourownbiography,withyouandonlyyou deciding, a la Bob Seger, what to leave in and what to leave out. But Cárdenas has earned his moral credentials over more than half a century, often under the most 1988: Months after Election Day, Cárdenas rallied his supporters in Mexico City’s Zócalo. 1988: The campaign created a coalition of left-of-center forces, the future PRD. 1957: Lázaro Cárdenas, left, was Cuauhtémoc’s political and moral inspiration. trying of circumstances when most mor- tals might consider just going with what- ever works. Even his political adversaries don’tquestionhisintegrity,especiallynow thattheyassumehecannolongerthreat- enthempolitically.(Cárdenaswillturn77 thisyear,andintruthheneitherlooks,talks oractstoooldforanything.) Hissteadfastconvictioninformsmany ofthecountless,chronologicallycompiled episodesthatserveasthebook’sinfrastruc- ture.Oneofmyfavorites,foritscinematic imagery, is a ceremony organized in 1971 byPresidentEcheverríaattheMonument totheRevolutiontomarkthefirstanniver- saryofthedeathofGen.Cárdenas,and,si- multaneously,the26thanniversaryofthe deathofGen.PlutarcoElíasCalles.Thelat- ter, who served as president (1924-1928) and founded the National Revolutionary Party (the future PRI), had passed away onthesamedate25yearsearlier. The dual memorial was awkward for theCárdenasfamily.Inthe1930s,thetwo generals had become the bitterest of po- litical enemies after Calles, who had de- velopedanalarmingfascinationwithfas- cist ideology, attempted to continue his with the image of the 36-year-old Cárde- nas,alongwithhissisterandhiswidowed mother, seated on the dais, somber-faced, while the president, his Cabinet mem- bers, and other high officials are standing aroundthem,applauding.“Icouldfeelthe tension,”Cárdenaswrites,“asthoughallor atleastmosteyeswerefixedonthoseofus whoremainedseated.” Idescribethiseventatsomelengthbe- cause it’s typical of what’s most valuable about“Sobremispasos”—theabundance of episodes, often otherwise run-of-the- mill in the life of a politician, that serve to revealthecharacterandmotivationofare- markablepublicfigure. Yes,thebookdoes liveuptoitsdifficult-to-translatetitle,fol- lowingthefootstepsoftheauthorthrough his political career that included youthful activism,abriefstintasafederalsenator,a positionintheLópezPortilloadministra- tion, the governorship of Michoacán, the doomedbutearthshakingpresidentialbid of1988,thefoundingofthePRD,twomore runsforthepresidencyin1994and2000, and service as the Federal District’s first electedheadofgovernment. And yes, there’s backstage insight and there’s detail. I promise you’ll learn more abouttheplanningandexecutionofpublic engineeringprojectsthanyoueverthought youwould.Thebookmovesforwardinun- embellished, matter-of-fact Spanish that highlights the man’s conviction but not hispassion.Cárdenasismorecomfortable tellinguswhathethinksthanhowhefeels. If Mr. Spock were to write his memories oflifeaboardtheEnterprise,itmightread somethinglike“Sobremispasos.” But in the end, it’s Cardenas’ extraor- dinaryconvictionthatthereaderremem- bers.ShortlyafterElectionDay1988,with theCárdenascampandmostofthenation convinced the election had been stolen fromhim,Cárdenaswascalledtoameet- ing with the PRI’s Carlos Salinas de Gor- tari, who would be sworn in as president laterthatyear.“Whatdoyouwant?”asked Salinas,whowasholdingthecards.“What Iwant,”Cárdenasreplied,“isforthiselec- tion to be cleaned up.” Assuming perhaps thatCárdenaswasmissingwhatthecon- versation was about, Salinas kept giving himchancestonamehisterms,repeatedly askinghimwhathewanted.Eachtimehe gotthesameanswer:Cleanupthiselection. Cárdenas understood only too well whattheconversationwasreallyabout. KELLY ARTHUR GARRETT/MEXICO WEEKLY strongman rule from behind the throne after President Cárdenas, his former pro- tégé,tookoffice.Thoughtheriftwaspolit- icalandnotpersonal,Calles’daughterap- proachedCuauhtémocbeforetheceremo- ny, concerned that whoever spoke for the Cárdenas “side” might speak ill of her fa- ther.Sheneedn’thaveworried;theCárde- nas sense of decorum would never have permittedsuchathing. What he did do, however, was use his allottedtimeattheceremonytopresenta politicaldocumentthathisfatherhadpre- paredforthe60thanniversaryoftheRev- olutiontheyearbefore,buthadnotlivedto deliver. He doesn’t tell us how long it took toreadit,butanabridgedversionofitfills 16pagesinanappendixofthebook. Now you and I may suspect that sub- jectingthegatheringtoalengthyoralrec- itationofapoliticaldocumentwasanun- friendly act, but that’s the difference be- tween us and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. To himitwasafittingtributetohisfatherand hisnation. Thehighdramathatdaycamewhenthe governmentspeaker,asfeared,announced that with the passing of the two former presidents — on the same date, no less — theirdifferenceshadbeenerasedfromhis- tory. This got President Echeverría to his feet,whichmeantthateveryoneelsepres- entalsorosetoapplaud.ButtheCárdenas contingentrefusedtojoinwhatwasessen- tiallyanattempttocelebrateawaytheissue ofauthoritarianisminMexico.Sowe’releft PHOTOSCOURTESYOFEDITORIALAGUILAR
24 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 25 ARCHITECTURE life& leisure An overlooked gem: Marble floors, bronze stairways and a rich mix of influences From the Porfiriato: The Postal Palace was inaugurated in 1907 by President Díaz. Century-old vending machines: Stamps from the 1910 Revolution centennial are still displayed. H olding its own among the spectacular sites of Mexico City’s Historic Center is a grandiose palace of marble floors,arrestingbronzestair- waysandGothic,Baroque,Plateresqueand Art Deco design. It’s an architectural gem that’s sometimes overlooked, perhaps be- causeit’sneitherafineartsmuseum,acon- verted colonial-era mansion or a historic church. It’sthepostoffice. ThePalaciodeCorreosdeMéxico,orthe Postal Palace of Mexico City, boasts intri- catefacadesandcaptivatinginteriors,plus afirst-floorpostalexhibitionandafourth- floor Naval History Museum. Visitors can optforaguidedtourorsimplystrollthrough the monumental building, which offers a tranquil alternative to the area’s tourist- heavyattractions. Constructiononthepalacebeganin1902 asaresponsetoincreasingdemandsonthe postalservice,asysteminMexicothatdates backtopre-Hispanictimes,whenteamsof Aztec“painani,”ormessengers,wouldrun upto500kilometersadaytoorallydeliver battlenewstoemperors.AftertheSpanish conquest, New Spain’s first Correo Mayor, orMainPostOffice,openedinMexicoCity in1581toservetheviceroyalty,exclusively. By1766,maritimeandlandroutescon- vergedintoanationwidemailmonopoly,and thegovernmentabsorbedtheprivateservice in1817.Postagestampsfirstcameintousein Mexicoin1856,andintheearly1900s,au- thoritiesfinallyabandonedthepunishment of100lashingsandjailtimeforopeningor tampering with mail. Most of the service’s modernization, however, took place under PresidentPorfirioDíaz,whoin1901convert- edwhathadbeenpartoftheTransportation Secretariatintoitsowngovernmentagency. The Palacio de Correos de México was envisioned to house all the post offic- es under one magnificent roof. With the Going Postal The best place to send a postcard or mail a letter in Mexico City is also an architectural marvel that houses two fine little museums. demolition of a hospital on the site run by theFranciscanThirdOrder,Mexicanmil- itary engineer Gonzalo Garita y Frontera andItalianarchitectAdamoBoari(anear- ly designer of the nearby Palacio de Be- llas Artes) began to build. Thick concrete blocks sturdied by steel beams gave the palaceitslastingfoundation,whichunlike manyoftheneighboringbuildingshasnei- ther sunk nor swayed in the unstable top- soiloverthedecades. Enormouswindows, stained glass domes and double-height ceilingsfilledtheinteriorwithnaturallight. President Díaz formally inaugurated the postalpalacein1907. On the outside, delicate details carved in the porous chiluca stone and snarling brassdragonsframeanarchingpairoftwo- ton doors. Interior architecture includes a large ironwork canopy, bronze window frames and a stately elevator, all imported fromFlorence,Italy,plusacombinationof influencesfromtheItalianRenaissanceand Elizabethan Gothic periods and Moorish, ArtNouveauandArtDecodesigns. Thebuildingunderwentarenovationin the1950stolinkittotheadjacentBancode México,thecentralbank.Itsbronzerailswere paintedblack,theelevatorwasshutdownand weathered marble floors were kept intact. Some of the changes left it vulnerable to stressandtherewasdamagecausedbythe 1985earthquake. Inthelate1990s,however,Mexicanar- chitect Juan Urquiaga helped restore the veneratedpalacetoitsoriginalconstruction designandsplendor. Thepostalmuseumtodaydutifullyde- tails through artifacts and archives the history of Mexico’s mail.In the first-floor display, a colorful mosaic by artist Pab- loMagañaGonzálezpiecestogethermore than 34,200 stamps issued from 1890 to 1934. A red lacquered mailbox purchased by Emperor Maximilian is on display, one offourthatheshippedtoMexicofromBu- dapest,Hungary.Two-meterhighvending machinesstilldisplaystampsmarkingthe centennialofMexico’s1810independence fromSpain. The main entrance to the palace is on Tacuba1,nearthecorneroftheEjeCentral (LázaroCardenas)intheCentroHistórico, justeastofthePalaciodeBellasArtes.Mu- seum hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m.to7p.m.andweekendsfrom9a.m.to 3p.m.Thereisnoadmissioncharge. MARIA GALLUCI Maria Gallucci isafreelancewriterinNewYork. Mocheval at the Franz Mayer Artisan designer-weavers organized in the group Mujeres Mayas de Jovel, Chiapas worked with artist Carmen Rion to create new garments from traditional techniques that make up the exhibit “Paisaje Mocheval: Diseño, Moda y Tradición” that will run through March 6 at the Museo Franz Mayer, Hidalgo 45, between Metros Bellas Artes and Hidalgo in the Historic Center. Open daily except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is 45 pesos, free on Tuesdays. (5518-2266) Abel Quezada at the City Museum Until his death in 1991, the drawer and painter (he shunned the cartoonist label) provided witty, principled commentary on the Mexican social and political scene on a near- daily basis. Much of it is in “historieta” form (paneled sketches supported by text), but this generous exhibit also features his paintings, New Yorker covers, political cartoons and the first-ever full public viewing of his famous murals commemorating the 1938 oil expropriation. Quezada’s work is at once light-hearted and telling, and viewing the exhibit feels like visiting an old friend who always has something original to say about what’s going on around us. At the Museo de la Ciudad de México, Pino Suárez 30 between Metros Pino Suárez and Zócalo, through April 2011. Daily except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is 22 pesos, free on Wednesdays. (5522-4775) 9th International Watercolor Biennial Yes, there’s a watercolor museum in Mexico City. It’s in a converted mansion at Salvador Novo 88 in Coyoacán, and it bears the name of its creator, the great Cuernavaca- born watercolorist Alfredo Guati Rojo (1918-2003). Ending Sunday (Feb. 13) is an exhibition of 200 works from more than 23 countries. If you can’t make it by Sunday, the museum´s permanent collection of watercolors is well worth the visit. The Museo Nacional de la Acuarela Alfredo Guati Rojo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. (5554-1801) Sacred Hearts at the Museo Soumaya If it’s February there must be a heart-themed exhibit out there somewhere. “Corazón Sagrado” at the original Museo Soumaya (a second site is opening up at the new Plaza Carso in Polanco) displays more than 100 pieces featuring the Sacred Heart allegory both inside and outside Christian tradition. Most of the pieces — including oil paintings, silver pieces, books, engravings, reliquaries and cabinets — are typically either the work of anonymous masters or equally anonymous popular artisans. The Soumaya is located in the Plaza Loreto at Altamirano 46 in San Ángel and is open daily except Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 pm., with extended hours to 8:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is free. (5616-3731) : AtThe Museums MEXICOWEEKLYPHOTOS/FRANCISCOCANDIDO
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 2726 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 FILM IN REVIEW life& leisure The Mexican remake of a Spanish children’s classic asks for an assertion of belief along with the usual suspension of disbelief. Does it work? In1952Spain,aformerPhalangecollabo- rationistnamedJoséMaríaSánchezSilva left his job as a journalist in the service of the Franco regime to dedicate himself to fiction.Itwasasuperbcareerchoice. Almost immediately, “Marcelino Pan y Vino,” his take on a centuries-old tale of a foundling raised by cloistered monks, turned into a bestselling favorite, earning him Spain’s national literary award and eventually the 1968 Hans Christian An- dersen Prize for his body of work. To this day,SánchezSilvaistheonlyauthorwork- ingintheSpanishlanguagewhohasbeen honored with that premier international awardforchildren’sliterature. While the book was a success by any measure, the ensuing movie version was somethingmorethanthat—anera-defin- ingculturalphenomenon,ifyouwill.Nev- ermindthattheerabeingdefinedwasdark withpoliticalrepression,artisticsclerosis and the mass exiling of Spain’s best and brightest.Despitethestiflingatmosphere ofFranco’sSpain—orperhapsbecauseof it—audiencesadoredthisfilmedmiracle playandtheyflockedtoseeit. “Marcelino Pan y Vino” places two 5-year-old boys in very different adult worlds. Neither makes it to 6. Mark Hernández plays the 2010 Marcelino ... ... while Pablito Calvo was the original in 1955. The original version of “Marcelino” was a cultural triumph of Franco’s Spain. PHOTOCOURTESYOFQUALITYFILMS PHOTOCOURTESYOFQUALITYFILMS MoreBread andWine? Theresultwasthattheyoungandnot- so-young of Spain had taken to heart the experience of a lovable 5-year-old who is blissfullycontentinhisconfinedworldas longashecanabsorbthelessonsofhisfa- therfigures,conversewithJesusfromtime totime,andintheendgowithhim.It’shard to imagineFranconotbeingpleasedwith thepromotionofthisdocilewayoflooking at things. Now in film (he co-wrote the screenplay for imported Hungarian di- rector Ladislao Vajda), as before in jour- nalism, Sánchez Silva was still doing the generalísimo’sbidding. The popularity of “Marcelino” spread well beyondSpain. Every Spanish-speak- ingnationseemedtoembraceit,nonemore sothanMexico.Mentionthefilmtoanyone born before You Tube and you’re likely to getadreamy“Oh,Ilovedthatmoviewhen Iwasakid...”It’sanEasterseasontelevision staple,rightalongside“TheRobe”and“Ben Hur.”Toknow“MarcelinoPanyVino”isto knowMexicoalittlebetter. So what to make, then, of the recently releasedremake55yearsaftertheSpanish original,thistimefinanced,filmedandset in Mexico? Director José Luis Gutiérrez Arias, whose previous output ran more to the violent-thriller genre in such films as “Todos los días son tuyos” and “Abril y mayo,” took on the challenging (some would say thankless) task of revisiting a familyclassic.Thequestionisn’tsomuch howwelldidhedoas... whydidhedoit? TheshortansweristhatMexicaninves- tors were confident enough to put up the moneyforit.Thenotionofacheapknock- offwasruledoutearly;itwastobeaquality film.Therewascertainlyplentyofroomfor artisticimprovementover the dated orig- inal, with its 50s-era lack of subtlety and overabundanceofpiousbloat.Andmoving theactiontorevolutionaryMexico(instead of the aftermath of the Napoleonic occu- pation of Spain) looked like a sure crowd pleaser.There’salottheretotemptadirec- toreagertotryhishandatfamilycinema, asGutiérrezAriassayshewas. Mostofhistweaksareinfactimprove- mentsontheoriginal,startingwiththeset- ting. Marcelino’s happy home among the jollybandofFranciscanswasendangered in the 1955 version by a malicious politi- cian,astockfigureifthereeverwasone.In Gutiérrez Arias’ telling, the threat comes from the Revolution itself — that is, from human violence — embodied in a grief- deranged revolutionary who demands, absurdly, that the friars replace his fallen sonbygivinghimMarcelino.Butthisdad’s mad,notbad.Therearenobadguysinthis movie, just a world of general evil outside themonasterywalls. And one unbearably adorable 5-year- old boy. Marcelino spends the first half of the movie in an edenic existence, nam- ingtheanimalshefindsashewandersthe trashless Michoacán countryside of 1912 (almost too beautifully filmed by Ignacio Prieto; you’d swear this was the prettiest revolution ever). Only after an unfortu- nate encounter with a snake do unpleas- anteventsinterferewithMarcelino’spar- adiseofinnocence,includingthedeathof thewiseandkindlyeldestfriar(there’sal- waysoneofthose,isn’tthere?)andtherev- olutionary’sson. Theboy,killedinaskirmishwithfeder- altroops,wasMarcelino’sfriendandalter ego;weevenconfusethetwoatfirst,since his mother (played by the wonderful Te- resaRuiz,whoseperformanceissofreeof the kid-pic conventions of the rest of the castthatsheseemstohaveblowninfrom anothermovie)givesbirthrightaboutthe same time that Marcelino is abandoned outside the monastery door. In the origi- nal, Marcelino’s friend is imaginary, like JimmyStewart’srabbit.Herehe’sreal,liv- ingthelifeMarcelinocan’t,footlooseinthe dangerous man-made world. His death is a heartbreaking tragedy; Marcelino’s is a heartwarmingmiracle. Or that’s what we’re expected to think, at any rate. Which brings us back to the wisdom of remaking this particular mov- ie at this particular time. There’s some- thing disturbingly anachronistic about the way “Marcelino” sets itself so firmly inafundamentalistChristianworldview, withnowiggleroomformetaphororanal- ogy. We’rerequiredtoacceptaliteralinter- pretationofChristianloreforthemovieto makeanysense. Whentheordercomesfromthediocese that Marcelino will stay in the custody of thefriarsandeventuallytakehisownvows, we’renotmeanttothinkabouthowdiffer- entthingswereahundredyearsago,when achildcouldbeblithelyconsignedtoalife- timeofcloisteredcelibacy.We’resupposed to be genuinely pleased at this best of all possibleoutcomes. GutiérrezArias,awareofthedifference, has insisted in interviews that he has not assembledapro-Churchtract,norevena movieaboutreligion.“It’sthestoryofalit- tle boy who talks with God,” he has said. “That’sall.” Thatwouldhavebeennice.Andindeed, little Marcelino’s chats with Jesus (as he bringshimthebreadandwineofthemov- ie’s title) are deftly handled — pleasant, low-key and mercifully without celestial effects. Unfortunately, that’s not the case withthefinalascensionscene,whichlooks likeitwasputtogetherbyanover-caffein- ated computer-graphics dweeb on mes- caline. The climax effectively sabotages — not with a whimper but a hallelujah — a95-minuteefforttoachievesomedegree ofrespectableunderstatement. Which is unfortunate, since the ulti- mate success of the film comes down to howwelltheaudiencehasbeenprimedto accepttheascension—inotherwords,how willingtheyaretoseethedeathofaninno- cent 5-year-old as a good thing. Presum- ably,manyhaveexperienceditasmoving, assomanydidahalfcenturyago.Othersno doubt find it ridiculous, but won’t want to seemsochurlishastosayso.Neitherout- comeisencouraging. KELLY ARTHUR GARRETT/MEXICO WEEKLY CaféTacvba It’s the final week- end of Mexico City’s “FICCMexico” film festival, and there’s still time to catch one of the premiere events, the screen- ing of “Seguir Sien- do,” a full-length musical documen- tary on Café Tacv- ba, the interna- tionally beloved Mexican pop rock group. It will be shown outside on the Zócalo at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13. At the same site and time you can see 80 minutes of fan animation fes- tival on Friday, Feb. 11, and on Saturday, Feb. 12, “The Mer- maid’s Secret,” by the great Japanese animated film direc- tor Hayao Miyazaki. Pre-Screening theNominees Now that there’s 10 of them, catching all the candidates for Best Picture is a scramble, especial- ly outside the films’ country of origin. Most of the nom- inees are or will be viewable in Mexi- co before Feb. 27. Here’s your guide: “Black Swan” Af- ter a week of limit- ed release, it is now in general release in the major metro- politan areas as “El cisne negro.” “The Fighter” As “El peleador,” it was scheduled to go in- to general release on Feb. 11. “Inception” As “El origen,” this one has come and gone. Buy it or rent it. “The Kids Are All Right” Billed as “Los niños están bi- en,” or “Los chicos están bien,” it was part of the recent international festi- val at the Cineteca. It isn’t scheduled to return until March 11. “The King’s Speech”Scheduled for general release on Feb. 18 as “El dis- curso del rey.” “127 Hours” Sched- uled for general re- lease on Feb. 25.. “The Social Net- work” “Red social” has been screening daily at 2:30 and 7 at Cinemanía. Now it’s in wide release. “Toy Story 3” Has come and gone. Buy it or rent it. “True Grit” Went into general release on Feb. 4 as “Tem- ple de acero.” “Winter’s Bone” There seem to be no plans to show this in Mexico soon. : On screen KEEP IN MIND . . . “In general release” means the film is playing at one or more of the major chains, which are Cinemark (www.cinemark.com), Cinemex (www.cinemex. com.mx), Cinépolis (www.cinepolis.com.mx) and Lumiere (www. cinemaslumiere.com). Cinemanía (www. macondocine.com/ cinemania) is an art film house in Plaza Loreto in the San Ángel area of Mexico City.  The Cineteca Nacional (www.cinetecanacional. net) is the government- sponsored international film complex in the South of Mexico City near Metro Coyoacán. Remember, screening times and dates can change quickly and unexpectedly, so check ahead.
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 2928 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 SPORTS life& leisure Destination Brazil2014Team Mexico’s new coach José Manuel de la Torre is under the microscope as El Tri takes aim at qualifying for the World Cup The“Chepo”delaTorreeragotofftoawin- ing start on Wednesday. The coinciden- tal “Chicharito” era that was supposed to drive“Chepo”andMexicansoccertonew heights…well,notsomuch. For the first time since 2003, El Tri kickedoffanewyearwithavictoryandthe factthatitwasthefirstgameonthebench forJoséManueldelaTorremadeitallthe moresweeter.Eveniftheperformancewas “deficient,” as Chepo confessed to report- ersafterward. Mexico – ranked No. 27 in the world – was expected to defeat Bosnia-Herze- govina (No. 42), especially since the best Bosnianplayerwasunabletotraveltothe United States due to a visa problem. But even without Manchester City star Edin Szeko, Bosnia had a freer-flowing attack and forced repeated saves from Mexican keeperJesúsCorona.Fortunately,Corona proveduptothetask. If not for two mistakes by the Europe- anside,ElTrimightnothaveputoneinthe wincolumnforChepo. THE MERCILESS MEDIA Up next for El Tri are Paraguay (No. 24) on March 26 and Venezuela (No. 63) on March 29. These are little more than warm-up matches ahead of the first real testforthenewcoach. Thefirstofficialmatcheswilltakeplace inJuneasMexicoparticipatesintheGold CupintheUnitedStates.Thistournament willdeterminetheConcacafchampionand thewinnerwillgetaberthinthe2013Con- federatonsCupinBrazil. Chepoknowshemightfacesomecrit- icism after games leading up to the Gold Cup as Mexico’s notorious sporting press is ruthless when it comes to El Tri. But if the“tricolor”failtolifttheConcacaftrophy, he’llsurelyhearcallsforhishead. JavierAguirrewas(rightfully)crucified for the team’s World Cup performance in South Africa 2010 and he resigned (was shown the door) shortly after setting foot backonMexicansoil. Chepo had led his Toluca Diablos to a league title before the World Cup started and, after a four-month search for a new coach,hewasinvitedtotakethereins.He knows his top priority is to qualify Team Mexico for the 2014 World Cup, but each game–actuallyeachrosterdecisionfrom now on – will be analyzed and dissected. The public is a demanding audience and Mexicans live and die over their beloved national team. But the press is never sat- isfied and winning is never enough. The teammustwinbeautifully. THE CHOPPING BLOCK The pressure will be enormous and there isnoguaranteeChepowillfulfillhisfour- year contract. Only one coach since Bora Milutinovic in the 1980s has completed a World Cup cycle for which he was hired. AndBorahadthegoodfortuneofnothav- ingtoqualifyforthe1986tournament.As host,Mexicohadanautomaticinvite. SincethenCésarLuisMenotti,Manuel Lapuente, Milutinovic (again), Enrique Meza,HugoSánchezandevenSven-Goran ErikssonhavebeenfiredforTeamMexico flops. Only Ricardo Lavolpe successfully kept his job during an entire qualifying campaign,guidingMexicotothe2006Cup inGermany. ChepomustwintheGoldCupthissum- mertoavoidgettingapinkslip.Heshould benefit from overseeing an Under-22 squad at the prestigious Copa América in Argentina.Thisshouldgivehimanoppor- tunitytowatchpromisingyoungsterswho couldwinspotsonthe2014roster. WorldCupqualifyingwillbegininear- nest next year but changes to the Conca- cafqualifyingformatcouldsignificantlyre- duce the difficulty since El Tri might not have to play bitter rival Team USA at all. So if Chepo survives his first six months on the job, he could have a veritable hon- eymoon period to fully install his system and tactical approach into the mindset of hisplayers. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Wednesday’s game in Atlanta featured a ragged performance by El Tri and “Chicharito” in particular was awful. The ManchesterUnitedstarmissedtwoclear scoringchances,flubbedapenaltykickand toooftenignoredteammates,preferringto dribbleintotroubleandlosetheball. Playing a lone striker role in a re- configured 4-2-3-1 line-up, Chicharito disappointed. One sports scribe warned that Hernández could become a head- acheifnottakentothewoodshedbyChe- po. “He believed the clippings and played asifhethought‘Iamtheteam’…although he is without doubt the best player on the team,ifhedoesn’tlosehisattitude,hewill become a prima donna andnot a contrib- utor,” wrote La Afición columnist Carlos ContrerasLegaspi. Chepo declined to criticize individu- alplayersafterthegame,buthefreelyad- mittedtoadeficientperformancebyElTri. “It is important to start off with a win, but it would be more reassuring if we showed good form,” he told reporters in his post-game interview. “When you win andplaybadly,thereisadisquietingsense thatwecameupshort.” “Eventhoughwereadilysawthatthere isagreatdealtoworkon,wearesomewhat satisfiedwiththewin.” Chepo’sfirsttaskwillbetobetteredu- catehissquadtohistacticalideas.Normal- lypreferringa4-4-1-1approach,delaTorre hadtoimproviseafterhislong-timeToluca fieldgeneralSinhawasforcedtomissthe game due to injury. Additionally, Sinha is already34anditisimperativethatChepo findayoungerversionoftheplaymakerto fillthespotbehindthestriker.Giovanidos Santos could eventually provide the cre- ative impetus, though he would seem to fitbetterinthe4-2-3-1. Beyond that, Chepo must also identi- fy faster, stronger candidates for midfield holdingrolesandgetbetterplayfromwing- ers and wing defenders. Crisper passing andsmootherinteractionshouldcomeas the team becomes familiar with Chepo’s system. Goalie Jesús Corona and central de- fenders Francisco Rodríguez and Héc- torMorenoweresolidagainstBosniaand 32-year-oldCarlosSalcidowasmorethan reliable.ChicharitoanddosSantoswillget plenty of chances to shine, as will winger PabloBarrera. But beyond that, Chepo should be giv- en plenty of leeway to experiment. The question is … will the media be sufficient- lypatient? TOM BUCKLEY / MEXICO WEEKLY Facing the enemy: Chepo can expect to have plenty of testy exchanges with the press. Getting in shape: Players do wind sprints during Chepo’s first training camp in early February. A new start: El Tri will see lots of new faces as Chepo begins to prepare a team for Brazil 2014. Rapt attention: Coach de la Torre talks to his charges on his first day on the job. NOTIMEXPHOTO/JORGEÁRCIGA NOTIMEXPHOTO/JORGEÁRCIGA NOTIMEXPHOTO/GUILLERMOGRANADOS NOTIMEXPHOTO/JORGEÁRCIGA
30 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 : what : when : wherer&r SATURDAY 12FRIDAY 11 SUNDAY 13 JUAN SORIANO An exhibition of 37 drawings and 41 sculptures by the late master opens to the public at the Cenart Arts Library Gallery at Rio Chu- rubusco and Calza- da de Tlalpan. Runs through April 29. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mon- day through Friday. CAMILA The soft rock trio, featuring Mario Domm (who pro- duced Thalía and Paulina Rubio), re- prise their hit “De- jarte de Amar” tour with a one-nighter at the Palacio de los Deportes. 8:30 p.m. Tickets: 200 to 1,000 pesos. LUIS MIGUEL The many-Gram- mied and mega- grossing Mexican pop idol kicks off his three-week occupa- tion of the Auditorio Nacional (Thursdays through Sundays until March 6, with a special Feb. 14 per- formance) at 8:30 p.m. Best seats: 2,707 pesos. BEETHOVEN Ramón Shade (pic- tured) conducts the Camerata de Coa- huila and pianist Alejandra Vela in an all-Beethoven pro- gram including the second symphony and the second pia- no concerto. 6 p.m. in the Sala Neza- hualcóyotl ((55) 5622-7113) on the UNAM campus. ÓPERA PRIMA The five winners of Canal 22’s 2010 real- ity show-style com- petition for young opera singers per- form with the Or- questa Sinfónica Juvenil Carlos Chávez at Bellas Artes at 7 p.m. Tick- ets from 120 to 400 pesos. TWO FOR ONE The National Opera Company presents José Pablo Mon- cayo’s “La Mulata de Córdoba” (with li- bretto by the great 20th-century poet Xavier Villaurrutia) and Manuel de Fal- la’s “La Vida Breve.” At 5 p.m. at Bellas Artes. Also Feb. 15, 20 and 22. Tickets 120 to 400 pesos. FIRE KISSES The inimitable Astrid Hadad — song- stress, stage artist, spectacle and sati- rist — stages her unique take on Val- entine’s Day at El Bataclán de la Bo- dega in the Conde- sa. 10 p.m. Reserva- tions and more info at (55) 5525-2473 or (55) 5511-7390. BALLET FOLKLÓRICO The must-see-at- least-once stage spectacular of Mex- ican dance, forever identified with its late creator Amalia Hernández, returns to Bellas Artes after a holiday run else- where. 9:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Sundays (also Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m.). BOLERO KING Carlos Cuevas will sing his signature boleros — and may- be a little José Alfre- do Jiménez — in an 8:30 p.m. Valentine- themed concert at El Lunario, in the Auditorio Nacional complex. With a guest appearance by Imelda Miller. FRENK/ URRUSTI Pianist María Teresa Frenk teams with flautist Rafael Urrusti in a pleasant Sunday afternoon recital at the Museo José Luis Cuevas at La Aca- demia 13, three blocks east of the Zócalo. 1:30 p.m. Admission free. NATIONAL SYMPHONY Carlos Miguel Prieto (pictured) conducts works by Revueltas (“Cuauhnáhuac”) and Shostakovich (“Piano Concert No. 2”), featuring pianist Jorge Luis Prats. 8 p.m. at Bellas Artes. Also Sunday Feb. 13 at 12:15 p.m. TRACES Final day for this high-energy stage circus from the world-conquering Canadian troupe of “urban acrobats” known as 7 Fingers. 5 p.m. at the Teatro Metropolitan ((55) 5510-1035). Also Friday, Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 31 NOTIMEXPHOTO/LUISFERNANDOMORENO Apublic messageResidents of Guadalajara staged a protest march in reaction to rising narco-violence. Local students were instrumental in organizing the demonstrations, relying on social media : 32 ForeignAffairsSecretaryPatriciaEspinosasaidremarksbya top U.S. Army official were “totally unacceptable” and do not reflectthestrongbilateralcooperation.Espinosawasreferring tostatementsthatcomparedMexico’sdrugwartoan“insur- gency”andsuggestedthattheU.S.mightsendtroopstoMexi- cotoattackorganizedcrimefromtakingoverthegovernment. AngryEspinosahitsoutat commentsbyU.S. official WAR ON DRUGS MILITARY JUSTICE COMMEMORATING AIR FORCE DAY Mexico’s armed forces are built to keep the peace, President Calderón affirmed Thursday. “They do not invade and they aren’t to blame for the violence that is affecting the nation,” Calderón said. ZHENLI MIGHT SOON BE BACK IN MEXICO A U.S. judge approved business- man Zhenli Ye Gon’s extradition to Mexico, where he faces drug charges. U.S. authorities accused Zhenli of smuggling metham- phetamine into the country, but they dropped the charges. www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/security
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  • 1. Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas does not pull punches when he discusses the current state of the Left and his new book offers a rewarding look at a truly historical figure : 8, 22 Reflection with an eye on the future www.mexicotoday.com.mx 0018920360242 MEX$25 EUR€2 USD 3.50 FRIDAY 11 February, 2011 Mexico City Year 00 00 Congress’ best intentions appear to have been scuttled : POLITICS 6 The CFE earns kudos from Calderón, but are they deserved? : ECONOMY & FINANCE 16 Protests take shape in Guadalajara after violence spikes : SECURITY 32 Team Mexico wins in Chepo’s debut yet 2014 is still far away : LIFE & LEISURE 28
  • 2. Mainstream mass media aren’t going to give you a comprehensive idea as to what’s happening in Mexico, but we can. Our corporate intelligence reports provide thorough insight on specific political figures, industries, trends and current events. OurEnglish-languagecorporateintelligencereports –one-of-a-kindinMexico–includeextensiveanal- ysis on news topics that impact your investments or interests. We can research anything that’s going on in the news – potential presidential contenders, state governors, the auto industry, sugar-cane pro- duction,petfoodsalesandtechnologyuseinclass- room–andputitintocontext. Mexico Today, Eficiencia Informativa and C3 haveaccesstoadatabasethatcollectsthousandsof storieseachdayfromhundredsofsourcesofMexi- canmassmedia.Weuseinformationfromwritten media–newsstories,columns,editorials,investi- gativereports–aswellasweb,radioandTVbroad- casts.Ourreportsincludeaneclecticandpercep- tiveapproachthatwillhelpyoumakeeducatedin- vestmentdecisions. Isyourinformation onMexicoreliable?
  • 3. Recycle your cell phone and help your community and the environment. Small- and medium-sized businesses, corpora- tions, universities, institutions, communities and individuals: send us your working or non-working cell phones, cell phone batteries and chargers and we'll recycle them. In turn, we support more than 60 social aid organizations and charities. We are currently the leader in cell-phone recycling in Mexico, with more than 30,000 agreements with domestic and foreign companies. VISIT WWW.RECALLINTERNACIONAL.COM OR CALL 55-2455-6000 FOR MORE INFORMATION.
  • 4. I met Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas in 1989, when I was a law student sent to Mexico City to interview politicians for a case study that would be used at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Public Policy. When I interviewed him for Mex- ico Weekly on Jan. 28, I was shocked that he remembered that conversation over 20 years ago. Nothing about Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas should surprise us. He is a legend in Mexi- can politics and that is why we chose him for this week’s cover. He could have been overshadowed by his father Lázaro Cárdenas, one of Mexi- co’s best-loved presidents. But when you read Cuauhtémoc’s new autobiography, “Sobre mis Pasos,” you get a real sense that you are talking with a man who played a fundamental role in Mexico’s democratic transition. Reading Kelly Garrett’s book review is a must. If you want to understand our re- cent history, you have to read “Sobre Mis Pasos.” Although many would think that this three-time presidential candidate is out of the loop on Mexican politics, they’d be wrong, so wrong. During the interview, it became quite clear that he plans to play a role in the future of the Mexican Left. In fact, based on public comments made afterward, he may be in a position to help unite a divided PRD, a party he founded 22 years ago. Will he run for president for a fourth time? With Cuauhté- moc you never know. If you want to see an excerpt of our interview with “Ingeniero Cárdenas” go to www.mexicotoday.com.mx Also in this edition we examine the Guerrero and Baja California Sur elections, both featuring peaceful processes but confusing results. We also look at the recently begun congressional session. Among the issues identified as a priority for legislative debate are labor reform and the national secu- rity bill. But party politics – especially electoral politics – often have a habit of hin- dering good faith negotiations. In our Business & Finance section, we examine the performance of the Feder- al Electricity Commission since it was given greater responsibility after President Calderón forcibly shuttered the Luz y Fuerza del Centro operation. Our security section looks at the violence linked to organized crime that has ex- panded to other cities and how the public is responding. How bad will it get? These are the kind of stories that we know are important to you and we will follow them upcoming editions. Once again, welcome to Mexico Weekly. Iconic political figure still has much to say LETTERS © “MEXICO WEEKLY”, ES UNA PUBLICACIÓN SEMANAL PROPIEDAD DE YUMAC S.A. DE C.V. CON OFICINAS EN DIVISIÓN DEL NORTE #925 1ER PISO COL. NARVARTE DELEGACIÓN BENITO JUAREZ CP 03020 TEL 2455 5555 IMPRESA EN LOS TALLERES DE SERVICIOS PROFESIONALES DE IMPRESIÓN UBICADOS EN MIMOSAS NO. 31 COLONIA STA. MARÍA INSURGENTES CP 06430 DEL CUAUHTEMOC MÉXICO D.F. FECHA DE IMPRESIÓN: 17 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2010 © “MEXICO WEEKLY” INVESTIGA SOBRE LA SERIEDAD DE SUS ANUNCIANTES, PERO NO SE RESPONSABILIZA CON LAS OFERTAS RELACIONADAS POR LOS MISMOS. ATENCIÓN A CLIENTES: ZONA METROPOLITANA TEL. 3099-4987. LOS ARTÍCULOS Y EL CONTENIDO EDITORIAL SON RESPONSABILIDAD DE SUS AUTORES Y NO REFLEJAN NECESARIAMENTE EL PUNTO DE VISTA DE LA PUBLICACIÓN, NI DE LA EDITORIAL. TODOS LOS DERECHOS ESTÁN RESERVADOS. PROHIBIDA LA REPRODUCCIÓN TOTAL O PARCIAL DE LAS IMÁGENES Y/O TEXTOS SIN AUTORIZACIÓN PREVIA Y POR ESCRITO DEL EDITOR. Oscar McKelligan PRESIDENT Ana Maria Salazar VICE PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tom Buckley EDITOR IN CHIEF Carlos Martínez Cruz MANAGING EDITOR Fernando Ortiz LEGAL ADVISER Cecilia Garza V ADMINISTRATION Iker Amaya CORPORATE SALES David Alvarado ART DIRECTOR Kelly Arthur Garrett LIFE & LEISURE EDITOR Armando Palacios-Sommer COPY EDITOR Susana Pérez SENIOR DESIGNER Blake Lalonde WEB EDITOR R E P O R T E R S Rebecca Conan Bronson Pettitt Zach Lindsey Francisco Cándido IT & OPERATIONS MANAGER B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S Oscar McKelligan Ana Maria Salazar Yurek McKelligan José Antonio Valdes Fernando Ortiz John Barson C O V E R P H O T O G R A P H MEXICO WEEKLY / SUSANA PÉREZ Ana Maria Salazar Executive Director anamaria.salazar@mexicotoday.com.mx WWW.MEXICOTODAY.COM.MX@MEXICOTODAY_MX 4 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011
  • 5. NOTIMEXPHOTO/NICOLASTAVIRA Elections favor party switchersThe first two gubernatorial elections of the year produced potentially confusing outcomes as the victories went to politicians who had built solid reputations in parties that had ‘rejected’ them : 10 An appeals court upheld the conviction of a French woman, Florence Cassez, whose imprisonment for kidnapping has causedfrictionbetweenthetwocountries.Thecourtsaidpros- ecutorshadprovedCassezguiltyinthreekidnappingsin2005 and her 60-year sentence would stand. The French govern- mentsummonedMexico’sambassadorfortalks. Cassezrulingcriticized byFrenchas‘deplorable’ JURISPRUDENCE Q & A PARTIES STATE OF MEXICO GOV. IN SPOTLIGHT Gov. Enrique Peña Nieto dis- cussed the death of his first wife in an interview with Univision Thursday. Mónica Petrelini, then 44, died of cardiorespiratory fail- ure in January 2007. Press re- ports have called it “suspicious.” CREEL CALLS FOR PLATFORM TALKS Sen. Santiago Creel criticized party leader Gustavo Made- ro who said the PAN boasts 10 presidential candidates. Creel, who aims to contend in 2012, said “we aren’t putting together a soccer team.” www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/politics Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 5
  • 6. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 76 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 POLITICS CONGRESS M ostpoliticalobserverspredicted the Spring congressional ses- sion would provide little in the way of real progress. The 2011 and 2012 election calendar would generate parti- sanantagonism. ButinJanuary,lawmakersfromallpar- tiestalkedoptimisticallyaboutapproving severalreformbillspendingfromthepre- vious session. Labor reform, judicial re- form,anti-monopolylegislationandfiscal reformwerealltoutedasareaswhereprog- resswasimminent. InlateJanuary,partycau- cuses produced ambitious agendasandproductivetalk- ing points and party leaders spokepositivelyaboutreach- ing across aisles to get some workdone. But a funny thing hap- pened before the first gav- el sounded. The PRI fought among itself and two minor stateelectionsstirredthepot of partisan resentment. On thefirstsessionoftheCham- ber of Deputies, three Labor Partydeputiesdecideddefamingthepres- ident was more important than doing the people’sbusinessandtheSpeakerthought it wiser to end the session prematurely to preventadonnybrook. Roll call had barely been taken and al- readyitnowseemsthatpoliticalcoopera- tionisanimpossibility.Actually,therewas one thing legislators were able to quickly agreeupon.OnThursday,withoutanyde- bate,theChamberofDeputiesapproveda motiontotakean11-dayvacationinmid- ApriltoobserveHolyWeek. SHOW OF UNITY InlateJanuary,astheopeningoftheSpring session approached, lawmakers were ev- er-present,talkingfrequentlytoprintand electronicmediaandofferingglowingex- pectationsforlegislativetriumphs. Thetopicsmentionedbypartycaucus leadersevenoverlapped,suggestingthere wasconsensusforpassageofbills.Support for labor reform and the an- ti-monopoly law was voiced by the PRI and the PAN. All three major parties declared their backing of the Nation- al Security Law reform that specified when military per- sonnel could be tried in civ- ilcourts. “Weseeverypositivecon- ditionsforprogress,”saidthe PAN’s No. 2 in the Chamber of Deputies, Carlos Alberto Pérez,onJan.31.“Theirstat- edlegislativeprioritiesdove- tail with ours and we are ea- ger to discuss the PRI’s proposal for com- prehensivefiscalreform.” OnFeb.2,partyleadersfrombothhous- esofCongressmettosetanagendaforthe 13-week session and staged a joint press conference afterward. The smiling group saideachfactionwascommittedtoquick- lyaddressingpendinglegislation. “We’ve moved forward considerably withthePRI,thePRDandthefederalgov- ernment to prepare final debate on labor APPHOTO/MIGUELTOVAR AHouse dividedThe early days of the new legislative session were marred by political and physical sparring on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies reform,” said PAN Chamber leader Jose- finaVázquezMota. PANSenateleaderJoséGonzálezMor- fínsaidhispartywasengagedintalkswith thePRIandtheInteriorSecretariattore- formimmigrationlaws. PRI VS. PRI Despite this promising show of unity, the cracks in the façade had already become visible. Surprisingly, the damage was promptedbyaninter-partyconflict. Inmid-January,SenatepresidentMan- lioFabioBeltronesannouncedwithmuch fanfarethathewouldsubmitacomprehen- sivefiscalreformbill.Theproposalinclud- edloweringthevalue-addedtaxby4points (from16percentto12percent)buttaxing formerly exempt products – specifical- ly medicines and most foodstuffs – at 12 percenttoo. No sooner had Beltrones confident- ly explained the rationale for the propos- althatfellowPRIistaFranciscoRojas,the party’scaucusleaderintheChamber,an- nouncedthebillwouldneverseethelight ofdayinthelowerhouse. Partyleadersscurriedintotheshadows to avoid taking sides, while PRI senators soughtwaystoencourageRojasetaltoat leastconsiderdebatingtheproposal. ThisweektheSenateannouncedplans to hold fiscal reform hearings and Sen. FranciscoLabastidadefendedthebill,say- ingheandBeltroneshadspentayearand ahalfstudyingtheissue. In the Chamber, PRD deputies were stunned when Sen. Carlos Navarrete en- couraged them to support debate on the bill.“Hispositionshouldbeseenasstrictly personalandnotapartymandate,”Deputy AgustínGuerrerotoldMilenio.“ThePRD positionintheChamberisthatwewillnev- ersupportlegislationthatisproposedasan electoralcalculation.” ItnowseemsvirtuallycertainthatBel- trones–amanwithwell-knownpresiden- tialaspirations–willseeapetprojectscut- tled by a lack of support within his own party. WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE As the internal PRI squabbles continued and pundits speculated that Rojas was blockingBeltronesforpoliticalreasonsand notideologicalorfiscalreasons,Congress formallybeganitsnewsessiononFeb.3. In the Chamber of Deputies, all prior talkofworkingtogethertodothepeople’s business went up in flames in a matter of minutes. As the session was just getting under way, three Labor Party deputies strode to the podium and unfurled a banner fea- turing an unflattering photo of President Calderón.Thebannerread:“Wouldyoual- lowadrunkardtodriveyourcar?Ofcourse not.Whyarewelettingonedrivethecoun- trythen?” The deputies refused to remove the bannerdespiterepeatedcallsfromSpeak- erJorgeCarlosRamírezMarín(ofthePRI) to step down off the dais. PANistas went ballistic and a brawl almost ensued while members of other parties sought to con- vincetheoffendingdeputiesthattheywere violatingthenewChamberConductRules thathadjustbeenpassedinDecember. The PAN delegation walked out of the building and the lack of a quorum forced cancelation of the session. Later, Deputy GonzaloFernándezNoroñaexplainedthat the Labor Party had risked disrupting the session“becauseweweren’tgoingtocon- ductanybusinesstodayanyway.” However,anangryRamírezMarínlat- er pointed out that the agenda for the day hadfeatured53items,includingthreebills thatwerescheduledfordebate. Nonplussed, Fernández Noroña and thePTrepeatedtheirstuntintheverynext session,onFeb.8. This time the banner was draped over seatsinthePT’sdesignatedsectiononthe Chamber floor. But after several scuffles, the PT folded up the banner and the ses- sioncontinued. The next day, the Employers Confed- eration held a press conference in which membersbitterlycriticizedthelegislature forhurtingthenation’seconomicrecovery byfailingtodotheirjobs. Legislatorsrespondedthefollowingday during the next scheduled session by vot- ingthemselvesan11-dayEasterholiday. Allthingsconsidered,thatmightprove tobegoodnewsforMexico. TOM BUCKLEY / MEXICO WEEKLY “We see very positive conditions for progress ... legislative priorities dovetail with ours.” Carlos Alberto Pérez PAN deputy Lawmakers have many items on the docket but the Spring session got off to a testy start and progress will likely be quite difficult.
  • 7. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 98 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 POLITICS SUBSECTION uauhtémoc Cárdenas has been taking a close look at the party he founded more than two decades ago, and he doesn’t like whathesees. It’s not just the major electoral disap- pointmentsthathavebeenpilingupsince the PRD’s narrow loss in the 2006 presi- dentialrace.Endemicstructuraldysfunc- tionandinternaltribalismthreatentoren- derMexico’sonlymajorpartyoftheleftir- relevantsoonerratherthanlater. “Thepartyisfractured,”Cárdenassaid. “Ifthatdoesn’tchange,it’sonlygoingtore- duceits[electoral]possibilities.” In fact, said the man still portrayed as the“moralleader”ofthePRD,thepartyis closetoessentiallyforfeitingitschancesin the2012nationalelections. “Ifthereisn’tsomeveryimportant,very intense, organizational work done before the election, there’s no use even having a candidate,” he said in a recent interview withMexicoWeekly. Cárdenas, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo and othersstartedtheDemocraticRevolution Party (PRD) in 1989 to continue and for- malize the coalition under which he had runforpresidentin1988.Thatpresidential bid failed, probably owing to what is now widely accepted as ruling party fraud, but it ushered in a new political era in which partiesfromtheleft(PRD)andright(PAN) now had legitimate shots at defeating the PRI,oreachother,forelectedoffices. Born as it was of a coalition, the PRD wasabig-tentpartyfromtheoutset,bring- ingtogetherapoliticalpopulationthatin- cludedsocialandpro-democracyactivists, laboradvocates,formerguerrillas,veteran communists,dedicatedprogressives,tradi- tionalU.S.-stylepoliticalliberalsandcareer PRI members disillusioned with the offi- cial party’s shift to the right under Presi- dent Miguel de la Madrid (1982-88) and CarlosSalinasdeGortari(1988-94). the states,” he said. “You have to give the party a presence in these states, you have tomakeitgrow.” That’s not happening inside the PRD. What’shappeninginsteadisahyper-stra- tegictrendtowardfindingwaystowinthat havelittletodowithconvincingvotersthat theparty’splatformisworthvotingfor. Onesuchstrategyissimplypickingoff awould-becandidatefromthepartyyou’re trying to defeat and make him your own. ThePRDheldontotheGuerrerogovernor- shiponJan.28bydoingpreciselythat–re- cruitinglongtimePRIistaÁngelAguirreas itscandidateafterhe’dbeendeniedthePRI nomination.Aguirrewoneasily. Anotherstrategyistoruninanalliance withanotherparty–notwithaminorparty ofsimilarpoliticalpersuasion,asthePRD LEFT BEHIND?22 YEARS LATER, three-time presidential candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas fears for the future of the Democratic Revolution Party BY: KELLY ARTHUR GARRETT/MEXICO WEEKLY The diversity worked in the party’s fa- vorinthe1990s,whenitbegantocapture significantblocsinCongress,somegover- norshipsand,withCárdenashimselfasthe mayoralcandidate,boththeexecutiveand legislative leadership of the Federal Dis- trict. But in recent years, internal squab- bles have cost the party a significant per- centageofseatsinCongress,aswellasits holdonstatesitformerlycontrolled.They havealsoseverelydamageditsimage. That squabbling, Cárdenas is con- vinced,isnotaboutpolicydifferences,but personal ambition. “Yes, there are some differences in the political positions and declarations of the group leaders inside the party,” he said. “But they’re giving pri- oritytotheirpersonalinterestsinsteadof tothepartyandthenation.” HEADING IN WRONG DIRECTION Cárdenas made his comments before the Feb.6stateelectionsinBajaCaliforniaSur, butwhathappenedtherevalidatedhiscrit- icisms.Internaldivisionsinthestateorga- nizationpromptedmanykeyfigurestobolt theparty,andthePRDendeduplosingcon- trol of the state government, and most of the municipalities, that it had won hand- ilysixyearsearlier. Inthatsense,thePRDismovinginre- verse,constrictingitsreachinsteadofex- panding it. That’s a serious concern to Cárdenas, because there are still large chunks of the Republic where the PRD hasverylittlepresence. “You have to consider that in the last federalelectionin2009,votesforthePRD werevery,verylowinabouttwo-thirdsof C FRONT PAGE hasdonewithLaborPartyandConvergen- cia,butwithitsmajorideologicalrival,the PAN.Thisunlikelyromanceisfavoredfor the key July State of Mexico election by partyleaderJesúsOrtega,butopposedby theprobablePRDcandidate,AlejandroEn- cinas, as well as 2006 presidential candi- dateAndrésManuelLópezObrador. Cárdenas was the victim of a similar ad hoc strategy in his presidential bid of 2000,whenmanyofhiswould-besupport- ers thought it wiser to throw their vote to thePAN’sVicenteFoxtoincreasetheodds ofoustingthePRIfromitsseven-decade- longgrasponthepresidency.Thestrategy worked,inthatFoxwon,butCárdenassays manymustnowregrettheploy. “Thatkindofvotinghasitsplaceinpol- itics,”hesaid.“ButIthinkinthiscasethat thosewhoexpectedarealchangebecause ofanalternationintheheadofstatedidn’t getwhattheywerehopingfor.” Notsurprisingly,Cárdenasisn’thappy with the PRD’s Guerrero strategy or the proposedcoalitionfortheStateofMexico. “The party should be reorganizing its base around the country and coming up withaproposalthat’sbetterforthenation,” hesaid.“Ifyoudon’thaveagoodproposal to present to the people, what’s the use of runningacandidate?” OPPOSED TO ‘SELLING OUT’ As for the notion of a PRD-PAN alliance, Cárdenas voiced similar concerns as the politicalscientistandtelevisioneditorial- ist José Antonio Crespo, who pointed out recentlythatacandidateelectedtorepre- sent two ideologically opposed parties is essentiallyaccountabletonothingandno- body.“It’slikehandinghimablankcheck,” Cresposaid. Cárdenasalsoopposestheideaonprac- ticalgrounds. Suchacoalitionwouldnotonlybeaca- pitulationtowhatthepoliticalauthorand commentator Sergio Aguayo calls “re- sultism,” it would also in all likelihood be sellingouttoocheaply. “What proportion of the power would the PRD share?” he asked rhetorically. “WouldthePRDreallybeparticipatingin theimportantdecisions?” Cárdenasadmitstobeing“disappoint- ed”withthestateofhisPRDtoday,andhas saidasmuchinasteadyflowofinterviews thathehasgrantedaspartofapromotion blitzforhisrecentlyreleasedmemoir“So- bremispasos.” PHOTOCOURTESYOFEDITORIALAGUILAR NOTIMEXPHOTO/PEDROSANCHEZ Dependingonhoweachindividualpub- licationormediaoutletchosetophraseits questions and handle his comments, his prognosisfortheparty’sfuturehasranged fromproblematictohopeless. TRYING TO REMAIN HOPEFUL DuringhisinterviewwithMexicoWeekly, whichheconductedinnearlyperfectEng- lish,hestruckacautiouslyoptimistictone, withanemphasisontheword“cautiously.” “I’mhopingthekindsofstatementsI’m making will serve to change things and makethemawarethatwhatthey’redoing isnottherightthingforthepartyandnot right forMexico’s progressive sectors,” he said.“I’dliketothinkthattheywillrealize what the real priorities of a party like the PRDshouldbeatthismoment.” And those priorities are? “Strengthen the citizen base, offer a clear proposal for thenation,andsetanexampleforperson- alconduct.” Can this happen in time for 2012? “I thinkitcanhappen,”Cárdenasanswered. “Iwanttobeoptimistic.Butthey[thepar- ty leaders] will have to make some hero- icdecisionsandleavetheirpersonalinter- estsbehind.” And if they don’t? “I would expect that after the election there will be a taking of stock by the leaders of the party, so it can resurrectitselfandbecomewhatthePRD canbeandhastobe.” Cárdenasaddedthathismainconcern is that the PRD’s woes could mean that Mexico will have to move forward “with no progressive alternative that is attrac- tivetothepeople.” So if all else fails, would he consider starting a new party of the left? “I think that’sataskforothers,”saidCárdenas,76. Butthenheadded,“IfnecessaryIcould participate.” Cárdenas formally presented his book on Feb. 9 in Mexico City : LIFE & LEISURE 22 Cárdenas and founding members of the PRD gather in Los Angeles in November 1989.
  • 8. As the PRI insists it will pursue legal challenges with the state’s Electoral Tribunal, the victor is set to work with a defeated rival ÁngelAguirre’svictoryintheGuerrerogu- bernatorialelectionwasvalidatedbyelec- tion authorities on Feb. 6, but the story in thatsouthwesternstateisfarfromover. Losing candidate Manuel Añorve in- tends to return to his post as mayor of Acapulco, but there is a growing grass- rootsmovementtopreventhimfromdoing so. His backers say they intend to contest thevotecountinover1,000votingbooths acrossthestate. ThenationalleadershipofthePRIhas beentryingtoreversethespinonavariety of stories about how the for- merrulingpartyhaslosttwo elections in a row while the curiouscaseofthePANcan- didateandhisdecisiontobow outhasreceivedsomeexami- nationaswell. STRANGE BEDFELLOWS If Aguirre’s triumph holds up against PRI challenges, he will be sworn in as gover- nor on April 1. Upon receiv- ing the certificate authen- ticating his victory, Aguirre announced he would em- phasizedialogueandharmo- nywhilepromisingtotakestepstoendim- punity in the impoverished and violence- pronestate. “Wewoncleanlybyadecisivemargin,” he said. “But this is not a triumph of one group over another. This is a victory for anaggrievedpeoplethatdesiredagovern- mentthatwouldworkforeveryone.SoIsay withoutpretense,theentirestatehaswon.” Nowtheone-timeinterimgovernorfac- es the ironic challenge of working closely withhisbiggestrival,Añorve,whointends toreturntohisofficeasmayorofthestate’s biggestcity. Aguirreinsistshewillhavenoproblems working with Añorve, his second cousin, andAñorvesayshewillnotstrivetomake thingsdifficultforthenewgovernor.How- ever,thePANisleadingamovementtope- tition the state Congress to block Añorve fromreturningtooffice.Thegoalistocom- pile 1 million petitions to deliver to Con- gress to demonstrate that the electorate disapproves of Añorve, though state law suggeststheliftingoftheleaveofabsence isjustaformality. Still, Añorve’s announced intention to endhisleaveofabsencesug- gests he will not personally muddle Aguirre’s transition by challenging the results of theelection. “I am a man who knows howtoputtheinterestsofthe people above personal inter- ests,”Aguirresaid.“Iamsure thatourfocuswillbeonwhat isbestforGuerrero.” POISED TO FIGHT ON StatePRIleaderEfrénLeyva isnotsosanguine. “We will not back down andwewilldemandthateach vote be respected,” he said on Feb. 6. “We intend to ask the Election Tribunal to ex- amine the results at 1,000 or more voting booths.Ourteamoflawyersiscompilinga list of irregularities and violations to sub- mittothecourt.” There were 4,886 voting booths in op- erationonElectionDay. Leyva told reporters that a principal Guerreroready tomovepast electionspats Aguirre shows supporters the certificate authenticating his victory in the Jan. 30 election. NOTIMEXPHOTO/ALEJANDRINOGONZALEZ PRDtrouncedin BCSbutofficial votecountjust gettingstarted OfficialvotecountingfortheBajaCali- forniaSurgubernatorialracebeginson Feb. 13, but the PRD has already con- ceded defeat and the PRI says it will challenge the outcome if PAN candi- date Marcos Covarrubias is declared thewinner. The PRD has ruled the northern state for 12 years, but finished a disap- pointingthirdinearlyreturnsafterthe Feb.6vote. PRD president Jesús Ortega was rather blasé. “Let’s not be melodra- matic,” he said. “We lost one election and in the grand course of events we’ll winsomeandwe’lllosesome.” Other prominent PRD politicians did not take the apparent loss so easi- ly.DoloresPadiernaaccusedOrtegaof sacrificing Baja California Sur in ex- change for PAN support in the July 3 elections. Ortega and the PAN leader- shipdismissedtheallegationsoutright. “Everythingaboutthiselectionwas aboveboard,”saidAlfredoZamoraGar- cía, the local PAN president. “I don’t know what [national PAN president] Gustavo Madero and Jesús Ortega mighthavediscussed,butvoterturnout wasveryhighheresoitwouldhavebeen impossibletomanipulateanoutcome.” The PAN is poised to become the top party in the state Congress, while thePRDwaspunishedbadly.ThePRD held 14 seats in the outgoing Congress and is likely to retain only three in the new Congress. The PAN leaped from oneseattonineseats. Ortega said the electorate simply voted for a change. “Voters obviously didnotapproveofthejobdonebyGov. [Narciso]Agúndezanddecidedtopun- ishtheparty.” Although Covarrubias ran on the PAN ticket, he was a member of the PRD until November and is expected tofeatureapluralisticCabinet,includ- ingPRDistas. MEXICO WEEKLY focus of his complaint will be the actions of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard who he accuses of using public resources to support Aguirre’s campaign. Leyva al- soallegedthatthePRDwaspayingvoters 500pesosonelectiondaytocasttheirbal- lotsforAguirre. “We simply want the courts to make suretheoutcomeiscleanandfair,”hesaid. But at the national level, the PRI has stepped out of the spotlight, licking its wounds and downplaying the results. PartypresidentBeatrizParedesandpres- ident-elect Humberto Moreira were em- barrassedbyAñorve’sill-advisedelection night decision to declare victory before the official vote count had begun (he lost by160,000votes). On Feb. 7, Paredes told reporters that losinginastatethatiscontrolledbyanoth- erpartyisnotaloss.Moreira’ssupporters have emphasized that the two losses in quick succession don’t count against his record because he doesn’t formally suc- ceed Paredes until March. But of course, this ignores the fact that Moreira active- ly campaigned in both Guerrero and Baja CaliforniaSur. In addition, State of Mexico Gov. En- rique Peña Nieto has distanced himself from the results even though he cam- paigned for Añorve on more than one oc- casion and then proclaimed the week be- foretheelectionthatthePRIwouldsweep tovictory. On the other hand, the PAN barely survivedinthestateafteritsgubernatori- al candidate stepped down only five days beforeElectionDay. The decision by Marcos Efrén Parra – whoisbankingongettinganadministrative post in the Aguirre government – nearly cost the PAN its registration in the state. The conservative party garnered only 16,272 votes, just 1.34 percent of the total ballots cast, barely superseding the minimum requirement to maintain registration. Local PANistas were angered by the decision and some were confused as they wentintothevotingbooth,especiallysince ParrahadstridentlyattackedbothAguirre andAñorveonthecampaigntrail,ElUni- versalreported. His campaign coordinator Enrique CastroSotoexplainedthatthepartyfailed tofullyexplaintopartymembershowthey shouldvoteandthisresultedinmanybal- lotsbeinginadvertentlyannulledbyunin- formedvoters. “Manyofussimplyabstainedfromvot- ing,”saidbusinessmanMaxTejeda. TOM BUCKLEY / MEXICO WEEKLY “This is a victory for an aggrieved people who desired a government that would work for everyone.” Ángel Aguirre Gov.-elect of Guerrero Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 1110 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 POLITICS ELECTIONS ELECTIONS POLITICS
  • 9. 12 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 13 POLITICS PUBLIC TRANSPORT MexicoCityunveils thirdlineofMetrobús Supervíaprojectwillcarry ondespitepublicprotests TheMexicoCitygovernmentappearsun- willingtobudgefromitsdecisiontobuilda bypasstotheSantaFedistrict,despiteop- positionfromtheHumanRightsCommis- sion(CDHDF),nearbyresidents,activists andurbanexperts. TheSupervía,a5.4-kilometersystemof tunnels,bridgesandhighways,isaproject thesouthwesternpartofMexicoCityhas needed for 17 years, Mayor Marcelo Eb- rardsaidonFeb.10.Heclaimsitistheon- lymeanstosolveconnectivityproblems,W Radioreported. “Thereisnootherwaytomakethecon- nection … if the Supervía isn’t finished, [250,000] people will continue to lose 2.5 hours of their day getting to the western partofthecity,”Ebrardsaid. MexicoCitywouldalsoloseitsedgeas themostcompetitiveregioninthecountry, as businesses would be more attracted to theStateofMexico,Ebrardsaid. About100artists,intellectualsandmu- sicians – including José Emilio Pacheco, Margo Glantz, Barbara Jacobs and Vi- cente Rojo – signed a petition earlier this week, calling on Ebrard to adhere to the non-bindingrecommendationmadebythe CDHDF,whichcallsforthesuspensionof theprojectuntilapublicdiscussionisheld. About 33,000 Santa Fe residents and visitorssignedanotherpetitionthisweek, thisoneinfavoroftheSupervía.Thepeti- tion insists that “for no reason should the project be suspended” but due to drastic environmental impact “mitigation mea- sures should be taken seriously,” Notim- ex reported. The CDHDF non-binding recommendation to suspend the project, thepetitionsaid,is“partial,excessiveand missingproperlegalfoundation.” BRONSON PETTITT / MEXICO WEEKLY The 17-kilometer route has 32 stations and spans from the Narvarte neighborhood in the central part of the capital to Tlanepantla in the State of Mexico.Head north on the capital’s newest line of theMetrobúsandyou’llquicklyrealizehow theairqualitylooks,smellsandtastesdif- ferent. The northern part of Mexico City and the surrounding regions of the State ofMexicoarehometoconcentratedindus- trial and shipping sites, and this area has someofthemostsevereproblemsoftraf- ficcongestioninthemetropolitanzone. Infact,airpollution,acidrainlevelsand visibility in this area are among the worst in the valley, according to the capital’s At- mosphericMonitoringSystem. But the city government hopes to re- duce headaches caused by pollution and trafficwithLine3oftheMetrobús,which beganoperatingonTuesday.TheBusRap- idTransitsystemaimstoreducepollution by discouraging people from using their cars and by removing about 430 ancient, rickety microbuses from circulating the avenuesthatthousandsofcommutersuse eachday.Withlow-emissionstechnology, the 54 articulated units quietly whizzing along the 17-kilometer route will prevent about 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide from enteringtheatmosphereeachyear,accord- ingtothecitygovernment(GDF). STILL SOME WORK TO DO City Hall also says the stretch from TlanepantlaintheStateofMexicotoMex- icoCity’sNarvarteneighborhoodsouthof downtown reduces commuting times by 40percent,toabout55minutes. In addition, about 120,000 passengers Riders wait to board the new Metrobús line at the Etiopía terminal. The route runs parallel to 12 Metro stations. MEXICOWEEKLYPHOTOS/BRONSONPETTITT PUBLIC WORKS POLITICS The new 17-km line, built to reduce pollution and commuting times from the State of Mexico to central Mexico City, has its kinks thelaneschangeddirections. Some intersections, such as the Hi- dalgo, Reforma and Balderas confluence downtown, are considered among the busiestinthecapital:aMetrostation,mi- crobuses, trolleybuses, cars, cyclists, pe- destrians (including the hundreds of San Judas Tadeo followers who flock to the San Hipólito Church on the 28th of each month)andnowtheMetrobúsallconverge here,buttheGDFsaysitwillmakeadjust- mentstopreventaccidents. Fortheirpart,driverscomplainthatitis illegaltomakeleftturnsacrossMetrobús lanes. Instead, they must find sidestreets that run perpendicular to the BRT route. Residentssaythisbringsintraffictostreets that never had much of it, and businesses saytheMetrobúsreducesaccessibility. TRANSPARENCY LACKING Some of these problems could have been avoided if the city would have held more consultations with residents, said Gerar- do Moncada, coordinator of the Efficient Transportation office at the consumer rightsgroupElPoderdelConsumidor. In late December, hundreds of riot po- liceenteredtheNarvarteneighborhoodto secure construction of parking lanes and a turn-around access for Metrobús units. Residents had held a blockade for nearly threeweeks,complainingthatthecitygave shortnoticeontheprojectandpubliccon- sultation was insufficient. Moncada said that when the government does not pro- vide enough information on public proj- ects,theycanbackfire. “It leaves one with the sensation that transportation projects are always nega- tive,”hesaid. SincetheGDFplanstobuilduptofour more lines by the end of Mayor Ebrard’s termin2012(nolongerthe10linesprom- ised earlier in his administration), public consultation and transparency are even moreimportant,Moncadasaid. BRONSON PETTITT / MEXICO WEEKLY will use some or all of Line 3’s 32 stations each day, densely placed along the Eje 1, Balderas,GuerreroandVallejoavenues. Unlike the other Metrobús routes, ev- ery station on Line 3 has free bathrooms, security cameras and facilities for people withdisabilities.The5-pesofareincludes transferstothe81stationsonlines1and2. “ThenewMetrobúsimprovestheflow oftrafficinthisarea,”saidRubénGonzález, an office worker who was boarding at the Tenayucaterminal. “Iwouldsay,though,thattheroutesig- nage to La Raza and Etiopía is confusing –itisn’tclearwhereonegetsonandoff.” Despite Line 3’s benefits, the city gov- ernment admits the Metrobús still has somekinkstoworkout. About220transitofficersweredirect- ing traffic on Line3 thisweek. Their mis- sion: toaccustomdriverstoavenueswhere
  • 10. Ebrard defends alliances Inaspeechat a conferenceat theUniversi- dadIberoamericana onFeb. 10, MayorMar- celoEbrarddefendedpoliticalalliancesbe- tweenpartiesfromtheright and theleft, ar- guingtheyareawaytodefeatthePRI. “Politicalcoalitionsareheretostay;not necessarilyofthekind wearecurrentlysee- ing astherecouldbeothers,butwithout themyoucannotreachamajorityinlocalor federalCongresstogovern,”said Ebrard,El Universalreported. ReferringtoPRD-PANalliancesinPue- bla,Oaxaca and Sinaloa,Ebrardclaimed “suchalliancesshouldhaveawell-defined governing program.” Whenastudentsaidpoliticalalliances confusevoters,Ebrardsaid“themessageis very clear:Wewantachange.Thisisnotjust oneparty, it’sa regime.” : fact: back: next BRIEFS Reasons for firing popular journalist remain unspecified The controversial firing of journalist Car- men Aristegui has received international coverage while the owners of the radio sta- tion have indicated they will further explain their decision “in the coming days.” In Mexico, the firing has been examined overwhelmingly as a question of freedom of expression while in U.S. newspapers the issue has included an even-handed discus- sion of journalistic responsibility. Aristegui, an internationally renowned broadcaster who was honored by Colum- bia University with its Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 2008, declared in a Wednesday press conference that President Calderón pressured the radio station into firing her. She offered no evidence for the claim. Aristegui also said “that limited com- petition and a haphazard system of grant- ing licenses left Mexico with a few major broadcasters that are vulnerable to political decisions and official pressure,” the Los An- geles Times reported. The MVS radio station originally said Aristegui violated the code of ethics she agreed to by “reporting rumors as news.” No specifics were offered in the statement but as the controversy continues to sim- mer, the Vargas family released a state- ment saying they will present more details about their decision and Aristegui’s version of events. Lozano: Encinas is ineligible Labor Secretary Javier Lozano insists Ale- jandro Encinas is ineligible to run for gov- ernor of the State of Mexico. In an opinion piece published in El Universal, Lozano ex- plained that a cursory examination of elec- tion laws in Mexico City and the State of Mexico make it apparent that Encinas does not meet eligibility requirements. Encinas served as Mexico City mayor in 2005-2006, a job that specifies that official residence be maintained in the capital. He left office on Nov. 30, 2006. StateofMexicolawrequiresanon-native candidateforgovernortohavemaintained an officialresidenceinthestateforatleast five yearspriortodeclaringhiscandidacy. Lozanoinsiststhat would meanEncinas– assuminghehasan“officialresidence”inthe StateofMexico–wouldnotbeeligibleuntil Nov.30, 2011. TheelectionisJuly3. BACK NEXT FACT www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/briefssearchonweb: 14 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 JUSTICE POLITICS Senateselects PardoRebolledo tofillvacancyat SupremeCourt Almost four-and-a-half months af- ter the death of José de Jesús Gudiño Pelayo, the Senate has finally filled the vacancyontheSupremeCourtjustice. On Feb. 10, with 97 votes in favor (outofatotalof128),JorgeMarioPardo Rebolledo,50,wasappointedSupreme Court justice for a 15-year term. The other two candidates, Jorge Higuera Corona and Alberto Pérez Dayán re- ceived12andfourvotes,respectively. ThiswasthesecondtimePardoRe- bolledowasnominatedforaseatonthe Supreme Court. Back in 2009, he lost out to cur- rent Justice Luis MaríaAguilar. Inapresscon- ference after his appointment, Pardo Rebolledo, who was born in thecoastalstateof Veracruz, said, “I reaffirm my com- mitment to per- formthedutiesof this post with the vocation, dedication and responsibil- itythatthepeopleofMexicorequire.” Healsodeniedreportsthatsuggest- edhehasacloserelationshipwithfor- merSen.DiegoFernándezdeCevallos andotherprominentlawyersinsidethe PAN.NewspapersreportedFernández deCevallosandformerInteriorSecre- tary Fernando Gómez Mont were lob- byingaggressivelyonhisbehalf. “It is absolutely false,” he said. “I maintain that my appointment to the SupremeCourtisdueexclusivelytomy judiciarycareer.Ihavenoties,nocom- mitments with anyone else other than withseeingthatjusticeisdone.” CARLOS MARTÍNEZ CRUZ / MEXICO WEEKLY NOTIMEXPHOTO NOTIMEXPHOTO/JOSEPAZOS Pardo Rebolledo is the new justice.
  • 11. NOTIMEXPHOTO/JAVIERLIRAOTERO Taking aimat TopFiveTourism Secretary Gloria Guevara wants to make Mexico an elite tourist destination : 19 Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero said policymakers may increase the amount of dollar options they auction monthly to soften the impact on the peso if there is a sudden outflow of capital. Mexico won’t follow other emerging market coun- triesinadoptingcurrencycontrolsorinterveninginthemar- ketnomatterhowmuchthecurrencyadvances,Corderosaid. Corderodescribesplanto protectpesofromoutflow CURRENCY INVESTMENT COMMODITIES BANORTE LOOKING TO U.S. MARKET Grupo Banorte is looking to ex- pand its presence in the U.S. market, especially via new ac- quisitions in regions that feature large Hispanic populations. The financial institution is also look- ing at cross-border real estate. CORN CROP DOWN DUE TO COLD SNAP The severe decline in corn pro- duction in three northern states hit hard by freezing tempera- tures this winter has prompted calls for the federal government to take action to prevent specu- lation and hoarding. www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/economy Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 15
  • 12. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 1716 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 Saltillo Hermosillo Campeche Chihuahua III Naco-Nogales Mexicali Monterrey III Mérida III Río Bravo III Río Bravo II Río Bravo IV Tuxpan V La Laguna II Baja California III Norte II Tuxpan III, IV Tamazunchale Tuxpan II Valladolid III Bajío Altamira II Altamira III, IV Altamira V Guadalajara I Norte II CC Noreste PAYMENTS MADE BY CFE FOR ENERGY According to a report by the Chamber of Deputies, from 2000 to 2009 CFE spent an annual average of $2.5 billion to buy energy from private companies. Amount to be paid by 2041 Source: El Universal/Chamber of Deputies 7 15 7 15 6 20 8 16 8 19 11 32 15 30 16 28 14 32 16 30 17 31 9 40 8 41 12 42 27 66 26 73 19 92 115 121 128 12 83 55 88 15 33 7 41 9 37 Amount paid up to 2009 Justbefore11p.m.onOct.10,2009–while most people were still celebrating Mexi- co’squalificationtothe2010WorldCup– around500federalpoliceofficersdiscreet- ly surrounded a power facility in Mexico City. Less than 30 minutes later, the offi- cershadseizedcontrol(withouttoomuch resistance) of one of the most emblemat- ic public companies in the country: Luz y FuerzadelCentro. In a nationally televised address less than 24 hours later, President Calde- rón said he decided to disband the state- owned company due to spiraling finan- ciallosses andadeadlock in talks with its 43,000unionizedworkers.Healsoproud- ly announced that the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) – another state-con- trolled company – would take over Luz y Fuerza’soperationsinsupplyingelectricity toMexicoCityandthesurroundingregion. And just last month, Reuters report- ed that in a speech to electricity work- ers, Calderón boasted that less than three months after CFE took over Luz y Fue- rza’soperations,electricityserviceinMex- icoCityhadalreadyimproved. NOT A ‘WORLD-CLASS’ COMPANY DespiteCalderón’soptimisticpronounce- ments, recent studies suggest CFE is not muchmoreefficientthanLuzyFuerza. For instance, even though in some re- spectsCFEisconsideredthelargestutility Powerfailure?company in Latin America, figures from the World Bank reveal that when its pro- ductivityiscomparedwithotherelectric- itycompaniesintheregion,Mexico’spub- licelectricitycompanyranksinthemid30s outofatotalof81. It is not surprising, then, that a report by the Chamber of Deputies shows the amount of electricity generated by CFE dwindledfrom191.4gigawatthours(Gwh) in2000to157Gwhin2009.Incomparison, privatecompaniesgenerated93Gwhmore in2009thanin2000.Infact,in2009alone, CFEspent268billionpesos($22.2billion) tobuyelectricityfromprivatecompanies, andby2041,thatamountwillreach1.6tril- lionpesos($131billion),inrealterms. Indeed, CFE – just like Luz y Fuerza – operates under an incentive scheme that discourages the search for better quality or cost-reduction, says Eduardo Mar- tínez Chombo, a researcher at El Colegio deMéxicowhowrotein2008anin-depth studyaboutMexico’sstate-ownedelectric- itycompanies. “Inprinciple,thereisnodirectrelation- shipbetweentheoperatingcostsofstate- ownedelectricitycompaniesandthereve- nuetheygeneratefromenergysales,”wrote MartínezChombo. On top of that, under the current scheme, the difference be- tween operating costs and sales revenue is covered by the federal government throughso-called“transfers,” which,accordingtoMartínez Chombo, implicitly create a scheme contrary to the effi- cientuseofresources.Actual- ly,thatwashowLuzyFuerza delCentromanagedtoamass a debt of more than 23.1 bil- lion pesos ($1.9 billion), ac- cording to an audit commis- sionedbytheChamber. Figures compiled by the Chamber suggest that CFE is not in a muchbetterstatethanLuzyFuerza. NOT SO DIFFERENT According to the Chamber’s report, from 2001to2009CFEreceived–intheformof subsidies–562billionpesos($46.6billion), thatis,morethanseventimesthe2010So- cialDevelopmentSecretariatbudget. In fact, Mexico’s electricity industry records the biggest losses among OECD countries. Bizarrely enough, figures from the Interna- tional Energy Agency show that since the beginning of the decade, mean electricity prices in Mexico have sur- passed those of the United States. By 2008, electricity prices in Mexico were gen- erally18percenthigherthan intheU.S. And although the Fi- nance Secretariat is legally responsible for setting elec- tricity rates across the coun- try, there is no independent “The corruption allegations are just a taste of the unaccep- tably poor performance of the CFE.” César Augusto Santiago PRI deputy NOTIMEXPHOTO/JAVIERLIRAOTERO In the fall of 2009, Calderón ordered CFE to take over Luz y Fuerza’s operations. ELECTRICITY ECONOMY &FINANCE Is the Federal Electricity Commission really more efficient now than Luz y Fuerza was before President Calderón closed it down in 2009? bodyinMexicowiththetechnicalcapaci- tyorinformationtomonitorcostsincurred byCFE–thisislikelywhysomelegislators haveaccusedthestate-operatedcompany oflackingtransparency. “Let’smakeanefforttoclarifytheissue of[CFE]tariffsbecausethisisareallysen- sitiveissue,”saidPRIDeputyCésarAugus- toSantiagoduringaSept.10sessioninthe Chamber. Santiago claimed he and other legisla- torshadsentmorethan30officialrequests forinformationtoCFEontheissuewith- outreceivingasingleresponse.Healsoac- cusedtheelectricitycompanyofexcesses andcorruption. CORRUPTION AND EXCESSES Indeed–asinmoststate-controlledcom- panies in Mexico – the salaries and com- pensationsofCFEworkersarewellabove thoseintheprivatesector. FigurescompiledbyMartínezChombo fromtheSocialSecurityInstitute(IMSS) showtheelectricitysectorhasthehighest average wages in the country’s industrial sector.Actually,anexaminationofthelat- estCFEcollectivebargainingagreements revealthatcompensationsfortransporta- tion,mealsandrentaccountedfor77.8per- centofitspayrolltab. Butperhapsmoreworrisomeisthatthe medianmonthlywage–includingcompen- sation–ofanactiveCFEworkerisapproxi- mately27,645pesos($2,276),whiletheme- dianmonthlywageofaretireeis28,016pe- sos($2,332),thatis,1.01timesthemonthly wage,inpesos,ofanactiveworker. Theelectricitycompanyhasalsobeen marred by highly publicized corruption scandals. On Oct. 4, 2009, the former director of operations at CFE, Néstor Félix Moreno Díaz,wasfiredaftertheHoustonChroni- clereportedhehadparticipatedinalleged acts of corruption in a case involving the swisscompanyABB. “The corruption allegations are just a taste of the unacceptably poor perfor- mance of the CFE,” wrote Santiago in a lettersenttootherdeputies. But beyond the usual political point- scoring, a closer examination at CFE’s balance sheet and performance begs the question of whether President Calderón should have used the Federal Electricity Commissionasasymbolofwhatmodern publiccompaniescanachieve. CARLOS MARTÍNEZ CRUZ / MEXICO WEEKLY
  • 13. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 1918 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 AVIATION ECONOMY &FINANCE TOURISM ECONOMY &FINANCE After being grounded for six months, the airline is poised to reach for the skies once more After six months of intense, on-again off- again wrangling with creditors, potential investors and unions, Mexicana has an- nounceditsimminentreturntotheskies. On Aug. 2, 2010, Compañía Mexicana deAviaciónfiledforbankruptcyprotection in the U.S. and Mexico, claiming a debt of $1billion.Suchcolossaldebtshavebeenat- tributedtothecompany’sequallycolossal payroll.Mexicanapilotsreputedlyearned 49percentmorethantheirequivalentsat U.S. carriers, while flight attendants en- joyeda32percentdifferential. According to a Mexicana press state- ment from Aug. 3, 2010, the impact of the global economic crisis, the swine flu out- break in 2009, and the “current structure oflaborcostsaremakingitimpossiblefor thecompanytocontinue.” When trouble hit in August, Tenedo- ra K bought 95 percent of Nuevo Grupo Aeronáutico for a token amount and at- tempted to capitalize the company with investment from private equity fund Ad- ventInternational. However, the failure to agree to a sala- ry reduction program with the pilots and flight attendants closed the door on at- temptstokeepthecompanyrunning.Nue- voGrupoAeronáutico,theparentcompa- nythatoperatesMexicana,MexicanaLink and MexicanaClick, grounded all flights and suspended its operations on Aug. 28, 2010. DEAL FORGED Over the past six months PC Capital, a Mexican private equity firm appointed under the Mexican bankruptcy proce- dure,hasbeenbusynegotiatingarestruc- turingplan.AccordingtoaMexicanastate- ment dated Jan. 24, the restructuring is “advancing favorably,” the requisite num- berofcreditors,50percentbyvalue,areon board, PC Capital has amassed a group of investors to capitalize the company and TenedoraKhasagreedtosellitssharesin NuevoGrupoAeronáuticototheinvestors. The statement also confirmed that agreements had been reached with pi- lot and flight attendant unions. “We have 39 pilots, 80 airhostesses and 846 main- tenance technicians. All of them are Mexicanais preparingto takeoffagain Mexicana ground crew members staged a protest in August 2010 but have since come to terms. NOTIMEXPHOTO/CARLOSPEREDA recertified to commence operations in thecomingdays.Mexicanawillre-launch withsevenairplanes,whichwillriseupto 40 during the second half of the year. Ini- tially our operations will cover Los Ange- les,Chicago,SanAntonio,Miami,Havana and,withinMexico,Guadalajara,Monter- rey,Cancún,Oaxaca,TuxtlaGutiérrezand Veracruz.” The press statement also confirmed Mexicana’s commitment to honor tickets boughtpriortothegroundingofitsopera- tions.Themethodforapplyingforreplace- mentticketshasnotyetbeenconfirmed. It’s not just the passengers or Mexi- cana’screditorswhoarehotlyanticipating thereturnofMexico’soncelargestairline. Business owners in Mexico City’s airport have spent the last six months watching theirprofitsdropoffthesideofacliff. TRICKLE-DOWN TROUBLES PriortothegroundingofMexicanaflights, shops in the airport’s Terminal One en- joyed an almost constant stream of po- tential customers. However, according to taco franchise owner Gabriel Pando “foot fallintheterminalhasdroppedby60per- centsincelastAugust.” “Many of the shops have had to close down, particularly duty free shops and restaurants and roughly 7,000 employees have been made redundant. We original- lyhadnineemployees,nowwehavefive.” Inmobiliaria Fumisa, S.A. de C.V, the company in charge of renting commer- cial space in the terminal was “not ini- tially open to reducing rents” said Pando. However, a recent agreement has provid- ed a backdated 10-percent rent reduction to all businesses that have paid their rent infull,saidPando. Askedifhewasoptimisticaboutthere- turnoftheairlineanditsattendantpassen- gers,Pandosaid:“Ithinkthesituationwill improvelittlebylittlebutitwilltakealong timetoreturntoAugust2010levelsofbusi- ness.Giventhattheairlinewillbeginwith onlyasmallnumberofroutes,ourcustom- erbasewillbesmallerthanitusedtobe.” Mexicana once dominated 40 percent of the Mexican market but during its six- month sabbatical, Aeroméxico and low- cost airlines such as Interjet have tak- en over its routes and assumed a larger market share. Mexicana’s return to oper- ations is set to be small scale. It remains tobeseenwhethertheairlinehaslosttoo much ground over the past six months to regainitssupremacyinthemarket. REBECCA CONAN / MEXICO WEEKLY Tourismsecretary boldlypushesSectur D espite increasingly prominent headlines about violence and murder, President Calderón is not afraid to promote tourism in Mexi- co. Speaking at the inauguration of the National Tourism Convention on Jan. 25,Calderónbluntlydeclaredthatsecu- rityconcernsdonotaffecttourists. “99.99 percent of tourist have com- pletely enjoyable visits,” he said, adding that,“Wearepreparinganewworldwide publicity campaign to highlight the nat- ural beauty and tourist attractions that aboundinourcountry.” Official figures for the industry do indeed indicate that Calderón is not whitewashing reality. Despite high-pro- fileU.S.mediacoverageofviolencehere, theTourismSecretariat(Sec- tur)reportedlastmonththat the number of U.S. visitors arriving to Mexico by air in- creased to 5,907,528 people in 2010. That is a 9.7 percent increase over 2009, a year plagued by the global eco- nomic crisis, the swine-flu epidemic and publicity sur- roundingnarco-violence. Tourism still represents Mexico’sthird-largestsource of foreign exchange (behind oilandremittancesfromem- igrants in the U.S.) and ac- counts for 9 percent of GDP. Thesectoralsoprovides2.5millionjobs andanother2.5millionjobsareindirect- lylinkedtotourism.ButGloriaGuevara isnotsittingonthissuccess. AMBITIOUS CAMPAIGN Guevara, 43, was named tourism secre- tary on March 10, 2010, and she seems wellsuitedforthejob. Shehasmaster’sdegreesinmarketing fromtheUniversidadAnáhuacinMexi- coCityandbusinessadministrationfrom Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Before moving to Sectur, Gue- varawasCEOofSabreHoldingsCorp.’s Mexican unit. Sabre manages software for travel websites used by hotels, air- linesandrentalagencies,andhandles71 percentofMexicanhotel,airlineandcar rentalreservations,accordingtoBloom- bergNews. Lately,Guevarahasbeenaggressively promotingMexicoinEuropeandSectur hasprojectedthatMexicowillreceive26 milliontouristsin2011.Sectursaysthis figure would deposit $15.4 billion in the economy. Thehopefulprojectionisbasedonthe recovering global economy and an am- bitious promotional campaign that tar- getstheUnitedStatesandCanada,while boosting an advertising presence in Eu- rope,AsiaandSouthAmerica. Already this year, Sec- retary Guevara has trav- eled to Spain – where she at- tended the Madrid Interna- tional Tourism Fair – and France.InParis,shemetwith FranceAirwaysCEOLaurent Magnin. On Feb. 3, Guevara announced that France was increasing tourism-related investmentinMexicofeatur- ing 22 new projects. She also saidsheexpectsthattourism from France will increase by 20percentthankstothepro- motionalcampaign. Spearheading the cam- paign is the fact that 2011 has been des- ignated “The Year of Mexico in France,” andactivitiesthroughouttheyeararein- tended to strengthen trade and cultural relations between both nations. Mexico has been invited by the French govern- ment to stage a variety of promotional activities, showcasing the diversity and richnessofitsculturalandeconomiclife beforetheFrenchpublic. Sectur also inked a deal with the WorldTourismOrganizationwhosegoal istomakeMexicoaTop5worlddestina- tionfortourists. TOM BUCKLEY / MEXICO WEEKLY Gloria Guevara took over in March 2010. NOTIMEXPHOTO/JUANCARLOSROJAS
  • 14. 20 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 BRIEFS ECONOMY &FINANCE GREEN ROOFS ON RISE As part of Mexico City’s “Green Plan,” city residents are being encouraged to con- vert their roofs into green oases. Under the plan, which began Jan. 1, residents who install green roofs are eligible for a 25-percent reduction in property taxes. Rather than using common roofing materials such as tiles or concrete, the green roof system uses plants embed- ded in a waterproofing membrane. The environmental benefits include the miti- gation of urban heat island effects, lower- ing the levels of carbon dioxide in the air, improvement of building insulation and absorption of rainwater that would oth- erwise run off into the drainage system. Eli Neri Carrasco, director of Green Roof Systems of Mexico said, “a green roof is a long-term investment. [They] cost $150 per square meter but ... come with a 10-year guarantee.” According to the Environment Secretariat, 58 house- holds have installed a green roof this year. IBERDROLA INVESTMENT At the Davos World Economic Forum in January, Spanish energy group Iberdro- la announced an investment in Mexico of $365 million. The investment will be used to construct an electricity co-generation plant in Salamanca, Guanajuato, and a 20-megawatt wind farm in Oaxaca. The project in Guanajuato was award- ed following an international tender in 2010 and will generate 500 jobs once construction begins later this year. Construction of the wind farm in Oaxaca is expected to generate more than 500 jobs and, according to the com- pany, will “contribute to economic growth in the area and promote the incorpora- tion of regional providers who worked on a similar project two years ago.” Iberdrola president Ignacio Galán confirmed his promise to promote sus- tainable development in Mexico and to consolidate the country’s position as a suitable target for further investment. Iberdrola is a world leader in wind power and already has 106 MW of in- stalled wind capacity in Mexico. It owns two operational windfarms in Oaxaca and is constructing a third in the state. CORDERO HAS CAUTIOUS EYE ON PUBLIC DEBT ISSUES Incidents of illegal logging have increased by over 40 percent in the past 10 years. PHOTOCOURTESYOFGREENPEACE Deforestationaconcernbutgov’t hastroubleenforcingthelaw According to the United Nations report “StatusoftheWorld’sForests,”Mexicohas lost195,000hectaresofforestoverthelast decade. SergioMadrid,directoroftheMexican CivicCouncilforSustainableForestry,said that the forestry sector is facing an enor- mouscrisisthatincludes“economicloss- es and a reduction in the creation of em- ployment. Deforestation is causing an in- crease in the price of wood products and, according to the latest estimations, the il- legal wood market is worth over 4 billion pesosperyear.” According to the Federal Attorney for EnvironmentalProtection,offensescom- mittedagainstthenation’sforestshaveris- enby40.2percentin10years. The government organization has had difficulty investigating the crimes due to alleged intimidation from illegal loggers and one government inspector was mur- dered in 2003 while trying to investigate illegallogging. AccordingtoaGreenpeacestatement, “as long as the government does not take the problem of deforestation seriously andestablishpoliciestocombatit,attacks against those trying to protect the forests willcontinue.” ENERGY ENVIRONMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero called on state and local governments to be cautious about public debt as a safety measure, while at the same time asserting that it is not a se- rious problem at present. “We aren’t talking about a potential time bomb here,” Cordero said. “But public offi- cials must be prudent.” Cordero said that the practice of issu- ing debt has been careless at times and the overall debt for states and municipalities is now about 63 percent of federal outlays to state and local governments. “Unfortunately, the practice of accruing debt has not been based on the principle that future revenues will cover the debt,” he said. “Instead, it is simply used to ac- quire funds that are needed in the short- term without fully considering the future consequences.” While the finance secretary indicat- ed it was best to be alert to the debt situa- tion now, since it will likely “imply sacrifices for some local governments, perhaps even some local tax hikes,” he was not alarmed. “But let’s be clear, it does not rise to cri- sis levels such as we faced with the pension crisis that was addressed by IMSS reforms and the elimination of the Central Power and Light,” Cordero said.
  • 15. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 21 “The U.S., like every country, is not homoge- nous.” Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas life& leisure www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/lifeleisure CULTURE DANCE ARTON SCREEN ON STAGE Hold Still Still life photography by 18 young finalists in a year-long com- petition is on display through March 5 at the Anglo Mexican Foundation at Anto- nio Caso 127. Young Swans “Ópera Prima en Movimiento,” a TV search for dancers, is accepting apps. Resident foreigners are eligible. (www. canal22.org.mx/ operaprima). Oui and Sí “Discover the Other Mexico,” a year-long tribute to Mexican culture featuring hundreds of events across France, kicked off formally on Feb. 3. Border Bound Cineteca Nacional, the nation’s top site for showcasing homegrown and international films, has opened a ven- ue in Tijuana, its first outside Mexico City. A Nobel Act Mario Vargas Llosa, he of the 2010 No- bel Prize for Liter- ature, will act in his own adaptation of “The 1001 Nights” at Bellas Artes on March 5 and 6. Porfirian PleasureArchitecture: Visual elegance ... and mail service too : 24 MEXICOWEEKLYPHOTO/FRANCISCOCANDIDO
  • 16. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 2322 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 BOOKS life& leisure ACaseof ConvictionCuauhtémoc Cárdenas is seen by some as the man who triggered the nation’s democratic opening. How well do we really know him? “Sobre mis pasos” By Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas (Aguilar 2010) 614 pages CuauhtémocCárdenasbeginshismemoir justaswe’dexpecthimto:withtheaccount of an admired public servant who breaks withtherulingpartytowagehisowncam- paignforthepresidency.Hisgoals:adem- ocratic opening and a reversal of the in- cumbent administration’s rightward drift from revolutionary ideals. The election results released by the official party were widely doubted, but the ruling PRI quick- ly quashed the ensuing protests and con- tinueditsgriponpowerundertheunspec- tacularAdolfoRuizCortines(1952-1958). Themaverickcandidatewasnotnamed Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. The author’s his- toricrunforthepresidencywouldcome36 yearslater.ItwasMiguelHenríquez,apo- liticalfriendofCuauhtémoc’sfather,there- vered Gen. Lázaro Cárdenas, who served aspresident from1934to1940.Cuauhté- moc,ateenageengineeringstudentatthe time,hadsympathyfortheHenríquezcan- didacy,butdidnotparticipateinthecam- paign.(Hispoliticalactivismwouldtakeoff in1954when,likemostofLatinAmerica, he was horrified at Eisenhower’s gutting oftheGoodNeighbor Policy via a military coupinGuatemala.) Still,hisbriefsynopsisofthe1952elec- tionsetsthetoneforthe600-pageguided tour of modern Mexican political history that follows. It locates the author’s 1988 campaign in a broader historical context; his may have been the most consequen- tial challenge to PRI authoritarianism, but it wasn’t the first. More important, in myview,ishowtheepisodeservestointro- duce the implacable, almost astonishing, personalintegrityofCárdenaspèreandfils. LázaroCárdenashadvowedtostayun- involved in electoral politics once out of office, a precedent mostly honored by his successorsuntilrecently.Henríquez,mis- reading the former president’s character, assumedthepolicywasflexible.Cuauhté- mocCárdenaswrites,“IthinkthatGener- alHenríquez,whobeforebecomingacan- didateandthenthroughoutthecampaign had been meeting on different occasions with my father — who had reiterated to himhisunalterabledecisionnottopartici- pateinmattersofelectoralpolitics—firm- lybelievedthatintheend,ifthingsweren’t goingwellforhim,myfatherwouldinter- veneandfixthingsinhisfavor.” Theelder Cárdenas did no such thing, and the rela- tionshipbetweenthetwogeneralscooled. From cover to cover, Cuauhtémoc is consistently,sometimesfrustratingly,un- sentimental in matters political and per- sonal. But his deep regard for his father is omnipresent,andit’sclearthatheinherited morefromhimthanalastnamethatguar- anteedhewouldbetakenseriouslyasapo- liticalplayer.LázarowasCuauhtémoc’spo- litical inspiration, instilling a steel-willed commitment to citizen participation, so- cial equality and an activist government that intervenes on behalf of the margin- alized — in short, the outlook of the left. He was also his moral model, and the be- queathedintegrity,respectforthelawand insistence on dignified behavior present themselvesonvirtuallyeverypageof“So- bremispasos”likemarginnotes. Of course, if you want to come off as ethicallybeyondreproach,ithelpstowrite yourownbiography,withyouandonlyyou deciding, a la Bob Seger, what to leave in and what to leave out. But Cárdenas has earned his moral credentials over more than half a century, often under the most 1988: Months after Election Day, Cárdenas rallied his supporters in Mexico City’s Zócalo. 1988: The campaign created a coalition of left-of-center forces, the future PRD. 1957: Lázaro Cárdenas, left, was Cuauhtémoc’s political and moral inspiration. trying of circumstances when most mor- tals might consider just going with what- ever works. Even his political adversaries don’tquestionhisintegrity,especiallynow thattheyassumehecannolongerthreat- enthempolitically.(Cárdenaswillturn77 thisyear,andintruthheneitherlooks,talks oractstoooldforanything.) Hissteadfastconvictioninformsmany ofthecountless,chronologicallycompiled episodesthatserveasthebook’sinfrastruc- ture.Oneofmyfavorites,foritscinematic imagery, is a ceremony organized in 1971 byPresidentEcheverríaattheMonument totheRevolutiontomarkthefirstanniver- saryofthedeathofGen.Cárdenas,and,si- multaneously,the26thanniversaryofthe deathofGen.PlutarcoElíasCalles.Thelat- ter, who served as president (1924-1928) and founded the National Revolutionary Party (the future PRI), had passed away onthesamedate25yearsearlier. The dual memorial was awkward for theCárdenasfamily.Inthe1930s,thetwo generals had become the bitterest of po- litical enemies after Calles, who had de- velopedanalarmingfascinationwithfas- cist ideology, attempted to continue his with the image of the 36-year-old Cárde- nas,alongwithhissisterandhiswidowed mother, seated on the dais, somber-faced, while the president, his Cabinet mem- bers, and other high officials are standing aroundthem,applauding.“Icouldfeelthe tension,”Cárdenaswrites,“asthoughallor atleastmosteyeswerefixedonthoseofus whoremainedseated.” Idescribethiseventatsomelengthbe- cause it’s typical of what’s most valuable about“Sobremispasos”—theabundance of episodes, often otherwise run-of-the- mill in the life of a politician, that serve to revealthecharacterandmotivationofare- markablepublicfigure. Yes,thebookdoes liveuptoitsdifficult-to-translatetitle,fol- lowingthefootstepsoftheauthorthrough his political career that included youthful activism,abriefstintasafederalsenator,a positionintheLópezPortilloadministra- tion, the governorship of Michoacán, the doomedbutearthshakingpresidentialbid of1988,thefoundingofthePRD,twomore runsforthepresidencyin1994and2000, and service as the Federal District’s first electedheadofgovernment. And yes, there’s backstage insight and there’s detail. I promise you’ll learn more abouttheplanningandexecutionofpublic engineeringprojectsthanyoueverthought youwould.Thebookmovesforwardinun- embellished, matter-of-fact Spanish that highlights the man’s conviction but not hispassion.Cárdenasismorecomfortable tellinguswhathethinksthanhowhefeels. If Mr. Spock were to write his memories oflifeaboardtheEnterprise,itmightread somethinglike“Sobremispasos.” But in the end, it’s Cardenas’ extraor- dinaryconvictionthatthereaderremem- bers.ShortlyafterElectionDay1988,with theCárdenascampandmostofthenation convinced the election had been stolen fromhim,Cárdenaswascalledtoameet- ing with the PRI’s Carlos Salinas de Gor- tari, who would be sworn in as president laterthatyear.“Whatdoyouwant?”asked Salinas,whowasholdingthecards.“What Iwant,”Cárdenasreplied,“isforthiselec- tion to be cleaned up.” Assuming perhaps thatCárdenaswasmissingwhatthecon- versation was about, Salinas kept giving himchancestonamehisterms,repeatedly askinghimwhathewanted.Eachtimehe gotthesameanswer:Cleanupthiselection. Cárdenas understood only too well whattheconversationwasreallyabout. KELLY ARTHUR GARRETT/MEXICO WEEKLY strongman rule from behind the throne after President Cárdenas, his former pro- tégé,tookoffice.Thoughtheriftwaspolit- icalandnotpersonal,Calles’daughterap- proachedCuauhtémocbeforetheceremo- ny, concerned that whoever spoke for the Cárdenas “side” might speak ill of her fa- ther.Sheneedn’thaveworried;theCárde- nas sense of decorum would never have permittedsuchathing. What he did do, however, was use his allottedtimeattheceremonytopresenta politicaldocumentthathisfatherhadpre- paredforthe60thanniversaryoftheRev- olutiontheyearbefore,buthadnotlivedto deliver. He doesn’t tell us how long it took toreadit,butanabridgedversionofitfills 16pagesinanappendixofthebook. Now you and I may suspect that sub- jectingthegatheringtoalengthyoralrec- itationofapoliticaldocumentwasanun- friendly act, but that’s the difference be- tween us and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. To himitwasafittingtributetohisfatherand hisnation. Thehighdramathatdaycamewhenthe governmentspeaker,asfeared,announced that with the passing of the two former presidents — on the same date, no less — theirdifferenceshadbeenerasedfromhis- tory. This got President Echeverría to his feet,whichmeantthateveryoneelsepres- entalsorosetoapplaud.ButtheCárdenas contingentrefusedtojoinwhatwasessen- tiallyanattempttocelebrateawaytheissue ofauthoritarianisminMexico.Sowe’releft PHOTOSCOURTESYOFEDITORIALAGUILAR
  • 17. 24 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 25 ARCHITECTURE life& leisure An overlooked gem: Marble floors, bronze stairways and a rich mix of influences From the Porfiriato: The Postal Palace was inaugurated in 1907 by President Díaz. Century-old vending machines: Stamps from the 1910 Revolution centennial are still displayed. H olding its own among the spectacular sites of Mexico City’s Historic Center is a grandiose palace of marble floors,arrestingbronzestair- waysandGothic,Baroque,Plateresqueand Art Deco design. It’s an architectural gem that’s sometimes overlooked, perhaps be- causeit’sneitherafineartsmuseum,acon- verted colonial-era mansion or a historic church. It’sthepostoffice. ThePalaciodeCorreosdeMéxico,orthe Postal Palace of Mexico City, boasts intri- catefacadesandcaptivatinginteriors,plus afirst-floorpostalexhibitionandafourth- floor Naval History Museum. Visitors can optforaguidedtourorsimplystrollthrough the monumental building, which offers a tranquil alternative to the area’s tourist- heavyattractions. Constructiononthepalacebeganin1902 asaresponsetoincreasingdemandsonthe postalservice,asysteminMexicothatdates backtopre-Hispanictimes,whenteamsof Aztec“painani,”ormessengers,wouldrun upto500kilometersadaytoorallydeliver battlenewstoemperors.AftertheSpanish conquest, New Spain’s first Correo Mayor, orMainPostOffice,openedinMexicoCity in1581toservetheviceroyalty,exclusively. By1766,maritimeandlandroutescon- vergedintoanationwidemailmonopoly,and thegovernmentabsorbedtheprivateservice in1817.Postagestampsfirstcameintousein Mexicoin1856,andintheearly1900s,au- thoritiesfinallyabandonedthepunishment of100lashingsandjailtimeforopeningor tampering with mail. Most of the service’s modernization, however, took place under PresidentPorfirioDíaz,whoin1901convert- edwhathadbeenpartoftheTransportation Secretariatintoitsowngovernmentagency. The Palacio de Correos de México was envisioned to house all the post offic- es under one magnificent roof. With the Going Postal The best place to send a postcard or mail a letter in Mexico City is also an architectural marvel that houses two fine little museums. demolition of a hospital on the site run by theFranciscanThirdOrder,Mexicanmil- itary engineer Gonzalo Garita y Frontera andItalianarchitectAdamoBoari(anear- ly designer of the nearby Palacio de Be- llas Artes) began to build. Thick concrete blocks sturdied by steel beams gave the palaceitslastingfoundation,whichunlike manyoftheneighboringbuildingshasnei- ther sunk nor swayed in the unstable top- soiloverthedecades. Enormouswindows, stained glass domes and double-height ceilingsfilledtheinteriorwithnaturallight. President Díaz formally inaugurated the postalpalacein1907. On the outside, delicate details carved in the porous chiluca stone and snarling brassdragonsframeanarchingpairoftwo- ton doors. Interior architecture includes a large ironwork canopy, bronze window frames and a stately elevator, all imported fromFlorence,Italy,plusacombinationof influencesfromtheItalianRenaissanceand Elizabethan Gothic periods and Moorish, ArtNouveauandArtDecodesigns. Thebuildingunderwentarenovationin the1950stolinkittotheadjacentBancode México,thecentralbank.Itsbronzerailswere paintedblack,theelevatorwasshutdownand weathered marble floors were kept intact. Some of the changes left it vulnerable to stressandtherewasdamagecausedbythe 1985earthquake. Inthelate1990s,however,Mexicanar- chitect Juan Urquiaga helped restore the veneratedpalacetoitsoriginalconstruction designandsplendor. Thepostalmuseumtodaydutifullyde- tails through artifacts and archives the history of Mexico’s mail.In the first-floor display, a colorful mosaic by artist Pab- loMagañaGonzálezpiecestogethermore than 34,200 stamps issued from 1890 to 1934. A red lacquered mailbox purchased by Emperor Maximilian is on display, one offourthatheshippedtoMexicofromBu- dapest,Hungary.Two-meterhighvending machinesstilldisplaystampsmarkingthe centennialofMexico’s1810independence fromSpain. The main entrance to the palace is on Tacuba1,nearthecorneroftheEjeCentral (LázaroCardenas)intheCentroHistórico, justeastofthePalaciodeBellasArtes.Mu- seum hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m.to7p.m.andweekendsfrom9a.m.to 3p.m.Thereisnoadmissioncharge. MARIA GALLUCI Maria Gallucci isafreelancewriterinNewYork. Mocheval at the Franz Mayer Artisan designer-weavers organized in the group Mujeres Mayas de Jovel, Chiapas worked with artist Carmen Rion to create new garments from traditional techniques that make up the exhibit “Paisaje Mocheval: Diseño, Moda y Tradición” that will run through March 6 at the Museo Franz Mayer, Hidalgo 45, between Metros Bellas Artes and Hidalgo in the Historic Center. Open daily except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is 45 pesos, free on Tuesdays. (5518-2266) Abel Quezada at the City Museum Until his death in 1991, the drawer and painter (he shunned the cartoonist label) provided witty, principled commentary on the Mexican social and political scene on a near- daily basis. Much of it is in “historieta” form (paneled sketches supported by text), but this generous exhibit also features his paintings, New Yorker covers, political cartoons and the first-ever full public viewing of his famous murals commemorating the 1938 oil expropriation. Quezada’s work is at once light-hearted and telling, and viewing the exhibit feels like visiting an old friend who always has something original to say about what’s going on around us. At the Museo de la Ciudad de México, Pino Suárez 30 between Metros Pino Suárez and Zócalo, through April 2011. Daily except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is 22 pesos, free on Wednesdays. (5522-4775) 9th International Watercolor Biennial Yes, there’s a watercolor museum in Mexico City. It’s in a converted mansion at Salvador Novo 88 in Coyoacán, and it bears the name of its creator, the great Cuernavaca- born watercolorist Alfredo Guati Rojo (1918-2003). Ending Sunday (Feb. 13) is an exhibition of 200 works from more than 23 countries. If you can’t make it by Sunday, the museum´s permanent collection of watercolors is well worth the visit. The Museo Nacional de la Acuarela Alfredo Guati Rojo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. (5554-1801) Sacred Hearts at the Museo Soumaya If it’s February there must be a heart-themed exhibit out there somewhere. “Corazón Sagrado” at the original Museo Soumaya (a second site is opening up at the new Plaza Carso in Polanco) displays more than 100 pieces featuring the Sacred Heart allegory both inside and outside Christian tradition. Most of the pieces — including oil paintings, silver pieces, books, engravings, reliquaries and cabinets — are typically either the work of anonymous masters or equally anonymous popular artisans. The Soumaya is located in the Plaza Loreto at Altamirano 46 in San Ángel and is open daily except Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 pm., with extended hours to 8:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is free. (5616-3731) : AtThe Museums MEXICOWEEKLYPHOTOS/FRANCISCOCANDIDO
  • 18. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 2726 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 FILM IN REVIEW life& leisure The Mexican remake of a Spanish children’s classic asks for an assertion of belief along with the usual suspension of disbelief. Does it work? In1952Spain,aformerPhalangecollabo- rationistnamedJoséMaríaSánchezSilva left his job as a journalist in the service of the Franco regime to dedicate himself to fiction.Itwasasuperbcareerchoice. Almost immediately, “Marcelino Pan y Vino,” his take on a centuries-old tale of a foundling raised by cloistered monks, turned into a bestselling favorite, earning him Spain’s national literary award and eventually the 1968 Hans Christian An- dersen Prize for his body of work. To this day,SánchezSilvaistheonlyauthorwork- ingintheSpanishlanguagewhohasbeen honored with that premier international awardforchildren’sliterature. While the book was a success by any measure, the ensuing movie version was somethingmorethanthat—anera-defin- ingculturalphenomenon,ifyouwill.Nev- ermindthattheerabeingdefinedwasdark withpoliticalrepression,artisticsclerosis and the mass exiling of Spain’s best and brightest.Despitethestiflingatmosphere ofFranco’sSpain—orperhapsbecauseof it—audiencesadoredthisfilmedmiracle playandtheyflockedtoseeit. “Marcelino Pan y Vino” places two 5-year-old boys in very different adult worlds. Neither makes it to 6. Mark Hernández plays the 2010 Marcelino ... ... while Pablito Calvo was the original in 1955. The original version of “Marcelino” was a cultural triumph of Franco’s Spain. PHOTOCOURTESYOFQUALITYFILMS PHOTOCOURTESYOFQUALITYFILMS MoreBread andWine? Theresultwasthattheyoungandnot- so-young of Spain had taken to heart the experience of a lovable 5-year-old who is blissfullycontentinhisconfinedworldas longashecanabsorbthelessonsofhisfa- therfigures,conversewithJesusfromtime totime,andintheendgowithhim.It’shard to imagineFranconotbeingpleasedwith thepromotionofthisdocilewayoflooking at things. Now in film (he co-wrote the screenplay for imported Hungarian di- rector Ladislao Vajda), as before in jour- nalism, Sánchez Silva was still doing the generalísimo’sbidding. The popularity of “Marcelino” spread well beyondSpain. Every Spanish-speak- ingnationseemedtoembraceit,nonemore sothanMexico.Mentionthefilmtoanyone born before You Tube and you’re likely to getadreamy“Oh,Ilovedthatmoviewhen Iwasakid...”It’sanEasterseasontelevision staple,rightalongside“TheRobe”and“Ben Hur.”Toknow“MarcelinoPanyVino”isto knowMexicoalittlebetter. So what to make, then, of the recently releasedremake55yearsaftertheSpanish original,thistimefinanced,filmedandset in Mexico? Director José Luis Gutiérrez Arias, whose previous output ran more to the violent-thriller genre in such films as “Todos los días son tuyos” and “Abril y mayo,” took on the challenging (some would say thankless) task of revisiting a familyclassic.Thequestionisn’tsomuch howwelldidhedoas... whydidhedoit? TheshortansweristhatMexicaninves- tors were confident enough to put up the moneyforit.Thenotionofacheapknock- offwasruledoutearly;itwastobeaquality film.Therewascertainlyplentyofroomfor artisticimprovementover the dated orig- inal, with its 50s-era lack of subtlety and overabundanceofpiousbloat.Andmoving theactiontorevolutionaryMexico(instead of the aftermath of the Napoleonic occu- pation of Spain) looked like a sure crowd pleaser.There’salottheretotemptadirec- toreagertotryhishandatfamilycinema, asGutiérrezAriassayshewas. Mostofhistweaksareinfactimprove- mentsontheoriginal,startingwiththeset- ting. Marcelino’s happy home among the jollybandofFranciscanswasendangered in the 1955 version by a malicious politi- cian,astockfigureifthereeverwasone.In Gutiérrez Arias’ telling, the threat comes from the Revolution itself — that is, from human violence — embodied in a grief- deranged revolutionary who demands, absurdly, that the friars replace his fallen sonbygivinghimMarcelino.Butthisdad’s mad,notbad.Therearenobadguysinthis movie, just a world of general evil outside themonasterywalls. And one unbearably adorable 5-year- old boy. Marcelino spends the first half of the movie in an edenic existence, nam- ingtheanimalshefindsashewandersthe trashless Michoacán countryside of 1912 (almost too beautifully filmed by Ignacio Prieto; you’d swear this was the prettiest revolution ever). Only after an unfortu- nate encounter with a snake do unpleas- anteventsinterferewithMarcelino’spar- adiseofinnocence,includingthedeathof thewiseandkindlyeldestfriar(there’sal- waysoneofthose,isn’tthere?)andtherev- olutionary’sson. Theboy,killedinaskirmishwithfeder- altroops,wasMarcelino’sfriendandalter ego;weevenconfusethetwoatfirst,since his mother (played by the wonderful Te- resaRuiz,whoseperformanceissofreeof the kid-pic conventions of the rest of the castthatsheseemstohaveblowninfrom anothermovie)givesbirthrightaboutthe same time that Marcelino is abandoned outside the monastery door. In the origi- nal, Marcelino’s friend is imaginary, like JimmyStewart’srabbit.Herehe’sreal,liv- ingthelifeMarcelinocan’t,footlooseinthe dangerous man-made world. His death is a heartbreaking tragedy; Marcelino’s is a heartwarmingmiracle. Or that’s what we’re expected to think, at any rate. Which brings us back to the wisdom of remaking this particular mov- ie at this particular time. There’s some- thing disturbingly anachronistic about the way “Marcelino” sets itself so firmly inafundamentalistChristianworldview, withnowiggleroomformetaphororanal- ogy. We’rerequiredtoacceptaliteralinter- pretationofChristianloreforthemovieto makeanysense. Whentheordercomesfromthediocese that Marcelino will stay in the custody of thefriarsandeventuallytakehisownvows, we’renotmeanttothinkabouthowdiffer- entthingswereahundredyearsago,when achildcouldbeblithelyconsignedtoalife- timeofcloisteredcelibacy.We’resupposed to be genuinely pleased at this best of all possibleoutcomes. GutiérrezArias,awareofthedifference, has insisted in interviews that he has not assembledapro-Churchtract,norevena movieaboutreligion.“It’sthestoryofalit- tle boy who talks with God,” he has said. “That’sall.” Thatwouldhavebeennice.Andindeed, little Marcelino’s chats with Jesus (as he bringshimthebreadandwineofthemov- ie’s title) are deftly handled — pleasant, low-key and mercifully without celestial effects. Unfortunately, that’s not the case withthefinalascensionscene,whichlooks likeitwasputtogetherbyanover-caffein- ated computer-graphics dweeb on mes- caline. The climax effectively sabotages — not with a whimper but a hallelujah — a95-minuteefforttoachievesomedegree ofrespectableunderstatement. Which is unfortunate, since the ulti- mate success of the film comes down to howwelltheaudiencehasbeenprimedto accepttheascension—inotherwords,how willingtheyaretoseethedeathofaninno- cent 5-year-old as a good thing. Presum- ably,manyhaveexperienceditasmoving, assomanydidahalfcenturyago.Othersno doubt find it ridiculous, but won’t want to seemsochurlishastosayso.Neitherout- comeisencouraging. KELLY ARTHUR GARRETT/MEXICO WEEKLY CaféTacvba It’s the final week- end of Mexico City’s “FICCMexico” film festival, and there’s still time to catch one of the premiere events, the screen- ing of “Seguir Sien- do,” a full-length musical documen- tary on Café Tacv- ba, the interna- tionally beloved Mexican pop rock group. It will be shown outside on the Zócalo at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13. At the same site and time you can see 80 minutes of fan animation fes- tival on Friday, Feb. 11, and on Saturday, Feb. 12, “The Mer- maid’s Secret,” by the great Japanese animated film direc- tor Hayao Miyazaki. Pre-Screening theNominees Now that there’s 10 of them, catching all the candidates for Best Picture is a scramble, especial- ly outside the films’ country of origin. Most of the nom- inees are or will be viewable in Mexi- co before Feb. 27. Here’s your guide: “Black Swan” Af- ter a week of limit- ed release, it is now in general release in the major metro- politan areas as “El cisne negro.” “The Fighter” As “El peleador,” it was scheduled to go in- to general release on Feb. 11. “Inception” As “El origen,” this one has come and gone. Buy it or rent it. “The Kids Are All Right” Billed as “Los niños están bi- en,” or “Los chicos están bien,” it was part of the recent international festi- val at the Cineteca. It isn’t scheduled to return until March 11. “The King’s Speech”Scheduled for general release on Feb. 18 as “El dis- curso del rey.” “127 Hours” Sched- uled for general re- lease on Feb. 25.. “The Social Net- work” “Red social” has been screening daily at 2:30 and 7 at Cinemanía. Now it’s in wide release. “Toy Story 3” Has come and gone. Buy it or rent it. “True Grit” Went into general release on Feb. 4 as “Tem- ple de acero.” “Winter’s Bone” There seem to be no plans to show this in Mexico soon. : On screen KEEP IN MIND . . . “In general release” means the film is playing at one or more of the major chains, which are Cinemark (www.cinemark.com), Cinemex (www.cinemex. com.mx), Cinépolis (www.cinepolis.com.mx) and Lumiere (www. cinemaslumiere.com). Cinemanía (www. macondocine.com/ cinemania) is an art film house in Plaza Loreto in the San Ángel area of Mexico City.  The Cineteca Nacional (www.cinetecanacional. net) is the government- sponsored international film complex in the South of Mexico City near Metro Coyoacán. Remember, screening times and dates can change quickly and unexpectedly, so check ahead.
  • 19. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 2928 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 SPORTS life& leisure Destination Brazil2014Team Mexico’s new coach José Manuel de la Torre is under the microscope as El Tri takes aim at qualifying for the World Cup The“Chepo”delaTorreeragotofftoawin- ing start on Wednesday. The coinciden- tal “Chicharito” era that was supposed to drive“Chepo”andMexicansoccertonew heights…well,notsomuch. For the first time since 2003, El Tri kickedoffanewyearwithavictoryandthe factthatitwasthefirstgameonthebench forJoséManueldelaTorremadeitallthe moresweeter.Eveniftheperformancewas “deficient,” as Chepo confessed to report- ersafterward. Mexico – ranked No. 27 in the world – was expected to defeat Bosnia-Herze- govina (No. 42), especially since the best Bosnianplayerwasunabletotraveltothe United States due to a visa problem. But even without Manchester City star Edin Szeko, Bosnia had a freer-flowing attack and forced repeated saves from Mexican keeperJesúsCorona.Fortunately,Corona proveduptothetask. If not for two mistakes by the Europe- anside,ElTrimightnothaveputoneinthe wincolumnforChepo. THE MERCILESS MEDIA Up next for El Tri are Paraguay (No. 24) on March 26 and Venezuela (No. 63) on March 29. These are little more than warm-up matches ahead of the first real testforthenewcoach. Thefirstofficialmatcheswilltakeplace inJuneasMexicoparticipatesintheGold CupintheUnitedStates.Thistournament willdeterminetheConcacafchampionand thewinnerwillgetaberthinthe2013Con- federatonsCupinBrazil. Chepoknowshemightfacesomecrit- icism after games leading up to the Gold Cup as Mexico’s notorious sporting press is ruthless when it comes to El Tri. But if the“tricolor”failtolifttheConcacaftrophy, he’llsurelyhearcallsforhishead. JavierAguirrewas(rightfully)crucified for the team’s World Cup performance in South Africa 2010 and he resigned (was shown the door) shortly after setting foot backonMexicansoil. Chepo had led his Toluca Diablos to a league title before the World Cup started and, after a four-month search for a new coach,hewasinvitedtotakethereins.He knows his top priority is to qualify Team Mexico for the 2014 World Cup, but each game–actuallyeachrosterdecisionfrom now on – will be analyzed and dissected. The public is a demanding audience and Mexicans live and die over their beloved national team. But the press is never sat- isfied and winning is never enough. The teammustwinbeautifully. THE CHOPPING BLOCK The pressure will be enormous and there isnoguaranteeChepowillfulfillhisfour- year contract. Only one coach since Bora Milutinovic in the 1980s has completed a World Cup cycle for which he was hired. AndBorahadthegoodfortuneofnothav- ingtoqualifyforthe1986tournament.As host,Mexicohadanautomaticinvite. SincethenCésarLuisMenotti,Manuel Lapuente, Milutinovic (again), Enrique Meza,HugoSánchezandevenSven-Goran ErikssonhavebeenfiredforTeamMexico flops. Only Ricardo Lavolpe successfully kept his job during an entire qualifying campaign,guidingMexicotothe2006Cup inGermany. ChepomustwintheGoldCupthissum- mertoavoidgettingapinkslip.Heshould benefit from overseeing an Under-22 squad at the prestigious Copa América in Argentina.Thisshouldgivehimanoppor- tunitytowatchpromisingyoungsterswho couldwinspotsonthe2014roster. WorldCupqualifyingwillbegininear- nest next year but changes to the Conca- cafqualifyingformatcouldsignificantlyre- duce the difficulty since El Tri might not have to play bitter rival Team USA at all. So if Chepo survives his first six months on the job, he could have a veritable hon- eymoon period to fully install his system and tactical approach into the mindset of hisplayers. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Wednesday’s game in Atlanta featured a ragged performance by El Tri and “Chicharito” in particular was awful. The ManchesterUnitedstarmissedtwoclear scoringchances,flubbedapenaltykickand toooftenignoredteammates,preferringto dribbleintotroubleandlosetheball. Playing a lone striker role in a re- configured 4-2-3-1 line-up, Chicharito disappointed. One sports scribe warned that Hernández could become a head- acheifnottakentothewoodshedbyChe- po. “He believed the clippings and played asifhethought‘Iamtheteam’…although he is without doubt the best player on the team,ifhedoesn’tlosehisattitude,hewill become a prima donna andnot a contrib- utor,” wrote La Afición columnist Carlos ContrerasLegaspi. Chepo declined to criticize individu- alplayersafterthegame,buthefreelyad- mittedtoadeficientperformancebyElTri. “It is important to start off with a win, but it would be more reassuring if we showed good form,” he told reporters in his post-game interview. “When you win andplaybadly,thereisadisquietingsense thatwecameupshort.” “Eventhoughwereadilysawthatthere isagreatdealtoworkon,wearesomewhat satisfiedwiththewin.” Chepo’sfirsttaskwillbetobetteredu- catehissquadtohistacticalideas.Normal- lypreferringa4-4-1-1approach,delaTorre hadtoimproviseafterhislong-timeToluca fieldgeneralSinhawasforcedtomissthe game due to injury. Additionally, Sinha is already34anditisimperativethatChepo findayoungerversionoftheplaymakerto fillthespotbehindthestriker.Giovanidos Santos could eventually provide the cre- ative impetus, though he would seem to fitbetterinthe4-2-3-1. Beyond that, Chepo must also identi- fy faster, stronger candidates for midfield holdingrolesandgetbetterplayfromwing- ers and wing defenders. Crisper passing andsmootherinteractionshouldcomeas the team becomes familiar with Chepo’s system. Goalie Jesús Corona and central de- fenders Francisco Rodríguez and Héc- torMorenoweresolidagainstBosniaand 32-year-oldCarlosSalcidowasmorethan reliable.ChicharitoanddosSantoswillget plenty of chances to shine, as will winger PabloBarrera. But beyond that, Chepo should be giv- en plenty of leeway to experiment. The question is … will the media be sufficient- lypatient? TOM BUCKLEY / MEXICO WEEKLY Facing the enemy: Chepo can expect to have plenty of testy exchanges with the press. Getting in shape: Players do wind sprints during Chepo’s first training camp in early February. A new start: El Tri will see lots of new faces as Chepo begins to prepare a team for Brazil 2014. Rapt attention: Coach de la Torre talks to his charges on his first day on the job. NOTIMEXPHOTO/JORGEÁRCIGA NOTIMEXPHOTO/JORGEÁRCIGA NOTIMEXPHOTO/GUILLERMOGRANADOS NOTIMEXPHOTO/JORGEÁRCIGA
  • 20. 30 MEXICOWEEKLY : Friday February 11, 2011 : what : when : wherer&r SATURDAY 12FRIDAY 11 SUNDAY 13 JUAN SORIANO An exhibition of 37 drawings and 41 sculptures by the late master opens to the public at the Cenart Arts Library Gallery at Rio Chu- rubusco and Calza- da de Tlalpan. Runs through April 29. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mon- day through Friday. CAMILA The soft rock trio, featuring Mario Domm (who pro- duced Thalía and Paulina Rubio), re- prise their hit “De- jarte de Amar” tour with a one-nighter at the Palacio de los Deportes. 8:30 p.m. Tickets: 200 to 1,000 pesos. LUIS MIGUEL The many-Gram- mied and mega- grossing Mexican pop idol kicks off his three-week occupa- tion of the Auditorio Nacional (Thursdays through Sundays until March 6, with a special Feb. 14 per- formance) at 8:30 p.m. Best seats: 2,707 pesos. BEETHOVEN Ramón Shade (pic- tured) conducts the Camerata de Coa- huila and pianist Alejandra Vela in an all-Beethoven pro- gram including the second symphony and the second pia- no concerto. 6 p.m. in the Sala Neza- hualcóyotl ((55) 5622-7113) on the UNAM campus. ÓPERA PRIMA The five winners of Canal 22’s 2010 real- ity show-style com- petition for young opera singers per- form with the Or- questa Sinfónica Juvenil Carlos Chávez at Bellas Artes at 7 p.m. Tick- ets from 120 to 400 pesos. TWO FOR ONE The National Opera Company presents José Pablo Mon- cayo’s “La Mulata de Córdoba” (with li- bretto by the great 20th-century poet Xavier Villaurrutia) and Manuel de Fal- la’s “La Vida Breve.” At 5 p.m. at Bellas Artes. Also Feb. 15, 20 and 22. Tickets 120 to 400 pesos. FIRE KISSES The inimitable Astrid Hadad — song- stress, stage artist, spectacle and sati- rist — stages her unique take on Val- entine’s Day at El Bataclán de la Bo- dega in the Conde- sa. 10 p.m. Reserva- tions and more info at (55) 5525-2473 or (55) 5511-7390. BALLET FOLKLÓRICO The must-see-at- least-once stage spectacular of Mex- ican dance, forever identified with its late creator Amalia Hernández, returns to Bellas Artes after a holiday run else- where. 9:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Sundays (also Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m.). BOLERO KING Carlos Cuevas will sing his signature boleros — and may- be a little José Alfre- do Jiménez — in an 8:30 p.m. Valentine- themed concert at El Lunario, in the Auditorio Nacional complex. With a guest appearance by Imelda Miller. FRENK/ URRUSTI Pianist María Teresa Frenk teams with flautist Rafael Urrusti in a pleasant Sunday afternoon recital at the Museo José Luis Cuevas at La Aca- demia 13, three blocks east of the Zócalo. 1:30 p.m. Admission free. NATIONAL SYMPHONY Carlos Miguel Prieto (pictured) conducts works by Revueltas (“Cuauhnáhuac”) and Shostakovich (“Piano Concert No. 2”), featuring pianist Jorge Luis Prats. 8 p.m. at Bellas Artes. Also Sunday Feb. 13 at 12:15 p.m. TRACES Final day for this high-energy stage circus from the world-conquering Canadian troupe of “urban acrobats” known as 7 Fingers. 5 p.m. at the Teatro Metropolitan ((55) 5510-1035). Also Friday, Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
  • 21. Friday February 11, 2011 : MEXICOWEEKLY 31 NOTIMEXPHOTO/LUISFERNANDOMORENO Apublic messageResidents of Guadalajara staged a protest march in reaction to rising narco-violence. Local students were instrumental in organizing the demonstrations, relying on social media : 32 ForeignAffairsSecretaryPatriciaEspinosasaidremarksbya top U.S. Army official were “totally unacceptable” and do not reflectthestrongbilateralcooperation.Espinosawasreferring tostatementsthatcomparedMexico’sdrugwartoan“insur- gency”andsuggestedthattheU.S.mightsendtroopstoMexi- cotoattackorganizedcrimefromtakingoverthegovernment. AngryEspinosahitsoutat commentsbyU.S. official WAR ON DRUGS MILITARY JUSTICE COMMEMORATING AIR FORCE DAY Mexico’s armed forces are built to keep the peace, President Calderón affirmed Thursday. “They do not invade and they aren’t to blame for the violence that is affecting the nation,” Calderón said. ZHENLI MIGHT SOON BE BACK IN MEXICO A U.S. judge approved business- man Zhenli Ye Gon’s extradition to Mexico, where he faces drug charges. U.S. authorities accused Zhenli of smuggling metham- phetamine into the country, but they dropped the charges. www.mexicotoday.com.mx/information/security