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18 Nov 2008 23:39:16 -0000
Mexico Solidarity Network
Red de Solidaridad con Mexico
MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
NOVEMBER 10-16, 2008
1. CALDERON NAMES NEW INTERIOR SECRETARY
2. INFLATION HITS POOREST CONSUMERS
3. ORTEGA WINS PRD PRESIDENCY
4. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (Contact MSN@MexicoSolidarity.org [1])
1. CALDERON NAMES NEW INTERIOR SECRETARY
Six days after a plane crash claimed the life of Juan Mouriño, President
Felipe Calderon named a new Interior Secretary. The choice of Fernando Gomez
Mont came as a surprise to many analysts and broke with Calderon’s tendency to
name inexperienced but loyal cabinet members. Gomez Mont is a well-known
lawyer and long-standing member of the National Action Party (PAN). His
father, Felipe Gomez Mont, was a founder and principle ideologue of the PAN.
He is close to Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, one the most polemic, corrupt and
conservative figures in PANismo.
During several decades as a lawyer, Gomez Mont defended many high profile cases
involving important political figures, including Raul Salinas de Gotari, brother
of former President Carlos Salinas de Gotari, who was charged with corruption
and receiving illicit funds from drug trafficking. In one of his first high
profile cases in 1994, Gomez Mont successfully defended Carlos Cabal Peniche
against corruption charges. This led to a series of important corruption cases
in which he defended high level officials, including Tomas Peñaloza, former
treasurer of the IMSS, Gerardo de Prevoisin, former Director of Aeromexico,
Jorge Lankenau, former bank executive, and Rogelio Montemayor, former Director
of Pemex. He served briefly as a federal Deputy along with Calderon during the
55th legislature, but has held no other elected office. However, Gomez Mont
knows Mexico’s electoral system well, having served as a member of the Federal
Electoral Commission and as the PAN representative to the Federal Electoral
Institute. He vigorously defended PAN electoral victories over the past
decade, including the fraudulent election of President Calderon.
During his formal presentation of the new Interior Secretary, President
Calderon emphasized that his administration would not negotiate agreements with
Mexico’s increasingly violent drug cartels. Calderon may have felt obliged
to make this statement given Gomez Mont’s defense of drug dealers and corrupt
government officials, as well as the defense of members of the Sinaloa cartel by
his close friend and political ally Diego Fernandez de Cevallos. The new
Interior Secretary will likely focus on Calderon’s most important current
political initiatives, including reform of the justice system, establishment of
a unified national police force, and the 2009 mid-term elections. The next
election cycle could prove decisive for an increasingly weak President
Calderon. Most experts expect the PAN to suffer significant loses at local,
state and federal levels, which could leave an already fragile Calderon
administration as little more than a caretaker government for the next three
years. In this context, Gomez Mont’s broad experience with electoral
dynamics could portend manipulation or fraud during the mid-term elections.
The Interior Secretary is the second most powerful position in the Mexican
government and is traditionally seen as a stepping stone to the presidency;
however, Gomez Mont is unlikely to vie for his party’s nomination in 2012.
Look for Gomez Mont to serve through the 2009 elections, then be replaced by
someone closer to Calderon.
2. INFLATION HITS POOREST CONSUMERS
Rampant inflation during the first two years of Felipe Calderon’s presidency
is hurting the poorest consumers most. Since December of 2006, the cost of the
basic food basket (CAR – an important measure of costs particularly for the
poorest consumers) increased by 43%, while the minimum wage increased by only
8%, according to a report by the Center for Multi-disciplinary Analysis of the
Economic Faculty of the UNAM. Almost two-thirds of Mexican workers earn three
minimum wages or less.
3. ORTEGA WINS PRD PRESIDENCY
The Federal Electoral Tribune (TEPJF) awarded Senator Jesus “Chucho”
Ortega, leader of the New Left wing of the PRD, the party’s presidency this
week, nearly eight months after highly controversial elections marred by fraud
left the party badly divided. In a unanimous decision, the TEPJF gave the
disputed election to Ortega by a margin of 35,000 votes, despite widespread
fraud documented during the competition. Ortega filed a formal complaint with
the TEPJF, but his nearest competitor, former Mexico City Mayor Alejandro
Encinas, refused to file with the Tribunal. Encinas is close to former PRD
presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost a fraudulent 2006
election after the TEPJF lined up behind current President Felipe Calderon.
The Tribunal’s ruling noted that 23% of voting booths produced fraudulent or
unrel
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