 |
| Relatives of the real Emiliano Zapata Greet AMLO |
Last week when asked at Democracy Now ! how she felt about AMLO's new Presidency, Lila Downs was very kind and tactful and answered, "It is too soon to tell." Meanwhile, Presidente AMLO is getting hit from all sides with criticism, skepticism and doubt. The most recent reviews, aside from the The Wall St. Journal's scathing portrayal, to long time political opponents, to acclaimed journalists, to Javier Sicilia's reproach, to Jorge Ramos (who we cherish), to everyone in between including the environmentalists and Zapatistas, are reports from the New York Times.
Here then, pasted for you is Zeta's summary of one of the New York Times reports:
~ From Zeta:
El Nuevo Pais Que AMLO Afirma Construir se Parece Mucho Al Mexico Viejo Que Juro Dejar Atras: NYT
Por, Carlos Alvarez - 05/13/19
" Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is approaching his first six months in office and the so-called "Fourth Transformation," which he promised after his "overwhelming" electoral victory, has not yet been reflected, The New York Times reported in an extensive interview. reportage, signed by Azam Ahmed and Kirk Semple.
"After his vast victory last year, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised a great transformation of the country, in his opinion comparable with the independence of Spain and the Mexican Revolution. But five months after starting his term, the new Mexico he claims to be building is very similar to the old Mexico he swore to leave behind, "the newspaper said.
The report of the NYT, entitled: 'AMLO is close to six months of government and Mexico still awaits the fourth transformation', as an example, among many others, the issue of corruption, which López Obrador claims to have eradicated. "However, since taking office he has not announced any significant prosecutions of public officials or other prominent figures on corruption charges," the paper said.
"Beyond that, in its first three months, its government awarded more than 70 percent of its contracts directly, without bidding, according to Mexicanos against Corruption and Impunity, a journalism research organization, which symbolizes a strong change in the promise of López Obrador to break with that tradition of Mexican politics. ", abounded the NYT.
In terms of security, López Obrador promised to remove the military from the streets, but ended up guaranteeing the Army's role in national security, while homicide rates in Mexico reached their highest levels in more than two decades. indicated the newspaper.
Regarding migration, López Obrador began his term of office by welcoming migrants heading north and criticizing the enforcement approach of the previous government. But recently, its management has taken a tougher line and has increased the detention and deportation of people from Central America, and from other countries, who enter Mexico.
"Far from counteracting the harsh measures taken by US President Donald Trump along the border, the Mexican president often backs them up, perhaps to avoid a fight with his most important business partner," the Times said.
"López Obrador has also alarmed many Mexicans for their threatening statements against the media, including their warnings that reporters should 'behave' or say, 'If you pass by then you know what happens'. An ominous warning in one of the most dangerous countries in the world to practice journalism. At least six journalists have been killed since the current government began. "
The New York newspaper recalled, also, that last weekend, "about six thousand protesters" took to the streets to demand the resignation of López Obrador, "frustrated by their polarizing language and distrustful of the policies of their management."
However, the NYT said, the Mexican president continues to be very popular in the country, to then receive the most recent survey that places López Obrador's approval rating above 60 percent.
"This is largely due to the fact that it understands the historical distance that existed between the rulers of the nation and its people, and has committed to closing that gap," the US media quoted, and then set an example of the sale of the plane. presidential and the use of commercial flights to move around the country.
"He turned the presidential palace into a public cultural center. Cut the highest salaries of public employees and increased the lowest, and said that all public officials are required to declare their assets and possible conflicts of interest. "
"These actions reflect their interest in ordinary citizens, a rarity among the leaders of the country whose excesses and indifference have been old traditions of Mexican politics.", The NYT added in its report.
In addition to the constitutional reform that classifies corruption, fuel theft and electoral fraud as serious crimes. And as the President's Office told the newspaper, more legislative changes are planned in areas such as labor legislation and education.
"López Obrador has also announced a wide range of new programs for the poor, a central promise of his campaign. He has said that if he is successful, his programs could take some twenty million people out of poverty during his six-year term, despite the general questions about how he will pay for all these initiatives. "
"The new president also has a majority in both houses of the legislature, which gives him a great advantage. Since the opposition is divided, there are few controls over its power and that gives it a great freedom to fulfill its agenda, but it has also caused critics to worry about their combative attitude, "the Times said.
"His political dominance was shown at the beginning of his term when he canceled a $ 13 billion airport project, a decision that cost the nation dearly because the bondholders who backed it were rewarded."
The newspaper highlights the morning conferences of López Obrador, through which "he has won many Mexicans with his unusual availability."
"From his podium he answers questions about the day's events and talks about everything from infrastructure to baseball. On the contrary, his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, only held a few press conferences throughout his term. ", Recalled the NYT.
"These sessions also show the erratic side of López Obrador: his susceptibilities, his rudeness and his tendency to answer with long and confusing monologues. His many public complaints have made his supporters also attack journalists, which has caused a great deal of confusion in many of them, "said the foreign media."
~~~~~
Here is the original article, and check out the comments:
~ From the New York Times:
A New Revolution? Mexico Still Waiting As Lopez Obrador Nears Half-Year Mark
By, Azam Ahmed & Kirk Semple - 05/13/19
~~~~~~~
Also from the New York Times:
Mexico: El Violento Pais Que AMLO No Tiene Baja Control
Por, Jose Luis Pardo Veirus - 05/12/19
" MEXICO CITY - The exchange on the homicide data held by journalist Jorge Ramos and the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, last month during one of the daily press conferences of the president, led to an important discussion on freedom of expression, but at the cost of overshadowing the underlying theme: Mexico is going through the most violent period of its modern history. Two years ago he broke the record of murders, last year he surpassed it and the projections for this are that the same thing will happen.
López Obrador blamed the strategy of fighting violence with more violence and the legacy of corruption and impunity, but said : "We have controlled the situation, according to our data." It is true that the inheritance is catastrophic: during the last two governments the homicide rate more than doubled. But it is false that the situation is controlled. Around 2,500 people were killed each month in the first four months of their rule. With so little time in power, his statement is also impossible.
Lopez Obrador's grandiloquence does not marry well with the violent reality of his country. The prudence of the journalists that the president praised with irony the day after the meeting with Ramos is something he would do well to apply to his own speeches, especially on issues such as homicide. But even more important is that the debate on homicide should focus on the structural nature of violence rather than on statistics.
The murder in Mexico is more complex than the war against drug trafficking , the central axis of their predecessors, or the fight against the huachicoleo -theft of fuel-, one of the initial bets of the López Obrador government. And, although corruption and above all impunity are incentives for murder, they do not explain everything either. There are no magic solutions, not even quick, because violence in Mexico is already part of their being.
Sometimes the actions of violence rather than causes are consequences; practices at the service of political and economic interests, legal and illegal. In Mexico, killing has become a cross-cutting solution that serves not only to end the enemy, but to end any present or future annoyance that crosses those powers: fear as a form of social control.
The official discourse that only good or bad people who fight a war die is also fallacious. The murder has silenced journalists , activists who oppose mining or megaprojects and, of course, thousands of people who have committed the sin of living in abandoned areas or to which the State only arrives to corrupt or to become an actor criminal more.
The homicide is, in addition, only the realization of a constant threat and the expression of something that, in short, is a major phenomenon in the country: violence . The internal displacement -of which there are no figures- is a plausible reality of it. Another is extortion.
Saying 'the most violent year in Mexico' means that more than 33,000 people were killed in 2018; also that thousands of threatened people leave their homes with what they have to flee aimlessly; that many others pay a fee to have a business or that they close it because they can not pay; that even the simplest acts such as speaking are subject to the rules of violence and that, in many cases, reporting to the authorities all of the above can also cause death, without knowing very well who has pulled the trigger.
And, although we have an approximate count of the deaths of more than a decade of violence , we still can not measure its consequences. In several states of Mexico, such as Veracruz, clandestine graves continue to appear. The last ones in the La Guapota property: 43 pits and a number of human remains not yet determined . If we do not have accurate accounting, it seems impossible that neither this nor any government has the situation controlled.
In the long and vague response that López Obrador gave to Ramos, the president spoke about how part of his strategy is to repair the abandonment of the countryside and the future of young people. He is right, because reducing homicides requires a comprehensive policy, not just security. But we will have to see if this generic discourse becomes concrete public policies. So far the words of López Obrador have not always corresponded to his deeds. It has happened with the shift in the issue of migration and also in security .
For example, we still need to know if it occurs and how the announced regulation of marijuana for personal consumption and poppy for the production of medicines. It would not be the solution to the problem of violence, but part of it. It would drive thousands of peasants out of hiding, many young people, who are already engaged in this business in Mexico, the main producer in Latin America of these drugs, and alleviate the overpopulation of the prison system .
So far, López Obrador's position has been very similar to combating violence with violence that he criticizes from his predecessors. Against his campaign promises, his star plan is a deepening of the militarist logic that has contributed to bring the country to this situation: the creation of the National Guard .
This has been a missed opportunity to create the conditions for a necessary change more adapted to the needs of Mexicans. The military came to the streets twelve years ago under the logic that the police were corrupt to the core. Despite the failure of this strategy, it is impossible to leave overnight, but an institution could be created to prepare the return of security to civil power. To combat an all-encompassing violence, what is needed are good agents to investigate and on whom the community can rely, not large operatives and soldiers who carry out orders.
But the gradual demilitarization of public safety added to the regulation of drugs would not be enough either. The violent Mexican reality demands laws to recognize and protect the displaced, an independent justice that investigates the connections between organized and political crime, trained and well-paid policemen that the community can trust and a long-term social package to recover the countryside and young people, the main victims and victimizers of this tragedy. It is logical to think that solving such a structural problem will take longer than the six years of López Obrador's government, but its objective should be to lay the foundations so that one day when a president says "the situation is controlled" there is some truth."
~~~~~
Finally, some updated stats...sorry this took so long:
~ Zeta reports the stats from the PGJE; 183 executed en Tijuana:
Cierra Abril Con 183 Ejecutados En Tijuana
_____
~ May started off with separate attacks on the authorities including an armed attack against PEPOs in Sanchez Taboada:
Atacan a Balazos a Agentes de la PEP en la Sanchez Taboada
Additionally, Municipal Police are attacked by gunmen in colonia San Angel (San Antonio de Los Buenos behind us) - no arrests in either case:
Ahora Agredan a Tiros a Policias Municipales, no se Reportan Lesionados
~ Zeta Reports:
"924 executions in BC during the year"
A little more than a week before starting in May, Baja California has 924 people deprived of life in different events. Tijuana leads the list with 745 deaths, followed by Ensenada (60), Rosarito (46), Mexicali (45) and Tecate (28).
So far in the fifth month, 50 people swell the statistics of intentional homicides.
Here is an account of the events that occurred between Sunday 5 and Thursday 9 May.
Sunday 5 A lifeless body burned and covered with blocks and debris, was located in a vacant lot in Leandro Valle. In the General Hospital, Manuel Enrique Salinas Martínez, 36 years old, was killed by a bullet wound two days earlier in Las Delicias. Sandra Luz Oliva Ramírez, 50, was murdered with a knife by her partner, a 53-year-old man, who was assured by the authorities.
Monday 6 A 40-year-old stranger was found dead in the Las Torres neighborhood. A calcinated lifeless body was found in the trunk of a sedan vehicle without license plates and no visible serial number, in a vacant lot in the Margarita Morán neighborhood. On Boulevard 2000, at the height of Real de San Francisco, a subject was shot by members of the Municipal Police of Tijuana when, after a persecution and shooting at the agents, he tried to steal a patrol; At the scene of the crime were a gray Chevrolet Equinox and a Chevrolet Tornado, five base bushings 223, ten 9 mm base sockets, a vehicle SSPM P-2891 and a firearm model 09 High Point .
In Urbi Villa Prado, a stranger aged around 30 years was found dead with injuries to the neck and abdomen; On the site, expert witnesses located six 40-caliber casings. Ernesto Ruvalcaba Sauceda, 57 years old, was shot dead when he was in the Guaycura subdivision. A rotten corpse with injuries from gunfire was found in Paseos del Vergel. A metallic knife was located in the place where a stranger was murdered in the colony Leandro Valle. In La Morita a man of 40 years was executed; six 9 mm sockets were found scattered in the area.
Tuesday 7. In Los Alamos the discovery of the lifeless body of a 45-year-old man wrapped in a black plastic bag was found. On the side of the corpse was a message with the following caption: " ANTONIO MATA PEDRO GUAJICALCO SIGAN CHINGANDO PEOPLE AND SO ARE GOING TO END NOT TO BE POLICE SIT A SENSE ... AS THIS WHIP RATA PR NO KNOWLEDGE HAD.
The bodies of a man and a woman were found dead in Camino Verde; next to the deceased, their perpetrators left a card with the following message: "THIS IS GOING TO PASS TO ALL THE CHAPULINES" PUTOS. In the place, two 40 mm caliber casings were packed.
In the El Encinal neighborhood, a 35-year-old man was shot in the face, head and abdomen. In Montes Olímpicos, five shots ended the life of Cristhian Daniel Flores, 25; according to witnesses, his attacker was dressed in black and fled foot-land. A male between 45 and 50 years old was killed by gunshot wounds to his chest at El Pipila, where experts found nine nine-mm-caliber gun shells. With gunshot wounds to the head, the body of a 45-year-old stranger was found at the entrance of a second-home address in Las Flores.
Wednesday 8 On the Vía Rápida Poniente, at the height of the Astor hotel, inside the canalization was located a dead person of approximately 45 years. While at the General Hospital died Antonio López Palafox, 41, after being wounded by a bullet in the thorax in the Ciudad Jardín neighborhood."
~ May 13th @ 2:52 pm Zeta Reports we are now at 70 executed en Tijuana:
Ocho Ejecutados en Las Ultimas Horas
" An employee of a mechanical workshop was shot dead in front of the business located in the vicinity of the Sanchez Taboada neighborhood, at noon on May 13. With this fact add up to 70 crimes so far in May.
It was around 12:00 hours when it was reported that a person had been shot to death while he was repairing a vehicle on Virgo Street and Sanchez Taboada Avenue.
The man, between 25 and 30 years old, known as "Lupe", was declared lifeless in the place.
Yesterday, at around 0620 hours, in a building located on the corner of the Empire Street and the Aztec Empire of the Imperial Valley, the burnt body of a person was located.
Two hours later another burned body was found on Avenida Internacional in Colonia Libertad.
After a male of 25 years, was found dead wrapped in a blue blanket, in private Oriol 60 of Natura Fractionation.
Human remains inside two blue suitcases were found in a dirt section in San Pedro alley in Colonia Libertad.
A 45-year-old stranger was murdered in a house used as a "picadero" on Sinaloa street in the Mexico neighborhood.
This morning of Monday 13 in a red suitcase, were located the lower extremities of a person on Fermina Rivera Street of colonia del Rio . A card with a legend was left next to the remains.
Wrapped in a brown blanket was found between garbage and brush a body without life, in Angostura street in the Villa of Baja California.
No arrests so far."
~~~~~
~ Still, there are even more, so make that 72+ dead in Tijuana this month:
- Hallan Restos Humanos en Las Delicias
- Tres Sujetos Intentan Asaltar Transporte de Ruta y Ejecutan a Pasajero
~ Although no one was actually killed in this attack, it should be mentioned:
- 05/09: Municipal Police have been accused of the harassment of two young PRD Brigadistas after they had been attacked by gunfire in SA de Los Buenos. The young men who were the victims of the assault were said to have been manhandled by the policia; one who had been shot in his hand was actually handcuffed. However, Julian Leyzaola (PRD candidate for Mayor) remarked he would not press charges for an investigation since he simply does not trust the authorities - particularly since they have been ineffective in dealing with the violence/crime which plagues the city. Something to keep in mind if you are thinking of coming down here.
PRD Denuncia Acoso Por La Municipal Tras Ser Baleados Dos de Sus Brigadistas
Por, Uriel Saucedo
~~~~~
You can keep up with all the latest inclusive of the gringo who was being pursued by Police and rammed into 17 vehicles and ran over 5 to 7 people attempting to flee...we'll be watching this for more details on this one - good pics and video here. Importantly pre-election fever consumes the region.
Zeta Tijuana
BTW, Frontera has changed their format, Carmen Gutierrez is still reporting from Rosarito Beach, hopefully they will bring back their political cartoons and the entire editorial board, they are missed.
Finally, some updated stats...sorry this took so long:
~ Zeta reports the stats from the PGJE; 183 executed en Tijuana:
Cierra Abril Con 183 Ejecutados En Tijuana
_____
~ May started off with separate attacks on the authorities including an armed attack against PEPOs in Sanchez Taboada:
Atacan a Balazos a Agentes de la PEP en la Sanchez Taboada
Additionally, Municipal Police are attacked by gunmen in colonia San Angel (San Antonio de Los Buenos behind us) - no arrests in either case:
Ahora Agredan a Tiros a Policias Municipales, no se Reportan Lesionados
~ Zeta Reports:
"924 executions in BC during the year"
A little more than a week before starting in May, Baja California has 924 people deprived of life in different events. Tijuana leads the list with 745 deaths, followed by Ensenada (60), Rosarito (46), Mexicali (45) and Tecate (28).
So far in the fifth month, 50 people swell the statistics of intentional homicides.
Here is an account of the events that occurred between Sunday 5 and Thursday 9 May.
Sunday 5 A lifeless body burned and covered with blocks and debris, was located in a vacant lot in Leandro Valle. In the General Hospital, Manuel Enrique Salinas Martínez, 36 years old, was killed by a bullet wound two days earlier in Las Delicias. Sandra Luz Oliva Ramírez, 50, was murdered with a knife by her partner, a 53-year-old man, who was assured by the authorities.
Monday 6 A 40-year-old stranger was found dead in the Las Torres neighborhood. A calcinated lifeless body was found in the trunk of a sedan vehicle without license plates and no visible serial number, in a vacant lot in the Margarita Morán neighborhood. On Boulevard 2000, at the height of Real de San Francisco, a subject was shot by members of the Municipal Police of Tijuana when, after a persecution and shooting at the agents, he tried to steal a patrol; At the scene of the crime were a gray Chevrolet Equinox and a Chevrolet Tornado, five base bushings 223, ten 9 mm base sockets, a vehicle SSPM P-2891 and a firearm model 09 High Point .
In Urbi Villa Prado, a stranger aged around 30 years was found dead with injuries to the neck and abdomen; On the site, expert witnesses located six 40-caliber casings. Ernesto Ruvalcaba Sauceda, 57 years old, was shot dead when he was in the Guaycura subdivision. A rotten corpse with injuries from gunfire was found in Paseos del Vergel. A metallic knife was located in the place where a stranger was murdered in the colony Leandro Valle. In La Morita a man of 40 years was executed; six 9 mm sockets were found scattered in the area.
Tuesday 7. In Los Alamos the discovery of the lifeless body of a 45-year-old man wrapped in a black plastic bag was found. On the side of the corpse was a message with the following caption: " ANTONIO MATA PEDRO GUAJICALCO SIGAN CHINGANDO PEOPLE AND SO ARE GOING TO END NOT TO BE POLICE SIT A SENSE ... AS THIS WHIP RATA PR NO KNOWLEDGE HAD.
The bodies of a man and a woman were found dead in Camino Verde; next to the deceased, their perpetrators left a card with the following message: "THIS IS GOING TO PASS TO ALL THE CHAPULINES" PUTOS. In the place, two 40 mm caliber casings were packed.
In the El Encinal neighborhood, a 35-year-old man was shot in the face, head and abdomen. In Montes Olímpicos, five shots ended the life of Cristhian Daniel Flores, 25; according to witnesses, his attacker was dressed in black and fled foot-land. A male between 45 and 50 years old was killed by gunshot wounds to his chest at El Pipila, where experts found nine nine-mm-caliber gun shells. With gunshot wounds to the head, the body of a 45-year-old stranger was found at the entrance of a second-home address in Las Flores.
Wednesday 8 On the Vía Rápida Poniente, at the height of the Astor hotel, inside the canalization was located a dead person of approximately 45 years. While at the General Hospital died Antonio López Palafox, 41, after being wounded by a bullet in the thorax in the Ciudad Jardín neighborhood."
~ May 13th @ 2:52 pm Zeta Reports we are now at 70 executed en Tijuana:
Ocho Ejecutados en Las Ultimas Horas
" An employee of a mechanical workshop was shot dead in front of the business located in the vicinity of the Sanchez Taboada neighborhood, at noon on May 13. With this fact add up to 70 crimes so far in May.
It was around 12:00 hours when it was reported that a person had been shot to death while he was repairing a vehicle on Virgo Street and Sanchez Taboada Avenue.
The man, between 25 and 30 years old, known as "Lupe", was declared lifeless in the place.
Yesterday, at around 0620 hours, in a building located on the corner of the Empire Street and the Aztec Empire of the Imperial Valley, the burnt body of a person was located.
Two hours later another burned body was found on Avenida Internacional in Colonia Libertad.
After a male of 25 years, was found dead wrapped in a blue blanket, in private Oriol 60 of Natura Fractionation.
Human remains inside two blue suitcases were found in a dirt section in San Pedro alley in Colonia Libertad.
A 45-year-old stranger was murdered in a house used as a "picadero" on Sinaloa street in the Mexico neighborhood.
This morning of Monday 13 in a red suitcase, were located the lower extremities of a person on Fermina Rivera Street of colonia del Rio . A card with a legend was left next to the remains.
Wrapped in a brown blanket was found between garbage and brush a body without life, in Angostura street in the Villa of Baja California.
No arrests so far."
~~~~~
~ Still, there are even more, so make that 72+ dead in Tijuana this month:
- Hallan Restos Humanos en Las Delicias
- Tres Sujetos Intentan Asaltar Transporte de Ruta y Ejecutan a Pasajero
 |
| Courtesy Zeta |
~ Although no one was actually killed in this attack, it should be mentioned:
- 05/09: Municipal Police have been accused of the harassment of two young PRD Brigadistas after they had been attacked by gunfire in SA de Los Buenos. The young men who were the victims of the assault were said to have been manhandled by the policia; one who had been shot in his hand was actually handcuffed. However, Julian Leyzaola (PRD candidate for Mayor) remarked he would not press charges for an investigation since he simply does not trust the authorities - particularly since they have been ineffective in dealing with the violence/crime which plagues the city. Something to keep in mind if you are thinking of coming down here.
PRD Denuncia Acoso Por La Municipal Tras Ser Baleados Dos de Sus Brigadistas
Por, Uriel Saucedo
~~~~~
You can keep up with all the latest inclusive of the gringo who was being pursued by Police and rammed into 17 vehicles and ran over 5 to 7 people attempting to flee...we'll be watching this for more details on this one - good pics and video here. Importantly pre-election fever consumes the region.
Zeta Tijuana
BTW, Frontera has changed their format, Carmen Gutierrez is still reporting from Rosarito Beach, hopefully they will bring back their political cartoons and the entire editorial board, they are missed.