The rigth wing in Mexico

Wow, it's incredibly surprising how they right wing in Mexico is trying to put and end to the public education. I just found this note in a newspaper:

La Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) hizo un llamado a los rectores de las universidades públicas del país a iniciar un debate “serio” para imponer cuotas a los estudiantes y crear un sistema de créditos, debido a que en este momento más de un millón de jóvenes, es decir, 40 por ciento de la matrícula nacional, recibe un subsidio que es 12 veces mayor que el de estudiantes provenientes de zonas indígenas o de escasos recursos.

It basically says that the federal government made a call to the public universities to begin a debate to impose fees. This is very interesting, because there's a very clear idea to end with the public education based on the next principles:

• a) The education should be privatized, since it has large costs for the government


• b) Only a few should be able to receive high-quality education: those who can pay a private school


• c) The handcraft should have priority over the education. We are a handcraft country, after all.


• d) It's easier to gain control over the students in the private universities; at least that's the case in Mexico (observe that I'm not against the private education. I'm saying that the private education trends to sucks IN Mexico). Some of those universities have given us the worst politicians and businessmen.


• e) In some universities -such the UNAM- there's a big concentration of left-winged groups, which could be a problem for the right-winged governments. So, let's end with them too.


After all this principles, you will find that the right-wing that is currently in Mexico DID LEARN what Neoliberalism means.

Source of the new here

The current status of the problem in Oaxaca

For the mexican audience, it's not a secret that the problems arising in Oaxaca are related to the abuses committed by the government of the state. Right now the scenario appears to be pretty complicated, and different groups in the country are showing their dislike for the use of the army by the federal government (around 7 persons have been killed in the last days).

Usually it's nice to read articles and essays by the international media, telling the truth about the circumstances in the international events. I used to read DW (Deutsche Welle), until I found this stupid paragraph:

El presidente de México, Vicente Fox, se acerca al último mes de su gobierno con un nivel de popularidad muy superior al de otros mandatarios latinoamericanos. Por ello, son muchos los mexicanos que seguramente aplaudirán el envió de tropas policíacas a Oaxaca

First of all, Fox hasn't a very good popularity here in Mexico. Even more, he is shown as a clown by the media. Second, the mexican nation isn't very happy about the army trying to take Oaxaca. The demonstration taking place along the entire country are a proof of that.

Hey, trolls

Hey trolls. Yes, you trolls. Since you can't understand the things written by the media (and by media, I mean Proceso, Jornada, Mileno, and similar), I want to put these pictures. They are very easy to understand.





Since these goodies are very easy to understand, I highly recommend: http://www.monerohernandez.com/

Of course, you could also try to read good articles (forget about Cronica and such).

PD - I beg your pardon for such hard words.

Ellos no se lo merecen

Elections in Mexico

The mexican media says that PRD -left wing- and the PAN -right wing- have a technical draw.

BUT it's very clear that the government and the IFE president, Luis Carlos Ugalde, are trying to manipulate the elections.

BEFORE other thing, go read: Sendero del peje, and the great post of Miguel de Icaza. I love the next parafraphs:

The PAN orchestrated a fear campaign against the PRD/AMLO. The TV ads were fairly blunt "if they win, you will loose your job and your house", "Four families will be forced to live in an apartment", your standard cold-war era propaganda. I figured nobody would believe this sort of thing, but I was surprised to listen to my own friends echo these things back to me "we would have lost our houses and jobs".
Anyways, Mexicans, like the Americans two years ago, managed to vote against their own interest as the discussion shifted away from the Economic Policy to whether the man had finished his degree and whether he ate babies with his bare hands.

From La Jornada

From http://www.jornada.unam.mx:

El empresario Diego Hildebrando Zavala admitió ayer que su empresa Meta Data obtuvo pingües contratos por adjudicación directa en el sector público, y particularmente en el ámbito de Pemex, en tiempos en que su cuñado, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, era titular de la Secretaría de Energía, de la que depende la paraestatal. La confirmación es relevante en dos sentidos: porque arroja luz sobre lo que podría denominarse, parafraseando a Daniel Cosío Villegas, el estilo personal de adjudicar que ha caracterizado al foxismo, y cuya expresión más lamentable es el conjunto de turbiedades institucionales operadas para beneficiar a los hermanos Bribiesca Sahagún, y porque coloca en un callejón sin salida la candidatura presidencial del propio Calderón Hinojosa y, con ella, al conjunto del foxismo.

But Televisa and TvAzteca think different. The reason should be obvious.

Last night debate

Last night it took place the last debate in the federal elections of Mexico. For me, it was very clear that the current government with the most powerful television channels (Televisa and TvAzteca) would try to show its candidate as the winner. So, it's no surprise that Calderon -right wing side of the politics in Mexico- is saying that he won the debate.

I wrote a small essay about this situation, called "Acerca del debate". Also, from an article in Proceso, I extract the next fragment -in spanish-. A reporter asks Calderon:

Un reportero le preguntó si estaba, también, preparado para la derrota, pero él dijo que sólo piensa en el triunfo, tal como lo ha venido logrando.

--Le reitero la pregunta. ¿Está preparado para una derrota?

--Le reitero la respuesta. No –dijo, y siguió sonriendo, como lo hizo hoy durante todo el día.

So, now you know what to expect.

My essay at: www.lazurda.org
The Proceso reference: http://www.proceso.com.mx/elecciones06/not_calderon.html?nid=41113

Another one bites the dust

It was time for the government of the DF to show that one of the most used arguments by the right-wing of the political escenario in Mexico was a lie:

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/index.php?id=capital1145569886.xml&partner=rss


For me, that was clear -after some reading, of course-. But a lot of people used to take this lie as a truth.

Interesing article about the PAN campaign (in spanish)

Un interesante ensayo en Proceso analiza la forma en que la campaña del PAN ha ido ganando adeptos. Un parrafo interesante resulta ser éste:

Las propuestas han quedado de lado y sus embestidas en contra de Andrés Manuel López Obrador, aspirante presidencial de la coalición Por el Bien de Todos, calificándolo de un peligro para el país, parecen darle frutos.

Y todavía más interesante ver cómo muchas personas mal informadas, se dejan llevar por el miedo:

“Es un peligro para México”, “¡Imagínate si llega a la Presidencia, lo que no hará!”, “Es un populista y sólo los imbéciles pueden creer que ayudará a sacar al país de la pobreza con su programa de viejecitos”, son algunas de las expresiones que más he escuchado en los últimos días.

Y lo más interesante del artículo:

La crispación de los actores sociales llevaría a escenarios de confrontación social y eso no conviene a nadie o, mejor dicho, sólo a algunos. El miedo inhibe la participación y, de acuerdo con las cuentas que hacen los equipos de campaña de los tres principales candidatos, el PRI es el más beneficiado, pues cuenta con una reserva de voto duro mayor que la del PRD y PAN.

Lectura OBLIGADA: http://www.proceso.com.mx/anapol.html?aid=39426

The answer of the intellectuals

One or two days ago, I wrote about the way the PAN -right wing of the political groups in Mexico- bases its campaign in lies, instead of proposes.

Today I found in La Jornada -one of the most important newspapers in Mexico- some great articles, containing answers to the PAN actions -specially to the declarations of Manuel Espino, the federal president of this political group-, and one of the most interesting declarations, is the one by Raquel Tibol, artist and art critic:

"Qué han respondido sobre el Fobaproa? Qué han respondido sobre los 3 millones (de pesos) que sacó (Felipe) Caldern de Banobras? Qué han respondido acerca de las agresiones sufridas por destacadas figuras de su propio partido que al clamar por un poco de democracia interna se han visto obligados a renunciar?

And this one from writer Federico Campbell:

Estén preparando a la opinin pública para hacer posible un gran fraude electoral, en esencia esa es su estrategia, y en ese proyecto están tanto Televisa, como el PRI.

(Spanish) Como ciudadanos y ciudadanas de Mxico, tenemos la responsabilidad de estar bien informados de las verdades detrs de las bambalinas, de sas que no se salen en Televisa o Tvazteca. No es incorrecto apoyar a partidos como el PRI o PAN. Lo que es incorrecto es apoyarlos sin saber lo que hay detrás.

Referencias (MUST READ!)
* Espino y PAN muestran su ignorancia al atacar a Poniatowska (http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/04/12/010n1pol.php)
* De Fernando del Paso a Manuel Espino (http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/04/12/009n2pol.php)
* Todos somos sospechosos (http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/04/12/009n3pol.php)

Politics, Poniatowska and more

For me, the way the PAN -mexican right winged political group- has been managing its publicity is nothing new. For me, that political group -and also the PRI, I must say- has been using political strategies that makes me remember that ones of Goebbel's (Hittler's minister of propaganda).

Recently, one of the most admired writers in Mexico, Elena Poniatowska, appeared in the mexican TV supporting López Obrador -the candidate of the left side of politics-.

It's very sad -and when I say sad, I really mean it- that a so ignorant group like the PAN comes to -indirectly- attack Poniatowska.

Fernando del Paso, also writer, also comments:
"Los otros espots que he visto, como en el que comparan a López Obrador con Hugo Chávez, de Venezuela, o el de los ladrillos que se derrumban, me parecen también siniestros. Es evidente que si estos señores no tienen nada que decir, salvo injuriar e insultar, deberían callarse.

The reference: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/04/10/003n1pol.php

Interesting article about political surveys in Mexico

Altought the big players in the tv in Mexico use to report wrong information, it's always nice to find that it's still possible to find good articles regarding to political activities in Mexico.

A good article about the way some political groups (specially the right wing, the PAN) use this information and try to play with it here.

Linux world event

Yesterday I had the oportunity to go to the Linux Expo here and Mexico, and also had the chance to meet with my boss Miguel, and also could meet some of the Novell Ximian guys there.

If you took a photo with Miguel and me, send it to calberto.cortez at gmail (I forgot to take photos by myself). I will appreciate it.