It's now official. Enrique Peña Nieto registered yesterday as the Institutional Revolutionary Party's (PRI) 2012 nominee. At a public event he said that "the winds of change and of hope" are blowing, and "better times are just ahead." The 45 year old candidate, who is often referred to as the most handsome politician in Mexico, promised the thousands of attending PRI supporters peace, security, jobs and economic growth, and called himself "part of a new generation of Mexicans that is convinced the country can transform itself." No word yet on whether the Peña Nieto/PRI campaign will offer voters free bread and circuses, too.
That's what writer Fernando Vallejo said of PRI over the weekend, referring to its 70 year stranglehold on Mexican politics. Vallejo's comments were made at the heavily attended 25th International Book Fair in Guadalajara, where he received first prize for best work of literature in a romance language.
Added the Colombian-born Vallejo, "If I had been educated in the school of PRI, I'd already be a millionaire, but in Medellín we had no PRI." Medellín is a Colombian city brought to its knees by drug violence and cartel activity in the 1980s and 1990s, and was once known as the world's most dangerous city. Ciudad Juárez holds the title today.
The author spared no one. Harshly condemning Mexico's five year old drug war, Vallejo said that president Felipe Calderón is "unworthy of the office which he holds." He said that he was initially optimistic when PAN (the National Action Party) seized power from PRI in 2000, but his hopes were soon dashed. "For 40, or 50 or 60 million Mexicans, the future is uncertain, but for the politicians it's not."
Even the Catholic Church received some bitter medicine. Calling it more of a business than a religious institution, Vallejo said, "Over 500,000 Somalians have died of hunger in Africa. Has the Church been unable to spare a single peso to help them?"
Vallejo was repeatedly interrupted by applause during the awards ceremony.
A Christmas truce with drug traffickers?
Mexican poet and peace activist Javier Sicilia, whose son was murdered in March, is calling upon both sides to declare and honor a 48 hour cease fire from December 24-25. "If we lose our humanity in dealing with one another, we will lose our nation," said the writer. He urged supporters to refrain from voting for any of the 2012 presidential candidates, saying that he would cast a blank ballot.
Mexico threatens Hague court complainants with counter legal action
Still smarting over last week's junk lawsuit filed in the International Criminal Court (http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/felipe-calderon-top-cabinet-officials.html), Mexico said yesterday that it's exploring all possible legal remedies against those responsible. "The accusations against the Mexican government (of committing war crimes in its campaign to destroy the drug cartels) are unfounded and unprecedented, and slanderous in the extreme. Not only do they severely impact both individuals and institutions, but they damage the good name of Mexico as well. The government will consider taking appropriate legal action against all those responsible, in both national and international forums (courts)," said an official statement.
Analysis: The best thing Mexico could possibly do with this case -- at least in the court of public opinion -- is ignore it. The lawsuit is transparently political and legally groundless. It's destined for peremptory dismissal, although given the very slow pace of the ICC that may be a year or more away. In the meantime, as a practical matter there's really nothing much the government can do against the publicity-hungry lawyers, professors and "intellectuals" who launched the case. Rattling the saber of a possible counter legal assault will only give them the press attention they're seeking. More than a few are PRI operatives using the lawsuit as a collateral tool in the 2012 presidential campaign.
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