Time Magazine has named Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party president Enrique Peña Nieto one of the world's 100 most influential people.
In a brief post, former New Mexico governor and United Nations ambassador Bill Richardson wrote, "The U.S. shouldn’t treat Peña Nieto like a patsy. He combines Reagan’s charisma with Obama’s intellect and Clinton’s political skills. This is a leader to watch."
Gov. Richardson, whose mother was Mexican, is an expert on Latin American affairs and a native Spanish speaker.
The 46 year old PRI chief executive won a six year term as Mexico's president on July 1, returning the nation's highest office to his center left party for the first time since 2000. Peña Nieto beat his nearest opponent by almost seven percent in the four person race.
Peña Nieto was sworn in Dec. 1, replacing former National Action Party president Felipe Calderón, who served from 2006 to 2012 - years marked by a violent drug war to which Mr. Peña Nieto remains fully committed. NY Times figures it out: in Mexican drug war, Enrique Peña Nieto = Felipe Calderón.
Dec. 10 - Foreign Policy names Peña Nieto a top Global Thinker
Enrique Peña Nieto takes oath of office before Mexico's congress, but not everyone was applauding
Enrique Peña Nieto takes the helm in Mexico City
The Washington Post has high praise for Enrique Peña Nieto
Enrique Peña Nieto's three smart decisions
Peña Nieto: no option but to follow Calderón strategy
Enrique's challenging homework
The future president, campaigning in Puerto Progreso, Yucatán, April 9, 2012
© MGRR 2013. All rights reserved. This article may be cited or briefly quoted with proper attribution or a hyperlink, but not reproduced without permission.
Obama's intellect? Guy never read a decent novel. Regardless two out of three ain't bad. Disagree about drug policy not changing... less transparency and less militarization domestically. I trust these guys more than Stratfor:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/marines-drug-operations-down-40-under-pena-nieto
I'll respond only to your ridiculous contention that Peña Nieto is pursuing "less militarization domestically" (!)
DeleteYou're kidding, right? A new gendarmerie, 40,000 strong - that's a federal paramilitary force. An increase in the ranks of Federal Police by 30,000. Tens of thousands of federal troops on the streets all over the nation, and a 2013 domestic security budget 47% greater than Calderón's final one (2012). You call that, I presume, demilitarization?
I know nothing of the web link you cite, but I do know the FACTS, as reported every day by dozens of highly reliable sources here.
By any chance are you a U.S. newspaper man? Wake up and learn what's going on in this country, irrespective of whether you agree with it. I recommend you start by reading the MGR stories linked within this article, and the internal links in them. It can never hurt to know the truth about your subject, whatever it is, before you comment on it.
Of course you're right, I meant the traditional military and not the new proposed gendarmerie which will be under civil control, a not unimportant distinction. At best they will be a bridge between military and police with flexibility and rapid deployment, at worse it will cause fragmentation and funding fights. One assumes as this new force gets up and running, the navy and marines will be scaled back. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work... and check out that site, some good stuff there.
Your argument is a distinction without a difference. The new national gendarmerie is a federal paramilitary force, in exactly the same manner that the Mexican army, navy, marines and air force are federal forces. Of course, in the latter units there is a long chain of military brass, but ultimately they all answer to the commander in chief, who is Enrique Peña Nieto. Likewise, the new gendarmerie and the expanding Federal Police answer to him as well.
DeleteI note that the source which you linked, and with which you apparently are impressed, writes this:
"The new president is also planning to deploy a gendarmarie to hotspots. It's not clear if this will be in addition to, or a replacement for, the vast military presence in numerous areas where organized crime is battling with each other and the state."
Don't you think that direct quote - especially the words "VAST military presence" - confirms exactly what MGR has been reporting for many months? It seems to me that your source is in full agreement with MGR. I notice that one of the writers is a Fellow at The American University, from where I hold a Juris Doctor degree. I'm glad we've analyzed the current situation in much the same say.
One other note, for the benefit of MGR readers who may have been misled by all the misreporting north of the border about the "big changes" Peña Nieto allegedly would implement once in office.
Several days ago the new PRI government admitted that last month (March), 1,101 people died in drug war violence. Those were not ordinary homicides or common crimes - they were, the Secretary of Government admitted, directly attributable to organized crime and narco violence. Do the math and you'll find that's an average of over 35 persons every day. The tally included, by the way, 40 law enforcement officers. In fact, since Peña Nieto took office on Dec. 1, 2012, an average of more than one police officer or soldier has been killed in drug war violence every single day. Details here:
http://www.mexicogulfreporter.com/2013/04/mexicos-march-drug-war-deaths-were-1025.html
In view of those stats, anybody who would suggest that demilitarization is a good option is simply out to lunch. Mexico's new attorney general said in December that the country has 60-80 cartels. I assure you, none of them are thinking about demilitarizing.