Si no lo hablas español, que lo aprendas – lo más pronto

There's still time to get on the train ...

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco -
In Madrid, Spain's Cervantes Institute reports that Spanish is the second most widely used language on Twitter. Its presence in social media and throughout the internet has increased by 800% in recent years, it says.

In an interview Cervantes' director noted that those interested in learning Spanish are increasing by about 8% every year, and worldwide 18 million high school and university students are now enrolled in language classes.

Mexican drug cartels operate in 1,286 U.S. cities

Modern day narco influence far exceeds that of legendary border raider, say U.S. officials

*Updated Jan. 16*
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco -
The United States Justice Dept. says that Mexican drug traffickers have a presence in at least 1,286 American cities. The report was quoted today by Guadalajara's El Informador, and was attributed to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). Although NDIC was formerly an agency of Justice, it ceased to exist in June 2012, when its functions were transferred to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Apart from its confusion over bureaucracies, El Informador's report is in accord with what U.S. officials have said several times. Ten months ago, General Charles Jacoby told Sen. John McCain (R. Az.) that Mexican traffickers were at work in at least 1,000 U.S. cities. Jacoby testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2012, when it held hearings on progress in the Mexican drug war U.S. general delivers qualified drug war report . McCain is Ranking Member of the committee.

Banxico chief: grim prognosis for U.S. economic growth

It may flatline, says Bank of Mexico chairman

*Updated Apr. 26*
Guadalajara -
The governor of Mexico's central bank offered a bleak assessment of the U.S. economy today, and suggested that there may be virtually no growth in the year just ahead.

The Bank of Mexico is the nation's lender of last resort, and the functional equivalent of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Agustín Carstens has been the governor of Banixco since Jan. 1, 2010. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago, and is married to an American citizen. In 2012 Carstens was considered for managing director of the International Monetary Fund. In 2011 he was included in the 50 Most Influential Persons ranking of Bloomberg Markets Magazine.

Florence Cassez, once more to Mexico's Supreme Court

Appeal of convicted French national serving 60 year sentence for kidnapping will be considered again

Jan. 23 - Mexican Supreme Court orders immediate unconditional liberty for Florence Cassez

*Updated Jan. 23*
Guadalajara -
Mexico's highest appellate tribunal, the Supreme Judicial Court, announced today it will rehear arguments in the long running Florence Cassez legal drama on Jan. 23.

The 38 year old Cassez, a French citizen, is serving a 60 year prison sentence for kidnapping and other crimes. Mexican prosecutors say she and her former boyfriend were the leaders of a vicious gang known as Los Zodiaco (the Zodiacs), which held numerous victims for ransom in the mid-2000s. Cassez' conviction has been upheld by several lower courts. On Mar. 21 a five judge panel of the Supreme Court did likewise, but in a split decision which reflected strong disagreement among the judges. The court will now reconsider the matter.

Mexico's impoverished grew by more than 11% in two years, with 13 million citizens in extreme conditions

"Mexico is not a poor country, but there are many poor in Mexico" - SEDESOL official

*Updated Jan. 21*
Guadalajara - Exactly 11 months ago, MGRR reported on Mexico's poor economic grade card (Feb. 10, 2012 - Increasing poverty and rising state debt in Mexico). The one issued today is equally disappointing.

Mexico's Secretary of Social Development (SEDESOL) said that since 2010, the number of people living in the most extreme poverty rose from 11.7 million to 13 million. That's a jump of over 11% in just 24 months. The country will soon have a population of 118 million, with a median age of 26.

More attacks on Jalisco police; state homicides increase

Just as predicted, Guadalajara and Jalisco are the latest drug war battlegrounds

*Updated Apr. 7*
Guadalajara -
Following Christmas weekend attacks against police departments in several Jalisco communities, and in neighboring Michoacán state, which left at least 14 officers dead and others wounded, another ambush occurred yesterday in the streets of San Miguel el Alto, northeast of Guadalajara.

The town's female police chief and her armed escort were attacked by a commando team about 11:00 a.m. Monday. Chief Sara Chávez was only grazed by bullets, but her escort was not so lucky. He was hit 12 times and gravely wounded. A military helicopter evacuated him from the area.

Peña Nieto: no option but to follow Calderón strategy

MGR News Analysis -
One month into EPN's watch, everybody arrives at the same conclusion, while U.S. security firm Stratfor predicts continued violence in Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo, Guadalajara and Acapulco

Guadalajara -
Almost seven months ago, right after Enrique Peña Nieto won the July 1 presidential election, MGR told its readers that all of the talk about a new Mexican drug war strategy was just that - talk (July 7 - Security consultant elaborates on "new" Mexican drug war strategy - but is it?). MGR argued that Mexican voters had been suckered on drug war issues, which figured prominently during the spring 2012 campaign. It's not too much to say that last year's election was a referendum on the Calderón administration's handling of the nightmare-without-end conflict. Many voters were hungry for change.

At the time almost all of the "experts" on Mexican affairs were preaching a very different gospel, including many outside of this country. Just two weeks before the election, arguably the most prestigious newspaper in the United States carried a piece entitled Candidates in Mexico Signal a New Tack in the Drug War, which in essence forecast a quick abandonment of Calderón's policies once the government changed hands on Dec. 1. MGR criticized that article as an inaccurate and misleading statement of the candidates' positions, including that of Enrique Peña Nieto (New York Times got Mexican candidates' drug war strategies wrong), and predicted that no matter who won the election, there would be no fundamental change in the way the drug war was waged.

Mexican drug cartels enjoy global presence via cocaine

They're on every continent, warn security specialists, with enormous buying power

*Updated Mar. 4, 2014*
Guadalajara -
Mexico's monolithic drug cartels now have a presence on every continent, and dominate the production, distribution and sale of cocaine, according to the U.S. security consulting firm Stratfor in a report quoted by news services today.

The cartels, which Mexico's new attorney general recently said number between 60 and 80, are constantly focused on expanding and developing new markets, according to the firm. Measured by revenues, cocaine sales have made them genuine business rivals to the world's largest corporations.

Organized crime hit claims four lives in Guadalajara metro

Executions attributed to narco violence

Guadalajara -
A brutal early morning attack blocks from this city's popular Plaza del Sol left four men dead today.

An unknown number of gunmen arrived at a private residence about 5 a.m. and killed the occupants execution style, firing at least 18 shots. The house is in the Ciudad del Sol neighborhood, in Zapopán, a prosperous community just beyond Guadalajara's core. The area of today's multiple homicides is minutes southwest of the American Quarter and Colonia Centro, the city's commercial heart. Ciudad del Sol is home to Plaza del Sol, one of the largest and best known shopping malls in Guadalajara, and purportedly the first mall ever built in Latin America. Plaza del Sol is close to the city's renowned Expo Center, as well as the Guadalajara World Trade Center.

Canadian national faces manslaughter charge in Jalisco

Fatal Christmas Eve crash left Mexican man dead; defendant was using drugs, prosecutors allege

Ajijic on Lake Chapala has long been a haven for Canadian and American expatriates

Guadalajara -
A 38 year old Canadian citizen is facing a charge of vehicular manslaughter in a Jalisco district criminal court after a Dec. 24 accident which left one man dead, a local press source reports.

Ryan Daniel Kewicz, originally of Maple Ridge, in British Columbia, was driving a vehicle which collided with one operated by a 33 year old Mexican man, who died at the scene. The fatal crash occurred about 7:30 p.m. on the highway between Guadalajara and Ajijic, located on the shores of Lake Chapala. The town is less than an hour drive from this capital. It has many foreign residents.

Mexico's new PRI government reports many arrests and seizures in its first month of organized crime offensive

Mexican army and federal police are on the move, especially in the countryside

Guadalajara -
Thirty-six days after taking the reins in Mexico City, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) administration of Enrique Peña Nieto issued its first drug war report today.

The government said that security forces took 854 organized crime operatives into custody in December. During multiple operations they seized about $1.5 million dollars in cash - two thirds of it in U.S. currency, and the remainder in pesos.

Almost 1,500 firearms were secured, together with 38,373 rounds of ammunition and 156 hand grenades.

Mexican governors continue to raise their salaries, while almost half the nation remains beneath the poverty line

On average, states pay their chief executives $5,500-$8,600 USD per month - and Yucatán's governor Rolando Zapata collects one of the fattest paychecks in the Republic

The other side of Mérida, and the reality of life for hundreds of thousands of residents

*Updated Jan. 17*
Mérida, Yucatán -
Mexican governors will continue to rake in high salaries in 2013, while much of the nation hangs on at a mere subsistence level. On average, a governor in this country earns 90,000 pesos a month. At the current exchange rate, that's $7,059, or almost $85,000 per year. The figure represents base salary, and does not include guaranteed benefits and perks of the job, known here as prestaciones de la ley.

Mexico has 31 semi-autonomous states and a Federal District, the nation's capital and largest city. A majority of the states pay their governors between 70,000 and 110,000 pesos per month. Several have raised them in recent years.

A Mexican, a Spaniard and two Americans are world's four richest men, all with huge net worth gains in 2012

Spanish textile magnate capitalized on soaring stock prices last year, catapulting into third place

Guadalajara -
Bloomberg Markets magazine, published monthly by Bloomberg L.P., a U.S. global business and financial news network, reports that the four richest men in the world aren't feeling the effects of the economic downturn which began in 2008.

The analysis was contained in its December edition.

Amancio Ortega, the 67 year old Spanish founder of the textile company Inditex, ended up third place in 2012, dislodging a famous American. He managed to parlay an already tidy sum into a fortune of $53.6 billion by year's end, increasing his net worth 52.1% - far more than any competitor. Inditex shares exploded last year, increasing in value by 68%, and Ortega's wealth skyrocketed.

Mexican narco violence stats after first month of new PRI administration not encouraging: 982 executions, 32 a day

MGRR News Analysis -
Mexico's 100 day domestic security plan? Well, there may be slight delays . . .

*Updated Jan. 25*
Guadalajara -
Enrique Peña Nieto, now 34 days into the job, made some very big promises in 2012 to capture his lifetime dream of becoming Mexico's next president. An immediate reduction in violence throughout the country (immediate as within the first 100 days of taking office), and the decrease of homicides and other serious crimes by as much as 50% once his new PRI government was up and running, were at the top of the list. A third of the self-imposed deadline has passed, and the first lab reports have come in for analysis. The results are not encouraging. Nor are they surprising (Mexican voters got suckered on drug war).

Mexican stock market beat U.S., London, Brasil in 2012

BMV broke many records in year just ended, and is still riding high in 2013

Guadalajara -
The Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV), Mexico's answer to Wall Street, had good reason to celebrate New Year's Eve.

The BMV considerably outperformed other major world financial markets, and posted many bests during 2012.

Measured by the peso, the market returned 17.88% last year. Measured in dollars, gains were about 26%.