Mexico admits 52 daily drug war deaths in Enrique Peña Nieto administration - 12,598 through July 31

*Updated Oct. 19*
Guadalajara -
A week after two Mexican press sources claimed the administration of president Enrique Peña Nieto has been grossly under-reporting drug war deaths since his government took office on Dec. 1, 2012, a federal agency has released numbers confirming one of the stories was accurate, while the other was a significant understatement of deaths due to organized crime violence.

The National Public Security System (SNSP) is a federal sub-agency under the direction of Mexico's Department of Government. The secretary of that department is Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, Peña Nieto's senior cabinet officer and chief policy and political adviser. SNSP complies and reports statistics, among other duties.

Oaxaca education at the mercy of omnipotent syndicate

1992 agreement between teachers' union and ex-governor put students' welfare behind that of labor's

*Updated Sept. 6*
Guadalajara -
Mexico's powerful Coordinadora Nacional de los Trabajadores de la Educación (CNTE) cut a sweet deal for itself a decade ago in southwestern Oaxaca state, a seedbed of warring drug cartels, citizen militias, local insurrectionists of every stripe and perennially discontent school teachers.

In effect, the union has a stranglehold over every aspect of public education in Oaxaca.

U.S. will take no action against Colorado and Washington over marijuana legalization

MGR's view -
U.S. hypocrisy on legalization poses the question, who is committed to combating drugs?

Guadalajara -
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder informed the governors of Colorado and Washington earlier today that the Justice Dept. will take no legal action against either state, where recreational marijuana use laws went into effect last November.

Marijuana remains flatly prohibited by federal law. The Barack Obama administration had once suggested it might sue both states in federal court to compel revocation of their local ordinances. Today's decision means that neither will suffer any consequences for enacting laws which violate superseding statutes passed by Congress decades ago.

Teachers' union calls for nationwide strike, while officials lose patience and warn they're ready to use force

Yet another test for the tricolor regime - this one administered by those who don't want to be tested

*Updated Sept. 1 - CNTE calls for "national insurgency"*
Guadalajara -
Members of a powerful school teachers' union which has held Mexico City hostage for almost two weeks have called for a nationwide strike if the government does not yield to their labor demands.

The Coordinadora Nacional de los Trabajadores de la Educación (CNTE) wants Mexico's congress to repeal recently enacted federal laws intended to improve teacher quality. The laws require primary and secondary level educators to submit to periodic competency and preparedness evaluations according to national, rather than regional or local, standards. They are based upon amendments to Mexico's federal constitution which were approved months ago by the country's multiparty national assembly, and by a majority of the state legislatures. PRI government shows no resolve against thug teachers.

Mexican press: PRI government is lying about drug war deaths - the real number is 13,775, in just eight months

Guadalajara and Jalisco state are among the most dangerous places in Mexico; Yucatán, the safest

*Updated Aug. 31: Mexico admits 52 daily drug war deaths in Enrique Peña Nieto administration - 12,598 through July 31*

Guadalajara -
Two Mexican press sources have blasted the administration of president Enrique Peña Nieto within the past 24 hours, both claiming the nine month old Institutional Revolutionary Party government is presenting a grossly distorted picture of what is actually happening in the almost 81 month old drug war. They particularly took to task secretary of government Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, Peña Nieto's top adviser and most powerful cabinet officer.

Officials announce delay in arrival of federal gendarmerie units, as EPN claims progress in drug war

The Calderón strategy, but under the tricolor banner

Guadalajara -
At the 34th meeting of the National Public Security Council in Mexico City today president Enrique Peña Nieto painted an optimistic picture, saying federal and state security forces have managed to capture or kill 62 of the most wanted 121 organized crime bosses during his nine month old administration.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party chief executive also boasted that drug war deaths have fallen 14% since he took over on Dec. 1.

Civilian militias soar, with citizen police now patrolling 50 counties in 13 Mexican states

"From the machete to the AK-47"

Guadalajara -
While Mexican army and marine troops continue to take down key drug lords in diverse regions of the country, having scored three notable victories this year, the first units of a new national gendarmerie, billed as a crack paramilitary force which will assist and supplement the Federal Police, are preparing for an advertised Sept. 16 debut at independence day festivities in Mexico City.

PRI government shows no resolve against thug teachers

MGR's Opinion -
Striking union members take over Federal District, standing down Enrique Peña Nieto administration - but they should have been stopped

Guadalajara -
Mexican school teachers are the perennially discontent. Thousands are, anyway, especially those from the southwestern states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero.

They and their arrogant unions are essentially fearless, because they know that neither the federal nor state governments will stand up to them even when they turn to violence, which is not uncommon.

Mexican unemployment stats paint a bleak picture for the most well educated

Guadalajara -
This week Mexico's internal revenue agency reported that the stagnant national economy is just barely sputtering along. In the first six months of 2013 growth averaged 1.25%, less than a third of the economic expansion posted in 2012 (and what government officials predicted for the current year only seven months ago, in January).

The administration claims the forecast looks brighter for the rest of the year, but investors, especially foreign ones, are troubled. Sluggish Mexican economy worries foreign investment experts.

"Absurd and illogical," Mexico's A.G. calls court ruling which freed narco executioner who killed DEA agent

Guadalajara -
The fallout continues in Mexico over the case of former Guadalajara Cartel drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was freed two weeks ago by a three judge federal tribunal which concluded that he should have been tried in a state rather than federal court for the February 1985 murders of a U.S. Drug Enforcement agent and an undercover DEA tipster. The death house on Lope de Vega.

Mexico's Interjet places big order for European aircraft

$800 billion price tag will add 1,600 jobs to corporate payrolls, reports the young airline

Guadalajara -
Despite a gloomy economic prognosis which Mexico received earlier this week from top PRI administration officials, coupled with a worrisome forecast for the tourism industry - a mainstay of the national economy - Interjet has signed a contract to purchase 20 copies of the new Superjet 100, a state of the art aircraft designed and built by a consortium of European firms.

Poor tourism prognosis concerns Puerto Vallarta official

And those who do visit are likely to be traveling on a tight budget

Guadalajara -
In mid-May the the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reported that Mexico took some hits in 2012, measured by both the number of passenger arrivals and the income generated by such. Mexico drops another notch in gross tourism receipts.

Yesterday the country's internal revenue service, the Hacienda y Crédito Publico, delivered up very sobering news about the national economy as a whole. Sluggish Mexican economy worries foreign investment experts. One component which again received a poor prognosis was tourism, and now a Puerto Vallarta businessman says he fears what lies ahead for the Pacific Coast resort.

Sluggish Mexican economy worries foreign investment experts

"Economic growth has been failing in Mexico" - a Moody's spokesman today

*Updated Oct. 8*
Guadalajara -
Seven months ago Mexico's president and national bank chairman both boasted that the country was poised for 4% economic expansion in 2013, a level of growth which its big neighbor to the north may have a very hard time matching this year. But the rosy prognosis has proven dramatically over-optimistic, and it now appears unlikely that the country will achieve even half of that. Banixco raises storm flag warning on Mexican economy.

Yesterday the secretary of Mexico's Hacienda y Crédito Publico said he anticipates annual growth of just 1.8%. The agency is the nation's federal tax collection and budget planning office.

"No clues" a common response with Vallarta P.D.

MGR's view -
"Sin pistas" once again the standard line in case of murdered American

"This worsening security situation already has caused problems for expatriates in Mexico in 2013" - Stratfor Global Intelligence, March 7, 2013

Guadalajara -
Nine months ago the brazen, daytime machine gun and hand grenade attack on then Vallarta police commander Roberto Rodríguez Preciado got a little press attention in this country, although a fraction of the coverage the same event would have generated in Mexico City or this capital, much less in a major U.S. tourist resort.

Even after Los Zetas banners were hung out at several prominent locations claiming responsibility for the ambush - even after chief Rodríguez resigned less than a week later, after promising he wouldn't - no one in officialdom seemed to be overly concerned.

PRI admin distances itself from Caro Quintero release

"It was not our doing," says Osorio Chong

Guadalajara -
Speaking at a press conference today in Mexico's Cámara de Diputados, the lower legislative chamber of congress, secretary of government Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong said the nine month old Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) government does not agree with the recent release of drug capo Rafael Caro Quintero, who was responsible for the murder of seven U.S. citizens in late 1984 and early 1985. One was a DEA agent who operated undercover out of the American Consulate in Guadalajara.

But the secretary added that the Enrique Peña Nieto administration fully respects the nation's judiciary, an independent entity in the Republic.