Mexican judges learn U.S. justice system in L.A.

This article from the Los Angeles Times is about Mexican judges coming to LA to sit in on courtroom proceedings to learn about the American Justice system. By 2016, all of the 31 mexican states are expected to have switched to an American style judicial system. In Mexico, one person is the judge and the jury. Witnesses don't take the stand, and trials aren't public. The judge just looks over reports of defense and prosecutions and makes a decision. This would make it very easy to bribe a judge. The judges from Mexico were amazed at the transparency of the trials.

This relates to the comparative government concept of institutions. Mexico is trying to change an instituition by modeling it after that of another country.

Mexico's Felipe Calderon vows to defeat violent gangs

This article by BBC recounts Felipe Calderon's address to Congress. In a joint session of the US Congress, Calderon voiced his grievances of the Drug War in Mexico and of new American immigration laws.

In order to quell the Drug War, President Calderon called on the US to halt the flow of weapons across the border into Mexico. Calderon stated that increased violence between the drug cartels coincided with the "2004 lapse of a US assault weapons ban" while reminding Congress that "80% of recently seized guns could be traced to the US."

On the issue of immigration, Calderon admired Mexican migrant workers in the U.S. and promised to help secure their rights even though they are abroad. Felipe Calderon also voiced his regret that so many Mexicans leave the country to go north of the border and promised to create more economic opportunities within the country. Calderon also called on Congress to reform the US immigration policy. "The time has come to reduce the causes of migration and turn this into a legal, orderly and secure flow of workers and visitors," Calderon said. President Calderon then voiced his discontent with the recent Arizona immigration laws which he describes as "a terrible idea using racial profiling." President Obama had made immigration reform one of his top priorities, but with recent change over in the seats in Congress, analysts find it unlikely the legislation will hold any weight.

In terms with our Comparative Government class this article is important as it further emphasizes the symbiotic role between Mexico and the US. It demonstrates Mexico's further reliance on the US to help quell the Drug War with Calderon appealing to Congress for help. However, a cleavage between American and Mexican immigration policy is apparent as Calderon voices his obvious discontent for the US policies.

This article by Bloomberg Businessweek, is about the the Mexican peso's recent rapid rise in value. It rose 2.4% to 12.568 pesos per dollar last Friday. This rises came after the governments of the 16 countries that use the Euro loaned as much a 750 million Euros to countries under attack from speculation.

This relates to political and economic change because European nations cause a country's currency to rise in value.

Mexico Revives Ancient Games

This article from USA Today, Mexico Revives Ancient Games, describes Mexico's efforts to renew interest in prehispanic sports. Numbers of players has been dwindling over the centuries and many are in danger of dying out. Among barriers to the widespread playing of the games is that many are dangerous or painful, such as pelota purépecha which is like field hockey with a flaming ball. Also, the games are associated with Indian culture, and most Mexicans favor European culture. Ballgames were very important in Prehispanic culture. The mayan story of creation is of the first two humans created were challenged by the gods of the underworld. The humans lost the game and were killed, but were then turned into the sun and the moon. Now the Mexican government is trying to promot the games among the younger generation. Seminars are being held to teach the games to elementary school teachers. The government doesn't want children to forget the indiginous culture of Mexico in favor of foreign influences.

This article reflects societal cleavages within Mexico, specifically the racial one. As more and more people prefer European to Indian culture, Mexican traditions are disappearing. However, Mexico has always strvied to blend their indiginous and Hispanic cultures, as reflected in their drvies to upkeep indiginous games.

Mexico bills allows privatization of oil

This article from chron.com Deals lag, as does Mexico's oil output deals with Mexico not being able to access most of its oil in the Gulf of Mexico because the company Pemex doesn't have the technology for exploration. A recently passed bill will allow Pemex to make deals with foreign companies for oil exploration. This is a big deal, because oil in Mexico was previously state operated. But so far, Pemex hasn't made any deals, so oil production has slumped.

As a country that is seeking democratization, this bill is very important. The privatization of this market will allow the people of Mexico to benefit more from their natural resources since they will be able to get to them. This article also shows that reform in Mexico is slow and has much resistance, since the passing of this bill still has not allowed Pemex to access the oil

Mexican Military Offensive Against Drug Violence Ineffective

In the Time article How Mexico's Drug War May Become Its Iraq, Ioan Grillo describes Mexico's efforts to curtail drug violence throughout the country, and how its citizens do not have confidence in the military presence. Violence has only increased recently, with January being the bloodiest month in the drug war. The military has also been criticized for only targeting some drug cartels, which strengthens rival cartels. In a poll, half of Mexicans believed the government involvement had only increased the violence, while only 20% thought it had made the country safer. The United States has made agreements with Mexico to work together on security

Comparativists should look at this article to examine citizens, society and the state. Mexico is in the position of having to use its military against its own people. The violence is not aimed at the government and is not political in nature, but the organized crime has gotten so out of control that it must be dealt with like a full on war. This is proving difficult for the military to control, since a drug cartels goal is to evade the soldiers to continue with illegal activity, as opposed to a front in a war.

Housing US prisoners in Mexico jails

BBC News article: Schwarzenegger proposes Mexican jails take US inmates

Governor of the U.S. state of California Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested that special prisons in Mexico be built partially with U.S. money. The governor declared a state of fiscal emergency in California, where the prisons are some of the most crowded and underfunded in the United States. Building prisons and housing inmates would be a lot cheaper in Mexico than in California, saving an estimated billion dollars.

Several areas of this article relate to concepts in comparative government. The proposed partnership between the United States and Mexico in housing prisoners is a result of political and economic change. California has limited resources and is overcrowded, while Mexico is in need of money for their economy

Drug War Obscures Recent Headway in Mexico's Stability

photo courtesy of flickr

The drug wars that have been plaguing Mexico since 2006 obscure a falling homicide rate, as addressed in this CNN article: Amid Drug War, Mexico Less Deadly Than a Decade Ago. It is surprising to find that Mexico City's homicide rates are on par with Los Angeles and a third of that for Washington D.C. Yet Americans are more weary than ever to visit Mexico; a blow to tourism, Mexico's third-largest source of foreign income. According to the article "Mexico's homicide rate has fallen steadily from a high in 1997 of 17 per 100,000 people to 14 per 100,000 in 2009." However, dually noted, the article does admit that the drug violence has turned the Pacific coast, and U.S. border regions of Mexico into some of the most deadliest places in the world.

So how exactly has the homicide rate dropped in the presence of an increase in drug violence? Well, land disputes have eased as farmers migrate to cities or abroad leaving the civic unrest of the Zapatista uprisings of the 1990s behind. In light of a decreased homicide rate attributed to a improvement in the Mexican quality of life, Mexico looks more dangerous than ever to tourists with the looming reminder of drug wars.

This article is valid in our comparative government class because it presents an interesting fact: the Mexican quality of life has improved over the decade amidst the drug wars. It also addresses a period of civic unrest in Mexican history, that is the Zapatista uprisings of farmers, which was not surprisingly followed by a change of politics and a new level of legitamacy ushered in by Vicente Fox. Equally as pertinent, Mexico has had a growing middle class and rising education levels and life expectancy. All these things are critical to a democracy; however if these traits are prerequisites to democracy, or rather the outcomes of democracy is debatable.

Mexico City Gay Marriage Law

In a recent New York Times article, Mexico City Mayor Vows to Defend Gay Marriage Law, the validity and enforcement of a same sex marriage law is addressed. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard (this name should sound familiar, he was one of the presidential hopefuls mentioned in my previous blog post) says "he will defend the capital's gay-marriage law and insists the ordinance will take effect in March".

Mexican federal prosecutors feel differently however--the federal Attorney General's Office has filed an appeal, bringing the legitimacy of the law to the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. The prosecutors argue that the law "violates constitutional provisions on the family and the protection of children".

This controversial law is valid of mention in our Comparative Government class in many ways. Firstly, Mexico's heavy Catholic influence and typical Conservative view towards gay-marriage is in contrast to this new progressive law that is the first of its kind for all of Latin America. It is surprising that this law was enacted amidst a civic culture that does not typically advocate same sex marriage. However, equally pertinent, the article addresses an appeal to the Supreme Court to judge upon the constitutionality of a law--sounds an awful lot like judicial review. As well, the Judicial courts of Mexico are fairly insulated from the Executive, so the law will not be negated because of federal opposition coupled with a federal control of the Judiciary. When looking at the standpoint of the Judicial System of Mexico, Mexico is looking very much like a liberal democracy.