Twitter: latamthought- MT @aleszubajak: Can Colombia attract top scientists and spur innovation? The future of science in #Colombia on http://t.co/bAB38ils
- MT @FrancMex: Mexico's competition watchdog has upheld a fine of almost $1 billion against Telcel, Carlos Slim's mobile phone company.
- Relatively detailed account of money laundering from Guatemala to Panama http://t.co/Whkxu19p
- Via @RioGringa: Symbolism really does matter http://t.co/JI0xxewE
Category Archives: Mexico
misLEDEing
Hopefully The Daily Show or Colbert Report will pick up on this one. I took a picture of this headline during Sunday afternoon cable news network programming:
The price of gas is a major story here in the US, and drug related violence is a major story in Mexico, particularly among US media. My skepticism about [...]
Overstating Cartels’ Relevance to the American Electorate
The lead article in last week’s Proceso talks about the political importance of capturing El Chapo for both the Calderon and Obama administrations. The article is worth a read in its entirety, but the focus of this post is on a quote from the informed and esteemed analyst/lawyer/economist Edgardo Buscaglia:
“For Obama, El Chapo is Osama [...]
Different Means, Same Ends
Oil production in Colombia is a popular topic these days. Domestic production levels are at an all time high, and Colombian state-owned oil behemoth Ecopetrol is considering selling 10 percent of its stake in the firm to the public. Dow Jones reports the deal will likely go down in 2012. Silla Vacia has an excellent [...]
Reclaiming Brand Mexico
Roberto Newell Garcia of the Woodrow Wilson Center has published a great report titled “Restoring Mexico’s Reputation.”
The basic premise of Newell’s argument is that Mexico is facing a number of problems, but that the one that gets far and away the most coverage – organized crime/drug-related violence – is not necessarily the most important. Citing [...]
Far-Reaching Demonstrations Against AZ Law
How divisive is Senate Bill 1070?
There was a universal rejection of the law by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), as well as protests on both sides of the border:
But the protests have spread to countries where a large diaspora stands to be impacted by the law. On 14 May, hundreds of Ecuadorians in [...]
Also posted in Bolivia, Ecuador, Latin America, United States Tagged border issues, Calle 13, SB 1070 Leave a comment
Selective Impunity
El Chiguire Bipolar has a good take on the concept of selective impunity.
In the Onion-like fashion for which the blog is known, it tells the story of Maria Angelica Guerrero, a two-time victim of lightning kidnappings and exasperation at the police’s ineffectiveness. Thinking creatively, she attempts to get her kidnapper to speak negatively about Hugo [...]
Posted in Mexico Tagged border issues, Cartels, ciudad juarez, drug war, security, United States Leave a comment
Merida 2.0: A New Phase in U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation
Responding to a growing sense that an exclusive focus on a military-led fight against drug trafficking organizations is failing to curb violence on the other side of our southern border, the United States and Mexico formally announced a shift in their counternarcotics strategy that had been in the works since the fall of 2009. The “new stage” in bilateral cooperation will aim to strengthen civilian law enforcement institutions and rebuild communities crippled by poverty and crime.
Posted in Mexico Tagged border issues, corruption, democracy, Diplomacy, drug war, security, United States, war on drugs Leave a comment
The International Reach of Organized Crime
Earlier this year, LatAmThought wrote a commentary about the international reach or criminal organizations in the Americas. Last week, we published an article on the International Relations and Security Network about the indirect presence of Mexican Cartels in the Andes.
The amount of drug seizures in Bolivia have increased in 2009. Additionally, raids on drug-processing labs [...]
Mexico Dodges a Bullet