By RICARDO CASTILLO It was never supposed to turn into a free-for-all political power grab, but it did. A week ago, various feminist organizations issued a summons a total stoppage of female activities on Monday, March 9. The plan was made official by a group called Witches of the Sea, located in the state of Veracruz. On Feb 18, an
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Peña Nieto Not Under Investigation What? Fake news in the Wall Street Journal? You bet ya! This past week, the WSJ published a news item claiming that Mexican Fiscal General Alejandro Gertz Manero had evidence that corruption in the Pemex-related Emilio Lozoya Austin case reached to the highest level, inferring that former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Mexican Army Grooves to Music and Dance The Mexican Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) took a two-day-long recess to commemorate the 107th anniversary of its foundation on Feb. 19, 1913. The celebration began on the night of Tuesday, Feb. 18, with the National Defense Secretariat (Sedena) Symphony and Choir delivered a spectacular concert, mostly for officers,
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Just in case anyone still had any doubts, the old Mexican political system embedded in the once-governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) seems to be composed not only of a pack of thieving scoundrels, but also of cowards. The reaction of some of the leading members of whatever is left of the PRI to the arrest earlier this
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Protest, But No Tagging, Please Given the increasing number of feminist protest marches arriving at Mexico’s National Palace, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) sent a stern message to all those groups on Monday, Feb. 17. The protestors are not just extremely noisy, but are committing acts of vandalism wherever they pass through, which includes looting and
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By RICARDO CASTILLO The key topic of talk in Mexi9co’s political circles last week was definitely the arrest of former Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex Director Emilio Lozoya Austin in Málaga, Spain. Lozoya was temporarily jailed to await extradition to Mexico. The Fiscal General of the Republic has issued four different arrest warrants for Lozoya, charging him with a battery of crimes,
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By RICARDO CASTILLO 69 New Barracks for National Guardsmen Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) spent the weekend inaugurating new barracks for the National Guard in the states of Jalisco, Michoacán and Guanajuato, the latter two known for a high presence of organized criminal gangs. Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said each barrack will house somewhere between 120 and
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Lozoya Nabbed in Malaga Former Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) Director Emilio Lozoya Austin was finally found and arrested in Malaga, Spain, by the Spanish police. The news was broken personally in radio interviews on Wednesday, Feb. 12, by Fiscal General Alejandro Gertz Manero. “It was a long pilgrimage (to track down Lozoya Austin) with the arrest warrant we
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By RICARDO CASTILLO The rumblings of an upcoming war at Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE) began to be heard loud and clear a week ago. The reason behind the potential political warfare is that the INE held an impromptu reelection of its secretary general when it should have waited until April, when four of the 11 councilors will finish their
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Electoral Fraud at the INE? On Friday, Feb. 7, the 11 councilors of Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE) carried out the reelection of its executive secretary to serve for six more years, with eight votes in favor and three against. The reaction in Mexico to the surprise reelection of Jacobo Molina and against INE president Lorenzo Córdova
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