First posted at the Agonist.
First and foremost I would like to point out that despite Sean Kelly’s bragging about his Spanish skills there’s still isn’t a México category in the topic section of the dairies. Though I guess one not ought to complain since the label Latin America ought to suffice for more than 22 countries that speak Spanish, including México in that lot.
Having let that grudge out of the chest we shall move forward with the business of extrapolating mexican politics in an very brief and concise manner. Though space is not an issue I must take into account for two factors in the exigency at hand, one, the short attention span of the blog reader who mostly out of happenstance clicks on the link and the other less likely these times, interest in the topic at hand.
Botched attempts at legitimatizing Calderón via the US media have resulted in awkward spells the sort that remind one of Macbeth. And at home the thing doesn’t get any better.
So beside the media blitzkrieg which has characterized the Calderón presidency thus far what is said beyond TV, and by it I mean the net, I am, after all, in Sweden, might I remind those not in the know, the Spanish written outlets paint a not so pretty picture for the current TV and Big Business sanctioned president of México.
First, allow us to remind ourselves that Calderón started his troubled presidency by trying to present an image of a tough man of the law. He brought out the army out of its barracks to fight lawlessness, created by none other than his predecessor, Vicente Fox. The idea was simple: since police enforcement was so corrupted that the federal government had to use its last credible institution to fight crime it had no choice but to enforce the law by means of military intervention.
It backfired.
By declaring war on crime many who entertained the idea that something was left of a powerful and centralized government received a shocking truth. They earnestly thought the government would quell bad boys and they praised the government for the initiative. Alas! the mexican army has not only exacerbated the situation in the 31 states that make a quasi highly centralized federation called México by staining the thin line between civil and military laws it has also exposed the men in green to the follies of a society which revolves around a corrupt spin in every event of its daily life. The military has put into question the very fabric of the federation and placed a thin rope on a Democles Sword above a fragile constituency. The Army is now stained with murder, corruption and above all, is acting as if they themselves are above the law.
Second, Calderón has made a series of blunders that inevitably will affect not only the nefarious NAFTA deal co-signed by the Salinas-Bush gang but the very fabric which has distinguished Canada, the USA and México in this lofty yet spurious accord. This no doubt in part with the USA’s aid. Now, I say the latter because the USA has a record of a Catholic priest on penance on Easter Sunday. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa can be heard every day in the US media, at home but abroad, the story is different. Abroad, these Utilitarian and old Methodist evangelical sons and daughters would give two rats about the very land they so dearly want to save for the Lord they purport to serve. Indeed, one can even give a stretch of the imagination and argue that if it weren’t for all those pesky mexicans which insist in being in México things might just be a tad smoother for all concerned.
Those blunders start with the very presidency he purports to represent, which Fort Knox springs to mind since Calderón can’t be seen around the people that elected him to the chair he so comfortably sits in because repudiation will sprout like a stubborn weed that just keeps coming back.
And oh yeah, then there are those pesky budgets which of lately are spilling the beans like wild grass in early spring. Yes, discrepancies about Vicente Fox’s use of taxpayer’s money are flourishing like flowers on a green meadow. He has lots to explain but don’t expect him to get caught by the amputated arm of the law in México. Nope. Now that would be akin to a wanker’s wet dream coming through.
The list goes on and the fight even more so. To the point that even the Catholic church has stepped to defend its favorite candidate this despite the fact that the mexican constitution prohibits the clergy from partaking in politics, but does the Catholic church care? Go read mexican papers to find out.
Well, I suppose that what I want to say is that México is on the verge of something, may it be 2010 or a real democracy unfolding south of the border I know not. But something is afoot, and that’s for sure.