Calderón rattles the cage

Felipe Calderón rattles the cage

Former Mexican President Felipe Calderón upset some of his allied Senators during the open debate on the 2017 gasoline price increase . The former president wrote in his Twitter account that even legislators of the conservative National Action Party ( PAN ) are responsible for the situation and called them to accept their responsibility, which his former private secretary, Roberto Gil Zuarth , did. “I neither regret nor deny my vote” (in favor of the price establishment mechanism for gasoline according to the Special Tax on Products and Services). “I regret local collection ended in shares,” said the also former president of the Senate. This friction happened at the first level of PAN members opposing the aspiring presidential candidate of the PAN, Ricardo Anaya . Although the initial fight of Calderón was with Anaya, he has accidentally opened a rift with the so-called Calderon supporters.

And Margarita Zavala tries to catch up

Now that she has the number of signatures required by the National Electoral Institute (INE) to officially register her independent candidacy (although the Institute still needs to approve said signatures), Margarita Zavala is ready to launch a more visible campaign next week. The former member of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) will start a tour across the entire national territory to catch up with the other aspiring candidates. She will seek to gain more visibility so the citizens don't forget about her. By the way, there's a story among the political groups that certain sectors “presented opportunities” so that independent candidates could get thousands of false signatures. Until now, the National Electoral Insitute (INE) hasn't cautioned against any kind of fraud in this way, yet the story is still being told. It seems unlikely that anyone would risk it.

Citizens, victims of insecurity

According to the National Diagnosis of Preventive Law Enforcement Bodies of the States of the Federation, prepared by the Ministry of the Interior and made public after the Law on Internal Security was passed, there is a list of the weaknesses of these law enforcement groups, maybe as a testament of the little interest or time the Government had in improving the 10 categories according to which law enforcement bodies were assessed. One of the most concerning issues – although it is hardly a state secret – is that there are several deficiencies in police officer training . Only 6 out of the 39 police academies in the Republic meet the minimum infrastructure and equipment requirements, to the point that there are even academies which lack a shooting range or a training field. This is why it is impossible for citizens to receive the protection they need against crime.

Gasoline price increase & lootings

This week, the first of the year, saw the increase in the prices of the basket of basic goods, a “time bomb” which will affect all Mexican households. EL UNIVERSAL has documented this increase based on the information provided by Mexico's Consumer Protection Agency (PROFECO) and visits to markets. The testimonies of ordinary people speak of the reigning feeling of desperation. Adding to all this, we have the price war on gasoline. People made calls to march the streets to protest against the price increase in some states yet the event which drew attention where the lootings in which almost a hundred people participated in several towns of the State of Mexico and other areas surrounding Mexico City. Were they organized or just a symptom of social dissatisfaction?

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