Nowadays Mexico is synonymous of drugs, violence, death and corruption. The country famous for it’s paradise beaches, pyramids, tequila, mariachis, cuisine, handicraft and colorful traditions have been overshadowed by the current situation. With this blog I will expose what is happening in Mexico away from the everyday headlines. I will focus on a wide variety of topics, whether it’s cultural, society, entertainment, current events, curiosities and anything that is relevant in this multicultural country. A blog by Gabriel Infante

Student movement have spiced up Mexico’s election campaign

“Welcome to the Mexican spring, where the youth have flourish and spread their ideas like pollen, where the hearts are lit and opens minds makes tangible the illusion...

Mexican Government plans to take legal actions against activists and citizens for lodged complaint at The Hague

On Friday, November 25th a group of activists lodged a war-crime and crime against humanity complaint against President Felipe Calderon, top government officials and the most wanted drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman...

Mexico’s president, from a mediocre Commander and Chief to a Tour Guide

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has been seen dressed as a military and taking “seriously” his role as Commander and Chief. When the local press does not favor him, he stated that if he had not been a politician he would have been a journalist...

Why Mexico has not yet have its Arab spring?

The terrible state that Mexico stands currently, deserves, without any doubt a peaceful social uprising, not just because of the violence that has stirred up since president Calderon launched the war on drugs on December of 2006...

Mexicans want the head of the controversial top war drug official, while journalist claims that he plans to kill her

Around 150 thousands protesters turn out in Mexico City’s main square “El Zócalo” on Sunday May 8th after a four day march that began in the city of Cuernavaca, 90 kilometers south of Mexico city to demonstrate against the drug gang violence...

Mexicans go out to protest against violence and the drug war

Thousands of Mexicans in more then 30 cities throughout the country went out to the streets on Wednesday afternoon to demonstrate against the violence that has stirred up since the Mexican government...

Information gap in the global village, unlikely; President Calderon’s nightmare

Times have changed the way that society informs themselves on national and world events. In this digital era, as we all know, the information travels in a speed never imagined.

Florence Cassez and the true face of the Mexican justice

The Florence Cassez’s case is unprecedented in recent Mexican justice. The so called promise of change that the right wing party, the National Action Party (PAN) bragged by its 2000 presidential candidate....

Mexico's makeover attempt

Four years of bloodshed and 28,000 thousand people have been killed in the so-called drug war, and without any doubt this have damaged immensely the image of Mexico throughout the world,[...]

Who are the real executioners of Mexican journalists?

While President Felipe Calderon emphasized on Friday on the value of democracy, in the framework of the Iberoamerican summit that is underway in Argentina,...

The capture of the American-born drug kingpin was a fluke

Photo:Edgar Valdez Villareal "La Barbie"/ Toda Noticia The Mexican society once again were deceived by the lies of the federal police authorities and by the Secretary of Public Security, Genaro García Luna, which has a questionable reputation and is well known that the armed forces don’t trust him, has made that the society to think that the capture of the most powerful and bloodthirsty drug trafficker, Edgar Valdez Villareal “La Barbie” was the result of a 14 months thorough intelligence investigation that consisted of agents, satellites and undercover cops. However, for the misfortune of the authorities, this generated a lot of suspiciousness within the local press and began to question, how can it be possible that during the arrest there wasn’t any shootout? How can it be, that the most wanted drug kingpin surrender so easily without even giving a fight?

Mexico, the route of death for Central and South American illegal immigrants

Central American illegal immigrants on top of "La Bestia" (Train) Foto El Mundo daily
 
The massacre of seventy two Central and South Americans undocumented immigrants killed in hands of one of the most violent Mexican drug gangs, ‘Los Zetas’ has outraged the Mexican society and the international community. The Mexican Government immediately condemned the atrocious crime and were surprised that illegal immigrants heading to the U.S are also a target for the organized crime; despite that they already had some knowledge that they were being mistreated, sold to traffickers or recruited as hit-men.

Mexico City sued a high rank Mexican Catholic cleric

Photo from FaroViejo

 

It was to be expected the controversy that would bring among conservative sectors of the society, specially the Catholic Church, the decision of the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice endorsing the constitutionality that married gay couples in Mexico City can adopt, but not to the extent of a lawsuit of Mexico City’s Mayor, Marcelo Ebrard against the cardinal of Guadalajara, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez.
 

Le Monde criticize harshly Calderon’s war

Photo from Júzgalo tu mismo

 

On one of Wednesday’s editorial of the renowned French newspaper “Le Monde” titled "Le Mexique miné pour les barons de la drogue” (Mexico undermined by the drug barons) caught my attention by it scathing of the text. It’s not because it says   anything that isn’t true, on the contrary, sums it up very well the terrible situation that the country stands, thanks to the unbeatable fight against the drug cartels that president Felipe Calderon launched more then three years ago.

Is President Calderon ready to discuss drugs legalization?

Marihuana plants: Photo from nautilus After almost four years that President Felipe Calderon launched unilaterally the war against the drug cartels and the organized crime, and defined it as a face to face fight. President Calderon told the Mexican society, back then, that this war was necessary to bring back peace and security in the country, but that has not been the case for many, where the fierce fighting between the drug cartels for territory and clashes with federal police forces and the army is underway; their lives have changed drastically. Their daily lives is a complete nightmare, they live in constant fear, not knowing if they or a loved one will return home safe and sound or get killed in the middle of a crossfire of a shootout. This fight have claimed, according to the Center for Research and National Security, the Mexican Intelligence Agency (CISEN), twenty eight thousand lives. It seems that finally president Calderon is open to suggestions.

Mexico is indeed a racist country

A little more then a week ago, I came across an article titled “Racism in Mexico rears its ugly head” written by Tracy Wilkinson, journalist from Los Angeles Times. Mrs. Wilkinson opens her article using Televisa’s morning coverage of the World Cup “Primero Mundial” as an example of Mexican racism. She considers racist, the fact that behind, where the co-hosts are sitting and chatting, a group of “actors in blackface makeup, dressed in fake animal skins and wild "Afro" wigs, gyrate, wave spears and pretend to represent a cartoonish version of South Africa”. The TV network, according to the article, considers it as a “harmless spoof ”. Is clear that humor and stereotypes could be a double-edged sword, so the question is, to what extent these exceed the boundaries of racism?

Mexican youth: Obese, sick and with weak hearts

Mexican diet in a month. Photo from photobucket NeNe_WeNo

 

If you are in the vicinity of a school in any part of the country, just when the front gate opens and the students come out after a busy school day, they head straight to a food stand located right in front or in the surroundings to buy chips, candies, pork cracklings with hot sauce and lemon, corncob topped with mayonnaise and chili powder or simple they take out their snacks that they bought during recesses at the schoolyard. What is inevitable not to notice in this everyday scene, is that many of the pupils are chubby and their round bellies pops out.

Mexican fans meltdown after Tri’s defeat

Mexican fan with tears

Published on front page of Reforma newspaper on 28/06/10

 

The humiliation was too much for many fans after Argentina crushed Mexico 3-1 in a win or die match to qualify to the quarter-finals. This match promised to be the rematch of Mexico against Argentina, in which the South American team defeated the Aztec national team four years back on German soil in the same stage of the World Cup.

From glory to ridiculous

Mexican fans mexico-uruguay

 Photo: Gabriel Infante

 

Absolutely shameful and disappointing! The Tri after playing an amazing game, orderly and with great precision against les Blues, and which caused the sub-champions’ meltdown, seems to have vanished away with Uruguay.

A historic match! After 80 years Mexico finally beats les Bleus

celebración de mexicanos

Photo: Gabriel Infante

 

The victory of Mexico over France has revived the enthusiasm of the fans and the local media considers it as historic. For the skeptics, like me, we were proven wrong. I have to admit that I had my doubts if the national team could overcome “Les bleus”, the sub-champions, and taking into account that Mexico has never beaten the French national team, since both teams first played back in the 1930 Uruguay FIFA World Cup opening match.