Mexico Archives - Page 12 of 34 - Foreign Policy In Focus

Mexico’s G20 Summit: In the Eye of the Storm

by Laura Carlsen | Jun 13, 2012

The hopes of Mexico’s president Felipe Calderon to have the European crisis under control before he presides over the G20 Summit have been dashed. Although the immediate threat of an economic meltdown has subsided, the crisis is far from over. Continued uncertainty in Greece and growing crisis in Spain are the most recent problems that have worsened the situation in the euro zone, said the European Commission in its weekly report for the last week of May. As usual, it called for holding the line.

The Brownshirts of the Arab Spring: Tunisia’s Salafists (Part 2)

by Rob Prince | Jun 7, 2012

Tunisia’s Arab Spring is looking more and more like the status quo disguised as a revolution.

Mexicans Romanticizing Drug Kingpins Reflects Lack of Confidence in the Rule of Law

by Michael Busch | May 24, 2012

The loyalty citizens profess to this violent syndicate or that has nothing to do with actual support, and everything to do with survival in an uncertain social terrain where law enforcement is often a perpetrator.

Arrest of Mexican General for Cartel Connections May Be Purely Political

by Michael Busch | May 23, 2012

Not only are the charges old, but he supports President Felipe Calderon’s opposition.

Fighting Drug Cartels Exposes Mexican Military to Corruption

by Michael Busch | May 21, 2012

The more exposure the military has to the drug war, the greater the risk that it will succumb to corruption.

Fear, Loathing and Electoral Love in Mexico

by Kent Paterson | May 15, 2012

Mexico’s federal election campaign officially kicked off March 30, but the contest arguably began in earnest days earlier when Pope Benedict XVI visited the right-wing stronghold of Guanajuato state. In a story worthy of Mexican surrealism, the daily La Jornada chronicled how all the presidential candidates joined with hundreds of thousands of people in the town of Silao to welcome the leader of an institution that is officially prohibited from participating in politics.

Mexican President Calderon: Kingpin of the Kingpin Strategy

by Michael Busch | May 15, 2012

The next president should reject current President Felipe Calderón’s profligate use of the military, and should make protection of human rights a cornerstone of a policy to back the power of traffickers.

The G20 Under the Mexican Presidency

by Laura Carlsen | Mar 26, 2012

Mexico took on the presidency of the G20 in December 2011 at a moment of multiple crises. The nation shares the presidency with a “three-member management Troika of past, present and future chairs”, this year, France and Russia.1 As chair, Mexico is responsible for establishing a temporary secretariat to coordinate work and prepare for and organize the June 2012 Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is charged with this task, with the participation of other ministries in specific areas.

Interview with Homero Aridjis

by Melissa Tuckey | Mar 22, 2012

Homero Aridjis is the author of more than 40 books of poetry and prose and is one of Latin America’s leading environmental activists. In this interview, he discusses his involvement in environmental issues and his public life as a poet.

The Drug War’s Invisible Victims

by Laura Carlsen | Jan 27, 2012

There are many kinds of war. The classic image of a uniformed soldier kissing mom good-bye to risk his life on the battlefield has changed dramatically. In today’s wars, it’s more likely that mom will be the one killed.

UNIFEM states that by the mid-1990s, 90% of war casualties were civilians– mostly women and children.