by the El Reportero’s staff
The elections for 12 governors, 14 state legislatures and mayors in 15 states in Mexico are the biggest political challenge yet for the government of Felipe Calderon. The Mexican president has deployed troops and federal police to wrest back territory from drug traffickers. But drug-related violence, which is widespread in the country, has prevented many Mexicans from participating in the vote. Many see the elections as a major test of public support for Calderon and his economic and security policies. Al Jazeera’s Tom Ackerman reports. [July 4, 2010]
Should Calderón stand down the troops and negotiate with the drug cartels?
President Felipe Calderón finds himself ever more frequently compelled, not only to defend his anti-cartel strategy, but also to argue against an alternative that has gained the support of influential advocates: striking a pact of coexistence with the cartels, similar tothat which prevailed underprevious administrations.
A mayor of the ruling party has struck such a deal in one of Mexico’s most affl uent municipalities, and claims to have achieved an almost total cessation of violence and most serious crime. Calderón says that this option is both ethically and institutionally unac-ceptable.
What will hap- pen after Torre Cantú’s assassination? On 28 June, Rodolfo Torre Cantú, the main opposition Partido Revolucionario Insti- tucional (PRI) candidate for governor of the violent bor- der state of Tamaulipas, was ambushed and killed along with four other people. The killings shocked Mexico, even though this year’s death toll from gang-related killings is on course to pass 10,000 for the fi rst time.
Why is Brazil do- ing so much better than Mexico?
The record upgrading, y the Brazilian central bank, hardly a body known for hot-headed enthusiasms, of its GDP growth forecast from 5.8 percent to 7.3 per- cent in 2010 shows just how well the Brazilian economy is doing. Mexico’s economy, by contract may not even hit this year’s growth target of 3.5 percent.
Bolivia exports more natural gas to Argentina Bolivia increased its natural gas supplies to Argentina to 7.4 million cubic meters per day, re- ported the Bolivian state oil company, Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales de Bolivia (YPFB).
Through a press re-lease, the company said this amount is almost all that is required by Buenos Aires.
This greater volume of gas transported is due to the increased demand in the neighboring country because of the season, the message states.
Bolivia and Argentina signed in April an agree-ment for sending 7.7 mil-lion cubic meters of gas per day, until such time as further investments allow the transportation capacity to reach 13 million.
These improvements should go in parallel with the construction of the new Argentine northeast gas pipeline Juana Azurduy through which Bolivia should supply up to 27 mil-lion cubic meters a day dur-ing the 20-year contract.
