by the El Reportero news services
Felipe Calderón
The final state elections of the year on 11 November produced a win for the leftwing Partido de la Revolución Democrática in the most important of them, Michoacán.
The result is another blow for the Partido Acción Nacional which has now won only one (Baja California) of the five gubernatorial elections since President Felipe Calderón won the presidential elections in July 2006.
The PAN’s series of poor performances raises the fear that it will suffer big losses in then mid-term congressional elections in 2009: if this happens, Calderón, with his weak mandate, would become a lame duck.
In the municipal and state congress elections, which have also been held this year, the PAN has been walloped, most by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional which still governs the majority of Mexican states, but also, in some places, by the PRD.
Castro cheer Chávez for his latest outburst
HAVANA — Fidel Castro broke two weeks of silence Sunday, applauding his close friend Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez for having ‘’leveled devastating criticisms at Europe’’ during a summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
In a brief essay published on the front pages of state newspapers, the ailing 81- year-old Castro also praised speeches by leftist presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Eva Morales of Bolivia during the Ibero-American summit, which wrapped up Saturday in Santiago, Chile.
He blasted conservative leaders at the meeting, singling out El Salvador’s President Tony Saca, a U.S. ally.
Castro did not discuss a phone call he placed to the Venezuelan leader Saturday after the summit closed, but wrote that “Chávez leveled devastating criticisms at Europe, the same Europe that pretended to offer lessons on good governance at this Latin American summit.’’
Nor did he mention that the gathering ended with a heated exchange between Chávez and King Juan Carlos of Spain, who told the Venezuelan president to “shut up.ʼʼ
Nebraska ag industry scores deal with Cuba
Gov. Dave Heineman returned to Nebraska on Tuesday after a successful trade mission to Cuba that resulted in $10 million in agricultural sales.
While in Cuba, Heineman attended the opening of the 25th annual Havana International Trade Fair.
The deal signed on Monday was for $10 million in U.S. wheat that will be sourced from Nebraska. The agreement was signed between Louis Dreyfus and Alimport Chairmanand Chief Executive Officer Pedro Alvarez.
With this latest contract, Heineman said, Nebraska has sold more than $70 million in agricultural products to Cuba since the state’s export relationship was established in 2005.
Heineman said he appreciated the positive reception Nebraska agricultural products have received there.
