Cartel Factions Fight it Out in Sinaloa State and AMLO’s Comments in a Press Conference

Posted on September 14, 2024 by Allan Wall

This past July 25th, two leaders of the Sinaloa Drug Cartel were taken into U.S. custody in El Paso. They were Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo Guzman. Apparently, Guzman Lopez turned himself in but El Mayo was abducted with the collusion of Guzman Lopez.

Finally, the long-awaited war between the two factions has erupted in Sinaloa state, as two factions go after each other, hammer and tongs. (See the map below, Sinaloa state is in red):

Source: Wikipedia

From the Border Report article Narco war breaks out in Sinaloa between sons of ‘El Chapo’ and ‘El Mayo’ Zambada: The narco war that security experts predicted in the wake of the abduction and arrest of a major Sinaloa cartel drug lord has broken out in northwest Mexico. The Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office says 12 people have been killed, 11 injured by gunfire and 20 abducted since Monday [September 9th] in the cities of Culiacan, Mazatlan and Guasave. Classes were canceled in school on Thursday due to roving violence. And Gov. Ruben Rocha Moya called off Independence Day celebrations scheduled for Sept. 15-16.

Mexican Independence Day is an important civic holiday, so calling it off means something is really wrong.

Mexican news reports on Friday [September 13th] said the death toll was at least twice as large as the government was reporting. Local and international news outlets captured images of burning vehicles and roads being blocked.

“I want to tell you we have received reinforcements the president promised,” Rocha said in an online broadcast. “Four gunships and 100 special forces soldiers have arrived. That and our resources allow us to efficiently confront any violent flareups at any time […] (But) we have to admit these types of events could continue.”

The cause of the conflict is generally agreed upon.

Rocha attributed the violence to two rival groups. Mexican and international security experts identified them as gangs associated to the sons of convicted drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera and forces loyal to Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

Zambada was abducted in Mexico and flown to the United States in a charter airplane by one of El Chapo’s sons last July 25. Zambada on Thursday [September 12th] was flown out of confinement in El Paso, Texas, to New York City, where he was scheduled to appear in court Friday.

“There is a little bit of surprise that it took this long for when the precipitating event took place and the actual fighting broke out,” said Mike Ballard, director of intelligence for Virginia-based Global Guardian. “We’re at that six-week mark; it makes sense now they sort of planned, plotted, figured things out.”

What does Ballard foresee?

Ballard said the violence likely will escalate beyond the Sinaloa cartel stronghold into nearby states and border cities in northern Mexico where the transnational criminal organization American authorities have labeled as the main exporter of fentanyl into the U.S. has a strong presence. “It wouldn’t surprise me if you had violent flareups in other places that are ostensibly controlled by the Sinaloa cartel – whether by the Chapitos or El Mayo’s son,” Ballard said. “Anywhere in Baja California, Tijuana, Culiacan, Sonora; anywhere in Chihuahua, Juarez any of those border towns.”

The ongoing violence may or may not be in retaliation for Zambada’s abduction reportedly at the hands of Joaquin Guzman Lopez — who turned himself in to American authorities after stepping off the same aircraft that brought Zambada to the U.S. But it certainly has to do with who gets to keep the drug empire he allegedly built.

If El Mayo is a prinsoner in the U.S., who is running his faction in Mexico?

Ismael Zambada-Sicairos, aka “El Mayito Flaco” (Skinny Mayo) is a wanted fugitive in the United States and the son of El Mayo. Security experts believe he’s leading the fight against the remaining sons of El Chapo who are not in custody.

It makes sense, drug cartels like to keep it in the family.

So what does AMLO, the president of Mexico have to say about it?

Well, he was asked about it in his September 13th press conference.

Source: Mexican Presidential Website

Here’s how the Associated Press reported on something he said: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday [September 13th] asked the warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel to act “responsibly” so no one else gets killed, after a week of escalating violence nearly paralyzed the Sinaloa state capital, Culiacan.

“Act responsibly”?

I looked at the Spanish original on the presidential website . Here’s part of the exchange between AMLO and a reporter (my translation):

REPORTER: (Inaudible) that one group [of the Sinaloa cartel] betrayed the other, so the risk of settling accounts also persists, doesn’t it?

AMLO: Yes, but they have to seek other ways that do not harm the innocent people.

REPORTER: Like what?

AMLO: Well, they shouldn’t confront each other, there should be no loss of lives, that it doesn’t affect others and doesn’t affect each other.

REPORTER: Should they sit down and negotiate?

AMLO: No, well, this is their business. Just don’t affect the population and that they also should take care of themselves and take care of their family. [That’s apparently the part AP translated as “act responsibly”.] We don’t want loss of lives.

REPORTER: Are you confident that they will heed your call?

AMLO: What?

REPORTER: Are you confident they will heed your call?

AMLO: Always, always. The president of Mexico is listened to.

REPORTER: Even by criminals?

AMLO: By everybody, if he has moral authority, I assure you.

There you go – strange comments by the President of Mexico.

Of course, this is the guy who promoted the “hugs not bullets” strategy of dealing with the cartels.

Posted in Crime, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

That Didn’t Take Long – States Approve Mexico’s Judicial Reform

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Allan Wall

On September 11th, the Mexican Senate approved a judicial reform which would mandate the election of Mexican judges at all levels. As the Cámara de Diputados had already approved the reform, the next step was for the reform to be passed in 17 Mexican states.

Well, that has already occurred. It wasn’t hard because the ruling MORENA party has a majority in 27 of the 32 state legislatures. (That’s 32 counting Mexico City, not a state but the equivalent of a state).

On September 11th, the same day the reform was passed early in the Senate, it had been passed in the legislatures of 18 states and Mexico City. That was quick!

Therefore, the reform has passed the states.

The first state to approve it was Oaxaca. Here’s a photo of the Oaxaca legislature approving the reform in the early morning shortly after the federal Senate approved it:

Source: Excelsior

The other states that approved it were Tabasco, Veracruz, Quintana Roo, Tamaulipas, Yucatan state, Campeche, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Puebla, Guerrero, Colima, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Durango, Sinaloa, Baja California and Baja California Sur, all on September 11th.

So the reform already had 18 states approving, when only 17 were necessary.

The legislature of the state of Queretaro, however, rejected the reform. That couldn’t stop it, but the state is on record as having opposed it.

    In his morning press conference of September 12th, President AMLO said that “The reform to the judiciary has already been approved” and that it “would be good” for the new law to be published on September 15th in the Mexican government’s official gazette.

    And even though it wasn’t necessary, on September 12th the legislature of Mexico City approved the reform.

    The passage of this reform shows how swiftly the Mexican Constitution can be amended. In contrast the U.S. Constitution is hard to amend and requires much more time to do so.

    Now, Mexico is set to be the first country in the world to elect all its judges. The world now has an opportunity to see how well, or how badly, that works.

    Posted in Legal System, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

    Controversial Judicial Reform Amendment Passes Mexican Congress; Next Step is to Be Approved by States

    Posted on September 11, 2024 by Allan Wall

    The controversial judicial reform constitutional amendment has been passed by both houses of the Mexican Congress. The next step is for it to be approved by the states.

    The Washington Post had a good summary of the situation. From the Post: Mexico’s Senate voted early Wednesday [September 11th] to abolish the current judicial system and allow citizens to choose nearly all of the country’s judges, a drastic change that U.S. officials warn could pose “a major risk” to the democracy of its top trading partner. The ruling leftist party, Morena, barely mustered the two-thirds of Senate votes required for the constitutional amendment amid furious protests by students and judicial workers. Eighty-six lawmakers voted in favor, while 41 voted against.

    Demonstrators actually broke into the Senate chamber to protest: Raucous demonstrators burst into the chamber during the debate, chanting “Traitors!” and shattering a glass door. Lawmakers escaped to a nearby colonial-era building that formerly housed the Senate, and resumed the session under heavy police guard. “You are taking part in one of the biggest steps backward in the history of Mexico,” Sen. Verónica Rodríguez Hernández of the conservative opposition National Action Party said, addressing the ruling party and its allies from a lectern.

    Demonstrators entering a capitol building – where have I heard of that before?

    A PAN senator broke ranks and voted for the reform.
    Morena and its allies initially appeared to be one vote short of the two-thirds Senate majority. Opposition leaders alleged the ruling party had tried to lure senators to switch sides, either by offering bribes or threatening judicial investigations of alleged misdeeds.

    When Sen. Miguel Ángel Yunes of the National Action Party announced from the lectern Tuesday night [September 10th] that he would support the bill, he was met with a chorus of boos from fellow party members. Morena senators waved their fists in the air, yelling “The reform advances!”

    The Cámara de Diputados (equivalent to House of Representatives) had previously passed the reform.

    And the next step?

    The amendment has already passed the lower house and is likely to be quickly ratified at the state level, after which it would take effect. Morena has a majority in 27 of the 32 state legislatures.

    That doesn’t sound difficult.

    International Business doesn’t look favorably on this reform.

    The business community has been shaken by Morena’s blunt use of its new power. The peso has lost more than 15 percent of its value since the June election. Some international businesses have put investments on hold.

    The growth and power of the MORENA party is quite impressive. It has only been a political party for ten years, and was founded by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), who has been president since 2018 and is now in his last month of office. See my recent article entitled
    The Astonishing Growth and Power of Mexico’s MORENA Party .

    MORENA party logo. Source: Ralvachi Regeneracion

    Back to the WaPo:
    The new judicial framework marks a sharp break with the current system, in which most federal judges are named by a professional council that considers their experience and their scores on specialized exams. To fill Supreme Court vacancies, the president has traditionally nominated justices, with Senate approval. Now all those decisions would be turned over to voters, who would select about 7,000 judges, at the federal and local levels, including on the Supreme Court.

    Opposition politicians and human rights activists and others say the judicial amendment marks the start of a new era in Mexico in which a dominant party assumes control, snuffing out the democratic gains of the past three decades. Mexico was effectively a one-party state until 2000.

    The article is referring to the long era in which the PRI ran Mexico. In the last few decades of the 20th century its power was eroding, and in 1997 it lost a majority in the Cámara de Diputados; and in 2000, it lost the presidency.

    Now MORENA is the dominant party in Mexico. Will it become the new PRI? Or can the opposition prevent that?

    Posted in Legal System, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

    Fewer Americans Dining in Tijuana, So Restaurants Going Bankrupt

    Posted on September 8, 2024 by Allan Wall

    Tijuana is a Mexican border city on the far west end of Mexico, across the border from San Diego, California. In fact, Tijuana and San Diego and other cities actually form a transborder metroplex of five and a half million people. Check out this satellite photo to see what I mean:

    San Diego/Tijuana Metroplex . Source: Wikimedia

    This proximity allows Americans living on the U.S. side to drive over to Tijuana and eat in a restaurant. But fewer Americans are doing so now, according to a recent article on Border Report:

    The restaurant industry in Tijuana continues to see bankrupt establishments and fewer sales due to a lack of customers from north of the border. Visits are said to be down by as much as 30 percent since the start of the year, according to Giovanny Angulo, head of the restaurant division of Tijuana’s Chamber of Commerce. He says the lack of tourists is forcing many restaurants to shut down and lay people off. “We don’t have a specific number of restaurants that have closed because not all of them are part of our organization, but I speak with restaurateurs every day and we have noticed this trend,” Angulo said. “Sales we are seeing now are about what we saw two years ago, there’s been no growth.”


    Tijuana restaurant founded by Cesare Cardini, inventor of the Caesar Salad.
    Source: Omar Martinez


    Why is this occurring?
    Angulo blames two main factors: The belief Tijuana remains a dangerous place to visit and the long waits to cross the border, something people would rather avoid. “Here in Tijuana, the main difference from other cities, is that we are very dependent on economic boosts from people in the United States, right now is not a good moment in time.”

    Mexico is a popular destination for American travelers. In 2023, 36.71 million Americans traveled to Mexico. That was an increase over the previous year’s total of 33.54 million.

    That could change though, if high levels of violence continue in Mexico. Which should be a warning to Mexican officials that they need to decrease the violence.

    As for Tijuana, it does have a high homicide rate. A Mexican NGO called the Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad Pública y la Justicia Penal, A.C. (Citizen Council for Public Security and Penal Justice) annually releases a list of the world’s 50 most violent cities.

    On the group’s 2023 list, Tijuana was rated the 6th most violent city in the world with 91.76 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

    So it’s not just people’s imagination that Tijuana is dangerous, although as everywhere, your safety is affected by your location in the city and other factors.

    In Tijuana, restaurants are trying to deal with the situation: Angulo added that restaurant owners have been trying to promote themselves by staging several food festivals. The Caesar Salad festival recently commemorated the 100th anniversary of the salad’s invention at a Tijuana restaurant, and the Paella Festival is planned for the end of September.

    That’s all fine and dandy, but if Tijuana is seen by more Americans as a dangerous place to visit, it won’t matter what kinds of food festivals are staged there.

    Posted in Crime, Tourism and Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

    NASCAR Set to Run Cup Series Race in Mexico City Next June

    Posted on September 7, 2024 by Allan Wall

    This should be interesting news for NASCAR fans. It’s been announced that NASCAR will hold a Cup Series Race, for points, in Mexico City next June 15th. Here’s a specially tricked out racecar displayed at the official announcement in Mexico City on August 27th:

    Source: Alejandro Alvarez, NASCAR Studios

    The Cup Series is the highest competitive level of NASCAR racing. The race is scheduled for June 15th, 2025, at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack in Mexico City. The Cup Series race is to be preceded the day previous by a NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Here is NASCAR’s executive vice president Ben Kennedy at the announcement at the Autodromo in Mexico City:

    Ben Kennedy. Source:Alejandro Alvarez, NASCAR Studies

    Also on hand was Daniel Suarez, native of Monterrey, Mexico, who races in the NASCAR Cup Series in the United States:

    Daniel Suarez. Source: Alejandro Alvarez, NASCAR Studios




    NASCAR already has a presence in Mexico, with its NASCAR Mexico Series, which began in 2004. Also, from 2005 to 2008, NASCAR Xfinity races (the second-highest level) were held in Mexico, at the Autodromo.

    But the race scheduled for June 15th is the first time a highest-tier Cup Series NASCAR race, with points counted, is to be held in Mexico.

    One more question – will NASCAR racer Kyle Busch be allowed to participate?

    Kyle Busch. Source: Imago

    Kyle Busch got into trouble in a vacation visit to Mexico last year. Here’s a description in an Essentially Sports article: “While boarding a private jet to return home after a Mexican vacation at Airport Cancun International, officials discovered a .380 caliber pistol with six hollow-point bullets in Kyle Busch’s bag, according to a statement by the Attorney General’s Office. He was then sentenced to 3.5 years in a Mexican prison while also being fined $1,100. Fortunately for him, Busch never actually went to prison.”

    So will Kyle Busch be allowed into Mexico to race in June?

    Well, according to Bob Pockrass, Fox News NASCAR reporter, “Ben Kennedy says conversations have been had and Kyle Busch will be able to race in Mexico next year.“

    Sounds like a go for Kyle Busch and for the first NASCAR Cup Series in Mexico City.



    Posted in Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

    Mexico’s 66th Congress Convenes

    Posted on September 4, 2024 by Allan Wall

    On September 1st, 2024, the LXVI Legislatura del Congreso de la Unión, Mexico’s 66th Congress, convened. It is scheduled to end on August 31st, 2027.

    The members-elect were sworn in a few days earlier, on August 29th; they took office September 1st.

    Let’s look at the configuration of Congress.

    THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES

    The lower house is the Cámara de Diputados, the Chamber of Deputies, equivalent to the U.S. House of Representatives. It has 500 representatives, each with a 3-year term.

    Here are the parties in the Chamber and how many seats each has:

    The MORENA Coalition:
    MORENA: 257
    Green Party: 60
    Labor Party: 47

    Opposition Parties:
    PAN: 71
    PRI: 36
    Movimiento Ciudadano: 27
    PRD: 1
    Independent: 1
    Note that the MORENA coalition (MORENA/Greens/Labor) has 364 seats out of 500. That’s higher than the 334 seats which would give them a two-thirds super-majority.

    The Presidenta de la Cámara de Diputados, equivalent of Speaker of the House in the U.S. Congress, at 94 years of age, is Ifigenia Martinez, for whom Claudia Sheinbaum voted in the recent election. She is a member of the MORENA party:

    Ifigenia Martinez. Source: EneasMx

    THE SENATE

    The upper house is the Senado, the Senate, equivalent to the U.S. Senate. It has 128 senators. Like those in the U.S., Mexican senators have 6-year terms.

    Here are how many senators each party has in the Senate:
    The MORENA coalition:
    MORENA: 62
    Green Party: 14
    Labor Party: 9
    Opposition Parties
    PAN: 22
    PRI: 16
    Movimiento Ciudadano: 5

    The MORENA coalition has 85 senators out of 128, just one seat short of a super-majority.  How hard would it be to entice one more senator to jump ship and join the winners?

    The leader of the Senate, the Presidente de la Cámara de Senadores, is Gerardo Fernández Noroña, of the Labor Party, a member of the MORENA coalition:

    Gerardo Fernández Noroña. Source: EneasMx

    CONCLUSION: This new Congress is overwhelmingly dominated by the MORENA coalition. Both the current president (AMLO) and president-elect (Claudia Sheinbaum) are of the MORENA Party (founded by AMLO).

    If the MORENA coalition in the 66th Congress remains united and can pick up one more vote in the Senate, it can pass any law it wants and amend the Mexican Constitution, regardless of how the opposition parties vote.



    Posted in Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

    AMLO, the Mexican Congress, Mexican Judiciary and Foreign Meddling

    Posted on August 29, 2024 by Allan Wall

    On October 1st, the new Mexican Congress, elected on June 2nd, is slated to take office.  

    President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is no sitting duck president and is still very much in charge.  AMLO has a one-month overlap with the new Congress before stepping down on October 1st when Claudia Sheinbaum is inaugurated.

    In the month of September, AMLO wants to ram through some reforms, including a judicial reform, which critics say will take away from the judicial independence of the Mexican Supreme Court.

    The current judiciary is dead set against the proposed change.  There is currently a strike by court employees, judges and magistrates, shutting down most federal courts in Mexico.

    As for the Congress, there was a dispute on how to calculate the configuration of the seats.

    In the Mexican Senate, 32 of the 128 senators are chosen by proportional representation.  In the Chamber of Deputies, 200 out of 500 deputies are chosen by proportional representation. 

    In proportional representation, seats are allocated based on the percentage of votes received by a political party nationwide.

    The dispute was whether, for purposes of proportional representation, the winning coalition of MORENA/Greens/Labor should be counted as one party or three separate parties. 

    As reported by the Associated Press “… [T]he law also stipulates that the proportional seats can’t be used to give any party a majority in Congress. Morena apparently got around that by “lending” some of its winning congressional district candidates to two allied smaller parties. The smaller parties aren’t subject to the no-majority rule, but they vote in lockstep with Morena.

    When the decision came down from the electoral institute, it was that proportional representation be calculated on the basis of individual parties, not coalitions; and that they couldn’t even take into account how that would affect a majority in a chamber.

    The result is that the MORENA coalition got 60% of the vote in the June 2nd election but has 73% of the seats in the new Chamber of Deputies.

    The MORENA coalition (MORENA/Greens/Labor) has 364 seats out of 500. That’s higher than the 334 seats which would give them a two-thirds super-majority.

    When I wrote my previous article  the MORENA coalition (MORENA, Green Party and Labor Party) had 83 seats out of 128 in the Senate.

    But in politics, things change swiftly. 

    On August 28th, two senators-elect of the PRD party (part of the losing coalition) jumped ship and joined MORENA.    That gives the MORENA coalition 85 seats.

    (How ethical is that?  Switching your party a couple of months after the election before taking office.  Of course, the voters have no say in it.)

    Both candidates,  Araceli Saucedo and Jose Sabino, had pledged in the campaign not to switch parties.   In one campaign video, Sabino said  “Just like you, I’m tired of the same old grasshopper politicians (who jump from party to party). You have to keep your word.”

    Well, so much for that pledge.

    Losing presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez said of the two that  “History will judge them as traitors who took part in the attack on democracy.”  But Xochitl doesn’t have much influence now.

    So now, in the Senate, the MORENA coalition has 85 senators out of 128, just one seat short of a super-majority.  How hard would it be to entice one more senator to jump ship and join the winners?

    Bottom line, the MORENA coalition looks unbeatable.  It probably can ram through the judicial reforms and other legislation.

    It looks like this will make MORENA, already the dominant party in Mexico, even stronger.

    The U.S. ambassador even got involved.

    Ken Salazar, the American ambassador to Mexico, released a declaration on Twitter X on August 22nd, in which he called the proposed reform a “risk” for Mexico, threatening the U.S.-Mexican commercial relationship and that it would help drug cartels “take advantage of inexperienced judges with political motivations.”

    The Mexican government responded swiftly, sending a diplomatic note to the U.S. embassy.

    AMLO discussed the matter at length in his August 23rd morning press conference. Here’s a photo of AMLO and the Mexican diplomatic note writ large:

    Source: Mexican Presidential Website

    In his long discussion, AMLO declared that “[W]e do not accept any representative of a foreign government intervening in affairs that only correspond to we Mexicans to resolve.”

    AMLO certainly has a point about meddling.  At least Ambassador Salazar could have made his concerns known in private.  But making it public was just begging AMLO to respond publicly.

    On the other hand, for years the Mexican government has openly meddled in U.S. immigration and nationality policy, and American politicians don’t seem to mind.

    Canada too got into the act, with Canadian ambassador Graeme Clark warning of investment concerns (which is a real concern). 

    So on August 27th, AMLO declared a pause in relations with the U.S. and Canadian embassies.   Not breaking relations or anything that drastic.  Just the silent treatment.

    What about the investment community?    On August 23rd, Associated Press reported that
     “On Tuesday [August 20th], Morgan Stanley downgraded its recommendation for investing in Mexico, saying the changes would ‘increase risk.’ In an analysis report, Citibanamex warned that passage of the proposal could end in the ‘cancellation of liberal democracy.’

    Is Mexico headed back to de facto one-party state rule ?   Hopefully not, but MORENA is the dominant party and is getting even more dominant.    And the political opposition seems helpless. 

    Posted in Legal System, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

    New Mexican Congress Set to Convene on the 1st of September

    Posted on August 25, 2024 by Allan Wall

    Mexico held its elections on June 2nd. In addition to the presidential election, a new Congress was elected, set to take office on September 1st. The term of current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is set to end on October 1st, creating a one-month overlap in which the new Congress will serve together with AMLO, before Claudia Sheinbaum arrives to the presidency October 1st.

    AMLO is not a lame duck, and is pushing an ambitious legislative agenda, including his controversial judicial reform. The concern of the critics of this reform is that it will give more power to AMLO’s MORENA party (already the predominant party of Mexico) and that it will take judicial independence from Mexico’s Supreme Court.

    The Mexican Congress has two chambers, the Senado and the Cámara de Diputados. Let’s take a look at the upcoming configuration of each chamber.

    THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES

    The lower house is the Cámara de Diputados, the Chamber of Deputies, equivalent to the U.S. House of Representatives. It has 500 representatives,  300 elected by their districts, while 200 are chosen through proportional representation. In proportional representation, seats are allocated based on the percentage of votes received by a political party nationwide.

    The terms for this chamber are 3 years.

    The Cámara de Diputados meets here in the Palacio Legislativo de San Lázaro:

    Source: Cámara de Diputados website

    In the new Chamber of Deputies set to take office September 1st, MORENA’s coalition (including MORENA, the Labor Party and the Green Party) has 364 seats out of 500. That’s higher than the 334 seats which would give them a two-thirds super-majority.

    Here’s the breakdown of seats by political party: MORENA: 236; Green Party: 77; Labor Party: 51; PAN: 72; PRI: 35; Movimiento Ciudadano: 27; PRD: 1; and 1 independent representative.

    THE SENATE

    The upper house is the Senado, the Senate, equivalent to the U.S. Senate. It has 128 senators.

    Of those 128 senators, 3 are from each of Mexico’s 31 states and 3 are from Mexico City.

    Political parties run candidates for the Senado in pairs. The pair which receives the most votes is elected to the Senado to represent that particular state. The state’s other senador is from the political party that came in second in that state’s senatorial election.

    All these senadores account for 96 of the total.

    The other 32 are chosen by proportional representation, based on the nationwide vote.

    Mexican senators, like those in the U.S., have 6-year terms.

    The Mexican Senate meets here:

    Source: Wikimedia Commons

    In the new Senate set to take office September 1st, the MORENA coalition (MORENA, Green Party and Labor Party) has 83 seats out of 128. That’s two seats short of the 85 required for a two-thirds super-majority.

    Here’s the breakdown of seats by political party: MORENA: 60, Green Party: 14; Labor Party: 9; PAN: 22 ; PRI: 16; Movimiento Ciudadano: 5 ; and the PRD: 2.

    Posted in Legal System, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

    Smugglers Hide Meth in Celery, Fake Watermelons, And Other Products

    Posted on August 22, 2024 by Allan Wall

    Smugglers are creative, constantly finding new ways to sneak methamphetamine across the border.

    Sometimes smugglers get caught but how much is getting through?

    A couple of recent cases at the Otay Mesa crossing (near San Diego) included celery and fake watermelons.

    From CBS News:

    “[O]n the evening of August 9… border agents at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility, an inspection port just over the southern border in San Diego, found 629 pounds of methamphetamine in a grocery shipping crate filled with celery. Border Patrol said that agents discovered the narcotics while performing an inspection on a commercial tractor-trailer, driven by a 34-year-old man with a legitimate border crossing card who entered the U.S. from Mexico with cargo on board his truck. The driver was transporting a shipment that had been declared as celery, according to the federal authorities. Agents used a K-9 unit to do the inspection, which revealed 508 packages that testing later confirmed contained methamphetamine. Border Patrol said the haul had an estimated street value of $755,000.“

    Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

    After that, the fake watermelons. From CBS: “Less than two weeks after the celery seizure, agents at the same inspection facility in Otay Mesa discovered an even larger haul of methamphetamine. This time, the produce meant to conceal the drugs was fake.  Another commercial tractor-trailer, driven by a 29-year-old man said to be transporting watermelons from Mexico into the U.S., was found to contain 1,220 packages of methampetamine, according to the Border Patrol. The drugs were wrapped inside packaging that might be mistaken for watermelon from a distance. But closer inspection revealed the packages were actually filled with 4,587 pounds of meth, a haul with a street value exceeding $5 million, according to the agency.“

    Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

    Close-up of a fake watermelon:

    Source: U.S Customs and Border Protection

    The CBS article reported other creative tactics employed by meth smugglers: “The discoveries in California bookended a third, similar incident in Georgia, where agents found more than 2,300 pounds of meth hidden inside a truck carrying celery at a farmer’s market outside of Atlanta. Earlier this year, six tons of meth were discovered inside a shipment of squash in California, after 3,000 pounds of the narcotic and cocaine were found last year in bins of jalapeño paste that were being transported over the border. Traffickers have also stashed drugs inside shipments of green beans, sugar, flour and candy.”

    If this is what’s being found by law enforcement agents, what is getting through?

    Posted in Crime | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

    Architectural Digest Names Mexico’s San Miguel de Allende World’s Fourth Most Beautiful City

    Posted on August 19, 2024 by Allan Wall

    Architectural Digest recently published their list of “The 20 Most Beautiful Cities in the World.”

    The number one city on the list was Adelaide, Australia. In the #2 position was Tallinn, Estonia. City #3 was Portsmouth, Dominica.

    In the #4 position was San Miguel de Allende, in the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. (Allende is pronounced “Ayenday”.)

    Here’s the photograph of the city that Architectural Digest presented:

    San Migel de Allende. Source: ferrantraite/Getty Images

    Here’s what the Architectural Digest article (by Amelia Mularz) says about San Miguel de Allende: “Charming, enchanting, a jewel box of a town—these are all descriptors commonly attributed to San Miguel de Allende, the colonial-era city in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It’s been voted the top city in the world twice and is in itself an UNESCO World Heritage Site, thanks to its exquisite examples of 16th-century Spanish Colonial Baroque architecture. The town’s art festivals, galleries, and top-notch food scene also make it a beloved destination.”

    I invite the reader to check out my article on the Mexconnect website about the state of Guanajuato, located here. It has some information about San Miguel de Allende and three photos of the city:

    San Miguel de Allende, Buildings on Edge of Plaza. Source: Lilia Wall, Mexconnect
    Concepción Church and surroundings, San Miguel de Allende. Source: Raphael Wall, Mexconnect
    Bridge/Street in San Miguel de Allende. Source: Lilia Wall, Mexconnect

    Congratulations, San Miguel de Allende!

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