The result is that drug traffickers are getting rich, while Mexico pays a heavy price in lost human lives and in economic activity that might otherwise bring a modicum of prosperity to the country.
In 2008, Mexico ranked 31st out of 60 countries studied in the Milken Institute/Kurtzman Group Opacity Index. The cost to ordinary Mexicans from poorly functioning institutions has been huge. My colleague, Glenn Yago, and I calculate that if Mexico were to reduce corruption and bring its legal, economic, accounting and regulatory standards up to U.S. levels (the U.S. ranks 13th and Finland ranks first), Mexico’s nominal per capital GDP would increase by about $18,000 to roughly $28,000 a year. And it would also receive a lot more direct foreign investment that would create jobs.
read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123206674721488169.html
Jones Day, the third-largest law firm in the United States., has opened an office in Mexico City.
The office will be launched in conjunction with Mexico-based law firm De Ovando y Martinez del Campo, SC.
Jones Day has offices around the globe, including one in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Fernando de Ovando will serve as partner-in-charge, overseeing eight partners and 12 associates. The firm will focus on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, infrastructure transactions, as well as real estate and capital markets.
The Mexico City office — called Jones Day Mexico City — was added to increase opportunities for clients pursuing in business opportunities in Mexico and internationally, the firm said.
bizjournals.com
The Vatican’s No. 2 official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, calls for a ‘harsh deterrent’ to the drug violence that left more than 5,000 dead last year.
By Tracy Wilkinson January 13, 2009
Reporting from Mexico City — Decrying the violence that Mexicans are enduring, the Vatican has suggested excommunication as a possible punishment for drug traffickers whose war with the government has led to the deaths of thousands of people in the last year.
But the Roman Catholic Church’s severest form of rebuke would probably have little effect on traffickers and killers who lack a religious conscience, the Vatican’s No. 2 official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, acknowledged. [latimes.com]
A reputed drug cartel boss is in custody in Mexico, authorities say.
The Mexican Defense Secretariat said Alberto Espinoza Barron, known as “La Fresa” or “The Strawberry,” was arrested Monday in Morelia, capital of Michoacan state, the Latin American Herald Tribune reported Wednesday.
Espinoza Barron is alleged to have been a key leader of the La Familia Michoacana drug trafficking Cartel in western Mexico.
He allegedly was the so-called “plaza chief” in Morelia, coordinating cocaine shipments to the United States, the Defense Secretariat said.
While he was said to have kept a low profile, he was reputed to have had complete control over distribution points from drugs shipped from South America to Lazaro Cardenas port, the Herald Tribune said. He allegedly intimidated authorities and recruited them in order to protect his drug operations.
In addition, he allegedly extorted money from businesses and arranged kidnappings.
www.upi.com
MIAMI, FL – At $102 per person, per night all-inclusive, RIU Hotels & Resorts is making a warm, relaxing spring vacation affordable in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This special can be booked from January 3rd to January 30th for stays anytime from April 13 to April 30, 2009. To book the vacation, visit www.riu.com or call 888-RIU-4990.
RIU offers two beachfront, all-inclusive resorts in Cabo San Lucas; Riu Santa Fe and Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas. Located on one of the most dramatically beautiful beaches on the Baja California peninsula, each resort offers a disco, multiple bars including pool bar and sports bar, internet cafe, day and nighttime entertainment, tennis courts, gym, sauna and jaccuzi. Snacks and beverages are available at both resorts 24 hours a day.
Less than three miles from the town of Cabo, the family-oriented Riu Santa Fe offers 902 rooms, a children’s club and two swimming pools. In addition to the spacious buffet restaurants, Riu Santa Fe offers three a la carte dinning rooms: “Torote” the poolside grill and steakhouse, “La Misión” featuring Mexican cuisine and “Carusso,” featuring Italian delicacies and dishes.
Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas boasts 642 deluxe guestrooms and select suites feature hydro-massage bathtubs and a Jacuzzi on the terrace. Unique amenities at the Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas include 24-hour room service and Riu’s renowned mini-bar and liquor dispenser that features full-size bottles of liquor. This resort offers four a la carte restaurants including “Misaki” which offers Japanese cuisine, a poolside grill and steakhouse, a Mexican dining room and “Krystal” which offers a special menu developed by Michelin-star Spanish chefs. (more…)
Jennifer Aniston arrived in Los Cabos over the weekend with the good friends, the Arquettes, while John Mayer flew in to the resort town with his brother.
She’s been all over the place promoting her new flick “Marley and Me” and now it looks like Jennifer Aniston is prepping for some down time in the New Year in Mexico.
When the American economy was growing, successive Mexican governments counted on foreign investment and exports to generate growth. Exports account for almost a third of Mexico’s gross domestic product. But more than 80 percent of them go to the U.S., and when Americans stop buying, there is no market for Mexican-made goods.
Mexico is credited by economists with economic policies that reduced debt and tamed inflation, but that has not saved it from the pain of a global recession.
The effect on Mexico is becoming clear. Unemployment is at the highest level in eight years. The peso has fallen 25 percent, leading to a spike in the price of imports, hurting consumers and businesses that rely on imported goods. Exports, industrial production and retail sales have all fallen in the last few months.
Mexico’s Federal drug tzar, Noe Ramiriz Mandujano, was arrested on charges that he had received huge bribes from one of the biggest cartels. A witness said Mandujano received $450,000 (£300,000) each month from the Beltran Leyva cartel in exchange for information on investigations.
“Enrique Gonzalez, killed while eating breakfast, had been a police officer. Manuel Inzunza, a local crime reporter, had known Gonzalez for 20 years as a friend, adding that he had been the head of the city’s homicide squad, and an honest policeman. “You know, this is the 10th member of Culiacan’s homicide squad to be killed since May. Almost the entire unit has been wiped out. The cartels have targeted the homicide squad because they don’t want any of the Drug murders investigated.”
link: huffingtonpost.com
MEXICO CITY – Mexico arrested a military officer suspected of passing information to drug traffickers as part of a government sweep to rout out corruption, the attorney general’s office said in a statement on Friday.
Army major Arturo Gonzalez allegedly received $100,000 a month to pass information about army anti-narcotics plans to the Beltran Leyva drug Cartel, Mexican daily Reforma reported.
Gonzalez was picked up as part of “Operation Clean-up,” which has netted several high-ranking police officers accused of collaborating with the Beltran Leyva brothers, who split off from the Sinaloa cartel run by Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman.
Mexico’s liaison to Interpol and the former head of the country’s organized crime bureau were also arrested in recent weeks for alleged drug ties. Another 30 anti-drug police have been fired on suspicion of corruption.
Since taking office in 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has deployed thousands of troops and federal police to drug
There are signs that Immigration to the U.S. is no longer as attractive an option for Mexican immigrantsa and so Mexicans are Coming Home , Mexico prepares for Repatriation.
•The Pew Hispanic Center says the Hispanic immigrant labor force in the U.S. decreased by 217,000 between the third quarter of 2007 and the third quarter of 2008.
•The Mexican Foreign Ministry reports a nearly 30 percent increase from 2007 to 2008 in citizens who filed paperwork to move belongings from the U.S. to Mexico, although the sample size is small.
In response, Mexico is bracing for a possible influx of citizens returning for good.
•Mexico City is offering unemployment insurance and other benefits for an estimated 30,000 returnees.
•A federal micro-loan program is offering loans to returnees at favorable rates.
•The state of Zacatecas is offering a fund to start small businesses and is allowing returning immigrants to certify the job skills they learned in the U.S.
