Friday, April 08, 2005
Viva El Populisto
Ah, Mexico. Our sunny southern neighbor does have its issues, doesn't it? The mayor of Mexico City, is getting ready for his arrest on charges that he obstructed the construction of a road to brand new hospital. Many see this as a political ploy, in fact, 80% of some Mexicans do. You can read Mayor Lopez Obrador's side of the story in this statement from Marxist.com. It's no secret that he is a left-winger, and his arrest does look suspiciously like a setup. The charges aren't really that major, but the key ingredient here is his legal immunity.
Mexico has this system that apparently makes all elected officials immune to investigation, prosecution, and seemingly the law. If you lose this immunity through the "desafuero" process, then you aren't allowed to run for office, ever again. A "desafuero" has been been declared over this land dispute against Obrador, who is the wildly popular favorite to run against the wildly unpopular Presidente Fox. Coincidentally, it was Fox who issued the desafuero, barring his popular opponent from running against him next year.
The problem with Mexico, is that the Capitalists are seen as too corrupt to inspire confidence in their voters. Obrador's record isn't white as snow, but Fox's blatant attempts to disqualify him only rally support for a man who has already done alot of favors for his voters. Fox has already announced that he will not run for re-election after a series of scandals pressured him to do so. Mexico's biggest issue right now is corruption, and if it takes a left wing populist to bring transparency to the government, that's how it will go. Even a socialist can inadvertently lead their country into the modern economic world, simply by eliminating corruption. Less corruption makes investors more secure. More investment means a more Liberal economy, and a more Liberal economy means more prosperity, and an all around better Mexico. If Obrador can make it happen, then more power to him, because I'm tired of paying for healthcare for millions of illegal Mexican immigrants. Until they are legal American citizens, that should be Mexico's job.
Mexico has this system that apparently makes all elected officials immune to investigation, prosecution, and seemingly the law. If you lose this immunity through the "desafuero" process, then you aren't allowed to run for office, ever again. A "desafuero" has been been declared over this land dispute against Obrador, who is the wildly popular favorite to run against the wildly unpopular Presidente Fox. Coincidentally, it was Fox who issued the desafuero, barring his popular opponent from running against him next year.
The problem with Mexico, is that the Capitalists are seen as too corrupt to inspire confidence in their voters. Obrador's record isn't white as snow, but Fox's blatant attempts to disqualify him only rally support for a man who has already done alot of favors for his voters. Fox has already announced that he will not run for re-election after a series of scandals pressured him to do so. Mexico's biggest issue right now is corruption, and if it takes a left wing populist to bring transparency to the government, that's how it will go. Even a socialist can inadvertently lead their country into the modern economic world, simply by eliminating corruption. Less corruption makes investors more secure. More investment means a more Liberal economy, and a more Liberal economy means more prosperity, and an all around better Mexico. If Obrador can make it happen, then more power to him, because I'm tired of paying for healthcare for millions of illegal Mexican immigrants. Until they are legal American citizens, that should be Mexico's job.
