By Michelle Moraila

As the race to “Los Pinos” heats up, the Mexican parties continue to duke it out in a classical game of name calling and tattling. The latest remark concerns the PRI’s complaint claiming Calderon violated the Mexican Constitution when he sent out an email thanking taxpayers for their payment. The IFE (Instituto Federal Electoral, or in English, the Federal Electoral Institute) concluded that President Felipe Calderon did indeed violate the Constitution by sending the email and using public resources for personal propaganda and noting the government’s achievements over the past couple of years. Under Article 134 of the Constitution it affects the fairness of the election and confuses voters. The infringement does not imply a suspension or anything of that sort for Calderon because the law does not ask it.

The news appeared during these times where every candidate is under a microscope. It appears as though the candidates and their parties continue this classical election game and find any excuse to make the other look bad. A recent public dispute between the two parties prevented a debate from even beginning. The argument resulted in PAN supporters calling leading PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto a liar and “Pinocchio” regarding his promises when he was governor of the State of Mexico.

It is no secret that the PAN and the PRI constantly disagree. The PAN, in power since 2000, seeks to win the presidency for the third time; while the PRI wants to return to the position it held for seventy years prior to that. Mexican politics are dirty and Calderon’s recent accusations could just be Peña Nieto’s strategy for beating the PAN. More than one source failed to report that the PRI finger pointed at Calderon for sending out the thank you notes, which makes me wonder if Peña Nieto’s party had anything to do with leaving out that detail. Knowing how the PRI works and its long history of secretiveness and corruption, believing that they may have the press under their belt is not a far-fetched idea. It’s funny that the PRI is accusing the whole PAN party of being unconstitutional when the PRI itself represents everything that is unconstitutional in Mexico at its prime.

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.

By Michelle Moraila

A powerful 7.8 earthquake shook Mexico this past Tuesday around noon, Mexico City time, disrupting everyday activities throughout the country and bringing damages to buildings and roads but no reported casualties. The quake’s epicenter took place between the borders of the southern states Guerrero and Oaxaca, two medium-sized states located about 200 miles south of Mexico City. Nine injuries were reported in Oaxaca but so far none in Guerrero.

Despite the distance, several other states and the capital felt one of at least 18 aftershocks ranging in magnitudes between 4.6 and 5.3. The earthquake caused a pedestrian bridge to collapse on a small empty bus, injuring its driver and one other person, but no critical injuries occurred. The metro and a couple bus routes were suspended for a couple of minutes but later resumed regular circulation.

In Oaxaca and throughout the country, people feared another earthquake would happen in the middle of the night or in the morning. Buildings were evacuated and the exact number of schools that suspended classes throughout the country is unclear but in the thousands. The National Seismological System hoped the activity would lessen as the hours passed, but many lacked sleep that night and evacuated their homes.

The states located near the epicenter suffered the worst damages. In Guerrero, 60 houses collapsed and about 800 others were damaged. As for Oaxaca, 38 schools were damaged but no buildings collapsed. Officials attribute this to the lack of tall buildings around that area.

Oaxaca and Guerrero are two of the poorest rural states in Mexico and the damages could take years to be repaired. The damages are still fresh and no estimates of how much it will cost to restore everything have been reported.

Earthquakes are common throughout the country. Since 1973, fifteen quakes with magnitudes of seven or more have been recorded near Tuesday’s epicenter. As you learned in a previous MUNdi article, Mexico City is built on a lake, and the soil beneath it magnifies seismic waves. In 1985, an 8.5 earthquake hit Mexico City killing 10,000 people and destroying 400 buildings. Because of that catastrophe stricter building regulations were implemented and buildings are stronger now. The majority of buildings now have large signs depicting evacuation routes and buildings are stronger.

In other news, happy belated birthday to President Benito Juarez! He was born on March 21, 1806 and, ironically, hailed from Oaxaca.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions and not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.

Careyes, a part of Costalegre, displays Mexico's beauty sans the mobs of tourists.

By Michelle Moraila           

With constant reports about severed heads, random shootings, and the United States warning everyone not to venture anywhere south of the border, the logical outcome would be a significant reduction of tourists vacationing in Mexico. But new data released by the Mexican government earlier this week shows 2011 was a record breaking year in tourism for the country despite the imminent violence.

Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism reports that close to 190 million international and domestic tourists toured the country’s best-known attractions, whereas only 183.2 million people traveled to Mexico during 2010. These numbers demonstrate an increase of 3.7% between the two years and a definite stimulator to the country’s foreign income.

Being from a town whose economy largely depends on tourism and was deeply affected by the violence that has overtaken Mexico, I was a bit surprised by the numbers. I have seen how the curios shops in my hometown have slowly been disappearing, the empty restaurants along what used to be the center for vacationers, and further south, the typical beach towns of Sonora have reported less and less tourists each year. How could these numbers be possibly right?

The answer lies in the fact that most of these travelers are not from the United States and many are not crossing the border by car. Reports that the majority of the violence is concentrated in the border have caused an influx in tourists traveling by plane and into the very heart of the country, away from many of the places that have had gruesome incidents. While some touristy cities like Acapulco have suffered heavily because of the violence, others like the common European haven of Cancun and the colonial city of Guadalajara have received a great number of visitors during these troubled times.

The violence has also generated an interest in less commonly visited spots. Pacific resorts such as Huatulco and Costalegre, two beautiful examples of nearly undiscovered beaches that are not flooded with big chain resorts, have become an escape for anyone wishing to revitalize away from what many call the drug war. They are slices of heaven amongst a world in turmoil.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.

By Michelle Moraila

Sunday marked a ground-breaking event in Mexico as Congresswoman Josefina Vazquez Mota won the primary elections and became the 2012 presidential candidate for Mexico’s current ruling party, the National Action Party, or PAN. Vazquez Mota won the election with 53.9% of the votes making her the current favorite for the presidential elections of July 1^st . She also has President Felipe Calderon’s utmost support.

An economist, writer, politician, and mother, 51 year old Vazquez Mota is a role model for women who aspire to join the workforce instead of fulfilling the traditional housewife stereotype that has represented Mexican women for decades. The semi-conservative candidate from Mexico City received an education at one of the country’s most prestigious universities, the Ibero-American University. She has an impressive resume containing various lists of firsts, such as becoming the first woman to ever hold the title of Secretary of Social Development and the Secretary of Public Education. Though she is not the first woman ever to run for president, she is the first to do so while representing a major political party.

But getting to the top is not going to be easy for this presidential hopeful. Vazquez Mota will have to face two very determined candidates in the race to Los Pinos (Mexico’s equivalent to the White House). Enrique Pena Nieto, the candidate representing the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, the democratic socialist party in Mexico.

Elections are a little less than five months away and tensions are already growing between the three leading candidates. Vazquez Mota has already expressed her feelings towards Enrique Pena Nieto. In her winning speech, she called him and the PRI the “true enemies of Mexico” and said they “represent the worst of authoritarianism and undemocratic practice.” Pena Nieto took to his Twitter account to congratulate her on her victory and said the elections should be “for the good of Mexico” to which Vazquez Mota Tweeted back, “let it be for the citizens.”

Lopez Obrador also has very strong opinions about the female presidential candidate. The presidential hopeful who ran against Calderon in the past elections and insists he was robbed of the presidency says that even though he respects her as a woman, he believes she “helped Calderon commit fraud in the past elections.”

It is still too soon to tell who will have to deal with the country’s huge issues with drugs, drug violence, and corruption, but if the candidates’ sly Twitter remarks are any indication of what is going to play out in the couple of months we can all be sure that this is going to be one entertaining presidential race.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.

The present day Zócalo.

By Michelle Moraila

Buried in the heart of the in Zócalo México City lies the ancient city of Tenochtitlán, a city whose mysteries continue to unravel to this day. Though it has been there for the past five centuries, Mexican construction workers didn’t stumble upon it until the 1970’s while they constructed a metro line. Since then, artifacts and temples have been constantly resurfacing, including the most recent discovery of a 500 year-old sacred ceremonial platform decorated with snakeheads. Some archaeologists even believe there is a possibility that the remains of a number of ancient rulers are buried beneath it, reaffirming the conclusion that they are nowhere near finished excavating the archaeological site.

It is unlikely that it will ever be completely unearthed, let alone be fully restored, but Tenochtitlán holds one of the most intriguing legends regarding the Mexican flag and its shield. In honor of the Mexican Flag Day, February 24^th, brace yourself for a small dose of Mexican History 101. I’ll try to make it as painless as possible for those who aren’t big history buffs.

Once upon a time around the 1300’s the god Huitzilopochtli (break it down into five syllables) told the Mexica tribe (also known as the Aztecs) that they should establish a city wherever they found an eagle, perched on top of a cactus, eating a snake. I really wish I had been there to see the look on their faces when the prophecy was made. Scratch that, I wish I had been there to see the look on their faces when they actually found said eagle in that exact position and realized Huitzilopochtli conveniently forgot to let them know the cactus would be in the middle of a series of lakes. This made it pretty difficult to build a city, but in México if there’s a will, there’s a way. The Aztecs got to work and began to build what would become the center of their mega empire and the most powerful city in Mesoamerica. Then the Spaniards came along in the 1500’s and built Mexico City right above Tenochtitlán. No big deal.

After years of deterioration, battles, and the weight of 8.8 million Mexicans, Tenochtitlán is still standing, even though Mexico City itself is sinking. The Mexican flag is a constant reminder of how grand the city was and the respect Mexican citizens still hold towards their ancestors.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions and not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.

The Mexican Peso

By Michelle Moraila

As the European crisis continues to penetrate the global economy, our currency neighbor, the Mexican peso, attempts to stay afloat. The peso hit a low point  in November 2011 and is still attempting to recover, most recently appreciating by 1.03% to reach a ratio of about 13.4 pesos to the dollar thanks to economic growth in China and Germany. This is a much better situation than the previous 14 to one exchange rate that hit Mexico almost three months ago, worrying economists and citizens alike as to what would happen in the near future.

The first three months of 2012 are vital for certain countries that are in debt within the EU, which will definitely affect the exchange rate on this side of the Atlantic.  But things are not looking so good for Greece, and the debtors of the EU are going to have to pay a lot of money in order for economic growth to develop.

Even though Mexico is far from where the problems are, it is one of the United States’ biggest trading partner, and the repercussions of the weakening peso are already beginning to be felt at home. Though it is good that the dollar’s value is increasing, it also has negative effects because most of the consumers coming from the neighboring country find it difficult to afford the goods and services they used to be able to easily obtain. This is a consequence that can be seen in border towns that used to have long lines full of people waiting to cross and are reduced by nearly half. So as the peso loses power, the Mexican economy that had been doing so well throughout the recession could be heavily hurt. While at the moment it seems that the dust might have just settled, the ongoing crisis means that Mexico should prepare itself for the upcoming expensive dollar.

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.