· April, 2011

Stories about Mexico from April, 2011

Mexico: Senate Approves Political Reform

The Mexican Senate approved “La reforma política,” a political reform that Aguachile describes as “immensely significant.” Aguachile lists the sections included in the reform and adds: “Of course, this does...

28 April 2011

Mexico: Northern States Hit by Wildfires

Alejandro Ortiz Sotomayor in Vivir México [es] shares a photo by Jorge Alberto Mendoza Mariscal which shows the work of Mexican firefighters as they try to control a “Spring” wildfire...

25 April 2011

Mexico: Felipe Calderon's Cabinet on Twitter

In mid-April, the government headed by Felipe Calderon announced with much fanfare that every member of the cabinet was now registered on Twitter, and prepared to deal more directly with the public via social media. The initiative, however, is shadowed by a concurrent report ranking Mexico just 78th out of 133 countries in terms of its effective use of information technology.

19 April 2011

Mexico: Netizens Deploy the “Failed State” Meme

The idea of Mexico as an actual or potential "failed state," pending since its introduction into public discourse in 2008 following news of a report to this effect by the U.S. Joint Forces, has become a popular meme in its own right on the Internet, as bloggers and other netizens deploy the parlance (signaled on Twitter by the ubiquitous hashtag #estadofallido) for their own critical purposes.

13 April 2011

Mexico: March Against Violence or Against the Government?

Thousands of Mexicans - not only in their own country, but also in various cities around the world - conducted simultaneous protests on April 6, 2011. Some took part to express their discontent at the country's violent climate, others showed their disagreement with the government's strategy in the fight against crime.

9 April 2011

Mexico: News of US Clandestine Operation Draws “Fast and Furious” Response

Mexican netizens take to their blogs and Twitter accounts as an interview with a former head of the ATF (the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) in Mexico makes public "Operation Fast and Furious," under which ATF officers secretly monitored - without intervening - as more than 2,000 weapons were purchased at outlets in Arizona and transported over the border into Mexico.

8 April 2011

Mexico: Reactions to “Resignation” of US Ambassador Carlos Pascual

The government of the United States recently announced the resignation of its ambassador in Mexico. The decision is understood by some bloggers as a clear consequence of the disclosure of confidential documents by Wikileaks and discomfort from the Mexican government, while for others the resignation doesn't make sense because the published documents show that the ambassador acted in accordance with the work of his predecessors.

1 April 2011