MARZO, 2010 LA OFENSIVA CONSERVADORA

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1 MARZO, 2010 LA OFENSIVA CONSERVADORA La derecha mexicana ha desatado una virulenta ofensiva que intenta detener las transformaciones sociales alcanzadas en tres décadas y ataca temas sensibles como el aborto y el matrimonio gay. Aquí, Carlos Monsiváis hace la crónica de esa cruzada; Sabina Berman discute los cambios constitucionales que en varios estados equiparan el aborto al homicidio; Soledad Loaeza delinea el potencial de esta ofensiva, que empuja al Estado mexicano a dejar de ser laico, y Luis González de Alba desmonta, con argumentos científicos, la idea de que la homosexualidad es un acto contra natura. EL NUEVO HERALD (AP) AL ALZA PROYECCIÓN DE CRECIMIENTO EN MÉXICO MIAMI HERALD HOW SAFE IS TRAVEL IN MEXICO? DEPENDS ON YOUR DESTINATION CAROL PUCCI THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (OPINION) THE WAR ON DRUGS IS DOOMED MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY EL PAIS-ISRAEL Y EE UU ATRAVIESAN SU PEOR CRISIS EL UNIVERSAL (VENEZUELA) - MÉXICO EXPRESA "PREOCUPACIÓN" POR SALUD DE GUILLERMO FARIÑAS EL PAÍS - WASHINGTON Y MÉXICO COLABORAN PARA ESCLARECER LOS ASESINATOS DE TRES PERSONAS VINCULADAS AL CONSULADO ESTADOUNIDENSE PABLO ORDAZ THE NEW YORK TIMES - PRESS GROUP: 8 REPORTERS KIDNAPPED IN MEXICAN CITY DALLAS MORNING NEWS - TEXAS-BORN HITMAN FIGHTS TO CONTROL MEXICO'S BELTRÁN LEYVA DRUG CARTEL MARK STEVENSON THE NEW YORK TIMES - MEXICO'S SLIM BECOMES 'WORLD'S RICHEST' PERSON EL PAIS- CRÍTICAS A LULA POR DESCALIFICAR A LOS PRESOS CUBANOS EL PAIS- DICTADURA ES SIEMPRE DICTADURA THE NEW YORK TIMES-CHILE LEADER ENTERS CHANGED POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

2 THE STAR - CANCUN RECOVERS FROM SWINE FLU, DRUG VIOLENCE OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ THE NEW YORK TIMES - MEXICO CITY CUTS COPS' CALORIES THE NEW YORK TIMES - CATHOLIC CHURCH SLAMS MEXICO CITY'S LEFTIST MAYOR EL PAIS-ASÍ ENTRÓ ETA A VENEZUELA EL PAIS-EL DIABLO HABITA EN LA CASA BLANCA EL PAIS-EL FMI RECONOCE AL GOBIERNO DE HONDURAS Y DESBLOQUEA 160 MILLONES DE DÓLARES

3 ESTANTE DIBUJANTA DE SOMBRAS ANAMARI GOMÍS EL FANTASMA DE RAMÓN MERCADER ROBERTO PLIEGO EL PREMIO OBLIGA VÍCTOR MANUEL MENDIOLA APOCALIPSTICK ALEJANDRO DE LA GARZA GOTTFRIED BENN: CHOPIN Y OTROS POEMAS PRESENTACIÓN Y TRADUCCIÓN DE JOSÉ MARÍA PÉREZ GAY EL PARQUE ENCANTADO MAURICIO MONTIEL FIGUEIRAS CIUDADANOS DEMASIADO REALES FERNANDO ESCALANTE GONZALBO LA EXPERIENCIA RELIGIOSA JEAN MEYER LA DEMOCRACIA Y SUS LÍMITES UNA MEMORIA PERSONAL ADAM PRZEWORSKI ZOOLOGÍA FANTÁSTICA DEL MATRIMONIO GAY LUIS GONZÁLEZ DE ALBA LA SOCIEDAD LAICA Y SUS ENEMIGOS SOLEDAD LOAEZA LA GUERRA POR EL CUERPO DE LAS MUJERES SABINA BERMAN HOMOFOBIA CARLOS MONSIVÁIS LOS HAITIANOS SABEN LLORAR DAVID APONTE CHÁVEZ: LOS TRES PODERES SOY YO PEDRO SALAZAR UGARTE BICENTENARIOS, ARCAS PERDIDAS Y UN SABIO GIL GAMÉS UNA MUCHACHA POR 40 MIL PESOS

4 EL MUNDO POST- PROHIBICIÓN JORGE HERNÁNDEZ TINAJERO UN CAMBIO DE ESTRATEGIA MIKE TRACE Y DESPUÉS DE LA GUERRA? QUÉ ESPANTO? ÁNGELES MASTRETTA EL AMIGO DEL AGUA PERIODISMO E INTERNET EL SOBREVIVIENTE PUÑETA A LA MOSCA LA MEJOR HISTORIA DE LA BIBLIA MENTIROSOS MONUMENTO AL PERRO

5 EL NUEVO HERALD (AP) Al alza proyección de crecimiento en México Fecha: 22/03/2010 CANCUN, México -- El producto interno bruto de México crecerá entre un 4% y un 5% para fines de año, pronosticó el domingo el presidente del banco central, Agustín Carstens. En febrero el gobierno mexicano también había revisado a la alza su pronóstico de crecimiento a 3,9% para el cierre del 2010, al advertir una mejor evolución de la actividad económica. Pero, Carstens dijo el domingo en un foro del Instituto de Finanzas Internacionales (IIF, por sus siglas en inglés), que el país estaba en "un proceso de recuperación sólida" y por ello "es muy probable" que al cabo del año "México termine con un crecimiento del 4 o 5%". El gobernador del Banco de México citó varios factores que están ayudando a ese crecimiento como el aumento en las exportaciones, en el consumo y en la capacidad de los bancos para dar mayores créditos personales dirigidos a la adquisición de bienes durables y para el desarrollo de vivienda. "Con base a esos elementos yo sí tengo confianza de que haya una recuperación vigorosa", declaró. Reconoció que hay medidas que aún deben implementarse para mejorar la economía como aumentar las reservas y diversificar las inversiones y fuentes de crecimiento a fin de no depender tanto de las fluctuaciones en la economía de Estados Unidos, que actualmente afecta directamente al país. Adelantó además que se mantendrán fijas las tasas de interés del Banco. "Vamos a estar muy vigilantes al comportamiento de la inflación y de posibles eventos secundarios que pudieran crear los aumentos en los impuestos y en los precios públicos, fenómeno que no hemos visto al momento, por eso la decisión del banco ha sido de no modificar su postura", enfatizó. Read more EL NUEVO HERALD

6 MIAMI HERALD How safe is travel in Mexico? Depends on your destination CAROL PUCCI Fecha: 22/03/2010 The Seattle Times It all depends on where you're going. As a new travel warning by the U.S. State Department ( points out, the areas of concern are not the beach resorts or historical cities most Americans visit, but rather the border towns, specifically Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros. Too often in the past, these types of government alerts have taken a broad-brush approach, simply advising against travel to a country as a whole. What's different about this warning, issued March 14 following the shooting in Ciudad Juarez of three people with ties to the American consulate, is its level of detail, and the way it rightly targets only towns where drug-related violence has been rampant. This could have something to do with the fact that Mexico's tourism economy is fragile, and the U.S. government doesn't want to do anything that might damage it, but let's hope it also has something to do with a new, more responsible approach to travel warnings in general. As the State Department points out, millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year, and this isn't likely to change. Nearly a million Americans live in various parts of the country, enjoying the benefits of an inexpensive retirement and low-cost medical care. I just returned from seven days in Mazatlan and Sayulita, a surfing and beach town near Puerto Vallarta popular with many from Seattle and Portland. I experienced nothing out of the ordinary, except perhaps, fewer tourists than usual. Restaurants were lively and filled with Americans and Canadians who were there seemed to be enjoying their vacations with no hassles or problems. The Mexican people, of course, are concerned about what's happening in their country. They're worried that the violence could spread, and worried about its effects on their own sense of well-being, tourism and the general economy. It was interesting to observe a military "show of force," one evening in Sayulita when a truck with armed soldiers did a once-around the town square while bystanders ate ice cream and typed on laptops. The bottom line: If you're planning a vacation soon to Mexico, by all means go, but heed the State Department's advice and use common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and avoiding areas where drug dealing might occur. The State Department's Web site contains some good information aimed at spring-break vacation crowds, but it's useful for anyone planning a trip, especially its summaries of the security situation in some popular destinations. Here's some of what appears on the Web site: -Acapulco: Drug-related violence has been increasing in Acapulco. Although this violence is not targeted at foreign residents or tourists, U.S. citizens in these areas should be vigilant about their personal safety. Avoid swimming outside the bay area. Several American citizens have died while swimming in rough surf at the Revolcadero Beach near Acapulco. -Cabo San Lucas: Beaches on the Pacific side of the Baja California Peninsula at Cabo San Lucas are dangerous due to riptides and rogue waves; hazardous beaches in this area are clearly marked in English and Spanish. -Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel: Cancun is a fairly large city, approaching 500,000 inhabitants, with increasing reports of crime. Crimes against the person, such as rape, commonly but not exclusively occur at night or in the early morning hours, and often involve alcohol and the nightclub environment. Therefore, it is important to travel in pairs or groups, be aware of surroundings, and take general precautions. -Matamoros/South Padre Island: The Mexican border cities of Matamoros and Nuevo Progresso are located 30 to 45 minutes south of the major spring-break destination of South Padre Island, Texas. Travelers to the Mexican border should be especially aware of safety and security concerns due to increased violence in recent years between rival drug-trafficking gangs competing for control of narcotics smuggling routes. While it is unlikely that American visitors would get caught up in this violence, travelers should exercise common-sense precautions such as visiting only the well-traveled business and tourism areas of border towns during daylight and early-evening hours. -Mazatlan: While the beach town of Mazatlan is a relatively safe place to visit, travelers should use common sense and exercise normal precautions when visiting an unfamiliar location. Avoid walking the streets alone after dark, when petty crimes are much more common. Beaches can have very strong undertows and rogue waves. Swimmers should obey warning signs placed along the beaches which indicate dangerous ocean conditions. -Nogales/Sonora: Puerto Penasco, aka "Rocky Point," is located in northern Sonora, 60 miles from the U.S. border, and is accessible by car. The majority of accidents that occur at this spring-break destination are caused by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol. Travelers should exercise particular caution on unpaved roads, especially in beach areas. -Tijuana: Tijuana has one of the busiest land border crossings in the world. The beach towns of Rosarito and Ensenada also attract a large number of tourists. Drinking alcoholic beverages excessively on a public street is prohibited. Tijuana boasts a large number of pharmacies; to buy any controlled medication (e.g. Valium, Vicodin, Placidyl, Morphine, Demorol, and Ativan, etc.), a prescription from a Mexican federally registered physician is required. Possession of controlled medications without a Mexican doctor's prescription is a serious crime and can lead to arrest. The prescription must have a seal and serial number. Under no other circumstances should an individual purchase prescription medicines. MIAMI HERALD

7 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (OPINION) The war on drugs is doomed MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY Fecha: 22/03/2010 Strong demand and the high profits that are the result of prohibition make illegal trafficking unstoppable. They say that the first step in dealing with a problem is acknowledging that you have one. It is therefore good news that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will lead a delegation to Mexico tomorrow to talk with officials there about efforts to fight the mob violence that is being generated in Mexico by the war on drugs. U.S. recognition of this shared problem is healthy. But that's where the good news is likely to end. Violence along the border has skyrocketed ever since Mexican President Felipe Calderón decided to confront the illegal drug cartels that operate there. Some 7,000 troops now patrol Juárez, a city of roughly one million. Yet even militarization has not delivered the peace. The reason is simple enough: The source of the problem is not Mexican supply. It is American demand coupled with prohibition. It is doubtful that this will be acknowledged at tomorrow's meeting. The drug-warrior industry, which includes both the private-sector and a massive government bureaucracy devoted to "enforcement," has an enormous economic incentive to keep the war raging. In Washington politics both groups have substantial influence. So it is likely that we are going to get further plans to turn Juárez into a police state with the promise that more guns, tanks, helicopters and informants can stop Mexican gangsters from shoving drugs up American noses. Last week's gangland-style slaying of an unborn baby and three adults who had ties to the U.S. Consulate in Juárez has drawn attention to Mrs. Clinton's trip. The incident stunned Americans. Yet tragic as they were, statistically those four deaths don't create even a blip on the body-count chart. The running tally of drug-trafficking linked deaths in Juárez since December 2006 is more than 5,350. There has also been a high cost to the city's economy as investors and tourists have turned away. Mary O'Grady discusses the drug war and the U.S.'s prohibition policies. Even with low odds of a productive outcome, though, Mexico can't afford to write off tomorrow's meeting. It is an opportunity that, handled correctly, could provide for a teachable moment. I suggest that one or two of Mexico's very fine economists trained at the University of Chicago by Milton Friedman sit down with President Obama's team to explain a few things about how markets work. They could begin by outlining the path that a worthless weed travels to become the funding for the cartel's firepower. In this Econ 101 lesson, students will learn how the lion's share of the profit is in getting the stuff over the U.S. border to the American consumer. In football terms, Juárez is first and goal. Mexico hasn't always been an important playing field for drug cartels. For many years cocaine traffickers used the Caribbean to get their product to their customers in the largest and richest market in the hemisphere. But when the U.S. redoubled its efforts to block shipments traveling by sea, the entrepreneurs shifted to land routes through Central America and Mexico. Mexican traffickers now handle cocaine but traditional marijuana smuggling is their cash cow, despite competition from stateside growers. In a February 2009 interview, then-mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora told me that half of the cartel's annual income was derived from marijuana. This is especially troubling for Mexican law enforcement because marijuana use, through medical marijuana outlets and general social acceptance, has become de facto legal in the U.S., and demand is robust. The upshot is that consumption is cool while production, trafficking and distribution are organized-crime activities. This is what I called in a previous column, "a stimulus plan for Mexican gangsters." In much of the world, where institutions are weak and folks are poor, the high value that prohibition puts into drugs means that the thugs rule. Mr. Medina Mora told me in the same 2009 interview that Mexico estimated the annual cash flow from U.S. drug consumers to Mexico at around $10 billion, which of course explains why the cartels are so well armed and also able to grease the system. It also explains why Juárez is today a killing field. Supply warriors might have a better argument if the billions of dollars spent defoliating the Colombian jungle, chasing fast boats and shooting down airplanes for the past four decades had reduced drug use. Yet despite passing victories like taking out 1980s kingpin Pablo Escobar and countless other drug lords since then, narcotics are still widely available in the U.S. and some segment of American society remains enthusiastic about using them. In some places terrorist organizations like Colombia's FARC rebels and al Qaeda have replaced traditional cartels. There is one ray of hope for innocent victims of the war on drugs. Last week the Journal reported that Drug Enforcement Administration agents were questioning members of an El Paso gang about their possible involvement in the recent killings in Juárez. If the escalation is now spilling over into the U.S., Americans may finally have to face their role in the mess. Mrs. Clinton's mission will only add value if it reflects awareness of that reality. Write to O'Grady@wsj.com THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

8 EL PAIS-Israel y EE UU atraviesan su peor crisis Fecha: 16/03/2010 La Casa Blanca pide explicaciones por el "insulto" de anunciar nuevas colonias - El embajador israelí en Washington: "La relación es la más tensa desde 1975" La tensión entre Estados Unidos e Israel por la construcción de nuevos asentamientos en territorios palestinos ha escalado hasta un punto que el embajador israelí en Washington ha calificado como "el peor momento en las relaciones bilaterales desde 1975". Altos funcionarios de ambos países trabajaban ayer frenéticamente en la solución de un conflicto que debilita a los dos y compromete seriamente las posibilidades de paz en la zona, pero el Gobierno de Israel insistió en que no renunciará a nuevas construcciones en Jerusalén Este. La declaración del embajador israelí, Michael Oren, realizada durante una conversación el sábado con los cónsules israelíes en Estados Unidos y revelada ayer por el diario Haaretz, ha puesto a todos en alerta sobre la gravedad de una crisis que afecta a un elemento esencial de la política exterior estadounidense. Los lazos con Israel son el pivote sobre el que gira la política de seguridad norteamericana y la razón última de su implicación en Oriente Próximo. Un cambio significativo de esas relaciones podría generar un movimiento de incalculables consecuencias en la región más inestable del planeta. Pese a esa trascendencia, ambos Gobiernos han resaltado en los últimos días las profundas diferencias que se han ido acumulando desde que Barack Obama llegó a la Casa Blanca con la firme intención de obligar a Israel a congelar los asentamientos. El detonante de la crisis actual fue el anuncio por parte del Gobierno israelí de la construcción de nuevas viviendas en Jerusalén Este (la parte árabe de la ciudad) coincidiendo exactamente con la llegada al país la pasada semana del vicepresidente de Estados Unidos, Joe Biden. Washington había concedido enorme importancia a ese viaje, el de mayor jerarquía diplomática desde el comienzo de esta Administración, y confiaba en que sirviera para relanzar el diálogo palestino-israelí. El anuncio de nuevos asentamientos se vio aquí, por tanto, como un deliberado boicoteo por parte de las autoridades israelíes a los esfuerzos norteamericanos. Así lo expresaron claramente durante el fin de semana los más altos responsables gubernamentales. "Fue insultante, un momento desafortunado y difícil para todo el mundo", declaró la secretaria de Estado, Hillary Clinton. "Es una afrenta, un insulto, pero, más aún, es una manera de debilitar este frágil intento de llevar la paz a la región", añadió el principal asesor político de la Casa Blanca, David Axelrod. El primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, trató el domingo de contener el enfrentamiento y calificó la coincidencia del anuncio con la visita de Biden como un accidente "lamentable y perjudicial" que atribuyó a una mera descoordinación entre sus colaboradores. Washington no aceptó esa versión. Axelrod insistió en que el episodio tenía la apariencia de haber sido "premeditado y calculado" para dañar la posición negociadora norteamericana. El portavoz del Departamento de Estado, P. J. Crowley, manifestó ayer que Washington está a la espera de explicaciones convincentes de parte de los responsables israelíes. Esta tensión ha tenido de inmediato resonancia en el más importante lobby a favor de Israel, el American Israel Public Affairs Commitee (AIPAC), que ha hecho pública una declaración en la que advierte que Obama está presionando excesiva y unilateralmente al Estado judío. "La Administración debería hacer un serio esfuerzo por evitar más exigencias a Israel", afirma el AIPAC. El enfrentamiento con Israel no es una política muy popular en Estados Unidos, y Obama es, por tanto, el primer interesado en poner fin a la tensión. Pero no parece que, fuera de la retórica habitual en estos casos, ésa sea una misión fácil. Ayer mismo, Netanyahu dio garantías a los miembros de su partido en el Parlamento de que no renunciará a la construcción de las viviendas anunciadas en Jerusalén Este. Sin la congelación de todos los asentamientos, es impensable que los palestinos accedan a un diálogo de paz serio. Sin ese diálogo es imposible que los Gobiernos árabes respalden a la Administración de Obama. Y sin ese respaldo se complica considerablemente la estrategia norteamericana respecto a Irán, incluso en Afganistán. Todos los elementos están conectados y se ven, por tanto, afectados por la crisis diplomática actual. Las relaciones entre Estados Unidos e Israel no han estado históricamente exentas de tensión. La declaración del embajador israelí ayer aludía a 1975, cuando el Gobierno de Gerald Ford pidió la retirada israelí de una parte del Sinaí egipcio. El primer George Bush, Bill Clinton y hasta Ronald Reagan vivieron momentos difíciles con el gran aliado. Pero en la crisis actual se suma además la desconfianza hacia Obama dominante entre la clase política israelí -y en parte de su opinión pública- desde que era candidato. EL PAIS

9 EL UNIVERSAL (Venezuela) - México expresa "preocupación" por salud de Guillermo Fariñas Fecha: 16/03/ :17 AM Ciudad de México.- El gobierno mexicano expresó hoy "preocupación" por la salud de Guillermo Fariñas quien mantiene una huelga de hambre en Cuba, al mismo tiempo que precisó "que ningún país debe, por sí mismo, erigirse en juez de la situación imperante en otros países". En el mismo comunicado oficial indica que también lamenta "como lo han hecho numerosas organizaciones e individuos, entre ellos el propio presidente de la República de Cuba", Raul Castro, "la muerte" de Orlando Zapata, quien falleció el pasado 23 de febrero tras una huelga de hambre, reseñó DPA. El texto difundido por la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores exhorta al gobierno cubano a "proteger la salud y la dignidad de todos sus prisioneros, incluyendo a quienes han sido acusados o condenados por el delito de estado peligroso". Sin embargo, agrega que este pronunciamiento se realiza con "pleno respeto a la soberanía de la República de Cuba y al principio de autodeterminación de los pueblos" y manifiesta que "la cooperación debe ser el instrumento para mejorar la situación de los derechos humanos en el mundo". También indica que "México y Cuba cuentan con vías institucionales para abordar conjuntamente estos temas" y que tienen "un diálogo franco y honesto". El comunicado precisa además que "para México es prioritario mantener una relación cercana y constructiva con Cuba" y que los vínculos de México con Cuba "se basan en una visión de Estado y no en posturas ideológicas". EL UNIVERSAL (Venezuela)

10 EL PAÍS - Washington y México colaboran para esclarecer los asesinatos de tres personas vinculadas al consulado estadounidense PABLO ORDAZ Fecha: 16/03/2010 Se trata de dos ciudadanos estadounidenses y uno mexicano que fueron tiroteados por sicarios en Ciudad Juárez.- Obama condena duramente las muertes México - 15/03/2010 Tras la muerte de tres personas vinculadas al consulado estadounidense a manos de sicarios en la localidad fronteriza de Ciudad Juárez, un crimen que ha provocado la condena del presidente Barack Obama, EEUU y México han aunado esfuerzos para buscar a los asesinos. En las últimas horas, la narcoviolencia se ha desatado al sur de río Grande, con más de medio centenar de muertos. Los periódicos mexicanos ya no disponen de papel para contar tantas muertes. Las últimas conocidas, las de ocho presuntos sicarios que han fallecido en un tiroteo con militares en el Estado de Nuevo León (norte del país). Un oficial de la Armada de México ha indicado que el enfrentamiento comenzó ayer después de que infantes de Marina entraran con helicópteros y vehículos militares en un rancho del municipio de Bustamante, que era utilizado para el entrenamiento de los sicarios del cartel Los Zetas, ha informado EFE. La fuente ha precisado que en el rancho había cerca de 80 sicarios, que habían sido concentrados para prepararse y lanzar una ofensiva en contra de los grupos rivales en la actual "guerra" que mantienen contra los carteles del Golfo, de Sinaloa y de la Familia de Michoacán. Pero este ha sido solo el último episodio conocido. Los diarios del fin de semana han tenido que recurrir a la fórmula más rápida para dar fe del horror que vivió, por ejemplo, el estado de Guerrero y su ciudad más turística, Acapulco: "Madrugada del sábado. A las 4.42, a la altura del poblado de Tres Palos, se encuentran los cuerpos de cinco personas ejecutadas. Dos de las víctimas están decapitadas. A las 4.50, a la altura del mirador de las Brisas del Marqués, en plena zona turística, son localizados dos cuerpos. Estaban atados de manos, con huellas de tortura y habían sido decapitados. A las ". Así hasta contabilizar más de medio centenar de muertes en apenas dos días. Pero, a las horas de ese mismo sábado, el registro cotidiano del horror se detiene junto a uno de los pasos fronterizos de Ciudad Juárez. La policía es avisada de que una camioneta blanca marca Toyota y con matrículas de Texas acaba de ser ametrallada. Sus dos ocupantes, una joven pareja estadounidense, han muerto en el acto. En el asiento de atrás, una niña de siete meses llora. La pareja fallecida, de nacionalidad estadounidense, y un varón mexicano asesinado a la misma hora unas calles más allá, estaban vinculados al consulado de Estados Unidos en Ciudad Juárez. El presidente Barack Obama expresó ayer su indignación por "los brutales asesinatos". Ante la situación de extrema violencia que vive México, las autoridades de EE UU emitieron una nueva alerta en la que desaconsejan a sus nacionales viajar al país vecino salvo en caso de extrema necesidad; y las agencias de investigación estadounidenses van a colaborar con las fuerzas de seguridad de México para esclarecer estas muertes. La mujer asesinada junto a su esposo en la camioneta blanca era empleada del consulado y el hombre abatido a unas cuadras de allí era policía ministerial y estaba casado con una funcionaria de la legación estadounidense. El agente también fue abatido cuando se encontraba al volante de su vehículo, en compañía de un menor que resultó herido. Según expresó en un comunicado Mike Hammer, portavoz del Consejo de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos, el presidente Obama "está indignado" por los "brutales asesinatos" de tres personas vinculadas a su consulado. El mandatario, según el comunicado, "ofrece condolencias a sus familias y condena estos ataques contra personal consular y diplomático al servicio de nuestras misiones en el extranjero". El portavoz añadió que las autoridades de Estados Unidos trabajarán "incansablemente" junto a las de México "para llevar a los asesinos ante la justicia". Los crímenes se produjeron en medio de un fin de semana espantoso. Especialmente en el Estado de Guerrero. La guerra entre los carteles de la droga por el control de la plaza se cobró 28 víctimas la madrugada del viernes y otras 14 el sábado en la noche (hora local). Las refriegas tuvieron lugar en la periferia de la ciudad turística de Acapulco y en la zona de Tierra Caliente. Se da el caso de que seis policías preventivos fueron sacados de sus vehículos y fusilados por un grupo de sicarios. También se registraron asesinatos en Chiapas, Cihuahua, Tamaulipas y Culiacán, donde un hombre fue ejecutado con 60 balazos. EL PAÍS

11 THE NEW YORK TIMES - Press Group: 8 Reporters Kidnapped in Mexican City Fecha: 11/03/2010 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 11, 2010 Filed at 12:20 a.m. ET MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Eight journalists have been kidnapped in a Mexican border city in a two-week span in a wave of abductions unprecedented in the Western Hemisphere, the Inter-American Press Association said Wednesday. The press group said only three of the journalists kidnapped between Feb. 18 and March 3 in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas, have reappeared alive. It said one died of apparent torture, two were released alive and five remain missing. ''The Mexican government must act with urgency and with due force to rescue these journalists alive,'' said IAPA President Alejandro Aguirre. Aguirre called the abductions ''serious and without precedent in the Western Hemisphere.'' The abductions were apparently carried out by drug gangs in the Gulf coast state of Tamaulipas where Reynosa is located. State prosecutors in Tamaulipas and the federal attorney general's office in Mexico City could not immediately confirm the report. The press association said those close to the victims had been too afraid to report the abductions. The reporters work for print, radio and other media outlets. Reynosa and several other cities in Tamaulipas have suffered a wave of shootouts attributed to turf battles between the powerful Gulf drug cartel and their former allies, a gang of hit men known as the Zetas. The press group cited ''IAPA sources who declined to name the victims or file formal complaints with the authorities out of fear of retaliation or further endangering the victims' lives.'' The level of intimidation has been such that most of the Reynosa kidnappings had not been reported in the local media. The Mexico City newspaper Milenio reported one of the few accounts of the abductions -- but in an opinion column, not a new story. The column said that one of its reporters and a cameraman had been briefly abducted in Reynosa and released. The two Milenio journalists left Reynosa, and, according to a column signed by Ciro Gomez Leyva, ''they have decided that nothing more should be known or told... and we obeyed.'' The column said the kidnappers appeared to be ''hit men,'' the common term for cartel gunmen, and that they had told the reporters ''Don't come and stir things up on our turf.'' The column concluded, ''journalism is dead in Reynosa.'' The rest of the column was left blank. Several international media watchdog groups have named Mexico the most dangerous country in the Americas for journalists. Some Mexican media outlets have toned down their coverage of drug gang violence -- or stopped reporting on it altogether -- out of security concerns. At least 3 Mexican journalists have been officially confirmed as killed so far in 2010, and 12 reporters were killed in Mexico during The governmental National Human Rights Commission said that a total of 60 journalists have been killed since THE NEW YORK TIMES

12 DALLAS MORNING NEWS - Texas-born hitman fights to control Mexico's Beltrán Leyva drug cartel Mark Stevenson Fecha: 11/03/ :00 AM CST on Thursday, March 11, 2010 The Associated Press MEXICO CITY A Texas-born hitman is fighting the brother of a deceased drug lord for control of the Beltrán Leyva cartel, possibly the first time an American has risen to the very top ranks of Mexican gangs, authorities say. Ramón Pequeño, head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico's federal police, said Tuesday that Texas-born Edgar Váldez Villarreal, nicknamed "La Barbie," is battling Hector Beltrán Leyva for control of the Beltrán Leyva cartel. "Right now it appears there is an internal dispute for control of the organization," Pequeño said. "On one side is La Barbie, and on the other side is Hector Beltrán, the natural heir of the organization." Pequeño said the battle was unleashed when cartel leader Arturo Beltrán Leyva died in a shootout with Mexican marines in December. A previous top drug lord, Juan García Abrego, was expelled to the United States in 1996 for purportedly being a U.S. citizen. But he appeared to have lived all his life in Mexico, and there are doubts about whether he was born in Texas, as one birth certificate states. Váldez Villarreal was born in Laredo and has built a reputation as one of the most brutal enforcers employed by Mexican drug gangs. Turf battles among Mexico's drug gangs and attacks on law enforcement officers and civilians have killed about 17,900 people since President Felipe Calderón launched an offensive against the gangs when he took office in December The battles have become so fierce in some regions particularly along the border with Texas that the U.S. government has cautioned its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to some areas. The U.S. Consulate in the northern city of Monterrey warned Americans to avoid traveling by road between Monterrey and the border cities of Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa, citing a "heightened risk of violence" on those highways. The violence in that region is the result of another dispute between drug gangs. The Zetas a gang of hitmen who once worked for the Gulf cartel apparently have split with that organization, which reportedly has allied with the powerful Sinaloa cartel. Calderón has dispatched tens of thousands of soldiers to fight the cartels, but he recently acknowledged that the offensive needs to include social programs as well. On Tuesday, the government announced $52 million in funding for housing, day care and anti-poverty programs in Ciudad Juárez, another city on the border with Texas that has been wracked by violence. DALLAS MORNING NEWS

13 THE NEW YORK TIMES - Mexico's Slim Becomes 'World's Richest' Person Fecha: 11/03/2010 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 11, 2010 Filed at 6:37 a.m. ET MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim is the first man from a developing nation to become the world's richest person -- a shift that underlines the loosening of America and Europe's stranglehold on the top spots in the billionaires' club. Slim's arrival at the top aroused both pride and anger in Mexico, where many see his fantastic wealth in a poverty-afflicted nation as a sign of what ails it. With a recovery in the value of his cell phone holdings pushing his estimated fortune to $53.5 billion, Slim jumped past Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffettwhen Forbes magazine released its 2010 list of the world's wealthiest Wednesday. The rise of Slim, the 70-year-old son of an immigrant shopkeeper, is just a part of the emergence of billionaires in developing countries, Forbes reporter Keren Blankfeld said. She noted this year's top 10 richest also include two billionaires from India and one from Brazil. ''They're kind of spread. It's a nice spread,'' Blankfeld said of the list, which had long been dominated by Americans and Europeans. The full list showed Taiwan tripling its number of billionaires to 18, Turkey more than doubling to 28, and Brazil increasing by 50 percent to 18. Russia also rebounded, almost doubling its number of billionaires to 62 after stock markets there recovered from severe setbacks. Still, it is hardly time to mark the passing of U.S. dominance: The number American billionaires rose by more than 40 to 403. That is more than six times second-place China with 64 billionaires. That the single richest man on the list should come from Mexico has drawn frequent criticism given the country's ongoing battles against poverty. ''This is shameful,'' said Ernesto Villanueva, 45, of Mexico City. ''This is part of what is wrong with the Mexican political system and the corruption in the circles of power, that allow there to be a few rich people and millions of poor.'' While Mexico belongs to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, whose 30 members constitute the world's most important market economies, it is also a developing nation. More than 50 million of Mexico's 107 million people live in poverty, defined as not having enough money to meet housing, transport, education and other normal expenses. Extreme poverty -- defined as not having money to buy enough food -- afflicted 19.5 million of them. But some Mexicans give Slim credit for knowing how to take advantage of the situation and make money. ''He was intelligent enough to get to where he is, while we, as a people, have never known how to unite ourselves,'' said 17-year-old student Manuel Santibanez. Whatever their attitude toward Slim, Mexicans have learned to live under the tycoon's long shadow. Slim's conglomerate of retail, telecom, manufacturing and construction companies so dominate the Mexican commercial landscape it is often easy for Mexicans to find themselves talking over a Slim-operated cell phone at a Slim-owned shopping center waiting to pay a bill to a Slim-owned company at a Slim-owned bank. If the line is too long, they can catch a quick coffee at a Slim-owned restaurant. His Telmex telephone company controls 83 percent of land lines in Mexico and is the leading Internet service provider. Another of his firms is the top cell phone operator, and he wants to get into convergence services to offer television and interactive media. Slim also owns the Sears and Saks retail stores operating in Mexico. Last year, he announced a $250 million investment in The New York Times. Arturo Elias Ayub, the billionaire's son-in-law who is an executive at Telmex, welcomed Slim's arrival at the top. ''The reaction is one of satisfaction, that this confidence in Mexico exists, and this confidence in our group's companies,'' said Elias Ayub, who frequently acts as Slim's spokesman. But he said Slim was not breaking out the champagne. ''This is a number brought out by a magazine that doesn't concern us, or worry us,'' Elias Ayub said, echoing Slim's 2007 comment about the top spot that had eluded him for years: a Spanish phrase -- ''me es impermeable'' -- that roughly translates as ''I'm impervious to that.'' Slim is known for wearing inexpensive suits and rarely using the computers his companies sell, preferring old-style paper notebooks. A baseball fan, his indulgences are largely limited to cigars and diet soft drinks. While he owns -- either personally or through his foundations and museums -- an impressive collection of art, including works by French sculptor Auguste Rodin, he works out of a set of somewhat dowdy, 1970s-style offices. A civil engineer by training, he has bought up troubled or government-owned companies of all types, fixed them up and resold them for huge profits. That kind of thrifty eye for undervalued businesses has served him well, especially after the market downturns in recent years. ''In periods of crisis, he has always invested, and now we are beginning to see the fruits of that,'' Elias Ayub said. One factor in Slim's move to the top spot is that Gates and Buffett have given away chunks of their fortunes in charitable donations. Slim has donated to several causes, but not on nearly the same level. In January, he announced a $65 million donation for genetic research on cancer, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease in Mexican and Latin American populations. Speaking to reporters in 2005, Slim described his philosophy: ''Wealth must be seen as a responsibility, not as a privilege. The responsibility is to create more wealth. It's like having an orchard; you have to give away the fruit, but not the trees.''

14 EL PAIS- Críticas a Lula por descalificar a los presos cubanos Fecha: 11/03/2010 El presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ha cosechado una lluvia de críticas en Brasil tras comparar a los presos políticos cubanos con delincuentes. "Tenemos que respetar la determinación de la justicia y del Gobierno cubanos", declaró Lula a una agencia de EE UU. "La huelga de hambre no puede ser un pretexto de los derechos humanos para liberar a las personas. Imaginen si todos los delincuentes presos en São Paulo hicieran un ayuno para pedir su liberación". Raúl Jungmann, del opositor Partido Popular Socialista, calificó de "desastrada" esa declaración y añadió que usar "la situación de los presos brasileños para defender la tiranía de Cuba no es más que cinismo". El Colegio de Abogados acusó a Lula de "sesgo ideológico" a la hora de considerar los derechos humanos. El diputado Mauricio Rands, del oficialista Partido de los Trabajadores, dijo que Lula "se expresó mal o no fue comprendido, pues conoce la diferencia entre un preso político y un preso común". EL PAIS

15 EL PAIS-Dictadura es siempre dictadura Fecha: 11/03/2010 La muerte de Zapata deja al descubierto a los rehenes de sus prejuicios - La doble moral se impone en sectores de la izquierda y la derecha La muerte del preso de conciencia cubano Orlando Zapata, tras 85 días en huelga de hambre, no ha servido para ablandar al régimen castrista, pero ha puesto de manifiesto que, en política, hay convicciones viscerales que difícilmente cambian. La salida de tono del actor Guillermo Toledo, que aseguró que el albañil negro represaliado, preso de conciencia según Amnistía Internacional, era un simple "delincuente común" (versión del diario oficial cubano Granma), ha vuelto a sacar a la luz las reticencias que tienen amplios sectores de la izquierda para revisar su historia reciente, y aplicar a los dictadores comunistas el mismo rasero que a los regímenes autoritarios de la derecha, que tampoco está exenta de prejuicios heredados del pasado. Si Cuba es el gran y (casi último) tabú entre algunos de los considerados progresistas o de izquierdas, para una parte de la derecha la bestia negra sigue estando en el pasado franquista. En uno y otro caso, suelen tolerar o justificar una u otra dictadura. Si hay una condena, se hace de forma ambigua. O para justificar la ausencia de críticas se echa en cara que la "dictadura del otro" fue peor. "Se justifica un régimen dictatorial en función de la ideología. Todas las dictaduras, sean de derechas o de izquierdas, tienen elementos comunes: un partido único, negación de derechos políticos y civiles, represión de la oposición... Cualquier demócrata debería oponerse", afirma Jesús de Andrés, profesor de Ciencia Política de la UNED. A derecha e izquierda quedan temas pendientes por resolver. "En España aún tenemos dos herencias: la soviética, en el caso de la izquierda, y el franquismo y dictaduras como la de Pinochet, en la derecha. Y a veces el debate se hace sobre opiniones superficiales y sin muchos conocimientos. En este país ha habido una modernización económica, pero han fallado las educaciones cívicas, no se ha educado a la gente en las libertades", afirma Julián Casanova, catedrático de Historia Contemporánea de la Universidad de Zaragoza. "Aún existen barreras ideológicas claras". Para buscar ejemplos no hay que viajar en el tiempo. La semana pasada Willy Toledo, que se declara independiente de cualquier partido, fue objeto de duras críticas cuando dijo que Zapata, muerto el 23 de febrero, era un "preso común". Ahora lamenta haber herido la memoria del disidente cubano y dice que no pretendía ser despectivo. En el fondo de la cuestión no ha cambiado de opinión. Preguntado en una entrevista telefónica si considera a Cuba una dictadura, duda unos segundos antes de contestar: "Es simplificar una vez más... prefiero un millón de veces lo que ha logrado la revolución cubana que lo que han hecho los bancos y Emilio Botín; es peor el embargo de Estados Unidos a Cuba, y es peor lo que pasa en Guantánamo. Lo que se aplica es un doble rasero, sobre todo desde el PP, que se niega a condenar una dictadura fascista, con cientos de miles de desaparecidos, y arremete contra Cuba". Sus palabras tienen una representatividad social limitada. Pero traslucen una forma de pensar muy extendida. Miguel Bosé es uno de los artistas que ha salido en defensa de Toledo: "No sé qué creer sobre Zapata. No tengo información clara". Un grupo de actores -incluidos Javier Bardem, Alberto San Juan y Luis Tosar- envió el martes una carta a la prensa dando su apoyo al actor y denunciando una campaña contra él. Ayer, el escritor Eduardo Galeano, también dio su opinión: "Respeto a alguien capaz de hacer una huelga de hambre y morir por lo que cree, pero no lo comparto. En Cuba se aplica una lupa, se magnifica todo porque conviene a los enemigos de la justicia social, aunque no aplaudo todo", informa Elsa Cabria. La información de Amnistía Internacional no deja lugar a la duda. Zapata era uno de los 55 presos de conciencia adoptados por la organización en Cuba (más de 200, según la Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos). Fue detenido en tres ocasiones, siempre por expresar sus opiniones, hasta que en mayo de 2004 fue condenado a tres años de prisión por "desacato", "desórdenes públicos" y "resistencia", mientras pedía la liberación de otro preso político. Durante su estancia en prisión su pena fue ampliada hasta 36 años por mal comportamiento. "Ponemos la mano en el fuego por personas como Zapata", afirma Olatz Cacho, de Amnistía. Esta organización afirma que el de Cuba es "un sistema legal represivo que restringe las libertades fundamentales en un grado que supera con creces lo que permiten las normas internacionales de derechos humanos". El escritor Antonio Muñoz Molina se considera progresista y, justo por eso, cree que cualquiera que lo sea tiene el deber moral de condenar cualquier dictadura, sea del signo que sea: "La insolidaridad hacia la lucha por los derechos humanos en los regímenes autoritarios comunistas es una larga tradición de la izquierda; es una de sus grandes vergüenzas. Es escandaloso que las personas que en Occidente gozan de la democracia se permitan criticar a otras que aspiran a lograr unos mínimos derechos". "La izquierda democrática, en el sentido más amplio y no sólo IU, debe hablar claro de una vez", afirma el escritor, que se muestra indignado por el hecho de que varios actores hayan apoyado a Toledo, pero no hayan mostrado la misma solidaridad con Orlando Zapata y los 26 disidentes cubanos que están enfermos y siguen en prisión. La condescendencia de sectores de la izquierda con las dictaduras comunistas es histórica. "Es un romanticismo perverso. La izquierda es heredera de una actitud que tuvimos todos antes de la caída del socialismo real, creyendo que Stalin era el malo de la película y Lenin el bueno, y que si utilizaba la violencia era porque estaba en una situación de guerra civil. Y lo mismo ocurre con la revolución cubana", opina el catedrático de Ciencia Política Antonio Elorza. "Lo que no se dan cuenta es de que, desde la izquierda, se puede condenar al mismo tiempo el embargo, que sólo perjudica al pueblo cubano, y a la dictadura castrista", añade. Pese a que esa anuencia ha menguado con el tiempo, el Gobierno socialista sigue recibiendo críticas por la supuesta tibieza con la que trata a La Habana. "Entendemos que tener relaciones puede ser una vía de apertura", reconoce la diputada socialista Carmen Hermosín. "Conozco a gente cercana que sigue defendiendo a los dirigentes cubanos, aunque en general creo que cada vez son más los que piensan que no podemos seguir teniendo relaciones pseudo-paternalistas con países que machacan los derechos humanos con el pretexto de que sufren un embargo", dice. Algunos expertos coinciden en que la izquierda debe enfrentarse a una revisión profunda, algo que el secretario general del PCE, José Luis Centella, no comparte: "El partido ya hizo revisión de la etapa soviética. En la actualidad, centrar el tema de los derechos humanos en Cuba es una tontería, cuando hay tantos problemas con los derechos humanos en el mundo. No hay ni una declaración del Parlamento español condenando Guantánamo. Hay mucho cinismo. Cuba es un referente para América Latina". Mientras, la derecha también se enfrenta a sus fantasmas, aunque el portavoz de Asuntos Exteriores del PP en el Congreso, Gustavo de Arístegui, considera que no son comparables. "Una mayoría aplastante de militantes y simpatizantes del PP condena sin ningún tipo de problemas el franquismo", afirma el diputado. "Pero no podemos admitir que todas las propuestas que se han hecho de condena al franquismo impliquen que el PP es heredero del franquismo, cuando nosotros somos de centro-derecha". El PP condenó en el Parlamento español por primera vez la "dictadura" de Francisco Franco el 20 de noviembre de 2002, cuando se cumplía el 27º aniversario de su muerte. Pero en 2006, el PP y la ultraderecha fueron los únicos partidos que no censuraron el franquismo en el Parlamento Europeo, mientras un año después el eurodiputado Jaime Mayor Oreja afirmaba que no pensaba condenar el franquismo porque "representaba a un sector muy amplio de los españoles" y calificaba de "disparate" la ley de memoria histórica.

16 En noviembre de 2006, el PP votó en el Senado en contra de rehabilitar la figura de Julián Grimau, líder comunista fusilado por el franquismo en Uno de los votos fue el del senador Manuel Fraga, varias veces ministro con Franco. El PP alegó que no era competencia del Legislativo, sino del Tribunal Supremo, revisar un caso ya juzgado. Pero no hace falta echar la mirada tan atrás, porque el mismo día que el actor Guillermo Toledo hacía sus declaraciones sobre Zapata, las Cortes valencianas debatían sobre un manual para la integración de inmigrantes del Gobierno regional, del PP, que evita definir el franquismo como dictadura. "Es una lástima que la derecha ataque con dureza a Cuba y sea tan condescendiente con el franquismo, mientras desde la izquierda se critican los crímenes franquistas, pero no a Cuba, donde hay claramente una dictadura, o Venezuela, que lleva camino de convertirse en una", afirma Jesús de Andrés. "El gran tabú de la derecha también es su origen", argumenta el politólogo, que pone como ejemplo a Fraga, fundador del partido Reforma Democrática, embrión de Alianza Popular y a su vez del PP. "La gente del PP que estuvo en el franquismo contribuyó a desmontarlo", afirma Arístegui, que insiste en que es mucho más grave la "laxitud" del PSOE en política exterior no sólo con Cuba, sino con Venezuela, Bolivia o Nicaragua. El PSOE disiente. "El PP tiene una actitud radical con Cuba, sobre todo por el origen de izquierdas de la revolución cubana, pero en 30 años de democracia no han sido capaces de condenar de forma clara el franquismo", asegura la diputada Carmen Hermosín. Muñoz Molina también considera un tabú de la derecha, una muestra de la cerrazón del PP, que no sea capaz de reconocer el error que supuso la guerra de Irak. "En España no hay un verdadero debate democrático", opina el escritor, "todos se tiran los trastos a la cabeza y ésa es una lección que tienen que aprender, igual la derecha que la izquierda". EL PAIS

17 THE NEW YORK TIMES-Chile leader enters changed political landscape Fecha: 11/03/2010 SANTIAGO, Chile Chile s powerful earthquake buried people and homes in a broad section of the coastal south, but it may also have given the country s new rightwing coalition government a chance to entomb the ghosts of the former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The Feb. 27 quake struck during a pivotal transition, just as Sebastián Piñera, a billionaire businessman and former senator, prepared to assume the presidency as the first elected right-wing leader in Chile in 50 years. When he takes office on Thursday, he will be the first president from the right of any kind since General Pinochet stepped down in 1990, returning Chile to democracy after a bloody dictatorship. Mr. Piñera, who campaigned on a platform of job creation and law and order, may now have a freer hand to crack down on delinquency and drug trafficking. He is already billing himself as the reconstruction president, embarking on an open-ended endeavor that could give him a lasting edge over the rival center-left Concertación coalition, which was viewed as responding slowly in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Benjamín Leal, 38, a psychology professor, survived the tsunami that barreled through the port city of Talcahuano, leaving close to half of its 250,000 residents homeless. Then he endured the riotous aftermath, as looters and vandals stole what they could while the government of the departing president, Michelle Bachelet, hesitated for 36 hours to call in the military. We were just shown a shameful example that delinquency was not being attacked well by this previous government, Mr. Leal said. He stood nervously last week outside his apartment building, where truck-size shipping containers that had been blown onto the street by the tsunami were threatening to topple onto his building. Here there is extreme poverty, and sometimes it s a jungle, where the law of the strongest rules, he said. We expect Mr. Piñera to change that. The political climate has changed since Mr. Piñera was elected in January. Then there were pressing questions about his vast business holdings and ties to former military and cabinet officials from the Pinochet era. Now, Mr. Piñera appears to have a fresh opportunity to be seen as the tough, modernizing force that voters were clamoring for when they elected him over former President Eduardo Frei, the candidate for the Concertación coalition, which had held power for two decades. Mr. Piñera s 22-member cabinet is composed almost exclusively of technocrats from the corporate right. Most are economists from the conservative Catholic University in Santiago who hold master s degrees and doctorates from prestigious American universities. Mr. Piñera himself has a doctorate in economics from Harvard. He has the business management experience that we need now, Claudio Torres, an oil refinery subcontractor, said last week in Talcahuano, while pushing a grocery cart up a hill after filling a cooking pot with potable water from a municipal truck. Marta Lagos, who runs a polling agency here, said that after decades during which the right was not in power, Mr. Piñera has the chance to modernize the country, to make it something better than it was before. If the right is smart and does at least a decent job, it will be around for a while, she said. For the first time since the Pinochet government, the military was patrolling Chilean streets last week, swiftly restoring order and winning praise from residents for its benevolence and professionalism. Mr. Piñera has said he would like to see the army stay in the earthquake zone beyond the 30-day limit imposed by law. Despite the military s best efforts to avoid clashes, news broke late Wednesday of a possible deadly episode. Five members of a navy infantry patrol were detained by the navy on suspicion of participation in the death of a civilian in Hualpén early Wednesday morning, during the military curfew, Rear Adm. Roberto Macchiavello told Radio Cooperativa. Most Chileans under 35 years old are too young to remember the brutally repressive role the military played under General Pinochet. Many soldiers on the streets of Concepción last week were toddlers when the dictatorship was coming to an end. But its conduct during the quake s aftermath underscored that the military is no longer a political actor in Chile. Generals no longer make political statements, offer opinions on public issues or try to intervene in public affairs as they did in the past. What is important right now is that the army is on the side of our compatriots, Gen. Juan Miguel Fuente-Alba said Tuesday during a ceremony in which he took over as commander in chief of the army. The quake has been less beneficial to the left, at least for now. Ms. Bachelet originally surged onto the national political scene in 2002 after a famous incident when, as the minister of defense, she jumped atop a tank in the rain during an operation to help flood victims. But after last month s quake Ms. Bachelet, who herself was imprisoned and tortured during the military dictatorship, hesitated to send in troops to keep peace on the streets. Her term began with criticism that she didn t know how to lead and ended with that same criticism, Ms. Lagos said. At the end she showed weakness. For her the earthquake will be like Chappaquiddick was for Ted Kennedy. Mr. Piñera was one of the founders of the right-wing parties created in the latter half of the 1980s that supported the military government but also played an intermediary role between the dictatorship and the opposition later to become the Concertación in negotiating the terms of the transition to democracy. One of those terms was that the new civilian government would not abolish the 1978 amnesty law for military officers that covered human rights abuses from 1973 to Right-wing political leaders and the corporate right of which Mr. Piñera was a part were protégés of the Pinochet government and benefited generously from its economic model and the privatization of state industries.

18 While campaigning in November, Mr. Piñera met with about 500 retired military and police officers, at their request. He said he would make sure human rights trials were accelerated and laws would be correctly applied a clear reference to the amnesty law and the statute of limitations on investigations, both of which judges have failed to apply over the past decade. Some analysts said Mr. Piñera s honeymoon could be short-lived if he appeared to favor private business interests in the reconstruction effort, estimated to cost at least $12 billion. His choices for governors in Santiago and Maule, in the quake zone, were chief executives of engineering and construction companies. His refusal to leave the management of his business affairs to others had already drawn comparisons to the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Since the earthquake, Mr. Piñera, the fourth-richest man in Chile, has said he will delay his promised divestment of his remaining 11 percent stake in Lan Airlines until April 30 because of the serious consequences of the earthquake and tsunami, according to a press release from Bancard, one of his investment groups. All of this has put the issue of Piñera s business interests and possible conflict of interest on the back burner, but not for long, said Robert Funk, academic vice director at the Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Chile. If reconstruction efforts start leaning toward the private sector, many people will start to question what ties members of government have with companies involved in reconstruction projects, he said. People will be on alert. THE NEW YORK TIMES

19 THE STAR - Cancun recovers from swine flu, drug violence Olga R. Rodriguez Fecha: 09/03/2010 Published On Mon Mar The Associated Press CANCUN, Mexico - Mexico's spring break king Cancun is rebounding quickly from last year's triple blow to its tourism industry caused by the country's swine flu epidemic, drug violence and a global economic crisis. Those worries couldn't compete this year against Mexico's cheap airfare from the United States and Canada and phenomenal package deals that include popular all-you-candrink enticements. February saw 85 per cent of its 28,000 rooms filled, a sign of Cancun's speedy recovery from 2009, when one million fewer visitors came than in a typical year. The relatively high occupancy seen in February is expected to go even higher in March when more universities are on spring break. "We're back to normal levels after having seen tourism practically paralyzed last year," said Quintana Roo state assistant tourism secretary Dario Flota. At the sprawling, palm-tree packed Oasis Hotel, a popular spot with spring breakers, visitors from the U.S. Midwest and Canada looking to shake the chill from a usually brutal winter dotted the beach where some took photos with monkeys while others danced to music pumped out from gigantic speakers. Emma Duranti, a 20-year-old science major at Queens University in Kingston, Ont., decided to come to Cancun after comparing it to Jamaica and finding a better deal. Duranti said she paid US$1,040 for a seven-day, all-inclusive trip. "I was expecting a good party but it went above and beyond," said Duranti while sunbathing with two other friends on the beach of the Oasis Hotel. "There is always a party on the beach and you can party all day and party all night!" Tourism officials say they expect about 25,000 spring breakers to descend this season on Cancun's newly rebuilt beaches and turquoise blue ocean, compared to the 20,000 spring breakers who visited last year. That's in addition to tourists of all ages who visit throughout the year. And not only is Cancun drawing them back. Destinations across the country are seeing tourists return, despite a U.S. travel alert warning Americans to stay away from some parts, mostly in the northern border states, because of drug violence. Lonely Planet's U.S. staff's top-10 list for 2010 put Mexico as the No. 4 destination for the new year, declaring that "H1N1 is so 2009" and that Mexico is "still a good bargain, easy to get to for most Americans" giving a much-needed endorsement for Mexico's third largest source of foreign income. Tourism all but came to a halt in April 2009 when fear over the swine flu epidemic virtually paralyzed Mexico, forcing the closure of schools, restaurants and archaeological sites and restricted air travel to Mexico from some countries. Mexico's revenue from foreign tourism dropped 15 per cent to $11.3 billion from $13.3 billion in 2008, according to the Tourism Department. The world has since learned that swine flu is treatable if detected in time, vaccines are available, and death rates have dropped in Mexico and elsewhere. Mexico has had a tougher time fighting off its bad image from drug violence, which has left more than 15,000 people dead since President Felipe Calderon declared his war on cartels in To counter the bad news, the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco in drug-plagued Guerrero state paid MTV $200,000 for the network to host its spring party there this year. The city expects to draw between 7,000 to 10,000 spring breakers despite the resort's sporadic drug killings and gun battles, one of which took place near an historic tourist hotel last year. Some U.S. universities last year warned students headed for Mexico of a surge in drug-related violence south of the border prompting some to cancel already paid for spring break trips. Mexican government officials have gone on the offensive and made clear every chance they get that the violence is concentrated in a handful of states, most along the Mexico-U.S. border, like Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua, and in the Pacific coast state of Michoacan all far from the country's popular beach resorts. That message appears to be working: Travelocity's senior editor Genevieve Shaw Brown said bookings on Travelocity.com for spring travel to Mexico have shot up 25 per cent compared to last year. Cancun is No. 5 on Travelocity's top 10 spring break bookings list for this year, up from the No. 10 spot last year. She said the swine flu epidemic, violence and an unhealthy economy forced Mexico to lower its prices. "Now Mexico is reaping the benefits of cheap travel costs with the return of spring breakers who are looking for deals," Shaw Brown said. "It's been communicated very well that Mexico is an outstanding value." Those who risk it are also reaping the benefits for doing so: The federal, state and local governments have invested $80 million to rebuild Cancun's world-renowned powdery white beaches that have been suffering from erosion. Calderon on Tuesday was scheduled to inaugurate the recently completed project along Cancun's 13-kilometre-long strip that extends the beach to 85 metres wide. The rebuilding, which took a year to complete, is the second attempt to rebuild the sandy playground since Hurricane Wilma devastated the area in An artificial reef off was also built off the coast to help contain the sand. Elysee Burgess, a 21-year-old nursing major from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., had only one complaint: She has to get up from the beach every time she wants to get another drink from her hotel bar. "The beach is great, there are some awesome parties," Burgess said, while her friend Kristen Fleming took a picture with a monkey. "The only thing that sucks is that you can only get one drink at a time." THE STAR

20 THE NEW YORK TIMES - Mexico City Cuts Cops' Calories Fecha: 09/03/2010 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 7, 2010 Filed at 5:52 p.m. ET MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico City's police department has introduced a new lower-calorie menu in cafeterias serving its 70,000-member force after finding out that almost three-quarters of officers are overweight. Hungry cops will now get 2,495 calories per day, 500 fewer than in previous servings, along with a healthy portion of vegetables. The three-meal-a-day menu announced Sunday comes after a study found that at least 70 percent of officers are overweight. However, authorities face a big challenge in slimming down the force. Mexico City cops are famous for soliciting small bribes from motorists, often with the phrase: ''Give me something for a soft drink.'' THE NEW YORK TIMES