Why did Mexico publish the Cienfuegos file?
AMLO and Twitter have a feud
Bienvenidos to our first edition of the post-Trump era. This week we bring you more on the Cienfuegos case, the latest fight between AMLO and Twitter, and people that are doing peyote to protect themselves against Covid-19.
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I wouldn’t say the folks at the DEA are “pendejos”... yet: Mexico’s AG
New York Times / Financial Times
What happened? Remember Salvador Cienfuegos, the former Defense Minister accused by the DEA, who was arrested in LA but then sent back so Mexican authorities could do their own investigation? Well, Mexico cleared him of all charges. Not only that. The President accused the DEA of fabricating the charges and went on to publish the 751-page file that U.S. authorities had shared with them.
The President and Foreign Minister also criticized some of the evidence the DEA got ahold of, like the screenshots of a Blackberry (pictured above) which allegedly shows messages between Cienfuegos and a drug cartel member. As AMLO noted, some of the messages show grammar mistakes and a vocabulary that doesn’t sound like the highly educated Cienfuegos.
Como si fuera poco, Mexico’s Attorney General, Alejandro Gertz, then said in an interview that although DEA agents are not quite “pendejos” (idiots), they were holding back information that they should’ve shared with Mexico.
The American government saw this as a massive breach of trust by Mexican officials and according to the Financial Times it even threatened to stop sharing information on criminal investigations. A Department of Justice spokesperson said it was “deeply disappointed by Mexico’s decision to publicize information that was shared with Mexico in confidence”
“This is a major slap in the face to American institutions. It’s evident that the Mexican government is more afraid of its own army than the U.S. government, to which it has been servile.” - Alejandro Madrazo, a drug policy expert at CIDE
Why did Mexico publish the Cienfuegos dossier? One might see this as plain old revenge against the DEA. However, the President’s explanation makes sense. Kind of. He pushed for the publication of the files because he thought his government wouldn’t be believed and trusted when it said the charges were fabricated and the evidence weak. It is true that in Mexico, American authorities are usually seen as superior in comparison to local authorities.
While criticizing the DEA, AMLO cited a Wall Street Journal article from late December mentioning there were doubts in the US surrounding the evidence in the case.
🐦 AMLO bashes Twitter by going after an employee
… Twitter then replied in a thread
For several months now, AMLO has criticized Twitter’s lack of transparency regarding who buys ads and who is sponsoring bots, alleging a bias against him. Now, after the social network decided to ban Donald Trump, he has stepped up his criticism towards the company for altering people’s freedom of expression - Germany’s Angela Merkel also opposed the company’s move.
Last week, AMLO said he would discuss the matter in the next G20 summit and instructed his Foreign Affairs Minister to have an open dialogue with other governments. Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, this seems like the mature and professional way to tackle the issue. However, yesterday, the President went after Twitter’s Director of Public Policy in Mexico. How? He put his LinkedIn profile up on the projector screen, which showed he had worked as an advisor for the conservative National Action Part (PAN) over 14 years ago. “We just hope he does his job professionally, and doesn’t create bot farms,” said AMLO.
Twitter came out to the rescue of … themselves. Instead of defending this employee, who was (kind of) publicly humiliated by the President, they stated that spokespeople are not in charge of the company's decisions. “It is regrettable to see comments directed at our employees as if they were solely responsible for the company’s rules or decisions.'' Bloomberg
🗳️ A desperate opposition might be doomed to failure
At the moment, Morena, the president’s party, has a significant lead in 9 out of the 15 gubernatorial elections. Its chances of maintaining over half of the seats of the Chamber of Deputies also seems highly likely (it has a 26 points lead over the second place parties). In an understandable desperation, in some races, the leading opposition parties, PRI, PAN, and PRD have formed alliances backed and financed by the private sector, something unthinkable just three years ago. For hardline anti-AMLO voters, this is the only way to go. For others, it is a “political gift to AMLO'' that confirms that all opposition parties are the same.
The lack of pragmatism among some voters will be the opposition’s #1 challenge. According to Reforma, 25% of those who wish to see Morena lose its majority in Congress wouldn’t support a candidate that it’s not their first choice. Jacobin
🔺 Inside a Massive Peyote Ceremony During Mexico's COVID Lockdown
This brave (but also maybe just looking for a good excuse to get stoned) Vice reporter, recently attended a peyote ceremony with about 75 people near the Teotihuacan pyramids outside of Mexico City, while CDMX and Estado de México are under the red coronavirus alert and hospitals are overflowing. The ceremony was led by a Huichol mara'akame (shaman), from the western Sierra Madre, a region famous for peyote culture. This shaman claims that peyote protects them from coronavirus and other illnesses such as smallpox. In fact, the author of this article didn’t end up with any symptoms after his trip, so maybe the AMLO administration should consider doing a mass peyote ritual for citizens instead of vaccinations? Vice
🕵 Mexico breaks Covid-19 cases and deaths record… and reports vaccine and oxygen tank thefts
As Mexico hit over 20,000 daily cases three times in the last week and over 1,500 daily deaths twice, it reported that four doses of the Pfizer vaccine were stolen at a public hospital in Cuernavaca, a city just south of Mexico City. The Defense Ministry, which has been helping carrying out the vaccination campaign, said the thief was probably a hospital employee and clarified it wasn’t responsible for the hospital’s security. Tuesday afternoon, the IMSS reported that an armed man burst into a public hospital in northern Sonora state and stole seven oxygen tanks. Outside Mexico City, two suspects were arrested after police chased them down for stealing 44 oxygen tanks. Associated Press
👩 Covid-19 threatens to drag women in Mexico even further
Women accounted for almost two-thirds of Mexico’s job losses during the pandemic.. Just think about that for a second. As this article thoroughly explains, prior to the pandemic the Mexican female workforce was overrepresented in the services industries, “holding many of the most expendable jobs at services companies, which require being physically present”. When the time came, these jobs were the first to go. An uneven household chores distribution, didn’t help either - Mexican women spend as much as 38 more hours a week than men on child care and domestic chores. Now, Mexico holds 124th place out of 153 in a World Economic Forum female economic participation and opportunity ranking. Bloomberg
What else we’ve been reading:
A look inside the Jose Cuervo Express, a Luxe Ride in Mexico that serves bottomless tipples of your favorite agave spirit [Robb Report]
Navy takes over control of security in Puerto Vallarta [Vallarta Daily]
A Mexican Cardinal claims covid-19 vaccines contain a satanic microchip… FB puts warning on his post [Associated Press]
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AMLO Quote
We sent them to hell / We told them to f#ck off
Context: While explaining Pemex worker’s union contracts, he said he told ex union leaders to f#ck off for being corrupt.