Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Cheats, Criminals, and Mexican Union Leaders

Everything that is wrong with Mexico's unions is on full display in this article about mining boss Napoleón Gómez Urrutia. The short of it: Nap Gómez (I don't think that's his nickname, but it sure is snappy), who inherited his post from his father, stands accused of embezzling $5 million from his union. As such, he has been hiding out in Canada since 2006. The union has somehow remained loyal to its sticky-fingered boss, and has struck many times to protest the government's charges. Nineteen times, in fact. (Now try reading the preceding sentence fragment in Ed Rooney's voice from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.) The strikes have cost the nation around $2.5 billion.

Even more frightening, Gómez's union is probably not the worst and definitely not the most important. I'm not sure labor reform--which could come to pass in late summer--has ever mattered more to a nation.

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