Yet More Commentary on New's Divine

This from Jorge Chabat, and this from Ricardo Pascoe. It's a couple of days old, but still worthwhile.

Chabat says that a politicians' job inevitably involves taking advantage of whatever circumstances exist to attack the opposition, so the hubbub over whether the PAN is taking unfair and tasteless potshots at Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is moot. He sees a number of political consequences: first, Ebrard will have to lay off the push for an oil referendum as he deals with the fallout. Second, the Mexico City government will be alienated from its base, as Ebrad's government bit the hand that pulls the lever for him.

It's also very likely that there will be an electoral effect in the PRD's vote in 2009 for the simple reason that this tragedy affects one of the party's important political bases. That is, the victims of the operation and of the police harassment aren't middle-class youths who in all likelihood weren't going to vote for the PRD anyway. The victims are PRD voters.

In fact, the delegation Gustavo A. Madero has been one of the strongholds of the [PRD] in Mexio City. How will the inhabitants of said delegation read the brutal aggresion that youngsters from New's Divine have suffered? How many PRD votes will be lost because of this unfortunate operation?

Pascoe says the New's Divine assault is in keeping with the true nature of the PRD governments that have controlled Mexico City for a decade. Many of Mexico City's highest ranking officials are ex-cohorts of Carlos Salinas, and the governing style has much in common with that of the former president.

The police assault on New's Divine is an act of repression against the poor youth of the city. The police...would never assault a Polanco nightclub like that, stripping the young women. In such an event even Marcelo would have to resign. Attacking the poor is a deliberate action of the government of Mexico City to garner support among the middle and upper classes, and corresponds with their thinking, just as does the intimidation [of the victims] after the act itself. It's a police-electoral strategy, at the same they give hand outs and scholarships to "the least fortunate" to cover up their aggression.

Salinismo applied the same method: it repressed the PRD after 1988, murdering more than 500 of its members, seeking its annihilation. Meanwhile, through Solidarity [an anti-poverty program Salinas started], it gave out money to the poor in a way the state had never done before...Repress and hand out. It's the logic of power.