Ticking Clock

As the unwieldy 100 Days to Improved Security ticks away (and the concept itself is much more awkward that the silly title I just slapped on it), Mexicans aren't seeing changes. According to a poll on the cover of El Universal today, 60 percent perceive any improvement in the government's efforts to combat security.

Alejandro Martí, whose son Fernando's murder sparked the push for the security deadline, is laudably not obsessed with the countdown's dwindling days, but rather the decades to come. His just announced group, SOS, is focused on fostering a more enduring change, on creating a society that responds to crime not with cynicism but with optimism about combating it. The following comes from an Excelsior report on Martí:

"The idea is that citizens and our companions in pain come aboard this movement. We want them to subscribe and contribute their information. The idea is that the people should make a commitment to do away with corruption, to not be a part of the problem.

"The idea is to encourage the citizenry denounces [criminal activity]. If the government phones don't work, we have these phones with which we'll encourage them to attend to us."

That makes lots of sense. Ever since his son's death thrust him into the national spotlight, Martí has been perhaps the most lucid, common-sensical (which should be a word) commentator in the country. I hope he continues to play a constructive role for years to come.