Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Ebrard's Second Anniversary

The News' Nacha Cattan offers an evaluation of Marcelo Ebrard's term two years on. Its basic thrust, which I largely agree with: he has done OK by not doing horribly. Despite some serious blemishes (New's Divine being the biggest) and few accomplishments, Ebrard remains personally liked and reasonably competent, and therefore a likely choice for the PRD in 2012.

Cattan also talks about Ebrard's various progressive accomplishments, such as the legalization of abortion and the approval of same-sex unions. It occurs to me that whatever one's opinion on them, Mexicans are much less outspoken about these issues than they would be in the States. The Church's continued opposition aside, the abortion debate surged and then basically fell of the radar screen. Likewise for same-sex marriage. I've never seen a bumper sticker that refers to either issue in Mexico, nor have I ever heard much more than a passing remark about it at any social gathering. I guess people figure that they can be personally opposed to, for instance, same-sex marriage, without feeling called by God or whomever to militate against it. As someone who grew up watching the overheated culture wars around Washington D.C. in the 1980s and 90s, I find that detachment refreshing.

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