New Human Rights Czars*

Mexico City already has a new one, Luis González Plascencia, a criminal justice expert who was in charge of the city's investigation into the New's Divine disaster in 2008.

The replacement to José Luis Soberanes, the leader of the National Human Rights Commission, has not yet been selected, but Jorge Fernández Menéndez has some thoughts:

All of the other possibilities are respectable candidates, but nevertheless, I believe that if what we want in CNDH is a change in perspective, a much more active participation from NGOs, and a man with independence and honesty, the selection should fall on Emilio Álvarez Icaza [the man whom González Plascencia is replacing]. With him there would exist the real possibility of conceptually modernizing the institution, giving it, in step with the times, greater autonomy and legitimacy in its decisions.

Fernández Menéndez also points out that his candidacy is a bit tricky because he is perceived to be closely linked to the PRD.

*If we can use czar for anyone in a position of authority, I think a conscious effort should be made to use it in the most incongruent circumstances.