New Material

Here a couple of pieces of mine from last week on Honduras and El Salvador. I am broadening my horizons ever so gently. And temporarily: here's a piece about Mexico's Federal Police in light of last week's attack. Here's the close:

According to many analysts, the heavier reliance on the military in recent years is a mere stopgap, with a revamped and newly competent federal police the eventual replacement for the armed forces that are today operating in a domestic capacity. Throughout his presidency, Calderon has also embraced this logic, even as he deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to all corners of Mexico. By expanding the size of the agency, giving it a larger budget, and making the SSP’s boss Genaro Garcia Luna one of his most trusted advisers, the president has bet Mexico’s future security on an expanded role for the federal police.

Yet as Calderon reaches the end  his six-year term in office, the federal police seems far from being a reliable nationwide replacement for the armed forces. Consequently, the deployments of the soldiers and marines are to continue indefinitely even after Calderon exits his post on December 1. The day when the armed forces can focus exclusively on foreign threats remains well beyond the horizon.

Also, here's a piece about the growing ambitions of YoSoy132. Highlights:

Por supuesto, esta decisión ha inspirado reacciones muy fuertes (véase la emoción de John Ackerman aquí), pero visto objetivamente, un camino no es mejor que el otro, sino presentan riesgos y ventajas distintas. Lo positivo es que vincularse a las demás fuerzas de oposición les amplía el terreno político y les da más posibilidades de influir en otros aspectos del debate público a los líderes de #YoSoy132. El cambio en las políticas públicas se logra a través de la política, por más sucia o desagradable que sea, y los grupos que buscan mantenerse fuera del ring se imponen a sí mismos límites muy fuertes a sus logros. De cierta forma, #YoSoy132 está cambiando el uniforme del árbitro para el del jugador, lo cual le ofrece más oportunidad de influir el resultado del juego.