Political Right versus Political Ultra-Right

"For the Colombian far right,  [Iván] Márquez and [Nicolás] Maduro are the living image of the devil," analyst Federico Larsen wrote in the Argentine daily Tiempo.

Billboard in Colombia ahead of runoff election

The simplest way to frame an election in Latin America is left versus right.But it's never really that simple, is it?

In the case of Colombia, where the election is between right and extreme right, the latter campaign (of ultra-right candidate Óscar Iván Zuluaga) is attempting to frame the former (incumbent Juan Manuel Santos) as a candidate of the "left." 

Santos, a conservative, is the first Colombian president to take the bold step of entering into a dialogue with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). The peace process is grinding along slowly, but progressing nevertheless. Still, because of that effort, the Zuluanga camp has portrayed Santos as a leftist of sorts. Zuluanga, a close ally of ex-President Álvaro Uribe, shows  posters contained images of Iván Márquez, second-in-command in the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) guerrilla army, and President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, along with a message:“Ellos quieren que gane Santos, ¿y usted? (They want Santos to win. How about you?)

Check out the Campaign Web Sites of the two candidates:  Santos    Zuluanga

For some analysts, the battle of ideology is only one aspect of the Colombian runoff election, which will be held on June 15. "The Santos-Zuluaga runoff will cap an election season that many observers say has weakened the country’s democracy. Analysts—from across the political spectrum—have used terms like "democracy deficit" or "low-intensity democracy" to describe the current situation in Colombia, where legislators and other elected officials are less and less representative," Andrés Gaudín says in the June 6 issue of NotiSur.   Read More

NotiSur also contains a piece about Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's Op-Ed piece in The New York Times and how students are searching for creative ways to continue their protests, which seemed to have fizzeled.

In NotiCen (June 5), Ben Witte-Lebhar writes about the outcome of a meeting between the Nicaraguan Catholic Bishops and President Daniel Ortega, and George Rodriguez tells us about the continuing conflict between teachers and the Costa Rican government, which is now led by President. Luis Guillermo Solís.

In SourceMex (June 4), we examine two court decisions favoring indigenous rights, and how the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) played a role in changing the Mexican government's attitudes toward indigenous communities. A second article in SourceMex examines judicial corruption, and how a casino magnate used the courts to advance his interests.

-Carlos Navarro

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In Corruption-Ridden Honduras, Priest Says People Are Sick of It, Opposition Deputy Promotes Bill to Fight It

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Article from NotiCen, May 8

In mass the first Sunday of this month at the Catedral Metropolitana, local priest Carlos Rubio told a packed church that Honduras is burdened by numerous concerns ranging from violence to corruption and including social and economic problems, a situation that causes loss of hope in this Central American nation’s people. Less than a month before, Deputy Jari Dixon Herrera of the opposition Partido Libertad y Refundación (whose acronym LIBRE is the Spanish word meaning free), introduced a bill to combat corruption in the unicameral Congress . The legislator--a member of the party founded by former President José Manuel "Mel" Zelaya (2006-2009), toppled during the bloody 2009 coup and now a LIBRE deputy--told local media the initiative aims at eradicating the deeply-rooted phenomenon. George Rodríguez Read More

Controversy Over Gay Civil Unions in Peru; El Salvador Church Closes Human-Rights Center; More NSA Spying Allegations in Mexico

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for October 23-25

South American Indigenous Groups Demand Recognition, Inclusion

In recent weeks, events throughout South America have pushed indigenous issues back to the regional forefront. In Brazil, indigenous groups demonstrated in defense of the country’s 1988 Constitution--which guarantees many of their rights--as a way to challenge large multinational companies that promote the use of genetically modified seeds. In Chile, ethnic Mapuches, the country’s largest indigenous group, are again challenging the conservative government of President Sebastián Piñera, demanding that the country’s anti-terrorism law--used to subject indigenous people to discriminatory legal procedures be scrapped. In Bolivia and Ecuador, indigenous groups have begun challenging the "friendly" governments of Presidents Morales and Correa. And in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, member states of the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) recently sat down with indigenous organizations to analyze an anti-discrimination initiative put forth by Venezuela. -Andrés Gaudín  Read More

Rights Advocates Question "Suspicious" Shutdown of El Salvador’s Tutela Legal

The Salvadoran Catholic Church has shuttered one of the country’s key human rights institutions, the Tutela Legal del Arzobispado, a legal aid office that operated for more than 35 years and collected a huge cache of documents regarding rights violations committed before, during, and after the country’s 1980-1992 civil war. The closure went into effect on Sept. 30, much to the chagrin of Tutela Legal’s approximately dozen employees, who say they were blindsided by the decision. Tutela Legal--known originally as Socorro Jurídico--was founded in 1977 by Archbishop Óscar Romero. The man who currently heads the archdiocese, Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas, offered little in the way of explanation for the shutdown other than to say, via a written statement, that the institution’s work was "no longer relevant." -Benjamin Witte-Lebhar  Read More

Non-marital Civil Union Proposed in Peru

A bill that would legalize non-marital civil unions for same-sex couples has split Peruvians into two camps: those viewing such unions a civil rights issue and others who say it is an attack on the family. Congressman Carlos Bruce, leader of the Concertación Parlamentaria bloc, presented a bill Sept. 12 to establish a legal institution of non-marital civil unions between same-sex couples in recognition of gay and lesbian civil rights and end existing discrimination against that sector of the population. But Lima’s Archbishop Juan Luis Cardinal Cipriani rejected the proposed law. "I do not agree; I don’t believe the people want it. I don’t believe it represents the majority nor do I think that it excludes anyone," he said in his weekly radio program. -Elsa Chanduví Jaña  Read More

New Report Reveals U.S. Spying Operations on ex-President Felipe Calderón

Critics hammered President Enrique Peña Nieto for an overly timid reaction to a report that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on him by intercepting his emails and cellular phone communications while he was still a candidate for president (SourceMex, Sept. 11, 2013). Now, new allegations have surfaced in a German magazine that the US was engaged in a massive spying campaign during ex-President Felipe Calderón’s administration (2006-2012), prompting the Peña Nieto government to talk tough again but not take any direct action against the northern neighbor. "This practice is unacceptable, illegitimate and contrary to Mexican law and international law," the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) said in a statement. "In a relationship of neighbors and partners, there is no room for the kind of activities that allegedly took place." -Carlos Navarro Read More

Chamber of Deputies Easily Approves President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Tax-Reform Package

On Oct. 20, the Chamber of Deputies approved a tax-reform plan that includes most of the controversial provisions that President Enrique Peña Nieto proposed. While the Mexican Congress debated the merits of tax reform, a discussion was also underway on whether the country is in the midst of an economic recession. Mexico’s GDP is expected to grow only about 1% in 2013, a stark contrast to earlier estimates that projected an expansion of close to 4% for the year. As has been the case, Mexico’s economic fortunes have been connected to those in the US, and the uncertainty created by recent developments in the US Congress—including the recent two-week shutdown of government operations—has had a direct impact on Mexico. -Carlos Navarro    Read More

Government Increases Military Presence on Dominican Republic-Haiti Border

At the end of May, the Dominican government decided to "reinforce" border security with 1,500 extra troops. This is far from being a recent event, as for years both countries have engaged in joint security operations. Minister of Defense Maj. Gen. Rubén Darío Paulino Sen told the local media that the troops sent to the border would be trained to prevent all sorts of crimes in the border area. This occurred amid a series of media stories regarding the "unchecked flow of illegal immigrants," particularly women and children, across the Dajabón border-crossing point. -Crosby Girón  Read More

Energy-Reform Debate Set to Begin in Mexico; Peru President Humala's Popularity Plunges: Dominican President Medina Complets One Year in Office

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for August 28-30

Governing Party, Center-Left Opposition Offer Plans for Energy Reform

The chips are on the table now that the governing Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and the opposition center-left Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) have rolled out their proposals to overhaul Mexico’s energy sector. The conservative Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) revealed its plan in July. The three proposals have a common goal—to ensure that any reforms to Mexico’s energy sector provide enough revenue to modernize the state-run energy companies, primarily oil company PEMEX, but also the electric utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE). The three parties also share another proposal: a national petroleum fund that would administer future oil and gas profits. While some common ground exists in the three proposals, the major differences are on how modernization would be funded.  -Carlos Navarro    Read More

Peru's President Ollanta Humala Sees Popularity Plummet

President Ollanta Humala began the third year of his term on July 28 isolated politically, with the lowest approval rating since he took office and facing constant social protests against his administration. In the latest Ipsos national urban poll commissioned by the daily El Comercio in August, Humala's approval rating fell to 29%, four percentage points lower than in July, when it had dropped eight points; since April Humala's approval rating has declined 22 points, based on previous Ipsos polls. In the most recent poll, 64% of respondents said they disapprove of Humala "because he does not fulfill his promises/lies"; 53% "because of crime/a lack of citizen security"; and 38% "because prices are rising." At the same time, 38% believe "there is corruption in his administration" and 32% "that he has appointed the wrong people to public positions." -Elsa Chanduví Jaña  Read More

Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina’s Year of Promises

A year after President Danilo Medina took office, polls show that a majority of those surveyed approve of his administration. Despite worsening problems such as poverty and the high cost of living, the polls appear to show that Medina still enjoys considerable approval from his support base. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says that, between 1991 and 2012, the country’s GDP has increased by 5.6%. This is above the region’s average of 3.3% and, says the IDB, it has been made possible thanks to "a stable political and social climate." Nevertheless, the IDB also points out that the country’s public finances are in a vulnerable state because of low taxation (particularly tax breaks), the impact from natural disasters, and transfers made to fund public services, such as electrical energy.   -Crosby Girón     Read More

Venezuela's Polarization Shows No Signs of Subsiding

Venezuelan political leaders say that 82% of citizens believe that political polarization is harming the country and that the leaders of the governing Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) and the opposition Mesa de Unidad Democrática (MUD) should negotiate a new status quo to ensure a harmonious coexistence. The government and the opposition continue to resort to insults and disparagement whenever they refer to each other. Against this backdrop, all national sectors--politicians, business people, and workers--see the government and the opposition continuing to write new chapters in a narrative that has pushed the stability of the country to the brink. -Andrés Gaudín Read More

Snubbed by Major Cell Phone Companies, Zapotec Community in Oaxaca Installs Own Telephone System

Isolated from the outside world because of a lack of telephone infrastructure, residents of the remote community of Villa Talea de Castro in Oaxaca state began efforts in 2008 to convince the major telecommunications companies to bring cellular telephone service to the village. The residents were rebuffed repeatedly, as the cellular companies, including industry giant América Móvil, declined because the venture would be unprofitable. After repeated rejection from Telcel and other companies, residents of Villa Talea de Castro decided to explore other alternatives to install a means of communication. With the help of indigenous organizations, civic groups, and universities installed its own cell-phone system.  -Carlos Navarro   Read More

The Long Battle to Eradicate Homophobia in Belize

Activists are seeking to change Article 53 of the Belizean Constitution, which declares gay relationships unlawful, on the grounds that it is an infringement of basic human rights. Caleb Orozco, a health educator and president of the United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM), is now leading a legal crusade to prove that Article 53 of Belize’s Criminal Code, which states that every person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person or animal shall be liable to imprisonment for ten years, violates basic human rights. The National Aids Commission also favors the changes, but there is fierce opposition from Catholic and Protestant religious organizations. -Louisa Reynolds    Read More

Zetas Leader Captured; El Salvador NGOs Seek Permanent Ban on Mining; Left Seeks Unity in Peru

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for July 24-26

Lawsuits, Closed Trial, Threaten Documentary that Exposed Corruption in Judicial System

The producer and the director of the highly successful movie Presunto Culpable (Presumed Guilty) are facing a host of lawsuits that threaten to dilute the impact of their highly successful documentary and threaten freedom of speech in Mexico. Furthermore, the lawsuits are generally supported by many members of the judicial branch, including the judge hearing the case, which has led director Roberto Hernández and producer Layda Negrete to predict that they will not receive a fair trial. -Carlos Navarro   Read More

El Salvador Mining Opponents Determined Not To Let Guard Down

Anti-mining activists have enjoyed a fair share of success in El Salvador, where a five-year-old moratorium on metals extraction continues to keep would-be miners at bay. But, rather than rest on their laurels, organizations like La Mesa Nacional frente a la Minería Metálica, an influential umbrella group, remain active and alert, lobbying hard for policy changes that, in their opinion, would better protect the country from the still clear and present danger posed by corporate mining interests. For starters, argue industry opponents, the government would do well to replace the moratorium with an all-out mining ban. -Benjamin Witte-Lebhar   Read More

In Bold Operation, Government Arrests Top Leader of Zetas Cartel

In what could have been a scene from a movie thriller, the Mexican military conducted a bold operation to capture the leader of the notorious and brutal drug-trafficking organization known as the Zetas. The detention of Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, also known as Z-40, is a major blow to one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations, but the jury is still out on what impact the arrest will have on the overall drug-interdiction campaign. For now, the arrest leaves the Zetas without one of its top leaders.  -Carlos Navarro   Read More

The Peruvian Left Unites Once Again

After 24 years, the Peruvian left has, once again, regrouped in a new coalition, the Frente Amplio de Izquierda (FAI), through which it will participate in the 2014 municipal and regional elections and the 2016 presidential balloting. On June 4, at a tribute to the leftist leader and congressional deputy Javier Diez Canseco on the one-month anniversary of his death, leftist organizations promised to make the legislator's challenge to them--a united left--a reality. On June 26, six leftist organizations announced the formation of the FAI. The coalition held its first action against the administration of President Ollanta Humala; it was the only political group that participated in a massive mobilization rejecting measures supported by the central government. -Elsa Chanduví Jaña  Read More

Belize's Supreme Court Finds Offshore Oil Contracts Null and Void

Six oil-prospecting companies suffered a major setback when Belize's Supreme Court ruled on April 16 that all offshore oil contracts issued by the Belizean government in 2004 and 2007 and extended in 2009 are null and void. The decision, handed down by Justice Oswell Legall, was highly critical of the government’s actions, saying that "allowing oil exploration before any assessment of its effects on the environment is not only irresponsible but reckless, especially in a situation where Belize may not be fully capable of handling effectively an oil spill." -Louisa Reynolds  Read More

Uruguay's Right Fails to Overturn Law Decriminalizing Abortion

Uruguay's most conservative sectors and the Catholic Church tried to abolish a law that decriminalized abortion under certain conditions, but society rebuffed the efforts. The law's opponents resorted to a provision of the referendum statutes, but found extremely low support. For the law to be put to a plebiscite in October 2013, supporters had to collect 252,000 signatures, 25% of the electorate. When they failed to gather the required number of signatures, they resorted to a second constitutional provision, known as a prior consultation. If 25% of the electorate agreed, then a formal plebiscite would be held. The result--only 8.8% support in the June 23 consultation--left opponents far from their dream of abolishing the law. -Andrés Gaudín  Read More -

Bullfighting Controversy in Mexico; Slight Thaw in U.S.-Venezuela Relations; Honduras Continues to Suffer Consequences of 2009 Coup

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for July 3-5

Guatemala Hosts 43rd OAS General Assembly

The drug problem should be tackled not as a security issue but as a public health question with policies for "prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation," delegations from the 34 countries participating in the 43rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) agreed. The theme of the three-day meeting, which opened on June 4 in the city of Antigua, Guatemala, was "For a Comprehensive Policy Against the World Drug Problem in the Americas." The final Declaration of Antigua said the drug problem should be fought "with an integrated, strengthened, balanced, and multifaceted approach, with full respect for human rights and individual liberties, incorporating public health, education, and social inclusion." -Louisa Reynolds   Read More

Is Argentina Going Overboard in Honoring Native Son Pope Francis?

Since March 13, when Jesuit Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio was elected to be the Catholic Church's 266th successor to the throne of St. Peter, many formal changes have taken place in his native country. Streets and avenues in the principal cities have been given his name, as have several large, medium-sized, and small plazas throughout the country. Schools and public offices throughout the country declared holidays, and 38 bills were introduced in Congress with a wide array of unique proposals for honoring the new pope. "It got out of hand, in a totalitarian attitude that the pope surely rejects. They are stomping on the rights not only of those who practice other religions but also those of all citizens who don't agree with using state resources to support the Catholic religion," said Fernando Lozada, an activist with the Coalición Argentina por un Estado Laico (CAEL). -Andrés Gaudín     Read More

Campaign to End Bullfighting in Mexico Draws Mixed Reactions

A growing number of states and municipalities in Mexico have moved to ban bullfighting, in part because of a strong campaign launched by the Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM) in 2011 (SourceMex, Nov. 9, 2011). The list of places that recently banned bullfighting includes five municipalities in Veracruz state, the state of Sonora, and the community of Tangancícuaro in Michoacán state. However, some states—Aguascalientes, Tlaxcala, Zacatecas, and Guanajuato—are taking the opposite position, with state legislators and governors taking actions to protect bullfighting, commonly known as the fiesta brava, via declarations declaring the practice "cultural patrimony." - Carlos Navarro    Read More

Slight Thaw in Relations Between Venezuela and U.S

Despite the harsh language used by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and high-ranking leaders of the Revolución Bolivariana, the Venezuelan government is practicing a skillful diplomacy that even suggests the possibility for positive change in relations with the US. Diplomatic relations have been frozen since 2010, when both countries reduced their embassy missions to a minimal level. Although Caracas has not stopped accusing Washington of interfering in its internal affairs, Foreign Minister Elías Jaua and Secretary of State John Kerry--who, like Maduro when he speaks of the US, resorts to harsh rhetoric when referring to the South American country--held an amiable meeting during the recent Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly in Antigua, Guatemala. -Andrés Gaudín    Read More

Four Years Later, Fallout from Honduran Coup Still Felt in Various Ways, Including in Increased Refugee Requests

At dawn on June 28, 2009, just over four years ago, Honduran President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya’s Tegucigalpa home was stormed by some 200 soldiers in the beginning of a bloody coup that took the country--and Latin America with it--back to the somber, seemingly endless decades of ruthless military dictatorships ..In a worsened scenario of unbridled corruption, violence--including that of organized crime--and lack of opportunities, Hondurans have begun to seek ways to survive, and for some it means refuge abroad. These Hondurans' preferred destination is Costa Rica, a Central American nation that abolished its army more than sixty years ago and whose image as a democratic, safe country attracts an array of foreigners ranging from tourists to investors, and undocumented migrants as well as refugees.  -George Rodríguez    Read More

Foreign Tourism Shows Strong Signs of Recovery in Early Part of 2013

Things are looking up for Mexico’s tourism industry, which has had to overcome a continued sluggish economy in the US and reports of violence and increased crime in popular resorts to attract a steady flow of foreign visitors to the country. In a recent report, the largest organization representing Mexico’s tourism industry, the Confederación de Cámaras Nacionales de Comercio, Servicios y Turismo (Concanaco-Servytur), estimated that 12.8 million foreigners would visit Mexico during the peak summer period (July 5-Aug. 19). The international visitors were expected to spend about 28 billion pesos (US$2.1 billion) during this period. -Carlos Navarro  Read More

Water Woes in Nicaragua; Dragon Mart Project in Mexico Suffers Setback; Brazil Catholic Church and New Pope

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for May 1-3

Nicaragua’s Water Problems Persist Amid Economic Upswing

After dipping into a recession in 2009, Nicaragua has enjoyed steady economic growth: GDP rose 3.6% in 2010, 5.4% in 2011, and 5.2% last year, the Banco Central reported. And yet not only has Nicaragua failed to improve its water services during the recent economic upswing, by some accounts, conditions have actually worsened. An estimated 15% of the population still have no access to "improved" water, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Most observers agree that the problem is primarily an infrastructure issue. Parts of the country have never been connected to any sort of water grid. The infrastructure that does exist is, in many cases, in dire need of maintenance and repair.  -Benjamin Witte-Lebhar  Read More

President Enrique Peña Nieto's Political Agreement with Opposition Parties in Jeopardy

The working agreement that President Enrique Peña Nieto forged with the opposition parties to try to push through important reforms for Mexico appears to be falling apart because of charges that a Cabinet member and a governor are engaging in corrupt practices favoring the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in upcoming local elections. The agreement, known as the Pacto por México, enabled Peña Nieto to start off his administration on a positive note and demonstrated his willingness to cooperate with the opposition parties.  -Carlos Navarro  Read More

Venezuela's New President Nicolás Maduro Faces Tough Challenges Following Narrow Win

Forty days after the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the larger-than-life head of the Revolución Bolivariana who dominated politics in the last 14 years of Venezuelan democracy, voters in the Caribbean country had to return to the ballot boxes to elect a new president for the 2013-2019 term. Everything indicated that the governing party would repeat its success in the Oct. 7 election), when, with more than 55% of the vote, Chávez buried the electoral aspirations of Henrique Capriles, who received 44.3%. However, Nicolás Maduro, the Revolución Bolivariana candidate hand-picked by Chávez when he was becoming aware that he would not survive, defeated the opposition leader by only 1.83%. - Andrés Gaudín   Read More

Brazil's Catholic Church Waits to See How Pope Francis Addresses Multiple Challenges

Brazil's Catholic community closely followed the papal conclave to choose Benedict's successor. Until the last moment, the hope was that a Brazilian cardinal would be chosen to succeed Pope Benedict Pope Benedict XVI.. The name mentioned most often in the days leading to the election was Odilo Cardinal Scherer, archbishop of São Paulo. While the conclave's selection of Argentina's Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio as the next pope frustrated many Brazilians, the unprecedented choice of a Latin American to head the Catholic Church has been well-received. Among progressive sectors of the Catholic Church, influenced historically by liberation theology, Bergoglio's election was received with certain anticipation about what positions Pope Francis would take on the many challenges that the church faces in the world today.  -José Pedro Martins   Read More

Dragon Mart Project Suffers Setback After Local Authorities Deny Building Permit

Promoters of the controversial Dragon Mart project in Mexico suffered a major setback when the municipality of Benito Juárez in Quintana Roo state denied a building permit for the megaproject. The decision, announced in late April, raises some doubts on whether the project would proceed, although promoters have taken a couple actions that might allow Dragon Mart Mexico to survive: they filed a lawsuit against Benito Juárez, which includes the resort city of Cancún, and also raised the possibility of moving the project to some other site in Mexico. -Carlos Navarro   Read More

Will the Dominican Republic Remain Part of Petrocaribe?

The Dominican Republic faces uncertainty on whether it will continue to receive benefits from Venezuela's subregional initiative Petrocaribe, which provides oil to Caribbean nations at preferential prices. The Dominican government has used savings obtained through the Venezuelan assistance program to reduce the deficit by the electric-energy sector instead of spending the money on education, health care, and social projects to improve the living conditions of the poor, contrary to what funding from Petrocaribe is meant to be used for.  -Crosby Girón  Read More

Controversy over Separation of Church and State Resurfaces after Cardinal Claims Vatican Influenced Supreme Court Vote on Abortion

ISSN: 1054-8890
LADB Article ID: 078313
Category/Department: Church-State Conflicts
Date: 2011-10-07
By: Carlos Navarro

Seven of the court’s justices deemed the provisions incompatible with the federal Constitution, but the SJCN fell short of the eight votes needed to force changes to the two states' laws. Justices José Ramón Cossío, Sergio Valls, Arturo Zaldívar, Olga Sánchez Cordero, Luis María Aguilar, Fernando Franco, and Juan Silva Meza voted to consider both states’ measures unconstitutional. But they were unable to convince one of the four other SCJN members—Justices Jorge Pardo Rebolledo, Salvador Aguirre Anguiano, Margarita Luna Ramos, and Guillermo Ortiz Mayagoitia--to cross over to gain the eight-vote total needed to overturn the state constitutional provisions.

In the aftermath of the SCJN decision regarding Baja California, which the court considered first, Bishop Isidro Guerrero Macías of Mexicali boasted that a call from the Vatican was able to sway one of the judges who was thinking of voting the other way. "Yesterday, we almost lost," said Guerrero Macías. "But a call from the pope to one of the justices, I don’t know which one, changed everything."

Bishops, Vatican deny there was interference

The very suggestion that the Vatican would interfere in Mexican judicial decisions unleashed a storm of controversy in Mexico, forcing both the Vatican and Mexico’s Catholic bishops conference (Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano, CEM) to issue strong statements denying any direct influence from Rome on this vote. Jorge Camargo, a SCJN spokesperson, also denied that any call was made from Rome to a member of the high court.

"There is no truth to that statement," said Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi. "We have to ask the bishop where he obtained that information."

"We concur with the statements of the Vatican spokesperson when he said that the comments from Mexicali Bishop Isidro Guerrero Macías are inaccurate," said a communiqué signed by CEM secretary general Víctor René Rodríguez Gómez. "We are very cognizant that the Holy Father is always respectful of the internal affairs of countries…and did not intervene in the decision of the SCJN ministers."

All three were appointees of President Felipe Calderón, whose conservative Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) is often in step with Catholic Church positions. The two cases, which were considered separately, served as a measuring stick on the state of Mexico’s policies regarding abortion rights. More than half of Mexico’s states have enacted laws similar to those in Baja California and San Luis Potosí. Those states are Tamaulipas, Chiapas, Veracruz, Querétaro, Chihuahua, Campeche, Colima, Puebla, Durango, Jalisco, Nayarit, Quintana Roo, Guanajuato, Yucatán, Sonora, Morelos, and Oaxaca.

There was ample debate among the justices, who discussed the issue during three days of deliberation. "Criminalizing the interruption of a pregnancy in all cases…is disproportionate and unreasonable, while at the same time violating women's dignity and autonomy," said Justice Fernando Franco, who led the effort to overturn the state laws.

Justice Zaldívar took a similar stance, suggesting that forcing women, especially those who are poor, to seek clandestine abortions or to face imprisonment for having the procedure was "profoundly unfair, profoundly immoral, and profoundly unconstitutional."

Other justices countered with the argument that state legislatures are empowered to include language in their constitutions that stipulates when life begins. "There is no human being who was not conceived. An embryo dies without the mother dying, evidence of an independent life to which Mexican law has recognized the right of protection since the 19th century," said Justice Aguirre Anguiano.

Justice Luna Ramos, who voted with the minority, said she supports the right of states to allow abortions but also their right to determine when life begins. Supporters of abortion rights said there was a silver lining in the SCJN vote, even though the high court did not overturn the constitutional provision in the two states. "Years ago no one would have thought seven justices would have ruled this way," said Regina Tamés, director of the Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE). "I think these are slow but sure steps."
Even though the issue is ripe for debate, some analysts said politicians would avoid the controversy during the upcoming presidential campaign. "Both the decriminalization of abortion and the legalization of drugs are themes that the political class wants to avoid during the federal elections in 2012," said Ruth Zavaleta Salgado, an expert on constitutional law at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
Zavaleta praised Mexico City residents for their willingness to discuss the issue so openly before the Mexico City legislature (Asamblea Legislativa del Distrito Federal, ALDF) voted in 2007 to allow abortion rights. The SCJN later ratified the Mexico City decision.

But Zavaleta also pointed out that the inconsistency in the Mexico City law versus that of other states reflects the views of the citizens of those entities. "While it’s true that the majority of citizens in the Federal District opposed the criminalization of abortion, the opposite is true in many states in our country," said the UNAM expert.

The semi-independent Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal (CDHDF) also raised concerns about the discrepancies across state borders on abortion. "It is a very serious matter that a supposedly constitutional and democratic government like Mexico's establishes different levels of human rights protection for women, depending on which state they live in," said the CDHDF.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard--who helped push through the measure to decriminalize abortion in Mexico City—weighed in with the seven justices who voted to oppose the measures in Baja California and San Luis Potosí. The mayor said the prohibition of abortion would send the procedures underground, "and this does not resolve any problems."

"I will not change my point of view or my convictions about abortion and gay rights if elected president," the mayor said.

Guadalajara cardinal involved in new controversy

In an earlier controversy, a previously confidential diplomatic dispatch leaked through Wikileaks Web site in July of this year suggested that Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez of Guadalajara, in a meeting with Francis Rooney, then US ambassador to the Vatican, had raised concerns in 2006 about the rise of leftist leaders in Latin America, including then candidate López Obrador.

"Sandoval, after mentioning his personal dream of building a sanctuary in Guadalajara to commemorate Mexican martyrs, echoed some of our Vatican interlocutors in raising concern about the increasing presence of leftist leaders in Latin America—[Fidel] Castro, [Hugo] Chavez, [Evo] Morales, [Nestor] Kirchner, [Michelle] Bachelet, and perhaps Lopez Obrador--and called it a dangerous trend," said the dispatch, dated April 6, 2006. "He asked whether President [George W.] Bush could help. Sandoval said that under Lopez Obrador's governance, crime and violence had risen in Mexico City."

The Wikileaks dispatch created indignation in Mexico and brought a swift reaction from the Archdiocese of Guadalajara denying that Sandoval had been involved in a conspiracy against López Obrador, who narrowly lost the presidential race to Felipe Calderón in a disputed election (SourceMex, July 12, 2006 ).

In an editorial, the center-left Mexico City daily newspaper La Jornada suggested that the matter deserved closer investigation by the Mexican government. "In a country of laws, the behavior of Sandoval Íñiguez would merit further clarification, an investigation, and a sanction according to the law," said the newspaper. "But the cardinal from Jalisco is supported by a history of impunity that has freed him from charges of illegal political campaigning, violations of our principles of separation of church and state, money laundering, misuse of donations, and protection of pedophile priests."

President Carlos Salinas de Gortari’s administration might have been behind the murder of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo in Guadalajara in May 1993.

The Archdiocese of Guadalajara issued a strong statement denying that Sandoval had in any way sought to influence the 2006 election. "[The cardinal] is not interested in becoming involved in the political affairs of our country," said a statement from the archdiocese.

The statement went on to say that Sandoval and López Obrador had met on several occasions at the request of the PRD politician. "There has always been a relationship of mutual respect between them," said the archdiocese. "The cardinal values the work of the left, which is necessary for a true political discourse in our country, even though there are some points of disagreement."

The archdiocese did not deny that a meeting took place between Sandoval and Rooney. "The only theme that was addressed was the request for US support for the construction of the Santuario de los Mártires," said the archdiocese. "This assistance was never received."