AMLO to down size National Electoral Institute [INE]

I am not confused amigo. I understand that the name of the institution changed from IFE to INE but they are both part of the evolution of the same organization that has been in place since the 90's that has been highly praised for conducting free and fair elections. That is what AMLO appears to be attacking here rather than doing the hard work of creating an independent and strong judiciary that can root out the type of corruption you are highlighting in your justified criticism of certain people within INE.

It saddens me to see you be so in favor of the military becoming more and more involved in the daily lives of Mexicans. I know you and I share some very common goals and so I am not sure why we differ so much on this point. The military should have one purpose and one purpose only and that is to defend the country from foreign invaders. The military is not immune to corruption and they are not as effective as you would like to suggest. They are not on schedule for the maya train and the costs have ballooned to over twice the initial cost estimates. The new airport in Mexico city was neither completed on time or under budget. Regardless of those points the military should not be being given alternate sources of income, i.e. income from running the train, airports, possibly an airline. History has shown us time and time again that it leads to the end of people having a voice in their government (i.e. Egypt, Argentina in the 80's, etc.) The solution to corrupt private companies is to create a strong judiciary that can prosecute and enforce bad actors. Not interject the military into it. I know of no example in history that having the military carry out civilian functions has been good for a country and its people in the long run. This president seemed to agree with that before he assumed the reigns of power, funny how that has changed now that he holds them.

I read many different sources of news, including those that support AMLO and his party, because I know that no one source can be objective. I don't need to read those sources to know that I don't like the environmental record of this administration (i.e. destroying mayan jungle, promoting fossil fuels, destroying wetlands to build a refinery, etc.). I don't need anyone to tell me how disastrous the education policies of this administration has been because I can see it in my nieces and nephews here in Mexico who are way behind in their education and seemingly no efforts being made to improve that (instead cancelling classes at the smallest hint of inclement weather). I don't need the news to tell me that gangs are getting ever more bold in their extortion business because the security efforts are inadequate because I have family members here who are forced to pay in order to have their small business be able to operate safely. It isn't about my media consumption bias that I have a poor estimation of the president, but my own lived experience.

You keep saying things that appear right out of a Carlos Loret de Mola article. The election process is not under attack. Democracy in Mexico is not currently under attack from the president or any political party, though it had been stunted under the 70-year dictatorship of the PRI.

I'm sorry you don't appreciate the popular support for the military in the streets, but that is the result of 70 years of PRI rule with no professional police force and the stupid "war on drugs" policy that Calderón succumbed to. They are Mexico's best hope for restoring law and order. One of my favorite family members used to be a Mexican general. I don't see the Mexican military as a threat to Mexico's democracy as you apparently do. I don't fault them for any cost overruns on any of the Presidente's projects. Why shouldn't they be able to generate their own legal funding?

You're jumping around so much on so many unrelated topics that I simply don't have the time to offer a proper response to your comments. I get it. You don't like AMLO. Neither do my in-laws in Mexico City or Mérida.

Gangs are getting bolder not because of anything THIS president has done beyond NOT legalizing all popular recreational substances, because THAT is the ONLY measure that will at least help level the playing field. Take into account how powerful the alcohol-funded mafia smugglers in the USA became, because in just 24 years those mafias grew so powerful that it took another 50 years to get them under control. The cartels have been operating much longer, with the consequential results that one of their leaders was listed for a while as the richest man in the world. It may be too late to put the lid back on that pandora's box, but it doesn't change the basic reality of why they even exist: because Big Alcohol & Big Pharma don't want their competition, and it's much easier to play the phony Puritan Society card than do what needs doing to attack the problem. That beast is created by politicians around the world. Not by the users of popular but stupidly banned substances. And AMLO's Corte Suprema have done their part to at least get pot legalized, though neither congressional legislators nor the Presidente have done theirs because the public has been too long brainwashed with the Reefer Madness tack. The USA's government still lists pot right up there with heroin, and they sentence dealers to death in Indonesia and lock up users for a decade in Russia.

I blame LOCAL politicians for the lack of a police force that can deal with LOCAL crime. Not the Presidente. He's done his part with the Guardia Nacional.

But isn't this about the INE? They've abused their privileges and aligned themselves with the interests of the partidocracy. And that is what needs correcting so that non-aligned politicians such as Pedro Kumamoto have equal footing in public elections.

The judiciary is a huge problem that will not be fixed in our lifetime. Too much hubris. Too many long-ingrained bad practices. Especially here in Guerrero. Especially here in REMOTE Zihuatanejo. That's one reason why I'm very careful about any lawyers or legal services that I recommend.

The STATE education authorities cancelled classes recently, not AMLO.

Someone appears to be selling you a lot of fear, and that's typical of what I see coming from the media manipulated by corrupt power moguls who feel their power slipping away. You should trust and respect the decision of the 70% of the Mexicans who support AMLO. Isn't that what democracy is all about? He's one of the most popular leaders in the world for a reason. He was certainly better than any of the alternatives during the last presidential election.