Teaching Comparative

Gridlock in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate

This article is a week old, but I don't have much luck finding out about Mexico's government and politics. When it comes to Mexico, U.S. media is full of news about illegals and the drug trade. Mexican government and politics gets less attention than that of Kansas.

Of course, the fact that I don't read Spanish makes my problem worse. Few Mexican publications have English editions. This morning I found Mexonline.com. What I found was a list of links to nearly 100 news stories about Mexico. Most of them are about economics and business, but that often involves government and politics. Some of the news stories even come from U.S. publications.

For instance, the following op-ed piece is by Carlos Luken a Mexico-based businessman and consultant. How well could your students sort out the fact from opinion in this article?

Reforms Miss Mark: Mexico's Finance Minister

"Agustin Carstens [at right], Mexico’s Finance Minister, appeared before the Senate finance committee last week and bluntly told legislators that the recently approved 2008 fiscal reform initiative would be insufficient to meet Mexico’s needs for growth and job creation.

"In August the Calderon administration presented a far-reaching fiscal initiative that included an innovative tax system, tariff hikes and proposed value added taxes on medicine and foodstuffs.

"The initiative was rejected by legislators from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), who protested against any measures that could lead to price increases, and they oppose many other reform suggestions. Fearing a popular backlash, and attempting to remove the reform’s bite, several legislators from all parties proposed amendments and the initiative was bogged down in a quagmire of debates.

"President Felipe Calderon’s National Action Party (PAN), with 206 seats in the 500 member Chamber of Deputies and 52 members in the 128 strong Senate, could not swing the necessary votes for approval as their coalition legislators from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) remained uncommitted to avoid unpopular aftereffects...

"What resulted was a tepid reform that had no significant innovations or important effect on the economy.

"Carstens, a University of Chicago Ph.D., former... International Monetary Fund economist... is considered levelheaded and one of Mexico’s top economic minds...

"Carstens also expressed concern for the lack of congressional willingness to bring Mexico out of its tax evasion tradition, and begin a contemporary “fiscal culture” that would propel the country into modernity...

"Ironically, Mexico’s private sector wholly agrees with the finance secretary. In a national poll conducted by KPMG, among Mexico’s top 1,200 financial and tax executives... [e]ighty percent expect it to be meaningless as to encouraging economic growth...

"The Mexican Congress is highly partisan and almost completely politicized. Nearly 70% of all legislators have made their adult livelihood holding party office and/or the ensuing bureaucratic positions; as such, many are inexperienced in trade, job creation and financial management, or in any other entrepreneurial qualities. Most owe their allegiance to party organizations and/or bosses, and they will most likely vote according to party instructions regardless of the matter at hand or the consequences...

"Mexico and its finances need a complete overhaul in order to avoid a financial disaster. And if members of congress fail – or refuse – to understand this, and as long as they keep on playing politics as usual, the time bomb will continue to tick."

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Labels: economics, legislature, Mexico, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:54 AM