Mexicos uncertainty grows with parallel government
The uncertainty over Mexicos political future has taken a new twist after supporters of the defeated presidential candidate elected him to lead a parallel government that will spend the next six years opposing the man who won the election.
By a show of hands, hundreds of thousands of supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador voted for the former mayor of Mexico City to head the alternative government that will oppose the administration of the president-elect, Felipe Calderon. Suitably enough, the vote was taken in the central plaza, or Zocalo, which has been home to his campaign for many months.
It should be clear why weve taken this road, Mr Lopez Obrador said. Its not because of a whim, or anything personal … This is the firm and honourable response to those who have converted our political institutions into a grotesque farce. Quite what form the parallel government of the left-wing Mr Lopez Obrador will take is unclear, though supporters said he would work with a full cabinet. A number of committees have already been formed. Saturdays demonstration in support of Mr Lopez Obrador brought supporters from across the country. Pedro Perez, a 61-year-old coffee exporter from Mexico City, watched from a hotel rooftop. He told the Associated Press: This is a very important day for all of us who have defended democracy and want the country to change for the good of everyone.
More : news.independent.co.uk
Mexico's Fernanda grows into hurricane
Forecasters promoted Tropical Storm Fernanda to hurricane status early today, but it held little threat to land.
Fernanda was well out to sea in the Pacific and was moving to the west-northwest, away from the Baja California Peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it had winds of about 75 mph.
A second disturbance trailing behind Fernanda was gaining force and forecasters said it could grow into a tropical storm. But it, too, held little danger to those ashore.
More: chron.com
Mexico economy grows 3.3 pct in third quarter
Mexico's economy grew 3.3 percent in the third quarter, dragged down by weakness in the manufacturing sector despite strong farm output.
Compared to the second quarter, gross domestic product expanded by a seasonally adjusted 2.15 percent, the government said on Wednesday.
It had predicted third-quarter growth of around 3.5 percent from the same period a year ago, while a Reuters poll of analysts produced a consensus forecast of 3.2 percent growth.
Manufacturing grew only 0.2 percent in the third quarter as sluggishness at factories, including assembly plants that supply the struggling U.S. auto industry, limited
FUND VIEW-Mexico protests may be buying opportunity
Political uncertainty created by mass protests in Mexico may present investors with more of an opportunity than a threat, according to the head of global emerging markets equities at Aberdeen Asset Managers.
Our experience has shown over the years that political uncertainty is a good opportunity to buy companies cheaply, Devan Kaloo said in an interview on Monday.
Mexicos IPC index of shares was down on Monday after supporters of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed to shut down Mexico Citys main business district to push for a recount after a tight presidential election.
But Mexican
Wave of immigration from Mexico grows in the Northeast
Sunday morning in this small, Hudson Valley city: More than 1,000 parishioners, most from Mexico, pack Spanish-language Masses at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Afterward, many families flock to El Azteca for its authentic tacos. If somebody needs a ride home, there are at least a dozen local taxi companies catering to newcomers born in the Mexican states of Puebla and Jalisco.
New residents from Mexico have, in the last four years, opened dozens of businesses that have begun to reinvigorate the ailing downtown district; they are the region's fastest growing community.
It's
Wave of immigration from Mexico grows in the Northeast
Sunday morning in this small, Hudson Valley city: More than 1,000 parishioners, most from Mexico, pack Spanish-language Masses at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Afterward, many families flock to El Azteca for its authentic tacos. If somebody needs a ride home, there are at least a dozen local taxi companies catering to newcomers born in the Mexican states of Puebla and Jalisco.
New residents from Mexico have, in the last four years, opened dozens of businesses that have begun to reinvigorate the ailing downtown district; they are the region's fastest growing community.
It's the
Calderon leads Mexico presidential race
Mexicos ruling party candidate held onto his narrow lead in the disputed presidential election after a partial recount of votes, the top electoral court said Monday in a strong indication that conservative Felipe Calderon will be declared the winner.
But the judges held off on naming the president-elect and still have the option to annul the election.
Calderons leftist challenger Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reacted to the courts announcement in outrage, calling on supporters never to accept Calderon as president and asking them to decide if he should form a parallel government or carry on a nationwide campaign
Politics Could Undercut Mexicos Gains
As President Vicente Fox prepares to leave office amid political uncertainty here, he is handing his successor one of the healthiest economies in the last six years.
Inflation is tame. Industrial production is sizzling. Tax coffers are bulging with oil revenue. Formal employment is rebounding. Mexicos economy expanded by 4.7% in the second quarter, fueled by strong consumer spending at home and robust demand for its goods abroad.
I dont think anyone expected it to be this strong, said Christian Stracke, emerging-markets analyst with New York-based CreditSights.
The big question: How long can the party last?
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Discount pharmacy chain grows in Mexico Owner also subsidizes clinics, and he wants to run for president
Victor Gonzalez sells cheap medicine and health care to Mexico's poor, and it has made him very rich.
In eight years, his chain of Farmacias Similares, or Similar Pharmacies, has grown from a single store in Mexico City to 3,239 across Mexico and is spreading throughout Central America, as well as parts of South America.
His catchy advertising - a cartoon doctor and an army of scantily clad models - has helped make Gonzalez, 58, a household name. His slogan is "The Same, Only Cheaper."
Now, Gonzalez
With new auto plants, Detroit South grows in Mexico
For Mexico, the recent groundbreaking of a new $650 million auto factory was worth celebrating. President Vicente Fox and other dignitaries attended the event. Local executives from General Motors, the investor, flew in to the central state of San Luis Potosi, where the assembly plant now under construction is expected to eventually employ up to 1,800 people and churn out as many as 160,000 compact cars a year.
During the past dozen years, many foreign manufacturers rushed to build factories in states like Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, earning the trend a nickname: Detroit
Mexico bank chief backsoil windfalls fund initiative
Mexico's central bank governor has thrown his weight behind an initiative to use windfall oil revenues to buttress economic stability.
Guillermo Ortiz told the Financial Times this week that plans promoted by President Vicente Fox to set up a stabilisation fund along the lines of an existing - and highly successful - Chilean model would significantly reduce uncertainty ahead of Mexico's presidential election next July.
"It would be an important piece of legislation to have in place particularly with an election and would go a long way to reducing the uncertainty and risks associated with a
