Victor Gonzalez sells cheap medicine and health care to Mexico’s poor, and it has made him very rich.
In just 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 Argentina, Ecuador and Chile. A pharmacy opened in the Peruvian capital of Lima on July 29, and Colombia is next.
His catchy advertising _ a cartoon doctor and an army of scantily clad models _ has made the 58-year-old Gonzalez a household name. His slogan is “The Same, Only Cheaper.”
Now the recovering alcoholic and self-professed womanizer wants to translate his popularity into a run for president, though the law is against him, as is most conventional wisdom.
Gonzalez refuses to divulge his net worth, joking in an interview, “If I tell you, they’ll come kidnap me.” But his eight companies, manufacturing, transporting or selling pharmaceuticals, generated around $400 million in sales last year. His group claims to control one-quarter of Mexico’s $9 billion drug industry.
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Mexico Cager Courts Success At Empire Games
Kevin Fowler was in mid-flight, readying himself to throw a dunk down the throat of Syracuse center Darryl Watkins in an exhibition game on Nov. 1 in the Carrier Dome.
It was an ambitious thought, considering Fowler was playing in his first college game as a freshman on NCAA Division IIs Saint Rose basketball team. In fact, his last action in a competitive basketball game before that was in the 2005 state final in Glens Falls as a senior on Mexicos varsity basketball team.
Watkins was having none of the dunk.
He put me right on my
Cholula is a small city in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The legal, though little used, full name of the city is Cholula de Rivadavia. The city of Cholula is divided into two municipalities, San Andrés Choula and San Pedro Cholula. Both of them are considered to be part of the conurbation of the city of Puebla.
Cholula is located at 19°6′ N 98°31′ W, about 15 km west of the city of Puebla, at an approximate elevation of 2135 meters (about 7000 ft) above sea level. The population of San Pedro Cholula is somewhat less than 100,000 people, and the
Mexico angrily vows to block proposed U.S. border wall
The Mexican government, angered by a U.S. proposal to extend a wall along the border to keep out migrants, pledged Tuesday to block the plan and organize an international campaign against it.
Facing a growing tide of anti-immigrant sentiment north of the border, the Mexican government has taken out ads urging Mexican workers to denounce rights violations in the United States. It also is hiring an American public-relations firm to improve its image and counter growing U.S. concerns about immigration.
Mexican President Vicente Fox denounced the U.S. measures, passed by the House of
Mexico 3rd-Qtr GDP Rises 3.3%, Fastest Pace in 2005
Mexico's economy grew at its fastest pace in three quarters in the July-to-September period, spurred by a surge in bank lending to consumers.
The economy expanded 3.3 percent in the quarter, more than the 3.2 percent median forecast from 18 analysts in a Bloomberg survey, a government report showed. The growth rate was higher than the 3.1 percent rate in the second quarter and 2.4 percent rate in the first quarter.
Consumer demand is rising as interest rates decline and banks boost lending, helping offset a slump in manufacturing exports to
Mexico: Democracy Under Threat
To get a sense of the danger hovering over Mexican democracy, consider these numbers: In the 681 years between the founding of the Aztec empire in 1325 and the present day, Mexico has lived for 196 years under an indigenous theocracy, 289 years under the absolute monarchy of Spain, 106 years under personal or party dictatorships, 68 years embroiled in civil wars or revolutions, and only 22 years in democracy.
This modest democratic 3 percent of Mexicos history is divided over three periods, far separated in time: 11 years in the second half of the 19th century, 11
Mexico tycoon to donate for health projects
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, the worlds third-richest man, will give away a chunk of his fortune by matching donations to health, education and social programs in Mexico, a close aide said on Wednesday.
Slim, who owns a telecoms and retail empire and has a fortune estimated at over $30 billion, will meet all contributions dollar for dollar, said Arturo Elias Ayub, his spokesman and aide.
We want to offer Mexican or foreign foundations that we will match any amount they invest in social work in Mexico, Elias Ayub said. It was unclear how much
Chavez slams Mexico's Fox over trade
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized his Mexican counterpart as being the United States' "puppy dog," El Universal newspaper reported Thursday.
Chavez's comment was in reference to Mexican President Vicente Fox's support for the resumption of talks on the proposed hemispheric free trade bloc at last week's Summit of the Americas in Argentina.
At the meeting of 34 nations, President Bush pushed for talks on the Free Trade Area of the Americas to resume after months of stalling and complaints from several leaders who allege the proposal unfairly favors U.S. economic interests.
Fox was among the
Brazil, Mexico markets fall, energy boosts Toronto
Brazilian stocks declined Friday, pulled down by a steeper-than-expected decline in U.S. industrial production, a fall in Brazilian retail sales and a growing aversion to risk among investors.
The benchmark Ibovespa index fell 0.4% to 29,772.
The announcement of a 1.3% drop in U.S. September industrial production, compared with a consensus estimate for a 0.4% decrease, dragged Brazilian share prices lower.
The stock market also had to digest a decline in Brazilian retail sales in August, down a seasonally adjusted 0.4% from July, according to data Friday from the Brazilian Census Bureau, or IBGE. It was
Activists from Mexico's east-central indigenous region of La Huasteca held a press conference in the national capital Sept. 21 to protest a growing presence of soldiers and paramilitaries in the the zone, citing a wave of assassinations of peasant leaders. Directors of the Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights (LIMEDH) and the Human Rights Committee of Las Huastecas and Sierra Oriental (CODHHSO) said the militarization of the region coinicded with growing "struggles by the indigenous to recover lands stolen by the landlords."
LIMEDH president Adrian Ramirez said that the rugged zone of La Huasteca, straddling the states of Hidalgo,
Mexicos Carso seeks to delist Sanborns retail unit
Mexican conglomerate Grupo Carso said on Monday it would ask shareholders to make an offer to buy up to 100 percent of outstanding shares in retail unit Grupo Sanborns and delist the company from Mexicos stock market.
Carso (GCARSOA1.MX: Quote, Profile, Research), an industrial and retail conglomerate that belongs to the business empire of Latin Americas richest man, Carlos Slim, said it would offer to pay 26 pesos per share it does not currently own in Sanborns (GSANBORB1.MX: Quote, Profile, Research), for an estimated total cost of 4.1 billion pesos ($376 million).
Source : today.reuters.com
