Enrique Peña Nieto

On this week’s episode Traces of Reality’s contributing editor Danny Benavides joins us once again to discuss the mass disappearance in Iguala, narco-cartel reorganization and the prospect for a “Mexican Spring.”  We begin the conversation by discussing what actually transpired last September in the city of Iguala, in southern Mexico.  Danny explains  who the Normalista students are and why, in fact, they were in Iguala.  Danny and I explore the complex web of connections and familial relations between Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca, his wife Maria d

Objectivity? By Andrew Smolski | CounterPunch | October 17, 2014 Where is the American corporate media at on the disappearance of 43 normalistas from a rural teachers college in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico? Where is the wall to wall coverage? Where are the calls for Enrique Peña Nieto to resign? Or, at least, where are the […]

Recently the spokesman for Michoacan’s Autodefensas, Dr. Jose Juan Mireles Valverde, spoke to a gathering of people in Caleta de Campos. The speech is important on a number of levels; chief among them is that it is actually Dr. Mireles speaking in his own words. Mexican and english language media have routinely distorted Mireles words and persona since the autodefensas movement began.

Recently the spokesman for Michoacan’s Autodefensas, Dr. Jose Juan Mireles Valverde, spoke to a gathering of people in Caleta de Campos. The speech is important on a number of levels; chief among them is that this is actually Dr. Mireles speaking in his own words. Mexican and English language media have routinely distorted Mirele’s words and persona since the autodefensas movement began.

Danny Benavides | Video and English translation of the legitimate spokesperson of Michoacan's Autodefensas, Dr. Jose Manuel Mireles Valverde speaking before a crowd gathered in Caleta de Campos — ground-zero for the Mexican government's latest attempt to disrupt, co-opt, and disparage the self-defense movement.

Danny Benavides | Allegations made by former Mexican General Jesus Jaime Garcia Miramontes suggesting a US plot to undermine Michoacan's autodefensas were quickly dismissed by the press. However, what is more of a "national security" threat to the U.S. and Mexico: organized crime that can "play ball," or an armed vigilante revolution?

Thousands of people march in Mexico City in protest of the privatization of Mexico’s oil industry. Photo by flickr user eneas, March 18, 2013.

In preparation for the upcoming North American Leaders Summit which will be held in Toluca, Mexico on February 19, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently held a meeting with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts. Over the last number of years, not as much attention has been given to the trilateral relationship. Instead, the U.S. has essentially pursued a dual-bilateral approach with both Canada and Mexico on key issues including border and continental perimeter security, as well as regulatory and energy cooperation.