Just in Time for Cinco De Mayo!


Seems that good 'ol Vicente is making preparations for my arrival early next year...I rarely point my fine readers to articles, but this is truly unprecedented. I've copied and pasted the some of the best bits (from the LA Times) below, since I have not yet mastered the art of the link and many of my readers have not yet mastered the art of clicking on a link; Emphasis mine, Enjoy!

By Sam Enriquez, Times Staff Writer

May 3, 2006

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign a bill that would legalize the use of nearly every drug and narcotic sold by the same Mexican cartels he's vowed to fight during his five years in office, a spokesman said Tuesday.

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The law would be among the most permissive in the world, putting Mexico in the company of the Netherlands.

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Selling drugs or using them in public still would be a crime in Mexico. Anyone possessing drugs still could be held for questioning by police, and each state could impose fines even on the permitted quantities, the bill stipulates. But it includes no imprisonment penalties.

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"The law constitutes an important step forward by the Mexican state in its battle against drug dealing," said Eduardo Medina Mora, secretary of public security and Mexico's top law enforcement officer.

Presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said Tuesday that Fox would sign the measure, calling it an important tool in the fight against drug trafficking. Fox has avoided public comments on the bill and did not attend a news conference about it Tuesday.

Since the vote by Congress last week, lawmakers have said they are unsure who amended the bill, originally aimed at legalizing possession of small quantities of drugs among addicts, to make it apply to all "consumers."

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A growing war among rival drug gangs in Mexico—primarily the so-called Gulf and Sinaloa cartels—has ushered in a new era of brutality, with torture routine and bodies burned and dismembered.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the last 18 months in fighting over smuggling routes to the United States, mostly in border cities, Acapulco and the capital. Automatic weapons and explosives are common tools; police and journalists are increasingly frequent targets.

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"Any country that embarks on policies that encourage drug use will get more drug use and more drug addiction," said Tom Riley, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"Many countries, including the U.S. and Mexico, see the drug problem as a trafficking problem," he said. "But the real problem isn't trafficking, it's drug use. The costs of drug addiction are staggering."

Are you sure you read those talking points right, Mr. Riley? It sounds to me like there IS a serious drug trafficking problem. Huh. Maybe those folks out along the border could help you sort it all out...

For the entire feel-good story of the year, check out: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-legalize3may03,0,3127645.story


ciao,

Lo

VIVA MEXICO

Good dog, Nigel! Good dog. Now sit.