Mexico

Mexican writer Fernando del Paso has been awarded the Juan Rulfo literary prize, a major honor in Spanish literature.  Born in Mexico City in 1935, Del Paso is the author of Palinuro of Mexico and Noticias del Imperio, among other works.  Though best known for his four novels, he has also had success as a poet, painter, playwright, journalist, and diplomat. 

The literary prize will be presented officially at the Guadalajara International Book Fair in November.

Famed Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas has been commissioned by Mexico City officials to design what would be Latin America’s tallest skyscraper at 984 feet.  As the New York Times noted recently, however, the proposed ”Bicentennial  Tower” is causing controversy among its future neighbors and city activists who are taking legal action.  If built, the 70-story tower overlooking the city’s Chapultepec Forest would open in 2010 to celebrate Mexico’s 200 years of independence from Spain.

This image depicts what Koolhaas has in mind.  (Photo: Office for Metropolitan Architecture)

President Calderon’s bill to reform Mexico’s tax system has been approved by the national Congress. According to the Economist, the new tax laws will increase the government’s non-oil tax revenue from 10% of GDP to 12% by 2012, resulting in an extra $10.3 billion in federal funds next year. 

In order to gain support for his tax proposal, Calderon approved an opposition-inspired bill reforming the electoral process. The new electoral laws shorten the length of presidential campaigns and ban all political advertising except that arranged by the Federal Electoral Institute (FEI) in designated time slots.

For former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda’s take on all of this, see The Fragile Democracy, which appears in Newsweek.

For additional details, see:

Reforms at Last (Economist)
Key Facts About Mexico’s Tax Reform (Reuters)

Mexican President Felipe Calderon will be honored at the Foreign Policy Association’s 8th annual World Leadership Forum in New York City on September 25th.  Chilean President Michelle Bachelet will be honored at the New York Democracy Forum Dinner the evening before.  See here for more details, including registration information.

An article I authored examining Mexico’s “Oportunidades” anti-poverty initiative and its influence on New York City’s new “Opportunity NYC” program, is featured on the Foreign Policy Association’s website.  Oportunidades is Mexico’s conditional cash transfer program that has had considerable success in addressing poverty over the past ten years.  Now, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has introduced “Opportunity NYC,” based on the same model, which he examined first-hand during a visit to Mexico earlier this year.  Click here for the article.

Pledging to “transform Mexico,” President Felipe Calderon this weekend delivered his first State of the Union address. He vowed to continue using the military in fighting the drug war and highlighted economic achievements, including the creation of 618,000 jobs since January. The President also advocated reforms in the tax system and election laws, with the hopes of limiting contributions and shortening campaigns. He earned a standing ovation with his criticism of U.S. immigration policy and the treatment of Mexicans in the U.S., for whom he promised to advocate.

For the first time, the State of the Union speech was delivered at the National Palace and not before Congress. Opposition legislators had voted to block Calderon from delivering the speech in Congress. Despite the rumblings of some legislators, particularly in the opposition PRD party, Calderon enjoys a national approval rating of 65% according to a poll conducted by Reforma newspaper.

Photo: President Calderon delivering the State of the Union address (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)