MEXICO
Tortillas and Amnesties
The left-wing frontrunner in this year’s Mexican presidential election vowed to revamp his country’s long-running fight against drug-related violence – even as rising prices for tortillas are causing headaches for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and incumbent President Enrique Peña Nieto.
Unveiling his team of security advisers, presidential contender Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that the country’s military approach to fighting the drug trade was failing and he wanted to create more opportunities for the rural population to discourage them from turning to crime, Reuters reported. Fueled by battles between drug gangs, murders in Mexico spiked to a record high last year.
Obrador’s proposed security chief, Alfonso Durazo, said his plans might include an amnesty for farmers growing illicit crops but not one that would forgive cartel bosses.
Meanwhile, prices for fuel and corn are expected to rise in 2018 as the election approaches, further eroding support for the PRI-led government, Reuters said.
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