Police chief felled in ‘revenge’ killing by ex-cop
Francisco Chacon was eating at a food stall in front of a kindergarten when two men arrived on motorcycle and opened fire. Chacon’s companion returned fire, killing one of the assassins, while the other, later identified as Jose Alfredo Espinoza Guerrero, was arrested upon trying to escape.
State police found Espinoza in possession of the motorbike and a .45-caliber pistol which appeared to correspond to over 20 shell casings dispersed at the scene of the crime. Espinoza, 32, had worked under Chacon as a Tlajomulco police officer, but was recently fired after failing the evaluations that all state and municipal police officers are undergoing across Mexico.
Local media outlet Notisistema reported that Espinoza had since joined the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). In captivity, Espinoza reportedly claimed that the killing was an act of revenge against Chacon, who, he alleged, was responsible for the murder of two municipal police officers in Tlajomulco’s Santa Fe neighborhood around two months ago.
A memorial service was held on Sunday, with the municipal government covering funeral costs and paying around 250,000 pesos in wages, life insurance and compensation to Chacon’s family.
Will Mexicans embrace AMLO’s new left-wing party?
To register under the Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures (Cofipe), any new party requires the signatures of 3,000 members in 20 different states or 300 members in 200 electoral districts. Once registered, Morena would then have to win at least two percent of the vote in the 2015 federal elections in order to remain registered.
Having split with the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Citizen’s Movement following defeat to Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in last year’s presidential election, Lopez Obrador sees Morena as a means of prolonging his political career.
He should find sufficient signatures to register Morena, having spent years touring every municipality in the country and building up a grass-roots support base after suffering a narrow loss to Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party (PAN) in the 2006 election.
However, he remains a divisive character unlikely to lead Mexico’s left in another election, with Marcelo Ebrard, the former mayor of Mexico City, appearing the most promising future candidate.
Government open to dialogue with EZLN
This commission will replace the Coordination for Dialogue and Negotiation in Chiapas, a government body tasked with resolving conflict that began with the Zapatista uprising on January 1, 1994. Chong described it as a “call for everyone to sit down and resolve their problems” in order to foster “respect for indigenous communities.”
A positive response from the EZLN is unlikely. The Zapatistas have rejected any dialogue with Mexico’s political parties since the National Action Party (PAN) and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) supported the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in reneging on the terms of the San Andres peace accords signed by the PRI government in 1996.
Having kept a low profile in recent years, EZLN spokesman Subcomandante Marcos has resumed publishing regular communiques online since around 40,000 Zapatistas reemerged in silent marches across Chiapas on December 21.
While the Zapatistas offered no direct reply to Osorio’s announcement, Marcos responded in characteristic fashion to the news that President Enrique Peña Nieto had announced a “crusade against hunger” on Monday.
In a letter entitled, “Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (governors, heads of government and bootlickers)” Marcos wrote, “We cannot find words to express our feelings about his Crusade Against Hunger, so here goes, without words…” The text was followed by the image of a raised middle finger.
The Tequila Files 