Written by Clayton Peoples of the University of Nevada, Reno and featured by the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, a new paper presents a comparative analysis of campaign financing in both Canada and the U.S. Peoples argues that there is considerable room for more campaign finance reform in both countries.

When President Felipe Calderon stepped up the Mexican War on Drugs in 2006, he called upon the military to fight it, tacitly acknowledging that large swaths of the state's police force were beholden to drug cartels. In the three years since, more than 45,000 troops have been deployed in seven problem states, and levels of violence have escalated - more than 11 000 Mexicans have died.

Jorge Heine, The Gleaner (Jamaica)

Las dependencias que encabezan la lista por presunta violación a los derechos fundamentales son la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena), en 559 casos; la PGR, con 216 denuncias; el IMSS, 215 quejas, y la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Federal, con 104, detalló un comunicado de la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos. Leer más>>

Lee Berthiaume, Embassy

In a recent article for Foreign Affairs Shannon O’Neill, a Latin America expert at the Council on Foreign Relations reexamined the debate on the stability of the Mexican state, and concluded that the most important issue is not drugs, but democratization.  The violence that has intensified since President Calderon’s crackdown has indeed been significant – 6000 people died last year on both sides of the conflict, as well as ordinary Mexican citizens caught in the crossfire.  Just last weekend, a coordinated retaliatory assault on law enforcement officials (both police and military) by the La F

"No cederemos jamás al chantaje", aseveró el secretario de Gobernación, Fernando Gómez Mont, quien dijo que el gobierno federal no dialogará, pactará o negociará con los criminales. Durante un pronunciamiento de cuatro minutos que dio en el Palacio de Bucareli, el encargado de la política interna del país manifestó que la obligación de todo gobierno es perseguir el delito y aplicar la ley sin distingo, lo anterior debido a los últimos acontecimientos violentos en el país. "Las organizaciones delictivas a las que el Estado mexicano está combatiendo están integradas por criminales cobardes y sin

The Economist, The Gazette Over the past decade Mexico might not have enjoyed explosive economic growth, but it has achieved something equally valuable. As it has transited rather painlessly from seven decades of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party to a competitive democracy, the country has discovered a new stability. Read the full story From: Newscan: For July 10 to July 16, 2009

Americas ProgramIn a democracy, the federal public budget should reflect the priorities of the people. In Mexico this is not the case. The Civil Association "Fundar" has been working for 10 years to make Mexico's public funding transparent by conducting a detailed analysis of fund distribution, from a funding proposal going from the Executive branch to the Legislative, until the monies are spent, reported, and audited by the appropriate government body. Read moreAmericas Program is a program of the Center for International Policy