Fwd: Re: Comments about your column

Ken Emmond <kemmond00@yahoo.com> escribió:

Fecha: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 22:28:36 -0700 (PDT)
De: Ken Emmond <kemmond00@yahoo.com>
Asunto: Re: Comments about your column
A: sergio granillo <granillo_sergio@yahoo.com>

Hi Sergio!

It was fascinating to see the spin you have on the
wierd and wonderful world of Canadian politics, and
the "universalization" of human political animals,
within the institutions in each society.

As you say, it seems that we are in broad agreement,
although you are much closer to the Canadian political
scene than I am. The theme I developed I had thought
of months ago, and this was the opportunity to develop
it, because many Mexicans do think they are inherently
corrupt.

Things seem to be slowly improving here, although not
fast enough for those who seek justice and the Rule of
Law. Mexico may be at a critical point, and if in the
end AMLO does run - whether he wins or not - it will
be a blow against selective justice. Why isn't Oscar
Espinosa, who stole $46 million from the city in the
90s (that we know about), in jail? We all know the
answer: he buys judges.

I think the biggest institutional difference between
Mexico and Canada, now that the IFE is doing a fine
(though not perfect) job with elections, is the
justice system. I have to be careful here, because,
though I deeply respect the Canadian system, it's hard
to describe that without giving the impression that I
think it's perfect. It isn't. But it is pretty hard to
get away with bribing a judge in Canada (much harder
than in the U.S., I might add). That raises a
question: how did our "just" justice system evolve?
150 years ago, in England, the system wasn't much
better than the one in Mexico today. No one has been
able to answer that question to my satisfaction. Maybe
you could explore that with jurists in Canada.

A wonderful Canadian/English parliamentary
institution, whose origins I do not know, is Question
Period. Today it is a bastion of democracy, where the
Executive has to account for itself every day that
Parliament is in session. Over time it has caused
cabinet ministers to resign and governments to fall.
Only the British parliamentary system has it. How did
it evolve?

My column, which originally appeared in the Mexico
City edition of the Miami Herald, was under the
headline "It's the Institutions, Stupid!", a reference
to the successful theme of Bill Clinton's first
presidential campaign: "It's the Economy, Stupid!" I
changed the headline for MexiData because they like a
"Mexico" in the headline, since it will then be picked
up by web crawlers.

What is the web site of your publication? I'd like to
see what else you are writing. We must get together
for a coffee or a beer when you are in Mexico. I don't
know when I will be in Toronto. My son used to live
there, but he works with Scotiabank and, lucky for me,
they transferred him to Scotiabank/Inverlat, so he's
here in town.

Ken


--- sergio granillo wrote:

>
> Kenneth Emmond
>
> MexiData.info
>
>
>
> Dear Mr. Emmond:
>
>
>
> A friend sent me the text about your most recent
> column "Mexico's institutions the key to
> corruption", regarding politics in Mexico and
> Canada.
>
>
>
> I was surprised, because I wrote something very
> similar...
>
>
>
> I am a Mexican journalist, just moved in to Toronto
> as landed immigrant; for a year I have written a
> column (first from Mexico, now from Toronto) in a
> small Hispanic newspaper, El Correo Canadiense.
>
>
>
> We share some ideas about Mexico and Canada
> politics.
>
>
>
> I assume that you speak Spanish, because my column
> is written in this language.
>
>
>
> Just wanted to let you know this unusual situation,
> and if possible, would like to receive your comments
> about it.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
>
>
> Sergio Granillo
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Net: La mejor conexión a internet y 25MB
> extra a tu correo por $100 al mes.
>


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