Mexico: descent into chaosMexican executives up security after former senator disappears
Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, a Mexican lawyer and 1994 presidential candidate, had been taken forcibly from his ranch in Queretaro state on 15 May and never heard from since; one business leader says: “With a person of this stature falling victim to this kind of circumstance, the sense of vulnerability increases for everyone in society and we all become more worried”; drug-trafficker turf wars and kidnapping gangs have elevated the cost of doing business and hurt Mexico’s ability to attract foreign investment
The missing Mexican Senator Diego Fernandez de Cevallos with wife Liliana in May, 2010 // Source: sicontexto.com
Mexican executives are spending more on personal security and reducing their activities after a former senator disappeared, Monterrey businessman Marcelo Canales said. Canales, part owner of the Mexican airline Aeromexico and the closely held aluminum-products maker Verzatec, called on authorities to speed up efforts to find Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, a lawyer and 1994 presidential candidate who may have been taken forcibly from his ranch in Queretaro state on 15 May.
“With a person of this stature falling victim to this kind of circumstance, the sense of vulnerability increases for everyone in society and we all become more worried,” said Canales, who is the president of the Nuevo Leon chapter of the business group Coparmex, at a news conference today in Monterrey.
Bloomberg Businessweek’s Thomas Black writes that drug-trafficker turf wars and kidnapping gangs have elevated the cost of doing business and hurt Mexico’s ability to attract foreign investment, Canales said. More private security is not going to solve the problem and the government has to ensure citizens’ safety as its most basic function, he said. “We live in a society that has fear,” Canales said. “A society that has fear for its physical well-being and that of its children doesn’t function properly.”
A way to combat organized crime is to eliminate government corruption, which has escalated over the decade, Canales said. For example, government officials constantly demand bribes to obtain permits and documents at the city, state and federal levels, he said.
Corruption weakens government institutions and provides “fertile ground” for organized crime to operate, Canales said. “We’ve all been victims of a bribery attempt and we’re tired of it,” Canales said. “We have to say, ‘Enough is enough.’”
