It's
'Better Late Than Never' &
Pedophilia Trial Day here at MexiKos! Believe it or not, there are two, count 'em, two separate pedophilia cases rocking the nation.
In Supreme Court 'Better Late Than Never' Day, the Court carefully ruled in the Presidential election and recount dispute that the solemn role of the Electoral Tribunal was sacred in having the final say in electoral matters, and the Supreme Court should not intervene in such affairs. Yet the Supreme Court
will now intervene in one state's criminal case regarding an accused ring of pedophiles because the governor appears to have violated the rights of the journalist who published the story.
In the Catholic Church 'Better Late Than Never' Day, the same Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera which has been lecturing us on how all those pesky Lopez Obrador supporters need to pipe down and recognize conservative Felipe Calderon as President, has now been
sued in Los Angeles for protecting a pedophile priest who is accused of molesting up to 50 children.
First, a brief from El Universal's English language section on what's going on with this case which the Supreme Court just got involved in:
Court orders further probe of Cacho case
In a surprise ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered further investigation into the arrest and jailing of journalist Lydia Cacho, allegedly orchestrated by Puebla Gov. Mario Marín and an influential businessman
By Jonathan Roeder/The Herald Mexico
El Universal
September 20, 2006
...After a heated session, the 10 justices voted 7-3 to order a deeper probe into the case. They simultaneously rejected a motion arguing there was insufficient evidence to show Cacho´s constitutional rights were violated when she was detained by police on criminal defamation charges that stemmed from her book on sexual exploitation of minors by an organized criminal ring in Cancún.
The court´s 11th justice, Olga Sánchez Cordero, is on vacation.
A tie ruling had been expected after Monday´s session adjourned, but in an unexpected move, two justices changed their positions and voted for the investigation to continue. Chief Justice Mariano Azuela ordered Justice Jesús Gudiño Pelayo to conduct the probe and to present his findings and arguments to the court when he concluded. A deadline was not established.
...the ruling appears to be a victory for Cacho, who has long said that an international network of traffickers dedicated to child prostitution and pornography operates in Mexico with the protection of local authorities.
In December of 2005, police agents arrested Cacho at her home in Cancún and drove her 20 hours to Puebla, where she was jailed to face defamation and libel charges from textile magnate Kamel Nacif. In her book, "The Demons of Eden," Cacho reports that Nacif was a friend of Jean Succar Kuri, who was recently extradited to Mexico from the United States to face charges of sexually exploiting minors.
Justice Genaro Góngora has been the most vocal advocate on the Supreme Court for further investigation into the case. On Tuesday, he cited the adverse conditions under which the nation´s media work - including threats, attacks and even killings in recent years. He argued that journalists´ constitutional right to freedom of expression is at risk, which justifies the Supreme Court´s attention.
One of my favorite academic commentators, John Ackerman had this to say (my translation):
John Ackerman, of the Institute for Legal Investigations of the National Autonomous University, concludes that the Federal Supreme Court decided to do what the Electoral Tribunal would not do in the case of the elections: to take in their own hands the responsibility to investigate in an in-depth manner all the events, and even that it should determination which investigations are to be followed, that is, the degree of participation by the state of Puebla's Governor, Mario Marín Torres, and the role of a network of pederasts in the matter.
And on to another pedophilia-related story topping the news: charges against Mexico's conservative cardinal (and on the short list for the Papacy) Norberto Rivera Carrera gets sued in Los Angeles:
Lawsuit filed against Rivera
El Universal
September 20, 2006
Associated Press
A group of sexual abuse survivors filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Mexico´s top-ranking cardinal, claiming he hid evidence to protect a priest accused of molesting boys.
A lawyer for the Chicago-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in California against Norberto Rivera, who was considered a candidate to replace Pope John Paul II when he died last year.
The network announced in Mexico City that it had filed the lawsuit, saying it would give details in a news conference Wednesday. Rivera´s office promised a statement with its reaction.
The survivors´ group alleges Rivera helped cover up abuse by the Rev. Nicolás Aguilar involving 50 boys when Aguilar served as a parish priest in Puebla in 1987. Rivera was the bishop of Tehuacán at the time.
AIDED AND ABETTED
Rivera, according to the group, later helped in Aguilar´s transfer to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Aguilar has been charged in California with 19 felony counts of committing lewd acts on a child.
The network said as many as 60 alleged victims from both Mexico and the United States have come forward with cases against Aguilar.
Tuesday´s lawsuit was filed on behalf of Joaquín Aguilar, 25, who has no relation to the priest. Joaquín Aguilar said at a news conference in Mexico in December that he was abused by the Rev. Aguilar in 1994 when he was a teenager. He reported it to authorities, he said, but nothing was done.
Norberto Rivera was also the cardinal who demanded that some of Lopez Obrador's supporters stop carrying the figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe to plea for divine intervention to help the Electoral Court to decide to order a full recount.
I'm not sure these are the most important news items in Mexico today, but they appear to be the items topping the news.
Other news, views, comments welcomed below.