To the consternation of Democrats, and to the delight of Republicans, Mexico's illegitimate government, headed by Calderon, continues to demonstrate just how Reactionary it is.
Let's examine what his Secretary of Health, Jose Cordova Villalobos, a man whose extremist beliefs would make even Bush blush, has said with respect to condom use. Let's review a recent interview he gave to El Excelsior.
I will first cite the story, then provide a translation.
http://www.nuevoexcelsior.com.mx/...
El secretario de Salud, José Córdova Villalobos, reveló que la dependencia a su cargo afina estrategias para impulsar campañas de prevención que privilegiarán la educación a través de los padres de familia por encima de cualquier otro método preventivo, anticonceptivo o de interrupción del embarazo.
El funcionario dejó claro que las políticas para prevenir los más de 500 mil embarazos anuales en adolescentes, la promoción del uso del condón para evitar infecciones y el respeto a la diversidad sexual serán muy distintas a las que hasta ahora se han utilizado.
Entrevistado por Excélsior, Córdova Villalobos criticó las campañas que la Secretaría de Salud realizó el sexenio pasado para evitar la transmisión de enfermedades sexuales, pues considera que con frecuencia sus mensajes más que prevenir, promovían prácticas de mayor riesgo.
Roughly translated...
The Secretary of Health, Jose Cordova Villalobos, stated that he is drafting a strategy to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but that it will favor parental involvement over any other method, whether it be contraception or abortion.
The Secretary made it very clear that the methods that he will use to prevent the more than 500,000 unwanted pregnancies in adolescents, which have included the promotion of condom use to avoid STDs and the respect for sexual diversity, will be very different from what they have been in the past.
In an interview with Excelsior, Cordova Villalobos criticized the sexual education campaigns which the Secretary of Health realized during the previous six years, arguing that instead of promoting responsible sexual conduct, they have promoted high-risk behavior.
The Secretary goes on and addresses sexual education campaigns that aired during Fox's six years....
http://www.nuevoexcelsior.com.mx/...
Ese tipo de campañas se hicieron con regular frecuencia en el sexenio pasado, incluso hubo algunas críticas al hecho de que se promoviera abiertamente el uso del condón.
¿Habrá cambios en ese sentido?
Creo que debe privilegiarse, sobre todo, lo que es educación, debe privilegiarse la promoción de la salud y deben privilegiarse las acciones que tienen más impacto.
¿Y cuáles son?
Es que de repente hay acciones que más que prevención parecían hacer promoción de prácticas de mayor riesgo.
Roughly translated...
Q. Those types of campaigns aired frequently during the last six years. In fact, some even complained that the campaigns overtly promoted condom use. Will there be any changes to this message?
A. I believe that we should emphasize, above all, that what is education, we should favor good health, and we should emphasize high-impact policies.
Q. And what would those be?
A. Well, there are actions that, instead of promoting good health, appear to be promoting high-risk behavior.
How has the Mexican Right reacted to having a RightWing reactionary as head of the Secretary of Health? Specifically, let's see what the organization Pro-Vida (which has very close ties to similar organizations in the US, and which worked with the Mexican Catholic hierarchy and with Calderon in distributing anti-AMLO voter guides during the July presidential election) has said with respect to Cordova's view on condoms.
From their website.
http://www.comiteprovida.org/...
El mal llamado "sexo seguro" ha resultado todo un engaño que ha cobrado víctimas inocentes. Actualmente se ha cambiado el concepto de "sexo seguro" por "sexo protegido" debido a la falsa sensación de "seguridad" que el uso de preservativos daba sobre todo a los jovenes... Es muy importante conocer las limitaciones de este instrumento para evitar enfermedades y embarazos no deseados, asi como estar concientes que a pesar de su uso, el sexo puede seguir siendo "inseguro". Con base a esta información debidamente respaldada científicamente, cada quien tomará sus propias decisiones.
Roughly translated....
The deceptively called "safe sex" has resulted in a fraud which has taken the lives of innocent victims. We have traded the concept of "safe sex" for "protected sex" due to the false sense of "security" which condoms confer upon our youth. It is very important to note the limitations of this barrier in transmitting STDs and unwanted pregnancies, as well as acknowledging that, despite their use, the sexual act will remain "unsafe". On the basis of this data, which has been scientifically proven, each person con come to their own conclusions.
What has Cordova's point-person on sexual health said with respect to condom use?
http://www.nuevoexcelsior.com.mx/...
El subsecretario de Prevención y Promoción de la Salud de la dependencia, Mauricio Hernández Ávila confirmó que no tienen contemplado promocionar ni distribuir masivamente preservativos porque consideran que esa estrategia no genera cambios en las actitudes de los jóvenes.
Hernández aseguró que estudios realizados por el Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, que dirigió antes de ser nombrado subsecretario, demuestran que las estrategias de promoción del condón, que la Organización Mundial de la Salud recomienda, simplemente no dan resultados. Ni para abatir las prácticas promiscuas, ni para disminuir las que implican riesgo.
Roughly translated...
The Under-Secretary of Health, Mauricio Hernandez Avila, confirmed that he is not considering promoting or distributing condoms, because he doesn't believe that this changes the attitude of Mexican youth.
Hernandez assured us that, according to studies conducted by the National Institute of Public Health, which he led before his recent promotion, the condom distribution strategy recommended by the World Health Organization simply does not work. It does not tamp down on promiscuous behavior, nor does it help prevent risky behavior.
How has the fraudulently selected president of Mexico feel about all this? Well, let's just say that he is relieved that the "pro-promiscuity" policies of former president Fox are a thing of the past.
It is no surprise that Cordova is an extremist when it comes to sexual health. In fact, during Fox's presidential term, Cordova, speaking as a legislator, was an outspoken critic of the then Secretary of Health, accusing him of embracing policies that promoted "libertinaje" (debauchery). Despite this, Calderon, true to his Extremist RightWing roots, named him Secretary of Health.
Then again, Calderon has gone on record stating that scientists have a right to their opinion, and he has a right to his. Now, doesn't that sound exactly like the attitude of a certain president who was also "selected" in a similar fashion by the country's highest Court in 2000.
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Please note that this diary is a LatinoKos diary, and, as such, is open to and encourages any comments having to do with Latin America. Perhaps some of you would like to comment on a recent New York Times lead editorial, which alerted us to the fiasco that has become Chile privatization of social security. This is relevant because Mexico's RightWing government is attempting to privatize the pensions of government workers.
Center-Left AMLO, like the Democratic Party in this country, ardently opposes private accounts. Calderon and his PAN, like the GOP in this country, support them.
There is a difference, a HUGE difference, between the PRD (center-left Mexican political party)/Democratic Party, and the GOP/PAN. The PRD/Democratic Party believe in the power of government, believe that government intervention is essential for economic and social prosperity. The PAN/GOP believe in laissez-faire economics, believe that market mechanisms are all-knowing.
Personally, I throw my hat in the ring with President Clinton and Robert Rubin. Calderon Sycophants do so with Reagan and Bush.
A word from Chile ...
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Everyone who followed the American debate about privatizing Social Security back in 2005 has vivid memories of the Chilean model. Sometimes it seemed impossible to get through any discussion of fixing Social Security without hearing a free- market paean to the way Chile had given its workers control over their own retirement investments, followed by a demand that the United States get on the same boat.
Therefore, it seems worthwhile to note that the Chileans are now bailing water.
In 2007 the Chilean government plans to pursue far-reaching reforms aimed at creating a larger government role in Chileans' old-age security. The reforms are urgently needed. It has been nearly a generation since the regime of General Augusto Pinochet began to supplant Chile's government-supported retirement system with a plan for Chilean workers to save 10 percent of their salaries in private accounts. Today, roughly half of Chile's labor force has either not participated or has not accumulated enough to generate what the government considers a minimum payout of about $140 a month.
more.....