An outdoor rock concert kicked off a big public relations push by the city of Juarez to clean up its crime-tarnished image. Called “Competitiva Juarez”, the city-sponsored two-week-long series of business, cultural and trade events is meant to promote a city notorious for sky-high rates of murder and drug fuelled crime.
Mexican President Felipe Calderone spoke at the opening conference. Former New York mayor Rudi Giuliani and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will also make speeches.
Almost five years ago, Mexicans watched their President Felipe Calderon send soldiers out onto the streets of cities like Ciudad Juarez, announcing an unprecedented frontal attack on the country’s drug cartels.
Then, they saw the death toll rise year by year, from around under 3,000 in 2007 to almost 20, 000 in 2010. This year could be even higher.
When I went to Cancun for the Climate Summit in late November, a taxi driver told me that the leve of violence was seriously disrupting the economy - especially tourism - and that he hoped the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) , which ruled Mexico for 70 years, would be brought back to power in the next presidential elections.
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