(ANTIMEDIA) San Diego, CA — Long-simmering social tensions in Mexico are threatening to boil over as failing neoliberal reforms to the country’s formerly nationalized gas sector are compounded by open corruption, stagnant standards of living, and rampant inflation.

The U.S. media has remained mostly mute on the situation in Mexico, even as the unfolding civil unrest has closed the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, California, several times in the past week. Ongoing “gasolinazo” protests in Mexico over a 20 percent rise is gas prices have led to over 400 arrests, 250 looted stores, and six deaths. Roads are being blockaded, borders closed, and government buildings are being sacked. Protests have remained relatively peaceful overall, except for several isolated violent acts, which activists have blamed on government infiltrators.

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The few mainstream news reports that have covered the situation blame rising gas prices but fail to examine several other factors that are pushing Mexico to the brink of revolution.
‘Narco-state’ corruption

The narco-state, or as Mexican activists say, “el narco-gobierno,” is a term used to describe the open corruption between the Mexican government and drug cartels. The narco-state has been in the headlines lately over the kidnapping and presumed murder of 43 Ayotzinapa students in Iguala, Guerrero, in 2014. This has been a source of continuous anti-government protests ever since.

Though the kidnappings remain officially unsolved, members of the Guerrero Unidos drug cartel have admitted to colluding with local police forces to silence the student activists. Twenty police officers have been arrested in association with the kidnapping. Former Iguala police chief Felipe Flores has been arrested and “accused of offenses including organized crime and kidnapping the students,” the AP reports. The corruption apparently goes all the way to the top, as federal authorities say former Iguala mayor José Luis Abarca personally ordered the kidnappings.
One Mexican activist who wished to remain anonymous told Anti-Media that “a lot of people think it’s only the gasoline prices, but the price of gas is just the straw that broke the camel’s back. It all started with Ayotzinapa.”

Much like the U.S., the Mexican government is susceptible to corporate influence. It just so happens that the most influential corporate entities in Mexico are drug cartels — and it’s hard for the government to reign in entities that fund and infiltrate it. Similar to the phenomenon of “regulatory capture,” the Mexican government is at least partially funded and co-opted by drug cartels. This festering problem is an underlying factor in the current civil unrest in Mexico.

Neoliberal policies left the working class behind

NAFTA was a contentious issue in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, but it’s just as controversial in Mexico, if not more so. The grand 1994 “free trade” scheme, signed into law by Bill Clinton, saw a dramatic redesign of both the U.S. and Mexican economic landscapes. Corn farmers, long a vital factor in Mexico’s peasant farming economy, were wiped out by low-priced corn subsidized by the U.S. government, which immediately flooded Mexican markets after NAFTA was passed. The Mexican immigration crisis at the U.S.’ southern border soon followed.

Meanwhile, manufacturing plants soon began moving into Mexico from the U.S. to take advantage of extremely cheap labor — leaving many workers in the U.S. out of a job. American agricultural corporations like Driscoll’s have recently come under fire for employing slave-like labor conditions to produce boutique organic fruit for U.S. consumers. Protests for workers rights in Mexico, which recently raised its minimum wage to 80 pesos (~$4) per day, are often met with heavy-handed police crackdowns.

Incoming President Trump has capitalized on two issues caused by NAFTA — the immigration crisis and outsourcing of U.S. jobs — and his reactionary protectionist economic policies will undoubtedly make Mexico’s predicament even worse.

Mexico’s nationalized oil conglomerate, Pemex, has been plagued by falling production for years. Corruption, which is inherent to state-run institutions, has condemned Mexico’s gas industry to inefficiency and stalled innovation. Theft has become a widespread issue, and oil workers were recently caught red-handed siphoning gas directly out of pipelines.

Supposedly to ramp up production and lower prices, the Mexican government pushed through neoliberal privatization schemes in 2013 and 2014, which were backed by U.S. oil interests and incubated by the Hillary Clinton-run State Department. President Enrique Peña Nieto promised the reforms would result in increased production and lower fuel prices, though production has fallen and prices spiked 20 percent on January 1st. Prices are expected to rise even further, as fuel subsidies will be completely phased out by March 2017. Peña Nieto claims the prices must go up to match international prices, though consumers in the U.S. currently pay less for gas than Mexicans.

Peña Nieto’s neoliberal reforms have fallen flat as economic growth has been anemic for years and wealth inequality has grown out of control.
Rampant inflation in Mexico

Perhaps the biggest driver of the current civil upheaval in Mexico is out of control inflation coupled with the value of the peso reaching record lows. Mexican workers are already stretched thin financially as minimum wage hovers at four U.S. dollars per day. Food prices, which were on the rise before the gas price increases, are set to climb 20 percent or more as they correlate closely with prices at the pump.

According to Zero Hedge, in Mexico, it currently takes “the equivalent of 12 days of a minimum wage to fill a tank of gas — compared to the U.S.’ seven hours.” People who don’t drive will also feel the pain, as public transportation costs are likely to rise with fuel prices. Rising gas prices also put downward pressure on the rest of the Mexican economy as workers spend more money on gas and less on consumer goods.

The Mexican government’s deficit spending and Trump’s tough talk on trade have been factors in devaluing the peso, making everything in Mexico more expensive for the working class and driving the general discontent that makes the country a hotbed of unrest.
***
Overall, no one factor can be blamed for causing extreme levels of unrest in Mexico. Before the Ayotzinapa student kidnappings, Mexico was already seeing widespread protests, marches, and strikes. The last several presidential elections have been contested, and the current administration of Enrique Peña Nieto has only a 22 percent approval rating. The general feeling of helplessness in the face of narco-state corruption and economic insecurity is not going away with the next election or protest, and wealth inequality in the country is beyond remedy. Mexico is ripe for revolution. Whether it’s triggered now by the gas gouging and subsequent inflation or in the near future, it’s coming — and we should be talking about it.

One day after totally shutting down CNN's Jim Acosta at his first press conference as President-elect, Trump continues to hammer CNN tweeting that they're "in a total meltdown with their FAKE NEWS because their ratings are tanking since election and their credibility will soon be gone!"

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.@CNN is in a total meltdown with their FAKE NEWS because their ratings are tanking since election and their credibility will soon be gone!
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Of course this is likely, at least in part, a reaction to a clash that occured last night between CNN's Anderson Cooper and Kellyanne Conway in which Cooper, despite his network's clear reporting errors, said "I think you guys are feeling the heat. [Our report] was actually backed up by not only by multiple sources but other news agencies." Of course, Conway was quick to shut down Cooper's deflection:

“What heat do we feel? That you’ve got this raw information, this complete ridiculous fake news?”

“I know CNN must be feeling the heat today of having a headline yesterday at around 6:30 p.m. that said, quote, ‘Intel chiefs presented Trump with information that Russia had information to compromise him. That is just false.”

“It has not been backed up by credible news sources. Actually, it’s just fake, it’s not even news, I can’t even use ‘news’ for it.”



* * *

For those who missed it, here are the epic exchanges from yesterday.

In an epic (mutual) trolling between president-elect Trump on one hand and BuzzFeed and CNN, on the other, the two media organizations which issued yesterday's unsubstantiated report about Russia having compromising information on the president-elect, Trump first addressed the question of why he referred to Nazi Germany, saying it is "disgraceful" that intelligence communities would allow the release of any information. "That's something Nazi Germany would have done and did do," he says.

He then unleashed on Buzzfeed which alone published the 35-page memo behind the Russian allegations, saying "Buzzfeed which is a failing pile of garbage... will suffer the consequences"

And then, in an even more stunning episode, Trump slammed CNN reporter Jim Acosta, who he also called out during the presser over their report on a two-page synopsis they claim was presented to Trump.

With Trump looking to call on other reporters, Jim Acosta yelled out, “Since you are attacking us, can you give us a question?”

“Not you,” Trump said. “Your organization is terrible!”

Acosta pressed on, “You are attacking our news organization, can you give us a chance to ask a question, sir?” Trump countered by telling him “don’t be rude.”

“I’m not going to give you a question,” Trump responded. “Don't be rude. I’m not going to give you a question. You are fake news!” Trump responded, before calling on a reporter from Breitbart.





A snubbed Jim Acosta then tweeted the following: "Fortunately ABC's Cecilia Vega asked my question about whether any Trump associates contacted Russians. Trump said no."

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Fortunately ABC's Cecilia Vega asked my question about whether any Trump associates contacted Russians. Trump said no.
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Trump also had some "kind words" for the BBC:



* * *

These exchanges followed an initial statement by Trump spokesman Sean Spicer who said that "for all the talk lately about 'fake news,' this political witch hunt by some in the media...is frankly shameful & disgraceful.... Highly irresponsible for a left-wing blog... to drop highly salacious and flat out false information on the Internet."

Following this, we expect the war between Trump and the media in general, or at least CNN in particular, to reach biblical proportions.

Here is a listing of the countries where the CIA has interfered since the late 1940’s, either in their elections or by supporting military or political coups. It seems to me that the hand-wringing going on today over Russia’s alleged interference in the recent US election is the height of hypocrisy. Apparently, it is okay for the US to interfere whenever they want, but it is not okay for others to interfere in our own political process. Such double standards are severely condemned in Scripture, and Jesus Himself said that men would be judged according to the way that they treated others (Matthew 7:2).

http://theduran.com/the-list-of-foreign-governments-overthrown-by-the-us-and-cia-is-massive/

On December 23, 2016 the United Nations passed a resolution, with the US representative abstaining, to enforce their original division of Palestine and to create a two-state solution.

Many Christians are crying foul, as if the Palestinian state has no right to exist. They cite Joel 3:2, where God says He will judge those who “have divided up My land.” But prophecy is not always what men think it is. Oftentimes, in order for prophecy to be fulfilled, God has to blind people, for if they truly understood it, they would try to avoid it or would work against it.

A good example of this is when the chief priests crucified Jesus. (No, it was not the Romans who did it.) None of them understood that the sacrifices all prophesied of Jesus and His death on the cross to redeem the world. They did not know that it was necessary for Him to die to fulfill His mission. Their only motive was to prevent Him from claiming the position as Messiah, because He would have fired them from their positions of power and (worse yet) He would have made peace with the Romans!

So they blindly crucified Him, thinking they could dispose of their problem, not realizing that they were, in fact, fulfilling prophecy. Furthermore, the priests had to do it, because they were the only ones eligible to offer acceptable sacrifices to God at that time. There was no prophecy that commanded non-priests (such as the Romans) to make such a sacrifice.

So also has God blinded most of the Christians today in regard to the prophecy of the restoration of Israel and, in particular, the division of “My land.”

The Partition of Palestine

On November 29, 1947 the United Nations passed the Palestinian Resolution after debating it for eight days. The resolution called for a “Partition of Palestine,” giving the Zionist Jews a “homeland,” a portion of Palestinian land. That resolution did not call for a Jewish “state,” but only set up a Jewish “homeland.” That point, in fact, was debated hotly before it was passed. In other words, the UN did not give the Zionists the right to create their own Jewish “state.” The State was declared by the Zionist leaders on May 14, 1948, and this went beyond the terms of the UN resolution. From that point on, the Jewish state was at odds with the United Nations, but in spite of resolution after resolution, the US either vetoed them or the Israelis ignored them.

Nonetheless, the Church hailed this division as a great fulfillment of prophecy. At the time, no one raised the question of dividing the land, because that division benefited Zionist interests at the expense of the Palestinians. Zionists were given a piece of the pie, but the Zionists then wanted the whole pie.

Yet today, when the UN tries to enforce that earlier partition, the Zionist Christians are crying foul. They were happy to accept the 1947 resolution, but now they think it is a travesty. Why? Because in the interim, the Israelis have ignored more than 30 UN resolutions and have gone far past their mandate. Now they claim the entire land and blame the Palestinians for not leaving immediately. They blame the Palestinians for wanting a place to live. A Palestinian state does not have the right to exist! Conversely, they complain that the Palestinians deny the Jewish state’s “right to exist.” It is the pot calling the kettle black.

The Church was happy to accept a Palestinian state alongside of a Jewish homeland in 1947. They rejoiced when the resolution was passed. By the Spirit, they agreed to this. In fact, their entire foundation of modern prophecy rests upon that Palestinian Resolution that divided the land. Without it, the Palestinians own it all. Without it, there is no division of the land. Ignoring this, they appeal directly to prophecy, as if prophecy is divorced from His law. No, prophecy is based upon His law and to be valid, it must be fulfilled in a lawful manner. When prophecy is lawless, you can be sure that some are misunderstanding and misapplying it.

From the standpoint of spiritual authority, keep in mind that in 1947 the church under Pentecost still had full spiritual authority in the world, as they fulfilled the pattern of King Saul. Saul had not died yet, for the man reigned 40 years, and the church was to reign 40 Jubilees, ending in 1993. Hence, when the church, acting as Saul, agreed to the UN resolution in 1947, their decision was written in the courts of heaven—for better or for worse.

Fulfilling Prophecy by the Power of the Flesh

If you do not understand how this works, study the story of Joshua’s covenant with the Gibeonites and how God judged Saul for violating that covenant three hundred years later. Saul was a nationalist and thought that God did not care about Gibeonites. He believed that the land should not be divided and that only Israelites should inherit the land. He loved only Israel, after all, so he thought he could get away with killing or expelling these non-chosen people. But many years later God judged Israel with a famine. (2 Samuel 21:1).

When men try to fulfill prophecy by carnal understanding, they bring judgment upon themselves and other people. Jacob had to learn that hard lesson as well, after lying to his father (Genesis 27:19) to fulfill the prophecy that “the older will serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23). When men sin in order to make prophecy happen by the power of the flesh, it shows their lack of faith in the sovereignty of God. Their faith is not yet perfect.

Zionism is a Fleshly Movement

Zionism is based on the assumption that the Jews are allowed to duplicate the calling of Joshua in his conquest of Canaan. That conquest, accomplished by physical swords, was in turn based upon the Old Covenant (Exodus 19), where God came as fire, shook the mountain, and spoke the Ten Commandments. But the people were too fearful to hear the voice of God for themselves, so they ran from the mount and told Moses to hear God and to tell them what God said (Exodus 20:18-21).

This day was thereafter celebrated as the Feast of Weeks, which was later known by the Greek term Pentecost. Not having the ability to hear God’s voice for themselves cut them off from the provision of the New Covenant and postponed the fulfillment of Pentecost for 1480 years. When the 120 disciples gathered in the upper room to hear God’s voice for themselves, they fulfilled the feast where Israel had failed in the time of Moses.

The word of God is the Sword of the Spirit, by which the Great Commission was to be accomplished. The second Joshua (Jesus) knew the heart of His Father, and He understood that the Father’s desire was not to kill Canaanite unbelievers, but to convert them and incorporate them into His Kingdom. But to do this required a spiritual sword coming from one’s mouth as a sharp, fiery sword. This was the sword that the Israelites failed to receive under Moses. Being left only with physical swords, their mandate was to conquer Canaan by carnal warfare.

That Old Covenant, however, is no longer valid, for both Israel and Judah invalidated it by their persistent disobedience. Jesus brought in a New Covenant, which called for new and better methods of conquering and establishing the Kingdom. Zionism does not recognize that new method, even though it comes from the heart of God. So the Zionists have sought to exterminate the Palestinians or to drive them out of the land in the same way that happened under the Old Covenant.

Those who remain under the yoke of Judaism are blind to the New Covenant, thinking that the New Covenant is simply a revival of the Old Covenant. I understand that. But Christians ought to know better. Yet most Christians too are blind to the distinctions between the two covenants. This blindness causes them to support Old Covenant actions as if they are still valid. This is the “leaven” in Pentecostal offering (Leviticus 23:17), which can only be resolved by the “fire” of the Holy Spirit’s baptism.

This blindness causes Christians to act like King Saul. Though Saul’s anointing was valid, his methods were not, and in the end, Saul was replaced by David, who represents the overcomers.

The Jewish state was founded by carnally-minded Zionists who not only had rejected Jesus Christ but were also Jewish apostates. Judaism itself had long established the principle that Jews should not return to the old land until the Messiah had come. But Zionism broke that principle, and there are many Jewish groups today who are quite vocal about it.

Zionism is not founded upon the love of God, but upon the love for Israel. The difference is that the Father’s love is all-inclusive; the love of Israel is exclusive. The law of God commands Israel to apply the law of love equally to all men, including foreigners. The laws of the Zionists command men to kill or oppress their non-Jewish neighbors. When the Palestinians try to defend themselves, they are blamed for terrorism and murder.

But who started this terrorism and murder? It was not the Palestinians who immigrated to Europe to oppress the Jews and to take their land. Those who live by the Old Covenant do not really know God, nor understand His love or even His law. Jesus did, however, and that is why He treated Samaritans, Greeks, and even Romans with respect and with love. This aggravated the Jewish leaders to no end.

The Case of Mistaken Identity

Joel 3:2 says “they have divided up My land.” Who did this? It does not say directly. To learn the answer, one must look at Ezekiel 35 and 36. These are the prophecies about Edom (Greek: Idumea), the descendants of Esau who had desired to inherit that land and who begrudged Jacob for getting the land as his inheritance. The prophet puts words in Edom’s mouth, saying, “These two nations and these two lands [Israel and Judah] will be mine, and we will possess them” (Ezekiel 35:10).

Joel 3:19 lists Edom among the adversaries dividing “My land,” but Joel does not specifically tell us that Edom is the problem. But Ezekiel 36:5 speaks of “Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession.”

The Palestinians are not Edom, though some have tried to identity them as Edom for propaganda purposes. Anyone can look up the history of Edom or Idumea in any history book or any encyclopedia. All historians agree that Edom was conquered by Judah and forced to convert to Judaism around 126-125 B.C. Historians further tell us that from then on, the nation of Edom ceased to exist as a separate nation. In other words, as The Jewish Encyclopedia itself has said, “Edom is in modern Jewry.”

Hence, if you want to condemn men for “dividing My land,” look to Edom, which is in modern Jewry. They are the ones who have appropriated God’s land for themselves. They are the ones who have divided the land for themselves. A century ago they pressured the UN to divide the land in order to give Jewish immigrants a foothold. Once they established a foothold, then they “appropriated My land for themselves,” trying to take both Israel and Judah for themselves, as Ezekiel prophesies.

Zionists now call for divine judgment upon those who divide the land. They do not realize that they are calling for judgment upon the Israeli state itself. Few understand the principle of God, who shows mercy to the merciful. God often allows men to judge themselves by deceiving them into thinking that they are judging other people. God ends up judging men and nations by the very standard by which they judge others.

That is what is happening today. Christian Zionists have aligned with Jewish Zionists under the Old Covenant to pass judgment upon the Palestinians as if they were ancient Canaanites. But God has blinded their eyes in order to see what is in their hearts and judge all parties equally. Expect to see this come to a climax by the end of 2017, which is the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Resolution. We may also see a secondary event in May of 2018, marking the 70th anniversary of the Israeli state, which was founded May 14, 1948.

For a more complete history of this, see my book, The Struggle for the Birthright.

Yep, you waited for it and here it is:

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Things that make you go hmmmm....

Elle seems to be ignoring your post and I wonder why???

KOBLENZ, Germany — Declaring that 2017 will be the “year of the awakening of the people of continental Europe,” French nationalist presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen joined fellow nationalists Saturday at a conference in Germany to a show of populist confidence as Europe faces a series of high-stakes national elections.

Matteo Salvini (Lega Nord Italy), Harald Vilimsky (FPÖ Austria) Geert Wilders (PVV Netherlands), Marcus Pretzell (AfD Germany), Marine Le Pen (NF France), Frauke Petry (AfD Germany), Gerolf Annemans (Vlaams Belang Belgium)

Nationalist parties have been surging in polls in Europe and the leaders’ mood was celebratory as they came together in support of one another, the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president following a campaign buoyed by anti-establishment and protectionist themes.

A unique currency is an instrument capable of destroying the EU economy, and countries should be able to leave the euro if they want, leader of the French National Front (FN) Marine Le Pen said at a gathering of Europe’s right-wing parties in Germany.

“I don’t say every country has to leave the euro… But we have to leave the possibility if a country wants to leave,” she said, and the audience welcomed the words with loud applause, according to Reuters. She added that a “unique currency” is an instrument “to destroy the economy.”

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"Nous vivons la fin d'un monde et la naissance d'un autre ! C'est le retour des États-Nations !" #Koblenz
7:06 AM - 21 Jan 2017
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Speaking at a meeting in Koblenz, Germany described as an “EU counter-summit,” she predicted Brexit would trigger a domino effect.

“The key factor that is going to set in course all the dominoes of Europe is Brexit. A sovereign people chose… to decide its destiny itself,” Le Pen said.

“We are experiencing the end of one world and the birth of another. It’s a return to the nation states.”

According to Le Pen, 2017 will be “the year of the awakening of people of continental Europe.”

Le Pen called the EU “a force of sterilization,” adding that “everyone sees that this migration policy is a daily disaster.”

One of the speakers at the gathering, which comes one day after Donald Trump was sworn in as US president, was Dutch right-wing MEP Geert Wilders.

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“Yesterday, a new America. Today, hello Koblenz, a new Europe!” Wilders said.

“The people of the west are awakening. They are throwing off the yoke of political correctness. This year will be the year of the people… the year of liberation, the year of the patriotic spring.”

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Proud to be with the leaders of the new Europe, @MLP_officiel and @FraukePetry
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AfD co-chair Frauke Petry once against criticized the migrant policy of Germany, saying that Berlin calls for tolerance,“while hundreds of thousands, millions, of mostly illiterate young men from a far and partly violent culture invade our continent.”

In the meantime, around 3,000 activists protesting against the summit of the right wing parties have gathered outside the venue of the ‘Freedom for Europe’ congress in Koblenz, AFP reported, citing organizers.

“Koblenz stays colourful – No room for rightwing populism,” banners held by demonstrators read.

Demonstrators block the street to a hotel where a meeting of European nationalists is planned in Koblenz, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.