Rodolfo Torre slaying puts spotlight on peso, border security

The recent assassination of popular Mexican gubernatorial candidate Rodolfo Torre has proven once a lot more the northeast Mexican state of Tamaulipas is not only a flash point in Mexico’s drug war, but of great concern within the ongoing battle for U.S. border security. Reuters reports that Torre – an opposition candidate representing the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) – was slain along with four of his aides in the border town of Valle Hermoso. The responsible group of 16 hooded gunmen is believed to represent the notorious Los Zetas gang.

Article source: Rodolfo Torre slaying puts spotlight on peso, border security by Personal Money Store

Border security agents and investors are worried because of Rodolfo Torre's killing

Since it began in 2006, Mexico’s drug war has claimed a lot more than 25,000 lives, when violent gun battles started spilling into the streets, but Rodolfo Torre’s death is allegedly the largest-scale example to date of a drug cartel attempting to influence Mexico’s politics. Tourists are reportedly avoiding Tamaulipas and numerous of the foreign investors have bailed on the peso in large numbers. Reuters explains that its recent position at 12.71 per $ 1 U.S. was .46 percent weaker. Televised images of Rodolfo Torre’s body within the media don't seem to help to reverse this trend. In addition, local stocks remained flat as news out of the recent G-20 summit point toward an end to fiscal stimulus in the region.

Border security is influencing Mexico’s credit picture

According to the Wall Street Journal, Credit Suisse has had some positive things to say about Mexico’s financial condition. Particularly, Credit Suisse praised the nation’s “record or near-record low yields on government debt,” and pointed out that Mexico’s central bank is enjoying a level of inflation that rests within what experts consider to be a comfort zone. The inflation level has ranged from 2 to 4 percent of late. Also, Credit Suisse believes that Mexico’s recovering growth is, “as good as it gets.”

On the down side, Mexico’s ongoing drug war violence has given creditors pause. “The violence problem has worsened notably in 2010, with the number of drug-related killings making new highs, and with organized crime defying the state a lot more openly than ever before,” added Credit Suisse. “We aren’t sure this is as bad as it gets on the security front, sadly.”

Washington is watching very closely

The United States appears to be noticing. The death of Rodolfo Torre just a stone’s throw from American soil has the U.S. on alert. Border security against bold drug cartels is no small measure in American politics, from the president’s funding of additional forces to the ongoing immigration debates. While Los Zetas may not represent all illegal traffic that crosses the U.S. border, their actions do little to dissuade states like Arizona from abandoning their own bold stance against the risks of illegal immigration.

A lot more data about this topic at these websites:

Reuters

reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN28512369

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100628-709931.html

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Zetas

Rodolfo Torre campaign video (en Español):

youtube.com/watch?v=FqAtnZ6B5BE