Economist.com Cities Guide: Mexico City Briefing - October 2005

News this month

Death in the mountains

A helicopter crash in the mountains outside Mexico City on September 21st killed Ramon Martin Huerta, Mexico's secretary of public security, and eight other people. Mr Martin Huerta played an essential part in the country's crackdown on drug cartels and its move to tighten prison security. He was also a close friend and ally of Vicente Fox, Mexico's president. The accident has shaken Mexico's law-enforcement establishment. Tomas Valencia, the chief of the federal police, was among the casualties.

The helicopter had been on its way to a maximum-security prison in the state of Mexico. The crash appears to have been caused by fog and there is no evidence of foul play. But the fact that it took authorities over six hours to find the crash site has provoked criticism of investigative incompetence. Although the president’s spokesman said that Mr Martin Huerta had received death threats, the public security ministry has denied this.

Police 1 Kidnappers 0

After 65 days in captivity, Rubén Omar Romano, the Argentine coach of Mexico City's Cruz Azul football team and a victim of a kidnapping, was rescued by the Federal Investigative Police in late September. Federal agents stormed a three-storey house in the capital's Iztapalapa neighbourhood without firing a shot, capturing seven kidnappers in the raid. The kidnapping was apparently masterminded from a prison in Mexico City, and those involved had demanded $5m for Mr Romano's release.

The police siege resolved a long-standing mystery about Mr Romano's whereabouts. He was abducted by gun-wielding kidnappers as he was leaving a training session this summer; his team had to defend their second-place status in the league without him. Alejandro Encinas Rodríguez, Mexico City's mayor, has promised to ban mobile-phone calls from inside prisons, to prevent something like this from happening again.

19% more reasons to visit

But there is some good news on Mexico City's crime front. Julieta Campos, the city’s secretary of tourism, announced that crimes against tourists fell by 19% in 2005, compared with the same period in 2004. Ms Campos credited the reduction to a new programme of patrols in the most touristy areas, although many crimes probably go unreported.

Touchdown!

On October 2nd, a crowd of 103,467 people gathered in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium to watch an American football match between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers. This was the first National Football League game played outside America during the regular season, and the Cardinals won 31-14. The exercise was good news for the league, which is seeking to increase its popularity in Mexico, largely to sell more merchandise. It was also an important win for the hapless Cardinals, who had yet to record a victory in America this season. The crowd, which lustily cheered both sides in the match, was the biggest ever in regular-season American football history.

Massacre on film

Mexico seems to be luring and inspiring filmmakers, but for reasons locals are inclined to lament. Shooting will soon start for “Tlatelolco: Mexico 68”, a film directed by Leopoldo Gout, a Mexican, about a dark chapter in Mexico's history. It is about the massacre at Tlatelolco in October 1968, when Mexican security forces killed at least 200 people. This was after months of student protests at the National Autonomous University, and days before Mexico City hosted the Olympics. What exactly happened is still unclear, and it continues to be a rallying point for Mexico's left. The film will star John Leguizamo, a Colombian actor, and Ryan Phillippe, an American.

News of the film comes on the heels of two others that will address a more recent mystery: a series of gruesome murders of women in the border town of Ciudad Juarez. “The Virgin of Juarez” will star Minnie Driver, while “Bordertown” will feature Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas.

Catch if you can

October 2005

Contemporary Indian and Chinese art at the Museo Tamayo

Until November 27th 2005

Asia comes to Mexico in these two exhibits. The Indian show, “The Edge of Desire” (until November 27th), is enormous and comprehensive, yet somehow convinces that the best works never left the country. There is some interesting satire, as in Atul Dodige’s mural of Vladimir Putin, his wife, and Bill and Chelsea Clinton visiting the Taj Mahal (pictured), or Ravi Kashi’s panel of painted TV screens, showing strippers and bombing B-52s. But on the whole, the Indians are outshined by their northern neighbours.

The Chinese exhibit, “Unspeakable Happiness” (until October 9th), is considerably smaller, but feels more modern. Liu Qinghe uses a traditional figurative style in his ink portraits of women. “She: A Retired Worker” by Yu Hong melds a photograph of a worker with a painting of her family. The video installations here put even the security guards to sleep, but the rest is well worth seeing.

Museo Tamayo, Reforma and Gandhi, Polanco, Open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm. Tel (+52) 55 5286-6519. See the museum’s website.

More from the Mexico City cultural calendar