Rodolfo Torre slaying puts many spotlight on peso, border security

The recent assassination of popular Mexican gubernatorial candidate Rodolfo Torre has proven that the northeast Mexican state of Tamaulipas is not just a flash point in Mexico’s drug war, but of great concern within the ongoing battle for U.S. border security. It was reported by Reuters 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 party of 16 hooded gunmen is designed 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

Mexico’s drug war has claimed a lot more than 25,000 lives since 2006, when violent gun battles began spilling to 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 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 in the media aren't helping this trend. In addition, local stocks remained flat as all of this news out of the recent G-20 summit point toward an end to fiscal stimulus in the region.

Border security is apparently influencing Mexico's credit picture

The Wall Street Journal reports that Credit Suisse has had some optimistic 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. Furthermore, 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 more openly than ever before,” Credit Suisse explained. “We are not sure this is as bad as it gets on the security front, unfortunately.”

Watching closely is Washington

The United States is no doubt taking notice of this. The death of Rodolfo Torre is apparently just a stone’s throw from American soil has the U.S. on alert. Border security against bold drug cartels just a 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 dangers of illegal immigration.

A lot more data accessible at these web sites:

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