Source:EFE
President Barack Obama devoted part of his speech at Wednesday’s Forum on American Latino Heritage to ask Hispanics to demand that Congress approve his jobs program, an initiative he said would benefit 35 million members of the U.S. Hispanic community.
“We will keep organizing and we will keep pressuring and we will keep voting until this Congress finally meets its responsibilities and actually does something to put people back to work and improve the economy,” Obama said during the event in Washington.
It was not the first time he used an encounter with Latinos to lobby for his $447 billion jobs bill, which faces strong resistance among Republican lawmakers.
In keeping with the occasion, however, the president began with praise for Latinos’ contributions to the nation and proclaimed: “Diversity has always been America’s strength.”
The 54 million Hispanics counted in the 2010 Census represent around a sixth of the U.S. population and Latinos are the country’s largest and fastest-growing minority.
“You’ve helped us build our cities, grow our economy, defend our country,” Obama said, adding a few moments later that “too often the achievements of Latinos go unrecognized.”
“The land of opportunity hasn’t always been the land of acceptance,” he said, though without mentioning harsh anti-immigration legislation recently adopted in states such as Arizona and Alabama.
The forum coincided with the 519th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of the New World - celebrated in Latin America as the “Dia de la Raza” (Day of the Race) - and with intensified efforts by Obama to win Hispanics’ support for his re-election bid.
The Democratic incumbent garnered 67 percent of the Latino vote in 2008. Now, Hispanic discontent with Obama is palpable, due above all to his failure to achieve immigration reform and to the massive number of deportations carried out under his administration.
Projections by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials call for a record Hispanic turnout in 2012, when at least 12.2 million Latinos are expected to cast ballots.
Latinos represent a crucial voting bloc in several electoral swing states, including Florida, Colorado and New Mexico.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Mexico expands tax breaks to attract investment
Source: EFE
An executive order providing tax incentives to the assembly plants, known as “maquiladoras,” operating in Mexico has been extended in an effort to attract more investment and boost job creation.
President Felipe Calderon, who originally signed the executive order in 2008, signed an extension of the benefits on Tuesday to 2013.
Mexico needs “more active maquiladora industries and employment creation with the appropriate tax measures,” Calderon said during the signing ceremony.
The manufacturing and export sectors require “a responsible tax policy” that will allow them to “deal with the adverse international situation,” the president said.
The executive order covers regulatory reform, simplifies the tariff system and eases the paperwork burden via a virtual office that handles filings electronically.
The goal is to provide “stimulus to strengthen investment and generate more income,” Calderon said, adding that assembly firms would be able to “plan their productive projects with more efficiency.”
The Unified Business Tax Rate, or IETU, will be calculated “using the same taxable base as the income tax (ISR),” so that “the 6,400 firms in the sector will invest more and create more jobs,” the president said.
Mexico’s assembly industry has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the past few years due to the global recession and competition from low-cost producers in China and some Central American countries, the National Maquiladora Export Industry Council, or CNIME, said.
The assembly industry “contributes great value added” in sectors like aerospace, electronics, telecommunications and automobiles, Calderon said.
Security must be provided for maquiladoras, especially those in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez, considered Mexico’s murder capital, the president said.
An executive order providing tax incentives to the assembly plants, known as “maquiladoras,” operating in Mexico has been extended in an effort to attract more investment and boost job creation.
President Felipe Calderon, who originally signed the executive order in 2008, signed an extension of the benefits on Tuesday to 2013.
Mexico needs “more active maquiladora industries and employment creation with the appropriate tax measures,” Calderon said during the signing ceremony.
The manufacturing and export sectors require “a responsible tax policy” that will allow them to “deal with the adverse international situation,” the president said.
The executive order covers regulatory reform, simplifies the tariff system and eases the paperwork burden via a virtual office that handles filings electronically.
The goal is to provide “stimulus to strengthen investment and generate more income,” Calderon said, adding that assembly firms would be able to “plan their productive projects with more efficiency.”
The Unified Business Tax Rate, or IETU, will be calculated “using the same taxable base as the income tax (ISR),” so that “the 6,400 firms in the sector will invest more and create more jobs,” the president said.
Mexico’s assembly industry has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the past few years due to the global recession and competition from low-cost producers in China and some Central American countries, the National Maquiladora Export Industry Council, or CNIME, said.
The assembly industry “contributes great value added” in sectors like aerospace, electronics, telecommunications and automobiles, Calderon said.
Security must be provided for maquiladoras, especially those in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez, considered Mexico’s murder capital, the president said.
Microsoft opens tech center in Mexico
Source: Latino Fox News
Microsoft has inaugurated its first technology center in Latin America, a facility in this capital that will be used to train around 2,300 software developers.
During a luncheon Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of Microsoft Mexico, executives said the software giant will invest more than $600 million in the country in the coming years, although without providing further details.
The goal of the Microsoft Technology Center is to provide companies with access to technology in a "simple and palpable way," the global director of the Microsoft Technology Center Alliances Program, Chuck McCann, said.
Organizations in Mexico and Latin America will be able to test out their products in simulated environments that replicate the same conditions that businesses face in their day-to-day operations, McCann said.
Some of the platforms are highly complex and difficult to understand, but the center gives clients detailed, hand-on instruction in using them, McCann said during the luncheon attended by President Felipe Calderon.
Calderon, for his part, praised Microsoft for revolutionizing the technological world and hailed the MTC opening and the investment plan.
Located at the Microsoft building in the Mexican capital, the MTC-Mexico City contains special rooms that simulate three business scenarios: the office, the home and mobile devices.
It also has space for meetings and videoconferences. The MTC-Mexico City is the company's first Spanish-language technology center and the first of its kind in Latin America, although another location is scheduled to open in the coming months in Brazil.
Microsoft has 11 MTC locations in the United States, including New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Dallas, and 14 others around the world in cities such as Moscow, Munich, Paris and Tokyo.
Microsoft has inaugurated its first technology center in Latin America, a facility in this capital that will be used to train around 2,300 software developers.
During a luncheon Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of Microsoft Mexico, executives said the software giant will invest more than $600 million in the country in the coming years, although without providing further details.
The goal of the Microsoft Technology Center is to provide companies with access to technology in a "simple and palpable way," the global director of the Microsoft Technology Center Alliances Program, Chuck McCann, said.
Organizations in Mexico and Latin America will be able to test out their products in simulated environments that replicate the same conditions that businesses face in their day-to-day operations, McCann said.
Some of the platforms are highly complex and difficult to understand, but the center gives clients detailed, hand-on instruction in using them, McCann said during the luncheon attended by President Felipe Calderon.
Calderon, for his part, praised Microsoft for revolutionizing the technological world and hailed the MTC opening and the investment plan.
Located at the Microsoft building in the Mexican capital, the MTC-Mexico City contains special rooms that simulate three business scenarios: the office, the home and mobile devices.
It also has space for meetings and videoconferences. The MTC-Mexico City is the company's first Spanish-language technology center and the first of its kind in Latin America, although another location is scheduled to open in the coming months in Brazil.
Microsoft has 11 MTC locations in the United States, including New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Dallas, and 14 others around the world in cities such as Moscow, Munich, Paris and Tokyo.
Alternative Lifestyle Friendly Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a thriving retreat for gays and lesbians and every year becomes more popular as a gay vacation spot.
With a great climate, beautiful ocean bay beaches, mountains and lush tropical jungle as the setting, Puerto Vallarta is very popular.
Vallarta now has over a dozen hotels, guesthouses, and bed and breakfasts that cater to the LGBT community, several different gay bars and gay clubs, a world famous gay beach, great gay trips on boats, special tours including evenings out at natural hot springs, and some great restaurants.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Mexico have expanded in recent years, in keeping with worldwide legal trends
Political and legal gains have been made through the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), and other leftist but minor parties such as the Labor Party (PT) and Convergence, and occasionally the centrist and long-governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Some of them include the 2001 amendment to Article 1 of the Federal Constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation under the vague term preferences, the 2003 federal anti-discrimination law and the recognition of same-sex civil unions in Mexico City and Coahuila.
Same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples have been legal in Mexico City since early March 2010.
With a great climate, beautiful ocean bay beaches, mountains and lush tropical jungle as the setting, Puerto Vallarta is very popular.
Vallarta now has over a dozen hotels, guesthouses, and bed and breakfasts that cater to the LGBT community, several different gay bars and gay clubs, a world famous gay beach, great gay trips on boats, special tours including evenings out at natural hot springs, and some great restaurants.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Mexico have expanded in recent years, in keeping with worldwide legal trends
Political and legal gains have been made through the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), and other leftist but minor parties such as the Labor Party (PT) and Convergence, and occasionally the centrist and long-governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Some of them include the 2001 amendment to Article 1 of the Federal Constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation under the vague term preferences, the 2003 federal anti-discrimination law and the recognition of same-sex civil unions in Mexico City and Coahuila.
Same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples have been legal in Mexico City since early March 2010.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Puerto Vallarta to host the World Economic Forum 2012
The World Economic Forum and the Government of Mexico signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week to mark the beginning of preparations for the next World Economic Forum on Latin America. The meeting will take place in Puerto Vallarta on 16-18 April 2012. The Young Global Leaders Annual Summit 2012 will be held as part of the meeting in Nuevo Vallarta on 14-16 April 2012.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at World Economic Forum headquarters in Geneva by Jose Antonio Torre, Undersecretary for Competitiveness and Business Regulation of Mexico and Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, in the presence of Bruno Ferrari Garcia de Alba, Secretary of the Economy of Mexico, Børge Brende, Managing Director, Government Relations and Constituents Engagement, World Economic Forum, Marisol Argueta de Barillas, Senior Director, Head of Latin America, World Economic Forum, and Robert Greenhill, Managing Director, Chief Business Officer, World Economic Forum.
The meeting will address Latin America’s role in the governance of the global economy during Mexico’s chairmanship of the G20 and as the country prepares for presidential elections. The region as a whole will also see a series of important international events take place in 2012, such as the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil, the Summit of the Americas in Colombia as well as the EU-Latin America Summit in Chile.
“The World Economic Forum on Latin America will be held in Mexico at an important time for the country and the region as a whole,” said Marisol Argueta de Barillas. “Latin American countries continue to be an attractive destination for investment and the region demonstrates strong finances, continued economic growth and social development, despite the current global context. With this backdrop of economic strength, we are delighted to be in Puerto Vallarta to discuss the political, social and economic priorities for the region and the implication for Latin America’s role in the world.”
“The World Economic Forum on Latin America in Mexico is a perfect opportunity to convene leaders from business, government, academia, civil society and the media from across Latin America to reshape our path and accelerate our pace towards prosperity,” said Bruno Ferrari Garcia de Alba. “Mexico is pleased to welcome Latin American leaders and build together a more prosperous future for our people.”
Mexico to host 2017 International Swimming Championship
It´s official, Guadalajara is to host the 2017 event. FINA had said they would only announce the 2017 host this year if they thought they had two outstanding candidates, which apparently they decided they did. Guadalajara is Mexico’s second most populous municipality at 1.5 million people, but has a booming metropolitan area of over 4 million.
The destination will have a test run before the World Championships, as they will host this summer’s PanAmerican Games that will have over 6,000 athletes competing across 36 sports. The pool for that event will be the Scotiabank Aquatics Center, which has been dubbed as “the Pool of the Pan.” It seats 3,593 spectators, and houses two 50-meter pools and a diving well.
“We will have a world championship in 2017 in which 2,500 elite athletes in five Olympic disciplines from about 200 countries and regions will participate. That is an unprecedented and historic event,” said Kiril Todorov, the president of the Mexican Swimming Federation.
Guadalajara will represent the first time the World Championships have taken place in the Western Hemisphere since 2005 in Montreal, and the 3rd-time ever that they will be hosted in Latin America. This was a bit of a “back to their roots” decision by FINA, as two out of the first four championships were also held in that region.
“Mexico has always been a great center for sports events and this has opened the doors for us to once again,” Mexico’s Sports Minister Bernardo de la Garza Herrera said in the statement, adding, “this is great news to our country.”
Karina González -Miss Mexico 2011
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The 18th annual Nuestra Belleza Mexico (Miss Mexico) pageant, was held at the Centro Internacional de Convenciones of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico on August 20, 2011. Thirty-four contestants competed for the national title, which was won by Karina González of Aguascalientes who will compete in Miss Universe 2011. González was crowned by outgoing Nuestra Belleza México titleholder Karin Ontiveros. She is the first Hidrocalida to win the Nuestra Belleza México Title.
Mariana Berumen of Guanajuato won the title of Nuestra Belleza Mundo México, giving the right to represent the country in Miss World 2012. Berumen was crowned by outgoing Nuestra Belleza Mundo México titleholder Gabriela Palacio. She is the first Guanajuatense to win the Nuestra Belleza Mundo México Title.
Nohemí Hermosillo of Estado de México won the title of Nuestra Belleza Internacional México, giving the right to represent the country in Miss International 2012. She is the first Mexiquense to win the Nuestra Belleza Internacional México Title.
The Top 5 of Nuestra Belleza México 2011
1. Miss Aguascalientes – Karina González
2. Miss State of Mexico Estado de México – Nohemí Hermosillo
3. Miss Guanajuato – Mariana Berumen
4. Miss Jalisco – Lucía Silva
5. Miss Sinaloa – Grecia Gutiérrez
Special Awards
Miss Top Model: Miss Jalisco – Lucía Silva
Miss Congeniality: Miss Sinaloa – Grecia Gutiérrez
Miss Talent: Miss Aguascalientes – Karina González
Miss Sports: Miss Mexico City Distrito Federal – Mónica Gómez
Academic Award: Miss Durango – Mónica Ayala
Personality Fraiche: Miss Jalisco – Lucía Silva
Steps to Fame: Miss Aguascalientes – Karina González
Best National Costume: Miss Durango – Mónica Ayala “Diosa de Plata”
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