Martes, 19 de junio de 2012

EspañaJusticia

La anunciada renuncia al cargo del presidente del Consejo General del Poder Judicial y del Tribunal Supremo -en adelante, CGPJ y TS- bien puede ser calificada como la gran noticia judicial del año. Mas amén de grande, pudiera ser interesante plantearse la cuestión de si la noticia en es también buena o mala o puede merecer, cosa del todo improbable, ambas consideraciones al tiempo.

¿Para quién puede ser buena? En primer lugar, en su sentido más aséptico, tendría que serlo para todos. El hecho de que el mecanismo institucional demuestre su eficacia al exigir cuentas a tan alta personalidad del Estado -los supuestos de cese del presidente del CGPJ y del TS están regulados en el artículo 126 de la Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial-, es garantía de funcionamiento del sistema jurídico, algo que a los ciudadanos debe satisfacernos.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia

Las afirmaciones hechas durante una campaña electoral no tienen como objetivo la búsqueda de la verdad, sino contribuir a la conquista del poder. Así ocurrió con esta declaración del exministro francés del Interior: “Para nosotros, no todas las civilizaciones son iguales”. Si nos situamos en la primera perspectiva, la de la verdad, los argumentos utilizados por el ministro en apoyo de su tesis eran inadmisibles. ¿Cómo tomar en serio a un político que nos conmina a escoger (como si no se hubiera escogido ya) entre defensa y negación de la humanidad, entre libertad y tiranía, entre amor y odio a los demás?…  Seguir leyendo »

EspañaEconomía

España se encuentra en un momento determinante. Las malas noticias económicas y financieras de las últimas semanas, de los últimos días, de las últimas horas, nos sitúan en una encrucijada donde cualquier elección es difícil.

La ciudadanía y la opinión pública buscan a los economistas y encuentran economistas que vaticinan terribles consecuencias en un vano intento de engrandecer su valía haciendo predicciones más grandes que ellos mismos. Incansablemente nos repiten que los niveles de bienestar alcanzados no son sostenibles y que es necesario que recibamos menos prestaciones sociales, peor educación, peor salario, peor atención sanitaria. La austeridad forzada tiene un nombre: se llama pobreza.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

Las elecciones mexicanas del 1 de julio han generado infinidad de comentarios en México y un casi nulo interés en el resto del mundo, abrumado por sus propias tribulaciones: la supervivencia del euro, los próximos comicios presidenciales en Estados Unidos, el enfriamiento de las principales economías de América del Sur y, por supuesto, de la India y China. Parte de la indiferencia ante los inminentes acontecimientos mexicanos proviene también de la falta de incertidumbre en el resultado: los mercados, los apostadores y las encuestas dan por descontada una victoria, por un margen de 8 a 12 puntos, del candidato del PRI, Enrique Peña Nieto.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión EuropeaUE a debate

La crisis europea se parece al cubo de Rubik: cuando se arregla una cara, se desarregla la contraria. Creíamos que la solución de Grecia era tener gobierno, pero resulta que pide revisar las condiciones del rescate, mientras Alemania insiste en que «se respeten los compromisos adquiridos». Total, que estamos donde estábamos. O que el problema no es Grecia, es Europa.

Desde que Oswald Spengler publicó «La decadencia de Occidente», han sido infinitos los libros, ensayos y artículos sobre el tema. Pese a contener bastantes equívocos. Spengler escribía justo cuando su país acababa de ser derrotado en la primer gran guerra, lo que seguro influyó en su ánimo.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

Someone once said that former presidents are like old furniture. One thinks of a chest, revered for its noble appearance but no longer in use, eaten by termites, falling apart. Ever since modern medicine made longevity the rule and not the exception, countries have been accumulating these antiques. Four ex-presidents are living in the United States: the 39th, the 41st, the 42nd and the 43rd; it’s very likely that the 44th will occupy some dusty corner until nearly the middle of the 21st century.

However, Colombia’s former president, Álvaro Uribe, is refusing to play this part.

For many years, Colombia’s presidency followed the Mexican model: a monarchical ruler for a single term of office, with re-election prohibited by law, as a vaccine against strongmen who fell in love with power.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

In June 1992, world leaders, including President George Bush, agreed to combat climate change at the Earth Summit meeting in Rio de Janeiro. This week, at “Rio+20,” leaders, experts and activists will once more gather to ponder the fate of the planet.

Optimism will be in short supply. Since the first conference, global carbon emissions have increased by some 50 percent — an outcome that those who were present 20 years ago would surely have seen as disastrous. And we are continuing this sorry trend: As the Arctic becomes ice-free, we can expect that it will be drilled for oil.

But below most radars, and despite the alarming news, the seeds of an energy revolution are being sown.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesNaturaleza,

On Wednesday, world leaders will gather in Rio de Janeiro to review progress made in the 20 years since the 1992 U.N. Earth Summit and hopefully to chart a new path toward a more sustainable future. Protecting the planet and its people must be their first priority.

Our central concern is that governments are currently refusing to make the transformative changes needed to resolve the global sustainability crisis.

The scientific evidence is clear that the environmental dangers are rising quickly. Based on current trends, we are likely to move toward a world warmer by 3 degrees, and we may well cross tipping points with potentially catastrophic consequences.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia

For nearly two years, I was locked in my farmhouse by lawless thugs, unable to seek medical care and scarcely able to even imagine a day when I could feel the sun on my face again. In the month since my wife, children and I arrived in the United States from China, the extraordinary official surveillance and restrictions imposed on my family members who remain in our home village reportedly have started to abate. The county police have even begun to make amends, offering to pay my brother for some of the furniture they broke during the vengeful attack on his family after they discovered my escape.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

Economic and social development have emerged as the twin pillars of Latin America’s strategy to create a more equitable, modern society. After decades of struggling to find the right balance between growth and equality, the region has leaped forward, lifting more than 73 million out of poverty while increasing wealth, posting growth rates of 4 percent on average and becoming a source of stability in the midst of global uncertainty.

These tremendous gains, however, could be at risk if they are not made environmentally sustainable. To do so the region is grappling with the tradeoffs resulting from the need of continued growth to fight poverty and preserving natural resources for the productive use of future generations.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

Preliminary election results show that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi is likely to become Egypt’s next president. But even if Mr. Morsi is declared the official winner later this week, Egypt’s first popular presidential election will not have been a democratic milestone.

With the Supreme Court’s ruling dissolving Parliament and the military’s declaration curtailing the presidency’s authority, Mr. Morsi will be a toothless figurehead under the thumb of an authoritarian military council that doesn’t seem likely to relinquish power anytime soon.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has tightened its grasp on power, giving itself control of legislation and the national budget, the right to appoint a panel to draft a new constitution, immunity from democratic oversight, and the power to veto a declaration of war.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo,

The history of U.S.-Pakistani relations is one of wild swings between feigned friendship and ill-disguised mistrust. When the United States needs Pakistan, Washington showers Islamabad with money, weapons and expressions of high esteem. Once the need wanes, the gratuities cease, often with brutal abruptness. Instead of largesse, Pakistan gets lectures, with the instruction seldom well received.

The events of 9/11inaugurated the relationship's most recent period of contrived warmth. Proximity to Afghanistan transformed Pakistan overnight from a pariah — the planet's leading proliferator of nuclear weapons technology — into a key partner in the global war on terrorism. Prior to 9/11, U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »