Mexico City, Nov 28 (IANS/EFE): Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has revealed his new security plan for the country in response to protests against the disappearance, and presumed murder, of 43 students two months ago.
The announcement was made Thursday, the same day in which 11 decapitated bodies were found in the state of Guerrero, where the students also went missing.
In a speech from the National Palace, Peña Nieto announced a series of measures to check the infiltration of organised crime in municipal governments throughout the country but the plan was met with scepticism from the opposition.
He said that in the first phase, all efforts would be centred around states that were worst affected by the problem, such as Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacan and Tamaulipas.
Peña also announced that Monday he would present three constitutional reforms in the Congress, one to create uniform policies in all the 32 states, another to fight the infiltration of organised crime in the local administrations and a third to grant powers to every authority to fight crime.
The measures also include a greater deployment of troops in the Tierra Caliente region, in Guerrero and Michoacan, and all the necessary support to administrative bodies in Jalisco and Tamaulipas.
He also announced the creation of three special economic zones that will include Guerrero, Michoacan, Chiapas and Oaxaca, the poorest states in the country, through a legal initiative that will be sent to the Congress in February.
The objective is to encourage investment and creation of lucrative jobs with modern infrastructure, security conditions, additional facilities for foreign trade as well as tax rebates, he explained.
The major political parties said they would fully examine the security policy presented by Peña Nieto, but had already noted deficiencies in the plan.
"In fighting corruption, what has been announced is notoriously insufficient. There should be a more convincing response. Other measures in this regard are needed," Democratic Revolution Party President Carlos Navarrete said.
The civil organisations said that the measures announced were insufficient and desperate, that they come far too late and were triggered by the crisis caused by the case of the missing students.
"The problem is that the state is corrupted by the mafias, delinquents, and the rot that has always been with us. That is why it is necessary to re-establish the foundation of the state," Movement for Peace with Peace and Dignity leader and poet Javier Sicilia told Efe news agency.
The president's announcement came during a new phase of violence, after the decapitated bodies were found between Chilapa de Alvarez and Ayahualulco, in Guerrero.
Sources from the state attorney's office told Efe that the bodies were abandoned after a clash between Los Ros and Los Ardillos, two rival criminal gangs, Wednesday night.