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The head of the Germany Program at Institut Montaigne in Paris, France, Robinet Borgomano looks at the renewal of German society under the ideas of "respect" put forward by Olaf Scholz of the SPD party. What does Olaf Scholz see as the main issue of our time? - Borgomano says it is the disintegration of European and American societies under the combined effects of technological progress and globalization. Where does Scholz get his ideas of "respect" for workers and families? Isn't Mr. Biden sharing the same ideas in the US? The SPD party got its start at the Bad Godesberg Convention in 1959 when it embraced the idea of a social market economy as a party of the people. Wily Brandt as chancellor from 1969 to 1974, whose personal struggle against the Germany of World War II was based in the Nordic countries, embodies best this renewal aspect of the SPD. Scholz sees his role as renewal of Germany, Europe, hand in hand with Mr. Biden's renewal efforts in the US on the same basic ideas of respect of the dignity of the worker and families that in Germany were seen with Wily Brandt and in the US with Harry Truman who followed FDR. Scholz rejects the overemphasis on the of merit in German society, European society, or American society, in the way it has taken shape in the last fifty years. Scholz cites Michael Sandel's Essay "The Tyranny of Merit" rejcting it because it makes a case for inequality based on merit, on capital allocation on an implied idea of merit of free markets managed in damaging ways for personal interest. It is wrong because it robs the worker and families of the basic dignity that is the right of every individual and of every person. It is wrong because it makes a false justification for growing inequality, and makes those who do not succeed feel that it is their fault. Meritocratic elites have made the idea that those who work hard and play by the rules get all the benefits and wealth even if the rules were first set in a way that benefits them alone. When these rules become implicit they are rarely questioned as happened in the period after 2000. It is not just in Europe and America that this happens, and not just in the 20th century.  Strange but true- During the 1850's in the heyday of industrialization in Britain the Ethnological Society of Britain justified the inequality between the British and Indians in the British Empire by saying Indians were inferior in exams and did not have the motivation or the aptitude and energy to excel in the way British students did. Dadabhai Naoroji, the first Indian member of the British parliament in Mr. Gladstone's Liberals singlehandedly took up the job Sandel and Scholz and Mr. Biden are taking on today to restore the respect of workers, farmers, and families in America and Europe and in all parts of the world. Sandel goes on to say what Scholz has heard clearly- "the parties that made the offer of upward mobility to workers and families have missed the insult implicit in it to a large number of working people." In a way it is going back to the roots, to the founding fathers in America who said in the 18th century that "all men are created equal and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," -nothing less.   ...

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In this interview with Herndon of the NYT Bernie Sanders refutes the labels "progressive" or "left" and says it is simply about policy that benefits the workers and families that make up the vast majority of this Nation. Sanders says 60% of workers are living from paycheck to paycheck. The vast majority of people 60-70% support Medicare for All, improvements in Social Security, cutting pharmaceutical costs, and tution support to make higher education accessible to all. Why he asks do workers support Trump? He says it is because the truth is that the Democratic party has abandoned its roots. He does not go into this, yet it can be said that the rise of the Tech industry in the last two decades has led to tech billionaires and business people coopting the Democratic party for their agenda. In the last year of the Obama administration it was evident that Rural America and people who represent rural America such as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack of Iowa felt ignored while Obama spent more time with tech and internet business people. Former president Trump simply stepped into this void as Democrats failed to turn up for rural America. President Biden has turned things around by making Tom Vilsack an important part of his administrations with the president listening to  him and others speaking for rural America. The passion with which Senator Pat Schumer talked recently on CBS Face the Nation about bringing broadband to rural America shows how Biden and Harris, Harris and Walz see Rural America. This Democratic ticket is fighting for Rural America every step of the way to bring hope and a better life to Rural America. Sanders reminds people of FDR in 1936 after four years of fighting the Depression and improving lives there was so much that needed to be done. It is the same today and Sanders is wading into this fight with Harris and Walz in the same way as FDR did in 1936. ...

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The UAW settlement covered a range of areas setting out a roadmap for other unions. It included getting companies to reinvest in plants and communities where they were pulling out- the Belvidere Illinois plant which Stellantis had planned to close, instead agreeing to hire 1000 more workers for an electric vehicle factory and a parts distribution center, an investment of $4.8 billion. Workers worked long hours during the pandemic- the UAW negotiated for shorter work weeks including 4 day workweek for the health of workers.

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About one in 5 German workers are in minijobs- about 7.4 million people in May 2013, according to estimates from the WSJ and Germany's Federal Employment Agency. Minijobs are a form of part time work that gets a German worker 450 euros a month free from taxes. Many of these jobs are in retail, healthcare and offer these industries more flexibility. Jobs are done by women, elderly, immigrants without work. The intent was to move these workers into full time work, but this is not happening as most workers in minijobs end up in a deadend status.

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Kyodo News poll shows over half of voters under 40 years voted for Sanseito and Democratic Party of the  People, two nationalist parties started in the last 5 years. These parties base their appeal on "Japan first" and reject the idea that Japan should have to bring in so many foreign workers to run its industry and economy. They also oppose the country's quiet neighborhoods being overrun by the 40 million tourists in 2024 that the government wants to increase to 60 million to support small businesses that depend on tourists. Half of voters over 60 years vote for the LDP, and this is true also for the socialist party the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) which is the opposition party. This makes the nationalist parties a new voice in Japanese politics. Part of the resentment in Japan is that figures like Shigeru Ishiba. the leader of LDP, are from an older generation that has for the 75 years since 1950 excluded others from party politics. The DPJ was around for just 24 months in Japan in 2009-2010 when its young leader prime minister Yukio Hatoyama was ousted. American leaders and it's party politics establishment before 2016 also encouraged this, with Obama making Okinawa an issue over which Hatoyama was ousted rather than work with the young Japanese prime minister. ...

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Social Democrats meeting in Weisbaden, Germany, elect a new leader with barely two thirds support. About one third of the delegates in SPD voted against Nahles because of the split within part ranks over which strategy to pursue. after a disappointing result of 20.5% support in the last general elections. This part of the party wants to see a return to its socialist roots, to become a party of the workers as it was during the postwar years under Brandt and Schmidt. The part of the party that supported her wants to see cooperation with the Christian Democrats to continue but with the SPD's unique role and policies. Nahles favors staying in a coalition with Merkel yet bringing its own emphasis in policies in line with SPD policies from the postwar years.   Nahles has to lead the SPD back to a more popularity in line with its role as one of the two main parties in Germany for most of the period since 1950. She has to find a way to do this even though there is skepticism within the SPD about how someone who has occupied prominent positions for many years can renew the SPD. ...

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Brazil's Senate passes a 20 year spending cap to be reviewed every 10 years put forward by interim president Michel Temer. After years of increased spending and higher deficits, the action is intended to control government spending. It also means reversing some of the spending on healthcare and social programs of the Workers Party of Rousseff and Da Silva. After a long period of Workers party rule with higher spending, the drop in commodity prices and declining growth in China led to stalling growth in a commodities (metals and grain) dependent Brazilian economy. The spending cap passed the Senate 53 to 16. President Temer is  unpopular and seen as part of the same government and elite as Rousseff that led to the corruption scandals- recent polls show 63% of Brazilian people want him to resign and only 10% saying he is doing a good job. A Datafolha poll shows 60% oppose the spending cap. After the impeachment of president Rousseff in the corruption scandal, vice president Temer assumed the presidency till 2018. Brazil's Workers Party was popular during the da Silva years as it expanded spending on social programs- supported by a growing economy with commodities exports to China and high prices- only to see a slumping economy and falling popularity under successor Rousseff as the boom ended. In Argentina a similar process unfolded with higher spending on social programs and growing popularity during the Kirchner presidency- with commodities exports of grains to China- followed by declining popularity as the economy entered a difficult phase with a fall in the value of the peso, and the election of a new president Mauricio Macri.   ...

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How union membership is actively taking part in shaping union contracts at Longshoreman's union for US ports, UAW for autoworkers, at Boeing Southwest and other companies for a fair wage and benefits after decades of neglect of workers. The assistance of Biden/ Harris to workers and their families for "We the People," in 2024.

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Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is for negotiating a Brexit deal that protects workers interests. Most of the Labour party supporters and the rest of the leadership is for Remain and a second referendum. Corbyn's position could help Labour in some ways as it brings support from some Leave voters who are unhappy with the way the Conservative party has handled it. Corbyn's manner of straddling between his party's position and his own could help the Labour party in the election because of is unrelenting focus on working class interests and the Brexit mess created by the Conservative party's Cameron and Johnson. 

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Short time work programs, paid leave, aid to small business for employee retention with the government paying a big percentage of wages, and unemployment benefits till companies rehire employees with government paying for this, are all different ways in which the U.S. and Europe are coping with the coronavirus crisis.  In the U.S. 22 million have applied for unemployment benefits with the U.S. government picking up a substantial part of the wages till companies rehire these employees. In the UK the government has launched a program that gives 2500 pounds or $3100 to each worker each month upto 80% of the worker's pay. The money is sent to businesses for retaining employees. This could cover estimated 8.3 million workers in the UK at a cost of $52 billion. The U.S. has a similar program with the first phase $377 billion already distributed to small businesses which requires retention of employees for government forgiveness of these loans. The basic idea is retain employees who could stay at home or be in short work programs or work from home. The French government is paying the wages of 9.6 million workers, almost half of workers in the private sector by sending the money to 785,000 small businesses. In Germany the Kurzarbeit program covers 725,000 companies which supports the wages of employees in a downturn and is financed from a special fund. The cost for Germany, France and Spain is about $147 billion or 135 billion euros for such programs. The European Union will step in with a 100 billion euros loan package. ...

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Under PM Trudeau of the Liberals Party Canada opened its door to immigration and meeting labor shortages. This put a strain on housing and social services when in 2022 1 million people were added to the population, now 41.6 million. Canada under Mark Carney of the Liberals party sets new temporary residents target from 670000 in 2025 to 385000 in 2026 and 370000 in 2027 and 2028. 

"We needed to bring our immigration level to a more sustainable level," says Canada's finance minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne. For the first time there is a drop in population of British Columbia and Ontario. Only Alberta increased population. There are 2.8 million non permanent residents mostly international students and temporary foreign workers or 6.5% of the population in 2025.

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Larry Fink thinks there has been for retirement "an historical shift from certainty to uncertainty," from security in the earlypost war years of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and LBJ to precarious living in the post Reagan era of "free to choose." It is mind boggling to grasp the idea that 4 in 10 Americans lack $400 in emergency funds for a health emergency. It has been hard to wrap my mind around such a fact. Are you in the same boat? Larry Fink CEO of Black Rock financial firm with half of its $10 trillion of funds in investment assigned to retirement has joined us. Fink says- "America needs an organized high level effort to ensure that future generations can live out their lives in dignity." He wants some hard conversations. And here are his initial thoughts- Create predictable income streams like pensions for all workers including lower paid or part-time workers.  Follow 20 states in setting up retirement systems to cover all workers, including gig and part time workers in lower paid income jobs. This covers a huge number of workers counted by the millions who perform the work that makes the country and the economy run. From workers in restaurants to hospitality workers, and in lower paid health care jobs, in help for the elderly, help for children in child care. Encourage employers to offer matching funds. ...

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Germany faces a huge shortage of workers. Even without the current loss of workers in sectors such as restaurants, hotels, airports, elderly care and other sectors, the Germany economy loses 350,000 people every year a the baby boomer generation born after World War II retires. Today there are 1.7 million open jobs in Germany. By 2035 there will be seven million fewer workers, according to labor experts.  No longer can Germany depend on Eastern European countries to fill shortages of workers. Incomes are growing in these countries and there are demographic changes in these countries. Some say the party is over. Skilled labor is in short supply. In 2020 a law was passed to get  the 400,000 foreign workers Germany needs each year to come and stay in Germany, says this report in DW.com. The number attracted? Only 30,000 which officials called a "disappointment." The law will be changed to open up the labor market to those with a contract but no recognized certification for the job, so that companies could train employees after they join. ...

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This report in WSJ looks at the Biden education, healthcare and climate change plan. It is part of the Families and Workers Plan put forward by president Biden for $3.6 trillion. This figure has now been lowered to $2 trillion and may drop crucial provisions for education such as the cost free community college which poses serious risks for working class families unable to afford community college, and skews education access even further to higher income families. It also lowers college attendance of American men, which is falling to alarming levels. The reason the plans are being whittled down is the 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and the failure of Republicans and two Democrat senators Manchin of West Virginia, Sinema of Arizona to support community college access. Parts of the current bill support child care, access to affordable housing and in home care for elderly Americans. New elections for Senate and House of Representatives in 2022 would have to settle the issues related to financing assistance for families and workers as the Senate today is divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. A separate Bipartisan Infrastructure package has the support of all in the US Congress to build bridges and roads, other infrastructure badly neglected by different administrations over the last 2 decades. ...

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Progressive caucus in the US House of Representatives led by Pramila Jaypal, a first time Indian American Congresswoman defeats an attempt by Josh Gottheimer of the Problem Solvers caucus to separate much of the president Biden's agenda in health, education and social policy and risk it being defeated by Senators Manchin and Sinema in the US Senate. Without the efforts on child care, education and health, climate change and social services part of the Biden Workers and Families Plan much of the Biden agenda would remain unfinished and Democratic party promises not kept. This also means that Manchin a Senator from West Virginia with a population of 1.8 million and Arizona with a population of 7.2 million, both conservative leaning Democrats could sink the entire agenda of president Biden to support American families and workers for a population of 331 million people. That two states with a population of less than 3% of the American population could sink the entire agenda of president Biden shows how fragile a situation has been created within the Democratic party to support workers and families even during the pandemic following the leadership of Carter, Clinton, and Obama Ms. Jaypal, a three term Congresswoman from Seattle, Washington state, was first elected in 2016 with an endorsement from Bernie Sanders who was the Democratic Party's leading candidate for president till the late stages of the 2020 US presidential primaries. Bernie Sanders says of Jaypal- "I think she is doing an extraordinary job. And I think the Progressive Caucus is doing an extraordinary job." Sanders founded the Progressive caucus after getting elected to the Senate from Vermont 30 years ago. Even though it is hard to imagine the Democratic party being the Democratic party without bold policies in climate change, affordable housing, reducing income disparities,  investing big in childcare, education and healthcare, attempts were being made to sink the entire Democratic party and national agenda going back to Franklin Roosevelt. Jaypal is described in the WSJ as diplomatic and firm, saying "I am so proud of our caucus; I have never seen our caucus so strong. And I am a very good vote counter also." Fifty members of the 100 member Progressive Caucus held firm in support of president Biden's original agenda without which the president would have little to show in keeping promises he made to the American people in the election and little to differentiate him from Mr. Trump who also supported infrastructure spending. Separating the infrastructure bill would have risked sinking Mr. Biden's plan for recovery of America from the pandemic and the devastating policies pursued by American presidents in the last two decades. Policies by previous presidents that have impoverished the country, created huge income disparities, weakened America in the world in trade and technological leadership, and wasted resources in foreign wars. There are no centrists or far left- these are just labels. When Ms Japal said "Let's just remember the Speaker (Nancy Pelosi) is a great champion of this agenda. I think she was trying to do as much as she could to get this done," she could have said it is Mr. Biden's own agenda pushed forward with conviction to help workers and families during the pandemic, and build a solid American recovery, restore American leadership in the world. Pramila Japypal is the first Indian American woman in the US Congress, and one of only two dozen naturalized American citizens in the US Congress. That she could play such a critical role for good in the US Congress shows that with the right convictions, determination, experience, much can be done for the common good in America and the world.   ...

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Prime minister Manuel Valls pushes a highly unpopular labor law through parliament without a vote.  About 70% of people are shown opposed to it in recent polls, and it has led to months of street protests. It has also split the ruling Socialist Party ahead of elections in 2017. The law makes it easier to fire and hire workers in the interests of growth and job creation, but unions say it will not increase economic growth and withdraws worker protection.

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Prime minister Modi addressed the 44th foundation day of the BJP party by video conference, with the speech screened at 100,000 points across India for party leaders and social workers. "BJP is working with the mantra of Sabka Saath-Sabka VIkas-Sabka Viswas- Sabka Prayas ( which means 'with everyone, for the development of all, with the confidence of all, with the efforts of all). we have always given topmost priority to social justice and empowerment in our hearts and working style. Social justice is not a part of political sloganeering for us but an article of faith for us." "The BJP lives social justice, follows it in letter and spirit. Getting 800 million people free ration (food) is a reflection of social justice. The facility of free treatment up to Rs 500,000 offered to 500 million people without discrimination is a strong expression of social justice." On Lord Hanuman, whose anniversary is today, Modi said India was realising its potential and strength like Lord Hanuman did after eliminating self doubt. "If we see the whole life of Lord Hanuman, he had a 'can-do' attitude that helped him achieve big successes." ...

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Peter Goodman who covers the consequences in the lives of ordinary people of the industrial changes going on around us, gives this report from Michigan. He shows how today's Michigan, was home to Henry Ford's automobile plants that made it a major part of the industrial revolution in the US after 1910, when Ford's first assembly line manufacturing was set up in Highland Park, Detroit. Industrial growth till 1960 made the US the leading industrial nation in the world. Followed by Japanese imports and auto manufacturing shifting to Asia and Mexico, that led to deindustrialization and neglect in Michigan and the midwestern US.  Key aspects of resurgence today is coming from lessons learned in the period of deindustrialization. From labor and management not working together, from huge pension obligations and costs that had to be overcome, that made existing wage and cost structures uncompetitive with Asian manufacturing. Labor concessions in the last decade have made a rearrangement of cost structure possible, yet along with the financial crisis of 2008 further worsened worker incomes. The first steps of a return for Michigan to its role in the early industrialization of America, the new labor contract negotiated in 2023, the support of president Biden and the government, the investment in the new technology of electric car manufacturing by Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Goodman shows how the state, federal government, community colleges and other educational institutions training workers and students, and car companies are working together to promote interests of workers and communities. There is uncertainty created about the fewer parts in the electric car manufacturing process, automation advances, and fewer jobs. Yet the process is a transition over many years and this is accepted by the Biden administration and by the industry as it responds to slower demand for electric cars in 2024. This provides the time to bring up new training programs for workers, enable the funding of new research into battery technologies that would bring down the cost and make electric car prices accessible to the wider population. Uncertainty and fears about the transition are counteracted by the effort the Biden administration is making to bring up all manufacturing and to make large investments in American manufacturing.   ...

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In a new trend that looks good for America is seen at companies such as American Fleet, which makes diesel engines for trucks. During the pandemic it was making 40 engines when it could make 30 normally, by adding overtime. It looked for mechanics. Now as demand is slowing workers work fewer hours. And the company which has a hard time finding mechanics is avoiding layoffs. It wants to avoid the expense and trauma of hiring and retaining workers. With fewer engines to build workers are prepping engine blocks and upgrading equipment so that when demand picks up again they will be ready. Workers are being hired to fill unfilled positions allowing overworked employees to return to normal hours.This is a national trend reflected in declining overtime hours and working hours are shifting also with workers opting to work less because of work-life priorities. This should be seen as part of the renewal of America, because when workers do well, the middle class does well, and when the middle class does well America does well. America does well when companies and workers mean the same thing. ...

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A former mayor of Mexico City wins the election for president in 2018 with 53% of the vote. Obrador's margin was over 30% over Ricardo Analya of PAN party who had 22.5%, and ruling PRI's Antionio Meade with 16%, with 72% of votes counted according to Mexico's election agency. Issues in this election were corruption, with many corruption scandals for ruling PRI under president Nieto, and failure to maintain rule of law. The last time that a president won this size margin of victory was in 1982. Morena as Obrador's party is called, won 306 of 500 seats in the lower house of parliament and 70 of 128 seats in the Senate, winning majorities in both houses of parliament. It also won 4 of 8 state governor races and the Mayor's office in Mexico City. FOr the first time since 1997 one party will control both houses and Mexico City. Obrador formed his own party after leaving the PRD party, calling it The Movement for National Regeneration. Most Mexicans were highly disturbed by the violence and corruption that prevailed in local administration under president Nieto's PRI government. The PRI's dominance in Mexican politics is now broken. Obrador says he will work to put more emphasis on helping the poor in Mexico in framing his policies, distancing himself from the politics of the PRI which had distanced itself more and more from grassroots and ordinary workers in Mexico. This means adapting the free market economic model to suit Mexico's own conditions, the differences between northern and southern Mexico, and pushing for more worker friendly policies. It also creates more room for agreement with the U.S. as both Mr. Trump and Mr. Obrador agree on raising labor standards and wages for factory workers in Mexico ...

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The story of the China Wall of the Sierra and the Chinese workers who built it, part of the Transcontinental Railroad that changed the face of the United States, is told by the BBC.

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Much of the impact in terms of unemployment is the shift to part time workers. The number of people who have los hours or cannot find full time work jumped by 1 million in the last 12 months to 5.3 million. A typical worker mentioned here is a baggage handler who worked the night shift but was asked to take a much shorter 4 hour day shift as airlines cut flights and shrink their fleets.

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Upward mobility in China was weak and income growth for average workers sluggish during the years before the coronavirus outbreak. In this sense China is similar to the U.S. and Europe where upward mobility gains after the second world war were lost in the last 30 years partly from the loss of manufacturing to China. It is much worse now as the effects of the coronavirus lead to drops of as much as a third in income for ordinary workers. Lower income workers, the vast majority of Chinese numbering hundreds of millions now suffer from lost work or diminished wages. Small businesses cannot afford to pay the salaries paid before and as workers dip into savings or increase borrowing the retail spending is taking a hit. As a result economists see a vicious cycle of lower spending and lower incomes for the hundreds of millions of ordinary workers in construction and smaller businesses. Some small businesses could just close down because of weak demand affecting the economy over the long term. Before the coronavirus China went over three decades from being a Communist country with relatively equal distribution of wealth but lack of growth and technological development to a capitalist country with the structure of state control of the economy from the Communist period. The result is that 1% of the people control 33% of the wealth and the bottom 25% having 1% of the wealth, according to a 2015 Peking University study. China's president Xi Jinping, head of the Communist party, tried to reverse some of these trends by attacking corruption and making changes that began the task of reversing decades of unequal distribution of wealth under state sponsored capitalist growth. Investments were made in rural medical care, infrastructure and basic services. This did not have much impact because much of the pattern of growth over three decades continues including the housing bubble.  With coronavirus the trend is set for even more unequal distribution of wealth as many workers at the bottom half of the population in incomes either lose work, or see drop in incomes as businesses that hire them struggle from shoe factories to other retail business. Reports of informal economy and street markets in Chengdu in western China and bringing this part of the economy back by the state are effort to get people work in other ways. Researchers estimate that China's bottom 60% of household in incomes lost about $200 billion in income in the first half of 2020. In May premier Li Keqiang said 600 million people in China earn only about $140 a month. Many who lost income or jobs do not have support from the government as China lacks a program of comprehensive unemployment insurance as in Europe and the U.S. to help people get over bad times. 300 million migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to loss of income and dipping into savings.   ...

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A Whirlpool appliance factory in Amiens in the Somme region is slated for closure and relocation to Poland. Emmanual Macron made a surprise visit to the factory to talk to worker representatives. He says he cannot prevent the closure but can work to arrange for good terms for the closure. Marine Le Pen the far right candidate also visited the site at the factory gates where workers were on strike. Afterwards Macron said "I try to fix problems, not to exploit them."  Macron has come under criticism in the French press for taking too much for granted in the second round and not fighting for support the way he had earlier. Le Pen has appealed to workers facing factory closure and areas that have been neglected as factories closed in previous years. In the north and northeast smaller towns and areas neglected in the tech boom and facing deindustrialization have turned to Le Pen. Macron's effort to go into these areas is part of his style and his conviction that the problems have to be tackled in the deindustrialized areas, and to break the image that the National Front is striving to create of a candidate from investment banking that does not understand workers. ...

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Workers at Pemex are about half as efficient as workers at the Brazilian oil company Petrobras, and have one fourth the efficiency of workers at BP, according to a study by the baker Institute in Texas. Union leaders run the union in a manner reminiscent of feudal times with favors and patronage for workers and politicians. Once in power union leaders have run the union for decades, including shooting of rivals. Hernandez Galicia, a son of an oil worker, built up a system of patronage in the sixties and remained in power till he was arrested in 1989 on weapons charges by the government of president Salinas Gortari. The union formed part of the PRI party power base as the 200,000 union workers were expected to vote for the government. In the 1988 election union votes did not go to the PRI candidate and Salinas barely won with 50.7% of the vote. After Hernandez the system of patronage and corruption has continued. At the top of Mexico's agenda for president Nieto is changing Pemex, improving efficiency for reversing decline in oil production, and working with foreign oil companies. ...