In the face of mounting public concern over rising consumer costs, President Felipe Calderon announced Monday the creation of Vivir Mejor, a network of new and existing social welfare programs designed to serve as a safety net for Mexico’s poor during tough times ahead.

Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) announced plans last week to visit 55 of its citizens sitting on death row in the United States, in the wake of two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that lifted a moratorium on prisoner executions.

The Mexican government agreed Tuesday to meet with members of the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), the leftist guerilla organization responsible for sabotage against Pemex gas pipelines last year.

A Mexico City judge has sentenced a 32-year-old French woman to 96 years in prison for being an active participant in the kidnapping gang known as “The Zodiacs.”

A 30-second ad comparing left-wing leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to Adolf Hitler did little this week to foster dialog between legislators who have hijacked the floor of Mexico’s Congress and supporters of President Felipe Calderon’s proposed energy reforms.