A woman’s touch

Although women are beginning to break the “glass ceiling” in Mexico, it’s still usually through inheritance.  While women have achieved high level positions in politics on their own, it’s still rare to find a woman business tycoon who did not inherit her stake in the business, like Grupo Modelo’s María Asunción Aramburuzabala, who had to fight her brothers-in-law for control of the company after her father’s death.  And, although her business empire is under seige, another woman tycoon has managed — though elimination of her relations (by business rivals and others) to gain control of one of the larger Mexican business enterprises:

Mexico. Eduardo Arellano-Felix the alleged leader of Mexico’s Arelano-Felix Cartel was arrested on Saturday evening after a shootout in Tijuana, Mexico which is located by the US border.

Eduardo Arellano, also known as “The Doctor,” is an alleged leader of one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world: Mexico’s Arellano-Felix Cartel. He is accused of trafficking hundreds of tonnes of cocaine and marijuana to the US.

According to the Mexican defence department, police arrested the suspect on Saturday evening after chasing his car to a home in an upscale neighbourhood of Tijuana.

Mr Arellano-Felix and his sister, Enedina Arellano-Felix, took over the leadership of the cartel after several of their brothers were either arrested or killed, the Mexican authorities say. Still, Enedina Arellano-Felix is the only main suspect from the family who remains at large.

…

The Arellano-Felix family dominated the smuggling of cocaine and marijuana into California in the 1990s and are feared for its ruthless elimination of enemies. The weakening of the family has led other Mexican drug cartels to move in on Tijuana, transforming the city into a chaotic battleground in Felipe Caderon’s drug war.

Bilhá Calderón (Sendero de Peje, Jalisco)