New president of Human Rights Commission elected

The Senate elected Raúl Placencia as the new president of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), known popularly as the national ombudsman. Placencia is a professor of law at the National University, and has served as a “visitor” at the CNDH since 1999. He is viewed as providing continuity with the tenure of José Luis Soberanes, and as unlikely to engage in high profile battles with the political establishment on human rights issues. The second place candidate, Emilio Álvarez Icaza, was the human rights advocate in the Federal District, and had been endorsed by most of Mexico’s non-governmental human rights groups. (Reforma 11/5)