POLITICAL TALK: Leo XIV in Coahuila? The new Pope has a history in Ramos Arizpe.

I. DEVASTATED PARK

With long faces and heated spirits, the residents of the Bellavista neighborhood walked around after seeing how the Aguas de Saltillo (Agsal) company, headed by Iván José Vicente , passed a bulldozer over a section of the Bellavista-Ojo de Agua Linear Park . The spectacle of desolation surprised even the personnel of the municipal Environment Department, who arrived for routine maintenance, finding mountains of dirt, destroyed children's games and nothing to maintain. The municipal officials, according to those who witnessed the scene, scratched their heads in disbelief at the intervention that no one notified them about and that turned the place into a scene from Mad Max.

II. WELCOME TO THE DESERT

What hurts the neighbors most is seeing the history of a park that had been built since 2010 erased. In these 14 years, the green space had become the heart of Bellavista's community life : impromptu tournaments on its court and afternoons of reading on its benches. Now, where children's laughter once stood, only mounds of dirt and desolation remain. They just wait for the playground equipment and court to be replaced when the project is finished...

III. ACTIVISM

In recent weeks, the PRI councilor of Saltillo, Eduardo Medrano has ramped up his social media activity with unusual vigor. Whether "defending" the local government from the accusations of Morena federal deputy Tony Castro or criticizing the federal government's security policy, his strategy of remaining in the public eye has not gone unnoticed . Although the race is still a long way off, those close to the PRI's electoral kitchen tell us that Medrano already has a spot secured as a candidate for local deputy in the upcoming election .

IV. TRICOLOR CHESS

This early positioning strategy makes sense: the PRI never wastes time. We're told the party is already analyzing which men and women are ideal candidates to compete in the 2026 local Congressional renewal . The big question among political observers is which district Medrano would compete in. So you know: when you see Medrano multiplying his public appearances, it's not a coincidence, but an electoral causality.

V. JUDICIAL CANDIDATES IN THE EYES

The controversy over the selection of judicial candidates with possible criminal ties has uncovered a crucial flaw in the new selection system. Senator Gerardo Fernández Noroña alleged that the candidates include "defenders of drug traffickers" seeking to infiltrate the judiciary. Guadalupe Taddei , president of the INE (National Electoral Institute ), disengaged, arguing that she only organizes the election, without reviewing profiles. For her part, President Sheinbaum attempted to smooth things over by suggesting that the TEPJF (Spanish Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary) could intervene, but the damage has already been done: the names on the ballots, according to Noroña, do not meet the constitutional requirement of integrity.

VI. PROFILE WITH LAGOON LINKS

Criticism of the judicial candidates is not limited to their alleged ties to drug trafficking, as Noroña warns, as we hear of candidates who fail to meet basic requirements, such as paying child support, which, according to the Constitution, should disqualify them from holding public office. Even more alarming, it is said, is the case of a candidate with a criminal record in the United States, whose international criminal history went unnoticed. This case, with ties to the Laguna region, promises to generate further controversy.

VII. JOBS ON THE DOWN

Interesting data provided by the IMSS of Zoé Robledo , with figures as of April, regarding the behavior of formal employment in Coahuila : in general, the entity presents a decrease in the number of workers registered with the institution, but in the disaggregated data there is a nuance that is worth highlighting: the Laguna region is the only one in the entity that records growth in the period between April 2024 and April 2025 , during which just over 4,400 jobs were generated in Coahuila and Durango, of which just over 700 correspond to Torreón.

VIII. YELLOW LIGHTS

In fact, among the IMSS figures, one of the most worrying indicators relates to the Centro region, which has seen the greatest absolute loss of formal jobs , with nearly 4,000, undoubtedly due to the inactivity of Altos Hornos de México . The Frontera region is next in line , where almost as many jobs have been lost as in the Centro region. The IMSS data should raise red flags, at least, on the state's dashboard.

IX. RAMOS ARIZPE ON THE VATICAN MAP*

The white smoke that yesterday presented the new Pope Leo XIV to the world has a curious and totally unexpected link to Coahuilense : according to a report published by Martín Salazar , inLa Voz Online . The pontiff is said to have been in Ramos Arizpe approximately 15 years ago . Father Francisco Peña , former parish priest of San Nicolás de Tolentino, shared that Robert Francis Prevost (his given name) visited the city as part of his work as prior general of the Augustinian Order. The faithful in the town are already beginning to feel proud of this unexpected connection with the successor of Peter.