Los Angeles journalist Daniel Hernandez, in Mexico the past year or so writing a book, has left the federal district for Puebla to get a break from the "toxic urbanism of the capital." He blogs:

What is swine flu? And ... wait ... should we even call it that? How did it appear in humans? How exactly is it spreading from Mexico to other countries? Where exactly in Mexico did it originate -- that is, if it originated in Mexico at all? How many people worldwide are actually infected by it, or just 'suspected' of being infected? And why are people dying in Mexico and no where else?

No one seems to know, and that's a deficit of knowledge that could be costing people their lives....

There is a rising level of impatience on unanswered questions about the swine flu, and it's up to the Mexican government, firstly, to start providing answers. On Monday night I caught a bit of the live press conference that several Cabinet members held -- every non-cable channel was carrying it -- and found it terribly frustrating. The AP's Mark Stevenson was hammering the panel with rapid-fire questions but the secretaries just rang around the inquiries.

At one point, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova churlishly said, "Ladies first," before passing the mic to stone-faced Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa and chuckling inappropriately. For me, that's when the truly dangerous quality of Mexico's culture of political nepotism became so clear. You get the sense that some of these authorities have no idea what they're doing, and just got appointed to their post because it was their turn.

In the age of swine flu, that's the stuff of nightmares.

He'll be heading back to Mexico City shortly.

Photo: Conrad Starr