![President Andrés Manuel López Obrador speaks about judicial reform in June at the National Palace in Mexico City.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2157010103-300x200.jpg)
AMLO’s Judicial Reform Overlooks the Key Weakness of Mexican Justice
Prosecutors’ willingness and capacity to investigate crimes is the nation’s judicial system’s weakest link, writes an expert.
![Claudia Maribel Vera Pech, left, 38, and Regina Laudalina Valle Chim, 47, of the award-winning Chelemeras group trek through a wetland toward the beginnings of a new forest, planted by hand](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C26A7302-300x200.jpg)
Meet the Chelemeras: The Maya Women Who Restore Mangroves in Mexico’s Yucatán
Internationally hailed, the reforestation project run by 14 women targets these life-sheltering, shoreline-protecting ecosystems.
![A 1940 front page of El Universal reports shortages of morphine and other drugs due to war in Europe.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AQ0324_LV2-300x183.jpg)
When Mexico Tried a Different Approach to Drugs—and Washington Said No
In 1940, a major reform envisioned treating drug addiction with regulated dispensaries, until the U.S. helped put a stop to it.
![Using paints made from local soil, Dell Alvarado depicts the environmental toll of resource extraction in her native part of Oaxaca.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Layu2-300x231.jpg)
The Dark Side of Development in Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec
With handfuls of earth and hard data, a Oaxacan artist testifies to the toll that a wind farm boom and other changes have taken on her native lands.
![Soldiers help villagers at an emergency shelter on June 11 after violent conflict in southern Mexico.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-2156655636-300x227.jpg)
For Sheinbaum, a Security Challenge in AMLO’s Home State
Southern states like Tabasco are enduring increased criminal activity. How will Mexico’s next government tackle the pervasive presence of drug cartels?
![U.S. President Joe Biden and President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the '2023 North American Leaders' Summit on January 2023 in Mexico City. The American Counterweight in Mexico: Washington needs a viable policy that balances a stricter line to protect critical U.S. interests at a vulnerable moment.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-1455358628-300x200.jpg)
The U.S. Counterweight in Mexico
Washington needs a viable policy that balances a stricter line to protect critical U.S. interests at a vulnerable moment.
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AQ Podcast | What To Expect From Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico
Scholar Viri Ríos on what explains Sheinbaum’s resounding victory and how she may use the mandate Mexicans have given her.
![](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-2155264445-300x200.jpg)
How Claudia Sheinbaum Will Be Different From AMLO
Mexico’s next president may prove less popular but “more competent” than her predecessor, the author writes.
![Mexico's President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum celebrates her victory at the Zócalo in Mexico City on June 3.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Sheinbaum-300x202.jpg)
REACTION: Sheinbaum’s Unexpectedly Big Landslide in Mexico
The ruling Morena party dominated the elections, securing Mexico City, new governorships and likely supermajorities in Congress.
![](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2153209771-300x204.jpg)
Three Things to Watch in Mexico’s Election
Beyond the presidential race, contests for nine governorships and Congress will shape the nation’s political future.
![Relatives of missing people participate in a demonstration on May 10 in Mexico City. In Mexico’s Election, the Search for the Missing Should Be Front and Center.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZulverSantamaria-300x200.jpg)
In Mexico’s Election, the Search for the Missing Should Be Front and Center
Presidential candidates need to prioritize the country’s disappeared and the mothers searching for them.
![The public watches a presidential debate between Xochitl Galvez, Claudia Sheinbaum and Jorge Alvarez Maynez in Mexico City in April.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mexico-Debate-300x215.jpg)
Mexico’s Post-Election Fiscal Reality Check
Sheinbaum and Gálvez are downplaying the country’s budget peril, while Pemex’s current path is unsustainable.
![](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AQ0224_ONLINE-300x183.jpg)
When Mexico City’s Salsa-Dancing Pensioners Became Political Kryptonite
A showdown over dancing in a public plaza brought a halt to Sandra Cuevas’s rapid ascent—and continues to hang over her Senate campaign.
![](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AQ0224_CULT_FictionOpen-300x183.jpg)
A Son of Mexico’s Elite Bids for Literary Stardom in the U.S.
In Nicolás Medina Mora’s debut novel, a failed attempt at Americanization yields critical reflections on two North American elites.
![Migrants travel through Tapachula in southern Mexico in Oct. 2023. The next administration in Mexico should work more closely with its neighbors to address migration.](https://americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/MexicoNorthernTriangle-300x200.jpg)
Mexico Needs a New Strategy for the Northern Triangle
The next administration should work more closely with its neighbors to address migration.