Mexico

Americas Quarterly - Winter 2015 - Iguala Protest

Fighting Corruption: Easy to Promise, Hard to Achieve

The disappearance and apparent murder of 43 students in Iguala, Mexico, last September is a stark reminder of how organized crime and corruption are intertwined. The students were arrested by police officers allegedly sent by the mayor of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, to intercept their buses on their way to a demonstration. Reportedly, the students … Read more

Americas Quarterly - Winter 2015 - Kukulkan Chichen Itza

10 Things to Do: Yucatán Peninsula

Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, also called the Mayan Riviera, is home to extraordinary pre-Columbian ruins and stunning beaches. Spanning three Mexican states and parts of Belize and Guatemala, the Yucatán is also turning into one of the premiere music and nightlife meccas. All prices are in U.S. dollars.— Wilda Escarfuller 1. Climb a pyramid. The Chichén … Read more

Monday Memo: Haitian Immigrants – Venezuelan Currency Losses – Abortion in Chile – Iguala Relatives in Geneva – Puerto Rico’s Economy

Likely top stories this week: the deadline passes for children of undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status in the Dominican Republic; U.S. companies stand to lose billions of dollars in Venezuelan currency losses; Michelle Bachelet moves to end Chile’s abortion ban; relatives of Mexico’s 43 missing students meet with UN officials in Geneva; Puerto … Read more

Mexico After Ayotzinapa: Ya Me Cansé, Por Eso Propongo

Translated by Paulina Suárez-Hesketh The Ayotzinapa case (in which 43 students were disappeared by local government forces in the city of Iguala, Mexico) has galvanized an unexpected amount of social energy in Mexico. The healthy civic agitation that followed the case, along with the countless expressions of protest and dissatisfaction, reveal the desires of a … Read more

Mexico Confirms Deaths of 43 Students

Mexican officials confirmed on Tuesday that the 43 students who disappeared in the southern state of Guerrero on September 26 are dead. Citing confessions and forensic evidence, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam concluded that the group of students was murdered and incinerated by a local gang who mistook the students for a rival gang. The … Read more

Monday Memo: Venezuela Protests – Haiti Elections – Caribbean Energy – AT&T – Brazil Olympics

This week’s likely top stories: Venezuelan opposition leaders halt protests in Caracas; Haiti swears in its nine-member Provisional Electoral Council; the U.S. hosts the first-ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit; AT&T acquires Nextel Mexico; Rio’s environment secretary announces that Guanabara Bay will not be clean in time for the 2016 Olympic Games. Opposition Curbs Protests in … Read more

Mexican Defense Ministry Implicated in Illegal Arms Sales

According to reports in German and Mexican news media, Mexico’s Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Secretariat of National Defense—SEDENA) has been implicated in the illegal sale of German arms in the Mexican state of Guerrero, in cooperation with a representative from German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. Guerrero is one of four Mexican states to … Read more

New Study Ranks Democracy in Latin America

Only two countries in Latin America—Costa Rica and Uruguay—can be considered “full democracies,” according to an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study commissioned by BBC for Democracy Day on January 20. The report says that a majority of Latin American countries hold “free and fair” elections and are better ranked than their counterparts in the Middle … Read more

Protesters Attempt to Enter Army Base in Mexico

Protesters and family members of the 43 student protesters who disappeared last September in Iguala, Mexico tried to enter an army base in Iguala on Monday. The families of the missing students and their supporters allege that the Mexican government has failed to examine the role of the military in the tragedy. Participants in the … Read more

Monday Memo: Haiti Deadlock – Cuba Prisoners – PEMEX – U.S. Gay Marriage – China and CELAC

This week’s likely top stories: Haiti attempts to negotiate its way out of political deadlock; Cuba frees 53 political prisoners, holding up its end of the rapprochement deal with U.S.; Mexico cuts funding to PEMEX causing major oil sector layoffs; the U.S. Supreme court declines to review a challenge to Louisiana’s gay marriage ban; China … Read more

U.S.-Mexico Relations: The Gifts of Three Kings?

More than Christmas, Three Kings Day on Tuesday was the holiday to celebrate if you come from Latin America. Starting in Mexico and going south, the holiday—the Dia de los Reyes Magos—commemorates the New Testament story in Matthew that describes the visit of three wise men to Bethlehem to see the newborn baby Jesus. Each … Read more

Mexican Police Officers Investigated Over Disappeared Journalist

Thirteen police officers in the Mexican city of Medellín de Bravo in the state of Veracruz were detained on Thursday as part of the investigation into the kidnapping of the journalist Moisés Sánchez Cerezo. Sánchez Cerezo, the director and editor of the small, local publication La Unión, was abducted last Friday, January 2 by unidentified … Read more

Policy Updates

A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region.

Peña Nieto’s Plan to Tackle Economic Inequality

Mexican President Peña Nieto laid out his ten point plan to tackle injustice and corruption in the country last month as part of his response to the murder of 43 students in Iguala, Mexico. Although the plan has been derided for lacking true punch and political support, one less discussed, but significant, piece of the … Read more