Mexico

Enrique Peña Nieto Takes the Long-Awaited Oath

The road to the presidency for Enrique Peña Nieto started long before he won the Mexico State governorship in 2005. His uncle Arturo Montiel proceeded Nieto in the governor’s mansion (1999-2005) and cousin Alfredo del Mazo González ruled the state (1981-1986) and served as secretary of energy in the remaining years of President Miguel de … Read more

An Opportunity for Mexico’s New President, Enrique Peña Nieto

In a recent encounter between one of the authors and Arnold Schwarzenegger, long-time actor and former governor of California (2003-2011), he offered a stinging rebuke about California’s neighbor to the south. “When is Mexico going to wake up?” Schwarzenegger opined. “It is with great natural resources and great people. I have filmed movies there and … Read more

Mexico’s President-elect Hits the Ground Running

In the lead-up to tomorrow’s inauguration, Enrique Peña Nieto and his Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party—PRI) have crafted a number of legislative proposals they hope will set the tone for his six years in Mexico’s highest office. Three key initiatives are now pending debate before the lower chamber. First is an initiative to fold … Read more

Mexican President-Elect Peña Nieto to Name Cabinet

The president-elect of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, will be inaugurated this Saturday with new cabinet members to be revealed today. As of Thursday, evening two appointments have been confirmed. The current executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, will head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores-SRE), replacing … Read more

Mexico Primes for the Presidential Oath

For weeks, Mexico’s Estado Mayor (Secret Service) and Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (Public Security Secretariat—SSP) have been laying the groundwork for a safe and peaceful transfer of power on December 1, when Enrique Peña Peña Nieto of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party—PRI) takes the oath of office. The ceremony is scheduled to begin … Read more

Mexico’s Lower Chamber Passes Labor Reform

After much public and legislative wrangling, Mexico’s lower chamber opted to bring the country’s labor code into the twenty-first century. With 361 votes supporting the measure and 129 in opposition, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party—PRI), Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party—PAN), Partido Verde Ecologista de México (Green Party—PVEM) and Partido Nueva Alianza (New … Read more

Yosoy132: perspectivas a futuro

El 1 de diciembre de 2012, Enrique Peña Nieto asumirá la presidencia de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Ante eso, ¿cuál debe ser la reacción de Yosoy132? Los caminos a seguir son muchos y variados. El primero, y el más improbable de todos, sería la disolución del movimiento ante los hechos consumados. Esto se podría apoyar, … Read more

Mexico’s New Oil Discoveries: Too Good to be True?

Mexico’s successful deep-water drilling of wells “Trion-1” (August 29) and “Supremus-1” (October 5) in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico has caused national euphoria. It has shown the country’s considerable oil potential and revamped public confidence in state-owned company Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos), whose reputation had dwindled for the past years following a decrease in production, corruption … Read more

#Yosoy132: la cara más reciente de una larga tradición

Los movimientos estudiantiles en México no son nada nuevo. En 1912 una huelga estudiantil dio origen a la Escuela Libre de Derecho y en 1929 otra huelga de estudiantes consiguió la autonomía para la Universidad Nacional. Pero el gran momento llegó en 1968 cuando, enmarcado en un movimiento global de rebelión juvenil del cual muchos … Read more

Calderón Inaugurates New Subway Line in Mexico City

Mexican President Felipe Calderón inaugurated line 12 of the Mexico City subway yesterday, which will incorporate 20 new stations and connect Tláhuac, a largely poor semirural area, to the city’s subway grid. According to Calderón, thanks to the new “golden line”, which commemorates 200 years of Mexican independence, Mexico’s transportation system can compete with the … Read more

Mexico’s Proposed Labor Reforms: The First Test for the New PRI

Mexico’s 62nd Congress had just been inaugurated on September 1 when legislators heard from President Felipe Calderón, who sent a labor bill to the Chamber of Deputies for consideration. Under a new fast-track authority, the executive branch can submit legislation to the lower chamber of the legislative branch, after which the lower and upper … Read more

Concerns in Belize: Why the U.S. and Mexico Should Pay Attention

In the fight against organized crime, Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras grab the headlines—but politicos and analysts neglect to mention Belize. This Central American country of 330,000 bordering Mexico and Guatemala is fast becoming fertile ground for organized crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and piracy. At 39 murders … Read more

Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador Ditches the Party

Dean Martin said it often: “You’re nobody till somebody loves you.” And right about now, Mexico’s political Left is feeling the pinch after its alpha leader, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), exited the strongest of the left-of-center parties, the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (Party of the Democratic Revolution—PRD), after Mexico’s electoral tribunal declared Enrique … Read more

U.S.-Mexico Trade War Looms in Tomato Dispute

Fears of a trade war between the United States and Mexico escalated on Thursday following a preliminary decision in the politics of tomatoes. In a surprising and premature ruling, the Commerce Department sided with Florida tomato producers in terminating an agreement that has set a minimum price on Mexican tomatoes imported into the United States … Read more