North America Archives - Page 22 of 61

Why We Need a NAFTA for the Digital Age

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was originally negotiated in 1994, four out of five of the largest U.S. companies built automobiles. Google, Facebook and Amazon hadn’t been born. E-commerce, as such, didn’t exist. That’s part of why NAFTA renegotiations are more than just a political football: they are imperative for the region … Read more

After Earthquake, Mexicans Vent Anger at Their Political Class

When Avelino Mendez, a local political leader, stopped by San Gregorio Altapulco to inspect the damage done by last week’s severe earthquake, he expected to find the southern Mexico City community grieving for its 13 dead. They were mourning. But they were also irate, and chased the portly chief of the Xochimilco borough through the … Read more

How Mexico’s Anti-Corruption Fight Went Off-Track

Eighteen months ago, I wrote in AQ about the success of Mexico’s citizen-driven corruption fight in Congress. Civil society groups, academics and activists had pushed for the rejection of a watered-down anti-corruption bill and instead presented their own, sharpened version of the legislation. This citizen’s bill, called #Ley3de3 (or #Law3of3) promised not only to help identify, … Read more

18 en Latinoamérica: Cuando problemas económicos amenazan con truncar un futuro alentador

Read in English A los 18 años, Andrés sabe exactamente lo que quiere: un trabajo en un laboratorio de química analítica y una esposa hermosa. Pero sin duda es difícil conseguir esto. Lograr su primera meta, convertirse en químico, significa levantarse a las 4 de la mañana en Puente Viejo, un pueblo rural a dos … Read more

18 in Latin America: When Economic Turmoil Threatens a Promising Career

Leer en español This article is adapted from AQ’s print issue on youth in Latin America. At 18, Andrés knows exactly what he wants: a job in an analytical chemistry lab and a beautiful wife. It sure is hard to get there, though. Reaching that first goal — becoming a chemist — means getting up at 4 a.m. in … Read more

Immigrants wait in a processing cell at the Adelanto Detention Facility

Immigrants Are Dying in U.S. Detention Centers. And It Could Get Worse.

Osmar Epifanio González Gadba, 32, hanged himself in March after three months in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in California while awaiting deportation to Nicaragua. Jean Carlos Jiménez-Joseph, 27, from Panama, hanged himself in ICE custody two months later, after 19 days in solitary confinement. The morning of his death, a … Read more

Pardinas: Mexico Needs an International Commission to Explore Espionage Claims

Mexico is experiencing a dramatic crisis in leadership and should call an international commission to investigate reports that spyware bought by federal agencies to uncover criminal activity was instead turned on critics like lawyers, journalists and anti-corruption activists, said Juan E. Pardinas, one of Mexico’s leading transparency advocates and one of the espionage targets. Pardinas … Read more

If NAFTA Ends, Ford’s Move to China Will Be Just the Start

Ford announced this week that instead of building its new Focus – the best-selling car in the world – in a new $1.6 billion dollar Mexico-based plant, it will ship cars for North American customers from China. Ford has promised that its decision won’t reduce its workforce. Yet even if that is true, American workers … Read more

AQ VIDEO: A Mexico Border Tour With Alfredo Corchado

“This is the Ellis Island of the Southwest,” says author and journalist Alfredo Corchado. He knows from experience. Born in Mexico, Corchado’s family moved to El Paso when he was a boy, and he was a waiter in their restaurant just two blocks from the border itself. In this short video, Corchado shows AQ Editor-in-Chief Brian Winter how … Read more

Mexico Can’t Fix Its Criminal Justice System Alone

This month, facing public outrage over a spate of killings of journalists, Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto responded with promises of institutional change and improved cooperation between federal and state investigators. For Mexicans, this kind of official rhetoric has become part of a time-worn routine that does little to correct the country’s national crisis of … Read more

Trump Deportations Hit Immigrants With Strong U.S. Roots

This article has been updated It didn’t feel much like a homecoming when Luis Fernando Ortiz, 22, stepped off the plane in Mexico City after a decade away. His wrists and ankles were rubbed raw, chained for the duration of a 12-hour journey by bus and plane from Kentucky. His car, apartment, and family – … Read more

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s Retirement Is a Loss for Bipartisanship

Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Miami) struck fear into the hearts of Democrats and career diplomats alike during her 2011-2013 tenure as Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. A tough questioner, she championed hardline conservative views with the aplomb of a 30-year House veteran. But she is also one of those increasingly rare creatures – … Read more

Mexican DREAMers Use Fiction to Share Their Immigration Reality

Paper plays an outsized role in Amalia Rojas’ life. A lack of papers – or at least a lack of the right ones – diverted her college dreams when, at 18, she found out she hadn’t been born in the U.S. and didn’t have the legal status she needed to apply for financial aid. Six … Read more

Why U.S. Tax Reform Threatens Mexico’s Financial Future

While tweets and speeches may continue to cause consternation in Mexico and Canada, the existential threat to NAFTA seems to have passed. President Donald Trump is now talking about giving “renegotiation a good, strong shot” rather than rescinding the free trade agreement entirely. On the docket will be intellectual property, labor rights, e-commerce, rules of … Read more

Does AMLO Have a Venezuela Problem?

This story has been updated, and a correction has been appended below. Attack ads comparing Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the late Hugo Chávez helped sink his first bid for the Mexican presidency over a decade ago. Now, with 14 months to go until the 2018 presidential election, he is once again the front-runner and … Read more