By RICARDO CASTILLO

The Real Border Wall at Guatemala

While Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard has consistently rejected the idea that there is a crisis at Mexico’s Guatemalan border, new caravans of various sizes continue to arrive there, looking to cross through Mexico to the United States.

Their crossing, however, is being impeded by the armed Mexican National Guardsmen, who have been decked out in riot gear since Monday, Jan. 20, and have kept at bay the throngs of migrants who have tried on several occasions to cross into Mexico by force, both over the Tecum Uman-Ciudad Hidalgo Border Bridge and wading over the shallow Suchiate River.

The National Guard has pushed the migrants back several times and on Tuesday, Jan. 21, hundreds of them opted for creating “camps” on the Guatemalan side to wait for an opportunity to cross.

Ebrard said that “this happens every year at this time,” during a press conference Tuesday, once again discarding the idea of “a crisis” several times.

“We’re just abiding by the law” in stopping the migrants from entering Mexico illegally as part of a new policy established as of mid-2019, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to punish Mexico economically through export tariffs “on all goods” if Mexico did not stop the endless flow of migrants.

In the first move of a new approach, the National Migration Institute (INE), backed by National Guardsmen, deported 110 migrants, flying them back Tuesday, Jan. 21, to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, from the Tapachula airport, in what seems to be the beginning of a mass deportation trend by the Mexican government.

New Hearing for Garcia Luna

Given a lack of sufficient access to the “massive amount” of charges made against former Mexican top cop Genaro García Luna, Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Brian Cogan on Tuesday, Jan.  21, set a new date, April 2, for the hearing during a brief meeting.

Cogan awarded defense lawyer César de Castro 30 more days to have access to the alleged “tons of evidence” the U.S. Attorney General has accumulated against his client.

The petition was made on Friday, Jan. 17, by both the defense and prosecuting lawyers.

Mexico at the WEF Powwow

Mexican Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez is attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in representation of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who continues to claim that his presence at gatherings of world leaders is not necessary because “the best foreign policy is carried out at home.”

At the forum, Márquez is inviting foreign investors to consider Mexico as a secure place for investment based on the nation’s macroeconomic stability.

“Yes, during the first year (of the AMLO administration), the growth rate was close to zero,” she admitted.

“But our growth perspectives for 2020 and the rest of the term of the administration (through 2024) are really positive, wagering not just on foreign investment, but also o national investment.”

Speaking at the Strategic Perspectives for Latin America panel, Márquez said that through maintaining macroeconomic stability, Mexico is seeking to return to the growth process.

Attractive Carry Trade

On a related issue, fund managers worldwide, according to the Reuters news agency, see 2020 as a good year to invest in Mexico, given the nation’s huge difference in interest rates compared to those in the United States, which is as high as 5.25 percent.

High interest rates allows entrepreneurs to take advantage carry trade investment thanks to the political and economic stability Mexico currently boasts.

This is also the basis of the peso-dollar exchange stability with a low inflationary rate that makes Mexico attractive no matter the stagnancy of its economic growth (or the fact that international rating agencies keep a keen eye on the foreign debt, both of the nation and of the government-owned oil monopoly Petróleos Mexicanos, or Pemex).

The carry trade is a more expensive option for Mexico, but it also keeps the cash flow streaming.

Sports: Baseball Final

The 10-team Mexican Pacific Baseball League’s autumn-winter season is down to the final showdown for the championship, which will be between Mazatlán and Culiacán, both teams from the state of Sinaloa on the Pacific coast.

In separate best of seven series, the Mazatlán Deer defeated the Ciudad Obregón “Yaqui Indians,” Sonora, in a nine-inning pitching duel.

Mazatlán, the visitor, managed to place two men on second and third bases, with one out.

Cliff Roberson, on third, took advantage of a foul fly ball to take on home, with a fast throw. He was first declared out, but when the umpire saw the Yaquis catcher dropped the ball, reversed his call to award the Deer the victory.

In the other final match, Culiacán rallied from behind to beat Los Mochis 3-2 to earn a place in the championship games.

Culiacán, known as Los Tomateros because the city is a tomato agriculture hub, and the Mazatlán Deer have traditionally been the best teams in the Mexican Pacific League, which this past season grew to 10 teams, adding a new franchise from Monterrey, a non-Pacific coastal city.

The championship best of seven match up gets started on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 23, with Culiacán hosting against Mazatlán.

The reward for the championship winning team is that it gets to represent Mexico in the Caribbean Baseball Championship of Nations, known in baseball circles as the “Little World Series,” given the high quality of the AAA and AAAA ball players.

Play ball!