By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS The Tragic Saga of Victoria She came to Mexico as a refugee in 2018, with the hopes of eventually making her way to the United States and getting political asylum there. But for 36-year-old Salvadorian Victoria Esperanza Salazar Arriaza, the journey north would come to an abrupt end at the hands of the Mexican police, who, after
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS From Fuel Thief to Candidate The former head of Mexico’s left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) in the northern state of Tamaulipas, Miguel Ángel Almaraz Maldonado, who was arrested in 2009 by the Federal Attorney General’s Office for allegedly working with the Zetas organized crime group to steal oil from the state-run oil giant Petróleos Mexicanos
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Roberta’s Back In May 2018, then-outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson made a prediction, saying that she was not saying goodbye but rather “so long.” On Tuesday, March 23, Jacobson kept her promise and returned to Mexico, this time as U.S. President Joe Biden’s southern border affairs representative. Jacobson led a committee of U.S. officials in
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By RICARDO CASTILLO An Irate Response After Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) asked Supreme Court Chief Justice Arturo Zaldivar to order an investigation into Judge Juan Pablo Gómez Fierro (who indefinitely suspended the president’s controversial new electricity bill), Zaldivar complied and requested the officer in charge of the Council of the Judiciary, Carlos Alpízar, to pay a visit
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Erstwhile Aztec and Spaniards Meet in Court A major political war between the modern conquest version of the Aztec versus the Spaniards is now being wagered in Mexico between conservative and liberal forces. The conflict was sparked by the controversial ruling made by Second District Court for the Administration, Economic Competency and Broadcast Services for Mexico City
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By RICARDO CASTILLO New Mexican Tourist Resort Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) Saturday visited the largest of the three islands, popularly known as “Las Marías,” off the coast of Nayarit in the Pacific Ocean. During his visit, AMLO announced that in three months the archipelago, which once served as a federal prison, would open up to tourists as
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Lozoya Case Postponed The start date for the trial of former Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) Director Emilio Lozoya Austin was postponed on request of the Mexican Attorney General’s Office due to pandemic-related complications. The deadline was supposed to be last Sunday, March 7. Judge José Artemio Zúñiga Mendoza, however, granted investigators more time to conclude the presentation of
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Women March Nationwide From A and B to Y and Z, Mexican women will protest in Monday, March 8, International Women’s Day, against macho violence in the nation. Though in the past, much of the attention of previous demonstrations has been centered around the Mexico City main square Zócalo, this year the programming for the protests will
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Pemex Drops Fitch, But It’s Not Reciprocal The Mexican state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) dropped the international ratings firm Fitch from its budget on Tuesday, March 2, saying that it “no longer needs” the New York-based company’s services. Fitch’s ratings of the humongous Pemex debt has been harsh, and in its latest move. Fitch downgraded
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Committees Approve Energy Bill Late Monday, March 1, the Mexican Senate’s Energy, Environment and Legislative Studies Committees approved President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) controversial electric energy bill, which went to the Senate floor on Tuesday, March 2, for a fast-track vote. AMLO had asked Congress to approve the bill without even the slightest of changes, despite
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