By MARK LORENZANA As an extreme drought grips Nuevo León, a state in the northeast region of Mexico — making water increasingly scarce — thieves have resorted to illegally tapping the biggest water reservoir in the state, El Cuchillo Dam. The water crisis in Nuevo León has worsened in the last six months that its state government, headed by Governor Samuel García, has
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By RICARDO CASTILLO It is just now that we are witnessing the devastating political tsunami the victory of now-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) wrought on the nation’s political system and the parties that competed in the 2018 presidential election. AMLO’s party, the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), swept the election with 53 percent of the vote, while his nearest
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS Three-quarters of all recent South Korean investment in Mexico has been in states that border the United States, according to a recent study conducted by the Universidad Tecnológico de Monterrey (Tec de Monterrey) in cooperation with the Korean Embassy here. “More than 80 percent of all accumulated Korean investment in Mexico — which now amounts to
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Mexico’s third and final presidential electoral debates on Tuesday, June 12, only served to confirm the until-then prevailing trend shown in the polls all along, and they were a repeat of the previous two debates. In short, neither candidates Ricardo Anaya nor José Antonio Meade managed to impose themselves sufficiently to earn a not-so-glorious second place in voter preference, while frontrunner
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By RICARDO CASTILLO The last lap of Mexico’s 2018 general elections begins today, Tuesday, June 12, with the four presidential candidates meeting in Mérida, Yucatán, for the third and final debates organize by the National Electoral Institute (INE.) As expected, unusual moves are happening. The most notorious is the turn of events stemming out of a stumping speech by the “For Mexico to
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Sunday night television is never prime-time viewing in Mexico. But last Sunday, May 20, ratings were through the roof on a double-header featuring first the Mexican Soccer League championship game between the Torreón Saints and Toluca Red Devils, and, later, the second of three presidential debates, this time featuring the “Fantastic Four” hopefuls. In case you’re interested, the Saints became
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Independent presidential candidate Margarita Zavala finally gave up on her aspirations of becoming the first woman president of Mexico. Last Wednesday, May 16, she made the announcement during a TV talkshow where she was featured as the only interviewee. Her resignation caught nearly everyone off guard as the National Electoral Institute (INE) made it plain and clear
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Three issues are beleaguering the ongoing Mexican presidential election. One is the approval by the Electoral Court of the candidacy of now-fifth competitor Jaime “El Bronco” Rodríguez as an independent candidate on the presidential electoral ballot. Second is the 70th birthday party of former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari last week, and, finally, third, the apparent demise of
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Monday morning blues and indignation? You bet. Definitely for two independent presidential hopefuls, it was a weekend full of electoral turmoil. Their candidacies were rejected by the National Electoral Institute’s (INE) Committee of Prerogatives and Political Parties, which last Friday decided that pre-candidates Jaime Rodríguez Calderón and Armando Ríos Piter did not meet the minimum of signatures
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By RICARDO CASTILLO There is no doubt that there is racial sensitivity in Mexico and it can take on many different meanings, including political ones. In case you’re wondering what racism has to do with Mexican politics, let’s start from the beginning of a complex story mixed with religious fervor and political greed. It should be obvious by now that the political party led by Andrés Manuel López
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