By RICARDO CASTILLO As Mexico tries to get back as close as possible to doing business the way it did just three months ago, the division of opinions of how to go about it is growing exponentially on all fronts. The big question is: How soon is soon enough to open back up for business? On the first front. there
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Jalisco Skids Deeper in Debt As pressure grows on Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) “to make use” of credits available from international funding organizations, the president becomes more adamant and intrinsic about pushing the nation into further debt. Much of that pressure is coming from opposition state governors, who convened last week in Parras, Coahuila,
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AMLO’s New Ordinances
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Bleak Outlook on Poverty There is no question that Mexico’s gross domestic product will plummet this year. The question is how much it will fall, and guesses range from between 5.7 percent to 10.5 percent. A recent study by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development (Coneval) presented two different economic scenarios for the rest
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Storm Brews over Clean Energy Ban After the vociferous reaction from a number of top Mexican and international business organization leaders against the new ordinance published in the Official Gazette on Friday, May 15, by the Energy Secretariat called the Policy of Trustworthiness, Security, Continuity and Quality in the National Electricity System, as well as a myriad
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Energy Plaintiffs Sue, AMLO Replies There was a response from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) on Monday, May 18, to the international plaintiffs suing his administration for breach of contract regarding the cancelation of their operations of clean energy production. “They have the right to go to court,” he said, “as do we have the
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Just last week, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) extended the presence of soldiers on the streets of the nation to support the efforts of municipal and state police, along with the now-one-year-old National Guard (GN) in the fight against crime. The move was seen by AMLO’s critics in the conservative press as “unconstitutional” and “illegal.”
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Wind and Solar Energy Thwarted The publication in the Mexican government’s Official Gazette on Friday, May 15, of a change in federal electricity policies, titled the Policy of Trustworthiness, Security, Continuity and Quality in the National Electricity System has irked many a foreign corporation that has invested in renewable electricity. Mexican Energy (Sener) Secretary Rocío Nahle has
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Unemployment: Mexico’s New Nightmare Over 555,000 Mexican workers lost their jobs in April alone. Those who lost jobs in May are not yet counted in a report issued on Tuesday, May 12, by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). The bulk of the lost jobs, according to the IMSS, was in manufacturing, including high-employment maquiladoras, auto industries and
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Financial desperation and back-to-work decision-making just as Mexico enters what is expected to be the peak of its covid-19 pandemic are definitely poorly timed. But then, that’s the reality the Mexican government is facing today. As of Tuesday, May 12, Mexico’s National Health Council announced the approval of four agreements for a progressive lifting of stay-at-home measures
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