By KELIN DILLON After Mexico’s Attorney General of the Republic’s (FGR) acknowledgement of (and subsequent lack of follow up on) crimes committed by the country’s customs officials, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) turned the blame onto governors from the nation’s northern states for their complicity in the alleged crimes. From 2020 until February of this year, the FGR’s
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XINHUA Leticia Robles makes a meager living by selling artisan soaps made of aromatic essential oils. At least, she did until the covid-19 pandemic dried up tourism in Huichapan, a small village in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo. Designated a “Magic Town” by Mexico’s Tourism Secretariat, Huichapan was until the covid-19 outbreak in February 2020 a tourist magnet known
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By KELIN DILLON The official campaigns for Mexico’s upcoming June 2021 midterm elections kicked off in the wee hours of Sunday, April 4, as 21,000 official government seats are up for the vote. Due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, the electoral process has looked a little different this year, with many candidates opting to hold virtual rallies to maintain social
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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 KELIN DILLON Between Jan. 1 and March 11 of this year, Mexico experienced its worst forest fires on record in the past decade, with 29,559 hectares of land affected by the flames in the two-month period. Mexico’s National Forestry Commission (Conafor) reported the areas of the country most affected were the State of Mexico (Edoméx), with 5,596 hectares, Oaxaca,
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By KELIN DILLON Mexico’s New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG) has reportedly spread its influence over the past four years into the states of Michoacán, Zacatecas and Guanajuato, with narco trafficking-linked violence in the regions increasing more and more as time goes on. The CJNG is known for its military-like tactics, using camouflage and heavy-duty artillery, with weapon stockpiles so powerful
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By KELIN DILLON Mexico’s National Energy Control Center (Cenace) has been planning strategically timed blackouts across the country to help reduce energy consumption following a low supply of natural gas, which have now been affecting parts of Mexico that were never planned to lose power. Northern Mexico mainly uses gas to generate its energy, and the Texas pipeline that brings
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The Ethical Implications of Indigenous-Sourced Inspiration By KELIN DILLON “Bad artists copy, good artists steal!” Or so goes the famous quote. Much can be said about the deeper meaning of the words — to make something your own, and better, is an art in and of itself. However, when it comes to stealing designs from indigenous Mexican artisans, it isn’t
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Political Lockup No sooner had Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) backed down Friday, Jan. 22, on permitting states government and private businesses to purchase anti-covid vaccines, then the 10 governors belonging to the opposition group Federalist Alliance (AF) fired back, complaining that AMLO’s change of mind had come “too late.” “The authorization to join this
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By RICARDO CASTILLO A Birds Story Birds of a feather flock together, says the old adage. This week began with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, Jan. 11, visiting part of his “wonderful wall” in Alamo, a township just east to McAllen, along the Mexico-Texas border. He took the occasion to praise Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) with
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