By RICARDO CASTILLO Red Alert for Three Kings’ Day There could be no more powerful image over the Christmas and New Year holidays than the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) doctors working out of covid-laden patient wards telling everyone, “We don’t want to see you here. Please, stay home.” Their pleas, however, fell on deaf ears. On Tuesday, Jan. 5,
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By RICARDO CASTILLO AMLO’s New Year Message The prospects for 2021 are looking good in the eyes of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) as the nation’s treasury starts the new decade with a 65 billion peso surplus, thanks to stiff collections practices that have “wealthy tax evaders” climbing the walls. To be clear, that does not mean
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By KELIN DILLON The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in many casualties around the globe, and healthcare personnel, particularly in Mexico, have unfortunately been no exception. Back in September, Amnesty International released a report revealing that Mexico had a higher number of healthcare workers die from covid-related issues than any other country in the world. As of Dec. 21, 2,330 medical
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By RICARDO CASTILLO It seemed like two years ago, back in December 2018, that then-new Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) had partially paved the rocky road that would lead to minimum wage hikes for 2019. At that time, AMLO managed to achieve a tripartite agreement among business organizations, unions and the new Labor Secretariat consensus regarding the hike.
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Mexican political parties are scrambling to find women who can be candidates in the June 6, 2021 midterm elections. The rush during this year-end week is due to the fact that Mexico’s Electoral Tribunal has set Wednesday, Dec. 30, as the final deadline to register candidates. Though the search has been on for months, it should not
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Banxico Law Postponement The Mexican Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday, Dec. 15, announced it was postponing the debate on the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) Bill approved last week by the Senate until February. Deputies Chamber President Laura Rojas made the announcement on social media after the majority National Regeneration Movement (Morena) insisted on discussing and voting on
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By RICARDO CASTILLO No Lupe-Reyes Reveling The good news is that on Friday, Dec. 11, Mexico approved the Pfizer-BioNTech labs covid vaccine and will soon begin administering it to health workers and the nation’s most vulnerable. But while this may mean light at the end of the tunnel, for Mexican Virgin of Guadalupe (Lupe) worshipers, it did not come soon
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By ANTONIO GARZA, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico
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By RICARDO CASTILLO New Dollar Revenues Law The Mexican Senate approved a bill on Wednesday, Dec. 9, stipulating that all foreign currencies income flowing into Mexico should stay in the nation and not be allowed to be repatriated to the country of its origin. The board of directors of Mexico’s central bank, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), immediately challenged the bill,
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By RICARDO CASTILLO AMLO Reshuffles his Queens The reshuffling of women in the Mexican presidential cabinet that was announced on Monday, Dec. 7, may not be to the liking of many, but the dice have already rolled and the shots stand. The problem with the five reappointed women in the cabinet of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) is not
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