By RICARDO CASTILLO Prior to Easter vacation, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies approved the new Labor Law. Since it is a complex document, I will try simplify it to make it more comprehensible. It must be stated beforehand that this reform to Article 3 of the Mexican Constitution was demanded by Canadian and U.S. union centrals in order to bring
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By RICARDO CASTILLO In Mexico, every city commemorates the passion and crucifixion of Christ its own style. Celebration ceremonies range from gory self-flogging to plush theatrical reenactments of the crucifixion. One of the most solemn shows of Catholicism, however, is in San Miguel de Allende (SMA), which this week is featuring 60 processions, according the Mayor’s Religious Affairs Tourism Office.
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Lest we forget: One of the unkept promises that helped to topple the popularity of former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto was his much-repeated outright lie that with his Energy Reform and Pemex joining free-market competition, “fuel prices will come down.” On Jan. 1, 2017, Peña Nieto made the grave error of liberating gasoline and diesel prices.
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By RICARDO CASTILLO The personal security of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has been a subject of intense debate since he was sworn in on Dec. 1. His first act as president was to do away with the protection from the Mexican Army that presidents had enjoyed since 1934, when a special guard made up of at least
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Suddenly – but not unexpectedly – the once-powerful National Education Workers Union (SNTE) leader Elba Esther Gordillo is back on track to regain the presidency of Mexico’s two-million-member-strong union, the largest in all Latin America. During the administration of former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), Gordillo was thrown in the slammer on several charges, including embezzlement
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By RICARDO CASTILLO An event that went almost unnoticed in the Mexican media on Thursday, April 4, was the meeting between World Trade Organization (WTO) director general Roberto Azevêdo and Mexican Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez Colín. The main reason why this meeting was not given the press coverage that it should have been afforded was because it was overshadowed by the
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By RICARDO CASTILLO The question of what to do with the thousands of Central American migrants passing through Mexico still remains unanswered. So far, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has opted to follow the same erratic policy begun by his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, only to see the flux of migrants grow exponentially. The point being now that
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By RICARDO CASTILLO The next round of elections in Mexico is just around the corner. slated for Sunday. June 2. There will be political activity on different basis in six different states. Clearly, the attention will be most focused in the states of Puebla and Baja California. where elections for governor will be attracting the bulk of attention. They are,
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Echoes of the mysterious meeting Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) had with Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, last March 19 are now thundering across the political landscape. The following day, as reported by Pulse News Mexico, AMLO said, “Basically, we dealt with the issue of (joint) development cooperation, and about the possible signing of a
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Who’s behind the letter President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) sent to the king of Spain earlier this week demanding an apology for the atrocities against Mexican natives committed on orders of the king’s Borbón predecessors during 300 years of colonial rule from 1521 through 1821? The simple answer is, his wife, Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller. Did she really
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