By RICH GRANT You can say one thing about the Rail Runner Express: No other train sounds like it. This unusual 96-mile-long railroad runs only between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The trains are sleek-looking silver diesel engines with comfortable double-decker cars. There is a bright red roadrunner (New Mexico’s state bird) painted on the side and the cars
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Last week, Mexican journalist Carlos Loret de Mola ran on the website Latinus.us an article enumerating the nine real estate properties of Public Function Secretary Irma Eréndira Sandoval and her husband, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) law professor and National Electoral Institute (INE) candidate for councilor appraiser John Mill Ackerman. The exposé, to call it by
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By RICARDO CASTILLO The sudden cancellation of a coal-purchasing contract by Mexico’s state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) came as a bucket of ice water to supplier mining company Micare, a subsidiary of steel mill Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA). The issue, however, is a lot more complicated than just a breach a contract. The first thought that comes to mind
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Alfaro’s Political Ambitions Squelched Up until last week, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro had been looking a lot like a 2024 presidential hopeful. But then all hell broke loose on his would-be candidacy. It all started with the arrest and apparent murder of a 30-year-old construction worker named Giovanni López at the hands of municipal police in Ixltahuacán
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By SILVIO CANTO, JR. Mexican Americans have had a huge impact on U.S. culture, from heroic military service to excelling in business. But they also had an influential role in modern U.S. music. I want to take this occasion to remember two great Latino musicians born in May who had a lot of hits on the radio. Let’s start with
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Pressure to Restart Work Pressure on the Mexican government to get the economy going again is mounting from all sides. Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer, who is responsible for determining which municipalities and industries can reopen, however, does not yet have an answer. “In general there are approximately 990 municipalities applying to restart, but only about a third
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Weathering a Perfect Storm Over the past few days, representatives of all o Mexico’s major banks have held separate press conferences previous to the annual Mexico Banks Association Convention, now being held in Acapulco. Each of the interviewed representatives showed acceptance for the policies of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). This is an indicator that
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By RICARDO CASTILLO 69 New Barracks for National Guardsmen Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) spent the weekend inaugurating new barracks for the National Guard in the states of Jalisco, Michoacán and Guanajuato, the latter two known for a high presence of organized criminal gangs. Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said each barrack will house somewhere between 120 and
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Questions galore arose in Mexico regarding the arrest on Tuesday, Dec. 10, of the country’s former public security secretary from 2006 to 2012, Genaro García Luna, who served under President Felipe Calderón. Garcia Luna also was the Federal Investigations Agency (AFI) chief from 2001 to 2005, under President Vicente Fox. García Luna was arrested in Grapevine, Texas,
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XINHUA At least four police officers and 10 suspected gunmen of the Cartel of the Northeast were killed in an hour-long gun battle in Mexico’s northern state of Coahuila, authorities said Saturday, Nov. 30. Coahuila Governor Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís, governor of Coahuila state, said six more policemen were injured in the battle and several municipal workers were missing. The governor
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