'Eh, puto!:' fans shout it out, costing stadium a game.
The soccer stadium in which the chant Eh, puto! was born received an unprecedented sanction after fans refused to stop shouting the phrase at a match in Guadalajara on Friday.
The match between Atlas, of Guadalajara, and Tijuana’s Xolos on January 31 will now be played to an empty stadium.
The disciplinary commission of the Mexican Soccer Federation (FMF) announced on Monday that it had decided to sanction the stadium under its protocol for offensive expressions due to the behavior of spectators.
The disciplinary measure sets a precedent in the country, as it is the first time a soccer stadium has been sanctioned for the chant, regarded by many as a homophobic slur.
It was in the Jalisco Stadium that the chant was first shouted during a pre-Olympic match in 2004. The expression is prohibited by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) for being considered homophobic.
Despite many previous attempts to stop fans from shouting the phrase, the FMF has failed to change their behavior. None of the awareness campaigns it has attempted has been successful.
FIFA has threatened serious consequences if the phrase is repeated during international matches.
Referee Adonai Escobedo followed protocol established by new league regulations when the crowd first shouted the phrase. He issued a warning over the sound system.
He ordered a stop in play when the crowd repeated the chant a second time, and sent the teams to their locker rooms after the third.
Atlas captain Martín Nervo took advantage of the stop in play to address his team’s fans. The Argentinian soccer player begged them to stop shouting the phrase, but to no avail. When play was resumed minutes later, the fans once again repeated the chant.
As per the new regulations, the game was allowed to play out and the matter was sent to the league’s disciplinary commission.
The Atlas team issued a statement on Monday calling the punishment “very painful” as the stadium celebrates its 60th anniversary on January 31.
“We are against any type of discrimination both inside and outside of the club, so we’re calling upon the fans to eradicate these expressions which are out of line with the values we promote and aren’t constructive in any way,” the team said.
“Soccer is an opportunity for us to come together through sport and healthy coexistence. Nothing justifies this type of behavior,” it added.
Police in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, are better prepared to chase down criminals, having added two high-speed Ford Mustang patrol vehicles to their fleet.
The acquisition of the vehicles was part of an effort by the municipal government to strengthen the city’s security forces, efforts that have included pay raises, additional security cameras and the dedication of more tax dollars to security.
The Mustangs will be used to pursue suspects involved in robberies and arms and drug trafficking that try to enter or leave the city. As an eccentric affluent YouTuber recently posted online, those with enough money can easily outrun the average police patrol car in Mexico.
The Mustangs comply with all National Public Security System standards and norms and will be manned by two trained officers.
But San Miguel Mayor Luis Alberto Villarreal García’s new security strategy doesn’t stop at fancy cars. His 2020 budget includes a 10% raise for all of the municipality’s police officers, making it the highest-paid municipal force in the state.
The lowest-paid officers on the force will earn a monthly salary of 18,100 pesos (US $967).
Villarreal also announced that 10% of the property taxes the city collects will go to security.
“We’re going to defend the employees, families and investments [of San Miguel] because we’re going to continue being this safe city where people live much, much better lives,” he said.
He also announced the installation of 100 new security cameras, many of which will form part of the “Belt of Security” that integrates video surveillance with smart stoplights at various entrance and exit points to the city.
With over 550 cameras, San Miguel will become the second-most watched city in Mexico.
“We’ll be after San Pedro [Garza García], Nuevo León, the most video monitored city in the country, and although this won’t be sufficient, we’ll keep working on human capital, training and equipment so that we can give confidence to our municipality,” the mayor said.
Guanajuato Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez congratulated Villarreal last month on the improvements to his policing strategy, saying that “you can’t have police that get results if you don’t pay them well . . .”
He added that Guanajuato will also have the highest-paid state police, since all state officers receive at least 20,000 pesos (US $1,069) per month as of January 1.
Investigators at a crime scene in Apaseo El Grande, Guanajuato. The state led the country in homicides in 2019.
Mexico suffered its most violent year on record in 2019 with homicide numbers increasing 2.48% to more than 34,000, official data shows.
Statistics published Monday by the National Public Security System (SNSP) showed that there were 34,582 victims of intentional homicide last year, 839 more than the 33,743 victims in 2018, which was the most violent year since national records were first kept in 1997.
The number of femicide victims increased 10.3% to 1,006 in 2019, bringing the total number of people slain to 35,588, a 2.7% increase compared to 2018. Veracruz and México state recorded the highest number of femicide cases.
SNSP data also shows that authorities opened 29,401 homicide investigations last year, a 1% increase compared to 2018. The number of investigations is lower than the number of murder victims because two or more people were killed in some cases.
The statistics underscore the security challenge faced by the federal government led by President López Obrador, who has promised to bring peace to Mexico by addressing the root causes of violence such as poverty and lack of opportunity rather than pursuing the same confrontational security strategy implemented by his two most recent predecessors.
He conceded last week that his administration has not yet made progress in reducing crime and violence but reasserted that “there will be a solution.”
One positive among the grim news delivered by the SNSP is that the increases recorded between 2018 and 2019 for both the number of homicide cases and victims were the lowest in recent years.
The 1% uptick in the former is dwarfed by the annual increases recorded in 2018, 2017 and 2016, when the number of murder cases rose by 16%, 24% and 25% respectively.
Similarly, the annual increases in the number of homicide victims in recent years – 17% in 2018, 28% in 2017 and 26% in 2016 – are all much higher than the 2.48% hike recorded in 2019.
Still, the homicide numbers remain stubbornly high, ratcheting up pressure on the López Obrador administration to change its approach to combating violence.
“. . . They need to abandon cowardice in decision making,” said Gustavo de Hoyos, president of the Mexican Employers Federation.
“Events like those in Culiacán cannot be accepted again,” he added, referring to the decision to release a son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán after the Sinaloa Cartel responded violently to his arrest in October.
López Obrador and other government officials have expressed confidence that the National Guard, a new security force considered the centerpiece of the government’s security strategy, will help to reduce violence in Mexico.
However, the national deployment of the force on July 1 did nothing to stem the bloodshed: in fact, the number of victims of homicide and femicide in the second half of the year was 1.8% higher than in the first six months.
Amid the ongoing violence, the government faced criticism for using thousands of guardsmen to increase enforcement against undocumented migrants rather than to tackle the high levels of violent crime plaguing many of Mexico’s 32 states.
In sheer numbers, Guanajuato was the most violent state in the country last year, with 3,540 homicide victims. A bloody turf war between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel over control of fuel theft, extortion and kidnapping is considered the main driver of violence in the state.
The next most violent states were Baja California, México state, Jalisco and Chihuahua, where the number of homicide victims ranged between 2,859 and 2,554. More than 2,000 people were also murdered in Michoacán last year, while victim numbers exceeded 1,500 in each of Guerrero, Veracruz and Mexico City.
In per capita terms, Colima was again the most violent state, recording 98.34 intentional homicides per 100,000 residents. The figure is more than three times higher than the national per capita rate of 27.32 murder victims per 100,000 residents. Baja California, Chihuahua, Guanajuato and Morelos recorded the next highest per capita rates.
The least violent state in the country both in terms of the number of homicides and the per capita rate was Yucatán, where there were just 33 murders in 2019.
Other crimes that increased in 2019 included extortion, domestic violence, human trafficking and drug dealing. The number of kidnapping cases fell 0.5% to 1,322 but the number of victims rose 3.5% to 1,614.
The IMF lowered its growth forecast for Mexico and also for the United States for 2024. (IMF)
The outlook for the economy remains pessimistic as far as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is concerned: it has cut its growth forecasts for both 2020 and 2021.
The organization said in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update on Monday that it expects Mexico’s GDP to grow just 1% this year, a reduction of 0.3% compared to October.
The economy will pick up in 2021 to grow by 1.6%, the IMF predicted. However, that forecast is also 0.3% lower than the fund’s October forecast.
The IMF said the weak economic performance expected in Mexico was a factor in its decision to cut its growth forecasts for the wider region.
In Latin America, growth is projected to recover from an estimated 0.1% in 2019 to 1.6% in 2020 and 2.3% in 2021 (0.2 and 0.1 percentage points weaker respectively than in the October WEO). The revisions are due to a downgrade to Mexico’s growth prospects in 2020-21, continued weak investment and a sizable markdown in the growth forecast for Chile, affected by social unrest.
The IMF’s revised outlook comes after the Mexican economy stagnated in 2019, the first full year of the new federal government.
The national statistics agency Inegi reported in November that revised data showed that the economy contracted in both the first and second quarters of last year, meaning that Mexico entered a light recession. Growth of just 0.01% followed in the third quarter (fourth quarter data has not yet been published.)
The figures are a far cry from President López Obrador’s stated goal of average 4% annual growth during his six-year term. The leaders of two business groups blamed the government last week for the weak growth, stating its “hostile discourse” and policy changes were scaring away foreign investment.
United Nations statistics show that foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico did in fact grow by 3% last year to reach US $35 billion.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development said in a report that the new North American free trade agreement – first signed in November 2018 before Mexico, the United States and Canada agreed on a revised version late last year – helped attract business to Mexico.
However, National Autonomous University professor Miguel González Ibarra said that more than half of last year’s FDI was reinvestment of profits by companies already operating in Mexico rather than investment in new projects.
He said the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will lead to an increase in new investment but predicted that it won’t have a major impact on economic growth in the short term. Rather, the economy will benefit from the influx of funds in the medium term, González said.
President López Obrador speaks at the signing of an update to the new North American free-trade agreement in Mexico City.
AP Photo/Marco Ugarte
Just over a year ago, the first leftist president in Mexico’s modern history took office.
The victory of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly referred to as AMLO, swept aside a longstanding political establishment in a society where most politicians are seen as corrupt and detached from the reality of ordinary citizens.
López Obrador’s victory not only threatened the entrenched political and economic interests that dominated Mexican politics for decades, it also came as a reprieve to an embattled left in Latin America at a time when right-wing forces were on the rise.
The transformative project of the new government, dubbed Mexico’s “Fourth Transformation,” has promised to break with the neoliberal model that had turned the country into the most unequal among OECD nations. This has meant a drastic change in policy priorities.
Under López Obrador, the government no longer promotes investment and job creation at any price. Instead, it announced the largest increase to the minimum wage in 36 years, passed a major labor reform strengthening workers’ rights and ended decades of discretionary tax breaks to large corporations. These measures have unsettled some economic elites, who are now hesitant to invest in a country that is changing the rules of the game.
López Obrador greets supporters in Mazatlán. AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo
López Obrador seems aware that the surly relations between the government and the private sector can hinder his transformative agenda. Despite his campaign promise of 4% annual growth, the economic scenario in Mexico is daunting. As the country struggles to avoid recession, rating agencies and international organizations are lowering their outlooks for the Mexican economy.
This is why Mexicans were so prompt to ratify USMCA, a renegotiated version of NAFTA, and its subsequent overhaul, despite the free-trade deal being at odds with López Obrador’s anti-neoliberal stance.
The rapid ratification of the trade agreement not only sent a message of certainty to domestic and international investors, it also flagged the limits of the AMLO government when it comes to breaking with Mexico’s neoliberal past.
A second threat to López Obrador’s agenda is the rising levels of insecurity in the country.
The new administration has been unable to contain a wave of violence that it inherited from its predecessors. In fact, 2019 was probably the deadliest year on record in Mexico. The massacre of the LeBaron family — in which six children and three women were murdered in northern Mexico — and the failed attempt to arrest the son of drug lord El Chapo in Culiacán, where the military was outnumbered by cartel gunmen, are just two examples of the government’s incapacity to end the violence.
The president’s abrazos, no balazos (hugs, not bullets) policy has been harshly criticized for its naiveté and has been largely ineffective.
However, one year into leftist rule in Mexico and it’s not all bad news. Despite economic woes and enduring violence, López Obrador’s government has made considerable progress dismantling a system that almost solely benefits the political and economic elite and keeps more than 50 million Mexicans in poverty.
López Obrador started his term by announcing harsh austerity measures to bureaucrats and politicians, including cutting his own salary in half and ditching the presidential mansion, jet and guards.
In a clear break with the past, his government is prosecuting corrupt officials from previous administrations. Social spending is also being revamped. About 18 million youth and elderly Mexicans are now receiving their scholarships and pensions from social programs as cash transfers.
Perhaps most importantly, López Obrador is transforming the perception of political power in Mexico and how it should be used. At most events he attends, the president finds himself surrounded by supporters who cheer and hug their leader without apparent constraints — in contrast to the strong security measures taken by his predecessors when in public.
When asked about his safety, López Obrador confidently replies that it is the people who look after him. Despite his populist tone, he seems to understand that first and foremost, Mexico’s marginalized majorities need to be seen and recognized as part of a society that has excluded them for too long.
If we want to understand the change Mexico is undergoing, we must measure progress with metrics other than the GDP. Only when we gauge it via other methods will we understand the extent to which the political and economic structures that have made Mexico one of the most inequitable countries in the world are being dismantled.
Changing public perceptions about political power might not be as tangible as economic growth and decreasing homicide rates, but its impact on building a more inclusive society are real and every bit as important.
Sergio Daniel Michel Chavez is a PhD student at the Department of Political Science and Institute of Political Economy at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
More than 12.8 million tourists from the United States and Canada visited Mexico last year, a 1.4% increase over 2018 numbers.
Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco Marqués said the figure was made up of just over 10.5 million Americans and 2.31 million Canadians.
Visitor numbers from the U.S. increased by just 0.2% compared to 2018, while those from Canada spiked 7.4%.
Speaking at a meeting with members of a travel agency association, Torruco said the growth in U.S. visitors came despite tourist numbers falling in all but four months last year.
“With the exception of . . . April, May, October and November of 2019 . . .a reduction [in visitor] numbers was seen with respect to the same month of the previous year,” he said.
“. . . Despite snowfall in January [2019] that caused the suspension of thousands of flights and the decline [in flights] due to” the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX planes, the U.S. market recovered and grew by 0.2%, Torruco said.
The tourism secretary said the United States and Canada remain the largest source of visitors to Mexico followed by South America, Central America and the Caribbean collectively, and Europe.
While in Mexico last year, American and Canadian tourists spent US $12.91 billion, Torruco said, which equates to just over US $1,000 per person. U.S. visitors spent 82% of that amount, and made up the same percentage of total visitors from the two North American countries.
Torruco’s announcement of the tourism figures for North America came a week after he predicted that final statistics would show that 44.7 million foreign tourists came to Mexico last year, an increase of 8.3% over 2018. The secretary also predicted that statistics would show they spent US $24.81 billion while in the country, a 10.2% increase compared to 2018.
He highlighted that tourism contributes to 8.7% of GDP and said the government is working to continue growing the sector.
Meanwhile, the outgoing head of the faculty of tourism at Anáhuac University, Francisco Madrid, predicted at a conference last week that international tourist numbers will grow by a further 5.5% this year.
For fish tacos, try to find fresh, handmade corn tortillas.
I’m sure I’m not alone in loving simple beer-battered fish. Done right, the batter coating is light and crispy, and the fish inside is cooked through but still moist and tasty.
I also love coconut shrimp, although I prefer to make my own at home with unsweetened coconut and Panko crumbs for a less-cloying but super-delicious crunchy coating.
Curiously – or appropriately – the word for “battered” in Spanish is capeado, which has two meanings, both relevant to what we’re talking about. Capas means layered, or covered. And the verb capear means weathered – as in the English “battered,” or beaten. To further confuse the issue, there’s also empanizado – breaded. Ay, ay, ay!
Anyway, it’s the beer that takes fried fish or shrimp to that place of excellence; the bubbles are the key. Use a light lager, like Sol or Pacífico, so you don’t end up with a strong beer flavor. Some recipes say to let the batter sit for an hour or two to let the yeasts in the beer ferment with the flour, creating an even lighter, crispier crunch.
Up north, cod is what’s usually used for fried fish. But because we’re in Mexico, our selection is greater and more fresh: dorado and pargo (red snapper) are commonplace and affordable. If you insist, you can cook them in the oven. But they won’t taste the same.
For beer-battered fish sticks, try dorado or pargo.
But the fish is only part of the package; the sauce and toppings matter too, and you’ll find some recipes below. Opinions vary on the original, but cabbage – either raw and shredded or in a simple coleslaw – figures prominently. Try to find fresh, handmade corn tortillas if you can – just scout out a stand or taquería where they’re making them and ask for a dozen or so.
Beer Battered Fish
This light, crispy batter works great for onion rings, too. The basic ratio is 1 cup of flour per 12 oz. of beer.
Vegetable or olive oil for frying
8 (4 oz.) fish fillets, dorado or pargo if possible
Salt & pepper
1 cup flour
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 (12 oz.) bottle of beer
Corn tortillas, toppings, etc.
Optional: 1-2 tsp. paprika or crushed red chiles
If using a deep fryer, heat oil to 365 F. Otherwise, heat about 2 inches of oil in a skillet until very hot. Rinse fish, pat dry, and cut into strips to fit inside a tortilla, about 4 inches x 1 inch x ½ inch thick. Combine flour, paprika or chiles, salt and pepper. Gradually mix the beer in thoroughly to make a thin batter. (You’ll be able to see the fish through the batter after it has been dipped.)Dip fish fillets first into the beaten egg, then into the batter, and then cook a few at a time in the hot oil. Fry fish, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve atop a salad, in tacos, or as finger food with a dipping sauce.
Coconut-Panko Crumb Coated Fish or Shrimp
This is one of my favorite things to make. It’s important to use unsweetened coconut, either dehydrated or roasted, or it will be too sweet. Use regular bread crumbs if you like.
¾ cup panko crumbs
¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. crushed red chiles
½ cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying
½ lb. dorado or pargo, cut into 4”x 1”x ½” strips
Corn tortillas, toppings, etc.
In flat bowls or plates, set up three dipping stations: the first with the flour; second with the beaten egg, and the last with the panko, coconut, crushed chiles, salt and pepper mixture. Heat oil till hot but not smoking. Dip fish first in flour, then egg, then in panko mixture. Fry in oil quickly till golden, turning once or twice; drain on paper towels. Serve in warm corn tortillas with toppings and salsas or as an appetizer.
Spicy-Sweet Dipping Sauce
The first time I made it it was hard to stop tasting (drinking) the sauce. What can I say? It’s really delicious.
1½ cups rice vinegar
½ cup sugar
1-3 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sesame seeds
Mix rice vinegar, sugar, crushed red pepper and garlic in saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then boil carefully until sauce thickens to maple syrup consistency, about 8-10 minutes. Serve warm in individual small bowls sprinkled with a few sesame seeds for dipping fish or shrimp, drizzle over fish fillets and rice, or use as a sauce for stir-fries.
Don’t overlook the sauces and toppings.
Garlic-Lemon Mayo
Simple, classic, yummy. Feel free to substitute plain unsweetened yogurt for half the mayonnaise.
1 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, peeled
Juice of ½ lemon or 1 limón
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
In blender, food processor or by hand, mix mayonnaise, garlic and lemon or lime juice until blended. Transfer to small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Stir in cilantro.
Sriracha Dip
I love the taste of hot, vinegary sriracha – available in most grocery stores in the Asian section – on almost anything.
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
Juice from 1 lemon or 2 limónes
1 roasted red pepper, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. sriracha sauce
Salt and pepper if desired
Mix everything together in a small bowl.
Basic Tartar Sauce
The simplest version of this is just mayo and pickle relish, but here’s a slightly more detailed recipe for those “special” occasions.
½ cup mayonnaise
1½ Tbsp. sweet pickle relish or minced cornichons
1 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
1 tsp. capers, chopped
2 tsp. Dijon or stone-ground mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Mix all together in a small bowl. Store in refrigerator.
Janet Blaser of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, has been a writer, editor and storyteller her entire life, and feels fortunate to write about great food, amazing places, fascinating people and unique events. Her work has appeared in numerous travel and expat publications as well as newspapers and magazines. Her first book, Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats, is available on Amazon. Contact Janet or read her blog at whyweleftamerica.com.
A new proposal in the Senate would allow the legal possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana for personal use without the need to apply for a government license.
Developed by the upper house’s justice and health committees, the proposal states that 28 grams of pot is a “sensible amount” for people to be able to carry on their person or have in their homes.
Cultivation of up to six cannabis plants would also be legalized under the proposal backed by lawmakers from the ruling Morena party.
In order to legally possess a quantity of marijuana greater than 28 grams but not exceeding 200 grams, people must apply for a license that would be issued by the Mexican Cannabis Institute, a government agency that is expected to be up and running by January 1, 2021.
If found in possession of amounts between those two figures without a license, citizens could face an “administrative fine” of up to 10,500 pesos (US $560). More severe criminal penalties would apply if possession exceeds 200 grams.
The new Senate proposal also states that communities that have been adversely affected by drug trafficking and crime more broadly will be prioritized for the granting of marijuana cultivation licenses. A license holder would be limited to growing cannabis on one hectare of land outdoors or 1,000 square meters at an indoor facility.
If the proposal becomes law, the Mexican Cannabis Institute will also issue separate licenses for the preparation of marijuana for sale, the commercialization of the plant and its derivatives, and the import and export of cannabis products.
In addition, it would grant permits for research into the cultivation and preparation of marijuana for commercial purposes. However, the institute wouldn’t be responsible for setting the taxes on marijuana as was previously proposed.
There was an expectation in some quarters that legislation for the legalization and regulation of marijuana would be in place before the end of October 2019.
The SCJN had set an October 31 deadline for lawmakers to legalize pot after publishing eight precedents on the recreational use of marijuana in February 2019 that determined that prohibition of the drug is unconstitutional.
One of the vehicles in which the musicians were traveling.
Authorities in Guerrero are investigating the ambush and murders of 10 indigenous musicians whose burned bodies were found in two vehicles on Friday afternoon.
Members of the group Sensación Musical were attacked in Chilapa while returning to their hometown of Alcozacán.
The head of the regional indigenous group CRAC-PF, David Sánchez, said his organization believes the attack to have been carried out by members of the Los Ardillos drug cartel.
State investigators conducted a search for ammunition cartridges and other evidence but had yet to find any, it said on Saturday.
One of the vehicles in which the men were traveling was found on the highway, while the other was found at the bottom of a 100-meter-deep ravine.
“It was apparently pushed into the ravine on purpose, for which we’ve opened a homicide investigation into the incident,” said state government spokesman Roberto Álvarez.
The bodies were unrecognizable due to burns, but indigenous residents blocked the Chilapa-Hueycantenango highway on Friday night after authorities refused to turn them over to their families.
Five of the 10 bodies were delivered to the victims’ families on Sunday. The state that authorities were still in the process of identifying and delivering the remaining five bodies to their families.
Guerrero is one of the most violent states in Mexico, and Chilapa has long been a battleground for the rivaling Los Ardillos and Los Rojos gangs. A clash between the two groups in the neighboring municipality of Zitlala left nine dead in October of last year.
Ratification of the new North America free trade agreement will trigger an invasion of Chinese auto parts manufacturers in Mexico, according to three experts.
Ratified by Mexico in December and the United States Senate last week, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) stipulates that 75% of automotive content must be made in the three countries in order for a vehicle to qualify for tariff-free status in the region.
The figure is 12.5% higher than that set by the rules of origin under the 25-year-old NAFTA, which will be replaced by the USMCA once all three countries have completed their ratification processes.
The aim of the higher content rule is to reduce the quantity of parts that manufacturers operating in North America use from countries such as China, India, Brazil and eastern European nations. By opening factories in Mexico, Chinese auto part manufactures will be able to circumvent the stricter rule.
Once the USMCA is in effect, Chinese companies will seek to increase the quantity of parts they make in Mexico, said Enrique Dussel, coordinator of the Center for China-Mexico Studies at the National Autonomous University (UNAM).
He noted that a number of Chinese auto parts makers have already established operations in Mexico, such as Minth, which supplies Nissan, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Audi, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors. Chinese investment in Mexico’s auto parts sector increased by almost 350% between 2008 and 2018 to just over US $6 billion.
In 2019, Hangzhou XZB Tech opened a new factory in Nuevo León and Minghua started operations in San Luis Potosí.
A supplier of a range of parts to Audi, Ford and General Motors, the former invested US $9 million in a plant in a new industrial park in the municipality of Salinas Victoria, located north of the state capital Monterrey. The company has plans to expand its facility to 20,000 square meters, the newspaper El Universal reported.
Minghua, which supplies BMW from its San Luis Potosí plant, will invest 633 million pesos (US $33.9 million) in a factory in Puebla, El Universal said, to supply parts to Volkswagen and Audi.
In addition, the Zacatecas government has announced the construction of a new industrial park for Chinese auto parts manufacturers and is currently in talks with Guangdong Automotive Component with a view to luring the company to the state.
Arturo Orozco, a professor at the IPADE Business School and director of its auto summit, said the new North American trade deal gives greater certainty to the automotive industry and provides the opportunity to attract more Chinese suppliers to Mexico.
He added that Mexico is also an attractive country in which to make auto parts because wages in China have risen in recent years. Exporting to automakers in the United States from Mexico is easier and cheaper due to the country’s proximity to the U.S. and the trade war between Washington and Beijing.
The president of Mexico’s auto parts industry association INA said that Chinese companies are anxious to start operations in Mexico.
However, Oscar Albin said the government hasn’t provided the same incentive to Chinese companies as it has to those from other Asian nations such as Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.
In that context, Dussel of UNAM’s Center for China-Mexico Studies said that the federal government must be more proactive in its efforts to attract Chinese companies to Mexico.
