Sheinbaum said that the increases to the minimum wage to reach the objective would be gradual so as to not put upward pressure on inflation. (Presidencia)
President Claudia Sheinbaum would like to see Mexico’s minimum wage increase by around 12% per year during her six-year term in government.
Federal minimum wage increases do not extend to Mexico’s 32 million informal workers, many of whom are women. (Magdalena Montiel/Cuartoscuro)
The minimum is higher in the northern border free zone, at 374.89 pesos (US $19.53) per day or 11,246 pesos (US $586) per month.
Sheinbaum, who was sworn in on Tuesday, told her morning press conference on Thursday that the objective of her government is for the minimum wage to cover the cost of 2.5 basic food baskets per week.
The canasta básica (basic basket) is a selection of 24 products including a kilogram of rice, a kilo of beef, 18 eggs, four kilos of tortillas and five liters of milk. On average, it cost 810 pesos (US $42) across Mexico in late September.
Sheinbaum said that federal officials would hold talks about the minimum wage with employers and unions in order to reach a consensus on annual increases, which are ultimately determined by the National Minimum Wage Commission, an autonomous government agency.
“Our objective is that … each [weekly] minimum wage reaches 2.5 basic baskets. At the moment it’s [equivalent to the cost of] 1.6 basic baskets,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that the increases to the minimum wage to reach the objective would be gradual so as to not put upward pressure on inflation.
“How will it be done? Well, it’s a process of consensus — the majority of businesspeople agree [with the government’s objective]. This will mean a salary increase of around 12% next year, and around 12% each year. And we’ll be working toward that, seeking a consensus so that it can be a reality,” she said.
According to the national statistics agency INEGI, around 40% of Mexico’s workforce earns the minimum wage or less, as many Mexicans work in the country’s vast informal sector, which doesn’t guarantee the minimum or provide any benefits to workers.
A 12% increase to the minimum wage would lift it to 279 pesos (US $14.55) per day or 8,364 pesos (US $436) per month in 2025.
A 12% increase during every year of Sheinbaum’s term would result in a minimum wage of 491.34 pesos (US $25.62) per day or 14,740 pesos (US $769) per month in 2030.
In February, López Obrador sent a constitutional reform proposal to Congress that aims to guarantee that annual minimum wage increases outpace inflation. Sheinbaum supports the initiative, which will likely pass Congress in the near future.
Sheinbaum is also seeking a constitutional guarantee of equal pay for equal work as part of a package of reform proposals aimed at boosting women’s rights.
Mexican ports, like the port of Lázaro Cárdenas seen here, could end up benefiting from the strike, if US exporters decide to reroute shipments through Mexico, one expert said. (Juan José Estrada Serafin/Cuartoscuro)
An ongoing strike by port workers in the United States will have an impact on Mexico, and potentially a “significant” one, according to the president of an umbrella group that represents Mexican industry.
Some 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) went on strike on Tuesday, walking off their jobs at 36 ports on the East and Gulf coasts of the United States.
Auto manufacturing and assembly plants in Mexico, like this Volkswagen plant in Puebla, will likely be the most affected by a protracted strike. (Volkswagen de México)
On Monday, the ILA said in a statement that “the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) continues to block the path toward a settlement on a new Master Contract by refusing ILA’s demands for a fair and decent contract and seems intent on causing a strike at all ports from Maine to Texas beginning in almost 12 hours.”
Disagreements over wage increases and port automation are the main causes of the dispute.
Reuters reported that “the strike, the biggest of its kind in nearly half a century, has blocked unloading of container ships from Maine to Texas, threatening shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts, and triggering a backlog of anchored ships outside major ports.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that he believed progress toward resolving the contract dispute between the ILA and the USMX was being made. However, he didn’t provide
Foreign ocean carriers have made record profits since the pandemic, when Longshoremen put themselves at risk to keep ports open.
It’s time those ocean carriers offered a strong and fair contract that reflects ILA workers’ contribution to our economy and to their record profits.
Meanwhile, the president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin), Alejandro Malagón Barragán, said at a shipping industry event that while the strike is taking place in the United States “it will affect us” in Mexico.
“The problem is that if [goods] don’t leave [ports] there they won’t arrive here,” he said.
Malagón predicted that Mexico’s auto industry, which relies on parts shipped from the United States, will be the worst affected sector.
“But we still have to see what arrives by road or train,” he said, adding that Concamin is discussing options with the Washington D.C.-based National Association of Manufacturers and the Texas Association of Business.
President of Mexico’s Confederation of Industrial Chambers Alejandro Malagón Barragán said at a recent shipping industry event that Mexico will be affected by the strike, pointing out Mexican industry is dependent on goods shipped from the United States. (Concamin)
Malagón said that if the strike lasts eight or nine days, it will have “a significant impact” in Mexico.
Claudia Sánchez Porras, general director of the National Chamber of Freight Transportation, said that the organization she leads is looking at the possibility of bringing more goods into Mexico from the U.S. by road.
However, she said that moving freight overland is “extremely costly” compared to transporting it by sea. Costs could increase by 80-100%, Sánchez said.
Mexican exporters that ship goods to ports on the U.S. East and Gulf coast are also set to be affected by the strike.
An opportunity for Mexican ports?
Gerardo Tajonar, president of the National Association of Importers and Exporters of the Mexican Republic, said that there will “definitely” be a “strong impact on the supply chain because our main access to the United States will be by land … [at a time when] maritime transactions were increasing a lot.”
“That will affect us,” he said.
Auto manufacturing and assembly plants in Mexico, like this Volkswagen plant in Puebla, will likely be the most affected by a protracted strike. (Volkswagen de México)
Shortages of imported products shipped to Mexico from the U.S. could lead to price increases here.
But there could be a silver lining for Mexico.
Tajonar said that Mexican ports stand to benefit if some U.S. exporters decide to reroute their shipments via Mexico.
“It’s a great opportunity for ports like Lázaro Cárdenas [in Michoacán] to increase operations,” he said.
Fernando Con y Ledezma, president of the Mexican Association of Shipping Agents, said that a strike “always causes [economic] damage” and predicted that “the North American economy will be brought to a standstill” if the job action continues for a prolonged period.
International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett told CNN that if the strike goes on for a couple of months, “this world will collapse.” (ILA)
According to the Associated Press, “J.P. Morgan estimated that a strike that shuts down East and Gulf coast ports could cost the economy [US] $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion per day, with some of that recovered over time after normal operations resume.”
ILA President Harold Daggett told CNN that “if we have to be out here a month or two months, this world will collapse.”
“Go blame them [USMX]. Don’t blame me, blame them,” he said.
For its part, USMX said it is “proud of the wages and benefits” it offers its employees, and “strongly supports a collective bargaining process that allows us to fully bargain wages, benefits, technology, and ensures the safety of our workers, day-in and day-out.”
Remittances both entering and leaving Mexico in August this year significantly increased compared to 2023. (File photo)
Remittances to Mexico increased more than 9% annually in August to reach their second highest monthly level on record, according to data from the Bank of Mexico.
A total of US $6.09 billion in remittances flowed into the country in August, a 9.3% increase compared to the same month of 2023.
Since records were first kept in 1995, the only month in which Mexico received a higher amount in remittances was June of this year, when inflows totaled $6.21 billion.
Alberto Ramos, head of Latin America economics at Goldman Sachs, said that the depreciation of the Mexican peso against the US dollar in August incentivized the transfer of money to Mexico. The vast majority of remittances to Mexico come from the United States, where millions of Mexicans live and work.
The peso depreciated to close to 20 to the US dollar in late August after starting the month at around 18.6 to the greenback.
Mexico is on track to receive a record amount of remittances this year. (Shutterstock)
The more than $6 billion in remittances in August arrived in Mexico in almost 15 million individual transfers, each of which was worth $407 on average.
Mexico on track to receive record remittances in 2024
On Wednesday, the Bank of Mexico also published remittances data for the first eight months of the year.
Millions of Mexican families depend on remittances to help cover their essential living expenses.
Both former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and current President Claudia Sheinbaum have heaped praise on Mexicans who work abroad and send money back to Mexico, describing them as “heroes.”
The Bank of Mexico reported that remittances sent abroad from Mexico totaled $104 million in August and $900 million in the first eight months of the year.
The total for August was up 12.3% compared to the same month last year, while outgoing remittances increased 29.2% annually between January and August.
Based on the Bank of Mexico data for the first eight months of 2024, around $6.75 in remittances came into Mexico for every $1 that went out.
The new United route is the only direct commercial flight between San Francisco, California, and Monterrey, Nuevo León, in operation. (Wenjie Zheng/Shutterstock)
United Airlines will launch nonstop service from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Monterrey, Nuevo León, offering two flights daily beginning on Oct. 27.
United will be the only airline offering direct flights between these two cities, boosting Monterrey’s status as the principal air hub in northern Mexico. United Express partner Skywest will operate the service using Embraer EMB-175 aircraft. Tickets for these flights are already available.
The new flights, which could make travel between Monterrey and Asian cities easier, via San Francisco, come as good news for the northern Mexico state, whose governor actively courts companies from Asia to set up shop in Monterrey. (Daniel Escobedo)
Rolf Meyer, United’s director general of sales in Mexico and the Caribbean, said “We are proud to add this new route to our extensive selection of flights between Mexico and the United States.”
Meyer said the new route reinforces United’s objective to be the airline of choice for Mexicans traveling to the United States and beyond. United already flies to 22 Mexico cities from eight United States locations.
“We are thrilled to welcome nonstop United Airlines flights from SFO to Monterrey this fall. For more than 80 years, United has been offering SFO travelers more destinations than any other airline, and this new service allows United customers from Asia to connect seamlessly through SFO to the ‘Business Capital of Mexico.’ … We are confident this new service will be a success.”
In a bulletin announcing the new route, United claimed it will also improve connectivity via United Airlines to Asia and Australia.
“Destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul and Sydney, Australia, will now be easy connections from Nuevo León via San Francisco.”
For his part, Nuevo León Governor Samuel García issued a statement calling the new route “a great opportunity to strengthen Monterrey as a destination, particularly as Nuevo León has flights to practically every city in Mexico, as well as new routes to Latin American and Europe.”
Nuevo León Tourism Minister Maricarmen Martínez Villarreal added that the new United flight will boost international connectivity while opening new tourism opportunities in the state.
President Sheinbaum answers press questions at her first morning briefing on Monday. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Weekly presentations on “healthy life” and “women in history” will be among the recurring features of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press briefings.
Sheinbaum presided over her first morning briefing, or mañanera, as president on Wednesday.
Early in the press conference, Sheinbaum said that her press conferences — which she called “mañaneras del pueblo,” or “morning pressers of the people” — would be conducted in a “special way.”
She said that information about a certain issue will be presented each day, noting that the topic could be “security, trains, infrastructure projects [or] social programs.”
Sheinbaum also confirmed that reporters will have the opportunity to ask questions of her on a daily basis, ensuring the continuation of what López Obrador called “circular dialogue.”
President Sheinbaum said Wednesday that she would continue López Obardor’s practice of answering questions from the press at her daily pressers. (Cuartoscuro)
The new presidenta also said that each mañanera del pueblo will include “a special section,” which will vary depending on the day of the week.
Healthy Mondays
“On Mondays we’re going to talk about healthy life,” Sheinbaum said.
“It’s very important that Mexicans know the effects on health of the food we call ‘junk,’ because the truth is we’re living through a pandemic of hypertension, diabetes, obesity in some cases, and it’s very important that we understand why this is happening,” Sheinbaum said.
Humanistic and historical Tuesdays
The “special section” on Tuesdays will focus on Mexican humanism and historical memory, Sheinbaum told reporters.
Mexican humanism is the name López Obrador gave to the ideology of his government and the “fourth transformation” movement he led, which is now headed up by the new president.
Sheinbaum said that historians will attend her press conferences on Tuesdays “to speak about important events” in Mexican history — a pet topic of AMLO, and one which he regularly spoke about at length.
Myth-busting Wednesdays
The president said that her Wednesday mañaneras will feature a “lie detector” section.
“We’re not just going to do a review of the lies that come out on social media or in some media outlets,” Sheinbaum said. “We’re also going to ask citizens to participate.”
The “lie detector” section looks set to be a continuation of AMLO’s “Who’s who in the lies of the week” mañanera segment, during which countless journalists and media organizations were named and shamed for allegedly false reporting.
López Obrador was a fierce critic of sections of the press, a posture for which he was widely criticized.
Under former President López Obrador, Elizabeth García Vilchis presented a segment every Wednesday called “Who’s who in lies of the week.” (Cuartoscuro)
Press freedom advocacy group Article 19 said in 2019 that the former president’s “stigmatizing discourse” against the media “has a direct impact in terms of the … risk it can generate for the work of the press because [his remarks] permeate in the discourse of the rest of society and can even generate attacks.”
Pedro Vaca also said that the “stigmatization” of the media by the government could provoke attacks against journalists in Mexico, which is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for press workers.
Herstory Thursdays
Sheinbaum said that the “special section” on Thursdays will be called “women in history.”
“We’re going to recognize women who have participated in the history of Mexico,” she said.
In her public remarks, Sheinbaum frequently refers to prominent women in Mexican history.
In his first speech as president, she made mention of various mexicanas who preceded her, including independence heroines Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez and Leona Vicario, Mexican Revolution fighter Adela Velarde and artist Frida Kahlo.
Patriotic Fridays
Sheinbaum said that a “suave patria” (tender homeland) section will be presented on Fridays.
It will focus on “moments that make us feel proud to be Mexican,” she said.
On Friday, the conferences will highlight Mexican pride. (Cuartoscuro)
Sheinbaum’s mañaneras will not only differ in substance from those of López Obrador, but also in style.
The Associated Press reported that AMLO’s pressers were “marathon affairs, featuring folksy dialogue, verbal jousting with the press, and, frequently, long history lessons.”
On Wednesday, “Sheinbaum kept her morning briefing shorter, less combative and more concise, in keeping with her character as a scientist and academic,” AP said.
However, the new president will hope that she can set the agenda for the Mexican media over the next six years, like López Obrador did throughout his term as president.
Six migrants are dead and 10 wounded after Mexican soldiers shot at a truck north of Tapachula, Chiapas, near the Guatemala border. (Cuartoscuro)
Six migrants died on Tuesday night after the Mexican Army opened fire on vehicles that attempted to evade military personnel carrying out patrols in the southern state of Chiapas, the Defense Ministry (Sedena) said.
Ten other migrants were injured in the incident, which occurred on a highway north of the city of Tapachula, located near Mexico’s border with Guatemala.
President Sheinbaum said the two soldiers who fired on the migrants have been stood down and the federal attorney’s general office will investigate. (Cuartoscuro)
President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday morning that those killed were from Egypt, El Salvador and Peru.
The Collective for the Monitoring of the Southern Border, an umbrella group of migrant advocacy and civil society organizations, said in a statement that four men, a young woman and a girl were killed.
The incident occurred just nine hours after Sheinbaum was sworn in as president, and on the eve of the 56th anniversary of the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City, in which the Army opened fire on protesting students.
Sedena said in a statement on Wednesday that the shooting occurred on the highway between Huixtla and Villa Comaltitlán. The ministry indicated that soldiers mistook the migrants for criminals.
Ahora fueron balazos, no abrazos. Militares victimaron a balazos en Chiapas a 6 migrantes e hirieron a 12 más, al confundirlos con integrantes de cártel. Hechos anoche en tramo Villa Comatitlán-Huixtla. Fue hallado camión con víctimas; había árabes, hindús, nepalíes, cubanos. pic.twitter.com/nYXd2eJAs5
“At approximately 8:50 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 1, 2024, members of the Mexican Army, while carrying out ground reconnaissance, detected a pick-up style vehicle traveling at high speed,” Sedena said, adding that the vehicle “evaded” the military personnel after its occupants saw them.
Sedena said that two stake bed trucks “like those that crime groups in the region use” were traveling behind the pick-up truck.
“Military personnel said they heard explosions so two soldiers fired their weapons,” the ministry said, adding that one of the stake bed trucks subsequently came to a halt.
“Upon approaching, military personnel identified 33 migrants of Egyptian, Nepalese, Cuban, Indian, Pakistani and Arabic nationality, of whom four had died, 12 were injured and 17 were unharmed,” Sedena said, apparently referring to Saudi Arabian citizens in the latter case.
“The military personnel administered first aid to the injured and immediately transferred them by vehicle to the General Hospital in Huixtla, Chiapas, where unfortunately two more [migrants] lost their lives,” the ministry said.
“The 17 unharmed migrants were placed in the custody of the National Immigration Institute,” Sedena said.
The Defense Ministry said that the two soldiers who fired their weapons were stood down.
It also said that the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) was notified of the incident given that “civilians were affected.”
Sedena said that the FGR would investigate and determine “responsibilities” in the case.
At her Thursday morning press conference, Sheinbaum said that the two soldiers who shot the migrants were in the custody of the FGR.
Correspondent Isaín Mandujano for @ElFinanciero_Mx in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas: @SEDENAmx suspended two soldiers for their role in a shooting yesterday, in which six undocumented migrants were killed and ten others wounded, pending investigation. https://t.co/sL8fkQowTB
“First of all it’s a regrettable event, and it has to be investigated and punished. The personnel of the Defense Ministry who fired are already in the custody of the Federal Attorney General’s Office,” she said.
“It’s the Attorney General’s Office that has to do the investigation about how the events occurred,” Sheinbaum said, adding that it will be up to the FGR to determine whether Army commanders are also at fault.
“A situation like this can’t be repeated,” said the new president.
Sheinbaum also said that the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Interior Ministry were in contact with the embassies of the countries from which the victims came.
The deaths of the six migrants came just one day after former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed into law a constitutional bill that places the National Guard under the control of Sedena. There are concerns that the increased militarization of public security in Mexico will increase the risk of abuses being committed by the country’s security forces.
Mexican Army and navy personnel have previously been accused and/or convicted of a range of crimes, including murder.
Peru condemns the killings
In a statement, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “strongly” condemned the events that caused the deaths of six migrants, including one Peruvian national.
“The government of Peru, through its diplomatic representation in Mexico, will demand that the authorities of that country [carry out] an urgent investigation that … determines responsibility for this reprehensible act,” the ministry said.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide humanitarian assistance to … the family members of the [Peruvian] victim in these difficult circumstances,” it said.
The UN expresses concern
In a joint post to the X social media platform, the Mexico offices of the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed their “concern” about the events in Chiapas that led to the death of six migrants and the wounding of 10 others.
For its part, the Collective for the Monitoring of the Southern Border said that “these events are neither accidental nor isolated.”
“They are a consequence of the restrictive immigration policies that the Mexican state continues to implement,” the group said.
Under pressure from the United States to reduce the number of migrants who make it to the U.S. border, Mexican federal forces have detained increasing numbers of migrants. (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)
In recent years, Mexico has used federal security forces to detain migrants, large numbers of whom enter the country via the border with Guatemala and then travel northward via a variety of means with the ultimate objective of reaching the United States. Cartel violence has plagued the border region in Chiapas in recent times.
The hurricane, which made landfall as a Category 3 storm on Sept. 24, caused at least 22 deaths — including 18 in Guerrero — and severe damage across the states of Guerrero, Michoacán and Oaxaca. Acapulco is on the Guerrero coast.
Soldiers help an Acapulco resident escape knee-deep floodwaters in Acapulco Tuesday. The Defense Ministry said 3,455 people have ended up in temporary shelters as of Oct. 2 due to flooding and storm damage. (Sedena/Cuartoscuro)
As Sheinbaum arrived in the city to assess damage, locals demanded urgent aid and government support. Many do not have running water.
Driving to the coast in a pickup truck on the Autopista del Sol, Sheinbaum was also greeted at the La Venta toll booth by victims handing her documents outlining their needs. La Venta is a town in the municipality of Acapulco.
Later, in brief remarks, she emphasized that her visit aimed to assess damage with Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado and other officials.
Sheinbaum’s visit comes less than a year after Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm, devastated Acapulco, inflicting billions of dollars in damage to hotels and other properties when it struck on Oct. 25, 2023.
Acapulco had barely recovered from last year when Hurricane John struck last week and unleashed a year’s worth of rainfall in four days, leading to floods and landslides that compounded previous damages.
Sheinbaum headed a meeting at the Icacos Naval Base in Acapulco to plan for short-term and long-term storm damage recuperation. The governors of Guerrero and Michoacán attended the meeting. (Claudia Sheinbaum/X)
Miguel Gómez, leader of a local merchants’ union, said over 1,300 workers, many of them women, were unable to work due to damage along the coast. Vendors in areas such as Puerto Marqués and Majahua beach who sell goods like seafood, souvenirs and crafts saw their livelihoods shattered by the storm, Gómez said.
He said that in Puerto Marqués (a municipality about 10 kilometers south of Acapulco) two sinkholes have damaged the main avenue, collapsing at least 13 restaurants. He and others expressed fear that they won’t be able to reopen in the coming weeks.
“You’re strong, you can help us!” one woman from Tierra Colorada whose business was ravaged by the storm shouted at Sheinbaum as she passed.
During her visit, Sheinbaum did not fully tour the most damaged areas but flew over regions, including the municipality of Coyuca de Benítez — which is inland of the coast but has a river of the same name running through it — and the Diamante area, Acapulco’s hotel zone.
Amid the unrest, Sheinbaum also warned about the arrival of tropical depression 11-E, which has begun bringing heavy rains and winds to several western Mexican states. It was also announced that classes at schools throughout Guerrero have been suspended due to the new storm.
At a private meeting at the Icacos Naval Base in Acapulco with Salgado and Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, Sheinbaum discussed long-term recovery plans and emergency support to meet more immediate needs.
Underscoring the gravity of the situation, also present for the meeting were several ministers from Sheinbaum’s cabinet: Marcelo Ebrard (Economy), General Ricardo Trevilla (Defense), Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales (Navy chief), Rosa Icela Rodríguez (Interior), Omar García Harfuch (Public Security), David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz (Health) and Josefina Rodriguez Zamora (Tourism).
“We are leaving instructions with the National Water Commission [Conagua] and the Infrastructure, Communications and Transport Ministry (SICT) to expedite aid,” Sheinbaum posted on her Facebook account.
Sheinbaum committed to another meeting on Thursday to continue assessing damages and coordinating a support plan.
Meanwhile, some citizens have gone to Chilpancingo, the Guerrero state capital, to ask federal authorities to provide them with assistance.
In the 1920s, a string of high-powered radio stations on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande changed American culture. (The Radio Historian)
If you’re like me, you love “Pirate Radio,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy. The movie follows a group of rogue DJs who set up an outlaw radio station on a boat off the coast of Great Britain to broadcast rock and roll to fans hungry for the music.
Before pirate radio, however, there was border radio. The concept was the same — avoid regulations and censorship, broadcast music not being carried by mainstream radio and evade the long arm of the law.
XER, later known as XERA, is the best-known of the border blasters. (Library of Congress)
The advent of border radio
In the 1920s, the United States and Canada reached an agreement to divide the long-range radio frequencies between themselves, leaving Mexico out of the agreement. Radio created a stir in both countries as a new communications medium that brought entertainment into people’s living rooms. As a result, a long string of border radio stations — also known as border blasters — sprang up south of the Rio Grande.
Mexico’s lack of regulations allowed stations to operate at a powerful 50,000 to 500,000 watts. This gave them access not only to listeners across the United States but as far away as Canada, Europe and South America; their target audience was the U.S.
In 1930 American businessmen — primarily conmen and charlatans — began building radio stations along the border. The first was Houston theater owner Will Horwitz, who established XED radio in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Horwitz was eventually sent to prison by the U.S. authorities for broadcasting the Tamaulipas lottery over radio waves reaching the United States.
Another controversial border broadcaster was Iowan Norman Baker, who set up XENT radio in Nuevo Laredo and used it to promote his alleged cure for cancer. The most controversial and best-known of the outlaw radio station owners, however, was without a doubt, John R. Brinkley.
Brinkley’s degree came from the Eclectic Medical College of Kansas City, a diploma mill. (Kansas State Historical Society)
The Goat Doctor
A failed politician, Brinkley received a degree from an unaccredited medical school but ultimately ended up practicing medicine in Kansas and Arkansas. One day a farmer presented himself in Brinkley’s office, lamenting his lack of “male vigor” and wishing he had the vigor of a billy goat.
With those words, a scheme formed in Brinkley’s mind that he called the “goat-gland rejuvenation” operation as a remedy to male impotence. He implanted the testicles of a goat in the farmer’s scrotum. It became the perfect scam — a quick operation that didn’t cost much to perform — but he needed a way to publicize his miracle treatment. Then he learned about the power of radio.
He received a broadcasting license for his station KFKB in Kansas in 1923. Three times a day, between broadcast church services and music, Brinkley would deliver his medical sermon on the wonders of goat-gland rejuvenation. Thousands converged on the tiny town of Milford, Kansas seeking the operation. Brinkley became so successful he had to build a hospital to accommodate all his patients.
The goat-gland rejuvenation operations were brought to the attention of Morris Fishbein, the president of the American Medical Association. Fishbein, knowing Brinkley was a quack, decided to shut him down for good. Eventually, Brinkley lost his broadcasting and medical licenses and decided to try his luck south of the Rio Grande. He set up his radio broadcasting station in Villa Acuña, across from Del Rio, Texas, so Texans could access his services. Mexican officials welcomed the wealthy entrepreneur, facilitating the building of a 50,000-watt station.
XER’s programming was extremely popular and included yodelers, fiddlers, Mexican music, religious sermons, psychics and astrologists, but its main purpose was to attract patients for Brinkley’s goat-gland rejuvenation business.
The Brinkley Mansion still stands in Del Rio, Texas. (Clinton & Charles Robertson/CC BY-S.A. 2.0)
Who knows why men believed that goat gonads would restore virility, but thousands flocked to Villa Acuna for the operation. Brinkley did quite well, purchasing several planes, a yacht and a 16-acre estate called the Brinkley Mansion.
Border radio spreads new genres across the US
As the station grew, Brinkley reached an agreement with Mexican officials to broadcast at 500,000 watts and restructured his radio empire under the call letters XERA. The United States was in the depths of the Great Depression and XERA was the only radio signal that reached rural listeners, transporting them away from their problems. He introduced country music to the rest of America when he discovered the Carter Family from the hills of Virginia, who played “hillbilly” music.
The Carter Family became country icons. Their music influenced a six-year-old in Arkansas who would eventually marry the family’s daughter June: Johnny Cash. Many country icons, including Hank Williams, Johnny Horton and Cash himself, took advantage of the high-wattage border blasters, trekking to the border to promote and perform their latest single.
The Carter Family was one of the first acts launched to stardom by the border blasters in the 1930s. (Birthplace of Country Music)
XERA was not the only station ushering in new genres of music. XERF radio played a prominent role in introducing Americans to rhythm and blues, soul, rock and roll and the blues. Young DJ Bob Smith grew up listening to border radio in New York City. In 1963, determined to get on the air at a border station, he arrived in Del Rio, Texas with demos of his radio gigs and talked his way onto CERF. He eventually became the station manager and was known to his listeners as Wolfman Jack.
As station manager, he included product-peddling and religious broadcasts in his programming but after midnight he played jazz, rock and roll, soul and rhythm and blues. Wolfman Jack had an air of mystery that made him extremely popular. In the postwar 1950s, a sense of normalcy and strict moral standards settled over the United States. Broadcasting from Mexico, Wolfman Jack’s thinly disguised sexual innuendos and new music genres evaded the extreme censorship at the time.
ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons was influenced by listening to the blues on border radio growing up in Lubbock, Texas. The band even dedicated two songs to border music, including “I Heard It on the X.”
Border blasters continued to prosper in the 1960s. Then, in 1972, Mexico and the United States reached an agreement on radio frequencies which was the beginning of the end of border radio. Television broadcasting eventually became the dominant medium.
Border radio, however, ushered in new ways of thinking about music and fresh expressions of creativity. It took locally popular music out of regional isolation and jettisoned it into the mainstream, changing the culture of the United States.
Make sure to read this list before you jet off for Mexico. (Lutfi Gaos/Unsplash)
The first time I got on a plane to Mexico, I freaked out pretty thoroughly.
It started when the flight attendant began giving instructions in Spanish. To my dismay, even after two years of studying the language, I didn’t understand a single word she was saying.
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My nervousness continued after I bumped into someone at the Mexico City airport. I wasn’t exactly sure how to say “I’m sorry.” I think I said “lo siento” too late, but no matter; it should have been “perdón” anyway. Later I realized that in packed places like Mexico City, most people don’t even bother saying “excuse me”; bumping into others is kind of expected.
This was 22 years ago, by the way, the time before everyone carried the internet — and potential immediate contact with all their people — in their pockets. My initiation felt rough, but after a couple of months, I was pretty well acclimated.
It’s been a while now, but I remember the surprises upon landing well. So if you’re planning on any kind of extended trip to Mexico, I’ve got your back! Here’s a list of things you can do to prepare.
1. Try to leave your cellphone in your bag. I know, we’re all addicted these days. And even if you don’t need to do anything with it, a cell phone is the perfect accessory to distract you and others from awkward situations, of which there will be many.
(Julia Viniczay/Unsplash)
But trust me: they may be a habit, but they’re not your friend if you want to really learn about Mexico. They’re also designed to keep us hooked and distracted. I can’t count how many times I’ve taken my phone out to look something up, then gotten distracted and forgotten about the original thing. I’m also 100 percent sure I would not have learned Spanish as well as I did if I’d had the option of distraction and comfortable at-home content. When you’re on your phone, you’re not talking to or noticing what’s in front of you. Put it away!
2. Pack for all kinds of weather. It’s a common belief abroad that Mexico is all desert. If you’re reading this you probably know it’s not, but you still might be surprised by the variety in temperatures. Once I went to Catemaco — a place that’s supposed to always be hot — just as a cold front blew in. My sandals and sleeveless t-shirts were not cutting it. Even if you’re going to a coastal destination, take a couple sweaters and a few pairs of socks. You’ll be glad you did!
3. Have a money plan. You’ve probably heard that it’s best to use ATMs rather than exchange money. This is true, but there’s a tad more you should know about them. Some charge a lot and should be avoided — looking at you, BBVA — whileothers are free. Another thing that I want to make sure you know: sometimes a screen will pop up that offers the choice to be charged in your own currency or pesos. You’re basically being asked “May we charge you at a more favorable-for-us exchange rate?”
Know this: you are allowed to say no, and you will still get your money. Just be sure to let your bank know you’re going, though. Even though mine knows I’m usually in Mexico, my cards get frozen once in a while.
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Finally, remember that Mexico is both a cash economy and one in whichno one ever has change. Ever. This is unfortunate, as ATMs routinely spit out 500 or even 1000 peso bills. Your best strategic bet is to buy something small at a large store or chain and use the 500 there. And if you’re partial togiving tips and donations to people, try reserving one pocket just for small change.
4. Be safe, but don’t worry too much. Though you don’t want to encourage would-be petty criminals through too-trusting behavior, rest assured that most people are nice and honest. Sure, there areprecautions to be taken. But for the most part, you’re not typically in danger any more than in your home country.
Mexico has a lot to offer and a lot to learn from. I’m even a little jealous of those who are getting to know it now for the first time. You’ve got a wild, fun ride ahead!
The earth oven, or horno de tierra, is the key to pit cooking in Mexico. (Feria de Productores/CC BY-SA 2.0)
Nobody knows how long the earth has been used as an oven. However, evidence for the practice dates back at least 30,000 years. The Taino, an Indigenous people of the Caribbean, did much to popularize it, thanks to a fire pit cooking method they called “barabicu”: the sacred pit. After the Spanish began colonizing the Americas in the late 15th century, barabicu became barbacoa — and, later in the U.S., barbecue.
The method of cooking the word barbacoa described — slow-cooking in a pit with the meat or fish arranged on some sort of makeshift grill — may have been novel to the Spanish. But earth ovens existed in Mexico long before they arrived. The Maya pib, for instance, predates the colonial period by hundreds of years, if not far more. Maya settlements date back well over 3,000 years, so earth ovens may have been used for far longer than written evidence suggests.
Diners unearth food from a pib in Quintana Roo. (Na’atik Language and Culture Institute)
The Maya pib and cochinita pibil
However old the tradition, it’s continued today in dishes like the iconic tamal, pibipollo — a large round tamal eaten on Hanal Pixán, the Maya Day of the Dead — and the signature Yucatán specialty cochinita pibil. The latter, in its modern incarnation, is made with pork marinated in annatto seed-sourced achiote paste, bitter Seville orange juice, cumin and other spices, before being wrapped in banana leaves and slow-roasted. It’s served in a variety of presentations, including in tacos.
Domesticated livestock like sheep, pigs and cattle were introduced to Mexico by the Spanish. Before their arrival in the early 16th century, cochinita pibil was made not with pork, but with wild game. That was the case, too, with barbacoa, which in olden times was prepared with animals as diverse as turkey, deer, rabbit and iguana.
The pib itself varies in size according to what is being cooked. Vegetables like corn and the foods it helps make, like tamales, don’t require a deep pit and can be cooked in an hour or less. Cochinita pibil or barbacoa, meanwhile, need a larger pit and are typically cooked overnight. The heat comes from the embers of fired wood and heated stones, and once the meat has been wrapped in banana or maguey leaves, the pit is covered to trap the heat. These pits can be reused but must be cleaned with embers removed before the next feast.
The traditional joys of barbacoa hidalguense
Barbacoa, a weekend favorite in Mexico, is made in several states. But it’s most famously produced in Hidalgo, where municipalities like Actopan are synonymous with Mexican pit-cooked barbecue. In the Hidalgo tradition, lamb is the meat of choice, with cuts set on a grill and wrapped in pencas (maguey leaves) to be cooked overnight in an earthen pit. The meat is generally shredded for tacos, while drippings are caught in a pot and used to make consomé.
Barbacoa from Actopan, Hidalgo served in tacos in Mexico City. (Jj saezdeo/CC BY-SA 4.0)
The state’s proximity to Mexico City ensures many barbacoyeros serve their food in the capital, along with specialty items like pancita (stomach-stuffed offal) and moronga (black pudding). As for the cooking itself, it’s done in pits, with wood such as mezquite stoking the fire and imbuing the meat with sought-after smoky flavors sealed in via wrapping with maguey leaves.
The world’s most fulfilling tamal
The Maya pib is also used to make tamales, of course. The origin of the current tradition of eating tamales on Día de los Reyes Magos is thought to be founded upon an ancient agricultural ritual to promote a good planting season. Tamales are made from masa, a corn-based dough, and corn was a staple crop of the Maya and many other Indigenous groups.
The biggest tamal of them all, however, isn’t found in the Yucatán but in the Huasteca region which stretches across seven Mexican states, including Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo. The zacahuil, as it is known, is a feet-long, party-style tamal that can feed up to 50 people or more. Pork or chicken and several chili peppers are also typically used in its preparation, with the cooking traditionally done in an earth oven.
It should be noted that earth ovens aren’t just used to make iconic cuisine: they’re also the tool used to make Mexico’s national liquor. Artisanal Oaxacan mezcals, for example, owe much of their smoky flavor to the days-long roasting process they undergo in a stone-lined pit.
The zacahuil, Mexico’s titanic tamal, is traditionally prepared in an earth oven. (Octavio Ruiz Cervera/CC BY SA-2.0)
The living legacy of earth ovens in Mexico
Some mezcals, like tequila, are roasted in what are now more conventional ovens. As people have migrated from rural areas to cities, recipes for some traditional dishes, too, have been adapted to indoor kitchens and modern appliances. But the earth oven remains alive and well in Mexico and it isn’t hard to understand what accounts for its continued use.
Part of the enduring appeal of the earth oven is the amount of flavor it produces. “The wood we cook it in, the leaves we top it with, the earth it’s buried in — those things give the flavor,” chef David Cetina told AFAR in 2019. “The best machine in the world can’t give the flavor of food cooked underground.”
However, the ancient texts, says travel writer Vaitiare Rojo, also reveal a more sacred dimension. “According to the codices, ground ovens are a tribute to Mother Earth, who in addition to giving us her fruits, offers the opportunity to prepare food in her own bosom. Its meaning, in addition to its practicality, is beautiful and profound.”
