Alicia Bárcena represented Mexico at the 16th Conference of the Parties on Biological Diversity (COP) in Cali, Colombia. (Alicia Bárcena/X)
Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena described her plans to expand Mexico’s protected lands through partnerships with local governments and Indigenous communities at the Conference of the Parties on Biological Diversity (COP) in Cali, Colombia.
The world’s leading biodiversity conference, COP’s 16th edition has been dubbed “The People’s COP,” as it seeks to elevate the role of Indigenous peoples and local communities as guardians of nature.
114 environment ministers from around the world gathered at #COP16Colombia to make #PeaceWithNature and meet the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework.
The will is strong, but it needs to be stronger to stop the loss of biodiversity on Earth 🌎🤝💚. pic.twitter.com/njqw2NaqiY
Speaking at the conference on Tuesday, Bárcena said that Mexico is committed to implementing urgent measures to protect 153 million hectares of land and sea by 2030, equivalent to 30% of Mexican territory, a goal known as “30×30.”
“In Mexico, we have 232 Natural Protected Areas, which today represent 99 million hectares, and by the year 2030, we have to protect 30.8 million hectares of land and 19.6 million hectares of marine areas. It is an immense task,” Bárcena said.
“We no longer have the territory to be able to create the reserves that we did in the past, like Sian Ka’an,” Bárcena continued. “Therefore, we have to act on what we have today. And that is what we are proposing along with Chile … conservation measures known as OEMCs.”
The acronym OEMC stands for other effective area-based conservation measures, which refers to “a geographically delimited area that is not a protected area, which is managed in such a way as to achieve positive and long-term results for the in situ conservation of biodiversity.”
In her COP16 speech, the minister stressed that applying environmental justice is “a big challenge,” particularly for Mexico. (Alicia Bárcena/X)
In her speech, the minister stressed that applying environmental justice is “a big challenge,” particularly for Mexico. Two major obstacles mentioned by Bárcena are the lack of prevention and justice mechanisms to confront environmental crimes by transnational corporations, and the illegal management of natural resources by organized crime.
Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean at COP16
Latin America and the Caribbean are home to six of the 10 most environmentally diverse countries on the planet — including Mexico. The region has around 60% of the world’s biological diversity and a third of the planet’s fresh water. Mexico alone is home to around 12% of the world’s biodiversity.
Of the 196 countries that make up the list of parties attending COP16, however, only 35 submitted complete biodiversity action plans. In Latin America, only Colombia, Mexico, Cuba and Surinam submitted one.
Mexico’s biodiversity action plan
Mexico’s proposal outlines its strategies and actions aimed at meeting the 23 Kunming-Montreal performance targets for 2030. These include participation of Indigenous peoples, control of invasive species, ecosystem restoration and sustainability in agriculture and fisheries. Overall, the strategy encompasses 48 goals.
“It was a very long process involving many workshops with the federal administration, state governments, representatives of Indigenous peoples, academia and NGOs,” Esiquio Benítez, head of international cooperation and implementation at the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (Conabio) told the news outlet Animal Político.
Ahead of the event, Bárcena said that following COP16, her ministry will assess the ambition and viability of the 48 goals based on available funding.
Once it's stalled, resuming intimacy can be tricky, even for couples who've spent many years together. (Ian MacKenzie / CC BY 2.0)
Do you live in Mexico, and are you wondering about how to reinitiate intimacy with your partner? Jenna Mayhew has been working as a psychologist in Mexico for eight years. At her practice, Hola Therapy, she has made it her mission to help foreigners living in Mexico, Mexicans with a foreign partner, foreigners with links to Mexico and Mexicans with links to foreigners or foreign countries.
Now, Jenna answers MND readers’ questions on the pressing issues of relationships, mental health and navigating changes that come with relocating to and living in Mexico.
Jenna Mayhew (center) and the team at Hola Therapy. (Jenna Mayhew)
Dear Jenna,
Me and my husband are 80 years old and are still active. 15 years ago we were in our sixties and had a satisfying sex life. Then, about seven years ago, he just stopped all affection. He had a penal implant and said it hurt. I said that that was okay; we could still have affection like foreplay.
Well, that never happened. Everything just stopped. He never went to a doctor to see if anything could be done and stopped taking male hormones. When I bring this up, I get an obligatory kiss good night. He shows his affection by doing things for me, but I really need some physical affection. A bit will do.
Mary
Dear Mary,
It sounds like you and your husband have navigated significant changes together over the years. The transition to reduced physical affection can be challenging, particularly when one partner is managing health-related issues and it happens so abruptly. It’s understandable that you feel disappointed by his lack of proactive engagement. He hasn’t followed up medically, nor has he taken up the suggestion of non-penetrative sex like foreplay. It sounds like you feel quite alone when you try to raise this as a need of yours, receiving the brush-off response of an “obligatory kiss goodnight” rather than an authentic conversation.
Firstly, I think you’ve tried some really helpful things already. You sound like you’re compassionate about the medical side and you’ve tried to talk openly with him. So let’s focus on tweaking some of those strategies to rekindle affection in your relationship.
Physical affection can take many forms. (Shutterstock)
Open communication: Start a gentle conversation about your feelings. Let him know how much you miss physical affection and how it enhances your emotional connection. Instead of saying, “You never show me affection anymore,” try “I miss the hugs we used to share.” This softer approach can lead to a more open and less defensive conversation.
Address medical concerns: Encourage him to discuss his reluctance to follow up medically. Is it logistics? It is embarrassment? Is it a belief that nothing can help? If you understand the reason for the reluctance you may be able to support him in finding a solution.
Explore alternative affection: Consider what types of affection feel comfortable for both of you. Many people shy away from affection out of fear it will lead to sexual expectations. Reassure him that physical touch doesn’t have to culminate in sex. Simple gestures like holding hands, cuddling on the couch, or gentle massages can help rekindle that connection.
Express gratitude: Regularly acknowledge the ways he shows affection through his actions. This recognition can reinforce his sense of being valued and encourage him to explore more physical forms of connection.
Remember, rebuilding intimacy can take time, and it’s important to be patient with each other. You’re both navigating this phase of life together, and finding new ways to connect can enrich your relationship. Here’s to a journey of rediscovery and deeper affection.
To submit your question to Jenna, leave a comment on this article with the heading “QUESTION.” Please include as much detail as you would like to about yourself (age, location, etc.) and why you are interested in the question.
Jenna Mayhew is an Australian psychologist based in Mexico, with over 20 years of experience in Australia, England and Mexico. She is the founder of Hola Therapy, a bilingual practice dedicated to supporting the immigrant and cross-cultural communities in Mexico.
Hola Therapy aims to give back to the community and one way they achieve this is by providing by clinical and financial support to the Misión México Foundation, a charity in Tapachula, Chiapas. They provide a stable, therapeutic environment for some of the state’s most vulnerable children, with a focus on safety, emotional recovery and education. If you have enjoyed the “Ask Jenna” column, please consider giving back by making a small donation to the Misión México Foundation
Earthy meets creamy with this Mexican pork dish to warm a fall evening. (Canva)
This chamorro en salsa de adobo recipe works like a dream, but it’s not just because pork tastes good (it does). It’s because the soul of the recipe — the adobo sauce — has traveled centuries to land on your plate. Chipotle peppers and achiote seeds, smoky, bitter, and rich, have been used by the ancestors in Mexico to preserve, flavor, and, some say, to tell stories. The sauce is no simple sauce; it’s a mechanism for time travel.
You’ll spend a few hours cooking, maybe thinking, wondering why this process works so well. The pork, seasoned and baked in the oven, is the main protagonist here. The cast? Chipotle and achiote, who came up the ranks from ancient Mesoamerican markets and made it into Spanish-influenced dishes. While you think you’re cooking, you’re actually carrying on tradition — seasoning the pork, baking it low and slow until tender.
The secret to a great chamorro is getting the adobo sauce just right. (Canva)
The chamorro itself, that beautiful pork shank, is a humble, tough cut, much like people themselves, until given some care, time, and the right spices to show its true potential. Chamorro wasn’t always something you’d find on a special menu; it was a common food, born from necessity. This cut became essential for any serious feast as Indigenous ingredients mixed with European influences, as practicality mixed with love for flavor.
So here you are, tasting history. And thinking of the ancient cooks who transformed something simple into something extraordinary. And by the time the pork is tender, you might just feel that sense of respect for the process, for the flavors, and maybe, for this brief moment in time you’re sharing with it.
Chamorro with Salsa de Adobo
Chamorro con salsa de adobo
Ingredients:
For the Pork Shank:
1 pork shank (approx. 1-1.5 kg)
Salt to taste
Mix of garlic powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, black pepper
For the Adobo Sauce:
100g chipotles in adobo
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
50g achiote paste
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
salsa de adobo
Instructions:
Prepare the Pork Shank: Season the pork shank generously with salt and then the spice mix.
Prepare the Adobo Sauce:
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend
Cook on stovetop to reduce until the sauce sticks to the spoon like a barnacle on a boat.
Cook the Pork:
Preheat your oven to 135°C (275°F).
Place the pork shank in a baking dish. Bake for 2.5 to 3 hours, or until internal temp is 93C.
Finish and Serve:
Remove from the oven and pour the adobo sauce over the pork. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.
Serving Suggestion: Serve your Chamorro en Salsa de Adobo with warm tortillas, rice, or beans — anything that can heroically soak up that bold, smoky adobo sauce. This is no time for forks and plates; you’re meant to scoop, dip, and revel in every bite like it’s the last you’ll have. Let the sauce wander over your rice, wrap itself in a tortilla, cling to a bean. Each bite should feel like a victory over blandness, a celebration of flavor. Enjoy it well, and let me know what you think in the comments!
StephenRandall has lived in Mexico since 2018 by way of Kentucky, and before that, Germany. He’s an enthusiastic amateur chef who takes inspiration from many different cuisines, with favorites including Mexican and Mediterranean. His recipes can also be found on YouTube.
Shandong Golden Empire will build a major manufacturing plant in Mexico to produce components for the automobile, robotics, wind turbine and aerospace industries. (Shandong Golden Empire)
The Chinese firm Shandong Golden Empire (GEB) announced Friday plans to invest US $165 million in the state of San Luis Potosí.
GEB will construct a plant in Mexico’s biggest industrial park, Parque Logistik III, located in Villa de Reyes, just south of the city of San Luis Potosí.
Shandong Golden Empire will build its San Luis Potosí plant in Mexico’s largest industrial park, the Logistik Industrial Park in the municipality of Villa Reyes. (Logistik)
GEB’s plant will produce equipment and components for the automobile, urban train, robotics, wind turbine and aerospace industries, and aims to enhance industrial and technological development in the state. The investment is part of GEB’s plan for strategic expansion in key sectors, the state Economic Development Ministry said.
GEB’s is one of 10 investment commitments already made in the state in the last year by Chinese companies, totaling $1.17 billion, according to San Luis Potosi’s Economic Development Minister Jesus Salvador González Martínez, who also announced that the ministry is currently wooing six more Chinese companies to invest in the state, primarily in the automobile and manufacturing sector.
“Tomorrow, the Minister of Economic Development Minister, Jesús Salvador González Martínez, will meet with the Ambassador of China, Zhang Run, who will visit [San Luis Potosí’s] industrial zone to explore potential investment opportunities. We will strengthen ties, and we expect growth!” the ministry posted on the X social media platform Monday.
San Luis Potosi is part of the central Mexico Bajío region, where several major automakers have longstanding operations, including Toyota, Honda and General Motors (GM). The region benefits from its strategic location in Mexico’s center, as well as from the USMCA free-trade agreement between the U.S. Mexico and Canada, which facilitates exports to the North American market.
San Luis Potosí state is home to more than 300 auto manufacturing businesses alone, both foreign and Mexican.
In recent years, Chinese companies have sought to build manufacturing or assembly facilities in Mexico in order to benefit from the USMCA free trade zone, although the U.S. has been making moves to prevent Chinese companies from getting around heavy U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods by producing them in Mexico.
In March, Minth México, a subsidiary of the Chinese auto parts company Minth Group, announced plans to build two new plants in the central state of Aguascalientes — also part of the Bajío region — with a combined cost of $173.5 million. This followed news last December that Chinese Tier 1 supplier Xinquan Automotive planned to invest $100 million in its Aguascalientes plant.
In the past, González said, the state government had offered companies free land to attract big investors like BMW and GM. However, improved financial incentives, a favorable business environment and straightforward administrative processes have helped attract higher levels of investment to the region in recent years without having to do that, he said.
Sheinbaum's security cabinet attempted to portray a positive picture of Mexico's security situation on Tuesday, but the reality is much more complex. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Federal security officials on Tuesday highlighted a decline in homicides and more than 800 arrests since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office on Oct. 1.
During Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning press conference, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said that authorities have this month seized 834 firearms, 33,800 kilograms of “different kinds of drugs” and more than 46,000 fentanyl pills. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
They attempted to portray a positive picture of Mexico’s security situation, but the reality remains that various parts of the country are plagued by high levels of violent crime.
Figueroa, a former Mexico City security official, said that preliminary data shows that there was an average of 75.3 homicides between Oct. 1 and Oct. 28.
That means there have been more than 2,100 murders in Mexico since Sheinbaum was sworn in.
Figueroa highlighted that the average daily murder rate this month is the lowest for any October since 2017.
She also noted that the daily murder rate this year — an average of 82.32 murders per day between Jan. 1 and Oct. 28 — is more than 18% lower than the daily rate in both 2018 —the year former president Enrique Peña Nieto’s term ended — and 2019, which was ex-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s first full year in office.
The daily murder rate so far this year is 3.26% lower than the rate across 2023. The rate during Sheinbaum’s first 28 days in office is 8.5% lower than the rate for the year to date.
Guanajuato remains Mexico’s most violent state
There have been almost 25,000 homicides in Mexico so far this year, according to the data presented by Figueroa on Tuesday morning.
The SNSP chief noted that 49.8% of the murders — a total of 12,400 — occurred in just seven states.
Last week, several police officers were wounded after car bombs went off near Public Security Ministry buildings in Acámbaro and Jerécuaro, Guanajuato. (Acámbaro SSC/X)
The seven states with the highest number of homicides between Jan. 1 and Oct. 28 were:
Guanajuato: 2,562 murders (10.3% of the total)
Baja California: 1,982 murders (8%)
México state: 1,919 murders (7.7%)
Chihuahua: 1,660 murders (6.7%)
Jalisco: 1,514 murders (6.1%)
Guerrero: 1,398 murders (5.6%)
Nuevo León: 1,365 murders (5.5%)
Most of the violence in Guanajauto — Mexico’s most violent state in recent years — is the result of confrontations between criminal groups, in particular the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.
Among the most violent municipalities in the state are Celaya and Salamanca. Twelve bodies were found in Salamanca on Oct. 3, two days after four men were killed in an armed attack in the same city.
In addition to Guanajuato, various other Mexican states are currently plagued by turf wars between rival criminal groups or battles between competing factions within the same cartel, as is the case in Sinaloa.
Figueroa acknowledged Tuesday that homicides have increased in Sinaloa in September and October as factions of the Sinaloa Cartel — “Los Mayos” and “Los Chapos” — engage in a fierce battle in Culiacán and other parts of the state.
824 people arrested for ‘high-impact crimes’ this month
García Harfuch, a former Mexico City security minister who survived an armed attack in 2020, said that the new federal security cabinet has “developed lines of action based on the strengthening of intelligence and investigation tasks and close inter-institutional coordination.”
The objective, he said, is to “build peace and combat impunity in our country.”
Several cartel leaders, including alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader Óscar Melchor, known by the alias “El 18,” have been arrested in the past month in attempts to bring the state greater security. (FGE Quintana Roo/X)
García said that 824 people were arrested in the first 28 days of the Sheinbaum administration for having allegedly committed “high-impact crimes” such as murder and kidnapping.
The security minister also highlighted that authorities have seized 834 firearms, 33,800 kilograms of “different kinds of drugs” and more than 46,000 fentanyl pills this month.
García spoke about some of the most significant arrests authorities have made in October, including the detention last week of Edwin Antonio Rubio López, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader whom the security minister described as “one of the main generators of violence in Culiacán.”
‘We’ve made progress in the consolidation of the National Guard’
García told reporters that the National Guard — a security force created by the previous federal government and recently put under military control — has played a major role in the new government’s security achievements in its first four weeks.
“The National Guard has contributed in a very significant way in these first weeks,” he said, noting that it has seized drugs, recovered vehicles used by criminals, confiscated firearms and arrested “generators of violence.”
“We’ve made progress in the consolidation of the National Guard and in its surveillance and reconnaissance work,” the security minister also said.
There are 133,000 members of the National Guard deployed across all 32 federal entities, García said. They are patrolling transport infrastructure, including highways, and have a presence in high-crime municipalities, he said.
National Guard personnel have also increased their “social proximity tasks in order to be close to the citizenry,” García said, highlighting that they provided assistance to residents of Acapulco affected by the recent passage of Hurricane John.
A shootout between the Mexican military and alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel left 19 civilians dead on Oct. 22. (José Batanzos/Cuartoscuro)
Major security incidents in Sheinbaum’s first four weeks as president
Sheinbaum faces a wide range of security challenges, including the ongoing conflict in Sinaloa, the dire situation in parts of Guanajuato, a turf war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG in the southern border region of Chiapas, and the nationwide fight against the manufacture and trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs.
Like former president López Obrador — whose six-year term was the most violent in Mexican history — and other former presidents, Sheinbaum is using the military in the fight against crime. And like her predecessor, the new president has pledged to avoid direct violent confrontation with criminals whenever possible.
However, on Sheinbaum’s watch, the Mexican army has already killed not only alleged criminals but also migrants and innocent bystanders.
Mexican soldiers killed 19 suspected members of the Sinaloa Cartel after they were attacked by more than 30 gunmen near Culiacán on Oct. 22. The Defense Ministry said that the troops came under fire in a rural area 11 kilometers east of Culiacán while arresting “alleged criminal cell boss” Edwin Antonio Rubio López. No soldiers were killed or wounded.
The Associated Press reported that the killing of the 19 drug cartel suspects in “a lopsided encounter” in which soldiers “suffered not a scratch themselves” has “awakened memories of past human rights abuses, like a 2014 incident in which soldiers killed about a dozen cartel suspects after they had surrendered.”
However, no evidence has emerged to indicate that the killings occurred after the alleged criminals had surrendered, or had been arrested and disarmed. The confrontation remains under investigation.
The USD:MXN rate at the close of trading was 20.08. (Cuartoscuro)
The Mexican peso depreciated against the US dollar on Tuesday to close above 20 to the greenback for a second consecutive day.
The USD:MXN rate at the close of trading was 20.08, according to the Bank of Mexico.
The nearing U.S. presidential election appears to be taking the wind out of the peso. (Kamala Harris/X)
The peso depreciated around 0.25% on Tuesday after closing at 20.03 to the dollar on Monday. It was the third consecutive trading day that the peso lost ground.
Next Tuesday’s presidential election in the United States is one factor causing the currency to decline.
Polls continue to show an extremely close race, but there are “growing bets” that former U.S. president and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump will win, the El Economista newspaper reported.
There are also concerns about other constitutional reform proposals, including one that seeks to disband a number of autonomous government agencies.
The new Congress has already approved a number of constitutional reforms since recently elected lawmakers assumed their positions on Sept. 1, and is expected to approve others given that the ruling Morena party and its allies have strong majorities in both the lower house and the Senate.
Since the comprehensive victories of President Claudia Sheinbaum and Morena at the June 2 elections, the peso has depreciated more than 15%.
The newly-located ancient Maya city, which has been dubbed Valeriana by researchers, is not visible to the naked eye as it is covered by miles of jungle in Campeche. It was discovered using lidar data originally commissioned for other purposes. (MikaelT/Shutterstock)
A team of archeologists has unearthed the existence of a previously unknown ancient Maya city hidden deep within the Yucatán Peninsula jungle, a discovery triggered by a PhD student doing a Google search.
The ancient city’s discoveries include pyramids, sports fields and causeways connecting districts and amphitheaters in the southeastern state of Campeche. Archeologists have dubbed the complex Valeriana, named after a nearby lagoon.
A mapping of ancient Maya structures believed to be within Valeriana’s city limits. (Luke Auld-Thomas, et al./ Antiquity)
“I was on something like page 16 of Google search and found a laser survey done by a Mexican organization for environmental monitoring,” Luke Auld-Thomas, a PhD student and lead researcher of a study about the finding published Tuesday in the British archeological journal Antiquity.
The data Auld-Thomas saw on Google — commissioned in 2013 by The Nature Conservancy México as part of an ecological survey — revealed to him what others had missed: the ruins of a huge ancient city.
Valeriana is located near the town of Xpujil, located near Campeche’s border with Quintana Roo and populated mostly by modern-day Indigenous Maya.
“For the longest time, our sample of the Maya civilization was a couple of hundred square kilometers total,” Auld-Thomas told The Guardian newspaper. “That sample was hard won by archaeologists who painstakingly walked over every square meter, hacking away at the vegetation with machetes to see if they were standing on a pile of rocks that might have been someone’s home 1,500 years ago.”
But lidar, which began to be used in Mesoamerican archeological study in the last two decades, has changed the game, allowing researchers to detect ancient structures covered by canopies of vegetation and invisible to the naked eye. In January, researchers using lidar discovered a huge city in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle dating back 2,500 years that is challenging the prevailing belief that Amazonian civilizations in South America lived in nomadic settlements.
Six years ago, some of the same researchers involved in Auld-Thomas’ study used lidar to detect tens of thousands of Maya buildings and pyramids in Guatemala’s Petén region, which supports the surprising idea that millions of people lived there, the Guardian reported.
Newly-discovered Valeriana is believed to have rivaled the building density of the neighboring Calakmul, believed to be one of the largest and most important Maya cities ever uncovered. (INAH)
Short for Light Detection and Ranging, lidar uses pulsed lasers to examine the earth’s surface. It can map structures buried under dense vegetation and generate precise 3-D information about the earth’s surface from a plane flying over an area. The technology has unearthed other archeological findings in Mexico, including ancient ceremonial centers and new data about the size of pre-Hispanic settlements.
Auld-Thomas’ study posits that at its peak — from A.D. 750-850 — Valeriana may have been home to 30,000–50,000 people.
Professor Elizabeth Graham from University College London, who was not involved in the research, told the BBC that the new finding supports claims that the Maya in the area lived in complex cities and towns, not in isolated villages.
“The point is that the landscape is definitely settled — that is, settled in the past — and not, as it appears to the naked eye, uninhabited or ‘wild,'” Graham said.
For Auld-Thomas — who in the study called the east-central area of Campeche where Valeriana was found “a blank spot” for researchers — the new findings show that this part of the Yucatán Peninsula could yet reveal many more undiscovered archeological treasures, he told the Guardian.
“The government never knew about it; the scientific community never knew about it,” he said. “That really puts an exclamation point behind the statement that, no, we have not found everything, and, yes, there’s a lot more to be discovered.”
The United States government has concerns about the capacity of Chinese connected cars to collect data and thus compromise national security. (BYD)
The Mexican government has taken a range of concerns about the Biden administration’s proposal to ban certain Chinese software and hardware in connected cars on United States roads to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The move came just over a month after U.S. President Joe Biden announced what the White House called “strong action to protect America from the national security risks associated with connected vehicle technologies from countries of concern.”
Biden’s proposal would effectively ban the import of Chinese brand vehicles [to the U.S.] even if they were assembled in Mexico. (Wikimedia Commons)In a fact sheet published in late September, the White House noted that the Department of Commerce was “issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking that would, if finalized as proposed, prohibit the sale or import of connected vehicles that incorporate certain technology and the import of particular components themselves from countries of concern, specifically the People’s Republic of China and Russia.”
In a filing with the Department of Commerce on Monday, Mexico’s Economy Ministry (SE) said that the proposed ban on Chinese software and hardware in connected cars on American roads could have a “substantial impact on Mexico’s automotive industry.”
“Economically, it poses potential trade barriers, disruptions to supply chains, increased production costs, and a possible risk of reduced direct and indirect employment,” the SE said.
The Economy Ministry also said that the proposal could violate trade rules as set out in the USMCA and “lead to increased production costs due to the shift in suppliers of auto parts and components within the automotive industry’s pre-planned supply chain.”
The proposed ban on Chinese connected car technology in the U.S. wouldn’t just affect Chinese companies, but any automaker that uses Chinese technology in their vehicles.
Al Jazeera reported that the planned regulation would “force American and other major automakers in years ahead to remove key Chinese software and hardware from vehicles in the U.S.”
— Alliance for Automotive Innovation (@autosinnovate) October 3, 2024
Automakers from the U.S. and various other countries have plants in Mexico, and they could soon be joined by Chinese automakers if companies such as BYD follow through on their investment plans.
Reuters reported that the proposal “would effectively ban the import of Chinese brand vehicles [to the U.S.] — even if they were assembled in Mexico.”
The news agency said that automakers and tech groups separately asked the Biden administration on Monday for changes to the proposed ban on key Chinese connected car software and hardware, and for more time before the rule takes effect. One of those groups, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, represents General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai, all of which make cars in Mexico.
Polestar, a Swedish automaker that is majority-owned by Chinese company Geely, said that the proposed rule would even ban the sale of the vehicles it makes in South Carolina.
The Department of Commerce is aiming to finalize the proposal by January 20. Prohibitions on connected car software from China and other “countries of concern” are slated to take effect in the 2027 model year. The ban on hardware would take effect in the 2030 model year, or January 2029.
BYD, one of the world’s two largest electric vehicle manufacturers, is the most prominent Chinese automaker with plans to open a plant in Mexico. The company’s Americas CEO, Stella Li, has repeatedly said that the proposed Mexico plant will make electric vehicles solely for the Mexican market and not for export to the U.S. or anywhere else.
Polestar, a Swedish automaker that is majority-owned by Chinese company Geely, said that the proposed rule would even ban the sale of the vehicles it makes in South Carolina. (Polestar)
BYD’s general director for Mexico Jorge Vallejo has said that the company is aiming to settle on a location for its proposed plant by the end of the year.
“Connected vehicles provide many benefits — from promoting vehicle safety to assisting drivers with navigation — but they also pose new and growing threats,” the White House said last month.
“These technologies include computer systems that control vehicle movement and collect sensitive driver and passenger data as well as cameras and sensors that enable automated driving systems and record detailed information about American infrastructure. Now more than ever, vehicles are directly connected into our country’s digital networks. As the Department of Commerce has found, vehicles’ increasing connectivity creates opportunities to collect and exploit sensitive information,” it said.
The raids were part of an ongoing operation that began on Oct. 10 to address complaints about an increase in street-level drug sales in the borough. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico City police discovered a narco-tunnel while conducting a series of raids in the southern borough of Xochimilco that netted the arrest of 27 people and the confiscation of a large quantity of illegal drugs.
The raids were part of an ongoing operation that began on Oct. 10 to address complaints about an increase in street-level drug sales in the borough, according to the newspaper El Universal.
NARCOPASADIZO en XOCHIMILCO
Es un túnel hallado en un predio de vendedrogas en @XochimilcoAl
Conectaba de una casa a otra y luego llevaba a una azotea.
Los equipos especiales de @SSC_CDMX lo hallaron y detuvieron a 3 vendedores.@FiscaliaCDMX indaga.
The discovery of the tunnel was made when Mexico City Public Security Ministry (SSC) officials carried out five simultaneous raids in the borough known for its popular floating gardens, which are a major tourism attraction in Xochimilco.
In collaboration with officers from the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office, the SSC officials executed five search warrants at six properties.
The tunnel was found to connect two of the buildings that served as warehouses in the Santa Crucita neighborhood, reported the newspaper Milenio.
The initial discoveries produced by the search warrants led to 17 additional raids in 10 other neighborhoods in Xochimilco, according to El Universal. The last of the raids took place on Oct. 26.
In addition to securing the tunnel, the authorities reported confiscating more than 1,000 “doses” of cocaine, 364 packets of marijuana, three vehicles, an unspecified amount of cash, cell phones and unidentified “items of value.”
Resultado del operativo de reforzamiento de seguridad implementado en @XochimilcoAl, entre el 10 y el 26 de octubre, compañeros de @SSC_CDMX detuvieron a 27 personas, algunas de ellas con antecedentes delictivos, y aseguraron más de mil 300 dosis de presunta droga.
The news site Periódico Enfoque reported that several of the 27 suspects arrested had criminal records, with four of them having served time in Mexico City prisons on charges ranging from domestic violence to robbery and breaking and entering. The same source also reported that two of the suspects were members of an unidentified local security force.
Milenio reported that the suspects have been turned over to the Mexico City office of the Public Prosecutor, who will adjudicate the case.
Mexican Prints at the Vanguard is on display now through January 2025 at The Met in New York City. (Christopher Landau/X)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York City is showcasing the exhibit Mexican Prints at the Vanguard, an exploration of Mexico’s rich tradition of printmaking, or estampado.
On display through January 2025, the exhibit features over 130 works, including woodcuts, lithographs and screen prints by artists such as José Guadalupe Posada (creator of the “Catrina”), Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and Leopoldo Méndez.
A print from the exhibit featuring U.S. president Abraham Lincoln alongside Mexican president Benito Juárez that says “Good neighbors, good friends.” (Christopher Landau/X)
“The exhibition explores how prints were central to the artistic identity and practice in Mexico and highlights their effectiveness in addressing social and political issues, a role of the graphic arts that continues today,” The Met said in a press release.
Most of The Met’s collection of Mexican prints came from the French-born artist Jean Charlot, who spent decades in Mexico. Charlot donated many of his own prints and works by other artists to The Met, and in the mid-1940s acted on behalf of the museum to acquire over 2,000 prints in Mexico.
The collection reflects The Met’s pioneering recognition of Mexico’s artistic renaissance, well before the movement captured global attention.
Printmaking has been central to Mexican art and culture since the Spanish conquistadors arrived with religious woodcuts in the 1500s. Following the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), artists turned to printmaking to address social and political unrest, voicing resistance to a range of issues such as the rise of fascism around the world. They also used printmaking to reproduce Mexican murals, announce upcoming art exhibitions and conferences, create prints for the press and document Mexican dress and customs.
Mexican Prints at the Vanguard features prints made between the late 19th century, when Posada introduced the Catrina, Mexico’s iconic cartoonish skeleton, and the early 20th century. (Christopher Landau/X)
“This remarkable exhibition evokes the continued resonance of the graphic arts in Mexico and illuminates treasures of The Met collection—many of which have never been exhibited before,” Max Hollein, The Met’s director and Chief Executive Officer said in a statement.
The prints range from an 18th-century Virgin of Guadalupe on white silk to a number of colorful silk-screens by the Guatemalan-born artist Carlos Mérida that document regional costumes and dances. But the largest share of the exhibition pertains to two main periods — the late 19th century, when Posada introduced the Catrina, Mexico’s iconic cartoonish skeleton, and the early 20th century, when artists like Rivera worked for El Machete, a Communist Party-aligned newspaper.
Mexican Prints at the Vanguard is curated in six chronologically organized sections across three galleries. One is entirely dedicated to Posada, regarded by many as the father of printmaking in Mexico, and his contemporaries.
Printmaking remains a popular and widely practiced art form in Mexico today.
