The latest timeline of cartel boss Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada’s capture

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August 30, 2024

Ismael El Mayo Zambada and Ovidio Guzmán — "El Mayo" Zambada (left) claims he was kidnapped in Mexico and forcibly taken to the U.S. by Joaquín Guzmán López, son of "El Chapo" Guzmán and brother of Ovidio (right), who was extradited to the U.S. in 2023. (Archive)

The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has revealed that the United States told Mexico on Aug. 16 that alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García was taken to the U.S. against his will.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the FGR also revealed that it doesn’t know the current location of Ovidio Guzmán López, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader who was arrested in Culiacán in early 2023 and extradited to the United States last September.

Ovidio Guzmán faces charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and others in the United States. (Cortesía/Cuartoscuro)

The FGR set out a timeline of events related to the case of “El Mayo” Zambada and fellow alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán López, who were arrested at the Doña Ana County International Jetport in New Mexico on July 25 after touching down at the airport on a private plane.

July 23: Ovidio Guzmán leaves high-security prison

The FGR said that Ovidio Guzmán — a brother of Joaquín Guzmán and one of the sons of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — was released from a high-security United States prison on July 23, two days before his brother and Zambada were arrested.

The agency said it was unaware of Ovidio’s “current status” and of his location in the United States.

United States Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said on July 26 that he could confirm that Ovidio was still in custody in the United States.

Mexico’s Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said on Aug. 6 that Joaquín Guzmán López turned himself in to United States authorities after reaching an agreement with his imprisoned brother Ovidio Guzmán López to surrender. That would suggest that they both planned to collaborate with U.S. authorities.

However, after Joaquín pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges in a Chicago court on July 30, lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said his client did not have any prior agreement with U.S. authorities.

Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper Milenio reported on Aug. 19 that U.S. authorities were working with the defense teams of Ovidio, Joaquín and alleged Sinaloa Cartel security chief Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas on an agreement that would allow them to receive more lenient sentences.

August 9: Salazar says Zambada was taken to the U.S. against his will

“When the alleged kidnapping of Ismael [Zambada] by Joaquín [Guzmán López] had already been committed, the ambassador of the United States in Mexico publicly stated on Aug. 9 that Ismael had been taken to the United States against his will,” the FGR said in its statement.

Salazar’s wording, however, was not as definitive as the FGR’s statement suggests. In an Aug. 9 statement, the ambassador said that the evidence at the time of his arrival to the United States “indicates that El Mayo was taken against his will.”

In the same statement, Salazar said that:

Guzmán López surrendered voluntarily.
No United States resources were used to facilitate Guzmán López’s surrender. “It was not our plane, not our pilot, not our people.”
No flight plan was presented to United States authorities before the private plane took off. “We understand that the flight began in Sinaloa and landed in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.”
The pilot is not a United States government employee nor was he hired by the U.S. government or “any U.S. citizen.”

August 10: Zambada declares he was kidnapped

The FGR noted that Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Pérez, released a statement from his client on Aug. 10.

In that statement, Zambada said that he did not go to the United States voluntarily and he didn’t have any agreement with the U.S. or Mexican government.

“I was kidnapped and brought to the U.S. forcibly and against my will,” he said.

The FGR has identified this luxurious Culiacán villa as the place Cuén and ‘El Mayo’ Zambada allegedly met on the day of Zambada’s alleged kidnapping and Cuén’s murder. (FGR)

Zambada said he was “ambushed” on July 25 after going to a property outside Culiacán where he believed he was going to help resolve a dispute between Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and former Culiacán mayor Héctor Cuén over who should head up the Autonomous University of Sinaloa. He said that Joaquín Guzmán López invited him to the meeting.

Zambada said, “A group of men assaulted me, knocked me to the ground and placed a dark-colored hood over my head.”

He also said he was tied up, handcuffed and forced into the bed of a pick-up truck before being driven to a nearby landing strip and “forced” onto a private plane.

In the same statement, Zambada asserted that Cuén “was killed at the same time, and in the same place, where I was kidnapped.”

The FGR indicated last week that it agreed with his assertion on the location of Cuén’s murder.

It also said that a request for an arrest warrant for Guzmán López on charges of abduction of a person in Mexico in order to hand him over to the authorities of another country had been prepared. The FGR previously said that such actions constitute treason.

August 16: U.S. informs Mexico that Zambada arrived against his will

The FGR said it was informed by the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, on Aug. 16 that Zambada arrived in the U.S. “against his will.”

The FGR also said that the United States informed Mexico that it was aware of several proposals from Joaquín Guzmán López to turn himself in to U.S. authorities.

Security Minister Rodríguez said in late July that the United States government told Mexico that it was informed on several occasions that Joaquín was considering handing himself in to U.S. authorities, but no deal had been reached when he arrived in New Mexico.

FGR still doesn’t know the identity of the pilot

The FGR said it had been informed that the Beechcraft aircraft on which Zambada and Guzmán López traveled to the United States had been registered in both Colombia and the U.S.

The plane in which 'El Mayo' Zambada was allegedly kidnapped and brought to the U.S., a possible act of treason to Mexico. — ‘El Mayo’ Zambada was brought to the U.S. in a Beechcraft King Air with a fraudulent registration, according to the FGR. (@beltrandelrio/X)

The Attorney General’s Office has requested a range of information about the flight and the aircraft from the United States government, including the identity of the pilot. However, the FGR said it still hadn’t received the name of the person who piloted the plane from Sinaloa to the Doña County airport near El Paso, Texas. It said Thursday that the urgent provision of that information was “essential.”

Zambada pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces in a court appearance in El Paso shortly after he arrived in the U.S. He now appears set to face trial in the same federal court in Brooklyn where El Chapo was convicted in 2019, although his lawyer is opposing his client’s transfer from Texas.

Joaquín Guzmán López is in custody in Chicago.

Luis Chaparro, a journalist who reports on organized crime, said on X on Thursday that both Joaquín and Ovidio would appear in court next month.

“Mexican authorities say they have no clue where Ovidio is in the U.S., but he’ll be present on his next hearing on Sep. 9 in Chicago along with his brother Joaquín,” he wrote.

Mexico News Daily

Bacanora: Agave’s lesser known (and much stronger) spirit

By

Ana Paula De la Torre

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August 30, 2024

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Bacanora spirts with a cactus — While tequila and mezcal are famed worldwide - and even raicilla is having a moment - there is a fourth, lesser-known (and much stronger) agave spirit waiting to be discovered. (UENI)

Do you love tequila and mezcal? If so, then you’ll be captivated by bacanora, a similarly ancient spirit from Sonora, also crafted from agave.

Bacanora packs a stronger punch than these more famous agave spirits (a list which also includes raicilla), with an alcohol content ranging from 38% to 55%. Perhaps it’s this potency that led to bacanora being banned for 77 years until it was finally legalized in 1992 and granted the prestigious Denomination of Origin label in 2000.

This distinctive spirit is made from the Agave angustifolia pacifica, commonly known as espadín or yaquiana, in the town of Bacanora in Sonora. While production began around 300 years ago, bacanora’s roots stretch back much further. Historians believe its ancestor was a fermented agave drink called tehuimas, crafted by the Opata tribe for ritual celebrations.

Bacanora, as we know it today, began to take shape with the arrival of the Spanish, who introduced the alembic still, transforming the production process through distillation.

What makes bacanora truly special?

Bacanora isn’t just another agave spirit. Unlike tequila and mezcal, which can be mixed with cane sugar or other sweeteners, it is made from 100% agave. It also boasts a unique smoky flavor, derived from the use of underground ovens to roast the agave stalks — unlike the steam ovens typically used for other agave spirits. The result is a spirit that combines smokiness with a surprisingly sweet taste.

Agave angustifolia pacifica — Agave pacfica, is the only kind of cactus used to make bacanora. (Sunora Bacanora)

True bacanora is only made from Agave pacifica, unlike tequila, which is made from blue agave, and mezcal, which can be produced from 12 different species of agave.

But perhaps the most memorable aspect of bacanora is its artisanal production process. What sets it apart from other mezcals is the second distillation of the liquid. The first distillates, known as “The heads,” are collected with a very high alcohol content. This liquid, with clusters of small bubbles called pearlites, becomes bacanora when it reaches between 20 and 30 degrees of alcoholic purity.

When the bubbles quickly disappear, the container is changed, and the final part of the distillation called the tails, is collected, consisting mostly of water. The final step is to blend the bacanora with the heads to adjust its alcohol content, a process known locally as compounding.

Another remarkable feature of the drink is its exclusivity — it can only be produced in 35 municipalities in Sonora. In contrast, tequila is made in several states, including Jalisco and Nayarit, and mezcal in regions across south and central Mexico.

Oven roasting agave — Bacanora is still produced using traditional techniques and fired in pits. (Sunora Bacanora)

Where can you find bacanora in Mexico?

Bacanora is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, especially since receiving its Denomination of Origin in 2000. Today, annual production is estimated at 250,000 to 300,000 liters. However, according to the Regulatory Board, more than half of this comes from unregistered brands, highlighting the spirit’s enduring artisanal nature. To give you a sense of its rapid growth, between 15 and 20 new bacanora brands have been launched in just the past five years.

You can find bacanora in stores across Mexico, including La Europea, La Castellana, and even Sears. Many brands also have websites where you can purchase directly from the producer. For those interested in smaller, artisanal producers, social media platforms like Facebook are excellent resources for discovering new options.

¡Salud!

Ana Paula de la Torre is a Mexican journalist and collaborator for various outlets including Milenio, Animal Político, Vice, Newsweek en Español, Televisa and Mexico News Daily.

Polls show the Mexican public has mixed feelings about judicial reform bill

By

MND Staff

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August 29, 2024

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Protesters against the judicial reform in Zacatecas — President López Obrador's proposed judicial reform is controversial and has led to protests around the country. Recent opinion polls of business leaders and the Mexican public show mixed results. (Cuartoscuro)

Mexico’s business community is split over the federal government’s judicial reform proposal, while support among the general population for the plan to allow citizens to directly elect judges has declined.

They are among the takeaways from the results of two polls conducted this month ahead of the Congress’ consideration of the controversial constitutional bill in September.

Concanaco Servytur president Octavio de la Torre — Octavio de la Torre, president of Concanaco Servytur, at a presentation of the poll results. (Concanaco Serytur/X)

A poll carried out by the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Concanaco Servytur) in collaboration with the company Arias Consultores found that 52% of more than 1,000 leaders in those sectors are in favor of the proposed judicial reform, while 48% are opposed.

Just under half of the respondents said they were “very informed” (49.3%) about the proposal, while just over half said they were poorly informed (46.1%) or not at all informed (4.5%).

A separate El Financiero newspaper poll found that 44% of 500 respondents are in favor of judicial elections, down from 64% in January.

The judicial reform proposal is currently the most contentious issue in Mexico politics.

Judicial reform protesters in Mexico City — López Obrador’s judicial reform proposal has led to protests around Mexico in recent weeks. (Cuartoscuro)

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who sent the proposal to Congress in February, would like to see the initiative approved before he leaves office on Oct. 1. He is a staunch critic of Mexico’s judiciary, arguing that many judges are corrupt and at the service of the nation’s elite rather than the majority of Mexicans.

As of Sept. 1, the ruling Morena party and its allies will have a supermajority in the lower house of Congress, and a near-supermajority in the Senate, putting them in a very strong position to approve the reform.

The proposal, modified by Morena earlier this month and approved by a congressional committee this week, has faced significant criticism, including from United States Ambassdor to Mexico Ken Salazar.

A reform is ‘needed,’ says Concanaco Servytur

Presenting the survey results on Wednesday, Concanaco Servytur president Octavio de la Torre said that the organization he leads has established that “a reform to the judicial power is needed,” but stressed that “the most qualified people” should be candidates in judicial elections.

One of the criticisms of the reform is that it could lead to the election of people without sufficient experience as judges. President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has asserted that won’t happen.

De la Torre said that it is “essential” that “the best people” adjudicate cases in Mexico’s courts.

Six in ten of 1,043 respondents to the Concanaco Servytur survey believe there is “a lot of corruption” in Mexico’s judicial system, while 75% favored the establishment of an independent body to oversee the conduct of Supreme Court justices, judges and magistrates elected by the Mexican people.

Claudia Sheinbaum points to a slide showing judicial reform polls — President-elect Sheinbaum, here showing other polling on the popularity of the judicial reform proposal earlier this month, supports the bill but has also urged lawmakers to “not rush.” (Cuartoscuro)

De la Torre said that Concanaco Servytur is drawing up a range of proposed amendments to the reform proposal that will be submitted to recently elected deputies. He said he hoped the proposed modifications will be discussed and “attended to” by the lawmakers, who will assume their positions this Sunday.

Only 28.7% of survey respondents said they had “a lot of confidence” in the current government’s capacity to manage the legislative process of the judicial reform proposal, while that figure rose to 34% with regard to the government of incoming president Sheinbaum, who has advised lawmakers to be “careful with the procedural stage” and “not rush.”

Majority of citizens support appointment of judges over election

El Financiero’s most recent judicial reform poll yielded some curious — and conflicting — results.

The Supreme Court of Mexico — Under the proposal, federal judges — including Supreme Court justices, seen here — would be elected from a candidate pool chosen by the sitting president, Congress and the judiciary. (CDMX Servicio de Medios Públicos)

While the number of people in favor of the reform was almost the double the number against it, a majority of respondents said that Supreme Court justices, judges and magistrates should be appointed based on their knowledge, experience and impartiality rather than elected by the people.

The 500 respondents were asked to express their support or opposition for the reform on a scale of 1-10, with 10 meaning “completely” in favor and 1 meaning “completely” against.

Forty-five percent of the respondents were deemed to be in favor of the reform (7-10), while 24% were determined to be against it (1-4). The remaining 31% were either neutral (5-6) or declined to say whether they supported the reform or not.

Using the same scale, respondents were specifically asked whether they supported or opposed the election of judges in elections – the most controversial aspect of a broader reform initiative.

Forty-four percent of respondents were in favor of the direct election of judges, while 38% were opposed. The former figure increased two points compared to El Financiero’s July poll, but declined markedly from 59% in June and 64% in January.

Asked whether judges should be appointed — as is currently the case — or elected, 54% of those polled said appointed versus 42% who said elected. Last month, El Financiero found 65% support for the former option.

Just over half of the respondents — 53% — said they knew “little or nothing” about the reform proposal, while 43% said they knew “a lot” or “something” about it.

Two thirds of respondents approved of the performance of the Supreme Court — which has drawn the ire of López Obrador by handing down decisions against the government — while just one-quarter disapproved of the court’s work.

With reports from El Economista, El Sol de México, Aristegui Noticias and El Financiero

Can satellite surveillance save Michoacán’s forests from illegal avocado farming?

By

MND Staff

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August 29, 2024

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Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla explains his new avocado certification program — Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla explains how the new certification program uses satellite technology to detect illegal deforestation. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)

The Michoacán state government has announced a new best practices certification for avocado producers, which seeks to reduce deforestation using satellite surveillance.

The voluntary certification, called Pro-Forest Avocado, will guarantee to consumers in the United States and Europe that their avocados come from registered farms that don’t engage in environmentally destructive practices like illegal logging.

Boxes of avocados, an agricultural product for export, in a Michoacán orchard. — Michoacán has introduced a new certification for forest-friendly avocado production. (Juan José Estrada Serafín /Cuartoscuro)

Criminal gangs have long carried out illegal logging operations that threaten the region’s environment, including monarch butterfly reserves. The same groups engage in clear-cutting to illegally extend farming acreage into protected natural reserves. The deforestation has often been linked to Michoacán’s lucrative avocado industry, as criminal groups clear protected land to grow the “green gold.”

Using technology to protect Michoacán’s forests

To implement the avocado certification, Michoacán is working with Guardián Forestal (Forest Guardian), a civil society-led program that uses satellite surveillance and data analysis to monitor forests.

Speaking in Mexico City on Wednesday, Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla explained that Guardián Forestal will help detect illegal deforestation operations and changes in land usage.

A clear cut pine forest in Michoacán — Illegal logging is sometimes be the first step in converting pristine forests into valuable agricultural land. (Senado de la República)

Using Guardián Forestal, the new certification program automatically files complaints with the Michoacán attorney general when it detects potential acts of deforestation.

The governor confirmed that there have already been 327 formal complaints identifying illicit deforestation enterprises. State authorities are also handling another 500 cases related to illegal activities affecting Michoacán’s forests and farmers.

Farmers fed up with extortion

Criminal gangs have been terrorizing Michoacán farmers for years, extorting money from the avocado and lime industries in particular. Farmers, distributors and truckers have been victims of threats and violence.

Lime producers staged an eight-day strike at harvest time earlier this month to protest the lack of security. The strike and repeated pleas from industry participants prompted authorities at both the federal and state level to send additional security forces to the region.

In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suspended inspection operations and halted exports of avocados and mangos for 10 days after two of its employees were threatened. Ramírez said then that officials from both governments had agreed on a new security model for the avocado export sector.

Michoacán led all Mexican states in agricultural exports in the first quarter of 2024, according to the newspaper El Economista. Farmers in the western state exported US $1.3 billion of agricultural products — led by avocados, blackberries, strawberries and lentils — from January through March.

A harvest worker lifts a box of limes in a Michoacán orchard — Lime producers in Michoacán recently organized a strike in protest of extortion and other criminal activity affecting their businesses. (Juan José Estrada Serafín/Cuartoscuro)

The state is responsible for roughly three-quarters of the avocados produced in Mexico, the global leader in production of the fruit. The amount of land used for avocado farming in Mexico more than tripled over the 40-year period ending in 2022. At that time, Mexico was cultivating nearly 45% of all avocados on the planet.

It is this industry that Ramírez wants to protect through the new certification program, a policy he proposed in June. The program aims to halt deforestation by avocado producers and to block trade of avocados grown in unlicensed orchards.

There are presently more than 49,000 hectares of avocado farmland licensed and certified for export, Michoacán authorities say, whereas 819 hectares of avocado orchards failed to meet the certification standards for exportation.

The certification program rewards those avocado farmers who use environmentally sound practices. Ramírez says he hopes the USDA will accredit the state’s certification program.

With reports from Milenio, La Razón, Quadratín Michoacán and El Economista

Authorities take over Taxco police force, detaining 58

By

MND Staff

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August 29, 2024

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A soldier of the Mexican army standing in the bed of an armored pickup truck behind a traffic jam of other federal and military vehicles blocking a street in Taxco — The arrest operation began with a massive federal raid in the early hours of Aug. 28. (File photo)

Federal and state authorities have taken control of the city of Taxco, including apprehending 58 employees of municipal security agencies after the weekend disappearance of 10 youths who were detained by local officers.

National Guard and army troops descended upon the city famed for its silver jewelry production before dawn on Wednesday with four arrest warrants issued by the Guerrero Attorney General’s Office (FGE).

Taxco, Guerrero's parish church and the city downtown seen from above at twilight. — The historic town of Taxco, Guerrero, is more well-known for its artisan silver working, but it has been struggling in recent years with the presence of cartel turf wars and kidnappings. (Emmanuel Mejia Chang/Unsplash)

While state police secured the perimeter and an army helicopter hovered overhead, federal officers swarmed police headquarters, joined by special anti-kidnapping agents. The invading forces took control of Taxco’s municipal command and control center (known as a C2) while rounding up agents from the municipal police force, the city transit authority and the Civil Protection Agency.

During the operation, one kidnap victim was rescued though it is not clear if the subject was one of the 10 youths who went missing over the weekend.

The FGE issued a press bulletin on Thursday afternoon confirming that 10 suspects are being held on kidnapping charges, including three of the four local police officials for whom the original warrants were issued.

Among those apprehended were six members of Taxco police chief Christopher Hernández’s private security detail. It is not clear if Hernández, supposedly known by the nickname “The Shadow,” is among those in custody. Many Mexican media outlets reported that he was among those arrested, but FGE statements made no mention of his arrest. According to the newspaper El Sur, Hernández could be the target of the fourth arrest warrant.

El Sur reported that Hernández has been accused of having links to the criminal organization La Familia Michoacana.

The 10th suspect — a Taxco police official — was arrested in the nearby town of Cacalotenango.

Police stand guard around the scene of a crash, with a damaged car and motorcycle — The mayor of Taxco, Guerrero, Mario Figueroa, was attacked by an armed gunman on a motorcycle in February. He was unhurt, but it was emblematic of the influence of criminal groups in the municipality, which may extend to Taxco’s law enforcement. (Cuartoscuro.com)

The 58 people detained — 48 of whom are officially labeled persons of interest — were hauled away in police vans and were being held in the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the state capital of Chilpancingo, according to El Sur.

Taxco Mayor Mario Figueroa revealed the police action in a press bulletin he issued just before midnight Wednesday. In the communique, Figueroa claimed that the agents did not identify themselves, that neither he nor the municipal authorities were advised of the operation, nor were they told what prompted it.

News reports indicate that the operation was conducted under secrecy because of numerous citizen complaints about the apprehension of 10 local youths, whose whereabouts are unknown after they were detained by municipal agents late Saturday night.

State police initially responded to the citizen complaints, carrying out a small operation near police headquarters overnight Sunday and into Monday morning. There were reports then that one of the missing youths had been shot while trying to escape.

Taxco has been victimized by a wave of violent crime in recent years, with more than 70 cases investigated since Mayor Figueroa took office in 2021. Figueroa himself was the target of an assassination attempt in February. He was unhurt.

The municipality, one of Mexico’s 177 Pueblos Mágicos, or Magical Towns, was also the subject of a security alert issued by the U.S. government in January of this year after public transport workers were attacked by crime gangs vying for control of the city.

With reports from Reforma, El Sol de Acapulco, Aristegui Noticias and El Sur

Bank of Mexico cuts GDP growth forecast for 2024 to 1.5%

By

MND Staff

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August 29, 2024

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The Bank of Mexico, which has just announced a new economic growth forecast for Mexico — Factors dampening Mexico's economic outlook include the possibility of stagnant growth in the U.S. and the risk of expensive extreme weather events in Mexico. (Shutterstock)

The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) has slashed its economic growth forecast for the Mexican economy in 2024, citing weak growth between April and June and a range of downside risks to economic activity.

In its second quarter report, the central bank said it now anticipates GDP growth of 1.5% this year, down from a 2.4% forecast in its Q1 report.

Bank of Mexico President Victoria Rodríguez Ceja — The Bank of Mexico, led by Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, has reduced its economic growth forecast for 2024. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)

Banxico also cut its growth forecast for 2025 to 1.2% from 1.5%.

The bank said it cut its 2024 forecast due to weaker-than-expected growth in the second quarter. Data published in late July showed that the Mexican economy grew just 0.2% in Q2 compared to the first quarter, and 1.1% in annual terms.

In the executive summary of its report, Banxico said that “economic growth is expected to be moderate in 2024 and 2025, supported mainly by domestic spending.”

It predicted that private consumption and, “to a lesser extent,” private investment will continue increasing. However, “the contribution of the latter [to growth] would be lower than previously expected, given the lower dynamism that this aggregate has shown and the environment of uncertainty that persists due to both domestic and external factors,” including the federal government’s judicial reform proposal.

Suburbia store with shoppers outside — Banxico predicted that domestic spending will drive moderate economic growth into 2025. (Archive)

The bank said that positive effects from public spending — including expenditure on infrastructure projects — are “still expected,” but are forecast to be lower than previously anticipated.

Although Mexico is on track to set a new record for exports in 2024, Banxico said that “external demand will continue making a low contribution to Mexico’s growth during 2024 as the U.S. manufacturing sector is expected to remain weak.”

Risks to Mexico’s economic growth

The Bank of Mexico said that some downside risks to economic activity “have gained relevance” since the first quarter of the year.

“Thus, the balance of risks to the growth of economic activity over the forecast horizon is now considered to be biased to the downside,” Banxico said.

It said that a number of downside risks stood out. They included:

The possibility of lower-than-expected growth of the U.S. economy, “to the detriment of Mexico’s external demand.”
The possibility of uncertainty increasing as a result of election results in different countries around the world (including the United States).
The possibility that public spending provides a lower-than-expected boost to growth.
The possibility that geopolitical conflicts negatively affect the global economy and/or international trade flows.
The possibility that severe weather phenomena adversely affect the Mexican economy.

Banxico Governor Victoria Rodríguez said on a call on Wednesday that “we expect the economy to keep growing in the coming quarters, though at a more moderate pace.”

She also said that U.S. manufacturing should recover and assist growth in Mexico in 2025.

What is the inflation outlook?

The Bank of Mexico cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 10.75% in early August even though annual headline inflation hit a 14-month high of 5.57% in July.

The headline rate subsequently declined to 5.16% in the first half of August, but still remains well above the central bank’s 3% target.

In its latest quarterly report, Banxico noted that its headline and core inflation forecasts have not changed compared to those included in its Aug. 8 monetary policy statement.

Food prices in a produce market. Food prices affect Mexico's economic growth outlook — Headline inflation, which includes notoriously volatile food and energy prices, declined to 5.16% in the first half of August. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)

However, some of the bank’s latest forecasts are different from those in its first quarter report.

Banxico anticipates that the headline inflation rate will be 5.2% at the end of Q3, up from a previous forecast of 4.4%. It sees inflation falling to 4.4% in Q4, a forecast above its previous fourth quarter prediction of 4%.

The central bank anticipates that headline inflation will continue to decline in 2025 before reaching the 3% target in the final quarter of next year. That forecast has not changed compared to the first quarter report.

The central bank has also edged up its core inflation forecast for the end of 2024. It anticipates that the annual core rate will be 3.9% in the fourth quarter, up slightly from a previous forecast of 3.8%.

Banxico sees core inflation trending down in 2025 to reach 3% in the final quarter of 2025.

The bank said that its upward adjustment to its headline inflation outlook “reflects the pressures that have affected non-core inflation.”

A gas tank on a roof — Energy prices, like food, are not included when calculating core inflation. (Delta Gas)

“In particular, this revision considers higher than-anticipated variations in the prices of agricultural and livestock products as a result of the supply shocks they have been subject to, as well as greater variations in energy prices, mainly due to the increase in their international references,” Banxico said.

“Given their nature, non-core inflation shocks are expected to fade in the coming quarters. Specifically, supply shocks on agricultural and livestock products resulting from adverse weather conditions tend to reverse relatively fast as production recovers,” it added.

However, the Bank of Mexico also said that the balance of risks for inflation within the forecast horizon is “biased to the upside.”

Among the upside risks is the possibility that the Mexican peso continues to depreciate.

The peso was trading at 19.80 to the US dollar Thursday at midday Mexico City time.

The currency has depreciated about 14% against the greenback since Mexico’s June 2 elections, in large part due to the ruling Morena party’s strong election results and its legislative agenda, including a controversial proposal to allow Mexican citizens to directly elect Supreme Court justices and other judges.

With reports from Reuters

Young Mexican volunteer soldier killed in fighting in Ukraine

By

MND Staff

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August 29, 2024

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Framed photos of soldiers killed fighting for Ukraine standing among little flags of different nations — Mexican Carlos Jesús González Mendoza's photo was recently included in a shrine to fallen soldiers fighting in Ukraine that has developed in Kyiv's Maidan Square. His photo is in the center, showing him holding his phone as if to take a selfie. (Gia Santos/X)

A man in his early 20s from Guanajuato, Carlos Jesús González Mendoza, was killed in action while fighting as a volunteer in the Ukrainian army against Russian forces, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry (SRE) confirmed Wednesday.

González Mendoza joined the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine just a month before his death. He reportedly was killed in a Russian airstrike targeting a Ukrainian military position.

Before joining up, he reportedly had been part of the Mexican National Guard and made money by working informally in a parking lot in his hometown, Juventino Rosas, a municipality about 40 km southwest of San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato.

The SRE said in a press release that it is providing consular assistance to his family and working with the Ukrainian government to repatriate his body to Mexico. The ministry also clarified that he was not a member of the Mexican armed forces.

Upon the news of González Mendoza’s death, many people took to social media to express their condolences to his family and to praise his bravery for volunteering to fight for Ukraine’s freedom.

His family expressed its gratitude for the support received from the Mexican government. In a statement released to the media, they described him as a loving and caring person who was passionate about helping others.

Carlos Jesús González Mendoza, in his early 20s, was from the state of Guanajuato in a municipality near San Miguel de Allende. According to his family, he told them he was helping the elderly and orphans impacted by the Russian invasion. (Gia Santos/X)

“Carlos was a wonderful son, brother, and friend,” his family noted. “He was always willing to lend a helping hand and was always there for us when we needed him. We will miss him dearly.”

A video of González Mendoza’s grandmother talking about the family’s loss was posted on social media.

Interviewed on Grandparents’ Day on Wednesday, Edith García said the family was informed a week ago of his death, which occurred on Aug. 22, according to some sources.

“He was on a mission. He really wanted to help people,” his abuela said. “He said he wanted to go help people, and recently when he arrived [in Ukraine] he contacted his mother and told her that he was helping a lot of elderly people, children who had been orphaned. That was all we knew…until they gave us the news [of his death].”

Earlier this year, various news sources, including the New York Times, reported that over 20,000 foreign volunteers from 52 countries had joined Ukraine’s fighting forces.

The New York Times led a 2022 article with an anecdote about a Mexican army veteran named Luis who was inspired to join up after he “saw a photo of a wounded pregnant woman being carried out of a Ukrainian maternity hospital after a Russian airstrike and was reminded of his sister.”

The digital news outlet Infobae, citing reports from the Russian Embassy in Mexico, reported that eight Mexicans had taken up arms for Ukraine from the beginning of the conflict through March 14 of this year. The newspaper Excelsior said the figure was 16, based on Russian media reports, and that three of the Mexicans had been confirmed dead as of March.

Ukrainians living in Mexico and Mexican supporters have also fundraiser and voiced support at marches in Mexico, and Ukrainian refugees have been welcomed en masse into Mexican cities. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared via video conference before Mexican lawmakers in April 2023 to express gratitude for Mexico’s condemnation of the Russian invasion at the United Nations in 2022.

But Mexico’s government has refused Ukraine’s requests for military aid, though it did offer to help Russia and Ukraine negotiate a peace plan.

The news of González Mendoza’s death first emerged on a Telegram platform dedicated to information about the war. The channel included links to his social networks, where he reportedly described himself as an “experienced killer.”

The Juventino Rosas community noted that a rosary and mass will be held on Saturday for González Mendoza, who was 21 years old according to some news sources and 20 according to others.

“He was a young volunteer soldier who gave his life for Ukraine’s fight for freedom,” noted journalist Gia Santos, a contributor to UkraineToday and other media outlets. “May his sacrifice be remembered forever.”

With reports from Infobae, Aristegui Noticias and Excelsior

Did you know Kamala Harris has a Mexican relative?

By

MND Staff

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August 29, 2024

19

Vice President Kamala Harris at a podium — There has been a lot of coverage of Harris' family roots from both India and Jamaica, but did you know she also has a Mexican cousin? (Kamala Harris/X)

It is well known that Kamala Harris’ mother was from India and her father is from Jamaica.

What is less well known is that the United States vice president and Democratic Party presidential nominee has a Mexican cousin.

Sharada Balachandran Orihuela was born in Mexico City to a Mexican mother, Rosamaría Orihuela, and an Indian father, Gopalan Balachandran, the maternal uncle of Harris.

Balachandran Orihuela, an academic in the United States, grew up between Mexico and India, but moved to Oakland, California, in 2001.

While a student in the United States, she reconnected with her cousin — an Oakland native — after moving in with her aunt, Harris’ mother Shyamala Gopalan.

In an interview with the EFE news agency, Balachandran Orihuela described the current U.S. vice president as a “loving” and “warm” person who was like her “big sister” when she moved to California. Harris even took her cousin to her first punk rock concert.

Balachandran is an associate professor of English at the University of Maryland. (University of Maryland)

“When I think of Kamala, I see a person who has a lot of values — values of the importance of the family, of justice, of wellbeing of the common person,” Balachandran Orihuela, an associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Maryland, told EFE.

“She’s a person with very strong principles and values that have to do with justice, also economic justice,” she said.

According to EFE, Harris and Shyamala Gopalan, a biomedical scientist, played a key role in helping Balachandran Orihuela adapt to life in the United States and integrate into society.

Harris — who was elected as district attorney of San Francisco not long after her cousin arrived in the U.S. — took her shopping, to concerts, and to protests, which led to a “political awakening” for Balachandran Orihuela.

Kamala Harris with her sister and mother — Kamala Harris (left) with her younger sister, Maya, and their mother in a photo Harris posted to X. (Kamala Harris/X)

The Mexico City native recalled that Harris took her to see the Californian punk rock band Bad Religion in San Francisco.

“Bad Religion was one of my favorite bands. I went to high school in India, there weren’t many punk rock concerts there. So I listened to music on my walkman and when I moved to the United States, I thought that now I would be able to go to all those concerts,” she told EFE.

Balachandran Orihuela noted that the family of Harris — and by extension her family — is very diverse. Such diversity “is characteristic” of the United States, she added.

“Our family is basically [representative of] the history of the United States. It’s an American family that represents a a lot of Americans — African American people, Latino people, people from India,” Balachandran Orihuela said.

Vice President Harris also has a connection to Mexico via her father, Donald J. Harris, an economist and academic who was a Fulbright Scholar in the country in 1992.

She traveled here in 2021 — a visit remembered in part for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador allegedly calling her “Kabala” rather than Kamala.

If she defeats Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election, Harris — like Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico — will become the first female president of her country.

The Mexico-United States relationship — currently strained due to U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar’s criticism of Mexico’s judicial reform proposal — will continue to be of vital importance during Sheinbaum’s presidency and the four-year term of the next U.S. president.

The two countries — each other’s largest trade partner — collaborate on a range of shared challenges, including immigration and drug and arms trafficking.

With reports from EFE

Renewing your Jalisco driver’s license when you’re over the hill

By

John Pint

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August 29, 2024

3

Renewing jalisco drivers license — What do you need to get your Jalisco driver's license renewed? Quite a lot, it turns out. (John Pint)

At age 83, I had grave doubts that my Jalisco driver’s license would be renewed. This was not due to a lack of agility but to my waning eyesight, caused by macular degeneration and cataracts.

Still, I decided to give it a try, since I only planned to drive within my fraccionamiento.

A major problem when dealing with the government is, of course, figuring out in advance exactly what documents you have to bring with you. Too many times I have stood in a line for hours with a sheaf of papers in my hand, only to be told:

“Sir, you didn’t bring your birth certificate with an apostilled translation attached. I’m sorry!”

This is probably not the first time these people have stood in the queue today. (Guillermo Perea/Cuartoscuro)

Frustrating net searches

Step number one for tasks like these is to search the internet to find out what’s required — and what do we find first? A detailed list of steps needed for getting a “licencia de conducir”… in Bolivia or Argentina!

Once you’ve managed to find a list for your own state in Mexico, you have to sort out:

Information that’s 20 years old, given that on the internet few people bother to put a date on anything!
Information from online newspapers, which — unlike this one — may simply have copied data from one of those 20-year-old sources.
Conflicting information from legitimate local and national government websites, each offering a different version of documents required, cost of service and other details.

To save you from all that confusion, here is my Aug. 29, 2024, list of what you must bring to Tránsito Guadalajara — as the Guadalajara office of the state Transportation Ministry is known — to renew a Jalisco automovilista driver’s license.

Of course, as an expat, the list of things you need is likely to be a lot longer than just an INE card. (Isaac Esquivel/Cuartoscuro)

Documents to bring as a foreigner

Up-to-date ID. Alert! For a foreigner, this means not one but two IDs: both your passport and your immigration card.
Your CURP. This a unique identity code assigned to all Mexican citizens and residents. You can download a copy of yours for free online or go to any Registro Civil, where they will happily make you a copy.
Anyone over 75 must bring a one-page health certificate that can be signed by any doctor. You can download this form as a PDF here. Then you must print it and convince your doctor to fill it out and sign it. Should this be iffy, just walk — or roll your wheelchair — into any pharmacy and they’ll do the job for you.
Proof of address, known in Spanish as a comprobante de domicilio.This is a utility bill with your name and address on it, less than 90 days old.
Copies of absolutely everything listed above.

Foreigners beware! If you — as I — aren’t receiving utility bills in your own name, you won’t fulfill requirement No. 4 above. When I pointed this out, the clerk very kindly tried to help me.

“What about your bank account? Is it in your name?”

My eyes lit up. “Yes, and the statements have my address!”

This might look like a simple office, but there is evidence to suggest it is actually a portal to bureaucratic hell. (Secretaría de Transporte Jalisco)

My bank account goes public

I couldn’t quite believe what happened next. I didn’t have any sort of bank document with me, but I did have the bank’s app on my telephone. Naturally, I had no idea how to get the app somehow to produce the printed bank statement that the clerk wanted.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get the bank to send a statement to your email, you’ll remail it to our email, and then our copy center will print it out.”

Easier said than done.

And so it was that my smartphone, with the bank app open, ended up being passed around to dozens of helpful souls at the Transportation Ministry and several of its internal copy centers, all vigorously swiping and tapping my phone in hopes of sending my bank statement to a local printer.

Alas, nothing worked, but I’m happy to report that my bank account was not emptied during the process!

“Why don’t you physically go to your bank? There’s a Bancomer just two blocks from here,” suggested yet another kindly official.

I did that and finally came back to Tránsito with proof that I lived in a house and not under a bush!

Sorting out all these problems, however, literally took hours, while the actual procedure for getting the license took minutes.

Whizzing through license renewal

John and Suzie pint with their Jalisoc drivers licences. — Success! Two new driver’s licenses were acquired. (John Pint)

Everything is streamlined nowadays: in a world of digital fingerprints and signatures, even the eye exam is electronic. No longer do you have to identify E’s and Z’s. I merely gazed at my own reflection in a little black screen — and after this narcissistic experience, they took my photo and sent me off to pay. To my amazement, I had passed the eye test!

The normal automovilista license renewal costs 716 pesos and is good for four years. If you’re a senior, you pay only half.

While investigating the requirements for renewing a driver’s license, several questions came to my mind and may possibly come to yours. To save you time hunting among the many contradictory sources on the internet:

No, you don’t have to take a written or driving exam to renew your license.

No, you don’t need an appointment for license renewal. Just go during their working hours: 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

No, you don’t need to pay in advance or to pay via internet or app, no matter how many websites suggest you must.

As long as you have all the required documents, renewing a driver’s license is far simpler than investigating the subject on the internet. So don’t be shy: hit your local papelería for all those copies, get yourself and your paperwork to the transit office and you’ll be back on the road in no time.

John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors in Western Mexico.” More of his writing can be found on his website.

Punto y Coma Librería: A new literary space in Querétaro

By

Montserrat Castro

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August 29, 2024

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Two visitors at Punto y Coma Librería y Centro Cultural — More than just a bookstore, Punto y Coma was conceived as a space for creativity and community. (Punto y Coma/Instagram)

This past March, Querétaro city became home to a new literary space. Punto y Coma, located on the second floor of what used to be an old house in Colonia Álamos, is much more than just a bookstore. Owner Emilia Pesqueira intended for it to be a space of relaxation, reflection, companionship and creativity.

A writer herself, Pesqueira has been leading writing workshops since 2018, both online and in person, and Punto y Coma has provided a physical space for her to host them in an environment that is fully her own.

Punto y Coma occupies the second story of a remodeled residential home. (Punto y Coma/Instagram)

Aside from writing workshops, there are book clubs that meet weekly, drink-and-write sessions, book presentations and even spaces where you bring your own book and read alongside others.

The cultural and literary project of Punto y Coma is mainly to support independent publishing. Most books you will find there come from small publishers or even self-published authors, mainly Latin American, with the exception of some editorial houses that do independent translation as well, including Almadía, Sexto Piso, Chai Editoras, Antílope, Elefanta and Gris Tormenta.

Aside from supporting local publishing, Pesqueira’s intent was to provide a creative space to brings in younger audiences in Querétaro. These spaces are abundant in a city like Mexico City, for example, but pretty scarce in smaller cities. When they do exist, they can be hard to find or have trouble publicizing themselves.

MND interviewed Pesqueira to hear more about her intentions and hopes for the bookstore.

Punto y Coma primarily sells books put out by Latin American publishers. (Montserrat Castro)

What’s behind the name?

“Punto y coma” is the Spanish term for a semicolon. Grammatically, a semicolon separates two ideas that could exist independently with a dot in between, but not a comma. This is because both ideas are distinct enough from each other to exist separately but not similar enough that they exist together. So a semicolon is the idea that there could have been a dot here, but continuity was chosen instead.

“When you read out loud, commas, dots and other punctuation marks give you a moment to breathe. A text that has no punctuation marks is hard to read out loud in its entirety because you run out of breath. So it’s also a pause, a breath and a meeting point for things that at first glance don’t seem likely to meet, but here they do.”

Why a bookstore?

My love for books and growing up in houses where books were as ordinary parts of the house as furniture was. It’s also the classic teenage girl dream: having a bookstore that is also a coffee shop that is also a bar that is also a record store. To me it feels like a very feminine dream, I think.

I also imagined it to be something I would have when I was older, many years down the line. Like, for a fifty-year-old me. But I went on a trip where I visited a ton of bookstores and I started to wonder why it had to be so many years down the line, and why not now.

Especially because of [my] workshops, I’d already built a community there so I didn’t find it so crazy or that it would be too challenging to bring people in.

Owner Emilia Pesqueira describes owning a bookstore as a teenage dream. (Punto y Coma/Instagram)

Why independent publishing?

I think reading is a deeply political act and to me it’s important to have a bookstore whose catalog is full of independent publishers that pull for texts that are out of the norm or the literary canon.

Why Querétaro?

I used to live in Mexico City and I considered opening it there, but they have lots of independent bookstores and I was ready to move back to Querétaro. I also thought about the importance of decentralizing culture: not everything that is important and cool has to happen in [Mexico City], even though it seems that way right now.

Initially because I wanted to create a community amongst young people here, but I also want to inspire hunger and curiosity for culture and literature, to create a space that is all about leisure, pleasure and encounters.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by librería & centro cultural (@puntoycoma.cc)

Who is Punto y Coma for?

I say young people but in general, whoever. Books don’t discriminate, which I think is beautiful. The majority of people who have come to the bookstore and to workshops so far have been young people.

But it’s also for people who want to get out of their routines and create a safe space post-pandemic. Working from home is very comfortable but it can also be a little isolating. I know I’ve felt loneliness that I know is shared by many people. So it’s for anyone who wants to go against that and keep connecting with others and themselves.

Punto y Coma is open every day except Mondays, with varied hours that you can find online. You can find them on Instagram as @puntoycoma.cc, where you can find out about their monthly events and new incoming books.

Montserrat Castro Gómez is a freelance writer and translator from Querétaro, México.