World Bank lowers GDP growth forecasts for Mexico for 2024-26

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October 10, 2024

View of Popocatépetl from Puebla — The World Bank is predicting an economic slowdown in Mexico, bringing its GDP growth forecast down from 2.3% to 1.7% for 2024. (Cuartoscuro)

The World Bank has lowered its economic growth forecasts for Mexico for this year and the next two, citing uncertainty for investors among the reasons for its more pessimistic outlook.

The Washington D.C.-based financial institution is now predicting that the Mexican economy will grow 1.7% this year, 0.6 percentage points lower than its 2.3% forecast in June.

The World Bank in Washington, D.C. — The World Bank published its updated Latin America and Caribbean report on Wednesday. (Wikimedia Commons)

The World Bank anticipates GDP in Mexico will increase 1.5% in 2025, 0.6 points lower than its previous 2.1% forecast.

It also cut its forecast for 2026, lowering it to 1.6% from 2%.

The updated growth forecasts are included in the World Bank’s latest Latin America and Caribbean report, which was published on Wednesday.

If the projections come true, economic growth in Mexico will slow for a third consecutive year in 2024 and a fourth consecutive year in 2025.

Worker in a BMW plant in San Luis Potosí — Mexico’s economy will slow for a third consecutive year in 2024 if the World Bank’s projections are correct, after experiencing strong post-pandemic growth in 2021 and 2022. (BMW SLP)

The Mexican economy grew 6% in 2021 as it bounced back from a sharp pandemic-induced contraction in 2020. Growth moderated to 3.7% in 2022 before declining to 3.2% last year.

In the first half of 2024, annual growth was just 1.5%.

Why did the World Bank cut its growth forecasts for Mexico?

William Maloney, World Bank Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, told a virtual press conference that high interest rates in Mexico, a weaker Mexican peso and uncertainty for investors were all factors in the lower growth forecasts.

The Bank of Mexico has cut its benchmark interest rate on three occasions this year, but it remains high at 10.50%.

William Maloney speaks in a virtual press conference — William Maloney stressed the need for Mexico to address investor concerns about instability. (Screen capture)

The Mexican peso has weakened considerably since the June 2 elections, in large part due to concerns over the federal government’s judicial reform, which was signed into law by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador two weeks before he left office.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that foreign companies were holding back approximately US $35 billion in investment in Mexico due to uncertainty related to the judicial reform and the upcoming United States election. There are concerns that respect for the rule of law in Mexico will suffer as the result of the direct election of judges by citizens.

Maloney on Tuesday stressed the need for Mexico to create stability for investors by respecting the “rules of the game” for investment in the country.

He acknowledged that Mexico has made progress in combating poverty — including by increasing the minimum wage — but highlighted that more needs to be done. Maloney also said that advances in infrastructure (including water and energy infrastructure), innovation and education are crucial to Mexico’s future success.

In addition, the World Bank economist said that Mexico is well positioned to benefit from nearshoring, but added that the country needs to do more to attract foreign investment.

What does the World Bank report say about Mexico?

Entitled “Taxing Wealth for Equity and Growth,” the World Bank’s latest Latin America and Caribbean report also includes updated growth forecasts for other countries in the region, and the region as a whole.

Maya Train construction in Quintana Roo — The World Bank report says that Mexico has increased both private and public investment, led by large government infrastructure projects like the Maya Train. (Cuartoscuro)

The World Bank is forecasting that the regional economy will grow 1.9% this year and 2.6% in 2025.

Early in the 98-page report, the World Bank acknowledges that Mexico has “increased its level of private investment, by taking advantage of opportunities for nearshoring and friendshoring, and public investment, especially on infrastructure projects.”

Later in the report, the bank says that “Mexico’s policy of increasing the minimum wage from the previously low level” — it almost tripled during López Obrador’s presidency — “appears to have had some positive effects on earnings, and reducing poverty.”

“Yet, the economic literature and the region’s experience clearly suggests that there are limits to this strategy. The initial positive effects in Mexico may be related to the fact that minimum wages started off at very low levels relative to median or average wages, and further increases may have important employment trade-offs to consider,” it adds.

Toward the end of the report, the World Bank highlights that Mexico has the second highest number of billionaires among Latin America countries after Brazil. Mexico’s richest person is Carlos Slim, who, according to Forbes, is the 20th wealthiest person in the world.

“While rich,” Latin America’s billionaires are “modest” by global standards, according to the World Bank, which highlights that “the combined wealth of the top ten billionaires worldwide — nine of whom reside in the United States — totals an astounding [US] $1.7 trillion, nearly equal to Brazil’s GDP, and almost triple that of Argentina.”

With reports from El Economista, EFE, El Universal and El Financiero

WSJ: Sheinbaum administration wants US help to reduce Mexico’s imports from China

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MND Staff

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October 10, 2024

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Manzanillo, Colima port — Implementing tariffs on non-trade partners like China is an option on the table, Sheinbaum said Monday. (Asipona Manzanillo)

In late July, Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O pointed out that Mexico’s imports from China far exceed its exports to the East Asian nation, and declared that Mexico needs to review its trade relationship with the world’s No. 2 economy because it isn’t “reciprocal.”

He also said that Mexico has “great opportunities to produce more,” before asserting at the end of July that replacing just one-tenth of Chinese imports with products made in North America would significantly boost economic growth in Mexico and the United States.

Rogelio Ramírez de la O and Claudia Sheinbaum — Rogelio Ramírez de la O has continued as Finance Minister in President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration. (Claudia Sheinbaum/X)

Now, as Mexico seeks to reduce dependence on Chinese imports, the new federal government “is asking some of the world’s biggest manufacturers and tech firms operating in the country to identify Chinese products and parts that could be made locally,” according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The Journal spoke with Mexico’s Deputy Economy Minister for Foreign Trade Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez Romano, and included his remarks in an article published on Tuesday under the headline “Mexico wants to curb Chinese imports with help from U.S. companies.”

Gutiérrez, whose appointment was announced last week, told the WSJ that the administration led by President Claudia Sheinbaum wants U.S. automakers and semiconductor manufacturers, as well as large aerospace and electronics companies, to substitute some goods and components made in China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

“We want to focus on supporting our domestic supply chains,” he said.

The semiconductor industry, which is today dominated by Asian countries, is a key area of manufacturing that Mexico is working to develop. (Intel Guadalajara)

The federal official told the Journal that talks with foreign companies to date have been informal.

The newspaper reported that “one person familiar with the government’s plan said that some companies haven’t agreed to any specific goal around import substitution and that discussions are part of the Economy Ministry’s aspirations to strengthen domestic supply chains in key sectors such as the semiconductors industry.”

The WSJ noted that the Mexican consulting company Empra said in a note to investors that the proposed measures will be focused primarily on China, a country with a huge manufacturing sector that produces goods well in excess of what can be sold locally.

China’s exports to Mexico — among which are raw materials, capital goods, consumer products and cars — have surged over the past decade. A significant portion of the Chinese imports go to U.S. companies in Mexico, including ones that operate in the automotive, semiconductor and aerospace industries.

BYD electric vehicle on display — BYD is a Chinese EV maker with plans to build a manufacturing plant in Mexico. (Shutterstock)

Separately, massive Chinese-operated wholesale centers filled to the brim with consumer products made in the East Asian economic powerhouse have recently proliferated in the historic center of Mexico City.

Citing Mexican government data, the WSJ said that China’s exports to Mexico now account for 20% of the country’s total imports. Some experts doubt that Mexico has the capacity to replace a significant portion of those imports.

In the United States, there is particular concern about the growing presence of Chinese-made “connected cars” in Mexico, as well as Chinese automakers’ plans to open plants here.

While Mexico’s government is clearly concerned about the increase in Chinese imports — and imposed new tariffs on hundreds of Chinese products earlier this year — the Chinese government has a different view.

“Bilateral trade and cooperation between Mexico and China have brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries,” the Chinese Foreign said in a statement to the WSJ.

“… Both sides should create favorable conditions for normal economic and trade interactions, as well as jointly maintain the stability of the global supply chain.”

A cargo ship docked in Mexico with a crane preparing to remove containers containing trade goods from China. — A Hong Kong ship waits to unload Asian goods in Mexico. (SSA México)

Mexico’s trade relation with China could be a key focus of the USMCA review, which is scheduled to take place in 2026.

There are concerns that Chinese companies are using Mexico as a “backdoor” to the United States — i.e. establishing a presence here in order to ship products tariff-free to the U.S.

But Gutiérrez denied that is the case, telling the WSJ that “Mexico isn’t a springboard from Asia to the U.S.”

Mexico will ‘mobilize’ in favor of North America in the China-US trade war, says Ebrard

At a Bloomberg summit in Monterrey on Tuesday, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard acknowledged that there is a “dispute between China and the United States” and said that it is “stronger now than it was a few years ago.”

“And we now have a plan for a route to follow,” he said.

“What will be the main idea, the main design of that route? To mobilize all legitimate interests in favor of North America,” said Ebrard, who was foreign affairs minister for 4 1/2 years during the 2018-24 presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Marcelo Ebrard speaking at a Bloomberg forum — Economy Minister Ebrard spoke on Tuesday about how Mexico will look to reduce imports and strengthen North American supply chains. (Marcelo Ebrard/X)

He also said that the federal government is looking at “how we can reduce all the imports we have, that is, to increase domestic content in any way we can.”

Ebrard said that Mexican content in the country’s manufacturing exports is currently less than 20%. He said that the government will work with individual companies as part of a strategy to encourage suppliers and parts producers to relocate to Mexico.

“Our mission is not just to increase our market share, but to increase what is produced in Mexico,” he said.

Mexico’s former ambassador to China, Jorge Guajardo, told Mexico News Daily in July that the most pressing and important task for Ebrard as economy minister would be to impose higher tariffs on Chinese imports to protect Mexican industry.

No new tariffs have been announced yet, but the federal government does appear determined to reduce Chinese imports — and is doubling down on its commitment to North America, a region from which Mexico derives the bulk of its export revenue.

Prior to her election as Mexico’s first female president, Sheinbaum noted that Mexico and the U.S. are “economically integrated” whereas “there is no free trade agreement with China.”

“… The relationship with China exists and it has to continue existing, but the agreement with the U.S. has to be maintained and strengthened as well,” she said of the USMCA free trade pact, which also includes Canada.

With reports from The Wall Street Journal, AP and EFE

Vivir Quintana, the woman behind Mexico’s feminist anthem

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Camila Sánchez Bolaño

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October 10, 2024

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Vivir Quintana has provided a soundtrack to Mexico's burgeoning feminist movement. (Vivir Quintana/X)

Coahuila’s Viviana Monserrat Quintana Rodríguez has won the hearts of every woman fighting against gender violence in Mexico.

Meeting her in person feels like a hug; her gaze, smile, and voice convey that she believes in you, that she stands by you, and that you are not — and will never be — alone. She has been in the music industry for years, but in 2020, she launched “Canción sin miedo” (Song without Fear), and everything in her life changed. She became a reference and safeguard for every woman who heard her powerful voice.

From the very beginning, “Canción sin miedo” addresses the subject of fear so that it is not us, the women, who are afraid, but rather the state that has failed to confront the terrible acts of violence and the rising number of femicides happening in the country. The song has resonated throughout the nation and has even been sung at feminist public events in various Spanish-speaking countries and the United States.

Since childhood, music has flowed through Vivir’s veins. “They enrolled me in some singing classes, and the teacher said I was very in tune. He told my parents, and from then on, they supported me so I could pursue my dream of becoming a singer,” she told Mexico News Daily, expressing gratitude to her parents for allowing her to explore various disciplines, sports, and studies to find her calling in music.

“Songs are important in culture. If we promote songs about hate, suffering, and revenge, that is what we are promoting,” she continues.

Vivir Quintana has empowered millions of women to defend freedom, equality, and respect for women. In her life and work, she not only talks about sisterhood, but practices it every day. Today, she has the largest all-female crew in all of Latin America. “[I have] an all-women mariachi band, my entire band is made up of women, my crew —engineers — all of them are women. It’s about creating jobs for women, and it’s not easy because we live in a world promised to men. I was talking to a friend, and we were saying, ‘they wanted to erase our intuition,’ they tried to turn us against each other and make us believe that we don’t also own this world.”

Vivir Quintana - Canción sin miedo ft. El Palomar

Watch this video on YouTube

Vivir Quintana’s talent has been internationally recognized, and in 2022, she contributed to the soundtrack of the movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” with the song “Árboles bajo el mar.” Here, the song stays true to the theme of resistance that characterizes Vivir’s music, as the lyrics speak of origins, of mothers, of ancestors, and of how diversity blooms into beautiful outcomes. The song is a collaboration with another great Mexican singer, the Zapotec feminist rapper Mare Advertencia Lirika.

Vivir has now ventured into the realm of traditional Mexican music known as “corridos”. In her new album, she explores the stories of 10 women currently imprisoned in Mexico for defending themselves against their aggressors. She uses the medium and pride of popular bands to shed light on another form of violence — systemic violence — that endangers the lives of every Mexican woman: gender-based violence. ‘Al Tiro’ is the first release from this album and is already available on all streaming platforms. “Musically, it wasn’t complicated for me. The most challenging part was the story’s background: what words to use, how to compose this story in a poetic way to convey the urgency of eradicating this kind of violence in our country,” Vivir adds.

Camila Sánchez Bolaño is a journalist, feminist, bookseller, lecturer, and cultural promoter and is the former Editor in Chief of Newsweek en Español magazine.

The Pico de Orizaba Loop: the best way to appreciate Mexico’s tallest peak

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John Pint

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October 10, 2024

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Pico de Orizaba and the Pico de Orizaba loop — The majestic Pico de Orizaba is Mexico's highest mountain. Naturally it makes for a challenging but exceptional climb. (Wikimedia)

In Nahuatl, it’s called Citlaltépetl, the Star Mountain, a shimmering snow-covered peak that dominates the horizon for hundreds of kilometers. At 5,640 meters (18,504 feet) El Pico de Orizaba is Mexico’s tallest mountain and the third highest in North America.

Those who live on its flanks say the only way you can fully appreciate the beauty of Orizaba is to circumnavigate the volcano on foot, and after much effort, a few of them have established the sort of route that trekkers love: difficult, challenging, but extraordinarily rewarding.

Amadeus Vivero on Pico de Orizaba loop — The best way to experience Pico de Orizaba is to hike it. Walker Amadeus Vivero (center) has designed the perfect route for the adventurously minded to do just that. (Amadeus Vivero)

One of the pioneers who developed the Orizaba loop is Victor Vivero, who goes by the trail name Amadeus. For the last four years, Amadeus and friends have worked on connecting several already established tracks to create what they call La Circumvalación, The Loop.

I asked Amadeus to describe his most recent trek along The Pico de Orizaba loop.

“This took place in July,” he told me. “Our group met at a place appropriately called El Valle del Encuentro (the Meeting-place Valley), located in Pico de Orizaba National Park on the South Face of the volcano. Here there’s a mountain refuge, located in a big valley close to a small hill from which you have great views of both el Pico de Orizaba and the Sierra Negra Volcano, where the Large Millimeter Telescope (the biggest of its kind in the world) is located.

Beginning the Pico de Orizaba loop at 1:00 a.m.

The trekkers fell asleep in the shelter at 9:00 p.m.

“Our plan,” said Amadeus, “was to get up at 1:00 a.m. and start hiking. We needed to start very early so we’d be sure to reach the next refuge before dark. This way we wouldn’t need to carry tents. However, it was raining hard. So we waited another hour and started walking at about 2:30.There had been a race in this area recently so there was reflecting tape on the trees, making it easy to follow the trail in the dark. but you can always use Wikiloc to follow a route at night.

“For the first seven km the land was flat and here is where we got our rhythm. There were 12 of us, which is a rather big group, but we were soon nicely synchronized.

A sea of clouds

“Near sunrise, we reached the edge of a canyon. Below us stretched a whole sea of clouds. What a view! We had to bottom this canyon, but as we reached the top of the opposite end, we could enjoy a spectacular sunrise, right in front of us.”

“Now, after six hours, surrounded by pine trees, we were reaching the East Face, where we came to another canyon which everybody calls La Rompe Piernas, The Leg Breaker, because crossing it is very tricky. It has some very steep slopes and negotiating the whole thing is very tiring.”

Dwarf snakes and tiny rabbits

“Here we could hear birds, especially eagles and here you can also find rattlesnakes. These are what we call cascabeles enanas, “ dwarf rattlesnakes.” They are only 50 to 80 cm long, and they are poisonous. In this same area, I’ve also seen tiny teporingos or volcano rabbits. They’re endemic to Mexico and so small they weigh only half a kilo (one pound).”

The teporingo rabbit — The teporingo is the second smallest rabbit on earth. This threatened species is endemic to a small region on Mexico’s Neovolcanic Belt. (Difusionar)

Two hours beyond The Leg Breaker, the trekkers came to the Ice Cascades, where water pours out of two caves and freezes in the winter.

“Now we were on the Northeast Slope of the volcano,” Amadeus told me, “and here we filled our canteens with this water, which is good to drink. At this point, we had covered about half the first day’s march.”

“Next, to get to the North Face, you have to cross another canyon called La Barranca del Río Jamapa, named after the river created by the runoff from the volcano’s Jamapa Glacier. On the other side, we had to traverse a sandy space called Arenal, and then at about 6:30—after covering 27 kilometers in 17 hours—we reached our second mountain refuge, called Piedra Grande, Big Rock. No sooner did we get there than the weather turned bad. Suddenly it was cold, wet, and windy, but around 9:00 p.m. it all cleared up.”

Piedra Grande mountain shelter

The Piedra Grande shelter on Pico de Orizaba — The Piedra Grande shelter holds up to 60 people and can be used free of charge. It can fill up completely on weekends. (Summit Post)

The Piedra Grande refuge is on Pico de Orizaba’s North Face and is used by many climbers heading for the peak. Amadeus and friends had started out very early in the morning to make sure they would get bunks in this shelter, which holds 40 people when full.

“We arrived at the refuge really beat,” continued Amadeus. “[We] broke out our little cook stoves and made things like soup and coffee. Then we slept until 2:30 a.m., ready to go again. The weather was cold, but the sky was so clear, that we saw several shooting stars. After a while, we reached what we call The Wall. It’s almost vertical and takes us to the bottom of a canyon called La Barranca del Alpinaua. Here we always wear helmets and we break up into groups of three.

Treacherous riverbed

“At the bottom we came to the most dangerous part of the whole trek, a riverbed with plenty of loose rocks, some of them very big. So here too, we negotiate the area in small groups. This barranca is only 500 meters wide but it took us maybe two hours to cross it.”

View of the top of Pico de Orizaba — “At sunrise we looked down upon a sea of clouds.” (Amadeus Vivero)

The hikers now arrived at the West Face, a long area of grassy meadows over 3,800 meters high, with hardly any trees. “On this high plateau,” commented Amadeus, “I think we enjoyed the very best views of Pico de Orizaba and from here we could also see Popocatepetl, El Iztaccíhuatl, and La Malinche.”

From this point the party had only nine kilometers more to go, up and over their last obstacle, the Saddle of Cerro Colorado, a pass 4,330 meters above sea level and the highest point of the entire loop.

“From this saddle,” Amadeus told me, “it’s all downhill, and about 1:00 p.m. we arrived back at our starting point on the South Face, so we spent about 10 hours on our second day, but the distance we covered was only 13 kilometers.

“In those two days we walked 40 kilometers and got to see all the faces of North America’s third-highest peak, views that very few have ever observed or photographed. It’s an incredible route!”

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.

BYD projects its sales of EVs in Mexico will reach 100K by 2025

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MND Staff

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October 9, 2024

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Jorge Vallejo CEO of BYD Mexico speaking at the BloombergNEF forum in Monterrey, Mexico — BYD Mexico General Director Jorge Vallejo outlined the company's Mexico sales projections at the BloombergNEF forum in Monterrey on Tuesday. (Screen capture)

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is anticipating strong sales growth in Mexico in 2025.

Jorge Vallejo, BYD’s general director in Mexico, said Tuesday that the Shenzhen-based company expects to sell 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in Mexico this year and 100,000 in 2025.

A BYD Mexico showroom in Guadalajara. (BYD)

He outlined the projections at the BloombergNEF forum in Monterrey, Nuevo León.

Sales of EVs, and Chinese-made vehicles, have recently increased in Mexico.

Vallejo also said Tuesday that BYD will announce the location of its planned Mexico plant by the end of the year.

He said that the plant will manufacture 150,000 vehicles annually in a first phase of operations, before increasing production to 300,000 in a second phase.

Earlier this year, Mexico imposed new tariffs on hundreds of products from China and other countries with which it doesn’t have trade agreements. EVs are among those products.

Reuters recently reported that BYD was seeking an extension of tariff relief for its imports in Mexico, as “a decree exempting some 15% to 20% of tariff payments on EVs imported from countries with which Mexico does not have a trade agreement” was set to expire at the end of October. It was unclear whether that extension was granted.

Factory assembly line manned by robot arms — BYD rejected a September Bloomberg News report saying that BYD had put its planned Mexico plant on hold until after the U.S. election. But BYD Mexico General Director Jorge Vallejo said in August that the company has narrowed down its plant location to three states. (BYD)

What has BYD said about its proposed Mexico plant?

The automaker confirmed in February that it would open a plant in Mexico. BYD’s Americas CEO Stella Li said that the plant would only make vehicles for the Mexican market.
Vallejo said in June that BYD’s proposed operations in Mexico will create around 10,000 jobs.
Vallejo said in August that the company had narrowed the list of potential locations for the plant to three states.
In September, Li rejected a Bloomberg News report that said the company had postponed a final decision about its proposed plant in Mexico until after the United States presidential election. Vallejo had previously said that the company was aiming to settle on a location for its plant by the end of the year.

With reports from Reuters

$14B Mexico Pacific LNG megaproject endangers Gulf of California marine life, activists warn

By

MND Staff

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October 9, 2024

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Protesters dressed in shark and dolphin costumes stand in front of Mexico's Environment Ministry building with a sign saying in Spanish, "Let's protect our whales." — More than 30 environmental groups staged a protest outside the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry in Mexico City on Tuesday. They want Mexico to cancel a planned Mexico Pacific LNG terminal in Sonora. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)

Citing concerns over its impact on the Gulf of California, environmental groups are urging the Mexican government to cancel Mexico Pacific’s LNG megaproject in Sonora, a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and export terminal.

The US $14 billion project led by the Houston-based company would build the large-scale natural gas liquefaction terminal in Puerto Libertad and a pipeline stretching 800 kilometers to transport natural gas from the Permian Basin in Texas to the plant.

The Gulf of California is home to 39% of the world’s marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and sharks.(Adolfo Vladimir/Cuartoscuro)

The LNG produced in Puerto Libertad would then be exported via 300-meter-long ships to markets in Asia — thereby more easily connecting U.S. shale gas with Asian markets.

Mexico Business News wrote that the project “marks the largest foreign private investment in [Mexico’s] history for a project of this kind” and that it would reshape market dynamics.

Mexico Pacific’s 400-hectare Saguaro Energía LNG facility is expected to produce approximately 15 million tonnes of LNG annually.

“The initiative positions Mexico as the fourth-largest LNG exporting country and a key contributor in meeting the critical energy security needs of the region,” MPL President Alberto Alonzo told the publication.

Trumpeted last year by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the project is expected to create jobs for Mexicans, facilitate infrastructure development and generate state and federal tax revenues.

Puerto Libertad is a small fishing town that is already home to one of the largest thermoelectric plants in Mexico, managed by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).

A protester from an environmental organization protesting outside Mexico's Environment Ministry headquarters. He is wearing a captain's hat and has a large paper mache boat tied to his body that makes him look as if he is inside the boat. He is using a megaphone. — Activists worry that the project and the presence of LNG tankers will bring harmful noise pollution, ship collisions and potential gas spills. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)

On Tuesday, a coalition of more than 30 environmental groups staged a protest outside Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Ministry (Semarnat) in Mexico City. Many of them were dressed as whales, dolphins and sharks.

They argue that the project poses significant risks to marine life in the Gulf of California, known as the “Aquarium of the World” due to its rich biodiversity.

According to Greenpeace and other environmental protection NGOs, the area is home to 12,105 species, including 39% of the world’s marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and sharks.

The introduction of LNG tankers and the construction of the liquefaction terminal could disrupt these species’ habitats with noise pollution, the risk of ship collisions and potential gas spills, activists said. The ships that would transport the gas product to Asia are as long as 12 adult whales.

Also, to extract the natural gas in Texas, the project involves fracking, a controversial method criticized for its extensive water use and environmental hazards.

Greenpeace and other organizations highlight that fracking contributes to groundwater contamination and accelerates climate change by releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The activists on Tuesday delivered a letter to Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena, calling for the project’s cancellation. The letter asked her to safeguard the interests and well-being of the Mexican population and its natural resources and not the economic interests of foreign companies.

The activists warned that the frequent passage of LNG tankers through the Gulf would endanger marine life, particularly whales, which rely on sound for communication and navigation.

Moreover, they point out that the proposed pipeline will cross mountains, rivers, streams, communities and areas of ecosystemic importance.

The coalition also expressed concerns about the project’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and called on President Claudia Sheinbaum to reject the initiative.

MPL last year signed an agreement with the government of Sonora to move forward on the project, according to the news source NS Energy Business. It has received official endorsement from Mexico’s federal government, including environmental permits, the publication said.

Construction has not yet begun, according to Mongabay, a nonprofit website focused on conservation and the environment.

If it moves forward, the project will become a pillar of the Sonora Plan, aimed at fostering economic prosperity and clean energy development in northwest Mexico. The plan was announced by the Mexican government at the North American Leaders’ Summit last year.

With reports from El Universal, Animal Politico, El Sud Californiano and Mongabay

Two-way trade between Mexico and US reaches record high

By

MND Staff

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October 9, 2024

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A wide range of Mexican products are shipped to the U.S., including cars, auto parts, electronics, fresh fruit and vegetables, oil and alcoholic beverages. (Juan José Estrada Serafín/Cuartoscuro)

The value of Mexico’s exports to the United States increased almost 6% annually in the first eight months of 2024 to reach a record high of more than US $334 billion.

The United States Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Tuesday that Mexico’s exports to its northern neighbor were worth $334.73 billion between January and August, a 5.8% increase compared to the same period of 2023.

Shipping containers at Manzanillo port — Mexico’s exports to its northern neighbor were worth $334.73 billion between January and August, a 5.8% increase over the same period of 2023. (Lloyds)

Mexico thus consolidated its position as the top exporter to the U.S. It dethroned China from the coveted spot last year.

A wide range of Mexican products are shipped to the U.S., including cars, auto parts, electronics, fresh fruit and vegetables, oil and alcoholic beverages.

Mexico’s share of the U.S. import market was a record 15.7% between January and August, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the first eight months of 2023. Mexico’s share a decade ago was more than 3 points lower, at 12.6% in 2014.

In a speech in Monterrey on Tuesday, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard highlighted that Mexico’s share of that market was almost 16%.

“In 1988 it was 5%, it’s multiplied by approximately three,” he told a business forum in the Nuevo León capital.

“The participation of China has declined. There is a great opportunity to grow in the participation in the market [for exports] to the United States,” Ebrard said.

China’s share of the U.S. import market declined to 13.1% in the first eight months of 2024 from 13.5% in the same period last year. Canada’s share fell to 12.9% from 13.6%.

Two-way trade also hit a record high

The U.S. data shows that the United States’ exports to Mexico were worth $225.07 billion between January and August, a 4.3% increase compared to the same period last year.

Industry predicts investments will be lost this year as well. — Auto parts constitute a substantial portion of two-way trade between the United States and Mexico.

Among the products the U.S. sends to Mexico are oil and gasoline, auto parts, meat and grains, including yellow corn used as livestock feed.

Two-way trade totaled $559.8 billion, a 5.2% increase compared to the first eight months of last year and a record for the period.

Trade between Mexico and the U.S. accounted for 16% of the United States’ total trade with countries worldwide.

The two countries are each other’s largest trade partner, and their economies have become increasingly integrated in the 30 years since the entry into force of NAFTA, which was superseded in 2020 by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.

Mexico recorded a trade surplus of $109.65 billion with the U.S. between January and August.

A good August for Mexico, and the US

Mexico’s exports to the U.S. in August were worth a record-high $43.75 billion, an increase of 4.8% from the same month last year.

Imports from the U.S. also hit a record high in August, increasing 3.5% annually to $30.02 billion.

With reports from El Economista and El Financiero

US lawmakers pressure Sheinbaum to address Chinese ‘connected’ car concerns

By

MND Staff

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October 9, 2024

4

BYD showroom with cars on display and people shopping — Trump threatened tariffs against Chinese auto companies like BYD, which plans to build a vehicle manufacturing plant in Mexico. The Chinese automaker has put those plans on hold until after the U.S. election, according to reporting by Bloomberg. (EEYAUT Waihung/Wikimedia Commons)

There is no shortage of issues for new Mexican leader President Claudia Sheinbaum to attend to: security, water and the economy, to name but a few. But a group of United States lawmakers contends that yet another pressing issue for Mexico’s 66th president is the “national security risks” associated with the capacity of Chinese “connected” vehicles to collect sensitive data.

In a letter dated Sept. 30, the day before Sheinbaum was sworn in as Mexico’s first female president, 21 Democratic Party representatives and senators wrote to the 62-year-old former Mexico City mayor to request that her government take steps to address challenges related to the sale and manufacture in Mexico of vehicles made by Chinese companies and those firms’ potential plans to use Mexico as a base to enter the U.S. market.

Elissa Slotkin standing a a podium with a campaign sign for the US Senate in front of it — Before becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), one of the letter’s lead signers, worked as an intelligence analyst for the CIA and as a Department of Defense official. She is currently running for the U.S. Senate. (Elissa Slotkin)

“As you prepare to take office, we ask that you quickly turn your attention to a new and growing issue: the national security risks to both our nations from the widespread presence of ‘connected’ vehicles built by companies with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party [CCP],” said the letter, signed by lawmakers including Representative Elissa Slotkin and Senator Sherrod Brown.

The lawmakers said that “today’s vehicles — including those made by Chinese companies — are equipped with sophisticated sensors, powerful computers, and networking capabilities that allow these connected vehicles to gather, store and transmit large amounts of data about their occupants and their surroundings.”

“This includes 3D mapping, live-action video, and geolocation of individuals,” they added.

According to Reuters, the U.S. is concerned that China, “a strategic and economic rival as well as trading partner, could use data collected by connected vehicles for surveillance or, in extreme circumstances, remotely control them through the internet and navigation systems.”

The lawmakers noted that “Chinese automakers have made significant inroads in the Mexican market, more than tripling their share of Mexico’s market since the start of this decade,” and asserted that “the data from that fleet of vehicles [is] accessible to the Chinese Communist Party.”

“This growth has rightly raised significant concerns with us in Congress, and we believe that these Chinese companies, which receive huge state subsidies, are now seeking to use Mexico as a base to enter the U.S. market,” the representatives and senators said.

Senator Sherrod Brown in a suit talking to citizens inside a well lit building — Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the other lead signer of the letter, is seen as a progressive politician who has been a frequent critic of free trade. He led Democratic opposition to the Central American Free Trade Act (CAFTA) in 2005.

Among the other remarks included in the letter were that:

“China itself recognizes the sensitive capabilities of connected vehicles and has taken actions to restrict the operation of foreign vehicles in China accordingly.”
The United States has imposed “targeted new tariffs on Chinese goods, including vehicles, because of … [China’s] unfair trade practices.”
“The fact that Chinese companies, including automaker BYD, have announced plans for assembly plants in Mexico raises the potential for Chinese companies to attempt to circumvent these tariffs with production in Mexico.”
U.S. officials “are well aware of this potential and made clear that using Mexico in an effort to avoid U.S. tariffs could bring additional action by the United States.”

BYD, it should be noted, has said that the cars it intends to make in Mexico will be sold here and not exported to the United States or anywhere else.

“Our plan is to build the facility for the Mexican market, not for the export market,” BYD Americas CEO Stella Li said in February.

Many politicians in the United States are not convinced that BYD and other Chinese automakers that have announced plans to open plants in Mexico won’t attempt to sell their vehicles in the lucrative U.S. market.

The Republican Party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, said Sunday that an administration he leads could impose 200% tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico, and not just those manufactured by Chinese companies. Such a move would violate the terms of the USMCA, the North American free trade pact that superseded NAFTA in 2020.

When asked in May why the United States government wasn’t preemptively announcing tariffs aimed at vehicles made by Chinese companies in Mexico, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that measures aimed at such vehicles would “require a separate pathway.”

What exactly do the Democrat lawmakers want from the Sheinbaum administration?

Despite tariffs, “executive orders to counter national security threats” and “new legislative proposals” aimed at Chinese vehicles — including a proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden to ban Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads — the U.S. lawmakers said that they remained “concerned that Chinese companies will seek to use production in Mexico in an effort to bypass these measures.”

The Democrats consequently asked Sheinbaum to take a number of steps to address the “challenges” posed by the presence of Chinese vehicles and automakers in Mexico.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at a presidential press conference standing behind a podium and holding her hands up near her face, with her thumbs and forefingers of each hand touching. She is in mid-speech. — In an interview during her campaign, when asked to choose between the U.S. and China as a trade partner, Sheinbaum seemed to prioritize the U.S. but did not dismiss the importance of China’s relationship with Mexico. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)

They asked Sheinbaum to “formalize” the policy of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, “outlined in media reports, of refusing to grant federal economic development incentives — such as tax incentives and reduced utility and land costs — to firms with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.”
The lawmakers also asked her to “urge Mexican states to follow suit.”
They requested that the new Mexican government establish “a national security review process to address risks posed by the manufacture or sale of vehicles built by Chinese firms to Mexico’s people, your national security, and the regional security of North American and Organization of American States nations.”
They asked Sheinbaum to send a delegation to meet with U.S. officials “by early 2025 to discuss how our nations can work together to address these risks.”

The letter concluded by emphasizing the importance of “a shared approach to Chinese vehicles and control of data collected therein.”

“This new challenge is complex and difficult, and is best met by working collaboratively,” the lawmakers said.

For its part, China, in late September, “urged the United States … to stop ‘unreasonable suppression’ of its companies, in response to U.S. proposals to ban Chinese software and hardware in vehicles on its roads due to national security concerns,” Reuters reported.

“The U.S. move has no factual basis, violates the principles of market economy and fair competition and is [adopting] a typical protectionist approach,” said a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce.

Sheinbaum: Mexico has a relationship with China, but Mexico and the US are ‘inseparable’

During the campaign period leading up to the presidential election in June, Sheinbaum was asked in an interview to choose between the United States and China from a trade viewpoint.

In response, Sheinbaum said that Mexico has an “inseparable” relationship with its northern neighbor.

Mexico and the U.S. — each other’s largest trade partner — are “economically integrated,” whereas “there is no free trade agreement with China,” Sheinbaum said

“… The relationship with China exists, and it has to continue existing, but the agreement with the U.S. has to be maintained and strengthened as well,” Sheinbaum said of the USMCA free trade pact, those third member is Canada.

With reports from Reuters

The world’s best tequila is…

By

MND Staff

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October 9, 2024

8

Drum roll please… the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition has determined that the world’s best tequila is Don Fulano Fuerte (100 Proof Blanco).

Recognized as one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious spirits competitions, the SFWSC’s praise solidifies Don Fulano’s position as a top-tier tequila producer. The competition’s judges described the spirit as “an amazing and well-balanced tequila with agave and black pepper on the nose and palate followed by a burst of citrus and cinnamon on the finish.”

Don Fulano Fuerte is made from only Maduro and Pinto agave plants. — Don Fulano Fuerte is made from Maduro and Pinto agave plants. (Don Fulano Tequila/Facebook)

Don Fulano Fuerte is matured for at least six months in stainless steel tanks to allow the flavors to settle without developing any wood notes. It is made from Maduro and Pinto agave plants, proprietary yeast and natural spring volcanic water from the Tequila region in Jalisco. As it spends no time in contact with oak, it remains crystalline and colorless.

Founded by Sergio Mendoza and Enrique Fonseca in 2002, Don Fulano continues a five-generation family tradition.

“Everything about Don Fulano is rooted in its history,” Mendoza told Forbes in July.

According to Mendoza, Don Fulano is one of the last family-owned tequila brands with complete control over agave production. The tequila is estate-grown and bottled at the La Tequileña distillery, which is owned by the Fonsecas. The family also produces four other types of tequila.

The brand’s story can be traced back 140 years ago when the founder’s great-grandfather began cultivating agave in the highlands of Jalisco.

“The agave plant has always been central to Mexico and its history and of course, agave spirits were part of it,” Mendoza said. “Today, we very much do the same: farm agave and produce a product that reflects our land as closely as possible. Of course, we face many challenges as every farmer does, but we try hard to keep as close and as simple a connection with the source.”

Priced at $59.99, Don Fulano is an affordable bottle for any tequila enthusiast to enjoy.

The SFWSC medal is a universally recognized indicator of exceptional quality and craftsmanship. The accolade has raised the reputation of thousands of wine, beer and spirit brands and is a testament to the hard work of producers.

With reports from Forbes

15 Yucatán fishermen reported missing after Hurricane Milton

By

MND Staff

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October 9, 2024

0

Three members of the Mexican navy in a speedboat on the ocean — The fishermen went missing after Hurricane Milton grazed the Yucatán coast as a Category 5 hurricane. (Government of Mexico)

Fifteen fishermen from Progreso, Yucatán, have been reported missing in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Milton passed above the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula earlier this week.

Four of the fishermen have been located, according to media reports and Yucatán Fishing Minister Lila Frías Castillo, but the other 11 remained missing as of Wednesday afternoon.

The back of The Neldy fishing boat moving through the ocean with the splash of a wave hitting the back of the boat. — Of the 15 fishermen from Progreso who’ve been reported missing, only the crew of a medium-sized fishing vessel, “The Neldy,” have been found so far. (Internet)

The president of the Yucatán branch of the National Chamber of the Fishing Industry told Foro TV on Tuesday that four boats with 15 fishermen on board went missing.

“There hasn’t been any contact with them,” Enrique Sánchez said

He said that the fishermen were in “very dangerous seas,” but noted that they are “experienced seamen.”

“We hope that everything turns out well and they return home safe and sound,” Sánchez said.

The largest of the four boats, a vessel named “Neldy,” was located along with the four fishermen alive on board, according to media reports.

In a post to Facebook early on Wednesday, Frías said, “Fortunately, the crew of the vessel ‘Neldy’ have contacted their families.”

Man and woman standing at a pier next to small fishing boats, looking into the camera. — Some family members of the missing fishermen have posted videos pleading with the government to do more to find their loved ones. (Twitter)

“They are safe,” the official added.

“Neldy,” described by Sánchez as a “boat of medium height,” left Progreso, a Gulf of Mexico port city north of Mérida, last weekend.

The news website 24 Horas reported that it was located after an “intense search” conducted by other fishermen. The vessel is expected to return to Progreso Wednesday.

The three vessels that remain missing are small boats called lanchas, according to Sánchez. Search efforts have been hindered by poor weather and rough seas.

The fishermen were reportedly advised to come ashore due to the threat posed by Hurricane Milton — an extremely powerful Category 5 storm — but didn’t manage to reach land.

Authorities in Campeche reported one death following the passage of Milton, which grazed the northwestern Yucatán Peninsula Monday but did not make landfall.

The hurricane’s wind and accompanying rain caused flooding and other damage on the Yucatán Peninsula, made up of the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

Federal Civil Protection authorities said Wednesday that the “entire” government of Mexico was providing assistance to affected residents.

Milton is now heading for the west coast of Florida, a state that is still recovering from Hurricane Helene. It is expected to make landfall there.

The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Wednesday morning that Milton has maximum sustained winds of 230 km/h, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

Yucatán Gov. Joaquín Díaz Mena tours the damage in Celestún, a fishing village on Yucatán’s coast.

“On the forecast track, the center of Milton will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida tonight, and move off the east coast of Florida over the western Atlantic Ocean on Thursday,” the NHC said.

“… Milton is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida tonight,” it added.

With reports from López-Doriga Digital, El Financiero, Debate and 24 Horas