Local groups blockaded part of the new Oaxaca-Puerto Escondido highway to protest against the transit of trucks and other commercial vehicles on the road. (X)
After 15 years of stops and starts, Oaxaca’s new highway from the interior to the coast was finally opened to the public on Sunday.
Less than 24 hours after its inauguration, however, the 104-kilometer highway between Oaxaca city and Puerto Escondido was blocked on Monday by residents of the Los Coatlanes area in the Sierra Sur.
The highway will be toll-free until the end of President López Obrador’s term in office. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
Saying they will not allow the new roadway to be operated by the same businesspeople as always, the protesters set up near San Pablo Coatlán for nearly eight hours starting at 4 a.m., allowing passage to private vehicles only.
The new highway spans from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido, reducing travel time from 6 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours, according to Mexico’s transportation ministry. Google Maps estimates the journey at 3 1/2 hours.
The Barranca Larga–Ventanilla highway passes through 15 communities in the San Pablo Coatlán area, but there are no off-ramps or exits to provide access to locals.
The protesters said the highway crosses their lands, and that there’s an agreement in place saying that the highway can only be used by the public rather than by trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles.
#AlMomento | Comuneros de los Coatlán activan retén en la autopista #Oaxaca – Puerto Escondido En el tramo Barranca Larga – Ventanilla, impiden tránsito de urban de otras líneas pasajeras; solo permiten paso a vehículos particulares. pic.twitter.com/W0bu683yzk
They told government officials they don’t want to make a profit off the new highway, but they want services to improve their communities.
They said now that the highway is open, businessmen want to “dig in their heels” and make money for their own benefit.
They demanded an audit of their municipal president, Gonzalo López Gijón, saying he had been a municipal administrator the last three years, and called for safeguards against having their lands turn into traffic nightmares when cultural events and festivals are held.
José de Jesús Romero López, a Oaxaca state government official, said in a statement that public transportation permits are granted by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), not protesters. Romero added that the SICT and Interior Ministry (Segob) have asked the parties to come to the bargaining table.
Sunday’s inauguration was attended by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara Cruz and many other government officials.
President López Obrador said that for the last eight months of his administration, no toll will be charged for local users. “There is a proposal that in September only visitors and cargo transportation will be charged, but not Oaxacans,” he said.
Transport minister Jorge Nuño Lara called the highway a long-awaited dream come true.
According to a press release, the López Obrador administration invested more than 10.6 billion pesos (US $625 million) in the project, after restarting construction in 2020 after the work was abandoned during previous administrations. The total investment was more than 13 billion pesos (US $763 million), the release added.
The inauguration came 15 years after work on the highway first began in the Felipe Calderón presidency. Initially, a ribbon-cutting ceremony had been planned for 2012.
The release also noted that the opening of the highway will increase tourism and job opportunities and “boost the economic growth and social development of [Oaxaca] like never before.” An estimated 4,250 vehicles will use the highway daily, the release noted.
Heavy rain in Tijuana led to flooding, as cold fronts continue to roll in. (Omar Martínez/Cuartoscuro)
Baja California and Yucatán, two of Mexico’s most popular destination regions for international tourists, have been affected by strong winds and heavy rain since Sunday.
The National Meteorological Service (SMN) has reported that the sixth winter storm of the season, along with Cold Front 33, is affecting the state of Baja California, while Cold Front 32 and its associated “North” phenomenon are primarily affecting the Yucatán Peninsula.
The SMN warned of a “North” event that will bring cold temperatures and storms to parts of Mexico – primarily the Yucatán peninsula. (SMN)
A “North” event refers to a type of extreme weather event that takes place in Mexico during the autumn and winter. As cold fronts move down into the country from the United States, they can strengthen until reaching wind speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour. Norte events generally happen in regions along the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the SMN, Tuesday will see Cold Front 33 move over Baja California and Sonora, combining with a polar jet stream which will potentially cause sleet in Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua and Durango and heavy rainfall of up to 3 inches per hour in Baja California, Baja California Sur and Sonora.
On Monday, local authorities in Tijuana declared a state of alert ahead of the storm, urging residents to stay home and avoid unnecessary outings.
Given its proximity to the U.S. state of California which is severely affected by a winter storm causing historic levels of flooding and snowfall, Baja California is also expected to see an increase in river and stream levels, as well as flooding and landslides.
Strong winds were recorded on the Yucatán coast. (Meterología Yucatán)
Starting Thursday, the season’s sixth winter storm will move up out of Mexico and into the central part of the U.S. while causing isolated rain in Mexico’s northeast.
Moving south, heavy rain and strong gusts of wind have caused flooding and fallen trees in some areas of Quintana Roo, particularly in the north. Videos circulating on social media also show seawater flooding the streets of Holbox Island and men navigating the flooded streets in kayaks.
“We continue to work intensely and in close collaboration with municipalities to address all reports received by citizens,” Quintana Roo’s State Coordination of Civil Protection (Coeproc) said in a statement, calling on residents to take precautionary measures.
On Tuesday morning, the governor of Quintana Roo, Mara Lezama, urged residents to take precautions as the Norte event is expected to cause wind gusts of 50 to 70 kilometers per hour, waves as high as 2 to 4 meters and drift currents in bays, docks and beaches, as well as sea ingress into low-lying areas.
The SMN has also warned residents of the Yucatán Peninsula to beware of falling poles, billboards, trees and palapas due to the potential impact of the Norte event.
On the other hand, a mid-level anticyclonic circulation is expected to form over the Mexican Central Pacific, resulting in clear skies and warm evening temperatures of 35 to 40 degrees Celsius in Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán and Nayarit. In Sinaloa, Morelos and southwestern Puebla, as well as on the coasts of Oaxaca and Chiapas, temperatures will be slightly cooler, ranging from 30 to 35 degrees Celsius.
Constituent Congress of 1917 swearing the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States on February 5, 1917. (Wikimedia Commons)
Mexico’s current constitution — also known as the Constitution of 1917 — was the sixth attempt at a governing document to explain how Mexico should be governed and what rights should be afforded to its citizens.
Despite its comparative age — some 107 years — the document is considered to be one of the first modern attempts at a constitution, and was copied by other major political powers of the 20th Century, who wanted to guarantee their citizens the same expansive and protective rights that Mexicans were allowed.
Constitution Day is a public holiday in Mexico, but why has the document become such an important part of Mexican life, and why did so many European powers choose to emulate it?
Five constitutions, five failures
To understand how incredible it was that most of Mexico managed to simply agree on the 1917 document, we need to understand what came before, and how spectacularly bad some of the previous constitutions were.
The Constitution of 1814 Apatzingan. (Wikimedia Commons)
The first document, 1814’s Constitution of Apatzingán, declared the 17 states of Mexico (including the state of Técpan, now part of modern-day Guerrero), established Catholicism as the official state religion and demanded that power be given to the people. The document governed all the territories controlled by Mexico during the War of Independence, but never came into force, and its biggest proponent, José Maria Morelos y Pavón, was killed as Spain regained control of the country.
The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824was somewhat more successful. It was the first constitution to be actually implemented, running first until 1835, and then between 1847 and 1857. It recognized 19 states, 4 territories and Tlaxcala (sort of).
The period between 1835 and 1843, when the 1824 Constitution was not in force, was governed by the “Siete Leyes” — seven laws implemented by President López de Santa Ana. The laws were:
Citizenship for anyone who could read Spanish and earned more than 100 pesos a year — except male domestic workers and women, neither of whom could vote.
An elected, 11-member Supreme Court was established.
The Congress of Deputies and the Senate were established (a system that Mexico still uses today).
The Supreme Court, Senate and cabinet would select the President and Vice-President.
The president could suspend Congress and suppress the Supreme Court.
All states were abolished and replaced with French-style “departments.”
Reverting to the 1824 constitution was explicitly banned for six years.
Change came around again in 1843, when the Siete Leyes were themselves replaced, this time with the Bases Orgánicas, which further shrank the voter base by raising the earnings threshold to 200 pesos per year. It also established an electoral college and increased the powers afforded to the president.
This too did not last, and by 1847, the old Constitution of 1824 was back, managing a further 10 years in effect, before it was stripped and replaced by the Constitution of 1857. This time, universal (male) suffrage was guaranteed, alongside freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to bear arms and a reaffirmation of the abolition of slavery, cruel and unusual punishment and the death penalty. There were also attempts by the authors to create a federal republic, with an independent judiciary and a small executive, which it hoped would prevent the rise of a dictator.
It did not manage the last part.
The Revolution
The Porfiriato, a 30-year dictatorship under Porfirio Díaz, began in 1876, and lasted in one form or another until 1911, when Mexico was once again plunged into violent civil conflict.
In the struggle to free Mexico from dictatorship, as many as 2.7 million Mexicans (and 500 Americans) were killed in the bitter fighting. Legends like Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Álvaro Obregón, Venustiano Carranza and Ricardo Flores Magón were born and died, and power changed hands several times.
Díaz fled into exile in 1911 but the country continued to struggle, as the diverse factions that represented Mexico’s varied interests fought for ultimate control. As the fighting rumbled on for years after Díaz’s abdication, political leaders increasingly realized that the revolution would not end until a broad consensus had been reached, and many looked to build coalitions that would help stop the violence.
The Constitution
Original inside cover of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. (Wikimedia Commons)
Carranza and his constitutionalist faction hoped that by building a new constitution through consensus, further bloodshed could be averted, and that Mexico could develop as quickly in the 20th century as it had in the 19th.
A constitutional convention was called in Querétaro’s Iturbide Theater, where political groups from across Mexico were encouraged to come together to help shape a final document that reflected the will of the whole country rather than individual factions. The theater was chosen as the site for the new convention, as it was the place where Emperor Maximilian of Mexico was executed in 1867 — and the site of Mexico’s second independence day.
By early 20th-century standards, the resulting work was extremely liberal. The document was pushed further left by pressure from Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, as well as their militant supporting factions. While these two groups were banned from the constitutional congress itself, the power they held in their respective communities meant that their voices were heard in the theater just the same.
The document was extremely pro-freedom, even by modern standards. It guaranteed freedom from slavery for anyone who entered Mexico, regardless of origin. It guaranteed freedom of religion for any citizen, but did not uphold any one religion as an official state doctrine, marking a break from the control that the church had so often exerted over the country.
Mexicans could not be retroactively prosecuted for actions that were not criminal at the time, protecting them from any further changes to the law.
Two years after the adoption of the Constitution, Weimar Germany, the brief republic that followed the collapse of the Second Reich, modeled itself on what had been written in Querétaro. As left-wing politics swept Europe in the early 20th century, even the Soviet Union sought to emulate and promote the high levels of personal freedoms afforded to Mexican citizens. So closely aligned was Republican Spain with Mexican political ideals, that the government-in-exile moved to Mexico City to oppose the Franco regime, where they remained until 1976.
Mexico today
While things got off to a rocky start — Carranza was executed by Gustavo I. Madero after a coup in 1920, Obregón was killed shortly after being allowed a second term, and the PRI party managed to hold onto power from 1929 until 2000 — the fundamental rights that made Europe look across the ocean for an example of human freedom have remained more or less in force.
The right to strike continues to be a cherished and oft-used article of the constitution — although despite the labor law provisions, Mexico continues to have some of the longest working hours in the world.
While not afforded the same near-mythical status as its U.S. counterpart, the Mexican Constitution has held up well today. Though Mexican democracy is far from perfect, there have been no more dictators and the freedoms afforded to Mexicans continue to largely be upheld.
Japanese Ambassador Noriteru Fukushima handed out tamales to Mexico City residents, part of a long-standing Candlemas holiday tradition. (Screen capture)
Japan’s ambassador to Mexico fulfilled his obligation after finding not one but two baby Jesus figurines in his serving of Rosca de Reyes (king cake) on Jan 6: he handed out tortas de tamal (tamal sandwiches) to street cleaners and other workers in Mexico City last Friday.
In Mexican tradition, anyone who finds a baby Jesus in their slice (or slices) of Rosca de Reyes on Jan. 6 — Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day — must buy (or make) tamales for a feast on Feb. 2, Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ.
Salí a calles de #CDMX 🇲🇽 a repartir ricas tortas de tamal como año pasado (este año me salieron 2 niños)
Quise dar a personas que trabajan duro todos los días en la ciudad para agradecer, espero disfruten torta 🫔!
Arigato siempre por ser tan amables conmigo🙇#DiaDeLaCandelariapic.twitter.com/OJh9o2lsNY
“So I’m going to once again hand out these tortas de tamales to people who work close to the Embassy,” he says.
The video shows Fukushima walking along Paseo de la Reforma — Mexico City’s famous tree-lined boulevard — with a crate filled with the sandwiches colloquially known as guajolotas, or turkeys (the origin of the name is a whole other story, or stories!).
“I don’t know, hopefully [people] will accept them,” he jokes.
Japanese Ambassador Noriteru Fukushima was born in Mexico city, and is a citizen of both Mexico and Japan. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The ambassador — who was born in Mexico City to Japanese parents and is a dual citizen of both Japan and Mexico — ultimately didn’t have any trouble finding hungry and grateful workers.
“Thank you for always cleaning,” he says to several Mexico City street sweepers as he offers each a guajolota — a tamal in a bolillo, a type of bread roll sold throughout Mexico and especially popular in the capital.
A boot polisher and a woman with a small street stall also accept tortas from Fukushima, Japan’s ambassador in Mexico since 2021.
“Thank you for accepting these tamales and I hope you enjoy them this Candlemas”, he says at the end of his video.
“Arigato for always being so nice to me,” the generous ambassador said in a written message to workers in the same post.
The tree house rendering, 2023. (Arq. Javier Senosiain)
Despite its name, Tree House (Casa del Árbol) in Celaya, Guanajuato, reviewed by outlets like Amazing Architecture and design firms like Kelly Behun Studio, is not a house in a tree. However, its organic forms give visitors the sensation of being inside a tree or perhaps within a tree trunk or branch. The house is essentially designed to resemble the inside of a tree.
The 225-square-meter Tree House was completed in 2012. Javier Senosiain, the architect behind the building, adapted the house’s design to accommodate a large pepper tree already standing on the property. This pepper tree, which gives the house its name, is the main feature of the building and is fully integrated into the interior of the main room.
Pepper tree and garden under the tree house living room floor. (Arq. Javier Senosiain)
Tree House’s design was inspired by the shapes of the pepper tree, which it was designed to respect. The room the tree stands in is barrel-shaped and has specially-designed, aesthetically pleasing openings that allow its thicker branches to pass through. Before construction began, Senosiain observed that the tree’s roots rose about 25 to 30 centimeters above street level. Accordingly, he designed the living room to be elevated as well, with the roots covered by soil and a one-meter space between the soil and the living room floor.
Elevating the living room floor not only allowed for the integration of the tree’s roots but also provided the opportunity to install a glass floor in the space. This unique feature allows for a direct view of the garden below, allowing residents to immerse themselves in nature while inside the house.
Tree House, as its name might also suggest, is built next to a forest in the city of Celaya, which experiences intense heat and drought. The design of the house was specifically conceived of as an extension of the forest, blending seamlessly with its surroundings. The large garden surrounding the house further enhances the feeling of being in the countryside, creating a tranquil and natural environment for residents to enjoy.
Organic design features of Tree House
Tree house bathroom. (Arq. Javier Senosiain)
The first thing that strikes the eye in Tree House are the evocative organic forms that transport you inside a plant, tree, or botanic organism. Light is also an impressive quality in this surrealistic space: its brightness enters each room through the windows, which emulate the shape of cells, transmitting feelings of warmth and that the structure is alive.
You won’t find any corners in Tree House. The house’s unconventional architectural design deviates from the typical use of squares and rectangles, creating a space free of rigid angles. The absence of corners gives Tree House a sense of fluidity and movement, enhancing its unique and organic atmosphere.
In a style reminiscent of Gaudí, Tree House is decorated with amazing mosaics and beautiful tile collages that give the house a cosmic touch. Spread across the floor and strategic places like the kitchen walls, these details are one of the house’s most inspiring features.
Tree House is crowned by a spacious terrace that provides breathtaking views of the surrounding forest and the adjacent garden. This expansive outdoor space creates a serene and rural ambiance. The house features a natural green roof that can be accessed from the bedrooms or through a ramp that connects to the garden on the first floor. This green roof not only adds to the house’s aesthetic appeal but also provides insulation, reduces stormwater runoff and promotes biodiversity.
The main room in Tree House is barrel-shaped and contains a triple-height lounge area. This unique architectural feature creates a sense of grandeur and spaciousness, making it the perfect place for gatherings and relaxation. Located on the upper level of Tree House, which resembles a flying saucer, is the master bedroom. This private sanctuary is accompanied by a dressing room and a luxurious bathroom, offering a tranquil and comfortable retreat.
Tree House is equipped with various eco-conscious appliances which minimize its environmental impact. Solar water heaters harness the power of the sun to provide energy-efficient heating. Additionally, the house has soap water treatment cells and a gray water treatment cistern installed under the parking lot. These systems help recycle and reuse water, reducing water consumption and supporting sustainable practices.
Javier Senosiain’s world of organic architecture
The magnificent light coming through the windows of the tree house. (Arq. Javier Senosiain)
Tree House is a remarkable example of Senosiain’s unique architectural style. The 75-year-old architect is renowned for his innovative and avant-garde designs, including Quetzatlcoatl’s Nest and Nautilus House, both located in Naucalpan, north of Mexico City. However, Tree House stands out for its simplicity and sobriety compared to Senosiain’s other creations.
One of the most significant attributes of Senosiain’s work is his commitment to humanism and respect for nature. Tree House is a prime example of organic architecture, a movement that promotes harmony between the human habitat and the natural world. Senosiain’s philosophy is evident in the house’s integration into its environment in Celaya, creating a symbiotic relationship between the living space and nature.
Tree House not only brings a refreshing architectural style to the city of Celaya but also contributes to Mexican architecture as a whole. It is a piece of cultural heritage that strengthens the connection between nature’s and humanity’s needs for harmony and well-being.
Ana Paula de la Torre is a Mexican journalist and collaborator of various media such as Milenio, Animal Político, Vice, Newsweek en Español, Televisa and Mexico News Daily.
Australian Ambassador to Mexico Rachel Moseley (left) at a recent event with Mexico's Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto. (AusEmbMex/X)
Twelve years after coming to Mexico to work as deputy head of mission at the Australian Embassy in Mexico City, Rachel Moseley returned to the capital last year, this time to take up the position of ambassador.
There have been significant developments in the relationship between Australia and Mexico since her first posting to Mexico, but, as Moseley recently told Mexico News Daily, there is an opportunity for the two countries to collaborate even more closely and enhance ties in a range of areas.
With the publication of this interview with the ambassador, Mexico News Daily continues its “Australia in Focus” week, during which we are publishing a series of articles on a range of topics related to the Australia-Mexico relationship and the “Australian presence” in Mexico.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
PETER DAVIES: Hello Ambassador, thank you for speaking to Mexico News Daily. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your role in Mexico?
AMBASSADOR RACHEL MOSELEY: First of all, thank you for this opportunity. My name is Rachel Moseley and I’m here to represent Australia not just in Mexico, but also in Central America and the Caribbean (Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama). I have a Master of International Relations from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of European Studies from the Australian National University and the University of Bologna in Italy. Aside from English, I speak Spanish and Italian.
Rachel Moseley became Australia’s Ambassador to Mexico last year. (AusEmbMex/X)
Before coming here, I served as head of the Ukraine Taskforce and assistant secretary, Latin America and Eastern Europe Branch at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). I have worked with DFAT since 2002, both in postings overseas and in Canberra.
Overseas, I have served as deputy head of mission in Papua New Guinea and Mexico City; as well as second secretary in our mission to the UN in Geneva. In Canberra, I have had a number of positions including assistant secretary, People Operations Branch; acting assistant secretary, Security Policy Branch; and adviser to the foreign minister.
I am thrilled and honored to be back in Mexico, now as ambassador.
Mexico has a special place in my heart, I spent my honeymoon in Quintana Roo and my husband and I welcomed our first child here during my first posting to Mexico.
Work-wise, my three main priorities as ambassador are: first, to work on generating new opportunities in trade and investment, while also supporting Australian companies already operating in Mexico. Second, increase cultural and education cooperation, especially when it comes to Indigenous peoples. And finally, to advance cooperation on multilateral issues such as gender, human rights, climate change, non-proliferation and disarmament.
PD: How has the Australia-Mexico relationship changed in the 12 years since you first started working in Mexico City as deputy head of mission?
RM: Australia, Mexico, and indeed the whole world, are different compared to 12 years ago. In Australia, I think we are seeing more of a recognition of the importance of Latin America. Conversely, over the past decade Mexico has increased its focus on the Indo-Pacific.
This has enabled businesses to interact more with each other, which also creates people-to-people links as well. I hope to see a lot more interaction between our countries as more benefits are realized through the CPTPP with each passing year.
PD: What are Australia’s priorities in the bilateral relationship with Mexico today and moving forward?
RM: First, growing bilateral trade and investment. Mexico is currently Australia’s largest trading partner in Latin America, with two-way trade in goods and services worth more than five billion Australian dollars [about US $3.3 billion].
The CPTPP is the first free trade agreement between Australia and Mexico. Some of the tariff reductions under CPTPP are still coming into force, providing new opportunities to expand trade.
For example, under the CPTPP, the tariff rate on Australian barley exports to Mexico was cut from 43 per cent to zero. Our first shipment of Australian barley left for Mexico in January 2021, and the grain is now our largest export to Mexico. Malting barley is a key input for Mexico’s beer industry, the fourth largest producer in the world. Much of this beer is, in turn, exported internationally.
Ambassador Moseley at photographic exhibit at the National Indigenous Peoples Institute (INPI) in Mexico City in August. (Courtesy)
Australian investment in Mexico is also growing rapidly, led by companies like [oil and gas company] Woodside, [financial services firm] Macquarie and [infrastructure company] Aleatica. Their operations are helping to create jobs in Mexico, and they bring unique capabilities and best practices in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
As I mentioned before, we want to continue our cooperation with Mexico in the multilateral space. Australia shares many values in common with Mexico, and we engage with the world based on these. For example, Australia worked closely with Mexico in the UN Human Rights Council last year to establish a separate and distinct status for Indigenous Peoples voices to be heard in dialogues on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, a historical first.
Finally, we are working to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, including with our indigenous communities. We recognize that First Nations knowledge and expertise can be leveraged to help solve global challenges, including in areas such as climate change. Australia and Mexico both have rich Indigenous histories dating back thousands of years, and there is much we can gain from sharing experiences and best practices. For example, there has been interest here in Mexico in the use of traditional Indigenous knowledge in land management and fire hazard reduction in Australia.
PD: Australia and Mexico collaborate in groups such as APEC, the G20 and MIKTA. Do you see any scope for enhanced cooperation on a multilateral or bilateral level?
RM: This year, Latin America will be prominent on the international stage. Both APEC and G20 will be hosted in the region, in Peru and Brazil, respectively. And Mexico will chair MIKTA, a grouping of five middle powers — Mexico, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Türkiye, and Australia — united by a commitment to work together to build consensus and seek collective solutions to global challenges. MIKTA has just completed its 10th anniversary and remains just as relevant today. We stand ready to support Mexico’s chair year, and work together to bridge divides in the multilateral system, protect public goods and strengthen global governance.
As mentioned, Australia and Mexico cooperate closely on multilateral and human rights issues, but there is scope to do more. We both have highly experienced, well respected, women foreign ministers who are driving this engagement.
Ambassador Moseley (center) meets with other MIKTA member country representatives in Panama in December. (AusEmbMex/X)
Mexico was the first Latin American country to implement an explicitly feminist foreign policy. In a similar vein, Australia has adopted a First Nations foreign policy — one that projects our modern diversity and the rich heritage of First Nations People. This work is about ensuring First Nations communities share in the benefits of our international engagement, including trade and investment opportunities. We want to work with Mexico to share more of each other’s experience.
PD: The Australian Embassy has recently funded a range of projects in Mexico including ones aimed at preventing violence in public secondary schools and another that offered training to young female sports journalists. Can you tell us a little bit about Australia’s Direct Aid Program?
RM: The Direct Aid Program (DAP) is part of the Australian Government’s overall social development assistance program. DAP was created to provide funding assistance directly to communities for sustainable development activities through flexible small grants. Through helping people in need, we can show Australia is a supportive and trusted partner in addressing aid challenges in partner countries.
Ambassador Moseley (center) at a public school in Cancún that is part of the violence prevention program funded via the Australian Embassy. (AusEmbMex/X)
DAP projects engage a wide range of partners including community groups, non-government organizations, and educational institutions.
Although DAP projects cover a range of sectors such as education, health, water and sanitation, environmental protection, women’s empowerment, and gender equality, supporting people with disabilities, economic livelihoods, food security and human rights, each diplomatic Post around the world can define its own priority topics according to its interests in the countries they work in. This year, we focused the program on four main topics: gender equality, indigenous peoples, environment and sustainability, and human rights.
We always try to fund at least one project for each of our nine countries and in the last few years we have funded up to 16 projects, each with $20,000 Australian dollars on average.
PD: Knowledge of Mexico — and especially Mexican food — is increasing among Australian people. In your experience, could the same thing be said about Australia among Mexicans?
And what is the Embassy doing to increase awareness of Australia and promote the country as a destination for tourism, investment and education?
RM: Yes, absolutely! Through our social media accounts, we share a lot about life in Australia and have highlighted the stories and experiences of our alumni. In our interactions with the public, we have noticed that there has been an increase in knowledge of Australian culture, especially food and drinks.
Ambassador Moseley (right) at Cumbé Coffee Roasters in Mexico City. (AusEmbMex/X)
For example, we love a high-quality cup of coffee and that is something [Mexico City resident] Rafa discovered while studying in Australia. He has now opened his own Australian-style coffee shop in Mexico City called Cumbé Coffee Roasters.
On occasions we have partnered with Cumbé and other spaces to give away classic Australian treats like sausage rolls, ANZAC biscuits, lamingtons, and pavlovas. We are also thrilled that our famous Tim Tam biscuits are now available in Mexico and every Mexican who tries them ends up loving them. Finally, we cannot forget about our wine. This year we welcomed Trifon Estate Wines to Mexico, and we could not be more excited to give everyone a taste of the fantastic wines we produce in Australia.
In terms of education, the Embassy has strengthened its relationships with organizations that grant scholarships or educational loans and state governments. We have been present at major study fairs such as BMI Expo Posgrados, where Australia was the country of honor in the 2022 and 2023 autumn editions.
We are working to link Mexican universities and schools with Australian institutions to establish cooperation and mobility links. In fact, Australia was delighted to be the guest of honor at the 2023 Mexican International Education Association national conference.
Australia has also supported Mexican women who are early career researchers through the APEC Australia Women in Research Fellowships. We have had five Mexican recipients since the program began last year, supporting professional development through international experiences, strengthening our university partnerships, and advancing research that address shared challenges between Mexico and Australia.
Mexico and Australia are closer than they appear, and we want to share that with everyone!
In the last five years, Mexican embassies and consulates have recovered over 13,500 cultural pieces globally. (inah.gob.mx)
Thirty archaeological pieces have been repatriated to Mexico through the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles, California, as part of the Mexican government’s international campaign to recover Mexican artifacts from abroad.
The repatriation ceremony was led by Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena, who was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Cultural Development, Marina Núñez.
One of the pieces that was recovered with the help of the Los Angeles consulate. (gob.mx)
The collection of artifacts includes anthropomorphic figures, vessels, necklace beads and ceramic fragments that vary in style and are associated with pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico’s West, Central Highlands, and Gulf Coast regions. Some artifacts – several of which are Maya and Mixtec – date back to periods ranging from the Classic period (0-650 A.D.) to the Mesoamerican Postclassic period (1200-1521 A.D.).
Speaking at the ceremony, Bárcena announced that the process of recovering Mexican artifacts will no longer be referred to as “repatriation,” but rather as “rematriation,” since the pieces will be returned to the “mother earth” and their “mother communities.”
Throughout the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and under the slogan #MiPatrimonioNoSeVende (“My Heritage is Not for Sale”), Mexican embassies and consulates have recovered over 13,500 cultural pieces globally.
This campaign, which began in 2019, has also managed to prevent auctions of stolen objects or objects that belong to Mexico’s heritage in cities like New York, Paris and Rome.
To showcase the government’s efforts to recover stolen artifacts from abroad, the Chancery Museum of the Matías Romero Institute in Mexico City’s Historical Center is currently showing the exhibition “A Halo of Splendor: Repatriation of Archaeological Pieces from the Cultures of Mexico.”
With a display of 200 artifacts recovered through diplomatic efforts, the exhibition aims to promote an understanding of Mexico’s rich cultural heritage and how it has been recovered.
The exhibition will run through March and is free to the public.
The helicopter blade caught the edge of the flag, shredding part of the gigantic national symbol. (Gpo.Siade.Ac.oficial/X)
An Air Force helicopter destroyed one of Mexico’s “monumental flags” on Saturday when its main rotor made contact with the oversized green, white and red symbol of the nation.
The incident occurred at the military-owned Campo Marte complex in Mexico City, where a lucha libre wrestling event was taking place.
Campo militar 1-A Helicóptero Bell 407 No de cola 1957 de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana corta la bandera de México con las palas del rotor principal durante una parada aérea. Se aproximó demasiado al asta bandera, poniendo en riesgo la seguridad de la aeronave y las personas en tierra pic.twitter.com/DizxXvWPdd
The accident happened at a lucha libre event in Mexico City (Gpo.Siade.Ac.oficial/X)
Footage posted to social media shows three Air Force helicopters flying overhead, one of which — a Bell 407 — catches the red section of the unfurled “monumental flag” with its three-blade rotor.
Fragments of the flag — a sizable portion of which was shredded — are seen fluttering toward the spectators below. The flight of the helicopter didn’t appear to be affected by the contact it made with the flag.
The Ministry of National Defense didn’t comment publicly on the incident, but military sources told the El Universal newspaper that there are a range of “factors and variables” that have a bearing on “the development of air operations.”
The “bandera monumental” or “monumental flag” at Campo Marte is one of several that fly atop extremely tall flagpoles at various locations in Mexico. Former president Ernesto Zedillo initiated the monumental flag program in 1999.
There are three banderas monumentales in Mexico City, including one in the Zócalo, or central square. The others are located in Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Veracruz city, Cuautla and Iguala, the birthplace of the flag of Mexico.
After more than 50 years of diplomatic relations, Australia and Mexico's trade and interpersonal connections are stronger than ever. (Image generated with Image Creator from Designer)
Editor’s note
Welcome to the first Mexico News Daily Global Mexico series, exploring Mexico’s relationships with other countries around the world. We launch with “Australia in Focus”, a week of stories about relations between Mexico and Australia. What is the diplomatic history between the two? What do these two geographically distant countries have in common? What are Australian companies and individuals working on here in Mexico?
As the premier English-language source of news in Mexico, we are immersed in national political, economic and cultural events. We also see how Mexico is increasingly in the global spotlight — as a destination for investment and tourism, and also as an international cultural influence. The population of foreigners living and working in Mexico is diversifying, as are its economic and political ties with other countries in the region and beyond.
Be sure to check our site every day this week for a new story about the Mexico-Australia relationship, and stay tuned for our next Global Mexico series in March.
Kate Bohné, chief news editor
A deepening bond despite the distance
Three months before making a historic first visit to China by an Australian prime minister, Gough Whitlam became the first Australian prime minister to visit Mexico, where he met with Mexican president Luis Echeverría Álvarez in Mexico City.
“In Mexico, which is a leader of opinion in Central and South America, my delegation and I received an enthusiastic and warm reception, especially from President Echeverría and Foreign Minister [Emilio Óscar] Rabasa,” Whitlam told the Australian Parliament shortly after his July 1973 trip.
“I believe the visit has opened a window onto Central and South America; that in [the] future we shall have more frequent and meaningful contacts with Mexico and, indeed, with other Latin American countries.”
Just over 50 years later, Australia and Mexico remain geographically distant, but the relationship between the two nations has grown closer, just as Whitlam suggested it would.
A brief history of key developments in Australia-Mexico relations
Before we look at at the state of the bilateral relationship today, let’s first go back to the 1960s.
Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in March 1966 when the Prime Minister of Australia was Harold Holt and the president of Mexico was Gustavo Díaz Ordaz.
Those two men — the former Australia’s most famous drowning victim, the latter Mexico’s president when the infamous Tlatelolco Massacre occurred — never met, but their respective governments established embassies in each other’s countries.
Even before diplomatic relations began, Australian flag carrier Qantas established another important connection between Australia and Mexico, commencing in 1964 the so-called “Fiesta Route,” which linked Sydney to London via Fiji, Tahiti, Acapulco, Mexico City, The Bahamas and Bermuda.
“Plenty of Australians still have great memories of the Fiesta Route, including some very lucky Qantas employees,” Qantas says on its website.
A vintage advertisement for Qantas’ “Fiesta Route” to Mexico. (London Air Travel)
The service, which ended in the mid 1970s, resulted in many Australians visiting Mexico, giving a boost to people-to-people links between nationals of the two nations. More on such ties later.
While Echeverría didn’t visit Australia as president, just a couple of years after his six-year term ended he took up a post as Mexico’s ambassador to Australia, a position he held for just over a year in the late 1970s.
In 1982, Australia and Mexico entered into an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation, which provided a platform for collaboration that has increased over the years.
Eight years later, Carlos Salinas de Gortari became the first sitting Mexican president to visit Australia, where he met with Prime Minister Bob Hawke.
“I have come to strengthen the friendship and frank understanding that unite Mexico and Australia,” Salinas said at a lunch with Hawke in Canberra in June 1990.
During the trip, the Mexican president advocated greater trade between the two countries, telling the Australian Parliament there was “a great opportunity to intensify our trade relations and our cultural and tourism exchanges.”
In 1989, Reuters reported shortly after Salinas’ visit, Mexico’s exports to Australia were worth US $77 million, while Australia’s exports to Mexico were worth $30 million.
This century, collaboration between Australia and Mexico has increased in a range of areas, with the two countries signing memorandums of understanding on energy, mining, agriculture, education and indigenous cooperation, among other things.
Australian prime ministers and Mexican presidents have met on numerous occasions since the inaugural meetings in Mexico and Australia in 1973 and 1990, respectively. Several of the more recent meetings occurred at APEC and G20 summits.
Australia’s former governor general, Sir Peter Cosgrove, meets with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in 2016. (Gobierno de México)
In 2016 — the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Mexico-Australia diplomatic relations — Australia’s governor general at the time, Sir Peter Cosgrove, visited Mexico City and met with then Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto.
Australia and Mexico “share interests regarding global economic liberalization and regional integration,” the Mexican government said at the time.
It also noted that “Australia was Mexico’s 29th largest trading partner worldwide [in 2015], with bilateral trade standing at $1.6493 billion USD.”
Thus, the value of two-way trade had increased by more than 1,400% in the space of 26 years.
While problems are common in bilateral relations, there haven’t been any major disagreements between Australia and Mexico, perhaps due to the vast geographical distance between the two nations.
“The relationship between our people and our countries has always been friendly, prosperous and open, and this continues to be the case,” Cosgrove said in Mexico City in 2016.
The modern-day relationship between Australia and Mexico
Mexico is Australia’s largest trade partner in Latin America, with two-way trade worth just under US $1.95 billion in 2022, according to the Mexican government. Mexican exports to Australia accounted for over 60% of the 2022 total.
Cars, medical instruments, fruit and vegetables, and alcoholic beverages including beer and tequila are among the products Mexico sends to Australia, while barley, iron, steel and wine are among the goods shipped in the opposite direction.
Some of Mexico’s imports from Australia include wines, and Mexico exports tequila and mezcal to Australia. (Wikimedia Commons)
“In 2022, tequila consumption has increased rapidly, placing Australia as the third largest [per capita] consumer of tequila in the world,” according to the Mexican government.
“Other Mexican distillates, such as mezcal, have been very well accepted as niche products in the Australian market,” the embassy says.
While trade is one pillar of the Australia-Mexico relationship, joint participation in a range of international organizations is another.
Those groups include the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the G20 and MIKTA, a grouping that includes Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia.
“Mexico and Australia share topics of interest on the multilateral agenda, in particular, climate change, disarmament, human rights, trade liberalization, combating transnational organized crime and terrorism [and] nuclear non-proliferation,” according to the Mexican government.
As mentioned earlier, another aspect of the bilateral relationship — and one that goes beyond government ties — is scientific and technical cooperation. In a four-year period between 2015 and 2018, more than 3,100 Australian researchers collaborated with Mexican researchers on projects in a range of fields including medicine, agriculture, biology, astronomy and physics.
While it’s not part of the Australia-Mexico relationship as such, another connection between the two countries is the (admittedly minor) rivalry in men’s soccer, or football.
The Australian “Socceroos” might meet “El Tri” at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. (socceroos.com.au)
However, the two teams are yet to meet at a FIFA World Cup. Will there be a first World Cup showdown at the 2026 edition of the tournament, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada?
“Deepening” people-to-people links between Australians and Mexicans
People-to-people links are another important aspect of any bilateral relationship, whether they are between high-ranking political leaders, business people or anyone else.
According to the Australian government, people-to-people links — defined by the Lowy Institute think tank as “ongoing, biding friendships and business relationships between individual people across national boundaries” — between Australia and Mexico are “deepening, with increasing numbers of Australians visiting Mexico and increasing numbers of Mexican students choosing to study in Australia.”
Australian residents of Mexico and Mexican residents of Australia are perhaps best-placed to develop such friendships and relationships in an Australia-Mexico context.
On a personal note, I — an Australian resident of Mexico for more than 10 years — can vouch for my own strong people-to-people links with Mexicans, including within my family.
My wife is Mexican and our young son is a dual Mexican-Australian citizen. We hope he grows up as both a proud Australian, yun mexicano orgulloso.
The constitution of 1857 laid down the principles of equality, freedom and property ownership. (Shutterstock)
February 5 is an important day in Mexico’s political history — and a public holiday — as it marks the enactment of Mexico’s constitution, officially known as the Constitution of the United Mexican States.
Enacted on Feb. 5, 1917, after the Revolution, it is one of the world’s oldest constitutions still in effect.
Since its inception, the constitution has become essential to the country’s legal framework. It established a new social, economic, and political system to create a modern and democratic state and is the primary legal source for court decisions, rulings and laws.
In other words, it is Mexico’s supreme law.
Today’s story will help you understand how the Constitution helped shape the country you know today, and how it reflects Mexico’s current reality and the direction in which it is heading towards the future.
What was the political and social context at the time of the Constitution’s creation?
When the Constitution was enacted, Mexico was in the midst of the last years of the Mexican Revolution, an internal conflict that began in 1910 to overthrow President Porfirio Díaz’s 35-year dictatorship during a time of extreme social inequality.
Following Díaz’s resignation, the nation went through a turbulent period electing a new president while trying to address the social issues faced by the indigenous people and peasants. These groups were brought together by Emiliano Zapata’s well-known slogan, “The land belongs to those who work it.”
Finally, in 1917, Venustiano Carranza became president and enacted the Constitution, setting the base for Mexico’s new era as a democratic country.
This Constitution not only set the path to change the country, but was also revolutionary worldwide, as it was the first to include social rights in its text.
What were the key principles and rights the constitution recognized?
The Carta Magna, as it is often referred to in Mexico, was the result of two significant constitutions which came together after the Revolution — that of 1857 and 1917.
The constitution of 1857 laid down the principles of equality, freedom and property ownership. It abolished slavery and ensured freedom of religion. It also expanded various freedoms such as education, work, thought, association, commerce and printing.
The same constitution also established Mexico as a federal republic with three branches of power: executive, legislative and judicial.
Meanwhile, the 1917 constitution, which was built upon the foundations of the 1857 one, incorporated the social demands of the Revolution. These demands included the concept of more autonomy for municipalities, addressing workers’ rights, and implementing free and mandatory education.
One of the most important additions to the 1917 constitution was the agrarian reforms, which aimed to distribute land to farmers, provide them with legal ownership of their workspace, ensure food access and grant them organizational autonomy.
The lasting impacts of the agrarian reforms are still alive and regulated under a special commission called Agrarian Commission, and a special branch of law called Agrarian Law.
What are some recent big changes to the Constitution?
Mexico’s constitution constantly evolves to respond to current issues and social demands.
One of the most significant changes in modern history was the constitutional reform of 2011 in the field of human rights law. This reform recognized that human rights are not granted by the state; rather, individuals are inherently born with certain rights that the state must acknowledge and respect.
To align with this international notion, the Constitution replaced the term “individual guarantees” with “human rights.” The amendment also integrated the rights outlined in international human rights treaties into the Constitution.
Other recent modifications include the right to free development of personality; sexual and reproductive rights (which includes the legal termination of pregnancy); mobility; and other economic, social, cultural, electoral, and environmental rights.
These changes can tell us about Mexico’s current social and political context, and where it is heading in the near future.
The juicio de amparo is frequently mentioned in Mexican news. What is its relationship to the Mexican Constitution?
The juicio de amparo (amparo trial) is a trial that anyone can access to, to protect their human rights enshrined in the constitution.
In Mexico, the juicio de amparo is the most important defense mechanism available to anyone — whether a person or a company — who believes the Mexican government is violating their rights. This legal process allows individuals to act against the responsible authorities, whether due to their acts or omissions in carrying out their official duties.
A juicio de amparo can also be triggered by a foreigner, as was the case of French national Florence Cassez, who was convicted of helping her boyfriend run a kidnapping ring and later released. Her case is now a Netflix series.
The juicio de amparo can also protect someone from the effects of a new law, as happened last year with the anti-smoking law.
Who interprets the Constitution?
Like in the United States, Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) interprets the country’s constitution.
While there are several ways that the SCJN can get involved in a case, the most common one is when it takes on a juicio de amparo that it considers relevant to Mexico’s public life.
The SCJN’s verdict sets the direction for how authorities in all other branches of power should apply the Constitution.
How many times has the Mexican constitution been amended?
According to the Legal Research Institute of Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM), until February 2023, the constitution had been subject to 252 reform decrees, which means 748 article changes.
In contrast, the Constitution of the United States of America, which has been in effect since 1790, has undergone some 30 revisions and updates. These changes are primarily the result of interpretation (or case law), by the Supreme Court and other judicial bodies.
It’s important to note that in Mexico, constitutional reforms are just a first step toward changing how laws affect the average person.
To become a reality, a constitutional reform requires the creation of laws and regulations that enforce the provisions of the new text. Therefore, it can take months to years for the effects of a constitutional reform to become visible in the public sphere.
Gabriela Solís is a Mexican lawyer based in Dubai turned full-time writer. She covers business, culture, lifestyle and travel for Mexico News Daily. You can follow her life in Dubai in her blog Dunas y Palmeras
