The products were seized from various CDMX Paradise shops on Monday. (Shutterstock)
The federal government’s health regulator has seized over 1,800 cannabis products from a chain of stores in which former president Vicente Fox has a financial interest.
The Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) said Monday that it had confiscated 1,811 products containing CBD (cannabidiol), hemp seeds and “extracts of cannabis and other substances” from four Paradise stores in Mexico City.
“Open your franchise,” trumpet billboards showing former president Vicente Fox, a spokesman for Paradise stores selling marijuana-derived products. (Archive)
The regulator said that the seized products lacked “evidence of safety, quality or place of manufacture.”
The products were removed from stores in the Nápoles, Polanco, Santa Catarina and Historic Center neighborhoods of Mexico City. The Nápoles outlet was shut down because it hadn’t obtained approval to operate from local authorities.
Cofepris officials visited two other Paradise stores in the capital, but one was closed and no products were seized from the other.
The regulator said that the purpose of its inspections was to avoid the sale of “prohibited products” with misleading labeling and products that don’t comply with health regulations.
Protesters, seen here outside the Senate in April 2022, called on lawmakers to vote on the legalization of marijuana as the lower house of Congress did in March 2021. (Archive)
The overriding objective is to avoid such products placing the health of purchasers and other people at risk, Cofepris said.
It also said that it took 165 “samples of labels of different products” because they had a range of “irregularities in the information” they contained.
In addition, Cofepris said that it was carrying out “monitoring and legal actions” of companies that received authorization to sell products derived from cannabis “in the final days of the previous federal administration.”
President López Obrador said earlier this year that five days before the end of the 2012–18 government of former president Enrique Peña Nieto, Cofepris granted 63 permits to “commercialize products derived from cannabis,” with some being awarded to companies linked to the family of ex-president Vicente Fox, who is reportedly a part owner of the Paradise chain.
Cofepris official Bertha María Alcalde said that actions had been taken against officials who issued “irregular authorizations” with “surprising speed” in the final days of Peña Nieto’s government. Fox denied being granted any such permits.
Paradise, which also sells products such as bongs, pipes, marijuana grinders and papers, has stores in 25 of Mexico’s 32 federal entities, according to Cofepris.
The chain appears to be well-placed to sell marijuana buds once the recreational use of the drug is legalized.
The Mexican government is seeking to reopen a dismissed lawsuit over what it believes are gunmakers' negligent sales practices, which the suit says allow criminal groups to smuggle firearms to Mexico, where gun purchases are almost entirely illegal. (César Gómez/Cuartoscuro)
The Mexican government on Monday presented its case in favor of the reopening of a US $10 billion lawsuit against United States-based gun manufacturers and expressed confidence that its arguments will be “well received.”
An army official carries high-caliber weapons collected at an event for the surrender of firearms in Oaxaca in 2022. Such weapons are nearly impossible to obtain legally but are often smuggled into Mexico from the United States, where they are sold in many regions close to the border. (Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s case — championed by former foreign affairs minister Marcelo Ebrard until he left that position last month — was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in September 2022, prompting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) to file an appeal in March.
The SRE noted in a statement on Monday that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston had “heard Mexico’s oral arguments in its lawsuit against gun manufacturers.”
“… The Mexican Government seeks to reverse the September 30, 2022, ruling in which the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed the lawsuit,” the ministry said.
The SRE noted that the federal judge who dismissed the lawsuit, F. Dennis Saylor, ruled that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) “grants immunity to the defendant companies, even if the damage caused occurs in Mexican territory.”
The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was signed in 2005 by U.S. president George W. Bush. (Paul Morse/The White House)
It said that its appellate brief argued that the federal district court “erred in defining the focus of the PLCAA so broadly and in such absolute terms and thus granting immunity to the gun companies.”
The SRE said that in the appeals court on Monday, lawyers for the Mexican government made two points.
There is no provision in the PLCAA explicitly stating that it can be applied to damages caused outside the U.S. territory, therefore, it does not grant immunity to the companies for damages caused in Mexico.
Alternatively, even if the PLCAA is again held to be applicable, the actions and omissions committed by the gun companies fall under the exceptions to PLCAA immunity, so the Mexican case should be allowed to continue.
Both the U.S. and Mexican governments have agreed on the premise that violence in Mexico is often fueled by guns smuggled from the United States. At issue is whether or not the Mexican government is entitled under U.S. law to damages from U.S. firearms manufacturers. (Omar Martínez/Cuartoscuro)
“The appeals panel that heard Mexico’s arguments was made up of one female and two male judges considered to be liberal and progressive in their outlook,” the SRE said.
“The Mexican Government is confident that its arguments will be well-received by the court. Should Mexico win the appeal, the case will return to the lower court to be judged on its merits.”
Steve Shadowen, a lawyer for the Mexican government, said that a favorable ruling by the appeals court would allow Mexico to not only seek damages from gun manufacturers but also a court order that could help combat the thousands of murders perpetrated every year with weapons illegally smuggled into Mexico from the United States.
“What we want is an injunction to make these defendants start paying attention to their distribution systems,” Shadowen said. “And it’s only U.S. courts that can provide that injunctive relief.”
The Mexican government claims that some 500,000 guns are smuggled into Mexico from the United States every year. (Rebekah Zemansky via Shutterstock)
The Mexican government claims that some 500,000 guns are smuggled into Mexico from the United States every year and that over 68% of that number are manufactured by the companies it sued, which also includes Beretta USA, Colt’s Manufacturing Co. and Glock Inc.
Noel Francisco, a lawyer for Smith & Wesson, argued that Mexico’s lawsuit lacked allegations that gun sales by the accused gun manufacturers did anything that created an exception to the broad protections provided by the PLCAA.
“You have licensed manufacturers that sell to licensed distributors that sell to licensed retailers that sell to individuals who satisfy the requirements of federal law, but some of them happen to be straw purchasers,” he said.
A ruling from the Boston-based appeals court is expected in the coming months, the news agency Reuters reported. However, Alejandro Celorio Alcántara, the SRE’s legal advisor, said that a decision might not come for six to eight months. He added that the government was “optimistic” that it will receive a favorable ruling.
These weapons were seized by authorities in Nogales, Arizona, as criminals attempted to smuggle them into Mexico. (@CBPPortDirNOG/Twitter)
“The simple fact that … [people] in Mexico, in the United States and around the world are paying more attention to … [Mexico’s] legal arguments is already a victory in itself,” Celorio said.
In its 2022 lawsuit, Mexico alleged that U.S. gun companies were aware that their business practices caused illegal arms trafficking in Mexico.
The government argued that other arms manufacturers also design weapons to appeal to criminal organizations in Mexico, among which are drug cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Separately, the government filed a lawsuit against five gun stores in Arizona last October. In that case, which is ongoing, Mexico alleged that the five stores “routinely and systematically participate in the illegal trafficking of arms, including military-style ones, for criminal organizations in Mexico, through sales to straw purchasers and sales directed to arms dealers.”
Mexico's largest low-cost carrier, Volaris, is considering adding flights to the new Tulum airport. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
Head of Volaris Enrique Beltranena warned that although the new Tulum airport seems like a “good alternative” in the region, it is still too soon to make any decisions.
“I met the people of Tulum last week,” he said to reporters in a press conference when presenting Volaris’ financial results. “I think it is too early to say what we will do there, but from a market perspective, it seems to be a good alternative. We haven’t made any decisions yet.”
Buoyed by a strong financial performance, Volaris is considering adding new flights to its roster — though CEO Enrique Beltranena has questioned the need to fly directly to Tulum. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
Beltranena didn’t specify what the Tulum airport could be an alternative to, though he likely meant a good alternative to the Cancún International Airport, which consistently sees heavy traffic. The federal government has said that building the Tulum Airport is essential because the Cancún airport is “oversaturated.
The new Tulum International Airport is one of President López Obrador’s flagship projects, and together with the Maya Train, it’s slated to start operations before López Obrador leaves office in December 2024. In March, Volaris’ rival low-cost carrier VivaAerobus confirmed that it would be the first airline to operate flights from the new airport.
Brigadier Gustavo Ricardo Vallejo Suárez, head of the airport’s construction, told the newspaper El País that “it will have the capacity to serve around 5.5 million passengers per year and up to 32,000 operations annually.” According to the Defense Ministry (Sedena), 75% of arrivals will be of international origin.
Volaris’ second quarter results demonstrated a significant turnaround in its fortunes from the beginning of this year — when it started 2023 with a loss of US $49 million. According to the airline’s report, Volaris registered a profit of US $51 million in Quarter 2 despite operating expenses of US $731 million, which were 3% more than in Q2 of 2022.
A rendering of the Felipe Carrillo Puerto airport in Tulum. The airport is anticipated to begin operation before President Andres Manuel López Obrador leaves office in 2024. (Gob MX)
Earnings before financial income, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rents stood at US $212 million, 98% more than in the same period last year.
“The company’s Q2 results are in line with our expectations for the whole year, driven by lower fuel costs and a stronger Mexican peso,” Beltranena said in the quarterly report. “We will continue to focus on achieving a total operating income between US $3.2 and US $3.4 billion…” he said.
During Q2, Volaris also added 10 aircraft to its fleet of Airbus A320neos and A321neos. In the passenger category, the company registered 12.2% more reservations and served more than 8.3 million users. The number of passengers on international flights in particular grew by 34%.
Data published on Tuesday reported 32,223 homicides in Mexico last year, a decline of 3,477, or 9.7%, compared to 2021. (Rogelio Morales Ponce/Cuartoscuro)
Homicides declined almost 10% in 2022 compared to the previous year but still numbered well above 30,000, according to preliminary data from Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI.
Data published on Tuesday showed that there were 32,223 homicides last year, a decline of 3,477 or 9.7% compared to 2021. There were 25 homicides per 100,000 people, INEGI said, down from 28 in 2021. Men were murdered at a significantly higher rate than women, with 44.4 homicides per 100,000 males and 5.8 per 100,000 females.
President López Obrador praised his security cabinet, which he credited for the improvement in homicide numbers. (Presidencia)
Last year was the least violent year since 2017 based on both the total number of homicides and the per capita murder rate. Annual homicides first exceeded 30,000 in 2017 and have remained above that level ever since.
INEGI’s data showed that Mexico’s least violent year since 2011 was 2014 with 20,010 homicides. Compared to that figure, homicides in 2022 were up 61%.
Although violence remains a major problem in Mexico, President López Obrador said Tuesday that the data showing a near 10% decline in homicides last year was “very encouraging.”
“… We estimate that since we arrived in government, homicides have declined 17%,” he said, adding that a decrease of around 20% over 2018 numbers will be achieved in 2024 if the downward trend continues.
The five states with the highest number of homicides in 2022. However, this ranking changes greatly when numbers per 100,000 residents is considered. (Source: INEGI)
“This is a great achievement, it’s the fruit of the work that the security cabinet has carried out every day. The strategy of attending to the causes of violence is starting to yield results, because from the first day of government we started improving the living and working conditions of the people of Mexico,” López Obrador told reporters at his morning news conference.
INEGI’s data showed that two-thirds of all homicides last year were committed with firearms, while almost 10% were perpetrated with knives or other bladed weapons and just over 7% were the result of hanging, strangulation or suffocation. The type of aggression was unspecified in over 13% of homicides.
Based on total homicide numbers, Guanajuato was the most violent state in Mexico last year with 4,256 murders. While still very high, that number represents a decline of 1.8% compared to 2021 and 20.7% compared to 2020.
Homicides in Guanajuato – the majority of which occur in a relatively small number of municipalities – increased significantly in the second half of last decade, after remaining below 1,000 per year between 2011 and 2015, according to INEGI data. Confrontations between organized crime groups, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, are the main cause of violence in the Bajío region state.
The top five states with the greatest number of homicides per 100,000 people in 2022. (Source: INEGI)
México state, the most populous of Mexico’s 32 federal entities, ranked as the second most violent state, with 3,226 homicides in 2022, followed by Baja California, with 2,681; Michoacán, with 2,292; and Chihuahua, with 2,016.
On a per capita basis, the small Pacific coast state of Colima was the most violent entity last year with 113 homicides per 100,000 residents. Mexico’s largest seaport, that in Manzanillo, is located in Colima, and criminal control of the port – a major entry point for fentanyl precursor chemicals from China – is highly coveted by crime groups.
Zacatecas, home to crime hotspots such as Fresnillo and Jerez, was the second most violent entity on a per capita basis with 87 homicides per 100,000 people, followed by Baja California, with 70; Guanajuato, with 68; and Sonora, with 58.
Yucatán was the least violent entity last year considering both its total homicide count and per capita murder rate. The state recorded just 54 homicides in 2022, according to INEGI, for a rate of two homicides per 100,000 residents. Data showed that Yucatán has been Mexico’s least violent state every year since 2011.
The second and third least violent states based on total homicides last year were Aguascalientes with 87 and Baja California Sur with 89.
Coahuila ranked as the second least violent based on its rate of five homicides per 100,000 people, followed by Aguascalientes, where there were six murders per 100,000 residents last year.
While conceived as a bit of a finger-wagging exercise to suggest music with more "values" to Mexico's youth, the writer finds that AMLO's choices are pretty entertaining. (Shutterstock)
The playlist started in late June, after President López Obrador casually commented on the pointlessness of having a Mercedes SUV.
“What’s the use — like some song says — that I have my Mercedes Benz, a Mercedes Benz truck? As if material objects were the most important thing,” AMLO said before recommending that young people listen instead to music like the song “Ya Supérame” (“Get Over Me Already”) by Grupo Firme.
The song that inspired AMLO’s playlist: “AMG,” by Natanael Cano, Gabito Ballesteros and Peso Pluma, is an ode to the singer’s favorite ride — the Mercedes-Benz AMG G-class SUV — and the criminal work he did to afford it. (Warner Music Latina-Los CT Records)
Observers quickly realized that the song mentioned by the president was the international hit “AMG” by Gabito Ballesteros, Peso Pluma and Natanael Cano. The song is an ode to the singer’s dream car, a Mercedes-AMG G-class SUV, and the work it took to get it, namely “moving ice” (meth) and being good with numbers.
“AMG” is what’s known as a corrido tumbado, a genre that combines traditional Mexican storytelling corridos with elements of trap, reggaeton and more. Many are narcocorridos — ballads that tell stories of drug traffickers and their lifestyles.
In “AMG,” the celebration of conspicuous consumption, along with its drug references, earned the president’s ire and inspired him to share his own playlist of youth-friendly songs as a more positive alternative to corridos tumbados.
His decidedly wholesome playlist showcases a variety of Latin American music, mostly contemporary Mexican artists. For a deeper understanding of the songs, search online for transcripts of the Spanish lyrics — called letras — or for translations.
Grupo Firme - Ya Superame - (Video Oficial)
“Ya Supérame” — Grupo Firme
Musical genres: norteña, banda sinaloense
AMLO kicked off his playlist with a corrido he has previously dedicated to his enemies. “Ya Supérame” (“Get Over Me Already”) starts with a booming tuba and the question “What part do you not understand when I tell you no? The ‘N’ or the ‘O’?”
The singer tells his toxic ex to take a hint while celebrating his own emotional liberation.
“No Se Va” — Grupo Frontera
Musical genre: norteña (cover of Columbian pop song)
If you live in Mexico, chances are you’ve heard “No Se Va” (“Don’t Leave”). Grupo Frontera started recording covers like this one, of a track by Colombian folk-pop band Morat, in 2019.
Released last April, it wasn’t until late 2022 that this song really took off, driven mostly by viewers on YouTube and TikTok.
“Te Mereces Un Amor” (“You Deserve a Love”) is an earnest tribute to healthy love, woven from a mix of poetic metaphor and plainspoken affirmations. Singer and composer Vivir Quintana is also the composer of the feminist anthem “Canción Sin Miedo.”
She describes her sound as ranchero azul, a combination of ranchera music and the blues.
“Frágil” — Yahritza y Su Esencia and Grupo Frontera
Yahritza y Su Esencia is a Washington state-based group of three siblings. Last year, Yahritza became the youngest Latin artist ever to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
Despite being separated this year while oldest brother Mando regularized his immigration status, the trio released “Frágil” in collaboration with Grupo Frontera in April, and it quickly went viral on TikTok.
“Latinoamérica” — Calle 13, featuring Lila Downs
Genres: Hip hop, various
Puerto Rican alternative rap group Calle 13 once called this song “the most important track of our career.” The song is almost a hymn, celebrating the beauty, pain, history and culture that ties Latin America together.
Residente / Calle 13 & Lila Downs - Latinoamérica (En Vivo) [2016] HD
The version recommended by the president also features an appearance by celebrated Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs.
“América” — Los Tigres Del Norte
Genre:norteña
Another celebration of Latin American identity, “América” reclaims the word “American” as a way to refer to anyone born in the Americas. This popular version from “MTV Unplugged” also includes an extended break, with Calle 13 rapping part of “Latinoamérica.”
Los Tigres Del Norte - América (En Directo Desde Los Angeles MTV Unplugged) ft. Calle 13
“Tenías Que Ser Tú” — Silvana Estrada ft. Daniel, Me Estás Matando
Genres: pop, jazz, son jarocho
In this whimsical love song, Veracruz singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada slips between major and minor keys, accompanied by the Mexico City duo Daniel, Me Estás Matando.
Raymix, the “king of electrocumbia,” hails from México state. Before “Oye Mujer” blew up in Mexico City’s cumbia sonidero scene in 2015, Raymix studied aerospace engineering and interned for NASA, where he worked on satellite design.
“unx100to” — Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny
Genres:norteña, reggaeton
“un x100to” (“One Percent”) doesn’t really count as reggaeton. What it does have is a reggaeton-like beat with norteña instrumentation and Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, an artist credited with bringing reggaeton into the global mainstream. The song tells the tale of a breakup that the singer initiated but now regrets.
La Santa Cecilia - Monedita
“Monedita” — La Santa Cecilia
Genres: pop, cumbia and various regional Mexican styles
“Your life looks grim without the coin’s shine,” La Santa Cecilia sings in this anti-materialist manifesto. The song is obviously included on the playlist as a rebuke to the consumerism on display in many corridos tumbados, but don’t worry: the preachy premise goes over much better coming from the talented La Santa Cecilia than it does from AMLO or any other politician.
“El Poder De Tus Manos” — Intocable
Genres: pop, norteña, tejana
Intocable - El Poder De Tus Manos
In this romantic 2002 ballad, Texas’ Intocable pays tribute to the hands (of a lover, presumably) that catch the singer when he falls and heal him when he’s hurt.
AMLO’s last recommendation comes from iconic Panamanian singer Rubén Blades, the oldest artist on the list. Did AMLO get tired and toss out the name of one of his favorite songs to finish the playlist? Maybe, but it’s still worth listening to this song about the meaning of family.
Bonus songs:
“AMG” — Gabito Ballesteros, Peso Pluma and Natanael Cano
When was the last time you heard a trombone solo in a mainstream hit? “AMG,” the song that inspired AMLO’s playlist, has that and more, blending the horns of banda sinaloense with all kinds of other regional Mexican sounds into a hedonistic celebration of cars, girls, champagne and cash to spare.
Natanael Cano x Peso Pluma x Gabito Ballesteros - AMG | Video Oficial
There are corridos that don’t promote narco culture, but this isn’t one of them.
Though usually played down in Mexican historical narratives in light of the era's more dramatic events, the Pastry War was a sign of things to come in Mexico's difficult nineteenth century. (François d'Orléans, prince de Joinville, "Mexique 1838, Combat de Vera Cruz")
Though the name “Pastry War” may evoke images of bakers hurling eclairs and ganache at each other, it was actually something much more serious: the first French intervention in Mexico.
Called the Guerra de los Pasteles by Mexicans and the Guerre des Pâtisseries by the French, it was a minor episode in the long history of Mexico but one that had serious consequences.
The first fleet sent by Louis Philippe was defeated by yellow fever; it was a second, stronger fleet, led by Rear Admiral Charles Baudin, that actually attacked Veracruz in November 1838. (Théodore Gudin, Expedition of Vice-Admiral Baudin to Mexico [1839])
The Pastry War was short-lived, lasting approximately five months, from November 1838 to March 1839. But it began with an incident that occurred 10 years earlier. By 1828, Mexico had sunk into chaos following independence from Spain in 1821.
The capital had become lawless, with rioting and looting rampant. Elections were fraudulent, and the government was corrupt and in turmoil as presidents came and went abruptly, ousted by coup d’etats and executed or sent into exile.
The Mexican War of Independence was quite destructive, leaving up to half a million dead and greatly weakening the country’s productive capacity. The independence factions were also bitterly divided, making the 1820s and 1830s a time of major political upheaval and civil unrest. In Mexico’s first 20 years of independence alone, the position of head of state switched hands more than 20 times.
The treasury was in shambles, and Mexico had longstanding debts to a number of European countries, including France.
Capturing the Mexican officers Santa Anna and José Mariano Arista was one of the central goals of the French force that stormed Veracruz on the morning of December 5, 1838; they caught Arista, but Santa Anna escaped. (Petros Pharamond, “French troops assault a Mexican convent, attack on the house of Arista”)
In 1828, a man identified by history only as “Monsieur Remontel” demanded reparations from the Mexican government, claiming that drunk military officers had looted and destroyed his pastry shop in Tacubaya, at the time a quiet town on the outskirts of Mexico City.
Unable to secure compensation from the government, Remontel appealed to the French charge d’affaires, who took his case to King Louis-Philippe I in 1837, along with the grievances of other French citizens.
Although historical accounts focus mainly on the pastry shop episode, tensions were already running high between France and Mexico in the 1830s over a series of abuses committed against French citizens in Mexico, including French merchants having had their businesses destroyed in the Parián Riot of 1828, in which a mob of 5,000 attacked and looted a cluster of luxurious shops in Mexico City’s Parián market in the Zócalo main square.
The name “Pastry War,” coined by Mexican and European journalists at the time, conceals this context; historian Javier Torres Medina writes that it gives “a sense of ridiculousness and absurdity to a diplomatic conflict that was in fact very serious and complex.”
François d’Orléans, Prince of Joinville, observes the shelling of the fort of San Juan de Ulúa. (Horace Vernet, “Épisode de l’expédition du Mexique en 1838”)
The French king took the opportunity of addressing his subjects’ grievances to demand that Mexico finally repay its debt to France. Louis-Philippe issued an ultimatum to then-President Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera, demanding 600,000 pesos in reparations. Bustamante ignored the demand; Mexico could not afford to pay it anyway.
The French monarch insisted on payment and sent warships to blockade the port of Veracruz, Mexico’s main Gulf port, to force Mexico’s hand. Negotiations began, and at one point, Mexico offered to pay the 600,000 in installments, but refused France’s other demand: that France have access to retail markets in Mexico, something not allowed at the time.
After months of diplomatic efforts broke down, in November, France’s fleet began shelling the fort of San Juan de Ulúa, which guarded the entrance to Veracruz. Mexico declared war and sent troops, but the French captured the city.
This defeat created an opportunity for one of the major players of the time: Mexico’s former president Antonio López de Santa Anna. Held responsible by the Mexican public for the loss of Texas in the Texas Revolution (1835-1836), Santa Anna had been living out his retirement in disgrace. He rushed to Veracruz to lead defensive troops. The Mexicans lost the battle, but Santa Anna emerged as a national hero. The leg he lost in the fighting was buried with full military honors.
Mexico’s president during the Pastry War, Anastasio Bustamante, was leading a country highly in debt and with little in the treasury. (National Archives)
With its major port out of commission, Mexico was forced to smuggle goods out of Corpus Christi in the Republic of Texas, which hadn’t yet been incorporated into the United States. Distrustful of Mexico and wanting cordial relations with France, the United States sent the USS Woodbury — a 120-ton topsail schooner — to join the blockade.
When Mexico then sent soldiers to Corpus Christi Bay to secure their supplies, Texas raised a large militia and repelled them.
After several months of poorly funded battle, Mexico finally relented and, through British diplomatic channels, agreed to pay France’s 600,000 pesos in installments. In March of 1839, the French withdrew from Veracruz.
Soon afterward, Bustamante’s government collapsed, and Santa Anna — his prestige and prominence restored during the war — assumed the presidency in the interim before the next election could be held; it was his fifth time serving in that office.
Mexico’s former president Antonio López de Santa Anna, in a photo taken circa 1853.
Though relatively brief, the Pastry War was financially costly for Mexico. It added another 600,000 pesos to Mexico’s mounting debt with France, and the government had to fund the rebuilding of the Veracruz harbor. It had lost months of tariff revenue from its most important port, further weakening the country financially before the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). This lack of money forced the government during that war to accept a peace compromise in which it ceded half of its territory to the United States.
Mexico’s debts and diminished stature would also eventually make it a target for a second French intervention — which culminated in France installing Archduke Maximilian of Austria as the Emperor of Mexico in 1864 — giving France a foothold in the Americas and access to Latin American markets, until Mexico executed Maximilian in 1867 and drove the French out for good.
Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive and professional researcher. She spent 45 years in national politics in the United States. She moved to Mazatlán in 2021 and works part-time doing freelance research and writing.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has increased its 2023 growth forecast for Mexico to 2.6%, a 0.8 percentage point improvement on the 1.8% growth it predicted in April.
This improved outlook reflects the positive economic results Mexico has seen over recent months. Theeconomy grew 1.1% in the first quarter of 2023, exceeding analysts’ expectations and building on six consecutive quarters of growth as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
President López Obrador poses in front of a graph showing consistent increases in the minimum wage, a factor that has positively impacted the labor market and individual purchasing power. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
Analysts attribute Mexico’s strong performance to arange of factors, including a strong labor market, government welfare spending and the growing nearshoring phenomenon. Although inflation remains above target, it has declined to itslowest level in two years, while average wages in real terms are increasing.
Mexico’s Finance Ministry has made a similar growth projection of 3.0% for this year, while Gabriel Castillas, chief economist for Latin America at Barclays, believes Mexico could even be on track to exceed that figure.
These positive forecasts keep coming despite an apparent economic slowdown in May. Although the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) predicted 0.4% growth for the month, the recently-released Global Indicator of Economic Activity showed 0% growth.
High interest rates, typically a factor of concern when looking at a country’s overall economic health, could darken the IMF’s long-term economic outlook. Even though the IMF boosted Mexico’s growth forecast for 2023, it slightly cut Mexico’s 2024 growth forecast, from 1.6% to 1.5%.
Mexico’s central bank (Banxico) must decide whether to begin lowering the interest rate of 11.25% as inflation continues to slow. (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro.com)
At a regional level, the IMF increased its 2023 growth forecast for Latin America from 1.6% to 1.9%, largely due to the strong performance of large economies such as Mexico and Brazil. The 2024 prediction is slightly higher, at 2.2%.
The forecast is still significantly below 2022’s growth of 3.9%, which signaled the end of the COVID-19 recovery period. It would make Latin America the slowest-growing of the emerging market regions, but still a stronger performer than the Eurozone, which has projected growth of 0.9% for 2023, or the United States, which is projected to grow 1.8%.
Globally, the IMF predicts 3.0% growth for 2023, down from 3.5% in 2022. Its generalpolicy recommendations are that governments maintain measures to control inflation, while gradually phasing out pandemic-era fiscal supports.
Overall, it considers that the global economy has proved resilient in the face of the challenges of the last few years, but sees risks for the future: namely, in the fragmentation of the global economy into regional blocs and insufficient progress on the climate transition.
The state of Guanajuato has a young workforce, central location and infrastructure to offer as a destination for the medical device manufacturing industry. (Entrada Group)
Which country has the youngest population out of the three USMCA trade partners? That’s right – the indisputable answer is Mexico.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, the median age of the almost 130 million people who call Mexico home is 29.3, whereas the median is 38.5 in the United States and 41.8 in Canada.
The median age in Mexico is 29.3 years old, making for a competitive workforce. (Entrada Group)
Mexico’s youthful population is a significant asset to the country’s labor market, as large numbers of young men and women frequently graduate from universities and other training institutes and promptly look to use their newfound knowledge and recently-developed skills in formal employment.
The motivation of young Mexicans to succeed in the workplace and their adeptness with new technologies are among a range of other reasons why they are desirable employees, including for foreign companies setting up in Mexico to take advantage of the country’s proximity to the United States, the world’s largest economy.
While many major companies, both Mexican and foreign, are based in Mexico’s most populous hubs – Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey – at least partially because of the presence of large talent pools, certain other regions of the country are also attractive places to operate due to factors such as their location, the available infrastructure, their experience with and openness to particular economic sectors, and theirown young, educated and motivated workers.
One such region is the Bajío, especially the state of Guanajuato, where automotive manufacturing is a major driver of the local economy. Aerospace sector manufacturing has taken off in Guanajuato recent years, while the production of medical devices could be the next big thing.
(Entrada Group)
For obvious reasons, medical device manufacturing is an important sector, especially as the world’s population ages. Additional investment in Mexico’s large and growing medical devices sector will help to meet the growing demand of healthcare providers in the USMCA region and beyond – and could be a lucrative enterprise at the same time.
Whether a company is looking to establish a new plant to make medical devices, or contract out manufacturing of those products on an as-needed basis, Guanajuato is an attractive option.
Guanajuato: A Prime Destination for Medical Device Manufacturing
Situated about 250 kilometers northwest of Mexico City and bordering the states of Jalisco, Michoacán, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Querétaro, Guanajuato is an enviable location for medical device manufacturers. There are plenty of reasons for this, the most important of which are outlined below.
Guanajuato is Mexico’s leading non-border state for exports, and has a long history of manufacturing high-quality products across a range of industrial sectors.
There is less competition for top-tier talent than in northern border states – and labor costs are lower.
Guanajuato boasts a skilled and experienced manufacturing workforce, equipped with the expertise to drive success and deliver desired results on time.
The state is actively seeking investment from Mexican and foreign medical device manufacturers.
A new medical device cluster – Mexico’s first outside the border region – has recently formed. (More on this later)
Robust rail infrastructure and efficient highway connections facilitate the transport of finished products to the northern border and seaports.
Proximity to Guadalajara – a hub for medical device original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and component providers – means that companies can get what they need when they need it.
Bajío-based manufacturers and suppliers of auto parts are actively exploring new opportunities to diversify their businesses and reduce their reliance on a single sector. They have the experience and capacity required to quickly pivot to the fabrication of high-quality medical device components.
The state has been governed by the traditionally business-friendly National Action Party (PAN) for almost 30 years.
Covering an area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maryland, Guanajuato is Mexico’s sixth most populous state with over 6 million residents. The large population ensures the ongoing presence of a large, educated talent pool.
Educational institutes such as Universidad De La Salle Bajío and Instituto Sanmiguelense offer courses in fields that are highly relevant to the medical device manufacturing sector, such as biomedical engineering and industrial engineering.
Guanajuato’s Life Innovation & Technologies Cluster
Eight companies, including US-based Entrada Group and Lumitex, have joined forces to create Guanajuato’s Life Innovation & Technologies Cluster, which launched officially earlier this year and will hold an inauguration event in late September.
The cluster aims to promote Guanajuato as a national and global leader in the life sciences field, and will offer expertise across a range of areas to its members and partners.
Members will be able to tap into invaluable information about things such as local regulations, logistical strategies, supply chains, medical device sector-specific manufacturing processes and educational institutes.
Backed by strategic partnerships with Guanajuato’s State Training Institute, state government export promotion agency Cofoce and the Ministry of Sustainable Economic Development, Guanajuato’s Life Innovation & Technologies Cluster is fully committed to fostering the growth of the medical device sector and helping to improve healthcare outcomes in Mexico and around the world.
President López Obrador and U.S. and Mexican officials including Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Ken Salazar, Rosa Icela Rodríguez and Luisa María Alcalde met at the National Palace Monday. (@lopezobrador_/Twitter)
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has described as “very productive” a meeting with a U.S. delegation on Monday to discuss mutual security concerns such as drug trafficking and migration.
The U.S. delegation was led by Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar and senior drug control policy advisor Kemp Chester, among others.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall arrive at the National Palace. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
The delegation met at the National Palace with Mexican security officials, including Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodrígez, Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval and Interior Minister Luisa María Alcalde.
After more than three hours of discussion, AMLO released astatement on social media praising the meeting.
“We are dealing with the migration issue with a focus on respecting human rights and cooperation for human development, as well as [with] the fight against fentanyl and arms trafficking,” he said. “The ‘good neighbor’ policy is advancing without problems.”
Icela Rodríguez also hailed the meeting as “very good,” while Sherwood-Randall described it as “excellent.”
This visit to Mexico is Sherwood-Randall’s fourth as Homeland Security Advisor. (@lopezobrador/Twitter)
In apress statement released on Tuesday, the Mexican government highlighted several areas of cooperation to combat fentanyl trafficking, including “discovering, disrupting and dismantling firearms trafficking networks.”
It also praised commitments to address undocumented migration, including expanding legal avenues and joint development work in Central America.
All these issues have been tension points between the two countries in recent months, with the U.S. pressuring Mexico to do more to tackle drug trafficking and undocumented migration. Meanwhile, Mexico has continued to pursue aUS $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers for fueling illegal arms trafficking and criminal violence in Mexico.
Mutual security was also a key discussion topic at theNorth American Leaders Summit in January. Monday’s meeting aimed to build on agreements reached at the summit. A trilateral meeting will be held with Canadian security officials on Tuesday.
The delegation is Sherwood-Randall’s fourth official visit to Mexico. She last met with Mexican security officials on May 30 to discuss drug trafficking and the migration crisis. At his Tuesday morning press conference, President López Obrador praised her efforts to improve the bilateral security relationship.
“She has been in constant communication with us, and there are very good results in cooperation work,” he said. “We are working very well with the United States government; there are no fundamental differences.”
Founder of the Deportes Martí chain of sports stores, Martí experienced a life-changing event that turned him into a tireless activist for public safety and equal justice. (Diego Simón Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)
Mexican businessman and activist Alejandro Martí, best remembered for challenging Mexico’s political class with the phrase “If you can’t, resign,” has died at the age of 73.
Martí founded the Deportes Martíchain of sports stores, which grew out of a sports stand he ran at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City while still only a teenager.
Martí, center, with his wife and son Fernando around 2008, shortly before 14-year-old Fernando was kidnapped and ultimately killed. The kidnapping changed Alejandro Marti’s life, driving him to become a lifelong activist for public security in Mexico. (File photo/Internet)
The chain was wildly successful, and in the 1990s, Martí expanded his footprint in the fitness industry, launching new sports clubs and gym chains known as Fitness Center and Sport City.
He only became a well-known public figure, however, after the kidnapping of his son Fernando in 2008. The 14-year-old boy was abducted on his way to school and held for ransom for nearly two months. Despite the Martí family agreeing to pay over 5 million pesos for his release, he was found dead in the Coyoacán delegation of Mexico City on July 31 of that year.
The tragedy pushed Martí to form the nongovernmental organization México SOS, which advocates for better public security. A month after his son’s body was found, Martí was invited to speak to the National Council of Public Security, where he delivered a blistering rebuke that became a symbol of the struggle for a safer Mexico.
“Gentlemen, if you think the bar is too high, if you think it is impossible, if you can’t, resign. But do not continue to occupy government offices, do not continue to receive a salary for doing nothing,” he said.
Hace 12 años @Alejandro_Marti tuvo la grandeza de respaldarnos en la aventura de poner Presunto Culpable en las pantallas de cine. Nos ayudó así a rescatar una historia de injusticia perdida en el mar de la impunidad. ¿Qué será de México sin Alejandro? pic.twitter.com/dj6wtiPa4m
The eulogies for Martí came from far and wide, a testament to his impact. Activist lawyer and filmmaker Roberto Hernández paid tribute to Martí for using his visibility to support Hernández’s “Presumed Guilty,” a controversial 2008 documentary exposing contradictions in Mexico’s judicial system.
Although no information has been released about Martí’s cause of death, numerous public figures have expressed their admiration and condolences on social media.
José Antonio Meade, former presidential candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in 2018, described Martí as a “brave and committed man” who “turned his pain into a cause and demand for a better country.”
Felipe Calderón, who was president at the time of Fernando Martí’s murder, also hailed Martí as an “exemplary Mexican, enormously committed to Mexico.”
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