López Obrador says his government follows a simple formula for good leadership - fiscal restraint. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
There is no shortage of challenges in Mexico, but governing the country isn’t such a difficult job, President López Obrador said Tuesday.
Speaking in Culiacán, Sinaloa, at the opening of a new branch of the state-owned Bank of Well-Being, López Obrador said that his government applies “a very simple formula” to ensure that it administers Mexico well.
AMLO’s remarks came at the opening of a new Bank of Wellbeing branch in the Sinaloan capital, Culiacán. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
“Look, governing is not as complicated as some people think,” he said.
“We apply a very simple formula to make a good government,” López Obrador said, explaining that his administration’s first aim is to eradicate corruption to ensure that no one siphons off money that belongs to the people of Mexico.
“The [public] budget isn’t the government’s money, it’s the people’s money,” he said.
AMLO, who is just two weeks short of completing his fifth year as president, said that the second aspect of the government’s “simple formula” is “not allowing luxuries in government.”
The sale of the luxury presidential airliner earlier this year was part of AMLO’s election promise to reduce government excesses.(Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
Previous governments used public money to pay extravagant pensions to former presidents and provide “luxuries” to the “golden bureaucracy,” López Obrador said.
“Now, with this simple formula [for good governance] we’ve freed up a lot of public money for the benefit of the people,” he said.
“The majority of households in Mexico receive part of the public budget [via welfare programs], even if it’s just a little bit. Of 35 million families in our country, 30 million receive direct support,” AMLO said.
López Obrador has made combating corruption, eliminating government excesses and delivering welfare to citizens central aims of his administration. However, his government – like previous ones – has faced accusations of corruption, including in cases involving food security agency Segalmex and the Youths Building the Future apprenticeship scheme.
Some of the challenges López Obrador and his government face, and which will be passed on to the new president next October, are ones related to public security, energy, water supply and the management of migration flows.
A total of 240,988 arrests were made by the U.S. Border Patrol during October, an 11% reduction on the previous month. (U.S. CBP)
The United States witnessed a notable 11% decline in migrant arrests on the Mexican border in October, bringing an end to a three-month surge in illegal crossings.
In a press release on Tuesday, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a total of 240,988 arrests made by the U.S. Border Patrol during October, an 11% reduction compared to the previous month.
There was a decline in whole-family and single-person arrests at the border, according to the U.S. CBP. (Tomás Acosta Ordaz/Cuartoscuro)
Among these, 188,778 arrests occurred between official ports of entry, reflecting a 14% decrease from the 218,763 figure for September, the second-highest month on record.
Arrests had more than doubled over the previous three months as migrants responded to new asylum regulations introduced in May.
The decline in overall arrests was attributed to a 14% drop in family unit apprehensions, a 16% decrease in unaccompanied children arrests and a 7% reduction in arrests of adults traveling alone.
A significant development noted by officials was the resumption of deportation flights to Venezuela on Oct. 18 at the direction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This contributed to a substantial 45% decrease in arrests of Venezuelans, who had recently surpassed Mexicans as the largest nationality attempting to cross at the border. In October, there were 29,637 Venezuelans arrested, compared to 54,833 the previous month.
Venezuelans now make up the single largest group of detainees at the U.S. border. (Adolfo Vladimir/Cuartoscuro)
Total numbers of arrests of Venezuelans on the border fell sharply however, by 65%, in the latter half of October compared to September.
Panama has yet to release October figures for crossings through the notorious Darién jungle, which totaled more than 400,000 during the first nine months of the year, primarily involving Venezuelans.
Arrests of Chinese nationals rose slightly to 4,247, with 99% of them in the San Diego area, as more fly to Ecuador and make their way to the U.S. border amid a faltering economy at home.
While crossings remain unusually high, the September-to-October decline in migrant arrests may be seen as a welcome development for the Biden administration, which has faced criticism from both ends of the political spectrum for its immigration policies.
While migrant arrests are dropping, drug seizures have risen 860% since 2019. (U.S. CBP)
“We continue to enhance our border security posture and remain vigilant,” said Troy Miller, the acting CBP commissioner, who urged Congress to approve President Biden’s supplemental budget request for $13.6 billion in border-related spending.
In addition to addressing migration trends, CBP reported a successful interception of synthetic drugs, with the seizure of 753 kg (1,660 pounds) of fentanyl in October.
This is part of a broader strategy to combat the smuggling of such substances. Notably, in the fiscal year 2023, CBP seized over 12,247 kg (27,000 pounds) of fentanyl, marking an 860% increase compared to 2019.
The Puerto Rico-born crooner is returning to Mexico for 22 shows in the country. (Luis Miguel/X)
Seven sold-out shows in Mexico City and two concerts in hurricane-ravaged Acapulco are among the highlights of superstar Luis Miguel’s long-awaited return to Mexico.
The Puerto Rico-born singer began his career in Mexico in 1981 and is one of the country’s biggest stars, having sold more than 90 million records during his four-decade career.
Miguel’s tour has taken him across North and South America, and is scheduled to run until July, when it will finish in Europe. (Luis Miguel/X)
His 2023-24 tour of 43 cities has already been to Argentina, Chile and 20 cities in the United States, and the Mexican portion officially began Nov. 14 at Estadio Banorte in Monterrey, Nuevo León.
Tickets to his shows in the Mexico City Arena, starting Nov. 20, sold out quickly back in July. The tour also will stop at stadiums in Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, León, Puebla, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Morelia and Guadalajara.
The last time the 53-year-old known as “El Sol” performed in Mexico was in 2018 on the “México Por Siempre Tour.”
The singer was nominated for his first Grammy award at just 15 years old in 1985. (Luis Miguel)
After Mexico, the singer of the megahits “Ahora te puedes marchar” (“Now You Can Go”) – an adaptation of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want To Be With You” – and “La incondicional” (“Unconditional”) will continue his tour for another six months, with the final concerts set for Spain in July.
Miguel began his seven-week stint in Mexico with a private concert Saturday in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Value Grupo Financiero in Monterrey. One of the attendees was Samuel García, who is on a leave of absence as the governor of Nuevo León so he can begin a run for president, and his wife, Mariana Rodríguez.
Miguel’s most recent album, “MÉXICO por siempre!” (“Mexico Forever”) in 2017, was an homage to classic Mexican songwriters and went triple platinum in Mexico.
“El Sol” has also pledged 10 million pesos (US $577,000) to help the stricken city of Acapulco, an area with which he has long been associated. (Dassaev Téllez/Cuartoscuro)
It is expected that his 23 shows in Mexico will be attended by more than 500,000 people and will generate 5.5 billion pesos (US $317 million) of revenue for the Mexican economy.
A fan survey conducted by QuestionPro estimated that 75% of attendees will be seeing Miguel for the first time, indicating his continued influence and appeal to new generations of fans.
Last week, Miguel donated 10 million pesos (US $577,000) to help Acapulco in its recovery effort from Hurricane Otis. The Banorte Foundation, which matched the gift, announced the money will go toward the reconstruction of homes.
Three weeks on from the hurricane, rescue teams are still searching for the missing. Some in Acapulco say the death toll is far higher than official numbers. (Carlos Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)
Have authorities drastically underreported deaths from Hurricane Otis?
An Acapulco-based news agency director believes so, asserting that the real death toll is about seven times higher than that reported to date by the federal government.
Journalist Ricardo Castillo, of the Quadratín news agency, says the number of dead in Acapulco is significantly higher than official figures. (Screen Capture)
Almost three weeks after Otis made landfall on the Guerrero coast as a Category 5 storm and devastated Acapulco, the government’s official death toll is 48.
Citing information provided by funeral parlors in Acapulco, Ricardo Castillo says that the powerful hurricane claimed the lives of at least 350 people.
“There must be at least 350 deceased persons [counting] those whose bodies were recovered by their families, by their loved ones,” the journalist and director of the Quadratín news agency in Guerrero said in an interview with Grupo Fórmula.
“In addition, there are a lot of people missing,” Castillo said before declaring that the official death toll doesn’t “correspond with reality.”
The government asserts the official death toll is 48. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
As many as 120 people who were on boats off the Guerrero coast when Otis arrived were dead or missing, an Acapulco business leader said in late October.
After noting that federal authorities haven’t published an official list with the names of those who died or disappeared when the hurricane hurtled across the Pacific and slammed into Guerrero in the early hours of Oct. 25, Castillo remarked:
“We’re convinced that the official death figure announced by the president of the republic is far too low … [given] the magnitude of the tragedy.”
Castillo, whose own home was damaged, also said that people are dying due to the lack of available medical care in Acapulco in the wake of Otis, which caused widespread damage to buildings in the resort city, including hospitals.
At least 39 vessels went down in Acapulco Bay during the hurricane. As many as 120 people are allegedly to be missing from boats struck by the storm. (Cuartoscuro)
In another interview with MVS Noticias, he repeated his assertion that Otis killed at least 350 people.
Among other people who have questioned the government’s hurricane death toll is Ramiro Solorio, an Acapulco politician and leader of a group of residents who protested the government’s response to the disaster.
“The government wants to minimize the tragedy and hide the number of deaths, missing people and victims,” he said earlier this month.
At his morning press conference on Tuesday, President López Obrador rejected the assertion that 350 people were killed when Otis came ashore in Acapulco.
“Ricardo Castillo Díaz is the director of the Quadratín news agency in Guerrero, he was the one who provided the story,” he said before asserting that he had no proof for his claim.
“… Goebbels, the propagandist of Hitler, used to say: ‘repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth,'” López Obrador said, adding that if he didn’t hold a press conference every morning to set the record straight, the government’s adversaries “would have already overthrown us.”
President López Obrador last met in person with President Biden in January when Mexico hosted the North American Leaders Summit. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Later this week, President López Obrador will find himself in a place he has seldom been since taking office almost five years ago: the world stage.
AMLO, as the septuagenarian president is best known, will travel to San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit, at which U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be among the leaders in attendance.
President López Obrador with U.S. President Biden at a July 2022 meeting in Washington, D.C. (Presidencia de la República)
López Obrador has one-on-on meetings lined up with both Biden and Xi.
Speaking in Culiacán, Sinaloa, on Tuesday a day after celebrating his 70th birthday, AMLO told reporters that he will depart for San Francisco on Wednesday.
After initially announcing that he would attend the APEC meeting, López Obrador changed his mind, saying in September that he wouldn’t be going because of Mexico’s strained, “on hold” relations with Peru due to the ouster of former president Pedro Castillo in December 2022.
However, AMLO – who has described the current Peruvian government as “spurious” – subsequently announced that he would in fact attend the summit that brings together officials from 21 member economies, including the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, Canada, Australia, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan).
AMLO is expected to meet personally with President Xi of China, seen here with Marcelo Ebrard (left), the former foreign affairs minister. (Secretaría del Estado/Cuartoscuro)
The meeting with Biden
López Obrador is scheduled to meet with the U.S. president in San Francisco on Friday.
Speaking at AMLO’s Tuesday morning press conference in Culiacán, Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena said that the Mexico-U.S. border, the fight against synthetic drugs, migration and the U.S. DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) policy will be among the issues the two leaders will discuss.
Their meeting will take place four weeks after López Obrador met with leaders and other officials from 10 Western Hemisphere countries at a regional migration summit in Palenque, Chiapas, at which the participants agreed on 14 points to “jointly confront the migration reality” they face.
President López Obrador with the leaders of Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Honduras in Palenque. (Presidencia de la República)
AMLO subsequently said that he would raise the issues discussed in Palenque with Biden during his meeting in San Francisco. His central goal is to obtain more funding from the U.S. for development programs aimed at providing well-being for would-be migrants and thus deterring them from leaving their homes and venturing north.
“The president wants to speak with the president of the United States about how the United States can collaborate on these development projects,” Bárcena said.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Biden and López Obrador “will discuss ongoing efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico bilateral relationship and address issues of shared concern.”
They “will also discuss how we can continue to work together as partners to manage migration at our shared border and mobilize a hemispheric-wide response to this challenge,” she added.
López Obrador will meet the Chinese president and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday.
Bárcena said Tuesday that the meeting between the two leaders is “extremely important” and noted that it will be the first time they have a face-to-face conversation.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena will accompany the president to San Francisco. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)
The foreign minister, who will also travel to San Francisco, said that Chinese aid for Acapulco, which was devastated when Hurricane Otis made landfall on Oct. 25, trade and the supply chain for illicit fentanyl will be among the issues López Obrador and Xi will discuss.
AMLO wrote to Xi earlier this year to seek his support in the fight against fentanyl, as precursor chemicals used to make the synthetic opioid are shipped to Mexico from China, according to Mexican and U.S. authorities.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson subsequently declared that “there is no such thing as illegal trafficking of fentanyl between China and Mexico.”
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied that fentanyl precursors were being exported from China, and called the fentanyl crisis one “made in the USA”. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC)
Bárcena said that the fentanyl supply chain issue will be broached by López Obrador in his discussions with Xi, suggesting that his focus will be on “how to organize ourselves in order to have better control … of the exportation and importation in general of our products,” including precursor chemicals that are shipped from China to Mexico and subsequently used to make the synthetic opioid.
She acknowledged earlier in the press conference that fentanyl is manufactured legally in Mexico in some cases. Bárcena also said that precursors used to make fentanyl “mainly come from Asia.”
Following his meeting with Xi, AMLO is scheduled to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the foreign minister said said.
APEC and the Leaders’ Summit
APEC began in 1989 with 12 members and increased through the 1990s to reach 21.
The 21 member economies account for nearly 40% of the global population and almost half the world’s trade, according to the Associated Press.
Mexico hosted the annual APEC meeting in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, in 2002, when Vicente Fox was president.
Former President Enrique Peña Nieto (right) met with Vladimir Putin at the Da Nang, Vietnam APEC summit in 2017. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
Citing White House aides, AP reported that the goal for the 2023 Leaders’ Summit is “to try to make APEC economies more resilient, particularly in the face of growing climate issues and following a global pandemic that killed millions of people and strained supply chains.”
A bilateral meeting between Biden and Xi on Wednesday is set to overshadow the Leaders’ Summit, although the traditional photo in which leaders dress in typical local attire will no doubt attract attention.
López Obrador has largely avoided international meetings and events during his presidency, with former foreign affairs minister Marcelo Ebrard representing him on numerous occasions until he resigned in June to seek the ruling Morena party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
López Obrador frequently asserts that “the best foreign policy is domestic policy,” and has only traveled abroad to other Western Hemisphere nations during his presidency.
Mexico City's government is looking to limit the effect of short-term rentals on the property market. (Maria Gala/X)
The Mexico City government has proposed new regulation for digital accommodation platforms including Airbnb to address concerns about gentrification and displacement of residents in the city.
Martí Batres, Mexico City’s mayor (head of government), said the proposal was based on reforms to the local Tourism Law that would require Airbnb rental hosts to register in a database of temporary accommodation properties.
Mayor Martí Batres has announced that the city government intends to create a database of short-term rental properties. (Ciudad de Mexico/Cuartoscuro)
Under the new rules, each host would be required to inform neighbors about their intention to rent the property and report biannually on the occupation of the property to Mexico City’s Tourism Ministry (Sectur). In order to prevent mass buying up of residential properties for temporary accommodation, no host would be allowed to register more than three houses, apartments or rooms.
While annual tax would remain at 3.5% for hotels and 5% for digital lodging platforms, hosts operating a maximum three rental properties would have to pay an additional royalty payment, yet to be defined.
Batres said that the regulation responds to concerns of residents in neighborhoods such as Roma, Condesa and Juárez, where Airbnb properties have proliferated rapidly in recent years, contributing to housing shortages and rising rent and house prices.
“We are very interested in the tranquility of the residents of the different neighborhoods; that the residents do not feel that there is a situation of displacement, gentrification, that they are being expelled from their homes by new economic dynamics,” Batres said.
The proliferation of short-term rental properties has priced many local residents out of city center living. (Andreas Davis/Unsplash)
He addedon his X accountthat the regulation also seeks to address concerns about unequal competition with the hotel industry and a lack of safety guarantees for tourists who use digital accommodation platforms. “The proposal was agreed upon with residents, hoteliers’ associations and digital platforms themselves,” Batres wrote.
Though city residents have called to regulate Airbnb for several years, the first senior official in the Mexico City government to raise the question was former head of government and current Morena presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum. Sheinbaum’s remarks came in December 2022, two months after aplanned partnership with Airbnb to promote the capital to digital nomadstriggered protests.
While Sheinbaum said at the time that the city still aimed to attract more tourists, she acknowledged that certain areas were disproportionately affected by short-term rentals and could be at risk of becoming Airbnb-only neighborhoods without government action.
Since the start of this year, the number of short-term rentals in Mexico City has leapt by 17.5%, with the independent news portal Inside Airbnb counting 16,590 entire homes for rent in Mexico City via the platform in October.
Roma Norte, a hotbed for digital nomads and long-term visitors from aboard, has seen housing costs spike. Rents in the area can now go for thousands of dollars per month. (Keisers)
In July, Batres said that regulation for Airbnb could be ready within six months, but further information was needed to assess its gentrifying effect. According to Eduardo García Clark, Director of Digital Governance at Mexico City’s Digital Agency for Public Innovation, the newly proposed registry will partly address this need, providing comprehensive information on the size of the sector and how it evolves over time.
The proposal will now be sent to the Mexico City Congress, and is hoped to be approved during this year’s legislative session before it ends on Dec. 15.
Police in Aguascalientes have said that Baena was killed by their partner in an apparent murder-suicide. (CRISANTA ESPINOSA AGUILAR /CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Jesús Ociel Baena Saucedo, the first nonbinary judge in Latin America, was killed in a murder-suicide committed by boyfriend Dorian Daniel Nieves, the Aguascalientes state prosecutor said Tuesday.
Baena (left) was a prominent LGBTQ+ activist, working to improve conditions throughout Mexico. (Ociel Baena/X)
According to prosecutor Jesús Figueroa, Nieves killed Baena with a razor blade, then took his own life with the same sharp instrument.
“The magistrate’s body has 20 wounds, one fatal in the jugular, and his partner has wounds on his fingers that are caused, according to experts, precisely by the use of the blade,” Figueroa said.
Footprints corresponding to Nieves were found near the judge’s body on the ground floor, the prosecutor added, noting that the killer also went upstairs, where traces of blood were found on a bed.
The home’s main access door was locked, Figueroa said, and security camera footage shows only Baena and Nieves in the home — entering together at 1:16 a.m., roughly eight hours before their bodies were discovered.
Baena was a symbol to the Mexican LGBTQ+ community. Gatherings and protests have been held around the country since their death. (YERANIA ROLÓN/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
“The only two people who were on the property were the two of them,” Figueroa said. “We did not find any other evidence … to establish [that] a third person entered.”
Baena, 39, made history in October 2022 by being appointed to the Electoral Tribunal of the State of Aguascalientes, a division of the Mexican justice system that specializes in matters relating to elections.
As a nonbinary individual, they were an outspoken, respected and staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, with a long career in constitutional law.
Baena pioneered initiatives on behalf of trans children, same-sex marriage and gender-identity recognition, and made news by getting Coahuila state officials to re-issue their 1984 birth certificate with a box added for “non-binary.” Shortly thereafter, Mexico issued its first non-binary passport, to Baena.
Police in Aguascalientes have said that Baena was killed by their partner in an apparent murder-suicide. (ADOLFO VLADIMIR /CUARTOSCURO.COM)
But Baena also faced criticism, hate speech and other obstacles. In July, the native of Saltillo, Coahuila announced on social media they had requested protection from the government due to attacks and death threats.
Nieves, 37, a lawyer according to social networks, reportedly was chosen Mr. Model Mexico for Aguascalientes in 2012, when he was 26 years old. Reports say he lived in Mexico City.
Baena’s death sent shock waves through Mexico and beyond, sparking marches and gatherings in Mexico City, Chihuahua, Puebla, Guadalajara, Cancún, Morelia and Cuernavaca, among others.
Manuel Alonso García, Aguascalientes’ public security minister, caused controversy when he declared on Monday that the victims’ deaths were a crime of passion.
At the marches, people shouted lines such as “crime of passion, national lie” and “dissidents are killed in plain sight.”
At a rally in Mexico City, one speaker said, “We are heirs to a struggle that Ociel has left for us. We must not let his death pass in vain. We must continue with the legacy he left us.”
Volkswagen has announced that it intends to begin production of electric vehicles in Mexico, with a more than US $763 million investment in new facilities. (Volkswagen México)
German car manufacturer Volkswagen plans to start large-scale production of electric vehicles (EVs) in Mexico in the next three years, with an investment of several hundred million dollars.
Holger Nestler, the company’s Mexico director, told Forbes Mexico that Volkswagen is planning two investment packages to kickstart EV production at its flagship plant in Puebla. The first, a total of US $763.5 million, will focus on modernizing production processes and making them more environmentally friendly. The second will focus on the specific EV model it plans to produce, with details to be announced in 3-4 months’ time.
The electric vehicles will be manufactured at Volkswagen’s flagship Puebla facility, which has been a mainstay of the Mexican auto industry for decades. (Volkswagen México)
“You can count on it [large scale EV production within three years],” Nestler assured Forbes. “What we are doing today is preparing the facilities so that they have the necessary qualifications to be able to produce this type of vehicle.”
He added that Volkswagen plans to electrify not only the cars themselves but also the manufacturing process, to produce “a vehicle that eliminates fossil energy or even gas energy.” Part of the initial $763.5 million investment will go towards this goal, while $350 million will go to a new painting facility.
Volkswagen anticipates that the main markets for its Mexico-produced EVs will be Mexico, the United States and Canada, taking advantage of the free trade protections in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and growing regional demand for EVs.
“In the coming years we will see how this type of option will take up more and more space in the market, resembling those in Asia and Europe,” he said. “It is the customer himself who is requesting this type of alternative.”
Volkswagen plans to manufacture EVs for the North American market at its Mexican plant. (Volkswagen México)
Though currently low, Mexican EV sales aregrowing rapidly. During 2022, 5,631 fully electric vehicles were sold in the country, nearly four times more than in 2021, according to data from the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA). So far this year, 11,053 plug-in vehicles have been sold, including both fully electric and hybrid models. In August, EVs accounted for 1.22% of total car sales.
However, provision of EV charging points in Mexico has failed to keep pace with this growth. AMIA places the existing number at 1,189, while the National Autoparts Industry estimates that there are around 2,000 stations. These points are mostly clustered in Mexico City, Central Mexico, and the northern states. The ratio of cars per charging station has risen from three cars per charger last year to seven cars per charger today.
“Mexico falls far short of [meeting] the need for EV chargers that there will be in the coming years, and that is why it is very important to work on several aspects of charging infrastructure,” said AMIA director Odracir Barquera.
AMIA predicts that a government action plan involving manufacturers, charging stations and incentives for buyers could bring EVs up to 39% of total car sales by 2030. Without such a comprehensive approach, this figure would drop to 19%, the association says.
Chinese companies are renting or building new industrial spaces in Mexico to gain easier access to the U.S. market. (@autosenimagen/X)
The rise of nearshoring has significantly increased the number of Chinese companies renting industrial properties in Mexico, according to real estate market intelligence firm SiiLA Market Analytics.
SiiLA’s data shows that the number of industrial tenants from China has almost tripled while the number of occupied square meters in industrial warehouses increased by five times between 2019 and 2023, occupying over 1.8 million square meters in strategic locations across Mexico.
In the last four years, the number of industrial tenants from China has almost tripled in Mexico. (@ProLogis/X)
According to the Economy Ministry, there were 1,294 Chinese companies operating in Mexico by mid-2022. Earlier this month, the Mexican government announced that over 400 Chinese companies are interested in expanding their production in the country.
Some of the companies that have recently announced investment in Mexico are Chinese auto parts manufacturer Paramount New Materials, which declared last month that it would invest US $200 million to build a manufacturing plant in Saltillo, Coahuila.
Chinese manufacturer of motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles CFMoto, which already has 40 agencies in Mexico, will now build the country’s first all-terrain vehicle plant of Chinese origin. The project involves an investment of US $46 million in Nuevo León’s Vynmsa Industrial Park.
Another Nuevo León project was made public last month, when Chinese construction company Lingong Machinery Group revealed plans to invest US $5 billion in the development of a 10-hectare industrial park.
Chinese Lingong Machinery Group (LGMG) will invest in a 10-hectare industrial park to open in 2024 in Nuevo León. (LGMG/Facebook)
It is no surprise that these recent announcements all concern investments in northern Mexico. According to SiiLA, 62% of the total square meters of industrial space rented by Chinese companies is concentrated in three markets in the region: Monterrey in Nuevo León, Saltillo in Coahuila and Tijuana in Baja California.
These cities are also home to the four busiest border crossings in the country. As a result, Chinese investment in these markets is expected to continue growing in the coming years.
Since the last quarter of 2022, five out of every 10 Asian companies has been interested in establishing operations in Mexico according to Jorge Luis Baca, the Querétaro regional director of Querétaro for the real estate development company American Industries Group. In 2023 the developer has closed 10 projects with Asian companies, and it is in negotiations to carry out 15 more.
However, Baca told newspaper El Economista that there are challenges in consolidating investment from Asia.
“At this stage of relocation, one of the major challenges is the consolidation of infrastructure, meaning physical structure such as land, sea, or air ports of entry to facilitate the transfer of goods,” he said, adding that Mexico lags in the generation and distribution of electrical energy, natural gas, water and renewable energy sources.
Eric González at Casa Sierra Nevada, SMA. (Courtesy Eric González)
When MND spoke to his colleagues, guests, and the man himself, it was clear that Eric González Tenoriolives and breathes his passion for working with people and the hospitality industry. No wonder hewon the top award from the St. Regis’ Hotels Ambassador Program in Seattle for “going above and beyond” and has continued to receive international acclaim in his field. As the middle sibling of eight and raised with little means, Eric laughs, “All my siblings are married. I think I’ve been married to my job!” He’s on his wayfrom being General Manager of the classically beautiful and renowned hotel, Casa Sierra Nevada, San Miguel de Allende, to work his magic at Bowie House, Fort Worth, TX, after a trail of leadership positions over the last 20 years – spanning Houston, Anguilla, the Ritz Carlton Puerto Rico, and the JW Marriott, Cancun, Mexico City and San Salvador. Casa Sierra Nevada was awardedTravel & Leisure readers’ number one hotel in Mexico this past July. I had a burning question – what propelled Eric from his humble roots to such success?
Mexicans work hard and play hard!
First job as a bellhop at Mexico City Airport Hotel. (Courtesy)
“My brother-in-law got me my first job in a hotel as a bellhop at the Marriott Mexico City Airport when I was 18. I loved the people, the environment, and, yes, the tips! Before long, I was a concierge, meeting celebrities, getting invited to events, working as hard as I could and learning as much as possible about the trade.”
Growing up in the working class neighborhood of Delegación Iztacalco, Eric’s father taught him the value of arriving to work an hour early and always staying a bit longer. He says where he’s from in Mexico City, ganas, or efforts, are part of your DNA – which essentially means keep going, don’t give up and you’ll succeed. As a teenager, Eric won a football scholarship to high school in Van Nuys, CA, and would travel 2 hours each weekend to work as a bank teller at Bank of America. “I learned much about respecting different cultures and working with diverse people in California. When I had to return to Mexico to help my parents, the importance of genuinely connecting to people had become a part of me. I thought I would work in a bank, but clearly, there was another plan for me!!”
Why mentors matter
From all accounts, Eric’s leadership skills comprise a special knack for bringing the best out in his staff. “Happy employees mean happy guests, and business keeps coming!” he declares. He refers to his primary mentor, Sam Basu, as “the guru,” a humble, kind Indian who climbed his way up to the role of Director of Operations at the Ritz Carlton. “But this guy – who taught me so much about planning, motivating teams, being detail oriented – was a guy who was accustomed to being barefoot as a kid.” Sam’s father gave him good shoes for a high school dance, and they were so uncomfortable that he threw them in the river by the end of the night. He told his Dad, who was dismayed as he planned to return the shoes to the store. Eric and Sam share that unique camaraderie, knowing what it’s like to grow up poor with big dreams.
The morning I spoke with Eric, he’d texted Sam about Casa Sierra Nevada winning Conde Nast Traveler’s number two hotel in Mexico. Sam replied right away, as usual, and said, “Eric, you do better than me with guests. I learn from you.”
Eric tries to pay forward to his staff with that kind of motivation and confidence. “A successful day at work comes from a collective mindset of dedication to the tasks at hand, founded on humility, good heartedness, and a belief in your particular talents,” he says. Eric likes to acknowledge his team’s efforts like his other mentors, Manuel Leal and Tiago Sarmento. His employee of the year for 2021, Angela Martinez, won a 5-day trip to their sister hotel in Anguilla, which included taking her family. “There were some happy surprises”, he says.”This was her first trip on a plane!”
What keeps the guests coming back?
Some of Eric’s colleagues told MND his unique thoughtfulness has brought countless returning guests. When he worked at JW Marriott, he’d get koi fish in a bowl (naming them Pablo or Carlos, for fun) as companions for business people dining alone. “They’d laugh and take photos, telling me it made a regular business trip a little less dull!” he tells me gleefully. “And it often started a good conversation.”
With Naan Laws after her class with renowned artist Karla de Lara. (Courtesy)
Naan Laws, a well-traveled Canadian on the luxury circuit, came to San Miguel last winter and spent nearly 3 months at Casa Sierra Nevada. She departed feeling like family and having made long-term friends in the city, through Eric’s suggestions, with her Zumba teacher and hairdresser – who even threw her a going away party! “Eric got me a place at the first masterclass with renowned artist Karla de Lara. I was nervous to pick up a brush, so Eric found one of her books for me to study beforehand. I had a ball at that class.”
Chef Eduardo would personally call her to find out what she wanted to eat – would she prefer room service or the dining room? Would she like anything heated or kept in the fridge? Benjamin, the gardener, would appear with a bunch of fresh flowers for her at the start of each week because she loved the exotic gardens at the hotel. “I’ve traveled to many high-end hotels around the world, but I’d never experienced such warmth and so many thoughtful touches,” Naan concludes.
Mexico has a certain magic
“Well, Naan changed our way of doing business,” Eric tells MND. Over her 3 month stay, the staff learned a new and highly efficient cooperation system. “I encourage my team to be creative, to connect with guests authentically; there’s an art to knowing when guests need personal space, when to be right there for them, or when to offer a gesture that appeals to them personally.” Enrique Sanchez, Rooms Manager, who cites Eric as his mentor, offered to walk Naan’s dog Curly morning or night or help with her grocery shopping and transportation.
“Eric raises the bar,” Naan continues. On her last night, the new restaurant at the hotel, Tunki Rooftop, hosted its opening party, for which she received a hand-delivered invite. Blindfolded, she was led to the location, entering the cheers of all the staff and the riotous music of a mariachi band, and then presented with a video montage of her happy days at the hotel.
The boy from the rough neighborhood, the once bellhop who now directs operations at top-tier luxury hotels, always believed in being part of something much bigger. “I’ll try to take what I’ve learned about the importance of hard work and creating a family culture among colleagues and clients to my next spot. That’s a very Mexican trait! Working in hospitality in Mexico, you’re ultimately in the business of making friends. I can’t wait for the next adventure!”
Henrietta Weekes is a writer, editor, actor and narrator. She divides her time between San Miguel de Allende, New York and Oxford, UK.
