Spend a couple of dreamlike days in Tlatlauquitepec

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July 27, 2023

Children from Tlatlauquitepec, Puebla, participate in one of the Pueblo Mágico's many annual festivals. (Goverment of Mexico)

Don’t let the difficult-to-pronounce name deter you — because if we did that, we wouldn’t be able to visit half of Mexico; Tlatlauquitepec (Tlat-lau-key-tay-peck), Puebla, is an absolute gem.

Affectionately known as Tlatlauqui by the 9,400 or so inhabitants, this tiny pueblo is set around el Cerro del Cabezón, an area from which adventure-seekers can mountain bike, rappel, hike, and rock climb.

Cerro del Cabezón in Puebla, Mexico — Puebla’s breathtaking Cerro del Cabezón. (Government of Mexico)

My friend and I arrived at Tlatlauquitepec after a more-than two-hour Uber ride from the picturesque city of Puebla, our jumping-off point, to a variety of Pueblos Mágicos still ripe for exploration.

We checked into Hotel San Jorge, perched on the side of a mountain with an unobstructed view of the aforementioned Cerro del Cabezón, if you don’t count the hazy mist of fog that gracefully drifts across the mountain range for several minutes most early mornings.

Inside this charming hotel are clean rooms, each with a sweeping vista, a museum of quirky local artifacts and a traditional Mexican-style kitchen from which a homemade, local breakfast is provided each morning. The hotel is surrounded by flowers, fruit trees and a lovely orchid garden. Arriving from CDMX, the abundance of fresh, crisp air is a real treat. The owners, Lolita and Jorge, are jolly and doting, as are their staff.

After dropping off our things, my friend and I immediately tucked into one of the very few restaurants in town. Terra Restaurant has an extensive menu, most of which we bypassed in favor of fish. Tlatlauqui is just two hours from the coast of Veracruz, so the seafood is fresh, bountiful, and so delicious that we returned the next day for more.

Making tlacoyos in Puebla, Mexico — The writer learns to make traditional tlacoyos. (Bethany Platanella)

As we filled up on fried róbalo and copious tragos of mezcal, a guitar player strummed and sang Mexican classics. And then…it rained. Poured, in fact. From the covered porch where we dined we could enjoy the storm and fall deeply into this oh-so-romanticMexican moment.

After dinner, we strolled to the traditional zócalo (main square). There were a handful of casual eating establishments and, of course, a church. The town wasn’t buzzing, per se, but it was lovely nonetheless.

The next morning, I decided to take a cooking class while my friend wandered the local market. At La Cocina Tradicional “Doña Tere,” I learned how to make traditional tlacoyos, a pre-Hispanic snack of corn tortillas stuffed with delicious fillings like frijoles, habas (broad beans), or chicharrón (fried pork rinds). Doña Tere herself taught me how to knead the maiz, form the dough, stuff it and cook it on a comal — the traditional griddle on which many Mexican foods are prepared.

The number of tlacoyos I ate is none of your business, but I will admit that despite being stuffed to the gills, I proceeded to the zócalo in search of something sweet. What I found here was one of the best markets I’ve been to in Mexico.

The Thursday tianguis gathers vendors selling local produce collected from the top and bottom of the Sierra Madre Mountain range, which leads to a wide variety of fruits and veggies for purchase.

There is an entire section dedicated to fresh fish from Veracruz, which you can take home to cook or eat right there at the stand. It was absolutely brimming with locals, and my friend and I quickly realized that we were probably the only foreigners there (I loved it).

tlatlauquitepec, Puebla, Mexico — Tlatlauquitepec’s name comes from Nahuatl, meaning “colored place,” and it lives up to that name. (Datatur)

That evening, we had big plans. So we returned to Terra Restaurant for a mid-afternoon feast of fish and mezcal before our 6:30 p.m. pickup from the hotel lobby. We hopped in the SUV of a local guide and thus commenced one of my favorite activities — of all time.

From town, we proceeded to drive down the mountain, passing through a certified rainforest. We made several stops to soak in the humidity and snap photos of waterfalls, rivers and deep valleys.

We arrived at the Soledad Reservoir at dusk, a massive lake that’s 4 km in length. It provides electric energy to the nearby cities. For its hydroelectric use (and not because it’s stunningly beautiful and full of wildlife and delicate ecosystems), it has been protected by the government.

My friend and I slipped into some very gaudy life jackets and hopped into a lancha (small boat) with “Sixty”, a sixty-ish year-old man about 5 feet tall and strong as an ox who rowed us from one end of the lake to the other, without stopping, for a 90 full minutes. We passed only two other lanchas during our tour.

As the moon rose, the trees began to sparkle as if they were covered in Christmas lights. And they were, in a way, as July is prime luciernaga (firefly) season — giving us exactly the dreamlike vista we were after.

“I think this is what happens when you die,” my friend whispered to me, not wanting to disturb the tranquil setting; all we heard were the sounds of birds, bugs, and the breaking of the oar on the lake’s surface.

Boat ride in Tlatlauquitepec, Puebla — Not an adventurer? Perhaps a relaxing boat ride around the lake in one of Tlatlauquitepec’s lanchas is the perfect way to spend an afternoon. (tlatlauquitepec_pueblomagico/Instagram)

I felt immediately that she was right. When I arrive at the pearly gates of whatever-might-be-next, I had better arrive on this very boat, in this lake, with this view.

After wiping away tears of nostalgia and awe at the beauty of this experience, Sixty asked if we wanted to try rowing the boat toward the dock. While I wasn’t quite as adept as he was, it was the perfect ending to a perfect evening.

The following morning, we headed to the zócalo for a leisurely coffee and then accepted a ride from Jorge to the bus station, as Uber does not exist here. There are two stations one can use to return to the big city (Puebla in our case), but an accurate online schedule for them doesn’t seem to exist. (We missed our first bus.)

Our ride back took about three hours and landed us at CAPU, the less fancy of Puebla’s two bus stations, and within 20 minutes, we were snug in our hotel in the historic center. Over dinner, we raved about our days spent in the mountains and how soon we could feasibly return.

For those craving a deep dive into the contrasting layers of Mexico’s landscape, Tlatlauquitepec is a true Magical Town and shouldn’t be missed.

Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.

Gulf oil slick found by NGOs due to natural causes, says Pemex

By

MND Staff

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July 27, 2023

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oil slick in Bay of Campeche, Mexico — An oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is showing up in photos as spattered crude, covering an area that NGOs and academic say is 467 square meters and Pemex says is only 0.06 square kilometers. Locals are reporting crude washing up on beaches in Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and Tamaulipas. (Michael Balam Chan/Cuartoscuro)

The CEO of state oil company Pemex said Wednesday that an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico was mainly caused by a natural phenomenon rather than an oil spill and denied that it was as large as academics and nongovernmental organizations have claimed.

Using satellite images, researchers at the Institute of Geography at the National Autonomous University (UNAM) and the same university’s National Earth Observation Laboratory calculated that on July 12 there was a patch of oil covering 467 square kilometers in the Bay of Campeche.

Pemex CEO Octavio Romero held a press conference in Mexico City on Wednesday to provide Pemex’s explanation for the oil slick. He dismissed reports by academics and environmental NGOs about the size of the slick and said most of it was coming from natural vents in the Cantarell oil reserve. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)

More than 20 NGOs, including Greenpeace and the Mexican Center for Environmental Law, said last week that satellite images showed there was an oil slick of some 400 square kilometers — more than double the size of the city of Guadalajara — caused by an oil spill that the state-owned company had not informed the public about.

Pemex chief Octavio Romero told a press conference that the patch of oil seen in the images was primarily caused by natural seepage from ocean-floor vents in oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico’s Cantarell field. He acknowledged that a second factor was a “small leak” of light crude from an aging underwater pipeline in the Ek-Balam field.

Pemex said last week that the NGOs’ claim of a 400-square-kilometer spill was a “bad faith estimate,” and that the spill’s true size was 0.06 square kilometers, or 365 barrels of oil.

Romero said that the oil seep consisted of light rather than heavy crude.

En redes sociales pescadores y ambientalistas de Tabasco, Tamaulipas y Veracruz reportan la aparición de los residuos de petróleo en sus costas y playas, producto del gigantesco derrame originado en la Sonda de Campeche pic.twitter.com/AtH9kQH9KN

— #NCSnoticias (@NCSCampeche) July 26, 2023

Fishing boats and environmentalists in Tabasco, Veracruz and Tamaulipas have been reporting spotting crude in their water and washing up on their beaches.

“With the currents and waves,” the oil seeping from the Cantarell field — estimated to be 387 barrels per day — “is incorporated into the marine environment,” he said.

Romero said that the National Research Council in the United States has concluded that seepage is the cause of 46% of oil that leaks into ocean water on an annual basis.

The Pemex chief said that if the oil slick was as large as claimed by academics and NGOs, the disaster would be much worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill off the coast of Alaska.

“If an area of 467 square kilometers is considered, … Pemex would have had to have spilled 3 million barrels. If this were true, … the event … would be 12 times more catastrophic than what happened with the Exxon Valdez ship,” Romero said.

Cleaning up oil slick on shores of beach in Campeche — Local cleanup efforts in Campeche. (Michael Balam Chan/Cuartoscuro)

He also said that the navy flew over the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and Tamaulipas on July 18 but saw no oil patch.

However, in the last few days, crude has been spotted in the Bay of Campeche in aerial photos and has been washing up on some Gulf of Mexico beaches in Tabasco, Campeche and Tamaulipas, prompting local cleanup efforts.

Gabriel Gómez, one of the UNAM academics associated with the 467-square-kilometer estimate, said in a statement when they released their report that ocean currents would likely take the slick east-northeast to the Gulf coast in Veracruz, Tamaulipas or the United States.

Romero said that crude that has recently washed up on Gulf of Mexico beaches in Tabasco and Tamaulipas didn’t come from the pipeline leak. He insinuated instead that seepage was to blame but didn’t explain why the quantity of oil reaching beaches had appeared to increase recently.

Oil slick in Campeche, Mexico — Pemex says the oil showing up on beaches is not due to a spill but due to seepage from ocean-floor vents within oil reserves in the Cantarell offshore oil field — the location of a Pemex platform that caught on fire earlier this month, killing two. (Michael Balam Chan/Cuartoscuro)

Romero said that the delay in repairing the leak — which started in early July during the installation of new pipelines — was because Pemex didn’t initially have the required tools on hand. The firm said that it reported the leak to the Security, Energy and Environment Agency (ASEA) on July 6.

The state oil company CEO criticized the media’s reporting on the spill, saying that local outlets had “distorted” the news.

The pipeline leak began several days before a large fire broke out on an offshore Pemex platform in the Cantarell field. Romero said that the fire, which killed at least two workers and injured eight, was linked to a subcontractor’s failure to follow Pemex protocols.

“I can’t speak about it much because analyses of the cause of the accident are still being done, but it wasn’t due to a lack of maintenance but rather due to the failure [to do] a job that a company contracted by Pemex [Cotemar] had already scheduled,” he said.

A Facebook user posted photos of dead fish and smatterings of apparent crude on Baghdad Beach in Tamaulipas.

With reports from EFE, Infobae, Reforma, El Heraldo de México, Proceso, Reuters, AP and El Financiero

Mexico shows US $38M trade surplus in June as exports increase

By

Cat Rainsford

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July 27, 2023

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042e4dd8-10c0-4e1b-8423-d0e4e9add3fa — Car exports, up 20.5% compared to June 2022, likely contributed to the trade surplus. (El Mirador/SCT)

Mexico registered a slight trade surplus of US $38 million in June, with exports totaling $51.8 billion and imports totaling $51.76 billion.

This balance contrasts with a deficit of $3.97 billion in the same month of 2022, according to a press statement by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). The first six months of 2023 still showed a trade deficit of US $6.34 billion, however, this is 50.4% less than in the first half of 2022.

Manzanillo port — Mexico’s exports have been steadily increasing, but the country is still running a trade deficit in 2023. (Depositphotos)

Mexican exports in June showed an annual increase of 1.1% and a monthly increase of 0.92%, though they fell short of the March record of $53.56 billion in exports. Non-oil exports were worth $48.95 billion, up 3.7% from June 2022, which compensated for a 28.8% drop in the value of oil exports, to $2.85 billion.

Mexico’s non-oil exports include products from the booming manufacturing sector, such as the automotive industry. This has benefited from strong demand in the United States and companies relocating Asian plants to be closer to U.S. markets, a phenomenon known as nearshoring.

Mexico became the U.S.’s top trade partner in the first quarter of 2023, with US $196.7 billion in total trade, and maintained this position in April.

However, while Mexico’s non-oil exports to the U.S. in June showed an annual increase of 2.7%, those to the rest of the world increased even more, by 8.6%.

Oil rig in Pacific Ocean — Backward trends have been observed both in imports and exports of oil. This is partly due to the government’s policy of achieving energy self-sufficiency and exporting less. (Jaochainoi/Istock)

Meanwhile, Mexico’s imports showed an annual decrease of 6.2%, resulting from a 56.3% drop in oil imports and a 3.3% growth in non-oil imports.

Imports of consumer goods decreased by 11.5% and intermediate use goods by 8.4%. However, imports of capital goods such as factory machinery increased by 28%, again reflecting the boom in Mexico’s manufacturing sector. The same phenomenon was seen in May, when Mexico’s capital goods imports reached a record $5 billion.

The decrease in both exports and imports of oil may reflect progress in President López Obrador’s policy of refining more crude oil at home, with the aim of achieving energy self-sufficiency, rather than exporting crude oil and importing gasoline.

With reports from Expansión

Mexico hosts meeting of Trilateral Fentanyl Committee

By

MND Staff

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July 27, 2023

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Rosa Icela Rodríguez and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall — Mexico's security minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez (left) and U.S. Homeland Security advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall leave the trilateral committee meeting held on Tuesday. ( Galo Cañas Rodríguez / Cuartoscuro.com)

Mexican, United States and Canadian officials met Tuesday to discuss the three countries’ joint fight against fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.

A Mexican delegation led by Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez hosted representatives of the United States and Canadian governments in Mexico City for the second meeting of the Trilateral Fentanyl Committee.

Trilateral fentanyl committee meeting — Representatives from governments of the three North American countries met in Mexico City on Tuesday. (Rosa Icela Rodríguez/Twitter)

According to a joint statement published Thursday, the aim of the meeting was to “propel and expand actions on our shared commitment to combat the trafficking of synthetic drugs.”

The three co-chairs – Rodríguez, United States Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and Canadian National Security and Intelligence Advisor Jody Thomas – “reaffirmed commitments to jointly confront the deadly scourge of synthetic drugs, and discussed the steps we are taking to fulfill them,” the statement said.

Those steps included intensifying and expanding prosecution of drug traffickers and dismantling criminal networks; targeting the supply of precursor chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl; preventing the trafficking of drugs across our borders; and promoting public health services to reduce harm and demand.

Rodríguez said Wednesday that the three countries agreed to “increase and strengthen actions to cut [fentanyl] supply chains.”

Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez discusses fentanyl trafficking and immigration at the Wednesday morning press conference. (Rosa Icela Rodríguez/Twitter)

Each nation will ramp up supervision and inspections at “ports and borders,” she told President López Obrador’s morning press conference.

Chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl are shipped to North America from Asia, according to officials. The precursor chemicals arrive at Mexican Pacific coast ports such as Manzanillo, Colima, before criminal organizations use them to make the potent synthetic opioid, most commonly in pill form.

Groups such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel subsequently ship the drug to the United States, where demand for fentanyl is high and there is currently an opioid overdose crisis.

Rodríguez said that Mexico, the U.S. and Canada agreed on “the creation of a working group to stop traffickers of synthetic drugs using legitimately established commercial companies for their [illicit] purposes.”

National Guard members pose with apparent fentanyl pills and a sniffer dog — Crime groups such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel press illegal fentanyl pills in Mexico using precursor ingredients imported from Asia and then smuggle them to the U.S. (National Guard)

The United States last month sanctioned a currency exchange house that allegedly supported the CJNG by moving illicit narcotics proceeds from the United States to Mexico.

The joint statement said that the three delegations “committed to create an expert working group to identify challenges related to our respective legislative and regulatory frameworks associated with precursor chemicals, and related equipment.”

It also said they committed to establishing “an agile mechanism to promptly share emerging illegal drugs and drug trafficking trends.”

López Obrador, U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau established the Trilateral Fentanyl Committee during the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City in January.

Mexican officials have met with their U.S. counterparts on several occasions to discuss the fentanyl problem, and in April the two countries “committed to continue joint work to dismantle the fentanyl supply chain and the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on both sides of the border.”

Meeting of fentanyl committee — The trilateral committee was established at the North American Leaders’ Summit in January. (Rosa Icela Rodríguez/Twitter)

Some U.S. Republican Party lawmakers have asserted that Mexico isn’t doing enough to stop the flow of the drug to the United States, but Mexican officials have rejected their claim.

Marcelo Ebrard, who stepped down as foreign affairs minister last month, said in March that Mexico has been “the United States’ main ally in the fight against fentanyl.”

“Proof of this is that, so far in this administration, Mexico has seized a record amount of the drug — more than six tonnes — that has prevented hundreds of thousands of potentially deadly doses of fentanyl [reaching the United States],” he said.

In a period of just five days earlier this month, the National Guard seized over 820,000 tablets of “apparent fentanyl” in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

Mexico News Daily

From ‘The Adobe’ to Tesla: Mexico’s evolving auto industry

By

Travis Bembenek

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July 27, 2023

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Cars ready for export in Veracruz — Mexico's automotive industry contributes nearly 4% to the national GDP, and 20.5% of manufacturing GDP. (Shutterstock)

Some of you might remember a 1986 Saturday Night Live skit about “The Adobe”, a car produced in Mexico: “the first car to break below the US $200 price barrier”, using “German engineering and Mexican know-how”.

It was creative and funny – classic SNL – but also, in a humorous, lighthearted way, reinforced an image of Mexican manufacturing as cheap and low-quality. At the time, the thought of Mexico manufacturing a high-quality car seemed unthinkable.

The Adobe - Saturday Night Live

Watch this video on YouTube

Fast forward to 2023. Tesla, the world’s most valuable car company, announced in March that it will build its largest and most modern “gigafactory” in Mexico. How times have changed!

The automotive industry in Mexico has been an incredible success story accounting for nearly 4% of Mexico’s total GDP today, as well as 20.5% of manufacturing GDP. The industry employs over 1 million people. Mexico is seventh-largest passenger car manufacturer in the world, and produces approximately 3 million vehicles annually – of which nearly 90% are exported to other countries.

Auto parts production is an equally important industry here, and Mexico is now the fourth-largest producer of auto parts globally and is worth US $94 billion annually.

The automakers and auto parts companies with plants in Mexico represent the largest companies from around the world, including Ford, GM and Stellantis from the U.S., to Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen from Europe, to Baic Group, Honda, Hyundai, Jac by Giant Motors, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota from Asia. Many factories are located in the northern states of Mexico near the U.S. border, as well as in more central states like Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Puebla. No other country (other than the United States and China) has seen such a broad-based diversity of automotive investment.

And this investment is only set to increase. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – or NAFTA 2.0 – went into effect in 2020, and has some significant provisions affecting the automotive sector. In particular, it requires that by the end of 2023, a minimum of 75% (up from 62.5% under NAFTA) of a vehicle’s content must be produced in North America. This is leading to significant additional investment in Mexico, to ensure that the minimum content percentage is met.

So beyond the immediate job creation and investment, why is this such a big deal for the future of Mexico? Car manufacturers are some of the most sophisticated companies in the world. They have cutting-edge experience in everything from engineering to plant efficiency to water and energy saving practices, to safety culture and logistics. The fact that these companies from around the world have chosen to invest in Mexico has had and will continue to have huge collateral benefits to the economy.

These companies need a well-educated workforce, and also spend significant sums of money to provide additional training on the most advanced business and manufacturing practices in the world to their employees.

These skilled employees then become a source of talent for other industries looking to invest and grow in Mexico. An example is the recently formed Medical Device and Medical Equipment Cluster in the state of Guanajuato. Part of the reason that the cluster chose to open in the state was a well-trained technical workforce already in place as a result of a significant automotive industry presence.

In other words, the “snowball effect” of such significant automotive manufacturing investment from around the world has already begun, and is in fact accelerating. The big auto companies moved first, then the parts companies followed them, and now companies from other industries are coming to take advantage of the skilled workforce. It’s a cycle of investment, education and training that will continue to lead to further investment, job creation, and better standards of living for millions of Mexicans.

That Saturday Night Live skit was funny back in the day, but the strength of Mexico’s automotive manufacturing industry and the benefits it brings to the country today are nothing to laugh at. It is yet another example of the evolution of Mexico on the global economic stage.

Economy Minister: Isthmus corridor will contribute up to 5% of GDP

By

MND Staff

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July 27, 2023

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RaquelBuenrostro_850 — Bidding is underway for the development of an industrial corridor to link the ports of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz and Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. The winning companies will be announced Nov. 17. (Twitter)

The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) project will represent as much as 5% of Mexico’s GDP once operational, according to Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro.

In a press conference, Buenrostro gave an update on the bidding process for five of the 10 development poles, or hubs, of the CIIT, saying that once the project is up and running “with all of the planned investments of the anchor companies, [the corridor] will contribute between 3 and 5 percent of GDP.”

AMLO at Tuesday press conference — The president shows the planned trans-isthmus railway project. (Gob MX)

The project will include 10 industrial parks and also seeks to rehabilitate a 300-km (186-mile) railway between the port of Coatzacoalcos, in the Gulf state of Veracruz, and the Pacific port of Salina Cruz, in the state of Oaxaca.

The first phase will include five poles (four in Veracruz and one in Oaxaca) designated as Coatzacoalcos 1, Coatzacoalcos II, Texistepec, Juan Evangelista and Salina Cruz. Sixty-five development companies have expressed interest in investing, and several of them are considering more than one of the hubs, Buenrostro said.

“Of those 65 participating companies, several are interested in various poles. Each pole has more than 30 companies interested,” she told reporters.

Each of these companies has investment plans ranging from US $10 million to US $1 billion, with the capacity to create between 400 and 500 jobs. According to Buenrostro, the winning companies will be those that commit to a solid investment and a socially conscious vision, meaning that the companies bring well-paid jobs that contribute to the community and to local needs.

When completed, the corridor will have 10 industrial parks, which are expected to greatly contribute to the economic development of southeastern Mexico. (Gob MX)

“[It] is a development project with an economic trigger, linked to the integration of companies and society,” she said, comparing the project to the Panama Canal.

The public tender process will end on Nov. 17, and the winning companies will be announced that same day, Buenrostro concluded.

Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara Cruz and Veracruz Governor Cuitláhuac García Jiménez announced several tax incentives for investors that include a 100% exemption applied to income tax in the first three fiscal years and a 50% exemption during the subsequent three years. Payroll tax will also be exempted along the same schedule if the company employs at least 20% women, 5% older adults, and 10% young adults who are starting their professional lives, they said.

Other incentives the governors offered included excise tax for cargo transport vehicles, transport vehicles of up to 15 passengers, boats and motorcycles and discounts on municipal and state permits.

With reports from Forbes Online, La Jornada and El Economista

Average Mexican household income rose by 11% from 2020–2022

By

Cat Rainsford

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July 27, 2023

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Woman working in Morelia — Many Mexicans have recovered economic ground lost during the pandemic. (Dennis Schrader/Unsplash)

The average Mexican household earned 63,695 pesos (US $3,800) each quarter in 2022, an 11% increase from 2020 that resulted in Mexicans recovering economic ground lost during the pandemic. In addition, the gap between the richest and poorest of Mexico decreased.

However, when reaching further back before the pandemic’s start in March 2020, average household income rose 4.6% compared to 2018 and 0.2% from 2016 in real terms, according to the 2022 National Household Income and Expenditure Survey, prepared every two years by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

When comparing 2018 and 2022, household incomes have seen an on average 4.6% increase and more evening out of wage inequality, although the ratio between the top tenth and bottom tenth of earnings is still 15:1.

The recovery from 2021–2022’s losses was largely accounted for by income increases among the poor that resulted in a more even national income distribution than in previous years. The richest tenth of households earned 15 times more than the poorest tenth, compared to an 18:1 ratio in 2018 and a 21:1 ratio in 2016.

Large racial and gender inequalities remain. People who identify as Indigenous earned 24.5% less than the national average in 2022, while speakers of Indigenous languages earned 43.9% less. Women earned 35% less than men.

Paid labor accounted for 65.7% of Mexican household income in 2022, while transfers — such as remittances, government programs and pensions — accounted for 17.2%. Remittances increased 39.2% from 2020 while welfare payments increased 33.6%.

Average quarterly expenditure per household was 39,965 pesos (US $2,385) — 17.2% more than in 2020 but only 2.1% more than in 2018. Of this, 37.7% went to food, beverages and tobacco, 19.3% went to transport and communications, and 9.8% went to education and leisure.

Woman working in a Mexican supermarket — Despite efforts by the government to curb inflation on basic foodstuffs, one of Mexican household’s sharpest expenditure increases have been on food. (A00232386/Wikimedia Commons)

The sharpest increases in expenditure were on food and health, while spending on education dropped 17.3% from 2018. Combined, these three areas represented 70% of household expenditures.

The results drew mixed evaluations of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s economic policies. He took office in 2018.

Alejandro Sierra Peón, president of the National Federation of Economists, told El Economista that the INEGI’s results showed that public policies have helped Mexican families recover from the effects of the pandemic. But he agreed that more must be done.

“Compared only to 2020, there is an increase of 11%, but 2020 was in the midst of the pandemic. What should be more remarkable is that people’s income is at the same level as it was in 2016,” Valerio Moy, general director of the think-tank the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) told the newspaper El Economista. “These have been lost years for the Mexican economy.”

Mexico's President Lopez Obrador — While the numbers drew mixed reviews from some economic analysts, President Lopez Obrador said he was pleased, especially with the reduced gap between Mexico’s lowest and highest wages. (Presidencia)

President López Obrador, however, hailed decreasing income inequality as a sign that his welfare policies are working. AMLO’s government has raised the minimum wage every year since taking office and increased social programs for the poor.

In his Thursday morning press conference, AMLO stressed that Mexico’s poorest earn 20.4% more today in real terms than they did in 2016, while increases in average income have also been seen among marginalized groups such as older workers and Indigenous people.

“These are the results that make me very happy,” he said.

With reports from La Jornada and El Economista

Reinventing surrealism, according to artist Jorge Domínguez Cruz

By

Leigh Thelmadatter

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July 26, 2023

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Art by Jorge Dominguez Cruz — Cruz has also reinterpreted classic iconography, such as the Mona Lisa, in his distinctive style (Jorge Domínguez Cruz)

When we think of surrealist art, we think of names like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Max Ernst. Mexico welcomed Surrealist artists like Leonora Carrington, Alice Rahon, Wolfgang Paalen who were escaping war in Europe.

Surrealism waned in Mexico, but it never disappeared because something about it appeals to the country’s psyche. Although not “avant garde,” there are still artists here taking its precepts reworking them for their own purposes.

Dominguez hard at work in his studio. (Jorge Domínguez Cruz)

One such maestro is Huastec (Tenek) artist Jorge Domínguez Cruz, who combines his people’s cosmovisión, his agricultural upbringing and his own philosophical reflection to create what he calls “Indigenous surrealism.”

“I make what my heart tells me,” Domínguez says.

Through his art, Domínguez has made himself an ambassador for his people and by extension, the Huasteca in general, an ethnic/geographical region that stretches over the states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Puebla, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí and Querétaro.

Such a destiny would have seemed impossible when he was a child.

Art by Domínguez Cruz: “San Jorge y su retorno” (Saint George’s Return). (Jorge Domínguez Cruz)

Born as the second to last of eight children to peasant farmers, Domínguez comes from a long line of people who farm the land around Mata de Otate. Approximately 70% of the town’s 450 people live in poverty. 80% are Indigenous, but it is the other 20% that control the politics and economy.

Most of his childhood was spent doing chores related to growing corn, beans and chili peppers, but “…painting came from deep within when I was a small child,” he says. “It was a force that I could not control, and it obliged me to draw and paint with what I could.”

Poverty alone might have been enough to hold him back, but another aspect was equally limiting.

According to Domínguez, children simply did not spend time drawing and painting in Mata de Otate. With no support at home, he hid his passion, teaching himself everything, including making his own paints from flowers and brushes with animal hair. Referring to himself as a “stubborn” child, Domínguez was determined to make art however he could, no matter what anyone else thought.

a canvas — Untitled work — if you look closely along the bottom of the work, you can see letters spelling out “México.” (Leigh Thelmadatter)

But school encouraged him, providing him with textbooks with images of western and Mexican art. Some teachers even gave him paints. By middle school, he began to enter his work in state and national competitions. Soon afterward, he dropped to join older siblings in Mexico City.

“[Here], I discovered everything I wanted: museums, galleries, libraries. It opened a new world for me, and I discovered artists such as Salvador Dalí and … I identified very much with his way of making art.”

That way of making art includes bright colors on landscapes and scenes with multiple dreamlike elements, often with recognizable elements of northern Veracruz and Huastec culture. Figures interact not as they would in the real world but in ways that reflect Domínguez’s inner world.

Although it’s not been easy, Domínguez has been fortunate to have people discover his work and support what he does. An employer helped him get works in antique shops. This did not bring in much, but a customer encouraged him to enter a work in a competition and get himself online.

This brought more invitations to exhibit, most importantly one in 2016 by a cultural promoter in Los Angeles, where Domínguez’s work was sponsored by the Mexican consulate.

Huastec artist Jorge Dominguez Cruz — Dominguez Cruz’s art has taken him places. Here he’s seen painting in Dallas in August 2022. (Jorge Domínguez Cruz/Instagram)

“After this, so many people began to invite me to exhibit in other countries, and … my works have reached places I would have never imagined,” says Domínguez.

Those places include Canada, the U.S., Europe and Cuba. Currently, Domínguez is negotiating for a commission to paint a mural at the Texas State Fairgrounds and an exhibition at the fair.

However, national newspaper La Jornada accuses Mexico of ignoring the artist while he “triumphs” abroad, as he has been all but ignored in his own country. Domínguez wonders if it is because he is Indigenous, but I’d venture to say that the art market in Mexico City is not particularly friendly to older art styles.

But things might just be changing. One example: he received support from noted television personality Jacaranda Domínguez on her show “Debate 22,” normally reserved for political topics.

Presentation at the Centro Cultural Filogonio Naxín in Coyoacan, Mexico City, with the artists, the owners of the cultural space and a Huapango group from Domínguez’s hometown. (Leigh Thelmadatter)

Also, the Pedro and Ana Hernández Foundation (which manages the surreal Edward James Gardens) has also taken a keen interest in the artist’s career. Spokesperson Joe Ricaud says the art is one way to raise awareness of ecological and cultural issues in northern Veracruz, a region they have strong interest in.

Although he uses imagery from his native land, Domínguez believes that his art transcends that.

“In my works, there are landscapes, scenes from everyday life in the communities, but there are universal themes [too]. My intention is to communicate, share sentiment, thought, passion and creativity.”

It certainly provides an accessible window to the Huastec world for those of us on the outside.

Jorge has now returned to Mexico, to reconnect with his roots. He is hoping to build a mirador at this spot, overlooking the village. (Jorge Domínguez Cruz/Facebook)

After 18 years of living in Mexico, in 2016, Domínguez decided to move back to Mata de Otate, not only to paint but to try and make life better there. He has become both a cultural promoter and political activist, trying to change a power structure that has been in place for many generations.

It is not easy, not only because the 20% do not want to give up their privileges but also because the Indigenous residents are fractured and infighting is not uncommon, he says.

This does not deter Domínguez.

“I have a responsibility to my community to help it develop keeping the essence of who we are,” he says.

He has made one positive impact: his success has made his town and his family see art in a new light, and children are freer to draw and paint outside of school.

Domínguez remains optimistic, not only that “Indigenous surrealism” will make waves in Mexico but also that “[with] art you can make a change, you can transform, you can make prosperity.”

Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico over 20 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.

New airport to open in Barrancas del Cobre, Chihuahua

By

MND Staff

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July 26, 2023

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Copper Canyon Airport project, Creel Chihuahua — The almost finished Copper Canyon Airport in Creel, Chihuahua. Government of Chihuahua.

The Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon) tourist destination, in the northern state of Chihuahua, will soon be easier to get to, thanks to a new airport scheduled to go online, one that’s been about 13 years in the making.

With an investment of 826 million pesos (US $49 million), the Barrancas del Cobre International Airport, located in the municipality of Creel, is set to start operations in October and will connect the region with cities in Mexico and potentially also the United States.

The chepe express — The canyon is famous for its scenic tourist train. (Chepe Express)

Initial destinations will include Los Cabos, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Monterrey and Mexico City, while destinations to the U.S. could include Tucson, El Paso, Phoenix, Dallas and Houston.

Mexico News Daily could not find evidence of any airlines offering flights to the airport from October onward, although in 2020, Alejandra de la Vega, then head of Chihuahua’s state Ministry of Innovation and Economic Development, publicized that the Mexican airlines TAR would be offering a flight between Puerto Vallarta and the airport. No evidence of that currently exists on TAR’s website.

During a recent trip to the state of Chihuahua, federal Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco said that this project will bring important benefits to the northern state; it is part of the federal government’s strategy to use tourism as a “tool for social reconciliation,” he said.

Located in the Sierra Tarahumara mountain range, at an average altitude of 1,800 meters above sea level, the Copper Canyon range is a group of six distinct canyons, four times as long and twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the U.S.

The destination is popular for its wide array of adventure activities to be had in the wild. It is home to the world’s third longest cable car, stretching over 3 kilometers in some parts of the canyon, and has dozens of hanging bridges to take in the spectacular views. Climbing, whitewater rafting and trekking are also among the attractions.

The canyon is perhaps most famous for its scenic tourism train, the El Chepe Express, which stretches 350 km and has three overnight stops that allow passengers to disembark and experience local culture, including that of the Indigenous Rarámuri.

With reports from Publimetro

Health agency seizes products from CDMX cannabis shops

By

MND Staff

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July 26, 2023

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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.

Vicente Fox's marijuana — “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.

World Cannabis Day Mexico City 2022 — 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 Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that prohibition of marijuana is unconstitutional because criminalization violates the right to free development of personality. It has directed Congress to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, but lawmakers have repeatedly missed deadlines to do so.

Mexico News Daily