Overall inflation was down in February's first two weeks compared to the last two weeks of January, although prices for many products, like meat, saw a 10.27% rise in prices in February since a year ago. (Photo: Lesniewski/ deposit photos)
Annual headline and core inflation rates dropped in the first half of February compared to the previous month, but still remain well above the central bank’s target range.
The national statistics agency INEGI reported Thursday that annual headline inflation was 7.76% in the first half of the month, down from rates of 7.88% in the previous two-week period and 7.91% in the month of January as a whole. It was the lowest headline figure since the second half of November when the rate was 7.46%.
The annual core inflation rate, which strips out some volatile food and energy prices, was 8.38% in the first half of February, down from 8.45% in the entire month of January.
The headline and core inflation rates remain at a level well above the Bank of México’s target of 3% with tolerance of one percentage point in both directions. However, both indicators fell more than analysts anticipated in the first half of February.
“Inflation in Mexico in the first half of February … [was] better than expected,” tweeted economist Marco Oviedo, former head of Latin America economics research at Barclays.
However, “it will be a long road” to bring inflation down to the target level, he added.
INEGI data shows that processed food, beverages and tobacco were 13.86% more expensive in the first half of February compared to a year earlier, while prices for non-food goods were up 7.34%. Meat prices rose 10.27% in the 12-month period while those for fruit and vegetables increased 9%.
Prices for processed foods, beverages and tobacco were up 13.86% in the first two weeks of February compared to February 2022. (Photo: Edgar Negrete Lira/Cuartoscuro)
The cost of services increased 5.58% while energy prices, including those for fuel and electricity rose 2.95%.
The publication of the latest data comes two weeks after the central bank lifted its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to a new record high of 11%. It has lifted its key rate by 700 basis points since the current tightening cycle began in June 2021.
Oviedo predicted that the bank will lift its benchmark rate by an additional 25 basis points at its next monetary policy meeting on March 30.
“In summary, inflation in Mexico has practically remained above 7% for a year and since then, Banxico has lifted its reference rate by 5.0 percentage points,” he tweeted using the central bank’s abbreviated name.
“It’s probably now close to ending the [tightening] cycle, maybe up to 100 basis points more, but it is far from cutting [rates],” Oviedo said.
Banxico said earlier this month that it expects inflation to converge to its target in the final quarter of 2024, but noted that the projection is subject to a range of risks including “pressures on energy prices or on agricultural and livestock product prices” and “exchange rate depreciation.”
The bank also said that its next upward adjustment to its interest rate “could be of lower magnitude” compared to the 50-basis-point hike it announced Feb. 9.
The proposed rule has been described as a "crackdown" on illegal border entries. (Tomás Acosta Ordaz / Cuartoscuro.com)
The United States government has unveiled a proposed rule that would automatically deny asylum to most migrants who cross into the U.S. between official ports of entry.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice issued the proposed rule on Tuesday, the former saying in a press release that it would “incentivize the use of new and existing lawful processes and disincentivize dangerous border crossings by placing a new condition on asylum eligibility.”
Migrants in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, wait to cross into the U.S. in December. (David Peinado / Cuartoscuro.com)
The DHS said that “under the proposed rule, individuals who circumvent available, established pathways to lawful migration … and also fail to seek protection in a country through which they traveled on their way to the United States, would be subject to a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility in the United States unless they meet specified exceptions.”
The established pathways include “new processes announced on January 5” for Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Cubans and Haitians “as well as a newly-available mechanism for migrants from any nationality to schedule a time and place to arrive at a port of entry.”
The “mechanism” is a Customs and Border Patrol mobile app called CBP One, which has been in use since January but “overloaded by huge demand and plagued with glitches since tens of thousands of migrants staying in shelters on the Mexican side of the border began using it,” according to a New York Times report.
Migrants in a Mexican shelter try to get an appointment on the CBP One app. (@AgendaMigrante Twitter)
The announcement of the planned policy change – which wouldn’t apply to unaccompanied minors – comes “in response to the unprecedented western hemispheric migration challenges – the greatest displacement of people since World War II – and the absence of congressional action to update a very broken, outdated immigration system,” the DHS said.
The proposed rule, which is open to public comment in the U.S. Federal Register for 30 days, would take effect on May 11 – the date COVID-related border controls are scheduled to expire – allowing the swift deportation of migrants who didn’t follow the “established pathways.”
“DHS continues to prepare for the lifting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Title 42 Public Health Order, which is expected on May 11, 2023, and the return to processing all noncitizens under Title 8 immigration authorities,” the press release said.
“Until then, the Title 42 order remains in effect, and individuals who attempt to enter the United States without authorization will continue to be expelled.”
The DHS noted that the proposed rule is “an emergency measure that is intended to respond to the elevated levels of [migrant] encounters anticipated after the lifting of the Title 42 Order.”
It would apply at the United States’ border with Mexico for a period of two years after implementation, the department said.
A group of Venezuelan migrants camped in Ciudad Juárez in December. (Cuartoscuro.com)
The New York Times described the proposal as the Biden administration’s “toughest policy yet to crack down on unlawful entries.”
The U.S. president has come under intense pressure – especially from the Republican Party – to do more to stop record levels of illegal immigration via Mexico.
An unnamed U.S. government official told the AFP news agency that the Biden administration “will not allow mass chaos and disorder at the border because of Congress’s failure to act.”
However, some organizations said that the proposed migration rule is illegal.
“The Biden administration proposed a rule that would unlawfully deny asylum to people at the southern border who don’t first seek safety in Mexico or other countries they passed through – despite the fact that these countries don’t have working asylum systems,” the American Civil Liberties Union said on Twitter.
“President Biden’s proposed rule would leave vulnerable people in danger and unfairly deny protection to thousands. … Our courts have long recognized that a person’s decision not to seek asylum while in transit to the US does not override their need for protection here,” the organization said.
“We successfully fought President Trump on a similar ban in the courts – President Biden’s should not move forward.”
Abby Maxman, the president and CEO of Oxfam America, said the “sweeping asylum ban” would “shut the door to countless refugees seeking safety and protection in the United States.”
“This policy is illegal, immoral, and will exact a frightening human toll on children, women, and men seeking safety. It is deeply disappointing that the Biden administration would seek to put up barriers for people fleeing for their lives,” she said.
On Tuesday, President López Obrador met with a group of U.S. lawmakers to discuss trade, immigration and security. (@lopezobrador Twitter)
“President Biden promised to reject the harmful policies of the Trump administration and restore and protect the rights of asylum seekers. But this policy is a page taken from the Trump administration’s racist, anti-refugee playbook. We urge President Biden to immediately change course and keep his promise to ‘reassert America’s commitment to asylum seekers and refugees.'”
The United States government’s announcement of the proposed rule came a day after President López Obrador met with U.S. senators and representatives to discuss free trade, migration and security.
He said on social media on Monday that Mexico’s relationship with the United States is “respectful, cooperative and beneficial to our people,” but hasn’t commented on the proposed migration rule.
Mexico City now has the largest fleet of articulated e-buses in Latin America and one of the largest worldwide. (Photos: Claudia Sheinbaum/Twitter)
Line 3 of the Metrobús public transport system that runs from the Tenayuca station to the Etiopía station in Mexico City is now fully electric.
Mexico City now has the largest fleet of articulated e-buses in Latin America and one of the largest worldwide, according to C40, a network of mayors of nearly 100 of the world’s cities — including Mexico City — who collaborates to confront climate change.
Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, seen here on Wednesday inaugurating an electric vehicle charging station at a Grupo Modelo facility in Mexico City, said the electrifying of Metrobus’ Line 3 was the fulfillment of a personal and academic dream for her.
Each unit will have a 57-kilowatt battery that will allow every bus to do eight runs without recharging. Overall, the new 60-unit-fleet will reduce 7,500 tons of carbon dioxide per year — equivalent to planting more than 45,000 mature trees, head of the Mobility Ministry Andrés Lajous said during the inauguration ceremony.
The project required an investment of $900 million pesos (nearly US $49 million) with the participation of the Federal Electricity Commission and private companies Mobility ADO and Yutong, Sheinbaum said.
She also said that the Metrobús’ Line 3 represents a “personal dream and an academic dream” and that due to the government’s “historic investments in electromobility projects,” more than 1 million trips have been impacted by these projects.
Metrobús Line 3 transports an average of 200,000 daily users, connecting existing electric transport systems in Mexico City such as the Metro, Tren Ligero, Cablebús and the Trolebús.
Metrobús plans to switch completely to electrical vehicles by 2035, according to C40’s website.
New York/Mexico-based comedian Keenan Steiner performs a one-man show in Puerto Vallarta (Photo: Alvaro G.G.)
English-language stand up in Mexico – is that even a thing? “Indeed it is.” says Mariana Ramírez of Funny Girl productions — a group of English-language comedians in Mexico City.
Mexico is no stranger to comedy, but U.S.-style stand–up has been around just over 10 years.
An import of a comedy style may seem counterintuitive because of significant languageand cultural barriers. “Classic” Mexican comedians such as the legendary Cantiflas are almost unknown in the English-speaking world, because they focus heavily on word play and specific cultural references.
But U.S. standup relies more heavily on storytelling and observation, which allows foreign comedians to work in the U.S..
The obvious market for English-language standup is foreign tourists and expat residents, but perhaps the real reason it has become viable in Mexico is that there is a Mexican audience.
A significant number of upper-class Mexicans send their children to private bilingual schools, where they are taught English, which serve to cultivate highly proficient English speakers with international outlooks — and access to Netflix. Such a demographic has even produced shows of Mexicans doing English-language shows to Mexican audiences in Mexico.
Bilingual comedian Martin León at one of his many performances in Mexico City. (Photo: Martín Leon/Facebook)
The international school phenomenon is probably one reason why English-language shows first developed in Mexico City rather than in beach resorts or expat havens. The “foreignness” of the art form means that live stand-up still does best in U.S.-themed venues here such as Pinche Gringo’s BBQ, an early producer of live comedy shows in areas of the city popular with both foreigners and upper-class Mexicans. Mexico City also provides the gritty urban environment that stand-up shows thrive in, attracting audiences similar to ones found in places like New York.
Over the past decade, the English-language comedy scene here has grown slowly but steadily, with about 20 local comics now performing regularly. Noted foreign comics such as Louis CK, Jim Gaffigan and Tom Segura have successfully booked shows here.
What is different about English stand-up in Mexico is that performers and audience members alike can vary widely, from Mexicans practicing their English to foreigners from a number of different countries.
Martín León is a pillar of the Mexico City comedy scene, even appearing on Comedy Central. With success in Spanish under his belt, he decided to try his luck in English, starting by approaching youth hostels.
He connects with both the Mexican and foreign audiences for this niche because he attended bilingual schools growing up, and lived for a time in the U.S..
León partners with Ramírez to produce Funny Friends with comics working in both English and Spanish. Their main goal is to develop a talent pool of people living in Mexico and create a reputation for homegrown stand-up. Unlike León, Ramírez’s proficiency in English came not from fancy schools but her genuine love of the language and U.S. culture — a testament to her work ethic.
Mexico offers something to comics willing to make the move here, especially those looking for a different career path. Keenan Steiner, for example, was already an established New York-based comedian and regular visitor to Mexico when the pandemic hit in 2020. Although not a native speaker, he thought, “What if I try doing stand up in Spanish in Mexico and document it?” as a way to keep his comedy going after just about everything had shut down in New York.
Initially piggybacking his act on Puerto Vallarta’s vibrant drag and cabaret scene, he now splits his professional time between Mexico and New York.
His success is a main reason why Puerto Vallarta is now Mexico’s second live stand-up market. Audiences in PV are tourists looking for a good time, with Steiner’s jokes here “gayer” and “raunchier,” tailored to the very local culture.
Mexico City audiences tend to consist of people who live here and have more contact with Mexican culture. Steiner’s work in the capital focuses more on culture clash than he could ever do in PV.
The basic concept of U.S. stand-up does translate to Mexican culture, but with shows done here in English, details matter. Although U.S. comics are in demand, it can be difficult to bring them because of transportation costs and performance fees. Plus, there’s the challenge of finding comics who can adapt to performing in Mexico.
Shows need to be put together with care, not only considering the audience’s linguistic capabilities but their cultural ones as well. Venues offering a “foreign” experience, like ethnic restaurants, are still preferred because they attract the right kinds of Mexicans (and foreigners).
Dan Defossey, owner of Pinche Gringo, was able to bring foreign talent before the pandemic with sponsorship from Pepsi but had problems with some comics who could not or would not adapt their material or delivery.
A Funny Friends performance at the Cafe del Viajero in Mexico City. (Photo: Elaine Powell)
Steiner agrees that doing standup in the other language is a lot more than translating jokes, and developed material not only for Mexico but different Mexican audiences.
One advantage, notes comedy night host Michael Weakley, is that Mexicans can laugh at themselves much more easily than Americans can. His only rule for comics is to not “simply trash” Mexico; a love for the country is important for a show to be successful.
There are no comics living in Mexico that work full-time only in English; most work in both languages and almost all have “day jobs,” as this is the nature of the beast. Interestingly enough, some comics from the Funny Friends show are clearly doing it as a sideline or even just a hobby. Their sets went beyond culture-clash issues and delved into general human issues such as relationship problems and even very esoteric topics like Yu-Gi-Oh.
Almost all the comics and promoters expect English stand-up to continue growing in Mexico, albeit slowly. Only a few shows have been performed outside of Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta. The Yucatán looks promising, but there are no professional performances yet in English-speaking expat havens like San Miguel de Allende or the Lake Chapala area.
But when it works, it’s magical, says Steiner.
“Some of my best moments come in Mexico City when everyone, Mexican and foreigner, are laughing and agreeing together.”
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.
The Coyolxauhqui stone was discovered in 1978 at the Templo Mayor site. It dates to the 15th century.(Wikipedia Commons)
In 1978, the monumental Mexica (also known as Aztec) sculpture called the Coyolxauhqui stone was discovered at the site of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City.
An exhibit commemorating the 45th anniversary of the monolith’s discovery and exploring Mexica mythology opens today at the site’s museum.
Archaeologists work on the stone where it was discovered in 1978. (Wikipedia Commons)
The giant stone disc depicts the Mexica myth of Coyolxauhqui, the goddess of the moon, who was slaughtered by her brother Huitzilopochtli, the god of war.
The stone was found at the foot of the main temple of the Templo Mayor site in the ancient capital of Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City. It dates from around 1473, during the reign of Axayacatl.
The exhibit (running Feb. 22 to Jun. 4) includes a large format model of the sacred enclosure of Tenochtitlán to better understand the birthing myth of Huitzilopochtli, patron god of the Mexica, and the defeat of his sister Coyolxauhqui.
An artistic illumination will be projected onto the model based on the myth’s translations by Alfredo López Austin and narrated by the renowned archaeologist who headed up the Templo Mayor excavation, Eduardo Matos Moctezuma.
The exhibit explores the Mexica myth of the moon goddess and her defeat by the god of war, Huitzilopochtli. (Rogelio Morales Ponce / Cuartoscuro.com)
Among the 158 objects on exhibit are gold ornaments related to the lunar cult of Coyolxauhqui and the skeletal remains of a child dressed in the insignia of Huitzilopochtli unearthed in 2005.
According to archaeologist Patricia Ledesma Bouchan “this is an important finding, since the representations of [Huitzilopochtli] that have appeared to date can be counted on the fingers of one hand.”
The exhibit is included in the access ticket to the museum and the archaeological zone.
SICT Minister Jorge Nuño Lara presented a map of roadway connectivity projects to the airport, including the now-opened connecting 14-km road connecting AIFA to (Photo: Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
Commuters to and from Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) have more roadway options with the opening of a main access road to the Mexico City metropolitan area’s newest airport.
The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) reported that the 14.1-km road, which connects the area known as the “Iron Bridge” in Ecatepec, México state, with AIFA, opened Saturday.
The roadway was actually inaugurated Thursday, with President Lopez Obrador in attendance, but closed immediately after the dignitaries left the area in order to clear out heavy machinery and clean the roadway, allowing for free transit, according to a SICT social media post.
The highway can handle 40,000 cars per day, a number that will be reached when and if the airport reaches its maximum demand levels.
The project caused the displacement of 262 houses in the way of the road.
The main road into AIFA. (Government of Mexico)
One of the main criticisms of AIFA is the time it takes to get there. Owing to its location in Santa Lucía, between the municipalities of Tecamac and Zumpango in México state, access to the airport has proven to be complicated since it opened in March.
According to users, an average trip from Mexico City to AIFA can take around 1.5 hours.
To ease access, López Obrador’s government built a main road in addition to renovating other freeways and expanding public transport service.
“The Tonanitla road is the access that goes directly to the Felipe Ángeles Airport. It is a toll-free highway with a length of 14 kilometers. In 9 minutes, you will go from the iron bridge to the airport,” the SICT explained.
The road also has two intermediary additions located at the Jaltenco-Héroes de Tecámac junction at Kilometer 5, and at the Tonanitla-Ojo de Agua junction at Km 9.6.
The under-construction Circuito-Gran Canal Vehicular Bridge, another project that’s supposed reduce travel time to AIFA by connecting two main arteries toward the airport, is also nearly finished. It starts on the Circuito Interior Mexiquense roadway at Calle Cerámica and will divert motorists to Avenida Gran Canal. From there, traffic will divert to the Siervo de la Nación Urban Highway to reach the new AIFA access road in Ecatepec.
According to Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, the bridge will be ready before the end of the month and will save travelers 25 minutes in heading to AIFA.
As for public transport, the Mexibús Line 1 is currently the only way to get to AIFA. The transportation system built an extension in March 2022 to serve airport users, and two more stations will be built along Line 1 to connect passengers with AIFA: the Quetzalcóatl and Rancho La Luz stations.
Private bus companies ADO and ETN also offer limited service to AIFA a few times a day from the city’s Central Norte and Central Sur stations. ADO also offers a route to AIFA from Mexico City’s TAPO terminal and from Benito Juárez International Airport (AICM)’s Terminal 1, and ETN offers a route from Querétaro city’s main bus terminal.
A commuter train that will run a 43-kilometer route between Buenavista Station and AIFA is also in progress. SICT recently reported the project to be 39% complete.
When it is finished, SICT officials say, AIFA will be the first airport in Latin America to have a train terminal located inside. It is slated to open by December.
AIFA, one of López Obrador’s flagship projects, started operations in March 2022. His government has carried out 20 road projects meant to reduce the transit time from Mexico City to the new airport.
The president says he will file a suit for "moral damage" against the U.S. defense attorney. (Mario Jasso / Cuartoscuro.com)
President López Obrador confirmed Tuesday that he would file a lawsuit against a United States-based lawyer for allegedly slandering him at the New York trial of former federal security minister Genaro García Luna.
Defense lawyer César de Castro last week asked prosecution witness and former Sinaloa Cartel member Jesús “El Rey” Zambada whether he recalled telling U.S. authorities in 2013 that he delivered US $7 million to a Mexico City official to fund the 2006 presidential campaign of López Obrador, who was mayor of the capital between 2000 and 2005.
César de Castro, the defense attorney who represented Genaro García Luna in his U.S. trial. (LinkedIn)
Zambada, brother of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, denied ever saying such a thing.
López Obrador said last Thursday that he was considering filing a lawsuit against de Castro for “moral damage” and that he could seek $7 million in compensation and give any payout to families of victims of the militarized war on drug cartels launched by Felipe Calderón shortly after he was sworn in as president in 2006.
On Tuesday he said he had decided to file the suit but was still “doing some research on how the procedure works.”
López Obrador added that he was waiting for advisers to inform him where to initiate the legal action. “In a few days we’ll know, I’ll tell you here,” he said.
His remarks came just hours before a jury found García Luna guilty of collaborating with the Sinaloa Cartel in its drug trafficking activities.
López Obrador said Wednesday that the conviction was proof of the “decadence” of previous governments. However, the verdict against García Luna “isn’t a judgement against Mexico, let’s make that clear,” the president said.
“I would even say that it helps to continue cleaning up corruption in Mexico. … Of course more needs to be done, it’s the beginning, but it’s a good contribution,” he added.
The graphic novel tells the true story of psilocybin pioneers R. Gordon and Valentina Wasson, using imagery evocative of the 1970s underground comix movement. (All images from BRIAN BLOMERTH'S MYCELIUM WASSONII, Published by ANTHOLOGY EDITIONS)
Talking mushrooms – part of a psilocybin trip? Not quite. In a recent graphic novel about a real-life couple’s groundbreaking research into magic mushrooms in Mexico, writer and artist Brian Blomerth frequently depicted the mushrooms in the background, and even invented a language for them.
These mushrooms are the star supporting characters of “Brian Blomerth’s Mycelium Wassonii.” Published in late 2021, the book reintroduces readers to Robert Gordon Wasson (better known as R. Gordon Wasson) and his wife Valentina Wasson, amateur scientists whose research in the 1950s included multiple visits to Oaxaca, where they explored mushroom use among the indigenous Mazatec people.
Regarding the mushroom language he created, Blomerth said, “It is translatable into English.” But he says of anyone who can manage the feat, “You’re going to be wildly disappointed.”
His book does not disappoint in chronicling the Wassons, who are credited as the founders of a new scientific field – ethnomycology. Their research piqued the interest of the era’s prominent magazines – as well as the CIA.
Acclaimed mycologist Paul Stamets, who wrote the foreword to Blomerth’s book, singled out two women for particular praise in the narrative: Valentina “Tina” Wasson, and a Mazatec shaman and curandera named María Sabina.
“History must give Tina proper credit,” Stamets wrote. “She was the mycologist in [the Wassons’] relationship, not to mention an early pioneer in noting that psilocybin could be helpful in treating psychiatric health challenges.”
The text tells the story of the Wassons’ curiosity about magic mushrooms and their eventually journey to find the Mazatec people of Oaxaca and learn about the natural psychotropic.
Sabina “so graciously shared indigenous traditions with the Wassons and many others,” he added.
Although the United States banned research into psychedelics in the 1970s, recent science has put them back on the map.
Asked about present-day research, Blomerth said, “I’m not entirely qualified and definitely not a source for this kind of stuff.”
However, he added, “You can read multiple articles about the [2022] Johns Hopkins study of near-death experiences and pre-death experiences with psilocybin.”
“I think it’s good,” he said of such initiatives. “I’m all for it … It’s not a bad thing to research and investigate.”
Blomerth has a longstanding interest in the subject. A previous graphic novel, “Brian Blomerth’s Bicycle Day,” chronicled the story of Albert Hofmann and LSD.
Hofmann allegedly discovered LSD on a memorable bike ride in 1943. In both “Bicycle Day”and “Mycelium Wassonii,” Blomerth focused on protagonist couples – Albert and Anita Hofmann, and the Wassons.
Blomerth noted that the two couples actually went on a research trip to Mexico together, a fact not shown in the book. And Albert Hofmann has a further Mexico connection.
“Wasson sent samples of mushrooms he got from Mexico to Hofmann,” Blomerth said. “Hofmann isolated psilocybin from them. That’s a connection to the story as well.”
The memorable artwork in Blomerth’s book often seems evocative of a psychedelic experience. During a trance scene at the home of Mazatec curandera Sabina, the upper right-hand corner of the page seems to peel off and a whimsical, globe-like creature steps through. The concrete darkness of the room dissolves into bright, dreamlike images.
“I see the words fall like little luminous objects from heaven,” María says as lines of text float through space, then get replaced by watercolor images of a jaguar, a bird and a mushroom.
The story begins on the Wassons’ 1927 honeymoon in Ulster County, New York. Valentina finds wild chanterelles, which bring back memories of meals in her native Russia. She collects and cooks the Catskills variety. Initially repulsed, her husband adopts her viewpoint, thanks to an intensely tasty breakfast.
The book depicts two of the couple’s trips to Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, in 1953 and 1955.
By day, Robert works on Wall Street for J.P. Morgan. Off the clock, he heads to the New York Public Library to research his new interest and corresponds with fellow enthusiast Robert Graves, the creator of I, Claudius, which explored the historical mystery of whether or not the Roman emperor Claudius was poisoned by mushrooms.
Graves mentions to Robert the ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes, who researched the Mazatecs and their use of mushrooms.
The book depicts two of the couple’s trips to Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, in 1953 and 1955. Blomerth depicts Mazatec characters communicating in their tonal language that incorporates whistling.
“I watched a linguist who lived with them for a while and did a couple of interviews,” Blomerth said. “The whistle language is really, really fascinating…”
One challenge he had in writing the book was deciding how to show the Mazatecs’ environs in the cloud forests of the Sierra Mazateca.
“Basically, it’s a dense jungle. I wanted to showcase certain plants. I figured out a general idea of the plants that grow there and kind of combined all the areas.”
He expressed admiration for the cloud forests. “[It’s] tons of green vegetation on top of a hill, vegetation-rich, so high up.”
Back home, the CIA is intrigued by the power of psychedelics and offers to assist Robert with his research. When he rebuffs them, they surreptitiously tap into his work — using a front organization that gives him a grant.
“They did send him a check, a small amount of money, from a fake company,” Blomerth said. “I did sense he wasn’t into what they were thinking, from everything I read. It’s a little shrouded, as these things are.”
In 1957, the Wassons share perspectives on their research in the media — Robert for Life magazine, Valentina for the now-defunct nationally syndicated Sunday newspaper supplement, This Week.
Yet this is all overshadowed by the devastating news that Valentina has cancer. She dies the next year, in 1958. Blomerth poignantly notes the impact of her passing on her husband.
The book also shows the fallout from mushrooms’ sudden popularity: a hippie trail heading to Huautla de Jiménez. A crowd of Mazatecs lament the disrespect shown by the newcomers. María’s house burns down in mysterious circumstances.
One of Blomerth’s previous books chronicled the story of Albert Hofmann and LSD.
As for the mushrooms, they have their own final say in the narrative — and the conversation is ongoing.
“Maybe they will speak again — as medicine,” María says in a final panel, standing over some talking mushrooms.
Rich Tenorio is a frequent contributor to Mexico News Daily.
Although January homicide numbers were up somewhat from the previous month, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez emphasized the positive: "The trend remains downward," she said. (Photo: Presidencia)
Mexico’s homicide numbers increased slightly in January, but overall crime rates remain on a downward trend, according to the Security Ministry’smonthly analysis.
Murders rose from 2,529 in December to 2,582 in January, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodrígez announced at President López Obrador’s Tuesday morning press conference — an increase of 2%.
However, she emphasized that this slight uptick follows a period of gradual improvement, meaning there were still 16% fewer homicide victims in January than during Mexico’s peak of violence in 2018.
“The trend remains downward,” she said. “Homicides presented a significant decrease with respect to previous years.”
Murders decreased by7% in 2022, making last year the least violent of AMLO’s administration. However, homicide rates have remained historically high since AMLO took office, with a steady level of over 30,000 each year since 2018.
Icela Rodríguez explained that 46% of homicides in Mexico are concentrated in six states: México state, Guanajuato, Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Guerrero.
However, Icela Rodríguez said an improvement had been seen in all but 11 of 50 highly violent “priority municipalities.” Homicide rates in these municipalities were 10.8% lower on average over the last year than in the previous 12 months, the security minister said.
She acknowledged that extortion is up 13.5% this year compared to the same period in 2022, but emphasized improvements in other crimes such as kidnapping and vehicle theft.
She said that 44 kidnappings were registered in January, representing a 76.2% decrease from the 185 recorded in January 2019. During this period, she said that authorities had arrested nearly 5,000 kidnappers, dismantled 557 gangs and rescued 2,208 victims.
Other positive results included a 38% drop in vehicle theft and a 28.7% drop in femicides from December 2018.
“The strategy is working, because we are generating a reduction in the crime rate,” she said.
Mexico's former security minister was convicted on charges he accepted bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. (TERCERO DÍAZ /CUARTOSCURO.COM)
A jury in the United States has found former federal security minister Genaro García Luna guilty of colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel.
The top law enforcement official in the 2006-12 government led by former president Felipe Calderón faces a minimum of 10 years in jail and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with no opportunity for parole.
García Luna in 2004, when he was head of the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI). (Moises Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
A sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled for later this year, although the former cabinet minister – who was arrested in Texas in 2019 – could appeal his conviction.
On their third day of deliberations on Tuesday, the jurors at a U.S. federal court in Brooklyn voted unanimously to convict García Luna on charges he took multimillion-dollar bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel, which was previously led by imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Their decision came after an almost month-long trial that included damning testimony from cartel figures such as Jesús “El Rey” Zambada, brother of current Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
García Luna, who was head of the now-defunct Federal Investigation Agency (AFI) before becoming security minister, was found guilty on a total of five charges.
Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in U.S. custody in 2017 after he was extradited to the United States. (Photo: Department of Homeland Security)
He was convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise; international cocaine distribution conspiracy; cocaine distribution and possession conspiracy; cocaine importation conspiracy; and making a false statement on an application for U.S. citizenship.
According to a Vice News report, the 54-year-old “reacted stoically as the jury’s foreperson read out the verdict, betraying no emotion.”
“His wife and adult son and daughter were in the courtroom, holding hands with their heads bowed,” the report said.
Linda Cristina Pereyra testified last week, and rejected the prosecution’s claim that she and her husband purchased properties and businesses with bribe money.
Defense lawyers repeatedly argued that prosecutors lacked hard evidence to show that their client took bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations.
“Prosecutors were unable to show the jury any recordings, text messages, emails or other records to prove the bribe payments ever actually occurred, and there was little evidence to show that García Luna was living beyond his means as a high-ranking public servant in Mexico,” Vice News reported.
Cesár de Castro, who led the defense, asserted in his closing statement that “the government’s lack of evidence is shocking.”
“They’re asking you to condemn a man solely on the words of some of the most notorious and ruthless criminals this world has ever seen,” he told the 12-person jury.
Defense lawyers argued unsuccessfully that the statute of limitations on the charges García faced had expired by the time he was arrested and formerly accused of collusion with the Sinaloa Cartel.
They also presented photos of their client meeting with former United States president Barrack Obama, his secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Drug Enforcement Administration personnel, among other U.S. officials, in an attempt to persuade the jury of his innocence by demonstrating that he was a trusted ally of the U.S. government.
However, the prosecution ultimately presented a more compelling case, Tuesday’s decision indicated.
Jesús Zambada, the final prosecution witness, told jurors that he delivered US $5 million in cash to García Luna to buy his support for the cartel.
Former member of the Sinaloa cartel, brother of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. (Archive)
“You could work a lot” with the protection and information provided by García Luna and other law enforcement officials, said Zambada, who told jurors he was the Sinaloa Cartel’s chief at the Mexico City airport from 2000 until his capture in 2008.
According to trial testimony, Vice News reported, “cartel members received police credentials, uniforms, and equipment, and cartel bosses were allowed to choose which police commanders would supervise areas they controlled.”
Witnesses, the report continued, “said federal police officers sometimes served as bodyguards for cartel leaders and even helped unload shipments of cocaine that transited through Mexico City’s airport.”
Calderón, who launched a militarized war against cartels shortly after he took office, and current President López Obrador were mentioned during the trial, but both men denied the accusations leveled against them.
In a Twitter post on Feb. 7, Calderón rejected an accusation by former Nayarit attorney general Édgar Veytia that he ordered former Nayarit governor Ney González to support “El Chapo.”
He had previously denied any involvement in or knowledge of the alleged criminal activity of his security minister, a key architect of his bloody “war on drugs.”
López Obrador said Tuesday that he intended to file a lawsuit against de Castro after the lawyer questioned Jesús Zambada about an alleged statement he gave to U.S. authorities in which he claimed that he had delivered $7 million to a Mexico City official to fund AMLO’s 2006 presidential campaign. Zambada testified that he never said such a thing.
García Luna, who was also accused of receiving millions in bribes when AFI chief under president Vicente Fox (2000-2006), is one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials to be accused of – and convicted of – colluding with a drug trafficking organization.
Salvador Cienfuegos, Mexico’s former defense minister who was arrested in the US in 2020 on drug and money laundering charges, then released a month later after a diplomatic controversy. (Photo: Mario Jasso)
But under pressure from Mexico, which implicitly threatened to restrict the activities of U.S. agents working here and expressed “profound discontent” over not being informed of the plan to arrest him, the United States dropped the charges against the retired general and granted Mexico its wish to conduct its own investigation. The federal Attorney General’s Office exonerated Cienfuegos in early 2021.
García Luna also faces criminal charges in Mexico, but given his conviction in the U.S. and probable lengthy imprisonment it would appear unlikely that he will appear in a Mexican court any time soon, if ever.
However, with his conviction in the U.S. “justice has arrived” for the former official, tweeted Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, spokesman and communications chief for López Obrador.
“The crimes against our people will never be forgotten,” he added in a post on Tuesday afternoon.
Given the accusations García Luna faced, López Obrador claimed in 2020 that Mexico was a narco state during Calderón’s presidency. He didn’t immediately comment on the guilty verdict, but will no doubt field questions on the jury’s decision at his press conference on Wednesday morning.
