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Behind the scenes at the Guadalajara Zoo, one of the happiest in Latin America

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orangutan at Guadalajara Zoo
The Guadalajara Zoo is the only one in Latin America housing a family of orangutans. All seven of them were born in the zoo.

The zoos of my childhood were places where miserably unhappy animals paced away their lives in cages of steel, concrete and glass. 

Fortunately, a revolution took place in the world of zookeeping, thanks to people who really love animals, and many of today’s zoos are radically different. One of the happiest I’ve ever seen — for the animals, their keepers and visitors — is the Guadalajara Zoo.

Widely considered the best not only in Mexico but in all of Latin America, El Zoológico de Guadalajara has been a pioneer and innovator. They have — among many, many other attractions — a teleférico (cable car system) called Sky Zoo, a safari park, the Orangutan Skyway, an interactive museum and a first-class aquarium. 

Are you looking for unusual creatures like manatees, Komodo dragons, axolotls or Antarctic penguins? You’ll find them here!

A Fischer’s lovebird, left, and a masked lovebird at Guadalajara Zoo
A Fischer’s lovebird, left, and a masked lovebird having some downtime. Both are originally from Tanzania.

This zoo is also remarkable for its success in animal reproduction: everything from Bengal tigers and rhinos to jaguars, gorillas and even the grey Mexican wolf, which is extinct in nature, has been bred here.

I recently had an opportunity to wander about the Guadalajara Zoo with its public relations director, Danae Vázquez, whose name and face are well known to the public all over Latin America, thanks to 485 YouTube videos (“Desde el Zoológico” ) which she and her team have made on every conceivable aspect of animals and nature.

“One of the things that makes our zoo different,” Danae told me, “is its location. The zoo is perched right at the edge of the beautiful Huentitán Canyon, which is 500 meters deep. So we have a spectacular view that would be hard to match anywhere else. 

“This location also has the perfect topography for creating enclosures where the animals can live in natural environments, surrounded by trees, rocks, streams, hills and gullies — and we have 50 hectares of this! So you don’t see many cages here, and animals feel at home.“

Gentoo penguins at Guadalajara Zoo
Gentoo penguins in the zoo’s Antarctica display. Gentoos are the fastest-swimming penguins in the world.

Danae had promised me a behind-the-scenes look at the zoo.

“And we’re going to start in our kitchen,” she told me with sparkling eyes. “Many people assume that a zoo gives its animals leftovers, food that people don’t want to eat. Let me take you on a quick tour, and I’ll show you just what it is we feed to our guests at this zoo.”

Well, I have to admit my mouth was watering minutes after starting this tour. Danae kept showing me fruits and vegetables of far better quality than those I normally see in supermarkets: beautiful bell peppers, celery, apples, papayas, mandarins, berries and the plumpest, juiciest grapes you could ever desire. 

I discovered that there is practically an army of cooks and experts here, preparing thousands of delicious meals for creatures ranging from black mambas to black bears.

Guest feeding giraffe at Guadalajara Zoo
The writer gets a ticklish experience feeding a giraffe. Danae Vázquez

After that, Danae led me around the zoo to some of her favorite places. In each of them, I found myself interacting with delightful creatures: there I was with exotic birds landing on my shoulders and head, waiting their turn to peck on a seed stick in my hand. Next, I was scratching the leathery back of Maite, a huge rhinoceros dearly beloved by Danae:

“She was having terrible problems until we discovered, to our surprise, that she’s allergic to dust, which irritates her eyes. Now we wet down her territory in the morning so she can enjoy the outdoors. And in the afternoon, when things dry up, we bring Maite indoors — where she is obviously happy to have an occasional visitor to scratch her back.”

Next, we were off to visit the giraffes, but it was far more than a visit. We were handed carrot and cucumber sticks (of the highest quality, of course) by an attendant and encouraged to feed them to several giraffes looking down at us from the other side of a high fence. 

Well, I can testify that it is really a unique experience to feel the palm of your hand tickled by the big, thick, purple tongue of a giraffe! 

Guadalajara Zoo
At this spot in the zoo, umbrellas must be kept closed. Read on to find out why.

As we moved about the zoo, Danae mentioned that every day, after 6 p.m. (when the public leaves), “Many animals living down in Huentitán Canyon come up to the zoo to pay us a visit: foxes, skunks, macaws and even a yellow-throated toucan (not one of ours), for example. The toucan comes to talk to the macaws and, of course, we feed him.”

At this point, we were walking past a sign that read, “Close your umbrella in this area!”

“There has to be a story behind this sign,” I told my guide.

“Of course,” she replied. “Some years ago, we received a tigress who had belonged to some private person. She mated with our male tiger, and they had four babies. Before the babies arrived, we had no problems with either tiger, but something strange happened the first time the mother took her babies out for a walk. 

rhino at Guadalajara Zoo
Maite the rhino has an allergy to dust and a yen for a back scratch.

“It was July, and it was very hot, so one of the visitors who came to see the tigers was carrying a parasol. Well, the moment the parasol was opened, the tigress was transformed. She began to roar and did her best to charge at the person carrying it. After a while, the caretakers noticed she only did this when there was an open umbrella in view, so we put up this sign, and that solved the problem.”

This story reminded Danae of what she calls The Curious Case of the Wayward Spider Monkey.  

“We used to have a little island in the middle of a lagoon, and we had a number of spider monkeys living there. Every day, the staff would go to the island on a boat, feed them and come back. Well, one day, the boat somehow became detached from its mooring, and the current carried it to Monkey Island.

“So, a monkey got on it and then floated over to the shore. Well, it was four in the afternoon,.and I happened to be driving by in an electric cart with a vet, and there in the picnic area, we see this monkey walking upright on two legs and waving its arms around. 

guests with a coconut lorikeet at aviary of Guadaljara Zoo
A delighted visitor takes a selfie with a coconut lorikeet in one of the zoo’s two aviaries.

“And all the people over there are kind of moving away, and they’re looking at each other and saying, ‘Wow, is this normal?’ So the two of us went over there with our arms stretched out to make a kind of human barricade between the people and the monkey because we didn’t know if it might be aggressive. 

“Finally, it came to a tree, climbed it and fortunately stayed there until we recaptured it and took it back home.”

My visit to the zoo ended at its famed Antarctica Habitat, featuring rare Adélie and gentoo penguins. 

This was definitely my first experience standing close to penguins of any kind, and what a delightful experience it was. It seemed like a penguin telenovela (soap opera) was in full swing inside that below-zero enclosure, with each of them running about, discussing serious matters with everyone else and then taking a break by diving into the icy water. 

Guadalajara Zoo aquarium
The zoo’s aquarium. Here a group of five people can feed sharks while submerged inside an acrylic capsule.

“I think if you came to the zoo and spent all of your time only watching penguins, you’d consider your day very well spent. And I guess I would have to say the same thing about the orangutans… and the macaws and… 

Well, I think you get the idea. If you ever have a chance to visit the Guadalajara Zoo, do it!

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.

 

Guadalajara Zoo
The zoo is located just a three-minute drive from Guadalajara’s northern Ring Road and overlooks the 500-meter-deep Barranca de Huentitán.

 

Guadalajara Zoo
The mile-long Sky Zoo allows visitors to see everything that’s going on from a height of over 15 meters.

Tropical storm Roslyn strengthens off Pacific coast

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Tropical Storm Roslyn approaches the Pacific coast in this satellite photo, taken at 10 a.m. Friday morning.
Tropical Storm Roslyn approaches the Pacific coast in this satellite photo, taken at 10 a.m. Friday morning. NOAA via AP

Tropical storm Roslyn – forecast to become a hurricane Friday night – is on track to make landfall in Jalisco or Nayarit Saturday night or Sunday.

Roslyn was just below hurricane strength at 4 p.m Central Time and located 300 kilometers south-southwest of Manzanillo, Colima, the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory.

A hurricane warning is in effect between Playa Perula, Jalisco, and San Blas, Nayarit, an area that includes Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. The warning also affects the Islas Marías, an archipelago of four islands off the coast of Nayarit. A hurricane watch is in effect for the area north of San Blas to Mazatlán, Sinaloa.

The NHC said that Roslyn had maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour with higher gusts at 4 p.m., and that the storm was moving west-northwest at 11 km/h.

This map shows areas with hurricane warnings and Tropical Storm Roslyn's probable path, as determined by the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
This map shows areas with hurricane warnings and Tropical Storm Roslyn’s probable path, as determined by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. U.S. NHC / NOAA

“A turn toward the northwest and north-northwest is forecast tonight, followed by a northward and then north-northeastward motion Saturday and Saturday night. On the forecast track, the center of Roslyn will move parallel to the southwestern coast of Mexico today and tonight, then approach the coast of west-central Mexico, making landfall along this coastline Saturday night or Sunday,” it said.

The NHC said that “steady to rapid strengthening” is forecast “during the next day or so,” adding that the storm is expected to become a hurricane Friday night. A category 1 hurricane has sustained winds of 119-153 km/h, meaning that Roslyn was only nine kilometers short of hurricane status at 4 p.m.

The NHC said that Roslyn is expected to still be a hurricane when it makes landfall and noted that tropical storm strength winds could be experienced on land by midday Saturday, “making outside preparations difficult or dangerous.”

“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the Florida-based authority said.

The NCH said that the northern coast of Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit and southeastern Sinaloa are expected to receive 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) of rain with maximum falls of 8 inches (20 cm).

“This rainfall could lead to flash flooding and landslides in areas of rugged terrain,” it said, adding that “a dangerous storm surge is expected to produce significant coastal flooding near and to the east of where the center [of Roslyn] makes landfall.”

The hurricane center also warned of “large and destructive waves” accompanying the surge.

“Swells generated by Roslyn are affecting portions of the coast of southwestern Mexico and will spread northward to the coast of west-central Mexico and the southern portion of the Baja California peninsula through the weekend,” the NHC said. “These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”

Roslyn is the 18th named storm of the 2022 Pacific hurricane season, excluding Hurricane Bonnie, which crossed into the Pacific from the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Agatha, the first named storm of the Pacific season, claimed lives and caused significant damage after it made landfall in Oaxaca on May 30.

Mexico News Daily 

‘Prayers for the Stolen’ dominates at the 64th annual Ariel awards for Mexican film

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Tatiana Huezo, the director and screenwriter of the winning film 'Prayers for the Stolen,' speaks at this year's Ariel Awards.
Tatiana Huezo, the director and screenwriter of the winning film 'Prayers for the Stolen,' won at this years Ariel Awards ("the Mexican Oscars"). But the 2023 Ariel awards will not take place, due to Culture Ministry budget cuts. Facebook @academiacinemx

At the Cannes Film Festival last year, Salvadoran-Mexican director Tatiana Huezo received a 10-minute standing ovation for her debut feature film “Noche de Fuego,” which she also wrote. Last week, Mexico — where she has lived since age 4 — was the setting for more high praise for Huezo.

At the 64th Ariel Award ceremony in Mexico City, Huezo and her film came away with seven “Mexican Oscars,” including best picture and best cinematography, after entering the competition with 19 nominations, by far the most of any film.

Based on the 2012 novel “Prayers for the Stolen” by Mexican-American author Jennifer Clement, the film is about three girls who live in a cartel-dominated community in southern Mexico, where they pass themselves off as boys. The film portrays the close relationship between the girls and their mothers, who do all they can to avoid having the cartel kidnap their daughters.

“I would like to send a message of affection and admiration to all the mothers in this country who are raising their sons and daughters alone, who are sowing seeds of hope, freedom and equality,” said Huezo, a naturalized Mexican citizen who previously had made documentaries, upon receiving the award.

Mayra Membreño portrays the protagonist Ana in "Prayers for the Stolen."
Mayra Membreño portrays the protagonist Ana in “Prayers for the Stolen.”

Her winning film can be seen on Netflix under the titles “Prayers for the Stolen” and  “Noche de Fuego” (which translates to “Night of Fire”). English and other subtitles are available.

After two years as a virtual presentation, the Ariel Awards returned to an in-person event this year, although it was not held at its usual venue, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, but rather a few blocks away at the College of San Ildefonso, formerly a university but now a museum and cultural center (and considered to be the birthplace of the Mexican muralism movement).

The list of award winners included Alonso Ruizpalacios as best director for “Una película de policías” (“A Cop Movie”), which also earned best actor and best actress awards for Raúl Briones and Mónica del Carmen, respectively. A film about two police officers who have a sentimental relationship, and which moves between fiction and documentary, it also won the awards for documentary feature, original screenplay and editing.

To win best director, Ruizpalacios, 44, beat out a strong list of nominees, including Huezo, 50; Ángeles Cruz, 50 (for “Nudo mixteco,” or “Mixtec Knot”); the legendary Arturo Ripstein, 78 (for “El diablo entre las piernas,” or “The Devil Between the Legs”); and Ernesto Contreras, 53 (for “Cosas imposibles,” or “Impossible Things”).

Mónica del Carmen portrays the police officer Teresa in "A Cop Movie."
Mónica del Carmen portrays the police officer Teresa in “A Cop Movie.”

Cruz, who is of Mixtec ethnicity, took the statuette for best debut film. Her “Mixtec Knot,” which was nominated in eight categories but won only one, shows abuses committed against women in a small indigenous community in Oaxaca.

“A Cop Movie” and “Impossible Things” each had 10 nominations; the former won six awards to finish right behind Huezo’s film with seven, but the latter earned only one win, for best score.

The seven awards for “Noche de Fuego” also included best supporting actress to Mayra Batalla for her performance as Rita, the mother of one of the girls. “I want to share this with all the women and girls who save themselves every day,” Batalla said upon collecting her award.

The awards are presented by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC).

The nominations for best film were “Noche de Fuego” (“Prayers for the Stolen”); “Una película de policías” (“A Cop Movie”); “Cosas imposibles” (“Impossible Things”); “El otro Tom” (“The Other Tom”) and “Nudo mixteco” (“Mixtec Knot.”)

The newspaper Reforma put together a “best of” list of nominated and winning films that can be seen for free or rented online. Those listed here include English and other subtitles. Netflix:Prayers for the Stolen,” “A Cop Movie,” “La diosa del asfalto” or “Asphalt Goddess.” Amazon Prime: Impossible Things.” iTunes: “Cadejo blanco” or “White Cadejo,” (a cadejo is spirit from Central American folklore).

“Asphalt Goddess” is about a successful singer who returns to her hometown, is reunited with old friends and confronts danger past and present; it received four nominations but no wins. “Impossible Things” is about an abused woman who finds comfort in a disoriented young man; it received 10 nominations and one win. “White Cadejo,” is about a woman who infiltrates the crime world to find her disappeared sister and was directed by American Justin Lerner, who got the idea for the film during a 2016 trip to Mexico; it received one nomination and didn’t win.

With reports from El Pais, Reforma and the Associated Press

Flooding in Tabasco blamed on Pemex construction

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Workers wade through calf-high water outside the Dos Bocas refinery.
Prolonged heavy rain in Tabasco caused flooding at the Dos Bocas refinery, the nearby town of Paraíso, and in other areas of the state this week. Carlos Canabal Obrador / Cuartoscuro.com

Twelve of 17 municipalities in Tabasco have been flooded this week after a cold front brought heavy rain to the Gulf coast state.

Paraíso, where Pemex’s new refinery is located, and Teapa are the two worst affected municipalities, the news magazine Proceso reported.

The other 10 municipalities where flooding has been reported are Centro (Villahermosa), Cárdenas, Jalpa de Méndez, Huimanguillo, Comalcalco, Cunduacán, Jalapa, Nacajuca, Centla and Tacotalpa.

Civil Protection authorities reported Thursday that over 500 homes had been flooded and that some 300 residents in 87 communities had to evacuate.

Tabasco Civil Protection forces worked with the army to aid help residents affected by flooding and set up temporary shelters.

In Teapa, a banana-growing municipality that borders Chiapas, hundreds of hectares of land have been flooded, Proceso said. The Teapa-Villahemosa highway was also flooded after the De La Sierra River overflowed. The army, navy and National Guard helped scores of people evacuate their homes.

In Paraíso, 80% of the territory is underwater, according to Mayor Ana Luis Castellanos, who said that deficiencies in the construction of the Olmeca Refinery were to blame. She said that many of the water channels in the area were filled in with earth and sand that had been removed from the refinery site during construction, and excess rainwater was unable to flow into them as a result.

The refinery, the municipal palace and the local market are all flooded, the mayor said, noting that her home was affected as well.

“The refinery is underwater, it’s confirmed,” Castellanos said. “… They filled the regulating reservoirs too much … and the problem we have now [is due to that],” she said.

“… The majority of people [in Paraíso] are [living] in water because they don’t want to leave so they don’t lose their belongings, their things,” the Democratic Revolution Party mayor said.

“[But] the truth is that people’s things have been damaged because they didn’t have time to raise things – their beds, their fridges,” she said. “… We’re going to try to open up the water channels, we’re already working [to receive people] in shelters, we have to look after people’s health,” Castellanos said.

Flooding has long been a problem in Paraíso (and other parts of Tabasco), but the mayor and many residents believe that the construction of the refinery – which was officially opened in July although its not yet refining oil – has made the area more vulnerable to the phenomenon.

But some other residents say that a substandard drainage system — rather than the filling in of the water channels — is the main cause of flooding in Paraíso.

A presidential spokesperson shared images he said were taken Friday morning in Paraíso, as evidence that reports of flooding earlier in the week were overblown.

“The mayor says that it’s due to the filling in [of the channels] … but … there isn’t a good drainage system,” José Aguilar told the Reforma newspaper.

Anny Mández, a resident of the neighboring municipality of Comalcalco, also blamed an inadequate drainage system for the flooding there. “It’s the rainy season, ladies and gentlemen, I’m from Comalcalco and we’re all underwater, the drains can’t keep up,” she wrote on social media.

An environmental impact statement prepared in 2019 said that the refinery site was susceptible to flooding from both sea and river water and susceptible to storm tides and erosion. But Energy Minister Rocío Nahle said on Twitter Thursday that the refinery — which was built by the government — was designed to resist “any situation.”

Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, President López Obrador’s communications coordinator, asserted that claims about flooding at the refinery were false or exaggerated.

“There are media outlets that are making a scene about the flooding of Paraíso, Tabasco, and the … refinery,” he wrote on Twitter Friday. “… [Here are] images from this morning in Paraíso and the refinery, where the flooding they’re talking about is not seen,” Ramírez Cuevas added above four photos of the town and refinery.

With reports from Reforma and Proceso 

Citizens’ perception of their city’s safety is at best level in a decade 

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San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Just 14% of survey respondents in San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León, said they felt unsafe in their city, the lowest result of all the cities surveyed. (Creative Commons)

The majority of Mexicans believe the city where they live is unsafe, a new survey found, but the percentage of citizens concerned about security in their local area is nevertheless at its lowest level of the past 10 years. 

Conducted by national statistics agency INEGI in late August and the first half of September, the latest National Survey of Urban Public Safety (ENSU) found that 64.4% of Mexicans feel unsafe in their home city. 

While still high, the figure fell 3 points compared to June and is now at its lowest level of the past decade. The current percentage is almost nine points lower than when President López Obrador took office in December 2018. 

INEGI surveyed residents of 75 cities for the latest ENSU, which is conducted every quarter. All 16 Mexico City boroughs were considered separately, lifting the total number of cities to 90. 

AMLO
While still high, the current percentage of 64.4% of respondents feeling unsafe is almost nine points lower than when AMLO took office in 2018.

Perceptions of insecurity are higher among women than men, the survey found. About seven in 10 women – 70.5% – consider their city to be unsafe, while 57.2% of men said the same. 

Fresnillo, Zacatecas, has the unenviable distinction of being the city considered unsafe by the highest percentage of surveyed citizens, with 94.7% of respondents expressing concerns. 

The cities of Irapuato in Guanajuato, Naucalpan in México state, Zacatecas city and Ciudad Obregón in Sonora were also deemed unsafe by more than 90% of their residents. 

Numerous other cities including Guadalajara, Colima, San Luis Potosí, Uruapan, Toluca, León and Ciudad Juárez were considered dangerous by over 80% of their residents. 

Parroquia de la Purificacion in Fresnillo, Zacatecas
The city of Fresnillo, Zacatecas, had the worst results, with 94.7% of respondents expressing concerns about safety.

Security perception levels among citizens were only below 50% in 24 of the 90 cities considered by INEGI. Among those, San Pedro Garza García – an affluent municipality in the metropolitan area of Monterrey – can be considered the safest city as just 14.5% of residents said that insecurity was a problem in their local area. 

Four other cities had insecurity perception rates of 25% or lower – the Mexico City borough of Benito Juárez (20.6%), Piedras Negras (23.8%), Tampico (25%) and Los Mochis (25%). 

Other cities with relatively low rates – below 40% – included Los Cabos, Saltillo, Puerto Vallarta, Mérida, Tepic, Durango and La Paz.  

Withdrawing money from automatic teller machines on city streets is a major concern for Mexico’s urban dwellers, the survey found. Almost three-quarters of respondents – 73.6% – told INEGI they feel unsafe when using ATMs, while 67.4% said that using public transport was risky. 

people in a bank in Cozumel
Banks didn’t rate high with respondents as safe places. ATMs were the No. 1 place people said they feel unsafe.

The other places where a majority of those polled said they felt unsafe were banks, the streets they regularly use, highways and markets. Some respondents said they also felt unsafe at parks, in their cars, at shopping centers, at work, at home and while studying at educational institutes.  

INEGI also asked citizens to offer an outlook for the security situation in their cities over the next 12 months. Just over 35% of respondents expect the situation to remain “just as bad” while 25.7% anticipate it will deteriorate. Only 21.9% of those polled believe that the public security situation will improve in their cities in the coming year, while 16% predicted it will stay “just as good” as it is now. 

Violent crime is a significant problem in various parts of Mexico, but homicides declined 8.4% in the first eight months of 2022 compared to the same period of last year, official data shows. Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez declared last month that “today we live in better conditions of peace and it’s clear that the national security strategy is working.”

However, Mexico remains on track to record over 30,000 homicides once again this year, with almost 21,000 victims between January and August. 

With reports from Milenio

Peso set to depreciate against U.S. dollar: Moody’s Analytics

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U.S. dollar bills with Mexican peso bills and coins.
A U.S. recession would be bad news for the peso.Depositphotos

The Mexican peso could depreciate 20% against the U.S. dollar in the coming months due to tightening monetary policy in the United States, according to Moody’s Analytics. 

Citing a model that replicates the monetary and financial conditions of the global economic crises of 2009 and 2020, the financial intelligence company predicted a “significant” correction for the peso, which currently trades at about 20 to the U.S. dollar. 

The tightening of monetary policy that is already underway in the United States — the Federal Reserve raised rates by 75 basis points for a third consecutive time in September as it seeks to tame high inflation — could trigger an exchange rate correction, Moody’s said in a report.  

The company used the word “imminent” to describe the proximity of the commencement of its predicted correction, but also said that the anticipated depreciation might not come until 2024, “depending on the speed of the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening cycle and Mexico’s monetary policy reaction.”

The central bank's headquarters in Mexico City.
The central bank’s headquarters in Mexico City. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

The Bank of México (Banxico) holds its monetary policy meetings a week after the Fed’s interest rate announcements, and has recently followed its lead in lifting rates by 0.75% in an attempt to bring stubbornly high inflation down. Banxico’s sharp hikes are seen as one factor that has helped the peso maintain — and even increase — its value against the greenback. Other factors include strong inflows of remittances, foreign investment in Mexico and strong export earnings.  

However, a recession in the United States could “reverse” those positives, Reuters said. The news agency also said that “an imminent return of capital to the United States caused by the Fed ramping up rates could weigh on the peso.”

At 9.25%, Mexico’s benchmark interest rate is currently much higher than that in the United States, while inflation here was 8.7% in September.     

Carlos González, chief analyst at the Monex financial group, suggested that Banxico might not keep up with the Fed’s interest rate increases in 2023.

“It seems to me that next year, as the Fed continues to increase rates, the Bank of México could even say ‘We are staying here’ and I think that factor may affect [the peso],” he said.

Many currencies have depreciated significantly against the dollar in 2022, but the Mexican peso isn’t one of them. In fact, the peso has strengthened against the greenback, adding over 2% in value since the start of the year. 

Moody’s acknowledged that the peso has been relatively stable since the initial pandemic shock in the first half of 2020, when it fell to a low of about 25 to the U.S. dollar.

Alfredo Coutiño, the financial intelligence company’s head of Latin America economic research, also warned of a “currency correction” for the peso in an analysis for Moody’s Analytics subscribers. “By the beginning of 2023 at the latest, the depreciation of the Mexican peso will have to come,” he said.

With reports from EFE, Reforma and Reuters 

Mexico could follow US into recession in 2023: Bloomberg

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Mexico's stock exchange building, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores
Mexico’s stock exchange building, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores. Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro

The old adage, “When the United States sneezes, the world catches a cold,” appears to still have currency today – and Mexico’s proximity to and interconnectedness with the world’s largest economy could make its own economy especially vulnerable to contagion.

Bloomberg reported Monday that “a near-certain U.S. recession” in 2023 “will likely pull Mexico’s economy into a contraction.”

The news agency said that Bloomberg Economics models show a 100% probability that the U.S. economy will go into recession during the next year due to the Federal Reserve’s sharp interest rate hikes as it attempts to tame inflation. 

According to Bloomberg Latin America economist Felipe Hernández, Mexico’s economy is likely to “steadily lose momentum before falling” into recession in the second half of next year. 

Bloomberg Latin America economist Felipe Hernandez
Bloomberg Latin America economist Felipe Hernández. Bloomberg

However, Hernández doesn’t anticipate Mexico being in the doldrums for too long. “After a short, shallow recession, growth would quickly rebound in 2024,” he wrote in an article for Bloomberg Professional Service subscribers. 

That said, a recession in the United States would be a “meaningful shock” for Mexico, the economist said. “The U.S. recovery from the pandemic has been one of the few growth drivers for Mexico since the outbreak,” Hernández wrote. 

Bloomberg noted that the Mexican economy became more dependent on the U.S. economy during the pandemic as President López Obrador – in contrast with many leaders around the world – didn’t increase spending to support the economy during the downturn. 

GDP plummeted by more than 8% in 2020 as Mexico endured one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, even though economic restrictions here were looser than those in many other countries. 

Hernández said that Mexico’s recovery has depended heavily on demand from consumers north of the border and foreign companies that operate here due to the ease of tapping into the U.S. market. That demand would suffer from a downturn in the U.S., and Mexican workers in that country would send less money home, he wrote. 

Remittances are a major source of income for many Mexican families, and López Obrador often describes migrants who support their loved ones at home as “heroes.” 

While Bloomberg’s models are predicting a recession in the U.S., three Bloomberg economists including Hernández acknowledged they could be wrong. 

For his part, President Joe Biden said last week that he wasn’t anticipating a recession, but if there is one it will be “very slight.”

In Mexico, López Obrador remains upbeat about the state of the economy, saying Tuesday that the country has “economic stability” and that GDP is equivalent to that of Spain. 

Mexico has the world’s 15th biggest economy with GDP reaching almost US $1.3 trillion last year, according to data compiled by Investopedia

The World Bank is more optimistic than Bloomberg about the prospects of the Mexican economy in 2023, forecasting growth of 1.5%, even though the Bank of México has responded to high inflation here – 8.7% in September – with three successive interest rate hikes of 0.75%.   

With reports from Bloomberg 

Guadalajara has the world’s coolest neighborhood, says Time Out

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Las Ramblas Cataluna plaza in Colonia Americana
The Las Ramblas Cataluña plaza in Colonia Americana. Román López/Unsplash

Mexico doesn’t just have the world’s best small city — San Miguel de Allende, according to readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine — but now also the world’s coolest neighborhood.

The Colonia Americana neighborhood in Guadalajara ranked No. 1 in Time Out magazine’s 2022 list of the 51 coolest neighborhoods in the world.

Time Out, which surveyed readers and sought “expert input” from its “global network of local writers and editors” to compile its fifth annual coolest neighborhoods list, said that Colonia Americana – located just west of Guadalajara’s downtown area – is the epicenter of the Jalisco capital’s underground scene. 

“Located right next to 500-year-old El Centro, it’s an edgy blend of art deco and neoclassical mansions with artists’ squats and warehouses containing some of the city’s best music venues,” the publication said, mentioning Segundo Piso Music and Bar Americas, which it described as Latin America’s answer to legendary Berlin club Berghain. 

DJ Jimi Jules performing at Bar Americas in Guadalajara
DJ Jimi Jules spins the tunes at the Bar Americas nightclub in the world’s coolest neighborhood. BarAmericas

Time Out also said that the plaza around the neo-gothic church Templo Expiatorio del Santísmo is “prime for people-watching at any time of the day thanks to its many food carts and street performers.” 

Adding to Colonia Americana’s coolness are the “sleek cafes” and “dive bars” where “creative locals” work and sip tequila, the liquor whose birthplace is the town of Santiago de Tequila – located about 70 kilometers northwest of central Guadalajara.  

Time Out recommended a range of other Colonia Americana places to visit in a “perfect day” itinerary, including the art gallery Tiro Al Blanco, the restaurant Veneno and “vibey Chapultepec Avenue” for its weekend handicrafts market. 

One thing that the magazine didn’t talk about was safety. However, the Mexican author Antonio Ortuño – a resident of Colonia Americana – said that almost 900 crimes were reported in the neighborhood in the first nine months of 2022. 

“Let’s say it without subterfuge: la Americana is not a safe area,” he wrote in an article published Monday in the Spanish newspaper El País

Only one other Mexican neighborhood appeared in this year’s 51 coolest neighborhoods list, and it just scraped into the rankings at No. 51. Versalles, in the Jalisco resort city of Puerto Vallarta, is “an inconspicuous part of town” but home to “a clutch of Vallarta’s coolest shops and restaurants,” Time Out said.   

“This charming area feels like a small town in itself, with its cobbled roads, bougainvillea and traditional single-story homes, and its calm is a refreshing contrast to the nearby tourist neighborhoods of Centro, Cinco de Diciembre and Zona Romantica,” the magazine said. 

However, Versalles is “not all peace and quiet,” Time Out said, noting that “when you are ready to paint the town red, Calle España has the city’s best dining and nightlife, with street-style tacos waiting at La Mucca and smoky mezcal cocktails at La Tatema Mezcalería.”

It also said that the proximity of the neighborhood to Puerto Vallarta’s beaches adds to its appeal.  

Joining Colonia Americana and Versalles on the coolest neighborhoods list are areas in cities such as Tokyo, Toronto, São Paulo, Barcelona, Melbourne and Lagos. 

Ranking second to fifth behind Guadalajara’s epitome of cool are Cais do Sodré in Lisbon, Portugal; Wat Bo Village in Siem Reap, Cambodia; Ridgewood in New York City in the U.S.; and Mile End in Montreal, Canada.    

Mexico News Daily 

State-owned Chinese telecom gets 30-year-permit to operate in Mexico

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China Unicom international partners' meeting
The Hong Kong-based company initially will provide tech services – including dedicated links and data transmission capacity. Photos: China Unicom Global

A Chinese state-owned telecommunications company has obtained permission to operate in Mexico for 30 years. 

The Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) has granted China United Network Communications Group, known as China Unicom, a license to operate here, the newspaper El Economista reported Wednesday. 

It said that the license allows the Hong Kong-based business – one of China’s largest telecommunications companies – to enter the fixed and mobile telephone markets in Mexico. 

However, China Unicom initially intends to provide technological services – including dedicated links and data transmission capacity – to customers including corporate businesses, El Economista said, adding that its competitors will be firms such as Alestra, Axtel, Telmex, MCM, Bestel and Totalplay.  

Chen Zhongyue, Exec Director and President China Unicom
Chen Zhongyue, China Unicom’s executive director and president, runs one of China’s biggest telecommunications companies.

Citing IFT documents, El Economista also said that the Chinese company is interested in developing its own fiber-optic networks. In that area, it would be a competitor of companies such as Century Link, Estevez.Jor and Neutral Networks.  

China Unicom, which has some 155 million mobile customers in China, submitted an application for a permit to operate in Mexico in March, and IFT approved it in July. However, the regulator has only just made its decision public, the newspaper said. 

China Unicom’s authority to operate in the United States was revoked by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in January due to national security concerns. The FCC last month named China Unicom and two other Chinese telecommunications companies as threats to U.S. national security as they are subject to Chinese government influence and control. 

With reports from El Economista

Health regulator finds 30 undisclosed substances in ESD aerosols

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Mexican woman vaping on the street
“This is an enormous deception of consumers, who trust that the product is less harmful than a conventional cigarette,” Cofepris chief Alejandro Svarch said, Román López/Unsplash

An analysis by health regulator Cofepris has detected 30 undisclosed substances in aerosols inhaled via electronic smoking devices (ESDs) commonly known as vapes and e-cigarettes.   

Linalool, which can be used as an insecticide, was one of the substances detected. Cofepris chief Alejandro Svarch appeared at President López Obrador’s morning press conference on Tuesday to present the preliminary results of the analysis. He said that Cofepris scientists developed their own methodology to analyze the aerosols in ESDs – whose sale was banned in Mexico in June – because no one else has come up with one. 

Final results of the analysis will be published in scientific journals in the coming months, Svarch said, adding that the pioneering methodology developed in Mexico will be of interest to health authorities in other countries.  

He said that the Cofepris analysis detected a total of 33 substances in the vapors of ESDs but only three (in addition to nicotine) appear on the labeling of the devices – glycerol, propylene glycol and natural or artificial flavorings.  

Mexico's health regulator chief Alejandro Svarch
Svarch told President Lopez Obrador’s daily press conference that the agency had to invent its own method of testing the aerosols of e-cigarettes because tests don’t exist. Daniel Augusto Sánchez Moreno/Cuartoscuro

“This in itself is an enormous deception of consumers, who trust that the product is less harmful than a conventional cigarette, because it [supposedly] only has flavorings and nicotine, when in fact, it has other kinds of substances or ingredients that are highly dangerous for humans,” Svarch said. 

Among the “hidden” ingredients that “producers of vaping devices don’t want us to know about,” he said, are dimethyl ether, benzyl alcohol, ethyl propionate, isoamyl acetate, butyl acetate and methyl cinnamate. 

“We found linalool, for example, which is used to kill flies and cockroaches,” Svarch said. “With this work and other scientific research about the risks associated with vaping, we can now say there is nothing that the vaping industry can hide with respect to these products — which are not only deceitful but also [pose] an enormous risk to human health.” Linalool is a naturally-occuring compound that is also commonly used as a food additive and in products such as soaps and cosmetics. 

Svarch also presented a song commissioned by Cofepris that warns of the risks of vaping and advises ESD users to “give up now.” 

#ElVapeTeAcortaLaVida#DéjaloYa

A video commissioned by Cofepris to publicize the dangers of vaping. Click to hear the anti-vaping song written for the video, which starts at 1:40.

Among the cautionary tales offered via the song’s lyrics are the cases of a woman who lost three teeth due to vaping and a handsome man who became known as “burnt face” because his beloved vape exploded while he was using it.

Mexico News Daily