Santa María Xadani is one of the municipalities under red light restrictions.
A red light maximum alert warning now applies in nine municipalities in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of Oaxaca due to an increase in coronavirus cases and deaths.
State and municipal authorities have imposed red light restrictions in Juchitán de Zaragoza, Ciudad Ixtepec, Salina Cruz, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Santo Domingo Ingenio, El Barrio de La Soledad, El Espinal, Magdalena Tequisistlán and Santa María Xadani.
Residents of two of those municipalities, Magdalena Tequisistlán and Santa María Xadani, are subject to curfews. The former saw case numbers explode after an infected person arrived by taxi last month.
The region escaped the worst effects of the first and second waves of the pandemic but has seen a surge in cases as the highly contagious delta strain of the virus takes hold in Mexico. Hospitals in the area are now under intense pressure and some seriously ill Covid-19 patients have been unable to find a bed and died at home.
The third wave of the pandemic has also hit other parts of Oaxaca, which is currently high risk orange on the federal stoplight map. There are currently 2,361 active cases in the southern state, according to Health Ministry estimates, but that figure is almost certainly a vast undercount because it’s based on confirmed cases and testing levels in Mexico remain very low.
Coronavirus cases and deaths in Mexico as reported by day. milenio
In Santa María Colotepec, a municipality where part of the beach destination Puerto Escondido is located, 15 to 20 people per day are dying with Covid, according to a municipal official.
“… [Covid-19] has affected them a lot because we don’t have medical care, there are no hospitals that treat Covid patients,” Saul Martínez told the newspaper Milenio.
“We have to go to neighboring municipalities to see if their clinics or hospitals accept us but the response is always no,” he said.
Colotepec resident Giovanny Vázquez said her father was turned away from the IMSS #32 hospital in Puerto Escondido without even being tested for Covid-19 despite having the telltale symptoms of the disease. He died at home two weeks later.
Paying for care in a private hospital is out of reach for families of limited means, many of whom also face high costs for oxygen required to keep their loved ones alive.
Martínez said many people unable to afford professional medical treatment have used home remedies to treat Covid.
“They make eucalyptus tea in a pot and add red onion, garlic [and Vick’s] VapoRub,” he said. “They’re remedies of our ancestors that are saving lives today,” the official claimed.
Many people would consider vaccination a better option, but the take-up rate has been lower in Oaxaca than most other states, leading the federal government to intensify efforts to get shots into the arms of residents there and in four other states with low rates.
Across Mexico, about 53% of adults have had at least one shot of a vaccine but tens of millions of Mexicans remain unvaccinated. The coronavirus, and in particular the delta strain, is taking advantage of their vulnerability, infecting almost 330,000 people in July, according to official numbers, the second highest monthly total of the pandemic after January.
The Health Ministry reported an additional 20,685 cases on Wednesday, lifting Mexico’s accumulated total to just over 2.9 million. The official Covid-19 death toll rose by 611 to 242, 547, the fourth highest total in the world after those of the United States, Brazil and India.
Illustrations from the Florentine Codex, which highlights Nahua perspectives of the Conquest.
The Getty Research Institute (GRI) will give a public lecture on August 13 to tell the story of the Conquest from the perspective of the Mexica people, also known as the Aztecs. It coincides with the 500th anniversary of the fall of the pre-hispanic city of Tenochtitlán, the forbear to Mexico City, which marked the collapse of the Aztec Empire.
A reading in English, Spanish and Náhuatl of Book 12 of the Florentine Codex will connect attendees with eyewitness accounts by indigenous survivors of the Conquest.
The Florentine Codex is a work compiled by Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún in the 16th century, in collaboration with indigenous Mexicas. Its text was written in both Spanish and Náhuatl and consists of 2,400 pages and 2,000 illustrations drawn by indigenous artists, organized into 12 books documenting the culture, religious beliefs, society, economics, and natural history of the Mexica people.
The version of historical events presented in the codex contrasts markedly with the accounts of conqueror Hernán Cortés and subsequent Spanish versions. For example, a famous defeat for the Spanish, which is commonly known as the “Night of the Sorrows,” is celebrated as a Mexica military triumph in the codex.
The event will run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with opportunity for active audience participation. The daylong reading will close with a musical performance and poetry readings.
This event will be co-presented by GRI, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the National Library of Anthropology and History. It is part of the GRI’s Florentine Codex Initiative and LACMA’s exhibition Mixpantli: Space, Time, and the Indigenous Origins of Mexico which will open on December 12.
An infected taxi passenger may have caused the "first wave" of Covid to hit the town of Magdalena Tequisistlán in Oaxaca.
The coronavirus situation deteriorated rapidly in a previously Covid-free town in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of Oaxaca after an infected person arrived in a taxi four weeks ago.
Magdalena Tequisistlán, located 65 kilometers inland from the port city of Salina Cruz, has since recorded more than 160 confirmed cases and at least 19 Covid-19 deaths.
Municipal authorities believe that the real number of cases is above 1,000, which would mean that about one in six residents of the indigenous Chontal town has been infected.
With people staying at home to try to avoid the virus, the streets of Magdalena Tequisistlán are largely empty, according to a report by the newspaper El Universal. The ringing of the bells of the local church is one of the few signs of human presence, but their sound signals death rather than life. Since the first Covid-19 fatality in the town, the bells have barely stopped ringing.
Magdalena Tequisistlán is doing all it can to stop more people with the virus arriving in the town. Health checkpoints have been set up where outsiders must stop to have their temperature taken and everyone who arrives is required to register with municipal police.
For residents, the outbreak is “the first wave” of the pandemic, said Mayor Roel Filo Lozano.
“It’s hitting us with all it’s got because it caught us with a clinic without medicine, an abandoned hospital, without vaccines for people in their 30s and with those in their 50s and 40s only having had one dose,” he said.
“… [The authorities] tell us they don’t have [medical] personnel or equipment to attend [to the situation here]. It’s urgent that the federal government send vaccines to protect us because practically one person per day is dying,” Filo said.
Virtually all municipal officials and many police are currently sick with Covid with the mayor one of just a few exceptions among city workers.
Helena Luna, the municipal trustee, told El Universal that she, the mayor and one councilor, all of whom have so far avoided catching the virus, are carrying out a wide range of jobs due to the absence of other municipal workers. They go to Salina Cruz to refill oxygen tanks and the mayor even dug a grave on one occasion because there was no one else to do it, she said.
“My children told me to stop [working], that I’m putting myself at risk, but I have an obligation to the people,” Luna said.
Other members of the community are also rallying to support their fellow residents, including Roberto Ordaz, who delivered free food and medicine to a struggling family that is caring for two members who are sick with Covid and lost its 73-year-old patriarch to the disease last week.
“It’s a small town and we all know each other. That’s why when I found out about the situation of this family I decided to come and leave them something to eat. I believe it’s a time to support each other,” he said.
Weapons smuggled from the US to Mexico have likely been used in tens of thousands of homicides.
The federal government sued 11 United States-based gun manufacturers on Wednesday, accusing them of negligent business practices that have led to illegal arms trafficking and deaths in Mexico, where U.S.-sourced firearms are used in a majority of high-impact crimes.
The government filed the lawsuit in a United States federal court in Boston because some of the manufacturers are headquartered in Massachusetts. Among the accused are units of Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms, Colt’s Manufacturing Company and Glock Inc.
Mexico alleges that they and other gun companies knew that their business practices caused illegal arms trafficking in Mexico.
The government alleges that other arms manufacturers also design weapons to appeal to criminal organizations in Mexico, among which are drug cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
A Colt Aztec .38 caliber pistol
“Mexico is denouncing these promotional practices, along with other examples of negligence, like multiple weapons sales to a solo buyer, and the absence of background checks,” said a court document filed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE)
Firearms made in the United States and smuggled into Mexico – where there are tight restrictions on gun ownership and just one store, operated by the army, that sells guns – have fueled the high levels of violence here during the past 10 years, the government argues. There were more than 100,000 homicides in the last three years alone as cartels and other crime gangs fight each other for control of illicit rackets such as drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
A government study published last year said that some 2.5 million illicit weapons have crossed the border into Mexico over the past decade. Such weapons have likely been used in tens of thousands of homicides in Mexico and account for the vast majority of gun seizures.
Mexico’s lawsuit, which The Washington Post described as “unusual” and the SRE called “unprecedented,” maintains that United States gun makers “are conscious of the fact that their products are trafficked and used in illicit activities against the civilian population and authorities of Mexico.”
“Nonetheless, they continue to prioritize their economic benefit, and use marketing strategies to promote weapons that are ever more lethal, without mechanisms of security or traceability,” an SRE document said.
Mexico is seeking financial compensation from the gun companies but has not yet specified an amount. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Wednesday that an amount will be determined as the court proceedings take place. The government wants the compensation amount to take into account losses sustained by industries such as tourism due to high levels of gun violence as well as its outlay on security to (try to) keep criminal organizations in check.
Mexican officials have estimated that damages could be as high as US $10 billion if the lawsuit is successful, but that appears unlikely. A U.S. federal law enacted in 2005 “shields gun manufacturers from most civil liability claims, making it difficult for lawsuits like Mexico’s to succeed,” the Post reported.
However, the Mexican government has drawn hope from several recent cases in the United States including one in which a San Diego judge said that survivors of a 2019 shooting at the Poway synagogue in California could proceed with a lawsuit against the company that manufactured the weapon used in the attack.
Gun manufacturers have previously denied responsibility for crimes in which their products were used, while the firearms industry has asserted that it does all it can to prevent the purchase of weapons by people who are not legally allowed to own them.
Nevertheless, “Mexican criminal organizations are able to obtain military-grade weapons through straw buyers in the United States with relative ease,” the Post said.
“In recent years, for example, the use of .50-caliber sniper rifles has increased in Mexico. The guns have been used by criminal organizations to target top Mexican officials.”
Mexico City Police Chief Omar García Harfuch was targeted in an armed attack in Mexico City last year that was allegedly perpetrated by CJNG gunmen.
Ricardo Monreal, Morena’s leader in the Senate
The federal government has sought to ramp up pressure on the United States to do more to stop the illegal flow of weapons south of the border. Just days after a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, on August 3, 2019, in which eight Mexican citizens were killed, President López Obrador called on the U.S. to pass stricter legislation on gun sales.
Foreign Minister Ebrard, who attended a ceremony in El Paso on Tuesday to commemorate the second anniversary of the attack, has tried to manage the issue as a quid pro quo negotiation: Mexico will prioritize combatting the trafficking of drugs to the United States in exchange for authorities in the U.S. doing more to stop the shipment of weapons to the south.
The lawsuit filed in Boston is not directed at the U.S. government. A Mexican official quoted by the newspaper El País said the purpose of the legal action is not to pressure the United States but to reduce firearm deaths in Mexico.
In addition to compensation, the suit pushes for tighter restrictions on weapon sales and enhanced security features on weapons. It also calls on the gun manufacturers to launch media campaigns against arms trafficking and undertake studies to determine how the problem can be better addressed.
Ricardo Monreal, the ruling Morena party’s leader in the Senate, described the lawsuit as “correct, timely, brave and fair.”
“Mexico cannot remain silent” in the face of the deadly flow of illicit weapons into Mexico, he said.
“What is this lawsuit seeking? Not just compensation but to avoid the continuation of this tragedy of violence that Mexico is living. I’m sure that many of our violence problems are caused by the … smuggling of weapons into our country,” Monreal said.
Ebrard said the filing of the lawsuit is “an important step” in the fight against arms trafficking.
“We’re going to litigate it with complete seriousness and win the trial [in order to] reduce illegal arms trafficking. This … complements other actions we are taking,” he said.
The legal process is expected to be lengthy, and lawyers for the government have indicated they are prepared to take Mexico’s case to the Supreme Court of the United States if they can’t get the result they want in Boston.
Cozumel will host the third Pitch at the Beach networking event.
The third edition of an international networking event will return to Quintana Roo from August 21-23, this time on the island of Cozumel.
Pitch at the Beach invites investment funds to see 30 projects, half from Mexico and half from international organizations and entrepreneurs. Of the Mexican contingent, three are from Quintana Roo; internationally, the projects are from Spain, Portugal, Chile, Costa Rica and Canada, among others.
Guests speakers include the co-founder of Starbucks, Zev Siegl; Pauly Suchy, head of Global Business Angels Network; and Dominique Einhorn, founder of the startup Supercup & Uniqorn Incubator.
Entrepreneurs present projects applicable to a wide array of industries. Organizers request that projects be disruptive and scalable, promise social impact and are already available on the market.
The event is organized by the Mexican Employer’s Federation (Coparmex) and some of the participating organizations include the World Business Angel Forum, Global Entrepreneurship Network, Startup SuperCup and Founder Institute.
Coparmex director León Cervantes explained that a judging panel will determine which projects can be linked to investment funds, but the ultimate goal of the Pitch at the Beach is for organizers, entrepreneurs and potential investors to network.
“Trade your suit for sandals, pack your bags and join us in Isla Pasión, Cozumel for three days filled with our two favorite things … beach and business,” reads the webpage.
The first edition was held in Cancún in 2018 for local entrepreneurs under the name “Angel Nest.” The second edition took place in Tulum in 2019.
Gerardo, a granicero, or shaman, closes the Canícula ritual after having asked the spirits to prevent crops from being harmed by the rainy season.
“Balance is important in indigenous beliefs,” said Javier as around him, graniceros, traditional Mexican shamans charged with controlling the weather, began unpacking the offerings for a ceremony called the Canícula. “The Canícula is a ritual that attempts to achieve that balance.”
Not just the ritual’s name, the canícula is also the period from early July through mid-August, the dog days of summer, when Sirius the Dog Star (which also bears the name canícula in Spanish), rises and sets with the sun.
Throughout May, graniceros perform rituals to bring rain, hoping to ensure a good harvest. During the dog days, they perform the Canícula, aiming to mitigate damage to crops from the high heat and heavy rains.
“During this time, because of the excess rain and humidity, plants begin to rot,” said Gerardo, the granicero who organized the ritual in a México state pueblo. “If we do not remove it, the plants rot in the heat and animals begin to die. We are [doing this] so that it doesn’t hurt us so much. We are going to leave an offering and ask that they let the animals and flowers live.”
In exchange for being interviewed and photographed about this important ritual, the graniceros asked that only first names be used and that the ritual’s location not be revealed.
Esmeralda, a granicera who helped conduct the ritual, kneels in front of an incense burner.
Graniceros believe that spirits — particularly those that live in Popocatépetl, an active volcano, and Iztaccihuatl, an extinct one, both of which overlook the Valley of México — communicate with them through dreams. Among other things, spirits tell them what to do to prepare for rituals, what to bring and where to hold them.
“[Another granicera] dreamed that she was in this cave and there was a man selling sweets,” said Gerardo, “and he said, ‘I give you a cross. Tell everyone to put it in their houses as protection so that sickness doesn’t enter the houses.’”
Gerardo called Javier and others participating in the ritual and told them that before the ritual, they should make a small cross from the wood of an ocote pine tree.
“The wood is also used … to start fires in homes and to light incense,” said Javier. The cross he requested — known as a Cruz de Ocote — is often kept in homes as protection from evil spirits.
Although not a granicero, Javier has attended three other rituals, and he’s had dreams before some of them. Before the Canícula, he told me, “I dreamed of guayaba preserves, and Gerardo said that meant that I was to bring that to the ceremony.”
Gerardo told Javier that he believes that the volcanoes are sending him those dreams in order to communicate with him.
Shortly before the Canícula, Esmeralda, a granicera who helped conduct the ritual, had a dream about her sister and a road:
“The road was very bad, and we had to go through ravines and descend with ropes,” she said. “And I told her [my sister], ‘It is better if we go by another road.’ [The spirits] were advising us that the road was very bad.”
On the day of the ritual, a caravan of four 4 x 4s struggled to ascend a dirt road that had become deep mud, nearly impassable. At one point, the caravan had to continue the ascent on a different road, and twice, a chain was wrapped around trees so that the Jeeps could be pulled up inclines.
The initial plan was to hold the Canícula outside a cave, one that has been used for rituals since pre-Hispanic times. But because of a two-hour delay caused by the mud, there was no way to reach it and return during daylight and it was too difficult a descent to make in the dark.
But the spirits had sent Esmeralda another message through her dreams. She had dreamed of a woman descending a mountain on a horse.
“[The spirits] would not let us arrive at the cave because the woman, who was Iztaccihuatl, was going to descend for the offering,” she said.
The offerings to the spirits: “We give them a part of what we take from the land: food and some drink,” says Gerardo.
When the caravan arrived at a site beside a stream fed by snowmelt from Iztaccihuatl, Esmeralda knew we’d arrived at the right place.
As soon as the caravan arrived, participants began to hurriedly set out the offerings. The ceremony had to begin at noon.
“The spirits live under the ground,” said Gerardo. “At midday, the spirits can leave the ground … we attract them with offerings.”
Food and drink were placed on the ground, and Jaime, another granicero and Esmeralda’s husband, placed four small white flags at the corners.
“The flags, called plantli in Náhuatl, represent the four cardinal points and the four basic elements of water, earth, fire and wind,” he explained.
Once everything was set, Esmeralda and Jaime purified the area with copal, an incense.
“The spirits of nature like the smell of copal,” Gerardo said. “Through incense, apart from consecrating things, it is a way to have a dialog with them. With copal, they are always attentive.”
Gerardo then took the incense and, standing before the offerings, asked permission of the spirits to begin the ritual.
“The prayer … is a way of waking those beings,” he said, adding that it was also to remind the spirits that they and indigenous groups had made an agreement ages ago. “We give them a part of what we take from the land: food and some drink. They give us part of the richness that is the water and all of the edible and inedible plants.”
After Gerardo finished with the prayer, each participant knelt before the offerings with an incense burner. “During the welcoming ceremony, a person says their name and where they are from,” said Javier. “This is so the spirits know who they are and can find them.”
Participants then moved away from the offerings so that the spirits could partake of them. After eating food that the group had brought, everyone returned to where the offerings had been set out, some of which were eaten.
This is done because graniceros believe that it’s important to share the offerings with the spirits. But some of the offerings, like the mole verde that Esmeralda had dreamed about and brought, were left for only the spirits to consume.
At 3 p.m., Gerardo performed a ceremony to bring the ritual to a close. He said it was important to end the ceremony at that particular hour.
“At 3:00, unfavorable spirits begin to leave [the ground]. It is important to keep the two [spirits] separated. If the ritual ends later than 3:00, things go badly. We cannot stay longer. We cannot leave the spirits out. They have to return to where they were, and [at] another time, we will attract them with offerings. We will call them.”
As we packed up to leave, a dense fog started rolling in and the temperature dropped dramatically. It’s not clear if this signaled the arrival of the unfavorable spirits, but no one seemed to tarry.
The Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is a popular tourist destination in Oaxaca city's historic center.
Quintana Roo, Oaxaca and Jalisco are the states Mexicans most want to travel to once the coronavirus pandemic ends, according to a study by an online travel agency.
The portal booking.com surveyed 1,200 Mexican adults and found that 62% of respondents intend to take a vacation after the conclusion of the pandemic, whenever that might be.
Just over four in five – 81% – of those who intend to travel said they would prefer to vacation in Mexico rather than abroad.
Quintana Roo, Oaxaca and Jalisco were the most desirable destinations among those polled but booking.com didn’t reveal the percentage of respondents that hoped to travel to each state.
Quintana Roo is famous for its white sand beaches, turquoise Caribbean sea and year-round warm climate, and is home to popular tourist destinations such as Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Isla Holbox and Bacalar.
Booking.com noted that there are also lesser-known tourism gems in the state such as Xcacel-Xcacelito, a natural protected area 20 kilometers north of Tulum, and Aktun Ha, a cenote, or natural sinkhole, near Tulum that is perfect for snorkeling.
In Oaxaca, walking around the historic center of the state capital, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a delight, booking.com said, noting that one can observe Mexican and Oaxacan traditions and be reminded of the importance of “our roots.”
Oaxaca city was named best city in the world last year by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, perhaps making it even more attractive in the eyes of some would-be Mexican travelers.
Monte Albán, a Zapotec archaeological site near the capital that is also UNESCO-listed, is another top attraction in Oaxaca, while Hierve el Agua, a site that includes natural rock pools and a petrified waterfall, is an easy day trip from Oaxaca city.
Booking.com also recommended a visit to the town of Mitla – which includes an archaeological site – “where the caves with rock paintings and the legacy of the first sedentary farmers will win anyone over.”
Oaxaca is also a popular destination for its beaches in Pacific coast towns such as Puerto Escondido, a surfing mecca, and Huatulco, which has a national park with numerous bays.
It’s not hard to see why many Mexicans would like to take a vacation in Jalisco. The state is home to Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city and a culinary hub, the birthplace of tequila, the resort city of Puerto Vallarta and scenic Lake Chapala, around which numerous towns and villages are dotted.
Jalisco “is a state with a little bit of everything,” booking.com said, noting that along with Nayarit it is “one of the guardians of the huichol or Wixátari community whose arts and crafts are made from beads” and capture the attention of tourists who can’t avoid taking a piece home.
In 2020, Latin America was the fastest growing region for e-commerce in the world.
E-commerce giant eBay says Mexico is a priority for the business and that its growth will create employment opportunities in the country, its largest market in the region.
Buying online boomed in 2020, when Mexico became the fourth fastest growing e-commerce market in the world, at 62%, despite an otherwise tumultuous year for the retail industry.
At the regional level, Latin America became the fastest growing region for e-commerce in the world in 2020, with growth of 63%, breaching the US $100 billion mark for the first time. Mexico is likely to account for about 27% of the Latin American market this year at around $35 billion, second only to Brazil.
eBay’s director general of emerging markets, Ilya Kretov, said Mexico was central to the company’s plans.
“The figures represent a great opportunity for us … Having Mexico as the largest market for eBay in Latin America makes it a priority for our business,” he said.
He added that improving user experience and logistics processes and widening the company’s inventory were all key steps to make eBay the region’s most popular e-commerce platform.
Ease of trade with the United States, Kretov explained, was a major point of strength for the country. “Mexico represents a positive growth opportunity as part of a group of our global emerging markets … this large market is in a very good position to continue taking advantage of its proximity to the United States and access to global markets through e-commerce,” he said.
However, the emerging markets expert admitted logistics infrastructure was still lacking, for which eBay would try to establish business relationships with public and private couriers.
Kretov added that employment benefits would accompany eBay’s growth in Mexico. “eBay plays a very important role in creating economic opportunities for buyers and sellers … thousands of sellers can do business more easily and connect with buyers and thrive,” he said, before conceding that the company had a part to play to make sure work opportunities are realized at the regional level.
“We need to work and collaborate with local players in the e-commerce industry to strengthen the infrastructure and make the most of this global environment. The contribution of all players involved in the market, such as logistics providers and authorities, can make e-commerce more accessible to Latin American sellers and buyers,” he said.
The 'wanted' poster used to promote the yes vote in Sunday's referendum.
It sounded like something from Robespierre’s terror. The people would deliver a verdict on five of their previous leaders, deciding whether they should face justice for their crimes. In the event, President López Obrador’s referendum on prosecuting his predecessors delivered a damp squib rather than revolutionary fireworks. Just over 7% of the population turned out to vote, a fraction of what was required for the exercise to be binding.
Investors have already experienced the damage López Obrador’s peculiar brand of democracy can do. In 2018, the newly elected president scrapped a badly needed and partly built US $13-billion new airport for Mexico City after a “people’s poll.” A $1.4-billion beer factory under construction in northern Mexico was canceled last year after a vote by 36,781 people in a city of 1 million.
Some voters in Sunday’s referendum may have been put off by the tortuous wording of the question, which was toned down by the Supreme Court. But any doubts would have been dispelled by the “wanted” posters produced by the referendum’s advocates. These showed ex-presidents Carlos Salinas, Enrique Peña Nieto and Felipe Calderón with red blindfolds detailing their alleged crimes under the slogan, “Do you want Salinas, Peña and Calderón to go to jail?”
A human rights organization pointed out that the ex-presidents were more likely to receive the justice of a Roman circus than the due process of a modern G20 nation. Critics questioned the need for a costly referendum when laws already on the Mexican statute books allow for the prosecution of corruption and other misdeeds in office.
Such arguments ignore the veteran populist’s political logic. López Obrador used the referendum to mobilize his supporters and remind them he is pursuing the enemies of his self-styled “fourth transformation” of Mexico — an epochal change he immodestly equates with the Mexican revolution of 1910 or independence from Spain. True to form, he hailed the referendum as a success because the vast majority of those who voted supported him.
In reality, López Obrador’s pursuit of justice appears curiously selective. Despite extraditing Emilio Lozoya, a former head of the state oil company Pemex, from Spain a year ago on charges of corruption in a scandal involving Peña Nieto, Lozoya has yet to appear in court and no prosecution has been brought against Peña Nieto.
The country’s notorious drug traffickers are being embraced with a presidential strategy of “hugs, not bullets.” On occasion, the embrace has been more than metaphorical. López Obrador released the son of jailed Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, met and shook the hand of Guzmán’s mother, and publicly apologized for using the drug lord’s nickname.
Worrying reports have emerged that drug traffickers favored candidates from López Obrador’s party in midterm elections last month, kidnapping and threatening opposition candidates. Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico until January, has described López Obrador’s attitude towards the cartels as “pretty laissez-faire.”
The Biden administration, preoccupied with a politically toxic surge of migration from Mexico and Central America and keen to keep López Obrador as an ally, has said little on the subject — a reticence it will come to regret.
Mexico’s former leaders have been spared the tumbrils of López Obrador’s revolution for now. But the president’s fondness for show over substance conceals a worrying disregard for institutions and the rule of law. Investors should beware.
The navy has an agreement to purchase $5.5 million worth of Sig Sauer rifles.
The Mexican navy is set to buy U.S. automatic assault rifles worth as much as US $5.5 million, subject to approval by the U.S. government.
The arms will be sold by U.S. manufacturer Sig Sauer, which is the largest member of L&O Holdings, a worldwide business group of firearms manufacturers.
Weapons that contain parts or intellectual property from the United States fall under U.S. export control rules, which means sales require governmental approval.
There are two principal ways for foreign governments to purchase weapons from the United States: direct commercial sales negotiated with companies, and foreign military sales in which governments typically contact a Defense Department official at the U.S. embassy. Both require a governmental go-ahead, and it is not clear which method was employed in this case.
The Mexican Embassy in Washington D.C. and Sig Sauer did not respond to requests for comment by the news agency Reuters. Likewise, the U.S. State Department refused to give specific details on the case.
The deal could prove controversial as most of the weapons involved in violence in Mexico in recent decades have come from the United States, many by illegal means. About 70% of weapons seized from crimes in the country are traced back to the U.S., according to a report by the United States Governmental Accountability Office, published in February.
The arms manufacturer in the deal is no stranger to controversy either. Sig Sauer CEO Ron Cohen avoided jail in Germany in 2019 for the illegal shipment of 38,000 pistols sent to Colombia, which was still in active conflict at the time. Through a plea deal, Cohen was handed an 18-month suspended sentence and fined $675,000. Meanwhile, Sig Sauer’s German division was required to pay more than $12 million.
