Article

Ventana a Mexico

October 20, 2006

Mexico News and Analysis:
The most recent press, commentary and analysis on Mexico and its bilateral relationship with the United States, including articles and opinion pieces from Mexican newspapers.

Mexico News

500 police officers replaced in Tijuana
Los Angeles Times , 11/19/08

Mexican federal agents and army troops fanned out across this besieged border city Tuesday to replace 500 police officers, the latest move by the government to purge the troubled force of corrupt and incompetent cops.

Pepsi cuts 2,200 jobs in Mexico and expects lower earnings (in Spanish)
La Jornada , 11/19/08

Pepsi has announced a restructuring plan in which 3,150 jobs will be eliminated, or 4.5% of its operations, and has reduced its annual earnings projection given the weakness of foreign currencies. In Mexico, its plans will lead to the closure of 3 plants, 30 distribution centers and 700 distribution routes, which will affect 2,200 jobs.

Crime prevention act being considered (in Spanish)
El Universal , 11/18/08

The president of the Senate Commission on Public Security, Felipe González (PAN), has presented an act on crime prevention. The proposal aims to deter youth from turning to crime through educational opportunities, job training and creation, the development of a culture of prevention, and an analysis of what leads youth to crime.

Latin America: Not So Insulated After All
Council on Foreign Relations , 11/17/08

In recent years, commentators and policymakers alike have praised Latin America for its growing financial independence and maturity. Fiscal discipline, high commodity prices, and sustained economic growth brought down external debt levels, built international reserves, and strengthened government and corporate balance sheets, placing the region on firmer economic footing.

Bottlenecks impede the flow of resources for infrastructure projects (In Spanish)
La Jornada , 11/17/08

Various bottlenecks, particularly in stiffening regulation of public works and the lack of environmental impact studies, have impeded the flow of 40 billion pesos accumuladed in the National Fund for Infrastructure (Fonadin) to spur the construction of strategic projects in hopes of strengthening the national economy and reducing the onslaught of the global financial crisis.

Mexico's growing assisted-living market targets U.S. retirees
Dallas Morning News , 11/16/08

With 75 million baby boomers heading toward retirement and the cost of private nursing care in the U.S. outstripping hammered retirement funds, Mexican developers say they have an irresistible product in the works: active senior and assisted-living facilities in a warm climate full of friendly people for as little as $1,100 a month.

2008 News Archive

Analysis and Opinion Pieces

Calderón, Obama and Drug trafficking (In Spanish)
El Universal , Ricardo Alemán, 11/04/08

It is unlikely that President Calderón will receive much U.S. support in the war against organized crime. But the new government of the United States, no matter which candidate wins, cannot distance itself from Calderón's fight. The problem is that few of Obama's advisers believe the Calderón administration's strategy against drug trafficking to be effective.

Mexico's spreading drug violence
Los Angeles Times , Pamela Starr, 10/22/08

In the interest of national security, the United States must aggressively police its border with Mexico. But the cause of concern is not the northward flow of migrants and drugs. Rather, our focus should be on the southward flow of arms and ammunition that is fueling an explosion of drug-related violence in Mexico and that could soon threaten U.S. interests.

The 2 faces of Mexico: death, corruption amid beauty
El Paso Times, Maria Elena Salinas, 10/21/08

Mexican citizens should not be prisoners in their own homes. They deserve to feel free to enjoy those beautiful beaches and walk the streets of their cities with their families without the fear of being kidnapped or caught in the line of fire in the raging drug wars. Their monuments should be used as symbols of pride, not as stages for protests demanding protection from their government.

Will Obama Change NAFTA?
Latin Business Chronicle , Andrés Rozental, 10/20/08

At the end of the day, I predict that although the three governments might well sit down to discuss ways of improving NAFTA, especially as regards dispute settlement and excluded sectors, there won't be either a wholesale repudiation of the agreement, nor any fundamental changes to the environmental and labor side agreements (which is what the Democrats are ostensibly unhappy about).

Causa crisis sentimientos aislacionistas en EU (The economic crisis causes isolationist sentiment in the U.S.)
La Reforma, Andrés Oppenheimer 10/03/08

And for Latin America, all of this will be bad news. A world economy that decelerates will cause a fall of prices of the primary materials that have driven the growth in South America, and a depressed American economy will mean a significant fall in exports and tourism in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. It's easy to be a populist and blame others in times like these, but it is also totally reckless. What we need are leaders that can confront populism and argue that only through greater economic integration will the country be able to sell high quality products to the rest of the world and avoid the loss of millions of jobs in the United States that are continuing to be threatened by the isolationist mood of the country.

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