Riding Mexico’s Empty Tourism Train
Book a low-season ticket for El Chepe, the passenger train that cuts through the valleys and mountains of Chihuahua, Mexico’s largest state, and it’s likely you’ll have your pick of seats. Despite taking passengers to or through some of Mexico’s most fascinating towns and natural attractions, El Chepe is nearly empty most of the year, … Read more
China Wins if NAFTA Dies
Much is made of the perils of ending NAFTA for Mexico, and rightly so. The 23-year-old agreement has helped the nation not only boost trade but also transform its economy, moving from a commodity to an advanced manufacturing exporter. With 80 percent of its exports headed north, even the threat of change has hurt Mexico’s … Read more
This Is How Mexico Is Preparing for a Wave of Deportations
Mexico’s Congress is scrambling to prepare for a possible wave of deportations from the United States. Lawmakers are currently debating two initiatives aimed to help the country manage the reintegration of hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of returning Mexican nationals – and benefit from the skills they obtained abroad. On Feb. 28, Mexico’s Senate … Read more
AMLO’s Strategy? Tone Things Down and Let the President Deal With Trump
This story has been updated As the politician best positioned to ride a wave of nationalist, anti-Trump sentiment to Mexico’s presidency in 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador appears to be embracing an unexpected strategy: moderation. López Obrador, widely known as AMLO, has earned his reputation as one of Mexico’s most polarizing national figures. When he … Read more
10 Things to Do: Mexico City
Mexico City continues to reinvent itself. Along with world-class museums, architectural gems from its Spanish colonial and Aztec past, and a vibrant urban culture, it is also a favorite destination for foodies and modern art collectors. 1. Bike La ReformaOn Sundays, Paseo de la Reforma, the artery that traverses the city center, is closed to … Read more
Mexico City’s Mercado Roma
A trendy hangout for foodies and families in Mexico City is Mercado Roma, an upscale market offering everything from churros to tacos to huaraches(a dish of masa, varied toppings and queso fresco). Launched in May 2014 and located in the hip La Roma neighborhood, the concept was born of a traditional Mexican market, but offers … Read more
Old School: What a Hostile Mexico-Trump Relationship Might Look Like
Correction appended below Shortly after I moved to Mexico City in 2004, I discovered a fantastic pozole restaurant near a subway stop called “Niños Héroes” – literally, “Boy Heroes.” I took a Mexican friend there and, between slurps of cilantro-y goodness, asked if by any chance he knew the origin of the name. He started … Read more
Five Latin America Stories You Might Miss in 2017 (But Shouldn’t)
If 2017 is anything like 2016, making predictions on where Latin America will be a year from now is probably a losing bet. Remember when it seemed inevitable that voters in Colombia would pass the country’s landmark peace accord with the FARC, or that the Rio Olympics would be crippled by large-scale social unrest? The … Read more
How to Make Mexico City a Better Place for the Disabled
The senator from Durango looks bemused. It’s the afternoon of Oct. 18, and Yolanda de la Torre, seated and wearing an electric pink suit jacket with navy slacks, is being carried up the switchback stone staircase of Mexico City’s Palacio de Minería. The 250-year-old college building, now run by the national university’s engineering department, has only one … Read more
Mexico’s Energy Opening Looks Like a Success. Will It Last?
In Nov. 2013, just weeks before Mexico’s historic energy opening was signed into law, two-time presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent an open letter to the CEO of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson “informing” the executive that Mexico’s oil belonged to its people. López Obrador urged Tillerson to measure the costs of investing in Mexico should the reform … Read more
What Mexico Can Learn from Haiti’s Development Plans
The idea sounds simple: Special Economic Zones (SEZs) offer tax exemptions and cheap labor as hooks to attract investment from foreign companies. Money trickles in, local suppliers get a foothold and the middle class begins to grow. At least, in theory. Mexico is betting big on SEZs, with a new federal law that will create four of … Read more
AQ Top 5 Jóvenes Políticos: Pedro Kumamoto
Read in English Con tan sólo 26 años, Pedro Kumamoto le dio la vuelta al libreto de la élite que gobierna México cuando ayudó a liderar una cruzada exitosa en contra de su privilegio más sagrado. En julio, cuando el Congreso del Estado de Jalisco votó a favor de quitarles a todos los funcionarios públicos … Read more
Why Mexico’s PRI Is Cleaning House
Mexico’s ruling party faces a difficult task convincing voters that its anti-corruption efforts are sincere.
Indigenous Imagery in the Art of Mariana Castillo Deball
In the late 1970s, the makers of an American antipsychotic drug called Stelazine were looking for a way to market their product to consumers in magazines and medical journals. The campaign they settled on featured indigenous masks and headdresses from Africa and Canada alongside slogans like, “Lift the mask of schizophrenic withdrawal.” For a version … Read more
Film Review: Tempest
“We know you haven’t done anything, but someone has to pay,” Miriam Carbajal recalls hearing from a court-appointed attorney before being put in jail. What started as a normal day at work turns into a five-month nightmare for Carbajal, one of the central characters in Tempest, an emotionally charged Mexican documentary by Salvadoran-born cinematographer Tatiana … Read more
