On June 18th, the Swiss government announced that it would hand over approximately $74 million dollars to the Mexican government. This is just part of the assets that the Swiss Government confiscated from Raul Salinas de Gortari, brother of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, former President of Mexico. The remaining part of the assets would be […]
Mexico City's International Airport is a good representative of the current trends in the fight against drugs in Mexico. Indeed, the airport is a window to the escalating conflict that involves the federal government and its allies‚ including the US government‚ as well as drug trafficking organizations that dare to smuggle thousands of cocaine doses […]
Today's front page of BBC World News Online contains an excellent article summing up the complexity of Mexico's drug war. The reporters went into cartel-controlled territory to expose the topics that Alejandro and I have been covering: 1) the flow of US arms to Mexican cartels 2) the resulting violence of public officials and drug […]
With corn prices rising due in part to global climate changes, flooding, and droughts, the question arises: should Mexico use genetically modified seeds to improve crop yields, particularly corn? If a seed species were available that was drought and pest resistant, should it be used? The fact of the matter is that such a miracle […]
Today corn prices hit an all-time high of $7 a bushel. How does this affect Mexico, which gave the world its native maize after European contact? The answer is two-fold: 1) this represents a hardship for the majority of Mexicans while 2) higher prices present an opportunity for large agricultural exports. As a staple crop […]
Barack Obama's official position‚ at least according to his campaign website‚ is limited to promoting further economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration. This is a reductionist position on one of the most important financial and political relationships in the world. Nevertheless, this does not mean that Obama does not have a more detailed […]
The Merida Initiative would provide $950 million dollars in two years to Mexican law enforcement agencies to support their efforts against resourceful and elusive criminal organizations. The Mexican government needs the aid and the executive branch in the US is willing to provide it. But the US Congress would only grant the funds conditional on […]
Drug-related murders in Mexico have soared in the last two months. Municipal, state, and federal police officers have died in clashes against heavily armed commandos or have been assassinated on the orders of drug bosses. It has been argued that this rise in violence is a signal of the Mexican government's progress in the War […]
Mexico is one of the largest exporters of corn. Nevertheless, it also imports almost half of what it consumes. In a world of skyrocketing food prices, this dependency is becoming a national security problem. In order to reduce pressure over rising food prices, President Felipe Calderon has launched an initiative that promises to improve the […]
While oil prices continue to rise, Mexico is debating how to maximize oil profits and modernize its aging oil industry. The oil industry, nationalized in 1938, is one of the pillars of the Mexican economy and an icon in Mexican history. In spite of this, the industry has experienced operative, technological, and financial problems that […]
With the war on drugs continuing to escalate in Mexico, I feel it's important to examine the role that the United States plays in fueling the illicit drug trade. Most of us know that the US is the world's largest consumer of illegal drugs. The education system is geared to advertise the evils of drugs. […]
The Mexican armed forces are a pillar of the war against drugs. Indeed, thousands of regular troops are patrolling several municipalities and large cities across Mexico while Special Forces make most of the arrests of high-profile drug lords. In a country plagued by corrupt police forces and heavily armed drug traffickers, the army (which also […]
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