US July ‘09 Trade With Canada, Mexico Falls 28% -DoT Report

Wall Street Journal, 9/30/09
Surface trade between the U.S. and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico fell 28% in July, continuing a trend of falling trade among the countries during the economic downturn.
The latest drop was the seventh consecutive month with a year-over-year decline of greater than 27%, according to the Bureau [...]

Mexico Opposition to Dominate Key Finance Committees

Reuters, 9/30/09
MEXICO CITY, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Mexico’s leading opposition party will have the most lawmakers on the budget and finance committees in the lower house of Congress, both key to President Felipe Calderon’s push to reform the tax system.
The center-left Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, will chair the budget committee, and it will [...]

Deputies Approve 44 Legislative Committees (In Spanish)

El Universal, 9/30/09
Mexico’s congressional deputies today unanimously approved the appointments to the 44 legislative committees within the National Chamber of Deputies, with the exception of the committee on the Federal District which was conceded to the PAN.
The PRD voted against assigning the Federal District committee to the PAN, and in the words of the PRD [...]

Border Deaths Are Increasing

Washington Post, 9/30/09
Despite a 50 percent drop over the past two years in the number of people caught illegally entering the United States from Mexico, the number of those who died while trying to cross the border increased this year and is the highest since 2006, according to new U.S. data and a study by [...]

Officials Seek To Vaccinate Illegal Immigrants Against H1N1

USA Today, 9/30/09
With swine flu vaccinations set to begin in October, public health officials are mobilizing to ensure that the nation’s more than 11 million illegal immigrants are vaccinated to protect themselves and the public.
Unlike the debate over health care for illegal immigrants, there is little dispute they should be included in the nation’s voluntary [...]

Mexico is the Most Dangerous Country for Freedom of Press in the Americas (in Spanish)

El Economista, 9/29/09
Paris.- With 55 journalists murdered and eight disappeared, Mexico is the most dangerous country in the Americas for the freedom of press, affirmed Reporters without Borders (RSF) yesterday.
“Since 2000 Mexico has recorded 55 murders of journalists and eight disappearances, and therefore is the continent’s most dangerous country for the freedom of press,” said [...]

Immigration Crackdown With Firings, Not Raids

New York Times, 9/30/09
A clothing maker with a vast garment factory in downtown Los Angeles is firing about 1,800 immigrant employees in the coming days — more than a quarter of its work force — after a federal investigation turned up irregularities in the identity documents the workers presented when they were hired.
The firings at [...]

In Mexico City, a Political Deal Redone

New York Times, 9/30/09
MEXICO CITY — Back-room deals have long been a staple of Mexican politics, but no one has focused more attention on what goes on in the country’s smoke-filled rooms than a political neophyte who goes by Juanito.
Just months ago, Juanito, whose real name is Rafael Acosta Ángeles, 46, was an activist and [...]

Mexico’s FEMSA Warns Tax Hike Would Raise Beer Price

Reuters, 9/29/09
MEXICO CITY, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Mexican brewer and bottler FEMSA would be forced to raise its beer prices by 11 percent if a government plan to raise taxes is approved, Genaro Borrego, the company’s head of corporate affairs, said on Tuesday.
“It’s an excessive proposal,” Borrego said. “The proposal would mean that for every [...]

World Bank Sees 10M In Latin America Joining Ranks Of Poor In ‘09

Wall Street Journal, 9/29/09
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–About 10 million people in Latin America “will likely join the ranks of the poor” as a result of the economic contraction, though the region is emerging stronger than others, the World Bank said in a report.
The effect of the recession on Latin America “is not trivial and [...]