AMLO Says What’s Yours Can Be His in Mexico

The Wall Street Journal, 05/22/2023

At 6 a.m. Friday, the Mexican navy seized a stretch of railroad near the Gulf of Mexico operated by Ferrosur, a company that belongs to the conglomerate Grupo Mexico. The company has a longstanding government concession to operate the rail lines, but AMLO, as the President is known, wants them for a project crossing the narrowest part of the country. 

The AMLO strategy for securing such “cooperation” is to tell the owner he wants it. That may be why he met with Grupo Mexico CEO Germán Larrea last week. Two days later the navy moved in on Ferrosur.

Read more…

Mexico’s AMLO Says May Weigh Joint Venture if Banamex Bid Fails

Bloomberg, 05/23/2023

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the government would consider participating in Citigroup Inc’s sale of its retail banking unit Banamex if a bid by billionaire German Larrea’s Grupo Mexico SAB fell through.

AMLO, as the president is known, spoke in response to speculation by local press that a bid by Larrea could be affected by a government seizure of a rail line owned by Grupo Mexico. At the presser, AMLO dismissed as false a tweet shared by a local business columnist on Monday that said Larrea was pulling out his bid for the bank. 

Read more…

Mexico moving migrants away from borders to relieve pressure

Associated Press, 05/20/2023

Mexico is flying migrants south away from the U.S. border and busing new arrivals away from its boundary with Guatemala to relieve pressure on its border cities.

In the week since Washington dropped pandemic-era restrictions on seeking asylum at its border, U.S. authorities report a dramatic drop in illegal crossing attempts. In Mexico, officials are generally trying to keep migrants south away from that border, a strategy that could reduce crossing temporarily, but experts say is not sustainable.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported Friday that in the week since the policy change, Border Patrol averaged 4,000 encounters a day with people crossing between ports of entry. That was down dramatically from the more than 10,000 daily average immediately before.

Read more…

Mexico to announce work visa program for Central Americans

Yahoo News, 05/22/2023

Mexico will present a program this week to give Central Americans temporary visas to work on public infrastructure projects, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday.

Such projects require more people such as welders, iron-workers and engineers, Lopez Obrador told his regular daily news conference.

“We need a workforce for these projects, especially if it’s skilled labor,” Lopez Obrador said. “We will guarantee them one year.”

He did not provide details on how many visas would be issued, or for which projects.

Read more…

Mexico’s AMLO Sees ‘No Issues’ With Grupo Mexico Buying Banamex

Bloomberg, 05/16/2023

There would be “no issues” if billionaire German Larrea’s Grupo Mexico SAB buys Citigroup Inc.’s retail banking unit in the country, Banamex, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during a press briefing Tuesday. 

“If it’s going to be the ones from Grupo Mexico, there won’t be any problem,” AMLO, as the president is known, said after being asked whether the mining giant was acquiring the unit. 

Read more…

Mexico’s Lavish Presidential Plane Arrives at Its New Home in Tajikistan

The New York Times, 05/15/2023

A plane that Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico, once described as an “insult to the people” arrived in Tajikistan on Monday, he said, completing the sale of the jet to that country’s government and delivering on a campaign promise to do away with it.

Since he was elected in 2018, Mr. López Obrador, known as AMLO, has struggled to find a buyer for the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was ordered by former President Felipe Calderón and used by his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto.

“I don’t know why they bought such a large plane,” Mr. López Obrador said in Spanish at a news conference on Monday.

Read more…

Biden y López Obrador hablan sobre migración, a horas del fin del Título 42

Dallas News, 09/05/2023

A falta de unas horas para que se elimine el Título 42 —las restricciones al asilo implementadas durante la pandemia de coronavirus—, el presidente de México Andrés Manuel López Obrador insistió en una migración “humanista” en una reunión con su homólogo estadounidense, Joe Biden.

En una conversación privada que duró alrededor de una hora, López Obrador también reiteró su propuesta de apoyar a los pueblos más pobres del continente, para evitar la migración por necesidad. Como lo adelantó ayer, la conversación entre ambos líderes giró en torno a la migración, ante la posibilidad de que aumente el número de migrantes devueltos a México tras el fin del Título 42.

Ambos mandatarios hablaron también sobre de tráfico de armas, el trasiego y consumo de drogas (en especial de fentanilo), además de la cooperación para el desarrollo regional.

Leer más…

Mexico’s president blasts Florida’s new immigration bill as ‘immoral’

The Hill, 05/08/2023

Politico reported Monday that López Obrador called Florida’s GOP-backed immigration bill “immoral” and “politicking.” The bill, which was approved by Florida lawmakers last week, granted $12 million to a Florida program that has previously been used to fly migrants from the state to Martha’s Vineyard, a move blasted by critics as inhumane.

Read more…

“Tenemos Presidente para rato”, dice Adán Augusto López tras reaparición de AMLO por covid-19

Milenio, 27/4/2023

El secretario de Gobernación, Adán Augusto López Hernández, aseguró que hay “Presidente para rato”, luego de que Andrés Manuel López Obrador reapareció ayer en un video publicado en sus redes sociales, tras haber dado positivo a la enfermedad por tercera ocasión el domingo pasado, en el cual explica su estado de salud.

“El Presidente goza de cabal salud, está recuperándose, tenemos Presidente para rato”, dijo en La Mañanera desde Palacio Nacional.

El funcionario federal consideró “lamentable” responder a los intereses políticos entorno a la salud del Presidente; sin embargo, reiteró que López Obrador está bien y “recuperándose plenamente”.

Lea más…

Mexico president in good health amid Covid diagnosis – minister

Reuters, April 25, 2023

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is in good health, the country’s health minister Jorge Alcocer said Tuesday, after Lopez Obrador tested positive for COVID-19 and was said to be self isolating.

The Mexican leader’s health has improved after resting and taking paracetamol, and he is experiencing only mild symptoms, Alcocer said, adding the president’s blood pressure was also under control.

Read more…