Seeking to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship.
10/09/19 – Nearshore Americas
By Narayan Ammachchi
Mexico is planning to allocate over US$5 million for science and technology-related activities in its 2020 fiscal budget, as the government looks at technology to prop up the flagging economy.
The money is 6.5% more than what was allocated to the sector in 2019, according to the President of the Congressional Committee on Science and Technology, Marivel Solís Barrera, who announced the move on October 4.
10/04/19 – ProPublica
By Stefanie Dodt, Jan Lucas Striozyk, ARD German TV, and Dara Lind
Every week, thousands of Mexicans cross the border into the U.S. on temporary visas to sell their blood plasma to profit-making pharmaceutical companies that lure them with Facebook ads and colorful flyers promising hefty cash rewards.
The donors, including some who say the payments are their only income, may take home up to $400 a month if they donate twice a week and earn various incentives, including “buddy bonuses” for recruiting friends or family. Unlike other nations that limit or forbid paid plasma donations at a high frequency out of concern for donor health and quality control, the U.S. allows companies to pay donors and has comparatively loose standards for monitoring their health.
10/02/19 – Reuters
By Daina Beth Solomon
If Mexican fisheries do not adapt to climate change, the number of fish caught is set to tumble, with catch numbers for Pacific abalone, jumbo squid and mahi-mahi possibly plunging more than 30% over the next 30 years in Mexico, according to a study published on Wednesday.
Co-authored by the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the study found that 84% of 25 species analyzed will suffer as ocean waters grow warmer, hurting an industry that supports some 240,000 people and their families in a country that ranks no. 16 among the world’s seafood producers.
09/25/19 – Reuters
By Diego Ore
The Mexican state of Oaxaca on Wednesday approved a bill to legalize abortion, making it only the second region of the predominantly Roman Catholic country after Mexico City to permit the procedure.
Amid raucous shouts of protest from opponents, the local Congress voted by 24 lawmakers in favor to 10 against to allow abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in Oaxaca, a southern state that has long been among Mexico’s poorest.
6/25/19 – BBC News
An infestation of a seaweed-like algae along some of Mexico’s most visited Caribbean beaches has pitted the local community against the president, who has described the problem as a “minor issue”.
In a long-running issue attributed by many researchers to climate change, sargassum has covered the popular white sandbanks, turning the pristine waters brown and leaving a strong odour as it decomposes, alarming residents, businesses and, obviously, tourists.
6/18/19 – New York Times
By David Alire Garcia
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he spoke with Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, inviting the social media tycoon to partner with him in a bid to promote universal internet access in Mexico.
Lopez Obrador posted on both Facebook and Twitter a short clip of his video conference with Zuckerberg in which the president notes that a fifth of Mexico’s population does not have internet access and that he would like better connectivity to help improve social conditions, especially among the poor.
5/27/2019 – Reuters
By Diego Oré
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed on Monday to alleviate a medicine shortage in public hospitals, pledging to shop abroad for essential drugs if necessary and blaming the situation on companies upset about his crackdown on overpricing.
