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.
11/23/2020
Source: PBS
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Roman Catholic Church announced the cancellation Monday of what’s considered the world’s largest Catholic pilgrimage, for the Virgin of Guadalupe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mexico’s Episcopal Conference said in a statement that the basilica will be closed from December 10-13. The Virgin is celebrated on Dec. 12 and for weeks in advance, pilgrims travel from across Mexico to gather by the millions in Mexico City.
11/19/2020
Source: Reuters
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Senate approved a landmark cannabis legalization bill in a landslide vote on Thursday, paving the way for the creation of the world’s largest legal marijuana market if the initiative passes the next hurdle in the lower house of Congress.
Senators voted 82 to 18 to approve the measure, with seven abstentions.
Lawmakers are rushing to secure final approval before the end of the current congressional session in December. If enacted, the reform would mark a major shift in a country where drug cartel violence in recent years has claimed over 100,000 lives.
11/08/2020
Source: The Washington Post
MEXICO CITY — It’s the moment for which advocates of legal marijuana here have been waiting: Mexican lawmakers, working under a court order, have until mid-December to finalize rules that will make the country the world’s largest market for legal pot.
Advocates have long argued that legalization would put a dent in the black market; allow for safe, regulated consumption; create jobs; and cut down on crime.
11/01/2020
Source: The Gaurdian
osé Porfirio Martínez Castro and his wife Nery Urioles Nájera were tidying up their family tomb at the municipal graveyard in Morelia. They built a small altar for two of José’s siblings and adorned it with marigolds, sugar skulls and tiny bottles of Coca-Cola – his sister’s favourite drink.
Normally, they would spend the night of 1 November here, lighting candles and remembering their loved ones. But this year the cemetery will be closed because of Covid-19 restrictions, so they made their visit a few days early.
10/17.2020
Source: Reuters
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Marigolds, known in Mexico as “the flower of the dead” for a scent believed be strong and sweet enough to attract souls and draw them back, are generally all around by mid-October as the Day of the Dead approaches.
But with the country exceeding 85,700 official deaths from the coronavirus pandemic this year, the bright, orange color has not been as prominent as Mexican authorities have said cemeteries will remain closed for the Nov. 2 celebration.
10/12/2020
Yahoo! News
Mexico’s president said Monday that he had given his wife the “almost impossible mission” of persuading Austria to return a feather headdress said to have been worn by Aztec emperor Moctezuma.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced on Twitter that he had asked Beatriz Gutierrez, a journalist and writer, to appeal to Austria to give back the pre-Hispanic relic during her cultural tour of Europe.
09/16/2020
Source: Al Jazeera
Mexicans celebrated their Independence Day without big public ceremonies for the first time in 153 years on Tuesday due to restrictions on public gatherings caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Each year, the president rings the bell that marked the call to arms during the 1810-1821 struggle to win independence from Spain, and reenacts the Cry of Dolores, shouting “Viva Mexico!”
09/16/2020
Source: The Washington Post
MEXICO CITY — In 1847, it was a U.S. invasion that kept the crowds away from the Zócalo, the grand plaza where each year the president performs the Cry of Dolores to celebrate the country’s independence.
This week, it’s the coronavirus that has quieted what’s ordinarily the most raucous celebration on the Mexican calendar. With the country devastated by covid-19, citizens were asked to stay home on the anniversary of the uprising that led to the overthrow of Spanish rule. Police surrounded the national palace Tuesday night; the vast plaza, normally filled with people, was covered instead with a giant neon map of the country in green, white and red.
09/11/2020
Source: CNN
After months of closure, the UNESCO World Heritage site Teotihuacan in Mexico is reopening to the public despite the country’s ongoing struggles to curb the spread of coronavirus. CNN’s Matt Rivers reports.
12/01/19 – AP News
By Amy Guthrie
Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been president of Mexico for a year, after a landslide 2018 vote. He pledged a presidency close to the people, austere, with punishment for the corrupt and greater safety and economic well-being.
Not all has gone according to plan. The country’s murder rate continues to log record highs, while economic growth this year has been flat and borders on recession. Corruption and crime remain difficult plagues to eradicate, though the administration has taken on some high-profile targets.
