Headlines

1. On September 19, 2017, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck southeast of Mexico City. At least 230 people have been killed in Mexico State, Puebla, Morelos, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Mexico City. Rescue and recovery efforts continue throughout the affected regions.

Read more: Reforma, Excelsior, El Universal, El Financiero, Milenio

2. On September 15, 2017, the body of nineteen year-old Mara Fernandez Castilla was in the state of Puebla. Ricardo Alexis Díaz, a driver for the ride-hailing service, Cabify, is the primary suspect in her murder. The government of Puebla rescinded Cabify’s operating license after confirming the infringement of security protocols. In a statement, Cabify announced the creation of an in-app panic button and the inclusion of emergency contact information to reinforce passenger safety.

Read more: El Financiero, Milenio, El Universal, Reforma, Proceso

3. United States Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, is uncertain whether the NAFTA renegotiations will conclude early next year. Mexico’s Economy Secretary, Ildefonso Guarjardo, highlights the complexity and opposing positions when addressing certain aspects of the trade agreement. The third round of negotiations will take place from September 23-27 in Ottawa, Canada.

Read more: El Financiero, Reforma, Excelsior, El Universal

4. Alfredo Del Mazo, governor of the State of Mexico, assures the implementation of public safety reforms within the three months of his tenure. The Mexican State Government’s creation of the Security, Justice, and Human Rights Secretariats along with the installation of 20,000 security cameras highlight the initial steps taken to reduce insecurity across the state.

Read more: El Financiero, Milenio, Reforma, Excelsior

 

 

 

Advertisements

Headlines

1. On September 8, 2017, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck off Mexico’s Southern Coast. This was the strongest earthquake recorded in the last century. At least 90 people have died in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced that humanitarian aid, healthcare access, and the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure are the government’s primary objectives to assist earthquake victims.

Read more: Excelsior , Reforma , El Financiero , Milenio

2. Ricardo Monreal, former Senator and governor of Zacatecas, announced that he might be leaving the National Regeneration Movement party, known as MORENA. The announcement comes after Monreal’s loss in the polls to Claudia Sheinbaum, the newly-elected coordinator of MORENA’s organization in Mexico City. Sheinbaum will likely become Morena’s candidate for governor of Mexico City in the 2018 election. Monreal will make an announcement in the coming days.

Read more: El Financiero , Milenio , Expansión , Excelsior

3. Arely Gómez González, head of the Secretariat of the Civil Service (SFP), announced the discovery of 6.7 million USD worth of irregularities in a contract between an Odebrecht subsidiary and an employee of Mexican Petroleums (PEMEX). In a statement, SFP has initiated sanction proceedings as it reiterated its commitment to the reinforcement of control mechanisms in order to prevent and sanction conduct that infringes the law.

Read more: Reforma, El Financiero, Expansión, Milenio

4. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published the 2017 Educational Panorama report. According to report, only 17% of adults have received higher education in Mexico. The Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) highlights Mexico’s high proportions of students pursuing higher education in STEM related fields. Mexico’s education reform promotes the pursuit of technical school job training while simultaneously completing their university studies.

Read more: El Universal, Reforma, Proceso, El Financiero

Headlines

1. An 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico Thursday night, the most powerful in three decades, killing at least 32 people. There is reported damage of many buildings and homes, with power being cutoff in parts of the country. Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Tabasco have sustained the brunt of the earthquake, with Oaxaca reporting at least 23 deaths and the collapse of a hotel. President Peña Nieto has stated the government is still making a full assessment of the damage while warning citizens of a potential aftershock.

Read more: El Economista, Milenio, Excelsior, El Universal

2. On Wednesday the Mexican government and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group signed a memorandum of understanding allowing Mexican small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to trade on their platform. Alibaba president Jack Ma claimed that while around 99 percent of businesses in Mexico are SMEs they currently only account for 6 percent of Mexico’s exports.  The memorandum is seen as part of the Mexican government’s effort to diversify market access for Mexican products given the contentious NAFTA renegotiation.

Read more: El Economista, El Financiero, Excelsior, El Universal

3. The second round of NAFTA renegotiation concluded on Tuesday, with the Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo claiming all sides were close to agreement on four topics including SMEs and telecommunications. He also claimed, however, that there wasn’t any progress on difficult issues such as reducing the trade deficit, labor standards, rules of origin, and dispute mechanisms. The next round of negotiation is set to take place in Ottawa from September 23 to September 27.

Read more: El Economista, El Financiero, Milenio, El Universal

4. Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated on Tuesday in a Wilson Center event that if he were to win the presidency he would revise oil contracts signed by President Peña Nieto during energy sector reforms. He also supported intervention in the energy industry to prevent the decline of domestic hydrocarbon production. Obrador was also critical of the Trump administration’s revocation of DACA, while claiming Mexico would always have its door open to youth affected by the policy.

Read more: El Economista, Milenio, Excelsior, El Universal

Headlines

1. After provocative comments from President Trump this week that NAFTA may come to an end, the current front-runner in the Mexican presidential elections, Andres Manuel López Obrador, urged investors and businessmen to stay calm and dismiss what he considers Trump’s empty political rhetoric. The tense first round of NAFTA’s renegotiation concluded last week, with an announcement this Thursday that the United States, Mexico, and Canada had signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding the dissemination of any material submitted during discussions. Controversial topics include the United States’ proposal to reduce trade deficits, strengthen the rules of origin, and eliminate the chapter 19 dispute settlement mechanism supported by most business leaders in all three countries.

Read more: El Economista, El Financiero, El Universal, Expansión, Milenio

2. The general secretary of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Beatriz Mojica, filed an official complaint this week to National Electoral Institute (INE) regarding alleged illegal contributions received by President Enrique Peña Nieto’s 2012 campaign from Brazilian firm Odebrecht. The complaint requested a thorough investigation of the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) expenses that year, and electoral sanctions for the party if found guilty of exceeding a cap on campaign spending.

Read more: El Economista, El Financiero, Milenio, El Universal

3. According to data released by National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) the unemployment rate in July fell to 3.2%, the lowest it’s been since May 2006, with both men and women seeing their unemployment rate drop to 3.2%. In addition, 59.2% of those aged 15 or over were economically active, slightly lower than the previous month while the rate of people of people employed in the informal sector increased to 57.1 percent.

Read more: El Economista, El Financiero, Milenio, El Universal

4. Claudia Sheinbaum, was elected coordinator of Morena’s organization in Mexico City beating out Cuauhtemoc chief delegate Ricardo Monreal. This will likely ensure that she is Morena’s candidate for governor of Mexico City in next year’s election. Monreal thanked his supporters and asked them not to despair over the results.

Read more: Milenio, El Universal, Expansión, Reforma

Headlines from Mexico

1. During the first round of NAFTA renegotiations this week in Washington DC, the US emphasized its desire to strengthen the rules of origin and include a substantial US content requirement for duty-free goods. These proposals are seen as part of the United States’ controversial insistence that reducing trade deficits be a major part of NAFTA modernization in an effort to revitalize US manufacturing. The Mexican minister of economy, Ildefonso Guajardo, stated that addressing trade deficits was not an appropriate economic objective, while reiterating he had a positive outlook regarding the ultimate outcome of the negotiations.  On Wednesday, there were marches in Mexico City in protest of NAFTA, with critics asserting it puts the interests of private companies ahead of workers’ rights.

Read more: El Economista, La Jornada, El Financiero, El Universal, Expansión, Reforma

2. The former CEO of Pemex, Emilio Lozoya, denied charges that he hid bribe money from the construction firm, Odebracht SA, in the campaign fund of President Peña Nieto. He has stated that the bank accounts where the money was allegedly deposited were not his. The President’s office has also denied that any cash from Odebracht ended up in the campaign.

Read more: La Jornada, Milenio, Excelsior, El Universal, Animal Politico

3. The mayor of Mexico City, Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa, announced his intention to step down from his post following his fifth report in September. As a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, he has stated he will decide shortly afterwards whether he will pursue the Mexican presidency the following year.

Read more: La Jornada, Milenio, Excelsior, El Financiero

4. The former governor of Veracruz, Javier Duarte, who was extradited from Guatemala to Mexico on graft charges, will embark on a hunger strike to protest what he calls political persecution against him and former colleagues. This according to a letter that was read aloud on television on Thursday.  The Mexican Interior Ministry and Mexico City’s prisons department have provided no comment.

Read more: La Jornada, Milenio, El Financiero, El Universal

5. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) approved of statute changes last Saturday to make it easier for party outsiders to run for office. Party member César Cavazos stated the reforms will also increase the number of younger candidates for offices, while stating 30 percent of all candidacies should belong to people below the age of 35.

Read more: El Economista, Milenio, El Universal

 

Headlines from Mexico

1. On Wednesday, a commission from Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) voted in favor of changing party statutes making it easier for party outsiders to run for president in next year’s election.  The move is widely seen as benefiting the candidacies of finance minister Jose Antonio Meade and Education Minister Aurelio Nuño Mayer.  The changes are expected to be finalized by a party wide ballot taking place on Saturday.

Read more:  El Economista, La Jornada, Milenio, Excelsior

2. In a Tuesday interview, Mexico’s Minister of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo, stated that there was a 60% chance that NAFTA talks would conclude by the end of the year.  To hedge against a negative result in the negotiations, Guajardo mentioned that Mexico was aggressively pursuing ambitious trade talks with Brazil and Argentina.  On Thursday, Guajardo warned of a reduction in U.S.-Mexico cooperation over migration and security matters if the US walks away from NAFTA.

Read more: El Economista, La Jornada, El Financiero

3. The category one hurricane “Franklin” hit the state of Veracruz on Thursday with officials confirming there were no mortalities and minimal damages despite 120 kilometer per hour winds.  Franklin later weakened to a tropical storm while over the east coast of Mexico.

Read more: La Jornada, Excelsior, El Universal

4. Soccer star Rafael Marquez and singer Julion Alvarez along with more than 20 other Mexican nationals were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury department for alleged financial ties with suspected drug trafficker Raul Flores Hernandez.  Hernandez has links to the Sinaloa cartel and Jalisco New Generation Gang, and has been accused by US authorities of using front persons to mask investments of illegal drug money.  Marquez and Alvarez have denied the allegations.

Read more:  El Economista, La Jornada, Excelsior, Milenio, El Universal

 

Headlines from Mexico

1. Mexico announced this week its chief negotiator for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations, Kenneth Smith Ramos. Smith is currently director of the Trade and NAFTA office at the Mexican embassy in Washington. Mexico’s Secretary of Economy also announced the rest of Mexico’s negotiating team, including Salvador Behar Lavalle as deputy chief negotiator, and Undersecretary of Foreign Trade for North America, Juan Carlos Becker.

Read more: El Economista, La Jornada, Milenio, Excelsior

2. The Mexican Ministry of Economy’s stated priorities for NAFTA renegotiations were unveiled in a submitted report to Senate. Included in the priorities listed in the document were strengthening North American competitiveness, advancing inclusive and responsible regional trade, and facilitating access for goods and services in the NAFTA region.

Read more: Milenio, El Financiero, El Universal, Expansión

3. The Mexican Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villareal, announced that the second round of renegotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement will take place in Mexico around September 10. The first round of talks will begin August 16 in Washington D.C.

Read more: Milenio, El Universal, El Economista

4. Transcripts of a January 27 call between Presidents Peña Nieto and Trump revealed that Trump asked Peña Nieto to stop telling the press that Mexico would not pay for the wall. Trump also shared that he considers Peña Nieto his friend, and that he wants Peña Nieto “to be so popular” that Mexico would amend its constitution so Peña Nieto could run for reelection.

Read more: El Financiero, Milenio, El Economista, Excelsior, La Jornada 

5. A report commissioned by Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM), and conducted by human rights NGO’s accused INM staff of abusing migrants in detention and participating in human trafficking criminal organizations. The INM disputed many of the findings while asserting it has already undertaken measures to prevent these problems. The migrants, the majority of whom come from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador complained of verbal and physical abuse including death threats and being held in solitary confinement.

Read more: El Financiero, El Economista, Milenio, El Universal