Headlines from Mexico

1. The joint-bid of Mexico, Canada, and the United States to host the 2026 World Cup, was selected by FIFA’s congress this week. The bid, called “United 2026,” is the first tri-nation hosting of the football tournament. It will make Mexico the first country to have hosted the World Cup three times, albeit only 10 games will be held in Mexico in 2026.

Read more: La Jornada, El Universal, Reforma

2. Mexico saw two more assassinations of local level candidates this past week. They add to a total of 113 candidates murdered since September. International institutions and organizations, such as the European Union, have started to pay attention and voice their concerns regarding the levels of security afforded to candidates in Mexico.

Read more: El Universal, Excelsior, Reforma

3. Hurricane Bud intensified to become a category 4 hurricane, although experts foresee that it will weaken before making landfall. The hurricane is expected to impact six Mexican states: Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Nayarit, Sinaloa and Durango.

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

4. The third presidential debate took place this Tuesday in Merida, receiving many negative reviews. According to Reforma, the third debate had the lowest viewership of the three debates. El Pais, declared that “no candidate won, democracy lost”. In the end, most experts concluded that the debate would not have a significant impact on the election results.

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

5. Edgar Valdes Villarreal, better known as “La Barbie”, a drug lord in the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, was sentenced to 49 years in prison in the United States under charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. He was also fined $192 million USD, which prosecutors say is a conservative estimate of the value of the cocaine Valdez imported into the United States.

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

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Headlines from Mexico

1. Two tourists from Germany and Poland, were found dead on the road between San Cristobal de las Casas and Palenque, in the southern state of Chiapas. Rainer Hagenbusch, the brother of one of the cyclists, affirms that they were murdered and did not die when falling in a ravine, denying what the State’s General Prosecutor had stated.

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

2. Mexico’s year-to-year inflation slowed to its lowest level in 16 months. The national consumer price index rose 4.5% year-to-year in April, compared to 5.12% in March. The decrease is mainly due to a drop in electricity rates, according to the National Statistics Institute (INEGI).

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

3. Roberta Jacobson concluded her time as Ambassador of the United States in Mexico this past Saturday, May 5. President Donald Trump announced Ed Whitacre will be the new U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.

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

4. On Monday, the Mexican government published a letter sent to Geneva in which they criticized a report titled, “Double injustice: Report on Human Rights Violations in the Investigation of the Ayotzinapa Case.” The report was published on March 15^th by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. On Wednesday, the Office reaffirmed the validity of “the methodology and findings” of the report made on the Ayotzinapa case.

Read more: Excelsior, Reforma, El Universal, Milenio

5. On Sunday, May 6, a Public Security officer was murdered in Mexico’s Central Market (Ceda). The Ministry of Public Security, as of Tuesday, May 8, will be in charge of the security coordination and will increase the number of officers in the area. The alleged murderer has been arrested.

Read more: Excelsior, Reforma, El Universal, Jornada

Headlines from Mexico

1. The Mexican economy expanded 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period last year, driven mainly by primary activities, according to the National Institute of Statistics, Computer Science and Geography (INEGI). Compared to the last quarter of 2017, Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product grew 1.1 percent from January to March 2018, the Institute added.

Read more: Reforma, Excelsior, Milenio, Jornada

2. The Mexican Central Bank revealed that remittances to Mexico from the United States rose by 3.96 percent in March. Mexicans living in the United States set an all-time record for the month of March, sending USD$2,620.58 million to their families.

Read more: Forbes, Milenio, El Financiero, Excelsior

3. The Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights estimates that the number of people forced to flee their homes due to violence between 2006 and 2017 amounts to 329,917. The displaced individuals have fled the states of Guerrero, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Chiapas, and Oaxaca.

Read more: Reforma, Jornada, El Economista, El Financiero

4. After being accused of orchestrating a murder, the Mayor of Tlalquitenango, Enrique Alonso Plascencia, has been released from prison. Judge Alejandra Trejo concluded there was not enough evidence to prosecute. Alonso Plascencia was accused of being the mastermind of a murder carried out by seven people, detained on April 20 and believed to be members of Los Rojos, a criminal organization.

Read more: Excelsior, Reforma, Jornada, Milenio

5. Teachers affiliated with the National Educational Workers Coordinator have organized labor stoppage in states like Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Michoacan. They are marching and blocking public areas and demanding a roundtable discussion with the Federal government in order to repeal the education reform.

Read more: Excelsior, Reforma, El Universal, Jornada

Headlines from Mexico

1. The net profit of Pemex rose 29 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year, due to the appreciation of the peso and the performance of financial derivatives. However, Pemex reports a 6.3 percent drop in crude oil production.

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

2. The Attorney General of the State of Jalisco said that the three missing cinema students were murdered and dissolved in acid in the municipality of Tonalá. Two members of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, who are believed to be responsible, have already been detained. Student protests in Guadalajara have asked for the resignation of Governor Aristóteles Sandoval and for an independent international commission to conduct the investigation.

Read more: Excelsior, El Universal, Jornada, Milenio

3. President Enrique Peña Nieto met with Prime Minister Angela Merkel in Germany. They inaugurated the Hannover Fair, and celebrated the agreement reached on the modernization of the Free Trade Agreement Mexico has with the EU.

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

4. The Mexican peso fell to its weakest level in more than four weeks on Monday. Due to the appreciation of the dollar amid investor concerns about the prospect of trade and economic activity globally, the peso hit a low of 18.74 per dollar.

Read more: Milenio, Expansion, El Universal, Excelsior

5. The process to eliminate the judicial privilege extended to public officers has been hampered. The Senate detected at least five areas of improvement in the bill drafted by the Chamber of Deputies. Senators argue that the bill is missing the specification of the crimes for which the president may be tried and which ministerial and judicial authorities may proceed against the Executive.

Read more: Milenio, Excelsior, Reforma, El Economista

Headlines

1. President Enrique Peña Nieto ordered his cabinet to review cooperation mechanisms and agreements currently held with the U.S. government. This decision comes amid tensions between the administrations of migration policy.

Read more: Reforma, Expansión, El Universal, Excelsior

2. The National Electoral Institute complied with the ruling of the Electoral Court of the Federal Judicial Branch (TEPJF), adding Jaime Rodríguez Calderón to the presidential ballot. Rodríguez Calderón, known as “El Bronco,” was Governor of the State of Nuevo Leon and is running as an independent candidate.

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

3. The Special Commission of the National Electoral Institute approved a proposal that eliminates the final debate round in order to create space for the fifth candidate, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón. The first debate will take place on April 22, and the second one on May 20.

Read more: Reforma, Excelsior, Milenio, Jornada

4. President Enrique Peña Nieto welcomed Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Norway is currently an investor in the Mexican energy sector. Statoil won Round 1.4 for the extraction of hydrocarbons in deep waters and will begin to drill at the end of this year.

Read more: Excelsior, El Universal, Milenio, Jornada

5. The Summit of the Americas starts today April 13^th in Lima, Peru. This is the beginning of a series of meetings between the leaders of the countries in the continent, with corruption and governance as main themes. U.S. President Donald Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will be absent.

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

Headlines

1. Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) presidential candidate, Jose Antonio Meade, challenged the Frente Ciudadano por México coalition candidate, Ricardo Anaya, and Morena’s candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to a public debate about issues pertaining to real estate and property holdings. Meade stated the importance of public officials submitting a certification of their income and public records of the property, as required by law.

Read more: Reforma, Excelsior, Milenio, El Financiero

2. Several hundred Central American migrants who form part of a migrant caravan headed to the U.S.-Mexico border were stranded in the state of Oaxaca. Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) has granted 600 transit visas to migrants. These visas will allow the migrants to move freely within Mexico for up to thirty days. Approximately 250 of 1,200 migrants boarded buses headed to Puebla and Mexico City.

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

3. Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Videgaray, clarified on social media that the migrant caravan “[is] gradually disbanding by migrant choice.” In addition, Secretary Videgaray assured that the implementation of migration policy in Mexico is not due to external threats. In regards to President Trump’s intention to send the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto stated that the Mexican government will not take a stance on the issue until the Trump administration clarifies their plan. The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) issued a press release stating that the Mexican government will maintain a permanent communication with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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

4. Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo, and Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Videgaray, were in Washington, DC on Wednesday and Thursday. The purpose of their visit was to reengage in high-level talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced there is a “great possibility” that there will be a NAFTA deal in the coming days.

Read more: Milenio, Jornada, Reforma, El Universal

Headlines

1. The presidential campaigns have officially begun. The Frente Ciudadano por México coalition candidate, Ricardo Anaya, and independent candidate Margarita Zavala kicked-off the campaign season with two events in Mexico City. Morena’s presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) presidential candidate José Antonio Meade will hold their kick-off events this upcoming Sunday.

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

2. Miguel Ángel Mancera announced his departure as Mayor of Mexico City. José Ramón Amieva will be appointed as the city’s new mayor. In addition, Mancera announced his intent to run for a seat in the Mexican Senate in the upcoming July election.

Read more: Milenio, Jornada, El Economista, Excelsior

3. There were several protests across Mexico regarding the disappearance of three film students from the state of Jalisco. Javier Salomón Aceves Gastélum, Daniel Díaz, and Marco Avalos have been missing since March 19, 2018. The Attorney General of the State of Jalisco ordered the release of two men allegedly involved in the disappearance of the students.

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

4. A video recording released by the United Kingdom’s Channel 4 News confirms Cambridge Analytica’s operations in Mexico. In 2017, Cambridge Analytica opened an office in Mexico City; the firm’s operations were led by Arielle Karro. The news report alleges that Cambridge Analytica worked with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) until this past January.

Read more: El Universal, Excelsior, Jornada, Reforma