Americans Are Flocking to Mexico. Should They Be?

07/16/2021

Source: The New York Times

Mexico’s reputation as an alluring travel destination both before and during the pandemic has met a sobering reality: Despite growing vaccine efforts, the coronavirus is surging, especially in tourist hot spots.

Though the U.S. land border with Mexico has been closed to nonessential travel since the start of the pandemic, vacationers can fly into the country with no quarantine or testing requirements, opening the door to unvaccinated travelers who might contract the virus in Mexico and bring it back home, or for any traveler to pass it on to a Mexican citizen.

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Mexico president calls for end to Cuba trade embargo after protests

07/13/2021

Source: Reuters

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba should be ended to help its people, after the biggest anti-government protests in decades broke out on the island fueled by anger over shortages in basic goods.

“The truth is that if one wanted to help Cuba, the first thing that should be done is to suspend the blockade of Cuba as the majority of countries in the world are asking,” Lopez Obrador told a news conference.

“That would be a truly humanitarian gesture,” he added. “No country in the world should be fenced in, blockaded.”

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Migration trends between the U.S. and Mexico have flipped upside down

07/11/2021

Source: Yahoo! News

The past few years have seen a marked decline in the number of people migrating from the U.S. to Mexico, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

Why it matters: Mexico has long been the largest country of origin for immigrants in the U.S. However, there was even more migration from the U.S. to Mexico in the 2000s and early 2010s— a trend that reversed in the years before the pandemic.

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U.S., Mexico settle first labor complaint under USMCA

07/08/2021

Source: Politico

The U.S and Mexico have agreed to closely monitor a new union vote for workers at a General Motors facility in central Mexico after a weekslong investigation into complaints that their rights had been violated during a similar referendum earlier this year.

The resolution announced Thursday marks a milestone for resolving labor disputes under the landmark U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and comes as U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai concludes meetings with trade and labor officials in Mexico City to commemorate the deal’s one-year anniversary.

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Mexico to Allow Union Vote at G.M. Plant After U.S. Complaint

07/08/2021

Source: The New York Times

The United States on Thursday reached a deal with Mexico to give workers at a General Motors plant in the country the ability to vote on a collective bargaining agreement in “free and democratic conditions.”

It is the first step toward remediation of a complaint the Biden administration filed in May, using a new “rapid response” mechanism in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement last year. The new agreement included language giving factory workers in the United States, Canada and Mexico the right to form unions and authorized penalties for factories that violated workers’ rights of free association and collective bargaining.

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U.S., Canada raise concern over Mexico energy, investment climate

07/07/2021

Source: Reuters

MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) – Trade ministers from the United States and Canada expressed concern on Wednesday about Mexico’s energy policies, as they met with their Mexican counterpart to mark the one-year anniversary of a regional trade pact.

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai told reporters during a joint news conference that the United States is closely following Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s approach to the oil and power sectors, and seemed to suggest underlying differences.

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Why some people are moving from the United States to Mexico

06/21/2021

Source: The Economist

In the year and a half since Annette and Mike Thompson sold their house in Texas and upped sticks for Mexico, they have had few regrets. Now they live in Ajijic, a pretty town by Lake Chapala in the western state of Jalisco. Their large house has a spectacular view over the water, where birds glide in the late afternoon breeze. “The only thing we miss is Tex-Mex food,” says Mrs Thompson.

The clichéd view of Mexico is that it is poor and crime-ridden. Popular tv series, such as “Narcos: Mexico”, do little to dispel this image. The reality has long been more nuanced, as more Americans are realising. The us State Department reckons 1.5m live south of the border, making them the largest group of immigrants in Mexico and the largest group of Americans outside the United States (Mexico counts fewer: around 800,000). The largest single community of non-military American expats in the world is in Mexico’s west, close to Guadalajara.

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Biden nominates Ken Salazar as ambassador to Mexico

06/15/2021

Source: The Hill

President Biden will nominate former Interior Secretary and former Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar (D) as ambassador to Mexico, the White House announced on Tuesday. 

In addition to his roles in the federal government, Salazar has also been the attorney general of Colorado and was its first Latino elected to statewide office. Among his notable moves at the Interior Department was implementing a 20-year ban on mining uranium from public lands in 2012. 

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State Department lowers dozens of countries from ‘Do Not Travel’ to ‘Reconsider Travel’ status

06/08/2021

Source: The Washington Post

A month and a half after warning Americans not to travel to most of the world, the U.S. State Department is easing travel advisories for dozens of countries — at least a little.

The department on Tuesday said that it was taking 58 countries and territories out of the Level 4, or “Do Not Travel,” category and designating them as Level 3, or “Reconsider Travel,” destinations. Another 27 places were moved to the first two levels, where travelers are urged to exercise increased caution or exercise normal precautions.

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Mexico hails Harris after visit, flags more border talks

06/09/2021

Source: Reuters

Mexico’s government on Wednesday praised U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris following talks aimed at curbing undocumented immigration, and said another top Biden administration official would visit next week for more discussions.

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