Cuban history lies behind an old door in Mexico City

11/29/16 USA Today

The morning after Fidel Castro died, it was quiet outside the Mexico City building where the revolutionary once hid and plotted his return to Cuba, where he led an insurrection that would begin one of the longest grips on political power in modern times.

A few local reporters stopped by the building, at 49 José de Emparán Street, and took pictures of the small plaque commemorating the spot where Castro and Ernesto “Ché” Guevara first met in July 1955. The plaque was installed in 2014. The wall around it was spruced up, repainted dark orange, but other than that the two-story building is run down, with black bars over the windows.

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How Mexico City Became A Hotbed For Startups

11/30/16 Forbes

On the corner of corner of Moneda and Licenciado Primo Verdad streets in Mexico City sits the first printing press in the Americas, established in 1539. Not far from that historic site of innovation is the Zona Rosa, one of many neighborhoods in the city center known for its trendy restaurants and bars – and increasingly – a lively startup community.

That’s near where WeWork is located, a shared workspace that many young entrepreneurs call home. Based in the Bay Area with offices all over the world, the Mexico City outpost looked like any Silicon Valley shared workspace with its casually hip young crowd, micro-roasted coffee and micro-brewed beer on tap — and even a few dogs.

It also turned out to be the perfect locale for a recent innovation event hosted by SAP and Endeavor, where a panel of young startup leaders discussed how their companies are using technology to digitally disrupt everything in Mexico; from the mid-range furniture market to domestic cleaning services.

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Mexico City behaving badly: one man’s crusade to end poor civic habits

08/06/16 The Guardian 

Until recently, Arne Aus den Ruthen roamed one of Mexico City’s more affluent boroughs on the lookout for bad civic behaviour, broadcasting it on Periscope to an outraged population. He exposed people parking on sidewalks, tossing bags of trash out into the street and dumping pylons, bricks and buckets in the street to save parking spots.

He even confronted bodyguards blocking a wheelchair access ramp with their SUVs and refusing to move – only to discover they were waiting for a member of the president’s inner circle to finish a workout at a nearby gym.

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Gov’t seeks to improve fight against pollution in central Mexico

07/12/2016 Fox News Latino

Mexican Environment Secretary Rafael Pacchiano has recommended that the Metropolitan Environmental Commission, or CAME, hold a special meeting to discuss improving air quality in the Mexico City region.

The metro region is comprised of Mexico City and 224 municipalities in the central states of Mexico, Hidalgo, Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala.

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Mexico’s ICA to bid for Mexico City airport contracts -report

07/07/16 Reuters

Mexican construction firm ICA will bid to build runways and a terminal at Mexico City’s new airport, local media reported on Thursday.

Luis Zarate, chief executive of ICA, told the newspaper La Jornada that the firm will present documents to participate in a runway bid with a consortium of domestic and foreign firms on Aug. 8.

“It’s a project that interests us … it is a challenge for Mexican engineering and we have the ability to do it,” Zarate was quoted as saying.

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Mexico arrests suspected associate of drug boss ‘El Mayo’ Zambada

07/07/16 Reuters

One of the top suspected associates of Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has been arrested in Mexico City, prosecutors said on Thursday, in a new blow to the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel.

Heriberto Zazueta, alias “El Capi Beto,” was detained on Wednesday by federal agents in coordination with Interpol. There was a warrant for his arrest in Mexico and an order for his extradition to the United States.

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Mexico’s business elite speak out against corruption in an extremely polite protest

06/16/16 Vice News

The Angel of Independence monument in the heart of Mexico City is often overrun by protesters seeking to highlight the grievances that abound in a country with 50 percent poverty and acute inequality.

The demonstrators who took over the landmark this Thursday came from rather different stock.

Instead of stopping traffic, the men and women in suits walked across the street in groups with the help of a traffic officer. Rather than shouting slogans, they played tranquil elevator music out of a PA system. They didn’t hold signs scrawled with insults in black marker. They did spell out their concern with large gold balloons held by younger staff — also in suits.

                                                                   The balloons said “MX without corruption.”

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