Welcome to The Mexican Globalist, a weekly curated summary on the Foreign Press' coverage of Mexico. We aim to bring you the week’s most important news and our favorite research pieces, along with a little humor. If you dig this newsletter, make sure to give us some love by clicking the ❤️ button above- if you don’t, still do it, good Karma will come. We invite you to subscribe here!
Buenos Días!
For this week’s edition, we put humor aside to discuss the takeover of the country’s National Human Rights Commission by activists demanding justice for gender-based violence crimes committed in the country. Almost as appalling as the violence itself, was the President’s response to this protest and his call for the women to remain peaceful.
As you might have heard, Mexico is also struggling with a death certificate shortage due to the Covid-19 pandemic - this is unheard of, even after natural disasters. What you might not know is that before running the story, the Wall Street Journal called Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell asking for a comment. He said he would get back to the Journal. He did not. However, he did try to spin the issue at his press conference before the story was published. ¡Ay, Ese Hugo!
“How can you get outraged about this painting, but not about how my own daughter was abused?”
Los Angeles Times / Reuters / El País
© Andrea Murcia
What happened ? After being informed that police investigations were not being carried out properly, family members of missing and sexually abused minors decided to occupy the National Human Rights Commission HQ. The next day, they were joined by feminist activists demanding justice for gender violence that plagues the nation - an average of 11 women are killed daily and the perpretators are rarely brought to justice.
While occupying the building, activists have started to use it as a shelter for victims. So far, they have shown the world the exquisite meats stocking in the office’s refrigerators and defaced paintings of historic figures, such as Francisco Madero, a hero of the Mexican Revolution.
What did the president say? Known for downplaying gender violence, AMLO opposed the feminist groups actions and equating it to vandalism. He even said that the activists were conservatives themselves for drawing on Madero’s painting “Let's not forget that extremes are close to each other, the extreme left and the extreme right”. Yes, he did say that.
What’s next? The activists have already threatened to seize regional offices of the Human Rights Commission if their petitions are not heard. However, the Head of the Human Rights Agency, Rosario Piedra Ibarra stated that the feminist group are not asking for anything in specific. Duh! They are obviously in it for the expensive cured meats.
[Los Angeles Times / Reuters / El País]
🇺🇸 Is Mexico actually paying for Trump’s Wall?
After Trump threatened Mexico with tariffs last year, more than $4 million from the Mexico Fund has been redirected to immigration containment purposes - the Fund’s objective is to develop projects in Central America to address structural causes of migration. [The Associated Press]
Above: Central Americans migrants sit in a bus paid and organized by the Mexican government after being returned to Mexico by U.S. authorities © Marco Ugarte/AP photo
💀 Coronavirus Leaves Mexico Short of Death Certificates and with a new black market
Every year between 100,000 and 150,000 death certificates are left unused in Mexico, but a spike in deaths due to the pandemic has created scarcity and a new dark black market. [The Wall Street Journal / ABC News]
🐦Nature reclaims its territory
As Mexico City’s new airport was scrapped, the abandoned construction zone is now part of a project to conserve 12,200 hectares aimed to partially open to the public by March next year and offer full access by 2024. [Reuters]
😌🙄Mexico's 2021 finance package forecast is seen as a tad too optimistic
While the Finance Minister says Mexico’s GDP will just drop -8%, the Central Bank’s survey estimates a 9.9% drop. [Financial Times / Reuters]
🚗Volkswagen drops Mexico City dealership that displayed Nazi poster
🌮Mexico tortilla shop (AKA a tortillería) gives free TV, internet for school kids
With Mexican Independence Day around the corner, this week’s meme pays tribute to our historic hero Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, who looks A LOT like Víctor Manuel Toledo, the Environment Minister who quit his job last week citing health issues - we think he might actually be telling the truth about that.
Translation: "AMLO is such a badass that he unfroze Miguel Hidalgo just so he could do el grito”
Do you have a meme/GIF you’d like to share with us? Reply to this email with the link.
In case you were wondering, this is Miguel Hidalgo
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AMLO’s quote: “They left us a broken-down, conniving, and rheumatic elephant.. We’ve already got him on his feet and we're making him honest again, but he still has rheumatism ”
For all the youngsters reading this, rheumatism is a disease that causes inflammation and pain in joints and muscles.
A bit of context: AMLO was referring to his success combating corruption in Mexico and the remaining challenges he still has to tackle.