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 sprinkled in. If a friend forwarded this newsletter to you, congratulations! You choose your friends wisely. We invite you to subscribe here.
Buenos Días!
Things could be worse. That’s the slogan that AMLO chose for his second state of the union report. And to be honest, he was kind of right. Mexico didn’t experience the horrific scenes experienced by NYC or Madrid, nor was it cornered by its creditors like Argentina.
But things are still messy, to say the least. Homicides keep rising, 12 million jobs were lost and optimistic economists estimate that it will take 4 years to get back on track. Nonetheless, the president’s top priority is still fighting corruption - his deadline to request a referendum on prosecuting former presidents is coming soon.
In this week’s edition we also bring you two great pieces you might have not heard about them. As schools have been closing down, inmates are getting online courses for the first time. And while remittances have reached historic highs, Mexican families who have lost members to Covid-19 in the US, are struggling to get by back home.
And if you are wondering why we think AMLO dreams about Kanye, keep reading.
“I don’t want to brag, but we have the best government for the worst moment”: AMLO
The Washington Post/Al Jazeera
“Now Mexico, I'm really happy for you, I'm goin' let you finish but Spain performed even worse than you” AMLO’s dream … for a trip down to memory lane click here © Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Last Tuesday, President López Obrador delivered a speech as part of his second state of the union report. He lamented the high death toll and job loss, but he then “bragged” that other governments have performed worse than his.
Most of the press criticised this comparison and trashed Mexico’s recent performance. In his Op-Ed for the Washington Post, León Krauze claimed that AMLO lives in an alternated reality and that Mexico will not have “V” shaped economic recovery, like he promised.
Although Mexico IS struggling with the current crises and the increase in homicides, progress has been made in other areas, such as tax evasion. The prosecution of multinational companies allowed the government to collect the same amount of taxes during the first semester of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, despite the economic historic contraction.
As the midterm elections approach, AMLO’s focus will (probably) be the corruption scandals involving former presidents. He seems to have no interest in sending them to jail, he himself said he would vote against prosecuting them. But he is definitely digging the idea of recovering some of that stolen money, as he has no plans of taking out a new loan - according to AMLO, Mexico has saved 560 billion pesos ($25.7 billion) thanks to his austerity measures and the fight against corruption No one really knows how he got to that number. [The Washington Post/Al Jazeera]
💻 Remote-school makes it’s way to prisons.
Over 10,000 have volunteered to teach classes. Without family visits but with a new internet room, female inmates have been taking online courses on subjects from poetry to carpentry thanks to volunteers from all over Mexico. AP
© AP
🇺🇸💵 Her Son Died Of Covid-19 In New York. Like Others In Mexico, She’s Now Struggling To Make Ends Meet.
He was 34. He died alone. Remittances from the US might be on the rise. However, as Covid-19 disproportionately affects minority residents, some Mexican families have not only lost a source of income but also the opportunity to say goodbye. Ana Maria, a 61 year old grieving woman from Puebla, tells her story. Buzzfeed Yes! Buzzfeed.
Abort mission. Abort mission. After pointing fingers at sodas and comida chatarra for the high covid-19 death toll, the president said he is not in favor of raising taxes and prefers an information campaign (based on shame) to help reduce consumption. AMLO’s statement goes against his own Morena party legislators who seek to increase the soda tax and prohibit the sale of junk food to minors. Definitely good news for multinationals. Yeii. No. Jk. [Bloomberg]
👮 Nxivm ‘Sex Cult’ Leader Should Get Life in Prison, US Prosecutors Say Remember Keith Ranier, founder of a self-help group (popular among the Mexican Elite) convicted of running a sex cult? NY prosecutors are asking that Mr Ranier be sentenced to life in prison due to his lack of remorse towards victims. Also, check out HBO’s newest series on the case. The New York Times
Above: Emiliano Salinas, son of former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari and member of the Nxvim Mexican chapter, alongside wife and actress Ludwika Paleta © BBC
🐘 What Has Become of the Republican Party’s Latino Outreach? Was AMLO’s visit to the White House part of Trump’s reelection campaign, like his critics said it was, or was it really just a very random diplomatic trip? Slate
🌳Mexico president attacks environmentalists’ foreign funding As several NGOs have opposed the government’s railway project in the Yucatan Peninsula, AMLO is accusing them of receiving donations and instructions from foreign foundations - even though many of the groups have been getting grants for years before the President took office in 2018. The Washington Post
👋 Mexico's environment minister resigns, cites health concerns Víctor Manuel Toledo resigned after audio tapes were leaked in which he criticized the government’s anti-environmental views. Toledo is the fourth Minister that resigns from AMLO’s cabinet. Reuters
🌎Covid-19 Vaccine Diplomacy: Mexico Courts Allies Across Ideological Spectrum Pandemics are no place for ideologs, and the Mexican government knows that. The country’s pragmatic approach has already landed a deal to produce AstraZeneca’s vaccine and the participation in phase 3 trials of vaccines from Italy, Russia, Johnson & Johnson. Now, it is currently in talks with the Cuban and German government. The New York Times
In this week’s section, we are reminded that certain people aren’t big fans of local cuisine, like churros. But, they will gladly eat some if bought from a gentrified upscale churro’s shop.
Translation: "Let's put a shop that sells churros, but a posh one", and this shit actually worked
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AMLO’s quote: “It’s that Reforma's poll is rigged”
Note: cuchareada has multiple definitions. 1. Spooned (as it in the shape of a spoon or yeah… the other) 2. Manipulated or rigged.
When using cuchareada in Spanish, proceed with caution.
A bit of context: AMLO was asked about his declining approval levels reported by Reforma (a center-right newspaper) and responded that that poll was rigged, cuchareada.