New America Media has compiled a summary of the top news in Latin America for 2007, ranging from natural disasters and the election of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as President of Argentina, to the failure of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to consolidate his power through an electoral referendum. President Calderon of Mexico also made the […]
Fourteen years after its passage, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is still widely debated, with concerns over issues such as job movement, workers’ rights, and environmental protection. Laura Carlsen, Director of the Americas Policy Program in Mexico City, testified before the U.S. Congress on December 6th that NAFTA has been disastrous for small […]
Jose Narro Robles was named the new rector of Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM). Robles is a doctor who previously headed the university's medical school. UNAM, with approximately 160,000 undergraduates and 21,000 graduate students, is the largest — and often ranked the best — university in Latin America.
Director Luis Mandoki's latest release, “Fraud: Mexico 2006,” opened in Mexico to large audiences, generating interest and controversy. The documentary suggests that Felipe Calderon defeated Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in a fraudulent process that included improprieties at polling places and an unlawful smear campaign against the leftist candidate, Obrador. The film's pro-Calderon critics dismiss it as propaganda, […]
Speaking at a Mexico City event to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, President Calderon addressed what he called Mexico's “culture of machismo,” acknowledging that millions of women face abuse and workplace discrimination despite the passage of laws targeting gender inequities and violence against women. Earlier this year, Mexico enacted a law […]
*This article has been posted by Rich Basas both on FPA's Migration Blog as well as the Mexico Blog this week. Illegal immigration may be one of the hot button issues for the next Presidential election and will favor neither party in the process. In the Democratic party debates televised widely among American networks this […]
Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA's Migration blog: An often unknown issue outside of the local society in any country is the linguistic heritage of the indigenous people of the region. In Latin America these ancient tribal languages take on an added dimension, as many Latin American nations were formed early as independent nations compared […]
Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA's Migration Blog: The Mexican regions of Tabasco and Chiapas this past weekend suffered from yet another global environmental shock with severe flooding causing major evacuations of nearly 28,000 people from Villahermosa and surrounding cities in the Southern regions of Mexico leaving 800,000 homeless. Local and national police and military […]
In an effort to decrease violence and the flow of narcotics into the U.S., President Bush asked Congress this week for $500 million to help Mexico fight drug gangs at home. Bush has worked with President Calderon on the details of the plan, which would send to Mexico equipment such as surveillance aircraft, drug-detection gear, […]
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is gaining international attention for his efforts to improve the quality of life in the city. The Mayor has constructed “urban beaches” and recently removed 15,000 vendors from 87 streets in the city center. He has held outdoor movie screenings and closed major roads to traffic on Sundays in order to make […]
Appearing on CNN to promote his new book, “Revolution of Hope,” former Mexican President Vicente Fox offered his views on a variety of issues including immigration and U.S. politics. Though he did not explicitly endorse Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Fox said that more women need to be elected. Referring to his post-presidency, Fox said he […]
Former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda recently addressed the Foreign Policy Association's World Leadership Forum in New York. Click here to view his speech on U.S.-Mexico relations.
Mexican writer Fernando del Paso has been awarded the Juan Rulfo literary prize, a major honor in Spanish literature. Born in Mexico City in 1935, Del Paso is the author of Palinuro of Mexico and Noticias del Imperio, among other works. Though best known for his four novels, he has also had success as a poet, […]
Famed Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas has been commissioned by Mexico City officials to design what would be Latin America's tallest skyscraper at 984 feet. As the New York Times noted recently, however, the proposed “Bicentennial Tower” is causing controversy among its future neighbors and city activists who are taking legal action. If built, the 70-story tower overlooking the city's Chapultepec […]
President Calderon's bill to reform Mexico's tax system has been approved by the national Congress. According to the Economist, the new tax laws will increase the government's non-oil tax revenue from 10% of GDP to 12% by 2012, resulting in an extra $10.3 billion in federal funds next year. In order to gain support for his […]