Tuesday, June 30, 2026
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50 major companies join coalition to hire migrants in Mexico

by the El Reportero‘s wire services

Amazon, Chedraui, Bimbo and Walmart are among 50 companies that have joined a coalition of major businesses committed to hiring refugees and migrants “at scale” in Mexico.

The coalition is an initiative of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a network of large companies committed to hiring and training people who have been displaced from their countries of origin.

Tent México, which was officially launched on Wednesday, is the network’s “first national coalition to launch in Latin America, adding to existing coalitions in Canada, France, Spain and the United States,” Tent said in a statement.

Among the other companies that have signed on to the project in Mexico are:

  • Hotel chains Accor, Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott.
  • Food and beverage companies Chobani, Kellanova, Pepsi and Femsa.
  • Retailers H & M and Coppel.
  • Paint manufacturer Comex.
  • Telecommunications company AT & T.
  • The bank HSBC.
  • The recruitment companies Randstad and Manpower.
  • The tech firms PayPal and Microsoft.

Tent, founded by Turkish billionaire and Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, said that the 50 companies are “committed to hiring refugees and migrants at scale, as well as providing them with job preparation support, in Mexico.”

“… In recent years, Mexico has welcomed more than 600,000 displaced people from countries such as Venezuela, Haiti, and Cuba — yet many have been unable to find formal employment,” the organization said.

“At the same time, 75 percent of employers in Mexico say they struggle to find workers and Coparmex, the Mexican Employers Association, reports between 1.2 and 1.6 million vacancies in Mexico’s labor market,” it said.

“Today, Tent is launching a first-of-its-kind coalition of Mexico’s largest employers to bridge this gap — helping Mexican businesses fill acute labor shortages by harnessing the talent of refugees and migrants who are eager to build new lives in Mexico.”

While most migrants who come to Mexico hope to enter the United States, a growing number are choosing to stay here, at least temporarily. Applications for asylum in Mexico reached a record high last year.

Gideon Maltz, CEO of Tent, said that companies in Mexico “have an incredible opportunity to meet their labor needs by hiring refugees and migrants.”

“By doing so, companies will see incredible dividends, they will gain loyal and dedicated workers, all while helping refugees and migrants become self-sufficient and contribute to their new community,” he said.

Just under three-quarters of respondents to a Tent-commissioned survey of more than 800 adults in Mexico — 74 percent — said they are more likely to buy from a company that hires refugees.

“Notably, this percentage is higher than any of the other eight markets where Tent has conducted similar research, including the United States, Spain, and Germany, underscoring Mexican consumers’ strong support for companies helping refugees,” Tent said.

José Antonio Fernández, chairman of Coca-Cola bottler and OXXO owner Femsa, said that Femsa has “hired thousands of refugees and migrants over the years, and … seen firsthand the tremendous impact they have made on our company, our employees, and our community.”

“We look forward to building upon this success and deepening our work with Tent to welcome even more refugees and migrants into the Femsa workforce,” he said.

It remains to be seen whether more migrants will choose to remain in Mexico as a result of the launch of the Tent project, which will be supported by the International Organization for Migration.

Undocumented migration to the United States reached record levels last year, prompting the U.S. government to ask Mexico to do more to stop the flow of migrants to its northern border.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last month attributed a decrease in migrant encounters all along the 3,145-kilometer-long border with Mexico to enhanced enforcement actions by Mexico; Mexico moving migrants along the country’s northern border to the southern border; and Mexico reinstating deportations of Venezuelans.

President López Obrador, who has offered Central America migrants work on government infrastructure projects, believes that the key to reducing migration to the United States is to invest in development and employment projects in the main source countries, such as Guatemala and Honduras in Central America and Haiti in the Caribbean.

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The United States has zero national security

Paul Craig Roberts

by Paul Craig Roberts

In his newly published book, Nuclear High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse, Steven Starr shows that all it takes is one nuclear explosion to shut down  the United States and throw the population back into the Dark Ages.  The electric power grid would be destroyed along with the communications system, the cooling systems at nuclear power plants and all electronic devices.  The reason is that civilian infrastructure is not protected from ElectroMagneticPulse (EMP). The military has taken steps to shield its weapon and communication systems, but nothing has been done to protect civilian infrastructure.  Bills mandating EMP protection have been defeated in Congress.

Starr reports that only 4 percent of the US military budget is required to shield the power grid and civilian infrastructure.  Instead, the Washington idiots waste trillions of dollars in pointless wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Serbia, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, and Ukraine.

American cities would suffer no effects from blast and fire, such as would be produced by ground level detonation, but the consequences would be just as dire.  Starr describes them in a summary on his website:  https://nuclearfamine.org/connect/

Effects of a single high-altitude nuclear detonation over the Eastern U.S.

“105 miles above Ohio, a single nuclear warhead explodes. Because it is far above the atmosphere, there will be no blast or fire effects felt on Earth, however, this high-altitude nuclear detonation will create a gigantic electromagnetic pulse or EMP.

“In one billionth of a second, the initial EMP E1 wave will cause massive voltages and currents to form within power lines, telecommunication lines, cables, wires, antennas, and any other electrically conductive material found beneath the nuclear detonation in a circular area covering hundreds of thousands of square miles.

“Within this region, under ideal conditions, the E1 wave will produce 2 million volts and a current of 5,000 to 10,000 amps within medium distribution power lines. Any unshielded modern electronic devices that contain solid-state circuitry, which are plugged into the grid, will be disabled, damaged, or destroyed. This includes the electronic devices required to operate all critical national infrastructure.

“Unshielded electronic devices within ground, air, and sea transportation systems, water and sanitation systems, fuel and food distribution systems, water and sanitation systems, telecommunication systems, and banking systems would all be simultaneously knocked out of service – and all these systems would be disabled until the solid-state electronics required to operate them could be repaired or replaced.

“The E1 wave will also instantly destroy millions of glass insulators found on 15 kilovolt-class electric power distribution lines. 78 percent of all electricity in the US is delivered to end users (residential, agricultural, commercial) through these 15 kV power lines. The loss of a single insulator on a line can knock out power distribution on the entire line.

“At the same instant, the massive voltage and current induced by the E1 wave will damage and destroy the relays, sensors, and control panels at 1783 High Voltage Substations, knocking out the entire electric power grid in the eastern half of the United States.

“One to ten seconds after the nuclear detonation, the following EMP E3 wave would induce powerful current flows in power lines including lines that are both above and below ground. E3 would damage or destroy many – if not most – of the Large Power Transformers and Extra High Voltage Circuit Breakers required for the long-distance transmission of about 90 percent of electrical power in the United States.

“The loss of Large Power Transformers and Extra High Voltage Circuit Breakers would mean that entire regions within the United States would be left without electric power for up to a year or longer. This is because Large Power Transformers are not stockpiled and the current wait time for their manufacture is 18 to 24 months; they must be custom designed and manufactured and about 80 percent are made overseas. They each weigh between 200 and 400 tons and must be shipped by sea and moving them to their final destination is quite difficult even under normal circumstances.

“Because nuclear power plants are not designed to withstand the effects of EMP, the solid-state electronics within their backup electrical and cooling systems would also be damaged and disabled. The failure of their Emergency Power Systems and active Emergency Core Cooling Systems will make it impossible to cool their reactor cores after emergency shutdown; this will quickly lead to reactor core meltdowns at dozens of nuclear power plants.

“To summarize, a single nuclear high-altitude electromagnetic pulse can instantly take out most or all of the US power grid while simultaneously destroying the solid-state electronic devices required to operate US critical national infrastructure – including the safety systems at nuclear power plants. Following a nuclear EMP, the people of the US would suddenly find themselves living in the conditions of the Middle Ages for a period possibly as long as a year – most Americans would not be able to survive such circumstances.

“For less than 4 percent of the US national defense budget, the US power grid and critical infrastructure can be shielded from EMP. However, the political will to implement this protection has not yet been found, so Americans remain very much at risk.”

The book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kindle. If you read it, you will be amazed and disgusted at the negligence and stupidity of the US government.  Thanks to the fools who govern us, we have zero national security despite the massive expenditures year after year, decade after decade.

People do not realize that the convenience and entertainment provided by their cell phones comes at great cost when measured by risk.  Nothing is secure in the digital age, not your identity, your privacy, your bank account, or your independence. The expansion of the digital revolution into money will mean that you can be denied access to your money for any reason including the exercise of free speech.  All accumulated knowledge in digital form can be erased by one EMP. Try to imagine the consequences of such a loss.  These are new risks never before experienced on Earth.

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As Mexico’s avocado woes grow, US senators urge action

by Mexico News Daily

Six United States senators sent a letter to top Biden administration officials this week to raise concerns about the sale in the U.S. of Mexican avocados grown on illegally deforested land.

“We write regarding reports of widespread illegal deforestation and unsustainable water use linked to avocados imported from Mexico,” the six Democratic Party senators said in the Feb. 7 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

The senators, among whom are Tim Kaine of Virginia and Ben Cardin of Maryland, sought “additional information” regarding the Biden administration’s “efforts to address environmental degradation linked to these imports.”

They also requested that the U.S. government work with Mexico “to prevent the sale of avocados grown on illegally deforested lands to American consumers.”

The senators cited an article published in The New York Times in November (“Americans Love Avocados. It’s Killing Mexico’s Forests.”), noting that it says that avocado production in Michoacán and Jalisco — the only Mexican states certified to export the fruit to the U.S. — “has had a catastrophic impact on the environment and local communities.”

“A report by Climate Rights International further outlines the devastating toll of the U.S.-Mexico avocado trade: government officials in Michoacán and Jalisco identify avocado production as ‘a central cause of deforestation and environmental destruction in their states,’ including water theft,” the senators continued.

“The report also outlines how Indigenous leaders and others seeking to defend their forests and water have been threatened, attacked and killed.”

To help meet international environmental commitments made by the U.S., the Biden administration, “in cooperation with our Mexican partners, should work to prevent Mexican avocados produced on illegally deforested land from reaching U.S. markets,” stressed Kaine, Cardin, Peter Welch, Chris Van Hollen, Martin Heinrich and Jeff Merkley.

The senators advocated denying export certification “to orchards installed on recently illegally deforested land — a change that senior Mexican officials have reportedly expressed interest in making.”

“Because most Mexican avocado orchards are not on recently deforested land, the [Biden] administration could implement policy changes without significantly reducing American consumers’ access to avocados or harming the livelihood of law-abiding avocado farmers,” they said.

Climate Rights International (CRI), a California-based advocacy organization, said in a statement that the U.S. government “should act” on the senators’ advice.

“The environmental destruction and abuse fueled by Mexican avocado exports to the United States require urgent attention by both countries,” said Brad Adams, CRI’s executive director.

“Denying export authorization to avocado orchards installed on recently deforested lands would dramatically reduce the economic incentive to clear the forests or attack the people defending them,” he said.

CRI said that the opposition of Michoacán and Jalisco residents, including Indigenous leaders, environmentalists, journalists, and academics, to the destruction of forests due to avocado production is “no match for the profits to be made selling avocados to corporations that export the fruit.”

“Mexico supplies four out of five avocados eaten in the United States, in exports worth US$3 billion per year. The U.S. market — which has tripled in size since 2000 — is the main factor motivating avocado producers to destroy forests to establish orchards,” the organization said.

The senators’ airing of their concerns comes ahead of the Super Bowl this Sunday, a day on which avocado consumption in the U.S. reaches its annual peak, mainly due to the use of the so-called alligator pear to make guacamole.

The Michoacán Ministry of Agriculture said last week that Mexico would send 138,000 tonnes of avocado to the United States to meet Super Bowl demand.

Mexico — the world’s largest avocado producer — is easily the top exporter of avocados to the United States. In 2023, a record high of 1.14 million tonnes of Mexican avocados were shipped north of the border, according to agriculture consultancy Grupo Consultor de Mercados Agrícolas.

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Will the Senate pass an expanded Child Tax Credit to help 19 million low-income children?

Photo by ALEX WONG

‘You wish that both sides would just want to help low-income children. But sadly, that’s not the case.’ – Chuck Marr, Vice President for Federal Tax Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

by Sunita Sohrabji

The Senate is contemplating a $78 billion expanded version of the Federal Child Tax Credit, which could provide some economic stability to an estimated 19 million low-income children.

The House passed the bi-partisan bill — known as the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 — last week on a 375-60 vote. In the Senate, the bill is being sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, who with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Missouri, structured the proposed plan.

The proposal needs 60 votes to pass in the Senate. Several Republican senators have already expressed their opposition. Contrary to some of their concerns, however, the proposed measure does not benefit US citizen children with undocumented parents, even those with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers.

In an interview with Ethnic Media Services, Chuck Marr, Vice President for Federal Tax Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, explained the expanded credit and its importance in lifting millions of children out of poverty.

EMS: Could you explain the provisions of the measure?

Chuck Marr: The Child Tax Credit has been around for a few decades, and over time, and it’s fully available to middle-class and higher-income families.

But we still have 19 million children whose parents work for low wages. And because their earnings are not high enough, they do not get the full child tax credit. So 19 million kids, the kids who stand to benefit the most, actually get the least.

The child tax credit right now is basically upside down. And it needs to be turned right side up. And so this bill makes good progress. It It doesn’t fix everything, but it makes real progress.

Even with this small package, you’re helping 1 in 3 black children, 1 out of 3 Latino children, and 1 in 7 Asian American and White children.

EMS: So how does this work?

CM: It moves low-income families to a per child phase in, which is so important. Right now, throughout the population, 70 percent of kids live in families with two or more children. So this is a really big benefit. And then also the special lower cap for low-income families, this gets rid of that. So those are two big changes.

And then there’s a third piece, which is very important. Low-income people who work in low-wage jobs don’t tend to get sick days. They don’t get leave when their elderly parent gets sick. Higher income people, middle-class people, they tell their employer: ‘You know, I got to take a couple of weeks off here. I got to help out.’ Low income people, they get fired for doing things like that.

Three Big Changes

So this bill says, OK, a low income person goes to file their taxes. Last year, they worked quite a bit. This year they’re working less. Maybe someone had a baby. Right. Maybe they’re caring for an elderly parent. Maybe their hours were cut.

So they get to take a choice. They would choose between this year’s earnings, or last year’s, to calculate their child tax credit.

Those are really the three big changes. And again, it’s that per child that’s the major driver. If you have a single mom who makes, she has a toddler and a second grader, right? She works as a home health aide part-time around her kids’ school schedules. And she makes $15,000. Right now, she gets about $1,800 in child tax credit, right, far below the $4,000 that a higher income family would get. So with this bill, she’s going to get another $1,700. So not quite to $4,000, but to $3,600.

(Editor’s note: the maximum cap on the child tax credit is $2,000 per child per year, regardless of income)

EMS: For low-income families, why is this being offered as a credit at the end of the year, rather than a direct subsidy, which could help a lot of families month by month?

CM: If you think back during the pandemic, that one year where there really was a major expansion, child poverty was cut in half. That’s what we need to get back to. You know, that was just historic. And it’s so sad that that expired. That was when they when they went month to month. And that really helped provide stability for families. Something goes wrong. You still can help pay your bills.

This proposal does not do that. This is 1/12 of the size of the pandemic package.

I think the idea here is that let’s do what we can now in this package. And then in 2025, when all the Trump tax cuts expire, let’s try to block the tax cuts for the highest income people. And let’s try to go back to that really large expansion of the child tax credit, including that monthly delivery.

EMS: This is being framed as a bi-partisan bill. Would you agree with that framing?

CM: You wish that both sides would just want to help low-income children. But sadly, that’s not the case. So this is a trade, where Republicans are pushing for a series of corporate tax breaks. And then Democrats pushing more for the child tax credit. And it’s a negotiated settlement: a dollar of corporate for a dollar of helping low-income children.

Some from the far right are raising issues of of what the effect on work would be. And I think that’s very silly. I mean, the idea that a single mom who’s working is going to give up a job that pays $25,000 a year just so she can keep $2,000 is ridiculous to me.

This bill is intended to deal with the volatility of earnings and life circumstances. People have children. Their parents get sick. It helps provide some stability.

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Chucho Valdés & Irakere: 50h Anniversary at SFJazz

Chucho Valdés

by Magdy Zara

The most influential figure in modern Afro-Cuban jazz for more than half a century, virtuoso pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdés returns with Irakere 50, the new iteration of the legendary band that changed the course of Latin music in the 1970s and 80s.

Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at 8 p.m.

At SFJazz, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco.

San Francisco Film Festival turns 26

This year the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, in its 26th edition, will be screening some of the selected films at the Roxie Theater during these days, while you can enjoy others from your home or wherever you are.

The Inde Film Festival will take place from February 8 to 18 of this year, during this time you will have the opportunity to see 95 new film productions, including independent films from around the world, short films and feature films.

For the opening night, a party is planned to be held at Kilowatt, where excellent local Latin bands will be in charge of entertaining the moment.

The opening of the Film Festival will be this Friday, February 9, at Kilowatt, located at 3160 16th St, San Francisco. Starting at 8 p.m. Check-ins after 9 p.m. It will cost $10

Mardi Gras Party starting the San Francisco Carnival

This year the San Francisco Carnival reaches its 46th anniversary, and the organizers for this edition have decided as a theme to honor indigenous roots.

The SF Carnival is made up of several events, and this can be an opportunity to get to know your neighbors and you can also enjoy live samba drumming, dance performances and lively music, from soca to cumbia and rumba.

You can wear costumes, masks and beads and join us to celebrate Fat Tuesday in true San Francisco Carnival style.

The appointment is next Tuesday, February 13, between 5 and 10 p.m., in the Mission District, San Francisco, including: Bissap Baobab SF; Arcana; Kimbara Rhythm and Flavor; Cha Cha Cha; and at the BART plaza on 24th Street with music, dancing and carnival festivities.

Entrance is free.

Valentine’s Day dinner with tequila flavor

Love is in the air and the only thing better than a romantic dinner is a romantic dinner accompanied by a top-notch tequila.

That is why DF Campbell has scheduled one to enjoy an unforgettable four-course full course dinner, with carefully crafted tequila cocktails.

Regarding the menu, it was learned that you can taste exquisite tacos of roast beef, chorizo and quesabirria with a delicious Paloma, served style, in a great boutique place.

This tequila-flavored dinner will be this February 13th starting at 5:30 p.m. and at 8:30 p.m. at 379 East Campbell Avenue Campbell. The cost of tickets ranges between $100 – $340.

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5 events you won’t want to miss during Art Week in Mexico City

Además de visitar la Semana del Arte en Zona Maco, hay muchas actividades para hacer en la Ciudad de México. - In addition to visiting Art Week at Zona Maco, there are plenty of activities to do in Mexico City. (toursenbici/Instagram)

by Bethany Platanella

Mexico City is hosting its 20th Annual Zona Maco Art Week and there is a lot going on. From Feb. 7 to 11 CDMX will host Latin America’s biggest art fair showcasing contemporary artists, designers, and photographers from all over the world. But, what else is there to do in Mexico City during Zona Maco?

Outside the walls of the Citibanamex Convention Center, where the show is held, are numerous galleries exhibiting works from the likes of Gabriel Orozco at Kurimanzutto and Adrián S. Bará at Fundación Casa Wabi. The sheer size of the show means you could spend days staring at the eclectic array of works saturating the city.

If you find you need a break for some deep artistic contemplation or you’re simply poking around for a few artsy things to do, here are five interesting experiences that you won’t want to miss.

If you want to deep dive into Mexico City’s art scene but also want to see some sights, register for a special Art Week bike tour with Tours en Bici. The popular travel operator is run by a group of CDMX-loving architects who have been taking tourists all over town since 2021. Themes include tacos, mansions, markets, and, during Art Week, local galleries.

There are two guided Gallery Tour routes to choose from: Roma and San Miguel Chapultepec or San Rafael and Santa Maria la Ribera. A bike, safety equipment, water and tacos, and entrance to eight of each area’s trendiest galleries are included.

Bazar Artesanas Urbanas

Mexico City artist Claudia Niermann and Artesanas Urbanas are collaborating to present the first-ever Bazar Lagrange 123 on Sunday, February 11. The exposition will showcase the original work of 25 local artists, all women, whose talents include textiles, photography, ceramics, and jewelry. It’s a great way to support the community and get your Valentine’s Day (or Galentine’s Day) gifts in order.

Eduardo Castillo presents The Overview Effect 

Part DJ, part Creative Director of the Habitas hotel chain, Eduardo Castillo is known for his atmospheric music sets that interweave jazz, funk, electronic, and global sounds. His shows are a transcendental experience meant to connect listeners to each other and the world.

Castillo is closing Zona Maco 2024 at the historic Antiguo Hotel Reforma with his show The Overview Effect, inspired by a particular phenomenon known to astronauts as “a transformative realization of Earth’s fragility and the interconnectedness of its inhabitants”. Dance the night away without turning into a pumpkin, as the event is set to wrap up by midnight.

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On Safer Internet Day, experts offer tips to protect your family

Sad little child with smartphone indoors. Danger of internet

by Suzanne Potter

February 6, 2024 – Today is Safer Internet Day, a day to focus on ways to help your family thrive in the digital age.

The National Parent Teacher Association and a Silicon Valley company called ConnectSafely are offering an online presentation available starting today called Smart Digital Parenting: Navigating Screens with Children and Teens.

Yvonne Johnson, president of the National Parent Teacher Association, said parents and children need to have open, friendly, nonjudgmental discussions.

“The most important thing is we can’t panic when things go wrong,” Johnson explained. “You might hear something that freaks you out, right? But you have to listen calmly and ask questions, and then focus on solutions. I think that also creates the trust between the parent and the child.”

The PTA advised parents to focus on what they call the three T’s: talk, try and teach. This means parents should talk to their kids about the apps and games they like, try them together, and teach kids about security and privacy settings.

Mitchell Prinstein, chief science officer for the American Psychological Association, said when children are exposed to violence online, especially real-life incidents on the news, parents need to give context.

“It’s very important that we talk with kids about their own level of safety, primarily, when they see scary images, to help them understand why what they’re seeing online is highly likely or less likely to happen to them,” Prinstein urged. “Because kids’ fundamental issue is going to be their own personal protection, whether they can still rely on adults.”

California lawmakers passed a landmark bill in 2022, forcing companies to ensure their digital products do not harm children and teens before they hit the market, and require privacy measures to be included from the start. However, last September, a judge put the law on hold to determine whether it violates the tech companies’ First Amendment rights.

CA scores 37th in country for K-12 education funding

California ranks 37th out of 48 states for spending on K-12 education – according to a new report from Rutgers University, the University of Miami, and the nonprofit Albert Shanker Institute.

The annual School Finance Indicators Database found that California is spending more than 14 percent less than it did before the great recession of 2008.

Report co-author Professor Bruce Baker of the University of Miami said California is considered a “low-effort” state because its spending on education is not commensurate with its economic might.

“They’ve improved in the last few years, but they were in such a hole for so long because of tax and expenditure limits imposed in the late 70s – Prop 13,” said Baker. “So, California’s effort is still below the national average.”

The report finds that 69 percent of students in California live in underfunded school districts, and 32% in chronically underfunded districts.

However, California fares better – ranking 14th in the country – on shrinking the so-called “opportunity gap,” which measures the difference between the highest- and lowest-funded school districts.

Congress allocated billions to help schools weather the pandemic.

Mary Cathryn Ricker, president of the Albert Shanker Institute, said although the federal government did allow states to budget that money into successive school years, the investment is running out and there is no consistent long-term funding plan to replace it.

“Right now, everyone is concerned about the so-called fiscal cliff coming when federal pandemic aid runs out,” said Ricker. “But school funding in most states actually fell off a fiscal cliff 15 years ago and never got back up.”

For the coming fiscal year, California faces a $38 billion deficit. Nonetheless, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $291 billion budget proposal avoids cuts to K-12 schools, which serve almost 6 million students.

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Mexican candidate: Claudia vs. Sheinbaum

(L-R) Presidential hopefuls Xochitl Galvez and Claudia Sheinbaum. (AP)

by Mexico Institute/Wilson Center

No pun intended, election predictions make horse racing betting look stable.

“Secretariat,” the legendary “Triple Crown” winner, became known for saving energy with a slow start, then overtaking his equine rivals in the final stretch with formidable speed by a long shot. Something similar has happened with the two main presidential candidates in Mexico.

Claudia Sheinbaum was all shades of gray when she started her career. Although intellectually gifted, she has the charisma of a reserved director. Thus, like Secretariat, she seemed like a slow runner until, with the whip of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), she is now far ahead of her adversaries.

In a sense, Claudia has been competing against Sheinbaum, until the appearance of Xóchitl Gálvez in the race in the summer of 2023. Claudia is the model for AMLO, the politician, the woman who has unconditionally followed in her footsteps and has covered the traces of her. Sheinbaum is the scientist, the woman who can discern facts from discourse; However deep in her mind, there is an awareness that the energy sector requires a richer, more diverse and modern range of actors for a just transition.

In this sense, Claudia and Sheinbaum can clash. The poster girl owes her mentor what she is now, that she is no longer a scruffy radical student shouting slogans over a soap box. The stylized woman we see now has promised to expand the energetic legacy of her creator. If so, Sheinbaum is in trouble and may have to step back to allow Claudia to plead the case for a gigantic refinery in Tabasco that is still under construction and does not guarantee cheaper, less polluting fuels.

Xóchitl Gálvez’s performance on the track is exactly the opposite. She unexpectedly walked onto the lawn and the crowd woke up. However, what began as a boom soon turned into a crisis. In the recent survey conducted by El Universal, one of Mexico’s leading newspapers, Gálvez was 30 points behind Claudia. The equestrian analogy is apt. Like Secretary, the one who starts slowly is the one most likely to win.

Gálvez’s decline may have begun with his remarks suggesting that Pemex be privatized, a comment no Mexican politician ever made publicly. The rest of his energy platform is within the establishment consensus of the market-oriented “transition,” although some parts are unrealistic, namely that Pemex must be a leading producer of hydrogen. The revival of energy auctions, greater private investment in clean energy and unprecedented efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, although heretical for the moment in Mexico, are fairly standard objectives in global energy policies.

The unusual thing about Gálvez is that he lacks filters. It is not what he says but his way of expression that makes him an outlier in the political system. Energy is a piece of junk and it is a bull that tramples on the crudest sensibilities. She is a foul-mouthed iconoclast when she talks about Mexico’s most sacred issue: “energy sovereignty” which, from a political perspective, clashes even with a partial privatization of Pemex.

Claudia has tried to make peace with Sheinbaum, but Xóchitl’s presence still looms, particularly as a recent poll by Alejandro Moreno in El Financiero shows that Xóchitl only trails Claudia by 16 points. In early November, she announced a 30-year plan for the energy sector that includes private investment, to modernize the industry and achieve the public good. The question remains whether this scheme will truly decarbonize Mexico, improve market dynamics and, most importantly, secure the path to a just energy transition.

This article was originally published by the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute.

Miriam Grunstein (PhD) is currently an independent attorney whose experience in the energy sector began 21 years ago as a personal advisor to a Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) of Mexico. She is currently a non-resident scholar at the Mexico United States Center of the James Baker Institute of Rice University.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

In a tour of the networks, we found statements by Gálvez that refute what the article above says, ‘that she advocates the privatization of Pemex’.

According to Animal Político, Xóchitl Gálvez did not say that her dream is to privatize Pemex. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was, during his press conference on September 8, the one who said that it “helps that Xóchitl wants to privatize Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).” From there a video emerged that was manipulated, which Xóchitl Gálvez said about privatizing Pemex because in her original statement she said that he ‘wants to modernize the parastatal company.’

Xóchitl responded:

“President, I already know that he has his eye on me (…) what I demand is that he measures his words. He now says that I am going to privatize Pemex. Another lie. And since I already know that you only promise the replicas, but do not fulfill them, here I will explain quickly. My dream as a senator is to modernize Pemex and CFE, companies that understand the world, that are at the forefront, that take care of the planet and are useful to all Mexicans.” https://youtu.be/t5pwY-Uf8Bc

Despite previous statements, this video by Xóchitl Gálvez was manipulated. She said that she wants to modernize Pemex and CFE, not privatize the state oil company as the video on social networks says.

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President López Obrador presents 20 constitutional reform proposals

El presidente López Obrador ha anunciado una serie de propuestas de reformas constitucionales, que según los analistas espera que obtengan apoyo para su partido Morena en las próximas elecciones de este año. - President López Obrador has announced a series of proposed constitutional reforms, which analysts say he hopes will win support for his Morena party in the upcoming elections this year. (lopezobrador.org.mx)

por Mexico News Daily

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday outlined a package of 20 constitutional reform proposals, most of which have little or no chance of passing Congress in the near term as the ruling Morena party and its allies don’t have a two-thirds majority in Congress.

As announced last month, López Obrador made use of Mexico’s Constitution Day to present a raft of changes he would like to make to the nation’s foremost legal document.

Among his motivations for presenting the proposals at a time when he knows most of them are doomed to fail are to have a bearing on the June 2 elections, and to set the agenda for his likely successor, according to analysts.

Among the 20 proposals López Obrador outlined in a 42-minute address at the National Palace — some of which have multiple aims — are ones to:

– Guarantee that annual minimum salary increases outpace inflation.

– Overhaul the pension system so that retired workers receive pensions equivalent to 100 percent of their final salaries.

– Allow citizens to directly elect Supreme Court justices and other judges.

– Eliminate numerous autonomous government agencies.

– Reduce the number of federal lawmakers and the amount of money spent on elections and funding political parties.

– Incorporate the National Guard into the military.

– Ban fracking and genetically modified corn — the latter of which is a source of conflict between Mexico and the United States.

“The reforms I propose seek to establish constitutional rights and strengthen ideals and principles related to humanism, justice, honesty, austerity and democracy,” said López Obrador.

The president — a frequent critic of the judiciary who has made extensive use of the military during his presidency and who allegedly wants weaken autonomous institutions to concentrate power in the executive — also said his proposals are aimed at “modifying the content of anti-popular articles” in the constitution that were “introduced during the neoliberal period.”

He defines that period as the 36 years between 1982 and 2018, during which four Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and two National Action Party (PAN) presidents were in office.

The constitutional reform package outlined by López Obrador and delivered to the lower house of Congress by Interior Minister Luisa María Alcalde also includes proposals to provide “preferential” treatment to indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples; guarantee government pensions for senior citizens and disabled people; grant scholarships to students from poor families and guarantee “comprehensive” and free medical care to “all residents of Mexico,” according to the president’s speech.

In addition, López Obrador is seeking to modify the constitution to guarantee the right for workers to own their homes; prohibit the mistreatment of animals; limit water use in areas of scarcity to that for domestic purposes; prohibit the sale of vapes “and chemical drugs such as fentanyl”; and enshrine “republican austerity” as “a state policy.”

The train-loving and staunchly nationalistic president also wants to ensure that passenger trains will always be permitted to run on Mexico’s vast rail network — most of which is currently only used by freight trains — and that the state-owned electricity utility, the CFE, will remain a “strategic public company” that operates for the benefit of domestic customers and in the “national interest.”

Some of the constitutional reform proposals López Obrador presented are already supported by government policies and laws, but enshrining them in the constitution would give them added protection, and thus “avoid any anti-popular setback in the future,” in the president’s words.

Other proposals — such as putting the National Guard under the control of the army — were implemented by the current federal government, but subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court.

AMLO’s motivations

According to Mariana Campos, head of the think tank México Evalúa, López Obrador is seeking to obtain “political benefits” by proposing “financially unviable” constitutional reforms that the opposition will reject.

If the proposed reforms are rejected by Congress during the campaign period, the president will effectively demonstrate that his initiatives can only be approved if voters support congressional candidates affiliated with the ruling Morena party and its allies en masse on June 2.

Constitutional reform proposals cannot pass Congress unless they are supported by two-thirds of lawmakers in both houses — a supermajority Morena and its allies don’t have now, but could have as of Sept. 1 if they perform extremely well in the congressional elections.

Campos also said that the presentation of the reforms is “a way to set the agenda” for his “possible” successor, which recent poll results indicate will be Claudia Sheinbaum, Morena’s candidate.

Similarly, analyst and writer Viri Ríos wrote in the Milenio newspaper that “López Obrador is presenting these reforms to set the path for what he believes Claudia’s sexenio [six-year term of government] should be.”

She asserted that an electoral “reading” of the president’s motivation is “mistaken,” writing that “thinking that Mexicans will decide their vote based on a massive short-term legislative discussion” is overly “romantic.”

“… A Mexican doesn’t decide his or her vote that way,” Ríos said, adding that the “main determinant” is the “emotional affinity (or emotional rejection)” some voters have for López Obrador.

The president himself said Tuesday that he presented the reform proposals at this time “because the elections are coming and the people will decide” whether they should be in the constitution or not.

The elections, he added, are not about “which candidate wins” or “which party [or] alliance wins” but about making a decision about a political “project.”

López Obrador frequently says that citizens have to choose between a continuation of the “transformation” project he and his government initiated and a return to the past, a time when he asserts that corruption was rife under PRI and PAN governments that were more interested in looking after their own interests and those of Mexico’s elite than governing for everyday Mexicans.

Lawmakers with the PAN, PRI and the Democratic Revolution Party — which together form a political alliance that is backing Xóchitl Gálvez in the presidential election — have claimed that the president’s aim in presenting his package of constitutional reforms is to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.

The only proposal that the opposition has indicated it will support is to change the pension system so that workers receive their full working salaries in retirement — “something done by no other country, not even those much richer than Mexico,” according to an Associated Press report.

López Obrador said Monday that a 64.6 billion peso (US $3.8 billion) “seed fund” will be created this year to “repair the damage to workers” inflicted by pension systems implemented by two former presidents. The fund will increase “little by little” to support higher pensions for retired workers, he said.

Campos said bluntly that the president’s proposed pension plan “doesn’t have financial viability.”

Sheinbaum — who has a 16-point lead over Gálvez, according to a recent El Financiero poll — expressed support for the reform proposals presented by López Obrador on Monday, saying they would “strengthen rights, freedoms and democracy” in Mexico, “which is the essence of our project.”

With reports from Milenio, El Financiero and Reforma

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Mexican player going to the Super Bowl with the 49ers

Alfredo Gutiérrez, también ganó un título nacional universitario mexicano con Borregos. Alfredo Gutiérrez also won a Mexican university national title with Borregos. (Instagram)

by the El Reportero wire services

You won’t hear Alfredo Gutiérrez’s name mentioned during the CBS telecast of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 — but Mexican fans will feel a sense of pride, anyway.

The 28-year-old Tijuana native is a member of the San Francisco 49ers, who will play the Kansas City Chiefs for the NFL title thanks to a come-from-behind 34-31 win Sunday over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship.

The hulking 6-foot-9, 332-pound offensive lineman didn’t play in that game, nor will he play in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, nor has he ever played in a regular-season NFL game.

But he’s on the 49ers’ roster as a member of the practice squad, meaning he’ll play an important role as the 49ers work on their game plan.

Gutiérrez was born in Tijuana, Baja California, on Dec. 29, 1995 and after playing youth football in Mexico, he attended Montgomery High School in San Diego, where he played football as a junior and senior.

After graduating, he wanted to play at a community college in Southern California, but an eligibility issue prompted his transfer to the Institute of Technology and Higher Studies in Monterrey, Nuevo León.

There, he played on scholarship for the Monterrey Tech Borregos (Rams) in the National Student Organization of American Football (ONEFA), one of two leagues in Mexico playing U.S.-style football.

The Borregos won one national championship with Gutiérrez, finishing with a 10-1 record in 2019.

In 2021, he entered the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and impressed scouts so much that he was signed to a one-year contract for US $207,000 by the 49ers, who will be going for their sixth Super Bowl ring next week.

The 49ers have re-signed him twice since then, and now he is hoping to become the first athlete who played American football at a Mexican university to become a Super Bowl champion.

Other Mexicans have played for Super Bowl winners — such as Torreón, Coahuila–born kicker Raul Allegre of the 1987 New York Giants — but they generally played college football in the United States.

Gutiérrez has never played a down for the 49ers in the regular season or playoffs, but after his preseason debut in 2022, he was presented a game ball from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

After the NFC Championship ended on Sunday, he presented his 49ers jersey to his father during the post-game celebration at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

“We come from playing in the streets and now we are one step away from winning a Super Bowl,” the dad says in a video that captured the moment. “I feel like the proudest dad in Mexico.”

Also proud is the family of Isaac Alarcón, a 25-year-old Monterrey native who was signed by the 49ers this month. The 6-foot-7, 301-pound offensive lineman, who, like Gutiérrez, played for the Borregos, was signed to a reserve/future contract, meaning he can’t play or even practice with the team until next season. Alarcón has participated in four Dallas Cowboys’ training camps but has never played in a regular-season game.

With reports from Infobae, La Jornada and El Universal

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