It’s been almost five years since the Government of Canada imposed a visa requirement on Mexicans wishing to visit the country for either business or pleasure. Despite opening more visa application centers and providing for a more streamlined turnaround process, criticism persists. Every year, the country continues to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in travel, tourism and related revenue. Its reputation abroad, especially in Mexico, suffers as well. Continue reading Canada’s Visa Requirement for Mexicans Lingers Despite Critics→
Anyone who crosses the border between the United States and Mexico knows it can be quite a hassle. The contrast with travel in Europe is striking. Once you clear immigration and customs in any one of the almost 30 countries that belong to the European Union, you can travel between member nations and territories without further ado. But traveling to or from Mexico, by car or plane, entails long lines for immigration and paper-wasting documentation. Luggage is sniffed, searched, and often torn apart. The bureaucratic requirements for bringing a car to Mexico, or keeping it here, can be a nightmare. Continue reading Mexico and The United States: Early Roots of an Uneasy Relationship→
However we think of ourselves—expats, gringos, visitors, tourists—when we want to straighten out our visas, taxes, or license plates, we’ve all brushed up against the Mexican and Oaxacan governments, their laws and their bewildering array of agencies. Some of us hire lawyers, some of us flounder through on our own, but when we come out on the other side we still wonder whether we got it right—are those license plates for real or are they fraudulentos? Continue reading Governing Oaxaca: The frontier between the traditional and the modern→
The judicial system of Mexico is undergoing some dramatic changes. Up until March 2014 judges decided trials and relied almost exclusively on written briefs. The perception within and outside Mexico has been that that the accused was commonly considered guilty, with the briefs being the only other major mechanism to determine otherwise. Finally, on March 4, 2014, the federal government of Mexico initiated the new Code of Criminal Procedures, signed by President Enrique Peña Nieto. Continue reading Juicios Orales (Oral Trials): A long awaited major reform to Mexico’s judicial system→
The Mexican Revolution began as a revolt against the established order and morphed into a multi-sided civil war fought with passion and laced with intrigue. The death toll is estimated between 7-13% of the entire population; compared to about 2.5% during the American Civil war. This was a revolution of simple men rising up to against tyranny to assert their fundamental rights, and became one of the most important socio-political events in the last century. Continue reading Viva La Revolución→
On October 1, Canada’s medical marijuana industry officially went mail-order. Medical marijuana has been highly regulated but legal across Canada for more than a decade; the government’s new approach is predicted to produce a “healthy commercial industry,” with sales of domestically grown pot reaching $1.3 billion. (FYI, the spelling in the Canadian law is “marihuana.”) In the U.S., 20 states and the District of Columbia have made medical marijuana legal, five of them way back in the 20th century. Continue reading Canada’s Doing It, the U.S. Is Sort of Doing It— How about Mexico? The Marijuana Legalization Movement vs. the Drug Wars→
Pemex, short for Petroleos Mexicanos, is the state run supplier of petroleum products and by definition a monopoly. It is responsible for exploration, production, refinement and distribution.
Pemex has its origins in the United Kingdom when in 1919, Shell (Royal Dutch Shell, with headquarters at The Hague, Netherlands but registered in London with 60% Dutch ownership and 40% British) took control of the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company and formed Shell-Mex Limited. As of 1935, oil companies were still under control of foreign owned companies who tried to prevent the formation of unions. Continue reading The Slippery Slope of Fuel→
Maria Asuncion Arumburuzabala is the wealthiest woman in Mexico. She is the granddaughter of Don Felix Arumburuzabala, founder of Grupo Modelo, the brewing company that produces Corona which is distributed in more than 180 countries worldwide. She is considered one of the most influential Mexican women in the economic sector, serves on the Boards of several Mexican corporations, and also has a stake in Grupo Televisa. She was the first woman to serve on the Mexican Stock Exchange (2003-2006) and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the German company Siemens, Mexican division (2003 to 2006). Continue reading Las Poderosas→
Shifting perceptions of women and their roles in society have occurred more rapidly in Mexico City than in the rest of the country, not unusual given that large cities generally seem to adapt to change more readily than rural environments. The advancement of women in the workplace, at home, and in social standing has brought a new respect for women in general. We’re seeing more women playing active roles in government and gaining positions of power in politics, even in rural areas of the country. Continue reading Women, Respect and Mexico City→
Mexican women attained the right to vote much later than their counterparts in the US and Canada. Women in Mexico were granted both the right to vote in national elections and the right to run for national office in 1953. For most readers from the US, the 19th.amendment to the constitution (ratified in 1920), which prohibited discrimination by sex in the right to vote in federal and state elections, must seem like ancient history. But many of our Mexican friends clearly remember the first time the women in their families could vote in national elections. Continue reading Suffrage in Mexico→
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