General News

A video circulating online shows a Mexican man running from three police officers in Pasco, Washington. He turns to face them and surrender as they open fire, killing him instantly. 

A study has named Mexico as the third best destination to retire. The Annual Global Retirement Index compiled by the International Living Organization said that established expat havens in Jalisco and Guanajuato provided excellent support to retirees easing into a new life abroad. A great climate and affordable property were also cited as benefits.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City and made a surprise apology during his address.
In a speech to an audience of students, entrepreneurs and reporters, Clinton apologized for the impact of his anti-drug policies on Mexico.

A new study has found that for the first year in the six-decade record, more non-Mexicans than Mexicans were apprehended at the U.S. border in 2014. 

The Mexican government criticized a Texas judge’s decision to halt President Obama’s deportation amnesty this week. The court ruling halted the program that allows Mexicans living in the United States without documents to avoid deportation. 

Political analysts have signaled that the agreement to restore diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba could have positive economic consequences for Mexico. 

President Enrique Peña Nieto spoke with Cuban President Raul Castro on the phone and congratulated him following the announcement. The University of Guadalajara – a long-time supporter of the Castro regime – issued a statement thanking both governments for making “the decision to overcome the tensions and difficulties of their shared past.”

Cuban and Mexican relations have improved in recent years after over a decade of distance during two successive National Action Party (PAN) administrations. This is in part driven by commerce, which increased in 2010 and 2011 and has remained stable since.

Peña Nieto further strengthened ties by visiting the island and condoning 70 percent of its debt to Mexico.

The clear message that these measures send to the hemisphere is that we all want Cuba to become an integral part of the region, to play its full role therein and to begin the process of removing the last vestiges of the Cold War in Latin America,” said former Mexico diplomat Andres Rozental.

Many experts now predict a bright bilateral future.

“There are going to be certain changes, though they won’t all be major,” said Tec de Monterrey Business Professor Manuel Valencia. “There won’t be a substantial rise in new businesses, but those that already have experience in the area will definitely take advantage of the situation.”

Fidel Castro launched his Cuban revolution in 1956, after sailing from Mexico in a yacht. Following the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista’s regime in 1959, Mexico maintained close diplomatic ties with its socialist neighbor, despite the hostility of the United States.

Yet when conservative Vicente Fox became president in 2000, he adopted a more hostile stance, which culminated in a spat between the two leaders. In 2002, Fox ordered Castro to rush away from a diplomatic summit in Mexico before then-U.S. President George W. Bush arrived. “Eat up and leave,” he was alleged to have said.

Obama’s announcement was greeted with concern by some commentators, who were unhappy that Canada and the Vatican, rather than Mexico, organized the secret talks between the nations. Historically, Mexico has prided itself on playing a mediating role in the region. 

The prioritization of the cases of more than 60,000 unaccompanied Central American children has had a negative side-effect for other undocumented immigrants. 

Since the summer, thousands of people who are seeking legalization have had their hearings canceled without reschedule. The government is telling many of them that it may be 2019 or later before their cases are judged.

Some immigration lawyers are arguing that the delay will lead to deportations, as supporting witnesses disappear or die and dependent children become adults. Immigration lawyer David Simmons said that in 30 years of practice, he had never seen a deadlock like it. “There is no maneuverability,” he said. “It’s as if we have no court at all.”

“Peña should go! Pepe should stay!” was the chant rising from the crowd of about 500 students clustered outside the University of Guadalajara (UDG) Salvador Allende assembly hall. The mostly young audience had gathered on a cool Saturday evening to await the arrival of a 79-year-old head of state.