General News

Mexico’s political candidates have kicked off their campaigns for the June elections. The 10 parties have less than two months to win over the electorate.

Mexico’s basket of 80 basic food products that are essential for families is beyond the price range of 66 million Mexicans, or 55 percent of the population, according to a study by the Belisario Dominguez Institute.  This is a significant increase since 2010, when 47 percent of the population was unable to afford all of the items in basic basket.

The director of Mexico’s National Water Commission (CNA) has resigned after using one of his agency’s helicopters to take his family to the airport. Pictures of David Korenfeld emerged on social media and prompted widespread calls for his resignation.

James Bond actor Daniel Craig was flown 3,000 miles for an emergency knee operation in New York after an injury worsened during filming in Mexico City. The production company expects him to make a full recovery before the project resumes. Craig is making his fourth appearance as the secret agent. The latest outing is titled “Spectre” and is scheduled for release on November 6.

When Mexico was included on the 2015 Formula One calendar after an absence of 23 years, Tapatio F1 driver Sergio Perez said October’s race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City would be the “highlight” of his career.

But auto fans starved of  F1 adrenaline for so long will need to pay high prices to catch the action. Top tickets are considerably more expensive than those for the Montreal, or even  the Monaco races.

In fact, with the priciest tickets at 18,750 pesos (US$1,300) it would be cheaper to pay for the flight, entrance and hotel to the Montreal Formula One event.

While the cheapest tickets remain relatively reasonable, at 1,450 pesos (US$95), in the high-end category, Mexicans are expected to pay the second most expensive prices in the world, only behind the Austin, Texas race where top tickets sell for US$1,529.

The reason for this is the high fees the Mexican government will pay to be a host. Bernie Ecclestone, the commercial director of the organization, is charging Mexico US$44.2 million for the rights to the event. Montreal in contrast, only pays US$17 million, while Monaco pays nothing.

Said Perez of  his home grand prix: ““It is a great opportunity to show the world what Mexico is and what we are capable of achieving.”

Keen-eyed observers of the annual passion play in Iztapalapa, Mexico City, will have spotted a small historical inaccuracy in this year’s reenactment. The organizers may have asked for a “Roman flag” to adorn the palace of Pontius Pilate but instead a Romanian flag was shown fluttering in the wind at the event.

Influential journalist Carmen Aristegui has accused her former employer MVS Radio of trying to block a story that connected Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto to the purchase of a house from a government contractor. The news sparked concerns over media censorship and freedom of expression in the country. 

North Korea has accused Mexico of illegally detaining one its ships and threatened to take “necessary measures” to recover the vessel. According to U.N. sanctions monitors, the Mu Du Bong ship belongs to the blacklisted Ocean Maritime Management Company. The firm has broken U.N. sanctions by working with countries, like North Korea, that have illegal nuclear programs. “In the case of the Mu Du Bong, the evidence is overwhelming,” the coordinator of the U.N. panel, Hugh Griffiths, wrote in an email.