MI’s Mexico Foreign Press Chatter – Jul. 3, 2026

July 10, 2026
12:00 pm

Top stories on Mexico

It was a busy week for The New York Times’ Mexico desk, starting with a report alleging that elected officials (mostly from Morena) are “offering themselves” as informants to U.S. authorities. This set off the predictable chain reaction in Mexico, with President Sheinbaum questioning the article’s veracity and its use of anonymous sources. The report was published in partnership with Puente News Collaborative, which was also behind the bombshell story in the LA Times in April about U.S. prosecutors targeting Mexican politicians shortly before Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other officials were indicted.

The NYT also reported on the shadow of organised crime in local football leagues in Celaya, where teen players scarred by violence and addiction see the sport as a way out — and where 14 players and spectators have been murdered so far this year. In contrast to the grim tales in Celaya, the story of an “electrified” nation celebrating El Tri’s advance to the round of 16 in the World Cup highlights “a flicker of collective optimism” (¿y si sí?) as Mexico prepares to face England.

When the football frenzy fades, the economic fallout from the other big story of the week will remain: the US decision not to renew the USMCA trade pact for another 16 years and shift to annual reviews. Bloomberg and the WSJ highlighted the risks of this ongoing uncertainty for Mexico’s economy (40 per cent of its GDP driven by exports), while the BBC described the US decision to continue negotiations and not exit altogether as a least-worst-case scenario. This is similar to the stance adopted by the Mexican government, with Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard arguing there are no “irreconcilable differences” among the three trade partners and that the US would have withdrawn already if it intended to.

In crime news, Reuters reported on new US OFAC sanctions against Mexican individuals and entities allegedly linked to fuel smuggling and the CJNG, as well as on recent big cocaine busts in Tlaxcala, which experts say could be an indication of cartels moving drugs to meet surging demand in CDMX during the World Cup. Mexico’s football fans, history — was it born in Mineral del Monte or in Pachuca? — and paraphernalia were covered in various outlets and the LA Times reported on the Mexican-Americans who are playing for El Tri this year. The Guardian took a rest from football to profile Culiacán native Ricardo Sánchez Bobadilla, whose satirical cartoon starring two sicarios has been running in local media outlets for nearly 20 years, and who describes the current civil war in the state as the most “vicious” he’s experienced.

Notable blogs in English on Mexico

The Mexico Political Economist published the second part of a deep dive into the Mexican rail industry and Sheinbaum’s efforts to expand it this week, arguing that the missing ingredient isn’t just more public investment, but more competition in the freight transportation market. Ioan Grillo launched a special series on extortion in CrashOut called “Piso”, starting with a report on Mexico State, which has become a “key target” for this pervasive crime. In Mexico Decoded, Viri Ríos analysed how Morena can learn from the failures of Colombia’s left in its loss to De la Espriella, which she describes as “less a national conversion to the far right than a punishment vote against Petro”. And Miranda Intelligence’s daily Substack covered key developments in energy, fintech, public affairs and politics in Mexico.

CrashOut Media – Mexico State: Golden Goose for Extortion

MXPE – The investments needed to get Mexico’s trains back on track

Mexico Decoded – Why Poverty Reduction Was Not Enough to Save Colombia’s Left

Miranda Intelligence daily reports on Substack

Photo of the week

In a country so accustomed to disappointment, ¿Y si sí? has become an act of faith. NYT/Luis Antonio Rojas