MI’s Mexico Foreign Press Chatter – May 9, 2025

May 9, 2025
8:19 am

This week, news on cartels were front and center. The NYT covered Trump’s harsh words: “The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight”, but President Sheinbaum once again politely declined to engage. Still, the LA Times highlighted Trump won’t ‘rule out’ the use of unilateral military force in Mexico. Meanwhile, Ovidio Guzmán, one of the four sons of El Chapo is set to plead guilty to drug charges – in the US. Perhaps best known for triggering the infamous 2019 Culiacanazo, Guzmán allegedly coordinated drug shipments of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana to the US. For its part, the BBC reported on how the US is testing “self-deportation” — offering $1,000 and a flight home to undocumented migrants who sign up via the CBP Home app, potentially saving $17,000 per forced deportation. Not much success thus far, shockingly.

On trade, The Washington Post covers the fight between Florida and Mexican tomato growers, with the Mexican produce, which provides 65% of American demand, set to be subject to a 17.09% levy starting in mid-July. The tariff could limit year-round supply to restaurants, including McDonald’s sacrosanct ketchup. Not as surprisingly, the NYT also reported on the expected price increases for automobiles.

Looking at the bigger picture, the FT ruled out significant gains by China in LatAm, quoting former Mexican ambassador to Washington Arturo Sarukhán, on how establishing closer ties with Beijing ‘would be the death knell of Washington seeing Mexico as a worthwhile partner’. Still more optimistically, an opinion column by renowned investor Robert Koenigsberger highlights the potential for the nearshoring boom to continue as a result of President Sheinbaum’s cool-headed negotiations. Illustrating the point, Reuters noted Unilever’s plans for a US$1.5 bn new plant in the country.

Shifting gears, the NYT reviewed Ted Genoways’ new book, Tequila Wars, a ‘densely packed biography of José Cuervo’, praising it as ‘a nuanced portrait of an elusive figure’. Also on the NYT, art and architecture critic Ray Mark Rinaldi explores the increasing attention received by Mexico City’s chinampas, not for ferrying parties across Xochimilco’s canals, but for agriculture, their original use. Mr. Rinaldi notes that a team of Mexican designers, landscapers and farmers ‘will recreate a chinampa for their country’s pavilion at this year’s Architecture Biennale in Venice’.

Lastly, on this week’s MexMoves, Damian and Eduardo speak with Bismarck Lepe, founder and CEO of MiSalud Health, about how Mexico’s doctors are successfully treating both Mexican-American and Mexican patients through digital platforms, sharply bringing down costs and improving health outcomes. They also cover Elektra’s healthcare push, the impact of a proposed reduction in the workweek from 48 to 40 hours, and yet more on Trump’s tariffs and Mexico (this time on movies). You can listen to it here.

Photo of the Week

Noé Coquis Zaldivara, a member of Arca Tierra, and his son Noé Coquis Cea on a morning boat ride passing through chinampas, gardens built on water. Arca Tierra is a nonprofit that works to maintain the chinampas in and around Mexico City. Photo by Uta Gleiser for The New York Times.

FOREIGN PRESS COVERAGE

Trump Says He Asked Mexico to Let U.S. Military In to Fight Cartels

05/04/2025, The New York Times, Maggie Haberman

Mexican president rejects Trump’s proposal to send U.S. troops to fight drug cartels

03/05/2025, Los Angeles Times, Kate Linthicum

Son of El Chapo to Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Charges