MI’s Mexico Foreign Press Chatter – Oct. 10, 2025

octubre 10, 2025
9:00 am

Two long reads on the environment took the spotlight this week. Reporting from Michoacán, the NYT delved into Guardián Forestal, a program run by a non-profit that uses satellite-based monitoring to curb deforestation linked to Mexico’s US$2.7 bn avocado industry. While the project is not without critics, it has made progress by leveraging demand for responsibly sourced produce, providing incentives for compliance. For its part, the AP profiled women farmers reclaiming chinampas in Xochimilco. Fighting gender-based historical exclusion and years of urban sprawl, their efforts are key to the city’s sustainability. On a similar vein, The Guardian reported local Maya opposition to Heineken’s new Yucatán brewery, accused of endangering local aquifers in a region already facing severe water scarcity.

On security matters, the AP reported the arrest of Nelson Arturo “N”, alleged head of the Tren de Aragua gang, as well as two flashpoints of violence: the discovery of a missing priest in Guerrero and the killing of six civilians by soldiers in Tamaulipas, which President Sheinbaum pledged to “thoroughly investigate”. And following earlier reporting from The Washington Post, the NYT and The Guardian spotlighted Mexico’s musical contest to counter infamous narco corridos with peaceful music.

The short-lived novela of Grupo México’s unsolicited bid for Banamex dominated business headlines. Bloomberg highlighted that Grupo México wouldn’t sweeten its US$9.3 bn bid, giving Citi ten days to respond. Alas, it took Jane Fraser less than a week to come back with a terse ‘thanks but no thanks’ – better luck next time! Reuters highlighted Salesforce’s US$1 bn investment into AI in Mexico that will place Mexico as a “key market for AI-powered growth”. Less auspiciously, the AP reported that the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 12 Mexico-based firms accused of supplying fentanyl precursors to the Sinaloa cartel, and Reuters confirmed a new screwworm case in Nuevo León.

Headlines on the economy were similarly mixed. Reuters reported President Sheinbaum’s optimism about securing a “good agreement” with the U.S. and advancing “made-in-Mexico” tech initiatives. On the other hand, Bloomberg’s J.P. Spinetto cited new academic research that showed Chinese investment in Mexico is vastly underestimated by official numbers, as new U.S. duties on heavy trucks threaten US$15 bn in Mexican exports. Reuters also reported on Banxico’s outlook, which signaled more rate cuts amid stable inflation and sluggish growth, while flagging tariff-related risks. Still, FX analysts remain upbeat as Bloomberg noted projections of the peso strengthening to 17 per dollar by 2026.

Shifting gears, the Wall Street Journal featured the listing of Irma “La Tigresa” Serrano’s mansion in Lomas de Chapultepec, once a salon for Mexico’s political and artistic elite and a symbol of Mexican luxury. Turns out, it’s not that expensive: at US$13 million, it’s only the second most expensive listing in the area. In the arts, the NYT highlighted Gallery Wendi Norris’s London exhibition celebrating European Surrealists who made Mexico their creative home, while the WSJ previewed a Minneapolis Institute of Art show honouring 19th-century painter José María Velasco, whose landscapes helped define Mexican identity. Mr. Velasco’s art spent some time in London’s National Gallery earlier this year.

Notable podcasts and blogs in English on Mexico

On this week’s MexMoves podcast, Damian and Eduardo interview Jean-Michel Enríquez, partner at Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez SC, on the impact of the judicial reform on dealmaking, arbitration as a workaround, the amparo debate, and corporate law in Mexico. They also cover Chico Pardo’s apparent win over Grupo México in the battle for Banamex; Bitso’s move to offer free U.S. stock trading; the paradox of splashy foreign investment announcements versus declining fixed investment; and fresh USMCA risks.

In Mexico Unexplained, Robert Britto explored the unexpected alliance between African slaves and Aztecs in 1537 that tried to topple the Spanish government, a striking example of how the colonial period featured an interconnected Atlantic World that mixed people from all over.

Mexico-related Substacks this week covered a wide array of subjects. Materia Gris’s 4T sceptic Eduardo García dissected the difference in Morena’s narrative of “free speech” and its practice of institutional authoritarianism. In Crashout, Ioan Grillo published the second instalment of his investigation into where cartel leaders hide their money. Moments in Mexico reported on the proposed “Anti-sticker law” that criminalizes AI-edited images and videos, including memes and WhatsApp stickers, raising questions about free speech and digital freedom, even if the government quickly distanced itself from the proposal.

And Viri Ríos’s Mexico (4T) Decoded had an interesting piece on the negative ramifications of Michelin awarding a star to the taco restaurant El Califa De León. Still, in her keenness to make ideological points “By imposing its taxonomy of excellence, Michelin imports an individualistic idea of cooking that fits the Western grammar of prestige, but in Mexico it feels like mistranslation…”, it might be seen by some as patronizing to note that while Arturo is now earning double what he once made, the Michelin star enriched everyone but him. Maybe doubling your salary is not a good outcome if others are making even more money.

Photo of the Week

Jasmín Ordóñez, left, and Cassandra Garduño, right, cross an improvised bridge in Garduño’s chinampa, an island farm built by the Aztecs thousands of years ago, in San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco, in Mexico City. Photo by Felix Marquez for AP.

FOREIGN PRESS COVERAGE

Can Satellites Stop an Avocado Addiction From Killing Mexican Forests?

10/09/25, New York Times, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega

Women in Mexico step up to protect ancient Aztec farms and save a vanishing ecosystem

10/08/25, AP, Teresa de Miguel

Trouble brewing: Maya people in Yucatán fear new Heineken plant’s thirst for water

10/04/25, Guardian, Irene Wang

Mexican authorities say they arrested an alleged local leader of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang

10/04/25, AP, Staff

Authorities find body of missing priest in violence-torn region of Mexico

10/06/25, AP, Staff

Mexico president vows a thorough investigation into the killing of 6 civilians by soldiers