MI’s Mexico Foreign Press Chatter – September 26, 2025

septiembre 26, 2025
8:46 am

Another busy week with bilateral tensions, on a wide array of subjects, dominating headlines. The Washington Post reported on the DEA’s push for military strikes, a debate reignited after attacks on Venezuelan drug boats. Meanwhile, the NYT detailed threats of visa revocations against foreigners who mocked the assassination of Charlie Kirk; it also flagged another screwworm outbreak, now closer to the border in Nuevo León. Reuters reported on President Sheinbaum’s push to investigate two migrant deaths in the U.S., and The Guardian profiled Alfredo Juárez, a 25-year-old farmworker and activist, who claims ICE detained him for his role as a labor organizer. And then, according to Bloomberg, USTR Robert Lighthizer told a group of Mexican business leaders that the upcoming USMCA review will be more of a full renegotiation than a routine revision, with two key themes: Mexico’s ties with China, and the chronic, wide trade deficit the U.S. has. Expect unconventional asks, potentially even a baseline tariff for USMCA partners—an idea Mexico would need to resist. With so much going on, it comes as no surprise that the IMF cautioned that tariff risks continue to weigh on Mexico despite improved growth forecast, Reuters reported. On a friendlier note, AP covered the “celebratory handoff” of a centuries-old map of Mexico recovered in the U.S., a much appreciated goodwill gesture.

Headlines on domestic matters were similarly less than favorable. The WSJ’s Anastasia O’Grady, a frequent Mexico critic, highlighted the arrest of former Tabasco security chief Hernán Bermúdez as another example of blurred lines between the government and organized crime. Adding to the spectacle, the NYT profiled Jorge García Orozco, a reporter and teacher who has gone viral by calling out officials and their luxury fashion items, raising questions about the “disconnect between their lifestyle choices and the official discourse” of austerity. For its part, the AP covered the arrest of 38 members of La Luz del Mundo church, as their leader faces trial in New York, and the murder of two Colombian artists in Mexico City.

Business news had a more optimistic tone, with Bloomberg covering Citigroup’s agreement to sell a 25% stake in Banamex to renowned businessman Fernando Chico Pardo, moving closer to putting an end to a years-long novela; Chico Pardo will become chairman once the deal closes in late 2026. The FT reported that Liga MX reopened talks with Apollo, betting that the World Cup can boost the league’s valuation. The NYT highlighted how the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern creates a direct rail link between Mexico and Canada, helping them “skirt Trump’s tariff’s wall”. Bloomberg also reported Ricardo Salinas Pliego was forced to post a $25 mn bond to avoid arrest in the U.S. over an alleged tax debt to AT&T – hardly the best campaign optics as the businessman continues to flirt with a presidential run.

Shifting gears, the NYT had a long read on parteras and how their “midwife practices rooted in Indigenous traditions and knowledge” are becoming increasingly popular in Mexico City. While some doctors warn of risks, particularly in complicated pregnancies, they recognize that, given inadequate access to healthcare in some communities, “traditional midwives remain essential frontline health workers”. For its part, the AP took an exclusive tour of the new Casa Kahlo Museum ahead of its opening this weekend. Located close to the iconic Casa Azul, the note highlights “the new perspective it provides on her life”, with visitors learning about the story behind the artist. The NYT, on the other hand, paid a visit to the decidedly less popular tomb of Hernán Cortés: located in a historic church, neglected amid pro-cannabis tents and street vendors, it stands a symbol of the city’s uneasy relationship with its history.

Notable podcasts and blogs in English on Mexico

On this week’s MexMoves, Damian and Eduardo talk to Estephany Ley, Head of Retail Banking at BanCoppel, who lays out the bank’s strategy to broaden its client base and product offering, and they discuss with Daniela Dib the data center boom in Querétaro, which faces challenges as the electricity grid fails to keep up. They also look at Fernando Chico Pardo’s purchase of a 25% controlling stake in Citi’s Banamex; Carlos Slim’s Saltillo-Monterrey passenger railway contract; and Tito’s majority stake in LALO Tequila.

This week, the Mexico Political Economist explored Mexico’s amparo reform, a long-standing measure used in Mexico so that citizens can protect their human rights against laws and rulings passed from those in power. You can also read about the amparo reform in Moments in Mexico.

The Mexico Decoded podcast hosts a conversation with El País journalist Pablo Ferri, an organized crime expert, on forced labor as a cartel recruitment tool, a stark difference between the common image of money, power and glamour.

And in Mexico Unexplained, Robert Britto explores the arrival of a large sea animal washed up on the shores of Tecolutla in 1969, exploring what this event really was.

Photo of the Week

A line of the Mayan Train is constructed using material dug out from the nearby tropical forest near Playa del Carmen. Photo by AP photographer Rodrigo Abd, POY Latam’s photojournalist of the year.

FOREIGN PRESS COVERAGE

DEA faced pushback at White House, Pentagon after urging Mexico strikes

09/19/25, The Washington Post, Dan Lamothe and Ellen Nakashima

U.S. Threatens to Bar Foreigners Over Remarks About Charlie Kirk

09/24/25, New York Times, Jack Nicas

Screwworm Case Detected Less Than 70 Miles From U.S.-Mexico Border

09/20/25, New York Times, Alexa Robles Gil

Mexico pushes US to investigate fresh migrant death, Chicago shooting

09/24/25, Reuters, Sarah Morland and Ana Isabel Martinez

ICE targeted me for organizing, says farm worker who left US for Mexico

09/22/25, The Guardian, Dharna Noor

Lighthizer Has Bad News for Mexico