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“The Robles family has sold tortas in downtown Mexico City for over 70 years, earning generations of devoted customers. But this year could be its last. Their story begins in 1940s Mexico City, at the intersection of Doctor Mora and Juárez Avenue, the southwestern corner of the Alameda Central. Diego Rivera immortalized the famous park, the first of its kind in Mexico City, in a 1947 mural, imagining over 100 seminal figures from Mexican history strolling through the grounds. On a sunny summer morning at…Continue Reading “Culinary Backstreets: Tortas Robles- A Sandwich For the Pueblo” →

This is a long read, for DeSmogBlog with Steve Horn. We look into Sempra’s, a San Diego-based energy company, plans to install a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export facility on the Pacific coast of Baja California. The plant would export fracked gas from the US. LNG export plants on the West Coast have been shot down by protests, and Sempra so far has avoided public scrutiny. There is already an LNG import facility at the site, which local residents, fisherman and surfers opposed when it…Continue Reading “DeSmogBlog: Sempra Energy Plans to Export Fracked Gas on the West Coast — via Mexico” →

I wrote about Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s first elected woman mayor. Her election was the outcome of years of feminist organizing, and her administration will give unprecedented attention to women’s issues. “When Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo takes office in December, it will be the culmination of an historic moment: Last month, she became the first woman elected mayor of Mexico City, winning 47 percent of the vote in a crowded field. Sheinbaum’s election was a moment a long time in the making according to Ximena Andion,…Continue Reading “CityLab: The Long Road to Mexico City’s First Elected Woman Mayor” →

In my first article for CIGI Online, I wrote about the conundrums facing president-elect López Obrador as NAFTA renegotiations come to a close: “Andrés Manuel López Obrador has never minced his words when addressing US President Donald Trump — until now, that is. ‘I think that it is worth making an effort to conclude the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA],’ López Obrador wrote in a letter to Trump, made public on July 22. He closed the letter comparing himself to Trump:…Continue Reading “CIGI Online: NAFTA Will Test López Obrador’s Campaign Promises” →

I wrote for the DeSmogBlog with Steve Horn about indigenous resistance to pipeline expansion in Mexico, and what could come next under president-elect López Obrador. “Outgoing president Enrique Peña Nieto signed the energy reforms in late 2013, opening the previously state-owned oil and gas sector monopolized by the company Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos) to direct foreign investment. With little popular fanfare, the floodgates are now open for international business, and since 2013, foreign companies have invested heavily in pipeline infrastructure set to transport oil and natural…Continue Reading “DeSmogBlog: Mexico’s New Populist President Considers Foreign Pipeline Plans Despite Indigenous Protests” →

I wrote for The New Republic about how Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s plans to shake up national strategies to combat drug-trafficking. “On Sunday, an unconventional candidate prevailed in Mexico’s presidential election, preaching forgiveness, instead of punishment, for Mexico’s drug war criminals. In debates and campaign ads, left-populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s opponents attacked his security proposals, including his call to offer amnesty for certain drug war crimes. While many details of the president-elect’s proposals have not been defined, what’s clear is that López Obrador, who…Continue Reading “The New Republic: The Radical Amnesty Plan of Mexico’s Next President” →

I wrote for The Atlantic‘s CityLab about targeted violence against Mexico’s mayors and local candidates. In the lead-up to the July 1 elections, 48 candidates were killed around the country. “Antonia Jaimes Moctezuma was in her restaurant, El Toreo, in Chilapa, Guerrero on February 21 when two men on motorbikes pulled up to the restaurant and started firing shots. She was hit four times and killed. Jaimes Moctezuma was running for a seat in the state assembly to represent the 25th district of Guerrero for…Continue Reading “CityLab: As Mexico’s Election Looms, Mayors Are Targets of Violence” →

I wrote for The Verge about Mexico’s fake news problem in the lead-up to the July 1 elections. “‘SCANDAL!!,’ read the Facebook post of Mexican comedian and journalist Jorge Roberto Avilés on March 6th. ‘The government of Venezuela has confirmed on its television station (Venevision) what we all already knew: Nicolás Maduro is behind Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s campaign.’ Accompanying the post was a video that proved what opponents of López Obrador, a three-time Mexican presidential candidate, had long claimed: López Obrador was a crony…Continue Reading “The Verge: Mexico struggles to weed out fake news in its biggest election ever” →

“A few intrepid trajinera (gondola) operators sit along the Cuemanco Dock, waiting for tourists to take through the canals. We’re in Xochimilco, the southern-most borough of Mexico City. It’s a popular weekend destination for trajinera rides, when entire extended families float along the canals, drinking micheladas (beer prepared with lime and Worcestershire sauce) and eating elotes (grilled whole corn cobs) sold off canoes. But this weekday morning is quiet. As the morning fog burns off, we set out on a green, motorized trajinera into Xochimilco’s…Continue Reading “Culinary Backstreets: Xochimilco, Keeping Mexico City’s Agricultural Treasure Afloat” →

“Ecatepec, en el Estado de México, es el municipio más poblado de México, con más de 1.6 millones de habitantes. La migración masiva del campo mexicano a la Ciudad de México y su zona conurbada ha transformado Ecatepec desde los años 60, cuando tenía tan sólo 60,000 habitantes, según el INEGI. Sin embargo, el desarrollo del transporte público en esta ciudad no ha mantenido el mismo ritmo, y los habitantes típicamente dependen de autobuses concesionados que sobrepoblados, lentos y hasta peligrosos. En el primer cuatrimestre…Continue Reading “Nexos: Teleféricos en Latinoamérica y México: imitar a Medellín no basta” →