Mexico

The economic crisis in Spain, with a crippling jobless rate at 26 percent and labor strikes growing violent, has unleashed a brutal turf war between rival Latin American drug cartels. Spain’s rapid economic and social collapse in the second half of 2012 created compelling opportunities for drug cartels from Mexico to “relocate” their operations. The conflict between rival Colombian and Mexican drug cartels for domination of Spain is producing an unprecedented “turf” war.

The most fashionable accessory in Mexico City this winter is ... a Spaniard. As the euro crisis shakes Spain to its core, thousands of young Spanish professionals are leaving their homeland in search of employment. The result is a mass exodus of young, educated Spaniards -- a massive brain drain, the likes of which have not been seen since the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. Mexico, with its historic, cultural and linguistic ties to Spain, has become a leading destination for Spaniards in the Western Hemisphere. 

U.S. media coverage of Mexican migration themes focuses on the outflow of people from south of the border to north of the border. But for some, Mexico is viewed as a land of opportunity and a promising new home. Despite the well-publicized violence that slammed Mexico in recent years, the country continued to attract immigrants. A new study released this month by the Organization of American States (OAS) reported that the documented, foreign-born population in the country increased 45 percent from 2005 to 2010, reaching 850,000 people. 

As outgoing Mexican president Felipe Calderon prepares to enter the Ivory Tower of Harvard, skeletons are rattling the walls of Mexico during the last few days of his administration. Within the past week, Mexican authorities have recovered the remains of scores of murder victims from mass grave sites situated in different regions of  the country. At the same time, relatives of victims of gender, state and other forms of violence have been staging demonstrations in Mexico City, Chihuahua City, Acapulco and other places in demand of justice for murder victims and thousands of disappeared persons, some missing for decades.

Mexico carefully guards the name and legacy of its national spirit. Any liquor bearing the label “tequila” must be produced in Mexico, from blue agave (Agave tequilana azul) of the Weber Blue variety grown in Jalisco, or tequila of specially designated regions of Nayarit, Guanajuato, Michoacán and Tamaulipas. Distilleries are also carefully regulated, and assigned a NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana) number. Much of the mass-produced tequila found in American liquor stores comes from fairly young agave plants, harvested when the sap is tart and acidic. 

As President Obama and Mitt Romney squared off in the second presidential debate, New America Media editors posed 10 questions that have largely gone unasked -- and unanswered – in their campaigns: The Federal Poverty Line (FPL) masks U.S. poverty at a time when more Americans are struggling to make ends meet. What will you do to see that government figures are more honest--such as the new measure by the National Academy of Science? And what would you say to the growing numbers of people who aren't considered poor enough to qualify for assistance, but who are struggling just to get by?

Mexicans have long grown weary of their country’s prolonged War on Drugs. Now, with President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto set to take office in December, it appears change may finally be in the offing. That change, however, may not be what most Mexicans were expecting. “A transnational phenomenon requires a transnational strategy,” Óscar Naranjo, Colombia’s former director of the National Police and current advisor to Peña Nieto, told reporters last week. 

In the wake of Mexico’s presidential election Sunday, analysts are expecting Mexico to launch a major “blitzkrieg surge” against the drug cartels during current president Felipe Calderon’s lame duck period. President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto won’t take office until Dec. 1, leaving a five-month period during which Mexico is expected to intensify its drive against the drug cartels.