Chinese anger at security situation
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- Published on Friday, 21 June 2013 14:53
- Written by GR Staff
The owners of more than 250 Chinese restaurants in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon closed their doors Monday afternoon in protest at being the targets of extortionists and kidnappers.
Former governor mired in graft investigation
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- Published on Friday, 07 June 2013 15:00
- Written by Michael Forbes
The latest embarrassment for the “reformed” Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) is a scandal surrounding Andres Granier, the former governor of Tabasco, who faces allegations that he misused public funds during his 2007-2012 administration.
Vote-buying claim endangers tri-party pact
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- Published on Friday, 26 April 2013 14:19
- Written by Duncan Tucker
He may have made Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2013, but President Enrique Peña Nieto’s authority in Mexico was undermined this week as his party was drawn into another political scandal.
Tijuana makes digital switchover
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- Published on Friday, 31 May 2013 13:43
- Written by Michael Forbes
Tijuana has become the first Mexican city to switch from analog to digital television broadcasts. Guadalajara and most of central Mexico are scheduled to make the changeover in November 2014.
Lower house votes to ease restrictions on foreign ownership of land at coast, borders
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- Published on Friday, 26 April 2013 13:19
- Written by GR Staff
The Chamber of Deputies, Mexico’s lower house, approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday that will permit foreigners to have direct title to their properties located within the “Restricted Zone” – 100 kilometers within the nation’s borders and 50 kilometers of its coastline. The legislation passed by 356 votes to 119, with only left-of-center legislators voting against the reform. It still requires approval by the Senate and at least half of Mexico’s 32 state legislatures, before it can be signed into law by the president – a process that could be lengthy.
Mexican director wins Cannes prize
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- Published on Friday, 31 May 2013 13:42
- Written by Michael Forbes
Mexican director Amat Escalante did not believe he had any chance of winning the Cannes Film Festival Best Director prize for his movie “Heli,” a raw take on Mexico’s drug trafficking conundrum.
Astronomers set new record
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- Published on Friday, 26 April 2013 13:06
- Written by GR Staff
Mexican astronomers, both professional and amateur, have set a Guinness record after pointing 2,978 telescopes at the moon at the same time.
Drug legalization debate important, president says
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- Published on Friday, 31 May 2013 13:12
- Written by Michael Forbes
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto wants a far reaching debate on the issue of the legalization of drugs, although he says he is personally opposed to any immediate reforms.
‘Child porn’ internet extortion scheme hits Mexico
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- Published on Friday, 19 April 2013 13:16
- Written by Charles Miller
Those readers who believe “it doesn’t happen here” or “it can’t happen to me” really need to pay attention this week. There is an internet-based extortion scheme cropping up all over the world that has now made its appearance here in Mexico.
Inferno prompts calls for new semi rules
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- Published on Friday, 24 May 2013 15:28
- Written by GR Staff
The governor of the State of Mexico wants to outlaw the use of semi trucks that pull two trailers (sometimes referred to as b-doubles in the United States).
A robust peso isn’t good news for everyone
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- Published on Friday, 19 April 2013 13:08
- Written by GR Staff
Although the peso lost some ground midweek (it was trading at 12.40 to the dollar at Wednesday’s close), Mexico’s often-maligned currency has been on a roll recently, bringing with it both positive and negative fallout.
Consumer agency chief undone by own daughter
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- Published on Friday, 24 May 2013 15:20
- Written by GR Staff
A wealthy young woman becomes enraged after she’s not given the table she wants in a restaurant. Little does she know, largely thanks to the power of social media, that her subsequent petulant actions will lead to the destitution of her father, Humberto Benitez Treviño, the head of Mexico’s Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco).
Mexican journalist wins Pulitzer for Wal-Mart corruption exposé
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- Published on Friday, 19 April 2013 12:58
- Written by Duncan Tucker
In recognition of her work uncovering Wal-Mart’s corrupt practises in Mexico, Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab has become the first Mexican woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.
Local beauty queen makes TV soap debut
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- Published on Friday, 17 May 2013 15:44
- Written by GR Staff
Guadalajara’s Ximena Navarrete, who won the Miss Universe crown in 2010, has branched out into the world of acting and is appearing in her first telenovela (TV soap).
Navarrete, 25, takes the leading role in “La Tempestad” (The Tempest), which began airing this week at prime time (9:15 p.m.) weekdays on Televisa’s popular “Canal de las Estrellas” (Channel 2).
Mexico slips in tourism rankings
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- Published on Friday, 19 April 2013 12:26
- Written by GR Staff
From 2006 to 2011, Mexico dropped two places – from eighth to 10th – in World Tourism Organization rankings for the most visited countries.
Obama hails ‘new era’ for US-Mexico ‘partnership’
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- Published on Friday, 03 May 2013 18:30
- Written by GR Staff
Trade and commerce were pushed to the top of the agenda as Barack Obama made his fourth trip to Mexico as president of the United States on Thursday.
Prior to arriving in Mexico City for a visit lasting less than 24 hours, Obama had spoken of the start of “a new era of economic cooperation between our two countries.”
Pope gets invite
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- Published on Friday, 19 April 2013 11:14
- Written by GR Staff
Cardinal Jose Francisco Robles Ortoga, the archbishop of Guadalajara, revealed this week that the Mexican Catholic Church has formally invited Pope Francis to visit Mexico at “the time that he deems appropriate.”
Mexican film set for Cannes’ limelight
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- Published on Friday, 03 May 2013 17:48
- Written by GR Staff
For the second year running, a Mexican film will compete for the Palme d’Or, the major prize of the Cannes Film Festival, which begins on May 15.
The third feature by Amat Escalante, “Heli,” spotlights a small town in the state of Guanajuato, whose residents either work at the local auto assembly plant or for the drug cartels.
The Palme d’Or is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. Among the 18 films selected for the prize are Steven Soderbergh’s “Behind The Candelabra,” Roman Polanski’s “La Vénus À La Fourrure’ and Ethan and Joel Coen’S “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
Savvy analyst provides broad view on Mexican economy
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- Published on Friday, 05 April 2013 13:22
- Written by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
Distinguished Mexican academic and award-winning media commentator Leo Zuckerman provided a well-rounded analysis of Mexico’s economy to an attentive crowd of lakeside expats attending a March 20 conference sponsored by the banking and investment outfit Grupo Financiero Multiva.
New movie recreates Mexico’s most famous victory
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- Published on Friday, 03 May 2013 14:52
- Written by Duncan Tucker
A major new movie hits cinemas across the nation Friday, documenting Mexico’s unlikely victory over the French invaders in Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Moon gazing
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- Published on Friday, 05 April 2013 12:29
- Written by GR Staff
Reto Mexico 2013 aims to gather more than the 2,753 sky gazers who set the record for simultaneous telescope observation in 2011.