Organised crime in Mexico has gone local, as cartels break up into sub-groups battling over smaller patches of turf. At the same time, the federal government has wrested policing away from town halls. A reset is needed to re-empower municipal officials to protect the public.
Topic:
Organized Crime, Municipalities, Local Government, and Mayors
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
Beyond providing supplemental income for Mexican households, remittances—funds sent by migrants to friends and families in their home country—provide a stable flow of developmental finance to the poorest subregions of the country, which have not historically benefited from international capital flows, such as development aid or foreign direct investment. Mexico, the world’s second-largest recipient of remittances, has seen a steady increase in the total volume of remittances received, primarily due to the strength of the U.S. labor market and concurrent wage growth among Mexican workers in the United States. Mechanisms to keep remittances secure are not impermeable to criminal organizations, which have been known to use small-increment deposits to launder gains from illicit economic activity, including drug trafficking. However, through increased U.S.-Mexico cooperation, both countries can strike the delicate balance between facilitating flows of remittances to promote development and financial inclusion and securing those funds from exploitation by illicit actors.
Topic:
Development, Economy, Trade, Economic Security, and Remittances
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
Newly declassified CIA documents reveal the links between Mexico’s contemporary surveillance state and a uniquely close Cold War collaboration with U.S. intelligence agencies.
Topic:
Cold War, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
Community-based governance structures put decision-making about Ixlán de Juarez’s forests into local hands, creating economic opportunity and reversing centuries of deforestation in the town.
Topic:
Environment, Governance, Deforestation, Forestry, and Community Initiatives
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
News of a mass grave found by civilian search collectives has reopened an old debate about a lack of political will on the part of authorities to investigate violent crime.
Lucas da Silva Tasquetto, Magali Favaretto Prieto Fernandes, and Milena da Fonseca Azevedo
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Contexto Internacional
Institution:
Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:
This article delineates the institutional structures established by Mexico, Chile, Colombia,
and Costa Rica to facilitate their accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD). The analysis delves into the political and economic contexts surrounding
each country’s accession process, identifying key institutions and stakeholders domestic reforms
required, and particular initiatives from each country, including institutional innovations and
adapted procedures. Notably, each country exhibits unique institutional frameworks and adjustments, with varying prominence given to individuals and governmental entities based on constitutional, legal, and political-administrative configurations. We argue that, despite the uniqueness
of each process, from an institutional standpoint, decisions concerning accession and the management of the process predominantly revolve around the Presidency and entities corresponding to
the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with variations in the preponderance
of these bodies, and their leadership and coordination roles. Framing entry into the OECD primarily as a technical matter tends to justify the central role of the Ministries of Finance and affiliated bodies within the Presidency, aligned with the OECD’s liberal approach. Moreover, accession
to the OECD often complements and/or legitimizes processes of trade openness and structural
reforms, spurring consolidation of factions within domestic institutions.
Topic:
OECD, Institutions, Politics, and Economics
Political Geography:
Latin America, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico
Since 2018, Mexico’s National Regeneration Movement (Morena) has sought to roll back neoliberalism and democratise the country. Though the ideological battle has advanced, economic transformation continues to lag behind.
Topic:
Democratization, Economy, Neoliberalism, Ideology, and Fourth Industrial Revolution