May 5th, 2023

VOLTAR

1. Mexico and the United States strengthen immigration cooperation

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador held a meeting with White House Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, with the objective of reviewing the bilateral relationship on migration issues, especially in view of the coming expiration of the Trump-era Title 42 policy.

Both countries agreed to continue to increase actions to combat human traffickers and smugglers. In addition, the U.S. government pledged to continue granting humanitarian visas to immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.

CNN: EE.UU. y México anuncian que México seguirá aceptando migrantes retornados por razones humanitarias.
Gobierno de México: México y Estados Unidos fortalecen Plan Humanitario Conjunto sobre Migración.

2. Amendments to the law for airspace protection published in the Official Gazette

This week, reforms to the Federal Public Administration, Airport and Civil Aviation laws were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), which received fast- track approval by Congress prior to the close of the session. Among the changes included are the assigning of surveillance tasks to safeguard the national territory to the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) and the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar).

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador indicated that the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have already been met for the Mexico City International Airport to regain Category 1 safety status, highlighting the role of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation in achieving this goal.

El Financiero: Reformas para que Ejército tenga aerolínea comercial y reciba recursos del turismo entran en vigor
Infobae: México ya cumplió con los requisitos para recuperar la Categoría 1 en seguridad aérea: AMLO.

3. Mexico’s economy improves due to investments

The Census Bureau reported that Mexico became the United States’ top trading partner in March, accounting for largest share of the country’s merchandise trade. During this month, exports reached a value of $42.825 billion dollars, representing year-on-year growth of 5.9%.

According to data from the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI), the unemployment rate also declined in March, reaching the lowest level of the year to date.

El Economista: México rompe récord en exportaciones a EU; es su principal socio comercial
Forbes: La tasa de desempleo desciende al 2.4% en marzo: Inegi

4. Mexico shows drop in freedom of expression

According to the World Press Freedom Index, prepared by Reporters Without Borders, Mexico fell in the ranking for the second consecutive year, from 127th place in 2022 to 128th place this year. This change makes Mexico one of the 42 nations where it is difficult to practice journalism.

Among the main factors in this evaluation is the lack of actions by the current administration to guarantee the safety of those who practice this profession, as well as possible complicity between the authorities and organized crime.

El Economista: México retrocede en libertad de expresión; ocupa lugar 128 de 180.

5. Parties seek alignment in view of 2024 elections

In view of the closing of legislative activities, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with senators of Morena, Partido Verde Ecologista de México (Ecologist Green Party of Mexico), and Partido del Trabajo (Labor Party), as well as with possible candidates for the presidency so that by July, at the latest, the definitive candidate for the official parties will be named.

Martha Delgado, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, presented her resignation this week, thanking the president for the opportunity and mentioning that for personal and political reasons she is leaving the position. The former Undersecretary was a key player in the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines, besides being close to Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, one of the possible candidates for the presidency.

Forbes: AMLO pide a Morena definir en tres meses al candidato presidencial.
Infobae: Martha Delgado renunció a subsecretaría de Relaciones Exteriores.