Jump scare
Mexico plays tariff or treat with Trump, tourism stats spook Tulum, plus what I'm reading
Welcome to The Mexpatriate.
President Claudia Sheinbaum once again defended Mexico as “nobody’s [i.e. Trump’s] piñata” this week after the U.S. government decision to cancel 13 current or planned Mexican airline routes to the United States out of the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), “in response to Mexico’s continued abuse” of a 2015 bilateral aviation agreement. In 2022, the Mexican government ordered all cargo carriers to move operations from the Benito Juárez International Airport (AICM) to AIFA, which the U.S. DOT claims has “left American businesses holding the bag for millions in increased costs.”
Sheinbaum was unequivocal in her defense of the “sovereign” decision to move cargo to AIFA because of saturation at the AICM, saying that “all of the companies that moved to AIFA are happy, they have more space and more security…that is to say, there hasn’t been a single complaint from any company.” The Mexican airline industry has urged the government to immediately carry out “technical and diplomatic dialogue with U.S. authorities” to protect the industry and Mexican travelers.
The smack from the U.S. DOT came disarmingly quickly after a pat on the back for Sheinbaum, who spoke to the ballroom builder himself on Monday, and held at bay tariffs that would have gone into effect on Nov. 1. Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard also talked “next steps” with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the APEC summit in South Korea this week.
In between bobbing and weaving blows from the north, Sheinbaum also promoted her freshly published book this week. “Diary of a Historic Transition” is a chronicle of the unprecedented joint national tour that she and AMLO made between the 2024 election and the conclusion of his term. “Beyond the political, the book offers a glimpse of a lesser known side of Claudia Sheinbaum…A sensitivity and emotional depth that always lurks behind the rational and scientific logic that defines her,” wrote journalist Jorge Zepeda Patterson.
In tonight’s edition (below the paywall), I cover the farmer protests that brought Mexico’s highways to a standstill this week, the tourism slowdown in Tulum, a viral video involving “batgirls” in Congress, and links to good reads about robotic IVF in Polanco, new research on the glyphs of Teotihuacán, a marine sanctuary created by a fishing community in Veracruz and more.
But first, a request: If you are a foreigner who held accounts at Intercam or CIBanco and have been adversely affected by their disintegration, I’d love to talk to you for a story I’m working on. Please get in touch: hola@themexpatriate.com.
