San Miguel vs. Guanajuato

6 Reasons Why Mexico is Safer than You Think

From Mexperience, listed here are six reasons which demonstrate how Mexico’s drug-related issues, which remain a body of work to address, do not make Mexico wholly unsafe

Mexico continues to attract a record number of international visitors: Mexico’s National Statistics Institute is responsible for collecting and reporting data on Mexico’s international visitors.  Mexico is one of the world’s top ten most visited nations and despite negative news flow, especially about drug-related violence, people keep coming to Mexico.  Statistics from foreign consulate records consistently show that the overwhelming majority of visits to Mexico pass trouble-free.

Mexico is one of the world’s most important economies. Mexico has a welcoming economy with policies that encourage trade and partnership. (Mexico has tariff-free trade agreements with 46 countries around the world.) This, coupled with years of sound macro-economic management, has created an attractive environment for investors and foreign companies. Mexico took a positive approach to the NAFTA re-negotiations — now titled the USMCA — advocating an agile trading framework to benefit all three countries involved. Mexico is today one of the world’s few ‘trillion-dollar’ economies and mature nations are keen to work with Mexico.

No foreign resident exodus. In decades now long-past, when Mexico’s economy was less open and less stable, foreign residents would often flee home in the event of a peso crisis.  Today, even with the drug-related flare-ups, no such exodus is taking place and, furthermore, we are seeing consistent demand from foreigners who are interested in relocating to Mexico.  Mexico’s government is expecting its expat communities to grow over the coming decade, and offers choices in the facilitation of this, as welcoming foreign residents—who bring their energy and capital to Mexico—creates significant mutual benefits. If Mexico is a wholly dangerous place to be, why are existing foreign residents staying put and inquiries for relocation to Mexico growing?

The violence is mostly confined to drug-gangs. When you drill-down into the detail of the data, figures show that the surge of homicides in Mexico over the last decade has come about through criminal gang members fighting each other. Tourists, business visitors, and foreign residents are not being targeted by the drug gangs, and statistics from foreign consulates show that the overwhelming majority of visits to Mexico pass by trouble-free.

Mexico matters. Mexico is a good neighbor to the U.S. and is also one of the world’s most important emerging markets.  Mexico and the U.S. share a broad range of common economic, social, and security interests and behind the scenes, both nations continue to work closely together on issues concerning trade and security in efforts to bring prosperity and well-being to the continent they share.

Mexico’s underlying story remains strong. Notwithstanding the drug-related issues, the country’s macro-economics are in good shape; Mexico has substantial oil and gas reserves as well as considerable mineral and precious metal wealth. In recent times, the country has been enacting structural reforms across key industrial sectors with the intention to transition the country’s economy away from being heavily dependent on oil and manufacturing.  Foreign visitors keep coming despite the negative news-flow; Mexico’s free trade agreements are bridges which cultivate understanding, trade, and prosperity between the signatories of these accords.

In summary: Every day, tourists arrive in Mexico to rest themselves and enjoy its rich culture and heritage; business visitors arrive to trade, cultivate friendships and agree on deals that create new wealth; and foreign residents living here are going about their lives normally and contributing positively in the Mexican communities they love calling home.  These activities don’t make headlines, but they are indeed the real-life experiences of people visiting and living safely in Mexico.

5 Types of Herbs in Mexican Culinary Culture

Thrive Global shares 5 types of herbs in Mexican culinary culture that are interesting and yet complex herbs. By taking a dive into just a small section of the Mexican culinary culture, why don’t we discuss at least 5 types of herbs that are common among Mexicans?

Cilantro
This is a special type of herb that packs a wealth of benefits in terms of the nutrients it offers. This herb requires full sunlight or can also grow well under some light shade. It performs better in moist soil which is well drained. This herb should not be grown in hot weather as this makes it bolt very quickly. It is advisable to maintain a spacing of between 6 to 8 inches when planting cilantro.

While cilantro is known to contain no cholesterol and is low in calories, its green leaves contain essential oils, antioxidants, dietary fiber and vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, folic acid and beta carotene. It is also an excellent source of minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium.

Culantro
Culantro and cilantro are two herbs that can easily confuse you if you are not so keen. Culantro grows well in partially shady areas where you can expect to experience prolonged harvest seasons with very large leaves. If grown in sunny areas then culantro will flower earlier hence resulting in a shorter lifespan as compared with those grown in partially shady areas.

A spacing of 8 to 12 inches is usually recommended to be used when planting culantro. It has so much medicinal value to human beings. It contains iron, carotene, riboflavin and calcium that is necessary for keeping us healthy. The leaves of culantro are effective in treating constipation, diabetes, fevers and curing flu.

Culantro is also used in alleviating stomach pains while its roots when eaten raw help in curing scorpion stings. What’s more, culantro is also very rich in vitamins. It contains vitamins A, C, crude oil and calcium as well. The calcium content in culantro helps in building strong teeth, bones, and hair.

Kale
This here is yet another one of the Mexican culinary culture herbs that you should try out. This herb can be grown from seeds or is also sometimes grown as a cut and come again plant. This herb can grow perfectly well in full sunny areas or even in partially shaded areas. When it comes to the type of soil, it grows well in any soil with a lot of organic matter content and a slightly acidic pH.
It also requires a sufficient amount of water at an optimal temperature of around 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Kale contains a lot of nutrients that are beneficial for us as human beings. It has vitamins K, A, C, B6, manganese, magnesium, potassium and copper. It is also loaded with some powerful antioxidants such as kaempferol and quercetin.

These antioxidants will help in counteracting the oxidative damage caused by the free radicals in our bodies. By minimizing oxidative damage, the leading drivers of many diseases like cancer and aging are well taken care of.

Broccoli
The broccoli is well known to almost all herb lovers. The best quality broccoli is that grown in fall because it can be somehow challenging to predict the spring conditions. Too much heat can stress up the broccoli and make them open their flower buds prematurely hence leading to bitter broccoli with less tasty and small florets.

This herb requires slightly acidic soil and enough sunshine. It is advisable to use a spacing of 15-18 inches between the broccoli plants when planting. One of the strongest points of broccoli is the high nutrient package that it packs. This herb contains various minerals, fiber, vitamins, and bioactive compounds.

Broccoli also provides antioxidants that are essential in offering us protection from various diseases. The presence of fiber may also aid in controlling the blood sugar level as well. There are also several studies that indicate that this herb can support your health in so many ways. What’ more, broccoli also promotes reduced constipation and healthy digestion.

Garden Cress
Here is yet another herb that most people love due to its nutritive and general health benefits. It grows perfectly well in sunny locations with loose soil which is also well drained. This herb can be grown either indoors, outdoors, in hydroponics or in containers. Garden cress performs well in a somehow narrow pH range of 6.0 to 7.0. The recommended spacing should be about 2.5 cm.

When it comes to the benefits of garden cress, the sky is the limit. It is believed that this herb potentially has some anti-cancer effects. What’s more, this herb provides a lot of carotenoids which is excellent for the health of your eyes and your vision in general because it has vitamin A in abundance.

This herb will also provide you with enough vitamin C which will keep your bones, gums, and skin healthy. Vitamin C also helps in providing some cardiovascular benefits. This is together with vitamin K which is also present in garden cress.

Conclusion
All the herbs discussed above are very important to every human being because of the nutritional and health benefits that they provide. Apart from just spicing up your foods and providing the best delicacies, these herbs will make sure that you are always healthy and as fit as a fiddle. Maintaining better health is a very valid reason why you should try out these herbs discussed above.

Author Bio:
I am Rank Feed and I am a great herbs enthusiast. I am the owner of growherbsgarden.com website when I share some of the best tips on how to care for herbs and get them ready for your kitchen.

Photo by Alyson McPhee on Unsplash

Surprise Explosion

One afternoon in 1943, a 1,300-foot-tall volcano decided to spring up in the backyard of a Mexican farmer named Dionisio Pulido.

Sailfest

Yesterday, here in Zihuatanejo, we celebrated Sailfest by signing up for a sunset cruise for 600 pesos apiece. Sailfest is a charitable event that is part of the Los Niños. 

Los Ninos is a volunteer group formed to help disadvantaged parents in Zihuatanejo, Mexico provide an education for their children.  Their website has been developed to share the story of these beautiful children and their dedicated parents, and to solicit your contributions.

Bev and I arrived at 4:00 ready to board. We were told we would sail on the Patricia Bell, an 80-foot schooner built by the captain and his sons. It is a two-masted black-hulled beauty. There were nineteen visitors and seven crew. We motored out of the harbor toward the brilliant sun in a cloudless sky.  Then we turned around and sailed back at about one knot per hour.

It was so quiet when the motor was off. Just, the waves slapping the hull and the wind filling the sail.

A stunning female crew member, Julia, and a Justin Timberlake lookalike, Sam, dove over the side and clung to a trailing rope. They were filled with joy over the condition of the warm water. Dawn, a third member of the crew, joined them. Julia swam alongside the boat and was easily swimming faster than the schooner.

At about 6:30 the sunset and we all waited to see if there would be a green flash. Nope! Not this time, because a little haze hung on the horizon.  The setting sun pinked the building thunderheads to our east, and it was warm, unlike the Chicago weather of frigid temperatures where many tourists were from. Carlos played a quiet melody on his guitar as we moved back to anchor.

Bev and I relaxed on the padded side seats. I held her hand and marveled at how Mexico had filled our lives with Joy.

You Should Visit Mazunte, Mexico In 2018 Before They Get Too Popular

Mazunte, Mexico

Mexico’s most laid-back coastline is at risk of being Tulum’d The southern coast of Oaxaca is still one of those rare, off-the-beaten-path treasures... for now. Surfers have been flocking to these rugged shores for decades, drawn by the forceful surf, golden sand, rocky inlets, and sleepy fishing village vibes. But the jaws of development are never far behind, as even hideaways like Huatulco and Puerto Escondido begin to get gobbled up by hotel developers, cruise ports, and, ugh, tourists. Still, there remain a few pockets of paradise left to discover. Mazunte, about an hour south of Puerto Escondido, is still on the tipping point between sublimely chill and a Travel & Leisure write-up.

The counterpart to nearby Zipolite (a hippie beach that has been drawing free spirits and nudists since the 60s), Mazunte is heralded for its following of leathery yogis and sun worshippers who love to get off the grid with relatively shallow pockets. Cobalt and teal water touches honey-colored sand, as tattooed, dread-locked surfers and backpackers suck back Pacifico beers underneath shady, thatched palapas. The village is built around two beaches, Playa Rinconcito and Mermejita. But recently, Mazunte was listed as one of Mexico’s heralded Pueblo Magicos, towns that are given governmental distinction based on their character and charm. With that distinction comes the masses looking to escape their fast-paced jobs in search of the perfect vegan burrito. It’s only a matter of time before the luxury boutique hotels and straw fedora’d patrons follow. -- Meagan Drillinger The Thrillist

Book Review: The Lizard’s Tale By Kurt Kamm

176 pages

Publisher: MCM Publishing (June 21, 2016)

Publication Date: June 21, 2016

The Lizard’s Tale is the first book I’ve read by Kurt Kamm and it is a good one. It starts with a rare Motagua Lizard from a small valley in Guatamala that is transported through the country to Mexico and on to California for the benefit of a cartel boss. We see inside the cartel, the DEA, and firefighters.

It is interesting how fate and the curse of the Motagua Lizard intertwine. Kamm’s descriptions of the lizard, the countryside of Guatamala and Mexico made me feel I was right there.

Take Action to Control Mosquitoes and Chikungunya in Sayulita

Yes I know we are San Miguel not Sayulita. This information applies to us as well.

 By: Trudy Rilling-Collins - The Mosquito Lady Jun 24, 2016

If you are ready to take action to control mosquitoes around your home, here are a few useful tips to help you. It really isn't that difficult to find and eliminate mosquito breeding sources around your home and protect yourself and your family from Chikungunya in Sayulita!

Here are 10 tips to guide you in your mosquito hunting! It can be quite fun and exciting and a great education for your children!

HAPPY HUNTING! *Mosquitoes always breed in standing water, look for the wigglers there!

1. Check to make sure fish are in all the water features around your garden. If not, put 10 small mosquito eating fish in every water feature.

2. Don’t store any containers that can trap water outside. Either discard containers or move to covered storage out of the rain.

3. Check for mosquito breeding in the three terrible T’s, TIRES, TANKS and TARPS

4. Look for coconuts that are collecting water and breeding mosquitoes. If found, cut into quarters and stack the pieces so that they can’t collect water. If you have large piles you may want to consider removing them.

5. Check water storage tanks to make sure there are no entry points for mosquitoes. Use heavy duty tape, pipe fitting, silicon caulking and netting to seal any holes or gaps!

6. Check to make sure the vent pipe on every septic tank (junction box) is screened, and that junctions are completely sealed at the ground surface with concrete grout, without any cracks or holes that allow mosquitoes to come and go from the tank.

7. Check for mosquito breeding in wells, rain gutters, cut bamboo poles and vases.

8. Change the water in pet enclosures daily! Scrub pet water dishes daily to kill mosquito eggs on the sides of the dishes.

9. Avoid rooting plant cuttings in water over long periods of time and check greenhouse and nursery areas for water filled containers.

10. Share what you know about controlling mosquitoes with your neighbors to create a larger “Zone of Safety”! Organize a neighborhood clean-up to get rid of trash and containers that hold water that could be breeding mosquitoes.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

MX Remains No. 1 in Silver Production

Fresnillo's Saucito mine in Zacatecas. MINERÍA EN LÍNEA

Mexico led the world in silver production in 2015 for the sixth year in a row.

Mexican mines produced 189.5 million ounces, up 2% over 2014, far ahead of the second-biggest producer, Peru, with 135.9 million ounces, according to the World Silver Institute.

Overall, however, world silver production was down 2% to 886.7 million ounces due to declines in Canada, Australia and China.

Mexico’s production increase came as a result of higher output at the Saucito and Saucito II mines operated by Fresnillo and the El Cubo mine belonging to the Canadian mining firm, Endeavour Silver.

The institute pointed out that Mexico’s silver production has risen steadily since 2010, when production totaled 141.8 million ounces.

GFMS analyst Erica Rannestad said one reason for higher output in Mexico was a reduction in costs brought on by the peso’s decline in value against the U.S. dollar, providing an impetus for greater production.

She said expansion of the San José mine, owned by another Canadian company, Fortuna Silver Mines, could propel Mexican production to yet another increase in 2016.

Worldwide demand for silver rose from 1.13 billion ounces in 2014 to 1.17 billion last year but the price dropped from US $19.08 per ounce to $15.68.

Book Review: Walking Tours of Queretaro of Santiago By William J. Conaway

Book Review:
Four Stars Walking Tours of Queretaro of Santiago
By William J. Conaway
Print Length: 39 pages
Publisher: Publicaciones Papelandia; 1 edition (January 1, 2008)
Kindle Price $5.99
Publication Date: January 1, 2008 ASIN: B008I51A2Q

I chose to buy Conaway’s book for several reasons. He came to Mexico in June of 1961 and published a series of short books about walking tours of various cities of Mexico including Guanajuato, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Taxco, Morelia, etc. He also shares information about driving tours, Mexican food and history for Gringos.

The second reason I bought the book: four of us headed out at noon for Queretaro from San Miguel de Allende. I had a doctor’s appointment at 5:30. I figured that we would have plenty of time to see a little of the city and have lunch before my appointment. However, I got lost on the way, I chose to go to Celaya then to Queretaro. Getting lost and wading our way through long construction lines took over four hours, so we didn’t get to see much at all.

I want to go back and do it right.

Conaway spends the first 40% of the 39 pages telling us the history of the people who lived in the area and gives us a list of 25 places to see on the two walking tours. They can be accomplished on one day, but with so much to see, it sounds like one should spend two days. The history is very interesting as are the places to see.

I would give the book five stars for the writing and the history except for lack of maps and several errors that should be corrected. My downloaded copy has two opening pages and two bios. In addition the author’s picture comes out muddled.

I would like to see more photos of the sights to see on the tour and arrange the photos so they can be seen on one page instead of being split over two pages.

Mexico as a Major Power

BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN MARCH 14, 2016

Mexico has the 11th-highest GDP in the world based on purchasing power parity, according to the International Monetary Fund. As Europe weakens, it will be in the top 10 in the not-too-distant future. Yet, this country is regarded by many Americans as a Third World nation, dominated by drug cartels and impoverished people desperate to get into the United States.

While it is true that organized crime exists in Mexico and that many Mexicans want to immigrate to the US, a roughly equal number are leaving the US and returning to Mexico… drawn by economic opportunities in their home country. The largest auto plant in the Western Hemisphere is in Mexico, and Bombardier builds major components for aircraft there. Mexico has many problems, of course, but so does the U.K. (the 10th-largest economy) and Italy (12th).

No one would be surprised by the U.K. or Italy rankings, but many people would be stunned to find that Mexico is ranked right up with them. Obviously, Mexico is not as developed as Britain is. Like most nations transitioning from underdevelopment to greater development, Mexico suffers from substantial class and regional inequality, and the emergence of a dominant middle class is still unfolding.

At the same time, Italy also has substantial regional inequality. Mexico can't aspire to British standards, but Italy is a reasonable model. Inequality diminishes the significance of being 11th in some ways, but it doesn't change the basic reality of Mexico’s relative strength.

Mexico is commonly perceived, far too simplistically, as a Third World country with a general breakdown of law and a population seeking to flee north. That perception is also common among many Mexicans, who seem to have internalized the contempt in which they are held.

Mexicans know that their country’s economy grew 2.5 percent last year and is forecast to grow between 2 percent and 3 percent in 2016—roughly equal to the growth projection for the US economy. But, oddly, they tend to discount the significance of Mexico’s competitive growth numbers in a sluggish global economy.

Here, therefore, we have an interesting phenomenon. Mexico is, in fact, one of the leading economies of the world, yet most people don’t recognize it as such and tend to dismiss its importance.

This week, I spoke at the annual meeting of the Mexican Association of Banks in Acapulco. It was a major event, with the Mexican president and the head of the central Bank speaking, along with Americans such as Larry Fink, chairman of BlackRock. The contrast between what Fink and I had to say about Mexico, and what the Mexicans had to say, is interesting. The Mexicans were cautious, frequently dwelling on the challenges facing Mexico and not focusing very much on the country’s achievements.

Fink and I were effusive about Mexico. Given the condition of the rest of the world, we argued, North America is an island of tranquility and opportunity—with Mexico as the most promising region economically. The contrast between our views, the views of many Mexicans, and the views of most Americans is so vast that it feels as if we dwell on different planets. I know of few places on earth that are viewed so differently by different observers.

Let me summarize the argument I made. First, the Eastern Hemisphere (Eurasia in particular) is moving toward systemic failure. The EU is struggling to manage a host of problems. Russia is contending with strategic and economic challenges, particularly the collapse in oil prices. China is trying to find a stable new normal and maintain social stability. As for the Middle East, no summary will suffice. The rest of the Eastern Hemisphere is experiencing what I might call “normal instability.”

Compared to other parts of the world, North America is not only remarkably stable but is also doing well economically. One of the main views of the Geopolitical Futures model is that, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was no longer any European global power. The center of gravity of the international system had shifted away from Europe, to North America. This argument rests heavily on the inherent military and economic power of the United States. The US Navy controls the oceans, and the United States produces 22% of the world’s GDP. Just as important, the United States is an inefficient exporter, a factor that cushions the US from the Eastern Hemisphere’s crisis.

While roughly 30% of GDP comes from exports in Russia, 46% in Germany, and 23% in China, US exports account for only 13% of GDP with over a third of that total sold to Canada and Mexico. Thus, while Eastern Hemisphere powers teeter on the edge of an economic volcano or tumble in, the United States finds itself relatively insulated from declines in global import demand, and the US insulates the countries on its northern and southern borders to a great extent.

The contrast between the European Union and NAFTA is critical. There are institutional differences between the attempt by the EU to integrate heterogeneous countries and NAFTA’s limits on integration. But the most important difference is that Germany, the foundation of the European system, is a massive exporter, while the United States is a net importer. Given the vastness of the US economic base, the net negative flow has little impact. However, it has an important twist in terms of Mexico. Exports, more than 80% of which go to the United States, constitute 32% of Mexico’s GDP. Thus Mexican exports to the United States amount to about a quarter of Mexico’s economy.

US GDP is about $17 trillion, and imports from Mexico’s are about 0.2 percent of the US economy, so they have very limited impact. But their impact is further mitigated because Mexican-manufactured exports contain a substantial quantity of components made in the United States. For example, Mexico is one of the top exporters of automobiles to the United States. These cars are not sold under a Mexican label, since Mexico manufactures them for foreign companies. But unlike Japanese or Chinese exports to the United States, cars manufactured in Mexico contain about 40% of their parts purchased from the United States. This means that US manufacturers contribute to the total value of Mexican exports.

Synergies have driven Mexico into dependence on the United States. The US has had the option of shifting its imports away from China and sourcing from Mexico instead. This shift has had a huge impact on Mexico’s growth. It is also one of the reasons why the Mexicans are less than positive about their economic position.

There is much history between Mexico and the United States, with the pivotal event being the American conquest of northern Mexico—from present-day California to Texas—in the 1830s and 1840s. This conquest created a complex view of the United States, informed by both anger and envy. The tragedy of Mexico, from its point of view, is that it is still so tied to the United States.

NAFTA, much debated in the US, had an even greater effect on Mexico. Access to the American market reshaped the Mexican economy, strengthening it immeasurably. It also created an enormous imbalance—economically in Mexico’s favor, politically in the United States’ favor. When you send 80% of your exports to one country, that country has tremendous power over you. This is not only a political fact, in the sense that some politician could try to shut down trade, it is also distinctly macroeconomic: If the American economy catches a cold, Mexico catches pneumonia. As other exporting countries have discovered, their well-being is in the hands of their customers. So long as the US–Mexico imbalance is there, the Mexicans will and ought to feel uneasy.

The American conquest of Northern Mexico implanted an image in American minds. The Mexicans ought to have defeated the Texans. The Mexicans had the larger army, better equipment, and, in many ways, better commanders. But the Mexicans also had the defect of a class-ridden society. The army General Santa Anna brought north into Texas had well-trained French generals and good artillery, but it was an army drawn from Chiapas, composed of indigenous people without shoes or training. It was a Napoleonic army of the impoverished led by the nobility, fighting as a mass rather than with individual skill.

When Santa Anna crossed the northern deserts, his army found itself facing the coldest winter in years, with ice and even snow. The soldiers suffered terribly, and by the time they reached the Alamo, they were exhausted. Their commanders didn’t care about the troops and made their way east to San Jacinto… where the Texans defeated them.

It is important to understand the vast chasm that existed between the officers and soldiers in Mexico's army. There are always such differences, and they sometimes run very deep. But the chasm in the Mexican army resembled the divide in the British army so apparent at Waterloo, when the commander, Wellington, called his men “scum.” The Mexicans adopted the European model, in which the soldiers were induced by money or simply pressed into service. This was the lot of Mexican soldiers; it was their lives. But when they confronted the Americans, where the gap between enlisted men and officers was substantially smaller, an army that was inert (unless pressed) confronted an army that encouraged initiative at all levels. The latter army won.

The model of European colonialism defined the Mexican forces… but not the Americans. And for the next century and a half, the Mexican legacy of colonialism continued to define the difference between the two countries’ armies.

The experience of the Mexican-American War also defined American perceptions, and perceptions turn into habits, and habits become truths. The Mexican soldiers were seen as typical Mexicans and held in contempt, while the generals were seen as fools.

Further, the border that was created shielded Americans from a real understanding of Mexico. The border was arid and mountainous—hard to penetrate. As in many borderlands, it was a brutal place of criminals and desperate men. Certain commodities are always worth more on one side of the border than on the other. Sometimes it is cattle; sometimes it is drugs. Sometimes the goods are rightfully owned, and sometimes they are stolen.

The area north of the US–Mexico border is not like the rest of the United States, and the area south of the border is not like the rest of Mexico. But the borderland is a shield, and the shield is all that most people on either side tend to see.

The American view of Mexico was formed at San Jacinto and confirmed by endless images of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa raiding US border towns. He was depicted as ignorant, brutal, and dangerous. Today, Mexico is seen as a land of drug dealers, the descendants of Villa, far more dangerous than he was to American security. This perception is like viewing the United States today as if it were Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s and as if Al Capone were the typical American.

The Mexican fear of the United States is not unreasonable. Nor is the American fear of Mexico. It is easy to construct a tale of Mexico that is heavy on cartels and illegal aliens seeking to plunder and terrify the country. There is a deep history between our nations, a history that regenerates in different ways at different times.

The bankers I met at the conference in Mexico were cautious. They have been disappointed many times before by their own country. The Americans were enthusiastic. Americans tend to forego history in favor of the future… especially where money is concerned. But everyone there knew what Donald Trump has been saying during his campaign and resented the way he preys on American fears. There is no denying these fears, and there is no denying that Trump understands them. There is also no denying that, like most fears, there is some truth to them. There are cartels, and there are illegal immigrants, if fewer than before. But it is the distance between the Mexico that these fears conjure and the reality of what Mexico has become that is startling. The Mexicans themselves don’t trust the transformation of their country that has happened. They expect success to be snatched from them—probably by the United States.

But the fact is that Mexico is the 11th-largest economy in the world, with free access to the largest economy in the world and vast amounts of American investment pouring in. It may still have to contend with the challenges of sharing a border with Central America, but with China in decline, even the poor of the south might be mobilized by the low-level industries that made China successful and that now seek a new home.

The borderland and the smugglers who live there do not represent Mexico. Mexico will be one of the top 10 economies in the world shortly, and since North America is now what Europe once was, the prospect of two great powers on one continent is worrisome.

Of course, most of us cannot imagine Mexico as a great power. Nor could most people have foreseen the emergence of China or the resurrection of Japan—or even the United States itself—as a great power. This is a failure of imagination masquerading as common sense. I always doubt the ability of humanity to manage its future. The inevitable rolls over us. But here is a moment when an understanding of what Mexico has become might just have some real value, if only for our grandchildren.

There is an old Mexican saying: “Poor Mexico. So far from God, so close to the United States.” I don’t know about Mexico’s proximity to God, but it is clear to me that Mexico is no longer paying a price for its closeness to the United States, and neither is the United States. But now Mexico, as the junior partner, must manage this relationship.

George Friedman

The Myth of Malintzin: Book Now in Spanish

Maybe, we are seeing history revised.

"In the collective conscience of the Mexican people the historical figure La Malinche has been forever associated with treason and servility, particularly in favor of foreign people or interests.

"The myth of Malinche — also known as Malintzin, Malinalli or Doña Mariana — has even given birth to the term malinchism, a pejorative term for a preference for all things foreign over one’s own culture, to the point of self-destruction in an attempt to fit in."

I first encountered malinchism when I told a few expats about a wonderful book about the origins of Mexico titled The Jade Steps.

I was immediately told that she was a traitor to her people and not to believe what I read.

Now, But Camilla Townsend, a professor of history at Rutgers University, paints a very different picture of this controversial character in her 2006 book, Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. The book’s theories are now available to the broader Mexican population as a result of its recent translation into Spanish.

Townsend believes that the Indian woman who served as an interpreter for conquistador Hernán Cortés was an intelligent person with unmatched abilities to whom history has been unfair.

“History has been unfair to her, and with other protagonist women of the Conquest; they suffered greatly and did all they could to survive. In her case, the historical impression is that she betrayed her people, being fascinated by the outsiders, but that was not the case,” said Townsend.

The historian has dedicated her studies to relations between the indigenous people and Europeans throughout the Americas. Her publications have spanned Mexico, the Andean region and the Chesapeake. She is also an expert in Náhuatl, the Aztec language.

Aided by a vast bibliography — including original texts — Townsend exonerates Malinche of her historical guilt, describing instead a woman of extraordinary intelligence who, far from a betrayer, was a victim of the circumstances who became aware of her role and managed to survive. The writer even hints that Malinche could have been worried about the future of her conquered brothers and sisters.

Little is known of Malinche’s origins; even her real name has been lost to time. The author concluded that she was most likely born to a noble Nahua family in the border zone between the Aztec and Mayan empires, in the Coatzacoalcos region of Veracruz.

As a child, she was abducted and sold as a slave to Mayan lords in the ancient port of Xillacanco, in present-day Campeche. Taken to the nearby capital of Putunchán, she learned the Chontal language, adding this knowledge to that of her native Náhuatl.

When Cortés conquered the region, young Malinche was handed over to the Spanish along with 19 other young women.

Traveling with Cortés was Jerónimo de Aguilar, a Spaniard who had lived with natives in the Yucatán region for eight years after being shipwrecked. “Malinche initially worked with de Aguilar [translating from Náhuatl to Chontal while de Aguilar did so from Chontal to Spanish], but in a very short time, after about six months, she could manage without him; she had very quickly grasped the Spanish language,” relates Townsend.

The historian believes that Malinche’s is a doubly joyous story: she was favored by the circumstances, but she was also very skillful. “She was a slave, and through her experiences with different cultures she learned different languages. Frankly, many women were imprisoned and enslaved at that time, there were many potential ‘Malinches,’ but I must say that Malintzin definitely had more skills than anyone else.”

Marina, as she was baptized by the Spaniards, never felt remorse for aiding the Spanish conquer the Aztecs. Her resentment towards Moctezuma’s people was clear, and it was natural for her people to see the Aztecs as an enemy.

Malinche died sometime around 1529, after living for a decade among the Spanish and becoming Cortés mistress, giving birth to his first son.

Says Townsend: “After all that time, seeing the conditions in Mexico, I imagine she began to realize: ‘My God, millions of these people are coming, and we’re going to suffer.’ It wasn’t possible for her to know all this at the beginning, but I think it’s very unlikely that she didn’t realize what the future would bring.”

The two books are available on Amazon, The Jade Steps is a great read and considerably cheaper.

San Miguel de Allende - City of Culture, Cool and Progress

San Miguel de Allende is a city and municipality located in the far eastern part of the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico.

Malcome Harris writes at Huffington Post about his love for San Miguel:

A year ago, if someone had asked me to travel to Mexico for any reason other than a quick holistic trip to Tulum, I would have thought they had lost their ever-loving mind. You see I, like many Americans, had bought into the don't cross the border unless you want to be kidnapped, robbed or murdered rhetoric of the mainstream media as well as uninformed public opinion. It was as if someone had put all the bad news coming out of Mexico on some sort of subliminal, mind-altering loop and it had definitely worked. Then this pass Spring I was hit with one of those life altering and heart shattering experiences - my mother passed away.

Here's more

Lower Propane Prices are Coming Soon

A propane tank may not be far off.

Lower propane prices are coming soon, according to a prediction by a gas distributors’ trade organization, due to new import rules that take effect January 1.

In Mexico, two significant changes are coming for LPG: the liberation of import restrictions in 2016 and the elimination of price controls the year after.

The first will see private companies being allowed to import gas themselves, rather than go through Pemex, the state oil company. At present, a firm such as Grupo Tomza, one of the larger transportation and distribution firms, buys its gas in the U.S. and transports it to Mexico, where it is purchased by Pemex, the only company allowed to import the product.

Tomza then buys it back from Pemex and sells to consumers. As of January, Tomza will be able to bypass Pemex, but gas prices will still be subject to regulation by authorities.

Then in 2017, supply and demand will dictate pricing.

Landeros said this week that although the international price for LPG was 4 pesos per kilo, Pemex was selling it to distributors for 9.2 pesos.

By the time it gets to the consumer, a 20-kilogram tank costs 280 pesos. However, Landeros predicts that price will drop to 200 pesos, a significant change in a country whose propane gas consumption for domestic use is said to be the highest in the world, used by 80% of the population.

Annual sales are worth an estimated US $8.5 billion.

Gas distributors expect consumption to rise further following the decline in price, perhaps reversing an upward trend in the use of wood and charcoal, which has risen in rural areas from 36 to 39%, said Landeros, with negative implications for health and the environment.

Although new pipelines are delivering natural gas to more of the country, there isn’t enough infrastructure in place for its household distribution in large urban areas, so propane enjoys widespread use. Residential customers represent 60% of consumption, followed by commercial consumers at 14%, automotive fuel at 10% and industrial at 9%.

The new import and pricing regime, a product of energy reforms, is not only expected to bring price reductions but it’s already changing the face of the highly fragmented gas distribution business.

The big players — four companies control about 40% of the market — are buying up the smaller ones, of which there are some 500. Money is also being invested in ships and private terminal facilities to bring more LPG into Mexico.

Source: El Economista (sp), Milenio (sp), The Oil & Gas Year (en)

American retirees flock to Mexican shore in Baja looking for living and financial ease

Despite what many Americans may believe about the dangers of Mexico, there are a few “brave” souls who would argue that the Mexico they know is not only safe, but safer than the U.S., and has maintained the core values America lost years ago.

Thousands of Americans annually retire to various Mexican cities, making up a good chunk of the estimated 1 million U.S. citizens that call Mexico home.

Pam Salzman and her husband Brian retired 12 years ago. They say they were vacationing in Mexico so much that at one point they decided to try living there full-time and see how it felt.

In 2013 the Salzmans sold their house in Alpine, a rural neighborhood in the San Diego County of California, and promptly plunked down $500k in cash for a 3,700 square foot oceanfront property and never looked back.

Read more at FoxNews Latino

Economic Power In Latin America Shifting From Brazil To Mexico

Over the last year three key factors have weighed heavily on Latin American economies: The end of the U.S. Fed’s quantitative easing, which has brought about less favorable international funding conditions; the decline in commodity prices, which has depressed LatAm export revenues, and the Chinese economic slowdown, which also has hit commodity-exporting countries in the region. As a result, economic growth this year has been a huge disappointment. In January, the consensus forecast was for GDP growth of about 3%, but now expectations have fallen dramatically to a 0.4% contraction.

The impact of the shocks, though, has been uneven across the region, reflecting very different economic fundamentals in each country. Brazil, the biggest economy in the region, is the standout disaster area, suffering its worst recession in 25 years. This alone has been responsible for most of the sharp deterioration in growth expectations for LatAm as a whole. The list of problems in Brazil is daunting: Interest rates have rocketed in the face of high inflation; confidence has been depressed by corruption scandals; and the public finances are a mess. As a result, the labor market has fallen apart. Ultimately, these problems are the self-inflicted consequences of President Rousseff’s inappropriate populist policies, state interventionism, and a lack of real structural and fiscal reform. No one should have been surprised when Brazilian debt was downgraded to junk status in September by Standard and Poors, while the currency, the real, has lost about 30% this year against the dollar.

As a result of the appalling situation in Brazil, economic power in the region has shifted rapidly to Mexico, the second biggest economy in LatAm. Mexico’s growth has been hampered by the crash in oil prices but the economy is growing, by around 2% year-over-year, and the economic outlook is positive. Solid domestic economic fundamentals, and my expectation of a resilient and improving U.S. economy over the next year, should help push Mexican growth towards 2.5%.


Read more at Forbes

Mexico's Popocatepetl Volcano Puts on Spectacular Show

Expat or Immigrant

Joy Diaz at KUT.org writes, "The question of how Americans define friends living in foreign lands – and how Americans define people who’ve migrated to the U.S. – has been on Sheila Croucher's mind for the last decade or so. She teaches Global and Intercultural Studies at Miami University of Ohio, and says a word as seemingly straightforward as "immigrant" is anything but.

"I think it absolutely is politically charged, and I think it is racially charged,” Croucher says. “I think it is charged in a number of ways."

In 2006 Croucher went to the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende in Central Mexico, to study a large community of Americans living there. She noticed something interesting: No matter what their legal status, none of them called themselves immigrants.

"When I would push on the issue of terminology I would be told 'look, I'm just an American living in Mexico,'” she says.

"I don't refer to myself as an immigrant,” Russell Henson says.

Henson lives in San Miguel – the city Croucher studied years ago. He’s a retired engineer and pilot who now teaches aviation in Mexico.

"We are called temporary residents on our immigration status, but socially we identify with our tribe,” he explains.

They identify with other Americans living abroad, who call themselves ex-pats, or expatriates. Professor Croucher says the term ex-pats could carry a negative connotation – as in ‘renouncing one's country’ – but it rarely does. On the contrary, the term often carries a certain cachè, and it's mostly used by Americans and Europeans living abroad.

"There have been some recent studies, and I think an interesting article in the Guardian within the past year or so about why the Brits in Southern Spain get to be ex-pats, when everybody else going in the other direction are immigrants,” she says.

It may be because immigrants are often thought of as people who leave their homeland for economic reasons. But it clearly isn’t that simple, since most of the Americans she studied in San Miguel fit that profile.

"They were absolutely moving for economic reasons and motivated by economic concerns, whether it was declining pensions in the United States or the rising cost of health care," Croucher says. "I think it would be politically interesting as a move for Mexican immigrants to say, 'OK, I'm an ex-pat too' and vice versa. I think it would be an important political move for the increasing number of Americans and Canadians living abroad to start calling themselves immigrants."

More American civilians now live abroad than ever before. Census data from host countries puts that number at around eight million.

At the same time, patterns of migration into the United States are shifting. In the last 5 years, fewer arrivals say they have come for financial reasons. The Pew Research Center says almost half are highly educated.

Juan Wah is one of them. He's a marketing expert from Mexico. His father is Chinese, and his mother Mexican. He was educated in the U.S. and once lived in Germany. Now, he lives in Texas.

So how does he identify himself?

"I don't know, it depends on who is asking," Wah says. "But sometimes I just describe myself as a 'foodie' or 'a happy person.' I don't think customs will take foodie. I don't think there's a box for foodie yet!"

Croucher believes the terminology is likely to change because millennials like Wah are the most racially diverse, gender non-conforming generation so far – and their identities often don’t fit into neat little checkboxes on official forms.

For them, "immigrants" and "ex-pats" are just people.

San Miguel de Allende's got charm

No beaches? No problem says Alice Diamond, in the San Diego Reader.

With no beach, no stoplights, and not even an airport, one might be surprised that San Miguel de Allende has been a magnet for Americans for decades. This strikingly beautiful and history-rich 16th- century town in the mountains of central Mexico got on the tourist and artist circuit soon after World War II as one of the few places outside of the U.S. where returning veterans could use their G.I. benefits to study art. No beaches? No problem says Alice Diamond, in the San Diego Reader.

Read more here

Expats in Mexico: Full-Time Dream Vacation

Deborah Charnes writes about expats in Chron

Bill Clinton recently said: “Between 2010 and 2014, there was no net in-migration from Mexico.” In fact, in the five years prior, more people moved from the States to Mexico than the reverse.*

Given the way immigration is covered in the media, this may be a shocker. Not for me. My thrifty depression-era father talked about retiring in Guadalajara. I’ve long considered Mexico my segunda patria, and have considered making the land of Tenochtitlan my home.

Read more at http://blog.chron.com/traveler/2015/09/expats-in-mexico-full-time-dream-vacation/