David Luhnow
@davidluhnow
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UK bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. Ex longtime Latin America editor. The opposite of a Chicano: Born and raised in Mexico to gringo parents.
London, England
Joined July 2009
Some of AMLO's supporters are having a hard time squaring Mexico's crackdown on Central American migrants with their previous criticisms of much less harsh actions by previous governments. Did someone say hipocrite?.
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Ugh. Talk about Fake News. This (semi) prominent Mexican leftist shows yesterday's opposition protest in Venezuela and lies to his followers, telling them its FOR Maduro. Ten no mas tantita madre, por favor. .
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Not only does AMLO get The Godfather wrong, but what he is saying is seriously retrograde: Anyone who studies abroad should fall under suspicion. This is nationalism at its worst.
El señor presidente compara a los que estudiaron en el extranjero con el hijo del Padrino (Mario Puzzo). ¿Qué dirán de esto @ArturoHerrera_G @GMarquezColin con brillantes doctorados obtenidos -horror- en prestigiadas universidades extranjeras?
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Los reporteros y reporteras locales en Culiacán hoy dieron una lección en como hacer preguntas puntuales, difíciles e incomodas a los del poder. Varios de los colegas en las mañaneras podrían aprender algo de los de Sinaloa. Bravo.
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THREAD: Some politicians and folks on the left in US, Europe and Latam wonder if what is happening in Venezuela is a coup against de facto President Nicolas Maduro. Let’s use an analogy that might help.
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This is so sad. Mexico probably has the highest per capita Covid fatality rate for doctors and nurses. They are dramatically underpaid, and sometimes have to pay for their own PPE. Shame the gov't doesn't help them more. via @WSJ.
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Quisiera compartir algo personal. Y disculpas por adelantado. Mi trabajo (y pasión) consiste en cubrir América Latina para el WSJ. A veces hay gente que responde a nuestras notas duras o comentarios críticos por Twitter diciendo algo como, “¿Por qué no te preocupas por tu país?”.
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HILO: Hay mas muertes por Covid de los que dice el gobierno Mexicano? Casi seguro que si. Hoy salieron dos notas importantes sobre el tema en la prensa internacional.
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So how will Mexico's president respond? Hugs, not bullets?.
I was wondering when we would see another public act of communication by the CJNG, two weeks after the attack on Harfuch. This one, taken yesterday in the Jalisco Sierra as I'm told, is more than clear in its message toward the fed gov: You come after us, and we will strike back.
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Mexico’s president is furious that Zelensky got nominated by EU parliament for Nobel peace prize. I suppose for AMLO, if your country gets invaded you shouldn’t defend yourself.
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I’ve covered the Mexican narco scene on/off since 1995 (I saw Amado Carrillo Fuentes’ dead body), but I never thought we’d see scenes like yesterday in Culiacán, where traffickers launched an all out fight - and won. What happens next?.
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As a scandal over his son grows, Mexico’s President López Obrador finds himself on the defensive and has lost control of the narrative for the first time in his presidency, say analysts.
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Hey foreign investors: Come to Mexico, spend $900 million on building a new factory, and get it shut down via a referendum where less than 5% of registered voters turn out! That's just what's happened to the US makers of Corona beer. via @WSJ.
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This tweet says two primary schools have collapsed in Mexico City and children are trapped inside.
Aquellos que estén cerca de división del norte o héroes de Padierna ayudemos: se cayeron dos escuelas primarias y hay niños y atrapados
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Mexico's president was elected for one very good reason: His promise to end a culture of corruption that has long held Mexico back. But two years in, it increasingly looks like he's unwilling or unable to deliver. via @WSJ.
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That moment when the Mexican president’s son, who lives in Houston, boasts about Mexico coming in (checks notes) second to last place in OECD ranking for labor productivity.
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Mexico's foreign minister giving former Bolivian president Evo a platform. Now Evo is tweeting from Mexico urging resistance. Does this violate the supposed Estrada Doctrine professed by AMLO not to interfere in other nations affairs?.
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Mexico’s president says, without offering evidence, that 60% of murder victims in country are found to be under effects of drugs or alcohol. So every murder victim has a blood and alcohol test? Having seen forensic labs, I very much doubt that. .
¿QUÉ? 🤯. Dice López Obrador que el 60% de los asesinados están bajo los efectos de las drogas y el alcohol. ¿Para qué legalizar si se puede estigmatizar?
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Mexico City weather is so glorious. Never too hot, never too cold.
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Mexico's second richest man urging people to get on with their lives and let the pandemic play out. I wonder: If he gets sick, will he be willing to be treated at a public hospital? .Also, cool verb: "desapendejen.".
1.- ¿Quedarse encerrados hasta que haya cura o vacuna?.2.- ¿Quedarse encerrados hasta que el gobierno les diga que pueden salir?.3.- ¿O quedarse encerrados hasta que un buen día se desapendejen y decidan salir a vivir la vida con todo y sus riesgos?.
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This is so infuriating. This is why crime is out of control in Mexico. Total impunity. Cops don't get nearly enough support from gov't through training and wages, and little respect from society. That has to change.
What is it like to be a police officer in Mexico City? What risks does it involve? A graphic description.
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Living in Mexico means sometimes waking up and seeing images like this; 10 dead bodies hanging from a bridge in the latest orgy of violence. It gets depressing.
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Mexico's president accuses The New York Times and The Guardian of representing conservative corporate interests that looted Mexico in the neo-liberal period.
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De acuerdo. Me vacuné en Houston en una farmacia CVS - nada de Servidores de la Nación, ni el ejército, simplemente un plan de vacunar cuanto antes a la población.
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Say what you will about AMLO’s policies, but he is clearly Mexico’s most gifted politician in a generation. These numbers are truly impressive given the state of Mexico’s economy, security, etc.
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This is an embarrassing response. The son of one of AMLO's allies gets caught selling overpriced ventilators to public health system, and AMLO's response is he doesn't trust the information b/c it was first disclosed by an NGO, even though it was verified by his own comptroller.
Le preguntan al presidente por la sanción que impuso la @SFP_mx al hijo de @ManuelBartlett por el tema de los ventiladores y contesta que no está muy enterado y que no le genera mucha confianza la investigación periodística que la detonó.
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THREAD: Since the issue of Mexico's 2006 election has come up again given AMLO's refusal to recognize Biden until all the legal issues around the election are settled, I thought I'd share my experiences during that vote b/c I covered it closely.
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Now, is that a coup by the real Congress? Or has the coup already taken place by the president? In a nutshell, that’s what happened in Venezuela.
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According to Our World in Data, Mexico is only doing 1.16 tests now for every confirmed Covid case it has -- the lowest in world and down from about 10 in early April. That suggests a SERIOUS lack of testing.
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I'm sorry, but AMLO is rewriting history here. I worked in Mexico City as a journo when Reforma began. Yes, it was during the Salinas years, but it was by FAR the most independent and hard-hitting paper back then, and to suggest it was somehow created by Salinas is just fantasy.
En su conferencia mañanera de este viernes 8 de marzo, el Presidente López Obrador se refirió a Grupo REFORMA. Ante los dichos… estos son los hechos.
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By decree, Mexico's president tells his government to ignore the constitutional changes governing the public education system passed by previous government. He says those changes - passed by 2/3rds majority in congress - were done in an autocratic way. Institutions, anyone?.
Memorándum sobre la cancelación de la mal llamada reforma educativa.
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Yes, Mexicans are flying to the U.S. by the tens of thousands to get Covid vaccines. And yes, they are a boost for tourism. via @WSJ.
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Mexico's president saying state-run companies should be the "motor" of the economy. It's almost as if the last century of economic evidence is totally forgotten.
La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum rechazó que ahora vaya a haber un gobierno autoritario, tras la aprobación de eliminar 7 organismos autónomos, y afirmó que, sin los órganos autónomos, se va a seguir “regulando” a las empresas para que las empresas públicas recuperen su papel como
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My family and I are spending the pandemic in rural Mexico, and lately there's been a disquieting background noise that's becoming more and more constant: the ringing of church bells signifying someone else has died.
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I think Lopez Obrador has already had more press conferences in the four days since his election than Peña Nieto had during his entire administration so far.
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I have a bad feeling the next really big Covid stories are going to be Brazil, Mexico and India. This is the week when the pandemic really starts to hit the emerging world hard.
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Thread: Brazil is ranked number two in the world lists of Covid fatalities, behind the USA. But that is almost certainly wrong. Mexico is almost surely number two. And in this story, we explain why. via @WSJ.
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Mexican independent candidate El Bronco, in debate, proposes cutting off the hands of public officials who steal. Moderator, in disbelief, asks several times if he means it and he says yep.
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Cristina Kirchner's ex economy minister Alex Kicillof was invited by Mexico's new ruling party to talk about "alternatives to the neo-liberal model." What could possibly go wrong?.
Buena plática con @Kicillofok sobre el futuro de las economías latinoamericanas y las alternativas al modelo neoliberal. ¡Gracias a @JohnMAckerman @Irma_Sandoval y @idanielth por la invitación!
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Mexico's coronavirus czar confirms our story that Covid deaths are higher than gov't tally. Says patients often come in late stage of illness and there's no time to do test and that post-mortem tests are "rare." Says gov't will analyze cases and eventually include in statistics.
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I was horrified when I read this, but I looked into it and Reforma is missing key context: AMLO was talking about accepting handouts at campaign rallies from other candidates, not about stealing things. Big difference. Muy mal @reformanacional
"Si están muy necesitados agarren, agarren, está permitido", dijo @lopezobrador_ en Atlacomulco. "Estoy hablando con obispos con pastores para que no sea ningún pecado quitarles todo a estos corruptos"
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El Covid se transmite por el aire, y hay poca evidencia que se transmite por superficie. Creo que en Mexico (y me imagino en algunos otros países también) sigue habiendo mucho enfoque en gel y tapetes cuando el enfoque realmente tiene que ser ventilación y cubrebocas.
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Mexico's president, known as AMLO, is the country's most genuinely popular leader in decades. He voices the legitimate grievances of many poor. But he is also part of a global trend in authoritarian populism, and that usually ends badly. Our essay.
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THREAD: For many years, I believed Africa probably had the world's highest murder rates. Or maybe the Mideast. But that simply isn't so (the Mideast is actually remarkably peaceful in terms of criminal violence). The region with by far the highest homicide tally is Latin America.
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When one of Mexico's most corrupt ex officials is photographed dining out carefree at a luxury restaurant, it's not good optics for AMLO's fight against corruption, AP says.
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"Amlo will use money taken from organised crime to buy raffle tickets [to give] to hospitals so they can maybe win a cash prize (but not the presidential plane). Isn’t that the craziest public health financing you ever seen?" via @financialtimes.
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Nuestro altar…. A mi mamá le encantaba el café y le puse también unas galletas Marías para acompañar.
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USA, Brazil and Mexico had the most deaths from Covid registered yesterday. Mexico had almost 200 more deaths than the UK.
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Heck of a Tweet from Mexico City's police chief after taking three bullets. Says the country must never back down from organized crime. I wonder if the president is listening.
Esta mañana fuimos cobardemente atacados por el CJNG, dos compañeros y amigos míos perdieron la vida, tengo tres impactos de bala y varias esquirlas. Nuestra Nación tiene que continuar haciéndole frente a la cobarde delincuencia organizada. Continuaremos trabajando.
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Amazing tale of how Mexico's gov't had one of the top global tourism sites, and how their new gov't totally blew it.
Con tanto rollo del sitio hice un breve análisis para investigar sobre este dominio. Les muestro datos y observen cómo el Gobierno de López acaba de hacerse HARAKIRI a nivel SEO. O sea, se acaban de suicidar en Google. El software NO tiene otros datos.
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Not The Onion: Mexico's interior minister says she doesn't use a mask to help prevent spread of Covid b/c she's protected thanks to her drops of citrus nano molecules. via @politicomx.
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After a seven-year-old girl was murdered in Mexico, the president blamed social decay caused by . neo-liberalism.
A week after a woman was killed, skinned and disemboweled in a horrific crime that shocked Mexico, now a seven-year-old girl has been found brutally murdered. AMLO's government must start taking femicide and gender-based violence seriously #JusticiaParaIngrid #JusticiaParaFátima.
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Mexican President AMLO attacks the middle classes for turning away from him, particularly ones with college degrees, and mocking their aspirations, saying their drive to succeed at all costs is selfish.
AMLO ataca a clases medias: "son muy difícil de convencer". "Son los que tienen licenciatura, maestría, con una actitud aspiracionista, quieren triunfar, salir adelante, eso sí, van a la iglesia todos los domingos": @lopezobrador_
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Support for AMLO among college educated Mexicans drops to 43%, versus high 60s for those with primary and secondary education.
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Thread: Mexico's president AMLO made his career railing against the country's legendary corruption, describing what he said was a "mafia of power' between wealthy businessmen and corrupt politicians. This story gives a detailed look at how that works.
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Thread: Some personal news. We have just left Mexico after 22 wonderful years there with The Wall Street Journal. I am now in London with Helena and the kids and will be UK bureau chief at the WSJ. As Monty Python says, “And now for something completely different.”.
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Wow. So it turns out the head of Pemex’s international procurement unit is the DAUGHTER of AMLO’s private secretary. She lives in Houston and makes a lot more than the president. More nepotism and conflict of interest in 4T.
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Entonces, cuando sacamos una nota crítica de México, o Brasil o Argentina, no es que pensamos que el EU es la gloria. Es que simplemente queremos ser buenos periodistas y, por qué no, ayudar lograr algún cambio. Viene con respeto, y de corazón. Gracias por leer.
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Pfizer says it has identified the first confirmed fake versions of its vaccine, in Mexico and Poland.
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Quisiera decir muchas gracias por los comentarios tan generosos. Me dan animo. Siempre he pensado que hay más gente buena que mala en el mundo - en cualquier país e incluso en Twitter. 😀.
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Mexico is ranked among the world’s worst climate governments. According to the carbon action tracker, a nonprofit science group tracking government climate action, Mexico’s climate policies under Amlo “continue to go backwards. ".
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Worth re-reading what Mexico's coronavirus czar was saying about Covid last April, when he compared it to the flu. At the time, most experts said he was wrong. The following months would show just how wrong. via @WSJ.
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This video purports to show Sinaloa cartel hitmen in a large convoy in Culiacán. Amazing the firepower they brought today. What a humiliation for Mexican government.
Así patrullan esta noche los Sicarios del Cartel de Sinaloa, en #Culiacan, corre rumor que Ovidio Guzmán, hijo del Chapo fue liberado por que levantaron a familiares de Soldados
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A day after allegations of corruption against former Mexican presidents, new videos show AMLO's brother getting cash donations in 2015. El hermano incomodo strikes again. via @bpolitics.
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Reporters in Mexico are so scared of the president’s supporters that some are no longer giving their name and affiliation when they ask questions at his daily news conferences. It’s a growing climate of fear.
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"Lopez Obrador chooses to rage rather than engage. He shirks away from the difficult process of meaningfully reforming and strengthening Mexico’s institutions. He continues to campaign rather than actually govern.".
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Zulma Gonzalez is 12, has type I diabetes, and wanted a vaccine. Mexico's government wouldn't let her. So she uploaded a video challenging Mexico's coronavirus czar over vaccine policy. Then things got wild. via @WSJ.
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Baby'O is arguably Mexico's most famous disco. It was torched this week by a gang, presumably as a message to a new Acapulco mayor or part of broader extortion scheme or both. Mexico's president this morning said we couldn't assume it was organized crime. Video says otherwise.
Incendio en el Baby O fue provocado. Este video lo demuestra. ¿Por qué lo niega @lopezobrador_?. ¿O no estaba enterado?. ¿Para qué sirven las reuniones del gabinete de seguridad?. Como dijo @LillyTellez: para tomar café y despertar👇. vía @ClaudioOchoaH.
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As if cancelling new oil auctions, the Mexico City airport, and Constellation brewery weren't enough, Mexico's gov't now halts testing of solar and wind plants to give more power to state utility. It affects some $6.4 billion in investment. via @WSJ.
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A fascinating man died today - the creator of Latin America's most beloved comic strip Mafalda. For those of you that don't know Mafalda or Quino, her creator, here's a little gem, which I'll translate in the next few tweets. (1/4)
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Mexico's president @lopezobrador_ says the world's newspapers are lying about Mexico in the pandemic, as the country's number of cases and deaths climbs.
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This is all sensible stuff from Mexico's coronavirus czar, who warns that resuming activities too quickly after ending lockdown could cause a rebound in cases. Only problem is, Mexico hasn't managed to reverse growth in new cases. Risk isn't rebound -- it's accelerated growth.
Al término de la Jornada Nacional de Sana Distancia es posible que exista un rebrote; el tamaño lo determinará la cantidad de personas que regresen al espacio público. Mañana daremos detalles relacionados con la implantación del semáforo de riesgo epidemiológico.
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A 13-year-old, having watched his mom get murdered by Mexican cartel members, took six siblings to safety in the woods and walked five hours for help. What a brave guy. My heart breaks for him and his siblings. via @WSJ.
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El hombre que hizo llorar a un país. Vale la pena ver el mensaje de Daniel Habif a los Venezolanos, ya a Maduro. via @YouTube.
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Mexico ranks dead last in Latin America in terms of testing per 100K residents. And as most experts will tell you, it's not a good idea to reopen if you don't have widespread testing to guide you where it's safe or not.
What countries in Latin America are conducting the most COVID-19 tests?. Where is the recovery rate highest?. Which country has the highest rate of cases per inhabitants? (It's not Brazil.). We break down the numbers each country reported as of mid-May.
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Good point. When Bolivia's Evo Morales won a controversial election that the opposition claimed was fraudulent (with actual evidence), Mexico's AMLO didn't hesitate to congratulate Evo. But in the US election, he wants to wait.
Cuando se trataba de reconocer (perdón: “felicitar”) a Evo Morales no imperó precisamente la prudencia. En fin. Es lo que hay.
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The courage being shown in the Ukraine right now is the type of heroism we see in the West — only in our movies. Wish our leaders were half as brave.
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Vaya, que gran ensayo sobre el populismo en America Latina. Todos deberían leerlo y reflexionar.
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Honestamente, algo que quiero mucho de México es su gran sentido de humor - a pesar de las tragedias constantes que vive el país.
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THREAD: Mexico's gov't of Lopez Obrador wants to jail 31 eminent scientists - from astrophysicists to microbiologists - in a max security federal prison that housed "El Chapo" Guzman and still holds some of country's most dangerous criminals. via @WSJ.
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If Mexico's traditional parties like the PRI, PAN and PRD are heading for a historic defeat, their endemic corruption, incestousness and incompetence make it hard to feel too sorry for them. We'll see if what comes next is any better.
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Why Mexico needs to preserve the independence of its INE elections agency in one short video. Today, Mexico’s ruling party held its internal elections (without the INE). Didn’t go well.
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This video appears to show cartel gunmen fully in control of a situation where army soldiers in Culiacán are outnumbered and outgunned. What's it going to take for Mexico to take security more seriously? It still only spends a fraction of countries like Colombia, and it shows.
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También admito que siento que tengo el derecho de a veces criticar esta región porque también es mía - yo nací y crecí en México. Y aunque me vea 100% gringo, parte de mi alma y carácter también es latino, a pesar de mis faltas de gramática que me apenan. Adoro esta región.
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Yikes. Crédit Suisse now predicts real GDP decline for Mexico this year of 9.6%.
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This is why I worry about Brazil, Mexico and India. None have managed to bend the curve down.
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The level of corruption in Mexico is truly sickening, and frankly discouraging.
Mexico's former defense minister under ex president Enrique Pena Nieto was arrested in Los Angeles airport today, Mexico confirms. A big scandal is breaking. .
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I'm a big fan of @Reforma, because I know how much they did to change Mexican journalism, but whenever I need a reminder of why the 4T won so many votes, I just check Club magazine.
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For the first time in the pandemic, Mexico's official daily avg deaths have overtaken Brazil. And bear in mind, Mexico does FAR less testing, so is missing many Covid deaths.
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Mexico gov't says it's avoiding stronger steps against coronavirus to protect economy. A Mexican doctor in Atlanta says: “Pandemics always have an economic cost, but if we wait in order to implement measures to slow them, the cost will always be higher."
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Doesn't sound like AMLO's letter had much impact.
Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades. Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done!.
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