{"id":19298,"date":"2026-06-05T12:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T18:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/miranda-partners.com\/news-and-content\/miranda-intelligence\/foreign-press-chatter\/mis-mexico-foreign-press-chatter-may-29-2025\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T21:35:37","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T03:35:37","slug":"mis-mexico-foreign-press-chatter-may-29-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miranda-partners.com\/es\/news-and-content\/miranda-intelligence\/foreign-press-chatter\/mis-mexico-foreign-press-chatter-may-29-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"MI\u2019s Mexico Foreign Press Chatter \u2013 May 29, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Top stories on Mexico<\/strong><\/h4>

A lengthy Reuters investigation into fuel smuggling networks this week demonstrates that while corruption is the spectre haunting Mexican politics, it\u2019s not all happening on this side of the border. Tracking a paper trail from a Canadian diesel shipment to a Houston-based petroleum trader, the report \u2014 a follow-up to the outlet\u2019s October investigation \u2014 reveals the mechanics of an elaborate tax evasion scheme. The CJNG \u201chas mastered the use of tankers to smuggle fuel to Mexico,\u201d Reuters found, with \u201cU.S. players helping,\u201d making fuel smuggling and theft the cartels\u2019 second-biggest source of income. Mexican authorities have so far arrested 16 people, including figures in the upper echelons of the Navy; U.S. federal authorities raided Houston trader Ikon Midstream\u2019s headquarters last month.<\/p>

Corruption was also the headline in Bloomberg, where a new AtlasIntel poll found it dragging down public confidence in the Sheinbaum administration. The fuel smuggling scandal \u2014 and more immediately, the US indictments of Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and other public officials \u2014 has been cited as one of the reasons for the shift in public opinion. Today, 62 per cent say corruption is Mexico\u2019s biggest problem, the highest percentage so far in Sheinbaum\u2019s term. But corruption is slippery in the realm of public opinion: exposure brings negative attention, even as it should, in theory, bring accountability and justice. The problem is no less real when it hides quietly in the shadows \u2014 it\u2019s just easier to pretend it isn\u2019t there.<\/p>

The New York Times covered a Human Rights Watch report on the deportation of Cubans from the U.S. to Mexico and the dire conditions many of them live in, while anxiety about the Trump administration\u2019s sweeping review of Mexican consulates (possibly driven by a right-wing commentator who claims they act subversively against the U.S. government) was covered in AP.<\/p>

Carlos Slim\u2019s annual press conference is always carefully watched and analysed in Mexico\u2019s business community and this year, while he continued to project optimism by announcing $5 billion in investment, he also described the Pemex Lakach oil field project as \u201cirrational\u201d and pulled back on new investment partnerships with the oil company.<\/p>

The kickoff of USMCA negotiations was widely reported this week, though for now, it\u2019s just the USM. The U.S. and Mexico scheduled three rounds of bilateral talks beginning this weekend, but Canada was not included (PM Carney came out Thursday with statements stressing Canadian support of \u201cFortress North America\u201d). Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard identified US tariffs of 50% on Mexican steel and aluminium as a major concern for Mexico heading into the talks, with the automotive sector also a central priority in the first round.<\/p>

As the trade talks began, all-time highs in Mexican exports to the U.S. were reported for April at $72 billion (up 33 per cent). However, economists cited in Bloomberg warn that the surge masks a shift toward lower-value goods that require little domestic processing, rather than the high-skilled, high-wage manufacturing Mexico has been trying to build.<\/p>

World Cup fever continues to spread in foreign press coverage this week. Bloomberg went back to the \u201cdilapidated\u201d Benito Ju\u00e1rez airport for more updates on the frantic $581 million renovation before an expected one million fans arrive for the tournament; AP reported on the intensive early training camp implemented by El Tri\u2019s coach, Javier Aguirre; and various outlets covered the announcement that Mexico has agreed to host Iran\u2019s national team, which is scheduled to play three games in the U.S. AP also profiled the \u201cmisty silver mining town\u201d of Pachuca, where Cornish miners introduced modern organised football to Mexico in the late 19th century.<\/p>

Blogs destacados en ingl\u00e9s sobre M\u00e9xico<\/strong><\/h3>

Ioan Grillo published a hot story on CrashOut this week on how cartels are preparing for the World Cup \u2014 issuing \u201cstrict orders\u201d to leave tourists and participants alone \u2014 as reported to him by security officials and cartel affiliates, one of whom said: \u201cThey don\u2019t want problems for the World Cup. Some of them [the narcos] want to go to the games themselves or have parties to watch the Mexican team.\u201d In Mexico Decoded, Viri R\u00edos wrote a \u201crespectful dissent\u201d pushing back on a piece that argues Mexico should aim for annual reviews of the USMCA rather than the long-term extension. R\u00edos says this risks \u201cunderestimating the costs that could come from renegotiating the treaty every year\u201d and pins too much hope on negotiating a better deal with a future return of a Democrat to the White House. The Mexico Political Economist analysed Mexico\u2019s two primary sources of foreign currency inflows, FDI and remittances, and argued that it\u2019s time for FDI to \u201cpick up the slack\u201d left by remittances, which have been slowed since the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown. And Miranda Intelligence\u2019s daily Substack covered key developments in energy, fintech, public affairs and politics in Mexico.<\/p>