An uncountable number of years ago when I was a much younger version of myself, I moved from my native California to Florida. Those youthful years I spent on the Gulf of Mexico were probably the best years of my young life: tropical breezes, warm nights, endless beaches, a true laid back culture seemingly untouched by the left-coast always-on need to make money. I had a dream job, working on boats outside in the sunshine every day. For me, it was somewhat idyllic. Alas, one cannot remain a beach bum forever, and I returned to California to continue with my “education” ?. But I digress. One ..read more

Cats staking out a garden in Mexico’s Palacio Nacional Mexico’s president - Andrés Manuel López Obrador - will be leaving office this October. In Mexico, a president’s time in office is limited to a single 6-year term. Due to the popularity of the Morena party - which is López Obrador’s party - and the fact that the leading candidate for succeeding López Obrador is his hand-picked ally Claudia Sheinbaum - many believe that Mexico’s next administration will foster a continuation of the current administration’s policies and agendas. But this is politics, and anything can happen. So to ensure t ..read more

First page of Mexico’s legal complaint against Arizona gun shops Last August, I wrote an article about two lawsuits that the Mexican government had brought against firearm distributors and manufacturers in the United States. This is an update on the status of those lawsuits. Saved by Appeal The larger of the two cases is a $10 billion USD suit brought by Mexico’s government against firearm manufacturers. Mexico contends that manufacturers such as Smith & Wesson Brands and Sturm, Ruger & Co. are unlawfully facilitating the trafficking of weapons from the U.S. into Mexico through negli ..read more

The massive array of solar panels atop Mexico City’s Central de Abasto In a city defined by superlatives, it is no surprise that Mexico City’s main wholesale market is the largest of its kind in the world. The Central de Abasto is Mexico City’s primary vegetable, fruit, and meat market. The market itself occupies about 210 acres in the neighborhood of Iztapalapa, along the eastern border of Mexico City. The market hosts about 300,000 people per day - mostly conducting business between market wholesalers and their retail clients, but with a mix of direct to consumer retail as well. But this i ..read more

Walking the streets of most towns and cities in Mexico, one might come to the conclusion that animal welfare is either an afterthought or a completely absent concept here. Of the roughly 23 million dogs and cats in Mexico, a whopping 70% live on the streets, making their way through the kindness of neighbors and discarded scraps of food from homes and restaurants. It can be a very sad and disheartening experience to witness all of these street animals, many suffering from malnutrition, flea and tick infestations, injuries, and disease. Generally speaking, in Mexico one finds a different set ..read more

Statue of Francisco I. Madero in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Photograph by Carlos Perez Chavez, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53003068 This is the third and (mercifully) the final installment in the 3-part miniseries on the life and times of Francisco Madero. If you missed the first and/or second parts, you can find them here and here. Also, I want to acknowledge that it has been at least a few weeks since my last post - sorry for the delay; I hadn’t lost interest, merely time. With that, let’s jump right in where we last left off. The ..read more

Francisco Madero (seated, 5th from left) and other notable leaders (including Pancho Villa) of the Mexican Revolution This is the second and penultimate of the epic (?) 3-part miniseries on the life and times of Francisco Madero 1. If you missed the first part, it is just a tap/click away. So let’s fast forward a few years past the leaving off point of Part 1. Madero, as the overreaches of the Porfirio Diaz dynasty began to really take a toll, started what was termed an antireelectionsit campaign in Mexico. His radical idea was that a president of Mexico should - after having been elected ..read more

In 2024, major elections will be held across the globe, in countries that combined represent half of the world’s population. Seven of the most populous nations in the world will hold elections this year. One discouraging characteristic of many of the world’s elections is the rising popularity of authoritarian leadership and the demise of representative types of governments - what we commonly refer to as democracy. Indeed, even in the modern world’s greatest defender, champion, and role model of democracy - the United States - this year’s U.S. election may see that founding principle meet an ..read more

“Bullfights in Tijuana!” I remember hearing these ringing advertisements on the radio and television when I was growing up in San Diego, California. Back then, the ads were so ubiquitous, the refrain became an earworm - a jingle I will never forget, and will always associate with the San Diego of my youth. My grandfather was a bullfighting fan, and he’d go down to Tijuana’s grand Plaza Monumental to enjoy the spectacle and cheer for his favorite matadores. He never took me, but I know he wanted to. I suspect my parents probably forbade me going. I’ve never been to a bullfight, despite that ..read more

A little over a year ago, I created this newsletter. I had intended to ring in this new year with this post - a reflection on that beginning and the year that has elapsed since. But I’ve been floored with whatever seasonal cold/flu is making the rounds these days, and didn’t have the energy to write. So, sorry for the dely, but without further ado... My introductory Mexico Listo article appeared on December 29, 2022 - so as of today, Mexico Listo is 1 year and a dozen days old. My ambitions with this newsletter have evolved a bit, which is only natural as one begins to stretch one’s legs an ..read more