Episode notes
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Kenneth Smith Ramos, former Chief Negotiator of USMCA from the Mexican side and partner of AGON, about how the Constitutional Reforms proposed by President Lopez Obrador might weaken Mexico’s judiciary and in doing so, impact the key principles of USMCA and other trade agreements such as impartiality, transparency, and nondiscriminatory practices. They also discuss measures North America could take to defend itself against predatory practices and the facts behind recent Chinese investments in Mexico. And, they speak about the upcoming 2026 mandatory…
Podcast
Mexico Matters
Center for Strategic and International Studies · News · English
The Mexico Matters podcast series highlights key developments in Mexico and their impact on the United States. Produced by Marla Hiller.
More from Mexico Matters All episodes →
-
9 Dec 2024 · 36 min
Trump is Not The Enemy, Narcos Is
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. She is the director of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors. She is also the co-director of the Brookings series on opioids: “The Opioid Crisis in America: Domestic and International Dimensions. They discuss the unprecedented epidemic caused by the synthetic drug revolution and the role that Mexican cartels have played in driving this crisis, bankrolled by Chinese money laundering organizations. They also…
-
4 Nov 2024 · 47 min
Trump vs Harris: Who is best for what?
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Alan Stoga, Chairman of the Tallberg Foundation and Host of the New Thinking for a New World podcast, about the importance of the U.S. elections, the state of U.S. politics and about the difference in trade, migration and economic policies of the two candidates. They also discuss the impact of the different policies could have in Mexico and the space Mexico’s new President, Claudia Sheinbaum, will have to navigate under each of the two candidates.
-
14 Oct 2024 · 41 min
Wait and See
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Carlos Peyrelongue, head of Mexico Equity Research for Bank of America, about the state of the country that President Claudia Sheinbaum has inherited from her predecessor, about the parting gift he left—a judicial reform that weakens certainty and the rule of law, and about how the markets will read certain markers to determine whether or not she will rule based on data or ideology. They also discuss the measures she will need to take in order to create the necessary conditions to attract investments to grow, to fund the country’s infrastructure needs, as…
-
2 Oct 2024 · 44 min
Picking Winners and Losers
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Alejandra Palacios, former head of Mexico’s antitrust agency, COFECE, and Andrea Durkin, VP for international policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), about the controversial constitutional judicial reform passed by Mexico's Congress, which makes Mexico the only country in the world where the entire judicial branch, including the Supreme Court, stands for election. They also discuss the government’s proposal to incorporate various regulatory agencies into the federal government, a move that could undermine their independence and increase…
-
15 Aug 2024 · 40 min
Keep those Plates Spinning in the Air
On this episode, Mariana speaks with General David Petraeus, former CIA Director, Retired Army General, Partner of KKR and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, about the major and minor challenges occurring around the world that require the attention of the United States while, at the same time, the US needs to focus on strengthening its own competitive profile to compete against China. They also discuss how some of these global trends (nearshoring and frienshoring) have the potential to benefit Mexico if—and only if—Mexico works to create the necessary conditions to attract investment.…
-
24 Jun 2024 · 33 min
It's More Than Grit: Moving the Economic Needle
In this crossover with It's More Than Grit: The Making of an Entrepreneur, a new podcast from CSIS, Linda Rottenberg, Co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, joins Mariana Campero and co-host Andrew Schwartz for a discussion on Linda’s journey to Endeavor. She highlights the qualities of a good entrepreneur and the regions she is most optimistic about. As a leader of the global entrepreneurship movement, Linda also shares advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Linda Rottenberg is one of the world’s premier voices on global entrepreneurship, technology, and business transformation. As Co-founder and CEO…
-
12 Jun 2024 · 44 min
Power is the Greatest Aphrodisiac
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Carlos Elizondo Mayer-Serra, a political science expert from Monterrey Tec, about Claudia Sheinbaum’s landslide victory in the Mexican elections and explains why the financial markets negatively reacted to such a victory. They also discuss the Constitutional changes that President Lopez Obrador and his Morena party might try to pass now that they have the necessary votes, and the potential impact of those reforms on Claudia’s presidency. They stress the various dilemmas Claudia will face while squaring the circle of achieving greater economic growth vs.…
-
16 May 2024 · 44 min
Mexico Imposes Tariffs on China
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Juan Carlos Baker, former USMCA negotiator on the Mexican side and CEO of Ansley International Consultants, about the facts behind the recent Chinese investment announcements in Mexico, about what prompted Mexico to increase tariffs on more than 500 Chinese goods, and what Mexico, the U.S. and Canada should be doing now to prepare for the upcoming 2026 review of USMCA.
-
18 Apr 2024 · 37 min
To Be More or Not to Be North American: That is the Question
In this episode, Mariana is joined by Luis de la Calle, an international economist, former NAFTA negotiator and CEO of CMM; and Martin Castellanos, head of Latam research at the IIF. They discuss the potential economic and policy implications of the June 2nd presidential elections and describe the optimism vis-a-vis Mexico among the investor community. They dive into the economic realities that exist today to determine whether that optimism is justified or not. They also discuss future risks and analyze the various policy consequences of the upcoming elections. They describe two potential…
-
25 Mar 2024 · 28 min
Americans Are Migrating to Mexico Too
In this episode, Mariana speaks with Tamanna and Travis Bembenek, owners of the Mexico News Daily about the other side of the migration coin: the millions of Americans (and other nationalities) migrating to Mexico to live, work, or start a business and the impact they are having in the local communities. They discuss the challenges and opportunities of starting a new business in Mexico, the importance for the Mexican government to expedite work visas to allow for the technology ecosystem to grow, and the challenges/opportunities they see as business owners. They also talk about how…
Take it with you
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
