May 172022
Mar 152022
The answer appears to be a resounding “No!” This article in the Guardian explains why: Sun sets on Mexico’s paradise beaches as climate crisis hits home And what’s true for Cancún is likely to be true for almost all the beaches in Quintana Roo along Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Related posts: Can Mexico’s Environmental Agency protect […]
Dec 172021
Christmas festivities in Mexico are not just a one-day wonder but extend over several weeks, and are already well underway! Nativity scenes such as this one are popular with all ages: Unlike in many other countries, the custom of gift-giving at this time of year was not tied to Christmas Day but to Three Kings […]
The impacts of the US border wall with Mexico
Books and resources, Teaching ideas
Comments Off on The impacts of the US border wall with Mexico
Jan 162021
This Guardian article – ‘My neighbourhood is being destroyed to pacify his supporters’: the race to complete Trump’s wall – highlights the problems created (not solved) by US efforts to build a wall along its southern border. For what it’s worth, here is my own take on the wall, written a few years ago as […]
Nov 262020
We have frequently published international comparisons showing how Mexico fares in comparison with other Latin American countries and major world economies for a wide variety of indicators. Reliable comparisons for comparing countries on their Covid-19 response have been hard to come by, but here is a link to one compiled by Bloomberg News: Where is […]
Many of the key ingredients of American Thanksgiving come from Mexico!
Other
Comments Off on Many of the key ingredients of American Thanksgiving come from Mexico!
Nov 242020
Happy Thanksgiving to all our American readers! Try the following links to learn more about Mexico’s contributions to Thanksgiving. For starters, what about the idea that Thanksgiving originated in Mexico, not in the USA! That idea may be slightly controversial, but most celebrations of Thanksgiving certainly have some close ties to Mexico since they are […]
The transformation of Chapala from fishing village to international tourist destination
Other
Comments Off on The transformation of Chapala from fishing village to international tourist destination
Sep 032020
The town of Chapala, on the shores of Lake Chapala—Mexico’s largest natural lake—played an important role in the history of tourism in North America and has become one of the world’s premier retirement destinations. Yet, the details of how and why this transformation occurred have never been adequately reconstructed… until now! My latest book If […]
Apr 112020
This early postcard (cerca 1905) shows smoke billowing from Colima Volcano. The postcard was published by a curio store – La Joyita – based in downtown Mexico City at 1ra de San Francisco #13-14. Described by The Mexican Herald in 1898 as one “of the most interesting stores for visitors to be found in the […]
Review of “Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty”
Books and resources, Mexico's geography in the Press
Comments Off on Review of “Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty”
Oct 292019
In honor of the award of the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty, we republish this post from five years ago in which we highlighted the significance of the pioneering work of Banerjee and Duflo: Every so often a book […]
Mexico mis-map #1: Mazatlán Tourist Brochure
Other
Comments Off on Mexico mis-map #1: Mazatlán Tourist Brochure
Sep 092019
Graphic designers often taken liberties with maps. Nowhere is this more apparent than in this otherwise beautiful tourism brochure promoting the Pacific Coast resort of Mazatlán, collected recently in British Colombia, Canada. Here is the map in question: Mexico’s relief, as shown on this map, is highly distorted. Accepting that the graphical designer was only […]