‘Unbelievably Unequal’: Report Shows How 1% of Mexicans Own 40% of Country’s Wealth

THE GUARDIAN: Fortunes of the country’s 22 billionaires doubled in last five years, reaching unprecedented collective wealth of $219bn

Scrunched between luxury apartment buildings and a lush gated community, the neighborhood of Santa Lucía Reacomodo in Mexico City is a working-class pocket of real estate. Electrical wires tangle above cinder-block houses, stray cats slink down narrow streets, debris piles up on the pavement.

María del Socorro Corona, 79, arrived here decades ago, back when it was just a cactus-covered hillside. The two-bedroom turquoise house she built with her now-deceased husband is crammed with bags of clothes and knick-knacks she sells at a weekly market.

“I have to make money,” she said, “or I won’t eat.”

While most people built their homes here in the 80s and 90s, the area really started to change about 20 years ago, Corona said, when the government constructed a bridge connecting Mexico City to the high-end business district of Santa Fe nearby. Foreigners came wanting to buy up their land, but none of the neighbors wanted to sell.

“So now the rich are over there,” she said, pointing at one of the looming luxury apartment buildings: row upon row of glass balconies with carefully manicured hedges. “And the poor are over here.”

The stark contrast in this little enclave of the capital is a microcosm of a problem that has plagued Mexico for decades: rampant income inequality, with a small slice of the population living in opulence while millions of families languish in poverty.

“Mexico is unbelievably unequal – it’s almost inconceivable,” said Viri Ríos, a public policy expert and director of Mexico Decoded. “Inequality in our country has been around for centuries: we’ve just grown accustomed to living this way.” » | Oscar Lopez in Mexico City | Thursday, March 12, 2026

Cuba Receives Humanitarian Aid from Mexico as Trump’s Blockade Bites

Feb 12, 2026 | Humanitarian aid from Mexico has arrived in Havana, as Cuba continues to struggle under what amounts to a fuel blockade by the Trump administration.

Is President Donald Trump Using Tariffs as a Negotiating Tactic? | Inside Story

Feb 4, 2025 | US President Donald Trump's tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico are on hold for a month. But US levies on Chinese products have gone into effect - and Beijing has hit back with duties of its own. It accuses Washington of unilateralism and has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization. President Trump says America has been ripped off by 'every country in the world'. So, are tariffs the answer? And at what cost?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:
Dmitry Grozoubinski -- Director of ExplainTrade - a trade policy and negotiations consultancy
Greg Swenson -- Founding Partner of the investment banking firm, Brigg Macadam
Gavin Fridell -- Professor of Political Science and Global Development Studies at Saint Mary's University in Canada

Tit-for-tat Tariffs: Did Trump Just Start a Trade War? | DW News

Feb 2, 2025 | US President Donald Trump has followed through on his tariff threats. He has signed an order to levy 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. He also set tariffs of 10 percent on Chinese goods. The measures are due to come into force on Tuesday. The announcement has provoked immediate reactions from the countries concerned.

Trump Gets Rude Awakening as Tariffs Backfire

Feb 2, 2025 | MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump getting hit with a massive retaliation by Mexico and Canada for the tariffs Trump had the USA impose on them.

Canada and Mexico Hit Back as President Trump Imposes Huge Tariffs | BBC News

Feb 2, 2025 | US President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on all goods imported from America's three largest trading partners, China, Mexico and Canada.

Trump said the US would impose tariffs beginning on Tuesday of 25% on Canada and Mexico as well as an additional 10% tax on China. Canadian energy faces a lower 10% tariff.

He had threatened to impose the import taxes if the three countries did not address his concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Both Canada and Mexico said they were preparing retaliatory tariffs of their own.

Trump Signs Order Authorizing Tariffs on Goods from Canada, Mexico and China

THE GUARDIAN: Decision could set the stage for a damaging trade war between the US and three of its top trade partners

Donald Trump has signed an order authorizing tariffs after vowing to impose dramatic taxes on goods from Canada, Mexico and China starting this weekend.

The decision could set the stage for a damaging trade war between the US and three of its top trade partners. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs against European Union nations.

Trump signed three executive orders on Saturday imposing tariffs of 25% on all goods from Mexico and Canada, the New York Times reported. Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Canadian oil exports, as well as a 10% tariff on items from China.

Trump is imposing the tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Authorities have nodded to worries about fentanyl coming in to the US through this county’s borders with Canada and Mexico, produced from Chinese ingredients, according to the Times.

Trump’s decision to levy a 10% tariff rate on Canadian energy products seems to be some sort of recognition that tariffs can spur higher prices. The White House has contended that tariffs will not fan the flames of inflation. » | Victoria Beklempis | Saturday, February 1, 2025

THE NEW YORK TIMES:

Trump Signs Orders Imposing Steep Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China »

'Cognitively Declining' Trump Faces Economic Chaos as Tariffs Backfire | Diane Francis

Feb 1, 2025 | "It was frighteningly rambling and he repeated himself, to me it looked like cognitive decline." US and Canadian markets were thrown into chaos by Trump's confused launch of tariffs against Canada and Mexico, says Editor at Large of the National Post Diane Francis on The Trump Report for Times Radio.

Trump to Impose Tariffs on Imports from Canada, Mexico and China

THE GUARDIAN: US neighbors hit with 25% tariff and China with 10% as Trudeau pledges ‘forceful but reasonable’ response

Donald Trump has vowed to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China starting this weekend, potentially setting the stage for a damaging trade war between the US and three of its biggest trading partners. Trump also threatened to follow up with a further wave of tariffs against the European Union.

Goods exported from Canada and Mexico to the US will be hit with a 25% tariff, while products from China face a 10% levy, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters on Friday. (+ video) » | Callum Jones in New York, Leyland Cecco in Toronto, Thomas Graham in Mexico City and George Chidi | Friday, January 31, 2025

Is Trump Right about the Canadian Border? | About That

Dec 5, 2024 | U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and his incoming border czar claim their country's northern border with Canada is a threat to national security. Andrew Chang breaks down the basis of the claims about drugs and illegal migrants streaming into the country from Canada, and to what extent they're true.

Mexico’s President Raises Prospect of Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Goods

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to President-elect Trump’s threat to impose high tariffs, saying such a move would inflict damage on both countries.

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, hit back on Tuesday morning at President-elect Trump’s vow to impose 25 percent tariffs on all products coming into the United States from Mexico, signaling that her country was prepared to respond with retaliatory tariffs of its own.

Ms. Sheinbaum also said that raising tariffs would fail to curb illegal migration or the consumption of illicit drugs in the United States, an argument that Mr. Trump had made in his warning on tariffs.

“The best path is dialogue,” Ms. Sheinbaum said at her daily news conference, calling for negotiations with the incoming Trump administration while laying out steps that Mexico has already taken to assuage some of Mr. Trump’s concerns.

Ms. Sheinbaum, reading from a letter she is planning to send to Mr. Trump, noted that illegal crossings at the border between Mexico and the United States had plunged from December 2023 to November 2024, largely as a result of Mexico’s own efforts to stem migration flows within its own territory. » | Simon Romero | Simon Romero reports on Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean | Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Leer en español:

La presidenta de México responde a la amenaza de aranceles de Trump: La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum leyó el martes una carta destinada al presidente electo Donald Trump en la que habló de las medidas que tomaría su país en respuesta. »

THE WASHINGTON POST:

Trump’s ‘America First’ bullying is back: President-elect Donald Trump isn’t wasting time setting the stage for his second term, with plans for tariffs on goods from Mexico, China and Canada. »

Donald Trump Defends Tariffs on Mexico as Stock Markets Reel

THE GUARDIAN: After 5% tariff announced, president tweets ‘Mexico has taken advantage of the US for decades’

Donald Trump has defended his decision to impose new tariffs on Mexico as stock markets worldwide were rattled by fears of an escalation in trade tensions.

“Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades,” Trump tweeted. “Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexicomakes 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!”

On Thursday Trump announced that he was placing a 5% tariff on “every single good coming into the United States from Mexico” starting on 10 June, to pressure the country to do more to curb immigration into the US.

The tariffs will rise by 5% each month until it reaches 25% in October if the number of people crossing the border doesn’t “come down substantially”, the White House acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, said. » | Dominic Rushe in New York, Lauren Gambino in Washington, and David Agren in Mexico City | Friday, May 21, 2019

Markets Shaken as Trump Announces Shock Mexico Tariffs – Business Live

THE GUARDIAN: As we approach midday in London the major European stock markets are all in the red.

The FTSE 100 is down by 71 points, or 1%, at 7,146 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 is down by 0.9%.

Germany’s Dax and Italy’s FTSE MIB were the hardest hit of the major indices, down by 1.8% each. » | Jasper Jolly | Friday, May 31, 2019

US to Impose Steel, Aluminium Tariffs on EU, Canada, Mexico

Mexico: Protests Rage as Petrol Prices Shoot Up 20%

Mexicans have demonstrated for a fifth-straight day against a sudden increase in the cost of fuel. Government deregulation has sent prices surging more than 20 percent since January 1.

The latest protest follows a night of widespread looting across several cities with hundreds of stores ransacked.

Al Jazeera’s John Holman reports from Mexico City.

Trump Presidency: Does Mexico Have Its Back to the Wall? (Parts 1 & 2)

Germany Set to Allow Eurozone Bailout Fund to Buy Troubled Countries' Debt
THE GUARDIAN: Angela Merkel poised to remove opposition to direct lending by rescue fund in move seen as step towards sharing debt burden

Angela Merkel is poised to allow the eurozone's €750bn (£605bn) bailout fund to buy up the bonds of crisis-hit governments in a desperate effort to drive down borrowing costs for Spain and Italy and prevent the single currency from imploding.

Germany has long opposed allowing the eurozone's rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, to lend directly to troubled eurozone countries, fearing that Berlin would end up paying the bill, and the beneficiaries would escape the strict conditions imposed on Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

But Merkel has come under intense pressure as financial markets have pushed up borrowing costs for Spain to levels that many analysts see as unsustainable.

Analysts are likely to see the decision as the first step towards sharing the burden of troubled countries' debts across the single currency's 17 members, though it falls short of the "eurobonds" proposed by the European commission president, José Manuel Barroso.

A spokeswoman for Merkel said: "Nothing has been decided yet." » | Patrick Wintour in Los Cabos | Tuesday, June 19, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Germany surrenders over eurozone bailout fund: All the financial firepower Europe can muster will be used to drive down Spain's borrowing costs – that, at least, is the talk » | Larry Elliott, economic editor | Tuesday, June 19, 2012

G20 Summit: Barroso Blames Eurozone Crisis On US Banks
THE GUARDIAN: EC president says European leaders have not come to Mexico to receive lessons on how to handle the economy

The opening day of the G20 summit was threatening to deteriorate into a fractious row between eurozone countries and other non-European members of the G20, notably the US, as EU commission president José Manuel Barroso insisted the origins of the eurozone crisis lay in the unorthodox policies of American capitalism.

As Europe's leaders came under intense pressure to act decisively to cure the euro's ills, and a campaign gathered pace to relax some of the austerity programmes laying waste to countries burdened with unsustainable debt levels, Barroso insisted that Europe had not come to the G20 summit in Mexico to receive lessons on how to handle the economy.

When asked by a Canadian journalist "why should North Americans risk their assets to help Europe?" he replied: "Frankly, we are not here to receive lessons in terms of democracy or in terms of how to handle the economy.

"By the way this crisis was not originated in Europe … seeing as you mention North America, this crisis originated in North America and much of our financial sector was contaminated by, how can I put it, unorthodox practices, from some sectors of the financial market." » | Patrick Wintour in Los Cabos, Ian Traynor in Brussels and Helena Smith in Athens | Monday, June 18, 2012

Mexico's Carlos Slim Wrests World's Richest Man Title from Bill Gates: Forbes' List
THE TELEGRAPH: Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has stripped Bill Gates of his crown as the world’s richest man, as Latin American and Asian entrepreneurs begin to outpace the US and Europe when it comes to wealth creation.

Carlos Slim Helu [sic] (left) is the world's richest man, with a fortune of $53.5bn (£35.7bn). The Mexican made his money in the telecoms industry. He was in third place last year, and leapfrogged Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to take the top spot. Photograph: The Telegraph
Mr Slim, with a fortune of $53.5bn (£36bn) from his investment in telecoms and banking in Latin America, is worth $500m more than Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, according to the just-released Forbes annual billionaires survey.

It is the first time in 16 years that a non-American has taken the top spot, with the Mexican, who saw his wealth increase by $18.5bn in the year, following in the footsteps of the Rausing Brothers in 1994.

But Mr Slim’s rise to the top is part of a much wider trend in the annual Forbes list – that of the rise of dollar billionaires from developing nations at the expense of those from more traditional wealthier countries.

Although the US still has the most billionaires on the list – some 403 with a combined net worth of $1.1 trillion – their hold is beginning to loosen, accounting for 40pc of the world’s billionaires in the latest list compared to 45pc last year.

At the same time, countries such as China, Turkey, Russia, Brazil and Argentina have all seen a significant rise in the number of billionaires. Pakistan now has its first billionaire in the shape of Mian Muhammad Mansha, who owns the country’s MCB Bank.

China is now home to 64 billionaires – the most of any country outside the US – with 27 of them reaching the $1bn mark for the first time. >>> James Quinn, US Business Editor | Wednesday, March 10, 2010

AM Report: Who is Carlos Slim?

Mexico in Danger of Collapse, Says US Army
THE TELEGRAPH: America may be forced to intervene in Mexico to prevent the country's "rapid and sudden collapse" at the hands of organised crime and drug cartels, according to the US army.

A report on the "Joint Operating Environment", compiled by the army's high command, places Mexico alongside Pakistan as a possible failed state of the future. America, which shares a 2,000 mile border with Mexico, would be the obvious destination for massive refugee flows if its neighbour descended into civil war.

President Felipe Calderon has deployed Mexico's army in a new offensive against organised crime. This battle against four major drug cartels, along with a myriad of local syndicates, claimed the lives of 5,367 members of the security forces or suspected criminals last year alone.

"Two large and important states bear consideration for rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico," reads the US army's report. >>> By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor | Friday, January 16, 2009

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