Musicians from the NK Banda dance and play on the beach in Tijuana. The border wall separating Mexico and the USA can be seen in the background
Photo: José María Cárdenas Camacho
A country of contrasts, Mexico’s beauty and culture attract floods of tourists every year, while its internationally beloved cuisine and music fuse indigenous with European and African influences.
At the same time, the nation is rife with brutal drug cartels and its border with the USA is a risky international migration route, as the writer Yael Weiss describes in her report on daily life in Tijuana.
Mexican women in particular bear the brunt of the nation’s turmoil - but they are putting up a fight. Feminist collectives such as the journalistic platform CIMAC or the Zapotec politician and activist Eufrosina Mendoza Cruz strive to improve the outlook for women.
Musician and DJ Paulina Sotomayor airs her playlist of records about female empowerment. And we hear about the daily life of the grassroots activist Irma Arellanes Hernández, just one of thousands tirelessly searching for their disappeared loved ones.
Many Mexicans are facing water shortages. Journalist Aitor Sáez writes that this is not only due to climate change, but also the failure of local authorities to respond to the emergency.
On 1 October 2024, the new President Claudia Sheinbaum will take office - and will face the task of combating widespread violence and corruption. In this interview, sociologist Zulia Orozco Reynoso and her colleague Carlos Antonio Flores-Pérez discuss the deep roots of the issues she faces.
How can Mexico move forwards? And what can we learn from the unwavering resilience of its inhabitants?
September 2024
“Mexico’s history is extremely complex. Reducing everything to narcos and crime is too simple”
