El Taller: The Real Story of the Tren Maya
In this episode of El Taller, Kurt Hackbarth and José Luis Granados Ceja speak with Professor Etienne von Bertrab of University College London about his new graphic-book Más allá: una historia del Tren Maya. Von Bertrab explains how the book emerged from frustration with academic publishing and a desire to bring rigorous, balanced research to a wider public. The conversation explores the origins and construction of the Tren Maya, the social and environmental controversies surrounding it, and what the project reveals about the broader goals of Mexico’s Fourth Transformation. From historical extraction in the southeast to today’s debates over development, welfare, and sovereignty, the interview offers a nuanced, informed look at one of the country’s most ambitious—and misunderstood—projects.
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People’s Mañanera May 21
President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on student stipends, organized crime & elections, Trump’s executive order on remittances, PAN, and agricultural supports.
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Taxation & Investment
Mexico’s prolonged neoliberal era confirms a public and private drought of investment in the context of a deficient tax system that doesn’t raise more than 11 to 13 percent of GDP.
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Mexican Government Announces Plan to Guarantee White Corn Price
Drought, the dumping of subsidized crops from the US, middle-men profiteering and falling prices have been indebting and ruining Mexico’s corn producers.
