Security, Crime, and Corruption: The Dominant Theme
In 2025, I published a total of 251 columns in this newspaper. When organized by topics, the results paint a clearer picture of the country than any official speech.
The dominant theme was security, crime organizations, and corruption: 68 columns, accounting for 27% of the total. Not due to an interest in violence, but because of its direct impact on the economy and governance.
Extortion functions as a parallel tax, increasing costs, raising prices, stifling investment, and forcing many businesses to choose between paying up or closing. It’s not just another crime; it’s a mechanism of territorial control that collects regularly and, in doing so, fixes prices, routes, schedules, and even political decisions.
Corruption further degrades public trust, turns what should be rules into businesses, and opens spaces for political and criminal groups to control local decisions. In this context, the discussion about the Judicial Power isn’t abstract: if it’s made easier for money or criminal pressure to decide who is judged and how, the country becomes more risky for investment.
Economy and Public Finance: A Closer Look
The second block was economy and public finance: 58 columns, making up 23%.
The recurring point was the gap between narrative and data. While low unemployment is presumed, precariousness is ignored; success is presumed, but informality surpasses 54% and hovers around 55%. Adding to this is underemployment (6.6% in the ENOE of March 2025), showing how much people work, but still fall short of what they need.
When looking at the hard data, the picture cools further: the INEI reported a 6.8% annual drop in fixed investment. In this context, fiscal issues are central: social programs can be a necessary floor in an unequal country, but without sustainable growth and budgetary discipline, they end up pressuring debt and reducing the margin for public investment, health, and security.
Bilateral Relations and T-MEC: Navigating Challenges
The third axis was bilateral relations/T-MEC: 52 columns, accounting for 21%.
Donald Trump restructured the agenda for a reason: he uses tariffs and the trade agreement as tools of pressure. Moreover, Washington intertwines commerce with security (migration, fentanyl, transnational crime).
This forces Mexico to approach the negotiation table with technical preparation, internal coordination, and clear objectives. There’s no room for improvisation, as a mistake reflects in commercial costs and also in security cooperation. With the T-MEC review scheduled for 2026, the margin narrows: any signal of internal weakness becomes external ammunition.
Domestic Politics and Reforms: Quality Over Speed
In domestic politics and reforms (48 columns, 19%), the thread was consistent: speed doesn’t replace quality.
Fast-track legislation, minimal debates, and sacrificed legislative technique elevate institutional costs. Disappearing checks and balances or weakening rules don’t improve governance; they worsen it.
Looking Ahead: 2026 and Beyond
As the year closes, a simple conclusion emerges: 2026 arrives with a more demanding external environment and internal issues that shrink the margin. Without the rule of law, there’s no investment; without investment, there’s no growth.
Key Questions and Answers
- What were the dominant themes in 2025’s columns? The dominant theme was security, crime organizations, and corruption, accounting for 27% of the total columns.
- How did crime impact the economy in 2025? Crime, specifically extortion, functioned as a parallel tax, increasing costs, raising prices, stifling investment, and forcing businesses to choose between paying up or closing.
- What were the fiscal issues discussed in 2025’s columns? The discussion revolved around the gap between narrative and data in terms of economy and public finance. Despite low unemployment being presumed, precariousness was ignored, and informality surpassed 54%. Underemployment also posed a challenge.
- How did the T-MEC negotiations present challenges in 2025? The T-MEC negotiations required technical preparation, internal coordination, and clear objectives due to the intertwining of commerce and security by Washington. The upcoming review in 2026 narrowed the margin for any signals of internal weakness.
- What was the consistent thread in domestic politics and reforms discussions? The thread was that speed doesn’t replace quality, with fast-track legislation, minimal debates, and sacrificed legislative technique elevating institutional costs.
