Economic Package Delivery and Inter-Agency Disputes
The week concluded with the delivery of the 2026 Economic Package just hours before the constitutional deadline on September 8. This delivery was preceded by rumors of disagreements between the Secretariat of Economy (Marcelo Ebrard) and Hacienda (Edgar Amador), reportedly due to tariffs on countries without which Mexico has no trade agreements. It appears that Hacienda’s (and the Presidency’s) view prevailed. Naturally, the threat of tariffs on several countries prompted China’s protest, calling it “coercion.”
Sad Anniversary: Drug War Violence Continues
The following day, September 9, marked a grim anniversary: the start of the war between the two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, the Mayo and Chapos, which has mourned Sinaloa and affected neighboring states like Baja California Sur and Sonora. Over 1,800 killings, five daily, along with vehicle thefts, disappearances, business closures, and public fear have been the response. Claudia Sheinbaum’s basic response is either “we’re working every day” or “that will be addressed by the security cabinet.”
The President is allergic to dealing with bad news personally. Meanwhile, her government maintains an ineffective governor, Rocha Moya, insensitive to citizen demands that have organized several marches for peace and, according to many indications, involved with organized crime.
Huachicol Fiscal Capture: A Turning Point
Before all this, what was intended to be an action solidifying the idea that Sheinbaum’s government is thoroughly combating organized crime has gradually turned into a disaster threatening an ex-Secretary of the Navy and even the former President López. I am, of course, referring to the capture of 14 naval personnel, customs officials, and businesspeople involved in the smuggling of fuel, known as “huachicol fiscal.”
Secretary García Harfuch’s narrative initially did not align with Fiscal Gertz’s. The former stated that investigations leading to these 14 individuals’ capture began in March of this year when a cargo of fuel was seized from a ship. Gertz, however, claimed in a morning press conference that the investigation had started two years prior when he was approached by then-Secretary of the Navy Rafael Ojeda, who shared his suspicions of corruption.
Both narratives have become compatible to exonerate Ojeda and, of course, AMLO, the President who swore that “huachicol” had been eradicated and claimed to be “informed of everything.” In the past few years of the previous administration, the oversight organ of the Navy conducted 37 audits and found nothing. In fact, Ojeda asserted in his final report that the secretariat he commanded was clean. The worst part is that those orchestrating the “huachicol” scheme were his political nephews.
President López and Admiral Ojeda either did not see or refused to see what was happening. Efforts have been made to protect the Navy Secretariat, but the reality is that it has been proven that our armed forces are not only incapable of handling all the tasks assigned to them but also not immune to corruption. This is the elephant in the room that both the government and opposition parties, as well as some critical analysts, avoid addressing.
National Tragedy: Education Crisis
This week, which is fading away, an important piece of information was made public, with a broader reach than any previous ones. It concerns education. The outlook is disheartening: massive school abandonment, low educational levels compared to the OECD, and insufficient public resources.
In the 2024-2025 school year, nearly 900,000 primary, secondary, and bachelor’s students left their classrooms. More than two-thirds of these dropouts were at the secondary level. Sheinbaum asserts that education funding has grown, but there’s deception in the numbers. The OECD has documented that per-student spending across all levels has decreased. They’re counting scholarship funds as direct investment. The reality, however, is underfunded schools with no equipment and poorly trained teachers. Furthermore, the PISA test shows that Mexican students face the worst educational level in two decades.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the significance of the 15th of September in this context? There seems to be little to celebrate given the ongoing challenges in both economic policy and drug war violence.
