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On Security

Mexico

United States

Images of the place where four U.S. citizens were found after being kidnapped in Matamoros, Mexico, are shown on screens during a press conference in Mexico City on March 7, 2023. 

Military & Security

Politics

The attack on U.S. citizens and the response from the cartel, as well as the Mexican and U.S. governments, confirm the long-standing dynamics underpinning Mexico's criminal landscape.

What the Matamoros Kidnapping Says About the State of Cartel Violence in Mexico

Media

Podcasts

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Will the installation of a Tesla plant in Monterrey open the doors for more EV manufacturing in Mexico?

Essential Geopolitics: Mexico's Push to Attract Electric Vehicle Manufacturing

Ecuador

Venezuela

Syria

North Korea

Belgium

Netherlands

Seized marijuana bricks are incinerated in Guadalajara, Mexico.

While narco-states exist on a spectrum of severity, they can all have dramatic geopolitical, operational and tactical impacts that raise a wide variety of risks.

What Is a Narco-State, and Why Does It Matter?

On Geopolitics

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Peru

A digital illustration shows the flags of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Peru. 

The rise of left-wing governments in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru is largely the result of growing anti-establishment sentiment fueled by economic volatility.

Is Latin America Experiencing Another Leftist Wave?

Assessments

Canada

China

Japan

France

Passengers of a flight from China walk toward a COVID-19 testing center after arriving in Paris, France, on Jan. 1, 2023. 

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: China Ends COVID-19 Travel Restrictions, Biden Meets With Japan, Canada and Mexico's Leaders

Malaysia

United Kingdom

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Russia

Nepal

A Scottish flag painted on the Union Jack. The British Supreme Court on Nov. 23 will rule on whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to pass a law organizing an independence referendum.

The Weekly Rundown: Elections in Nepal, the U.K. Supreme Court Rules on a Scottish Independence Referendum

Snapshots

A member of the National Guard on Dec. 2, 2021, in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Institutional Revolutionary Party's decision to support a government effort to extend Mexico's National Guard will likely weaken the opposition and boost the government.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party's decision to support a government effort to extend Mexico's National Guard will likely weaken the opposition and boost the government.

A Fracture in Mexico's Opposition Coalition Will Boost the Government of Lopez Obrador

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Saudi Arabia

Germany

Media members near the hospital where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was transferred after being fatally shot during an election rally July 8, 2022, in Nara, Japan.

Energy

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Upper House Elections in Japan, Mexico's Lopez Obrador Visits the White House

People wait for soup donated by the Yuma County Abolition group after crossing the border from Mexico into San Luis, Arizona, on May 23, 2022. 

The efforts are unlikely to halt migrant flows to the southern U.S. border without greater commitments from countries like Mexico and the involvement of key transit states like Brazil. 

Biden's New Migration Initiative Will Likely Fail as U.S. Midterms Approach

Ireland

Electoral posters of candidates June 8, 2022, in Montpellier, France, ahead of June 12 and June 19 parliamentary elections. Should the far-left opposition take control of the National Assembly after the June 19 second round, it will be able to appoint a prime minister.

The Weekly Rundown: French Legislative Elections, U.S. Climate Envoy Travels to Mexico

A demonstrator in Mexico City holds a sign in favor of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's proposed electricity reform outside the building housing Mexico's Chamber of Deputies on April 17, 2022, as lawmakers hold a vote on the legislation. 

The Importance of Mexico

Lopez Obrador will likely try to find other ways to bolster the state utility against private competitors after failing to do so through a sweeping constitutional overhaul.

Mexico's Lawmakers Serve a Blow to the President's Electricity Reform Push

Guidance

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

Sri Lanka

An F/A-18E Super Hornet launches May 10, 2019 in the Red Sea from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. A U.S. Navy Red Sea task force will begin operating April 17 in the waters near the Bab el-Mandeb.

The Weekly Rundown: G-20 Finance Ministers Meet, a Red Sea Maritime Operation Targets the Houthis

The Yemen Civil War

Mexico's Supreme Court ruled against the first part of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's electoral reforms, saying they were unconstitutional and cannot be passed into law, El Universal reported on May 8.

Mexico: Supreme Court Invalidates First Part of Electoral Reform

U.S. and Mexican officials on May 2 agreed to implement new immigration policies to deter illegal border crossings into the United States ahead of the scheduled end of the U.S. Title 42 immigration policy on May 11, NBC News reported on May 3.

U.S., Mexico: Governments Agree to Tighten Immigration Policies

Belize

Bolivia

Cuba

Honduras

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The leaders of Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Venezuela met virtually and agreed to take steps to facilitate commercial trade, La Jornada reported April 5.

Latin America: Left-Wing Governments Ally to Reduce Food Inflation

Mexican Supreme Court Minister Javier Laynez Potisek announced the suspension of parts of a recently-passed electoral reform that decreased the budget and the responsibilities of the National Electoral Institute, and he confirmed that the Supreme Court will consider the lawsuit brought by the National Electoral Institute to overturn the legislation, La Jornada reported on March 24.

Mexico: Supreme Court Suspends Implementation of Electoral Reform

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized U.S. Republicans for using "Mexico for their propaganda, electoral, and political purposes," and he threatened to call upon U.S. citizens not to vote for them in upcoming elections, El Universal reported on March 10.

U.S., Mexico: Lopez Obrador and U.S. Republicans Exchange Criticisms

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated that the leftist governments of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Cuba would join Mexico in launching a joint plan to curb food inflation, namely by removing tariffs to reduce the price of food items, Reuters reported March 2.

Latin America: Leftist Governments Push to Reduce Food Tariffs

Social Issues

A set of electoral reforms that decrease the budget and the responsibilities of the National Electoral Institute will enter force via their publication in the Official Gazette Feb. 27, but already face 12 challenges to their constitutionality filed with the Supreme Court, La Jornada reported Feb. 26.

Mexico: Electoral Reforms to Enter Force, Face Constitutionality Challenges

Mexico's Senate on Feb. 22 gave final approval for legal reforms to the National Electoral Institute, which runs the country's elections, the Financial Times reported Feb. 23.

Mexico: Senate Approves Controversial Reforms to National Electoral Institute

Afghanistan

Algeria

Antigua and Barbuda

Luxembourg

South Sudan

A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Angola

Australia

Bahrain

Lithuania

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

Barbados

Benin

Egypt

Maldives

Malta

Ukraine

Botswana

Brunei Darussalam

India

Iran

North Macedonia

Tajikistan

Bhutan

Burkina Faso

Cambodia

Iraq

The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

Burundi

Finland

Cameroon

Georgia

Jordan

Pakistan

Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

Cabo Verde

Federated States of Micronesia

Kuwait

Liechtenstein

Central African Republic

Fiji

Latvia

Lebanon

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chad

Costa Rica

Indonesia

Libya

Comoros

Czech Republic

A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Morocco

Cote d'Ivoire

Denmark

Dominica

Kiribati

Moldova

Oman

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dominican Republic

Laos

Djibouti

Holy See (Vatican City)

Qatar

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Greece

Marshall Islands

Eritrea

Grenada

Mongolia

Mexico is defined by dramatic geographic features that have shaped the country's politics. Forming the southern portion of North America, Mexico borders the tropical Central American isthmus, a broad band that defines Mexico's northern border with the United States. To the east and west, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental dominate the Pacific and the Caribbean coasts, forming highlands that cradle of the modern heart of Mexico. The desolate Baja California peninsula shields approaches from the western sea. To the east, the tropical limestone outcropping named the Yucatán peninsula dominates entry from the Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico's central valley, which includes Mexico City and the adjacent Veracruz region, form Mexico's core.     To control Mexico City is to control Mexico, and the greatest conventional threats to Mexico City have traditionally come from the deepwater Port city of Veracruz. Since the 16th century, Spain, France and the United States &mdash; not to mention numerous mutinous factions of the Mexican military &mdash; have used Veracruz to threaten and even conquer what is now Mexico City. Mexico's mountains and frontier territories are traditional hotbeds of unrest. From the rebels of Chihuahua to the drug kingpins of Tierra Caliente and Sinaloa, the historical and ongoing challenge for Mexico is to subdue and incorporate far-flung, geographically-isolated communities. The modern expression of this struggle can be seen in today's war with drug trafficking organizations, but it is a pattern that has been repeated throughout history and has been shaped by Mexico's physical geography. 

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SITUATION REPORTS

Mexico: Supreme Court Invalidates First Part of Electoral Reform

U.S., Mexico: Governments Agree to Tighten Immigration Policies

Latin America: Left-Wing Governments Ally to Reduce Food Inflation

Mexico: Supreme Court Suspends Implementation of Electoral Reform

U.S., Mexico: Lopez Obrador and U.S. Republicans Exchange Criticisms

Latin America: Leftist Governments Push to Reduce Food Tariffs

Mexico: Electoral Reforms to Enter Force, Face Constitutionality Challenges

Mexico: Senate Approves Controversial Reforms to National Electoral Institute

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