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Strained government resources, increased organized crime, political tensions and supply chain disruptions are likely to rise in tandem with migration.

How Record Migration Will Impact Central America

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How will the recent controversy surrounding Morena's presidential nomination process impact Mexico's 2024 election?

Essential Geopolitics: The Outlook for Mexico's Ruling Morena Party

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Why were some countries better able to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19?

Essential Geopolitics: The Economic Outlook for Brazil and Mexico

Assessments

Fans hold up Mexico and Brazil's national flags at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Insufficient domestic reforms and global economic headwinds will weigh on both countries, though Mexico will likely fare better than Brazil. 

Mexico and Brazil: What Lies Ahead for Latin America's Largest Economies

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the 28th term deputies' oath-taking ceremony at the Turkish Grand National Assembly on June 2, 2023, in Ankara. Speculation is rife that former Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek will be appointed head of the Turkish Treasury in a move likely to delight international investors.

Military & Security

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

The Weekly Rundown: A Possible Economic Shift in Turkey, the Shangri-La Dialogue

U.S.-China Relations

Columns

On Security

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. 

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

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

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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

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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?

Canada

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

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

Malaysia

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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

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

Former Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who lost the ruling Morena party's presidential nomination on Sept. 6, announced that he was forming his own civil association, El Camino de Mexico, El Pais reported on Sept. 18.

Mexico: Former Foreign Minister Forms Civil Association Under Morena

Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum secured the ruling Morena party's presidential nomination with 39.4% of the preferences, El Pais reported on Sept. 6.

Mexico: Morena Nominates Sheinbaum as Presidential Candidate

Marcelo Ebrard, who is competing for the presidential nomination of Mexico's ruling Morena party, said he is "very concerned" about how the party conducted the polling process used to select its nominee, El Financiero reported on Sept. 5.

Mexico: Morena Candidate Questions Validity of Presidential Nominee Process

Mexico's opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party will support National Action Party Sen. Xochitl Galvez as the sole presidential candidate of the Broad Front for Mexico opposition coalition, El Economista reported on Aug. 30.

Mexico: Opposition Coalition Chooses Presidential Candidate

President of the Chamber of Deputies Santiago Creel announced that he is dropping out of the race for the nomination of the opposition coalition's presidential nominee and put his support behind National Action Party Senator Xochitl Galvez Ruiz, La Jornada reported on Aug. 21.

Mexico: Opposition Coalition Solidifies Around Single Figure

Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE) announced that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would not be allowed to comment on the 2024 general elections, stating that his comments were in "violation of the principles of neutrality, impartiality and equity in the electoral contest," La Jornada reported on July 21.

Mexico: President Ordered to Refrain From Discussing 2024 Election

Mexico's Supreme Court invalidated the second part of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's electoral reforms on the basis that their approval process violated analysis and voting procedures, La Jornada reported on June 22.

Mexico: Supreme Court Invalidates Second Part of Electoral Reform

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico's ruling Morena party hinted that she may resign ahead of the party's nomination process for the 2024 presidential race, thereby making herself eligible to run in the election, La Jornada reported on June 3.

Mexico: Presidential Frontrunners In Mexico's Ruling Party Take Steps Toward Officially Running

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A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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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.

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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.

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Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

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

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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: Former Foreign Minister Forms Civil Association Under Morena

Mexico: Morena Nominates Sheinbaum as Presidential Candidate

Mexico: Morena Candidate Questions Validity of Presidential Nominee Process

Mexico: Opposition Coalition Chooses Presidential Candidate

Mexico: Opposition Coalition Solidifies Around Single Figure

Mexico: President Ordered to Refrain From Discussing 2024 Election

Mexico: Supreme Court Invalidates Second Part of Electoral Reform

Mexico: Presidential Frontrunners In Mexico's Ruling Party Take Steps Toward Officially Running

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