Research Library

The author analyzes some important new provisions in the USMCA that were not part of earlier USMCA briefs in this series.

This paper tracks a change in the direction of Mexico’s energy policy under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — a change that inhibits private investment while attempting to restore Pemex’s oil monopoly.

Mexico’s government should prioritize early childhood education, but its decision to reduce the budget and replace a childhood centers program for the disadvantaged indicates it does not, writes graduate fellow Daniel Prudencio.

Mexico’s 2013 energy reform, which opened its hydrocarbon and electricity industries to private investors, increased the autonomy and independence of its regulatory commissions. However, recent decisions by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador now threaten these institutions, writes nonresident scholar Miriam Grunstein.

Using findings from Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer, the author analyzes public perceptions of anticorruption efforts during the López Obrador administration.

When illegal workers use false documents to get a job in the U.S., their employers may complete the paperwork by deducting Social Security, federal, state and Medicare taxes from each paycheck. As of 2010, illegal workers have contributed $12 billion to the Social Security system alone. Such workers face poverty in old age, as they are barred from collecting retirement benefits because of their immigration status, and they have not accrued a pension in their home country.

In the near term, a ban on shale development in Mexico will have little impact since factors like limited infrastructure and access to water would likely stall progress in any case, the authors conclude. In the long-run, a ban may adversely affect efforts to diversify Mexico’s gas supply.

The author examines how Mexico's government awards public works contracts, and identifies loopholes in the law.

Energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl examines federal and international efforts to assess the safe transport of crude oil by rail and to specifically consider the roles of vapor pressure and volatility in accident scenarios.

For the first time in modern history, a confluence of events has given Mexico a real chance to combat systemic government corruption, the author writes.