Qué onda

The young administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto –  sworn in December 1, 2012 – has surprised with its zealous effort to push forward major reforms right out of the blocks.  Many of us viewed the return of the PRI with trepidation, considering the party’s long track record of dirty tricks and monkey business through most of the 20th century, but despite our customary distaste for the PRI we support the spirit of Peña’s reforms.  First came a labor reform  proposed by previous President Felipe Calderón and enacted in December.  Then came the education reform, whisked through Congress and signed into law in February against a backdrop of the sensational jailing of nefarious teachers-union despot Elba Esther Gordillo, about which we gloated uncontrollably here.  The big kahuna we are all waiting for is the energy reform, but Peña is working through his battles one by one (so far, mostly with success) and before we get to savor the political theatrics of the energy debate, we will have to resolve the current battle: Telecommunications reform.

Telecommunications covers multiple industry sectors and the technological considerations are so complex, that it is hard to whip crowds into a frenzy with slogans like “Spectrum auctions or death!,”  the way demagogues like Andrés Manuel López Obrador have with cries of “The oil belongs to the people” and whatnot. This has taditionally worked to the benefit of the dominant players because frankly the industry and its corresponding regulatory framework is just too hard to understand for most people.  The result of the early development of the telephone and television industries in Mexico and the cozy relationships between government and corporate leaders is that the original monopolies in these industries still hold extremely dominant market shares, to the detriment of consumers.  But advances in technology over the past 20 years have blurred the once-simple lines between telephone and television, and the internet and satellite television have helped make telecommunications even more broad and complex.  As more developed countries updated regulatory frameworks to keep abreast of technology, Mexico has fallen behind.  Ironically, the political party that worked so hard to create the monopolies in Mexico is now leading the effort that will ostensibly create more competition in the marketplace.  The big players, of course, are hard at work figuring out how to play the eventual reform to their advantage.

The telecommunications reform as presented by President Peña was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and sent to the Senate with observations.  The bill is currently under review by various Senate committees.  Industry specialists are heatedly debating the implications of proposed stipulations regarding arcane but critical issues such as must-carry-must-offer requirements for free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters and asymmetrical regulations regarding rates charged by Telmex, the dominant fixed-line telephony provider, and smaller service providers.  A hot topic that is easier to summarize, however, is this: América Móvil, the owner of Telmex and mobile telephony leader Telcel, is keen to enter the television market, and television heavyweight Televisa wants to expand its position in mobile telephony.  The reform appears to offer each the opportunity to pursue these aims, in exchange for concessions to reduce their preponderant positions in telephony and television, respectively.  Telmex currently markets pay-TV to its telephone and internet subscribers through an alliance with satellite TV provider Dish, however América Móvil executives have made clear their interest in ditching Dish if regulatory changes permitted them to operate their own pay-TV company.  Televisa, in turn, has a stake in minor mobile telephony operator Iusacell in partnership with its otherwise rival in free-to-air television, Grupo Salinas, owner of the Televisión Azteca network.  Televisa appears similarly attracted to the idea of shedding its strage-bedfellows relationship with Azteca in favor of launching its own mobile telephony business.  Adding more flavor to the television soup, the telecom reform proposes to auction space for two new free-to-air television networks in the country that would be off limits to the two existing networks, Televisa and Azteca.

Interestingly, top brass at the dominant companies in the various sectors have so far been mostly muted in their opposition to the reform, and Mexico’s (and Latin America’s) biggest telecom magnate, América Móvil’s Carlos Slim, has even pretended to be pleased by the prospect of reform.  One aspect that has drawn perhaps the most ire is the proposed creation of a new regulatory agency, the Federal Telecommunications Institute (Ifetel), to replace the existing Federal Communications Commission (Cofetel).  In theory, the Ifetel would have vastly expanded powers to issue and enforce rulings to promote competition, compared with the wan milquetoast Cofetel, routinely brushed aside by the powerful corporations.

Numerous points of dispute have already been raised in Congress regarding the text of the bill, and much deliberation in the Senate and again in the Chamber of Deputies remains before the reform gets a chance at finnal passage.  Most observers project that the bill will pass in some form, however, so if Mr. Peña once again gets his way, we could be on the cusp of a welcome new era of competition in the Mexican telecommunications market.

And once we have this complicated telecom thingy out of the way – drool –  bring on the energy reform!  The speechifying is sure to be so very mad.

Happy holidays

Right now on Friday, December 21, 2012 it seems like we must be the last people in Mexico City still at our desks, as the sounds of holiday merry-making rise up from the cantinas outside our window in Colonia Condesa.  But before we pull down the shades and make a beeline for the punch bowls, we’d just like to make a few comments about the year coming to a close and the new year fast approaching.

We’re not going to dwell on the bad things that happened in Mexico this year, because the mainstream International media, principally in the United States, already covers that beat with ravenous enthusiasm.  We will mention a few things though, because this stuff really makes our ass want to dip snuff: Ongoing slaughter and disappearances related to drug trafficking; wholesale corruption making a mockery of society, such as Humberto Moreira’s loan racket in Coahuila and the Wal-Mart bribery scandal; and old fashioned electoral manipulation by the PRI in the run-up to the presidential election, to name a few.

We would like to mention a couple of things though that piqued our interest this year in a more positive way.  First, somewhere around mid-summer, it suddenly appeared that the international business media had abandoned its “All-Brazil-All-The-Time” policy and inexplicably latched onto Mexico as the new hot topic.  After the past few years of begging Brazil for its autograph and an 8×10 glossy with lipstick in the shape of a kiss on it, the media in the ficklest of fashions turned on a dime and began churning out stories on Mexico’s burgeoning competitiveness with China for manufacturing, booming automotive and aerospace industries, selfless commitment to free trade and even its prudent and responsible macroeconomic policies.  Prudent and responsible!  We have been called many things over the years, but these are not traditionally among them.  And as the year ends, our time in the limelight does not appear to be over yet.  So we will take our 15 minutes of fame and the accompanying manufacturing and portfolio investment, and hopefully this time we will spend it wisely and not blow it on hookers and rails like we did with the oil money during the Lopez Portillo administration.

The second item of note is not necessarily so great but we will try to make lemonade out of it and see what happens: Enrique Peña Nieto took office as Mexico’s new president on December 1.  Many concerns have been raised about Peña bringing back the authoritarian and corrupt practices that characterized the PRI during their 70-year run in power, and the violence and vandalism that occurred on inauguration day reinforce these suspicions.  But Peña came in charging with a slew of reform initiatives that are speeding through a suddenly cooperative Congress, and in fact we support the spirit of most of the new government’s reform proposals.  Most prominent of these at this moment is the education reform, which is the first in memory that appears aimed at breaking the stranglehold of the nefarious teachers union, SNTE, and its Darth Vader-like leader Elba Esther Gordillo over the national public education system.  The SNTE sits atop a long list of national disgraces in Mexico and the sooner the education system is wrested from its gnarled talons the quicker we can begin actually educating children rather than plundering the public coffers for the personal gain of corrupt union leaders.  The proposed education reform is rapidly being watered down in Congress and is opposed vehemently by Gordillo and the SNTE, so this may not be the arrow that slays the dragon, but the very idea that the new government is daring to take a whack at the entrenched system is more than welcome in our book.

Another item on the new government’s agenda that we favor is the proposed fast passenger train between Mexico City and Queretaro.  This idea has been bandied about for a while and certainly runs the risk of falling by the wayside, but we strongly favor the return of an inter-city passenger rail system and feel that this route is a perfect place to start.  Queretaro is a booming industrial city offering strong tourist attractions as well, and the movement of people and goods between the two cities is enormous.  Currently most of the passenger transport is by private auto or inter-city bus, and the traffic getting into and out of the capital can be soul-crushing.  The idea of a functional commuter rail line – like the kind other countries have! – between these two cities would be a dream come true.  And then, dare we dream of similar service between Mexico City and Guadalajara?  This would be fantastic.  We just hope the Peña administration’s current push for the new rail line doesn’t end up like former President Vicente Fox’s proposal for a new airport in Texcoco, which ended up with no airport but much shameful state-sanctioned violence and repression, presided over by *ahem* Enrique Peña Nieto.  Oh well.

So what’s ahead for 2013?  The pieces seem to be in place in Mexico for guardedly optimistic expectations for the economy.  Much, of course, will depend on the performance of the United States, by far Mexico’s largest trading partner.  If U.S. political leaders can pull a rabbit out of their hat and prevent the “fiscal cliff” from sending the country spiraling back into recession, Mexico stands to gain from even moderate performance north of the border.  The manufacturing base is expanding, inflation is under control, export markets are gradually diversifying, and proposed energy, fiscal and regulatory reforms offer at least the prospect of some juice for the GDP.  This morning we spied a report on some bank projecting Mexico’s 2013 GDP growth at 4.1%.  These guys may have hit the punch bowl a little early that day, but hey, it doesn’t hurt to dream.  This holiday season and for the coming year, then, may all our collective dreams come true.

Have a happy and safe holiday.

Florence Cassez

Our colleague Agathe Vigne weighs in on Mexico-France relations

Ever since the foundation of the young nation, France and Mexico have had a turbulent relationship. The history of the French intervention (1861-1867), starting with the imposition by Napoleon III and the later execution of Emperor Maximilien is still present in the memories of Mexican people, who celebrate their country’s victory over France in the battle of Puebla every year on May 5.

More recently, the case of Florence Cassez has been poisoning the relations between France and Mexico. The 38 year old French citizen was arrested in 2005, during a highly publicized police intervention. She was then sentenced to 60 years in jail on charges of kidnapping, participation in organized crime – with the organization Los Zodiacos, led by her boyfriend Israel Vallarta -  and illegal possession of firearms.  Four witnesses pointed to Florence Cassez as a member of the organization who participated actively in the kidnappings.

Though the case appeared simple at first, irregularities in the process of Cassez’s arrest came to undermine the decision of the Mexican courts.  Florence Cassez was detained on the road a day before Mexican police and journalists staged a fake arrest for broadcast on Mexican television.  Her consular rights were not respected, and she claims to have been abused and tortured by the police during her interrogatory.

French authorities intervened at the beginning of the judicial process, requesting at first that Cassez be freed and later that she be extradited back to France. Then French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon clashed over the case, as both presidents intended to “use” Cassez to boost their declining popularity.   While Calderon struggled to show he was tough on crime and would not let foreign influences undermine Mexican court decisions, Sarkozy was eager to improve his image in his homeland a year before elections.

Diplomatic tensions soon arose and events such as “The year of Mexico in France” were canceled. The symbolic consequences were more important than the economic ones as business as usual followed between the two countries. The SAFRAN corporate group invested heavily in the region of Querétaro, and exchange programmes were maintained as were other trade fairs and commercial events.

Nonetheless, diplomats on both sides had to wait for the election of François Hollande and Enrique Peña Nieto’s recent visit to Paris for things to really cool down.

Though a supporter of Florence Cassez, Hollande has been more subtle in his approach and has shown more respect than his predecessor towards Mexican institutions.  On the other hand, Peña Nieto’s visit on October 17 opened a possibility for the extradition of Cassez and the revitalization of trade and cultural relations between the two countries. The Mexican president-elect insisted on the importance of educational and cultural links between the two countries and announced the creation of a new police force inspired by the French  gendarmerie (national police with military characteristics).

Peña Nieto not only met with François Hollande and invited him to Mexico in 2014, he also met with the directors of some of France’s most important companies: Air Liquide, Alstom, Axa, Lafarge, L’Oréal, Publicis, Sanofi-Aventis, Vinci, Vivendi, Danone, EADS, GDF-Suez, RATP, Safran, Schneider-Electric, Total and Veolia-Environnement.

Some of them, like Safran, EADS and Schneider Electric, have made significant investments in Mexico in the past decade.  Others, like Alstom or Veolia, have associated with Mexican companies like ICA to develop projects such as Mexico city’s new metro line.  In total, more than 300 French companies are present in Mexico.

France exports more to Mexico than Mexico does to France, but trade in general is modest in volume for both countries.  France’s trade surplus in 2011 amounted to 1 billion euros.   Some 90% of French exports to Mexico are industrial products for industries such as agro-industry, aerospace and construction. France is Mexico’s 13th largest export market and mainly imports medical instruments, computer parts, and office and aeronautical equipment.

The French community in Mexico City is the third in importance after the American and the Spanish. However, Spaniards and Americans seem to invest a lot more in Mexico than the French do. This paradox can be explained by a deficit of image on both sides. While the French still consider Mexico as a dangerous, bureaucratic country where investment is risky, Mexicans see France as a cultural leader more than as a potential trade partner and client.

Nonetheless, both countries appear committed to strenghthening their cooperation in the next decade.  While French SMEs are looking for new, dynamic markets to invest in, significant trade agreements signed by Mexico with the European Union should stimulate its exports to the old continent.

Will the French eat their coq-au-vin with chiles jalapeños and Mexicans top their enchiladas with roquefort?  Certainly not, but both countries have a lot to gain in leaving egos aside and working together in developing key innovations in the environmental, agricultural, defense or telecommunications sectors.

a.vigne@bdp-americas.com

It may take a village to raise a child, but sometimes it takes a novel idea, some Mexican farmers and a handful of foreigners to raise a village out of subsistence level poverty.  Things were pretty bleak in the town of Rancho La Colorada in central Mexico until a group of people came together around a proposed business venture that required some seed capital, a tremendous amount of effort and a bit of luck.  Seven years later, that effort is paying off.  Read about the innovative Lavender Project in our post for Mexico Today.

You need one of these

In recent years, The Mexican market for fashionable kitchen, tabletop and other products for the home has registered important growth in size and quality. The entry into the market by Wal-Mart in the late 1990s increased the prevalence of foreign products on store shelves in Mexico.  Wal-Mart’s aggressive expansion has also driven its top competitors such as Comercial Mexicana, Soriana and Chedraui to step up their game with greater variety and innovation in their product lines, including housewares.

Upscale department store chains such as Palacio de Hierro and Liverpool have long featured departments offering expensive lines of kitchen gadgets, tableware and home décor items in Mexico, as have stores such as Sears and Sanborns.  Regional department store chains such as Chapur in the southeast, Dorian’s in the northwest and La Marina in the central west also offer similar product lines.  An important new trend is the recent emergence of specialty stores exclusively focused on products for the home.

Read more about how Mexico’s growing middle class is driving new markets for consumer goods in our post for Mexico Today.

About a year ago we noted in this space that we had happily agreed to contribute to the Mexico Today online public relations campaign being organized at that time by Ogilvy Public Relations in New York.  The program was intended to provide positive stories about Mexico and Mexicans for dissemination in social media such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook.  We readily agreed to participate for two reasons: 1) Our contributions are compensated, albeit modestly; and 2) Most of what we write on Mexico Business Blog provides positive information about Mexico anyway.  There is nothing up our sleeve here: Mexico is a great country that is achieving some admirable economic and social advances despite the tremendous challenges we are facing, such as the global economic slowdown and the ravages of drug trafficking on our society.  Anyway, the program was put into turnaround for some adjustments in January and we are pleased to announce that it is now re-launching under the guidance of award-winning communications agency Qorvis.  We encourage you to visit www.mexicotoday.org for a wide range of stories about the good things happening in Mexico, and we’ll be linking to some of those stories here in the coming weeks.  Here are a couple to get you started:

Tourism officials of G20 Nations Convene T20 Summit in Merida

Mexico Remains a Top Spring Break Location

Destination unknown

As Mexico City residents slowly returned to work and normal life after the holidays, we discovered we had a garbage problem.  Not just the bags of empty liquor bottles by the door; a real problem for the whole city and surrounding State of Mexico.  The largest solid waste disposal facility used for city garbage was shut down in December, and suddenly the city’s sanitation department wasn’t sure what to do with the garbage.

The dump in question, called Bordo Poniente, was closed with great fanfare on December 19, 2011 after over 25 years of service.  In line with Mayor Marcelo Ebrard’s ongoing effort to implement ecologically friendly public policies, city agencies developed a plan to recycle the site’s estimated 70 million tons of garbage in a number of ways.  According to the plan, the city will issue a tender for private companies to compete for a contract under which the winner will partner with government agencies to build a plant to harvest biogas from the decomposing organic waste.  The gas will be used to generate electricity to help run city services, and/or be converted into fuels for other applications.  In addition to the large scale biogas project, plans also anticipate other uses for the various types of waste once separated, such as compressed blocks to be sold as industrial fuel, recycling of metals and plastics, production of compost from organic residuals and shredding of construction waste to create sand.  The objective is that between the composting of organic waste and recycling of reusable materials, the reduced volume of remaining garbage will be distributed among various smaller waste disposal sites around the greater metropolitan area.  After some 20 years of composting and recycling, the Bordo Poniente site is intended to be converted to green space.  Just the type of ambitious, long-term sustainability planning the city needs to develop and carry through to fruition.

So the future looks promising, but alas, the present is rocky.  Following closure of the Bordo dump, immediate plans to redistribute the city’s daily garbage hit a snag when some local communities organized to block the additional waste from entering their disposal facilities.  As garbage piled up, trucks began dumping the increasing backlog outside the separation centers, in underutilized areas of the Bordo Poniente area itself, and reportedly in irregular dumps elsewhere around the Federal District.  At this writing, the city’s Department of Public Works has admitted it has a thorny problem on its hands but insists a solution is in the works.  We’re hoping they find a way to fast-track that biogas plant.

Read about our participation in the Mexico Today program here.

From what we can determine by our stats tracker and email, most of the people who visit Mexico Business Blog do so because they are looking for information on industrial or economic topics that are relevant to their business.  Generally, anyone who somehow ends up here because they love mole or pyramids will be disappointed.  But if you’re one of those people, now we have something for you!

We’ve mentioned before how we are serving as a Community Manager for the Mexico Today public relations program.  This on-line media campaign includes a Facebook “Social Magazine” where people like us who are keen on Mexico can post stories about this zany but economically significant country.  The site is in English, but it doesn’t matter what country you are from, as long as you have something positive you’d like to contribute on the topic.  Here’s the official description:

The newly launched Mexico Today Social Magazine on Facebook profiles stories and submissions from leading Mexico bloggers and influencers, including the 24 Mexico Today Ambassadors.

Help shape the conversation about today’s Mexico. The Magazine accepts not only short links, but also longer blog posts. Submit your content today to enter a chance to win a $500 gift card.

Did you notice the part about the US$500 gift card?  So if by chance you are a Mexico enthusiast and would like to write something positive about Mexico on line, here is a very attractive opportunity to do so.  If you were looking for the stuff about regulations for the plastics industry, then I guess we’re talking to ourselves about now, aren’t we?

Go here for details on how to participate in the Mexico Today Social Magazine.

A gezunt ahf dein kop

During the past month, we have had a close-up look at one of Mexico’s public hospitals, from the point of view of the end-user.  This was not a research project: A close family member suffered a sudden critical health crisis and was rushed to the nearest regional medical center, where he remains in a delicate state.  In the process, other family members have spent many hours at the hospital to assist in the patient’s care, discuss his condition with doctors and nurses, provide medical records and file documents, and ask questions through little circular holes in glass windows.  Although the experience has been stressful, we feel compelled to report that we have been favorably impressed with the quality of infrastructure and care at the public hospital.

Mexico is served by a mixed health care system, with private hospitals and specialized service providers available to those who can afford it, and a nationwide network of public hospitals and clinics for everyone else.  The largest piece of this network is the Mexican Social Security Institute, known as the IMSS.  Founded in 1943, the IMSS has grown into a colossal operation, operating some 1,500 clinics, 230 hospitals and 25 medical specialty centers.  The agency employs over 370,000 and provides health coverage for over 52 million beneficiaries, according to the National Statistics Institute (INEGI).  The IMSS is consistently the target of criticism for a range of deficiencies and in recent years has struggled with rapidly encroaching insolvency.  Nonetheless, for millions of Mexicans, and particularly the poor, it remains a lifeline for health care.

We had not taken a family member to a public hospital for treatment before.  But we regularly hear reports from others who presumably have, and mostly, their comments are withering.  Perhaps this is why we were so positively impressed with the overall experience at the IMSS hospital.  The particular facility in question is a regional center in a medium sized city in central Mexico.  It is very large, decidedly unglamorous and could use a coat of paint and some general maintenance here and there.  However, to our untrained eye it appeared to be well outfitted, with the equipment such as beds, electronic monitors and specialized medical devices of recent fabrication and readily available.  Despite handling a massive volume of patients and their fretful families, the medical staff by and large gave the impression of being knowledgeable, dedicated and professional.  The patient received at least six CAT scans, as well as various x-rays, laboratory analyses, medications and other forms of treatment during his three week stay in the hospital, the cost of all of which was – to our grateful astonishment – covered by the family’s IMSS public health insurance.  We nearly required hospitalization ourselves after trying to imagine what that would have cost in New York.

Our comments here are not intended to represent a comprehensive evaluation of public health services in Mexico, nor to compare these services with those of other countries.  They merely describe the recent experience of one Mexican family that frankly had expected worse based on the comments of others.

One final note: Although we observed hospital staff entering data into computers, we did notice that in the emergency room, reports were being typed up on old fashioned manual typewriters – and not of late vintage either.  Hadn’t seen one of those bad boys in a dog’s age.

Read about our participation in the Mexico Today program here.

Essential discada equipment

We confess we’re feeling rather sheepish writing a blog post about food, since Mexico Business Blog is supposed to focus on business and trade.  But we’ve read so many wonderful posts on Mexican food this past month, what with the fiestas patrias and all, from noted food bloggers like Cristina Potters, Nicholas Gilman, Maura Hernandez, Brad A. Johnson and others, that it reminded us of a long-held source of puzzlement: Why are some of our most bestest favoritest Mexican dishes so rarely – or never – seen or heard about in wider discussions of Mexican cuisine?

It may be that we hold these dishes so dear for the memories associated with them. Perhaps if you fell in love while on Spring Break in Cancun, you think Corona is the world’s greatest beer.  OK, bad example.  But we insist – these Mexican delicacies are fabulous, they are deeply ingrained in our fondest memories of Mexico, and why the heck do we never hear about them?

1)     Espinazo en salsa verde.  Back when we were penurious youths (before becoming adults of the same description), shuffling around the streets of La Roma, La Juárez and La Doctores here in Mexico City, espinazo en salsa verde was an absolute staple at the greasy spoons and markets that were the closest thing to a restaurant we could afford.  We recall it as a sort of spicy green broth chock-a-block with chunks of stewed pork spine and weedy leaves called verdolagas.  OK, it’s way better than it sounds, and I’m heading over to El 96 on the corner of Valladolid and Colima right now to order some.

2)     Pambazos. The pambazo is the Rodney Dangerfield of tortas, a sort of country cousin to the better known torta ahogada of Jalisco.

Pambazos

We recall them as something like a tough hamburger bun dipped in red chile sauce and stuffed with greasy fried chorizo, potatoes and maybe refried beans and garnished with shredded lettuce, crumbly cheese and fresh cream.  In our mind’s eye they are stacked high on plastic-covered tables at local fairs, markets and the occasional kermés in towns around the State of Mexico.  We also seem to remember them in a miniature version, almost bite-sized depending on how wide you can open your mouth.  OMG I want one now.

3)     Papadzules.  A specialty of Yucatecan cuisine, papadzules are probably the best known item on our list, but still may be untried by many who are already Mexican food lovers.

Papadzules

The quintessential papadzul is like  an enchilada except the tortilla is dipped in greenish pumpkin-seed sauce resembling an industrial coating, stuffed with hard cooked egg and topped off with tomato sauce.  We recently were invited to appear on a local television morning show in Mérida, Yucatán, and when asked by the host what we liked about Yucatán, we answered “papadzules.”  The program hosts and studio audience went absolutely bananas.  Say no more.

4)     Discada.  In our memories discada is something like the Mexican equivalent of Appalachian fried baloney, and belongs to the northern region known as “La comarca lagunera.”  It consists of any mix of leftover cold cuts chopped up with onions and peppers and fried on a plow disc, hence the name.  Years ago we spent a summer working out of Torreón, Coahuila, on a project that involved a lot of leaving before dawn to drive out to the ejido lands in the surrounding desert.  We were so impressed that these lonely roadside discada stands in the middle of nowhere were packing in the customers, we had to try for ourselves, and of course we were hooked.  Recommendation: For optimal enjoyment, stay out drinking until 4:00 a.m. before driving out to the desert to have your discada on the side of the highway.

5)     Torta de pulpo. This is sort of a bonus item as we admit that torta de pulpo, or in English the eyebrow-arching “octopus sandwich,” is as far as we know not a traditional Mexican dish.  But it is one of our strong favorites from another branch of our youthful memory lane.  Nothing up our sleeve here: Big chunks of fried octopus in spicy red sauce served on a telera hoagie roll.  Years ago, torta de pulpo was our order of choice at the once-legendary Mexico City sandwich purveyor El Hipocampo, housed in an imposing casona at the corner of Insurgentes and Vito Alessio Robles across from Plaza Inn.  El Hipocampo has since gone downhill through rampant franchising and the casona became a bookie joint above a 7-Eleven, but we’ll always have the memories of those chunky chunks of spicy deep-sea goodness, *sigh*.

Extra bonus item: Speaking of Yucatecan cuisine, are huevos motuleños the best or what?  Seriously, and this is not an apocryphal anecdote for the purposes of this post, we once rented a car and drove out to Motul on the Yucatan peninsula to find out if the huevos motuleños in Motul were better than in other places. The entire affair turned out to be an adventure, involving a sleeping municipal president, a cenote being converted into a discotheque and frankly unjustifiable quantities of liquor, but this is *cough cough* a business blog and we can skip the details.  The upshot is that it was true!  Huevos motuleños were better in Motul!  That’s how we remember it anyway, and really, a plate of huevos motuleños lasts only a couple of minutes, and the memories last forever, right?

But enough of our personal taco memories, we’re going back to writing about regulatory environments and import duties where we belong.  We promise we’ll leave Mexican food writing to the pros (see above) from now on.

To read about our participation in the Mexico Today program, please go here.