Soberanía: The Mexican Politics Podcast

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the minimum wage in Mexico would once again see an above-inflation increase in 2025. Co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth discuss the deliberate efforts by the AMLO and Sheinbaum governments to end decades of losses in purchasing power through their policy of promoting higher wages and explain what this tells us about Mexico’s post-neoliberal political economy. Plus a conversation about former US Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau’s promotion to US deputy secretary of state and a segment on the Mexican far-right’s recent activity in Argentina and Spain. Finally, in Loser and Haters, we take a look at efforts to misrepresent what the Tren Maya is all about.

In this special “Canada Edition” of the Soberanía podcast, co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth breakdown the central role played by Canadian mining companies in the Mexico-Canada bilateral relationship and explain why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to throw Mexico under the bus in the face of tariff negotiations with Donald Trump. Plus a discussion on the efforts by the Claudia Sheinbaum government to bury the vestiges of the old neoliberal order by dismantling so-called autonomous institutions. Finally, in Losers and Haters, we explain why the New York Times is trying to turn its coverage of Mexico into an episode of Breaking Bad.

US President-Elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico, Canada, and China on his first day in office but Mexico’s government is unbowed. In this week’s episode, co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth discuss President Sheinbaum’s reaction and the possible fallout from Trump’s proposal. Plus a conversation about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s deceitful, double-faced approach to Mexico-Canada relations; as well as a look at Sheinbaum’s efforts to ensure water is treated as a human right. We also celebrate the Mexican Congress’ warm embrace of Palestine’s ambassador to Mexico.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum makes her debut on the World stage at the G20 where she called on countries to use 1% of the money they spend on defense to instead fund a global reforestation program in the style of Mexico’s Sembrado Vida. Sheinbaum also reiterated Mexico’s call for a reform of the UN and its Security Council. In this week’s episode, co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth also analyze The Mexican president’s first budget and what it says about her government’s priorities. We also ask the PAN’s new leadership: “What were you thinking!?” Plus, a look at how Mexico’s first female president is delivering for Mexican women.

What does Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections mean for the Mexico-US bilateral relationship? President Claudia Sheinbaum has her answer. In this week’s episode, co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth look at the implications of another Trump presidency for Mexico, as well as the groveling response by the Mexican opposition. Plus a discussion on lessons from Mexico as people finally turn their gaze south to try to discover what policies are working to win more support for Morena. As well as a look at the new (corruption-stained) leader of the National Action Party and Mexico’s efforts to bring about food sovereignty.

A repost of our special live episode on Nov. 5 to discuss the coup effort by the Mexican Supreme Court, which failed to overturn the Constitution, as well as a conversation on the US Election and its implications for Mexico. In this episode, co-hosts Jose Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth were joined by Sin Censura's J. Antonio Ruiz.

It’s fun watching Mexican oligarchs get their comeuppance. This week Soberanía podcast co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth discuss the fall of Televisa Chairman Emilio Azcárraga Jean and the problems facing TV Azteca. We also break down the miscarriage of justice being attempted against an underage victim in Querétario by state Attorney General Víctor Antonio Jesús Hernández. Plus, you won’t be surprised to learn that Kurt and José Luis agreed with President Sheinbaum when she recently called Claudio X. González a “toxic failson”. And in the Losers and Haters, we mock Ryan Berg and academics like him who treat their own analysis as sacrosanct despite the fact they’re actively advancing the interests of US imperialism.

One judge in Mexico thinks she can overrule 36 million voters, ordering the president to unpublish the recently approved judicial reform and threatening to jail President Claudia Sheinbaum if she does not listen! Of course she doesn’t have the power to do so but her threats speak to the undemocratic attitude of the opposition and their allies. Soberanía podcast co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth also talk about the 38-year prison sentence for Felipe Calderon´s security head Genaro García Luna; as well as Donald Trump’s lies about Chinese automakers in Mexico. Kurt and José Luis also discuss Sheinbaum’s plans to build 1 million units of housing and her government’s efforts to improve children’s health. In our Losers and Haters section we talk about shallow, right-wing criticisms of Sheinbaum’s foreign policy.

Tired of US Ambassador Ken Salazar running around Mexico like he owns the place, President Claudia Sheinbaum put a short leash on him, ordering the US diplomat to refrain from accessing her cabinet members directly and instead requesting meetings through the Foreign Affairs Secretariat, as it should be. Soberanía podcast co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth also discuss Antonio Garci Nieto, the reactionary cartoonist, and his cry of victimhood after Senator Andrea Chávez decided to proceed with charges after he shared a gross digitally altered photo. Plus, Kurt and José Luis dream of one day owning the Olinia, a made-in-Mexico EV; and in Losers and Haters, we make fun of David Frum, who always merits ridicule, doesn’t matter when you read this.

In our last episode we wondered what would be President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first crisis, well we didn’t have to wait long. In her first week, the newly inaugurated Mexican president has had to face security challenges, the impact of hurricanes, and a coup plot by the Supreme Court of Justice. In the latest episode of the Soberanía podcast co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth discuss Sheinbaum’s efforts to tackle the many challenges facing Mexico. Plus we introduce a new segment: Good News from Mexico. As always, bring you the Losers and Haters, this week we pick on a writer from the pro-billionaire American Institute for Economic Research.

Mexico has a new president: Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. In this latest episode, co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth go over her first speeches as president on Oct 1, first in the Congress and later in Mexico City’s Zócalo, where the president outlined her 100-point agenda to a roaring and enthusiastic crowd. Plus, the mañaneras (daily morning press conferences by the president) are here to stay! Kurt and José Luis chat about Sheinbaum’s own touch on this critical communications exercise. And in our Loser and Haters section, we discuss the NED-funded Journal of Democracy’s latest attack on Mexican democracy.

From storming the Senate Chamber to attacking elected officials out in public, supporters of the political right in Mexico are increasingly turning to extreme forms of protest. In this latest episode, co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth analyze this worrisome trend and compare the opposition’s disarray to Morena’s stability, having just organized the party’s congress that saw a new leadership elected. Plus we listen to Claudia Sheinbaum’s last speech before becoming president and look into a CIA agent’s gross and abusive behavior while he was stationed in Mexico and what it says about the sense of impunity of these agents while working abroad for US agencies.

In the face of the defeat, Mexico’s political opposition is taking desperate measures. They have dragged out former neoliberal President Ernesto Zedillo (of the corrupt PRI) to speak out against the Judicial Reform. Co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth discuss this and the opposition’s virtual collapse after yet another loss, as well as the symbolism of AMLO signing the decree officially modifying the Constitution on September 15, Mexican Independence Day. In our Losers and Haters section, we look at a recently launched international campaign to discredit Mexican democracy and the Fourth Transformation.

Soberanía takes a deep dive into Morena’s Judicial Reform. Co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth start by providing an overview of what the constitutional reform actually intends to accomplish. We also talk about the unhinged response by some members of the opposition to the push to approve the reform; as well as a response to the Washington Post by two of Claudia Sheinbaum’s incoming cabinet members. Plus, Supreme Court President Norma Piña finally leaves the comfort of her office and joins the protests (for about 5 minutes). In our Losers and Haters section: the Mexican Winter Palace has fallen and the Bolsheviks led by Marxist-Leninist Sheinbaum threaten to destroy bourgeois democracy!

Morena did it. Their presence in the Senate has risen to 85 after two defections from the moribund PRD. In this episode Soberanía co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth ask what Morena's Supermajority means for Mexico and the deepening of the Fourth Transformation? Plus a report back from our participation in the 1st Continental Gathering of Independent Communicators held in Mexico City, as well as our on-the-ground coverage of President López Obrador’s final state of the union address. We also look at the latest on Ovidio Guzmán's whereabouts; and our Losers and Haters section looks at one foreign correspondent’s outright dishonesty.