As the U.S. FDA shifts suspicions from tomatoes to jalapeños after a major salmonella outbreak, questions arise over how the agency tracks imported produce. From Mexican peppers to Honduran melons, foreign farms feel the impact of the FDA warnings and recent blunders in the salmonella investigation could prompt changes in the agency's monitoring systems. 

En un artículo de opinión para El Universal, Jorge Pinto analiza la problemática de la integración de inmigrantes mexicanos en Estados Unidos y sus efectos en las relaciones bilaterales entre México y Estados Unidos. Además, cita ejemplos de iniciativas de integración como la del Consejo de las Américas, la cuál estudia ejemplos de cómo ciertas compañías privadas trabajan para integrar a sus empleados hispanos.

After experts and officials complete more than two months of debate over how to best resolve Pemex's flagging production, Mexico's opposition party holds referendums on an energy reform package proposed by President Felipe Calderón. But neither the nonbinding referendum nor the long debate have determined Pemex's future structure.

Drug-related violence continues to plague Mexico despite President Calderon’s efforts to stem the violence. Recent U.S. congressional approval of funding to help combat drug and gang violence is the first step in a larger multilateral assistance agreement.

NAFTA was never intended to serve as a mechanism to regulate the flow of labor. And it failed to meet policymakers' promises of creating sufficient jobs in Mexico. Nevertheless, it has established a framework for trilateral discussions on migration. Read the entire article in the Summer 2008 issue of Americas Quarterly.

Blaming NAFTA—and free trade in general—for job losses is misplaced. As the U.S. continues to debate a 15-year-olf trade agreement, other countries are negotiating their own pacts—a fact that should prod the U.S. to not only strengthen NAFTA but also reinforce its commitment to trade expansion. Read the full article in the Summer 2008 issue of Americas Quarterly.

President Felipe Calderón signed a much-anticipated reform of Mexico's judicial system, allowing for greater transparency through public trials and presumption of innocence for defendants.