Yearly Archives: 2024

 Luis Rubio There are decisive moments in the life of people and the history of nations that determine the beginning of an era and the end of another. The coming election on June 2 may well be one of these. This is neither good nor bad -only time can tell- but it can well be […]

Luis Rubio The great success in politico-electoral matters of the last few decades was creating conditions of certainty regarding the electoral competition for those that would govern Mexico. The two electoral authorities (the National Electoral Institute [INE] and the Electoral Tribunal) came into being to avoid the persistence of the fraudulent practices in electoral matters […]

Luis Rubio The stakes of the coming election are much higher than just one person being the winner this coming June second. Mexico has wasted too much time shirking fundamental decisions on how it is going to develop, a circumstance that betrays the incapacity and unwillingness of the leading members of successive governments throughout many […]

Luis Rubio A legend relates that, on being part of the academic advisory committee of a student thesis, the great teacher Gabino Fraga found himself with a student whose work did not merit approval but whose capacity to be a successful professional was evident, were he just to propose it to himself. The committee members debated and, […]

Luis Rubio “To be or not to be, that is the question” spoke Hamlet in his famous and introspective monologue. Presidential campaigns tend to lapse into contradictions and incompatibilities -to be or not to be- because they have of necessity to reconcile interests, groups and projects that are not compatible or coherent among themselves; they […]

Luis Rubio Sarajevo 1914. Gavrilo Princip shoots Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. One more assassination, except that this one would have indescribable consequences, starting with dozens of millions of deaths. An apparently insignificant event unleashes forces that after it nothing or no one could contain. Thus begin the great changes: with small things that […]

Luis Rubio In his novel on Argentina entitled Zama, Antonio Di Benedetto speaks of the “victims of expectation,” which Michael Reid, the Latin-American expert, interprets as the victims of waiting, a metaphor on the permanent expectancy of achieving the progress and prosperity that in Mexico would seem to be an interminable struggle to reach  the […]

   Luis Rubio March 4, 2024  Electoral contests are akin to military campaigns: an objective is contested, weapons and tools of combat are deployed, and the aim is to defeat the enemy — in this case, the contender. In his biography of Napoleon, Andrew Roberts states, “It was a measure of Napoleon’s resilience and ingenuity — and […]

Luis Rubio Electoral contests are a little like military campaigns: an objective is disputed, arms and instruments of combat are deployed, and the defeat of the enemy is sought, in this case the contender. In his biography on Napoleon, Andrew Roberts states that it was “a measure of Napoleon’s resilience and resourcefulness –and of the […]

    Luis Rubio February 27, 2024 It is not difficult to name the problems confronting Mexico; the hard part is to identify suitable solutions and create consensus for their implementation. The problems are in good measure ageless and known to all, but their causes, consequences and potential solutions are always controversial. That’s why the […]