Articles

August 24, 2025

The Chinese Meander

Luis Rubio Over the last half century, Mexico has experienced versions of one-party hegemony, electoral competition, authoritarianism, “perfect” dictatorship, incipient democracy, and back again to a growing quasi-hegemonic thrust. In the meantime, there have been moments of obstinacy, openness, freedom, attempts at subjugation, dinosaur tail lashes, extortions, threats, much discretion and arbitrariness, and “other data”. […]

August 22, 2025

Mexico and TrumpMexico’s Foreign PolicyMexico’s Politics

by Luis Rubio 19 Aug by Luis Rubio, political analyst and chairman of México Evalúa. For months, talk has been circulating about a possible US military intervention in Mexico. The idea has gained traction here due to the presence of American intelligence ships in the Gulf of California and, more recently, the sighting of a drone […]

August 17, 2025

Hegemonies

Luis Rubio Is Morena the “new” PRI? The question is obvious and frequently asked. The way in which Morena has advanced its political project—now in its second administration—makes clear its aim to become a hegemonic party, as the PRI once was. However, context matters: the 21st century is very different from the last one, and […]

August 15, 2025

The Morena Pact

Mexico’s Democracy, Mexico’s Politics, Mexico’s Economy15/08/2025by Luis Rubio, political analyst and chairman of México Evalúa. In 1989, a series of protests and disturbances in China culminated in the massacre at Tiananmen Square, Beijing’s central plaza. The event shook not only China, but also the outside world, which had placed its hopes on reintegrating China into the community of […]

August 10, 2025

Self-Imposed Limits

Luis Rubio Macondo, the fictional town invented by Gabriel García Márquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude, represents a place where myth and reality intertwine to explain the human capacity for adaptation in the face of life’s and history’s twists and turns. When one reads—or rereads—the novel, it’s impossible not to associate it with the mythology […]

August 03, 2025

Where To?

Luis Rubio “What does it mean to live in a permanent state of exception?” asks Giorgio Agamben, a philosopher who has studied this modern tendency. His answer should give us chills: “the voluntary submission to institutionalized violence.” In other words: the establishment of a “legal civil war” disguised as a “need to preserve public security.” […]

July 27, 2025

New Forces

Luis Rubio “Trump has no idea what forces he has unleashed,” says Edward Luce, describing the series of erratic moves that have characterized the American president in his first months in office, generating brutal reactions, both politically and in the financial markets. I believe there are two ways to interpret this statement: one is that […]

July 20, 2025

False Dilemmas

Luis Rubio Public debate in Mexico has veered into a dead end. For some, the transition to democracy ended with the recent flurry of constitutional amendments passed hastily and without serious analysis of their implications. For others—especially the President—it’s all just noise, a storm in a teacup. Unfortunately, both sides are partly right, largely because […]

July 13, 2025

Consequences

Luis Rubio The cult of the state and the allure for public spending as an instrument involve a deeply seductive feeling. Who better than “the State” to solve problems, plan for the future, and serve the citizenry? That production should happen in Mexico; that nothing should be imported—even what isn’t produced or can’t be produced […]

July 09, 2025

Sheinbaum is facing Trump without a compass

Mexico’s Foreign PolicyMexico’s PoliticsMexico and Trump9 Julby Luis Rubio. Editor’s note: Mr. Rubio is a political analyst and Chairman of México Evalúa. — Trump sees no need to adhere to the traditional forms and rules of diplomacy. His “mandate” is clear, and he assumes it as absolute truth. If one adds to that his tactical way […]

July 06, 2025

The Institution

Luis Rubio How can one explain 20th-century Mexico? The century began with a government that had lasted nearly three decades and ended with a democratic election. The country experienced a bloody revolution that left over a million dead; following the civil war came the Cristero War; the beginnings of a political reorganization; economic growth, the […]

June 29, 2025

Change of Direction

Luis Rubio “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle,” wrote George Orwell. He wasn’t talking about everyday life, but about the world of politics, where, he continued, “it is quite easy for the part to be perceived as greater than the whole, or for two objects to be in […]