On this episode of the MODERN MEXICO PODCAST, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks about Mexico's solar energy sector with Diego Rivera Rivota, a Research Associate at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Mexico is one of the best potential locations for solar energy generation in the world—it has great sun with minimal seasonal variability. Overall, Mexico is well-positioned to produce competitively priced solar-generated electricity.

Over the last decade, Mexico has successfully attracted billions of dollars in new investment in solar energy. Over the last few years, Mexico's wind and solar energy production, as a share of total electricity generated, has quadrupled.

But, investment in solar energy has stalled during the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a controversial populist.

Diego describes Mexican President Lopez Obrador's attitude towards renewable energy as "nationalistic, hostile, and backwards."

Overall, he gives Lopez Obrador an "F" for his solar energy policies.

"Given the stagnant result of renewable energy development I’m afraid I can only give an 'F' to this government’s energy policy in terms of renewable development. Not only has it failed to promote and increase investment in renewable energy, but the policies implemented by this government have actively undermined the development of these projects. This has meant a lost opportunity for new projects, solar panels, wind farms, but also an overall higher cost of electricity," Diego says.

Mexico still has a chance to become a solar energy super power, but to realize its potential, it needs remove obstacles and attract funding for new projects.

In this episode of the MODERN MEXICO PODCAST host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to Falko Ernst, a Mexico analyst at the International Crisis Group about the dynamics of organized crime in Michoacan, Mexico. The discussion examines the connections between Mexico's multi-billion dollar avocado sector and the violence that has killed over 10,000 people in Michoacan during the presidency of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Falko gives Lopez Obrador a "D-" grade for his security policies in Michoacan.

Nathaniel talks about his field work investigating the role of organized crime in the avocado sector in Tancitaro, Michoacan, which was published in his book SEARCHING FOR MODERN MEXICO.

Falko explains that avocados aren't the only product affected by organized crime.

Falko mentioned criminal involvement in the production and export of limes, grapefruit, minerals, and berries in Michoacan. “It’s not just about avocados. It’s a huge list. The [organized crime] portfolio includes dozens of items from licit economic activities,” he said.

“It’s also been a trend for these groups to channel their money into orchards and become entrepreneurial strongmen on the local level," Falko added.

In this episode of the MODERN MEXICO PODCAST host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to Ryan Berg, the Americas Director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank about the divergent narratives about Mexico's trajectory. Political analysts such as Ian Bremmer laud Mexico as an emerging industrial powerhouse, while many Republican politicians are calling Mexico a narco-state. Ryan says he thinks that nearshoring is happening "in spite of" Mexico's President Lopez Obrador and not because of him. He gives Lopez Obrador a C- for his nearshoring promotion policies. He also warns that violent cargo truck hijackings are a major risk for companies operating in Mexico.

In this episode of The Modern Mexico Podcast, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to Douglas Coleman, the CEO of the Mexican Mining Center, about the risks affecting Mexico's mining sector. Coleman says that while companies are still exploring, new investment is slowing. He describes President Lopez Obrador's attitude towards the mining sector as "distrustful, antagonistic, and uninformed." Overall, he gives Lopez Obrador a "C-" for the quality of his mining sector policies. Coleman says that the most complicated issue for mining companies in Mexico to manage is relations with local indigenous groups. Coleman also discusses the impact organized crime groups have on mining companies' operations in Mexico.

On this episode of th Modern Mexico Podcast host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to historian Edward Shawcross about his new book, THE LAST EMPEROR OF MEXICO. Shawcross's book tells the story of an ambitious and somewhat delusional Austrian archduke named Maximilian von Hapsburg who set sail for Mexico with plans to invade and install himself as an enlightened despot in the mid 1860s. The history of Maximilian, an ambitious but flawed leader who had progressive ideals but embraced authoritarian tactics, can help us understand contemporary politics in Mexico. Shawcross discusses the similarities and differences between Maximilian and Mexico's current president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Shawcross explains, “From my point of view it seems [Lopez Obrador] is tending towards populism and authoritarianism more than the kind of democracy that was envisioned in the 1850s and 1860s, this radical tradition of Mexican liberalism that is on the side of the people [and was] trying to create durable institutions.”

Host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to David Lida, author of the book "First Stop In The New World: Mexico City, The Capital of The 21st Century," about the turkey's path from Mexico to Europe, and back to the U.S. Is Mexico given enough credit for being the country that introduced turkey to the world? Most people in the U.S. don't realize that the turkey they eat on Thanksgiving has its roots in Mexico and is descended from birds raised by Aztecs. Nathaniel and David also discuss the best restaurants in Mexico City for eating turkey and the best turkey dishes within Mexican cuisine. Lida explains, "I think [the cross-bred genetics of U.S. and Mexican turkeys] is evidence of the symbiotic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. There’s an enormous symbiosis between these two countries and turkeys are just another example of that.”

Host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to Human Rights Watch Mexico Researcher Tyler Mattiace about why Mexico is now the most dangerous country in the world for journalists and human rights activists.

Mattiace explains, "Mexico consistently ranks as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, usually it’s on par with countries where there is a war: Ukraine, Afghanistan. It’s also one of the top most dangerous places for human rights defenders and human rights activists.”

Asked to give President Lopez Obrador a grade for his approach to human rights, Mattiace says, "his worldview doesn’t center around human rights. I would give him an F, a bad grade."

In this episode of the Modern Mexico Podcast, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery speaks to Brookings Institution senior fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown about security issues in Mexico and why President Lopez Obrador is failing to meaningfully address the country's historically high murder rate. Mexico has soldiers in the streets but no meaningful law enforcement strategy for addressing violent crime.

“There is no law enforcement strategy other than sending forces to stand in the streets and more or less do nothing. That’s really disastrous, the violence has become brazen. The level of homicides is very intense, similar to what a country in an intense war experiences," Felbab-Brown explains.

In this episode of the Modern Mexico Podcast, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery speaks to Mexico historian Nathaniel Morris about his new book SOLDIERS, SAINTS AND SHAMANS: INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND THE REVOLUTIONARY STATE IN MEXICO'S GRAN NAYAR.

Morris says of President AMLO, "I’d give him…a B+ for presentation. He talks the talk. But, he’s getting a D for me when it comes to actual implementation of genuinely positive change at least in the communities I’ve been working in. It’s a lot of hot air."

In the third episode of the Modern Mexico Podcast, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery speaks to Mexico historian AS Dillingham about Day of the Dead and indigenous identity in Mexico. Dillingham's new book OAXACA RESURGENT: INDIGENEITY, DEVELOPMENT, AND INEQUALITY IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY MEXICO is about public schools, indigenous groups, and teachers unions in Oaxaca, Mexico. Dillingham explains that President "AMLO’s relationship to indigenous communities could be described as rhetorical, paternalistic and folkloric. I think he stands in a long tradition of Mexican politicians who don indigenous dress or make superficial references to indigenous communities while doing little to respectfully engage with those communities [and] their political traditions.”