The U.S.-Mexico border has become one of the most economically dynamic corridors in the world. But rapid population growth and urbanization have brought significant social and environmental consequences for the region that are only exacerbated by extreme drought. John Beckham , managing director of the North American Development Bank, joined center experts Tony Payan and Ivonne Cruz to discuss the bank’s work financing sustainable infrastructure projects along the border, the politics of water s...
Apr 13, 2026•37 min•Ep. 95
The February 22, 2026 death of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, head of Mexico’s powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), has reignited debate about security, governance, and the strength of Mexico’s organized crime institutions. In the days following the operation, cartel-linked violence spread across multiple states — underscoring both the reach of organized crime and the risks of confronting it. Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute’s Claudio X. González Center for the United State...
Mar 04, 2026•31 min•Ep. 95
Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner and home to a formidable industrial base. So why has its economy continued to underperform, with GDP growth of just 0.7 percent last year? Roberto Salinas-León, president of the Mexico Business Forum and director of the Atlas Network Initiatives for Latin America, joined “México Centered” host Tony Payan to discuss the structural challenges inhibiting Mexico’s economic growth and possible ways forward, from investor uncertainty to low producti...
Feb 27, 2026•31 min•Season 1Ep. 94
The Mexican press has played a vital role in the democratization of Mexico — not just reflecting political transformations, but propelling them. That’s the history that Andrew Paxman, lays out in his new book “Mexican Watchdogs: The Rise of a Critical Press Since the 1980s.” Paxman joined the “México Centered” podcast to discuss the various challenges to press freedom throughout modern Mexican history and what may lie ahead in the MORENA era, from the future of critical media to the growing role...
Jan 23, 2026•32 min•Season 1Ep. 93
From the “Baker Briefing” podcast: A water crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border is growing. The 1944 Water Treaty has long guided how both nations share the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers, but climate change, drought, and growing demand are testing its limits. Guest host Tony Payan speaks with Rosario Sanchez , a senior research scientist at the Texas Water Resources Institute, and Ivonne Cruz , a research scholar at the Baker Institute, about how to rethink water cooperation for an age of scarci...
Nov 12, 2025•48 min
Political cartoons serve as a powerful visual commentary on major figures, events, and issues. Paco Calderón , a cartoonist who has documented much of Mexico's political and social landscape, joined "México Centered" to discuss his work and approach. More about Tony Payan, Ph.D.: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/tony-payan Follow Tony Payan on X ( @PayanTony ) and LinkedIn . Follow @BakerInstMexico on X , LinkedIn , and Bluesky . Subscribe to “US-Mexico Update,” our monthly newsletter, at b...
Sep 26, 2025•31 min•Ep. 89
Each year, hundreds of thousands of cars are imported illegally into Mexico from the United States. These unregistered “chocolate cars” — a play on the word “chueco,” which means “crooked” in Spanish — not only crowd out the national light vehicle market, but often fail to meet pollution and safety standards and can be used in serious crimes. The used car industry in the U.S. is partially responsible for allowing the vehicles to enter Mexico at extremely low prices. But the Mexican government al...
Aug 18, 2025•40 min•Season 1Ep. 88
In this episode of “México Centered,” experts Isabella D’Alacio , John Lindsay-Poland , and Gerardo Álvarez join Tony to shed light on the dangerous flow of firearms from the U.S. into Mexico. They explore how criminal networks traffic powerful weapons across the border, the cultural and political obstacles to reform, and the ongoing efforts to curb the illegal arms trade. Tune in for an in-depth, urgent conversation on one of the most pressing bilateral issues facing the U.S. and Mexico. Featur...
Jul 03, 2025•36 min
Tony Payan joined David Satterfield, director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and host of the “Baker Briefing” podcast, to discuss the challenges Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, is facing — both domestically and in its relationship with the United States. This conversation was recorded on May 14, 2025. You can subscribe to “ Baker Briefing ” wherever you get your podcasts. More about Tony Payan, Ph.D.: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/tony-payan Follow Tony Pay...
Jun 23, 2025•41 min
On April 24, 2025, we hosted the inaugural webinar of our “Binational Dialogues” series, titled “Mexico’s Economy Today” and featuring José Antonio Meade Kuribreña . Meade offered an in-depth analysis of the current state of Mexico’s economy, followed by a thoughtful conversation with Tony Payan , director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico. Meade is a Mexican politician, economist, lawyer, diplomat, and former presidential candidate. Between 2011 and 2017, he held several high-level Cabinet ...
May 22, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 86
Tony Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico, is joined by Kevin Koym, founder and CEO of Tech Ranch, and Ana Victoria Gutiérrez , ecosystem intelligence leader at Startup Chihuahua. Together, they explore how strategic investment and community collaboration are driving the growth of tech entrepreneurship in Chihuahua. Featured guests: Ana Victoria Gutiérrez, https://www.linkedin.com/in/av-gutierrez/ Kevin Koym, https://www.kevinkoym.com/ This conversation was recorded on April 15,...
May 15, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Last month, Tony Payan joined the “ Baker Briefing ” podcast along with Rice University professor Luz Maria Garcini and ACLU of Texas attorney David Donatti to discuss the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. They explored the legal and social implications of the administration’s unconventional targeting of legal permanent and temporary residents, asylum seekers, and even foreign students, as well as the administration’s overt challenges to judicial authority and due process rights....
May 08, 2025•42 min
President Donald Trump has promised to carry out a mass deportation effort that would remove millions of immigrants residing illegally in the United States. Will the massive scale of deportations improve the U.S. economy and deliver greater job prospects for U.S.-born workers, as Trump has claimed? In early March, “ México Centered ” host Tony Payan examined the issue with Chloe East , an associate professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver, for the “Conversations on Migration” ...
Apr 10, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 84
On “ México Centered ,” host Tony Payan continued his conversation on the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in Mexico with Laura Ripani , Mexico’s country representative at the Inter-American Development Bank, and friend of the podcast Alejandro Dabdoub . They explored major questions about the future of work as AI advances: What implications does the advent of generative AI have for Mexico’s workforce and the global value chain? How can policymakers leverage AI for economic growth while co...
Mar 26, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 83
In February, “México Centered” host Tony Payan joined three other Baker Institute experts to explore President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on Mexican, Canadian, and Chinese goods and what they mean for U.S. industries and consumers — as well as our relationships with our largest trading partners. The conversation was moderated by John Diamond, director of the Baker Institute Center for Tax and Budget Policy. This episode was originally recorded in front of a live studio audience on Fe...
Mar 06, 2025•41 min
Mexico was once one of the biggest leaders in artificial intelligence (AI) globally, but progress has since stalled. Now, there’s renewed hope: President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in October 2024, has created an Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications (ATDT), and the topic is also receiving attention from the Mexican Congress. However, many questions remain. Will Mexico assign the right resources for advancement in a highly competitive field? Does it have the right team...
Feb 17, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 82
On Nov. 15, 2024, the Mexican government released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2025, which runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. The government pledged to narrow its fiscal deficit from around 6% in 2024 to around 3% in 2025, and according to the budget proposal, there will be no additional taxes, and the economy will grow between 2% and 3% next year. Within the same proposal, the government dramatically increases social spending, but cuts the budget for government goods and services, such as...
Jan 17, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 81
On the campaign trail, Mexico was very much in Donald Trump’s cross-hairs. Now that he’s set to return to office, his pledges — including mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, a 25% tariff on Mexican goods and services, and a “war on drug cartels” — could indeed become reality. What could these policies look like in practice, and how will they shape the future of the U.S.-Mexico relationship? How might Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, respond to this hawkish ideological shift in U.S...
Dec 09, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 80
The Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute stays abreast of the many issues affecting the binational relationship–including some issues that are not as intuitive and are often not in the media. One of these is artificial intelligence. To explore what AI can do to the U.S.-Mexico relationship - in academia, security, cybersecurity, and labor - we sat down with Chris Bronk , a nonresident fellow at the Baker Institute and an associate professor at the Universi...
Nov 04, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Mexico’s sweeping overhaul of the country’s court system took effect last month, in the final weeks before President López Obrador handed the keys of the National Palace to his mentee and successor, President Claudia Sheinbaum. Mexico is now one of the few countries in the world that elects its judges, including at the Supreme Court level, by popular vote, rather than by appointment. This widely controversial move has led to protests by the federal judiciary, as well as criticism by the United S...
Oct 23, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 78
International trade has flourished in recent decades. In the U.S., which is both the world’s largest importer and exporter of goods and services, trade has lowered the costs of everyday goods, raised the living standard, and fueled job growth. But it has also eliminated some jobs, mostly in manufacturing. As a result, support for free trade has declined. Today, American policymakers are embracing industrial policies, which are designed to promote specific sectors, especially manufacturing, in a ...
Sep 26, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Late last month, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced a “pause” in relations with the U.S. embassy. These latest tensions between the two countries came after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar criticized López Obrador’s proposed judicial reforms, which include electing judges by popular vote. Salazar called this measure “a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy.” When Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador’s protégé, takes office on Oct. 1, s...
Sep 16, 2024•31 min
In this month's episode of Mexico Centered, Tony Payan sits down with Carlos Moreno Jaimes , professor and researcher at ITESO Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara, about voter attitudes in the Mexican and U.S. electorates and a recent survey he conducted to look at this issue. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website , and follow us on X/Twitter and LinkedIn . To join our mailing list, please subscribe here and make sure to opt-in to "U...
Jul 03, 2024•20 min
Tony Payan sits down with Lorena Becerra , political analyst and CEO of Lorena Becerra Encuestas, to analyze the results of Mexico’s presidential election on June 2, 2024. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website , and follow us on X/Twitter and LinkedIn . To join our mailing list, please subscribe here and make sure to opt-in to "U.S.-Mexico Update."...
Jun 05, 2024•20 min
In this episode we sit down with Javier Martin Reyes , researcher at the Institute for Legal Research at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) for a conversation on Mexico's post-presidential election scenarios and their possible legal consequences. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website , and follow us on X/Twitter and LinkedIn . To join our mailing list, please subscribe here and make sure to opt-in to "U.S.-Mexico Update....
May 13, 2024•25 min
As Mexico's current presidential administration approaches its final days, key questions about the country’s future arise. Some of the critical challenges facing Mexico range from political to democratic principles, such as the growing poverty rate, the state of public safety, and the U.S.–Mexico binational relationship. How will the next presidential administration tackle these issues? In this episode we have a wide-ranging conversation with Carlos Bravo Regidor , a political analyst for media ...
Apr 26, 2024•22 min•Ep. 73
We're back! After a hiatus of almost 2 years the Mexico Centered podcast returns...and just in time for Mexico's 2024 presidential elections. In this episode, a crossover with the Baker Institute's Baker Briefing podcast, host and Baker Institute fellow Edward M. Emmett sits down with Tony Payan, director, and Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez, scholar, of the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico, to look ahead at Mexico's 2024 elections. For more information on the Baker Institute Center fo...
Mar 25, 2024•23 min•Ep. 72
In his final episode as host, Enrique Quezada sits down with Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico, to look back at how the podcast started and the role it has played at the Center. Enrique talks about preparing for interviews and the behind-the-scenes work to produce Mexico Centered. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website , and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn . To join our mailing list, please ...
Aug 18, 2022•33 min
Bob Krumenaker , superintendent of Big Bend National Park , and Javier Ochoa , subdirector of the protected areas Maderas del Carmen and Ocampo , talk about the different models of conservation the U.S. and Mexico have, their day-to-day activities, and the numerous ways in which they collaborate across the border to the benefit of the ecosystem they share. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website , and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn...
Jul 27, 2022•42 min
Alejandro Cruz, director of special studies at BGC Ulises Beltrán y Asociados and an expert in local elections in Mexico, discusses the results of the June 2022 local elections in Mexico and their significance for the López Obrador administration and the president’s party. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website , and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn . To join our mailing list, please subscribe here and make sure to opt-in to "Center...
Jul 05, 2022•34 min
