Corn was the crop of choice 17 years ago when we landed in Mexico, on the shores of Lake Chapala. Everybody who had a patch of ground had a corn patch. More land, more corn, some for tamales, some for farm animals, some for the market. A surge in tequila sales created a shortage of agave. […]
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Just when I thought the world economy was looking up, the boy genius managing our conservative stock portfolio for continuing retirement happiness in Mexico sent a sad e-mail. He said “we” had lost 2 percent in an unexpected series of divots, dives and mini-disasters. The “we” part is a joke. He drops a dollar in […]
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Mexico has struck gold – again. Long, long ago, Aztec and Maya chiefs, visiting Spaniards and Catholic fathers accumulated gold as a status symbol, to enhance riches or to upgrade church ambience. There was a bowl of nuggets for the tomb, a full chest for the sailing ship and layers of gold for steeples, saintly […]
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Business in Mexico Why do so many of my employees have the same names? This is a question that I hear a lot. It can be a little confusing at first when it seems as if a lot of your employees share the same surname. It does not necessarily mean that they are related. I […]
Continue ReadingBusiness in Mexico I found that the reluctance to communicate bad news was not a trait of our Mexican employees alone, but I did find that it was more prevalent there. It’s a beautiful Monday morning on the high plains of Mexico. We had a great weekend with a few friends over on Saturday night […]
Continue ReadingBusiness in Mexico We had a lot of new business coming in and no room left. It was time to build our second facility in Mexico. After a lengthy negotiation, we purchased a good piece of property on fairly level ground. It was important that the lot be level, as the cost of excavation and […]
Continue ReadingBusiness in Mexico It’s a very hot and muggy Saturday morning in this border town in Mexico. The company I am visiting is losing money and needs to turn things around quickly. A look at their budget model shows that there are two factors putting this company at risk. One is a very high scrap […]
Continue ReadingBusiness in Mexico In Canada and the United States, it is fairly straightforward to downsize our employee base during a downturn in the economy. We have both short term layoffs and terminations to help us to right size, and the employees have unemployment insurance to cushion the change. In Mexico, however, things are very different. […]
Continue ReadingThe privatization of the facilities of the port of Veracruz in 1996 and open competition for market share between the country’s main operators, have led to significant improvements in the port’s overall handling capacity and services, says sources, while major expansion projects are underway to further improve the overall structure of the major deep sea […]
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While many leave Mexico to seek their fortune North of the Border, for a number of expats, Mexico is a land of opportunity. In addition, beautiful landscapes, the warmth of the people here and year-round sunshine just make it better. Mexico is attracting thousands of retirees from the US, Canada and farther afield. For a […]
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