Mexico - understand-culture

The Amparo

The juicio de amparo, the action for protection, first appeared in the Constitution of Yucatán of 1841. According to an article in a law journal of UNAM, its author was Manuel Crescencio Rejón. In 1847, the Acta de Reformas took up the formula of Mariano Otero, under which a court grants protection only in the particular case before it.

The same article notes that most authors agree that the amparo “se inspiró en las ideas de Alexis de Tocqueville” (was inspired by the ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville). The article links these ideas to the judicial review of laws in the United States.

Tropicalizing

Tropicalizar, “to tropicalize,” is a term used in Mexican marketing. The marketing magazine Merca2.0 describes la tropicalización as “un recurso de marketing orientado a adaptar diferentes productos o servicios” (a marketing device for adapting different products or services) so that various communities accept them.

The word also applies to songs. Uno TV published a list of songs “que hemos cantado mal o simplemente tropicalizado” (that we have sung wrongly or simply tropicalized).

Compadre and Corona

Milenio writes that the accordion arrived in Mexico in the 19th century and that in Nuevo León it is used for genres from the polka to the cumbia. One line of the article reads: “El acordeón nos llega de la tradición centroeuropea desde el siglo XIX” (The accordion comes to us from the Central European tradition, since the 19th century).

Two accordion models of the maker Hohner carry Spanish names, Compadre and Corona. In 2024, a study of the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez observed that these names “han incorporado palabras en nuestro idioma” (have taken words from our language). The author found no explanation for the choice.

The Pact for Mexico

On December 2, 2012, President Enrique Peña Nieto and the leaders of the PRI, the PAN and the PRD presented the Pacto por México in a ceremony at Chapultepec Castle. The pact contained 95 proposals and a timetable for carrying them out.

A paper presented at a congress of the Latin American political science association ALACIP lists the rules of the talks that led to the pact. One of them was “Trabajar con absoluta confianza y discreción” (to work in complete trust and discretion).

The Literary Gatherings

In 1810, the conspirators of Querétaro met in the house of the corregidor Miguel Domínguez. They met at tertulias literarias, literary gatherings. México Desconocido notes that Epigmenio González, one of the conspirators, was a regular at the literary gatherings in the corregidor’s house.

A report sent to the authorities in 1810, now published by UNAM, said that the plan was discussed “en casa del corregidor, y en una academia recién establecida, y con las mayores precauciones” (in the corregidor’s house, and in a newly founded academy, and with the greatest caution).

Step by Step to the President

Article 42 of the Law of Discipline of the Mexican Army and Air Force sets the path for a complaint. It can go up “por rigurosa escala, hasta el Presidente de la República, si es necesario” (through the strict chain of command, up to the President of the Republic, if necessary).

Article 16 adds that a soldier may not make petitions as a group, or requests intended to oppose or delay orders.

Trial Balloons

Globo sonda, “probe balloon,” is the Mexican political term for a way of anticipating how the public will react to a measure. A column in SDP Noticias explains that a globo sonda “permite observar el nivel de aceptación o rechazo de las medidas” (makes it possible to observe the level of acceptance or rejection of the measures).

Selling Through Acquaintances

About 3.1 million people in Mexico work in venta directa, direct selling, according to the Asociación Mexicana de Ventas Directas, as reported by the magazine Emprendedor. In 2024, the industry’s sales reached 88,574 million pesos.

According to the same article, the business rests on “recomendaciones personales” (personal recommendations).

Three Friends, Five Films

In May 2007, at the Cannes festival, the directors Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro announced a joint project, Cha Cha Chá, to make five films for 100 million dollars. Universal Pictures and Focus Features International would finance the films and handle their distribution and international sales.

The film site Espinof called the three directors Los Tres Amigos, the three friends.