They are presented below in the order they were published.

A British-Mexican woman whose art is ‘pure escapism’ 

In 2018, Susannah Rigg wrote about the life of Leonora Carrington – an English-born painter and novelist who lived in Mexico most of her life – and the San Luis Potosí jail-turned-museum that houses some of her works.

Leonora Carrington Museum is a surreal location for surrealist art

The Mexican towns where ‘being British’ is part of their identity

In 2021, Leigh Thelmadatter delved into the British legacy in Pachuca, the capital of Hidalgo, and the nearby town of Real del Monte, where Cornish miners first arrived in the 1820s.

The miners who brought British culture to Mexico

A Brit who became an authority on Mexican food

In 2022, we published this obituary of Diana Kennedy, a writer and cookbook author who became the foremost authority on Mexican cuisine in the English language.

Ambassador and ‘rock star’ of Mexican cuisine, Diana Kennedy dies at 99

Edward James – ‘crazier than all the surrealists put together’ 

Also in 2022, Leigh Thelmadatter took a look at the life of poet and patron of the arts Edward James and the sculpture gardens he created in San Luis Potosí.

Was Edward James’ magnum opus in San Luis Potosí art or egocentrism?

The Queen in Mexico – ‘Jovial, simple, smiling, much more beautiful than her photographs’ 

After the passing of Elizabeth II in September 2022, we looked back at the two trips the monarch made to Mexico during her 70-year reign.

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II’s state visits to Mexico

The remarkable story of how fútbol reached Mexico

Late last year, Gordon Cole-Schmidt recounted the story of how English miners introduced soccer to Mexico while working in the central state of Hidalgo.

Soccer: How the world’s most popular sport arrived in Mexico

All the “Global Mexico: U.K. in Focus” articles Mexico News Daily published this week can be found here. We hope you enjoyed the series. Cheerio!

PS: Stay tuned for our next Global Mexico week. And why not take a look back at our previous series on Australia and India?

The post Retrospective: The UK on Mexico News Daily appeared first on Mexico News Daily

The area around Real del Monte, Hidalgo is some of the most beautiful countryside in Mexico. The thick forests and high mountains create a temperate climate. Lush green forests cover the mountainside as far as the eye can see. The architecture is unlike any other in Mexico, with tall brick chimneys and Victorian-era mills and mines. Tourists travel from across the country to take in the sites and enjoy an authentic paste, the traditional miners lunch that was baked for the silver miners who once plied their trade in the plentiful mines of the area. 

Thousands of miles away, on England’s southwestern tip, tourists flock to see the tall brick chimneys and Victorian-era mills and mines of Redruth, Cornwall. Many, like in Mexico, enjoy a  traditional miners’ lunch called a pasty. 

Despite hailing from southern England, the pasty has become a revered piece of Mexican cuisine. While Mexico has taken on elements of several countries that have helped shape it over the centuries, few imports have been received so enthusiastically, and have become so deeply ingrained in Mexican culture as the pasty.

From England to Mexico

The British miners hired by the Hidalgan mine syndicate were from the town of Redruth, Cornwall. Armed with cutting-edge British mining technology of the 1800s, around one hundred miners set off with their families making the journey from Falmouth across the Atlantic Ocean. 

The journey was not easy. The port of Veracruz, the original landing point, was blockaded by the Spanish, and the miners were forced to land further away. During the 250-kilometer trek, which lasted 14 months, many Englishmen died. Those who survived the journey found themselves in an unfamiliar world. But as the precious metal finally flowed, more miners eventually came, not just from Redruth, but the surrounding towns of Camborne and Gwennap.

State capital Pachuca’s main square, unusually European in its design, was the product of one of these Camborne transplants. Francis “Francisco” Rule left the town aged just 17 to seek his fortune in Mexico. In Hidalgo, Rule found exactly that and used it to build much of the opulent state capital, including what is now the City Hall, formerly his private residence. The impressive main square, which includes a monumental clock tower that chimes to the same tune as Big Ben and a number of traditionally British buildings including a Methodist Church, was also built thanks to the enormous fortune Rule amassed in Mexico. 

Ultimately, the Mexican Revolution sent many of the unattached Cornishmen back home. Those who had taken Mexican wives however, including Rule himself, stayed. Today, their descendants still proudly carry the names of those who first made the journey. 

From a worker’s lunch to a national icon

But what of the miner’s lunch that has become symbolic of both regions? The Cornish pasty is said to have been invented as a way for miners to eat a filling lunch while remaining hard at work. A hard pastry shell, with a thick braided crust, is filled with meat, potato and swede (or sometimes cheese and onion), and the end with fruit or jam. To eat it, the pasty is held by its thick braid, allowing miners in filthy conditions to eat without dirtying their food any more than necessary. Pasties are small enough that they could be placed in a trouser pocket, and hard enough that they would stay intact until lunchtime.  

The paste, meanwhile, has had an illustrious history in its new country. While the British staple remains staunchly tied to the highly traditional meat and potato or cheese and onion variants, the Mexican version has evolved into a range of flavors that the miners of Redruth could scarcely have imagined. Fillings such as tinga de pollo, hawaiana and of course, mole, have transformed the paste into a perfect representation of the cultural exchange that took place between the two countries. 

The Cornish pasty has spread across the world, becoming popular on almost every continent in one form or another. Despite this prodigious expansion, no country has adopted it as their own in quite the same way as Mexico. Mimicking the popularity of the pasty back in native Britain, where the pastry is often sold as a snack in bakeries, train stations and cafes, the Mexican paste can be found on street corners across the country. In Hidalgo, every neighborhood has a paste shop of its own, and in the old mining towns, there is one on almost every street.

If you’re headed to Real del Monte to try the authentic paste, stop by Pastes el Portal, which makes pastes so good that they took the top prize at the Cornish World Pasty Awards. Manned by a cheerful owner dressed from head to toe in a traditional British Policeman’s uniform, pastes are available in 14 flavors, to eat in or take away (I took 2 boxes last time I visited). The tiny restaurant, which often has a queue, also serves as an impromptu mining museum, and many of the staff are former miners who carry on the paste tradition today.

Hidalgo and Cornwall today

The mines in Hidalgo have long since closed. Tourism has filled the gap, and the annual International Pasty Festival has become a staple of the town. At the inauguration of the first event in 2011, then mayor of Real del Monte Omar Mariano Skewes paid tribute to the food. “Cornish people rebuilt our shattered mining industry giving us work, and now again, after we have lost that industry, the Cornish have given us pastes and a new source of income,” he said. The three-day food festival has since become a huge draw for the region. 

In Cornwall, pasties (unsurprisingly) remain serious business too — and the community recognizes the important role that Mexico plays in the history of the meal. In fact, the Mexican ambassador to the U.K. was an invited guest at the 2022 World Pasty Championship. Britain’s King (then Prince) Charles and Queen Camilla even made a personal appearance in Real del Monte in 2014, joining in the paste making themselves. 

Seven hundred British miners and their families lie at rest at the Panteón Ingles in Real del Monte, having given their lives to building a tiny slice of England deep in the Mexican mountains. In recognition of the life of Francis Rule, Pachuca and Camborne are now sister towns. Redruth and Real de Monte have been twinned since 2008, the bond of their shared history stretching across the ocean. 

By Mexico News Daily writer Chris Havler-Barrett

The post How Mexico claimed a classic British food as its own appeared first on Mexico News Daily

In the red, blue and white corner, we have the United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy that is famous around the world for its Royal Family, its music, its literature, its vibrant capital and more.

And in the green, white and red corner we have Mexico, a republic like no other, with over 200 years of history as an independent country and millions of citizens whose ancestors have lived on this land for thousands of years.

That’s right, it’s the U.K. versus Mexico … in numbers!

In this article — which continues our “Global Mexico: U.K. in Focus” series — I look at data on things such as population, geography and economy in order to make some objective comparisons between the U.K. and Mexico. There are even some football (soccer) and beer stats for good measure.

Did you know that the U.K economy is almost twice the size of Mexico’s?

Did you know that both countries are among the world’s top 10 destinations for international tourists?

Read on to discover many other facts about the U.K. and Mexico in this latest “head-to-head” addition to our data journalism series “Mexico in Numbers.”

Population and demographics

According to the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics, the population of the U.K. was estimated to be 67.6 million in mid-2022. Over 80% of the U.K. population lives in England.

The population of the four nations that make up the U.K. — England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — is just over half that of Mexico, where 126 million people were counted in the 2020 census.

Mexico is the world’s 10th most populous nation (just ahead of Ethiopia and behind Brazil), while the U.K ranks 21st.

On average, Brits (and the Northern Irish) are much older than Mexicans. The median age of the U.K. population was 40.7 in 2022, while the median age of Mexicans was 29 in 2020.

U.K. citizens are not only older, on average, than their Mexican counterparts, but live longer as well. Life expectancy at birth in the U.K. in 2020 to 2022 was 82.6 for females and 78.6 for males. The figures in Mexico in 2022 were 78.4 for women and 72.6 for men.

Area and other geographical data

In area, Mexico is around eight times larger than the U.K.

Mexico’s territory covers 1.96 million square kilometers, making it the 13th largest country in the world, while the area of the U.K. is 243,610 square kilometers, making it the world’s 78th largest country.

Mexico’s largest state, Chihuahua, is almost 4,000 square kilometers bigger than the entire territory of the U.K.

Mexico also one-ups the U.K. in comparisons of the two countries’ largest lakes, highest mountains and longest rivers. The stats are as follows:

• Lake Chapala in Jalisco has a surface area of 1,100 kilometers whereas Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is less than half that size with a surface area of 392 square kilometers.
• The peak of Pico de Orizaba, an active stratovolcano on the Veracruz-Puebla border, is 5,636 meters high whereas the summit of Ben Nevis in Scotland is considerably lower at 1,345 meters.
• The Rio Grande, which runs along a significant stretch of the Mexico-United States border, is 3,051 kilometers long, almost nine times the length of the 354-kilometer-long River Severn, which runs through Wales and England.

Britons in Mexico, Mexicans in the UK

Mexico’s 2020 census found that there were 2,582 immigrants from the United Kingdom living in Mexico. Almost 70% of that number were aged 39 or younger. Mexico City had the highest number of immigrants from the U.K. followed by Querétaro and Nuevo León.

Britons have lived in these lands for a very long time – since before Mexico was Mexico, in fact. Scotsman Thomas Blake lived in Mexico City during the early colonial days of New Spain. He worked as a hosier and in 1544 married Francisca de Ribera, widow of the conquistador Cristóbal de Canyego, according to the Scottish Centre for Global History.

According to the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, a government agency, 18,000 Mexicans were living in the United Kingdom in 2022.

Among the current Mexico residents of the U.K are Premier League players Raúl Jiménez and Edson Álvarez.

Economy 

Mexico became the the 12th largest economy in the world in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while the U.K. ranked sixth.

The IMF estimates that the nominal GDP of the U.K. was US $3.34 trillion last year, making the British economy about 1.86 times the size of the Mexican economy. Mexico’s nominal GDP was $1.79 trillion in 2023, according to the IMF.

Wealth, as measured on a per-person basis, is four times higher in the United Kingdom.

Per-capita GDP in the U.K. was US $46,125 in 2022, according to the World Bank, while the figure for Mexico was $11,496.

Mexico’s economy grew 3.2% last year while the U.K. economy was at a virtual standstill, expanding just 0.1% compared to 2022.

In a report published last week, the IMF forecast that the Mexican economy would grow 2.4% this year and that the U.K.’s GDP would increase 0.5%.

International tourist numbers 

Buckingham Palace or the Palace of Fine Arts? Stonehenge or Chichén Itzá? Loch Ness or Lake Chapala? Brighton or Cancún?

They are some hypothetical choices a person might face if trying to decide whether to take a trip to the United Kingdom or Mexico.

While both countries are undoubtedly interesting and alluring tourism destinations, data shows that more international tourists are visiting Mexico than the U.K., although the numbers are not too dissimilar.

Mexico was the sixth most popular destination for international tourists in 2022 with 38.3 million arrivals while the United Kingdom was one spot behind in seventh place with 31.2 million arrivals.

In 2023, international tourist arrivals increased 10% in Mexico to reach 42.1 million. Final data for the U.K. has not yet been published, but the tourism board Visit Britain estimated late last year that international tourist numbers would total 37.8 million in 2023.

England vs Mexico in football 

Football is popular all over the U.K., but England has been the most successful among the four constituent nations at international events. It is also home to the world’s most lucrative football league.

Here’s a look at England vs Mexico across a range of football stats.

• Men’s international matches: England has recorded six victories (including a win at the 1966 World Cup) to Mexico’s two. One match ended in a tie.
• World Cup results: England won the 1966 World Cup at home and made the semi-finals in 1990 in Italy and in 2018 in Russia. Mexico’s best result is reaching the quarter finals twice, at home in 1970, and at home again in 1986.
• Women’s World Cup: England has competed at six of the nine women’s World Cup events and was runner-up in the 2023 edition. Mexico has played in three, but has never gone past the group stage.
• English Premier League (EPL) and Liga MX: Twenty clubs play in the EPL while 18 compete in Mexico’s top professional division. The highest paid player in the EPL is currently Manchester City player Kevin de Bruyne, a Belgian who has a base salary of £ 20.8 million ($25.9 million). Spaniard Sergio Canales, a midfielder for C.F. Monterrey, is reportedly the highest paid Liga MX player, earning US $5 million per season. A total of 11 Mexican players have graced the EPL since its inception in 1992.

Beer production and consumption 

Mexico is a much bigger beer producer than the United Kingdom, and Mexicans also drink more suds than the British.

According to the 2022-23 report of hops company BarthHaas, Mexico was the world’s fourth largest beer producer in 2022 with a total output of 141 million hectoliters.

The U.K. ranked 11th with a total output of 37.4 million hectoliters, or just over a quarter of Mexico’s production.

As for beer drinking, Mexico ranks above the U.K. for both total and per-capita consumption, according to Kirin’s latest Global Beer Consumption Report.

The Japanese beverages company reported that Mexico ranked fourth for total beer consumption in 2022 behind China, the United States and Brazil, while the United Kingdom ranked eighth. Mexico had a 5.2% share of the global market for beer in 2022, 2.8 points ahead of the U.K.’s 2.4% share.

On a per-capita basis, Mexico was the 19th largest beer consumer in 2022, with the average person drinking 75.9 liters of cerveza that year. That equates to around four bottles or cans of beer per person per week.

Britons, meanwhile, were more temperate in their consumption of lager and ale, drinking 67 liters per person in 2022. The U.K. ranked as the world’s 27th largest beer consumer on a per-capita basis.

At the top of the list was the Czech Republic, which Kirin said was the world’s largest per-capita beer consumer for a 30th consecutive year in 2022. Ranking second to 10th were Austria, Poland, Ireland, Lithuania, Spain, Germany, Estonia, Romania and Namibia.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

The post The United Kingdom vs Mexico in Numbers appeared first on Mexico News Daily

As a Brit who’s spent the last fifteen years living between New York City and San Miguel de Allende, I’ve often mulled over what kept those who blazed the trail before me, whether they returned home too soon or never at all. Whereas is Britain is known for its reserved and almost uncomfortably polite culture, Mexico, a land of vibrance, color, social turbulence and disparity with a rich history, festivities, desert, dust and cacti is almost diametrically opposed in its flavor. 

A very British love affair with Mexico

I can relate to those of my countrymen who developed a love affair with Mexico. Not only have I read some of their books, adored their paintings and heard some intriguing tales about their lives, but some of my own encounters with the people and culture of Mexico have echoed their passion for the country. It was in Mexico that I found freedom, warmth and creativity; that I performed theater, joined a circus trapeze school, danced ecstatically in the street in one of their many festivities and holiday celebrations, hiked in the desert and met strange looking animals and plants. 

I was captured by the importance Mexicans place on family; met other wandering explorers from all over the world; participated in centuries-old healing ceremonies and fell in love with the dramatic sweep of the landscape, the sight of three generations that gather in the town square at night, the expressiveness of the language, the taco and coconut water stands by the side of the road, the roaming dogs and cats and the flamboyant clothing, which inspired me to design my own. I even became fond of the incessant fireworks at dawn and the yells and bells of the elote and horchata vendors. 

Some of my best friends are Mexicans. They take life in their stride, bemused by the neurotic mindset of Americans or the reserve of the English. They know how to love, laugh and live to the fullest.  And, well, they love a good party. But for the adventurous Brits – and there’s a history of them – Mexico welcomes them with open arms, perhaps appreciating their curiosity, and sense of humor.

But who exactly were these people who settled in this exotic land, so far from the sunlit uplands of home?

Frederick Catherwood

This early 19th century English artist, architect and explorer discovered the Mayan universe and rendered meticulously detailed snapshots of the ruins of their civilisation, using the camera lucida drawing technique. All the mysterious glory of the previously unknown Maya mesmerized a Europe deep in an obsession with Egyptology, and rocketed Mexican history to the forefront. His books, with John Lloyd Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán and Incidents of Travel in Yucatán, were best sellers. In 1837, Catherwood was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary member.

While the Maya cities of today are celebrated and restored, Catherwood’s work captures an important part of Mexican history at a time when so much of it was thought to be lost.

Sir Edward James

Sir Edward James probably had the most trappings of class and culture of all our British eccentrics in his journey from wealthy aristocrat to the architect of a surrealist castle in the lush rainforest of Xilitla, San Luis Potosí. James was born into a life of privilege at the turn of the 20th century, staggeringly rich and reputed to be the illegitimate son of King Edward VII. His sensitive nature and fantastical way of seeing the world meant he didn’t get far in formal education and the traditional life of the aristocracy in Britain. He soon veered off into the arts, making friends with the likes of Salvador Dalí and stepping into his lifelong role as a patron of the arts. 

When James came to Mexico in the 1930s, he fell in love – like so many visitors do – with its vibrance, culture and scale. In the bright humidity of the Huasteca Potosina, he began to construct a home that over the years would become a beacon for artists and thinkers, a place strange and wild enough to house his own free spirit. 

He would walk among the rock pools and bathe naked in the waterfalls, deciding whether or not he had the forest’s blessing to visit which pools depending on whether a flutter of butterflies gathered around him. On one such occasion, he was washing his hair when he saw what looked like a troupe of penguins coming towards him. Rubbing the suds from his eyes, the penguins dissolved into a line of nuns from the local church. Embarrassed, he asked how he could help and upon hearing they needed a clinic for the poor, he promised to build it right away if they would only give him a minute to get dressed.

Edward James loved his surroundings and worked with local artisans to bring his singular vision to life. The concrete staircases to nowhere and doors standing like portals to the infinite blend spectacularly into the tropical greenery of Las Pozas, drawing in visitors from all around the world.

Leonora Carrington

Anyone who has stared intently at a Leonora Carrington sculpture and felt the otherworldly creature stare back, recognizes the power and sheer strangeness of her work. The playful composition of Carrington’s “Cocodrilos,” passed by millions each year along Mexico City’s Paseo de la Reforma, gives the impression it has floated straight out of a book of fairy tales. Like so much of her work though, it could just have easily loomed up from the underworld. 

Carrington fled war-torn Europe in the 1940s and established a life for herself in Mexico — like her good friend Edward James — far from her aristocratic upbringing. Her struggles with mental health and time spent watching a continent on the edge of darkness ensured her dreamscapes were never simply an escape from reality, but contained within them its totality, grim omens and all. Carrington lived most of her life in Mexico City, producing prolifically, weaving folk art and indigenous mythologies into her own personal cosmovision. Her home in Roma Norte still contains original pieces, and while the house is currently closed to the public, Carrington’s work can be seen throughout the country in her public sculptures and paintings exhibited in museums. 

Currently, the best place to see a collection of her work in Mexico is the state of San Luis Potosí. Both San Luis city and the town of Xilitla have permanent Leonora Carrington museums that house her paintings, illustrations, textiles, etchings and jewelry. Walking around Xilitla, you simply have to look out over the rooftops to see her sculptures peeking back at you.

Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley, the cerebral English author and philosopher, found new ways of looking at the world wherever he chose to direct his attention. Having begun his writing career as a keen social satirist of the British class system, he came to Mexico in the early 1950s, seeking an environment where he could explore the grander ideas of consciousness and mysticism. 

Huxley’s journeys through southern Mexico, captured in the book of essays “Beyond the Mexique Bay,” gifted him with a rich cultural and ethnobotanical context for his later journeys into altered states of consciousness.

Frances Erskine Inglis, 1st Marquise of Calderón de la Barca

Fanny, as she was familiarly known, was the ultimate upper-echelon Scottish lady adventurer. As the charming young wife of the Spanish plenipotentiary envoy come to negotiate Spain’s recognition of Mexican independence, she had unrestricted access everywhere and anywhere in Mexico. Very well endowed by nature and fortune, she was reportedly bright, beautiful and talented. As heiress to Scotland’s largest brewing fortune, Fanny was also extremely wealthy.

Fanny wrote the ultimate travel narrative of the 19th century, “Life in Mexico,”  published under the name Madame Calderón de la Barca in Boston and London in 1843. Her observations and insights are so alluring that she is rumored to have become a principal intelligence source for the United States’ invasion of Mexico in 1847.

Truth to tell, as I talked to some of my British friends who have lived and worked in Mexico for years, I unearthed many more fascinating Brits who chose to flee to these southern latitudes and made quite a dent.   

The stories of the English novelists D.H Lawrence and Graham Greene and the Irish (who was then British) freedom fighter William Lamport — who inspired the legend of Zorro and actually crafted one of the first plans for Mexican independence — are scintillating tales for later this month. I always like to end on a cliffhanger; just like any Brit that’s adventured to — and got hooked on – Mexico! 

Henrietta Weekes is a writer, editor, actor and narrator. She divides her time between San Miguel de Allende, New York and Oxford, UK.

To read more in the Global Mexico: UK in Focus series, click here.

The post 5 eccentric Brits who made their mark on Mexico appeared first on Mexico News Daily

We want to share a quick overview of our work and our plans for the year and beyond.

Bicentennial celebrations

In 2023, the diplomatic relationship between the United Kingdom and Mexico reached a significant milestone as the two countries celebrated two centuries of friendship. The Embassy is planning a year-long jubilee in 2024, in tandem with institutions such as the British Council, the Anglo Foundation, the Instituto Nacional Politécnico, Raindance Festival, and many others, to showcase the profound bonds shared by the U.K. and Mexico. 

From art exhibitions and literary festivals to culinary showcases and musical performances, the bicentenary celebrations will serve as a testament to the enduring friendship and cultural exchange between both nations, fostering greater appreciation and understanding between people. 

Fostering trade and investment

One of the Embassy’s missions is to drive trade and investment between the United Kingdom and Mexico, placing a special emphasis on innovative services and eco-friendly technologies geared towards curbing carbon emissions. Moreover, the Embassy is committed to supporting British enterprises that invest in Mexico, thus creating high-quality employment opportunities and boosting economic growth. By nurturing cross-border partnerships and facilitating trade missions, the Embassy is cultivating a thriving ecosystem of commerce that benefits both countries.

Collaborative diplomacy

Collaboration knows no bounds, and for the Embassy it is key to forge partnerships and alliances with like-minded diplomatic missions and international organizations. Through this approach, we aim at enhancing our capacity to address global challenges and provide consular assistance and support to British citizens in need, ensuring their safety and well-being abroad. 

Strengthening bilateral ties

The Embassy has a great interest in bolstering the trade ties between countries. This includes working towards the ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) by mid-2024, while advancing bilateral negotiations and promoting mutual understanding and cooperation. Through diplomatic engagements and strategic dialogues, the Embassy endeavors to keep fostering a climate of trust and collaboration between the United Kingdom and Mexico, paving the way for increased political cooperation and shared prosperity. 

Promoting shared values

Deep-rooted in the Embassy’s ethos is the commitment to fostering collaboration with Mexico on democratic principles and the rule of law. With the aim of strengthening democratic institutions and promoting good governance practices, our teams offer capacity-building initiatives and knowledge-sharing platforms. By doing so, the Embassy aims ensures the protection of human rights and the rule of law while navigating multifaceted and challenging geopolitical landscapes.

Cybersecurity synergy

In the digital world, the Embassy is working on establishing robust partnerships with Mexican authorities on issues of cybersecurity. The goal is to create proactive strategies that can prevent cyber threats and ensure inclusivity and resilience in the digital domain. By collaborating on cybersecurity initiatives and information-sharing mechanisms, the Embassy strives to enhance cyber defense capabilities and mitigate emerging threats. 

Championing climate action

The battle against climate change is one of the Embassy’s top missions and commitments. Through the support of the UK PACT, it is empowering state governments to navigate the complexities of decarbonization by creating updated regulatory frameworks. By promoting sustainable development practices and green technologies, the Embassy is fostering the acceleration of the transition to a low-carbon economy and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Through partnerships with Mexican government agencies, civil society organizations, and the private sector, the Embassy is mobilizing resources and expertise to address the urgent challenges posed by climate change and build a more sustainable and resilient future for all. 

Enhancing the work environment

Internally, the Embassy has as a mission to keep fostering an environment of inclusivity and positivity through policies and practices. By promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and providing opportunities for professional development and growth, the Embassy is empowering its employees by creating a culture of excellence and innovation. 

Showcasing British tourism

Mexico is a desired destination for British nationals. Thus, the Embassy helps in promoting the country’s stunning landscapes and supporting British expatriates living in Mexico. Through cultural exchange and tourism promotion of Mexico diverse, cultural heritage, the Embassy is strengthening people-to-people ties and cross-cultural understanding and appreciation between the United Kingdom and Mexico. 

In summary, the British Embassy in Mexico is embarking on a fruitful and impactful journey in 2024, with a strong commitment to fortify the enduring bond between both countries and build a brighter future for generations to come. Through innovation, collaboration, and shared values, the Embassy is paving the way for a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive partnership between the United Kingdom and Mexico, grounded in mutual respect, trust, and most importantly, friendship.

Written by Fernanda Esquivel, press and communications assistant at the British Embassy in Mexico.

To read more in the Global Mexico: UK in Focus series, click here.

The post The British Embassy in Mexico has a vibrant vision for 2024 appeared first on Mexico News Daily

So when the assistant to Rachel Brazier, the Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Mexico City, asked me to join their team on a food tour of Mexico City the day before I had to spend a long weekend in the U.S., I scrambled at the chance. No better way to say hasta luego to my favorite country than with curated bites of the capital’s secret culinary gems, am I right?

(For the record: I was right.)

Everything about the tour was superb, from the scheduling to the company to the smart selection of dishes. I now know where the best torta stand is located, where to get veggie tacos in my neighborhood, and my preferred flavors at Nevería La Michoacana. 

What’s more, a burgeoning culinary relationship between Mexico and Britain was unveiled right before my very eyes. 

I know what you’re thinking. There is no way I can possibly compare the cuisines of these two drastically different countries. But I’m here to tell you I can, and I will. Not by unsuccessfully attempting to link the flavor of fish and chips to tacos al pastor, but rather through the experience of a select few foodies who fell in love with Mexican food and are working to bring it to Good Old Blighty.

Let’s start our journey in London, where Mexican cuisine finally started making a significant splash with MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers’ first installment of her ever-growing chain Wahaca. This might come as a surprise, but the coveted menu was inspired by the year she spent cooking and living in Oaxaca. Forbes described the sustainably-focused creative cook’s eateries as the first “mainstream, authentic Mexican restaurants on the London scene.” 

Around the same time, Mexico saw a spike in British tourism and a rise in demand for all things Mexican followed close behind. In 2017, Mexican celebrity chef Martha Ortíz opened her high-end Ella Canta in the buzzing British capital. English cook Fergus Chamberlain started a line of “real Mexican products” called Gran Luchito after an inspiring trip to Oaxaca. When I asked Wahaca’s Head of Food Jenny Idle if she thought the demand for Mexican food was still growing in the UK, her response was enthusiastic. “Completely! When Wahaca first started 15 years ago there was a big educational piece to do as customers had a very “Tex Mex” skewed view of Mexican food, thinking all tacos were hard shells (if they even knew what a taco was)! We see a lot more customers now who know, understand and love Mexican food, and its popularity continues to grow with the British population.”

She’s not wrong. At the time of writing, London’s biggest food and drink magazine Foodism had a feature article about dining in Los Cabos. Deputy editor Molly Codyre highlighted London’s “modern-Mexican” Zapote in a 2023 list of her favorite meals — in the world. In February of this year, Mexican-American actor Danny Trejo opened his vibey, casual taco shop Trejo’s Tacos in Notting Hill.

Needless to say, Mexico’s moment in the U.K. doesn’t seem to be losing steam.

But where did it start to sizzle?

Some say it was in the kitchen of English cookbook author Diana Kennedy.

Diana Kennedy is often touted as the English-language authority on Mexican cuisine. In order to complete her 9 books about the craft, she hopped in an old, white pickup truck and conquered dirt roads, potholes, hail storms and oppressive heat waves to discover the best dishes in Mexico’s most remote villages. She worked as an apprentice in local bakeries, scoured street markets, and even wrangled invitations to family dinners with strangers, all in the name of food.

It was through these intimate experiences that Kennedy learned the intricacies of Mexican cooking, along with her self-described tenacity and love of eating. She believed in tradition and immersion, which is why she moved to Michoacán from New York City after the death of her husband in 1967. She lived here in an adobe house, growing her own vegetables and grinding her own corn. She continued cooking and learning and teaching others how to master the art of Mexican cuisine until she passed at the ripe old age of 99.

“I would have loved to meet her,” says Rachel as we sink our teeth into our very first torta. The soft, chewy bread and lightly battered Oaxacan cheese stuffed poblano pepper fire up my taste buds. I immediately dive in for another bite before I’ve even swallowed the first. It’s nothing short of heaven. Rachel has been living in Mexico City with her family for just over a year after multiple postings in Latin America, the UK and the USA. 

“It’s an amazing place for teens, my kids love it,” she informs me in between chews. Rachel’s experience as an expat in Mexico feels similar to mine, despite our vastly different professions. It’s happy, it’s easy, and it’s full of things to do. “I can get a coffee, go shopping, or see a movie within a few blocks of my place,” she beams. Like me, the lush greenery and expansive parks often cause her to forget that she’s in one of the world’s biggest cities. 

This is a big statement from a woman with such an interesting life. Her father is a retired mapmaker and her mother a school teacher, meaning Rachel has been traveling extensively since she could walk. While her father measured his way around countries like Kenya and Botswana, the family got up close and personal with the wildlife. “I remember (in my young mind) living in the bush. Dad and all the guys jumped out of their tents in the middle of night and into Land Rovers to flash the lights and beep the horns to get rid of a pack of lions!”

With a childhood as exciting as Rachel’s, it comes as no surprise that her professional life would follow suit. In 2001 she landed a job with the British Embassy and her life in Latin America began. “My first gig was in Ecuador. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the landscape was. I loved the adventure of it — riding, mountain climbing, diving, white water rafting. And I loved the friendliness of the people.” 

Her expertise in Latin America grew along with her command of Spanish, and she continued on to posts in Uruguay, New York, Colombia, and the UK, respectively. In 2023, Rachel and her family moved to Mexico. 

As I try to enjoy the final chunk of my torta, comforted only by the fact that there is another stop for tacos after this, I wonder out loud “So, having lived in all these places and now in Mexico, what do you think of the food?” Her eclectic upbringing no doubt has introduced her to a variety of tastes and dishes and I’ve just got to know how Mexico ranks on her palette scale. Her facial expression says it all. “With the flavors, the spices, the creativity, you can’t get bored in Mexico.” 

I lingered on that statement for a while before I decided not to clarify it. Maybe she’s talking about the food, or maybe she’s talking about life here. It doesn’t actually matter. However you dice it, Rachel is right. You simply can’t get bored in Mexico.

Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.

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Having now returned to live in the U.K., I ask Susan what she misses about Mexico, knowing the question is too large to answer. She starts small: the sound of the Mexican street callers, such as the knife sharpeners and ice cream vendors, widening out to the warmth and welcome she received when she arrived, and how it gradually thawed that classic British reserve and allowed her to create a life of meaning. Simply put, she says Mexico completed her and that she misses it tremendously. 

Susan, the daughter of an academic clergyman of the Anglican Church and a ballet dancer, grew up immersed in music and performance from a young age. Once in Mexico City, she found community in musical groups, singing a classical oratorio repertoire in halls such as the UNAM’s Sala Nezahualcóyotl and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. In 1983, she founded a group of singers, instrumentalists and Renaissance dancers, Il Piacere, which was talent spotted by a French impresario who invited them to tour in France in the summer of 1989.

The catch was that he wanted them to perform Latin American 16th and 17th-century music, which no one had any experience with. Their director bowed out and they scrambled around for someone to take his place before clicking with a Peruvian musicologist. This was just a preview of what would become a lifelong theme of service to the arts and to the countries Susan called home. 

Over the years, often on a shoestring budget and by pure force of will, Susan has arranged for artists to travel and perform, created scholarships for promising musicians and writers to gain access to the best training and brought performing artists together from different countries to play and learn from each other. She brought poet laureates, musicians, actors, dancers and prestigious choral groups to Mexico and assisted with education projects between visiting musicians and underprivileged children. Susan refused to ask artists to work for nothing, so, like so many other producers, would frequently have to brave the white-knuckle financial risk of filling a theater.

One of the organizations that enabled Susan to create such bilateral cultural projects, and for which she is deeply grateful, was the Anglo Mexican Cultural Institute (now the Anglo Mexican Foundation), founded in 1943 by the British government to provide English language teaching in Mexico. In the mid-1990s, Susan was asked by the board of the institute to design a cultural activities program, and when it turned out there was no one to run the program, she took over as a one-person department, which later became Anglo Arts.   

Susan worked out of the Anglo’s headquarters in the Colonia San Rafael, which had a small theater designed by actor Diego Luna’s father, Alejandro Luna. In the beginning, it was just Susan, her old typewriter and a desk, sitting in a corner of the library there. Twenty years later, they were a team of five people running a bilateral cultural program that saw constant activity and high-caliber talent. 

As with so much of Susan’s story, her next steps could be described as surprising and in hindsight, self-evident. She began to bring actors and directors from the U.K. to perform in Mexico and in 2002, in collaboration with the British actor Stuart Cox, founded a Shakespeare Competition for English language schools. Students performed Shakespeare’s plays for a chance to visit and perform on the stage at Shakespeare’s original theater, The Globe, in London. 

I mention to Susan that I remember attending the season of plays at The Globe to celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary and watching a brilliant Mexican troupe perform through a freak May hailstorm. Not only did she tell me which play it was — Henry the IV Part I — but also that she helped bring the troupe over in collaboration with Mexico’s National Theater Company and that she was also there in the audience. It seemed a fantastic coincidence that we were both standing there watching a Mexican Falstaff prance around the stage while the brass band played and the heavens opened up. 

Such was its success that when the troupe returned to Mexico, with the support of the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA), Susan helped organize the construction of a replica Globe theater to be built in the Zócalo, so those in Mexico City could enjoy the performance. In collaboration with the international program of the Royal Court Theater in London, Susan also paved the way for a Mexican play, “A Soldier in Every Son,” by the actor and dramaturge Luis Mario Moncada, to be translated, directed and produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. 

It seems like wherever there was an opportunity to provide a platform for the arts, Susan was right there, getting it built by whatever means necessary. When the room in Frida Kahlo’s Blue House was unlocked to reveal her fantastical wardrobe, Susan was part of the team that ensured the world would see it. 

Diego Rivera had decreed that Frida’s wardrobe stay locked up for 20 years, though it ended up being far longer than that because the room was simply forgotten about. Inside were delicate dresses, accessories and corsets that were unique to Frida Kahlo, and Susan became deeply involved with the dream that the collection might one day be loaned to the V&A Museum in London. What seemed like a straightforward plan ended up taking years of negotiating and countless diplomatic dinner parties, but her love of the arts eventually prevailed and the exhibition continues to tour the world. 

As I speak to Susan from her study in England, she looks down at her extensive list of collaborations and accomplishments, of which we’ve only touched on here, with a sense of bafflement at how it all came together. It seems clear that her love of artistic expression opened the doors for her and so many others, and she is full of gratitude for having had the chance to work with such amazing artists.

Susan is currently in the process of arranging for a young group of musicians by the name of The Paddington Trio to perform in Mexico in October 2024. Where they will play has yet to be confirmed, but no doubt Susan will make it happen.

Sasha Frost is a writer, illustrator, and animator. He can currently be found exploring the art and food scenes of Mexico City. When not out in the world, he’s telling stories online at www.sashafrost.com and on IG @sashafrost_art.

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How do you perceive Mexico’s role and significance in the global economy, especially concerning its trade relationships?

Mexico matters now and will matter even more in the future. As a rapidly growing member of the top 15 global economies, Mexico is a key player, particularly because of its extensive network of trade agreements and strategic geographic location. 

Mexico has 13 Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with over 50 countries — including the USMCA, CPTPP (which the U.K. is joining), and Pacific Alliance — which provides the country with access to global trade and supply chains across Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Mexico has also emerged as a major manufacturing hub, particularly in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, and medical device industries. Its location and skilled workforce continue to attract huge foreign investment interest. It is no wonder that multinational companies, including many British ones, have established production facilities in Mexico to take advantage of these factors.

Thus, it is no surprise that the world is looking at Mexico, and for us, it is and will continue to be an attractive and dynamic country for U.K. companies to explore, invest and partner with.

Can you provide an overview of the current presence of U.K. businesses in Mexico, including the sectors they are operating in and the scale of their operations?

Trade between the U.K. and Mexico has increased to record levels. In 2023, bilateral trade reached a value of US $8.2 billion, an increase of 22.3% compared to 2022. As for investment, the U.K. is also improving its performance in Mexico as we are now a leading source of foreign direct investment (FDI).

Currently, U.K. companies are operating in Mexico in sectors including tech, infrastructure, automotive, advanced manufacturing, financial and professional services, retail, food and drink, energy, creative and education, life sciences and security, defense and aerospace. In the last five years, British investments have amounted to more than US $5.11 billion and support nearly 50,000 jobs in the country.

From Sonora to Chiapas, British companies are considering how they can grow their presence in Mexico, driven by nearshoring. At the British Embassy, we see many areas of shared opportunity between the U.K. and Mexico. Our role is to spot opportunities and connect companies and investors to explore partnerships. We run dozens of programs with hundreds of companies each year highlighting opportunities in Mexico and opportunities in the U.K. for Mexican companies.

One of our challenges is a lack of knowledge about the strengths the U.K. and Mexico have; ultimately trade and investment are about people connecting and having confidence to partner to do new things. Our people-to-people links are growing, and we find once we have got U.K. companies to visit Mexico, they want to come back and do business.

What are some success stories or notable examples of U.K. companies thriving in the Mexican market?

As the U.K. was the first country to go live with Open Banking, we have collaborated with Mexico’s financial services sector towards financial inclusion. It was brilliant to see that Revolut recently obtained its banking institution license  from Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission, their first outside Europe.

Keeping consumers and companies safe is something the U.K. has invested in heavily for many years. I suspect not many readers will have heard of Darktrace, but they are a U.K. AI-powered cyber company that is doing some brilliant work keeping businesses safe. Similarly, Featurespace is helping financial organizations avoid fraud. British Telecom is providing global communication networks for some of Mexico’s most international companies who need safe and secure networks. We can all spot iconic U.K. brands such as Burberry boots, Mini Cooper cars or Phenhaligon’s fragrances, but many of our most successful businesses are more B2B than B2C.

In Mexico, British pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, Haleon and Reckitt have a strong presence in the country through increased portfolios and manufacturing plants that allow them to not only provide innovative products in the Mexican market but also export for U.S. and Latin American consumers. It’s inspiring to see their efforts to employ more women, make manufacturing more resource efficient and create more employment and growth opportunities. 

Within the food and drink sector, there are well-known successes with iconic spirits like whisky and gin from British companies such as Diageo, William Grant and Sons and Edrington. We also have U.K. beers from Samuel Smith Brewery, Brewdog and Shepheard Neame doing well in Mexico’s highly competitive drinks market. Finally, one of the sectors I care about most is education. Our team has supported U.K. companies such as Pearson, Cambridge English, and Oxford University Press, as well as other small-medium enterprises such as Little Bridge, Manga High and Twig, to expand their presence in Mexico’s educational system. We think bringing high-value-added education products and services is key to supporting Mexico’s talent and growth.  

In the next three years, how do you view Mexico’s economic potential for British businesses, which sectors do you believe hold promise for collaboration and investment, and how do recent shifts in trade dynamics impact the U.K.’s trade relationship with Mexico?

The potential is huge, and we are fortunate to have complementary areas of expertise. The U.K. is a science and technology superpower, so we are identifying where we can bring innovation to support sustainable development and growth. There are many more technologies across many sectors that we want, and are bringing. U.K. cybersecurity companies will better keep consumers and businesses safe. Our Agri-Tech will enable Mexico to produce more food more sustainably, our EdTech can help raise education standards, and MedTechs improve health outcomes. 

The U.K. is still one of the world’s largest manufacturers, but the next wave of U.K.-Mexico collaboration will be in technology-driven services or high-value niche products. These technologies will help Mexico’s largest companies grow more efficiently to consolidate their position on the world stage. Companies going truly global will use the U.K. to access its skills, science, finance and professional services. 

It’s worth noting the potential for U.K. investment and support for Mexico’s infrastructure. We expect to see continued interest in the energy sector. In January, U.K.-headquartered Cubico announced additions to its pipeline of projects that bring its Mexico total pipeline to 2.2GWs. No doubt there will be interest from others to meet the increased need for power and transmission capacity as nearshoring increases. 

The U.K. has made an industry of high-value-added consultancy that is delivering some of the world’s biggest infrastructure projects with partners. In Peru, for example, we are helping the government build schools and hospitals. As well as helping to design, project-manage and deliver infrastructure, we can also bring financing through U.K. Export Finance. We have US $4 billion available for Mexico and hope in the future we can support more projects in the country. 

The advanced engineering sector and electric mobility are obviously a key opportunity. The red double-decker buses on Reforma Avenue in Mexico City are from Scotland, and we could see electric or hybrid buses designed in the U.K. in Mexico in the future. U.K. companies are actively considering investments in the auto sector in response to nearshoring. As mentioned earlier, U.K. pharmaceutical companies represent one of the U.K.’s strongest sectors in Mexico, and we have recently been through a wave of expansions.

I should mention again that we’ve been working on the ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and think this will help stimulate further interest and investment in Mexico.

Dan Carden, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Mexico, noted on his visit to Mexico in March how trade agreements and better business-to-business ties will grow our trading relationship. We also see potential growth for British companies across all sectors, and that includes sectors such as food and drink and the creative industries, where Mexico is a fast-growing market for content consumption and creation. We are the world’s sixth largest economy, so the opportunities do span across the whole economy.

Finally, I suspect behind your question is interest in whether Brexit is relevant to future trade prospects. In short, I think it is. Firstly as companies are being encouraged to think more globally and secondly because our CPTPP membership was enabled by us being free to negotiate our membership outside of the E.U., and the same applies to a future trade deal with Mexico. Both deals should make a difference, and companies I talk to are thinking more globally about where future growth will be, and that naturally includes Mexico.

Regarding the U.K.’s relationship with Mexico and the significance of historical ties and the need for a modern approach to bilateralism: how do you perceive the evolution of this relationship, and what do you believe are the key factors driving its current trajectory?

This year, the U.K. and Mexico are celebrating 200 years of diplomatic relations. We’ve worked together to address mutual challenges, and we share strong cultural ties in areas like music, gastronomy, film, sports and education. Our historical bond has led us to achieve incredible results across our partnerships and joint initiatives on climate, political, economic, social and educational issues.

One of the factors that is driving forward our collaboration and partnership is our interest and commitment to develop exciting new areas of cooperation. For us, it is important to find areas of cooperation with the public, private and nongovernmental sectors to tackle challenges like climate change and bolstering clean energies, eliminating gender pay gaps, protecting human rights, and pushing for a safe use of artificial intelligence.

Another element that we are sure will have a positive impact on the U.K.-Mexico relationship and drive it forward is our accession to the CPTPP and a future new trade agreement between Mexico and the U.K. 

How do you envision the U.K.’s role in providing meaningful assistance with significant challenges such as insecurity and climate change? What steps do you plan on taking to advance this?

There are many areas where the U.K. and Mexico are already collaborating on important issues like climate change, gender equality, human rights and cybersecurity. 

One way the U.K. has become a strategic partner for Mexico is through the U.K. Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) program. We are working with state governments to support them with technical capacity and highly specialized expertise to develop and update their environmental laws and regulations. To date, 11 states have passed legislation to help Mexico’s communities protect their ecosystems and address environmental challenges. In addition, we supported Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey with technical assistance for the electrification and upgrading of their Metrobús, Trolleybus and Cablebús units.

Another example of our collaboration is our actions to protect and promote human rights. The first Multilateral and Human Rights Dialogue between Mexico and the United Kingdom was held in January, where we had fruitful and constructive conversations on strengthening efforts on a number of shared multilateral and human rights priorities, including gender equality and the protection of economic, social and cultural rights. 

On cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, the British Embassy’s Science and Innovation Network in Mexico has collaborated with the National Alliance of Artificial Intelligence and the Mexican Academy of Cybersecurity and Digital Law to create a regulatory framework for the responsible use of AI. Part of this effort was the presentation of results from the Regulatory Sandbox Project and the current state of AI in Mexico, which was a joint initiative to foster responsible innovation in this field.

I am sure the strong partnership that Mexico and the U.K. have will only continue to get stronger. 

To read more in the Global Mexico: UK in Focus series, click here.

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In this article — the first of Mexico News Daily’s “Global Mexico: U.K. in Focus” series — I’ll take a look at the ups and downs of the Mexico-U.K. relationship over the years as well as the state of commercial and government ties between the two nations today.

It’s safe to say that the U.K. and Mexico are now firm friends and partners — and have been for some time — despite the differences they had in the past.

It is also worth remembering that the U.K. and Mexico were, in a way, neighbors for an extended period as British Honduras — today the independent country of Belize — was a crown colony from the 1780s until 1964.

In addition to maintaining a long-running diplomatic and commercial relationship with Mexico, the U.K., a constitutional monarchy made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, has made a significant cultural impact on the country, especially in the realm of sports.

A brief history of Mexico-UK relations 

The United Kingdom recognized Mexico as a sovereign nation soon after it obtained independence from Spain in 1821.

A formal relationship between the two countries began in 1823, the year in which Charles O’Gorman was appointed as the first British consul in Mexico.

Relations between the two countries were further formalized in the mid-1820s with the signing and subsequent ratification of the British-Mexican Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation.

Near the end of the following decade, the British intervened in the so-called Pastry War between Mexico and invading French forces and effectively brokered an agreement that brought the conflict to an end.

Just over 20 years later, Mexico-U.K. relations soured when Benito Juárez, the Mexican president at the time, suspended payments to creditors in Britain, France and Spain. In 1861, those three countries signed the Convention of London, under which they agreed to take joint action toward securing repayments from Mexico.

The New York Times reported at the time that the monarchs of the three countries felt compelled to act due to the “arbitrary and vexatious conduct of the authorities of the Republic of Mexico.”

The U.K., France and Spain sent navy ships to Mexico and occupied Veracruz, but British and Spanish authorities withdrew their forces in 1862 when they became aware that French Emperor Napoleon III was seeking a regime change in Mexico, an objective he ultimately achieved with the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire in 1864.

While Maximilian I was emperor of Mexico (1864-67), and for a number of years after his rule, diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Mexico were suspended. However, the bilateral relationship was reestablished after Porfirio Díaz became Mexican president in the late 1870s.

Relations were suspended again after president Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized Mexico’s oil industry in 1938, expropriating British oil companies in the process. By that time, the U.K. was a significant investor in Mexico, having injected money into sectors including rail transport, mining and oil.

Bilateral relations were reestablished once again in the early 1940s amid the Second World War, when Mexico’s president was Manuel Ávila Camacho and Winston Churchill was serving his first term as British prime minister. Shortly afterward, Alfonso Rosenzweig Diaz became Mexico’s first ambassador to the U.K. and Charles Bateman was appointed as the first British ambassador to Mexico.

In 1942, Mexico officially became a wartime military ally of the United Kingdom when it declared war on the Axis powers after losing oil ships in the Gulf of Mexico to German submarine attacks.

Mexico-U.K. relations remained largely amicable throughout the second half of the 20th century, a period that saw the first direct flight between Mexico City and London (1966) and an increase in trade between the two countries.

In 1973, Mexico’s president at the time, Luis Echeverría, became the first Mexican head of state to visit the U.K., where he met with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. The Queen made the first of her two state visits to Mexico in 1975.

Exactly 40 years later in 2015, the Queen hosted Mexico’s president at the time, Enrique Peña Nieto, and his then-wife Angélica Rivera, at a state banquet.

“Prince Philip and I have fond memories of our visits to Mexico in 1975 and 1983 and we were delighted that, only a few months ago, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall enjoyed such an unforgettable visit to your country,” the Queen said in a speech at the banquet.

“… As we have seen many times, when the dynamism and creativity of our two countries are combined, whether that be in business, science, education, sport or culture, the results are extraordinary,” she said later in her address.

Margaret Thatcher, U.K. prime minister from 1979 to 1990, visited Mexico in 1981, attending the International Meeting on Cooperation and Development — the so-called North-South Summit — in Cancún before traveling on to Mexico City.

Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexico’s president from 1988 to 1994 traveled to the U.K. in 1990, and at an official dinner hosted by Thatcher declared that his visit enabled “a new diplomatic, economic and cultural proximity between the two countries.”

The bilateral relationship in the 21st century 

The United Kingdom and Mexico currently have a robust commercial relationship, with two-way trade worth $5.71 billion in 2023, according to Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI. Mexico’s exports were worth $2.91 billion last year, while imports from the U.K. were worth a slightly lower $2.78 billion.

Mexico’s top export to the U.K. in 2023 was turbojets, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines. Other exports included mobile telephones, alcoholic beverages and data-processing machines.

The United Kingdom’s top export to Mexico was cars. Other exports included medications, alcoholic beverages and ferroalloys.

The United Kingdom government said last month that “Mexico was the U.K.’s 40th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023, accounting for 0.4% of total UK trade.”

Trade between the two countries is currently governed by the U.K.-Mexico Trade Continuity Agreement, which establishes preferential tariff rates — zero in some cases — for exported goods. The U.K. and Mexican governments are currently aiming to reach an agreement for a free trade pact, while the U.K. is set to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, to which Mexico is a signatory, later this year.

U.K. Ambassador to Mexico Jon Benjamin said in a 2022 interview that the objective in reaching a bilateral free trade agreement is to triple the value of trade between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the U.K. was the seventh largest foreign investor in Mexico last year, with investments totaling $936 million. Among the British companies that operate in Mexico are HSBC and Unilever.

Beyond trade and investment, the U.K. and Mexico collaborate in a range of international organizations and forums including the G20, the OECD and the United Nations.

One of the many areas of cooperation between the two countries is climate change mitigation.

“The U.K. and Mexico are committed partners in tackling climate change to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and encourage inclusive economic growth,” according to the U.K. government. “Our shared ambition is reflected in the UK-Mexico Partnership for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth.”

In recent years, there have been meetings between the two countries at the ministerial level.

Liz Truss, U.K. prime minister for a short period in 2022, visited Mexico in 2021 when she was foreign minister.

“Our relationship with Mexico has huge potential. It could open vast new opportunities for businesses, support jobs across Britain, and help ensure we play a key role in an open and dynamic Indo-Pacific,” Truss said before her visit.

In September last year, member of parliament Dan Carden — now the U.K.’s trade envoy to Mexico — noted that “for several decades, the United Kingdom and Mexico have enjoyed a close and fruitful relationship, the continued success of which will be predicated on the principles of cooperation and mutual respect.”

In January, the two countries held an inaugural Multilateral and Human Rights Dialogue.

“Mexico and the United Kingdom discussed opportunities to strengthen our broad cooperation at the multilateral level, including in preparation for the “Summit of the Future,” progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, UN governance and financing, and peacekeeping,” Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

According to information supplied to Mexico News Daily by the British Embassy in Mexico, the embassy is “working on establishing robust partnerships with Mexican authorities in issues of cybersecurity,” assisting state governments to “navigate the complexities of decarbonization” and collaborating with Mexico “on democratic principles and the rule of law,” among many other initiatives.

British cultural influence in Mexico 

English miners working in the state of Hidalgo introduced football, or soccer, to Mexico in the 19th century and the country’s first official football club was established in 1901 in Pachuca, known as Mexico’s cuna del fútbol (cradle of football).

Given the immense popularity of soccer in Mexico today, it is fair to say that the United Kingdom’s most significant cultural contribution to Mexico has been the introduction of the world’s most popular sport.

However, British influence in Mexico by no means ends there. In addition to soccer, Cornish miners introduced British food to Mexico, most notably pasties, or pastes, as they are known here. A specialty of Hidalgo, pastes today often contain distinctive Mexican fillings such as mole and tinga de pollo.

Although the Beatles never played a concert here, Beatlemania certainly reached Mexico — and has barely dissipated over the past 60 years.

“When it comes to the Beatles, Mexicans just can’t seem to let it be. The group split up in 1970, but it might as well have been yesterday for the masses of fans who come together whenever they can to celebrate John, Paul, George and Ringo,” The New York Times reported in 2016.

“Mexico City’s top classic-rock radio station dedicates two hours every weekday to Los Beatles. The second of two lengthy museum exhibits here of Beatles memorabilia closed recently. Small towns have named streets after the band’s members,” the Times report continued.

Other British artists have made a mark on — and in — Mexico, including surrealist painter and novelist Leonora Carrington, who lived in Mexico City most of her adult life. One of her sculptures — “How Doth the Little Crocodile” — adorns Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City’s most emblematic boulevard.

And of course that extremely successful British export — the English language — is spoken by Mexicans all over the country, and is especially prevalent in the north, primarily due to the region’s proximity to a certain superpower that threw off the yoke of the British almost 250 years ago.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

To read more of the Global Mexico series, check out our India in Focus and Australia in Focus stories.

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