Spanish reading journal
Beginner I
Morena and the opposition clashed yesterday in the Permanent Assembly over the guidelines to protect the rights of audiences. For more than three hours they crossed disqualifications. Stalinists, Rubén Moreira, coordinator of the PRI in the Chamber of Deputies, snapped at the cherries, who responded that PRI and PAN members were promoting a “hoax” with the accusation that a gag law is being promoted.
Hadi Matar was found guilty of federal transnational terrorism charges for the 2022 stabbing of writer Salman Rush-die, who had been living under death threat for decades for his novel The Satanic Verses. Matar, 28, is already serving a 25-year prison sentence in New York for the attempted murder of the author.
Charlotte. More than two decades later, the Gold Cup will return to Mexico in 2027. The success of the World Cup with the massive response in the country led Concacaf to grant some matches that will probably be played at the Azteca stadium, the Mexican Football Federation confirmed yesterday.
The unfinished works carried out by the Cuauhtémoc mayor's office keep the problem of flooding that is generated in the Tránsito neighborhood unsolved, since in each rain, the water remains stagnant for days due to drains that have been left clogged by poor paving work, neighbors reported.
After a meeting with neighbors and victims of dispossession from six mayor's offices, capital authorities committed to restoring the properties, reviewing at least 61 new cases that were registered this Wednesday and dismantling networks that commit this crime in the city.
Seoul. Cameras equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) help prevent suicides on bridges over the Han River in Seoul. When they detect that someone may be about to jump, they activate the alarm to respond quickly.
Madrid. Tens of thousands of evacuees from the megafires that hit Spain and France began to return to their homes yesterday, although authorities ask for caution in the face of the arrival of a new heat wave. Both neighboring countries have suffered, in the last week, some of the worst forest fires in their history, which devastated vast areas and forced tens of thousands of people to abandon their homes. The Spanish government asked to fight the flames from “a European perspective.”
This column began a quarter of a century ago under the name The Echo and the Shadow, arising from reading Chuang Tzu in a volume that I have lost. I therefore omit the literal quote that originated it. But below I present three versions or interpretations, in this case it is the same, by Oscar Wilde, Octavio Paz and Iñaki Preciado Idoeta (I could not obtain, if it exists, that of Thomas Merton, who suggests the conjectural implicit in every translation and deals with the same symbolism in another passage of the Chinese scholar).
During the 19 months that the United States kept the border closed to Mexican cattle due to the presence of the screwworm, the country's livestock industry accumulated losses that different estimates place between 2,400 and almost 3 billion dollars, in addition to a delay in the capitalization of the herd that the industry will carry for longer than the US veto lasted.
Vulcan Materials assured its investors that it continues to be the owner of the properties located in Quintana Roo, despite the partial ruling that the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes issued in the arbitration that the company had against Mexico since 2018.
Before the city finishes waking up, the Metro already has its first diners. In the corridors and correspondence of the stations, among the hurried passage of passengers, merchants appear offering coffee, sweet bread, cakes and empanadas, foods that give energy to start the day's activities.
Although barely a third of the activity has passed in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Mexico is close to reaching half of the medals it obtained four years ago in the San Salvador 2023 edition (353).
Amid the smell of freshly fried Milanese, ham, chorizo, sausage, onion, tomato and the freshness of the lettuce, the Head of Government, Clara Brugada Molina, gave the flag to the preparation by dozens of people of the “largest cake in the world”, 100 meters long and 1,570 kilograms in weight, which was officially certified by Guinness World Records.
Jilotzingo, Méx., Ejidatarios supported by the city council warned that “they will not take a step back” in defense of 770 hectares of an ejido where real estate companies pressure residents with the aim of occupying land to build new residential developments.
The graffiti artist Chaz Bojórquez, the photographer Graciela Iturbide, the artist Beatriz Cortez and the singer, writer and activist Alice Bag will participate in the first International Chicanx Art Meeting, which from today to August 1 will bring together artists, researchers and specialists at the Palace of Fine Arts to reflect on the validity, diversity and new scope of this cultural phenomenon.
The Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, yesterday led the launch, in the Montaña Alta of Guerrero, of the Tianguis del Bienestar and the Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace program.
The playwright and director Jimena Hinojosa observed an abandoned pool in the middle of an existential crisis. Little by little, the image began to be populated with characters until giving rise to What fits in an empty grave, which will premiere today at the Teatro El Milagro.
The Attorney General's Office (FGJ) arrested Virginia N and Diana N for their alleged participation in the crime of dispossession of a property located on Matías Romero Street, Del Valle neighborhood, Benito Juárez mayor's office.
The National Electoral Institute (INE) plans to request 36,119 million pesos by 2027, with the purpose of funding its operating expenses (practically in the same terms as the current one), and organizing the election of the Chamber of Deputies, among other activities.
The Congress of Mexico City received two initiatives from the real estate leasing company Grupo Cantabria to build a 19-story tower for residential and office use on Avenida Constituciónntes 868, Lomas Altas neighborhood, and another 16-story tower for a hotel on Bulevar Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 621, Irrigación neighborhood, both in the Miguel Hidalgo mayor's office.
Havana. Cuba yesterday formalized the activities that will be allowed to the private sector, such as the administration of gas stations, pharmacies and renewable energies; In addition, it made the participation of individuals in imports, wholesale trade and oil exploitation more flexible.
The Commission of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM) made a call months ago to commemorate the events that we know as the Cristero war. Just after the armed phase of the Mexican Revolution, an armed conflict broke out between Mexicans, due to issues of religious appearance, but with an obvious political connotation, as it was staged by groups that identified themselves as liberal, one, and the other, conservative. And he was fueled by a victorious government in the contest and the high Catholic hierarchy, which openly spoke out against the 1917 Constitution.
The Ministry of Public Education (SEP) informed all state authorities of the sector in the country that for the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year, on August 31, it must be guaranteed that no institution provides educational services under the name or modality militarized, military or any other that refers to instruction or discipline of a military nature.
The federal justice granted the inhabitants of the town of Santa Cruz Atoyac the definitive suspension of the protection promoted, for which the immediate cessation of all work related to the GDC Desarrollos real estate megaproject that is being built at 1319 Cuauhtémoc Avenue, Benito Juárez mayor's office, was ordered.
Kumamoto. At least 28 people died as a result of the 7.1 earthquake that shook southwestern Japan yesterday, government spokesman Minoru Kihara reported yesterday. The powerful tremor caused widespread damage in Kumamoto Prefecture, where it leveled homes, caused fires and left dozens of people without power or water.
Designing and applying the bachelor's entrance exam completely online, for the first time in the history of UNAM, without sufficient preparation, has been a mistake. But it may not be the most serious. This error was considerably exacerbated by the responses that followed. The test was administered between May 23 and June 10, with an excessive duration that was already, in itself, problematic. Since June 18, when hundreds of applicants were summoned under the pretext of an interview to be told, right there, that they had to “answer a validation survey” for the exam, the university authorities knew that something was wrong and chose to resolve it behind closed doors. The same thing happened on July 3, with a criminal complaint that was only made public days later. Between July 17 and 21, when the results were announced, it emerged that about 2 percent of the exams administered had been canceled due to conduct contrary to the call. The opacity was repeated, more flagrantly, in the evasive statement issued by the authorities that same July 21. There they proposed the formation of a technical commission, which should have existed from the first sign of an anomaly and was not installed until July 27 – more than a month after the exam was administered. The authorities responded publicly, after the pressure of the candidate marches and the impact of statistical comparisons on social networks and the analysis of Eduardo Backhoff, today a member of that same commission.
After the Legal Counsel of the Presidency recognized “contradictions” in the reform of the so-called golden pensions, trusted retirees of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) demanded that the Congress of the Union repair the law and correct the second transitional period of article 127 of the constitution.
Tehran. The US army launched new air strikes against Iran last night in retaliation for the bombings of its bases in Jordan, in the resumption of the war in the Middle East that once again involved militias allied with Tehran.
Legislators from the capital's Congress called on the government, the Attorney General's Office and the local Judiciary to "fight with greater force" the crime of dispossession.
One of the first images of yesterday's opening of the Great Auction of Books, Records and Movies was that of dozens of older adults crowded around the boxes of acetates. It was enough for someone to pick up a disc for other hands to immediately approach it. Nobody wanted to miss the opportunity to find a mambo, a bolero, a trova album or some recording that had been out of circulation for years.
Dublin. Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, winner of an Oscar for the 2007 film Once, died in a motorcycle accident on the outskirts of Dublin early Wednesday, according to his representative. He was 56 years old.
The ninth edition of the Danzatlán 2026 international festival will bring together from August 13 to 16 members of the Royal Ballet of London, the Hungarian National Ballet, the Stuttgart Ballet, the Vienna Opera and stars from the United States who will visit the Centro Cultural Mexiquense Bicentenario, in the state of Mexico.
In a split decision, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) left its interest rate unchanged between 3.50 and 3.75 percent, marking the fifth consecutive monetary policy meeting without adjustment.
Chicago. Edgar Quero hit an RBI single yesterday in the 12th inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 6-5 victory over the New York Yankees. Chicago remained a game and a half ahead of Cleveland in the American League Central Division.
Lloyd Walter Hall, 27, of Amarillo, Texas, was charged with conspiracy to supply firearms to the Sinaloa cartel. In addition, several men were held responsible for other related crimes, including Jesús Quezada Meza, a 30-year-old Mexican citizen, the United States Department of Justice reported yesterday.
McAllen. A witness in the death of a Mexican man at the hands of federal immigration agents in Houston was released from a detention center yesterday after spending several weeks in custody.
The joint effort of personnel from the Mexican Navy Secretariat and businessmen, restaurateurs and tourism service providers from Quintana Roo, allowed 2,362 tons of sargassum to be collected from July 18 to 27.
Yesterday the release of the new album by Tony Iommi, founding member of Black Sabbath and considered the godfather of heavy metal, was announced; The album is titled From The Dark, guided and driven by the omnipresent guitar, from beginning to end by Iommi's characteristic and monumental riffs.
Regarding the disappearance of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa normal school in 2014, in Guerrero, president Claudia Sheinbaum revealed that "there are new investigations, and we hope to be able to give all the information to the parents of the normal students to be able to make public what has been found." He stressed that “out of respect for the family members, we must wait for the process to progress.”
The possibility of the federal government authorizing the exploitation of shale gas and oil deposits, through hydraulic fracturing (fracking), divided opinions during a forum in the Chamber of Deputies, because while some experts considered that this option would help Mexico reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons from the United States, others warned about the environmental and social damage it could cause.
Xalapa, Ver., The municipal president of Ixhua-tlán del Sureste, Raúl González Martínez, assured that he did not know or have any relationship with the journalist Roxana Guzmán, kidnapped on June 2 in Nanchital and found dead at the end of that month in a property in the south of the entity.
In commercial matters, "Mexico is the number one customer of the United States, no one buys from it anymore," said the Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, yesterday, after the president of the neighboring country, Donald Trump, stated that he does not care about the Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada (T-MEC).
The upper chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (TEPJF) unanimously confirmed the resolution of the National Electoral Institute (INE) through which it sanctioned México tiene Vida, an association to which it denied party registration.
Economic, technological and geopolitical transformations are constant. That is a fact we must face. Our historical moment, however, brings changes for which we do not have many references; We sometimes find ourselves without many places to look for inspiration and strategies to adapt to historical developments. Thus, today, big capital operates on a global scale, something never seen before; Supply chains cross continents and investment decisions made in one country immediately impact the working conditions of thousands of workers in other territories. This reality requires a pertinent response from the labor organization. We cannot limit ourselves to the local level; International solidarity is no longer a historical principle, but a strategic necessity. The above idea has been guiding my union work for decades and our present urgently calls for its widespread application.
The Mexican U-23 women's team had a bittersweet debut in the soccer tournament of the Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 after signing a goalless draw against its counterpart from Puerto Rico, yesterday on the first day of activity of the discipline.
The increase in tensions in the Middle East once again skyrocketed the price of oil by around 7 percent this Wednesday.
Wacken. The 35th edition of the renowned heavy metal festival Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) began yesterday in northern Germany and began to receive some of the nearly 85 thousand expected attendees.
Tapachula, Chis., The State Attorney General's Office (FGE) opened an investigation against whoever is responsible for the alleged abuse of new students during a hazing at the Mactumactzá rural normal school in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.
The prostate is a gland that never stops growing. That is normal, but it becomes a problem when the urinary tract is obstructed and causes symptoms such as urgency to urinate, there is a weak or intermittent flow, men get up two or more times a night and are left with the feeling of not completely emptying the bladder. These and other discomforts that tend to become normalized and are associated with age, are experienced with different levels of severity, 40 percent of men over 50 years old and 80 percent of those over 70, specialists stated.
Adán Augusto López Hernández has returned to the Senate, after weeks of absence, and with this he has revived speculation about his political and even personal future: will he leave the seat in September to coordinate Morenoist electoral campaigns in a constituency? Is he at risk of criminal accusations, not only for sweeping issues, coming from the United States?