Viri Rios

Why Trump Always TACOs with Mexico A ruthless strategy that keeps Mexico yielding without a trade war

Trump once again backed down at the last minute from slapping tariffs on Mexico. Many mocked him for “chickening out” again.

The reality is he has a ruthless strategy that is giving him major wins:

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/why-trump-...

Mexican Coke Isn’t Really Mexican — and That’s the Point A masterclass on how U.S. politics and global trade shape corporate strategy and consumer demand.

Yep. Mexican Coke isn’t really Mexican.

A surprising story of how trade and migration policies created an unlikely export:

open.substack.com/pub/mexicode...

Credit Card Cartels, Nissan’s Farewell & Deadly Mototaxis Mexico Decoded’s weekly briefing makes sense of the news that matters

Credit Card Cartels, Nissan's Farewell, Deadly Mototaxis and more.

Weekly summary of Mexico’s top 5 stories at 🟧 Mexico Decoded is out!

Read more at the link in our bio.

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/credit-car...

How to Get Rich in Mexico The Mexican dream exists—but it is narrow, selective, and generally involves only two paths.

How to get rich in Mexico?

There are only two real paths —and almost no one talks about them.

Read in @mexicodecoded.bsky.social

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/how-to-get...

What Mexico’s State Oil Company Tells Us About the Future of Public Ownership Sheinbaum’s strategy to save Pemex is a new blueprint for off-balance-sheet sovereignty

Mexico is rescuing its state oil company Pemex —without calling it a bailout or adding debt.

It’s not privatization. It’s something else... and it comes with two major problems:

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/what-mexic...

Soccer Scandals, Cargo Wars & Avocados Flying South Mexico Decoded’s weekly briefing makes sense of the news that matters.

Weekly summary of Mexico’s top 5 stories at 🟧 @mexicodecoded.bsky.social is out!

Soccer scandals, cargo wars, avocados flying south, and more:

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/soccer-sca...

A Death Squad That Kept a Mexican State Safe—Until It Didn't What a Mexican state’s “success” against crime reveals about the dangerous bargains behind public peace.

A criminal pact in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco kept violence low — until it didn’t.

Here’s what its collapse reveals about how crime really works in Mexico 👇🏼

Read more at @mexicodecoded.bsky.social

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/a-death-sq...

Is Mexico a Narco-State? What we miss when we talk about Mexico and the cartels

Is Mexico a narco-state?

The Oscars think so. Netflix too.

But behind movie scripts, the story is far more complicated

My latest at 🟧 @mexicodecoded.bsky.social:

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/is-mexico-...

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Si no lo has hecho, únete a mi chat de whatsapp para recibir todo mi contenido directo a tu teléfono :)

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Bleak Growth, Cartel Lawyers, and Sui Generis Housing Reform Mexico Decoded’s weekly briefing makes sense of the news that matters.

Weekly summary of Mexico’s top 5 stories at 🟧 @mexicodecoded.bsky.social is out!

Bleak growth, cartel lawyers, a sui generis housing reform, and more:

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/bleak-grow...

Mexico decoded | Viri Rios | Substack Unpacking Mexico’s politics, economy, and power —straight from the source. Click to read Mexico decoded, by Viri Rios, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

Comparte Mexico Decoded con tus amigos extranjeros o que hablen inglés y recibe 1 mes gratis

www.mexicodecoded.com/leaderboard

Trump’s New Tariff Isn’t About Trade It’s about Latin America’s politics—and Mexico should be paying close attention.

Here’s what Trump’s latest tariff threat reveals about his plans for Latin America —and why, bluff or not, Mexico should pay close attention.

My latest at 🟧 @mexicodecoded.bsky.social

www.mexicodecoded.com/p/trumps-new...

Viri Ríos 🟢 WhatsApp Group Invite

Si no lo has hecho, únete a mi chat de whatsapp para recibir todo mi contenido directo a tu teléfono :)

chat.whatsapp.com/Kgmy1mGeGZO6...

Is Mexico a Middle Class Country? A visual and data-driven guide to class in Mexico

Is Mexico a middle-class country?

The answer might surprise you.

Here is a visual and data-driven guide to how Mexicans really live at 🟧 @mexicodecoded.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/mexicode...

Viral Racism, Extortion Crackdown and Pemex Debt Trouble Mexico Decoded’s weekly briefing makes sense of the news that matters.

Weekly summary of Mexico’s top 5 stories at 🟧 @mexicodecoded.bsky.social is out!

Viral racism, extortion crackdown, Pemex debt crisis, and more:

mexicodecoded.substack.com/p/viral-raci...

How Mexico Is Battling the Bad Guys Inside the new strategy to strengthen justice and end impunity.

Mexico is telling one story to Trump.

But few know how its security strategy is actually changing on the ground.

We break it down:

🖋️ @viririos.bsky.social

mexicodecoded.substack.com/p/how-mexico...

How Mexico Is Battling the Bad Guys Inside the new strategy to strengthen justice and end impunity.

Mexico is telling one story to Trump.

But few know how its security strategy is actually changing on the ground.

I break it down in my latest at 🟧 @mexicodecoded.bsky.social

mexicodecoded.substack.com/p/how-mexico...

Pride turns radical, Trump backs down and tax revenues surge Mexico Decoded’s weekly briefing makes sense of the news that matters.

Weekly summary of Mexico’s top 5 stories at 🟧 @mexicodecoded.bsky.social is out!

Pride turns radical, Trump backs down, a tax collection boom and more:

open.substack.com/pub/mexicode...

Is Mexico Giving Away Free Money? Not Quite Behind the myths about Mexico’s welfare system.

Mexico’s social programs are widely misunderstood abroad.

The perception says one thing. The numbers say another.

🖋️ @viririos.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/mexicode...

Is Mexico Giving Away Free Money? Not Quite Behind the myths about Mexico’s welfare system.

Mexico’s social programs are widely misunderstood abroad.

The perception says one thing. The numbers say another.

My latest 🟧 Substack at @mexicodecoded.bsky.social:

mexicodecoded.substack.com/p/is-mexico-...

Are Gringos to Blame for Mexico City's Housing Crisis? Everyone’s talking about digital nomads — but not about what matters.

Are gringos to blame for Mexico City’s housing crisis?

Spoiler: no.

The real culprits, in my latest 🟧 Substack at @mexicodecoded.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/mexicode...

Mexico's Week Decoded From gig worker's rights to cockfightin, Mexico is redrawing the boundaries of power, labor, and identity... and facing pushback at every turn.

A summary of the top 5 stories you should know about Mexico at 🟧 "Mexico Decoded" on Substack.

From gig workers' rights to cockfighting, this week was all about Mexico redrawing the boundaries of power:

mexicodecoded.substack.com/p/mexicos-we...

Not the narcos: How Mexico’s press censorship really works Everyone thinks they know who censors Mexico’s press. They don’t.

There’s a story we’ve told ourselves for years about who censors the press in Mexico. It’s tidy, familiar, and wrong.

The truth is messier—and closer to home.

My latest 🟧 Substack at "Mexico Decoded".

mexicodecoded.substack.com/p/not-the-na...

Decoding Sheinbaum’s unprecedented popularity What Sheinbaum’s approval reveals about power, perception, and the changing political landscape in Mexico.

Mexico’s economy is stalling. Violence is too high.

Yet, Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, is one of the most popular on Earth.

Why? My latest 🟧 Substack:
mexicodecoded.substack.com/p/decoding-s...

Mexico Decoded. A quick note on what this Substack is about —and why you should subscribe to understand Mexico beyond the clichés, from the ground up.

I just opened my🟧 Substack "Mexico Decoded" for English speakers.

Here is a quick note on what it is about and why you should subscribe to understand Mexico beyond the clichés —from the ground up👇

open.substack.com/pub/mexicode...

Sheinbaum necesita un enemigo La disciplina partidista gravitaría a borbotones si ésta se encumbrara como la antagonista más evidente de un enemigo suficientemente despreciable.

In Mexico, former president López Obrador built power by creating and defeating his own enemies.

Current President Sheinbaum might need a few of those to assert her leadership.

www.milenio.com/opinion/viri...

Noroña, silenciador en jefe Crecido en el estridentismo, el líder del Senado comienza a ponerle el pie a su propio partido

The president of the Mexican Senate, Noroña, rose to fame defending the working class—but he has changed.

Today, I’m writing about how he blames workers for their situation👇🏽

elpais.com/mexico/opini...

La radiografía del voto judicial muestra las fisuras de Morena El obradorismo se confrontó en una lucha encarnizada de traiciones y alianzas, al tiempo que, en silencio, una parte de la ciudadanía votó por un poder judicial independiente

Using an unsupervised learning algorithm, I analyzed 71k electoral sections to uncover how Mexicans voted in the federal judicial election.

The result: an unprecedented X-ray of betrayals, alliances, and voters who defied the script.

elpais.com/mexico/2025-...

Lecciones de la elección judicial La elección judicial revela fallas estructurales, con baja participación y necesidad urgente de reformas para futuros procesos.

Mexico held its first judiciary election. It was a monumental exercise that calls for self-reflection.

I wrote 10 concrete proposals to improve it 👇🏽

amp.milenio.com/opinion/viri...

Por qué sí votar en la elección judicial La verdadera batalla es lograr tener un Poder Judicial lo más íntegro, experimentado e independiente posible y ello requiere que votemos por mejores perfiles

This Sunday, for the first time in its history, Mexico will elect judges and justices by popular vote.

Some argue that Mexicans should abstain from voting, but I believe we must participate.

Here’s why 👇🏽

amp.milenio.com/opinion/viri...