Soberanía: The Mexican Politics Podcast Soberanía Podcast

Soberanía co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth review the results from Sunday’s election that saw Claudia Sheinbaum make history by becoming Mexico’s first woman president. Elected on a left-wing program promising to deepen the political transformation started by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, her victory has provoked the ire of Mexico’s right-wing elites and intellectuals, who once again have failed to grasp why voters chose to elect Morena and give them a super-majority in the Congress. Plus in our Losers and Haters section, we encourage our viewers to contact AP and let them know you’re tired of their biased coverage.

In our last episode before the June 2 election, Soberanía co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth evaluate the opposition’s failed strategy in this presidential campaign that never came close to threatening Morena’s massive lead. Now with mere days to go, Claudia Sheinbaum looks set to secure a landslide victory. Plus our Losers and Haters section of the show where we mock Andres Oppenheimer’s rant in the Miami Herald.

Soberanía co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth discuss Mexican Supreme Court President Norma Piña outrageous interference in the country’s political process, her secret meetings with the opposition, and her unbecoming messages to colleagues. Kurt and José Luis also look at Xóchitl Gálvez’ poor performance in the third and final presidential debate and the underwhelming “Marea Rosa” rally, whose organizers finally gave up any appearance of nonpartisanship. In our Losers and Haters section of the show, we criticize Denise Dresser’s rehashed and uncompelling argument about the so-called “authoritarian regression” under President Andres Manuel López Obrador.

Soberanía co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth break down efforts by the US Drug Enforcement Agency, with the help of their old media ally ProPublica, to once again attempt to interfere in the Mexican election. Kurt and José Luis also analyze the grassroots efforts by university students to hold a mock election. In our regular segment going over bad press coverage, we finally catch up with Enrique Krauze and criticize his horrible piece in the Financial Times.

For more on ProPublica's embarrassing report on AMLO, check out episode 1 of the podcast.

Co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth discuss the scandalous accusation surrounding the head of Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad, María Amparo Cásar, a right-wing ideologue who has endlessly criticized AMLO yet has skeletons in her own closet and is accused of illegally collecting her ex-husband’s pension to the tune of millions of pesos. Kurt and José Luis also discuss the bribery allegations against US Representative Henry Cuellar, the false news reports on an alleged secret crematorium in Mexico City, and our bad coverage of the week from The Economist.

Co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth analyze the winners and losers of the second presidential debate in Mexico and refute the notion that there’s an unfair playing field in this election. In the second half of the program, Kurt and José Luis breakdown the effort by Mexico City’s electoral watchdog to censor talk about Santiago Taboada’s links to the housing cartel, plus a look at Anabel Hernández’s forthcoming book and her tendency to rely on unnamed sources.