Mexico: Judgment day
Also: China, Myanmar, Germany, and the French Overseas Territories.
In today’s dispatch:
MEXICO. Another showdown looms between the government and the courts.
CHINA. Washington isn’t the only one worried about Beijing’s moon shot.
MYANMAR. The junta is given its marching orders.
GERMANY. The chancellor faces pressure from all sides.
OVERSEAS FRANCE. Post-colonial ideology meets the energy transition.
Geopolitical Dispatch is the daily client briefing of Geopolitical Strategy, a specialist advisory firm helping companies map, monitor and manage geopolitical risk.
MEXICO. Judgment day
Another showdown looms between the government and the courts.
Eight of 11 Supreme Court justices were expected to resign this week, the Senate's president said Tuesday, rather than seek their reappointment next year via popular vote. The court will consider a challenge to the new rules next week.
INTELLIGENCE. Justice Juan Luis Gonzalez published a proposal Monday challenging core parts of the government’s judicial reforms, passed by supermajority (and possibly chicanery) in the final days of ex-president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration. They were to require all Mexico’s 7,000 magistrates and judges be elected by 2027. Gonzalez can expect most of his colleagues – eight are required to constitutionally overturn the reforms – to agree.
FOR BUSINESS. President Claudia Sheinbaum said the judges were resigning to access their retirement money. That may be a factor, but the unease around the reforms is genuine, and shared by most of the business community and Mexico's key partners, including the US. The judges are unlikely to go quietly. Another showdown on the laws, which attracted widespread protest, will be an early test of Sheinbaum's commitment to her predecessor's populist agenda.
Stay ahead with Geopolitical Dispatch — 5 essential stories, 5 days a week, delivered at 5am ET. For a limited time, claim 3 months of full access, absolutely free.
CHINA. Space invaders
Washington isn’t the only one worried about Beijing’s moon shot.
Beijing launched a crew of three astronauts early Wednesday to its Tiangong space station. Authorities said the launch was another step towards putting a person on the moon by 2030 and creating a permanent base there by 2035.
INTELLIGENCE. As in the last cold war, space has become an important frontier for geopolitical competition. Yet this is not just a concern for Washington,