Mexico

This week, Code Switch is talking about the books that are getting us through the pandemic. Today's conversation is with Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of the creepy and engrossing Mexican Gothic.

"The damage of this kind of diet is even more visible because of the pandemic," says a Oaxaca legislator who spearheaded a law against the sale of junk food and soda to minors. The idea is spreading.

Low earners have been doubly hit: They make up the highest share of virus-related deaths and lack the funds to stay afloat as the pandemic plunges Mexico deeper into recession.

Mexican media reported several deaths from the storm, including children who were swept away by currents during flooding.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel dominates fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking and is linked to various assassinations. But President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says, "We will not declare war."

As the Trump administration has effectively shut down the asylum system at the border during the pandemic, one mother was given the choice to go to Mexico with or without her newborn, a U.S. citizen.

The journey from India can zigzag to Russia, the Mideast, the Caribbean and Central America. U.S. Border Patrol figures show more than 7,600 Indians were detained on the U.S.-Mexico border last year.

The 7.4-magnitude quake struck mid-morning off the Pacific coast near the beach resort of Huatuco. The quake was felt in several states and triggered seismic alarms in Mexico City.

Mexicans are left with mixed messages of a national lifting of social distancing measures but a government map showing most of the country still unready to reopen.

At least 100 Guatemalans infected with the coronavirus were deported from the U.S. from mid-March through mid-April. And advocates say Mexico has not been testing Central American deportees.

Hijo del Soberano was already designing lucha libre costumes on the side. Since his wrestling venue shut amid Mexico's lockdown, he's turned to making masks. "I just altered my skills a bit," he says.

Officials from both countries say the temporary closure to nonessential travel is critical to slowing the spread of the coronavirus. The U.S. has reached a similar agreement with Canada.