NEWS/BLOG

A Newspaper for Expats in Mexico

Imagine a 40-page newspaper in English and written for the expatriate community in Mexico. Inside México has been available for just a few months free of charge in coffee shops and places travelers and expats congregate in Mexico City and around the country.

The weekly is modeled on alternative papers such as the Village Voice and the Chicago Reader. Some 20,000 copies are printed.

Publishers Aran and Margot Shetterly describe their intentions: “With Inside México and insidemex.com, we plan to create a first-rate, English language periodical for the more than 1 million English speakers who have made their homes in México. Inside México aims to reflect, celebrate, question and demystify México for the river of migrants flowing from North to South. In short, it will try to make México more accessible to our readers.

Perhaps just as important, however, Inside México will also examine us, México’s English speaking residents. What are our interests, needs, biases and blind spots? What practical information do we need to build a new life in our new country? How do we fit here in this land of cactus and salsa?”

An estimated half million U.S, expatriates and about as many Canadians make their homes in Mexico and these numbers are almost certain to increase.

Help for Dubai’s Domestic Workers

Last week NPR reported on the deplorable conditions faced by domestic workers in Dubai. They are mostly women from Southeast Asian countries. They work long hours for very little pay and sometimes have their pay withheld for months at a time. It’s not uncommon that they are physically or sexually abused. Yet if they leave their jobs, they face imprisonment and deportation. An American woman married to a local man has opened a shelter for women who leave their employers with nowhere else to go.

Shortly after the story aired, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it would introduce a standard contract for domestic workers and their employers, including salaries, holidays, and working conditions.

Halliburton’s New HQ - Dubai

Halliburton, the Texas oil services company is moving its headquarters and CEO to Dubai. As its chief executive David Lesar said, “Dubai is a great business center.”

What he may mean is that the company will save on taxes. One energy analyst estimates that if the company incorporates in the United Arab Emirates, the tax savings could be several hundred million dollars. The company has denied any intent to incorporate there, but it does plan to list on the Dubai stock exchange.

Also, the company will also be in a better position to gain contracts in the Middle East. Halliburton generated more than 38% of its $13 billion in revenue in the Eastern Hemisphere last year.

The move leaves members of Congress up in arms. “This is an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers who paid the tab for their no-bid contracts and endured their overcharges for all these years,” said judiciary committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.

Halliburton is already being investigated by government agencies for allegations of improper business dealings. At a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing last month, chairman Henry Waxman, Democrat from California, noted that a government audit had indicated that Halliburton was responsible for “$2.7 billion in suspect billings.”

The politically-connected firm is the largest military contractor in Iraq. Halliburton’s chief from 1995 to 2000 was vice president Dick Cheney. In the 1990s Cheney fought sanctions against Iran so Halliburton could pursue oil and gas exploration there. When the sanctions held, the company proceeded to business in Iran anyway through a subsidiary in the Cayman Islands.

Dubai is one of seven emirates in the U.A.E. confederation, which seeks to become a regional commercial center much like Singapore and Hong Kong. It is currently home to the world’s largest building boom (the world’s tallest building is under construction here) and has become one of the fastest growing luxury real estate markets on the world. It’s worth noting, too, that expatriate employees are not subject to strict Islamic rules here as they are in Saudi Arabia. They do not live in compounds, and western dress is acceptable for women.

The Soul of San Miguel

“Too many Americans” and “too many rich Americans” are the refrains one hears whenever Mexico’s San Miguel de Allende is mentioned. I’ve never believed this, not since visiting San Miguel and certainly not since moving to Santa Fe, where the same complains are commonplace.

Artists and poets have been coming to San Miguel from other parts of the world since the 1930s. According to local statistics, from 12,000 to 16,000 of the town’s 80,000 population are expatriates, about 70% of them from the U.S.

Writing in Travel + Leisure magazine, John Davidson asserts that San Miguel has not lost its authenticity as a true Mexican town. He writes, “Here, the town is the thing, the promise of community.” And community is not a bad thing.

With beautiful churches and thermal baths, the town also boasts the best bilingual library in all of Mexico and two art schools. Restaurants, galleries, concerts and numerous cultural events lure visitors, some of whom decide to stay. It may come as a surprise to the San Miguel bashers, that about 60% of the tourists who come here are from other parts of Mexico.

For Davidson’s excellent article, see the March issue of Travel + Leisure or go to www.travelandleisure.com/articles/mexico-magico. Accompanying the article are some fine photos of places and people in and around San Miguel. For more about living in Mexico as well as a list of books for prospective expats in Mexico, see www.liveabroad.com/articles/mexico.html. 

Border Security and the IRS

Increased border security in the U.S. makes it easier for the Internal Revenue Service to identify expats who may have avoided filing taxes while living outside the U.S. The law states that if you hold U.S. citizenship or a green card or dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country, you must file tax returns with the IRS every year. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been away or how far away you live. Expat tax returns are required to include bank account and money market balances in excess of $10,000.