Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto delivered the first Primer Informe, or first report, of his term on Monday. The speech, equivalent to the U.S. "State of the Union" address, was given under the backdrop of protests that saw some violence this weekend. The hashtags #1SMx ("1SeptMx"), #1erInformedeGobierno ("Government's1stReport") and #CNTE (referring to Mexico's teachers union) are trending in the county.

The National Security Agency's spy program targeted the communications of the Brazilian and Mexican presidents, and in the case of Mexico's leader accessed the content of emails before he was elected, said the journalist who obtained secret documents from NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Glenn Greenwald, an American journalist who lives in Rio de Janeiro, told the news program "Fantastico'' in an interview that a document dated June 2012 shows that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's emails were being read. The document is dated a month before Pena Nieto was elected.

A street artist is dedicated to repainting the graffiti daubed by street-gang members around his Chicago neighborhood, transforming the vandalized walls into naturalistic landscapes, comic-strip characters and historical figures of the United States and Mexico.

Six years of unremitting headlines on extreme violence and rampant crime has sullied Mexico’s reputation abroad. Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) and his confrontational “War on Drugs” grew increasingly unpopular over the years, resulting in the 2012 election of opposition party candidate Enrique Peña Nieto, who espoused a new security strategy and vision for Mexico.

On the face of it, the pundits appear to have got their projections for Latin America’s two biggest economies upside down this year. Mexico, which started with the most promise, unexpectedly suffered a 0.7% slump in the second quarter compared with the first three months, according to data released on August 20th, due to a slump in construction, mining and exports. Brazil, which has been the subject of much hand-wringing since China’s demand for commodities collapsed, is expected to show decent growth when second-quarter figures are published on August 30th.

Walk down calle Coahuila, and in the distance, you can see the landmark avenida Revolucion clock under a monumental arch. But really, perhaps Tijuana is even more famous for hedonism signaled by the posters and signs lining Coahuila. It seems every other door leads to a "hotel" with a smattering of bars and gentleman's clubs, and even, for the romantic at heart, a flower shop. Inside, many of the women, teens and girls who work in the sex trade are slaves to international criminal organizations.

The Southwest border is a place where people and cultures collide and inevitably blend into one another. For El Paso artist Peter Svarzbein it was the perfect setting to introduce a food experiment that compliments his latest project. He combined his experience as a Jew growing up on Mexico's doorstep to create a new twist on an iconic dish. On a July afternoon, the kitchen at Chabad Lubavitch in El Paso was hotter than a desert full of burning bushes. No surprise, considering the amount of cooking that went on that day.

Mexico's Aeromexico airline and its ad agency have apologized for a producer's casting call requesting that only light-skinned people apply as actors for a television commercial. Mexico's population is largely dark-skinned, but Mexican television ads routinely feature light-skinned actors, sparking accusations of racial discrimination. The commercial has not yet been made, but the casting call specified it wanted "nobody dark skinned," only actors with "white skin."