92: ‘Chocolate Cars’: Illegal Vehicle Imports to Mexico From the US (Guests: Guillermo Rosales Zárate & Juan Vega Gómez)
Each year, hundreds of thousands of cars are imported illegally into Mexico from the United States. These unregistered “chocolate cars” — a play on the word “chueco,” which means “crooked” in Spanish — not only crowd out the national light vehicle market, but often fail to meet pollution and safety standards and can be used in serious crimes.
The used car industry in the U.S. is partially responsible for allowing the vehicles to enter Mexico at extremely low prices. But the Mexican government also contributes to the influx by occasionally legalizing their circulation. A regularization program for used imported vehicles was recently extended to 2026 in the final days of the Andrés Manuel López Obrador administration.
Guillermo Rosales Zárate, executive director of the Mexican Association of Dealerships (AMDA) and Juan Vega Gómez, a senior researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), joined Tony Payan on “México Centered” to explore the chocolate car phenomenon and the black and gray markets that emerge along the U.S.-Mexico border in the absence of critical binational coordination.
This conversation was recorded on July 22, 2025.
Featured guests:
Guillermo Rosales Zárate, https://www.linkedin.com/in/guillermo-rosales-zárate-20258b19a/
Juan Vega Gómez, https://www.juanvegagomez.com/
More about Tony Payan, Ph.D.: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/tony-payan
Follow Tony Payan on X (@PayanTony) and LinkedIn.
You can follow @BakerInstitute and @BakerInstMexico on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.
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91: Stopping the Flow of US Arms to Mexico (Guests: Isabella D’Alacio, John Lindsay-Poland & Gerardo Álvarez)
In this episode of “México Centered,” experts Isabella D’Alacio, John Lindsay-Poland, and Gerardo Álvarez join Tony to shed light on the dangerous flow of firearms from the U.S. into Mexico. They explore how criminal networks traffic powerful weapons across the border, the cultural and political obstacles to reform, and the ongoing efforts to curb the illegal arms trade. Tune in for an in-depth, urgent conversation on one of the most pressing bilateral issues facing the U.S. and Mexico.
Featured guests:
Isabella D’Alacio, https://voicesforprogress.org/staff/isabella-dalacio/
John Lindsay Poland, https://www.johnlindsaypoland.com/
Gerardo Álvarez, https://www.mucd.org.mx/conocenos/
This episode was recorded on May 21, 2025.
More about Tony Payan, Ph.D.: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/tony-payan Follow Tony Payan on X (@PayanTony) and LinkedIn.
Follow @BakerInstMexico on X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky. Subscribe to “US-Mexico Update,” our monthly newsletter, at bakerinstitute.org/newsletters.
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90: Claudia Sheinbaum’s Balancing Act
Tony Payan joined David Satterfield, director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and host of the “Baker Briefing” podcast, to discuss the challenges Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, is facing — both domestically and in its relationship with the United States.
This conversation was recorded on May 14, 2025. You can subscribe to “Baker Briefing” wherever you get your podcasts.
More about Tony Payan, Ph.D.: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/tony-payan Follow Tony Payan on X (@PayanTony) and LinkedIn.
Learn more about our annual Mexico Country Outlook report and conference, happening Oct. 16, 2025, at Rice University: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/mco
You can follow @BakerInstitute and @BakerInstMexico on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.
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89: Binational Dialogues: José Antonio Meade
On April 24, 2025, we hosted the inaugural webinar of our “Binational Dialogues” series, titled “Mexico’s Economy Today” and featuring José Antonio Meade Kuribreña. Meade offered an in-depth analysis of the current state of Mexico’s economy, followed by a thoughtful conversation with Tony Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico.
Meade is a Mexican politician, economist, lawyer, diplomat, and former presidential candidate. Between 2011 and 2017, he held several high-level Cabinet positions, including secretary of foreign affairs, secretary of social development, secretary of energy, and twice secretary of finance and public credit. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University, an economics degree from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), and a law degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
Featured guests:
José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, Ph.D., https://www.weforum.org/people/jose-antonio-meade-kuribrena/
More about Tony Payan, Ph.D.: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/tony-payan Follow Tony Payan on X (@PayanTony) and LinkedIn.
You can follow @BakerInstitute and @BakerInstMexico on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.
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88: Boosting Tech Entrepreneurship in Chihuahua (Guests: Kevin Koym and Ana Victoria Gutiérrez)
Tony Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico, is joined by Kevin Koym, founder and CEO of Tech Ranch, and Ana Victoria Gutiérrez, ecosystem intelligence leader at Startup Chihuahua. Together, they explore how strategic investment and community collaboration are driving the growth of tech entrepreneurship in Chihuahua.
Featured guests:
Ana Victoria Gutiérrez, https://www.linkedin.com/in/av-gutierrez/
Kevin Koym, https://www.kevinkoym.com/
This conversation was recorded on April 15, 2025.
More about Tony Payan, Ph.D.: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/tony-payan Follow Tony Payan on X (@PayanTony) and LinkedIn.
You can follow @BakerInstitute and @BakerInstMexico on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.
Tony Payan interviews academics, former government officials, and other experts on issues central to U.S.-Mexico relations, including trade, immigration, and public safety. New episodes are released monthly.The podcast is hosted by the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Houston, Texas. through original research, relevant solutions to binational policy issues, and the advancement of mutual understanding, we seek to have a meaningful impact on the U.S.-Mexico relationship.Learn about our work at bakerinstitute.org/usmx.
México