The Economist: Another Earthquake Strikes Mexico

Mexico is reeling from the onslaught of at least two earthquakes and aftershocks with the span of a few weeks. More than 270 people are dead and numerous buildings in Mexico City are destroyed. Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world, and the area around the city accounts for nearly 25 percent of Mexico's gross domestic product, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Although the quake that struck on September 19th was not “as strong as the one that hit southern Mexico 12 days before and killed nearly 100 people,” with a magnitude of 7.1 compared to 8.2, notes the Economist, the more recent earthquake’s epicenter was in the state of Puebla and “much closer to the country’s megalopolis, Mexico City, part of which is built on the soft soil of a lake bed and is thus prone to seismic shaking.” Adding insult to injury, the US government is threatening to axe NAFTA, the free-trade treaty with Mexico and Canada, and the quakes could not have come at a worse time. – YaleGlobal