Northern Mexico

There was another exodus from Central America. It happened in the 1980s, when almost one million Guatemalans and Salvadorans fled to the US to escape civil war. And a group of American activists and religious leaders took big risks to help them stay.

Resident of Baja California are about to see their sales taxes go up — by almost 50 percent over the current rates. Residents are outraged and some are even agitating for secession.

Mitt Romney often talks about his heritage in Mexico, and his faith in the Mormon Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a complicated history in Mexico — it’s growing rapidly today, but more than 100 years ago it was a place Mormons went to avoid a prohibition on polygamy.

The drug war in Mexico has turned local journalism there into a potentially deadly career choice. Powerful cartels often threaten or kill hometown journalists who dare to report on the latest violence. But an innovative system for getting information out quickly — and safely — has recently emerged.

A worker-run women’s cooperative in Mexico is recycling steady stream of discarded televisions and computers once destined for America’s landfills.