The train will take passengers 30 kilometers from the Buenavista Station to the AIFA airport in 43 minutes, connecting with the Tren Suburbano and Line B of the Mexico City Metro.
(Andrea Murcia / Cuartoscuro.com)
The long-awaited train to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) should be operational in time for Holy Week next year, President Claudia Sheinbaum declared after examining the final 23.7-kilometer stretch of the railway line.
Sheinbaum was given a tour of the Lechería-AIFA section of the route on Sunday by Andrés Lajous, the director of the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency, visiting the six stations and the AIFA terminal, while also taking the first test ride.
Primer viaje en tren de Lechería al Aeropuerto Internacional “Felipe Ángeles”. Iniciamos la etapa de señalización y pruebas; muy pronto, todas y todos nos subiremos al tren. pic.twitter.com/EgY36aTO9U
The final stretch of the train line will link the Buenavista station in Mexico City with AIFA, allowing passengers to travel the 30-kilometer distance in 43 minutes. The airport is located near Zumpango, México state.
Originally presented in 2020, completion of the project has taken three years longer than expected. Then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had announced the new train would be ready just a few months after AIFA was inaugurated in March 2022.
Additional infrastructure projects were required, Sheinbaum said Sunday, especially to make improvements to the living conditions of the surrounding population and some right-of-way adjustments were necessary.
“Some homes had to be relocated … several people were even given new housing,” she said.
Once operational, trains will depart every 15 minutes, with an average operating speed of 65 kilometers per hour and a maximum design speed of 130 km/h. Each of the 10 trains has a capacity for 719 passengers and will be utilized on a rotating basis. Seven trains will operate simultaneously, two will be in reserve, while the 10th will undergo maintenance.
In addition to connections with the Buenavista-Cuautitlán Suburban Train, the new line will feature connections with Line B of the Mexico City Metro, with Lines 1, 3 and 4 of the capital’s Metrobús and with the Mexibús in México state.
Operating hours will be from 5:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., and will eventually use a standardized payment system using the Mexico City transport system’s integrated mobility card.
The story of Osita, Cachimba and Pintorín — the canine guardians of the pyramids of Chichén Itzá in Yucatán — delighted not just MND readers but also millions of social media users in June. (X)
In 2025, Mexico News Daily once again covered plenty of “hard news” and “bad news” stories.
As we have done since MND was founded more than 11 years ago, we also reported numerous stories that made us laugh, brought a smile to our faces, warmed our hearts and even left us scratching our heads in bewilderment.
Now, as we approach the end of the year, it’s time to look back at the amusing, uplifting, inspirational, heartening, gratifying, strange, surreal and “only in Mexico” stories MND published this year.
We continue today with a compilation of articles we published between April and June.
Grandma Carlota’s actions earned her the nicknames “abuelita sicaria” (the killer granny) and “abuelita justiciera” (the vigilante granny) on social media, and sparked polarized reactions across Mexico and a bucketload of memes — ranging from praise to condemnation.
Meanwhile, the animal inhabitants of a wildlife sanctuary near Culiacán, Sinaloa, were forced to migrate, by truck, to a new refuge in Mazatlán to escape cartel violence in and around the state capital. In a story of surreal sadness, it appeared that not even elephants, tigers and lions were safe from the Sinaloa Cartel’s bloody internecine war.
Another new Guinness World Record holder is Viridiana Álvarez, a mountaineer from the city of Aguascalientes who is the first woman to summit all of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters and the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent. What an achievement!
Anyone in need of even more inspiration would have found over five hours’ worth in this article about Mexican open-water swimmer David Olvera, who set an unofficial world record for his sensational — and undoubtedly exhausting — swim around New York’s Manhattan Island.
We hope you enjoyed reading our happier and quirkier stories this year, and perhaps found a few here that you missed. We’re already looking forward to another year of weird, wonderful and distinctively Mexican stories in 2026!
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
The U.S. equity firm General Atlantic bought an estimated US $240 million worth of Emilio Azcarraga Jean's US $490 million company Ollamani, owner of Club América, to form a new ownership group called Grupo Águilas. (Club América / Facebook)
Mexico’s winningest soccer club has teamed up with a U.S. investment group in an alliance that will place Club América under the same umbrella as the NFL’s New England Patriots, bringing to five the number of Liga MX teams with significant U.S. funding.
The private equity firm General Atlantic agreed on Tuesday to purchase a 49% stake in Grupo Ollamani, which owns América, the 88,000-seat Estadio Banorte (formerly Estadio Azteca) and land adjacent to the stadium that will become the site of a shopping mall, a hotel and a parking structure.
New England Partiots owner Robert Kraft, shown here with his former star quarterback Tom Brady, has been contracted through his Kraft Group to provide services to Club Ameríca’s new ownership, which now includes a large minority share by the U.S. equity firm General Atlantic. (@betocabreraa/on X)
Reports indicate the alliance — which will include the Kraft Analytics Group, a subsidiary of the Kraft Group, owners of the Patriots and MLS soccer club New England Revolution — is based on an enterprise value of US $490 million. General Atlantic’s stake is estimated to be roughly US $240 million.
In a statement announcing the partnership, General Atlantic confirmed that “Ollamani will retain a 51% controlling stake and continue to oversee the group’s long-term strategic direction and vision, while General Atlantic will hold a 49% equity stake in Grupo Águilas.”
The new entity is named Grupo Águilas and will collaborate with Kraft Analytics Group “to enhance the use of data and analytics in connecting with more than 45 million fans (30 million in Mexico and 15 million in the United States).”
Immediately after the announcement on Tuesday, Grupo Ollamani shares rose 6% on the Mexican Stock Exchange to 86 pesos per share, before ending the trading day at 83.4.
Emilio Azcárraga Jean, the controlling shareholder in Ollamani, will serve as executive president of Grupo Águilas.
General Atlantic said Azcárraga’s presence will ensure “continuity of leadership and long-term strategic stewardship” as the board and management team work “to drive sustainable development across the club, stadium and real estate platform.”
Azcárraga said the partnership with General Atlantic — a global investor that has invested more than US $3 billion in Mexico since opening an office in Mexico City in 2015 — adds long-term vision and international expertise.
“This strategic alliance positions us strongly for our next stage of leadership as we expand our reach and deliver even more unforgettable experiences for fans in Mexico and beyond,” Azcárraga said in a statement.
In February 2024, Azcárraga, the former CEO and president of Telecom and broadcasting giant Grupo Televisa, separated his non-media assets including América and Estadio Banorte to form Ollamani.
The new partnership comes at a strategic time as the stadium is undergoing renovations ahead of the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Four other Liga MX teams enjoy significant funding from foreign entities:
Querétaro F.C. is backed by global investment firm Innovation Capital, chaired by Marc Spiegel.
Atlético de San Luis is part of Apollo Sports Capitol, the sports investment arm of New York City-based global asset manager Apollo Global Management, which recently completed the acquisition of Spanish giants Atlético de Madrid.
Mexican culture is famous for a reason. Here are our best photos, discussions, interviews and guides from 2025. (Inspired Pencil)
Whether you love food, history, art or music, Mexico has some of the very best in the world. So it’s only natural that we’d also have some fantastic coverage of these cultural treasures in 2025.
Blue is the warmest color
On Oaxaca’s humid Pacific coast, farmers rise before dawn to harvest “blue gold” from fields of indigo that once supplied royalty and ritual dress across the world. Follow the jicalete plant’s journey from muddy pilas and ox-drawn carts to shimmering dye vats at the Feria de Anil, where ancient techniques meet shibori patterns and global designers. See how a nearly lost tradition is coloring Oaxaca’s future deep, luminous blue as award winning photojournalist Anna Bruce takes a look at some of Mexico’s most authentic communities.
Netflix’s new series Las Muertas dives into the chilling true story of the González Valenzuela sisters, Mexico’s most infamous crime ring, who ran brutal brothels from the 1940s to the 1960s. Filmed across Mexico and based on Jorge Ibargüengoitia’s acclaimed novel, the show exposes corruption, exploitation and a hidden world of violence that shocked a nation. Discover the real history behind the horror before you hit play.
On a dusty ranch outside San Miguel de Allende, a 70-something potter shapes the last echoes of her family’s centuries-old craft with her bare hands. Meet Nicanora Valdez, the only remaining potter in a once-renowned lineage, molding riverbed clay into bowls that travel from rural Guanajuato to collectors’ shelves. Discover how friendship, memory, and fire keep her fragile legacy alive—one bowl at a time.
War, politics and betrayal in the northern territories
One decision redrew the map of North America—and still shapes the U.S.–Mexico relationship today. Travel back 176 years to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, when Mexico lost 55% of its territory and nearly 80,000 Mexicans suddenly found themselves living in a new country. War, broken promises, and “manifest destiny” still echo in today’s politics and border debates, so find out where it all began.
Headed to Mexico for Día de Muertos, or celebrating from afar? Before you paint your face or post that cemetery photo, learn how locals in San Miguel de Allende balance living traditions, private grief, and public spectacle. This guide unpacks what’s welcome, what crosses the line, and how to honor the dead with genuine respect —while still enjoying the magic when the veil between worlds thins.
The architectural miracle in Mexico’s largest slum
Rising from one of Mexico City’s poorest districts, the Yancuic Museum is rewriting what access to art and culture looks like. With an origami-like façade, free admission, and exhibits on climate change and Nahua cosmogony, this luminous new space turns Iztapalapa into an unlikely cultural hotspot. Meet the award-winning museum where white-tailed deer, jaguars, and axolotls greet visitors amid a concrete sea.
Think you’re just living “normally” in Mexico City? From haggling over chiles in bustling mercados to piling tortillas, insects, mushrooms, and flowers onto your plate, you may be channeling your inner Mexica without even knowing it. This playful piece uncovers everyday customs — like pounding salsa in a molcajete and building spice tolerance — that keep ancient Tenochtitlán alive in modern CDMX life.
This year, Sarah DeVries had something to say. Then again, she usually does.
It’s certainly been a year.
Mexico News Daily’s most opinionate writer has some thoughts about everything that has gone on this year, and luckily for us, she isn’t afraid to share them.
To finish up 2025, we collected some of Sarah’s best, most insightful (and occasionally controversial) musings.
Should corporations be allowed to deny us access to water?
Ever courting controversy, Sarah asks how far Mexico should allow businesses to go, as the government takes action against obesity rates in the country.
Moving to Mexico used to be a clever workaround for US citizens squeezed by costs back home, but rising prices, shaky remote work, AI job threats, and local tensions mean that “gaming the system” is fading. Does community support matter more than cheap tacos now? Sarah investigates.
Sarah unpacks Mexico City’s anti-gentrification protests, pointing out that locals are really furious at soaring prices and uneven capitalism, but foreigners become the easy, visible target. With a messy mix of economic injustice, resentment, tourism policy, and some ugly xenophobia bubbling over in trendy neighborhoods, who is really doing the gentrifying and where does the blame lie?
Ever the campaigner, this personal tale of making ends meet on both sides of the border sees Sarah take aim at the economic policies of one Donald Trump. Will she approve of his plan to tax remittance payments back to Mexico?
Nothing says ‘safe for women’ like the President getting groped
When even Mexico’s president gets groped in broad daylight, what hope do the rest of women have on the street? See why Claudia Sheinbaum pressing charges could mark a turning point—and why being grabbed is never “just part of the job.”
Metro riders prepare to board at the Observatorio station — part of Line 1, which first opened to the public in 1969. (Daniel Augusto / Cuartoscuro.com)
As a long-term aficionado of the Mexico City Metro, I was more than happy to descend to the capital’s subway system to report a series of stories for Mexico News Daily this year.
My aim was to give readers insight — or additional insight — into the artistic vibrancy, commercial buzz and vital importance of the metro system, which opened in 1969 with a single line, but has since grown into an elaborate 12-line network.
In case you missed the stories earlier this year, or would like to revisit them, here is a brief overview of the series with a link to each of the three parts.
“The song ‘Sandunga’ by Puerto Rican ‘King of Reggaetón’ Don Omar blares from a television to a captive audience of commuters standing just behind an embossed yellow line.
Below the TV is a Maya stele from the Izapa archeological site in Chiapas featuring intricate bas-reliefs. This juxtaposition of culture — the ancient and the very modern — plays out on a platform of the Bellas Artes metro station in the subterranean heart of Mexico City.”
Since my first trip on the Mexico City Metro in 2011, I’ve been fascinated with the abundance of buying and selling that takes place in stations and on trains, although the number of vendors on board the so-called gusanos naranja (orange worms) has dwindled in recent years.
For this story I spoke to a number of metro-based vendors, including a teenage purveyor of hot meals who counts police officers among his customers, and a health store employee who sells products including shark cartilage capsules and “Praw Praw Sex” pills.
Here’s an extract:
“Amaranth bars, headphones, stuffed toys, jeans, Japanese peanuts, espresso machine coffee, skincare products, McDonald’s soft serve cones, churros, tortas gigantes, tacos, sexual enhancement pills, lingerie, newspapers, books and oh-so-many different kinds of chatarra (junk food).
All these products — and countless others — are available for purchase in the Mexico City Metro system.”
I also looked at how the metro fits into the broader public transport network in the Valley of Mexico metropolitan area, which includes Mexico City and many municipalities of México state.
Here’s an extract:
“In Mexico City, a public transit ride can be a quick zip up a metro line, and it can also be an hours-long, patience-testing odyssey (or ordeal) involving various modes of transportation. Commuters who come into central Mexico City from the surrounding metro area municipalities of México state face some of the longest trips.
One such person is Maura Hernández, a domestic worker who lives in the México state municipality of Nicolás Romero, located around 40 kilometers northwest of central Mexico City.”
Fiscal fuel theft, in which gasoline and diesel are brought into the country and declared as other liquid products to avoid paying taxes, was the center of a major scandal this year involving members of the Mexican Navy. (Alejandro Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)
We are approaching the end of another big year of news in Mexico.
It was a year of significant change, as Donald Trump’s return to the White House had a considerable impact on Mexico, while the Mexican judiciary was overhauled via the country’s first-ever judicial elections.
It was a year of major floods and record rain, a year with fewer homicides but still obstinate insecurity, a year in which cartel honchos were sent abroad and an outspoken anti-crime mayor was killed at home.
As we did at the end of 2023 and 2024, Mexico News Daily looked back at the past 12 months and selected 10 news and politics stories that we believe were among the biggest of 2025. In some cases, they are stories that are ongoing, stories with no clear end or resolution in sight, and stories that we will continue to watch closely in 2026.
1. The return of Trump
The return of Donald Trump to the White House in late January marked the commencement of a new era in Mexico-U.S. relations — one marked by unpredictability and uncertainty as well as deepening security cooperation and economic interdependence.
President Sheinbaum proved herself to be a “Trump whisperer” in 2025. (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
The Mexican government has attempted to stave off, or at least mitigate U.S. tariffs, including through negotiation and the deployment of 10,000 National Guard troops to the northern border early in the year.
Beyond tariffs, the second Trump administration had a significant impact on Mexico in a range of ways this year.
Next year will be another crucial year in the bilateral relationship, not least because the USMCA review will take place. Ahead of the review process, Sheinbaum, Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney found the opportunity to discuss trade during a meeting at the FIFA World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.
A first bilateral in-person meeting between Sheinbaum and Trump appears likely to happen in 2026, providing the two leaders another opportunity to build on their rapport and perhaps iron out the trade and security issues that tarnished ties in 2025.
Nevertheless, President Claudia Sheinbaum described the democratic exercise as a great success.
The staging of the judicial elections was essential to rid Mexico’s judiciary of corruption, nepotism and other ills, or one of the biggest mistakes the country has ever made — depending on who you listen to.
Only about 13% of eligible voters in Mexico participated in the recent judicial elections. (Isabel Mateos Hinojosa / Cuartoscuro)
Whichever way you look at it, the judicial reform is well and truly underway, as the candidates who triumphed on June 1 have now been sworn in as judges, magistrates and Supreme Court justices. A second round of judicial elections will be held in 2027.
It is still too early to say whether claims that the popular election of judges will remove a vital check on government power and thus weaken the rule of law in Mexico are founded or not.
The impact of the judicial elections — for good and/or for bad — will become clearer in 2026.
* MORE READING ON THE JUDICIAL ELECTIONS: Shortly after the elections, we published an article on a critical report prepared by the Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States. Read it here.
3. Floods devastate central and eastern Mexico
Mexico hasn’t experienced a major and destructive earthquake so far in 2025 — knock on wood — but other natural disasters, including hurricanes and wildfires, took a significant toll on the country.
The most impactful natural disaster this year was, however, the severe flooding that affected the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí and Querétaro in October.
Veracruz, Querétaro, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí and Puebla were the states most affected by flooding in October. (@Claudiashein/X)
The federal government faced criticism over its initial response, with some flood-affected citizens asserting that authorities acted too slowly and provided insufficient assistance.
The government defended its response, and later highlighted that it provided some 7.6 billion pesos (US $411 million) in aid to more than 100,000 flood-affected households
The floods served as yet another reminder that Mexico is vulnerable to a wide range of natural disasters, some of which could become even more severe, and consequently more devastating, in the years ahead due to the impact of climate change.
* MORE READING ON THE FLOODS: On Oct. 20, we published a story about a floating seafood restaurant in Veracruz state that became an emblem of the devastating floods after breaking free of its moorings and traveling into the Gulf of Mexico and hundreds of kilometers along the coast.
While large protests against insecurity were held in cities across Mexico in November, the federal government has made significant progress in combating crime, according to official statistics.
The most closely-watched indicator of insecurity is the data on homicides, which increased to record annual highs early in Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency before declining in the second half of his 2018-24 term.
In any case, preliminary data presented by the federal government on Dec. 9 shows that Mexico’s daily homicide rate declined 29% annually to 65.1 in the first 11 months of the year.
While the reduction is good news at face value, the fact remains that almost 22,000 lives were lost to violent crime between January and November. There is no doubt that the federal government still has a lot of work to do in a country where insecurity is the No. 1 concern of many citizens.
* MORE READING ON MEXICO’S SECURITY SITUATION: At Sheinbaum’s morning press conference on Dec. 9, security officials presented the latest data on homicides, arrests, drug seizures and firearm confiscations. Click here to read our report on that mañanera.
The Feb. 27 transfer was described as “historical” by Mike Vigil, a former DEA chief of international operations, and a “huge smack to cartels” by Ioan Grillo, a Mexico-journalist with extensive experience reporting on organized crime.
The Mexican government said that it took its own sovereign decision to send the cartel figures to the U.S., citing the risk of some of them being released from prison as a major reason for the transfer.
Mexico overrode ongoing appeal processes to extradite 29 cartel figures to the U.S. in February before sending an additional 26 in August. (Gobierno de México)
But claims persisted that the main reason the criminals were sent north was to appease a U.S. government that, throughout 2025, has maintained pressure on Mexico to combat organized crime.
* MORE READING ON THE EXTRADITED CARTEL FIGURES: The most notorious cartel figure that was sent to the United States this year is Rafael Caro Quintero, the convicted murderer of United States DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In July 2022, we reported on his capture in northern Mexico, while in September we covered Sheinbaum’s response to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s claim that Caro Quintero was sent to the U.S. on Trump’s orders.
6. Sheinbaum continues to make history
As Mexico’s first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum continued to make history in 2025, her first full year as leader of the world’s 11th most populous country.
The impact of seeing a woman leading the nation in such moments — no doubt an inspiration for tens of millions of Mexican girls and women — should not be underestimated.
In a short period of time, Sheinbaum has established herself as a highly-respected figure on the world stage, where she has advocated for things such as “economic well-being and cooperation for development,” greater integration of Western Hemisphere countries and Mexico’s Indigenous heritage.
All the while, the president has maintained an extremely high approval rating at home, although her popularity declined slightly after a difficult November that included the assassination of the mayor of Uruapan (see below) and large protests against insecurity.
* MORE READING ON CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM: Check out this profile of Sheinbaum that we published just after her historic victory in the 2024 presidential election.
While there was some controversy over the methodology used to calculate the reduction in poverty, federal officials, including Sheinbaum, held up the data as proof that the 4T’s “economic model” is working.
That model, the government says, prioritizes citizens’ well-being, including via the provision of numerous welfare and social programs.
With more than 13 million people exiting poverty during the AMLO years, the percentage of Mexico’s population living in poverty dipped below 30%, from almost 42% in 2018.
Nevertheless, Sheinbaum acknowledged that her government still has work to do.
“It’s obvious that with 30% of the population in Mexico living in poverty, we have to keep advancing,” she said on Aug. 14. ”
“…And we’re certain that we’re going to continue making progress. That’s why we talk about continuity and the advance of the fourth transformation,” Sheinbaum said.
* MORE READING ON POVERTY REDUCTION: On Aug. 15, we published this report, which notes that poverty reduction in poor southern states between 2018 and 2024 was not as great as in other states across the country.
8. Mexico’s fuel smuggling problem comes into focus
Crimes involving petroleum products, including the theft of fuel from pipelines, have long been a problem in Mexico.
In 2025, a fuel smuggling offense known as huachicol fiscal became the most notorious of those crimes, in part because it was at the center of a major corruption scandal.
In September, the crime was at the center of a major corruption scandal for the Mexican government as several members of the navy, including a vice admiral, were arrested in connection with a huachicol fiscal scheme.
The news was especially scandalous as the Mexican Navy is generally considered Mexico’s most trustworthy security institution.
Sheinbaum said in November that the incidence of huachicol fiscal has decreased, but acknowledged that the crime is an ongoing problem that the government must continue to combat.
Any further revelations that federal officials are involved in the crime would be a blow to the Sheinbaum administration and undermine its anti-corruption rhetoric.
* MORE READING ON HUACHICOL FISCAL: In October, we published this story based on a report by Reuters, which detailed how a petroleum products company from Houston teamed up with a notorious Mexican cartel to smuggle US $12 million of fuel into Mexico. In September, we reported on a customs reform that aims to prevent tax evasion, corruption and other forms of criminal activity at ports.
9. A productive rainy season alleviates droughts and replenishes reservoirs
At the end of April — before the commencement of the 2025 rainy season — 65.9% of Mexico’s national territory was in drought (46.5%) or said to be experiencing “abnormally dry conditions” (19.4%), according to the drought monitor published by the National Water Commission and the National Meteorological Service (SMN).
The Valle de Bravo reservoir, part of the Cutzamala system that provides water to Mexico City, was 93% full when this photo was taken in mid-October. It is now at over 98% capacity. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar / Cuartoscuro)
At the end of November, only 21.8% of the national territory was in drought (10.8%) or experiencing abnormally dry conditions (11.2%), representing a marked improvement.
A very productive rainy season in 2025 didn’t just alleviate drought conditions across much of Mexico, but also replenished many of the nation’s reservoirs, some of which were particularly parched. A case in point is the Cutzamala system of dams and reservoirs, in which water levels exceeded 97% of capacity in November, after having dipped to just 30% in April 2024, intensifying concerns about water availability in the Mexico City area.
Given the extreme importance of water to human life, to agriculture and to industry, the alleviation of drought and the replenishment of reservoirs as a result of a particularly rainy temporada de lluvias (rainy season) are more than deserving of their place among the biggest stories in Mexico in 2025.
* MORE READING ON THE RAINY SEASON: In July, we reported on SMN data that showed that June was Mexico’s rainiest month on record. Click here to read the story.
10. The mayor of Uruapan is assassinated
Among the many murders perpetrated in Mexico this year, the one that attracted the most attention was the brazen assassination of Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán.
The murder also prompted a renewed national conversation about violence in Mexico and how best it can be combated.
A public funeral was held for the slain mayor near the site of his assassination on Nov. 1. (Juan José Estrada Serafín/Cuartoscuro)
A day after Manzo was killed, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau reiterated that the U.S. “stands ready to deepen security cooperation with Mexico to wipe out organized crime on both sides of the border.”
The federal government continued to voice its opposition to any kind of U.S. military actions in Mexico, while Sheinbaum ruled out any return to the kind of “war” on drug cartels former president Felipe Calderón launched in 2006 with the help of the Mexican military.
The murder of the mayor by an alleged (and now deceased) 17-year-old gunman was symptomatic of the serious security problems that plague various parts of Mexico, including Michoacán, where Manzo was tragically killed while attending a solemn Day of the Dead event in the company of his young family.
President Claudia Sheinbaum made her Christmas remarks at the National Palace, accompanied by her husband, first gentleman Jesús María Tarriba. (Gobierno de México)
As families across the country gathered for Christmas Eve, President Claudia Sheinbaum released a video message from the National Palace celebrating unity and the enduring values that bind Mexicans together during the holiday season.
“To all Mexican families, we wish you a happy Christmas Eve and a happy Christmas,” Sheinbaum began. “We know that tonight in every corner of the country, there is hope … In a city neighborhood, in a small, rural town, on the coast and in the desert, in the north, in the center and in the southeast of our beautiful Mexico, there’s love and fraternity.”
Mensaje de Navidad 2025 de la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo
The president described Mexicans as “a people who know how to gather around the table, who turn the simple into celebration, who embrace tightly and never forget their own.”
She also expressed gratitude to previous generations “who taught us to resist with dignity and to love with our souls,” while thanking the nation’s children “who remind us every day why it’s worth fighting.”
The president gave special recognition to those spending Christmas away from home, including Mexicans working abroad, members of the armed forces, police officers, healthcare workers, firefighters, and transportation workers. “In Mexico, we know how to accompany each other even at a distance,” she said.
Calling for national unity, Sheinbaum urged: “May this Christmas Eve embrace us as a nation, may the solidarity that defines us and the love for our land give us great strength.”
The president concluded with a reminder about priorities during the holiday season: “Let us remember that the most important thing is not the material, but values and love for others, love for family and love for our beloved Mexico.”
The next day, the President traveled to Acapulco for a short Christmas vacation. The destination is significant as the city — once Mexico’s tourism powerhouse — continues to recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Otis two years ago and more recently, Hurricane John.
It’d be absolutely terrifying to be in Lord Quetzalcóatl’s naughty list, wouldn’t it? (Andrea Fischer via Canva AI)
Okay, so, before you start making weird assumptions: No, Mexican children do not write Christmas letters to Quetzalcóatl. Kids never have, and probably never will. Although ancient Mexica families did observe a religious veneration of the Lord of the Cosmos, Christmas was not even a thing in the Americas. Not before the Conquest, that is.
However! There was a time when, in an effort to purge Mexico of the “capitalist traditions of the United States,” the Mexican government tried to replace Santa Claus — the terrible symbol of unfettered capitalism — with our beloved feathered serpent. How on Earth did that happen, you may ask? Here’s a rather unorthodox Christmas carol. Mexican style, for your delight.
Did Quetzalcóatl ever celebrate Christmas?
Anyone would’ve loved to receive gifts from Quetzalcóatl on Christmas Eve. (Andrea Fischer/MNA)
The easy answer is no, not exactly. However, the winter solstice has been regarded as a holy moment across millennia in several ancient civilizations. The Romans, for example, celebrated Saturnalia, the annual festival to celebrate “the rebirth” of the year, during the winter solstice in the Julian calendar. Romans held raging parties with bacchanals, honoring Saturn, the God of Time and Harvest. Curiously enough, it was celebrated on Dec. 25.
Believe it or not, this Roman (and pagan) celebration has more to do with the Christian Christmas than Jesus himself. “The choice of December 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth has nothing to do with the Bible,” researcher Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of Church history at Oxford University,explained to the BBC, “but was a rather conscious and explicit choice to use the winter solstice to symbolize Christ’s role as the light of the world.”
In this part of the world, the Mexica Empire also celebrated the winter solstice. However, they honored the birth of Huitzilopochtli, the God of War, who was also the solar deity of the Mexica pantheon. So yes, indeed, a “new coming of the light” was celebrated in pre-Columbian times, as documented by the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo researchers. Culturally referred to asPanquetzaliztli, this festival commemorated the god’s birth and the triumph of light over darkness.
Priests, artisans and civilians alike participated in ritual battles, processions and the distribution of an idol made of corn dough (tzoalli). So yes, the Mexica Empire did host an annual celebration for the birth of their solar deity. It was not Jesus, of course, and it was not Quetzalcóatl, either — however enthusiastic PRI politicians were about it.
Quetzalcóatl, the great Lord of… Christmas?
So, no. Quetzalcóatl has nothing to do with Christmas. At all. For centuries, he was venerated in the Mexica Empire as “the great blower that energizes the cosmos,” as documented by UNAM researchers. He was also considered the creator and destroyer of “the great cosmic eras,” which positioned him in “a fundamental role in the founding myths of this pre-Hispanic culture.” The sacred feathered serpent was often depicted as the Lord of the Winds in the form ofEhécatl as well.
Given the importance Quetzalcóatl had in thepre-Columbian worldview in present-day Mexico, some PRI politicians in the 20th century decided it was a great idea to consolidate national identity through these ancient deities. In their minds, nothing screams Mexico like Quetzalcóatl on Christmas Eve (what?).
Who needs Santa Claus, anyway? (Wikimedia Commons)
It was 1930. The Minister of Public Education, Carlos Trejo y Lerdo de Tejada, agreed with former President Pascual Ortiz Rubio that it would be convenient to replace Santa Claus with Quetzalcóatl. “The idea was for a Mexican figure to instill in boys and girls a love for their race and culture,” according toGaceta UNAM magazine. On Christmas Eve, you may ask? Yes. Exactly on Christmas Eve, the day on which all Christians across the world celebrate baby Jesus’ birth, Mexican children were urged by authorities to write letters to the sacred feathered serpent.
Giving away toys in the name of our Great Lord Quetzalcóatl
On Dec. 23, 1930, the Ministry of Culture organized a historic gift-giving event at Estadio Nacional, located in Colonia Roma. A replica of the temple dedicated to Quetzalcóatl was built for the occasion. That night, former First Lady Josefina Ortiz gave away toys, clothing and candy to children in need — all in the name of Our Great Lord Quetzalcóatl. Who needs Santa Claus, anyway? At the end of the ceremony, the hymn to Quetzalcóatl was sung.
No one liked the Quetzalcóatl-themed Christmas celebration. In a country where 97.7% of the population identified as Catholic (at the time), the event was seen as a sacrilege: “the intervention of a pagan deity in a Catholic celebration,” perGaceta UNAM. Very few admitted they kind of liked the idea.
In the end, the idea simply didn’t stick, and poor Lord Quetzalcóatl silently returned to the Mexican holy pantheon.
The Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City, site of one of the greatest art heists in history. (Wikimedia Commons/kornemuz)
The robbery at Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology remains one of the most astonishing events in art history. This is what happened.
It was Christmas Eve in 1985, and nearly everyone in Mexico City was celebrating with family and loved ones — almost everyone. On the outskirts of the capital, two young veterinary students had a very different plan in mind: robbing the National Museum of Anthropology.
Christmas shadows
Carlos Perches and Ramón Sardina, the two young veterinary students behind the 1985 heist. Perches was ultimately arrested and jailed. Sardina has never been apprehended. (Facebook/Metropolitano Aguascalientes)
For six months, the alleged perpetrators of the heist, Carlos Perches and Ramón Sardina, planned exactly how they would enter the museum. The two inspected every possible entrance and exit. They conducted a meticulous review of the museum’s most valuable and beloved artifacts and visited the museum at least 50 times to ensure that everything would be under control on the day of the robbery. Finally, during the December festivities, they decided to make their move.
According to the investigation afterward, they climbed over one of the museum’s walls and entered through an air duct. Despite the presence of nine guards on site, they managed to slip past security and reach the exhibition halls. At the time, the museum had no alarm system, and many artifacts were likely neither individually cataloged nor insured.
The Crown Jewel
It is estimated that Carlos and Ramón entered the building between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., a perfect three-hour window to remove around 140 pieces from the museum’s galleries. The precision of the selections made it clear they had studied not only every room, but also the artifacts themselves and their histories.
Among the objects taken were the famous Mask of Pakal, the Bat God Mask and the Obsidian Monkey Vessel, along with smaller pieces of gold jewelry and jade ornaments. That same morning — while children across the country were opening Christmas gifts —journalist Jacobo Zabludovsky announced the dramatic news that a gang of thieves had looted one of Mexico’s most important historical institutions.
Facing the Consequences
The director of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) at the time, Enrique Florescano, stated that the robbery was not discovered until the next day, when the night guards switched shifts with the morning staff. He also maintained that the heist was not an isolated event but part of a wave of art crimes that had taken place in different countries throughout the decade.
The Mexican government partnered with the media to encourage citizens to report any information that might help locate the missing pieces. Shortly afterward, INTERPOL joined the search, and Mexico reinforced its borders to prevent the perpetrators from leaving the country.
No apparent motive
The Mask of Pakal, one of many of the art objects stolen in the heist so famous it would have been impossible to fence. (Wikimedia Commons/Wolfgang Sauber)
Nearly four decades later, the motive behind the theft remains a mystery. From a trafficking standpoint, the artifacts were so valuable that they would have been impossible to sell.
Their historical importance makes them priceless, and their uniqueness makes them perfectly traceable. Any attempt to traffic them would have immediately revealed the culprits. Likewise, it is improbable that any buyers existed; no collector, no matter how bold, would risk possessing such recognizable artifacts.
Aftermath of the museum heist
The National Museum of Anthropology did not close its doors and continued to receive visitors. Surprisingly, attendance actually surged. Thousands of people of all ages came to marvel at the empty display cases.
“After the robbery, the museum was visited much more than before. People came to see the empty cases, which relates to that saying: ‘You don’t know what you have until you lose it,’” actor Gael García Bernal remarked about a film (“Museo,” 2018) inspired by the historic event.
In the end, the artifacts did resurface — but in the most unexpected way. Four years after the robbery, Carlos Perches’ mother found the pieces while cleaning her son’s closet. Shocked and terrified, she went straight to the museum carrying suitcases filled with priceless artifacts, bringing the dramatic chapter to a close.
Lydia Leija is a linguist, journalist, and visual storyteller. She has directed three feature films, and her audiovisual work has been featured in national and international media. She’s been part of National Geographic, Muy Interesante, and Cosmopolitan.
