Sheinbaum told reporters that her government, via its ambassador to Israel, is in "permanent contact" with the six Mexicans who were taken to an Israeli prison last week. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)
Violence during a march in Mexico City and the upcoming repatriation of six Mexicans who were detained by Israeli forces were among the issues President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Monday morning press conference.
Here is a recap of the president’s Oct. 6 mañanera.
Sheinbaum questions purpose of violence during Oct. 2 march
“Firstly, [there was] a lot of provocation,” Sheinbaum said.
“What is the point of this violence? … There were even Molotov cocktails. What’s the point? Who benefits from it? That is what we need to ask ourselves,” she said without answering the reporter’s question.
“What was this group with covered faces looking for? What do they want? Why do they do these … [acts of violence] in a city of freedoms, of full freedom, absolute and complete freedom? What do they want? What were they seeking? A confrontation — from my point of view — with the police,” Sheinbaum said, asserting that the troublemakers wanted another “October 2,” the date on which the Mexican military perpetrated the 1968 massacre.
“… We don’t agree, we’re never going to agree with violent demonstrations,” she said.
“… You can disagree with the government, but this aggression toward people, toward journalists has to be reviewed,” Sheinbaum said, adding that the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office has to open an investigation and identify those responsible for the violence.
Sheinbaum calls out ‘very offensive’ social media post by prominent businessman
Sheinbaum noted that on the same day as the Mexico City march, Claudio X. González, a prominent businessman and government critic, made a “very offensive” post on social media.
On Monday, the president spoke out against violent protests and distanced herself from authoritarianism. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)
Last Thursday night, González posted a computer-generated image to X that showed former president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz sporting Sheinbaum’s trademark ponytail.
Díaz Ordaz was the president of Mexico when the Tlatelolco massacre occurred.
Above the doctored image, González wrote: “Authoritarianism in 1968, Authoritarianism in 2025.”
Sheinbaum said that it was “very important” that Mexico City police didn’t succumb to the violence “provocations” during last Thursday’s march because if they had done so, “they would have fueled” the “narrative” that her government is authoritarian and represses dissent with force.
Sheinbaum: Mexicans detained by Israel will return to Mexico this week
Sheinbaum told reporters that her government, via its ambassador to Israel, is in “permanent contact” with six Mexicans who were taken to Israel last week after Israeli forces intercepted the boats on which they were traveling as part of a flotilla that was carrying aid bound for the war-torn Gaza Strip.
She said that Mexico is seeking their prompt repatriation before asserting that the six Mexicans — who were placed in detention in Israel — would in fact return to Mexico this week.
She said that her government would disclose the details of their return to Mexico at a later date.
“They were given information about their upcoming repatriation to Mexico, for which authorization has already been obtained from the Israeli government and which will be carried out in coordination with our embassies in the region,” the SRE said.
Jamieson Greer made the revealing remarks during a conversation with Fox News journalist Maria Bartiromo at the Economic Club of New York last Tuesday. (@EconClubNY/X)
United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer last week accused Mexico of failing to comply with the USMCA, the trilateral free trade pact that is up for review next year.
He noted that his office is in talks with Mexican officials about the alleged breaches before asserting that “it doesn’t make a lot of sense to talk about extending” the agreement as things stand.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the Economic Club of New York: Tariffs & Trade Policy
“There are a lot of things that the Mexicans are not doing that they’re supposed to be doing,” he said.
“There are areas where they’re supposed to be complying with the USMCA, where they’re not. This could be energy, telecommunications services, agricultural, all kinds of things,” Greer said without going into specifics.
In light of the alleged situation, the trade representative said that his office is in talks with Mexican officials “about how they can come into better compliance with the USMCA” ahead of the scheduled review of the pact in 2026.
The conversations with the Mexican government are needed, Greer said, “because it doesn’t make a lot of sense to talk about extending the USMCA or updating it when Mexico is not even complying with important parts of it.”
He said that the talks with Mexico have been taking place “fairly quietly.”
“We don’t, you know, have big press conferences about this,” Greer said.
“… Our hope and expectation is that within the next month or so we’ll have a better sense of where Mexico sits on a lot of these issues and we might be in a better position to have a more formal review of the agreement with Mexico,” he said.
“Obviously, we have tariffs today on a range of products that give a different consideration [to Mexico’s trade relationship with the United States], but the vast majority of what is exported [to the U.S.] doesn’t have tariffs,” Sheinbaum said on Sept. 18.
“… The three countries agree — obviously Canada and Mexico agree — on strengthening the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement,” she said.
Greer questions why there is a trilateral trade pact in North America
Later in his conversation with Bartiromo, Greer said that the U.S.-Canada trade relationship “is so different from the U.S.-Mexico relationship in so many ways.”
“It’s interesting if you look at NAFTA and then USMCA, it’s almost like: Why did we bundle it all together? I mean, the answer is it looks, … it sounds nice, right? It’s like a geopolitical thing,” he said.
“… But the reality is … we have issues with the Canadians that are specific to Canada and issues with the Mexicans that are specific to Mexico. And the Canadians and the Mexicans, they certainly trade between them, but not that much,” Greer said.
“So I think a lot of our actual negotiations going forward will probably be, you know, almost bilateral. There are going to be certain issues that a trilateral solution might be helpful, but I think we’re going to spend a lot of time just one-on-one with each of these countries,” he said.
After Greer’s remarks last Tuesday, Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard agreed that much of the negotiations during the 2026 review of the trilateral USMCA free trade pact will be bilateral rather than between Mexico, the United States and Canada.
Ebrard said it is “inevitable” that the review will include bilateral negotiations, as there are distinct bilateral trade relationships within the framework of the trilateral pact.
Slim's Grupo Carso has more than 18 years of experience in onshore and offshore drilling, as well as platform construction services. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
Carlos Slim signed a US $1.991 billion contract to drill wells over the next three years for Mexico’s state-owned oil and gas firm Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).
Under the terms of the agreement signed on Sept. 29, Slim’s Grupo Carso will exploit up to 32 onshore wells in the Ixachi field in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz.
The Ixachi field is considered to be the most important find in more than a quarter of a century and is currently producing some 715 million cubic feet of gas per day. (@dariocelise/on X)
This field — described by the news agency Reuters as one of the most important finds in more than a quarter of a century — is currently producing around 93,000 barrels of oil per day and 715 million cubic feet of gas.
The newspaper El País reported that, to date, a total of 28 wells have been drilled in Ixachi to an average depth of 7,650 meters, with Grupo Carso participating through subsidiaries.
Two months ago, Sheinbaum unveiled her 10-year strategic plan for the oil company. Private investors are expected to play a critical role, allowing Pemex to leverage joint venture projects to increase the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons and natural gas.
Echoing this strategy, Carso said in a statement sent to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) that the purpose of the agreement is “to contribute to a substantial increase in oil and gas production.”
According to the contract, Pemex will make 21 monthly payments for the drilling of these financed wells beginning in January 2027, provided 12 wells are in production. If all 32 wells are producing by the end of three years, Carso can earn the entire US $1.991 billion.
The newspaper Milenio reported that “the source and payment mechanism for the contract will be through the revenue obtained from marketable hydrocarbons from the allocation itself.”
With more than 18 years of experience in onshore and offshore drilling, as well as platform construction services, Grupo Carso boasts a highly qualified workforce.
Additionally, Carso has 19 land drilling rigs of various sizes and three offshore drilling rigs, including a platform and two state-of-the-art semi-submersibles.
Slim and Pemex were in talks about Ixachi as far back as March. At the time, the news agency Reuters reported that Talos México, in which Slim is a majority investor, was in advanced discussions with Pemex and London-based Harbour Energy to jointly operate Zama, a deepwater project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Last year, Slim and Pemex agreed to develop Mexico’s first deepwater natural gas field, Lakach, which had been abandoned twice before because of high cost.
Typically, earning a rating upgrade with a positive outlook takes between a year and a year and a half. However, in Pemex’s case, the alteration took just one month. (Shutterstock)
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Mexico’s state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) from a rating of BB to BB+, putting the company just one step away from regaining an investment-grade rating.
The upgrade by one of the top three credit rating agencies came with a stable outlook and followed the successful completion of a US $9.9 billion tender offer in eight series of securities, with financing from the Mexican government.
“The transaction indicates a stronger connection between Pemex and the state, which resulted in an increase in the company’s Overall Linkage Score (OLS) assessment,” Fitch stated. “Fitch now rates Pemex just one notch below Mexico’s sovereign rating, rather than the two notches below that led to the upgrade.”
However, Pemex’s “stand-alone” rating, which assesses the financial situation of the oil company without government support, remained at a high-risk rating of CCC.
“There is an increasing connection between the sovereign and the corporate sector,” Adriana Eraso, director of corporates for Latin America at Fitch Ratings, told the newspaper El Financiero. “Lending to Pemex is becoming more and more like lending to the sovereign; there is a commitment to the market.”
On Sept. 5, Fitch raised Pemex to the positive rating of BB, after the Mexican government showed a “greater commitment” to helping the company meet its financial obligations through 2027.
This followed capital injections from the government, including $12 billion in bonds in July and a $4.4-billion investment fund in August.
Typically, earning a rating upgrade with a positive outlook takes between a year and a year and a half. However, in Pemex’s case, the alteration took just one month, giving Pemex its highest Fitch rating since 2019.
Pemex is now expected to continue with its new BB+ rating for the foreseeable future.
“To further improve the rating, the scenarios are, first, an increase in Mexico’s sovereign rating; the second option is for Pemex to upgrade its stand-alone rating from CCC to BB-, which would take a significant amount of time; or finally, for the Mexican government to guarantee 75% of Pemex’s debt,” explained Eraso.
Pemex’s grand plan
In August, Pemex announced the target of achieving fiscal solvency by 2027, as part of its 10-year strategic plan.
According to experts attending a recent oceanography conference at the University of the Caribbean in Cancún, the ongoing disappearance of coral reefs and animal species has inhibited the generation of sediments that help create the area's characteristic white sands. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Mexican beaches in Cancún, Cozumel and elsewhere along the Caribbean Sea are vanishing at a rate of up to 2 meters per year, a crisis that scientists say is being intensified by unchecked tourism development and inadequate environmental planning.
Oceanographic engineer Rodolfo Silva Casarín, whose research focuses on coastal zones, said last week that diminishing beach width is affecting more than 80% of the Quintana Roo coastline, a stretch that includes the tourist jewel, the Riviera Maya.
A plan is in place to stop the erosion of Mexico’s Caribbean beaches, but scientists are concerned that it only addresses some of the affected areas and therefore might just move the problem to other coastlines. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
While storms and hurricanes naturally reshape coasts, Silva Casarín said human activity — especially the construction of large hotels and population-driven waste pollution — is pushing the system toward collapse.
“The coastal habitat has stopped generating the sediments” that create the iconic white sands, explained Silva Casarín, a specialist in the Oceanography and Coastal Engineering group at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
He said that the coral reefs and marine species that have helped sustain that process are now being destroyed.
His comments came during a conference for students and coastal management engineers titled “Diagnosis and Possible Alternatives for Managing Erosion of the Mexican Caribbean.” It was held at the University of the Caribbean in Cancún, Q.R.
Data from earlier this year highlights the scale of the loss.
Quintana Roo’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (SEMA) reported in January that more than 31.5 kilometers of beaches have already been critically eroded, with up to 7 meters of sand having disappeared from Playa del Carmen, Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Cozumel.
An 800-million-peso (US $43.6 million) restoration plan is underway, initially targeting 6 kilometers in Playa del Carmen, but officials acknowledged it covers less than half the affected areas.
Silva Casarín criticized past short-term fixes, such as artificial sand fills in 2006 and 2009, for ignoring reef health and accelerating erosion in neighboring zones. He urged coral habitat rehabilitation as the only viable long-term solution.
NASA has predicted that by 2150, water levels could rise nearly 2 meters in places like Acapulco and over 1.5 meters in parts of Yucatán and Tamaulipas — a threat not only to ecosystems but to tourism economies nationwide.
Sunday's speech from Mexico City's Zócalo was the president's final stop on her nationwide accountability tour. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
President Claudia Sheinbaum marked the completion of her first year in office with a major speech on Sunday in Mexico City’s central square, where she was joined by a huge crowd of supporters and a large group of federal and state officials.
“We meet again in this magnificent Zócalo, heart of the republic,” she said at the start of a 55-minute address after she was given a glowing introduction by Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada.
One year after assuming the presidency, Sheinbaum returned to Mexico City’s Zócalo to give an update on her progress. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
“Here, where history beats, we gather to commemorate together one year of the people’s government, because I do not walk alone, I do not govern alone,” Sheinbaum told a crowd of more than 400,000 people.
“Ours is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people of Mexico,” she said.
Here are seven takeaways from her address on Sunday, for which the National Palace served as a grandiose backdrop.
Sheinbaum remains staunchly loyal to the man who helped her reach Mexico’s highest political post
Very early in her address, Sheinbaum spoke about her predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who has virtually disappeared from public life since leaving the presidency a year ago, but who nevertheless remains a central figure in Mexican politics, in part because he set much of the president’s agenda via legislative proposals he submitted to Congress last year.
President Sheinbaum enjoys a political stronghold that was set it motion by her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)
The president described AMLO as an “honest man” who is “deeply committed” to the Mexican people, and asserted that he played a significant role in putting Mexico on “a path of social justice” and “dignity,” on which “social rights, freedom, democracy, and sovereignty” are guaranteed.
“They have tried to divide us, to make us split,” she said, referring to opposition politicians and government critics.
“Their objective is nothing more than to put an end to the transformation movement … but that won’t happen because … [AMLO and I] share values — honesty, justice and love for the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
“… We share a project — Mexican humanism,” she said, adding that her government came to office to “continue transforming the nation for the well-being of the people.”
“Andrés Manuel López Obrador is and always will be an example of honesty, austerity and profound love for the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum is publicly confident that the USMCA review will go well
Sheinbaum declared that she is “certain” that her government will reach “good” agreements on trade with the United States and “all the nations of the world.”
Mexico, the United States and Canada will conduct a review of their trade pact, the USMCA, in 2026.
United States President Donald Trump, who has undermined the trilateral pact by imposing tariffs on a range of Mexican and Canadian goods, has indicated that he wants to renegotiate the USMCA, rather than just review it.
In a move widely interpreted as an effort to appease the U.S. and thus smooth the way toward a favorable USMCA review outcome, Sheinbaum last month submitted a proposal to Congress that seeks to impose higher tariffs on imports from China and other countries with which Mexico doesn’t have trade agreements.
Sheinbaum wants Mexico to become a ‘country of innovation’
Sheinbaum said that in the coming weeks, her government will present a prototype of the Olinia electric vehicle, which is slated to be built en masse in Mexico in the years ahead.
“This is part of an ambitious project that we will present in the coming weeks that we call, ‘Mexico, country of innovation,’ which includes the development of the National Artificial Intelligence Laboratory,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum has full faith in Mexico’s renewed judiciary
Sheinbaum said that “19 constitutional reforms and 40 new laws” were approved in the last 13 months, a period that includes the final month of López Obrador’s presidency.
The first of the “most important” legislative changes she mentioned was the controversial judicial reform, which AMLO promulgated two weeks before he left office, and which enabled Mexico’s first-ever judicial elections to be held earlier this year.
“We had free elections for Supreme Court justices, magistrates and judges,” Sheinbaum said without mentioning the low turnout of 13%.
“I take this opportunity to greet the new Supreme Court justices. The era of nepotism, corruption, and privilege in the judiciary has ended, and a new era of legality and justice for all begins. A true rule of law. It is something very profound,” she said.
Sheinbaum names the Gulf of Mexico Train
At the 36-minute mark of her speech, Sheinbaum, while outlining the government’s various infrastructure projects, put the following question to the masses of people gathered in the Zócalo: Who agrees that the train from Mexico City to Nuevo Laredo should be called the “Gulf of Mexico Train”?
After a show of hands, the president declared that a majority of people agreed with the proposal.
Sheinbaum beamed after she mentioned the proposed name of the passenger train that will run along the railroad that will connect the capital to the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo, as its slated moniker is a clear poke at the U.S. president.
Sheinbaum has effectively dismissed as a gimmick Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. On Sunday, she appealed to people’s patriotism when deciding to hold a snap poll on the proposed name of the train, and underscored that on this side of the border, the Gulf of Mexico will continue to be called the Gulf of Mexico, no matter what the U.S. president says or does.
Sheinbaum is determined to show that Mexico is not at the behest of the US
Sheinbaum highlighted that the Mexican Constitution has been amended to read that, “the people of Mexico, under no circumstance, will accept interventions, interferences or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to their safety, independence and sovereignty.”
The president, a tireless defender of Mexican sovereignty, also assured those in attendance at the Zócalo that her government’s security policy “is decided sovereignly in Mexico” and that it only answers to “the people of Mexico” no matter how intense the pressure is from elsewhere.
Although she didn’t explicitly mention the United States or Trump while making the aforesaid remarks, Sheinbaum’s message was clear: Mexico acts in its own interests and takes its own decisions no matter how much pressure is being exerted from Washington.
Whether that is entirely true is highly debatable, but the president is determined to at least generate a public perception that that is the case.
Sheinbaum is pleased with her first year in office
Early in her speech, Sheinbaum ran through a range of data that she asserted was proof that Mexico is doing well economically.
She highlighted that the economy is expected to grow 1.2% this year, unemployment is low, foreign direct investment reached a record high in the first half of 2025 and the USD:MXN exchange rate “remains below 19.”
Toward the end of her address, Sheinbaum said she was “certain” that Mexico is on “the right path.”
She also reaffirmed her government’s commitment to “the Fourth Transformation of Public Life in Mexico,” a political project that AMLO initiated when he took office in late 2018.
The transformation “belongs to the people,” Sheinbaum said.
“… I’m not going to fail you,” she added.
“My commitment is to the people, and continues to be to give my soul, my life, and the best of myself for the well-being of the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
“My commitment is to defend the homeland. My commitment to you is to be a president who rises to the generosity and greatness of our history and the people of Mexico.”
The bill's mascot, “Pay de Limón” (lime pie), survived torture and mutilation by the criminal group Los Zetas in Fresnillo, Zacatecas. (Social media)
A group of animal rights activists has presented a bill to the Mexican Senate that seeks to classify animal abuse as a serious crime and guarantee the rehabilitation of impacted animals.
The bill takes its name from “Pay de Limón” (lime pie), the name of a dog who survived torture and mutilation by the criminal group Los Zetas in Fresnillo, Zacatecas. Her story has become a symbol of the fight against animal cruelty in Mexico.
The proposed law seeks to impose prison sentences of over two years for individuals who commit any act of animal cruelty, with stricter penalties for repeat offenders and cases of severe violence.
“Pay de Limón, who is currently 15 years old, is here thanks to Fresa, who was hit in the face with an axe at a butcher shop just because she was hungry. She’s here thanks to Berenjeno, whose spine was broken with blows from a baton. Pay is here for Nuguet, who was burned alive. Because of Limoncito, whose nose, ears, tail and penis were cut off by children, with his eyes gouged out,” said Patricia Ruíz, founder of the organization Milagros Caninos, which rescued Pay in 2011.
The initiative also establishes accessible reporting mechanisms and requires authorities to thoroughly investigate crimes against animals. Furthermore, it guarantees medical care, rehabilitation and protection for abused animals.
In pursuing their legal campaign, activists have cited a 1983 study conducted in the United States, observing that animal abuse occurred in 88% of homes in which physical child abuse was being investigated. The study found that if a child is cruel to animals, it may be a sign that serious abuse or neglect has been inflicted on the child by a caregiver.
“Animal abuse is not an isolated or minor problem,” Jerónimo Sánchez, head of the NGO Animal Heroes and one of the activists who submitted the initiative to the Senate said in a statement. “It is a social barometer that predicts other forms of violence. Every time a case is ignored, a social threat is allowed to grow.”
Local media have also reported data from civil organizations and local prosecutors’ offices showing that more than 200,000 cases of animal abuse are reported each year in Mexico. However, this figure is likely an underestimate, as many cases remain undetected.
Adriana Buenrostro, the political director of Animal Heroes, called on the Senate to include the initiative on the national agenda.
“The country cannot continue normalizing violence. Legislating animal abuse as a serious crime is not only justice for animals, but also a strategy for security and social cohesion,” she said.
How is animal abuse punished in Mexico?
The penalties for animal cruelty vary widely across Mexico. Most states recommend a minimum prison sentence of six months and a fine, which ranges from 50 to 500 days of minimum wage.
Mexico City, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Chiapas and Jalisco, among other states, have recently reformed their local laws to impose harsher punishments on abusers and strengthen protections for animals. In July, Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada opened a special investigative agency for cases of animal abuse, which will focus exclusively on prosecuting those who commit cruelty against animals as well as those who manage, organize, establish or sponsor spaces intended for the slaughter of animals.
Mexico City is no stranger to horrors. Right from the capital-dweller’s most nightmarish fantasies, these are the spookiest spots in town to visit in October. (Wikimedia Commons/Esparta Palma)
“Every decent house in Coyoacán has its ghost,” my father used to warn my sister and me when we were little. Born and raised in theborough’s colonial area, where estates have housed families for generations, he certainly knew what he was talking about. This ancient wisdom can be applied to basically any centuries-old property in Mexico City, in which family members could still haunt their living relatives.
From Colonial Coyoacán to the capital’s emblematicHistoric Center, convoluted CDMX is teeming withhaunted manors and eerie passageways. Beware! If you venture into these spooky spots in Mexico City, you might encounter a pre-Columbian spirit, looking for revenge for its deceased children, or an ancient demon hungry for human blood. Here’s our digest of the spookiest spots in Mexico City.
‘La Castañeda’ mental hospital (Mixcoac)
An obscure aura of mistreatment and patient abuse hovers over where ‘La Castañeda’ Mental Hospital once stood. (Archivo General de la Nación/Archivos Fotográficos/Hermanos Mayo/ Sobre/CN 1552-3A)
The 19th century was a time of complex socio-political conflicts in Mexico. Although it was one of the first countries in America to ever build public mental institutions, according to the General Archive of the Nation’srecords, during the civil uprisings in the 19th century, patients were relentlessly removed from the psychiatric hospitals and “thrown to the streets.” Mainly, to treat the militia.
However, during dictator Porfirio Díaz’s rule, there was a renewed social compromise with psychiatric patients. That was when the government built “La Castañeda.” Cruelly referred to as “The Palace of Madness,” it is said to have housed a large number of patients, regardless of sex, age, nationality or religion.” However, ominous accusations of mistreatment and abuse from the staff to the patients made “La Castañeda” an eerie place to visit. In 1968, former President Díaz Ordaz ordered its demolition.
Where? Calle La Castañeda S/N, Mixcoac, Benito Juárez.
Divino Narciso Hall (Centro Histórico)
Baroque poetess Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was buried in this former convent, which today houses one of Mexico’s most prestigious culinary schools. (Wikimedia Commons/Thelmadatter)
For almost three decades, Sor Juana lived, studied and practiced politics at theSan Jerónimo Convent, in present-day calle Izazaga. From her magnificent Baroque chambers, she wrote some of Nueva España’s greatest pieces, along with the time’s most revolutionary gender treaties. “Foolish men who accuse / women without reason,” is to date one of her most famousquotes. No wonder that, in the 17th century, she was a force to be reckoned with.
After her death at the early age of 46, she was buried in one of the convent’s finest halls. When the property was acquired by the López Portillo family in the mid-1970s, this 300-year-old church became an educational institution, dedicated mainly to the culinary arts: the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana (UCSJ). Although the hall was desacralized when the López Portillo family bought the convent, Sor Juana’s remains were not exhumed. Students say you can still hear her footsteps when visiting the ‘Divino Narciso’ Auditorium, as her final resting place is known today. If you’re too scared to visit the hall in real life (I would, of course), you can browse its bowels withthis 360 tour online, designed by UCSJ!
Where? José María Izazaga 92, Centro Histórico, Cuauhtémoc.
Callejón del Aguacate (Coyoacán)
Dare to go to Callejón del Aguacate and meet a murdered boy’s ghost? October seems like the time to do it, honestly. (Wikimedia Commons/Ines Suarez R.)
As a Coyoacanense himself, my father took my sister and me to every corner in the borough — and we agreed, oftentimes rather reluctantly. One of those times was when he insisted we go to Callejón del Aguacate, near the borough’s historic center. Tangled between the corners of the Santa Catarina neighborhood, it is said to be the place in which a mentally ill soldier murdered a child by hanging him from an avocado tree. This is thought to have happened in the days of the Mexican Revolution, my father told us.
Ever since then, locals say, supernatural phenomena have been reported in the alley: cars mysteriously running out of gas, cellphones losing signals and the sound of dogs barking in the abandoned houses. As a child, I swore I heard them more than once. The creepy thing is that the tree is still there, standing in the garden of an abandoned house.
Where? Aguacate 19-31, Santa Catarina, Coyoacán.
Isla de las Muñecas (Xochimilco)
I bet even Lady Gaga was freaked out by what she saw at Isla de las Muñecas when filming her latest music video. (Wikimedia Commons/Wa17gs)
My partner is not a superstitious guy. However, when he first visited Isla de las Muñecas inthe Xochimilco canals, he did get “bad vibes,” as he describes it. Run by master chinampero Don Julián Santana, the entire chinampa is decorated with the dolls’ “severed limbs, decapitated heads and blank eyes,” as the attraction’s officialwebsite notes.
Legend has it that Don Julián found a drowned girl’s body in a neighboring canal, per the Xochimilco Government, with a doll floating alongside her remains. To honor her spirit, he hung the doll on a tree to mark the girl’s final resting place. Her soul, however, did not rest and continued to haunt him for years. She consistently spoke to him in dreams, telling him to fill his chinampa with wretched doll parts to honor other Xochimilca girls who had been killed by disease or abuse of different sorts. Today, La Isla de las Muñecas is a tourist spot, easily accessible by trajinera.
Powerful hurricanes are capable of altering the shape of coastlines, but much of Quintana Roo's problem can be traced to construction, poor coral reef health, reduced sea fauna populations and, increasingly, rising sea levels from climate change. (Flor Larios/Cuartoscuro)
Hurricane Priscilla strengthened early Monday as it moved parallel to Mexico’s Pacific coast, prompting authorities to issue storm warnings.
Priscilla — which is expected to become a Category 2 hurricane in the coming days — is bringing rain to much of mainland Mexico and gusty winds along the western coast, prompting the National Meteorological Service (SMN) to issue a Tropical Storm Watch in five states.
The Watch was issued for the mainland from Punta San Telmo, Michoacán, north to Punta Mita, Nayarit, and from Cabo San Lucas to Colonia Santa Fe in Baja California.
The threat was such that Colima state officials ordered the evacuation of all beachfront areas on Sunday while also shuttering the port of Manzanillo, the country’s most important maritime port.
The Category 1 hurricane, which was tracking slowly north-northwestward at 7 kilometers per hour, was located 350 km south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco (near the resort town of Puerto Vallarta), and 655 km south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur at 9 a.m.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Priscilla’s center “is expected to move offshore of and parallel to the coast of southwestern Mexico and Baja California Sur through the early-to-middle part of this week.”
In an 8 a.m. experimental cone forecast, the NHC reported that sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph) — with gusts reaching 105 mph (170 kph) — were expected to cause dangerous surf and rip currents along coastal southwestern and west-central Mexico, as well as southern Baja California.
The National Water Commission (Conagua) posted a warning on social media, urging extreme caution in coastal areas. Conagua said waves of up to 6 meters could reach the beaches of Jalisco and Colima, with breakers of up to 4 meters coming ashore in Michoacán and 3-meter-high waves in the states of Nayarit and Guerrero.
The NHC warned that hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 205 miles (335 km).
Conagua forecast torrential rains (150 to 250 millimeters) in Michoacán, and intense rains (75 to 150 mm) in Jalisco, Colima and Guerrero on Monday.
As the storm has the potential to reach major hurricane status (Category 3 and above), Conagua and the SMN urge the public to pay heed to state and local authorities as they monitor Priscilla’s progress.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has been in power for one year. Why has there been no meaningful political opposition in that time? (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
When Claudia Sheinbaum stood on the balcony of the National Palace last month to preside over Mexico’s Independence Day ceremony, the importance of the moment was unmistakable: She was the first woman to hold the presidency, commanding broad support, and her governing party, Morena, has consolidated near-total legislative power in Mexico.
One year into her presidency, the former Mexico City mayor has not only secured a level of political authority that her detractors had questioned, but has also benefited from something else: the disappearance of any meaningful political opposition. Her sweeping electoral win last year also delivered Morena control of both chambers of government, leaving the longstanding parties that once dominated Mexican politics in tatters.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s victory in 2024 heralded another six years of Morena control. How has the party remained so dominant after seven years in power? (Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s opposition parties, though weakened, represent a range of ideological positions that contrast with the ruling Morena party’s leftist populism. The PAN stands for market-oriented reforms, rule of law and a blend of social and Christian democratic values, emphasizing private enterprise and security.
The PRI, historically centrist, now leans toward moderate economic liberalization and a pragmatic, big-tent approach, trying to uphold stability and incremental reform.
Movimiento Ciudadano (MC), the most dynamic of the new opposition, promotes social democracy, progressive reforms and transparent governance.
However, all three have struggled to offer a compelling alternative to Morena’s broad social spending policies, its anticorruption narrative and its “the poor come first” stance.
The parties’ recent attempts at forming coalitions have been undermined by internal divisions, a failure to mount charismatic leadership, and widespread, enduring public trust in Morena’s promise of transformation.
The populism is coming from the left
(Presidencia)
The marginalization of Mexico’s opposition is not only about personalities or parties. The country’s political culture heavily encourages moderation. Polling from the Latin American Public Opinion Project shows that 51% of Mexicans self-identify as centrist, a far higher share than those identifying with either the left or right. This broad center complicates any attempt to build the sort of polarized, anti-elite right-wing movement seen in other Latin American countries.
The PRI’s historical role as a big-tent party, which absorbed diverse ideologies and smoothed out regional divides, helped create a system with less of the urban-rural and secular-religious tensions seen elsewhere. Even figures attempting a populist, rightward challenge — like celebrity activist Eduardo Verástegui — failed to resonate. Verástegui’s campaign, which borrowed tactics from both Donald Trump and Brazilian right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro, quickly floundered amid controversy, but mostly due to a lack of mainstream appeal.
Meanwhile, Sheinbaum, like AMLO before her, has managed to co-opt many traditional conservative constituencies. Both their governments have paired progressive social rhetoric with commitments to family and tradition, making them hard targets for the opposition to exploit — especially as her political rivals often also endorse similar social policies, albeit with a less progressive bent.
Morena itself is a broad coalition
Mexico’s electoral rules add another layer of resistance to fragmentation. The country does not employ second-round runoffs, which compels parties to campaign for wide coalitions instead of betting on polarizing or fringe platforms. This dynamic pushes most mainstream figures to the political middle, further depriving right-leaning populists of electoral oxygen.
But Morena’s dominance is not merely a repeat of the old PRI big-tent machine.
Morena has blended AMLO’s tried-and-true methods — such as state-directed spending and ties to local power brokers who control — with left-populist rhetoric for a new era. Many former PRI members and political elites have migrated to Morena, pragmatically following power and opportunity. For now, Morena appears to have stitched together a stable coalition able to withstand elite defections and internal rivalries.
The newly reformed Supreme Court offers additional protections for the current government, while limiting opportunities for opposition candidates to win seats. (Supreme Court)
AMLO’s reforms have cemented Sheinbaum’s position
While Sheinbaum has proved popular in the polls — and with the man on the street — there is an elephant in the National Palace that the new president has benefitted from immensely.
While AMLO’s presidency was generally well received by working-class Mexicans, his sweeping reforms of the military, police and legislative systems has provided a platform that allows Morena and its allies to disarm political opposition.
The recent (and highly controversial) judicial reforms have bolstered her ability to pass controversial legislation, as Sheinbaum’s popularity with the public has allowed the election of key allies to the Supreme Court, at the expense of Mexico’s more traditional conservative justices and institutions.
Supporters of the reform claim it establishes a more authentic rule of law and democratizes justice. Detractors express concern that the changes favor one-party dominance and could damage investor trust and Mexico’s trade relations, particularly with the United States and Canada. The reforms have sparked significant controversy, including nationwide strikes by judicial workers and sharp public debate over the best path for Mexico’s legal future.
The defanging of both the National Electoral Institute (INE) and the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and the Protection of Personal Data (INAI) have also limited the number of bureaucratic tools that Mexico’s opposition parties have at their disposal when looking to act against the current government.
Observers caution that such an overwhelming concentration of power — amid weak checks and modest political pluralism — could breed its own long-term perils. Questions about judicial independence, institutional resilience and the prospect of meaningful opposition continue to animate debate in more affluent areas of Mexico, where Morena is less popular.
What’s next?
Mexico’s present, at least, is defined by Sheinbaum’s remarkable mandate. The scale of her victory and the collapse of her rivals mark a resounding victory not just for her personally, but for a pragmatic, technocratic left that, for now, faces little organized dissent.
If and when a new challenger emerges — left, right or otherwise — they will have to confront a system fundamentally altered by Morena’s ascent, and a political center that has, so far, proven remarkably durable in the face of global populist tides.
Chris Havler-Barrett is the Features Editor at Mexico News Daily
