From agriculture to industry to drinking water, water usage is an increasingly urgent issue in Mexico. This week, Travis Bembenek tackles the topic in a new episode of "Confidently Wrong." (Luis Tosta/Unsplash)
Perhaps the most common piece of advice one is given when traveling to Mexico is, “Don’t drink the water!” Other common advice includes not having ice in your drinks, or not eating salads or not brushing your teeth with tap water. I have even heard people say that you must make sure to keep your mouth closed in the shower.
So are these pieces of advice still relevant today? And if so, why? What’s so different and unique about water in Mexico?
I have worked in the water business for over 15 years in Mexico and have seen hundreds of water systems in businesses across the country. Although I am not a technical water expert, I do have a perspective that I think can help people make sense of the water situation in the country.
Other than crime issues, I would say that water is the biggest concern that I hear people talking about. Some people ask about the impact of nearshoring or new factories on the water supply. Others lament new home construction and the lack of water availability. And still others worry about all of the greenhouses popping up in many parts of the country, using precious water to grow crops for export to relatively water-rich countries like the U.S. and Canada.
With so much to learn on the topic, MND has created a separate content section called “Water in Mexico” and our site has constant coverage on the issues facing the country. You can see the articles here.
I also have written several articles with my perspective on the issue:
In this week’s episode of MND’s Confidently Wrong podcast, we tackle the issue of Water in Mexico. Not just the dos and don’ts of drinking water, but also the things you need to know if you are looking at buying or building a house in most parts of the country. Water is not a straightforward issue in Mexico, so it’s important to be educated and informed on the topic.
Los Cabos will see more flights and new hotels, resorts and golf courses in 2026, adding more luster to an already sparkling destination. (Marriott)
Rodrigo Esponda Cascajares is a tireless promoter of Los Cabos tourism, and a big reason the destination has seen such remarkable growth over the past decade. When I last caught up with the managing director of FITURCA (the Los Cabos Tourism Board) in early November, he was at the World Travel Market in London, a three-day gathering that brought together over 46,500 attendees from 182 countries.
Esponda, the only representative from a Mexican destination in attendance, was trying to raise Los Cabos’ profile in the British market — the source of only a little over 5,000 tourists annually — and to strengthen future connectivity in Europe, a subject addressed in conversations with continental airline companies.
Rodrigo Esponda has been the Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board since October 2016. (FITURCA)
But despite his busy schedule, he still had time to connect via a Microsoft Teams meeting call and discuss what’s next for Los Cabos in 2026.
Is your strategy in 2025 similar to the one for 2026?
Well, it’s been a very interesting year in 2025, because we’ve been growing a little. We believe we will end the year with some growth compared to last year, probably 2.5% overall, which is very good given the context in which the tourism industry is moving forward.
Especially since we’ve been focused on quality, not quantity. That’s something we’ve discussed before. So, in that sense, having travelers stay longer and spend more at the destination is more important than having a lot more passengers.
This year, we’re growing in some cities we’ve been targeting in the United States, like Nashville, Tennessee, and Kansas City. These are secondary markets in the U.S. for Los Cabos. But they’re important. It’s part of the destination’s evolutionary nature, in the sense that once we gain a solid understanding of the primary markets — Chicago, Los Angeles and New York — then we have to add more secondary markets.
Nashville, Tennessee, is one of them. Ontario, California, is another, which, although close to Los Angeles, is a secondary market that can add some additional travelers to our destination. Indianapolis is another market that’s constantly growing.
Copa Airlines will begin flights to Los Cabos from Panama, with connections from Central and South America in December 2025. (Copa Airlines)
And as you know, we’ve just started our second season of nonstop service to Frankfurt with Condor. And in December, we’ll have Copa Airlines’ flight from Panama with connections to Central and South America. So these markets are an important complement to the mix of travelers arriving at the destination.
And that focus on connectivity will continue in 2026?
We believe that will continue. We have some markets in the United States that we will continue to focus on, such as Boston, which is an affluent market in the Northeast, but it’s a long journey with a six-hour flight. So it’s been a process getting airlines to commit to that, but we believe that by the end of 2026, we’ll be able to have that route added.
And we need to consolidate those two important milestones we have with the Copa and Condor flights in the third season, as the European market is very well advanced. So we know that, for example, some groups are looking at the next season of Condor flights from Europe. So we’ve been working on it.
And we had a couple of interesting conversations with tour operators about that. Our priority for this year is to finalize things, to make sure that everyone in the local industry is aware of the relevance and focuses more on quality and consistency. That, well, you grew a little, but you achieved a lot because you didn’t have to discard a product, you didn’t have to do anything wrong, and you can diversify.
And so, for next year, we believe it will be the same, that in 2026 we will probably close with a little over 3% growth in international visitors. And it’s the same, with some interesting additions in terms of hotels, in terms of the destination, but we need to be more concerned with the visitor experience, rather than just seeking growth, because the nature of the destination isn’t mass tourism.
Last year, Los Cabos topped four million visitors, correct?
We closed last year with 3.7 million visitors. Of those, 2.3 million were international visitors, and the rest were domestic visitors. However, of those domestic visitors, 25% were international visitors connecting through Mexico.
Los Cabos, the municipality that’s home to Cabo San Lucas, receives nearly four million visitors annually. (Cabo Adventures)
We’ll close with a very similar number this year. Last year it was 3.7 million, so this year we’ll probably get to 3.8 million.
You mentioned Boston. Are there other areas in the U.S. or Canada where you feel you could improve or are trying to increase connectivity?
Well, in Canada, we’re growing by 20% this year. But last year we had 200,000 Canadian travelers. So 40,000, that’s the additional number we’ll have this year in terms of Canada. It’s significant, but it doesn’t make up 10% of the 2.3 million (international visitors). So those additional 40,000 out of the 2.3 million are part of that mix we have.
We’ve been growing in Canada from Toronto, not Vancouver, which is the natural market, but Toronto, which is the most affluent market in Canada. And we’re trying to get a flight from Florida. We have a good number of travelers coming from various Florida cities: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.
Orlando is interesting because there would be some travelers from Los Cabos who would want to go to Orlando for Disneyland, the parks and the entertainment.
So it wouldn’t just be travelers from Florida, but also some travelers from Los Cabos and La Paz who wanted to go to Orlando. So we’re trying to make it happen. However, we don’t have a very clear path forward with the airlines as to whether it will happen in 2026.
We do in Boston. They mention that they expect to have that nonstop flight by winter 2026. But that’s a key market for us that we’re looking to secure.
Can you tell me a little bit about the resorts and golf courses that might be opening next year and beyond?
Oleada’s golf course, designed by four-time major champion Ernie Els, is expected to open in 2026. (Oleada Los Cabos)
This Nov. 16 is the opening of the Park Hyatt. So that will happen this year. And then, in 2026, we have three new resorts that are opening: Amanvari, St. Regis and Soho House. We’ve been meeting with the teams from all three brands. Amanvari is very excited and already has a GM, a sales director, and, as you know, they’re doing a lot of work. St Regis, the same. Soho House will probably be later in 2026.
And then, in 2027, we have the SIRO Palmilla, which is part of Kerzner International. There are also two projects on the Pacific coast. One is connected to a golf resort, which is the Conrad Los Cabos at the Oleada resort. It’s about 10 minutes from Diamante towards Todos Santos. That’s where it’s being developed. I visited it the other day.
The residential project is further along, but the golf course is still in development. There are three golf courses coming in addition to the one in Oleada. There’s another one in Quivira. That would be an interesting project because it would complement what they already have.
There’s also another one coming at Diamante, which is a Tiger Woods course (Legacy Club). Those three are already under construction. We don’t know if it will be in 2026 or more towards 2027, but the fact that we have three golf courses so far along is very good, and as you know, we’re also hosting the World Wide Technology Championship, the only PGA Tour event in Los Cabos.
It all started today. Michael Phelps (the Olympic swimmer who won a record 23 gold medals) played in the Pro-Am yesterday, and everyone was very happy to be there. He (Phelps) has a house at Diamante.
I should also mention there are two properties, from Raffles and Delano, in development on the East Cape. The Delano was the most recent hotel to be announced. It will probably be a long-term development, like the Amanvari, for example, which has been under construction for six years.
What are you trying to improve for next year?
Service at resorts like One&Only Palmilla is spectacular, and Los Cabos as a whole is seeking to bring its service to another level. (One&Only Palmilla)
A big concern we have is training in terms of the hospitality standards we need to offer.
We have a partnership with a tour guide specializing in quality and service standards. We just completed a full week of training with them on these standards, and I believe it is crucial that we maintain and manage this level of service. To achieve this, we need to ensure we’re covering various areas.
We need to make sure people understand the importance of service, and that word of mouth remains the number one element for travelers visiting Los Cabos. Let’s put it in the context that everything we do in marketing is about reaching different markets, meeting with colleagues, explaining the destination, doing activations, and all that, and recommending the destination to them. I think that’s incredibly powerful.
The most important thing is how to ensure that when travelers leave the destination, they are completely satisfied.
Is the hotel tax that funds FITURCA also helping to pay for infrastructure projects like the downtown renovation in Cabo San Lucas? How does this work?
Of that 4% hotel tax, which funds FITURCA, 1% is earmarked for the Urban Infrastructure Trust (FOIS), which amounts to approximately 275 million pesos this year. This is directly related to the number of tourists visiting the destination.
And that’s a very strong point. Let’s say we bring in more tourists, and those tourists are staying in hotels or Airbnbs. So, that hotel tax is added to the infrastructure fund. And that’s a very good point because someone might say, “Oh, why not use FITURCA’s financing to pay for roads or build some infrastructure projects?” And we’re already contributing directly to infrastructure projects.
So that 1% is connected because the more tourists we bring, the more funding they (the local government) have, but we don’t participate in that decision-making process. We only contribute to the activities so they have more funding, which is good, but we don’t know the process for how they address infrastructure needs or how they would directly use those 275 million pesos.
Is there anything else you’d like to add for our readers’ benefit?
Anyone who stays at a hotel or resort in Los Cabos helps to fund not only FITURCA, but also infrastructure projects designed to improve the destination as a whole. (Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve)
Yes, I have one final point, which we discussed last time, and that is that tourism is truly providing a very positive source of income and improving conditions for the community in Los Cabos. And I think we need to make sure everyone understands the importance of that and that we’re not just looking to bring tourists; we’re looking to bring the right tourists to the destination.
Chris Sands is the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He’s also a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.
BON Luxury Theme Park is part of VidantaWorld's ambitious new expansion. (VidantaWorld)
Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta have spent the last decade evolving from long-loved Pacific escapes into one of Mexico’s most-visited tourism corridors. That evolution is now accelerating at a pace the region has never experienced before. International attention is climbing sharply, major brands are debuting high-end developments, and the city is positioning itself as the de facto beach destination for fans attending matches in Guadalajara, placing the bay in front of a global audience months before the first whistle blows for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Into this moment arrives the next major chapter: VidantaWorld‘s long-anticipated expansion, which debuts in phases this month. Although the hotel complex itself is not new, the opening of a luxury hotel, Cirque du Soleil’s LÚDÕ, and the BON Luxury Theme Park represents one of the most significant hospitality investments the region has seen. It is development on a scale that signals that Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta are well past the stage of rising contenders.
Tourism upgrades in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit
Siari, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, is one of many new tourism attractions in Riviera Nayarit. (Siari)
To understand the significance of Vidanta’s expansion, it must be viewed against the backdrop of what is happening across the bay. The tourism landscape here is transforming far broader than any single project.
In the north, the opening of Siari, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve, has introduced one of Marriott’s most exclusive brands to the region. Set within a remote Pacific enclave and limited to fewer than 60 residences, its arrival places Riviera Nayarit among the small handful of destinations worldwide with a Reserve-level offering.
South of the Ameca River, Puerto Vallarta’s hotel infrastructure is undergoing its own recalibration. The long-standing Westin Resort & Spa, Puerto Vallarta, is converting to an all-inclusive model in May, an indicator of shifting guest behavior and of global brands rebalancing inventory to meet that demand. Meanwhile, construction continues on Garza Blanca’s Sanctuary Tower, slated to open in 2026.
This rapid pipeline of openings has created a foundation for the region to begin courting a new tier of traveler, one driven by design, exclusivity and amenities that compete directly with Cabo and Mayakoba in Riviera Maya. Against this backdrop, VidantaWorld’s expansion lands at a pivotal moment.
The expansion of VidantaWorld
Vidanta’s new development phase has been more than 10 years in the making, according to Iván Chávez, executive vice president of Grupo Vidanta. He noted that the company’s original ambition was never to expand incrementally, but to leap into the global entertainment and luxury landscape. “We knew in order to compete globally (in the) luxury market, we needed to do much more than pools, sand and margaritas. That wasn’t going to cut it,” he said. “Travelers want a much more sophisticated offering.”
Cirque du Soleil’s custom-built water theater is located in the BON Luxury Theme Park, which will open within VidantaWorld in Nuevo Nayarit. (X, formerly Twitter)
Outside the theater, BON Luxury Theme Park begins to take shape — the anchor attraction of VidantaWorld’s next era and the most ambitious piece of the expansion. Inspired by nature, the park will feature 23 attractions, themed areas, spa services, luxury restaurants and movable bar carts for cocktails-on-the-go. Guests will move through a sequence of distinct precincts, including BON Plaza, Fantasy Gardens, Empire of Light and the Cirque du Soleil Zone. These areas will house a mix of thrill rides, family attractions, and media-based experiences developed with globally recognized industry partners.
Food and beverage play an equally prominent role. Chávez said the company tested “luxury low-density” concepts at Jungala Aqua Experience in Riviera Maya — VIP cabanas, mixologist-run bar carts and full-service dining — and found that the model was not only commercially successful but elevated the guest experience. Those same ideas inform BON’s offerings. The park will feature more than two dozen restaurants, many full-service rather than quick-service, blurring the line between theme park and resort.
BON Luxury Theme Park’s steep price of admission
Admission, however, will come at a premium: roughly US $150 per person per day. While comparable to U.S. theme-park pricing, it is effectively cost-prohibitive for many people who live in the Puerto Vallarta–Bahía de Banderas region. That reality makes the park’s target audience clear. BON is being designed as a destination for high-spend international visitors rather than a local recreational space, a distinction that is likely to shape how residents perceive the project in the years to come.
Underlying the park’s operations is a strict attendance cap. While the physical footprint could accommodate far more guests, Vidanta plans to limit entry to around 10,000 people per day, depending on attractions in operation. The cap is central to the company’s philosophy of “luxury, not lines” — a theme reinforced throughout the property’s design.
The destination is preparing for an exceptionally busy winter, with its airport already operating at near-historic levels. Through the end of October, Puerto Vallarta International Airport handled 5.62 million passengers — a 1.6% increase over the same period in 2024, according to airport operator GAP. International arrivals have dipped slightly, but domestic travel is up more than 10% so far this year, helping keep overall volumes firmly in positive territory.
The winter high season will bring as many as 54 routes and more than 1,000 weekly flights, placing Vallarta among Mexico’s most active terminals. The new terminal building, now past the halfway point of construction, is expected to double capacity and introduce energy-efficient systems, expanded gates, and streamlined passenger flow once it opens next year.
Puerto Vallarta International Airport is receiving more than 1,000 flights weekly from 54 routes during the winter season. (@EsDeVoladaMX/X)
All of this feeds into the region’s interconnected tourism economy. As Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta prepare for an influx of global visibility next summer through the FIFA World Cup, new luxury entrants and VidantaWorld’s expansion, the region finds itself at an inflection point. Growth is accelerating, investment is increasing and projects like BON Luxury Theme Park signal that the bay is no longer simply competing within Mexico, but positioning itself to compete with some of the world’s most recognized leisure markets.
Whether residents welcome every aspect of that shift is another question. But the direction is unmistakable. Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit are not here to play small.
Meagan Drillinger is a New York native who has spent the past 15 years traveling around and writing about Mexico. While she’s on the road for assignments most of the time, Puerto Vallarta is her home base. Follow her travels on Instagram at @drillinjourneys or through her blog at drillinjourneys.com.
Yuri Knorozov's seminal 1963 work, "The Writing of the Maya Indians," cracked the code of how to decipher Mayan writing. (TASS)
It’s 1952, and Western archaeologists are trekking through lush Central American jungles, searching for clues to unlock centuries of mystery surrounding the Maya civilization. Yuri Knorozov is sitting at his desk in a chilly Moscow, poring over ancient hieroglyphic texts and images, on the verge of a monumental breakthrough that would change history forever.
The Soviet linguist, known for his unconventional mind, had never seen a Maya ruin, never felt the humid air of the Yucatán, never touched an ancient stone carving. But from his remote office more than 10,000 kilometers away, Knorozov managed to crack the Mesoamerican code that had stumped scholars for centuries.
Part of a Mayan codex that helped Yuri Knorozov crack the linguistic code. (Lacambalam/Wikimedia Commons)
From WWII Berlin to Moscow: How war led to a breakthrough
Born in the Soviet Union in 1922, Knorozov, a fair-skinned, dark-haired intellectual, spent his early 20s at the start of World War II hopping from village to village to avoid army conscription. Between relocations, Knorozov studied Egyptology at the local university.
He was eventually conscripted and sent as a Soviet artillery spotter to Berlin, where he stumbled upon something precious. Inside a crate of Nazi materials marked for destruction, Knorozov found a collection of rare reproductions containing three Maya codices. He took them home.
The codices consisted of three screenfold books with bark paper and coated with stucco. The Dresden Codex, at 74 pages, contained precise Venus tables, lunar eclipse cycles and ritual almanacs demonstrating the Maya’s sophisticated understanding of celestial mechanics. The Madrid Codex, the longest of the three at 112 pages, featured extensive almanacs and divinatory texts that showed the intertwining of Maya daily life with their complex calendar systems. The fragmentary Paris Codex, at just over 20 pages, offered crucial references to Maya mythology and new year ceremonies.
Back in Moscow after the war, Knorozov also worked extensively with a Spanish manuscript by Franciscan bishop Diego de Landa, called “Relación de las cosas de Yucatán.” This text, written in 1566, attempted to document Maya culture and writing by assigning each glyph to a letter of the Spanish alphabet.
While studying these materials, Knorozov came across an article by the German scholar Paul Schellhas entitled “Deciphering Mayan Hieroglyphs: An Unsolvable Problem?” The author dismissed Mayan written language as indecipherable. Many academics of the time accepted Schellhas’s conclusion.
Knorozov saw it as a challenge.
The mathematical method that decoded Maya hieroglyphs
Mayan symbols could not be decoded by assigning each one to a letter in the Spanish alphabet, as Diego de Landa had tried in the 16th century. (Public Domain)
Studying the codices in Moscow, Knorozov began to question the prevailing assumptions about Mayan writing. How could a civilization capable of producing such detailed celestial calculations possess an unsophisticated writing system? His in-depth analysis of de Landa’s work revealed two crucial errors. First, de Landa had tried to match Mayan symbols to Spanish letters, but with 355 symbols, it was clear that Mayan writing didn’t work like a simple alphabet. Second, he’d missed that the system was mixed: symbols could represent entire words (logograms) or syllabic sounds, depending on their position.
Knorozov developed a statistical approach that was revolutionary for its time: Working methodically through the codices, he counted symbol frequencies and tracked their positions. How many times did each symbol appear? Where in the text — at word beginnings, middles or ends? This positional analysis revealed patterns that previous scholars had overlooked, patterns that would prove crucial to unlocking the meaning behind Maya script.
His mathematical approach gave him confidence in his conclusions, but convincing the academic world would prove a different challenge entirely.
When Soviet science met Western skepticism
The academic establishment of the 1960s was in no way ready for a Soviet solution to their Western puzzle. Eric Thompson, the leading British Maya expert, blatantly dismissed Knorozov’s 1963 book “The Writing of the Maya Indians” as fundamentally flawed. Thompson’s skepticism carried weight, as he was the Western authority on Maya studies.
But this wasn’t just scholarly disagreement. Cold War tensions made Western academics suspicious of Soviet research. How could a linguist who’d never set foot in Maya territory, who worked from reproductions rather than original stones, crack a code that had stumped generations of field researchers? To many Western scholars, the idea seemed implausible.
Vindication finally came in 1973 at the Palenque Round Table conference. Thirty researchers — including art instructor Linda Schele and undergraduate epigrapher Peter Mathews — gathered to work on Mayan inscriptions. When they applied Knorozov’s methods to the Tablet of the 96 Glyphs, they achieved something remarkable: they deciphered actual names of Maya rulers, including the great king K’inich Janaab’ Pakal. Suddenly, the stories on Maya stones made sense, and the dates, dynasties and personal names would change the course of Mexican history. Thompson, his biggest rival, would die two years later without acknowledging Knorozov’s revolutionary contributions.
The man behind the discovery: Academic quirks and scholarly focus
Knorozov was justly lauded for his achievement, being received as a hero in Mexico and Guatemala, and remembered with a stamp in his native Russia. (Public Domain)
Beyond his groundbreaking scholarship, Knorozov was a figure of fascinating contradictions. Described by colleagues as an introvert, he possessed a sense of humor that manifested in unexpected ways. His most famous quirk — it has been said that he listed his Siamese cat, Asya, as coauthor on academic papers — reflected the scholar’s playful approach to rigid academic conventions.
Knorozov maintained an intense work ethic, spending countless hours studying in institutions like the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in Leningrad and the University of Moscow. His motivation came from intellectual challenge rather than conventional academic pathways, and when faced with the widespread idea that Mayan hieroglyphs couldn’t be cracked, he decided to solve an unsolvable problem.
Despite his revolutionary discoveries, he remained remarkably modest about his achievements. His personal life reflected the focused lifestyle typical of Soviet intellectuals: He got married, had a daughter named Ekaterina and a granddaughter named Anna and lived a life largely dedicated to his scholarly work. When he finally visited Mexico in the 1990s, colleagues noted his surprise at being received as a hero, suggesting a man more comfortable with codices than celebrity.
Knorozov’s triumphant Mexico visits
In 1990, nearly 40 years after his discovery, Knorozov finally traveled to see the Maya lands that had consumed his career.
Invited personally by the President of Guatemala, Vinicio Cerezo, Knorozov traveled first to Guatemala and then made three subsequent visits to Mexico, visiting the Maya ruins of Palenque, Mérida, Uxmal and Dzibilchaltún. He was greeted with great admiration and respect, celebrated as a hero for having unlocked one of the greatest historical and linguistic mysteries of the Americas.
The man who had given a voice back to the ancient Maya civilization was embraced by modern Maya communities and Mexican scholars. The Mexican government awarded him the Order of the Aztec Eagle in 1994, making him an honorary Mexican — a fitting honor for someone whose heart, he said, “always remained with Mexico.”
Knorozov died in Saint Petersburg in 1999.
Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog or follow her on Instagram.
President Sheinbaum is surrounded by journalists and business leaders as she makes her exit from the Mexican Business Council luncheon.
(Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro.com)
Mexico’s top tier business leaders have presented President Claudia Sheinbaum with a package of 38 proposed investments for 2026 that could exceed US $40 billion and go a long way toward meeting the investment goals of the administration’s Plan Mexico.
The proposal came during Thursday’s annual end-of.the.year luncheon at Mexico City’s Kaluz Museum with the president and the Mexican Business Council (CMN), consisting of the crème de la crème of Mexican empresarios. CMN members in attendance included Carlos Slim (Telmex), Emilio Azcárraga (Televisa), Germán Larrea (Grupo México), Claudio X. González (Kimberly Clark), Daniel Servitje (Bimbo) and Eduardo Tricio Haro (Lala).
Francisco Cervantes president of the CCE (Business Coordinating Council) arrives at the annual Mexican Business Council luncheon at Mexico City’s Kaluz Museum. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro.com)
Details of the individual projects were not given, but they are known to be focused on infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, commerce, mining and services. Sheinbaum said that further details regarding the projects would be announced at Monday’s mañanera, the president’s daily morning press conference.
The president received the proposal warmly but did point out that a mixed investment scheme would have to be sought for such projects as roads, ports, airports and trains in order to maintain government authority. That would involve a combination of public and private financing.
At the same time, Sheinbaum is said to have pledged to halve the implementation of regulations for opening businesses, reducing the timeframe from 2.5 years to one year in order to generate economic growth.
President Sheinbaum drew group A at Friday's draw. As a result, Mexico will kick off the 2026 World Cup with a match against South Africa, set for June 11 in Mexico City. (Presidencia)
President Claudia Sheinbaum graced the stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Friday to take part in the FIFA World Cup draw, where the Mexican national team found out who it will face in the group stage of next year’s global soccer tournament.
During the event, FIFA president Gianni Infantino summoned Sheinbaum, U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to the stage to participate as draw assistants.
BREAKING NEWS: Trump, Sheinbaum, Carney Draw World Cup Groups For Their Respective Nations
The three leaders — representing the co-hosts of the 23rd World Cup — reached into separate glass bowls and selected balls with their respective countries which were designated as group leaders.
Mexico was drawn into a Group A with South Africa, South Korea and the winner of the European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia and Republic of Ireland. The Czech Republic faces Denmark and Ireland meets North Macedonia on March 26 with the winners squaring off on March 31 for the final spot in Group A.
The U.S. was drawn into Group D along with Australia, Paraguay and the winner of the European playoffs involving Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey and Romania, while Canada will top Group B where it will face Switzerland, Qatar and the winner of the European playoffs involving Wales, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy and Northern Ireland.
El Tri will kick off the tournament against South Africa at Estadio Azteca on June 11, 2026. During a visit to Mexico City in August, Infantino gifted Sheinbaum a complimentary ticket to the inaugural match which the Mexican president announced she will give to a young girl.
During Friday’s ceremony, Infantino asked Sheinbaum what it meant to Mexico to be the first country to host three editions of the World Cup. “We are very proud to be three-time hosts,” she said.
Sheinbaum traveled to Washington with Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada, Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus and Nuevo León Governor Samuel García, in representation of the three locations where World Cup matches will be played: Mexico City, Guadalajara (the Jalisco state capital) and Monterrey (the Nuevo León state capital).
When asked by a TV Azteca reporter what it meant to participate in the World Cup ceremony, Trump praised Sheinbaum, though the question was not focused on her.
“Yes, your president is here and she’s doing a very good job,” he said. “She’s a good woman, doing very excellent work.”
Trump and Sheinbaum have spoken by phone, discussing tariffs and Mexican efforts to help combat the trafficking of fentanyl into the U.S.
After the World Cup ceremony, the three North American leaders held a private mini-summit where trade was expected to be a prominent topic of discussion.
“Yeah, we’re going to discuss trade,” Trump said when asked what the three leaders would talk about.
Trade relations between the three nations were upended earlier this year by Trump’s sweeping sectoral tariffs.
The meeting will also be the first between Carney and Trump since the U.S. president abruptly ended trade talks between the neighbors in October.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, known as USMCA, has shielded Canada and Mexico from broad-based tariffs, but the agreement enters its mandatory review period next year.
On Wednesday, Trump mused about the USMCA expiring next year even off-handedly suggesting he might let it die.
It's not uncommon for former Mexican elected officials to move to Spain, but ex-Jalisco Gov. Enrique Alfaro's reasons had nothing to do with avoiding scrutiny or reviving a political career.
(Enrique Alfaro/on X)
As governor, he briefly emerged as a possible 2024 challenger to the ruling Morena party, touting his opposition credentials and national profile. Instead of jumping into that race, he finished his term on Dec. 5, 2024, and walked away from electoral politics.
Parecía broma pero finalmente Enrique Alfaro, ex gobernador de #Jalisco, dejó la política por la cancha. Hoy, anunció que será auxiliar técnico del primer equipo de futbol del Real Valladolid, de la segunda división de #España. pic.twitter.com/JdJTlLC1vw
While still in office, he began preparing for a second career in soccer, enrolling in coaching courses with an Argentine institute and spending time with the youth teams affiliated with one of Mexico’s most famous professional clubs, Chivas de Guadalajara.
Then, after leaving office, Alfaro moved to Spain and turned full-time to football, enrolling in the Real Madrid Graduate School — a program run by the elite football club Real Madrid in partnership with Universidad Europa.
Featuring team executives and staff as teachers, the program offers courses in marketing, communications and other sports-related fields, such as the one in which Alfaro earned a master’s degree: football management.
On Nov. 20, several months after earning his degree, he announced he was becoming an assistant coach at Real Valladolid, a professional club that has spent many seasons in Spain’s first division, La Liga, but is currently fighting for promotion from La Liga 2.
His duties include assisting with training sessions, match preparation and opponent analysis.
“Two and a half years ago, as I was about to turn 50, I decided to change the course of my life,” Alfaro said in the Mexican sports media outlet Mediotiempo. “I had achieved all the professional goals I had set for myself, and it was time to take on new challenges.”
Coached by Guillermo Almada, a Uruguayan who coached two top professional teams in Mexico — Santos Laguna and Pachuca, from 2019 until May of this year — Real Valladolid plays in a city of 300,000 in northwest Spain.
For Alfaro, the job is not a detour but the culmination of a planned transition out of his political career, which included his 2018 election as Jalisco governor.
Alfaro completed a program at the Real Madrid Graduate School earlier this year before snagging a job as assistant coach for Real Valladolid. (Enrique Alfaro/X)
A member of the centrist Movimiento Ciudadano (Citizens’ Movement) party, Alfaro was sometimes described as one of the most visible anti-Morena figures.
He frequently criticized then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on issues like federal “superdelegates,” COVID-19 restrictions, security and fuel shortages. At the same time, he often said that being in opposition did not mean open war with Morena or AMLO.
In recent years, the topic of Mexican politicians with controversy or investigations around them landing in Spain has been a hot-button issue.
Also, Quirino Ordaz Coppel, former governor of Sinaloa, lived in Madrid as AMLO’s ambassador to Spain after a 2017-2021 term marked by accusations of corruption and impunity in high-profile cases.
Alfaro was among officials publicly threatened by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) when he was governor of Jalisco, but there is no public evidence that he is in exile or facing charges in Mexico.
“I lived a wonderful story [in politics] that I am proud to recall — a story of dignity, conviction and principles that represent my legacy,” he said in Mediotiempo. “But my desire and enthusiasm for politics had waned. I wanted to reinvent myself … That’s why I decided to dedicate the next few years of my life to my great passion: football.”
And how many former Mexican politicians in Spain say their goal is to one day return to Mexico to coach one of its most famous teams, Chivas? At least one — Alfaro has stated that’s his intention.
After erecting blockades across the country last week and again this week, protesting farmers stood down after Congress approved the new water law Thursday night. (Julieta M. Nevarez / Cuartoscuro.com)
The Senate hastily approved a new National Water Law on Thursday night and sent it to President Claudia Sheinbaum for signing, prompting dissenting farmers to momentarily suspend their renewed protests.
Even so, Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said on Friday morning that she was concerned that disaffection with the legislation might result in demonstrations that affect the general population.
The next day, senators fast-tracked the bill, weathering criticism from opposition parties — including a point-of-order to suspend the proceedings — before voting 85-36 to approve the new water law.
Although protest leaders admitted they were not happy with the bill as passed, they expressed willingness to make it work after meeting with representatives of the National Water Commission (Conagua) early Friday.
“They said they will give us the opportunity to participate [in crafting enabling legislation and regulations],” René Almeida, a farmer, told the newspaper Reforma. “So if we see anything that needs to be addressed, we will be ready to point that out.”
However, some farm groups have been critical of Conagua for ignoring proposals submitted by organizations and communities fighting to defend their water rights, which they consider threatened by the reform’s overhaul of water management countrywide.
The lack of a public review process and the hurried legislative debate were also criticized.
The magazine Proceso reported that several groups voiced concern that the reform does not contain mechanisms to address hoarding and overexploitation, or guarantee access to water for populations suffering from water marginalization.
Members of the National Front for the Rescue of the Mexican Countryside (FNRCM) said they are ready to re-establish highway blockades to protect their interests.
“Let’s be clear: We will return with greater strength and better organization in the face of any imposition that threatens the countryside,” the FNRCM said in a statement.
For her part, Rodríguez insisted the government will continue to engage in dialogue with groups and producers who are dissatisfied.
“We are always ready to work hand-in-hand with these groups and we will continue to do so,” she said.
However, the interior minister also voiced regret that some groups appear willing to disregard agreements reached, cite grievances that have already been addressed and stage demonstrations “with no apparent reason.”
“We are a government that listens and we have an obligation to do so, but the impact on the population also concerns us,” she said, before adding that the reform is necessary to better organize water management across the nation.
The route connects the Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) with Copa's hub in Panama. (Copa Airlines)
Los Cabos has just launched its first non-stop flight with Panama, operated by Copa Airlines, creating a new bridge between Baja California Sur and both Central and South America.
The flight connects Tocumen International Airport in Panama City with Los Cabos International Airport, marking the first time the popular resort city has a direct connection with Central America.
¡Así nos recibió Los Cabos, México! 🇵🇦✈️🇲🇽
Revive la emocionante inauguración de nuestra nueva ruta hacia este destino donde el mar y el desierto se encuentran para crear paisajes únicos.
Los Cabos ahora se conecta con más de 85 destinos en 32 países de Norte, Centro y… pic.twitter.com/hx2RJtAM7y
Officials from the Baja California Sur Ministry of Tourism, Economy and Sustainability (SETUE), the Embassy of Panama in Mexico, the Los Cabos Tourism Trust (Fiturca), the San José del Cabo Airport, and the Los Cabos Hotel Association participated in the welcoming ceremony.
“We are very pleased with the start of the flight,” said Fernando Ojeda, the state deputy secretary of tourism. “This connection, the result of joint work between the state government and Fiturca, represents a strategic opportunity to diversify tourism, attract investment and consolidate trade relations with a region of great potential.”
Two jets, the Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft, will fly the route, which carries 160 passengers with a flight time of around five hours each way. The route will operate three times a week on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
This new connection eliminates layovers in Mexico City or U.S. airports, reducing travel time and facilitating the arrival of visitors from Central and South America. Through Copa Airlines’ “Hub of the Americas” in Panama, Los Cabos has access to more than 20 destinations in the region, including Latin American countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
This new flight adds to the sustained, albeit moderate growth of the Los Cabos airport.
Last year, the airport welcomed 3.9 million visitors, a figure directly linked to the increase in domestic and international air arrivals. Meanwhile, reports from the Tourism Observatory indicated that SJD saw over 2.8 million passengers between January and September this year — up 2.5% in domestic traffic and 0.3% in international traffic compared to the same period of 2024.
