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Iñárritu becomes first filmmaker to join Mexico’s most prestigious intellectual academy

By
MND Staff
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Iñárritu and Leal
The Oscar-winning Mexican director is officially welcomed to the Colegio Nacional by architect, academic and Colegio president Felipe Leal. (Mario Jasso / Cuartoscuro.com)

Mexico City native Alejandro González Iñárritu — director of “Amores Perros,” “Birdman,” “The Revenant” and other major works — has become the first filmmaker inducted into El Colegio Nacional, Mexico’s most prestigious intellectual institution.

The honorary academy, created by presidential decree in 1943, is an invitation-only hall of fame that brings together Mexico’s leading scientists, artists and humanists.

Iñ+arritu at his induction ceremony
At his induction ceremony Iñárritu delivered an address titled “The Consensual Hallucination” in which the always outspoken director and screenwriter asserted that Mexico’s cinematic history grew out of its pre-Hispanic worldview and its 20th-century muralist tradition — not just Hollywood techniques.
(Mario Jasso / Cuartoscuro.com)

At a ceremony Tuesday in Mexico City, the institution’s sitting president, Felipe Leal, said Iñárritu’s admission was “a long-awaited achievement for an artistic discipline that has contributed so much to Mexican and universal culture.”

In receiving the honor, the 62-year-old director — the first Mexican ever chosen to preside over the Cannes Film Festival jury — delivered a lecture titled “The Consensual Hallucination.”

Throughout it, he championed the visual power of Mexican culture, asserting that the nation’s cinematic history grew out of its pre-Hispanic worldview and its 20th-century muralist tradition — not just Hollywood techniques.

“Mexico is a visual powerhouse because our culture has always used images as a way to explain the world,” he said.

In a Q&A with the newspaper El País, Iñárritu took aim at how U.S. cinema depicts his country. Mexicans, he said, “grew up with American movies, television, art and music. So I do know that culture. They don’t know a damn thing about us,” he added, criticizing Hollywood’s long use of “sombrero-wearing, drunk, drug-trafficking” caricatures.

Iñárritu (who’s usually referred to by his maternal surname) has won five Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best original screenplay for “Birdman” in 2015, and best director a year later for “The Revenant” — joining a short list of directors with back-to-back directing Oscars.

His filmography includes “21 Grams,” “Babel,” “Biutiful” and “Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” a dreamlike epic that blurs the line between Mexico and the United States, memory and reality.

He is often identified as one of the so-called “Three Amigos” along with acclaimed Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro, 61, best known for his Oscar-winning fantasies “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Shape of Water,” and Alfonso Cuarón, 64, Oscar-winning director of “Roma” and “Gravity.”

Iñárritu is among 113 people who have received the lifetime honor from El Colegio Nacional since its founding 83 years ago. As of this year, 37 sitting members participate in the institution’s free lectures, concerts and symposia and provide material for published works.

Recent inductees include Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Cristina Rivera Garza in 2023 and demographer Silvia Giorguli Saucedo last year. 

The roster includes some of Mexico’s best-known figures in the arts and sciences, from muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco to Nobel Prize–winning poet Octavio Paz and chemist Mario Molina, who shared the Nobel in 1995 for his work on the ozone layer.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Iñárritu also addressed migration, uprooted identity, Mexico’s culture of brutality and how the nation has “normalized” the crisis of more than 130,000 missing people.

He also warned that technology and artificial intelligence risk severing art from real life, insisting, “Art is not the result, it is the transmission of one human experience to another.”

With reports from El País and UNAM Global

The MND Sheinbaum Index™: Sheinbaum scores 60.0 for April 2026

By
MND Intelligence
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President Sheinbaum and the logo of the Sheinbaum Index™
The Sheinbaum Index™ for April 2026 is 60.0/100. (Mexico News Daily)

THE MND SHEINBAUM INDEX™

Measuring Mexico’s president beyond the polls

MND Intelligence · Second edition

Welcome to the second edition of the MND Sheinbaum Index™, an eight-pillar index designed to give our readers balanced, data-driven insight into the current situation in Mexico across a range of areas.

As we wrote in our inaugural Sheinbaum Index article last month, most of what you hear anecdotally about Claudia Sheinbaum fits into one of two buckets: breathless admiration or reflexive dismissal, often without a lot of evidence or data to support the opinion expressed.

Neither tells you much about how Mexico is actually doing on her watch. The MND Sheinbaum Index™ was built to fill that gap.

In this second edition of the index, the headline number is 60.0, representing a 0.1-point deterioration compared to March. That is not to say that nothing changed. As you will see below, four of the pillar scores improved in April, while four deteriorated. These changes effectively canceled each other out, resulting in only a minimal month-over-month variation to the overall index score.

We obtained the index score for April by applying the MND Sheinbaum Index™ methodology to the raw data we collected across eight pillars.

In the sections below, we remind you how the index works and what the overall index score means, and detail how the data across each of the eight equally-weighted pillars is scored.

We also examine how the MND Sheinbaum Index™ has changed over the past five months and home in on the performance of each of the pillars in April.

Five top numbers from the MND Sheinbaum Index™ April 2026

How the Index Works

Each month, we use the MND Sheinbaum Index™ methodology to calculate a single score out of 100. The Index has eight equally weighted pillars — each contributing a score of up to 12.5 points to the final composite out of 100. Each pillar score is calculated using raw data, which is mainly sourced from the national statistics agency INEGI.

Here is a short guide to the significance of a Sheinbaum Index score:

  • 85–100: Exceptional — administration performing at a high level across nearly all indicators.
  • 75–84: Excellent — administration performing well across most indicators.
  • 60–75: Room for improvement — meaningful strengths, some areas of concern.
  • 50–60: Mixed — passing marks overall.
  • Below 50: Broad underperformance — more indicators below benchmark than above.

The 8 pillars and how they are scored 

1. Inflation:

In this pillar, we measure how close Mexico’s headline inflation rate is to the Bank of Mexico’s 3% target. On-target scores 100; each percentage point above costs 20 points. For this pillar and all others, the raw score out of 100 is converted to a number out of 12.5, reflecting the actual contribution it makes to the overall MND Sheinbaum Index™ score.

2. Approval rating:

The score for this pillar is derived from the presidential approval ratings yielded by two leading polls, those conducted on a monthly basis by El Financiero and Mitofsky/El Economista. The average of the two approval ratings produces a percentage score, which is then converted into a score out of 12.5.

3. Economic growth:
In this pillar, annual GDP growth is benchmarked at 2%, which scores 60. Each percentage point above adds 20 points to the pillar score; each point below deducts 20. A year-over-year economic contraction scores zero.
4. Security:

This pillar tracks the year-on-year change in the national homicide rate, per the National Public Security System data reported at President Sheinbaum’s morning press conference. A 0% annual change scores 30 — because stagnation on violence is not good enough. A 50% reduction scores 100.

5. Employment:

This pillar is equally weighted between year-on-year changes in unemployment and informality. For both components, a score of 50 is neutral — meaning the indicator is exactly where it was a year ago, neither better nor worse. For unemployment, every 0.1 percentage point improvement or deterioration adds or deducts 5 points. For informality, each full percentage point of improvement adds 20 points, while each point of deterioration deducts 20.

6. Business confidence:

This pillar is equally weighted between INEGI’s monthly business confidence score and the most recently published foreign direct investment growth rate. FDI indicates whether the international business community believes in Mexico’s trajectory; business confidence data reflects domestic private sector sentiment.

The business confidence sub-component anchors at 50 — a neutral INEGI reading scores 50, with each one-point index shift adding or deducting 5 points. FDI anchors lower: zero growth scores only 40, with each 10 percentage points of growth adding 20 points, capped at 100 for growth of 30% or above.

7. Tourism:

This pillar looks at year-on-year growth in international visitor arrivals. Zero growth scores 50, while 20% growth in arrivals hits the 100 ceiling and a 20% reduction reaches the 0 floor. This pillar updates on a one-month lag as INEGI’s tourism data is published approximately six weeks after the conclusion of the reference month.

8. Labor poverty:

This pillar is equally weighted between the share of Mexicans living in households where combined labor income is insufficient to cover a basic monthly food basket per person (the labor poverty rate), and real per capita income growth. INEGI publishes data on these two components on a quarterly basis.

For labor poverty, a score of 50 is given if there is no year-over-year change in the rate. Each percentage point improvement adds 10 points, meaning that a reduction of five percentage points or more gets a score of 100. A score of 0 is given for an annual increase of five percentage points or more in the labor poverty rate.

For real income, each percentage point of annual growth adds four points to the neutral score of 50, benchmarked at 0% year-over-year growth. Therefore, 12.5% growth achieves a score of 100. Any decline in income is penalized, with a 12.5% reduction scoring 0.

* MND acknowledges that President Sheinbaum does not directly control outcomes in all eight pillars. For example, global commodity prices and tariff decisions in Washington can affect Mexico’s inflation and growth rates. The Index measures what is happening in Mexico on Sheinbaum’s watch. 

A note on education and healthcare

Two pillars conspicuously absent from the Index are education and healthcare — not because they don’t matter, but because official data on them is not published monthly, or even quarterly.

The MND Sheinbaum Index™ over the past 5 months  

We have now calculated MND Sheinbaum Index™ scores for the first four months of 2026 and the final month of 2025. Over that period, the index score has remained in the 60s, peaking at 65.6 in December and bottoming out at 60.0 in April.

MND Sheinbaum Index™ scores leading up to April 2026

The peak in December was supported by year-over-year economic growth of 2.4%, an annual inflation rate only 0.69 points above the Bank of Mexico’s 3% target and a year-over-year decline in homicides of almost 30%, among other factors.

The two-point month-over-month decline to an index score of 63.7 in January was due to factors such as  a reduction in the annual economic growth rate to +0.5%, a slight increase in inflation and waning business confidence due to deteriorations in both components of that pillar. However, some pillars of the index did improve in January compared to December, including security, due to a 34% year-over-year decline in homicides.

The index score improved slightly in February to reach 64.8. Stronger economic growth (+1.2%), a slightly higher aggregate approval rating for Sheinbaum (70.6%) and a lower year-over-year increase in the informality rate (+0.3 percentage points) contributed to the higher index score.

The nearly 5-point deterioration of the index score to 60.1 in March was due to an increase in the headline inflation rate (4.59%), slower economic growth (0.5%) and a smaller — albeit still significant — decline in homicides (-31.4%), among other factors.

The decline in the index score to 60 in April marks the second deterioration in as many months. We explain what happened in each of the pillars in April below.

MND Sheinbaum Index™ pillars for April 2026

Each pillar is given a stoplight color indicating a strong performance (green), an average performance (yellow) or a poor performance (red). An upward pointing arrow ⬆️ indicates that the pillar score improved compared to March. A downward pointing arrow ⬇️ indicates a deterioration in the pillar score.

A visual summary of MND Sheinbaum Index™ April 2026 pillar scores

🟢 ⬆️ LABOR POVERTY (10.10 out of 12.50)

The labor poverty pillar was once again the top contributor to the overall index score. The score increased from 9.51 in March to 10.10 in April thanks to improvements in both pillar components. The labor poverty rate decreased 3.2 percentage points annually to 30.7% in the first quarter of 2026. Real incomes increased 7.4% year-over-year.

🟢 ⬆️ TOURISM (9.97 out of 12.50 — This pillar has a one-month lag):

International arrivals increased 11.9% in March, up from an 8.5% rise in February. The double-digit increase was particularly notable as it came after widespread violence in Mexico in late February triggered by a Mexican military operation that resulted in the death of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes. The tourism pillar score increased from 8.90 in March (based on February data) to 9.97 in April (based on March data).

🟢 ⬆️ INFLATION (8.88 out of 12.50): 

Mexico’s annual headline inflation rate eased from 4.59% in March to 4.45% in April. The inflation pillar score consequently increased to 8.88 from 8.53 a month earlier.

🟢 ⬇️ APPROVAL RATING (8.53 out of 12.50) 

Sheinbaum’s approval rating fell to 68.2% in April from 69.2% a month earlier. At the time of publication, El Economista/Mitofsky had not published poll results for April so we carried over the 68.4% result from March. Per El Financiero, the president’s approval rating fell to 68% in April from 70% in March. The approval rating pillar score fell 0.12 points from 8.65 in March to 8.53 in April.

🟡 ⬇️ SECURITY (7.30 out of 12.50):

The pace of the reduction in homicides slowed for a third consecutive month in April. The year-over-year decline last month was 20.3%, below the 31.4% and 35% reductions reported by the government for March and February, respectively. The security pillar score consequently fell from 9.25 in March to 7.30 in April. A change in the stoplight color from green to yellow reflects that deterioration.

🟡 ⬇️ BUSINESS CONFIDENCE (6.36 out of 12.50) 

Mexico’s business confidence score, as measured by a monthly INEGI survey, fell to 48.2 in April from 48.4 in March. In this second edition of the index, we replace the foreign direct investment result for 2025 (+10.8%) with the result for the first quarter of 2026, which the federal Economy Ministry announced this week. FDI increased 10.4% in Q1 compared to the same period of last year. Due to the slight decreases in both business confidence pillar components, the pillar score fell to 6.36 from 6.48 in March.

🔴 ⬆️ EMPLOYMENT (5.63 out of 12.50)

Mexico’s unemployment rate was 2.5% in April, unchanged from the same month of 2025. The unemployment score improved compared to March, as the jobless rate increased 0.2 points in that month. Mexico’s informality rate — the percentage of all workers who work in the vast informal sector — increased 0.5 points annually to 55.2% in April. The year-over-year growth in the informality rate was unchanged from March. Due to the improvement in the unemployment score, the pillar score increased 0.63 points to 5.63 in April from 5.0 in March.

🔴 ⬇️ ECONOMIC GROWTH (3.25 out of 12.50)

Year-over-year economic growth in April was 0.3%, according to preliminary data from INEGI. That figure represents a 0.2 percentage point slowdown from the growth rate recorded in March. The economic growth pillar score consequently fell from 3.75 in March to an even weaker 3.25 in April.

What to watch

The next MND Sheinbaum Index™ will focus on the month of May.

Here are three things to look out for in the May Index:

  • Inflation: Data for the first half of May indicates that the score for the inflation pillar will continue to improve. INEGI reported last week that the annual headline rate was 4.11% in the first 15 days of May, a significant improvement from the 4.45% reading for April as a whole.
  • Security: It appears likely that the security pillar score will also improve in May. Data presented by the federal government this week showed that homicides were down 31.4% annually so far in May. A similar decline for the month as a whole would represent a significant improvement from the 20.3% decrease in homicides recorded in April.
  • Tourism: While the labor poverty pillar was once again the top contributor to the overall index score in April, the tourism pillar was not far behind. If international arrivals increase 12.3% or more in April (remember this pillar has a one-month lag), tourism could replace labor poverty as the top contributor to the May index. The score for the labor poverty pillar won’t change in the May index as the most recent data will still be that for the first quarter of 2026, which INEGI published this week.

Mexico News Daily 

Sheinbaum reveals the winner of her World Cup ticket: Friday’s mañanera recapped

By
MND Staff
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President Sheinbaum poses with juggling contest winner Yolett Cervantes and a giant World Cup ticket
Yolett Cervantes, a 21-year-old Indigenous woman from Veracruz, won the president's soccer juggling competition and with it, a ticket to the World Cup's inaugural match in Mexico City. (Carlos Ramos Mamahua / Presidencia)

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • ⚽ World Cup ticket goes to Veracruz woman: Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua, a 21-year-old Indigenous woman from Tlaquilpa, Veracruz, won Sheinbaum’s ticket (No. 00001) to the June 11 opening ceremony and Mexico vs. South Africa match, beating out entrants in a ball-juggling video contest open to women age 16–25.
  • 🎟️ Three additional tickets awarded: Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada and Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez also donated their World Cup tickets as prizes; the other winners of the juggling contest came from Gustavo A. Madero and Iztapalapa in Mexico City, and Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.
  • 🎤 Winners’ remarks and Sheinbaum’s words: Ticket winner Yolett Cervantes thanked the president for “taking us into account” and called for the continued promotion of women’s football. Sheinbaum described the four winners as “the pride of Mexico,” saying they would represent the entire country at the World Cup. She thanked them for their effort, discipline and passion.
  • 🏟️ Brugada highlights CDMX preparations: The mayor declared that “football has no gender, no owner,” and spoke about World Cup preparations including 18 football festival sites across the capital, a Guinness World Record wave attempt on Paseo de la Reforma on June 6, an upcoming elevated park inauguration and the near-completion of renovations at 20 Metro stations.

Why today’s mañanera matters

Almost three months ago, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that a soccer ball juggling contest would be held to find a young woman to represent her — and Mexico as a whole — at the opening ceremony and match of the FIFA men’s World Cup, which will take place in Mexico City on June 11. To participate in the contest, young women aged 16 to 25 had to submit a video in which they appear juggling a ball as dexterously as they can.

On Friday morning, the winner of the contest — and Sheinbaum’s No. 00001 ticket for the opening ceremony and Mexico versus South Africa match — was announced.

Juggling contest winners show off their skills during the Friday morning press conference.
Juggling contest winners show off their skills during the Friday morning press conference. (Galo Cañas / Cuartoscuro.com)

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada and Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez also donated their World Cup tickets as prizes in the contest. Thus, three other “winners” (or runners-up) of the soccer ball juggling competition received tickets to World Cup matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

The decision of Sheinbaum and other officials to give away their tickets was a manifestation of the federal government’s assertion that the era of privileges for politicians is over. In this case, the privilege of receiving World Cup tickets — the president got hers from FIFA chief Gianni Infantino last August — was turned into recognition of the skill, hard work and talent of four young Mexican women.

Sheinbaum’s World Cup ticket goes to …

Football referee Katia Itzel García, one of the judges of the soccer ball juggling competition, announced that the winner of Sheinbaum’s ticket was Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua, a 21-year-old woman from the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

García said that Cervantes — an Indigenous woman from the municipality of Tlaquilpa — is a “clear example that Mexico has talent in every corner of the country,” and an example of “the cultural diversity that makes us feel proud of being Mexican.”

“Her technique with the ball, her ability to control it, her life story and the passion she conveys to us when we see her show us that our Mexico is great, brave and talented,” she said.

After a hug with Sheinbaum, Cervantes, García and the president posed for a photo, with the No. 00001 ticket on prominent display.

Cervantes to Sheinbaum: ‘Thank you for taking us into account’ 

After showing off their impressive juggling skills, including with bare feet in the case of Cervantes, each of the four contest winners made brief remarks.

“Esteemed President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, thank you very much for taking us into account and for [giving me the opportunity] to be at a very important event such as the World Cup,” Cervantes said.

“I admire you and I respect you a lot for being the first woman president of our beautiful country,” she added.

“I don’t think there are words right now to say how I feel. I’m very excited. Thank you for taking us into account. Let’s keep promoting women’s football because all women have their own talents and qualities,” Cervantes said.

The winners of the other World Cup tickets were Karla Itzel Peña Vilchis of Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City; Briana Ameli Medina Cortés of Iztapalapa, Mexico City; and Daira Yaretzi Díaz García of San Pedro Mixtepec (Puerto Escondido), Oaxaca.

Sheinbaum described the four women as “the pride of Mexico.”

“They’re not going to represent the president or the mayor, they’re going to represent Mexico,” she said.

“… Thank you very much for your effort, for your discipline, for the love of what you do,” Sheinbaum told the contest winners.

Brugada: ‘Football has no gender’

Mayor Brugada began her mañanera remarks with a declaration.

“Football has no gender, no owner,” she said.

“It has no borders, it belongs to the people and girls and women,” Brugada said.

Later in her address, the mayor noted that Mexico City will have 18 “football festival” sites during the World Cup, spaces where people will be able to watch the matches live and take part in cultural and sports activities. An official FIFA Fan Festival site is currently being set up in the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main square.

Brugada invited people to join the attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest wave (or Mexican wave). The attempt at setting a new record will take place on Saturday, June 6, on Paseo de la Reforma, the boulevard that leads into Mexico City’s historic center.

Brugada highlighted that a lot of work has gone into preparing the capital to host five World Cup matches, including the opener.

“We’re receiving this World Cup with over 2,000 projects that we’re working on here in the city,” said the mayor, who has faced criticism for the extensive use of the image of ajolotes (axolotls) in the city, and for the beautification of public infrastructure in the capital, such as pedestrian bridges, by painting it purple.

“In the coming days we’re going to have the inauguration of the elevated park,” Brugada said, referring to a park situated above Calzada de Tlalpan — a major north-south route in Mexico City.

She also said that the renovation of 20 Metro stations will be completed in the coming days.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

From Cancún to Mahahual, sargassum influx puts nearly 50% of Riviera Maya beaches on red alert

By
MND Staff
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Dozens of sargassum collection workers clean a large Playa del Carmen beach covered in sargassum seaweed
Workers clear sargassum from a beach in the resort town of Playa del Carmen, where cleanup crews struggled to keep up with the volume of seaweed washing ashore this week. (Elizabeth Ruiz / Cuartoscuro.com)

Nearly half of Quintana Roo beaches are currently on red alert due to a massive influx of sargassum seaweed in recent days, making conditions unsuitable for swimming or enjoying the otherwise turquoise waters.

Head of the Sargassum Monitoring Center in Quintana Roo Esteban Amaro reported that substantial amounts of seaweed accumulating offshore triggered the alert in 65 of the 140 beaches monitored in the state.

A colorized satellite image from the National Earth Observation Laboratory (LANOT) at UNAM shows sargassum on and near shore in Quintana Roo
A colorized satellite image from the National Earth Observation Laboratory (LANOT) at UNAM shows sargassum on and near shore May 20 in northern Quintana Roo (at left) and the southern part of the state (at right). (LANOT)

“We have observed a significant increase in the amount of sargassum in the first five nautical miles off the coast in the state of Quintana Roo,” he said.

There are 34 beaches on red alert in the northern part of the state, Amaro said, including numerous beaches in Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. In southern Quintana Roo, there are 31 beaches on red alert, mainly in and near Mahahual, another popular tourist destination.

Forecasts indicate sargassum will continue to increase on the Riviera Maya’s shores. According to monitoring reports, the first week of June will see larger quantities of sargassum wash ashore in both the northern and southern parts of the state, partly due to intensifying strong winds coming from the southeast.

The amount of sargassum has overwhelmed local business owners, who said it has exceeded the capacity of cleaning brigades.

A sargassum collection workers shovels seaweed in Playa del Carmen on Tuesday.
A sargassum collection workers shovels seaweed in Playa del Carmen on Tuesday. (Elizabeth Ruiz / Cuartoscuro.com)

Earlier this month, the Navy announced the deployment of an additional 150 personnel to support the cleaning and containment efforts of the seaweed before it reaches the shores of Quintana Roo. Furthermore, authorities added a new sargassum collection vessel that can collect up to 600 tons daily on the high seas, compared to the 250 tons that were previously collected.

But collection efforts don’t come without risks for workers. A new study conducted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) found that workers who collected sargassum on beaches in Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Mahahual suffered headaches, rashes, nausea, difficulty breathing and other health issues after exposure to the hydrogen sulfide that is released by the algae as it decomposes. 

With reports from La Jornada  and El Economista

El Jalapeño: Mexico, EU sign historic trade deal to bravely protect world from duty-free sombrero shot glasses

By
El Jalapeno
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Negotiations have been called "the most signficant safeguards for humanity in the modern era." (This image created using AI tools)

All stories in El Jalapeño are satire and not real news. Check out the original article here.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico and the European Union have signed a long-awaited modernized trade agreement that will liberalize 99% of goods between the two economies, while firmly safeguarding humanity from the dangers of tariff-free Corona-branded tank tops and tequila-themed kitchen décor.

Officials hailed the deal as “a landmark in open markets and common sense,” explaining that while automobiles, machinery, avocados, and pharmaceuticals will flow freely, a tightly guarded remaining 1% of products will continue to face tariffs. These include novelty ponchos printed with the Eiffel Tower wearing a sombrero, distressed denim with “Cancún Spring Break 2011” pre-faded on the backside, and any shot glass shaped like a cactus, toilet or breast.

Some items are too dangerous to be allowed unregulated on the open market. (This image generated using AI tools)

Negotiators said the exclusions emerged after “intense and highly technical discussions” in which both sides agreed that some items were simply too culturally important to be sold unregulated. One European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We can manage Mexican steel and Mexican cars. What we cannot manage is another shipment of glitter keychains that say ‘Viva la Fiesta, Vallarta.’ There must be limits.”

The pact also preserves restrictions on Corona-branded resort wear produced in Mexico but designed in boardrooms that have never seen the sun, as well as LED-lit “Day of the Dead” garden gnomes targeted at Northern European consumers. “These products will remain subject to strict tariffs designed to discourage their existence,” a European official confirmed.

Business groups broadly applauded the agreement, though tourist gift shop lobbyists expressed concern that the carve-outs could harm sales of their flagship products: sombrero-shaped wine corks, fake-permanent ‘spring break’ wristbands, and decorative skulls that double as Bluetooth speakers. In a joint statement, negotiators said they were confident the deal would boost trade, deepen cooperation, and, over time, gently nudge both sides toward a future with fewer export-quality “Life’s a beach” T-shirts.

Check out our Jalapeño archive here.

Got an idea for a Jalapeño article? Email us with your suggestions!

Is this Tamaulipas city protected by UFOs?

By
Alan Chazaro
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Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas has become a hotbed for alien rumors
Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas has become a hotbed for alien rumors, with some residents believing an offshore UFO base protects them from hurricanes. (Gobierno de Ciudad Madero)

Mexico is no stranger to surrealism. In fact, the surrealist Spanish painter Salvador Dali once proclaimed that the exuberantly spontaneous nation is more surreal than even his most imaginative works. You can see it all in Mexico: a beer-bellied Spider-Man climbing various objects in a plaza at midday to gain some coins; armies of dancing Dr. Simi’s on bustling corners; firefighters rescuing a cat from a tree while a nearby quinceañera proceeds below, uninterrupted. The Mexican internet has even dubbed it all as a cultural joke, often with the title “Mexico vs. AI” — that is, anything comical and or captured on video that represents Mexico’s seemingly fictional scenarios and people.

So, it’s not completely shocking when something like an entire beach community of residents believes that an underwater extraterrestrial spaceship is hiding offshore — and builds signage and monuments in their honor. But that’s exactly what has been going on in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas at Playa Miramar in Ciudad Madero, bordering on Tampico.

Are aliens protecting the city?

Playa Miramar wedding in Ciudad Madero
In addition to being a picturesque site for weddings, Playa Miramar is protected by aliens, according to local legends and lore in Ciudad Madero. (Roberto Arcide/Unsplash)

Rather than being a joke or a gimmick, it’s believed that the outer space visitors have protected the city from any significant hurricane damage since 1996, when the last major hurricane, Inez, killed 74 across Mexico and damaged Tamaulipas. Before that, multiple hurricanes, including two in 1933, had left the city flooded and devastated. But, tellingly, that hasn’t happened since reports of aliens emerged. 

Amupac — the name that has been given to the alleged alien base that is believed to be submerged less than one mile from the beachhead — is a symbol of regional optimism and hope that dates back more than half a century. The Association of Scientific UFO Research of Tamaulipas, or Aicot, was founded over a decade ago by Juan Carlos Ramón López Díaz, the group’s leader, who says he “visited the base … via astral projection,” according to a report in The Guardian. Today, they continue to promote their beliefs around it, and there are rumblings of a potential UFO museum on the horizon.

Last October, Marciano Fest, a seven-day alien-themed festival, took place with 947 costumed attendees. The city’s tourism director has announced that the local government is open to proposals for UFO museum exhibits in an effort to increase its alien-loving reputation. 

A history of alien sightings and conspiracy theories

Formal documentation of UFO sightings (or OVNI, for Objeto Volador No Identificado, in Spanish) can be traced to as early as 1967, when “thousands” of residents reported nine unidentified flying objects in an article published in El Sol de Tampico. In recent years, Vice has interviewed community elders like Beatriz García, who adamantly claim that the beach is protected by an unknown extraterrestrial force. Vice shared that in 2022, Tropical Storm Karl “took a sharp turn away from that part of the shoreline, and connected further south on the Gulf Coast of Mexico.” (To be fair, Vice did also speak with a coastal meteorologist who debunked it all).

In 2005, with Hurricane Katrina projected to hit, locals gathered with signs asking for help and protection. Katrina famously then veered off course and significantly damaged New Orleans, Louisiana. There are conflicting theories as well that are based in religion and science, two forces that are historically at odds with each other.

An emblem of regional identity

Beyond the lore, debates, and conspiracy theories, though, one thing is certainly true: the community has rallied around it all and turned it into a prideful emblem of the region, replete with statues, signs, costumes, graffiti, restaurants, conferences and more — all centered around Amupac and its otherworldly inhabitants.

 

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It all adds to the ongoing allure of Mexico, which in and of itself often appears to exist in a different dimension altogether. That’s because there aren’t too many destinations in the world where you can speak with a local beachgoer and his nephew who are dressed up as aliens, then cross the street and get tacos and a beer at an alien-themed eatery, all while soaking up the sun and enjoying your time in the most surreal fashion.

Alan Chazaro is the author of “These Spaceships Weren’t Built For Us” (Tia Chucha Press, 2026), “Notes from the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge” (Ghost City Press, 2021), “Piñata Theory” (Black Lawrence Press, 2020), and “This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album” (Black Lawrence Press, 2019). He is a graduate of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and was selected as a Lawrence Ferlinghetti Poetry Fellow at the University of San Francisco. His work can be found in NPR, The Guardian, SLAM, GQ, L.A. Times, and more. He is currently based in Veracruz.

The very best serenades from Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema

By
Lydia Leija
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Serenade scenes in Mexican cinema
A serenade was often sung by "Golden Age" Mexican movie stars, some of the greatest of whom were not coincidentally also great singers. (Daily Motion)

Picture this: a man walks through the street at night, followed by musicians. He looks at a house’s door, then lifts his eyes to the balcony and starts singing. A light comes on. The balcony door opens to reveal a woman’s face behind the curtain. Surprised but not unpleased, she has just fallen for the one who brought the music. As its name suggests, it occurs in the intimacy of night (the word “serenata” comes from the Latin serenus, meaning the humid environment after dusk).

The tradition of dedicating a song to your significant other dates back centuries. During the Middle Ages, people drew inspiration from troubadour songs and lyrics to create a particular romantic ritual that would travel with Spanish colonizers to the Americas. Once established in our continent, this tradition quickly took root, eventually incorporating Indigenous elements. These influences shaped the way serenatas are played, with mariachi groups becoming their perfect, eclectic performers, ultimately creating the distinct type of serenade we know today.

Nowhere is the emotional power of these serenades more evident than in the movies of Cine de Oro Mexicano (the “Golden Age” of Mexican cinema), one of the greatest periods of the nation’s film history, running from 1936 to 1956. Whenever our main character (usually a man) did or said something wrong, he would come to apologize with a love song. Sticking with revolutionary and post-revolutionary gender standards, serenades became more than just songs — they represented rare spaces where a macho man could show vulnerability. This window of liberation and the romantic lyrics turned serenades into some of the most acclaimed scenes in Mexican cinema, a legacy that persists today.

‘Dos Tipos de Cuidado’

Serenata Dos Tipos de Cuidado (Letra)

This all-time favorite follows two main characters, embodied by the most popular male stars of Cine de Oro: Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete. Pedro is Pedro Malo, Jorge is Jorge Bueno. The tangled love story becomes a love square rather than a love triangle. Pedro and Jorge, once best friends, become each other’s deadliest enemies. Malo married Bueno’s girlfriend, so the second one tries to get revenge. As the story develops, we get clues about what actually happened between them.

When Pedro and Jorge decide it’s time to open their hearts to the women they love, they simultaneously fill their balconies with music, in an involuntary duet that is a delightful scene for anyone watching “Dos Tipos de Cuidado.”

‘Enamorada’

malagueña salerosa - maria felix - pedro armendariz

“Enamorada” portrays Revolutionary Mexico, set in Cholula, Puebla. General José Juan Reyes arrives with his troops from Emiliano Zapata’s army to take over the city, confiscating land from the wealthy to redistribute to the peasants. The course of events shifts with the appearance of Beatriz Peñafiel, a member of the local elite. The general, never before in love, is captivated by her. After a series of uneasy encounters, he decides one evening to bring a serenade to Beatriz’s home.

The movie’s cast is no accident. The general is played by Pedro Armendáriz, who embodied the ideal revolutionary in Cine de Oro’s films. Beatriz is played by María Félix, celebrated for her beauty and strong character. They create a tension on set that surpasses sweetness. Their scenes feel more like a romantic confrontation — an intimate representation of the war they immerse themselves in.

The film’s magnetic serenade scene is so appealing because María Félix delivers a great performance with her eyes alone. Through them, Beatriz shows she is emotionally conflicted but also gains power over him. She decides not to show up and leaves Reyes waiting for her on her doorstep.

‘El Rey del Barrio’

Tin Tan y Silvia Pinal El Rey del Barrio_Contigo

Almost all Cine de Oro movies feature more than one classic Mexican star. “El Rey del Barrio” is no exception. Silvia Pinal joins Tin Tan (Germán Valdés) in this 1950 film. Like a comic-book Robin Hood, Valdes’ character, Tin Tan, has a double life. By day, he works as a railwayman. He also makes rich women fall in love with him, scams them and gives their wealth to the poor. Pinal’s character, Carmelita, babysits Tin Tan’s son, slowly growing fond of “El Rey del Barrio.” After some drinks, Tin Tan confesses his sketchy occupation. When Carmelita shows no alarm, the serenade begins, suggesting she may be the one. 

Away from the canon of the mariachi serenades, Tin Tan’s drunkard serenata in a vecindad (an old building turned into multifamily dwellings) is yet another of the twists the comedian used to perform on popular culture. Carmelita will become not only his accomplice but also his greatest motivation to change his life.

To stand the test of time

​Although a heteronormative tradition, serenatas have transcended the barrier of time, gender and language, with the genre evolving to feature movies like “Say Anything,” with John Cusack opting for a boombox instead of a guitar — but still waiting for his loved one to see him from her window. Even though it’s not very common, lovers still hire mariachi bands to express their feelings on special occasions. Serenades are, then, an undeniable way to express love (or regret) whenever things get difficult. And, not to spoil the films, but it works almost every time.

Any serenade scenes you think we should have mentioned? Let us know in the comments!

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.

Behind Mexico’s low unemployment rate, a surge in informal work and shrinking formal sector

By
MND Staff
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Workers on scaffolding with Mexico City's Torre Latinoamericano in the background
Workers install scaffolding in downtown Mexico City, in preparation for the World Cup. The event is expected to provide a temporary boost to the national economy. (Moisés Pablo / Cuartoscuro.com)

Annual job creation at the end of the first quarter of this year was the third-lowest in 15 years, driven by gains in the informal sector.

Mexico’s active workforce increased by 551,651 people in the first quarter of the year compared to last year, the national statistics agency INEGI reported on Tuesday.That was the lowest positive job creation figure for the same period since the end of Q1 2011, when Mexico added just 534,469 positions over 12 months.

The worst job creation result in the last fifteen years was the annual loss of over 2 million jobs at the end of the first quarter of 2021. The Mexican economy shed a large number of jobs in 2020, when the COVID pandemic and associated restrictions caused a sharp contraction. The second-worst job creation result in the past 15 years was the loss of almost 120,000 jobs between Q1 of 2024 and Q1 of 2025.

Perhaps even more concerning than the most recent year-over-year job creation figure is that the size of Mexico’s formal sector workforce shrank in the 12 months leading up to the end of March.

The net addition of 551,651 people to Mexico’s workforce between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 was the result of the creation of 583,153 informal sector jobs and the loss of 31,502 formal sector positions.

Mexico has a huge informal sector that employs well over half of all Mexican workers. These workers, including street vendors and many domestic workers, do not have access to formal sector employment benefits, such as paid vacations. They generally don’t pay income tax.

Analyst: ‘Mexico’s labor market continues to show a deterioration’

In a social media post on Tuesday, the director of economic analysis at Banco Base, Gabriela Siller, highlighted that formal sector employment declined during five consecutive quarters between Q1 of 2025 and Q1 of 2026.

The sustained decline, she wrote, amounts to “a negative streak that had historically only been seen in periods linked to economic recessions.”

Siller also said that “Mexico’s labor market continues to show a deterioration consistent with the economic stagnation.”

Mexico’s economy contracted 0.6% on a quarter-over-quarter basis in the first three months of 2026, while annual growth in the same period was just 0.4%. The sequential contraction was the third of its kind in the past six quarters.

Rogelio Gómez Hermosillo, president of the Citizens’ Action Front against Poverty, put things bluntly: “The economy isn’t creating the quality jobs we need.”

Key Q1 employment data 

Among the other key employment data derived from INEGI’s first quarter National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE) was that Mexico’s unemployment rate averaged 2.6% between January and March. President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that Mexico has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world.

But Siller said that the unemployment rate is only low because the informal sector “absorbs” people who are unable to find opportunities in the formal sector.

While there are limited unemployment schemes in some parts of Mexico, including Mexico City, the federal government doesn’t offer any unemployment benefits, forcing many people without jobs to seek to make ends meet anyway they can. For millions of Mexicans, that means working in the informal sector.

In its first quarter ENOE statement, INEGI also reported that the informality rate between January and March was 54.8%, up from 54.3% a year earlier.

“Over half of the Mexican workforce lacks benefits and social security, which hinders the country’s progress by keeping workers in a vulnerable situation,” said Fernando Bermúdez Pire, director of corporate relations at staffing company ManpowerGroup.

Bermúdez said that “it is imperative to implement more flexible formal hiring mechanisms and labor formalization policies that are in line with current realities.”

INEGI also reported that 6.6% of workers — some 3.9 million people — were underemployed in the first quarter of 2026, meaning they weren’t working as many hours as they wanted to. The underemployment rate remained unchanged from a year earlier.

Informality rate rises further in April 

Two days after publishing first quarter employment data, INEGI released the results of its National Occupation and Employment Survey for April.

While the unemployment rate fell slightly to 2.5%, the informality rate rose to reach 55.2%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from Q1.

A total of 448,146 new jobs were created in April, but close to 99.9% of those positions were informal sector ones. Compared to the end of March, Mexico’s formal sector workforce increased by just 608 people.

Jobs were lost in both the agricultural and services sectors in April compared to the previous month, but the secondary sector, which includes manufacturing and construction, added over 1.1 million jobs, resulting in the net growth of almost 450,000 positions. While more than 550,000 construction jobs were created last month, many of the positions in that sector are informal ones.

INEGI’s data also show that the year-over-year gain in jobs was 704,051 at the end of April.

Almost 230,000 formal sector job losses in 2026

In the year to the end of last month, 220,991 new jobs were created, increasing the size of Mexico’s workforce to just over 60.6 million, according to INEGI

The net gain of 220,991 jobs this year is the result of the addition of 450,502 informal sector position and the loss of 229,511 formal sector ones. The decrease in formal sector employment this year appears to be linked to the sequential economic contraction in the first quarter.

“The deterioration of the formal sector continue to be evident,” said Siller, who noted that economic growth in April remained low, at 0.3% in both month-over-month and annual terms, according to preliminary data.

“… Mexico remains trapped in a low efficiency cycle while the informality trend is not reversing,” she said.

What will happen in Mexico’s labor market and economy in the remainder of 2026?

The upcoming FIFA men’s World Cup, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada, should give a boost — albeit a temporary one — to economic growth and could help create additional jobs, especially considering that a significant number of tourists are expected to come to Mexico during the six-week-long tournament.

Sheinbaum has said that an increase in infrastructure spending in the second half of the year, including due to the commencement of new public-private projects, will also spur economic growth, although the Bank of Mexico this week cut its 2026 growth forecast from 1.6% to 1.1%.

While new infrastructure projects should contribute to an increase in employment, reducing Mexico’s stubbornly high — and increasing — informality rate remains a major challenge.

Siller said that “structural” informality not only “compromises workers’ wellbeing,” but also places Mexico’s capacity for long-term growth at risk.

With reports from El Economista

Bees need a place to stay, so Durango local officials built them hotels

By
MND Staff
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0
Students and personnel of the agricultural-technical school CBTa 47 observe one of the first bee hotels in the state of Durango. (CBTa 47 León Guzmán)

Bees in the northern state of Durango now have something most insects never get: a place to check in, rest and ride out the weather.

In the city of Gómez Palacio, researchers from the Juárez University of the State of Durango (UJED) and city officials have so far installed about 10 wooden “insect hotels” in parks and schools to shelter bees and other pollinators from heat, cold and rain while they nest and hibernate.

Bees aren’t the only pollinators at work in the environment, but Mexico’s 1,400 bee species are vital to most of the flowering plants in the country. (Oktay Yildis / Unsplash)

With plans to set up even more, the program is responding to what scientists describe as an alarming disappearance of pollinators in northern Mexico, threatening crops and the wider ecosystem.

The structures are built from recycled wood, pallets, reeds and sticks to create crevices where insects can take refuge and reproduce. They can be as small as shoebox-sized to as large as a stack of pallets.

This month, students at one school in the area joined the effort by building the “Pollinator Garden with a Hotel for Insects” for World Bee Day.

The agricultural-technical school CBTa 47 received training and support from three workshops led by biologists from UJED. Their small garden and shelter aims to attract and support bees and other pollinators, the school said on Facebook.

The overall UJED project began about five years ago at the university’s Faculty of Biological Sciences, where researchers placed the first shelter adjacent to an ethnobotanical garden planted with insect‑attracting species.

Their large “hotel” protects its garden “guests” from extreme weather and doubles as a teaching tool.

Ilse Estefanía Segura Zarzosa, Gómez Palacio’s ecology and environmental protection director, has overseen construction of the “hotels” in La Esperanza Park and nearby schools — with students designing and installing many of them.

She recounted with glee how the project’s “first tenant” was a stick insect, sometimes called a walking stick, a 12-centimeter herbivore that had not been seen locally for years.

“There we had live evidence that insects use these spaces and that the project really works,” she said.

Mexico hosts some 1,740 wild bee species, according to the National Biodiversity Information System, and more than 80% of its flowering plants depend on animal pollinators, the international coalition Promote Pollinators reports.

Researchers warn that habitat loss, pesticides, monoculture farming and drought are putting many bee populations at risk — even urban bees in Mexico City.

Officials in Gómez Palacio — a city of 301,500 in the La Laguna metro area of 1.5 million, which includes Torreón, Coahuila — say the next step is to pair every park hotel with a pollinator garden, creating pocket habitats where weary bees can find both shelter and food.

The program also wants to continue expanding into schools.

“What is known is valued, and what is valued is cared for,” said UJED professor Mauricio López, explaining that when a child understands the benefit provided by an insect, a leaf, or a plant, it generates a positive long-term impact.

With reports from Milenio and El Sol de Laguna

16 striking teachers injured after town leaders attack blockade in Oaxaca

By
MND Staff
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8
protesters in Mitla, Oaxaca
The protesting teachers scattered after being forcibly removed from the barrier they set up in the town of Mitla, Oaxaca, but not before setting fire to a vehicle. (Carolina Jiménez Mariscal / Cuartoscuro.com)

The dissident CNTE teachers union broke off talks with the federal government on Wednesday after protesters were violently removed from a blockade they had established in the town of Villa de Mitla, Oaxaca.

CNTE members were in meetings with the Interior Ministry in the capital attempting to resolve long-standing labor issues when news of the attack prompted the teachers to abandon the negotiating table.

Mitla Mayor Esaú López
Mitla Mayor Esaú López, seen here at a press conference after the events of Wednesday, said he would gladly accept reponsibility for his actions if they help put an end to the constant disruptive protests by the CNTE in his town and others. (Carolina Jiménez Mariscal / Cuartoscuro.com)

The CNTE — led by Oaxaca-based Section 22 of the union — began new protests this week demanding a better wage package than was offered earlier this month and the abrogation of the 2019 Education Reform Law, among other things.

Hundreds of teachers set up a protest camp at the edge of Mexico City’s Centro Histórico on Monday, while members of Section 22 established similar camps in Oaxaca city and elsewhere in that southern state.

In Villa de Mitla — a Pueblo Mágico about 45 kilometers east of the state capital — Section 22 teachers began blockading Federal Highway 90 connecting Oaxaca city to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on Wednesday morning. Members of the community immediately objected, brandishing stones and threatening to tear down the barricades.

Around noon, Mitla Mayor Esaú López arrived with a contingent of armed men who after a brief dialogue forcibly evicted the protesters. Shots were fired and at least 16 teachers were hospitalized. 

CNTE blocking ciruito interior
CNTE protesters relax as they block traffic on Mexico City’s Circuito Interior on Thursday. (Rogelio Morales / Cuartoscuro.com).

The protesters in Mitla scattered but not before setting fire to a truck alongside the highway and reinforcing their camp in Oaxaca city’s main square. At the same time in Mexico City, CNTE members walked across Alameda Park and blocked a main intersection of Reforma Avenue, wreaking havoc during Wednesday rush hour. 

Mayor López, a member of the ruling party Morena, on Thursday accepted responsibility for Wednesday’s violence, but said the teachers were the aggressors and roughed up some members of his delegation as well as bystanders before shots were fired. He insisted he was not sure where the shots came from.

López submitted a formal request for a leave of absence on Thursday morning, adding that if his actions helped put an end to the constant Section 22 demonstrations he’d gladly accept the consequences. He was later summoned by prosecutors for questioning.

With reports from La Jornada, La Crónica and Proceso

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