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Former Sheinbaum advisor Ernestina Godoy sworn in as attorney general

By
MND Staff
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Ernestina Godoy at her confirmation hearing as attorney general
The Mexican Senate confirmed Ernestina Godoy as federal attorney general on Wednesday, with 97 votes in favor, 19 opposed and 11 abstentions. (Cuartoscuro.com)

Ernestina Godoy, a former Mexico City attorney general and legal advisor to President Claudia Sheinbaum, was sworn in as federal attorney general on Wednesday after the Mexican Senate approved her appointment.

Godoy, who was appointed interim attorney general after Alejandro Gertz Manero resigned last week, was one of three female candidates on a short list submitted to the Senate by Sheinbaum.

Senators from the ruling Morena party and its allies were joined by the six Citizens’ Movement party senators as well as three National Action Party (PAN) senators in voting in favor of the appointment of Godoy to a nine-year term as attorney general.

The final vote count was 97 votes in favor and 19 against, with 11 senators casting invalid votes.

Lilly Téllez and Ricardo Anaya, both of whom represent the PAN, were among the senators who invalidated their votes. “No to the mafiocracy,” Téllez wrote on her ballot.

Before the Senate voted to appoint her as Mexico’s second female attorney general, Godoy presented her vision for the role.

She said that a Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) she leads would have “open doors” and wouldn’t “fabricate culprits” or engage in a campaign of “political persecution.”

“But I tell you now,” Godoy added. “There will be no impunity.”

Godoy also pledged that an FGR she leads will coordinate closely with federal and state authorities, as Sheinbaum advocated in remarks last week.

“An Attorney General’s Office that acts alone is destined to fail,” she said.

“Autonomy is strengthened with coordination, intelligence and the vision of the state,” Godoy said, adding that the FGR would not just collaborate with security authorities, such as the Omar García Harfuch-led federal Security Ministry, but also state Attorney General’s Offices, human rights organizations and commissions, and “other institutions.”

The FGR, however, won’t be subordinated by any authority, she stressed.

“Justice is not negotiated,” Godoy said.

Attorney General Gertz resigns after nearly 7 scandal-filled years on the job

She also said that “the conduct” of the FGR “must be humanist” and based on “love for the homeland, honesty, a vocation of service, respect for human rights, professionalism and efficacy.”

The “true challenge,” she said, is to “reestablish citizens’ confidence” in the FGR and the delivery of justice.

“And that’s achieved with transparency, with accountability, with decisions based on evidence, with respect for human rights, with verifiable results,” Godoy said.

She also said that in order to combat organized crime — a huge challenge for the federal government — the country needs an FGR that doesn’t just investigate people, but also “the money trail.”

Among the high-profile unresolved cases Godoy inherits as attorney general are those involving the disappearance of 43 teacher’s college students in Guerrero in 2014 and corruption allegations against former Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya, who has been awaiting trial for years.

Opposition questions Godoy’s closeness to Sheinbaum and Morena

Opposition senators asserted that the process to select a new attorney general from the three candidates put forward by Sheinbaum was a “simulation” to install a fiscal carnala, or government-friendly attorney general.

Godoy served as Mexico City attorney general during Sheinbaum’s 2018-23 mayorship in the capital, and more recently served as the president’s top legal advisor. The 71-year-old attorney general and the 63-year-old president have had a close working relationship for years and helped former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) create the Morena party, which has now been in power at the federal level for seven years.

Opposition senators questioned Godoy’s affiliation with Morena, a party she represented in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. She hugged and kissed Morena senators during her appearance in the Senate on Wednesday.

President Sheinbaum stands behind Ernestina Godoy at a press conference
Ernestina Godoy, seen here at a July press conference, was President Sheinbaum’s chief legal advisor until last week, when she resigned to take the position of interim attorney general. She has now been confirmed to lead the attorney general’s office, no longer in an interim capacity. (Daniel Augusto / Cuartoscuro.com)

Téllez, the PAN senator, asked Godoy whether she would “give impunity” to Morena’s Senate leader Adán Augusto López Hernández, who opposition parties allege engaged in criminal conduct when he was governor of Tabasco.

She also asked the new attorney general whether she would “bury investigative files” related to Andy López Beltrán, a son of AMLO who the PAN has accused of committing a range of crimes including fuel smuggling.

Godoy emphasized her commitment to holding anyone who has committed a crime to account, and protecting and defending victims.

López Hernández, whose security minister during his governorship in Tabasco is now imprisoned and accused of heading up a criminal organization, was one of the senators who approached Godoy and gave her a hug after she was sworn in as attorney general, the El Universal newspaper reported.

The Reforma newspaper ran a headline that claimed that Godoy is “totalmente Palacio Nacional” (totally National Palace), a play on the “totalmente palacio” marketing slogan of the Palacio de Hierro department store chain.

The implication was that Godoy is too close to Sheinbaum, whose office and residence is at the National Palace in the historic center of Mexico City.

Sheinbaum: Godoy’s appointment will be ‘very good for the country’

At her Thursday morning press conference, Sheinbaum expressed her satisfaction with the appointment of Godoy as attorney general.

“Ernestina is an honest woman, a great professional,” she said before noting Godoy’s experience as attorney general in Mexico City.

Sheinbaum went on to say that she believes that the approval of Godoy as attorney general will be “very good for the country.”

“… There will be a lot more coordination now between the Security Ministry, the Attorney General’s Office, the National Guard, and we also hope that she is a leader that strengthens the relationship with the state Attorney General’s Offices,” she said.

Sheinbaum said that the fact that the FGR is autonomous doesn’t mean there can’t be coordination with other authorities.

“Autonomy means that the [federal] executive doesn’t influence the decisions of the Federal Attorney General’s Office,” she said.

“But we want coordination to guarantee peace and security in the country … and reduce impunity,” Sheinbaum said.

With reports from Milenio, Reforma, La Jornada and El Universal 

More Mexican women are climbing the corporate ladder, but parity remains a distant dream

By
MND Staff
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Mexican woman smiles at the camera in front of a group of coworkers all in business casual attire
Women's business leadership rates in Mexico are slowing increasing, but major gender parity gaps remain. (Shutterstock)

Under President Claudia Sheinbaum — Mexico’s first female president — more and more Mexican women are stepping into positions of power in government and business. It’s a trend that predates her administration, and that she arguably has benefited from. But while gender parity laws have sped the entry of women into government roles, the change in the business world has been slower.

In Mexico, the number of women on company boards has been slowly increasing. In large companies, 17.5% of current board members are women, according to a recent report by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO). That’s a far cry from the average in other developed countries. Among Mexico’s peer countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an average of 32.5% of major companies’ board members are women.

In countries like France and New Zealand, female board representation exceeds 47%. Mexico also lags behind other Latin American countries such as Colombia, Chile and Brazil.

The IMCO report found that 19% of boards are composed exclusively of men, while 13% have no women in either board positions or other relevant management roles. Furthermore, only 5.5% of independent directors are women — compared to 28% of men — and just 4% of women serve as board chairs. 

Although representation of women in financial and legal management positions has advanced, 64% of companies lack female representation in any of their key leadership roles. According to IMCO, women hold only 3% of CEO positions, 15% of CFO positions and 26% of legal positions.

Progress in achieving gender equality in key positions has been consistent but slow, the report found. At the current rate, Mexico won’t achieve parity on corporate boards until 2043.

SMEs in Jalisco include more women than large companies

The report included an analysis focused on the business sector in the state of Jalisco, which is home to more than 365,000 businesses. It revealed that in small and medium-sized enterprises (which make up the vast majority of Jalisco firms) nearly half of the owners are women. However, disparities are greater in large companies. 

Jalisco women tend to lead marketing and human resources departments, while men predominate in operations and technology areas. For every four promotions given to women, five are given to men.

IMCO: Mexico needs more  women on corporate boards

IMCO noted that Mexico could benefit from having women in decision-making positions, as it not only strengthens competitiveness but also boosts their productivity and innovation. But to elevate women’s economic participation from the current rate of 46% to the OECD average of 67%, Mexico would need to incorporate 18.6 million women into the labor market. 

IMCO anticipates that this change could yield significant benefits, potentially increasing the national GDP by 6.9 trillion pesos by 2035.

Mexico News Daily

Here’s how to find Mexico City’s most beautiful and historic Art Deco buildings (and why you should)

By
Andrea Fischer
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Edificio Ermita in Mexico City
Edificio Ermita, one of the most distinctive of Mexico City's Art Deco constructions. (Matthew Rutledge/Wikimedia Commons)

As I was writing a piece on the best vintage libraries in Mexico City, I couldn’t help but wander around Avenida Ámsterdam, in the heart of the Hipódromo neighborhood, to walk its elliptical, tree-lined pedestrian walking path: I wanted to catch a glimpse of the long windowpanes, heavy ironwork and organic forms mixed with geometric patterns characteristic of the most beautiful Art Deco buildings to be found in Mexico City.

As is the case in the Roma area, Mexico City’s Hipódromo neighborhood, carved out of the older La Condesa neighborhood, is one of the inheritors of the Art Deco architectural movement in Mexico City.

Some of the best examples of this design style still stand in Hipódromo, even after withstanding some of the most devastating earthquakes the capital has ever experienced. Here are just a few of the highlights.

Edificio Hipódromo

Edificio Hipódromo in Mexico City
Edificio Hipódromo is an Art Deco landmark in Mexico City. (Octavio Alonso Maya/Wikimedia Commons)

The Hipódromo neighborhood still follows its original design: a racing track. Yes! Present-day Avenida Ámsterdam saw horses run for first place for over a decade, according to the Museo del Objeto’s (MODO) records.

Founded by the Mexican Jockey Club in 1910 as entertainment for the city’s elite, who preferred more European-style sporting events to the popular bullfighting events, the Hipódromo de la Condesa racetrack only lasted 15 years, ceasing to function in 1925. The area soon became purely residential, with Parque Mexico being built on the racetrack site in 1927 and residential lots popping up for sale around it in the years following.

This new neighborhood within Condesa retained its original name, however,

Hipódromo, now often still referred to by people as Hipódromo Condesa. 

The Hipódromo Building on Avenida México, an apartment building constructed in 1929 as part of the change to a residential neighborhood, remains one of the most beautiful examples of Art Deco architecture in this area, featuring broad windowpanes, cantera stone balconies on the first floor, and a marble lobby.

  • Where: Avenida México 87, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc.

Edificio Tehuacán

Edificio Tehuacán has now been repurposed as a hotel in Mexico City, but retains its Art Deco facade. (Facebook)

Built in 1937 by Mexican architect Ernesto Ignacio Buenrostro — to whom the neighborhood owes much of its visual identity — Edificio Tehuacán is one of Mexico City’s Art Deco jewels.

This building is probably as old as the neighborhood itself: Originally a 14-story apartment building, its facade features typical Art Deco-style geometric patterns. With its name written on its marquee, its main entrance is framed by two matching stylistic iron lamps of the period. 

Today, Edificio Tehuacán is open to the public as the Hippodrome Hotel, where visitors can enjoy its world-class suites and terraces.

  • Where: Avenida México 188, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc.

Edificio San Martín

Edificio San Martín
Originally built in 1931, Edificio San Martín still displays its perfect symmetry. (Keizers/Wikimedia Commons)

Also built by Ernesto Ignacio Buenrostro, the apartment building Edificio San Martín displays a seemingly perfect symmetry, which particularly stands out when you look at its stunning main entrance. With concrete reliefs and heavy ironwork on its exterior lamps, the original iron canopy still covers the main entrance.

Built in 1931, the building fell into disuse in the 1940s. It underwent extensive renovation and restoration in the modern era, finished in 1999. To date, it remains an apartment building, housing roughly 216 very lucky families.

  • Where: Avenida México 167, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc.

Plaza Popocatépetl

Plaza Popocatépetl in Mexico City
Plaza Popocatépetl and its fountain have been Art Deco classics in Mexico City since 1927. (Keizers/Wikimedia Commons)

Also known as “Glorieta Popocatépetl,” this plaza, built in 1927, is located on the northern curve of the old Hipódromo de la Condesa. Although this is not exactly a building, it certainly is one of the emblematic examples of Mexico City’s Art Deco movement. 

Originally designed as a fountain, passersby can enjoy it today as a tiny park, as it has been left dry for over a century, only coming alive with water on special occasions. Delightfully decorated with Talavera mosaics from Puebla, its centerpiece is also a testament to the late Symbolist movement in Mexico.

  • Where: Plaza Popocatépetl, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc.

Andrea Fischer contributes to the features desk at Mexico News Daily. She has edited and written for National Geographic en Español and Muy Interesante México, and continues to be an advocate for anything that screams science. Or yoga. Or both.

How to make the most of your next visit to Yucatán

By
Lydia Leija
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Yucatán Peninsula
Holbox Island, on the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, is a great place to visit. (Unsplash/The Free Birds)

There’s something really special about standing on land surrounded by water but covered in huge pyramids and natural, deep pools. Beyond the turquoise waters of the Caribbean and the Riviera Maya, the Yucatán Peninsula holds major archaeological sites, ancient cenotes and some of the greatest flavors in Mexico.

The name Yucatán reportedly comes from the encounter of two completely different worlds. When Spanish colonizers arrived in this part of the country, locals were stunned by the conquistadors’  language and said two things in response: “ma’anaatik ka tánn” (I don’t understand you) and “uh yu ka t’ann” (listen to how they speak) — both expressions in the Mayan language. Supposedly, the Spanish misunderstood that the Maya were telling them where they were, but as time went by, Yucatán became the name of the peninsula and one of Mexico’s states.

Couple dancing in Mérida
The name Yucatán came from the Mayan language, still spoken today by many residents of Mérida. (Unsplash/Matt Hanns Schroeter)

If you’re planning to stay more than a couple of days around Mérida, the capital of the state of Yucatán, the best idea is to rent a car to explore all the natural and human-made wonders the city and its surroundings have to offer.

Mérida

Among the most stunning Mexican destinations, Mérida is a city with low-rise buildings and high security ratings; it’s consistently listed as the safest city in Mexico. Whether you are a night owl or an early bird, Mérida will keep you safe so you can enjoy everything it brings to the table.

One of the stops that’s a must on your itinerary is the Mercado de Santa Ana, on Calle 47, right behind the park that gave the market its name. The food vendors at this community market offer a menu as broad as the crops that grow in the region. From traditional panuchos to colorful fruits, there’s something for every palate.

Once you’ve had breakfast, you can walk a few steps and find Paseo de Montejo, the Yucatecan “Champs-Élysées.”

Museums in Mérida

Although the “French fever” in Mexico is long gone, this corridor, named in honor of the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Montejo, features buildings such as Las Casas Gemelas, two luxurious mansions whose architectural plans even appeared in the French magazine La Construction Moderne, which highlighted their European style and design. Despite some changes being made, the interiors still resemble Parisian mansions, and they have turned into one of the most visited museums in the city.

Not far from Las Casas Gemelas, the same architect built Palacio Cantón, a colonial palace that now houses the Museo Regional de Antropología. Entering the building feels contradictory because while the walls and ceilings scream colonialism, the rooms display different temporary exhibits related to Mexican culture, popular traditions and Mesoamerican archaeology. It no longer has a permanent collection, as its treasures were moved to the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, a 15-minute drive away from Palacio Cantón, on the way to Puerto Progreso. 

Palacio Cantón
Palacio Cantón, a colonial palace that now houses an anthropology museum in Mérida. (INAH)

Even though this museum is located a bit far from the city center, the ride is worthwhile if you are a culture and history buff. The permanent collection holds 1,160 pieces from a wide swath of periods of Maya culture, including textiles, ceramics, jewelry and stelae.

Ice cream, dining and more

Back in the city center, enjoy a delicious sorbet at Sorbetería Colón, one of Mérida’s oldest ice cream shops. As you wait for night to fall, you can take a look at Fernando Castro Pacheco’s murals at the Palacio de Gobierno, which depict different stages of Mexican history and portray characters like Jacinto Canek, a Maya hero who rebelled against the landowners who exploited his people.

Before you leave, you must have dinner at the Museo de la Gastronomía Yucateca, a place to learn and eat at the same time. In every bite, you’ll get to know the ingredients that make this one of the best places to taste the peninsula’s cuisine. And, if you are a foodie, keep an eye on their social media to find out when you can witness the unearthing of the traditional cochinita pibil, a regional dish that’s cooked underground.

Merida’s ring of ancient cenotes

Before you leave the Yucatán peninsula, don’t miss out on seeing the pristine waters of a cenote. The Maya considered these natural underground pools a portal to the underworld, and it’s no wonder why: Cenotes — or sinkholes — are windows to the intricate water system that lies beneath the peninsula.

The formation of this ring of cenotes owes its existence to the same ancient asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. Its impact weakened the land around where it landed, leaving a lot of crumbling caves that became these amazing cenotes. 

A fun fact: You can tell the age of a cenote by how open it is. The roof of the underground cave collapses with time, so as they age, they look less like a cave and more like a pond.

Cenote in the Yucatán peninsula
The Maya consider cenotes like this one portals to the underworld. (Unsplash/Marco Murakami)

One of the best options for visiting various cenotes in a day is heading to the town of Cuzamá. This place is known for its route of three cenotes, with each one offering a completely different experience. Instead of walking, you can travel the route in small mule-drawn wagons, enjoying the natural beauty along the way.

As you enter these deep natural pools, beware of the damage that visiting can bring to them and the ecosystem they support. Avoid using chemical products like sunscreen, makeup or perfume. You’ll be shocked by the wonders cenote water can do for your skin!

Celestún

Puerto Progreso is the closest beach to Mérida, but if you’re willing to drive a little bit further, Celestún is a perfect place to see the ocean, not just for its beautiful sunsets and delicious food but also for the protected mangrove reserve there at Playa Norte.

Although an opportunity to walk in the Caribbean sand should never be dismissed, the mangrove at Celestún will be the highlight of the visit. As you go into this wetland forest, you’ll see all the species living in this ecosystem — from herons to iguanas. But perhaps the main characters of this landscape are the bright-pink flamingos that enjoy the mangrove’s waters.

Izamal

The community of Izamal is a beam of sunlight in the middle of Yucatán’s jungle. Even if you wanted to, it’s impossible to take your eyes off the yellow buildings that give the small town its nickname, “la ciudad amarilla.” It has also been called the “City of Three Cultures,” as it combines Mesoamerican constructions, colonial buildings and contemporary architecture.

A few blocks away from the town’s main square, you can find Kinich Kakmó, a huge architectural complex created by the local Maya between 400 to 700 A.D. This pyramid is one of the tallest Mesoamerican buildings in Mexico, and some interpretations of its name have suggested that it means “fire macaw with sun face,” referring to the unceasing sunlight that covers the town year-round.

Convento de San Antonio de Padua in Izamal
This convent in Izamal is as sunny as the destination itself. (Gobierno de Estado de Yucatán)

After a long walk around town, you can make a stop at Kinich Izamal, a restaurant whose menu is full of local recipes. It has a wooden kitchen with a dedicated area for making tortillas from scratch and some of the most traditional dishes of the region.

A week isn’t enough

Whether you come for history, nature or food, a week in Yucatán will not be enough, so be careful: Once you taste the peninsula’s charm, you might find yourself planning your return trip before you’ve even left.

Lydia Leija is a linguist, journalist, and visual storyteller. She has directed three documentary films, and her audiovisual work has been featured in national and international media. She’s been part of National Geographic, Muy Interesante, and Cosmopolitan.

Does alien-crazed Tampico, home of the Martian Fest, have a UFO museum in its future?

By
MND Staff
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Alien costume
The state of Tamaulipas is already attracting thousands of UFO buffs for conferences, alien-themed festivals and sales of green alien hats, plush toys and T-shirts, along with UFO merchandise and photos. (@PachitaRex/X)

Plans for a UFO museum are gaining traction in Tampico, Tamaulipas — a northeastern Mexican city on the Gulf of Mexico where alien-themed tourism has grown from a local curiosity into a craze.

Vendors in municipal markets and at Miramar Beach have for a while been reporting strong sales of green alien hats, plush toys and T-shirts, often outpacing traditional souvenirs tied to beach activities and local wildlife.

Tourists from Mexico and abroad often leave with UFO merchandise and photos from spots associated with alleged sightings.

And some come to the area expressly in search of those things — such as the estimated 20,000 people who in late October attended Marciano Fest, a weeklong UFO- and extraterrestrial-themed festival that concluded with 947 people dressing up as aliens.

Meanwhile, researcher Nembra del Carmen Jiménez is reviving a project she first presented in 2012: to establish a UFO Museum in Tampico built around her archive of images and materials.

She has documented alleged spacecraft and mysterious spheres over Tampico and neighboring municipalities since the 1980s, along with objects she says show unusual electromagnetic behavior.

Her material also includes coordinates tied to a supposed underwater, magnetic, extraterrestrial base off Miramar Beach, which local legend credits with deflecting hurricanes for the past 70 years (as seen in season 1, episode 3 of the Netflix docuseries “Investigation Alien”).

City officials say they are open to adding a UFO-focused venue; the tourism director has said authorities are willing to hear proposals and view potential exhibits, noting growing public interest in extraterrestrial themes.

Separately, private investors have proposed an alien-themed museum along the Cortadura Canal, as well as a fishing museum, as part of a broader push to redevelop port and customs areas for tourism.

Tampico already hosts UFO-related conferences and mass events such as Marciano Fest in October, which included an attempt to set a Guinness World Record when 947 people dressed up as aliens.

Participants in these events have included renowned Ufologists such as Mexican Jaime Maussan and Giorgio Tsoukalos, host of “Ancient Aliens” on the History Channel. In 2023, Maussan presented to Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies two bodies that he claimed were 1,000-year-old corpses of extraterrestrials.

The most recent Marciano Fest was centered at Playa Miramar in Ciudad Madero, which is part of the Tampico metropolitan area.

Moreover, the area is home to the Mexican UFO Reporting Center (CROM), a new digital platform that gathers cases, videos, photos and academic explanations “to provide certainty, understand the events, make the data available to experts and expand its reach beyond Tampico.”

Given all this, it’s no surprise that earlier this year, the newspaper Milenio ran a headline: “Tampico seeks to become the UFO capital of the world.”

With reports from Milenio and Posta

Visiting Singapore president announces plans for his nation’s first embassy in Mexico

By
MND Staff
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Singaporean and Mexican presidents
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, president of Singapore, share the stage at the National Palace where it was announced that Singapore will have an embassy in Mexico, only its second in Latin America. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)

The Republic of Singapore will open its first official embassy in Mexico in 2026, Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced this week in a joint statement with Mexico. 

Singapore’s resident embassy in Mexico will be only its second in Latin America, after its office in Brazil, which opened in 2012. Mexico established a resident embassy in Singapore in 1990. 

Shanmugaratnam made the announcement during a state visit to Mexico from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the nations.

President Claudia Sheinbaum and her Singaporean counterpart reaffirmed their commitment to sustaining the flow of trade and investment between Mexico and Singapore. 

Trade and investment should be further strengthened with Mexico’s expected ratification of the Pacific Alliance-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in January 2022. Neither Mexico nor Colombia has yet ratified the agreement, which came into effect in Chile and Peru in May this year. 

At present, Mexico has a trade deficit with Singapore. In 2024, its imports from Singapore totalled US $2.2 billion, compared to $1.4 billion in Mexican exports, according to data from Mexico’s Economy Ministry. 

Sheinbaum lauded the growing interest from Singaporean companies in investing in Mexico, especially in those sectors highlighted in her national development strategy, Plan México, such as technology and innovation, ports, and oil and gas.

The two leaders emphasized their interest in strengthening collaboration in the digital sphere and they aim to facilitate the potential exchange of knowledge and experiences.

During the visit, the two presidents witnessed the signing of two memoranda of understanding on cooperation on coral reef restoration and international cooperation for development.

President Shanmugaratnam also invited President Sheinbaum to conduct a state visit to Singapore at a mutually convenient time.

With reports from Infobae and Bloomberg Linea

Sheinbaum to make first US trip as president Friday: Wednesday’s mañanera recapped

By
MND Staff
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Claudia Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was notified by the U.S. Department of State that "President Trump would be happy to welcome us" at this Friday's World Cup event in Washington, D.C. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)

Mexican workers who tuned into President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday morning press conference had cause for celebration.

Labor Minister Marath Bolaños announced that the minimum wage will increase by 13% in 2026 (read MND’s story here) and presented a proposal to reduce Mexico’s standard workweek to 40 hours by 2030 (read MND’s story here).

Later in the mañanera, Sheinbaum revealed that she is planning to travel to the U.S. this week, and spoke about why she selected three women as candidates to become Mexico’s next attorney general. On Wednesday afternoon, the Senate elected Ernestina Godoy as the attorney general.

Toward the end of her press conference, Sheinbaum commented on a song that has helped disseminate one of her key education priorities.

Sheinbaum to go to DC for World Cup draw, may have ‘brief meeting’ with Trump  

Sheinbaum indicated that she will travel to Washington, D.C. for the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw this Friday, telling reporters that she believed she would go and that “everything seems to indicate that we’re going.”

U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will be at the draw, which will determine which countries will play each other in the group stage of the 48-team tournament that will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada next June and July.

Sheinbaum said she would provide more details about her trip to the U.S. capital on Thursday. She said that the draw, which will take place at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, will be a “very short” event.

Sheinbaum said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was notified by the U.S. Department of State that “President Trump would be happy to welcome us there.”

She also said that she spoke to FIFA president Giovanni Infantino on Tuesday. Infantino, a Swiss-born football administrator who met with Sheinbaum in Mexico City in August, will also be at the draw.

Sheinbaum said that the draw provides a good opportunity for the presidents of Mexico and the United States, and the prime minister of Canada, to get together and present “the image that North America and our trade agreement are moving forward.”

The USMCA free trade pact will undergo a formal review process in 2026.

Asked whether she would meet separately with Trump in Washington D.C., Sheinbaum said that hadn’t been determined. If a meeting were to take place, it would be “very brief,” she said.

Sheinbaum has not yet met face to face with Trump, although the two leaders have spoken on the telephone on numerous occasions.

Trade and security would likely be the main focuses of a bilateral meeting between the two presidents. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on a range of imports from Mexico this year, and the Mexican government has been lobbying U.S. officials for months as it seeks to achieve better trading conditions with its largest trade partner.

Sheinbaum selects 3 women as candidates for attorney general role 

Sheinbaum told reporters that she selected three female candidates as potential replacements for Alejandro Gertz Manero, who resigned as federal attorney general last week.

“I already sent the short list [to the Senate], they’re three women,” she said.

The three women considered for the job were:

  • Ernestina Godoy, a former Mexico City attorney general and legal adviser to President Sheinbaum. Godoy was appointed interim attorney general after Gertz’s resignation.
  • Luz María Zarza Delgado, a former legal director at state oil company Pemex.
  • Maribel Bojorges Beltrán, a former anti-corruption prosecutor in México state.
Ernestina Godoy
Ernestina Godoy was formerly the attorney general of Mexico City and will now be the attorney general of the nation. (Cuartoscuro)

Asked why she only considered women to replace Gertz, Sheinbaum — Mexico’s first female president — responded with a succinct phrase that she commonly uses:

“It’s time for women.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Godoy — who is close to Sheinbaum — was elected attorney general by the Senate. Ninety-seven senators supported her appointment, while 19 opposed it and there were 11 invalid votes.

Sheinbaum remarks become viral song 

A reporter noted that young people are planning a “perreo por la paz” (twerking for peace) gathering to coincide with the so-called pro-government “Marcha del Tigre” (Tiger March) in Mexico City this Saturday.

He said that those who attend the perreo event will dance to a viral song that includes Sheinbaum saying, “Primero hay que construir más preparatorias que queden cerca de la casa” (First we have to build more high schools close that are close to people’s homes).

The president promptly called for the song to be played.

“This is a girl from Jalisco,” she said, referring to the young woman who appears in the video clip for the song.

@radio_formula 🎤📚 Claudia Sheinbaum se vuelve viral: jóvenes le cantan tema creado de su propio discurso#tiktokmehizover #tiktokinforma #México #Sheinbaum #Viral #Cancion ♬ sonido original – Radio Fórmula

“At an event, I don’t even know if it was during the [presidential] campaign or as president, I said: ‘We have to build more high schools that are close to people’s homes.’ That’s exactly what I said at a rally, … I said: ‘We have to build more high schools that are close to people’s homes so that upon leaving middle school you go directly to high school,'” Sheinbaum said.

“… And this girl from Jalisco made this video and it went viral. Now I go places and young people sing the song to me,” she said.

“Why did it go viral? From my point of view [it was] obviously the creativity of this girl who made this video. But secondly, it’s because it’s a necessity,” Sheinbaum said, referring to the need to have high schools that are easily accessible to the nation’s young people.

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

Sheinbaum announces 13% minimum wage hike to 315 pesos a day

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MND Staff
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The monthly minimum wage in 2026 will rise to 9,582.47 pesos.
The monthly minimum wage in 2026 will rise to 9,582.47 pesos. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)

President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday a 13% increase in Mexico’s minimum wage for 2026, the second increase since she became president in October 2024. 

Sheinbaum has promised that by 2030, the basic wage will be enough to purchase 2.5 canastas básicas — a “basket” of the 24 most essential pantry items — per month. 

The increase will lift the minimum wage from the current 278.8 pesos (US $15.30) per day to 315.04 pesos ($17.20) per day starting on Jan. 1, 2026. In the Northern Border Free Zone, the increase will be 5%, with an increase from 419.88 pesos ($23) to 440.87 pesos ($24.10) per day.

“Very good news, an agreement between the business sector and the workers of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said during her Wednesday morning press conference.

The president said that the move had the support of all sectors involved, including the government, unions and employers.

The minimum salary for 61 professions, trades and specialized jobs listed by the government will increase at the same rate as the general minimum wage in their respective geographic areas.

The new general minimum wage calculation is based on the minimum wage in effect in 2025, plus an Independent Recovery Amount (MIR) of 17.01 pesos (90 cents), and a 6.5% adjustment. The MIR was first applied to set the minimum wage in 2017. 

In addition to increasing the minimum wage, Sheinbaum’s government has introduced a wide range of welfare programs to help alleviate poverty nationwide. 

In August, President Sheinbaum said that the social programs and increases to the minimum wage in recent years were the principal reasons why more than 13 million Mexicans were lifted out of poverty between 2018 and 2024. The U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) also credits minimum wage hikes for Mexico’s leadership in reducing poverty in the region.

With reports from lopezdoriga.com

Labor ministry unveils business-backed plan to reduce workweek to 40 hours

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MND Staff
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president as mañanera 2025
President Sheinbaum stands among business leaders at Wednesday's morning press conference, where she announced the finalization of a new minimum wage as well as progress on her plan to reduce the workweek to 40 hours. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)

Mexico’s standard workweek will be reduced by two hours annually in the coming years to reach 40 hours in 2030, according to a proposal presented by the federal government on Wednesday.

Mexico currently has a standard 48-hour, six-day workweek. The establishment of a 40-hour workweek over five days — a demand of workers across the country — requires a reform to the Mexican Constitution.

If approved by Congress, Mexico’s standard workweek will be 46 hours in 2027, 44 hours in 2028, 42 hours in 2029 and 40 hours in 2030. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)

At President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday morning press conference, Labor Minister Marath Bolaños outlined the proposal to gradually reduce the workweek to 40 hours.

He said that the first two-hour reduction to the 48-hour workweek would occur in 2027, with additional reductions in the following years.

Thus, Mexico’s standard workweek is slated to be:

  • 46 hours in 2027
  • 44 hours in 2028
  • 42 hours in 2029
  • 40 hours in 2030, the final year of Sheinbaum’s six-year term.

Bolaños noted that lawmakers will need to approve changes to the constitution and the Federal Labor Law in order to establish a 40-hour workweek.

Constitutional changes require two-thirds congressional support, but achieving that threshold should not be a problem, especially considering that the ruling Morena party and its allies dominate both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

The workweek legislation is expected to be approved in 2026.

Bolaños said that the proposal to reduce the workweek to 40 hours won’t allow workers’ salaries or benefits to be cut.

He said that the establishment of a 40-hour workweek will give workers more time for rest and recreational activities, and have a positive impact on their health, including by reducing fatigue levels, which in turn should reduce workplace accidents.

Citing “previous experiences in other countries” and academic research, Bolaños also said that the reduction in the length of the standard workweek will guarantee “decent working conditions” and lead to an increase in productivity.

In addition to gradually reducing the standard workweek to 40 hours, the proposal presented by the labor minister has a range of other aims. They include:

  • Establishing a limit of a maximum of 12 hours work per day — a regular eight-hour shift plus a maximum of four hours of overtime.
  • Establishing that overtime hours must be paid at double the agreed rate for normal hours.
  • Establishing that workers can’t work overtime hours on more than four days per week.
  • Prohibiting overtime hours for workers aged under 18.

Bolaños stressed that completing overtime hours is not an “obligation” for workers — i.e., they can’t legally be penalized or dismissed by their employers for refusing to work beyond their normal shift.

Workers, business leaders and union reps were consulted 

Bolaños highlighted that the government sought “broad consensus” on the proposal to reduce Mexico’s standard workweek. To achieve that consensus, he noted that forums and roundtable discussions were held across the country between June and late November.

Bolaños said that more than 2,000 people participated in the dialogue, including workers, businesspeople, union representatives, academics and government officials.

Labor minister Bolaños
Bolaños explained on Wednesday that in addition to phasing out the 48-hour standard workweek, the labor reform seeks to cap workdays at 12 hours and establish double pay for overtime, defined as hours 9-12. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)

He said that the planned establishment of a 40-hour workweek is “one of the policies that best condenses the spirit of Mexican Humanism,” the term former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador used to describe the political and economic philosophy of the “fourth transformation” (4T) political project he created and which is now led by Sheinbaum.

“It gives time back to workers so they can freely decide what to do with it and, in this way, have the conditions to achieve both material and spiritual well-being, because we must not forget that time is a finite and irreplaceable resource,” Bolaños said.

Sheinbaum said that in 2026 “companies will make the necessary adjustments to guarantee” that the workweek will decline by two hours per year starting in 2027 in order to reach 40 hours in 2030.

“It doesn’t imply greater costs for the business sector,” she said, adding that some industries will see productivity gains from a shorter working week.

Sheinbaum stressed that workers, the business sector and unions reached a “consensus agreement” on the 40-hour workweek proposal.

For his part, the president of the Business Coordinating Council, an umbrella organization representing 12 business groups, said that a “responsible process of tripartite dialogue” took place before the formulation of the 40-hour workweek proposal.

“For the Mexican business sector, the comprehensive development of workers and their families is a priority,” Francisco Cervantes said, adding that the reduction of the workweek “will bring benefits for companies and for society in general.”

How many Mexicans currently work more than 40 hours per week?

Bolaños presented data from the national statistics agency INEGI that showed that 13.4 million Mexicans currently work more than forty hours per week. That figure represents just over one in five workers, as Mexico’s workforce is made up of around 60 million people.

Of the 13.4 million people who work more than 40 hours per week, 8.6 million are on the job for 41-48 hours, while 2.76 million put in 49-57 hours, according to the INEGI data.

Just over 2 million workers are at work for 58 hours or more per week.

According to INEGI, the sectors with the highest numbers of workers who will benefit from the reduction of the workweek are the manufacturing, retail, hospitality, transport and wholesale commerce industries.

While it will be another 13 months before the gradual reduction of the standard workweek will commence, provided it’s approved by Congress, there have already been some positive changes for Mexican workers under the 4T governments led by López Obrador and Sheinbaum.

The minimum wage has increased, annual paid vacation days have doubled from six to 12 for formal sector workers who have completed one year of employment, and workers now have the legislated right to sit down and take a break during their shifts.

With reports from Sin Embargo and El Economista 

After lackluster Q3, OECD trims growth forecasts for 2025 and 2026

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MND Staff
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four people walking in the rain with umbrellas
The Paris-based organization predicts that Mexico's GDP will increase 0.7% this year and 1.2% in 2026. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cut its 2025 and 2026 growth forecasts for the Mexican economy.

The Paris-based organization predicts that Mexico’s GDP will increase 0.7% this year and 1.2% in 2026. The OECD’s latest forecasts for this year and next are both 0.1 percentage points lower than its predictions in the Economic Outlook, Interim Report published in September.

In the December Economic Outlook report published on Tuesday, the OECD also included a forecast that the Mexican economy will grow 1.7% in 2027.

The OECD’s adjustment to its 2025 forecast came after Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI reported in late November that the Mexican economy grew 0.4% in the first nine months of the year. The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) subsequently cut its 2025 growth forecast for the Mexican economy to 0.3% from a previous prediction of 0.6%.

The OECD’s forecast for 2026 is slightly above Banxico’s 1.1% prediction, but well below the 2.3% projection included in the Mexican government’s 2026 budget documents.

‘Economic activity has weakened’

The OECD explained the rationale for its lower 2025 forecast for the Mexican economy in the Mexico section of its latest Economic Outlook report.

“After remaining resilient during the first half of 2025 despite heightened global uncertainty, economic activity has weakened, with GDP contracting by 0.3% in the third quarter (seasonally adjusted),” the OECD wrote.

Bank of Mexico slashes 2025 economic growth forecast to 0.3%

The organization also noted that “private consumption is moderating in line with a slowdown in formal job creation, particularly within the manufacturing sector.”

“Automotive exports have weakened, whereas non-automotive manufacturing exports have been resilient so far, supported by solid demand from the United States. Private investment continues to be subdued, reflecting high uncertainty,” the OECD added without acknowledging that foreign direct investment hit a record high in the first nine months of 2025.

‘Modest’ growth in 2026 and 2027

The 1.2% forecast expansion for the Mexican economy next year and the 1.7% increase in GDP predicted for 2027 would represent “modest” growth, according to the OECD.

Still, such growth rates would represent significant improvements from the weak performance of the Mexican economy in 2025.

The OECD wrote that “private consumption will be supported by low unemployment and declining inflation” in the next two years.

Mexico’s unemployment rate was just 2.6% in October, while inflation ticked up to 3.61% in the first half of November. Banxico forecasts that inflation will reach its 3% target in the third quarter of 2026, and remain at that level into 2027.

Among the OECD’s other predictions for Mexico in 2026 and 2027 are that:

  • Private investment will gradually benefit from lower interest rates, though it will remain constrained by high domestic and global uncertainty.
  • Public investment will remain subdued as part of efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit.
  • Export growth will be dampened by trade tariffs and high global uncertainty.

The OECD said that “a swift and successful renegotiation” of the USCMCA trade pact between Mexico, the United States and Canada in 2026 could help to reduce uncertainty and thus “support investment and exports more strongly than currently anticipated.”

How does Mexico’s projected growth compare to the forecasts for the US and Canada?

According to the OECD, economic growth in the United States and Canada will outpace Mexico’s GDP expansion in 2025 and 2026.

The OECD is predicting a 2% expansion in the U.S. this year and 1.1% growth in Canada.

In 2026, it forecasts that the U.S. economy will expand 1.7% and the Canadian economy will grow 1.3%, just above the predicted expansion of the Mexican economy.

The OECD anticipates 1.9% growth in the U.S. in 2027, and 1.7% in Canada — on par with the forecast for Mexico.

Growth in Mexico is dependent to a significant extent on growth in the United States, the world’s largest economy. Mexico and the U.S. are each other’s largest trade partners and the economies of the two countries are highly integrated.

The OECD forecasts that the global economy will grow 3.2% this year, 2.9% in 2026 and 3.1% in 2027. It anticipates 1.7% growth across the 38 OECD countries in 2025 and 2026, before a slight increase to 1.8% in 2027.

With reports from El Economista 

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