César Alejandro Sepúlveda Arrellano, known as "El Botox," was arrested in a small town near Apatzingán, a regional agricultural hub. (SSPC)
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced on Thursday the arrest of a man in connection with the murder of Bernardo Bravo, who led a lime growers’ association in Michoacán.
At President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference, García Harfuch said that “an individual nicknamed El Botox” had been detained “a few minutes ago” in an operation carried out by federal and state security forces in Michoacán.
En un operación conjunta de @Defensamx1@SEMAR_mx@SSPCMexico@FiscaliaMich y autoridades del estado de Michoacán fue detenido el Carlos Alejandro N “Botox” objetivo prioritario y generador de violencia en Michoacán. Principal extorsionador de limoneros y responsable de varios… pic.twitter.com/HlpOlEqwVt
“El Botox” is César Alejandro Sepúlveda Arrellano, alleged leader of Los Blanco de Troya, a crime group described in media reports as the armed wing of Los Viagras, a criminal organization affiliated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
García Harfuch said that Sepúlveda is “responsible” for extorting lime growers and other agricultural producers, and for homicides, including that of Bravo, who was killed last October.
He said that the suspect attempted to escape from the address authorities raided on Thursday morning, but a female security agent detained him. The arrest reportedly took place near Apatzingán, a municipality in the notoriously dangerous Tierra Caliente region of Michoacán.
García Harfuch said that “a woman very close to” Sepúlveda was arrested around midnight on Thursday. He noted also that three people within Sepúlveda’s “close circles” were detained last week.
On social media, García Harfuch wrote that “El Botox,” who has previously spent time in prison, was a “priority target” of authorities and a “generator of violence in Michoacán,” one of Mexico’s most violent states.
The Michoacán Attorney General’s office accuses Sepúlveda of both planning the murder of Bravo and carrying it out. A warrant was issued for his arrest before he was taken into custody on Thursday morning. The Milenio newspaper reported that Sepúlveda recently posted videos to social media in which he asserted that he didn’t murder Bravo and that he was in fact a defender of the citrus industry in Michoacán.
The arrest of the suspect came three months and one day after Bravo, president of the Apatzingán Citrus Growers Association in Michoacán, was found dead in the front seat of his pick-up truck, killed by a bullet to the back of his head.
The next day, García Harfuch announced that a man identified as Rigoberto “N” had been detained.
“As a result of investigative work following the homicide of Bernardo Bravo, leader of citrus growers in the region, an operation was carried out in Michoacán … during which Rigoberto “N” was arrested,” he wrote on social media on Oct. 21.
“The detainee is identified as one of those responsible for collecting extortion payments from lime producers in Apatzingán,” García Harfuch wrote.
Though Rigoberto “N” was not charged with the murder of Bravo, he is suspected of playing a role in his death.
Before he was murdered, Bravo had been urging lime growers in the Tierra Caliente region of Michoacán to resist the extortion scheme that has long plagued producers in the area.
The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against ‘El Botox’ last year
Last August, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that it was “sanctioning two notorious Mexican cartels — Carteles Unidos (a.k.a. ‘United Cartels’)and Los Viagras — and seven affiliated individuals linked to terrorism, drug trafficking, and extortion in Mexico’s agricultural sector.”
One of the sanctioned individuals was Sepúlveda.
“César Alejandro Sepúlveda Arellano, a.k.a. ‘El Botox,’ is a Los Viagras leader responsible for the killing of a citrus producer,” the Treasury Department said in an Aug. 14 statement, released more than two months before Sepúlveda allegedly murdered Bravo.
In the same press release, Treasury wrote that “Los Viagras has extorted avocado and citrus growers, cattle ranchers, and entire towns to generate revenue.”
Highway blockades reported after arrest
Highway blockades set up by armed civilians were reported at three different points in the Tierra Caliente region of Michoacán following the arrest of Sepúlveda. Two of the blockades were set up in Apatzingán and one in the neighboring municipality of Buenavista.
It is relatively common in Mexico for crime groups to set up highway blockades in response to arrests, and to hinder additional actions against their members. Sometimes the blockades include burning vehicles, but that didn’t appear to be the case in the Tierra Caliente region on Thursday morning.
The Soothsayer's Temple, or Pyramid of the Magician, in Uxmal. (Jan Dommerhold/Unsplash)
As explorer John Lloyd Stephens wrote in “Incidents of Travel in Yucatán” (1843), “It stood in its suit of somber gray.” He and his companion, illustrator Frederick Catherwood, were seeing Uxmal for the first time, an ancient Maya city abandoned a millennium earlier. Their accounts are amongst the few precious sources for understanding the exploration of Uxmal during the 19th century, a time when technology, science and geopolitics were rapidly transforming the world.
There is a thing or two that make Uxmal one of the most distinctive expressions of the Puuc architectural style. In contrast with other magnificent Maya buildings, such as the main constructions of Chichén Itzá or Tikal, the spirit of the Soothsayer’s Temple (Pirámide del Adivino) feels almost mystical and, at the risk of sounding redundant, magical. This is a site that has enchanted every traveler who steps onto its ever-growing carpet of grass.
What we know about Uxmal
The House of the Governor in Uxmal is a masterpiece of Puuc design. (Norbysea/Unsplash)
Uxmal lies in the western part of Yucatán, about 80 kilometers south of Mérida. It is considered the most representative site of Puuc architecture, which flourished roughly between 800 and 1,100 C.E. Yet archaeological evidence shows earlier occupations: one around 300 C.E. and another around 700 C.E. It was the final stage of the city, the one that produced its most iconic monuments. Such buildings continue to impress both locals and foreign visitors today.
Exploring Uxmal can feel overwhelming, but only because the city preserves endless secrets for those who look closely. As with all great architectural wonders, every engraving and every stone seems meticulously placed — sometimes for structural reasons, sometimes for symbolic meaning. From its interior corbel arches to its ornate façades, every corner has something to say.
Three Times Founded
The origin of Uxmal’s name remains uncertain, but many studies suggest it means “Three Times Founded” or “Three Times Harvested” in Yucatec Mayan. The name possibly refers to the city’s repeated resettlements during centuries of rivalry between Maya city-states.
Another possible meaning of the word Uxmal is “Future”. The name proves to be right, as the site, its silent stone monuments and its majestic architecture seem to always be waiting, sitting in expectation for future eyes to be laid upon them and new minds to decipher their hidden messages.
Uxmal’s buildings
Uxmal is known for its remarkably preserved buildings, among the finest in the Maya world. The main character of the site is, of course, the Soothsayer’s Temple, a 35-meter pyramid with an unusual oval base. It consists of five superimposed temples built at different moments, a common tradition in Mesoamerican sacred architecture. The structure was likely dedicated to Chaac, the Maya Lord of Rain and Thunder, to whom many Uxmal temples appear to pay homage.
Before the pyramid stands the Cuadrángulo de las Monjas (Quadrangle of the Nuns), named by the Spanish conquistadors for its convent-like layout. But, from what we know now, it likely functioned as a palace or administrative complex — the Maya were especially fond of enclosed courtyards.
The Quadrangle of the Nuns in Uxmal is another example of Puuc architectural artistry. (José Pablo Domínguez/Unsplash)
The House of the Governor, one of the masterpieces of Puuc design, features exquisitely carved façades. The so-called “elephant trunks,” once misinterpreted by early explorers, are actually stylized masks of Chaac. On the other hand, the stone carvings that Empress Charlotte mistook for the biblical devil in the guise of a snake show is actually one of the most important deities of the Mesoamerican pantheon. Called Quetzalcoatl by the Nahua people of central Mexico, and Kukulkan by the Maya, the lord of light, creation and wisdom is a deity worshipped all over Mesoamerica, and, needless to say, it is not related to a devil of any kind.
Like many travelers whose hearts remain tied to these ruins, Stephens and Catherwood returned several times. “The ruins of Uxmal presented themselves to me as a home,” Stephens later wrote, “and I looked upon them with more interest than before.”
Your visit
If Uxmal is on your bucket list, here’s what you should know before you go:
How to get there: The easiest route is to drive from Mérida, though ADO buses also depart from the city’s main terminal.
Weather: Expect heat and sun year-round; bring a hat, sunscreen and plenty of water.
Entry fees: Visitors must pay two separate fees: one to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and another to the State of Yucatán.
A signature corbel arch in Uxmal. (José Pablo Domínguez/Unsplash)
Time needed: Given the size of the site, set aside at least three hours for the visit.
Post scriptum for explorers
In case you have the adventurer expertise of Stephens and Catherwood, Uxmal must not appear to be a challenging visit. There are other sites on the Puuc route that are worth visiting: Kabah, Sayil, Xlapak and Labná.
Although the architectural resemblance is undeniable, each one has its own personality and exposes different aspects of the Maya cities of the moment. In contrast with Uxmal, these sites still have a lot of archaeological work to be done. The upside is that they are also less crowded and can be explored at a slower pace.
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.
Visiting the beautiful grounds of the Casa Museo Gene Byron is one of Guanajuato's most underrated pleasures. (Casa Museo Gene Byron)
Foreign and Mexican tourists alike visit the city of Guanajuato for its beauty, history and charm. Captivated by the downtown center, they often miss the quirky, storied Gene Byron museum and gallery housed in an 18th-century ex-hacienda, tucked away in the suburb of Marfil.
The museum is named for Gene Byron, a Canadian artist (related by birth to the British Romantic poet Lord Byron), who bought the former silver and gold hacienda in 1962 with her Spanish husband, Virgilio Fernández.
Who was Gene Byron?
The woman for whom the museum is named: Canadian artist and “Renaissance woman” Gene Byron, who passed away in 1987. (Casa Museo Gene Byron)
Gene Byron was a Renaissance woman — originally a successful Broadway actress and radio performer, she later became a painter. Influenced by Mexico’s muralists, she moved to Mexico in the 1940s, visiting diverse parts of the country like Veracruz, Guerrero, Chiapas, Yucatán, Campeche and Oaxaca.
In Mexico, she continued to paint, but added design and restoration work to her repertoire. She specialized in mid-century modern design, creating distinctive tin and copper lighting, wall sconces and decorative items, often incorporating hand-painted tiles. Her artwork was exhibited in museums in Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, New York and Mexico City.
Meanwhile, Fernández, born in Morocco, became a Communist at a young age and was working as a nurse in Madrid when the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936. He spent much of the war as a medic on the front lines of Madrid and Guadalajara, Spain, participating in some of the most decisive battles of the Civil War alongside volunteers from across Europe and America.
How Gene Byron and Virgilio Fernández met
In 1938, Fernández was captured by Nationalist forces and interned in a concentration camp in France. He later escaped and was exiled to Mexico, where, along with over 25,000 other Spanish refugees, he was welcomed. He spent the rest of his life in exile in Mexico.
Fernández studied pediatrics in Monterrey, where he met Byron. They moved to Guanajuato in 1958, buying the former Santa Ana hacienda, which they restored, transforming it into both their home and a gathering place for artists and creatives.
Byron decorated and furnished the ex-hacienda with many of her own designs. The couple lived there together until she died in 1987. Today, it is still full of her furniture, paintings and even the light fixtures and other metal accessories that she designed.
In 1997, Fernández and his second wife, Estela Cordero, decided to convert the house into a museum. This was no small task because the property was an immueble catalogado (listed on Mexico’s historic register) and they had to acquire lengthy permissions for any changes, even minor ones, from INAH, the federal department that protects and preserves Mexico’s archeological and historical structures.
Today, the property encompasses a museum, gardens, a restaurant, a gift shop and the apartment where museum director Estela Cordero now lives, and where she and Fernández lived until he died in 2019. One of the last surviving members of the International Brigades fighting the Spanish Civil War, Fernández passed away in 2019 at age 100.
The museum maintains a permanent collection of Byron’s work but also offers visiting exhibitions, literary presentations, book talks, art workshops and weekly classical music and jazz concerts. With its extensive gardens and courtyard, the museum is also a popular venue for large functions.
A popular venue for art exhibitions and special events
The restaurant, located on the grounds with a view of trees, offers Mexican cuisine with European influences, and is open from 8:30 to 1 p.m. and then reopens from 2 to 6 p.m. The gift shop sells artisanal products, designs by Gene Byron — such as lamps, mirrors, and ashtrays — and rebozos and other fabrics.
In her role as the museum director, Estela Cordero selects Mexican and international artists to display their work there. Currently, there are shows by the Canadian oil painter and part-time Guanajuato resident Martine Bilodeau, as well as two Spanish artists, Luis González and Miguel Sánchez de San Bernardo.
Speaking with Cordero, she said she sees several trends in contemporary Mexican art: the fusion of pre-Hispanic and folk art with modern techniques and perspectives; art as a social commentary on cultural issues such as violence, machismo, inequality, migration, gender, feminism and identity; and the mixing of traditional art forms with experimental, immersive techniques like multimedia, digital art, videos and performance art.
The property has become popular for special events such as weddings. (Casa Museo Gene Byron)
Only a 10-minute taxi ride from Guanajuato’s center, the museum is well worth a visit. And while you’re in Marfil, you can enjoy two other local assets: Stroll along the nearby tree-lined Camino Antiguo (Historic Walk) and visit another ex-hacienda, San Gabriel de Barrera, which contains 17 themed gardens.
Louisa Rogers and her husband Barry Evans divide their lives between Guanajuato and Eureka, on California’s North Coast. Louisa writes articles and essays about expat life, Mexico, travel, physical and psychological health, retirement and spirituality. Her recent articles are available on her website, authory.com/LouisaRogers
Also on Wednesday, the president offered some advice to cell phone users to help them avoid becoming victims of crime, and pitched Mexico's advantages for investors. (Saúl López/Cuartoscuro)
At her Wednesday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about her government’s transfer to the United States on Tuesday of 37 cartel figures. (Read Mexico News Daily’s report here.)
She also offered some advice to cell phone users to help them avoid becoming victims of crime, and took a moment to endorse the speech Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Here is a recap of the president’s Jan. 21 mañanera.
Sheinbaum: Don’t answer telephone calls from unknown numbers
Late in her press conference, Sheinbaum told reporters that Mexico was one of a small number of countries where mobile telephone SIM cards could be purchased without the need to show identification.
Sheinbaum subsequently advised Mexicans not to answer calls from numbers they don’t recognize.
Owners of mobile phones in Mexico are required to register and link each number with their personal identity by June 30 or face service cuts. (Camila Ayaya Benabib/Cuartoscuro)
“It is important that we do not answer calls from numbers that are not identified in our contacts,” she said.
Responding to privacy concerns related to the need to register and link a cell phone number to one’s personal identity, Sheinbaum stressed that telephone companies rather than the government stores people’s personal information.
She indicated that authorities, when investigating a crime facilitated by the use of a telephone, can ask for information from telecommunications companies as they seek to establish the identity of the perpetrator.
Sheinbaum praises Carney’s WEF address
Early in her Q&A session with reporters, Sheinbaum praised Prime Minister Carney for his speech in Davos.
“[It was a] very good speech by Carney, by Prime Minister Carney, I don’t know if you heard it,” she said.
“[It was] very much in tune with the current times,” Sheinbaum said.
During his address, Carney asserted that the rules-based international order is undergoing a “rupture, not a transition.”
The Canadian prime minister “never mentioned President Trump by name, but his reference was clear,” wrote The New York Times, noting that “the speech came as President Trump doubled down on his threats to take Greenland away from Denmark.”
Mexico’s ‘advantages’ as an investment destination, according to Sheinbaum
A reporter asked the president what message her government was seeking to send to international investors at the WEF meeting in Davos, where Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena and Altagracia Gómez, head of the government’s Advisory Council for Regional Development and Relocation, are representing Mexico.
“That Mexico is open to private investment from different countries, to foreign direct investment,” Sheinbaum responded.
She also said that Mexico’s representatives would promote the Economic Development Hubs for Well-being, new industrial corridors that will be located in various states across the country.
Asked what “advantages” Mexico offers to investors, Sheinbaum first cited the “hardworking” and “responsible” people of Mexico and the presence of “a government recognized by its people.”
She also mentioned “certainty” and her government’s vision of investment “not just as a means of growth” but also as “a means of creating employment with wellbeing.”
Although she mentioned certainty as an “advantage” offered by Mexico, the Trump administration’s undermining of the USMCA free trade pact via the implementation of various tariffs on Mexican goods has decreased certainty for investors in Mexico. Some Mexican government initiatives, such as the controversial judicial reform and the disbandment of various autonomous agencies, have had the same effect, according to critics of Sheinbaum and her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Brian Gutiérrez (R) and Richard Ledezma (L), dual citizens, have switched allegiances in order to play for Mexico in the upcoming FIFA 2026 World Cup. (X)
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) announced Tuesday that FIFA — the world governing body for soccer — has cleared Brian Gutiérrez and Richard Ledezma to represent Mexico in the 48-nation tournament, set for June 11–July 19 in Mexico, Canada and the U.S.
Mexico’s January Camp has a few Mexican-Americans who made the list for their upcoming friendlies 🌎 ⚽️ 🇲🇽
In this week’s “Shooting It Straight”, @herculezg delved into Richard Ledezma, Brian Gutierrez, and a list of new players who want to represent El Tri beyond borders pic.twitter.com/NKrrekPiRF
They are also eligible for friendlies this week against Panama (Thursday in Panama City) and Bolivia (Sunday in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia).
Though Gutiérrez and Ledezma are viewed as promising contributors rather than established stars or automatic starters, they should bolster the talent level on coach Javier Aguirre’s 26-man World Cup roster.
The squad has fallen one spot to No. 16 in the newest FIFA world rankings, one place behind the United States and one ahead of Uruguay — a far cry from when Mexico was No. 4 in the world just before the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Gutiérrez, 22, and Ledezma, 25, both were born in the United States and hold dual citizenship, having previously appeared for U.S. teams at the youth or senior level.
FIFA regulations allow a player with fewer than three senior caps before age 21 to change associations after completing the paperwork, which Mexico and FIFA have now finalized for both.
The FMF said the pair had informed officials they wanted to represent Mexico permanently.
Gutiérrez (born in Berwyn, Illinois) played in two friendlies for the U.S. men’s national team in January 2025 that did not lock in his allegiance.
Ledezma (born in Phoenix, Arizona) owns a single USMNT senior cap from 2020 and played at the 2019 Under-20 World Cup, requiring a one-time switch under FIFA rules because those games are official youth competition.
Both players recently joined the Liga MX squad Chivas of Guadalajara — Gutiérrez from the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer and Ledezma from PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands’ top pro league. Neither had played in Liga MX previously.
Gutiérrez is an attacking midfielder coming off a nine-goal, three-assist MLS season for the Fire. His 19 goals and 17 assists over the past four seasons for Chicago suggest he’ll add more scoring punch and ball-carrying ability to Mexico’s roster.
Ledezma, meanwhile, has been highlighted for his “European vision” and his ability to create high-level scoring chances since joining Chivas six months ago.
After the games this week, Mexico is scheduled for more World Cup preparation with friendlies Feb. 7 against Iceland (in Querétaro), March 21 against Portugal (in Mexico City) and March 25 against Belgium (in Chicago).
INEGI's latest figures show December ending with a 3.69% inflation rate, the lowest end-of-year level in five years. (Camila Ayala Benabib/Cuartoscuro)
The Mexican economy grew 2.3% in annual seasonally adjusted terms in December and 0.2% compared to November, according to preliminary data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Wednesday.
INEGI also published updated data for November showing 1.2% annual growth and 0.1% month-over-month growth.
Mexico’s secondary sector (which includes manufacturing) grew 1.2% annually in December. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
According to Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, the data indicates that the Mexican economy recorded annual growth of 0.65% in 2025, a marked slowdown compared to the 1.5% expansion in 2024. Siller also said that the data — which is subject to revision — indicates the economy grew 1.36% in annual terms in the fourth quarter of last year and 0.97% compared to the previous three-month period.
INEGI’s preliminary data shows that Mexico’s secondary sector (manufacturing and construction) grew 1.2% annually in December, while the tertiary sector (services) expanded 2.9%. INEGI didn’t provide data for the primary sector (agriculture and mining).
On a month-over-month basis, the secondary sector grew 0.1% in December while the tertiary sector expanded 0.2%.
The overall month-over-month growth rate of 0.2% in December was the best result for the Mexican economy in the final month of the year since 2023. In December last year, the economy contracted 1% compared to the previous month, according to final data.
Other need-to-know economic data
The Mexican peso was trading at 17.49 to the US dollar at 1:20 p.m. Mexico City time, according to Bloomberg. The peso is stronger now than at any point in 2025.
The initiative includes both routine maintenance — filling potholes, leveling surfaces, clearing vegetation and cleaning drainage systems — and more extensive periodic conservation involving milling and applying five-centimeter asphalt layers. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)
President Sheinbaum announced a major national road repair program on Wednesday, pledging 50 billion pesos (US $2.86B) to tackle Mexico’s crumbling federal highways through an intensive resurfacing campaign dubbed the “Mega Bachetón” (Mega Pothole-thon).
The announcement, made during the president’s morning news conference at the National Palace, represents one of the most significant infrastructure investments of her administration and directly responds to widespread complaints about road conditions across the country.
“We conducted a thorough review of the highways and gathered requests from citizens during our travels throughout the country,” Sheinbaum said.
The National Highway Conservation and Mega Bachetón Program 2026 will cover 18,000 kilometers of toll-free federal highways, or just under half (42%) of the country’s toll-free roadways. The initiative expects to create approximately 100,000 jobs throughout 2026.
Regional breakdown
The program divides the country into five operational regions, each targeting key transportation corridors:
Northwest (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora and Sinaloa): 8.659 billion pesos to repair 3,170 kilometers covering the Pacific Corridor, Mexico-Nogales and Mazatlán-Matamoros and Gulf-North routes.
Northeast (Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas): Covering the Mexico-Nuevo Laredo, Querétaro-Ciudad Juárez, Veracruz-Monterrey and Gulf-Huasteca routes.
Central-West (Aguascalientes, Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit and Querétaro): Including the Manzanillo-Tampico and Guadalajara-Zacatecas routes.
Central Region (México state, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala): Targeting the Acapulco-Tuxpan, Center-Gulf, Acapulco-Veracruz, Mexico-Veracruz and High Plateau Corridor highways.
South-Southeast (Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatán): Addressing the Puebla-Progreso, Puebla-Tapachula, Trans-Isthmus Circuit and Yucatán Peninsula routes.
The 15 priority highways for the Mega Bachetón project. (proyectosmexico.gob.mx)
Technology and efficiency
To optimize resources and reduce costs, the government has invested in state-of-the-art repaving equipment. The program will deploy 31 paving trains and 62 specialized pothole repair units.
Ten paving trains began operations in 2025, with another 10 set to start work between January and February 2026. An additional 11 machines will be purchased to ensure each region has dedicated equipment.
The modern machinery can advance up to one kilometer per day, significantly improving efficiency. The government is purchasing materials directly and using its own equipment to strengthen the program’s technical capacity and control costs.
A key innovation is a digital monitoring system designed to detect and repair potholes within 72 hours across the 43,000-kilometer toll-free network.
Timeline
The program officially runs from January through December 2026, with work already underway in some regions. The initiative includes both routine maintenance — filling potholes, leveling surfaces, clearing vegetation and cleaning drainage systems — and more extensive periodic conservation involving milling and applying five-centimeter asphalt layers.
The massive undertaking represents a significant test for the Sheinbaum administration’s ability to deliver on infrastructure promises. With Mexico preparing to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the United States and Canada, improved highway conditions will be critical for both domestic travel and international visitors navigating between host cities.
Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena is urging Davos attendees to do more and move faster in responding to climate change: "The scale at which we are currently working is insufficient." (Semarnat/X)
Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena, leading Mexico’s delegation at this year’s Davos Forum, is using her platform to emphasize the importance of accelerating the fight against climate change.
The annual World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 19 to 23, provides world leaders, business executives and academics the opportunity to discuss critical global economic and political issues.
▶️ En el primer día del @wef_es, la secretaria @aliciabarcena destacó que México avanza con decisión hacia la conservación del 30% del territorio para 2030, impulsando la transición energética y una economía circular que deja atrás el modelo lineal.
Alongside Bárcena, the coordinator of the Advisory Council for Economic and Regional Development and Relocation, Altagracia Gómez Sierra, is attending Davos, as well as several Mexican business leaders.
Gómez Sierra will participate in a public panel dedicated to regional economic growth.
Bárcena, who heads Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Ministry (Semarnat), is scheduled to participate in four sessions at Davos — an open forum on climate resilience and security; industrial decarbonization as a growth strategy; opportunities in the ocean economy; and a new agreement on plastics.
She has attended several Davos Forums in the past, previously representing former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. She is one of several Latin American leaders attending this year, including Javier Milei of Argentina, Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Daniel Noboa of Ecuador.
Bárcena calls for faster progress on climate change
While this year’s summit has been marked by tension between U.S. President Donald Trump and his country’s European allies, Bárcena’s focus has been firmly fixed on environmental issues. In the first days of the forum, she called for the acceleration of a green energy transition and the expansion of the circular economy, stressing that current efforts are not enough to tackle the global climate crisis.
“We have an urgent need to move faster and on a larger scale,” said Bárcena.“The scale at which we are currently working is insufficient, and here in Davos, I am trying to ensure that I find companies capable of accelerating the process quickly.”
Bárcena told delegates that Mexico is currently working towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions, although it relies heavily on fossil fuels.
“All societies need to decarbonize, and there are many ways to do so,” she said. “Of course, one is to eliminate fossil fuels, but a country like mine is probably not ready for that yet, although we are committed to doing so in the future and becoming a net-zero emissions country.”
The minister said that Mexico is currently developing three circular economy parks — for the reuse of tires, construction waste, solid waste and plastics — to reduce the impact on the environment and generate new value chains.
Finally, Bárcena reiterated that Mexico is looking to establish partnerships with international companies and stakeholders to accelerate the country’s energy transition and strengthen circular economy projects.
Virtually all of the natural gas Mexico imports — over 99% — arrives via pipeline from the United States. (Unsplash)
Energy may be the most foundational pillar behind everything we’ve discussed so far: re-industrialization, nearshoring, AI and North American competitiveness. You don’t run factories, servers or supply chains without reliable, scalable and affordable power. Energy isn’t a side story — it’s the operating system of modern economic activity.
Mexico’s role in this system is often framed through an outdated oil lens.
Forty years ago, that framing made sense. In 1982, Mexico exported roughly $24 billion, and almost 65% of that was crude oil. Today, Mexico exports more than $620 billion, with oil representing just3.5% of the total, while manufacturing accounts for nearly 90%. In other words, Mexico’s economy has transformed from being oil-dependent to manufacturing-driven — and manufacturing is, above all, energy-intensive.
This transformation has tied Mexico and the United States together through energy flows that are structural, not optional.
Natural gas: The backbone of integration
Mexico is the largest export market for U.S. natural gas. Over the past decade, pipeline exports from the United States to Mexico have surged. By early 2024, Mexico was importing roughly 3.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, with more than 60% of its total consumption supplied through pipeline imports from the United States. Natural gas now anchors Mexico’s electricity generation, industrial production and export manufacturing — much of which directly supports U.S. supply chains.
Looking only at imports, the integration is even clearer: virtually all of the natural gas Mexico imports — over 99% — arrives via pipeline from the United States, reflecting a high degree of physical and commercial interdependence between the two energy systems, particularly U.S. producers in Texas, for whom Mexico has become a critical and stable export outlet.
Natural gas now anchors Mexico’s electricity generation, industrial production, and export manufacturing — much of which directly supports U.S. supply chains.
Refined products & crude: A circulatory system
Energy flows are not one-way. U.S. refineries maintain a strategic relationship with Mexico as a crude oil supplier. In 2024, they imported 169.9 million barrels of Mexican crude, accounting for roughly 7% of total U.S. crude imports. In turn, those refineries export gasoline, diesel, and petrochemicals back into Mexico.
The result is clear: under many trade measures, the United States now runs an energy surplus with Mexico, meaning the value of U.S. energy exports to Mexico exceeds the value of Mexican energy exports to the U.S. This surplus supports U.S. GDP, sustains jobs in energy production and refining, and strengthens America’s position in global energy markets.
From the U.S. perspective, Mexico acts as a stable outlet for U.S. natural gas production. That matters because U.S. producers — particularly in the Permian Basin — face domestic pipeline constraints and limited LNG export capacity. Mexico’s demand absorbs incremental supply, supporting upstream investment, drilling activity and workforce utilization even when global markets are volatile.
As documented by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, this integration is neither temporary nor marginal. Pipeline shipments of U.S. natural gas to Mexico have increased by an order of magnitude since the early 2000s, and today the majority of U.S. pipeline exports flow south of the border rather than overseas.
U.S.-Mexico Border Crossing Natural Gas Pipelines and Expansions of Mexico’s Domestic Pipelines
Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration and Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos, Mexico. “U.S. natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico have grown in recent years as the domestic pipeline network within Mexico continues to expand.”
Why policy certainty matters
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) plays a strategic role by providing investment certainty for cross-border energy infrastructure — pipelines, terminals and long-term contracts. Without that legal and institutional framework, it becomes far more difficult for energy companies to commit capital to multi-decade projects that underpin factories, grids, and industrial parks on both sides of the border.
This is why energy policy cannot be an afterthought in debates about economic strategy or geopolitical competition. Mexico is not peripheral to U.S. energy security — it is central to it. American energy production, refining, and export capacity are increasingly linked to Mexican demand, infrastructure, and industrial growth. Likewise, Mexico’s ability to sustain its manufacturing base and capture nearshoring opportunities depends on continued access to U.S. energy and predictable investment conditions.
If the United States wants to remain an energy powerhouse, it cannot do so alone. It’s not just about drilling in Texas or New Mexico — it’s about smart partnerships, strong trade frameworks and working closely with reliable neighbors.
Seen this way, energy fits naturally with the other themes in this series. If AI is the brain of the future economy, energy is the bloodstream. And today, that bloodstream flows across North America.
Catch up on parts 1-5 of Could Mexico make America great again? here:
Pedro Casas Alatriste is the Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico (AmCham). Previously, he has been the Director of Research and Public Policy at the US-Mexico Foundation in Washington, D.C. and the Coordinator of International Affairs at the Business Coordinating Council (CCE). He has also served as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank.
Dwight Morrow (left), with Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles and famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, was U.S. Ambassador to Mexico from 1927 to 1930. (INAH)
Dwight Morrow was not the first American ambassador to arrive in Mexico with the
promise of restoring order and protecting U.S. interests. But he was the rare one who
tried to do it without threatening an invasion. A century ago, in the late 1920s, this Republican lawyer and former J.P. Morgan partner used breakfast diplomacy,
backchannel religious talks, and an early form of cultural soft power to defuse a
commercial crisis, mediate a religious war and help reshape how Mexico appeared in
the American imagination.
Mexico’s unrest, America’s money
To grasp Morrow’s significance, return to Mexico in the 1920s: a country still recovering
from revolution and rewriting the rules of sovereignty. The Constitution of 1917, notably
Article 27 declared that everything above, on and below Mexican soil belonged to the
nation. That principle directly challenged foreign oil concessions awarded during the Porfirio Díaz era.
Morrow’s breakfast meetings with President Calles became known as “ham and egg diplomacy.” (Public Domain)
By 1920, Mexico was the world’s second-largest oil producer, home to Mexican Eagle (a
Royal Dutch/Shell subsidiary), Jersey Standard and Standard Oil. American and
European investors watched nervously: a nation with shifting politics and a new
constitution looked less like a neighbor and more like a precarious asset.
President Álvaro Obregón offered a stopgap in 1923, recognizing foreign property rights
in exchange for diplomatic recognition. His successor, Plutarco Elías Calles, later
deemed the agreement unconstitutional and issued fresh 50-year exploration permits,
enraging companies that believed their long-term claims had been secured.
Simultaneously, enforcement of Article 130 — curbing the Church’s political
role — sparked the Cristero War, a brutal conflict that drew appeals for U.S. intervention
from clerical networks. Mexico’s domestic battles had become entangled with foreign
business and public opinion.
The outgoing U.S. ambassador, James R. Sheffield, personified a hard line, reflecting
an older, force-first approach to Latin America. When Dwight Morrow, a senior partner
at J.P. Morgan & Co., which held much of Mexico’s US $514 million external debt, was
appointed ambassador in 1927, many Mexicans braced for “dollar diplomacy” in a
diplomatic coat and tails.
Made in Mexico: Dwight Morrow
‘Ham and eggs’ diplomacy
Morrow arrived with a different playbook. His strategy rested on three deceptively simple
principles: respect Mexican sovereignty, cultivate genuine personal ties with Mexican
leaders, and recast conflicts as legal problems rather than theatrical confrontations.
American papers nicknamed him “the ham and eggs diplomat” for his routine breakfasts
with President Calles. The label belied the seriousness of those meetings. Over morning coffee, the two men tested ideas, lowered tensions and created a private space
for candid negotiation.
When Calles raised the oil question, Morrow answered not with threats but with a lawyer’s framing: this was “a question of law.” By urging legal channels — Mexican courts and legal process — he enabled Calles to reach a compromise without appearing to capitulate to foreign pressure.
Morrow, left, helped mediate a solution to Mexico’s religious conflicts during the Calles presidency. (Public Domain)
The 1927–28 oil settlement remains contested. In November 1927, Mexico’s Supreme
Court removed time limits on foreign concessions for companies that had undertaken
“positive acts” (drilling, infrastructure) before 1917. Nationalists denounced the decision
as a surrender to foreign interests; Morrow’s supporters hailed it as proof that diplomacy
and law could trump coercion. Historians today offer a nuanced view: Calles was by
then a pragmatic modernizer, and Morrow provided a diplomatic offramp that allowed
him to retreat from unsustainable positions while preserving domestic legitimacy.
Faith, violence and quiet deals
Morrow’s mediation in the Church–State conflict required a subtler touch than oil
diplomacy. In 1927, he joined Calles on a northern tour. It was an image that startled some: an American Protestant banker riding beside an anticlerical revolutionary general. For Calles, the gesture signaled that Morrow was there to enable settlement rather than
dictate terms.
Between 1928 and 1929, Morrow quietly coordinated talks between Vatican envoys and
Mexican officials. The June 1929 “arrangements” did not restore the Church’s
prerevolutionary privileges, but they halted open hostilities: public worship resumed,
priests registered and the Church stepped back from direct political activity while the
state retained legal ownership of ecclesiastical property but allowed effective control
over church life. The deal reduced bloodshed, eased refugee flows and stabilized a
tense border situation. For Morrow, religious pragmatism was crisis management: a
peaceful Mexico was also a secure one.
Soft power, Mexican style
If breakfasts and back channels stabilized politics, Morrow’s most imaginative initiatives
targeted perception. He understood that shaping how Americans viewed Mexico would
be as important as resolving legal disputes. So he turned to spectacle, personalities and
museums to make Mexico legible and attractive to U.S. audiences.
In December 1927, Charles Lindbergh, fresh from his transatlantic triumph, flew to
Mexico at Morrow’s invitation. More than 150,000 people greeted him in Mexico City;
Calles publicly welcomed the aviator. Lindbergh toured Xochimilco, watched Revolution
Day parades and was feted for a week. It was an upbeat counterstory to headlines about
unrest. The visit also yielded a humanizing subplot: Lindbergh met and later married Anne Morrow, the ambassador’s daughter. The romance drew American attention and
softened public perceptions, mixing glamour with diplomacy.
Canonizing “Mexicanness”
Morrow’s cultural diplomacy reached institutional heights in 1930 when the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York opened “Mexican Arts,” a sweeping exhibition of roughly
1,300 objects that had debuted months earlier in Mexico City. Backed by the Carnegie
Corporation and the American Federation of Arts, and energetically supported by
Morrow, the show presented pre-Hispanic artifacts alongside colonial works, modern
muralism and popular crafts. Morrow lent pieces from his collection and helped secure
funding.
Morrow commissioned Diego Rivera’s “History of Morelos, Conquest and Revolution” mural, seen here in the Palacio de Hernán Cortés in Cuernavaca. (Rodrigo SanSs/Wikimedia Commons)
The exhibition offered a curated argument: Mexico had deep historical roots and a
vibrant contemporary culture. Touring U.S. cities for two years, it helped recast Mexico
in American eyes from a land of uprisings and banditry to a nation with a continuous
civilizational story and modern ambitions. The narrative aligned neatly with Mexico’s
postrevolutionary nationbuilding project — mixing Indigenous and European elements
into a celebratory mestizo identity — while also channeling that narrative through
American tastes.
Rivera, revolution and a banker’s check
Morrow’s most provocative cultural gamble came in paint. In 1929, he commissioned
Diego Rivera’s mural “History of Morelos, Conquest and Revolution” for the Palacio de Hernán Cortés in Cuernavaca. Rivera and Frida Kahlo worked at Casa Mañana, the Morrows’
country home, while completing the fresco, which depicts conquest, exploitation and
peasant uprising with blunt political clarity. That a former J.P. Morgan partner would
finance a fresco criticising colonial domination looks paradoxical — and it was. Mexico’s
Communist Party accused Rivera of selling out; U.S. conservatives fretted that
American funds were underwriting radical art.
Morrow’s logic was pragmatic: supporting Mexican artists, even when their work was
politically charged, signaled respect for Mexico’s cultural autonomy and helped
normalize its government before foreign audiences. A portion of Rivera’s work later
toured U.S. museums, linking Mexican muralism to the American art world.
Elizabeth Morrow’s curated Mexico
Elizabeth Cutter Morrow was no mere hostess. She turned Casa Mañana into a living
display of textiles, ceramics and folk objects, organized exhibitions of Mexican crafts in
the United States and wrote for American audiences about Mexican art. Her aesthetic
smoothed Mexico into a cohesive mestizo image, one appealing and accessible to U.S.
patrons, but which tended to obscure the poverty and marginalization behind many crafts.
Still, her efforts connected artisans with collectors and institutions, institutionalizing a
form of bilateral cultural exchange that endured, however unequal its dynamics.
The shadow of J.P. Morgan
Morrow formally resigned from J.P. Morgan on taking the ambassadorship, but his
banking past mattered. The bank’s role in financing Mexico’s foreign debt and Wall
Street’s interest in Mexican stability gave his appointment immediate market effects:
bond prices rose on news he was taking the post. Morrow was, at bottom, a
businessman in diplomatic guise. He delivered what American capital wanted — manageable debt, protection for oil interests and no sweeping expropriations—yet did so through negotiation that preserved Mexican dignity.
A shared project of modernity
Dwight Morrow’s daughter Anne, flanked by President John F. Kennedy and her husband, Charles Lindbergh.
Plutarco Elías Calles was a pragmatic modernizer, not a radical like Zapata or Villa. He
sought to build a postrevolutionary state through schools, infrastructure and a cultural
program that recovered Indigenous pasts and fostered national cohesion. Morrow’s
diplomacy complemented that agenda. By promoting Mexican art and culture in the
United States, he lent international validation to Mexico’s nation-building narrative.
In return, Americans were offered a reassuring story of a neighbor on a path to stability.
Dwight Morrow embodied a paradox. He defended U.S. interests within an unequal
system, but he chose negotiation, legal process and cultural engagement over coercion.
He did not upend the power imbalance between nations, yet his methods reduced
violence and allowed Mexico’s postrevolutionary state to consolidate legitimacy without
the spectacle of foreign intervention.
A century on, Morrow’s tenure offers a practical lesson: diplomacy that respects
sovereignty, leans on law and pairs political negotiation with cultural exchange can
defuse crises and reshape perceptions. That approach does not erase the realities of
power; it simply shows that skillful, respectful engagement can prevent escalation and
open channels for mutual understanding.
In 1927, when military intervention remained conceivable, that was a significant achievement — and one worth remembering whenever international relations risk being reduced to slogans rather than solved through sustained, patient diplomacy.
Maria Meléndez writes for Mexico News Daily in Mexico City.
