The protesting teachers scattered after being forcibly removed from the barrier they set up in the town of Mitla, Oaxaca, but not before setting fire to a vehicle. (Carolina Jiménez Mariscal / Cuartoscuro.com)
The dissident CNTE teachers union broke off talks with the federal government on Wednesday after protesters were violently removed from a blockade they had established in the town of Villa de Mitla, Oaxaca.
CNTE members were in meetings with the Interior Ministry in the capital attempting to resolve long-standing labor issues when news of the attack prompted the teachers to abandon the negotiating table.
Mitla Mayor Esaú López, seen here at a press conference after the events of Wednesday, said he would gladly accept reponsibility for his actions if they help put an end to the constant disruptive protests by the CNTE in his town and others. (Carolina Jiménez Mariscal / Cuartoscuro.com)
The CNTE — led by Oaxaca-based Section 22 of the union — began new protests this week demanding a better wage package than was offered earlier this month and the abrogation of the 2019 Education Reform Law, among other things.
Hundreds of teachers set up a protest camp at the edge of Mexico City’s Centro Histórico on Monday, while members of Section 22 established similar camps in Oaxaca city and elsewhere in that southern state.
In Villa de Mitla — a Pueblo Mágico about 45 kilometers east of the state capital — Section 22 teachers began blockading Federal Highway 90 connecting Oaxaca city to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on Wednesday morning. Members of the community immediately objected, brandishing stones and threatening to tear down the barricades.
Around noon, Mitla Mayor Esaú López arrived with a contingent of armed men who after a brief dialogue forcibly evicted the protesters. Shots were fired and at least 16 teachers were hospitalized.
CNTE protesters relax as they block traffic on Mexico City’s Circuito Interior on Thursday. (Rogelio Morales / Cuartoscuro.com).
The protesters in Mitla scattered but not before setting fire to a truck alongside the highway and reinforcing their camp in Oaxaca city’s main square. At the same time in Mexico City, CNTE members walked across Alameda Park and blocked a main intersection of Reforma Avenue, wreaking havoc during Wednesday rush hour.
Mayor López, a member of the ruling party Morena, on Thursday accepted responsibility for Wednesday’s violence, but said the teachers were the aggressors and roughed up some members of his delegation as well as bystanders before shots were fired. He insisted he was not sure where the shots came from.
The pharmaceutical companies themselves are paying for the ambitious project that envisions a Mexico that is able to produce domestically the medication needs of its population. (Unsplash)
President Claudia Sheinbaum and Health Minister David Kershenobich on Thursday presented the Health Investment Project, which the administration says will lower medicine costs and reduce Mexico’s dependence on foreign sources of medications.
The project will be funded by investments from various pharmaceutical companies totaling 21 billion pesos (US $1.2 billion), which will be used for seven different production ventures. Companies announced Thursday as participants are Abbott, Bristol Myers Squibb, Grupo Neolpharma, Opella, Kener, Liomont, Sanofi and Bayer.
In making the announcement Thursday of the new Health Investment Program, President Sheinbaum was accompanied by representatives of the pharmaceutical companies that are making the investments totaling 21 billion pesos, including Abbott, Bristol Myers Squibb, Grupo Neolpharma, Opella, Kener, Liomont, Sanofi and Bayer. (Daniel Augusto / Cuartoscuro.com)
“We appreciate the confidence [these companies] are showing in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said. “We are seeking greater production in Mexico, so we don’t have to import so much from abroad.”
The Health Investment Project — which will also focus on clinical research — is linked to Sheinbaum’s Plan México, a sweeping economic and industrial strategy designed to stimulate national growth and position Mexico as an independent global production leader.
Sheinbaum said the project will also play a critical role in establishing health sovereignty, i.e., ensuring Mexico has the capacity to develop and produce the medicines and vaccines its population needs.
Kershenobich said the investment will play a critical role in strengthening the health sector as well as Plan México.
“We have strengthened the investment climate and potential for development in the pharmaceutical industry,” he said. “Having access to production in Mexico will be a key part of continued growth in the pharmaceutical industry.”
What is each investor contributing?
Abbott will invest 3.5 billion pesos (US $202 million) and expects to create 1,200 direct jobs by 2030, while Bristol announced an investment of 1 billion pesos (US $58 million) over the next four years.
“This project is focused on strengthening Mexico’s health sovereignty through expansion and investment, clinical management, and the implementation of local manufacturing processes,” Oswaldo Bernal, CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, said.
For its part, Liomont will invest more than 4 billion pesos (US $231 million) over the next five years in order to expand its infrastructure and technological capabilities in Mexico.
Grupo Neolpharma announced a 750 million-peso investment (US $43 million), which it says will create 250 direct and 900 indirect jobs.
Opella pledged an investment of 2.3 billion pesos (US $132.6 million), and expects to produce 50 direct and 450 indirect jobs, while Kener Labs intends to invest 5.36 billion pesos (US $309 million), resulting in 220 direct and 550 indirect jobs.
Bayer Mexico will invest 150 million pesos (US $8.7 million) in clinical studies, while Sanofi has committed to an insulin and technology transfer project in Mexico with a potential investment of over 2 billion pesos (US $115.3 million).
After a deadly shooting in April, Teotihuacán has received a permanent security boost, including more National Guard and police patrols and security checks at points of entry. (Rogelio Morales / Cuartoscuro.com)
One of Mexico’s most-visited archeological sites has gotten its biggest makeover in 30 years in honor of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, as well as a boost in security following a deadly shooting in April.
The renovation works at the ancient city of Teotihuacán, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, began in March.
The improvements include updates to access points, ticket booths and pathways and renovated rest areas.
“Special signage was created, where visitors can also download the tours,” Culture Minister Claudia Curiel de Icaza said, adding that visitors will be able to access a website with helpful information in Spanish and English to plan their visit.
“The website displays the entire map [of the site] and tells visitors the history of everything [within the site] in both Spanish and English,” she said.
Beyond the archaeological areas, the renovation included the revamping of the museums within the archaeological site, which is expected to see a 30% increase in visitors during the month-long tournament.
According to Icaza, the renovation works at Teotihuacán required an investment of 37 million pesos (US $2.1 million), out of a total budget of 398 million pesos (US $23 million) allocated for the Social World Cup Action Program.
Icaza noted that this is the largest investment the site has received in the last 30 years, as it seeks to improve the image of the site and guarantee its long-term conservation.
Work will continue after the World Cup, Icaza said, with the Temple of Quetzalcóatl, Teotihuacán’s third-largest pyramid, set to undergo restoration work. The $50 million-peso project has been delayed since 2022.
The maintenance and rehabilitation project is part of a wider national plan dubbed Social World Cup Action Program, which has seen renovation works in museums, archaeological sites and sports fields across the country, particularly in the host cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
The renovation of the Temple of Quetzalcóatl, seen here, was announced in September 2022 but has faced a multi-year delay. (Wojciech Kocot CC BY-SA 4.0)
Following the deadly shooting in Teotihuacán on April 20, security has also been tightened at the archaeological site. Antonio Huitrón, coordinator of Institutional Development at INAH, reported that the number of National Guard and Auxiliary Police officers has increased, and security checkpoints have been installed at access points.
The security increase will be permanent, Huitrón said.
“We are not seeing the World Cup as an opportunity to expand [security], but rather we have expanded precisely to create conditions where visitors perceive a safe place to visit,” he said.
It is common knowledge that the vast majority of the remittances to Mexico are sent from the United States, but where in the country does all the money go?
How important are remittances to the economies of Mexico’s 32 federal entities?
We answer both those questions in this week’s “Mexico in Numbers” article.
Which states received the most in remittances in 2025?
A total of $5.51 billion flowed into Guanajuato last year, accounting for 8.9% of the total remittances amount sent to Mexico in 2025.
The next four biggest recipients of remittances in 2025 were:
Michoacán, which received $5.39 billion (8.7% of the total).
Jalisco, which received $5.14 billion (8.3%).
Chiapas, which received $4.15 billion (6.7%).
Mexico City, which received $3.88 billion (6.3%).
The five entities listed above together received 38.9% of the total amount of remittances sent to Mexico last year.
The high remittances total each entity received indicates that a significant number of people from those entities are working in the United States.
Ranking sixth to 10th for money received in remittances last year were:
México state, which received $3.66 billion (5.9%).
Oaxaca, which received $3.5 billion (5.7%).
Puebla, which received $3.42 billion (5.5%).
Guerrero, which received $3.39 billion (5.5%)
Veracruz, which received $2.61 billion (4.2%).
Mexico’s 10 largest recipients of remittances together received $40.65 billion last year. That amount accounts for 65.8% of the remittances total sent to Mexico in 2025.
Almost 9% of all remittances sent to Mexico in 2025 went to the state of Guanajuato, the country’s sixth-most populous state. (Jorge Gardner/Unsplash)
Which states received the smallest portions of the remittances pie?
The Bank of Mexico’s 2025 data shows that Baja California Sur received the smallest amount in remittances among Mexico’s 32 federal entities. The state received $143.9 million in remittances, an amount that accounts for just 0.2% of the 2025 total.
The other four states in the bottom five for remittances receipts in 2025 were:
Campeche, which received $175.2 million (0.3% of the total).
Tabasco, which received $330.2 million (0.5%).
Quintana Roo, which received $355.7 million (0.6%).
Tlaxcala, which $407.3 million (0.7%).
The five states listed above collectively received $1.41 billion in remittances last year, an amount that accounts for just 2.3% of the total.
Remittances are equivalent to more than 10% of the GDP of 4 states
According to BBVA Research, which compiled data from the Bank of Mexico and the national statistics agency INEGI, the total amount in remittances received by Guerrero in 2025 was equivalent to 13.9% of the southern state’s GDP.
The total in remittance Chiapas received last year was also equivalent to 13.9% of that state’s GDP.
Meanwhile, Oaxaca’s receipt of remittances in 2025 represented 10.7% of its GDP.
The three states with the greatest dependence on remittances, as represented by a percentage of their GDP, are also Mexico’s poorest states based on the proportion of their populations considered to be living in extreme poverty.
The only other state where the remittances total received in 2025 represented more than 10% of GDP was Michoacán. The $5.39 billion in remittances Michoacán received last year was equivalent to 10.5% of that state’s GDP.
Seven other states received remittances amounts last year that were equivalent to more than 5% of their GDP. They were:
Zacatecas: 9.9%
Guanajuato: 6.6%
Nayarit: 6.4%
Morelos: 6.0%
Hidalgo: 5.5%
Durango: 5.5%
Puebla: 5.4%
The five states with the lowest intakes of remittances in 2025 as a percentage of their GDP were:
As the Mexican Congress considers a bill to prevent foreign interference in Mexican elections, President Sheinbaum made a case for why the legislation is needed. (Saúl López / Presiodencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
📊Sheinbaum touts 12 economic bright spots: Pushing back against pessimism following a 0.6% Q1 contraction and Moody’s downgrade of Mexico’s credit rating, the president listed a dozen indicators she said demonstrate economic resilience, including record Q1 FDI, a 2.5% unemployment rate, declining inflation and a record low labor poverty rate.
🗳️President speaks of foreign election interference risk: After the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill allowing elections to be annulled in cases of foreign interference, Sheinbaum said “yes, there could be a risk,” and cited U.S. government funding of NGO Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity as a prior example. She argued that all Mexicans should support the measure passed by the lower house.
🪖Sheinbaum parses Hegseth’s “war on cartels” declaration: Responding to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s statement that the U.S. is “going to war with the cartels” through the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, Sheinbaum said his remarks applied specifically to ACCC member states, not Mexico, which she said operates under a separate bilateral security understanding.
That attitude was once again on display at the Thursday morning press conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who presented no fewer than a dozen reasons for economic optimism.
President Sheinbaum shared 12 pieces of positive news for Mexico’s troubled economy, including record foreign direct investment and low unemployment. (Saúl López / Presidencia)
Also of note at today’s mañanera were Sheinbaum’s remarks about the risk of foreign interference in Mexican elections. That issue is currently in sharp focus due to Deputy Ricardo Monreal’s presentation of a constitutional bill that seeks to allow elections to be annulled in cases of foreign interference.
Toward the end of her press conference, Sheinbaum also took the time to respond to another hawkish comment made by a senior Trump administration official. The U.S. president himself said earlier this month that the United States would “do the job” against cartels in Mexico if the Mexican government didn’t do so itself.
Sheinbaum presents 12 pieces of good economic news
“I’m going to give you 12 pieces of good news that demonstrate the strength of the Mexican economy,” she told reporters.
News has come out that has prompted many people to assert that “we’re doing very badly” in an economic sense, Sheinbaum said.
“But I’m going to give you 12 pieces of news, 12 arguments why we’re doing well amid a difficult international situation,” she said, highlighting “the war in Iran” and “the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
The “12 pieces of good news” Sheinbaum presented were:
Record foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2026. Mexico received a total of US $23.59 billion in FDI in Q1, an increase of 10.4% compared to the same period of last year.
An unemployment rate of 2.5% in April. Sheinbaum said that Mexico’s unemployment rate is among the three lowest in the world.
Inflation has declined. The annual headline rate was 4.11% in the first half of May, down from 4.45% across April. Elaborating on the same “piece of good news,” Sheinbaum said that the Mexican peso is “strong,” highlighting a USD:MXN exchange rate of (around) 17.40.
Gasoline prices are low. Sheinbaum said that gasoline prices in Mexico are among the lowest in the world, “despite the increase in the price of oil due to the war in Iran.”
Mexico’s budget deficit declined in 2025 and tax collection increased.
Public debt was equivalent to 50.3% of GDP at the end of the first quarter.
The minimum wage has increased (315 pesos per day in most of the country) and Mexico’s labor poverty rate is at its lowest level on record (30.7% of the population in the first quarter of 2026).
“Well, there has been financing from abroad,” Sheinbaum said before noting that Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity, a non-governmental organization, has received funding from the U.S. government.
That funding supported a “male candidate or female candidate in one way or another,” she said, apparently referring to Xóchitl Gálvez, her main rival at the 2024 presidential election.
“In current circumstances, with this offensive we’re seeing from abroad, it’s important that it be made very clear that in Mexico, Mexicans decide,” Sheinbaum said.
The president dismissed claims that the aim of the law approved by the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday morning was to “guarantee power for Morena,” Mexico’s ruling party.
“There is nothing more false than that,” she said.
“All Mexicans should agree that there shouldn’t be foreign interference in elections in Mexico. Whoever votes against this proposal appears to be in favor of foreign interference in elections in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
“I believe that all of us should agree that in Mexico, Mexicans decide who governs us,” she said.
Asked once again whether she saw a “real risk” of foreign interference in Mexican elections, Sheinbaum responded:
“Yes, there could be a risk of a foreign intervention in elections in Mexico. Yes.”
Sheinbaum responds to Hegseth’s ‘we’re going to war with the cartels’ remark
Asked about an alleged “media campaign” aimed at convincing Mexicans that a “foreign” — i.e. U.S. — intervention against cartels in Mexico would be a good thing, Sheinbaum first stressed the importance of defending “the sovereignty of Mexico.”
The president — who has rejected offers from U.S. President Donald Trump to send the U.S. Army into Mexico to combat cartels — then turned her attention to remarks made on Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Sheinbaum said that “the declaration yesterday of the U.S. Secretary of War has to be read well.”
“From my point of view, he referred in particular to the countries that were at the Shield of the Americas … event with President Trump,” she said, using an alternative name for the ACCC.
“We have a different relationship and it’s based on a [security] understanding we have with them,” Sheinbaum said.
On Thursday, Sheinbaum said, “we have to be very attentive” to the possibility of foreign interference and intervention in Mexico.
“In the face of any greater interference or desire for greater intervention, we cannot allow that because Mexico is a free, independent and sovereign country. We’re not anyone’s protectorate,” she added.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
Check your shoes before you put them on, especially if you live in Puerto Vallarta. (Wolfgang Hasselmann/Unsplash)
The last thing anyone wants is to be stung by a scorpion, which can result in symptoms that range from mild pain to severe, life-threatening reactions. But according to Mexican officials, scorpion stings have increasingly been reported in Puerto Vallarta in recent months.
Scorpion stings on the rise
Health authorities across the Bay of Banderas region are warning residents to take extra precautions after a sharp spike in scorpion sting incidents during the hotter weeks of spring. Officials say more than 2,000 cases have already been reported this season, with rising nighttime temperatures and dry conditions pushing scorpions into homes, storage areas, gardens and shaded urban spaces.
If something this big stings you, it’s going to leave a mark and maybe even require medical attention. (Sippakorn Yamkasikon/Unsplash)
Medical workers say the majority of incidents involve people being stung inside residences, often after scorpions hide in shoes, towels, bedding or clothing. While most stings are treatable, young children and elderly residents remain the most vulnerable to severe reactions. Clinics and hospitals throughout the region have reportedly increased supplies of antivenom and emergency treatments as temperatures continue climbing toward summer highs.
Public health departments are encouraging residents to shake out clothing and footwear before use, seal cracks in walls and floors and reduce piles of debris or wood around homes where scorpions may shelter. Pest control services have also seen a seasonal increase in demand.
The situation is especially concerning in rapidly growing neighborhoods on the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta, where construction and land clearing can disturb natural habitats and drive wildlife closer to populated areas.
Officials expect sting reports to remain elevated through the rainy season, when humidity and heat typically increase insect and arachnid activity throughout the coastal region.
Environmental closures aim to protect rare turtle habitat
The endangered turtle population in Puerto Vallarta is facing increasing pressure due to urban expansion. (Campamento Mayto/Instagram)
Federal environmental authorities have ordered temporary closures and restrictions to protect the habitat of the endangered tortuga casquito, a freshwater turtle species found only in limited areas of Jalisco and Nayarit. The action comes after inspectors discovered land clearing, vegetation removal and unauthorized activity affecting approximately 5.37 hectares of sensitive habitat used for nesting and reproduction.
According to environmental officials, the affected zones included areas of low jungle vegetation and wetlands across Bahia de Banderas that are critical to the survival of the species, scientifically known as Kinosternon vogti. Inspectors also identified illegal dumping, construction-related debris and brickmaking operations operating within protected sections of the habitat.
Profepa, Mexico’s federal environmental enforcement agency, ordered temporary shutdowns of the activities while investigations continue. Community environmental groups working in the area have welcomed the move, saying the turtle population faces growing pressure from urban expansion, industrial activity and habitat fragmentation throughout the bay region.
The tortuga casquito is considered highly vulnerable because of its extremely limited geographic range. Conservation organizations say preserving wetlands and seasonal freshwater systems is essential to preventing further population decline. Environmental volunteers have additionally helped authorities remove dozens of illegal traps discovered within turtle nesting areas.
The closures also highlight broader tensions developing throughout Bahía de Banderas, where tourism growth and luxury development projects increasingly intersect with environmentally sensitive land. Conservation advocates argue that stronger enforcement will be needed as construction continues expanding along both the Jalisco and Nayarit coasts.
Puerto Vallarta updates Risk Atlas ahead of rainy season
Puerto Vallarta officials are bracing for potential flooding and landslides during the rainy season. (Unsplash/Miguel Naranjo)
Puerto Vallarta officials are preparing for the arrival of the rainy season with continued updates to the city’s official Risk Atlas, a planning tool used to identify flood-prone zones, landslide risks, infrastructure vulnerabilities and emergency response priorities. Civil Protection authorities say the document is being constantly revised to reflect the region’s rapid urban growth and changing environmental conditions.
The updated atlas is expected to help emergency services coordinate responses more efficiently during storms and tropical weather events that commonly affect the Pacific coast between June and October. Officials say newer data is being incorporated to better track drainage limitations, hillside development, vulnerable roadways and densely populated neighborhoods that may face flooding or evacuation risks.
Meteorologists are also monitoring the first potential heavy rain systems of the season, with forecasters warning that early tropical activity could arrive within the coming weeks. While no major storm threats have yet been confirmed for the bay, authorities are encouraging residents to begin seasonal preparations early, including clearing drains, checking emergency supplies and reviewing evacuation routes in flood-prone areas.
Local officials say the Risk Atlas has become increasingly important as Puerto Vallarta continues expanding into hillsides and previously undeveloped zones. Urban growth, combined with aging infrastructure in some districts, has increased concern about drainage capacity during periods of intense rainfall.
Emergency planners believe updated mapping and risk analysis will improve coordination between municipal departments and help reduce disruptions during what could become another active rainy season for the region.
Growth pressures raise concerns over water access and infrastructure
Rapid development is transforming communities in the Bay of Banderas region, including Puerto Vallarta. (Ryan Donner)
Puerto Vallarta and neighboring communities in Bahía de Banderas continue facing growing pressure on public infrastructure as rapid development transforms the region.
Residents and neighborhood groups are increasingly voicing concern over water shortages and declining service reliability, particularly in areas experiencing heavy residential expansion and new tourism-related construction.
Much of the frustration centers around the perception that water resources are being prioritized for large condominium towers, hotel projects and luxury developments while long-established residential neighborhoods experience reduced water pressure or intermittent service interruptions.
Some residents say shortages have become more noticeable during peak tourism periods and in rapidly growing suburban districts.
Urban expansion throughout the bay has accelerated in recent years as more domestic and international residents relocate to the region. The population boom has fueled economic growth but also intensified strain on roads, drainage systems, utilities and water distribution infrastructure that many argue has not kept pace with development.
Charlotte Smith is a writer and journalist based in Mexico. Her work focuses on travel, politics, and community. You can follow along with her travel stories at www.salsaandserendipity.com.
Watermelon smiles everyone: summer is here! (Bel Woodhouse)
Is there anything better on a hot summer’s day than a nice cold slice of watermelon? It’s my birthday month, and I love the abundance of fresh summer fruits in June — like Mother Nature is offering up a birthday bounty just for me.
All the melons are at peak freshness this month. Watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew, all of which people either love or hate. I think they get a bad rap — all melons are aces in my book.
What’s better on a hot summer day than a fresh watermelon slice? Nothing we can think of! (Prathyush Thomas/Wikimedia Commons)
You’ll also find stone fruits starting to make an appearance. Plums and peaches are appearing at lower prices, which is awesome. A big summer salad with grilled peach is a favorite for me.
And good news: it’s peak season for my favorite fruit: avocados. So I’ve got a lovely, refreshing way for you to enjoy them that you’ll love, trust me.
Let’s take a look at some refreshing ways to enjoy these sumptuous summer treats.
Watermelon Salad
Cold straight from the fridge or as a big glass of agua fresca desandía, watermelon is the perfect way to cool off in summer. And with only three ingredients, who doesn’t love a cheeky watermelon margarita!
But have you tried watermelon in a salad? It’s amazing.
We’re talking sweet watermelon with salty cotija cheese, refreshing mint, tied together with a nice zesty lime dressing. It might sound unusual, but for most, it’s love at first bite. Plus, let’s not forget all watermelon’s health benefits: improved hydration, muscle recovery and heart health. It’s also an excellent source of vitamins A and C and lycopene, which can reduce the risk of heart disease.
This summer salad is the perfect way to beat the heat of June.
Watermelon salad ingredients:
8 cups cubed watermelon
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
½ cup of either cojita or feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons (tbsp) fresh mint, finely sliced
Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 limes zested and juiced
¼ teaspoon salt, more if desired
Directions:
Add watermelon, cheese, jalapeño, red onion and mint to a large bowl.
Whisk olive oil, lime juice and zest and salt together.
Pour the dressing over the salad and gently stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Avocado ice cream
Avocados are not only delicious but good for you … even in ice cream form. (California Avocados)
Easy to make in 10 minutes, I dare you not to fall in love with avocado ice cream. If there was ever going to be a healthy-ish ice cream, it’s made from a superfood, right? Creamy and delicious, avocado ice cream is competing for favorite summer treat against mango sorbet in my house. Best of all, no ice cream maker needed! You probably have all the things you need already in the kitchen.
We all know avocados are healthy, full of vitamins and those glorious healthy heart-smart fats, so I don’t feel guilty making them into ice cream. Not one bit. Plus, it’s a win-win; they’re cheaper at peak season, so I can indulge.
Avocado ice cream ingredients:
2 large whole avocados
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup condensed milk
1 lime, zest and juice
Directions:
An hour before making the ice cream, place a glass bowl in the freezer (this helps the cream get fluffy). Then line a rectangular loaf pan with plastic wrap.
Slightly smash the scooped-out avocado in a bowl and add the lime juice and zest. Stir to combine. Beat with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes until it has a smooth, even consistency.
Take the glass bowl from the freezer and pour in the heavy cream. Starting slowly, then increasing the speed, whip until the cream has formed peaks after about four minutes.
With a spatula, gently fold in the avocado mixture until incorporated. Be careful not to lose too much of the cream’s fluffiness.
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least four hours.
Take it out five minutes before serving so it’s soft enough to scoop and enjoy!
Taquería-style salsa
Fresh salsas are the perfect complement to any Mexican dish. (Gobierno de México)
Okay, this salsa should come with a warning: It’s addictive. It’s so good, you’ll want to put it on everything, not just your tacos pastor. Best of all, you can roast, fry or boil the ingredients to suit your taste. I like them roasted.
I love that this recipe has tomato and tomatillos. But then again, I’m a sucker for tomatillo anything. Thankfully, they’re also available year-round. Oh, and this salsa can be spicy. Adjust the heat to your liking by not adding as many chiles arbol.
Ingredients:
1 large tomato
4 medium tomatillos (or 6 small ones)
⅓ medium white onion
2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
13-15 dry chile de árbol, dry
Salt to taste
Directions:
Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the tomatillos, tomato, garlic and onion to roast.
Cook, turning occasionally, for about eight minutes until everything shows signs of blistering and softening. The garlic will cook faster than everything else, in just a few minutes, so remove it and set it aside.
Remove everything from the skillet and place it in a blender. Now add the chile de árbol to the skillet and continuously stir to slightly roast them. They can burn fast, so keep an eye on them.
Add them to the blender with the garlic and blend until smooth. Add a little water if too thick.
Place in a bowl and enjoy!
Mexico Correspondent for International Living, Bel is an experienced writer, author, photographer and videographer with 500+ articles published both in print and across digital platforms. Living in the Mexican Caribbean for over seven years now, she’s in love with Mexico and has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.
President Sheinbaum's comments about TV Azteca received an immediate response from the network. (TV Azteca)
On Monday, May 25, 2026, President Claudia Sheinbaum did something no Mexican president had done quite so bluntly in modern memory. She addressed the country directly: “Don’t watch TV Azteca.”
To any foreigner, this might sound like an ordinary spat between a politician and a hostile network — the sort of thing a U.S. president might fire off about a cable channel before breakfast. But in Mexico, the comment detonated. Within hours, TV Azteca published an open letter accusing the president of “an evident attempt at censorship and a direct assault on freedom of expression and the press.” The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Alianza de Medios MX warned of a threat to press freedom. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the network’s owner, fired back on X — and then, with characteristic showmanship, posted that TV Azteca was enjoying “one of the best ratings in its history.”
President Sheinbaum’s comments about the network were seen by some media watchdogs as an attack on freedom of the press. (Gobierno de México)
Why the firestorm? Because in Mexico, the relationship between the presidency and television is not a sideshow to politics. For decades, it was politics. To understand why “don’t watch TV Azteca” is treated as something graver than a presidential comment, you have to understand where TV Azteca came from, what it has become and what its owner really wants.
A network born in the shadow of a scandal
TV Azteca did not begin as a private company. In 1993, the government of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari auctioned off the state media package known as Imevisión, which included national Channels 7 and 13. The winning bid, by a group controlled by Ricardo Salinas Pliego, came to roughly US $645 million. It was a landmark moment: for the first time, Mexican commercial television would not be a Televisa monopoly.
But there was something deeply irregular about how the deal was financed. To help cover the purchase, Salinas Pliego received a loan of US $29.7 million from Raúl Salinas de Gortari, the brother of the sitting president, who was selling the asset. The money was reportedly channeled through a Panama-registered company called Silverstar, with Salinas Pliego as its nominal owner, in transfers made shortly before he won the auction.
A questionable loan
This is not an innuendo from his enemies. Salinas Pliego admitted it himself at a 1996 press conference, offering a now-infamous justification: he said he used Raúl Salinas’s money for the media package, but that it was a loan, and that in 1993 “everyone admired President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and it was a social distinction to be a friend of his brother.” The matter later spilled into open litigation. In 2003, Raúl Salinas sued Salinas Pliego in civil court to collect the debt. Salinas Pliego has said he eventually repaid it.
Whatever one concludes about the legalities — and Salinas Pliego has never been convicted of any wrongdoing in the transaction — the optics are damning. The man buying a state broadcaster borrowed millions from the president’s brother, routed through an offshore shell. The most important television privatization was controversial right from the start. That original sin is precisely why Sheinbaum, defending herself this week, reached back to “the sale of Imevisión in 1993” to frame the network’s history.
From challenger to duopoly partner
Whatever its murky origins, the new company succeeded commercially. Rebranded as Televisión Azteca, it quickly challenged Televisa and turned what had been a television monopoly into a duopoly. Between them, the two conglomerates came to hold over 90% of Mexico’s commercial television concessions — an extraordinary concentration of the airwaves in two private hands.
When Ricardo Salinas Pliego bought TV Azteca, he acquired a powerful platform of his own, particularly if he decides to run for president in 2030. (JGTorresH/Wikimedia Commons)
Today, TV Azteca is the second-largest broadcaster in the country, behind Televisa. And it is widely understood to be the advertising engine for the rest of Salinas Pliego’s empire, which includes the Elektra retail chain, Banco Azteca, TotalPlay and Italika motorbikes — businesses that target Mexico’s lower-middle and working classes. The network gives Salinas Pliego something money alone cannot buy: a megaphone and leverage over governments and rivals.
It’s worth noting that during Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency, Salinas Pliego was an ally. He sat on a business advisory council — alongside Televisa and Grupo Imagen, the country’s third-largest network — that spoke into the ear of President López Obrador. The rupture came later, and over money.
The tax war — and the birth of a movement
You cannot separate this week’s clash from the fiscal battle underneath it. For roughly 18 years, Grupo Salinas waged legal war against the SAT, Mexico’s tax authority, over enormous tax assessments. The SAT estimated the conglomerate’s combined liabilities at around 74 billion pesos (close to US $4 billion). In November 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that Salinas Pliego’s companies owed the treasury some 51 billion pesos.
Then came the settlement. In January 2026, the SAT announced that Grupo Salinas would pay 32.13 billion pesos — about 37% less than originally claimed — to liquidate the bulk of its debts, on a payment schedule stretching into 2027. TV Azteca’s portion, roughly 10 billion pesos, was paid in full up front; Elektra is paying its share in monthly installments. Sheinbaum has repeatedly noted that Salinas Pliego “has paid every month.” Soon after, in February 2026, TV Azteca filed for concurso mercantil — a voluntary insolvency reorganization — citing the financial strain of the tax payment, the pandemic and roughly US $600 million owed to creditors in the United States.
Is Salinas Pliego running for president in 2030?
It was against this backdrop that the politics turned overt. In a late-August 2025 interview, Salinas Pliego declined to rule out a presidential run in 2030. On Sept. 12, 2025, at TV Azteca’s own facilities, he launched the Movimiento Anticrimen y Anticorrupción (MAAC) — the Anti-Crime and Anti-Corruption Movement — surrounded by his own network’s commentators, including journalist Sergio Sarmiento and star anchors Javier Alatorre and Leonardo Curzio. Three days later, on Sept. 15, he posted a viral “counter-grito” video, telling Mexicans it was time to say “enough” and to throw out the country’s left. His slogan — “Life, property and liberty” — and the movement’s MAGA-like framing made the ambition hard to miss. Polls circulated a few days later showing a majority of respondents would view him favorably as a candidate.
Whether MAAC is a genuine political project, a shield against his legal troubles or a vehicle for an actual 2030 candidacy is exactly what Mexican analysts are debating. But the through-line is unambiguous: the owner of Mexico’s second-largest broadcaster is openly building a political movement aimed at removing the governing party from power.
Y yo bien preocupado de la campañita que traen en mi contra desde el @GobiernoMX, jajaja.
— Don Ricardo Salinas Pliego (@RicardoBSalinas) May 27, 2026
Salinas has TV Azteca, but the president has the mañanera
Here is how the spark actually caught. During the Q&A that follows the president’s daily morning press conference — the mañanera — a reporter asked Sheinbaum about a collective called “Mexicanos al Grito de Paz,” which has been running a campaign against her government by hanging banners that depict Mexican officials and brand them “narco-politicians.” What stood out, the reporter noted, was that the people amplifying those messages in the media appeared to be close to Salinas Pliego.
The president paused for a few seconds and answered: “Don’t watch TV Azteca.” There was a long silence, then laughter. She acknowledged that Salinas Pliego would surely lash out at her on X at that very moment, and then added that she had proposed to Luisa María Alcalde that they hand out a new award — “the Mythomaniac of the Week. Ta-daaaah.” (She really said ta-da.) The rest of her answer argued that the public is well aware of the lies, which is why Morena’s approval remains so high.
In response, virtually all of TV Azteca’s entire programming lineup — down to “Ventaneando,” the longest-running entertainment show in Mexican television history, on the air since 1996 — devoted airtime to telling the president they would fight to defend freedom of speech.
‘It’s not censorship, it’s an opinion’
The next morning, May 26, Sheinbaum refused to back down — but she reframed. “When I said yesterday, ‘don’t watch TV Azteca,’ that’s an opinion; it’s not censorship,” she said. “I’m not using the power of the State to censor a television station.” She pointed out that the entire TV Azteca lineup had spent the previous day attacking her, which she offered as proof that free expression is alive and well.
Salinas Pliego, meanwhile, declared that on the very day the president asked Mexicans not to watch TV Azteca, the network broke audience records.
Both sides, in other words, claim the mantle of democracy. The president says she is exercising free speech and the right to reply against a network that traffics in falsehoods. The network says the head of state, who controls the apparatus of the entire government, cannot pretend her words are just one citizen’s “opinion.”
The question I want to leave open
Sheinbaum’s daily mañanera is an enormous platform for her to tell citizens what networks are legitimate. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)
Here is where I’ll be transparent: what follows is my opinion, and I’m hoping to start a conversation with you in the comments.
First, the case for press freedom is real and should not be waved away. There is a meaningful difference between a private citizen saying, “I don’t like TV Azteca,” and a president using the most powerful platform in the country to tell us as citizens not to watch a specific network. Even if no concession is revoked, no advertiser is leaned on and no journalist is fired, her statement matters. That is why the press-freedom organizations reacted the way they did, and they are right to be vigilant. A government that decides which outlets are legitimate is walking toward a door no democracy should want opened.
But we also have to be honest about what TV Azteca is in this moment. This is not a neutral newsroom being bullied for asking tough questions. Its owner has launched a political movement, flirted openly with a 2030 presidential run and is locked in a multibillion-peso fight with the same government his network attacks nightly. When the line between “critical journalism” and “the media arm of an opposition political project” dissolves, citizens are entitled — obligated, even — to ask who benefits from what they’re being shown. Healthy skepticism toward a press that flatters you is essential; so is skepticism toward a press that attacks on behalf of its owner’s interests. The discerning citizen owes neither blind loyalty nor blind hostility to the network or to the president.
And now the question I really want to put on the table.
Does the president deserve this scrutiny?
We criticized President Enrique Peña Nieto for being a leader who seemed to cut a ribbon somewhere almost every day — so “mediático,” so addicted to the photo op, that critics asked whether he cared more about putting on a show than sitting at a desk and governing.
López Obrador and Sheinbaum have flipped the model entirely. The daily mañanera is not a ribbon-cutting; it is a marathon, hours long, in which they present their work, but also field questions, set the day’s narrative and — as we saw this week — name their enemies. It is arguably the most sustained, deliberate daily media operation any Mexican president has ever run.
Mexicans love their country but not always their politicians. Enrique Peña Nieto, for example, was often criticized while president for his frequent “ribbon-cutting” photo ops. (Cuartoscuro)
A new kind of politics
So here is what I keep turning over: if a president chooses to live in the media every single day, doesn’t that invite exactly this kind of scrutiny and conflict? When you make the morning broadcast the center of national power, you also make every word a presidential act, with a president’s full weight behind it. “It’s just my opinion” becomes a harder thing to claim from behind the seal of the republic. The medium of governing has changed radically since Peña Nieto — but if the presence is greater than ever, shouldn’t the public scrutiny be greater too?
I don’t think the answer is obvious, and I don’t think it cuts cleanly for either Sheinbaum or Salinas Pliego. Tell me where you land. Is “don’t watch TV Azteca” an abuse of the pulpit, a fair shot at a politically compromised network, or simply the inevitable cost of a presidency that has chosen to be on television every morning of its term?
Join the debate in the comments below.
Maria Meléndez writes for Mexico News Daily in Mexico City.
Carlos Slim's annual press conference generally makes news, and this week's version was no exception. Mexico's richest man came to the defense of his nation's economic reputation by criticizing recent downgradings by major credit rating agencies as "irrational," and then, as though to prove his sincerity, pledged to invest US $5 billion in Mexico over the rest of this year.
(Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Carlos Slim Helú, Mexico’s wealthiest man and the owner of Grupo Carso, announced plans to invest US $5 billion in Mexico this year, while criticizing two major international ratings agencies for downgrading the country’s financial outlook.
During his annual press conference, Slim called out the ratings agency Moody’s for determining Mexico’s rating by looking at an isolated metric of how public debt and the deficit are growing, rather than examining how those resources are being used and invested.
Carlos Slim Helú was accompanied at his annual press conference on Tuesday by Arturo Elías Ayub, his director of strategic alliances for América Móvil, and his son Marco Antonio Slim Domit, chairman of the board for Grupo Inbursa, Telmex, América Móvil and Grupo Sanborns. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
“That rating is irrational,” said Slim.
Moody’s cut Mexico’s credit score to Baa3 on Thursday, its lowest level of investment grade and just one notch above junk status. Two weeks prior, Standard & Poor’s changed Mexico’s outlook from stable to negative.
The ratings agencies expect debt as a proportion of gross domestic product to reach around 60% by the end of the year in Mexico, but Slim pointed out that that percentage is much lower than in some other economies, such as the United States and Brazil, whose debt will be around 130% and 80% of GDP, respectively.
Slim stressed that Mexico maintains conditions that make it attractive for investment, and that the productive structure has changed, supported by the strengthening of female participation in the workforce.
The billionaire also emphasized that the U.S. continues to rely heavily on Mexico.
“The U.S. government has been tough on everyone …, but at the same time, it has a great need for Mexico,” said Slim.
That dependence reflects the current situation in the U.S., as key industries, such as automaking and technology, have become less competitive there, according to Slim.
Slim believes that Mexico has several conditions in place to return to strong growth, which he says will exceed the 1.5% seen in recent years.
“We have an investment plan, and we’ve already made it more aggressive,” he said. “There’s a lot to be done, and I believe the investments will start to materialize next year.”
Slim also praised President Sheinbaum for driving greater investment in Mexico.
The creation of the National Council in December, which forms part of the government’s overarching development strategy Plan México, brings together the country’s wealthiest businesspeople.
“It is very important that the president has prioritized investment, because without investment there are no jobs, no maintenance of infrastructure, and so on,” Slim said.
He added that the meetings the council has held with cabinet ministers have allowed them to discuss aspects such as simplifying procedures and facilitating investment agreements at both the state and municipal levels.
HRW said that between Jan. 20, 2025, and March 9, 2026, the U.S. has sent 4,353 Cubans to Mexico "under an undisclosed agreement between the two governments." (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)
“They’re casting us aside to die. There’s no help; we can’t work because we don’t have papers. They don’t give us anything, nothing. … How are we supposed to eat, to pay rent?”
Those are the words of 58-year-old Harold A. (not his real name), one of thousands of Cuban nationals who have been deported to Mexico by the U.S. government since U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based watchdog organization, recently spoke to Harold and 52 other third-country nationals who were deported from the United States to Mexico before being transported to the southern cities of Tapachula, Chiapas, and Villahermosa, Tabasco.
The report is also an indictment of the Mexican government, which HRW says has provided little if any support to deportees from the United States despite agreeing to receive them.
‘Trapped in a legal limbo’
In a press release summary of its report, HRW said that it found that, between Jan. 20, 2025, and March 9, 2026, U.S. authorities deported more than 18,000 people to third countries — i.e., nations that are not the deportees’ countries of origin.
“Cubans accounted for the largest group, with 4,353 deported to Mexico over the same period,” the organization said.
HRW asserted that the Trump administration has denied due process to thousands of Cubans it has deported to Mexico, among whom are many “older adults.”
It also said that the U.S. government has left many of those people “stranded without access to basic services.”
“… With no other recourse to obtain permanent residency in Mexico, many Cuban deportees, whose home government refuses to take them back, are trapped in a legal limbo,” HRW said.
“Since arriving in Mexico, they have received little if any government support, and many are without access to shelter, food, or health care.”
Alcira Silva Hava, a fellow in the refugee and migrant rights division at HRW and author of the report, said that “the Trump administration is using Mexico as a dumping ground for people it cannot deport to their countries of origin, including many Cubans who have been in the United States for decades.”
“The Mexican government is not offering them any way to obtain durable legal status outside of the asylum system, leaving many in limbo with no shelter, no medication, and at the mercy of criminal organizations,” she added.
‘None of the people interviewed were given the opportunity to challenge their deportation to Mexico’
In February and March, HRW interviewed 53 third-country nationals deported to Mexico by the Trump administration, including 41 Cuban men. The other 12 people HRW spoke to are from Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, El Salvador and Jamaica. In its report, HRW uses pseudonyms for all of its interviewees to protect their identities.
HRW said that “none of the people interviewed were given the opportunity to challenge their deportation to Mexico, violating their due process rights under both U.S. and international law.”
“U.S. authorities deported them without documentation, money, or personal belongings. Although Mexican authorities have agreed to receive Cuban nationals, they have left them in unsafe conditions, without access to shelter or health care,” the organization said.
“With no clear path to legal status, many have little prospect of improving their circumstances. Some have been forced to live on the streets, including in parks or outside hospitals.”
HRW said that “the deported individuals were sent to southern Mexico, where cities like Tapachula and Villahermosa have high levels of violence and paltry capacity to provide protection, housing, jobs and access to public services.”
“Most of those interviewed struggled to find non-exploitative work or health care. Older people faced the most severe consequences. Some were cut off from the medications they had taken for years,” the organization said.
HRW said that 55% of the 4,353 Cubans deported to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026 “had a prior U.S. criminal conviction,” while 16% “had a pending charge but no conviction,” and 26% “had no criminal record at all.”
“Only 16 percent had a violent or potentially violent offense as their most serious conviction. The mass targeting of long-term Cuban permanent residents and their deportation to Mexico was not a U.S. practice prior to President Donald Trump’s second term,” HRW said.
Accounts of life in Mexico as a third-country deportee
Many of the deportees HRW spoke to in Mexico were transported by bus from the northern border to Tapachula and Villahermosa.
“You don’t know what it’s like to come all the way here [Tapachula] by bus from the United States,” said Harold, the 58-year-old Cuban national.
“It’s inhumane, I didn’t even know how to sit so [my body] wouldn’t hurt. My feet, my ankles, they were like this [gestures to indicate swollen]. [We had] nothing but bread and water,” he told HRW.
Javier, a 62-year-old deportee, told HRW that he had been living in a “little cave of sorts” near a gas station in Villahermosa.
“I’m sleeping on the street. Like a dog,” he said.
Fermín, another Cuban deportee, has been homeless since he arrived in Tapachula in February.
“For the most part, I don’t sleep. I haven’t slept in three days,” he told HRW. “I can’t find water, I don’t know where to get food. Nothing.”
Ruben, a Cuban deportee in Villahermosa, was homeless for 20 days before finding an apartment to share with other Cubans. “He expressed frustration at the absence of any governmental programs to house and support deportees,” HRW said in its report.
“Villahermosa does not have the infrastructure,” Ruben said.
“People are living on the streets. How am I supposed to integrate into society, if I don’t have [a place] to eat and sleep! Why bring so many people here, if they [the Mexican government] have nowhere to put them?”
HRW said that “Cubans’ lack of legal documentation affects every aspect of their lives in Mexico.”
“It significantly limits access to banking systems, particularly when individuals have had their phones taken away, cutting them off from mobile banking apps. In Mexico, a Unique Population Registry Code (Clave Única de Registro de Población, or CURP), a form of personal ID, is required to open a bank account.Without it, many deported individuals are unable to receive or manage funds independently,” the organization said.
HRW said that for deportees “who wish to make asylum claims, the process is arduous.”
“The Mexican Refugee Assistance Agency’s under-resourced bureaucracy is slow and saddled with procedural requirements that make it very difficult for people to access asylum or similar protection,” it said.
HRW also said that deportees’ lack of legal documentation “makes it difficult for Cubans and other third-country nationals to access health care in Mexico, which was especially harmful for those interviewed with chronic health conditions.”
“… Many interviewees said they were deported with a limited supply of the medications they use to manage their chronic health conditions and were concerned about how they would obtain more once it ran out,” HRW said.
Miguel Ángel, a diabetic Cuban deportee, told HRW: “I ran out of insulin… because it is very expensive, too expensive. … I had nothing to treat my diabetes for two days and by the third day my vision was failing me. When my blood sugar spikes, it takes a toll on my eyesight.… Of course, I’m worried. If I go blind here, who is going to take care of me? I don’t have family here. I don’t have anyone.”
Regarding deportees’ transportation to southern Mexican cities, including Tapachula, Villahermosa, Palenque, Chiapas, and Tenosique, Tabasco, HRW said it was told by one Mexican government official that “these transfers to the south are intended to make it harder for people to return north toward the U.S. border.”
HRW’s recommendations to the Mexican government
In its report, HRW makes numerous recommendations to the Mexican government.
The organization advises the government to:
Ensure that transfers of third-country nationals from the United States only occur pursuant to a public, transparent agreement that stipulates strict adherence to due process and respect for international law.
Comply with the requirement under the 2011 Migration Law and restart the issuing of the Humanitarian Reasons Visitor Card to people seeking asylum and to others who qualify under the law.
Ensure that people deported from the United States have access to free, quality, and rights-respecting medical, psychosocial and mental health care and support services.
Establish an effective pathway to permanent resident status for third-country nationals who were removed to Mexico pursuant to agreements with the United States.
Ensure immediate access to the asylum system for deportees.
Suspend or adapt reporting and check-in requirements that are impossible or unduly burdensome for people who are homeless, lack transportation, have disabilities, are older or have serious health conditions.
Allow asylum seekers to relocate within Mexico when necessary for safety, health, family unity, shelter or access to services, including when remaining in the state where they filed their claim exposes them to organized crime, homelessness or other serious risks.
Ensure access to emergency shelter, food, healthcare and essential medication for deported people, with particular attention to older people, people with disabilities, people with chronic illnesses, pregnant people, children and others at heightened risk.
Adopt specific protection protocols for older people and people with serious medical conditions, including screening upon arrival, referrals to public health services, continuity of care and access to necessary medication.
Increase funding and staffing for the Mexican Refugee Assistance Commission and relevant protection institutions, particularly in cities receiving large numbers of deported or transferred people, to reduce delays and ensure timely, fair and accessible asylum procedures.
Among a number of recommendations to the U.S. government, HRW says that it should “stop the removal of Cubans and other third-country nationals to Mexico in the absence of a formal, transparent agreement with the Mexican government that people transferred will have access to a full and fair process for determining a claim for asylum or equivalent protection, as well as a pathway to effective and durable legal status for persons who might not qualify as refugees but whose home country refuses to repatriate them.”
HRW advises the government of Cuba to “respect the rights of all Cubans to their nationality and to return to their country, as established under international human rights law.”
