Mexico has sent a delegation of specialized firefighters and personnel from its Civil Protection and forest protection agencies, as well as members of the Mexican military to Los Angeles to fight southern California's wildfires. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Sheinbaum announced last Friday that Mexico was sending a team of firefighters and military personnel to the beleaguered city.
President Sheinbaum said that sending the Mexican team of 74 firefighters and military and emergency personnel to Los Angeles reflected the values of her government and Mexicans in general. “The Mexican people are generous and fraternal,” she said.
Mexico’s National Civil Protection chief Laura Velázquez joined Sheinbaum’s press conference via video link to provide an update on the work being carried out by a team of Mexican firefighters and military personnel in Los Angeles.
Velázquez noted that the “Mexican delegation” of 72 people — of which she is part — arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday and subsequently made their way to a logistics center where “all essential supplies” are provided to personnel responding to the devastating situation in L.A.
After attending a firefighting “information session” on Sunday, members of the Mexican delegation started on-the-ground work on Monday, the Civil Protection chief said.
California emergency personnel confer with the Mexican delegation at a logistics center at Zuma Beach in Malibu on Sunday. (Conafor/Twitter)
National Forestry Commission (Conafor) firefighters are carrying out “fire management tasks” while Defense Ministry (Defensa) disaster relief workers are engaged in search and rescue missions, Velázquez said.
“Conafor is obviously participating in response work combating forest fires, contributing to the protection of communities, the ecosystem and natural resources in the state of California,” she said.
“Defensa is strengthening search and rescue work in areas that are difficult to access, contributing to the location and removal of people affected by the fires,” Velázquez said.
“… We’re working as one, president, in accordance with your instructions,” she told Sheinbaum, adding that there is “complete coordination” with the government of California.
Velázquez also said that the Mexican team was “the first international delegation” to join the firefighting efforts in Los Angeles, where blazes have killed at least 24 people and damaged or destroyed thousands of structures.
Mexico and Los Angeles are ‘brothers,’ says Sheinbaum
Later in the press conference, a reporter noted that KISS bassist and singer Gene Simmons is among a large number of people who have expressed appreciation for Mexico’s support in fighting the wildfires in Los Angeles.
In a post to X on Monday, Simmons wrote: “A big thank you to Mexico’s new, impressive President Claudia Sheinbaum for sending Mexico’s best firefighters to help L.A. battle these monstrous fires.”
After the reporter noted that Simmons specifically thanked Sheinbaum, the president said that the Mexican government, first and foremost, is “humanist.”
“Before everything else that is our vision, our way of thinking ” she said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom thanks Mexico firefighters
California Governor Gavin Newsom was on hand to welcome the Mexican delegation. In a video posted online, he thanked Mexico for sending the humanitarian team.
“And it matches the way of thinking of the Mexican people, the Mexican people are generous and fraternal,” Sheinbaum said.
She also noted that Los Angeles “has welcomed many Mexicans” over the years.
“Well, remember that it was Mexico. But during the middle and end of the 19th century, the entire 20th century and now, [Los Angeles] has welcomed a lot of Mexicans,” Sheinbaum said.
“… So we always [offer] our solidarity and support, and particularly to this city. We are brothers,” she said.
While Mexicans are currently assisting the firefighting efforts in L.A., Sheinbaum highlighted that Mexicans are also likely to play a key role in the rebuilding of the city.
“They’re going to need a lot of manpower, and there are no better construction workers than Mexicans,” Sheinbaum said.
Each year, monarch butterflies migrate from Canada and the United States to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a 562-square-kilometer UNESCO site in the forests of Michoacán and México state. (Erika Lowe/Unsplash)
The late arrival of the annual monarch butterfly migration in mid-November raised concerns among the residents of Ejido El Rosario, Michoacán, and its surrounding areas. However, their numbers have been a pleasant surprise, with more butterflies arriving this year than last, according to the caretakers of their main habitat in Mexico.
Michoacán is home to the world-famous Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, which spans over 562 square kilometers (also including parts of México state). Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the reserve annually welcomes millions of butterflies that migrate from the northern United States and southern Canada to nest in Mexico’s pine and fir forests.
A monarch butterfly hangs out for the winter in the forests of Temascaltepec, México state.
“[The butterflies] arrived several days later than usual. But there are more butterflies this year than the last,” Abel Cruz Reséndiz, manager of El Campanario sanctuary in the Rosario Ejido, located in the municipality of Ocampo, told the newspaper La Jornada.
Close to 50% of all the butterflies that migrate to Michoacán congregate in the El Campanario sanctuary.
According to Cruz, there are about 50 million butterflies in the reserve now. While this figure is more than the one registered in 2023, it is less than in 2022.
“This confirms that the migration of the monarchs has fluctuations,” Reséndiz said.
In November 2022, some 90 million monarchs arrived in the fir forests of El Campanario Hill. A year later, the population dropped to almost half.
In good seasons, Michoacán’s Ejido El Rosario has seen over 100 million butterflies.
Scientists and conservationists have been tackling climate change threats to the butterflies’ habitat by moving fir seedlings to higher and colder areas in the region as the current habitat’s climate changes. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
However, there have been challenging seasons like the one recorded in 2016, when a snowfall led to the death of millions of butterflies. The monarch population took two years to recover.
Cruz noted that Michoacán is working to protect the monarch butterfly and restore its habitat, including planting nearly 200 hectares of fir and pine.
“We continually monitor the butterfly’s core area,” he told La Jornada. “The main threat lies along the migration route the butterfly takes from the northern continent, particularly through agricultural areas, where insecticides kill millions of butterflies.”
Governor of Michoacán Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said that this year marks half a century since the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve began to receive national and international tourists. To celebrate, the monarch butterfly will be included in the state’s official promotional materials, he said.
According to many experts, climate change is gradually changing the ecosystems of Mexico’s forests, putting the monarch’s habitat under threat from increasingly severe temperature changes, droughts and the emergence of pests. Some models predict that the climate habitat suitable for monarchs in the existing Monarch Reserve could disappear by 2090.
A group of scientists and conservationists is already collaborating to move fir seedlings to higher and colder areas in the region and create new butterfly habitats. The team aims to establish healthy trees in these areas by 2060.
Accompanied by cabinet ministers including Ebrard and Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O, Sheinbaum outlined 12 specific goals of Plan México to an audience that included government and business sector representatives. (Presidencia)
President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday presented an ambitious economic plan whose goals include making Mexico the 10th largest economy in the world, reducing reliance on imports from China and other Asian countries and creating 1.5 million new jobs.
Sheinbaum unveiled Plan México at the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, making her second major speech in two days after delivering an hourlong address on Sunday to highlight her government’s achievements during its first 100 days in office.
In addition to seeking increased foreign investment, one of Sheinbaum’s 12 goals of Plan México is to provide access to finance to at least 30% of small and medium-sized businesses. “We’re among the countries with the least funding for small and medium-sized companies,” Sheinbaum said. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartocuro)
The president described Plan México as a long-term “vision for equitable and sustainable development” that promotes economic growth while prioritizing “wellbeing for our people.”
She said that the plan would “continue to promote” the relocation of foreign companies to North America as Mexico seeks to take advantage of what has been described as a “once-in-a-generation” nearshoring opportunity.
Sheinbaum said that there is already US $277 billion in the investment pipeline.
“We’ve reached the level of having counted $277 billion in [proposed] investment [from companies] that want to come to Mexico,” she said, adding that the planned outlay is spread across some 2,000 projects.
Sheinbaum also reiterated that the USMCA free trade pact, which is up for revision in 2026, has benefited each of its signatories — the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“It will be maintained because it has been shown to be one of the best trade agreements in history,” she said.
Sheinbaum unveiled Plan México at the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City on Monday before hundreds of business leaders and the economic development ministers of Mexico’s 32 federal entities. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
Its aim with the tariffs is to support and protect Mexican sectors that have lost competitiveness and consequently market share due to an increase in imports to Mexico, especially low-cost products from China.
Plan México could help appease Trump as it reinforces Mexico’s commitment to the economic region in which it is located: North America.
Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said late last year that Mexico would “mobilize all legitimate interests in favor of North America” amid the ongoing China-U.S. trade war that could intensify after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
The goals of Plan México
Accompanied by cabinet ministers including Ebrard and Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O, Sheinbaum outlined 12 specific goals of Plan México to an audience that included various business sector representatives.
Sheinbaum described the plan as promoting economic growth in Mexico while prioritizing “wellbeing for our people.” (Presidencia)
“As you can see, they are ambitious goals,” she told attendees as the 12 objectives were displayed on a screen.
“For example, going from being the 12th largest economy in the world to being the 10th largest economy. That’s the scale of our objective,” Sheinbaum said.
The full list of Plan México goals the president presented is as follows:
To make Mexico the 10th largest economy in the world by the end of Sheinbaum’s term in 2030.
To maintain public and private investment levels above 25% of Mexico’s GDP, and increase investment to above 28% of GDP by 2030.
To create 1.5 million jobs in Mexico’s specialized manufacturing industry and other “strategic sectors.”
To increase production in “strategic sectors” in Mexico so that they can supply 50% of the national demand for products made in those sectors. “That is the objective, at least, in the textiles, footwear, furniture and toy sectors as well as some others,” Sheinbaum said.
To increase by 15% the use of domestically made contents in products made by the following sectors: automotive, aerospace, electronics, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
To have products made in Mexico account for 50% of all government purchases.
To make (more) vaccines in Mexico.
To reduce the average time between an investment announcement and the execution of a project from 2.6 years to 1 year.
To train an additional 150,000 “professionals” and “technicians” per year, with a focus on preparing people to work in “strategic sectors.”
To promote environmentally sustainable investment.
To provide access to finance to at least 30% of small and medium-sized businesses. “We’re among the countries with the least funding for small and medium-sized companies,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum added that a “substantive goal” of Plan México is to “reduce poverty and inequality in our country.”
She explained that the aim of producing more in Mexico is to not just supply more products to the domestic market but also to “the regional market.”
“The United States also depends a lot on imports from China and [other] Asian countries. We’re going to strengthen the regional market. And, in addition, our objective is also to expand [trade and economic cooperation] to the entire American continent. That is the vision we want in order to be the region with the greatest potential and development in the world,” she said.
How will the federal government support Plan México?
One measure is the provision of additional incentives to foreign and Mexican companies, which will be detailed in a “nearshoring decree” to be published this Friday.
Among the other “actions” are the following:
The submission to Congress of a proposed National Simplification and Digitalization Law aimed at cutting red tape.
The commencement of work with importers aimed at increasing production in Mexico.
Mexico’s existing trade agreements, tariff policies (the government appears open to matching U.S. tariffs on certain Chinese imports) and “customs intelligence” will also support Plan México, according to the “first draft” document presented by Sheinbaum.
Sheinbaum said that the document was a “first draft” because additional “ideas” will be added to Plan México.
The president also said that her government has been developing a “public investment plan” that includes spending on highways, passenger rail projects, airports, industrial parks, energy (particularly renewable energy), water, housing, security, education and other initiatives.
Presentamos el Plan México en el Museo Nacional de Antropología. El objetivo es subir del lugar 12 al 10 entre las mejores economías del mundo y alcanzar el bienestar de todas y todos los mexicanos. pic.twitter.com/6kJnA1B4gu
‘The aim is for everyone to be part of the construction of Plan México’
In a speech at the Museum of Anthropology, before Sheinbaum presented the details of Plan México, Marcelo Ebrard said that various working groups, “all led by Doctor Claudia Sheinbaum,” developed Plan México.
He said the plan could be described as “a navigational chart for Mexico for the new era we’re going to face.”
The economy minister highlighted the speed with which the plan was developed and declared that it was “virtually dictated by the president.”
However, Ebrard also said that the plan was the result of “collective work.”
“The national private sector is [represented] here, as is the private sector of the [different] federal entities and the economic development ministers of the 32 federal entities,” he said.
“… So it’s a collective job. A navigational chart, as I said at the beginning. There is uncertainty in the immediate future, but if we are united and have a national direction, as we do, we will come out ahead,” Ebrard said.
Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard spoke before Sheinbaum’s Monday address, emphasizing that Plan México was the result of “collective work.” (Daniel Augusto/Cuartocuro)
In her address, Sheinbaum said there is “a plan, a project and goals” for each of Mexico’s 32 states within Plan México.
“And the aim is for everyone to be part of the construction of Plan México,” she said.
Finance minister highlights that import substitution will spur growth
Repeating remarks he made last year, Rogelio Ramírez said that the replacement of just 10% of Chinese imports with products made in North America would boost economic growth in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
He said that the replacement of one-tenth of Chinese imports with production in North America would add 1.2 percentage points to Mexico’s annual GDP growth rate, and 0.8 points and 0.2 points to growth rates in the United States and Canada, respectively.
Ramírez highlighted that China has significantly increased its share of global trade this century, while the share of the USMCA signatories declined.
“This loss of participation cost us, especially Mexico and the United States, Canada less so,” Ramírez said, adding that a lot of factories in North America have shut down and a lot of jobs have been lost.
The effectiveness of Plan México in remedying that situation will become evident in the coming years.
Renata Zarazúa became Mexico's first professional tennis player to win an Australian Open match since 2000 on Monday, beating the U.S.'s Taylor Townsend. (Olimpismo Mexicano/X)
For the first time in 25 years, a Mexican tennis player won a match at the Australia Open in Melbourne, Australia. With her victory on Monday, Renata Zarazúa, 27, marked Mexico’s first win at Melbourne Park since Angélica Gavaldón beat Tzipi Obziler in the first round of the 2000 edition.
Zarazúa advanced to the next round after defeating the U.S.’s Taylor Townsend in three sets, which she won 6-7, 6-1 and 6-2.
Zarazúa is the first Mexican player since 2000 to win a match at the Australian Open. The last player to do so was Angélica Gavaldón, seen here as a 16-year-old playing her first Australian Open in 1990. (Mexican Tennis Federation)
The Mexican athlete faced a challenging first set, during which Townsend hit 11 consecutive aces. Still, Zarazúa won the first set in a tiebreaker. Zarazúa became the dominant player afterward, winning the second and third sets.
This marks Zarazúa’s third career victory in one of the four major tennis tournaments worldwide, following her win at Roland Garros in 2020 and her defeat of Caroline Garcia at the US Open 2024.
While she is competing in her fifth consecutive Grand Slam, this is her first as part of the main draw. In 2024, she secured her place by breaking into the top 70 of the WTA rankings, a position previously achieved only by Gavaldón.
Zarazúa’s next match will take place Jan. 15 or 16. She will compete against Italian Jasmine Paolini in the second round. Paolini, ranked No. 4 by the WTA, is coming off the best year of her career. Last year, she reached the finals of two Grand Slams and won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Zarazúa hails from a tennis family. Her uncle, Vicente Zarazúa, represented Mexico on its Davis Cup team in the 1960s. She is currently coached by her brother, Patricio.
Zarazúa was also the first tennis player to represent Mexico at the Olympics in Tokyo 2020.
Conafor attributed the dramatic increase in area destroyed to the effects of climate change, including extended drought, high temperatures and a disruption in normal rain patterns. (Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro)
Mexican firefighters battled more than 8,000 wildfires in 2024, blazes that burned more than 1.67 million hectares (4.1 million acres) — a nearly 60% increase over the destruction caused by fires in 2023, according to Mexico’s National Forestry Commission (Conafor).
In its year-end report, Conafor also reported that the total area destroyed was the most recorded since it began keeping records in 1998, and the 8,002 fires were the sixth-highest total in the past 27 years. Additionally, Conafor reported that 18 firefighters died in the field in 2024.
The Conafor report indicated that 95% of the fire damage affected grasses and shrubbery and only 5% impacted tree cover. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
In its report, Conafor attributed the dramatic increase in area destroyed to the effects of climate change, including extended drought, high temperatures and a disruption in normal rain patterns.
While presenting the report, Conafor manager César Robles explained that in January 2024, more than 80% of the country was experiencing drought.
“In drought conditions, the vegetation is much more prone to catch fire,” he said, according to the newspaper Milenio. “And even though it began to rain in mid-June [in Mexico], we were seeing much more intense fires, blazes that were more severe, more dangerous and more explosive.”
The Conafor report indicated that 95% of the fire damage affected grasses and shrubbery and only 5% impacted tree cover. Of the 1.67 million hectares affected, the newspaper El Sol de México reported that 41% of the damaged area will take more than five years to recover its vegetation.
Robles said Conafor expects more of the same in 2025, especially since the anomalies in precipitation will continue during the first three months of the year.
“We are on alert,” he said. “We are taking all due precautions and we have a very strong relationship with national civil protection units, as well as with Defensa [the Defense Ministry], Semar [the Naval Ministry], the National Water Commission and the National Meteorological Service.”
Approximately 38% of Mexico is currently experiencing some degree of drought conditions. (Monitor de Sequía de México)
Robles identified March through June as particularly critical months for Conafor, during which much of the country is vulnerable to fires. He said July through November will be more critical for firefighters in the northeastern part of the country.
Conafor has 1,700 full-time firefighters on the payroll with another 1,7000 brigade members on part-time duty. Last year, Conafor registered 506,408 person/days — a unit of measurement that represents the amount of work a single person can complete in one working day — while fighting fires across the nation.
Conafor provided details about the number of fires and the area damaged in each state in 2024. The 1,672,216 hectares destroyed last year easily surpassed the 1,047,493 hectares damaged in 2023, and tripled the median (about 585,000 hectares) of the past 27 years.
Conafor had never registered destruction of more than 1 million hectares before 2023.
The 10 states with the most area damaged in 2024 were:
Guerrero: 113,972 hectares
Chiapas: 41,267 hectares
Oaxaca: 21,608 hectares
Jalisco: 21,235 hectares
Michoacán: 12,688 hectares
Sinaloa: 9,237 hectares
Colima: 5,445 hectares
San Luis Potosí: 4,777 hectares
Veracruz: 4,374 hectares
Puebla: 4,043 hectares
There were 8,002 fires registered in 2024, far behind the 14,445 recorded in 1998, but nearly 400 more fires than in 2023.
Amazon Web Services will invest US $5 billion in the development of a new Querétaro data region over the next 15 years. (Shutterstock)
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a US $5 billion investment in Mexico from Amazon Web Services during her daily press conference on Tuesday.
The investment, which will be distributed over the next 15 years, is aimed at developing a new digital “region” in Mexico’s Querétaro state. With it, Amazon expects to establish Mexico as a hub for digital innovation in Latin America.
Sheinbaum announced the investment alongside Amazon representatives, including AWS Vice President for Latin America Paula Bellizia. (Gustavo Alberto/Cuartoscuro)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to train 400,000 people to manage the Querétaro infrastructure cloud region. This builds upon AWS’s commitment to developing Mexican talent, having trained 500,000 Mexicans in cloud skills since 2017.
“[The] new Amazon investment of $5 billion in Querétaro. 200,000 people will be trained and educated, it will generate an additional $10 billion for the GDP, and we will be ready for artificial intelligence. Plan México is moving ahead!” Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard wrote on the social media site X.
Plan México, announced by Sheinbaum and members of the Economy Ministry (SE) on Monday, seeks to attract $277 billion in domestic and foreign investment across 2,000 projects in the next six years.
AWS said the new digital region will help customers run workloads and securely store data via Mexico’s data centers. The company first announced plans to develop data centers in Mexico last February in response to the growing demand in Latin America for cloud services.
🚀 Come & build the future with us! The new #AWS Region in #Mexico is now open.
“Our commitment is to democratizing access to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, promoting a more equitable, innovative and competitive Mexico at a global level,” AWS Vice President for Latin America Paula Bellizia said during Sheinbaum’s press conference.
Bellizia also said that the investment is expected to support the creation of “7,000 highly qualified and full-time jobs” per year.
According to Amazon, the construction and operation of the new center in Querétaro will add about $10 billion to Mexico’s gross domestic product.
“One way to accelerate the impact on the Mexican economy is the adoption of artificial intelligence and we know that it is central to the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum,” said Bellizia on Tuesday.
The 1.8-meter-tall piñata featuring the Hindu mythological figure Ravana and his 10 heads, each symbolizing a vice to overcome. (Embassy of India in Mexico City)
Despite being more than 15,000 kilometers apart, Mexico and India share more than one might imagine, like family values, a love for unique flavors, an ancestral, vibrant culture and distinctive religious practices.
Recently, the two countries collaborated on a piñata in the shape of the Hindu mythological character Ravana, highlighting Indian culture at the hands of Mexican artists.
On Dec. 20, authorities in Acolman, México state — located right outside of the Teotihuacán pyramid complex — unveiled a piñata modeled after the Hindu demon king Ravana.
The piñata was created with the support of the Gurudev Tagore Indian Cultural Center in Mexico City, and the Municipality of Acolman, Mexico. Made by local papier-mâché artisan Alberto Alejandro de la Cruz Morales, the piñata participated in Acolman’s annual International Piñata Festival, which ran from Dec. 19 through Dec. 22.
According to the project’s collaborators, the piñata merges the worldviews of both cultures. In Mexico, breaking the piñata symbolizes overcoming obstacles to earn a reward. Traditionally, the piñata has seven spokes, representing the seven deadly sins, and breaking it symbolizes defeating temptations and the struggle between good and evil.
In contrast, Ravana is a central figure in Hindu mythology, primarily known as the antagonist in the epic Ramayana. This complex character plays a crucial role in Indian culture, representing various aspects of tradition and folklore. Ravana is depicted with 10 heads and 20 arms, demonstrating his power and wisdom.
Taking these characteristics into account, Alejandro de la Cruz Morales created the 1.8-meter-tall piñata featuring Ravana and his 10 heads, each symbolizing a vice to overcome.
Indian Ambassador to Mexico Pankaj Sharma participated in the piñata’s reveal ceremony, along with Abhinaw Raj, director of the Gurudev Tagore Indian Cultural Center, and the artists behind the piñata’s creation.
According to Raj, the piñata project is the fruit of a larger effort by India to promote academic and cultural exchange with Mexico.
Educational programs and Mexico-India exchange opportunities
Raj told the newspaper Crónica that the Embassy of India in Mexico City has implemented several scholarship programs that cover airfare, accommodation and a monthly stipend, enabling Mexican students to pursue undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degrees in India.
In addition, through India’s bilateral assistance program ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation), Mexican professionals and public officials can enroll in short-term courses in India in emerging fields like artificial intelligence, technology, education and culture.
Officially launched on Sept. 15, 1964, this India-led program extends to residents of 158 countries and has invested more than US $2 billion in training professionals worldwide.
In December 2024, viral videos emerged of a troubled U.S. expat embarking on a serious of aggressive and unprovoked attacks in the streets of Mexico City. Who was she? (Mariah Markus/LinkedIn)
I first encountered the woman on a spring morning in Hipódromo, a neighborhood in Mexico City inhabited largely by young professionals and expatriates. She might have been mistaken for a backpacker at first glance, with her giant battered rucksack and crew-cut hair. Upon closer look, however, there was something “off” about her presence — the aggressive stance, the torn and dirty clothing, the angry muttering and gesticulating wildly. Her freckles and red hair, cut military-short, implied she was a non-Mexican, though she moved through the streets as if she owned them.
As I passed her, I averted my eyes and crossed to the opposite sidewalk, joining other passersby in careful avoidance. Over the next several months, from time to time I would spot her again in Condesa or Roma Norte. Each time, I found myself wondering about her story — who she was, where she came from, how she had ended up here. She seemed dangerous, baring her teeth or laughing hysterically to herself, sometimes brandishing a glinting sharp object. As I moved on with my day, my curiosity would fade as her presence was relegated to the background of busy errands around town.
A viral video
Gracias a la denuncia que nos hicieron nuestras vecinas y vecinos, la policía del sector logró la detención de una persona que portaba un arma y que ponía en peligro la vida de quienes viven en Cuauhtémoc.
It wasn’t until several weeks later that Mariah Markus, as I later learned she was named, once again entered my radar: this time via a series of alarmed messages in various WhatsApp groups. Immersed in writing an article one afternoon in mid-December, I became irritated by the constant vibrations of my phone. My WhatsApp channels were blowing up with cautionary messages and a forwarded recent clip of the woman throwing a heavy rock at someone outside of the video frame and flashing a glinting knife while screaming. A message in Spanish accompanying the video read “Neighbors, be very careful with this crazy person. She has a knife, attacks people, throws stones, and is wandering around Vicente Suárez and Tula, the sidewalk on Mazatlán, and the area around Walmart. Be cautious!”
The digital grapevine quickly transformed into a forum for concerned residents sharing their personal experiences encountering the woman and theories about her origins. The messages, alternating between Spanish and English, painted a portrait of mounting concern in these typically peaceful neighborhoods. A woman named Ali, one of the group members, reported “Apparently the police have been called several times, [Mariah has] been detained and then released. [T]he US embassy has been notified.”
Taylor, another resident, added to the growing narrative: “She is outside my apartment building most mornings and throughout the day. Where the Green Corner is on the corner of Mazatlan/Fernando Montes de Oca. Very concerning, I see her almost every day.”
“We have to do something!” added a woman named Daniela, in another WhatsApp group.
An American woman named Sara chimed in with a recent sighting “I just saw her in the middle of the street probing a manhole cover while traffic whizzed past.”
Amidst the buzz of fear and speculation in the chats, several women expressed sympathy and concern for Mariah. Carla, a Mexican resident, wrote: “Is very very sad her situation, she must have been abused several times, I had seen her all beaten. I hope that soon she receives help, for her sake and others 😞” Carla’s words sparked new discussions about mental health support systems available for expats and the homeless in Mexico.
Despite some compassionate inputs, underneath the surface of several messages and comments on social media lurked an unmistakable strain of xenophobia, particularly among some Mexican participants who called for Mariah’s deportation. “Deport the American woman now!” demanded one particularly vocal member. Other posts on social media showing videos of Mariah sarcastically referred to her presence as “Gentrification.”
As the video of Mariah’s most recent activities continued its viral journey, appearing in nearly every WhatsApp channel, the community’s response crystallized into action. A dedicated WhatsApp group titled “Police Report” materialized, attracting 148 members within hours of its creation.
Crowdsourcing Mariah’s story
August 2015 Absolute No GI-Mariah Markus
Little by little as more facts and information were shared in the various chats, a clearer picture of Mariah Markus began to emerge. A woman connected with the U.S. Embassy revealed Mariah’s full name, while others dropped articles from Mexican publications reporting on her previous arrests. Videos surfaced showing her confrontational behavior, including footage of her standing in traffic, shouting at passing drivers.
But it was her LinkedIn profile, shared by another group member, that revealed the most startling contrast. The profile painted an unexpected portrait: Mariah was 33, a Colorado native, and a graphic designer with her own portfolio website. Her background included computer science studies and a four-year service in the Colorado Air National Guard. The profile listed an impressive thirty honors and awards, including professional fighting titles, though their authenticity remained unverified.
Most unsettling were the four articles she had written on LinkedIn, which revealed not only her past as a victim of abuse, but also a troubled history marked by multiple suicide attempts. The professional facade of her online presence stood in contrast to her current situation, serving as a haunting reminder of the precariousness of mental states — and how quickly circumstances can unravel without proper support.
The situation caught the attention of local politician Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, the mayor of Cuauhtémoc, who used her social media platforms to provide updates and call for firsthand accounts from affected residents, citing a need for concrete evidence in order to support deportation proceedings. It appeared that, on numerous occasions in the past, Mariah had been detained and released by authorities due to a lack of evidence needed for resolution.
Within less than two days of the initial buzz on community groups and social media, COPACO Hipódromo Condesa (a community-based organization) reported that Mariah had finally been successfully deported back to the United States.
Crossing borders, carrying burdens
Mariah’s story serves as a sobering reminder to many in Mexico City’s expat community. Her descent from a young professional to a person in crisis on the streets of a foreign city represents a dark inversion of the American Dream, played out against the backdrop of Mexico’s capital. It raises questions about mental health support, community responsibility, and xenophobia in a city that attracts foreigners seeking new beginnings.
In the end, Mariah Markus’s story serves as a reminder that the promise of a fresh start in a new country cannot mask deeper, unresolved troubles that no change of scenery can cure.
What's inside a traditional Mexican kitchen and what are all these things used for? (Canva)
My father just moved into a small, rent-controlled apartment. My uncle gave us a quick video tour of it, and though it’s inexpensive, I think it’s quite nice. The kitchen is what impressed me the most: storage cabinets lined the walls above and below. There was also a refrigerator, stove with an oven, a microwave, and a nice, deep double-basin sink.
I bet you can regulate hot and cold water, and that the pressure is great, too.
My dad probably isn’t doing this in his new kitchen — but Mexicans absolutely do in theirs. (Evie Martínez/Unsplash)
My dad, of course, will not occupy even a fourth of the kitchen storage space; like a sizable number of people in the US, he does not cook.
Pan the camera down a few hundred miles, and you’ll find some very different looking kitchens. Though they might be sparsely occupied by on the furniture and storage front — I’ve seen plenty with a single sink and nothing else — there’s a lot going on in them.
So, what will you find in a Mexican kitchen?
A blender (licuadora). The blender is used for pretty much everything around here. Want a creamy soup? Blender. Salsa? Blender. Chocolate milk? Blender. Pancake batter? You guessed it.
Break someone’s blender, and you might be facing an actual death sentence. Be careful: it’s a sacred item!
A pressure cooker (olla exprés). A pressure cooker is a pretty great little tool. In most of the homes I’ve been in, it’s used to make a really, really delicious pot of beans. Hearing this, I went out and bought one myself!
But then, I read the instructions: “To prevent the pot from exploding…” I’m sorry, what? Explosion, you say? My own olla exprés stayed in the box.
The molcajete might just be the most essential piece of the Mexican kitchen. (Agro-Cultura Mexicana)
Tortilla press (prensa de tortilla). This little contraption is great if you want to make your own fresh tortillas from masa (cornmeal dough). Can you get by without one? Sure. Plenty of people simply keep a couple of round cut-outs of plastic and use them to form the masa however they like. But the press is fun, and faster, and makes them pretty even. I’ve seen wooden ones, but the metal round ones are the real stars!
Mortar (molcajete). Ever notice those heavy stone bowls with the pestle in them? They look cool, yes, but they’re not just for show: they’re a popular choice for making salsa and guacamole. And really, anything that needs crushed up or pulverized, I guess.
The tough part of the molcajete comes later: I’ve never figured out a really good way to clean them without them still smelling like whatever was last crushed!
An oven (horno) not used as an oven. Among my friends, I am one of the only people I know who actually uses her oven. I hate to cook, but love to bake sweet treats. My waist is sad, but my guests are happy!
So what will you find when you open the average person’s oven around here? Mostly pots and pans, given the general lack of storage in most simpler kitchens. Another friend of mine keeps her extra plastic bags there, and my host family actually kept books in there!
Yogurt and cream containers, washed out mayonnaise jars. Why buy expensive Tupperware when you can simply recycle the sturdy containers that your food comes in?
Look in the average person’s yogurt containers and you’ll find plenty of things besides yogurt! Beans and salsas if you’re lucky, old veggies if you’re not. What’s certain is that each one contains a surprise [Editors note: Sarah, are you advocating going to people’s houses and robbing their kitchens?].
All of the above are givens, but there’s plenty more! Lots of houses are built without a “cocina integral” (kitchen cabinets and drawers), so some people get creative. You might find a hodgepodge of tables and shelving, depending on the need. And since appliances don’t typically come with rentals, fridges, stoves, and microwaves are pretty much always resident-owned.
The best thing about a Mexican kitchen, of course, is the food. There may not be a bunch of fancy storage or matching plates, but man. You can sure get a good meal.
Former Presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón have both made supportive comments about Maduro's political opposition in interviews and on social media — which, apparently, is enough to get them effectively banned from Venezuela. (Wikimedia Commons)
Venezuela’s National Assembly has declared former Mexican presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón as personae non gratae, intensifying tensions as the country’s political crisis deepens.
The move by Venezuela’s ruling party majority also targets seven other former Latin American leaders who expressed support for opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia in his bid to be sworn in as president.
Venezuela Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello ordered these wanted posters of former Mexican presidents to be distributed across his country. (Prensa CICPC/Instagram)
González claims victory in Venezuela’s disputed 2024 elections, which the government declared were won by incumbent Nicolás Maduro. On Friday in Caracas, Maduro was sworn in for his third six-year term.
Dominated by pro-Maduro lawmakers, the Assembly labeled the former presidents as unwelcome and said they will be prosecuted as a “foreign force attempting to invade” if they try to enter Venezuela.
Minister of the Interior Diosdado Cabello escalated the rhetoric by unveiling wanted posters of the leaders, accusing them of “conspiracy” and “threatening the peace of Venezuela.” Cabello ordered their dissemination nationwide, including in ports and airports.
Fox and Calderón are both members of Mexico’s National Action Party (PAN).
Venezuela Interior Minister Cabello is no stranger to wanted posters, as he himself is wanted by the U.S. DEA for his connections to the drug-trafficking organization Cartel of the Suns. (U.S. DEA)
Calderón, who recently distanced himself from one of his top officials, was president from 2006 to 2012. His security minister, Genaro García Luna, was recently sentenced to nearly 40 years in jail in the U.S. for colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel.
Although neither Fox nor Calderón have made an explicit statement on the Venezuela election, both have expressed support for the Venezuelan opposition leader on social media and/or in interviews.
Calderón stated he would accompany González during a tour of Latin America leading up to an anticipated swearing-in attempt.
The other presidents on the banned list are Mario Abdo (Paraguay 2018-2023), Mireya Moscoso (Panama 1999-2004), Ernesto Pérez Balladares (Panama 1994-1999), Jorge Quiroga (Bolivia 2001-2002), Jamil Mahuad (Ecuador 1998-2000) and Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica 2010-2014).
After Venezuela’s National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of elections in July, Mexico’s then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Mexico would respect the announced result “because that’s democracy.”
Maduro and former President López Obrador maintained friendly relations during AMLO’s time in office. (File photo)
González is recognized as the rightful victor by the United States, Canada, Spain and other European Union countries, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile. Those supporting Maduro include Russia, China, Iran, Cuba and Turkey.
Meanwhile, government officials in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia have called for an independent, impartial verification of the election tally.
Credible reports from election observers suggest that González won by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
Maduro’s inauguration last week was attended by 10 heads of state, according to Venezuela state media. Those present included Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega and Cuba’s Miguel Diaz-Canel. Several Maduro allies stayed home, including Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who cited the arrest of a Venezuelan human rights defender as his reason for missing the event.
“A representative will attend the inauguration, and we see no reason why this should be an issue,” said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, stating that it is the responsibility of the Venezuelan people to determine their internal affairs.
