How much do minimum-wage and informal workers earn in Mexico City? We asked.

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September 3, 2025

Cleaner working in the Mexico City metro — Virtually any resident of Mexico City will attest that the cost of living has increased significantly in recent years. So, how much are people actually living on? (Cuartoscuro)

It’s just after 9 a.m. on a Friday morning and a seasoned shoeshiner is standing next to his stand on Mexico City’s Insurgentes Avenue, waiting for a customer.

His small business, which he has run as a sole proprietor for 25 years, is doing well “gracias a Dios” (thank God), he tells Mexico News Daily, using an expression that is ubiquitous in conversations across the country.

Luis has run a shoeshining business for 25 years and brings home between 500 and 1,000 pesos per day. (Peter Davies)

Luis says that his earnings are variable, but he generally takes home between 500 and 1,000 pesos (US $27-54) per day.

If he were to work every day of the month, and consistently earn the higher daily amount he cited, Luis’s take-home pay (excluding his business expenses) would just exceed the 29,500-peso (US $1,580) amount that, on average, Mexico City residents say they need to cover their monthly expenses, according to the 2023 National Financial Health Survey.

For many other workers who labor in the vast informal economy in Mexico City — and in formal sector positions as well — their salaries don’t even come close to that amount, leaving them struggling to get by in a city that, in recent years, has become a significantly more expensive place to live.

An improving landscape for Mexican workers

There have been some positive changes for Mexican workers in recent years.

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

According to President Claudia Sheinbaum, the increases to the minimum wage in recent years, as well as government support for millions of Mexicans in the form of welfare payments, were key factors that contributed to 13.4 million Mexicans exiting poverty between 2018 and 2024.

During former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s six-year term, the percentage of Mexicans classed as “the working poor” also declined, falling to its lowest level on record last year.

In light of this slew of good news stories, Mexico News Daily hit the streets of Mexico City to ask workers about their jobs, their salaries and their capacity to cover the cost of living in the capital. This article focuses on low-paid workers in the formal and informal sectors of the economy. Future articles will consider the situations of higher-paid workers.

The minimum wage is up, but making ends meet is still tough for low-paid workers

As the minimum wage increased in Mexico in recent years, so did consumer prices.

Mexico’s annual inflation rate hit 8.7% in August 2022 — the highest level in more than two decades — and remained high in 2023 and 2024 before beginning to stabilize this year and consequently approach the Bank of Mexico’s 3% target.

Rents — which eat up a substantial portion of many workers’ salaries — have risen in Mexico City and other parts of the country in recent years, forcing some residents of the capital to relocate to more affordable, less central areas.

Indeed, virtually any resident of Mexico City will attest that the cost of living has increased significantly in recent years. Across Mexico, the majority of people — almost 84 million — don’t earn enough to pay for all of their basic needs, including food, housing, education and transport, according to a recent study by the think tank México ¿cómo vamos?

Below you will find a series of snapshots of the situations of low-paid workers in Mexico City, who feel the cost-of-living pressures as acutely as anyone.

Most of the workers Mexico News Daily spoke to for this article earn less than the average daily base salary of a formal sector worker, which was 614.3 pesos (US $33) at the end of July. The daily minimum wage in most of the country is set at 278.80 pesos.

Based on their salaries, they are part of Mexico’s predominant lower class, according to the social class salary criteria established by the national statistics agency INEGI.

The amaranth salesman

On Félix Cuevas Avenue in the Del Valle neighborhood of Mexico City, an elderly vendor of alegría (bars of amaranth topped with nuts and raisins) told Mexico News Daily that he is paid 1,000 pesos (US $54) per week by his patrón (boss), who supplies him with his product.

He described the amount — which equates to a daily rate well below the minimum wage — as “very little.”

As a senior, the vendor — who has been selling alegría (literally happiness) for 15 years — is eligible for Mexico’s old-age pension of 6,200 pesos (US $332) every two months.

However, even when adding his meager wage and his pension together, the monthly total is below the minimum wage, which is 8,364 pesos (US $447) per month in most of the country, including Mexico City.

The security guard

Outside a Montepío Luz Saviñón pawn shop on Insurgentes Sur (the southern section of Insurgentes Avenue), a security guard told MND that he takes home 4,500 pesos per quinceña, a period of 15 days.

Jorge’s salary — 9,000 pesos (US $482) per month — is slightly above the monthly minimum wage. (Peter Davies)

His salary — 9,000 pesos (US $482) per month — is slightly above the monthly minimum wage.

Jorge, who is employed by the private security company Simose, said that his salary has gone up thanks to the increases to the minimum wage in recent years, but is still “not enough,” especially considering he has a family to support.

Nevertheless, Jorge said he is grateful that he has a stable job with benefits, including medical insurance and an end-of-year bonus. He also said he is happy with what the current and former federal governments have done for workers.

Jorge also told MND that he likes his job, and — knock on wood — hasn’t had any major security problems to deal with.

The newspaper vendor

Further along Insurgentes, Mexico News Daily met 61-year-old Elpidía Juárez, who for the past seven years has been selling newspapers to passing pedestrians and motorists for Excélsior, the self-described “newspaper of national life.”

She said she earns 294 pesos (about US $16) a day, an amount slightly above the minimum wage and almost triple the 100 pesos per day she was paid when she first started with Excélsior in 2018.

Thanks to the annual increases to the minimum wage, Elpidía has seen firsthand the changes to her monthly income during her employment with the newspaper.

Juárez said she is paid weekly, taking home 1,470 pesos (US $79) for a five-day workweek. She said that her wage isn’t dependent on the number of newspapers she sells, and explained that she can return any unsold copies to Excélsior without incurring any penalty.

Elpidía earned 100 pesos per day when she first started with Excélsior in 2018. Now she earns around 300 pesos per day. (Peter Davies)

Juárez said she enjoys full benefits in her job, and noted that she has applied to receive the federal government’s “well-being” pension for women aged 60 to 64. Women aged 63 and 64 are already receiving a 3,000-peso (US $160) payment every two months and the scheme will be extended to younger sexagenarians soon.

Juárez, who agreed that the cost of living has increased significantly, said that the pension payment will help her and her husband cover their monthly expenses, including 6,000 pesos (US $320) rent for their apartment near Plaza Garibaldi, the square in the historic center of Mexico City where mariachi musicians entertain revelers around the clock.

The car washer

Luis, the second person of that name MND met on a recent Friday, washes and details cars at a Cadillac dealership on Insurgentes Sur. He said he has been in the job for six months and is paid around 4,000 pesos (US $214) per quincena, an amount more or less in line with the minimum wage.

Luis, who works eight hours a day six days a week, said he is happy with his current wage, although he admitted that it doesn’t go very far.

He expressed optimism that he could get a raise if he continues to work hard.

The pharmacy employee

Outside a Farmacias Similares drugstore on Insurgentes Sur, MND spoke to Ángeles, who in the absence of Dr. Simi himself was doing her best to promote the pharmacy and lure customers in to make a purchase.

She said that she works five days a week and takes home between 3,000 and 4,000 pesos (US $160-$214) per quincena depending on her hours. She also receives benefits.

Ángeles said that she has benefited from the increase in the minimum wage, but still finds it difficult to cover her expenses each month.

The Herbalife worker

Juan Hurtado is 40 years old and has worked for 10 years at a Herbalife store located near Insurgentes Sur.

He told MND that he takes home 10,000 pesos (US $535) per month, but noted that he only works five hours a day five days a week, which works out to just over half the standard 48-hour workweek in Mexico. He also receives benefits as part of his formal sector employment package.

Hurtado said that 10,000 pesos per month wouldn’t be enough to live on if he were to live alone. Consequently, he shares an apartment with his brother not too far from where he works.

Hurtado noted that a lot of workers in central Mexico City travel long distances to get to work. “They don’t have a life,” he said.

Juan Hurtado, 40, takes home 10,000 pesos per month at his part-time job. (Peter Davies)

Hurtado also said that he is always thinking about and looking for ways he can increase his income. He currently sells dietary supplements and health food products as a side gig, sometimes even personally delivering the goods to his customers’ homes.

The Pemex attendant

Mexico News Daily visited a Pemex gas station on the corner of Insurgentes Sur and División del Norte Avenue, where a young man was working his fourth shift pumping gas.

He and two of his colleagues told Mexico News Daily that their income comes solely from the tips they receive from motorists.

“You do very well, I didn’t know that,” the young man said, explaining that he had earned between 500 and 800 (US $27-$43) pesos per day in his admittedly short career so far as a Pemex gas station attendant.

While such amounts are well above the minimum wage, an income that is solely dependent on tips is, because of its very nature, unreliable and inconsistent.

Nevertheless, the worker MND spoke to was happy with his lot, and happy to talk — until a superior told him it was time to get back to work.

NOTE:

* Salaries, of course, are variable, and two people doing the same job aren’t necessarily paid the same salary.

** Workers who earn the minimum wage in Mexico are exempt from paying income tax.

*** Salaries (and expenses) are higher in Mexico City than in many other parts of the country, but the minimum wage in the capital is the same as that in most of the country. A higher minimum wage applies in Mexico’s northern border region.

What about OXXO workers and Uber drivers?

Ever wondered how much the person who sells you beer in OXXO earns? Or how much your Uber driver takes home?

Mexico News Daily has compiled salary data for 10 different jobs from the employment website Indeed. The amounts listed are average monthly salaries, and apply to Mexico City rather than the country as a whole in some cases.

The earnings of workers in many positions can vary considerably due to a range of factors, including their location in Mexico and the number of hours they work. The salaries listed below are intended to be a guide rather than a precise tabulation.

A supermarket cashier earns around 4,900 pesos per month (US $262).
An OXXO store assistant earns around 7,700 pesos (US $412). (As this OXXO worker explains, employees’ earnings can increase thanks to bonuses and other incentives.)
A cleaner earns around 7,850 pesos (US $420)
A gardener earns 8,040 pesos (US $430) in Mexico City.
A waiter earns around 8,500 pesos (US $455), excluding tips.
An Uber driver earns around 9,800 pesos (US $524). (Digital platform workers are now eligible for formal sector employment benefits thanks to recently approved labor law reforms.)
A domestic worker earns about 9,850 pesos (US $527) in Mexico City. (Such workers are supposed to be registered in social security by their employers, but many are not.)
A hotel receptionist earns about 10,350 pesos (US $553).
A taquero (taco cook and/or vendor) earns about 10,700 pesos (US $572) in Mexico City.
An albañil (construction worker/bricklayer) earns about 10,900 pesos (US $583).

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

State official and former mayor killed by gunfire on Guerrero highway

By

MND Staff

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September 3, 2025

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Hossein Nabor Guillén in 20165 — Hossein Nabor Guillén, shown here as mayor of Tixtla, Guerrero in 2016, was shot to death Tuesday while driving on the Chilpancingo-Tlapa highway. (José Hernández/Cuartoscuro.com)

A deputy minister in the Guerrero state government was murdered on Tuesday while traveling on a highway near Chilpancingo, the state capital.

Hossein Nabor Guillén, deputy welfare minister for social policy in the government of Governor Evelyn Salgado, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen while driving on the Chilpancingo-Tlapa highway in the municipality of Tixtla.

Hossein Nabor and Gov. EvelynSalgado — Nabor was serving as deputy welfare minister for social policy in the Guerrero state government of Gov. Evelyn Salgado at the time of his death. (@QueCosaNoticias/on X)

The Guerrero Attorney General’s Office said on social media that it is investigating the crime, but didn’t provide additional details. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

The murder reportedly occurred at around 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday near a car dealership and pozole restaurant in the town of Tixtla, located around 17 kilometers east of Chilpancingo.

Nabor, mayor of Tixtla between 2015 and 2018, began his tenure as deputy welfare minister when Salgado took office in late 2021. He left the position last year to contest the state election as a candidate for deputy for the Morena party, but returned to the job in February.

Salgado conveyed her condolences to Nabor’s family in a social media post.

“His passing leaves a great void in our hearts,” she wrote. “Hossein was a man committed to the causes of the people, generous, supportive, and always willing to serve others. His memory will live on forever among those of us who had the privilege of walking by his side. Rest in peace,”

Nabor was reportedly close to Salgado’s father, federal Senator Félix Salgado, who backed the now-deceased official’s candidacy in the 2024 state election in Guerrero. The deputy welfare minister was aiming to represent Tixtla in the state Congress, but lost the election on June 2, 2024.

A controversial photo

Nabor’s main rival for the Tixtla deputy position was Jorge Iván Ortega, now a state lawmaker who represents the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). Nabor was a member of the PRD before switching his allegiance to Morena, the party founded by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Ortega is the nephew of Celso Ortega, identified as the leader of the criminal group Los Ardillos, which “dominates criminal action in the central region of Guerrero,” according to the Reforma newspaper.

In May 2024, during the campaign period leading up to the election, a photo emerged of Nabor and Celso Ortega sharing a hug in a Chilpancingo restaurant. Former Chilpancingo mayor Norma Otilia Hernández Martínez was expelled from the Morena party after it came to light that she had met with Celso Ortega, but Nabor didn’t suffer the same fate.

According to the newspaper La Jornada, Nabor was accused of allowing Los Ardillos to operate in and around Tixtla when he was mayor of the municipality.

Guerrero is one of Mexico’s most violent states, recording 870 homicides in the first seven months of 2025, according to data presented by the federal government last month.

Nabor shared a hug with cartel leader Celso Ortega in a photo that caused controversy when it became public in 2024, but led to no consequences for Nabor. (@PandaDelAmor19/X)

Since Salgado became governor in October 2021, four mayors, one mayor-elect and seven former mayors have been murdered in Guerrero, the El Universal newspaper reported.

Among those killed was Alejandro Arcos Catalán, who was murdered last October just six days after he took office as the mayor of Chilpancingo.

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

Mexican-American cartoonist Feggo faces censorship over 26-year-old border wall illustration

By

MND Staff

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September 3, 2025

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850x567 px - 3 — Galindo’s 1999 illustration, “4th of July from the south border." (Feggo)

Mexican-American cartoonist Felipe Galindo — known professionally as Feggo — is at the center of a growing storm over artistic freedom and government censorship after his work was singled out by the Trump administration as objectionable in a directive targeting Smithsonian museums.

Galindo’s 1999 illustration, “4th of July from the south border,” became a flashpoint when it appeared on a recent White House list of artworks being criticized for allegedly promoting, among other things: open borders, the concept of white privilege, a wide range of sexual identities, anti-American sentiment and too much focus on slavery in the history of the U.S.

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A post shared by Felipe Galindo (@feggorama)

The administration’s campaign — the Aug. 21 document from the White was titled “President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian” — comes amid increasing pressure on museums to “align messaging” with upcoming celebrations for the United States’s 250th anniversary.

Reacting from Manhattan, New York — where the 68-year-old native of Cuernavaca, Morelos, has lived for over four decades — the multiple-award-winning Galindo, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and other publications, voiced alarm over censorship.

“More than fear, I feel sadness and anger, because what the Trump administration is doing is censorship and against freedom of expression,” Galindo said in an interview with the Mexican news magazine Proceso.

“This administration is racist. Even Trump said it at one point: ‘Why aren’t people from Norway coming here?’ He’s like that, absurd and racist. This administration is against anything that shows empathy and/or generosity toward Latin American immigrants and what everyone who seeks a ‘dream’ of a better life in this country experiences, the vast majority of whom work and contribute.”

On his website, Galindo has posted an explanatory letter in English. “Dear Friends and Amigos,” he wrote, “MAGA censorship is hitting home!” He also posted it on his Instagram account.

He said critics of the work, including The Federalist, a conservative publication, stated that the image is “promoting open borders by depicting migrants watching fireworks through an opening in the US-Mexico border wall.”

The illustration — which has been widely published and exhibited in both the U.S. and internationally over the past 26 years, and was recently displayed at the Smithsonian’s American History Museum in Washington, D.C. — is part of Galindo’s series “Manhatitlan: Mexican and American Cultures Intertwined.”

“It has received awards and it’s in many private and public collections, including the Library of Congress,” he added. “I am very proud of this work. I’m also a proud Mexican and American citizen.”

“¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States” was shut down in July — four months ahead of schedule. (National Museum of the American Latino)

Moreover, the exhibition in which it was displayed, “¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States,” was closed down. Also shut down in July — four months ahead of schedule — was the Smithsonian’s Molina Family Latino Gallery, home to the nascent National Museum of the American Latino.

Wrote Galindo: “Is this what the artists in the Hitler days felt when their works were labeled ‘degenerate art’?”

Galindo explicitly refuted the accusation that his work encourages border crossings.

“The work they’re pointing at is a metaphorical one,” he said. “It’s a man standing on a fence looking at what the United States looks like. I’m referring to the stars as fireworks and the border wall as the stripes of the flag. The reference is to the ‘old wall’ that divides the U.S. from Mexico, a wall of horizontal lines that George Bush Sr. put up after the Gulf War … the current wall is made of vertical lines and is much taller.”

Officials cited the upcoming “Our Shared Future: 250” programming as the reason behind the closures of the exhibit and museum.

A Smithsonian spokesperson said the “¡Presente!” space had to be de-installed to prepare for “Puro Ritmo,” a bilingual, salsa-themed exhibition seen as less controversial and set to open next spring.

The move leaves the National Museum of the American Latino without any public gallery space — notably during Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S., which is observed annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

The Smithsonian is facing a 120-day deadline to reconsider its exhibitions.

With reports from La Jornada, Proceso, La Opinión, Hyperallergic and CartoonMovement.com

Made in Mexico: Jabón Zote

By

María Meléndez

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September 3, 2025

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I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that almost every Mexican grew up with a grandmother or mother whispering alchemical secrets over the laundry. These weren’t just household tips — they were closer to rituals, formulas worthy of a medieval guild. Scrub your clothes with jabón Zote. For whites, use the white bar; for colored fabrics, the pink one. Boil them with baking soda and vinegar. Let the pot rest under the full moon. Scrub again until your arms ache. Then hang the laundry where the sun can bless it.

Zote is the talisman at the center of these domestic rites — passed from hand to hand, word to word, stubbornly outlasting the global detergent empires of Procter & Gamble and Unilever.

Bars of pink Jabón Zote being manufactured — Proudly made in Mexico for over a century, no home is complete without at least one bar of Jabón Zote. (Fabrica La Corona)

How did a Mexican soap become one of the country’s most beloved brands? The answer lies in a time when hygiene itself was a collective endeavor.

Hygiene a century ago

Today, most Mexican homes — even those without a washing machine — have a washboard sink, and showers are fixtures of daily life. But a century ago, bathing and laundering were communal acts. Only the wealthy enjoyed private bathrooms; most people bathed in public bathhouses and scrubbed clothes on shared stone washboards, often fed by the same wells or springs.

These spaces were more than practical—they were social. They carried the hum of gossip, the kind of chatter so enduring that even today, when someone has irresistible news to spill, they’ll say “te tengo chisme de lavadero”—laundry gossip.

It was within this world that the González Padilla brothers from Tepatitlán, Jalisco, spotted an opportunity. Soap was not yet mass-produced. Each town had its own artisan who transformed animal fats and vegetable oils into rough, utilitarian bars.

The birth of La Corona

Made in Mexico: Jabón Zote

Watch this video on YouTube

It was 1920. The Revolution had ended, and Mexico City pulsed with a desire for normalcy. Esteban, Loreto, and Daniel González Padilla arrived in the capital selling animal fat—then a scarce, prized raw material for soapmaking. But someone suggested a better idea: why not make the soap themselves?

They joined forces with master soap maker Zenón Martín del Campo and set up shop at Peralvillo Street No. 24, inside the Baños Corona bathhouse. Soon, shoppers heading to bathe began saying, “vamos a La Corona por jabón”—let’s go to La Corona for soap. Thus, the name of one of Mexico’s most enduring factories was born.

Their first bar, Tepeyac, appeared almost immediately. Demand surged. Within a decade, mule carts gave way to La Corona’s first motorized truck. By the 1930s and 40s, soaps like Corona and Roma dominated the market, fueling steady, unstoppable expansion.

Expansion and innovation

In the 1950s, Esteban’s son, Antonio González, took the reins. He relocated operations to Xalostoc, State of Mexico—where the factory still stands today—and launched La Corona into detergents in 1954. Unlike traditional soaps, detergents relied on petrochemical derivatives that dissolved grease with scientific efficiency.

But the defining moment came in the 1970s, when La Corona absorbed the production of Zote. Originally produced in Querétaro, the soap was reimagined with perfume and top-quality ingredients, then refined into Zote Rosa. Marketed as both laundry and bath soap with high quality, and extremely low price, it quickly became a sensation. Even after regulations prohibited its sale as a labeled bath product, women continued to use it that way—and still do. Today, beauty vloggers swear by Zote Rosa as the best way to clean makeup brushes. And almost every family has an elder who swears their hair was never more lustrous than when they washed it with Zote Rosa.

Innovation snowballed. In 1972, La Corona acquired Aceites Finos S.A., producer of the now-ubiquitous 1-2-3 cooking oil, and entered the edible oils business. As habits evolved, the company diversified again, introducing liquid laundry soaps—always with one ear tuned to consumer needs.

The secret to longevity

Unlike many Mexican companies swallowed by foreign buyouts, La Corona has remained a family enterprise. The González Padilla descendants still run it, treating their more than 5,000 employees as kin. Many families have worked at the plant for generations, passing down not just jobs but loyalty.

Their philosophy is almost radical in its simplicity. For decades, they refused to advertise, believing quality and word of mouth were the best publicity. Only with the rise of social media did this shift slightly. What hasn’t changed is their commitment to keeping prices low, reinvesting in new technologies—from Mexico, the U.S., Italy, Germany, and Canada—and listening closely to consumers.

Since 1986, La Corona has exported its soaps abroad. Today, 15 percent of production goes overseas—to the U.S., Ghana, China, Korea, and beyond. The scale is staggering: more than 300 tons of Zote produced every day, over 30 million bars each month. In Mexico, six out of ten laundry bars sold carry La Corona’s mark. All this in a detergent market valued at $798 million in 2024, projected to reach $1.23 billion by 2033.

Recognition and responsibility

Packages of Jabon Zote — Jabón Zote remains a simple, but essential mainstay of Mexican life. (Vitanel)

The company’s ethos has not gone unnoticed. In 2022, Statista and Forbes ranked La Corona the second-best employer in Mexico, outperforming even Silicon Valley giants like Google. That accolade reflects more than corporate success; it highlights La Corona’s conviction that prosperity is about human development as much as sales.

La Corona has built water treatment plants to recycle its effluents, cutting 27,000 tons of CO₂ emissions through sustainable practices. With low turnover, employees often build lifelong careers at the factory, forming an industrial family that spans generations.

From Foca, Carisma, and Venus Rosa to Roma, Blanca Nieves, and 1-2-3 Oil, La Corona’s products have quietly shaped Mexican daily life. The formula remains almost stubborn: high quality, low cost, and proudly Mexican.

Arte Zote

There’s something almost comic about Zote’s packaging. A no-frills block of soap wrapped in plain paper, stamped with bold blue or pink letters, and boasting the name “jabón Zote” that in Mexican Spanish sounds like both “soap” and “huge.” Yet despite its humble looks, Zote has survived the rise of detergents, the globalization of household brands, and the endless marketing campaigns of multinationals. In its own quiet way, Zote is as Mexican as tortillas or the Virgin of Guadalupe: ordinary, indispensable, and surprisingly resistant to change.

Over time, Zote has transcended its role as a tool of domestic ritual. Its pink and white bars—once humble, workaday objects—have become icons of Mexican culture. They appear on unofficial merch, inspire visual artists, and have been reimagined in sculpture and installations. Zote has slipped into the national imagination as more than soap: it is a symbol, both utilitarian and poetic, of Mexican resilience and ingenuity.

And in an age when multinationals rise and fall with the tides of Wall Street, La Corona endures like an old tree in Xalostoc—rooted, resilient, and fragrant with the pink scent of Zote.

María Meléndez is a Mexico City food blogger and influencer.

What’s on in Guadalajara in September

By

MND Staff

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September 3, 2025

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roman-lopez-oNRD6lTTxCc-unsplash (1) — Wave flags, munch snacks and get a feel for Jalisco's unique culture throughout September. (Unsplash / Roman Lopez)

September is a month of celebration in Mexico as the country commemorates its independence from Spain. Beyond the festivities that mark this occasion, Jalisco’s capital will host a variety of events, including an Oktoberfest, a film festival, and a celebration of corn. Lake Chapala also contributes to the lineup with an exciting outdoor event featuring hot air balloons.

Let’s get right into it!

European Film Festival 2025

European FIlm Festival Guadalajara — (Facebook)

If you’re a film lover, especially a fan of European cinema, you won’t want to miss the European Film Festival. From documentaries that capture unique stories to dramas and comedies that portray life in different European countries, this edition brings together eight films with a wide variety of genres and narrative styles. Some of the featured films include “Historjá,” “Hotel Pula,” “Animal” and more.

Dates: Aug. 28-Sept. 5

Location: Cineteca FICG, Av. Manuel Gómez Morin 1695

Cost: Free

Exposición de Francisco Toledo

Francisco Toledo art showing — (Facebook)

Francisco Toledo (1940-2019), one of Mexico’s most prominent artists, will be honored in Guadalajara with the exhibition “From Juchitán to the Universe: The Work of Francisco Toledo.”

Famous for his work as a painter, engraver, sculptor, ceramist, illustrator and cultural promoter, his work is characterized by a visual universe influenced by Zapotec art, fantastical animals and organic forms.

Dates: September-December 2025

Location: Guadalajara City Museum, Calle Independencia 684, Centro Histórico

Cost: Free

Regata de Globos de Ajijic

Regata de globos in Ajijic — (Ajijic Pueblo Magico)

To kick off Independence Day festivities along the Chapala shore, you won’t want to miss the folkloric hot air balloon festival that takes place in the Magical Town of Ajijic. The event sees local teams and families come together to launch colorful handmade paper balloons of various shapes and sizes. Dubbed the Ajijic Balloon Regatta, this event has taken place every September since the 1960s.

Dates: Sept. 13

Location: Campo Deportivo Cruz Azul

Cost: Free

Concierto gratis de Los Aguilar

To mark Mexico’s 214th Independence Anniversary, Governor Pablo Lemús has announced a free concert featuring one of the most prominent families that represent regional Mexican music: Los Aguilar. The live performance will see the iconic Pepe Aguilar, along with his children Ángela Aguilar and Leonardo Aguilar, accompanied by a live mariachi band.

Dates: Sept. 15

Location: Paseo Alcalde, Historic Center.

Cost: Free

Oktober Fest

Traditionally known as Oktober Fest, this year’s edition has changed its name to OtoñoBierfest, in a nod to the word Autumn in Spanish.

Inspired by the German Oktoberfest, attendees can expect craft and German beer, traditional foods and live German music under a large tent decorated in Bavarian style. Featuring long tables and wooden benches, OtoñoBierfest promises an authentic Oktoberfest atmosphere.

Dates: Sept. 19–21

Location: Predio Titanes, Av. Sebastian Bach and Av. Tchaikovski, Zapopan

Cost: Starting at 500 pesos

Día del Maíz

Corn Day in Mexico — (Gobierno de Mexico)

National Corn Day (Sept. 29) was established in Mexico to raise awareness and protect the diversity of native corn. To celebrate the occasion, Guadalajara will host an event to bring together corn producers, activists and the general public to enjoy ceremonies, workshops, corn tastings and exhibitions. The event will also feature live music and various artistic activities for the whole family.

Dates: Sept. 27

Location: Casa ITESO Clavigero (designed by Luis Barragán), C. José Guadalupe Zuno Hernández 2083, Col. Americana.

Cost: Free

El Orgullo de Jalisco concert at the Teatro Degollado

Zarzuela El Orgullo de Jalisco — (Facebook)

“El Orgullo de Jalisco” is a zarzuela composed by Federico Moreno Torroba that fuses Spanish tradition with typical Jalisco sounds. This year, it will be released again at the Degollado Theater in Guadalajara. The re-release will feature the Jalisco Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by 11 prominent singers and actors on stage.

Dates: Sept. 14

Location: Teatro Degollado, Zona Centro.

Cost: Starting at 50 pesos

Plant Fest Guadalajara

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Calling all plant lovers to attend the Plant Fest Guadalajara, an event centered around native flora. The event will bring together more than 30 plant exhibitors showcasing everything from cacti, succulents, collectible plants and orchids to carnivorous plants, fruit trees and more. Attendees will also be able to purchase gardening utensils, including pots, tools, soil and fertilizers.

Dates: Sept. 26-28

Location: Vía Libertad, Calle Colonias 221, Colonia Americana

Cost: Free

Gabriela Solis is a Mexican lawyer turned full-time writer. She was born and raised in Guadalajara and covers business, culture, lifestyle and travel for Mexico News Daily. You can follow her lifestyle blog Dunas y Palmeras.

Sheinbaum praises Mexico-US relationship ahead of Rubio meeting: Tuesday’s mañanera recapped

By

MND Staff

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September 2, 2025

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Sheinbaum mañanera 2 Sept 2025 — Despite "all the difficulties, and all those who would prefer that there not be a good relationship between Mexico and the United States, we must always seek a good relationship with the United States," Sheinbaum said on Tuesday morning. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)

Among the topics President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Tuesday morning press conference was her upcoming meeting with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is making his first visit to Mexico as the Trump administration’s top diplomat.

Among other remarks, Sheinbaum revealed that she will embark on a whirlwind national tour and briefly spoke about the patriotic duty she will carry out on Sept. 15.

Sheinbaum: Meeting with Rubio will demonstrate ‘relationship of respect’ between Mexico and US

Sheinbaum said that Rubio would arrive in Mexico City on Tuesday afternoon ahead of bilateral talks on Wednesday.

She said that she and other Mexican officials would meet with Rubio on Wednesday for one or two hours, and then the U.S. secretary of state and Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente will hold a joint press conference.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arriving at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) outside of Mexico City on Tuesday afternoon. — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) outside of Mexico City on Tuesday afternoon. (Edgar Negrete/Cuartoscuro)

Security, and in particular a new bilateral security “understanding,” is set to be the focus of the meeting.

Sheinbaum — who last month rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Mexico “does what we tell them to do” — asserted on Tuesday that “a good relationship” has been established between her government and its U.S. counterpart.

Despite “all the difficulties, and all those who would prefer that there not be a good relationship between Mexico and the United States, we must always seek a good relationship with the United States, because it is our neighboring country, because around 40 million first, second, third and fourth generation Mexicans live there, because we have many things in common, because we are trade partners,” the president said.

“Therefore, we must always strive for a good relationship. There will be moments of greater tension, of lesser tension, subjects on which we may not agree, but we have to seek a good relationship,” Sheinbaum said.

“And tomorrow’s meeting, I believe, will demonstrate that — a relationship of respect and, at the same time, a relationship of collaboration within the framework of respect for our sovereignties,” she said.

Sheinbaum’s meeting with Rubio will take place a day after the newspaper El Financiero published the results of a poll that showed that 56% of respondents believe that the Mexican government is doing a bad or very bad job at handling the relationship with Trump.

Sheinbaum to present government reports in every state in the country

A day after delivering her first annual government report in a 70-minute speech at the National Palace, Sheinbaum told reporters that she would visit every state of the country to present reports pertaining to each entity.

“Starting this Friday, … we’re going to visit all [32] entities of the republic in three and a half weeks,” she said.

President Sheinbaum with all 32 governors of Mexico. (@claudiashein/X)

Sheinbaum said that in each state she would present “an individual report for the entity.”

“We’re going to inform the people. We’re going with the governors, all the governors. We’re going to go to three states in a day [in some cases],” she said.

“… We’re going to report on the welfare programs in each state, the public works that we’re doing in each state, the other things that are coming for [each] state. It’s an effort to be accountable,” Sheinbaum said.

Sept. 15 will be a proud day for Sheinbaum

A reporter asked the president how she feels about becoming the first female president to perform “El Grito” from a balcony of the National Palace on the night of Sept. 15, the day before Mexico’s Independence Day.

El Grito is a reenactment of the original “Cry of Dolores” made by the priest and founding father of Mexico, Miguel Hidalgo, in 1810. The cry marked the start of the Mexican War of Independence.

Sheinbaum said that she will feel very proud when the time comes for her to perform El Grito, an act that takes place in front of a large crowd of people gathered in the Zócalo, Mexico City’s central square.

“You’ll soon see how we’re going to do it,” she said.

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

Nuevo León Congress wants polluting steel plants out of Monterrey

By

MND Staff

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September 2, 2025

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Ternium steel mill — The relocation demand comes after Ternium’s CEO, Máximo Vedoya, discussed progress on its $4 billion investment in its Pesquería facilities in Nuevo León during a recent Steel Market Update in Atlanta, Georgia. (Ternium/Facebook)

Citing health concerns and ongoing complaints from residents, Nuevo León state Congresswoman Brenda Velázquez has called for relocation of the Ternium steel facilities away from the densely populated greater Monterrey area, despite the company’s recent investment of another US $4 billion to expand its local operations.

“The health and safety of the population must be a priority for all stakeholders involved,” Velázquez said. “It is imperative that the Nuevo León state government take the necessary measures to ensure a cleaner and safer future for the families living in these areas, as well as for those who travel through them daily.”

The plant, located close to the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, has been found to affect air quality in the area and has been linked to cases of respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.

In January, findings were published from a joint investigation carried out by The Guardian and investigative reporters from Quinto Elemento Lab that found dangerously high levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium in homes and schools near the plant, which processes hazardous waste from the United States.

Samples taken from windowsills in 2023 “found lead, which is neurotoxic, at levels 60 times higher than the level at which the U.S. says action should be taken to fix the problem to avoid health consequences,” reads the report.

Last week, the Permanent Commission of the Nuevo León Congress, led by Deputy Brenda Velázquez, agreed to urge the state government to consider relocating the Ternium plants in the municipalities of Monterrey and San Nicolás. (Congreso de NL)

More recently, in April, Ternium announced that the plants had spilled hazardous substances into the local Talaverna stream. “Eleven kilometers of the watershed were affected by toxic waste, and some of the fauna in that ecosystem died,” stated Velázquez.

Following the spill, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) demanded a detailed study on the spill so that corrective measures could be implemented. Soil and water samples were taken by the Monterrey Water and Drainage Department to assess the impact of the spill, and clean-up operations were carried out.

Ternium issued a response to Congresswoman Velázquez on its website, claiming that its commitment to the environment is “reflected in the more than US $300 million we have invested in environmental improvements at our San Nicolás [near Monterrey] plant over the last 20 years, aimed at protecting the air and water of Nuevo León.”

The relocation demand comes after Ternium’s CEO, Máximo Vedoya, discussed progress on its $4 billion investment in its Pesquería facilities in Nuevo León during a recent Steel Market Update in Atlanta, Georgia.

Steel company Ternium to invest additional US $4B in Nuevo León

Construction of another Ternium steel mill in the region is expected to add a production capacity of 2.6 million tonnes of cast steel annually. Completion of the development’s third phase is scheduled for 2026, by which time more than 8,000 people will have been employed in the construction.

The firm’s expanded operations could help replace imports of steel and derived products to the region, which amount to $175 billion, according to Vedoya.

With reports from Milenio and El Economista

Remittances to Mexico slide for 4th month running

By

MND Staff

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September 2, 2025

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dollars — The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) also reported on Monday that Mexico's income from remittances totaled $34.88 billion between January and July, a decline of 5.5% compared to the same period of 2024. (Unsplash)

The inflow of remittances to Mexico declined in annual terms for a fourth consecutive month in July, while income from the international monetary transfers was also down in the first seven months of the year.

The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) reported on Monday that remittances totaled US $5.33 billion in July, a 4.7% decline compared to the same month of 2024. It is the first time since 2013 that Mexico’s income from remittances has declined on an annual basis during four consecutive months.

The vast majority of remittances to Mexico are sent by Mexicans who live and work in the United States, where the Trump administration’s deportation agenda has created fear among the large Mexican migrant community and caused some people to limit their movements outside their homes.

Analysts have partially attributed the decline in remittances to Mexico this year to fear of going out to work among U.S.-based Mexicans, of whom 4.3 million are “unauthorized” immigrants, according to the bank BBVA.

Banxico also reported on Monday that Mexico’s income from remittances totaled $34.88 billion between January and July, a decline of 5.5% compared to the same period of 2024.

That was the largest year-over-year decline in remittances since the first seven months of 2009, when an 11.9% annual reduction was recorded.

Thus, income from remittances — money that helps many Mexican families make ends meet — is on track to decline in 2025 for the first time in more than a decade.

Fewer transactions, smaller sums, in first 7 months of 2025

Banxico data shows that the $34.88 billion in remittances Mexico received between January and July was transferred in just over 89 million transactions, a 4.9% decline compared to the number of individual transactions in the first seven months of 2024.

The average amount transferred to Mexico in each transaction was $392, a 0.6% decline compared to the average in the first seven months of last year.

In July, the number of individual remittance transfers to Mexico declined 8% to 12.8 million, but the average sum sent increased 3.6% annually to $416.

More than 99% of the total amount in remittances Mexico received between January and July was transferred electronically.

Outgoing remittances fell 13.7% between January and July

Banxico data also shows that $687 million was sent out of Mexico in remittances in the first seven months of 2025. That figure represents a decline of 13.7% compared to the same period of 2024.

Mexico’s remittances surplus in the first seven months of the year was $34.2 billion, down from $36.12 billion in the January-July period of 2024.

With reports from La Jornada and Reforma

INAH confirms authenticity of cave paintings discovered in Puebla

By

MND Staff

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September 2, 2025

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rock art — The oldest rock paintings in the region are thought to mark ceremonial centers of ancient nomads. (INAH)

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has confirmed the authenticity of ancient cave paintings found near the city of Santa María Coapan in the municipality of Tehuacán, Puebla.

An investigation carried out last month by INAH’s national coordinator of archaeology Dr. Francisco Mendiola found that some of the more than 1,500 cave paintings and handprints are approximately 10,000 years old.

INAH investigators used DStretch software — a tool that highlights imperceptible details in cave paintings — to verify the paintings found in the Cañon de las Manitas (literally, Canyon of Little Hands). The software allows investigators to digitally enhance faint rock art, pictographs and graffiti.

According to INAH, the site consists of four archaeological units named Tinaja I, II, III and IV that extend along the wall of a small canyon.

The INAH analysis concluded that Tinajas I and II appear to have been ceremonial spaces for nomadic groups. Site I features “more than 30 representations of hands in negative and positive, made with the stencil technique in white pigment on a black background” and three similar imprints were found in Tinaja II. The initial studies indicated they are all at least 10,000 years old.

Tinajas III and IV contain a more varied and less ancient repository — anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures and geometric motifs in red and white pigments. Initial studies suggest they are linked to the Mesoamerican Postclassic (1100-1521 A.D.). The abstract figures in these caves were made of hematite (iron oxide) and could possibly represent elements of the worldview of the region’s inhabitants.

The Cañon de las Manitas represents the third cave system in the area with rock art, positioning the site as a future archaeological and cultural landmark in Puebla. INAH is cooperating with Santa María Coapan authorities to develop a plan to preserve and protect the site.

Other sites in Puebla with cave paintings are the Cave of the Monkeys in Teotlalco and the Cave of the Musicians in San Luis Atolotitlán.

The region of the latest confirmed find is located in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve, which has been the scene of fundamental processes in the history of the Americas, according to INAH. In this area, humans carried out the domestication of plants and seeds and created complex cultural expressions, including ceremonial sites and pre-Hispanic monuments.

With reports from La Jornada and El Popular

Competition with a cause: Mexico hosts its first tree-planting tournament

By

MND Staff

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September 2, 2025

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people planting trees — The CEO of event sponsor Global Lemon considers tree-planting to be a new sport "born from the drive of a new generation seeking to do transcendent things that help the planet.” (File Photo)

On your marks … get set … plant a tree!

That’s pretty much how it went over the weekend when Mexico hosted its first tree-planting tournament — which combined a sporting event with a mission to help the planet.

gloved hands of a tree planter — Factored into the scoring were strategy, technique and the seedling’s chance of survival. (File Photo)

Titled with the English word “Planting,” the competition drew nine forestry brigades from the south-central Mexican states of Oaxaca, Tlaxcala and Puebla.

Last year, there was a similar project in which 500 women from 10 rural communities helped reforest the Sierra Tecuani Biosphere Reserve in Guerrero — only that event lasted a week and it wasn’t a competition.

The one-day event on Saturday definitely was a competition, with teams of 10 squaring off in fast-paced, 20-minute matches in which they were scored. Referees and judges were tasked not only with monitoring strategy and technique, but also with verifying each seedling’s opportunity for survival.

More than 600 people — including brigade members, officials, volunteers and enthusiastic supporters — turned out for the event, which was deemed the Lemon Challenge 2025.

It was held in Lomas de Santana, an area undergoing reforestation and soil reconditioning in Santa Rita Tlahuapan, Puebla.

When all was said and done, more than 7,000 trees had reportedly been planted during the competition.

“This event is a recognition of the forestry brigades and rangers around the world who risk their lives fighting pests and fires and reforesting our forests,” said Paúl Burgos Navarrete, CEO of Global Lemon. “This sport was born from the drive of a new generation seeking to do transcendent things that help the planet.”

In the men’s tree-planting final, the Águilas Reales de Tepelmeme (Oaxaca) edged Piolines de Tlahuapan (Puebla), 115 trees to 108.

Competition in the women’s division was even more fierce, with Luciérnagas de Tlahuapan (Puebla) edging out Heroínas del Matlalcueyetl (Tlaxcala) by a single tree, 38 to 37, to secure the title.

Matches ran with all the trappings of sport: a stopwatch, a scoring system, and field judges who assured both fair play and the survival of the saplings.

“Planting combines the best of sport with the best of ecology: strength and physical skill, strategy, teamwork … and well-planted trees,” said chief referee and forestry engineer Ricardo Castro.

Local government, the ejido de Santa Rita Tlahuapan and companies such as Tajín and Driscoll’s México helped organize, fund and staff the event. Brose, Citelis and Grupo Tored also provided logistical and financial backing.

While the tournament put thousands of new trees in the soil, the needs for Mexico’s forests are urgent. New research from the Institute of Ecology AC (Inecol) warns that more than 1,000 native tree species face extinction.

Although less than 10% are officially listed as threatened, there are still pressing concerns over habitat loss from agriculture, mining, tourism and climate change.

“Trees are the backbone of most ecosystems,” said researcher Marie-Stéphanie Samain. “Without them, there is no clean water or air, nor shelter for animals.”

With reports from Aristegui Noticias, La Jornada and Zócalo