Italian opera star Andrea Bocelli will perform alongside Los Ángeles Azules and other Mexican groups in a free Zócalo concert. (Banco Plata)
Mexico City’s Zócalo, the country’s main public square known for transforming into a musical venue for massive and emblematic events, will once again delight capitalinos with a free show featuring Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli with special guests Los Ángeles Azules, Mexican pop singer Ximena Sariñana and the Minería Symphonic Orchestra.
The celebrated tenor, who has recorded 15 solo opera and pop albums throughout his career, will bring his crossover success to Mexico City with an unusual concert that combines opera, cumbia, classical music and pop music.
Formed in Mexico City in the late 1970s by the Mejía Ávila family, Los Ángeles Azules have spent nearly five decades building one of the most beloved catalogs in Mexican popular music. The group experienced a dramatic resurgence in the 2010s, drawing a new generation of fans to the danceable rhythms of cumbia sonidera. Today they are widely regarded as Mexico’s foremost ambassadors of cumbia, and have collaborated with artists including Natalia Lafourcade, Sariñana and Bad Bunny.
The event, sponsored by recently licensed bank Banco Plata in collaboration with Mexico City’s government, promises a unique experience for a diverse audience.
“Mexico has a new bank and we will celebrate with a simply wonderful concert,” Banco Plata announced in a social media post. “Can you imagine this fusion? Neither can we, but we can’t wait to hear what it will sound like.”
With this event, Banco Plata celebrates its transition to a bank — after previously operating as a digital institution — while looking to position itself as a relevant player in consumer banking.
The event is set to take place April 18 at 7 p.m., just over a month after Shakira’s performance at the iconic square, in a free event that drew over 400,000 fans.
Authorities have called on fans to arrive a few hours before the show starts, as large crowds are expected.
Legionaries of Christ run schools continue to be popular with conservative Catholic parents in Mexico. (Legion of Christ)
As someone who grew up in a conservative Mexican Catholic family, attended an all-girls Catholic school and whose social circle was mostly made up of individuals who also attended Catholic schools, I’m very aware of the scandal surrounding Father Marcial Maciel, the late founder of the Legion of Christ.
That’s why I wondered why so many people still trust the legionaries with their children’s education.
The founder of the Legion of Christ, Marcial Maciel, was so disgraced by unseemly behavior that a television show was made about the scandal. (Prime Video)
Legionaries of Christ in Mexico
The Legion of Christ was founded by Maciel in Mexico City in 1941. Over time, it grew to an international organization spanning over 70 private schools across 19 countries, with 50 schools in Mexico alone. Instead of calling them the Legionarios de Cristo, their detractors would call them the Millionarios de Cristo (“Millionaires of Christ”), as Maciel built a charismatic reputation, creating close ties to wealthy families within conservative Catholic circles.
However, Maciel’s legacy was overshadowed by numerous accusations of sexual abuse against minors, as well as revelations of different identities, secret marriages and even children of his own.
He was never prosecuted in Mexico nor in any of the countries where his organization operated. Instead, the Vatican ordered him to step down as leader of the Legion of Christ in 2005 and withdraw from public ministry “into a life of prayer and penitence,” during which time he died at age 86 in Florida.
And yet, despite years of scandal, the 51 private schools run by the Legion of Christ in Mexico have not only survived but continue to thrive.
Why would parents enroll their children in Legion of Christ schools?
I witnessed this phenomenon first-hand while attending a Christmas festival organized by one of these schools in Guadalajara last December. As I sat there among family members and hundreds of parents proudly watching their kids perform, I couldn’t help but wonder why so many families are attracted to the legionaries.
So, I asked people in my circle who decided to enroll their children in these schools why they did it. Two moms agreed to speak to me about the matter.
Why do parents still enroll their children in Legion of Christ schools? They still believe in the values they espouse. (Legionaries of Christ)
“It was very important for me that my children attended a Catholic school,” Sofía Rosas, who’s originally from Guadalajara but has lived in Monterrey for over a decade because her husband is from there, told me. “It was also very important for us to find like-minded families and a like-minded community.”
Rosas said that her husband and everyone in her husband’s family attended a Legion of Christ school in Monterrey, so it made sense to continue within that social circle. But the main reason, she says, is the opportunity the school gives them to get involved in their children’s lives.
The scandal isn’t as important a consideration as other factors
“The school makes a lot of effort to integrate families. Parents are extremely involved in the school and that’s what my husband and I wanted. I mean, we want to know who our kids befriend and who the families of those children are,” she said.
For Rosas, the scandal was never a factor in their decision.
“I didn’t know about the scandal. I attended a school run by the Opus Dei, so I wasn’t aware of all the details. I knew he (Maciel) had been found to have a wife and kids, but it wasn’t until I watched the HBO Max series on the life of Maciel that I found out about everything. But it doesn’t change our decision. I’m extremely happy with the school and so are my children,” she said.
Meanwhile, a woman who asked only to be identified as María, a graduate from a Legion of Christ school in Guadalajara, told me that she and her husband had two schools in mind: a boys and girls school run by the Jesuits, and a girls-only and boys-only school run by the Legion of Christ. They ultimately chose the school operated by the Legion of Christ because they considered it to have an outstanding level of English, in addition to great academics.
Besides promulgating Catholic values, Legion of Christ schools are noted for their academics and English instruction. (Legionaries of Christ)
“Academically, we knew that the schools excel in English compared to others. They also hold certifications that align with our intention of giving our children the best education available,” María added.
Conservative values
The network of schools run by the Legion of Christ operates under the Latin slogan Semper Altus (“Always the Tallest”) and has, according to school websites, collaborations with institutions like National Geographic Learning, Oxford and Pearson Education, among others. Beyond the academic input, the Legion says it educates students to become leaders with Christian values like humility, generosity and compassion — values conservative families in Mexico are looking for.
María said that comparing her experience as a former student to those of current students, the schools have “really stepped up their game to avoid falling apart and to overcome what they unfortunately faced due to Father Maciel,” she said.
“As with any institution, there are things they could do better, but overall, we are very happy,” María added.
Overcoming scandal
On the school’s website, there’s no mention of Maciel, except for a specific page that addresses the founder’s biography, acknowledges the crimes he and other members of the Legion committed, and explains how the organization has moved forward despite the founder’s “immoral acts.”
“Given the seriousness of his offenses, we cannot view him as a model of Christian or priestly life,” the Legion of Christ acknowledges.
Basketball court at the Legionaries of Christ’s picturesque school property in Monterrey, Nuevo León. (Legionaries of Christ)
The testimonies of María and Rosas, and the community spirit I witnessed at the Christmas festival back in December, reveal that the organization has managed to overcome the scandal and operate based on the Christian values Mexican families appreciate — values that the founder himself failed to follow.
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.
The 60-musician strong Lake Chapala Orchestra is made up of both foreign and Mexican musicians from the local community. (Lake Chapala Orchestra)
They say music has a way of rearranging a room. I used to think that was just a poetic way to talk about acoustics; how a violin’s tremolo slips into the corners, or how a timpani rolls and the walls seem to breathe with it.
I’ve come to learn, though, that rearrangement is something social as well as sonic. It’s how shared attention can change how strangers hold themselves in a place. The modern orchestra of Lake Chapala is close to 60 players strong, a mix of career professionals and talented retirees who keep their chops and their passions sharp. They manage a full season of six or more concerts, drawing 300 or more listeners without a single peso of government subsidy.
The Lake Chapala Orchestra isn’t sustained by subsidy, but by dedicated residents and appreciative locals. (Lake Chapala Orchestra)
It’s astonishing that an ensemble of this size not only survives but runs in the black, supported largely by ticket sales and local donations. The sound they produce could stand toe‑to‑toe with offerings from orchestras in Guadalajara, Dallas or Washington, D.C., yet this one takes shape in a town of around 10,000 foreign residents living alongside 50,000 Mexicans.
Many of those foreigners prefer easy‑listening favorites to symphonic staples, and still, the orchestra thrives. How did this come to be?
How Lake Chapala sustains an orchestra
The answer winds through personalities, small gatherings and stubborn devotion. Much of it starts with Michael Reason, the artistic director and conductor who planted roots in Lake Chapala just as a few retired musicians were gathering in homes to play the music they loved.
Those weekly gatherings, baroque suites passed around living‑room chairs, an almost obsessive attention to phrasing and breath, were small and intimate. A private rescue of skills that retirement otherwise threatened to lose.
Michael arrived at the cusp of that movement and helped shape it into something larger: an organized, professional ensemble that nonetheless keeps the atmosphere of those house concerts. His approach felt less like institution‑building and more like tending in how he coaxed players toward a shared ideal of sound while preserving the generosity that had first drawn them together.
Rehearsals carried the warmth of friends sorting a passage over coffee, even as sectionals demanded the focus of a conservatory room.
People making music
Artistic Director Michael Reason leads the Lake Chapala area’s local symphony. (Lake Chapala Orchestra)
The human stories are the heart of this orchestra. Take Joyce Noriega, a 92‑year‑old oboist who still plays with a steady, luminous tone. Joyce has subbed with the Jalisco Philharmonic and is cherished by musicians and audiences who know her. She and her friends used to meet at each other’s houses to play.
Those sessions were less about performance and more about preserving a life’s habit; the daily, necessary act of making music with friends. There’s a smallness and an intimacy in people who simply want to play, without the infrastructure of a concert hall or the pressure of a career.
Susanne Bullock is another linchpin. She’s the principal clarinet and a driving force on the executive board. Susanne gave up professional music when she moved to Mexico 10 years ago. Her return to active music‑making saw a renewed commitment to rehearsal schedules, auditions and administrative work, and it filled an essential gap.
Her leadership helped turn hobbyist sessions into a structured orchestra that could attract audiences and funding from private sources. The work she and others do, the scheduling, fundraising and recruiting, reads like a kind of civic music‑making in itself. Not glamorous, but essential.
The ensemble’s makeup reflects this duality, with roughly 80% foreign and 20% Mexican musicians. That split sparks a question: how did a mostly foreign group in a small lakeside town build an orchestra of this caliber? The answer is partly community network and partly sheer devotion.
How the orchestra came together
It’s about musicians who migrated and who brought training, experience and a desire to keep playing. They found one another, traded contacts and slowly moved from kitchen‑table quartets to a staged orchestra, rehearsing in community halls, churches and anywhere a piano and a few chairs could be set up.
As the venture matured, more professional standards were applied. Some community members who initially played were replaced by those with more recent orchestral experience to ensure a consistent, polished sound. That growth was sometimes painful, but it was instrumental in allowing the orchestra to present works that matched the technical and expressive demands of full symphonic repertoire.
The tension between inclusivity and artistic ambition is a familiar one in keeping doors open while also honoring the music’s demands. In Lake Chapala, that tension has shaped a pragmatic compromise of retaining community spirit, raising standards where necessary, and keeping the music honest.
Community support
Performances draw a fascinating cross‑section of people. There are foreigners hungry for cultured evenings, longtime Mexican residents curious about orchestral textures, and visitors who stumble upon a concert and stay for the whole thing.
The orchestra has learned to balance accessibility and artistic integrity, offering programs that can surprise and satisfy both casual and committed listeners. The result is an audience that supports the organisation financially and emotionally, buying tickets and spreading the word, sustaining a professional ensemble without municipal funds.
There are practical challenges, of course. Keeping an orchestra viable means booking venues, contracting professional players for demanding parts, managing payroll, transporting instruments and cultivating donors who see cultural value in a small‑town symphony. It means board meetings, logistics and the kind of detailed work that most audiences never hear beneath the music.
But these behind‑the‑scenes efforts are driven by people like Susanne, Joyce and Michael. People who not only love music but are willing to do the administrative and social labor that keeps it alive.
Despite practical challenges, the Lake Chapala Orchestra can toot its own horn for the quality of its offerings. (Lake Chapala Orchestra)
It’s also worth noting how regional dynamics thread into this picture.
A symphony of stories
The Jalisco Philharmonic, for instance, has its own complex story. Many of its players are refugees from Venezuela, a reminder of how politics and migration reshuffle cultural life. For Lake Chapala, the interplay is smaller‑scale but no less meaningful.
Musicians move, retire and reconfigure their careers, and in doing so create a microcosm of global musical shifts. They create an orchestra that, in miniature, mirrors larger changes in professional networks and cultural exchange.
I haven’t had the time to make the drive and experience a concert firsthand. But I will. I want to sit close enough to feel the timpani in my chest, to watch the conductor’s hand sketch questions into the air, and to hear Joyce’s oboe thread a solo line like a conversation across decades.
I want to be part of that communal attention, and to see how music can make strangers feel like neighbors and stretch the shape of a town until everyone fits. Until then, I treasure the stories I’ve learned about this merry band. The living‑room rehearsals that became concerts, the retired professionals who refused to let their art go silent, the board members who balanced budgets and ambitions, and the conductor who turned friendship into an institution.
Lake Chapala’s orchestra is proof that culture doesn’t need a metropolis to flourish. It only needs people who refuse to stop listening and playing. When I finally make it down to the shore, I’ll be ready to hear how the lake replies.
Charlotte Smith is a writer and journalist based in Mexico. Her work focuses on travel, politics, and community. You can follow along with her travel stories at www.salsaandserendipity.com.
The driver, pictured here, was unable to produce the permit and had no documentation stating where the fuel came from. (Guardia Nacional)
The National Guard (GN) detained the driver of a truck traveling on the Mexico City-Puebla highway with a load of 66,000 liters of alleged huachicol, as stolen fuel is colloquially known in Mexico.
GN officers stopped the truck in México state and asked the driver to show his permit for transporting dangerous materials, the newspaper La Prensa reported on Wednesday.
The driver was unable to produce the permit and had no documentation stating where the fuel came from. He was consequently arrested and turned over to a local prosecutor’s office.
The GN also seized the truck, which will remain in the possession of authorities as the investigation into the driver and his cargo proceeds. The National Guard supplied a photo of the driver and his truck to La Prensa.
Fuel theft has long been a problem in Mexico, including in México state and the Red Triangle region of the neighboring state of Puebla. One way thieves steal fuel is by perforating Pemex pipelines that transport gasoline and diesel around the country. In 2025, Pemex, Mexico’s state oil company, detected 10,591 illegal taps on pipelines, according to data obtained by the newspaper Excélsior. That figure represented a 10% decline compared to 2024.
The economic benefits from the World Cup can be direct, indirect or induced, but overall they will total as much as US $2.25 billion or more, according to the global consulting firm Deloitte. (Edgar Negrete Lira/Cuartoscuro.com)
Mexico’s much anticipated economic windfall from hosting the FIFA 2026 World Cup could be as much as $2.25 billion in added value across the country, according to a February report from the consulting firm Deloitte.
Such an economic contribution would be the equivalent of around 0.14% of Mexico’s GDP, according to Deloitte Spanish Latin America’s Chief Economist Daniel Zaga. The World Cup is also expected to create 92,700 temporary jobs countrywide, which equates to around 0.19% of Mexico’s total employment.
Restaurants, bars and clubs that can offer patrons World Cup games on TV are indirect recipients of the event´s economic benefits. (Unsplash)
The positive economic effects in Mexico will mostly go to the three World Cup host cities, with Mexico City expected to enjoy an economic boost of $847 million, as well as the generation of 33,280 jobs. Jalisco will get $385 million in revenue and 15,100 jobs, and Nuevo León $350 million and 13,870 jobs.
However, the rest of the country will likely share in the spillover effects, as friends, family and international visitors gather in bars, restaurants and fan fests to watch the sports event, particularly in tourist destinations. The World Cup is expected to have an economic impact of around $668 million in non-host states and support the creation of 31,200 jobs.
In Mexico’s western Jalisco state, where four World Cup matches will be played in Guadalajara, the sports event is expected to add 0.37 percentage points to the state’s projected economic growth for 2026, according to the managing partner of the Guadalajara Cluster at Deloitte Spanish Latin America, Javier Kuan.
The direct economic impact of the World Cup in Jalisco is expected to amount to 4 billion pesos (US $229 million), with an indirect economic impact of 1.6 billion pesos ($91.6 million),.
“The direct impact is the direct investment in infrastructure; the indirect impact is that generated by the commercial chain; and the induced impact is that generated through events and investments, both now and in the future,” Kuan said.
Sectors such as food and hospitality, as well as urban mobility, are expected to see the greatest economic return from the event, followed by the retail and entertainment sectors.
The Deloitte report suggests that long-term planning, facilitating the visitor experience around the event and preparing for higher levels of consumer demand could help drive even better economic results for Mexico.
An objective of the whales' legal team is to establish a legal principle, based on the Mexican Constitution. and Mexican law, as well as international treaties, that whales have an inalienable right to a safe and liveable habitat. (Unsplash)
A federal judge in the northern state of Sonora has blocked mega-ship traffic in the Gulf of California tied to a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal, giving whales at the center of a novel legal case a major — if temporary — victory.
Collisions with oversized tankers, such as those that would carry LNG across the Gulf of California, are a major cause of whale deaths, according to the whales’ legal staff. (Chris Pagan/Unsplash)
The suit cited Mexico’s General Wildlife Law, the Mexican Constitution and international treaties in seeking to have the area declared a “critical habitat.”
On Tuesday the judge approved an amparo (a type of constitutional injunction) granting a suspension that blocks tankers over 300 meters long — and linked to the planned Saguaro LNG export terminal at Puerto Libertad, Sonora — from transiting the Gulf of California until a final judgment in the case is issued.
Since the plant hasn’t been built yet and there is no liquefied gas being shipped from it, the ruling — a definitive suspension that replaces a weaker provisional injunction from 2024 — is about halting future Saguaro-related ships, not stopping any current traffic.
“The whales sued and today they are winning,” lawyer Nora Cabrera Velasco proclaimed in the digital news outlet Expansión.
She is the co-founder and director of Nuestro Futuro, a Mexican youth-led environmental and climate-justice organization that has led the lawsuit on behalf of the whales and all marine mammals that inhabit, transit or reproduce in the Gulf of California.
“The number one cause of whale deaths worldwide is collisions with LNG mega-tankers,” marine mammal specialist Omar García said in the digital news outlet Infobae, adding that crews often “don’t even feel” an impact.
The LNG export terminal — planned by the private energy company Mexico Pacific — would receive natural gas piped from the United States to Puerto Libertad, liquefy it and then ship it to Asian markets. The 800-kilometer pipeline would begin in the oil-rich Permian Basin in Texas.
Media coverage has cited the cost of the project, which would be Mexico’s largest LNG terminal, at roughly US $15 billion.
Planning documents indicate it would initially be capable of exporting more than 15 million tonnes of U.S. gas a year to Asia via the gulf, sometimes called the “Aquarium of the World.” The body of water is also known as the Sea of Cortés.
In arguing for the cancellation of the proposed plant, activists, environmental groups and scientists have warned that ship strikes and noise from large vessels are a leading cause of whale deaths and can disrupt communication and migration in a region that hosts dozens of cetacean species.
Though the location and investment amount are unknown, and preliminary operations are still months away, GAC will be the first Chinese automaker to manufacture vehicles in Mexico. (Shutterstock)
GAC will be the first Chinese automaker to start assembly operations in Mexico, as it seeks to circumvent the 50% tariff on Chinese cars while expanding its global presence.
In announcing its plans to build cars in Mexico, the company failed to reveal where in Mexico the manufacturing will take place, or what the investment amount will be. It did say that operations are expected to begin in the second half of this year with the capability of assembling sedans, pickup trucks, SUVs and crossovers.
GAC showrooms are scattered over far-flung sites in the world as the Chinese automaker continues its expansion program. (GAC)
The production program will be flexible, according to the GAC announcement, meaning it can include combustion engines, electric vehicles and hybrids.
Chinese automobiles are a familiar option in the Mexican market but none are manufactured in the country, although some Chinese manufacturers have expressed interest in doing so, including BYD and Greeley.
Increasing the incentive to assemble in this country, Mexico early this year imposed tariffs ranging from 5% to 50% on 1,463 tariff classifications from countries without free trade agreements, with Chinese cars facing the highest rate of 50%. By producing in Mexican territory, the brand will avoid that 50% tariff and reposition itself within the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, provided it complies with regional rules of origin, a key factor in the face of stricter audits of Chinese inputs.
“This announcement not only marks the beginning of a new operational phase; it also reinforces a broader growth vision in the region,” GAC said in a statement. “This transaction strengthens the company’s structure in Latin America and lays the foundation for future development of production capabilities, research and commercial expansion.”
The company, which started commercial operations in Mexico in the last quarter of 2024, added that the move aims “to meet the demand of the national market, aligned with a long-term, sustained growth strategy.”
Though it has been mum on potential sites, GAC has presumably considered adding its name to the list of manufacturers interested in taking over the shuttered automotive plants in Morelos and Aguascalientes: the Civac factories by Nissan and Compass by Nissan-Mercedes Benz.
China's exports to the U.S. were worth $40.01 billion in January and February, down 45.4% from the same period of last year. (luzmadelamora/X)
Mexico’s share of the U.S. market for imported goods increased by more than three percentage points in the first two months of 2026, allowing it to consolidate its position as the United States’ top trade partner.
U.S. Census Bureau data shows that Mexico’s exports to the United States were worth US $86.82 billion in January and February, a 4.2% annual increase.
Mexico’s share of the $514.14 billion U.S. market for imports in the first two months of 2026 was 16.9%, up from 13.8% in the same period of 2025. Around 80% of Mexico’s total export revenue comes from goods shipped to the United States.
The United States’ total outlay on imports declined 15% annually to $514.14 billion in January and February.
Mexico’s gain is China and Canada’s loss
The increase Mexico recorded in its exports to the United States in the first two months of the year, and in its share of the U.S. market for imports, stands in contrast to the performance of Canada and China, which are the second and third largest trade partners of the world’s largest economy.
Canada’s exports to the U.S. were worth $57.5 billion in January and February, down 21.5% from the same period of 2025. Canada’s share of the U.S. market for imports declined to 11.2% in early 2026 from 12.1% a year earlier.
China’s exports to the U.S. were worth $40.01 billion in January and February, down 45.4% from the same period of last year. China’s share of the U.S. market for imports declined to 6.6% in the first two months of 2026 from 12.1% a year earlier.
The data indicates that Mexico has benefited from an escalation of the U.S.-China trade war during U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, as well as increased U.S. protectionism against Canada. Trump has also imposed tariffs on Mexican goods since returning to the White House in January 2025, but overall U.S. protectionism against Canada is even greater.
Despite U.S. tariffs on Mexican products, including vehicles, steel and aluminum, Mexico retains largely favorable trading conditions with the United States thanks to the USMCA free trade pact.
Mexico remains the top US trade partner
U.S. Census Bureau data shows that Mexico imported U.S. goods worth $60.49 billion in January and February, an annual increase of 10.6%. While Mexico’s outlay on U.S. goods increased, its share of the total market for U.S. exports actually decreased, falling to 15.9% from 16.5% a year earlier.
Two-way trade between the United States and Mexico was worth $147.32 billion in January and February, up 6.8% from the same period of 2025. The United States’ trade with all countries around the world declined 4.5% in the period.
The United States’ trade with Mexico in the first two months of 2026 accounted for 16.4% of its total trade with all countries, which came to $895.58 billion.
That percentage — a record high — increased from 14.7% in the same period of last year. Thus Mexico consolidated itself as the United States’ top trading partner, a position it has maintained in recent years.
Two-way trade between the United States and Canada was worth $110.33 billion in January and February, a 14.4% annual decrease.
The United States trade with Canada in the first two months of 2026 accounted for 12.3% of its total trade. That percentage declined from 13.7% in early 2025. The value of the United States’ exports to Canada fell 5% annually to $52.83 billion in January and February.
Two-way trade between the United States and China was worth $56.29 billion in the first two months of 2026, an annual decrease of 39.9%. The El Economista newspaper reported that the amount was the lowest U.S.-China two-way trade figure for the first two months of any year since 2009.
The United States trade with China in January and February accounted for 6.3% of its total trade. That percentage fell from 10% in the first two months of last year. The value of the United States’ exports to China declined 20.1% annually to $16.27 billion in the first two months of 2026.
While the United States’ trade with China decreased significantly in January and February, its trade with Taiwan increased in a major way. U.S.-Taiwan trade was worth $51.81 billion in the first two months of the year, an annual increase of 80.4%. Taiwan was thus the United States’ fourth-largest trade partner in the period. The United States’ imports from Taiwan increased 97% annually to $42.81 billion in the period.
The bottom line
Mexico is clearly benefiting from the United States’ reduction in trade with China, but so too are various Asian countries — and to a greater extent in some cases, as the data for U.S. trade with Taiwan demonstrates. The almost 100% increase in the United States’ outlay on imports from Taiwan reflects both its shift away from trade with China and high demand in the U.S. for Taiwanese goods, especially semiconductors, which are critical inputs for U.S. AI companies.
The United States’ imports from some other Asian countries have also increased amid the U.S.-China trade war. In the first two months of 2026, the U.S. spent $35.32 billion on imports from Vietnam, an annual increase of 41.8%, and $23.05 billion on South Korean goods, up 17.1% from a year earlier.
The publication of the latest U.S. trade data last Thursday came two weeks after Mexican and U.S. officials began formal talks as part of this year’s USMCA review process. One of Trump’s complaints about the United States’ trade relationship with Mexico is that the U.S. has a large trade deficit. On that front, there was some modestly good news for the U.S. president in the latest data. Mexico’s surplus with the U.S. in January and February was $26.33 billion, down 8% from the same period last year.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) will support the development of the 130-MW EL24 Wind Project in Tamaulipas, following its approval of the final interconnection agreement, Vancouver-based clean energy developer Revolve Renewable Power announced on Tuesday.
The new agreement outlines the technical and commercial terms required for El24 to connect and deliver power to Mexico’s national electricity grid.
Revolve is at the mid to advanced stage on two wind energy projects in Mexico’s northeast: EL24 and the 400-MW Presa Nueva project in Nuevo León, and also has plans to develop the 400-MW Florida Wind and the 330-MW El Mentillo projects in Nuevo León.
Revolve was also granted its first environmental permit by Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Ministry (Semarnat), and has received a final generation permit from Mexico’s energy regulator CNE. El24 was one of only five wind projects in Mexico to receive a generation permit from CNE.
“Securing the interconnection agreement de-risks the project significantly, confirms our grid access rights, and puts EL24 firmly on the path to ready-to-build status,” said Revolve’s CEO Myke Clark.
The firm will now work to complete final engineering and turbine optimisation, while also assessing construction financing, strategic partnerships and funding opportunities.
Revolve is developing a 2.8 MW portfolio of distributed-generation solar projects — thought to be worth around US $2.7 million — to be funded by the company. El24 is expected to achieve a ready-to-build status in late 2026 and be operational by 2028.
Mexico’s renewables rebound
Under former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the deployment of renewable energy in Mexico stalled between 2018 and 2024 as the government focused on the nationalization of energy and the development of the country’s oil industry.
However, since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, the government has supported the accelerated deployment of wind farms, solar plants and battery storage.
In October last year, Mexico’s Energy Ministry (Sener) launched a call aimed at attracting around US $7 billion (124.2 billion pesos) in private sector investment in wind and solar farms across the country.
In December 2025, Energy Minister Luz Elena González announced plans for 20 new solar plants and wind farms, two of which are in Tamaulipas. (Juan Carlos Buenrostro / Presidencia)
Two projects were approved in Tamaulipas — El 24 and a 110-MW photovoltaic park based in the city of Altamira, managed by Solarig México.
“With these actions, Tamaulipas is solidifying its position as a national leader in reliable electricity generation,” the Tamaulipas government said in a December press statement.
The Sheinbaum government is delivering on its promises, which “gives everyone greater confidence in the market’s direction,” Revolve’s Executive Chairman Steve Dalton said in a September interview with the newspaper BNamericas.
“I’m more optimistic, as are the other developers I speak with,” Dalton added.
“If we look at the government’s energy plan, its goal is to generate approximately 1 GW per year with private energy. Even with the auction system, before López Obrador, the sector only generated around 1.5 GW. Sheinbaum’s government wants to return to a similar rate to what it had before.”
The investment will support new vehicle production lines, a solar park, a water treatment plant and additional sustainability projects. (Gobierno de Nuevo León)
The announcement came during a working visit to South Korea by Nuevo León Governor Samuel García, who met with Young Sam Kim, Executive Director of Kia Mexico. The investment will support new vehicle production lines, a solar park, a water treatment plant and additional sustainability projects.
Kia’s plant in Pesquería has been a cornerstone of its North American manufacturing strategy since it opened in 2016. The new funding would accelerate its pivot toward electric mobility, an area where automakers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate progress.
“Kia has been in Nuevo León for 10 years. If we add up the last 10 years, Kia has invested a total of US $3 billion,” Governor García said in a video message. “Another 600 million will be reflected in very good jobs, and very good cars.”
The investment is projected to generate at least 300 direct jobs in its initial phase, adding to the formal employment base that has made Nuevo León one of Mexico’s most dynamic industrial economies.
LLEGAMOS A COREA CON UN NOTICIÓN: KIA INVERTIRÁ 600 MILLONES DE DÓLARES EN NUEVO LEÓN ESTE AÑO
Arrancamos nuestro primer día de trabajo en Corea del Sur, donde mis compadres de @Kia_Worldwide y sus empresas afiliadas nos confirmaron esta nueva inversión destinada a impulsar… pic.twitter.com/CVTLuMSKoz
The deal reflects a broader push by the García administration to attract high-value foreign investment to the border state. The Kia announcement came on the heels of the governor’s Asia tour, which included meetings with Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Yazaki in Japan. The governor also took the opportunity to hype up Monterrey as the best 2026 FIFA World Cup host city.
For Kia, the expansion deepens a relationship with a state that already hosts one of the company’s key North American manufacturing facilities, and signals confidence in Mexico’s long-term role in the global electric vehicle supply chain.
