Police had yet to positively identify arrested suspect "Salvador N" as the poisoner of dogs in Parque España as of Friday at noon, but when he resisted being questioned after he was stopped based on social media images, they took him in. (SSC CDMX)
Mexico City police arrested a 58-year-old man Friday morning as investigators examined whether he left poisoned meat that killed four dogs in and around Parque España in the Condesa neighborhood this week.
The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGJ) cautioned that investigators were still working to establish whether the man was responsible. He was detained for resisting arrest while investigators continued examining his possible involvement in the poisonings, according to a statement the office posted mid-morning Friday on X.
🚨 Fue detenido la mañana de este viernes el presunto responsable de envenenar perritos en la Condesa. Al salir del Ministerio Público, reporteros lo cuestionaron sobre el origen del veneno y los motivos del ataque, pero evitó dar declaraciones.
Video: @jagarciae
https://t.co/0UDCGQHcr2
Police stopped the man, identified as Salvador “N,” around 6:20 a.m. at Calle Atlixco and Calle Juan Escutia — one long block from the park — because he resembled a person seen in images circulated on social media, FGJ said.
He became aggressive toward officers, who arrested him and turned him over to prosecutors, the statement said.
Investigators were reviewing video recordings and conducting interviews to verify his identity and determine where he was when the dogs were poisoned.
Police said preliminary reports suggested the pieces of sausage containing poison capsules may have been left in retaliation after a dog attacked a relative of the detained man days earlier. Authorities had not established that as a motive.
Prosecutors said they knew of four dead dogs and had received complaints from three owners.
On Thursday, Mexico City Attorney General Bertha Alcalde Luján said testing identified methomyl, a highly toxic insecticide, in capsules placed inside meat. Earlier reports described the meat as longaniza, a seasoned sausage.
Authorities said they recovered 14 pieces of suspected poisoned meat: four Tuesday in Parque España, nine Wednesday in the park and surrounding streets, and one Thursday nearby, according to the newspaper La Jornada.
The first deaths Tuesday prompted an animal cruelty investigation centered on the 105-year-old park.
A fourth dog, a mixed breed, died Wednesday after treatment at a veterinary hospital near Parque México, veterinarian Elizabeth Mesa Jiménez said.
Two other dogs survived and were discharged after treatment, Diario de México reported Friday.
The discoveries have unsettled residents, with dog owners and walkers avoiding Parque España and changing their routes.
Cuauhtémoc borough Mayor Alessandra Rojo de la Vega urged visitors to Parque España and nearby Parque México to keep pets from eating anything off the ground and report information to investigators.
LAREDO, Texas — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Thursday the deployment of specialized tactical netting along the Rio Grande after thousands of eastern monarch butterflies bypassed designated ports of entry without valid travel visas, customs declarations or biometric processing.
Federal officials confirmed that while Canada-to-Mexico avian and insect corridors have historically operated under informal environmental exemptions, recent border enforcement directives require all air-traffic fauna to present proper documentation prior to entering U.S. airspace.
Monarch butterflies fleeing from ICE on their annual migration to Mexico. (Alex Makarov/Unsplash)
“We respect the natural lifecycle of the Danaus plexippus, but a multi-generational international voyage does not excuse non-compliance with title entry procedures,” said ICE spokesperson Duane Miller during a press conference featuring footage of detained butterflies. “These individuals entered between official checkpoints, ignored low-altitude verbal warnings and completely failed to report their foreign origin at the Canadian border in late August.”
According to agency logs, thermal imaging cameras near Eagle Pass first flagged dense, low-flying swarms migrating southward from Oklahoma. Tactical units equipped with modified industrial blowers successfully interdicted a major formation near the border, placing several thousand lepidopterans into temporary mesh holding enclosures.
Border officials stated that the butterflies are currently undergoing administrative processing to determine whether they qualify for expedited removal to Winnipeg or temporary humanitarian parole to finish their flight to Michoacán.
Wildlife advocacy groups expressed concern over the logistical bottleneck, noting that the monarchs’ delicate two-milligram mass and strict nectar-based metabolism make extended customs delays potentially fatal. In response, federal authorities reassured the public that detained specimens are being provided with regulated sugar-water rations, though legal counsel for the insects noted that none have been permitted to consult with environmental attorneys.
“Our goal is not to disrupt nature,” Miller added, displaying a standardized expedited-deportation notice resized for a four-inch wingspan. “Our goal is to ensure that every insect flying through North America respects the rule of law and proper agricultural clearance protocols.”
At press time, federal agents were reportedly attempting to serve MB26011, a tagged monarch carrying a Canadian radio transmitter, with a formal summons for operating an unregistered communication device within federal airspace.
The Catrina is the centerpiece of a giant Day of the Dead altar featuring 70,000 marigolds and 66 axolotl sculptures created by artists and artisans for the event. (Estrella Josento / Cuartoscuro)
Mexico City claimed another Guinness World Record upon inaugurating its Day of the Dead altar featuring a 33.4-meter-tall Catrina figure, the tallest papier-mâché sculpture in the world.
Hundreds gathered in the Zócalo on Thursday night to witness Mayor Clara Brugada inaugurate the “mega-ofrenda,” a giant altar featuring marigolds, axolotls, sugar skulls and monumental figures, transforming the heart of the capital into a stage to remember those no longer with us.
¡El Zócalo de la Ciudad de México se ilumina y pinta del color de cempasúchil para alojar a la Catrina más alta del mundo en la Ofrenda Monumental!🧡
Celebramos con orgullo nuestras tradiciones a través de esta majestuosa pieza.🕯️✨
Visítala hasta el 2 de noviembre 2026 https://t.co/IoaugBiwAe
— Secretaría de Turismo de la Ciudad de México (@turismocdmx) October 30, 2026
Dominating the square is the nearly 110-foot-tall Catrina that looms above the square in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral.
The elegant, well-dressed female skeleton is one of the most recognizable symbols of Mexican identity and Day of the Dead.
Roughly the height of an 11-story building, the Mexico City Catrina surpassed the record set in 2023 when a 28.15-meter-high (92.4 feet) Catrina was erected on Puerto Vallarta’s waterfront promenade.
The Mexico City Catrina was created by the Xibalbá art workshop and its director, Carlos Camilo Báez.
At 33 meters, the Mexico City Catrina has displaced Puerto Vallarta’s 28-meter figure, shown, as the tallest in the world. (Promoción Turistica Puerto Vallarta via Cuartoscuro)
“The figure represents a critique of vanity, classism and false appearances, reminding us that in the face of death there are no differences based on titles, surnames or fortune,” Brugada said.
Brugada also paid tribute to the late Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, pointing out that the ofrenda includes a tribute to the three-time presidential candidate who died on Wednesday.
For those eager to gawk at the Catrina in the Zócalo, keep in mind that the entire Day of the Dead ofrenda will only be on display through Nov. 3.
Also noteworthy is the lighting installed on the government buildings in the square and along 20 de Noviembre avenue (which empties into the Zócalo from the south). The spectacle references the work of Mexican engraver José Guadalupe Posada, the creator of the famous Calavera Garbancera, which inspired La Catrina.
The skeletal figure became famous and acquired her iconic full-length, elegant look in the late 1940s after muralist Diego Rivera incorporated it into his mural “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central.”
The giant Catrina marks the fifth Guinness World Record established by Mexico City this year.
Other records include: the world’s largest holographic mural (a 750-square-meter optical artwork by Federico Kampf currently at the Auditorio Metro station); the largest continuous line of sandwiches (set in July during the Torta Fair in the Venustiano Carranza borough); the largest human wave outside a stadium (set in June along Paseo de la Reforma avenue); and the world’s largest soccer lesson (held in the Zócalo in March).
Tertiary activities (such as retail services) ) registered the highest quarterly growth, with a rate of 1.1%, slightly below the 1.4% advance observed in the second quarter. (Shutterstock)
Mexico’s economy grew 0.9% during the third quarter of 2026 compared to the previous three months, a slowdown from the 1.4% growth of the second quarter (April-June) compared to the first quarter (January-March), but less so than what economists expected.
“The slowdown … reflects a return to normal levels of activity following an exceptionally strong quarter, rather than a general deterioration,” Andres Abadia, chief economist for Latin America at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told Reuters.
With regard to year-on-year comparison, third-quarter GDP registered growth of 3.2% compared to 3Q 2025, the largest expansion in 12 quarters, according to Banamex’s economic research department. This surpassed the 2.5% year-on-year increase expected by economists, according to Reuters.
Banamex calculated that cumulative GDP from January to September 2026 rose 1.8%, higher than the 0.1% observed during the first nine months of 2025.
INEGI’s preliminary report also shows that all three major groups of economic activity registered less dynamism during the third quarter compared to the period from April to June.
Breaking down the data, INEGI found that tertiary activities (services to consumers and businesses) registered the highest quarterly growth, with a rate of 1.1%, slightly below the 1.4% advance observed in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, secondary activities (i.e., manufacturing, construction, mining and electricity generation) increased 0.8% quarterly, compared to the 1.6% growth recorded between April and June.
In contrast, primary activities (extracting, harvesting or gathering raw materials directly from the natural environment, i.e., agriculture, livestock and fishing) registered a quarterly contraction of 0.4%, after having advanced 2.4% in the previous period.
At an annual rate, tertiary activities grew 3.3%, followed by secondary activities, up 3.1%, and primary activities, up 1.8%.
Trade and services maintained the strongest quarterly growth, increasing by 1.1%, while industry grew by 0.8%. Both sectors continued to grow, although at a slower pace than in the second quarter.
Agricultural activities were the only component of the economy that showed a quarterly decline, dipping by 0.4%.
President Sheinbaum spoke about the meaning and roots of Mexico's traditional Day of the Dead celebrations on Friday. (Presidencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
🕯️Sheinbaum reflects on Mexican beliefs ahead of Day of the Dead: The Treasury Hall of the National Palace was decorated with cempasúchil plants and Catrina figures for Friday’s mañanera, which included a live cross to Day of the Dead celebrations in Fort Worth, Texas. Asked about her “conception of death,” Sheinbaum said the Mexican view, unlike the Western one, comes from Indigenous peoples and sees “death as part of life.” She said Halloween had diminished the “national vision of Day of the Dead” in the past, but that observance has “recovered,” partly thanks to movies like Coco.
🕊️ Tribute to Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas to be held at Bellas Artes: Sheinbaum said a public tribute to the three-time presidential candidate, who died this week at age 92, begins at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, with his coffin present. She said she would attend if time allows, as she is scheduled to be at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport before traveling to Hidalgo.
🚆 7 Mexicans injured in Spain train crash, 1 missing: Sheinbaum read a note on Wednesday’s rail accident in the province of Toledo, which has left 68 people dead and 180 injured, 21 of them seriously. Eight Mexicans were aboard the trains involved in the crash: seven suffered minor injuries and have been discharged from hospital, while a person from Aguascalientes is missing. The Mexican Embassy in Spain has filed a missing persons report and is in contact with the family.
Why today’s mañanera matters
The Treasury Hall of the National Palace was adorned with cempasúchil plants and Catrina figures for President Sheinbaum’s Friday morning press conference.
At the start of the mañanera, Sheinbaum noted that the room was elaborately decorated for Day of the Dead, which is observed annually on Nov. 1 and 2.
The president gave her Friday conference from the Treasury Hall of the National Palace, which was decked in marigolds and Catrina figures in honor of Day of the Dead. (Presidencia)
Her press conference included a live cross to Day of the Dead celebrations and preparations in Fort Worth, Texas, adding to the seasonal atmosphere of the mañanera. In addition, Sheinbaum spoke about Mexicans’ views on death and the importance of preserving Day of the Dead traditions.
On Friday morning, Sheinbaum noted that a public tribute to Cárdenas will be held in Mexico City, and once again lamented the fatal rail accident.
‘Death as part of life’: Sheinbaum reflects on Mexican beliefs ahead of Day of the Dead
Noting that “Mexicans see death very differently from other cultures,” a reporter asked the president about her “conception of death in terms of what it means” for the people of Mexico.
“Our vision [of death], in contrast to the Western vision, comes from the Indigenous peoples,” she said.
“It’s a conception of death as part of life,” Sheinbaum said.
“And every Day of the Dead, our ancestors come to visit us, to be with us. It’s a completely different perspective — a much more holistic view of what life is and what comes after life. And it’s very beautiful,” she said.
“… I feel that it’s truly beautiful to recognize this tradition that comes from the past, from the peoples who gave rise to what we know today as Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
She acknowledged that “the United States culture of the famous Halloween” had spread into Mexico, leading to what she described as a diminishment of the “national vision of Day of the Dead.”
However, observance of Day of the Dead has “recovered” in recent years, said Sheinbaum, who partially credited Day of the Dead-themed movies — “Coco” is a prime example — for the resurgence.
The president credited media representation for helping revive Mexican Day of the Dead traditions. One notable example is the 2017 Disney-Pixar animated film “Coco.” (Screen Capture)
Asked how important it is for “new generations” to preserve Day of the Dead traditions, Sheinbaum said it was “very important.”
“It’s the link between the people [of the past] and the present,” she said.
“… The pride of being Mexican is related to this celebration, among other things,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum may attend tribute to Cárdenas at Palacio de Bellas Artes
Sheinbaum noted that a tribute to Cárdenas will be held on Friday at the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) in the historic center of Mexico City.
“[Cárdenas’] family and Culture Minister Claudia prepared it,” she said.
Sheinbaum — who will attend an event at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport on Friday before traveling to Hidalgo — said she would attend the tribute if time allows.
She said the tribute, at which Cárdenas’ coffin will be present, will begin at 12:30 p.m.
“There are currently 68 fatalities and 180 people injured, 21 of whom are in serious condition. Eight Mexicans were traveling on one of the trains involved in the incident,” she said.
“Seven sustained minor injuries; they were taken to a hospital and have since been discharged. One person from Aguascalientes is reported missing. The Mexican Embassy in Spain has filed a missing persons report and is in constant contact with the family,” Sheinbaum said.
MND writer and illustrator Bel Woodhouse offers her own distinctive take on Mexico's iconic Day of the Dead altars. (Bel Woodhouse)
It is my favorite time of year. I love Día de Muertos, and seeing the ofrendas — or Day of the Dead altars — warms my heart. These altars are a tradition honoring loved ones who have died. Ofrendas celebrate the union between life and death and are full of vibrant color to help families remember and welcome loved ones home.
Of course, the dearly departed need a little help finding their way. That is why every element on an ofrenda helps guide them back to their family. The altar is full of offerings and comforts for when they arrive, including a jug of water to quench their thirst and their favorite foods or drinks enjoyed in life.
Key elements of an ofrenda
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Photograph: A picture of the deceased is essential to clearly identify which spirits are being welcomed.
Agua (water): Water is placed on the altar for souls to quench their thirst after a long journey.
Velas (candles): Often placed at the four cardinal points, candles help light the way for souls in the dark, guiding them home.
Copal (incense): Said to be the most pleasing scent to the gods, copal carries prayers to the spirit realm, purifies the air and guides the spirits.
Cempasúchil (marigolds): My favorite part of the ofrenda, the cempasúchil’s rich orange and yellow colors act like a beacon, while their strong scent helps guide souls to the altar.
Papel picado (paper flags): Representing the wind element, these delicate tissue paper flags — often crafted with whimsical designs — celebrate the joyful and fragile union between life and death.
Calavera de azúcar, or calaverita (sugar skull): A sweet representation of the dearly departed. Smaller skulls, called angelitos (little angels), represent children, while larger ones represent adults. These are often given as gifts among friends and family.
Pan de muerto (bread): This sweet bread comes in various flavors and is not only an offering, but it also represents generosity and the cycle of life.
Favorite food and drink: An offering of the dearly departed’s favorite food or drink enjoyed in life. Popular offerings include a plate of tamales or sugar cookies, tequila or a couple of cigarettes.
The dead return
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As I said at the beginning, this is my favorite time of year because this tradition is one of the most beautiful I have encountered during my travels.
I hope you have a wonderful Día de Muertos and enjoy making an ofrenda to honor your dearly departed.
Mexico Correspondent for International Living, Bel Woodhouse is an experienced writer, author, photographer and videographer with 500+ articles published both in print and across digital platforms. Living in the Mexican Caribbean for over seven years now, she’s in love with Mexico and has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.
CUALTOS' brutalist style contrasts with luminous colors and incredibly diverse vegetation. (Ana Paula de la Torre)
The area known as Los Altos de Jalisco, located in the northeastern part of the state, is renowned as a major tequila-producing region. However, its environment and biodiversity are remarkably complex and unique. While its landscapes are filled with extraordinary colors, the soil is surprisingly red, creating a vibrant contrast with the blue-green agave used to make tequila.
These qualities, which shape the region’s unforgettable landscapes, were deeply appreciated by Fernando González Gortázar, one of Mexico’s most recognized architects and sculptors. He was commissioned in the early 1990s to create an architectural complex in Jalisco, a project he would dedicate more than two decades of his professional life to.
Today, the site has become a worldwide benchmark for topographic design: Los Altos University Center (CUALTOS).
In Fernando González Gortázar’s innovative design, buildings emerge from prickly pear cacti, a ravine and a stream. (Ana Paula de la Torre)
Brutalist architecture meets natural beauty
When González Gortázar was assigned to design the project, his primary goal was to honor and respect the local topography and landscape. He achieved this by blending his brutalist sculptural style into the terrain’s natural slope. The work was so important to González Gortázar that he devoted more than 23 years of his life to it.
“It is undoubtedly my life’s work,” González Gortázar said in 2017. “It reflects who I am.”
This architectural complex was designed as the first public university center outside Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara. Its main objective was to decentralize education while promoting regional development and cultural identity through the strength of local economic activities.
Designing an institution becomes a lifelong endeavor
The complex consists of eight main buildings, including classrooms, an auditorium, a roundabout, a plaza, laboratories, a library, a computer center and administrative offices, while the layout expands naturally across the local hills and slopes. The construction began with the classrooms, followed by the rector’s office, laboratories and library.
González Gortázar conceived the project as a living, lifelong endeavor that would never truly end as long as he was alive. As such, the entire complex gradually took shape.
“Each new phase reflected my approach to architecture at that time — who I was,” González Gortázar said prior to his death in 2022. “So, this is not only my work but also my self-portrait.”
In his design, native vegetation served as the primary muse.
“Here, trees known as varaduces, tepehuajes and mezquites, together with stone benches, oak forests, nopal cacti and agaves, are an intrinsic part of a composition that is both architectural and sculptural,” noted Francisco Sandoval, a sculptor, cultural promoter and coordinator of cultural activities at CUALTOS.
The architecture of CUALTOS resembles large, abstract sculptures.(Ana Paula de la Torre)
As Sandoval points out, the space feels entirely ceremonial. Its vibrant vegetation attracts a constant presence of birds, creating continuous natural symphonies. Furthermore, when it rains, channels made of local stone form streams whose soothing sound can linger for several days.
A living environment
Regarding the construction process, Sandoval said that for more than 20 years, González Gortázar visited the site at least twice a year. He treated these visits as workshops that respected the natural evolution of the landscape.
“If a new prickly pear grew, it became part of the architectural space,” Sandoval said. “The development of the project constantly adapted to the living environment around it.”
Today, the university hosts nearly 5,000 students each year, along with a staff of almost 500 employees. Beyond the vital social and economic role that this gem has played in the region, the complex embodies a design philosophy in which architecture steps back, allowing the natural landscape to take center stage.
Ana Paula de la Torre is a Mexican journalist and collaborator for various outlets, including Milenio, Animal Político, Vice, Newsweek en Español, Televisa and Mexico News Daily.
Much of the work that the citizens brigades will be doing involves revegetation to rescue dunes damaged by coastal erosion. Training sessions help them understand what to plant and how to plant it. (Tabasco state Environment Ministry)
As the Gulf of Mexico encroaches on the Tabasco coastal plain, some communities are working to recover natural barriers that protect the coast from erosion.
Residents of Barra de Santa Ana — a sandy strip of land separating the Gulf from the Carmen-Pajonal-Machona Lagoon System — have received training from Eni Mexico (the Mexican subsidiary of an Italian multinational energy company) and UNESCO to revegetate coastal dunes.
Climate change and the resulting rise in sea level threaten Santa Ana and other coastal communities and has resulted in the erosion of 85% of the 30 kilometers of coastline between Boca de Santa Ana and Boca de Panteones.
Up to 3.5 meters of shoreline are lost each year, prompting the development of the Dunas Vivas project (Living Dunes), which includes a temporary paid-work scheme to carry out its activities.
The project is part of a plan to reduce disaster risk and strengthen community resilience through science-based solutions and sustainable management of natural and cultural heritage. Community participation is critical to these restoration processes, ensuring ownership and long-term continuity.
With the additional help of local universities, ejido authorities and government officials, a 30-member brigade selected by the community was given a crash course in strategic planting to rebuild the vegetative barrier and the installation of sand catchers made from organic materials (to facilitate dune formation).
Additionally, the brigade will operate botanical nurseries and collect the germplasm (seeds, plant tissues, pollen, DNA, etc.) needed for the controlled propagation of species ideal for revegetation.
Coastal dunes are among the main natural defenses against hurricanes and storm surges, while also protecting communities, infrastructure and mangroves.
El Heraldo de Tabasco newspaper reported that the state has 50,044 hectares of mangrove forest, but large stretches of these coastal intertidal zones have scarce vegetation.
Government mapping of the area last year identified 2,179 hectares of disturbed mangrove compared to 406 hectares in the 2020 assessment.
A January 2026 report outlined the vulnerability of the Tabasco coast and the problems affecting the areas between the Gulf and lagoons.
In August 2026, a report prepared by the Navy warned of critical levels of erosion in El Alacrán, near La Machona Lagoon, as well as in Barra Santa Ana and in Paraíso further to the east.
The son of a Gulf Cartel leader was detained in Matamoros Thursday morning, along with a companion. (Sedena)
Alleged cartel members set up roadblocks in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on Monday after federal forces arrested a high-level criminal target in the northern border city.
Como resultado de trabajos de inteligencia militar de @Defensamx, Fuerzas Especiales del Ejército Mexicano y de la @GN_MEXICO_ detuvieron en Matamoros, Tamaulipas, a dos personas, entre ellas Axel Alfredo “N”, alias “Axel”, identificado como segundo al mando de la célula delictiva “Ciclones”.
Axel Alfredo “N” está relacionado con homicidios, secuestro, extorsión y tráfico de drogas, armas y personas hacia Estados Unidos. También es señalado como responsable de la agresión contra integrantes de @SSPCMexico, ocurrida el pasado 17 de mayo, en la que lamentablemente perdió la vida un compañero y varios más resultaron heridos. Su memoria y el compromiso de quienes arriesgan la vida para proteger a la ciudadanía nos obligan a continuar las investigaciones hasta detener a todos los responsables. No permitiremos que esta agresión quede impune.
Durante la acción se aseguraron armas, cargadores, cartuchos, droga y un vehículo. Ambos detenidos fueron trasladados por la @FuerzaAereaMx a la Ciudad de México.
“In Matamoros, federal forces detained a priority target linked to an organized crime group,” the office said, adding that the suspect “was extracted from the area” prior to being turned over to “the relevant authorities.”
“As a result of these events, blockades have occurred at various points in Matamoros and Río Bravo,” the office said, referring in the latter case to a border municipality and city west of Matamoros.
“The public is advised to exercise caution, avoid the affected areas, use alternate routes, stay informed through official channels and follow the instructions of security authorities.”
🚨 La ciudad fronteriza de #Matamoros, Tamaulipas, registra bloqueos y quema de vehículos tras la detención de un integrante del Cártel del Golfo.
La policía de Brownsville, Texas, informó que los puentes internacionales están cerrados por un “incidente de seguridad.
Blockades were also reported on the highway between Matamoros and Reynosa and the highway between Matamoros and Ciudad Victoria. The newspaper Reforma reported that main roads in Matamoros — located opposite Brownsville, Texas — were blocked.
“To block traffic, the criminals used public transport and cargo vehicles, as well as vehicles from which they had forced the drivers out,” Reforma reported.
In addition, “alleged organized crime accomplices … threw tire spikes on avenues in Reynosa and in the area around the [city’s] airport,” the newspaper wrote.
In addition to roadblocks, gunfire was reported in Matamoros and other parts of Tamaulipas, where criminals reportedly clashed with security forces.
Early Thursday afternoon, the Brownsville Police Department announced on social media that all international bridges between Brownsville and Matamoros were “closed due to an active security incident in Matamoros.”
However, later in the afternoon, it said that all bridges had “resumed normal operations.”
The Tamaulipas Ministry of Education canceled classes in Matamoros for students who start school in the afternoon (turno vespertino) in order to “protect the physical safety of school communities.”
According to the think tank and media organization Insight Crime, the Gulf Cartel is “one of Mexico’s oldest criminal groups, but it no longer operates as a unified organization.”
“… The Scorpions and the Cyclones are the most powerful factions. From the border, these groups smuggle migrants and drugs into the United States, move weapons and cash into Mexico, and operate complex extortion schemes,” Insight Crime says.
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas appears with PRD party co-founder Porfirio Muñoz in the Mexico City Zócalo in 1988. (Eloy Valtierra / Cuartoscuro)
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, a three-time presidential candidate, a central figure in Mexico’s democratic transition and son of former president Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, died in Mexico City on Wednesday. He was 92.
The cause of Cárdenas’ death was not immediately clear. He reportedly passed away in the Ángeles Metropolitano Hospital in the Roma Sur neighborhood of the capital.
President Claudia Sheinbaum and former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged Cárdenas’ death in social media posts on Wednesday night.
Sheinbaum called him “a man of steadfast principles who transformed the political life of our country.”
López Obrador said Cárdenas was “a precursor of the democratic movement in Mexico’s recent history.”
“Without him, the country’s political reality would be different,” he wrote.
La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum encabeza la guardia de honor ante el féretro de Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, histórico líder de la izquierda mexicana, acompañada por la familia del fallecido político.
Más información en López-Dóriga Digital https://t.co/rSlCjtnTUo
Cárdenas is credited with helping to end the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s decades-long rule in Mexico, which spanned much of the 20th century. He was a member of the PRI for more than 30 years, but left the party in 1987 and ran in the 1988 presidential election as the candidate for the National Democratic Front, a coalition of left-wing parties. Cárdenas is widely believed to have won that election, but the PRI’s Carlos Salinas de Gortari was declared the winner.
He would go on to contest the 1994 and 2000 elections as the candidate for the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), which he co-founded. The 2000 election was won by the National Action Party (PAN) candidate Vicente Fox, who became the first president of Mexico from outside the PRI or its predecessors in 71 years.
The early years
Cárdenas was born in Mexico City on May 1, 1934, exactly two months before his father, Lázaro Cárdenas, won the 1934 presidential election with more than 98% of the vote. His mother was Amalia Solórzano Bravo, who, like his father, was a native of Michoacán.
Cárdenas was not yet four years old when his father nationalized Mexico’s oil industry on March 18, 1938. Lázaro Cárdenas is best remembered for that historic decision, but also oversaw significant land reform, redistributing millions of hectares to small-scale farmers, or campesinos.
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas spent his early years living at Los Pinos, the erstwhile residence of the president of Mexico. The New York Times reported that “[a] boyhood friend, José J. Altamirano, remembered the young Cuauhtémoc pushing toy trucks around his father’s feet there.”
Cárdenas was educated at private schools before enrolling in a civil engineering degree at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He graduated from UNAM in the mid-1950s and worked as a civil engineer before starting his long political career.
Cárdenas wed María Celeste Batel in 1963 and they remained married until her death in 2021. The couple had three children.
A political life
Cárdenas was a member of the PRI from 1954 to 1987. During that period, he served as a federal senator for Michoacán (1976-80) and governor of Michoacán (1980-86).
While in those positions, he was critical of the federal government’s economic decisions — Mexico’s so-called neoliberal period began in 1982 — and the “dedazo,” the colloquial name for the practice in which the sitting president handpicked the PRI’s next presidential candidate.
Before he left the PRI, Cárdenas, Porfirio Muñoz, Ifigenia Martínez and others founded the Corriente Democrática (Democratic Current), a progressive and reformist faction of the PRI.
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas at the 100 Hours March in Mexico City in 1987, a protest organized by the Corriente Democrática over the lack of transparency in the selection of PRI presidential candidate Carlos Salinas de Gortari. (Cuartoscuro)
The 1988 presidential election
Cárdenas had hopes of representing the PRI at the 1988 presidential election, but President Miguel de la Madrid chose Salinas de Gortari — a free trade advocate — as the party’s flag bearer.
Having left the PRI, Cárdenas stood as the candidate for the National Democratic Front, which was backed by the Mexican Socialist Party and the Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution, among other parties and organizations.
His message of economic nationalism resonated with voters, and early results on the night of the 1988 election showed that he had a significant lead over Salinas. However, later in the night, election officials claimed that the electoral computer system had broken down and they stopped reporting results. Before midnight on July 6, 1988, Salinas was declared the winner with almost 51% of the vote compared to Cárdenas’ 31%, according to the official, but highly questionable, results.
De la Madrid admitted that the results were rigged in his 2004 memoir.
The New York Times reported that Cárdenas’ “sway over the Mexican people was so great that he could have, with a few words, set off a bloody civil war after obvious fraud in the 1988 presidential election robbed him of the victory that many believed was his.”
“But instead of whipping up their anger, he convinced his followers that they could launch a true revolution, not by taking to the streets but by returning to the polls.”
“Se cayó el sistema”.
La elección presidencial de 1988 marcó para siempre la trayectoria de Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. La interrupción del flujo de información, las denuncias de fraude y el triunfo oficial de Carlos Salinas de Gortari abrieron una de las mayores polémicas electorales de México.
In 1989, Cárdenas, Porfirio Muñoz, Ifigenia Martínez and Andrés Manuel López Obrador founded the PRD, which became Mexico’s main left-wing party.
Cárdenas represented the PRD at the 1994 and 2000 presidential elections, finishing third in both.
In between his second and third presidential bids, he served as mayor of Mexico City between 1997 and 1999, having won the first direct election of the capital’s head of government, a position previously filled by presidential appointment.
President Sheinbaum used the Mexico City mayorship as a springboard to the presidency, but that wasn’t the case for Cárdenas. Fox took the presidency for the PAN in 2000, which, along with Felipe Calderón’s victory in another controversial election in 2006, left the PRI out of power at the federal level for 12 years. The once-dominant party wouldn’t return to the national halls of power until Enrique Peña Nieto took office in late 2012.
While he didn’t rise to the national leadership position he appeared to be destined for, Cárdenas “was, in a real sense, one of the midwives of Mexico’s democratic transition,” according to University of California political scientist Kathleen Bruhn.
He helped turn the PRD into a competitive political party after the long 20th-century hegemony of the PRI. The party won elections in Mexico City and various states before its recent demise as a result of its poor showing in the 2024 federal elections. Cárdenas left the PRD in 2014, 25 years after co-founding the party, due to differences with its leadership, but he will forever be linked to the party that was Mexico’s preeminent leftist force until the emergence last decade of the National Regeneration Movement, or Morena, which has ruled Mexico since late 2018.
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas with Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a campaign rally in the Mexico City Zócalo in 2000. (Pedro Mera / Cuartoscuro)
Symbol of the Mexican left
The La Jornada newspaper described Cárdenas as a “symbol of the left in Mexico” and a “historic leader” of the national leftist movement.
“Cárdenas left a profound mark on contemporary political history by leading the most significant rupture of the PRI in the decade of the ’80s, the … Corriente Democrática, and by opening a new stage for the Mexican left,” reported the Mexico City-based daily.
“… He became closely associated with the emergence of an electoral left, the call for free and competitive elections, and the transformation of the Mexican political system. He also supported causes such as those of the EZLN [the Zapatista Army of National Liberation] and the defense of energy resources and national sovereignty,” La Jornada wrote.
El Universal reported that biographers have defined his ideology as “rejection of neoliberalism, defense of the state in strategic sectors, especially energy, austerity, national sovereignty and laicism.”
“I’m very concerned about the situation we’re living, the situation that the country is going through,” he said during a meeting with a cross-party group of senators in 2022. He made those remarks while his former PRD colleague, López Obrador, was in office. Like Cárdenas, AMLO contested three presidential elections, but, in contrast to his political associate, won on his third attempt.
In 2011, Cárdenas, at the age of 77, was awarded the Belisario Domínguez medal, the Mexican Senate’s highest honor, in recognition of his political career and contributions to public life. Among those contributions are several books he authored.
Cárdenas is survived by his three children Cuauhtémoc, Camila and Lázaro Cárdenas Batel, and his grandchildren. Lázaro, governor of Michoacán between 2002 and 2008, is President Sheinbaum’s chief of staff.
