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Sheinbaum hits back at Miller’s ‘Mexico’s systems don’t work’ claim: Tuesday’s mañanera recapped

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MND Staff
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Sheinbaum at podium
Also at Tuesday's mañanera, Sheinbaum provided an update on an expert group's assessment of the feasibility of "sustainable fracking" in Mexico. (Saúl López Escorcia/Presidencia)

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds 

  • 📍Miller, Ruffo and fracking: President Sheinbaum used her Tuesday press conference to respond to provocative remarks from White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller about Mexico, while also addressing the Ernesto Ruffo case and giving an update on the fracking feasibility assessment.
  • 🎙️ Sheinbaum won’t debate Miller: Asked about Miller’s claim that Mexico’s justice, political and legal systems “don’t work” because parts of the country are “controlled and occupied by terrorist organizations,” Sheinbaum insisted there is “good coordination” between Mexico and the U.S. and asserted that “the people govern” in Mexico.
  • 🗳️ Midterms cited as motive: Asked why the U.S. official made the remarks, Sheinbaum pointed to November’s U.S. midterm elections.
  • ⚖️ Ruffo case is “criminal, not political”: Responding to a statement from 25 former Spanish and Latin American leaders — including ex-presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón — who called ex-Baja California Governor Ernesto Ruffo’s prosecution “political persecution,” Sheinbaum said the signatories should read the Attorney General’s evidence, calling it purely “a matter that has to do with a crime.”
  • 🔥 Fracking assessment nearing completion: Sheinbaum said the expert committee studying “sustainable fracking” has reached internal agreements and is finishing its final assessment of energy needs through 2035–2040, with results expected within one to two weeks.

Why today’s mañanera matters 

Today’s mañanera was important as President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to provocative remarks made by a senior Trump administration official. Given that the Mexico-U.S. relationship is currently strained, particularly in the areas of security and trade, any friction between the neighboring countries draws heightened scrutiny.

Also of note at the Tuesday morning press conference was Sheinbaum’s response to the view expressed by 25 former Spanish and Latin American political leaders regarding the criminal charges faced by a former governor of the northern state of Baja California.

In addition, today’s mañanera was significant as Sheinbaum provided an update on an expert group’s assessment of the feasibility of “sustainable fracking” in Mexico, a practice that, if approved, could allow Mexico to reduce its heavy reliance on natural gas imports from the United States. The results of the group’s assessment were initially expected in June, but now look likely to come in August.

Sheinbaum responds to Stephen Miller’s remarks about Mexico 

A reporter asked the president about the Mexico-related remarks made on Thursday by Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy and a homeland security adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Miller said that Mexican criminal organizations “not only export massive death in the form of narcotics to our country, but they also export sophisticated criminal enterprises whose objective is to destabilize our democracy and to end the rule of law in our country.”

“There’s a reason why in Mexico, the justice system doesn’t work, the political system doesn’t work [and] the legal system doesn’t work. It’s because you have territory controlled and occupied by terrorist organizations who kill, extort, kidnap or murder anybody who gets in the way,” he said, referring to Mexican cartels that have been designated as foreign terrorists organizations by the U.S. government.

Sheinbaum’s first response to Miller’s remarks was a declaration that “we’re not going to get into a debate.”

She subsequently said there is “good coordination” between Mexico and the United States, and declared that “they” — i.e., Trump administration officials — know that “the people govern” in Mexico.

“Nobody else governs, the people rule,” Sheinbaum said.

“We’re a government of the people. … We work every day for security and peace in our country and there are results,” she said.

“I’m not going to get into a debate with him,” Sheinbaum added, referring to Miller.

Asked what she attributed the U.S. official’s remarks to, the president noted that midterm elections will be held in the United States in November.

“We’ve always said that Mexico should not be a defining element in their campaign,” Sheinbaum said, apparently referring to the U.S. Republican Party.

“… The United States has to look at itself, particularly with regard to the issue of drug use and the distribution [of narcotics] and money laundering in the United States,” she said.

Sheinbaum: Ruffo case is a ‘criminal issue,’ not a political one 

A reporter noted that a group of former Spanish and Latin American political leaders issued a statement regarding the criminal charges faced by ex-Baja California Governor Ernesto Ruffo, who is accused of organized crime, fuel theft and tax evasion.

In the statement, the ex-leaders who belong to the “Democratic Initiative for Spain and the Americas” (Grupo IDEA) — among whom are former Mexican presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón — claim that the situation of Ruffo, National Action Party (PAN) governor of Baja California between 1989 and 1995, displays “unmistakable features of a political persecution orchestrated by those in power.”

Sheinbaum said “it would be very good” if the signatories of the statement “informed themselves” about the ex-governor’s situation by reading the information released by the Federal Attorney General’s Office.

“I repeat, it has nothing to do with a political issue. It’s a criminal issue,” she said.

Ruffo is “a person who allegedly, according to all the evidence, committed serious crimes,” Sheinbaum said.

“… Those who signed [the statement] saying that it’s a political matter are mistaken,” she said.

“It’s a matter that has to do with a crime,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum provides an update on the fracking feasibility assessment 

Sheinbaum told reporters that a group of experts tasked with assessing the feasibility of “sustainable fracking” in Mexico has been expanded.

“The committee was expanded with two additional points of view,” she said.

“One from people who have historically had opinions against the exploitation of unconventional gas,” Sheinbaum said.

She said that another “group of people from different academic institutions” was added to the fracking assessment committee in order to develop an “energy planning scheme considering other sources of energy.”

Mexico weighs ‘sustainable fracking’ to cut dependence on US natural gas

“This second part is what has slightly delayed the committee’s ability to come to the mañanera to provide a result [of the fracking assessment],” Sheinbaum said.

She said that the committee has made a lot of progress, adding that its members have “even reached “agreements” among themselves.

“What’s missing is the final assessment regarding the growth of energy use and energy sources to 2035, 2040,” Sheinbaum said, explaining that the assessment considers how natural gas can be replaced by “other energy sources.”

She said that assessment is likely to be completed next week.

Sheinbaum said that next week or the week after next, the government will be in a position to announce the committee’s “guidance” regarding the feasibility of sustainable fracking in Mexico.

The president said she believed that the committee’s conclusions will be “satisfactory for everyone.”

The experts, she added, “will also propose that other studies are needed.”

Sheinbaum said those studies would be carried out this year.

The president has acknowledged her previous opposition to fracking, but now asserts that it can take place safely via the use of new technologies.

A decision to allow fracking in Mexico — a practice that was largely paused by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador — would increase domestic production of natural gas, a fuel that Mexico currently imports from the United States in large quantities.

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

In canceling La Parota dam, Sheinbaum details a different water plan for rural Acapulco

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MND Staff
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Sheinbaum reviewing a waterworks map
Sheinbaum said the government will also replace drinking water lines in the upper part of Acapulco, starting in the neighborhood of Renacimiento. (Presidencia)

President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Sunday the cancellation of the La Parota hydroelectric dam to instead double down on an alternative plan featuring radial wells, rehabilitated pumping systems and elevated tanks to supply water to the Acapulco area.

“Yesterday I informed the entire rural area of ​​Acapulco that we are no longer going to do [the dam project] because it would have greatly affected the communities,” Sheinbaum said. 

northern rural Acapulco
The hydroelectric dam project, which saw fierce opposition throughout the state of Guerrero since it was announced in 2003, would have displaced upwards of 25,000 inhabitants of northern Acapulco. (Carlos Alberto Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)

The Federal Electricity Commission’s (FCE) proposed 900-megawatt La Parota dam was expected to flood between 14,000 and 17,000 hectares of land, impacting the municipalities of Acapulco, Juan R. Escudero, San Marcos, Chilpancingo and Tecoanapa. However, concerns over the land expropriation process and a lack of agreements with local communities drove Sheinbaum to cancel the project. 

Sheinbaum’s water strategy for Acapulco includes three radial wells along the Papagayo River, the rehabilitation of aqueducts, the repair of the pumping system, the construction of elevated tanks and the replacement of leaking water lines.

The works were initially included in the January 2025 federal program “Acapulco Transforms with You,” established in response to the damage caused by Hurricanes Otis and John.

The radial wells are being built on tall towers — high enough to keep them safe from flood waters — and will draw from the Papagayo River through underground collection systems.

In addition, Sheinbaum said, the government will replace drinking water lines in the upper part of Acapulco, starting in the neighborhood of Renacimiento.

Cleanup work is now underway in the Papagayo River, and dredging is taking place to remove sediment and increase the capacity of the riverbeds.

The aim is to reduce obstructions and reduce the flood risk during heavy rainfall as part of Acapulco’s reconstruction and adaptation efforts following the two severe hurricanes.

Residents of towns bordering the river have voiced their concern that the water works will directly serve beachfront Acapulco, instead of increasing their supply.   

With reports from El Imparcial, Expansión Política and Infobae

Formal and informal employment slumped during the first half of 2026

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MND Staff
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person at office
The negative first-half jobs report included June, the first month of the World Cup, which seemed to boost job generation only in the three host cities, if at all. (Vitaly Grieve/Unsplash)

Participation in the workforce declined by nearly 300,000 during the first half of 2026 as June employment figures were the second-worst of the year, according to the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE) carried out by the national statistics agency INEGI.

ENOE data indicates that 319,633 jobs were lost last month and said the decline was linked to a contraction in both formal and informal employment, although more pronounced in the latter. 

employment grahic 2026
A graphic released by the think tank México ¿cómo vamos? with data from IMSS shows the state-by-state job generation performance for the second quarter of 2026 (April, May and the low-performance month of June). Top generators were Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Durango, Nuevo León, Campeche and Quintana Roo. (México ¿cómo vamos?)

The negative June figures — topped only by the loss of 705,427 jobs in January — resulted in a deficit of 293,227 jobs through the first half of the year. Economists say Mexico needs to create 1.2 million jobs annually just to keep pace with labor force growth.

The June report is particularly disappointing as there were high expectations for the economy since Mexico was co-hosting the FIFA World Cup.

“Employment figures show the labor market remained weak, despite … the World Cup, which failed to boost job creation, even temporarily,” the financial group Banco Base stated in an analysis. “The event’s effect was marginal and likely concentrated only in the host cities.” 

ENOE said Mexico’s unemployment rate stands at 2.9%, its highest figure since September 2025. At the same time, the economically inactive population (EIP) increased by 285,856 people in June compared to May.

Banco Base interpreted the rise in the EIP as an indicator that “some of those who stopped working stopped looking for employment,” suggesting that “the unemployment rate alone does not reflect the magnitude of the deterioration in the labor market.”

The official employment rate for the population aged 15 and over registered at 58.8%, according to seasonally adjusted figures. This represents declines for both month-to-month (–0.2%) and year-on-year (–1.0%).

The economic think tank México ¿cómo vamos? Identified another significant structural challenge: low female participation. In June 2026, the labor force participation gap between men and women stood at approximately 28.3%.

With reports from El Economista and México ¿cómo vamos?

Sheinbaum denies Milei’s ‘anti-Argentina campaign’ claim: Monday’s mañanera recapped

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MND Staff
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Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum's government, as well as Brazil and the Democratic Party of the United States, was accused by Argentine President Javier Milei of financing a campaign against him. (Juan Carlos Ramos Mamahua/Presidencia)

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • 🇦🇷🇲🇽 Sheinbaum denies Milei’s ‘anti-Argentina campaign’ claim: Responding to weekend remarks by Argentine President Javier Milei accusing Mexico, Brazil and the U.S. Democratic Party of financing a campaign against his government, Sheinbaum was blunt: “There’s no [Mexican] campaign against any country in the world, nor against any government in the world.”
  • 🎖️ Militarized schools ‘not authorized,’ says Education Ministry (SEP): Amid fallout from the case of a student’s death at a so-called “militarized academy” in Tamaulipas, Education Minister Mario Delgado said such schools fall outside SEP and Defensa jurisdiction and that military-style education in schools is incompatible with Mexico’s constitutional education principles.
  • ⚠️ Zacatecas cartel threat video ‘isn’t real,’ Sheinbaum says: Asked about a video in which armed men claiming to be part of a Sinaloa Cartel faction threatened Zacatecas Governor David Monreal, the president said the Security Cabinet determined the same day it surfaced that the audio had been dubbed.
  • 🌎 Self-determination principle invoked again: Sheinbaum tied her response to Milei to Mexico’s long-standing approach to foreign policy, saying Mexico asks other nations for the same respect for internal affairs that it offers them.

Why today’s mañanera matters

President Claudia Sheinbaum took the opportunity during her Monday morning press conference to share advances of her administration’s investigation into the impact of social media and artificial intelligence on Mexico’s young people.

Education Minister Mario Delgado brought in two experts — Lucía Magis Weinberg and Tania Jiménez García — to present findings on how excessive screen time and social media use affect young people’s cognitive and emotional development.

“We are compiling this information so that it is available to parents,” Sheinbaum said.

“And so that, together, we make a series of decisions to protect children and adolescents during this formative stage of their lives,” the president said, before connecting the issue to the development of the country at large.

Sheinbaum also shared results of a recent survey indicating that 71% of parents consider it necessary that the government regulate minors’ cell phone use in schools.

Other issues at today’s mañanera touched on headlines from Zacatecas to Argentina.

On the international front, reporters pressed Sheinbaum on Milei’s accusation that Mexico had helped fund a campaign against Argentina during the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.

Milei’s accusation didn’t come out of nowhere. The president of Argentina has leaned on similar claims before: in May, a leaked call between him and pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández surfaced, in which Milei was said to have put up $350,000 for a media operation to spread information against leftist governments in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil — an episode that became known as “Hondurasgate.”

Sheinbaum was also asked on Monday about a video threatening Zacatecas Governor David Monreal, which she dismissed as fake.

That video surfaced in the wake of a real and still-unsolved multihomicide. Ten people — among them businesspeople and former officials — were found killed in several Zacatecas municipalities earlier this month, with five bodies located along the Zacatecas-Saltillo highway. State and federal authorities are still investigating who was responsible, with one line of inquiry examining whether some of the victims had ties to extortion by organized crime.

Sheinbaum rejects Milei’s ‘anti-Argentina campaign’ accusation

A reporter asked Sheinbaum to respond to remarks made Sunday by Argentine President Javier Milei, who told the Buenos Aires-based Radio Mitre that Mexico, Brazil and the U.S. Democratic Party had bankrolled a “campaña antiargentina” — an anti-Argentina campaign — aimed at undermining his government ahead of elections.

Milei’s comments came hours after Brazil recalled its ambassador from Buenos Aires over separate remarks in which he called Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a “presidiario” (convict) and a “ladrón” (thief). Milei alleged Brazil had funded 25% of the supposed campaign and labeled Mexican and U.S. Democratic officials “progressive heads” seeking to derail his economic agenda.

“There’s no [Mexican] campaign against any country in the world, nor against any government in the world,” Sheinbaum said, adding that if anything, “here there is a campaign” against Mexico’s own government, from multiple fronts.

She stressed that Mexico “doesn’t tend to get involved with other countries” and tied her response to Mexico’s constitutional principle of self-determination, a doctrine she has repeatedly invoked this year in response to frictions in foreign relations.

Education Ministry: Military-style schooling ‘not authorized’

Monday’s mañanera also addressed fallout from the case of Dafne Quintos, a student whose recent death has been linked to a “militarized academy” in Tamaulipas. Quintos, 13, reportedly died on July 17 at Academia Militarizada “Doenitz” where she was taking a summer course. According to her mother, Alejandra Quintos, the crime is being investigated as a femicide with drowning as the cause of death.

Education Minister Mario Delgado reiterated a position his ministry first stated Friday: schools branded as “militarized” fall under neither the Education Ministry (SEP) nor the Defense Ministry (Defensa), and delivering military-style instruction in educational institutions is “incompatible with the constitutional aims, principles and objectives” governing Mexican education.

Delgado said Tamaulipas authorities have since identified five additional schools operating under the same model. He said he remains in contact with the Tamaulipas state government and has tried to reach Quintos’s mother directly.

Sheinbaum debunks video threatening Zacatecas governor

A roughly two-minute video circulating on social media shows nine masked, armed men posing behind a tenth who reads out a message on camera claiming responsibility for the killing of 10 men in Zacatecas earlier this month on behalf of a Sinaloa Cartel faction.

Zacatecas AG: Multihomicide of 10, including officials, may be linked to extortion and collusion

The spokesperson asserts — without evidence — that the murders were carried out at the state government’s request. The same message then turns to a direct threat against Zacatecas Governor David Monreal, warning him to “honor and respect the agreements his cabinet has with our organization” or face consequences that would extend to his family.

Asked about the clip, Sheinbaum said the recording is not authentic. She said the federal Security Cabinet informed her the same day the video surfaced that it contained technical inconsistencies, chiefly that the voice track doesn’t match the person shown speaking.

“It’s not a real video — the voice doesn’t even match what the person is saying,” she said, adding that the case is still being investigated.

She said federal authorities are working to determine who produced the video, who distributed it and what the purpose of publishing it was, and that any evidence linking public officials to organized crime would be investigated under the law regardless of the outcome.

Monreal has not commented directly on the video but said separately that Zacatecas maintains permanent security operations involving the army, the National Guard and state police. Last week, state authorities announced the arrest of five people in connection with the homicides.

Mexico News Daily

Ensenada’s Isaac del Toro makes history at Tour de France

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MND Staff
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Del Toro on podium
Del Toro's third-place finish at the Tour de France put him on the podium and cemented his place in cycling history with the best result ever by a Mexican. (@TeamEmiratesUAE/X)

Isaac del Toro has delivered Mexico’s best result ever in the Tour de France, taking third place overall and crossing the finish line Sunday in the white jersey — indicative of the race’s best young rider.

Competing in his first Tour de France, the 22-year-old from Ensenada, Baja California, stood on the podium in Paris alongside Slovenian Tadej Pogačar, who rode to a record‑equaling fifth Tour title, and Belgian Remco Evenepoel.

Del Toro finished the three-week race 9 minutes, 42 seconds behind Pogačar, but comfortably ahead of his closest rival for the youth classification after a grueling final week in the Alps.

Evenepoel was 6:26 behind in second place following the last of 21 stages.

Early in the race, on a 168.5-kilometer stage held entirely in Spain, del Toro made history as only the second Mexican rider ever to win a stage of the Tour de France — and the first since Monterrey native Raúl Alcalá in 1989 and 1990.

On Sunday, ESPN compared Del Toro’s breakout in road cycling to Mexican pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who won two top National League awards — the Cy Young Award, as the league’s best pitcher, and Rookie of the Year — in 1981, his first full season in the major leagues.

Del Toro battled illness in the final days but leaned on team support and Pogačar’s help on key climbs, including the summit finish to Alpe d’Huez. The two ride for the eight‑man UAE Team Emirates‑XRG squad.

“It’s not easy to finish on the podium being sick, so I’m really delighted and very grateful to the team for having done this for me,” he told Eurosport.

His performances — including the Barcelona stage win in which Pogačar eased up to let his young teammate take the victory — have turned him into a national figure. According to ESPN, murals have gone up in his honor, hills have been renamed in his native Ensenada, and cycling shops in Mexico are reporting rising demand for bikes and gear.

President Claudia Sheinbaum hailed Del Toro’s achievement on social media.

“Many congratulations to young Isaac del Toro,” she wrote Sunday on X. “Mexico is very proud of your effort, dedication and this great moment that inspires an entire country. Congratulations, Isaac! May your success continue.”

Del Toro’s Tour de France finish cemented his No. 3 status in the current Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) world rankings, behind only Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark.

His breakout 2025 season produced 16 victories across stage races and one‑day events, including several stage-race titles and second place overall at the prestigious Giro d’Italia.

Vingegaard, a two-time Tour de France champion, crashed out of this year’s race, suffering a broken collarbone during Stage 15 when he was in second place.

His departure opened the door for Pogačar, 27, whose fifth title tied him with Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault for the most Tour de France titles. American Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven titles following doping investigations by cycling authorities.

With reports from ESPN, El Universal, Cycling News and the Associated Press

Hurricane Genevieve gathers strength offshore, casting stormclouds over most of Mexico

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MND Staff
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rainy street scene
It looks like Mexico will be spared from the worst of Hurricane Genevieve in the Pacific, but most states can still look forward to plenty of rain. (Chris Luengas/Unsplash)

Hurricane Genevieve briefly reached Category 5 in the early hours of Monday, becoming the first cyclone of this magnitude recorded in the eastern Pacific since Hurricane Kristy in 2024, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.

As of 9 a.m. CST on Monday, the NHC said Genevieve was located approximately 855 kilometers south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California Sur, with maximum sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour and wind gusts up to 305 kilometers per hour.

Genevieve can be seen forming at the lower left in this photograph released by the National Meteorological Service from Sunday, when it was still a Category 3. Though it reached Category 5 in the pre-dawn hours Monday, its movement is taking it farther from the Mexican coast.  (SMS)

The system was moving northwest at 20 kilometers per hour on a track that kept it offshore and parallel to the Mexican coast, and is expected to maintain a west-northwest to northwest track over the next two days, gradually slowing its speed. 

Despite the hurricane’s strength, forecasters have ruled out any direct impact on Mexican territory, with no coastal watches or warnings in effect. 

However, the generated swells are already affecting Mexico’s southwest coast and are expected to reach southern Baja California, with the risk of potentially dangerous rip currents.

Rainfall forecast for most states 

According to the National Meteorological Service (SMN), cloud bands from Genevieve in the Pacific Ocean will increase the likelihood of heavy to very heavy rains in western Mexico, coinciding with the Mexican monsoon in the northwest and Tropical Wave Number 21 in the south, which will intensify the storms.

The SMN said very heavy rains are expected on Monday in at least 17 states, with particular intensity in Sonora, Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Here’s the rain forecast for Monday afternoon:

Very heavy rain with isolated intense downpours (75 to 150 millimeters): parts of Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco. 

Heavy rain with isolated and very heavy downpours (50 to 75 millimeters): parts of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero and Puebla.

Showers with isolated heavy downpours (25 to 50 millimeters): parts of Hidalgo, México state, Mexico City, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

Periods of showers (5 to 25 millimeters): parts of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato and Querétaro.

Isolated rain (0.1 to 5 millimeters): parts of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Aguascalientes.

With reports from Radio Fórmula and the Associated Press

MND Local: Experiencing a taste of Oaxaca at its annual mezcal festivals

By
Anna Bruce
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Sign for mezcal tasting in Oaxaca
Although there is never a shortage of opportunities to taste mezcal in Oaxaca, July is by far the best month to visit the state due to several signature festivals. (Anna Bruce)

July sees hundreds of thousands of visitors arriving in Oaxaca to celebrate (and photograph) the traditions of Guelaguetza. Many are on the hunt for the best mezcal, and there are many events to provide just that, ranging from tasting seminars to street parties.

The principal event in Oaxaca City is the Feria del Mezcal, hosted at the Centro Cultural y de Convenciones de Oaxaca (CCO) in Santa Lucía del Camino. This is a multi-day extravaganza concluding July 28. Although many treat the event like the world’s largest open bar, it is much more than that. It is an agro-industrial, cultural exhibition where you can find rare mezcals and meet the producers who make them.

Oaxaca’s mezcal sipping and sampling festivals

Oaxaca producer pouring mezcal at the Feria del Mezcal
For those seeking to sample the world’s best mezcals, the annual Feria del Mezcal offers a golden opportunity. (Anna Bruce)

Glynn Pegler runs two bars in Oaxaca City and says he has seen a “noticeable increase in the professionalism of the Feria this year. There is a full program of entertainment and seminars, and stricter controls on the quality of the products and their authenticity. From the quality of the displays and decorations in each of the mezcal stands this year, it is clear that everyone in the Feria has upped their game.”

Santiago Matatlán is a Oaxacan town known as “the World Capital of Mezcal.” The town recently hosted its own “Grand Mezcal Festival,” held from July 23-26, 2026. The dates coincided with the state celebration of Guelaguetza, as well as the town’s saint’s day (July 25) honoring Santiago Apóstol.

This year, the fair took place just a few blocks from the town square. Stalls showcased local mezcal brands, as well as traditional crafts and food. Over the course of the event, experts including Mabi Cuish, Carmen Vásquez and Cynthia Villalobos gave lectures. Music and dancing were featured in the form of a calenda, a cabalgata (horseback procession) and a jaripeo (rodeo).

An education in mezcal

Agave hearts displayed at the 2026 Feria del Mezcal in Oaxaca
Events like the annual Feria del Mezcal bring together Oaxaca’s best distillers for a celebration of the state’s most iconic product. (Anna Bruce)

The celebration integrates the mezcal tradition with other elements of Oaxaca’s cultural identity, strengthening the tourist offerings of Santiago Matatlán and its connection with Guelaguetza activities.

On Saturday, organizers presented awards, cheered on by the festival crowd. These included diplomas for students who completed a course in mezcal production through the “University of Mezcal.” The main event was the Largest Agave Heart Contest, sponsored by ProMez. The contest recognizes the quality and effort of the producers, highlighting two fundamental aspects of the agave: its sugar content, measured in degrees Brix, and the weight of the hearts.

“University of Mezcal” graduates also celebrated during the festival. (Anna Bruce)

Although the Grand Mezcal Festival in Matatlán has finished, you can still visit the community and the mezcal producers who work there. You can do this by reaching out to mezcalerías such as Quiote or by contacting local guides.

Anna Bruce is an award-winning British photojournalist based in Oaxaca, Mexico. Just some of the media outlets she has worked with include Vice, The Financial Times, Time Out, Huffington Post, The Times of London, the BBC and Sony TV. Find out more about her work at her website or visit her on social media on Instagram or on Facebook.

2 separate freight derailments prompt emergency responses

By
MND Staff
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One of the derailments in Naco, Sonora, caused a chemical spill whose contents and extent remain unclear.
One of the derailments in Naco, Sonora, caused a chemical spill whose contents and extent remain unclear. (X)

In two separate incidents on Saturday night, a tank car on a freight train derailed, prompting the mobilization of emergency services while specialized personnel carried out containment efforts.

Authorities declared a Code Red in the northern state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, after a Pemex-owned tank car carrying 70,000 liters of gasoline tipped over when a freight train derailed. 

The incident, which occurred in the Kansas City Southern rail yard in Ciudad Madero, triggered hazardous materials response protocols. 

Municipal, state and federal authorities cordoned off the perimeter and established a command post. Specialized personnel quickly evaluated the scene to consider the possibility of leaks, fire hazards and explosion risks.

The situation was fraught with danger as the Ferrocarrilera Talleres neighborhood — the site of the accident — is one of the most sensitive railway and industrial corridors in southern Tamaulipas. Its proximity to logistics infrastructure linked to Petróleos Mexicanos — including the Madero Refinery — prompted authorities to consider an evacuation, though it was deemed not necessary.

Local officials urged the public to avoid the area while the authorities continued trying to secure the tanker truck, citing the risk posed by any maneuver involving a vehicle loaded with fuel. Authorities — along with Pemex personnel — were preparing to transfer the fuel to a different tank car on Monday.

As of Sunday night, authorities had not reported any injuries or fuel spills.

In the second incident, a freight train derailed in the municipality of Naco, Sonora, approximately 20 miles south of the U.S. border.

The derailment occurred just outside the town of Ejido Cuauhtémoc on the railway tracks used by Ferromex, a private rail transport company that operates the largest freight railway network in Mexico.

According to official information from the Sonora civil protection agency, one of the tank cars overturned during the derailment, causing the spillage of a chemical substance.

Although neither the type of chemical involved nor the volume of the spilled material was specified, specialists were inspecting the site to define remediation measures and rule out additional risks.

Emergency personnel were carrying out assessment, monitoring and control work to determine the extent of the spill and reduce any risk to the environment and ensure public safety.

The area remains under precautionary protection while technical operations continue to determine the cause of the accident, to recover the spilled chemical and to ensure safe conditions before resuming rail operations.

The incident occurred less than two weeks before the 12th anniversary of one of the biggest environmental disasters in Mexico’s history. On Aug. 7, 2014, a chemical spill despoiled the Sonora River, affecting more than 22,000 inhabitants across eight municipalities.

With reports from La Jornada, Hoy Tamaulipas, Nación 321 and El Sol de Tampico

Modern tech and an old find combine to shed new light on the Maya

By
MND Staff
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The mural was molded inside an arch-shaped vault, which recreates the inner space of a cave. (Daniel Salazar/INAH)

The digital reconstruction of a charcoal mural discovered more than two decades ago in the ancient Maya city of Calakmul, Campeche, has revealed the earliest known evidence of calendrical writing in Calakmul, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reported. 

Until this discovery, there was no evidence of early written communication in Calakmul, as most of its known inscriptions date from the Classic period (250-900 CE). 

Map with Calakmul
(Google Maps)

“Now, we can include Calakmul as one of the places where these types of manifestations exist,” head of the research project Daniel Salazar Lama said in a press conference. 

Measuring 1.90 meters wide by 1.70 meters high, the painting depicts the mythical Maya hero Juun Ajaw hunting a creature in the water. Next to him is a symbol corresponding to a day marker within the 260-day ritual calendar cycle known as Tzolk’in. 

The mural could represent an episode in the life cycle of the maize god, likely a propitiatory or renewal ritual, Salazar explained, adding that the calendrical date appears to have been drawn after the main scene, commemorating the hunting and sacrificial episode featuring Juun Ajaw. 

Salazar said that this discovery places Calakmul at the “center of the cultural explosion of the Maya Lowlands during the Late Preclassic period [400 BCE-250 CE],” alongside cities such as San Bartolo, El Mirador and Tikal — all in Guatemala — recognized for their monumental architecture and early writing.

New technologies shed light 

The mural was found inside an arched vault at Calakmul, as part of the Calakmul Archaeological Project led by archaeologist Ramón Carrasco Vargas, after which it was transferred to the National Coordination for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage in 2005 for study and conservation.

Because the painting was in poor condition upon discovery, scientists had been unable to appreciate the scene with the naked eye. But modern techniques, including photogrammetry and digital drawing, made it possible for researchers to finally reconstruct the artwork. 

The new technology also provided new evidence about the mural’s age. 

The building housing the mural was originally thought to have been built between 400 and 390 BCE, but scientists now believe it dates from between 400 to 200 BCE. The drawing style itself also supports this theory. However, further samples are needed to pinpoint the date.

Archaeologists also determined that the chamber containing the mural was deliberately designed to evoke the interior of a cave, a space of profound cosmological significance for the Maya. 

Mexico News Daily

MND Local: Dengue cases drop in Jalisco and Mexico’s first openly gay mayor is killed while visiting Guadalajara

By
Dawn Stoner
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La Minerva sculpture in Guadalajara
Jalisco health authorities have made progress this year in curbing dengue cases, but a high-profile assassination of Mexico's first openly gay mayor in Guadalajara has garnered more headlines. (Roman Lopez/Unsplash)

This week in Guadalajara, there is good news on seasonal dengue cases, while global challenges are taking a toll on Canadian airline WestJet. Finally, we look at the life and death of Mexico’s first openly gay mayor.

Dengue cases down 90% in Jalisco this year

Dengue cases in Jalisco are down sharply from a year ago, with only 90 reported year to date compared with 917 during the same period last year. Of the confirmed infections this year, seven were classified as severe (hemorrhagic) dengue, 51 were nonsevere cases, and the remaining 32 were classified as cases with warning signs.

The drop in dengue cases in 2026 reflects a concerted public effort to eliminate breeding sites, fog high-risk areas before the rainy season, encourage residents to prevent standing water around their homes through a public health campaign and expand monitoring across the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area to track mosquito density and the presence of the virus.

That said, eight deaths are under investigation statewide, with dengue infections suspected as the cause. According to Jalisco Health Secretary Héctor Raúl Pérez Gómez, the highest risk is concentrated in coastal and tropical forest areas, specifically Cocula, Teuchitlán, Atengo and Chiquilistlán, where most cases this year have been identified.

Gómez also reported that ovitraps — used to detect the presence of the dengue virus — tested negative in areas that drew large crowds during the recently concluded World Cup events, including around Estadio Akron and fan fest sites across the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. This suggests there is likely no active dengue virus in those locations, despite the presence of mosquitoes.

He added that there are currently no reported cases in Jalisco of two other mosquito-borne diseases — Zika or chikungunya — despite recent outbreaks of chikungunya in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Jalisco’s rainy season runs through late October, and infection risk typically rises from late July through September, when dengue cases historically peak.

WestJet suspends nonstop flights between Guadalajara and Calgary

Canadians heading to Mexico this winter will have fewer routes to choose from. WestJet, Canada’s second-largest carrier, is suspending its Calgary-Guadalajara route from Oct. 19, 2026, through April 24, 2027.

WestJet airliner during takeoff
Canadian airline WestJet is suspending service on its flight to Guadalajara, starting this fall and continuing to spring 2027. (calgaryplanes.com/Wikimedia Commons)

The changes come a week after WestJet confirmed 20 route suspensions to the United States amid fare increases driven by rising fuel costs tied to the ongoing war in Iran and weakening demand. Demand-side pressures have also been linked to a widespread avoidance of U.S. travel by Canadians in response to President Donald Trump’s posture toward Canada during his second term.

“These route updates better align capacity with demand while maintaining operational reliability,” the airline said in an online statement.

In addition to service cuts, WestJet is dealing with a labor dispute involving about 4,400 unionized flight attendants, who recently voted to strike after 10 months of unsuccessful contract negotiations.

The flight attendants have been without a contract since the previous agreement expired Dec. 31, 2025.

Mexico’s first openly gay mayor shot and killed in Guadalajara

Benjamín Medrano Quezada, Mexico’s first openly gay mayor, was shot and killed July 7 while leaving an ice cream shop in the Santa Elena de la Cruz neighborhood on Guadalajara’s north side.

The 59-year-old served as mayor of Fresnillo, Zacatecas, from 2013 to 2015 and later as a federal deputy in Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies, representing Zacatecas’ 1st District.

 

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The assailant shot Medrano Quezada multiple times in the face before fleeing on a motorcycle. Another report suggested there may have been two attackers. Authorities have not announced suspects or a motive.

“We express our deepest condolences to his family and friends, and we accompany them in this moment of grief, wishing them strength in the face of this irreparable loss,” the Fresnillo City Council said in a statement.

In addition to his political career, Medrano Quezada was a singer and owned a gay bar in Fresnillo. In 2022, he was accused of embezzling public funds while serving as president of the board of trustees for the National Fair of Zacatecas in 2019. A complaint filed by the Zacatecas State Public Administration Secretariat alleged he embezzled more than 60 million pesos (about US $3.4 million). Medrano Quezada later missed a mandatory hearing, prompting authorities to issue an arrest warrant.

The Zacatecas attorney general told U.S.-based outlet MundoNow that a judge overturned the warrant in 2025, meaning Medrano Quezada was not a fugitive at the time of his death.

Despite being openly gay, Medrano Quezada held conservative views and opposed same-sex marriage and adoption. In 2013, he said: “Our idiosyncrasies do not allow it. Not because we lack the capacity to do it, but we cannot go against doctrines and customs.”

MND Writer Dawn Stoner is reporting from Guadalajara.

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