Beyond drugs: How cartel economics are killing the monarch migration

By

-

March 13, 2026

Monarch butterflies dead — Once the forests and the water disappears, so too will the monarch butterflies. (Getty Images)

The monarch butterfly weighs roughly one gram — about the same as a raisin. It navigates thousands of miles on instinct, chasing the same high-elevation oyamel fir and pine-oak forests in which every monarch butterfly before it has found refuge. Like the thousands of Americans and Canadians flooding Florida’s coasts each winter, monarchs are snowbirds. But unlike their human counterparts, the world is not their oyster. The forests of Michoacán and Estado de México — cool, humid and dense — are the only place on earth where the eastern monarch migration ends. There is no Plan B.

But something is burning through these forests. And it isn’t fire.

The cartel economy beyond drugs

A semi trailer on fire blocks a Michoacán highway — While the federal government attributed the mayhem to an inter-cartel dispute, state officials said it was a reaction to an increased presence of federal forces in Michoacán. (X, formerly Twitter)

The cartels operating across Michoacán and Estado de México, two of Mexico’s poorest and most conflict-ridden states, have built a thriving economy most people never consider – assuming it’s a drug-only network. The reality is far broader: timber, land conversion, extortion, water and avocado. When the revenue from one market softens, as it did in the 2010s when U.S. demand for heroin and marijuana nosedived, cartels simply readapt. Organized crime groups move swiftly into regions rich in natural resources that yield heavy profits. Right now, that includes one of the most important ecological corridors in the western hemisphere.

The monarch butterfly, it turns out, winters in cartel territory.

Illegal logging and the monarch butterfly reserve

The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) is a UNESCO-protected territory that spans across southern Estado de México and northern Michoacán. It covers just over 56,000 hectares across three core zones, where logging is prohibited so monarchs can spend the winter. Two buffer zones of about 42,000 hectares extend in a ring-like fashion from the MBBR; here, farming, logging, and tourism activities are permitted within a controlled program. It is also home to Indigenous and ejido communities who use that land to make their living, and the organized crime cartels that control them.

When the drug market shifted, cartels diversified their portfolios, expanding into logging in Mexican forests that often overlapped with butterfly territory. Traffickers personally threatened or co‑opted ejidos (communal rural land) and private loggers, taking control of community permits that define volume limits and authorized areas. Many forcibly demanded fixed cuts of profits in exchange for “protection.” Others brought in their own felling crews; locals who refused to join were often left with no choice but to abandon the area.

The model proved profitable, and traffickers started using forest roads to move timber and drugs under the cover of legal activity, then setting up clandestine labs to process narcotics deeper in the mountains. To run these operations, they altered natural river flows for water, clearing more forest to open access and feed their labs’ demand. The more forests they cleared, the more springs dried up, stripping monarchs of the shelter, water and cool, humid microclimate required to survive the winter. Some locals tried to stop the destruction, leading to their own.

Murder in the sanctuary

On Jan. 13, 2020, Homero Gómez González attended a local fair in his town and was never seen alive again. Two weeks later, his body was found in a retention pond with blunt head trauma.

Male monarch butterfly — The forests that the monarch butterflies covet are also covered by avocado farmers and the cartels who control them in Michoacán. (Rhododendrites/Wikimedia Commons)

González had been a logger before becoming a conservation leader upon seeing the effects of deforestation. By enlisting community leaders, he built El Rosario into one of Mexico’s most visited monarch sanctuaries, organized reforestation projects and anti-logging patrols, and negotiated compensation for communities willing to stop cutting their forests. This involved disrupting the illegal logging operations of groups that did not appreciate his efforts.

Just days after his body was recovered, Raúl Hernández Romero, a conservation guide working in the same region, was found dead by stabbing inside the El Campanario sanctuary. Authorities have not publicly resolved either murder. International condemnation followed, and the Mexican government’s response did little to protect the activists — or the butterfly sanctuaries they had given their lives to defend.

Green gold, dead forests

The avocado boom in Michoacán began in the 1990s and to date, has never slowed. The cultivation area in the state has nearly tripled to roughly 400,000 acres, and as existing farmland filled up, growers pushed into the forests. By 2018, nearly 2,400 acres inside the reserve itself had already been converted to avocado orchards. According to researcher Alfonso De la Vega-Rivera, this has happened despite “not one single legal authorization for forest clearing” being issued in the state — a clear indicator that the majority of avocado orchards established in recent years are illegal.

Drug cartels use the avocado to launder profits and dominate the market through extortion of farmers and bribery of government officials. The pattern is the same one playing out in the logging sector: threaten, co-opt, extract.

Clearing trees isn’t the only problem here. Avocado orchards require at least 75,000 gallons of water per acre during a typical dry season, with farmers drawing from local springs, wells and streams — leaving many local rivers running dry. For a butterfly that depends on moisture to survive the winter, a drying watershed is as damaging as a chainsaw.

What the butterfly pays

In the winter of 1996–1997, the overwintering colony covered 18.19 hectares of forest. This past December, it measured 1.79 hectares — up from a record low of 0.9 hectares the winter before, but still well below the long-term average.

man spraying crops — Pesticides, deforestation and climate change are all contributing to the loss of monarch butterfly populations. (Juan José Estrada Serafin/Cuartoscuro)

Climate change, pesticides and milkweed loss on breeding grounds all play a role in that decline, and it would be reductive to blame cartel activity entirely. But if the overwintering forests fall, nothing else matters.

The relationship between cartel economics and ecological collapse is not a simple one. Deforestation has many drivers, monarch decline has many causes and some Indigenous communities are actively holding the line against both. What’s clear is that organized crime has made an already fragile situation significantly harder to reverse — by turning forest defense into a life-threatening act, and the forests themselves into a revenue stream. The butterfly has no margin for error. The cartels have plenty.

Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog or follow her on Instagram.

How Mexico reshaped Hollywood — and then outgrew it

By

Logan J. Gardner

-

March 13, 2026

0

Mexican directors in Hollywood — Mexican film directors Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro, and Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki are reshaping Hollywood. (RealGDT/X)

With the Oscars approaching, Mexican talent will, again, shine on Hollywood’s biggest stage. Led by Guillermo del Toro, with nine nods for his movie “Frankenstein,” the Mexican contingent features José Antonio García, for sound on “One Battle After Another,” Ibel Hernández for visual effects in “Avatar: Fire and Water,” and Mexican-Americans Adrian Molina, for co-directing “Elio,” and Yvett Merino, for producing “Zootopia 2.”

Though del Toro himself may have been snubbed for Best Director — an award he won a decade ago — nominations for “Frankenstein,” the third-most among films this year, are an outstanding achievement for an auteur at his peak. Yet, “Frankenstein” is an undeniably odd choice for a Mexican director. Like all of del Toro’s work over the last twenty years, it is an English-language movie, based on a European story, made by a Hollywood studio. It doesn’t get less Mexican than that.

Frankenstein | Guillermo del Toro | Official Trailer | Netflix

Watch this video on YouTube

Still, del Toro, long the ultimate Hollywood insider, resolutely stands by the Mexicanness of his films; a sentiment shared by star Oscar Isaac, who plays Dr. Frankenstein and is Latino himself. “‘Frankenstein’ is this very European story, but told through a very Latin American, Mexican, Catholic point-of-view,” Isaac told Deadline. Del Toro is often blunter: “When people say, ‘What is Mexican about your movies?’ I say ‘me.’”

While del Toro and his movies are celebrated throughout Mexico, the question — and his response — speak to a bigger tension at play. This is about Mexico’s influence on Hollywood: how Mexican directors, producers and cinematographers are embedded in Los Angeles, and are changing the very grammar of American filmmaking from within; and the state of Mexican cinema from afar.

The ‘Tres Amigos’

That Mexico could change Hollywood was entirely improbable.

When Guillermo del Toro began his career, Mexico’s film industry was a long way from its Golden Age. By the late 1980s, Mexican cinema had cratered: production had collapsed and the national film archive had recently burned down; what remained was mostly ficheras — campy sex comedies — and narco films.

With something like 10 Mexican features per year, del Toro was clawing his way into an industry that barely existed. Around this time, he met two others — Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu — in the same predicament. Realizing, as Mexican director Álvaro Curiel says, that “Mexico could not provide them with any opportunity,” the “Tres Amigos” soon left for Hollywood.

Cuarón went first and del Toro soon followed. Iñárritu arrived last, catapulted by “Amores Perros” — a film he finished, legend has it, only after Cuarón helped him re-cut it, on the recommendation of their mutual friend, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki.

21 Grams (2003) Trailer | Sean Penn | Benicio Del Toro

Watch this video on YouTube

By the 2000s, the “Tres Amigos” were all helming big-budget studio features — del Toro had landed “Hellboy” (2004), Cuarón, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2006), while Iñárritu had “21 Grams” (2003) and Oscar-nominated “Babel” (2006). Beyond Lubezki, they came with the best of their generation — Oscar winners Rodrigo Prieto, Guillermo Arriaga and Eugenio Caballero, among others.

Conquering Hollywood

What happened next was unprecedented.

Between 2014 and 2018, the “Tres Amigos” won four of five Best Director Oscars: Cuarón for “Gravity,” Iñárritu back-to-back for “Birdman” and “The Revenant,” and del Toro for “The Shape of Water.” Meanwhile, Lubezki — the “fourth Amigo” — won three consecutive Best Cinematography Oscars, something nobody had ever done. And then came “Roma” (2019): Cuarón’s black-and-white, Spanish-and-Mixtec-language memoir of his Mexico City childhood, which became the first Latin American film ever nominated for Best Picture, and won him his second directing Oscar.

The dominance was so total that it obscured how unusual the arrangement really was. These were Mexican filmmakers, trained in Mexico, bonded by their Mexican sensibility — yet almost everything they made, and won for, was in English. The exception, “Roma,” was so unique — a big-budget production as much about Netflix’s Hollywood arrival as Cuarón’s directorial homecoming and his childhood — that it proved the rule; to win creative freedom, Mexican filmmakers had to first work in English.

In Mexico, where cultural critics have long asked whether the “Tres Amigos” represent a triumph or a brain drain, the pattern raised uncomfortable questions. Were they Mexico’s greatest cultural ambassadors or Hollywood’s most talented recruits?

The debate remains unresolved.

ROMA | Official Trailer | Netflix

Watch this video on YouTube

Critic Saúl Arellano Montoro was philosophical about it: “Hollywood is a global village, and they already belong to it.” Their films may not represent Mexican cinema, but they represent what a Mexican filmmaker can say beyond Mexico’s borders. Other critics were less sanguine: some praised their technical mastery; others dismissed the Hollywood output as “gringo cinema” — commercial work that erased national identity.

At the heart of this debate is Nestor García Canclini’s question, posed presciently in 1993. Can Latin American cinema continue as a space for national cultural identity, or would globalization dissolve it completely?

For 30 years, Mexico’s answer seemed painfully clear. And then came …

A disaster named Emilia

“Emilia Pérez,” Netflix’s French-directed musical about a transitioning Mexican cartel boss, arrived at the 2025 Oscars with 13 nominations — the most ever for a non-English film. It left with 11 losses, tying the record for most defeats.

The disastrous campaign underscored the tension within Hollywood’s global village; director Jacques Audiard openly admitted he hadn’t done much research on Mexico (or the Mexican accent). Set within the backdrop of the cartel violence that critics and victims described as wildly misrepresented, thousands petitioned to block the Mexican release of “Emilia Pérez.” When it opened anyway, thousands more demanded refunds, forcing Mexico’s federal consumer protection agency, Profeco, to intervene.

In Mexico, “Emilia Pérez” wasn’t just a flop — it was wholly rejected as deeply disrespectful. When critic Ana Iribe wrote, “We don’t want a white French director to portray the violence we have to face every day,” she spoke for Mexicans everywhere confronted by the gross appropriations and mischaracterizations of today’s global Hollywood.

EMILIA PÉREZ | TRÁILER

Watch this video on YouTube

The outcry ultimately reached the Oscars. When Zoë Saldaña won Best Supporting Actress for the film, she used the moment to address the backlash directly: “I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention.” Then she added that “the heart of this movie was not Mexico” — a statement that, for many Mexicans, proved the point entirely.

A new chapter for Mexican Cinema

The “Emilia Pérez” debacle drew a line in Hollywood. Mexico’s cultural influence had evolved into something with real authority: Hollywood could no longer use Mexico as a backdrop, borrow its pain and tell its stories without Mexican authorship. The era of Hollywood’s yellow-tinted “Mexico” — the stereotypical sepia filter of “Traffic” and “Sicario” — was over, not because Hollywood decided, but because Mexico did.

Whether the “Tres Amigos” contributed to this change-from-within triumph or were just a generational brain drain, the reality is that the Mexican film industry is now booming. One year after the premiere of “Emilia Pérez,” and six years after the success of “Roma,” Netflix committed US $1 billion over four years to Mexican productions, plus upgrades to Mexico City’s historic Churubusco Studios and a huge expansion of their Latin American corporate headquarters. It was, by any measure, the largest foreign investment in Mexican cinema history.

As Hollywood localizes — setting up shop in creative cities around the world — Mexico City, in particular, is primed for more success. With pre-existing infrastructure, film-friendly incentives, and a deep pool of talent, Mexico City is more than a cheap backlot for now-unaffordable Los Angeles shoots; it is an undisputed creative destination for the vast Spanish-speaking world.

The Mexican audiovisual industry now contributes US $3 billion annually to the national economy. Central to this growth is the new generation of Mexican filmmakers who are choosing to stay in Mexico. From Tatiana Huezo and Fernanda Valadez to Michel Franco and Fernando Frías, top Mexican talent today is primarily working at home, in Spanish, with stories that are unmistakably Mexican. Franco, who won prizes at Cannes, has been blunt about it: “I am convinced there is no place where I can make better films than Mexico.” Whereas Cuarón, del Toro and Iñárritu had to leave for Hollywood, their “kids,” as Amazon Head of Mexican Originals Alonso Aguilar calls them, are proving that Hollywood, increasingly, will come to them.

On March 15, the 98th Academy Awards will air to what may be among its smallest audiences ever. With U.S. viewership (the only viewership stat released) cratering from 55 million to under 20 million in barely two decades, the Oscars — and, by extension, Hollywood — may be more irrelevant than ever. Rather than serving as the singular gatekeeper of global cinema, today, the Oscars are one stage among many.

For many Mexicans — and millions more around the world — that is precisely the point. Mexican cinema now speaks for itself, without Hollywood’s sepia filter, in its own languages, and on its own terms.

Logan J Gardner formerly worked for Netflix Original Film in Content Strategy and Analysis. Today, he is a Mexico City-based content strategist, writer, photographer and filmmaker. Sign up to receive his newsletter, Half-Baked, peruse his blog or follow him on Instagram for more.

Nogales train construction uncovers pre-Columbian town and petroglyphs

By

MND Staff

-

March 12, 2026

0

La Cienega finding — Once the railroad work exposed the presence of ruins, researchers excavated three residential compounds and documented dozens of burials of children and adults tied to the Trincheras tradition of that northern Sonoran region. (Jupiter Martínez/INAH)

Researchers in the northern state of Sonora have uncovered a pre-Columbian village that predates the nearby Cerro de Trincheras archaeological zone and offers rare evidence of cross-modern-border ties with ancient cultures in what is now Arizona.

In northern Sonora’s Cocóspera River valley and canyon — about 100 miles south of Tucson, Arizona — specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have identified an earthen village they say was occupied roughly 1,000 years ago.

petroglhyphs sonora — The researchers also uncovered two petroglyph sites — Babasac and Bear’s Footprints — that likely date to 800-1400 CE.(INAH)

The find emerged during archaeological salvage work tied to construction of the Ímuris-Nogales railway bypass, a controversial rerouting of Sonora’s “ghost train” line that has drawn environmental concerns.

Identified as La Ciénega (The Marsh), the village has been linked to the Trincheras people, a farming culture in northern Sonora that built extensive terraced hillsides, dug irrigation canals and produced distinctive ceramics from about 800 to 1500 CE.

Archaeologists pegged La Ciénega to 800-1200 CE, which predates the nearby Cerro de Trincheras (Trench Hill), a hilltop settlement of more than 900 stone-built terraces considered one of the most important archaeological sites in northern Mexico. INAH pegs its occupation to 1200-1500 CE.

The newly found site, in a green river corridor of Sonoran Desert country, includes foundations of up to 60 dwellings, a cemetery with 40 human remains and 28 urns holding the ashes of people who were cremated, according to INAH.

Analysis of ceramics also points to contact with the Hohokam people, whose descendants include the Pima and Tohono O’odham of southern Arizona, according to the U.S. National Park Service.

INAH said the find “confirms this region was a cultural meeting place and a corridor connecting [Sonora to what is now] the southwestern U.S.”

Archaeologist Júpiter Martínez Ramírez said earlier surveys in 2008 had registered 10 houses, but new excavations reveal a far larger community.

“The architectural evidence is spread across the entire plateau, an area 250 meters long by 250 meters wide,” he said during a recent INAH “Coffee Afternoons” lecture series.

Researchers with the SALFIN project (SALFIN is the acronym INAH is using for the archaeological salvage of the Ímuris-Nogales railway bypass) excavated three residential compounds and documented dozens of burials of children and adults tied to the Trincheras tradition.

The oval and rectangular semi-subterranean houses, dug up to more than 2 meters below the surface and with internal walls, formed neighborhood-like clusters of multi-generational families.

As part of the same project, archaeologists also recorded two smaller Trincheras settlements, Ojo de Agua and La Curva, and two petroglyph sites — Babasac and Bear’s Footprints — that likely date to 800-1400 CE.

With reports from Artistegui Noticias, El Sol de Hermosillo, Border Report and INAH

Mexico extends its gas price cap as the Iran war spikes oil prices

By

MND Staff

-

March 12, 2026

3

Pemex gas station prices — More than 20 gas companies agreed to extend a pact to keep regular gas prices below 24 pesos per liter. (Camila Ayala Benabib / Cuartoscuro.com)

As oil prices surge due to the war in the Middle East, causing pain at the pump for motorists in many countries, the Mexican government has renewed a gasoline price cap agreement with gas station owners for an additional six months.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, Energy Minister Luz Elena González Escobar and other federal officials met with representatives from more than 20 gas station companies on Wednesday to renew a pact to keep the price of gasoline below 24 pesos (US $1.34) per liter, equivalent to US $5.07 per gallon.

Mientras en el mundo sube el precio de la gasolina, en México protegemos la economía de las familias, a través de la renovación del acuerdo voluntario con el 96% de las estaciones de servicio para que la gasolina regular se mantenga en menos de 24 pesos por litro. pic.twitter.com/yG33VI6yOX

— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) March 11, 2026

After the National Palace meeting, Sheinbaum took to social media to trumpet the renewal of the agreement that first took effect just over a year ago.

“While gasoline prices rise around the world, in Mexico we are protecting families’ economies through the renewal of the voluntary agreement with 96% of service stations so that regular gasoline remains below 24 pesos per liter,” she wrote on X, Facebook and Instagram.

Gónzalez published a similar post to her X account. She asserted that the agreement between the government and gas stations “confirms that energy must always be at the service of the people of Mexico.”

According to an Energy Ministry statement, representatives of 25 gas station companies voluntarily joined the agreement.

Among those companies — some of which operate Pemex-branded gas stations — are G500, Grupo Hidrosina, OXXO Gas, Servifácil and Petrodiésel del Centro.

On behalf of the companies, the CEO of Servifácil, Eugenio del Valle, “reiterated the willingness of the gasoline industry to continue working in coordination with the Mexican government toward a common goal,” according to the Energy Ministry statement.

That goal is for fuel to “continue to be an engine of development, competitiveness, and well-being for all Mexicans.”

Gas stations in Mexico source a lot — but not all — of their fuel from Mexican refineries, helping them to maintain lower prices. The government can also temporarily reduce or eliminate the IEPS excise tax on fuel to keep prices low.

Sheinbaum said Monday she was prepared to reduce the IEPS on gasoline amid the conflict in the Middle East “if necessary.”

Pemex CEO: Government could forge a similar pact for diesel

After the meeting between federal officials and the representatives of gas station companies, the CEO of state oil company Pemex said that the government could reach a similar pact with the fuel sector to cap the price on diesel, which is around 4 pesos more expensive than gasoline per liter.

Víctor Rodríguez Padilla said that a price cap for premium gasoline is not necessary as the market for that fuel is very small and motorists who purchase it are generally better off.

“The majority of [fuel] sales are of Magna [regular] gasoline,” he said.

According to Energy Minister González, regular gasoline is used by more than 85% of vehicles in Mexico.

Brent crude tops $100 per barrel on Thursday

The New York Times reported on Thursday afternoon that “the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was about $99 a barrel on Thursday, up nearly 8 percent, after briefly crossing above $100 earlier in the day.”

On Monday, “the price of Brent spiked to nearly $120 a barrel as traders feared long-lasting cuts in supplies,” the Times reported.

Before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Brent was selling for around $73 a barrel. A key factor in the increase in the price of oil is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, located off Iran’s southern coast. Around 20% of global oil supply usually passes through the narrow waterway that links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, which connects with the Arabian Sea.

Prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the U.S. benchmark, and Mexican crude have also increased during the war in the Middle East, but they are both cheaper than Brent.

The Times reported that WTI rose to $95.73 per barrel on Thursday, while Mexican crude closed at $81.59 per barrel.

Gasoline prices have increased in the United States this week, although motorists there still pay considerably less than their counterparts in Mexico.

With reports from El Economista and Sin Embargo

Anonymous call leads to 5 clandestine graves in Baja California Sur

By

MND Staff

-

March 12, 2026

0

Authorities and search groups confirmed the discovery of six human remains in five clandestine graves found in Baja California Sur (BCS) after an anonymous March 5 tip prompted search operations over the weekend.

The site was located amid scrubland along isolated dirt roads in the BCS municipality of Comondú, near the La Paz-San Juan De La Costa highway.

None of the bodies — one female and five male — were clothed, complicating immediate identification. After forensic testing, the local search collective Búsqueda x La Paz on Wednesday identified two of the victims — 43-year-old Rigoberto Álvarez Amador and Raúl Zamarrón García.

In a Facebook post, the collective expressed gratitude for the tip, insisting that the group guarantees anonymity for any and all reports, since “our only desire is to find our missing relatives.”

The search continued through Monday, according to Búsqueda x La Paz leader Gabriel Álvarez, who added that it was possible that there were more graves in the area.

Álvarez, whose mother disappeared a decade ago, criticized government efforts to find the missing, telling the news site López Dóriga Digital that authorities are trying to downplay the security crisis “in order to protect the state’s tourism image.”

The northwestern state has a reputation as peaceful, but Álvarez insists it is facing “a critical increase in forced disappearances,” adding that there is a discrepancy between official figures and the reality experienced by families.

“Families know that disappearances here in the state have been increasing every month,” he said.

According to Búsqueda x La Paz, 96 sets of remains have been found recently in clandestine graves in La Paz, the state capital, and this most recent finding has generated concern about the possibility of difficult to detect mass graves in remote areas.

One alarming trend described by the collective is the deception of young people through false job offers.

Álvarez said families from Sinaloa and Guerrero have reported that their children have traveled to Los Cabos after being offered jobs in the tourism sector only to disappear.

Noting that forensic genetics is the only reliable method for identification in cases such as these, Búsqueda x La Paz released a statement on Facebook recommending DNA testing.

“It is vitally important that every family searching for a loved one has their tests already performed at the forensic services,” it said.

With reports from Infobae, LopezDoriga.com and MVS Noticias

Upstart Italy knocks Mexico out of World Baseball Classic . . . and the Olympics

By

MND Staff

-

March 12, 2026

1

Italian besibol team — Is it time to start paying more attention to the Italian baseball? The unheralded Europeans swept past the United States and Mexico this week to advance to the knockout round while eliminating Mexico from the World Baseball Classic. (MLB Europe/on Facebook)

Mexico had a chance to avenge its loss to Team USA and knock the Stars-and-Stripes out of the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday when it took on Italy in its group-stage finale at Houston’s Daikin Park.

All coach Benji Gil’s team had to do was defeat the upstart Italians, who had stunned the favored Americans a night earlier.

But the unheralded European nine were not suffering a hangover after shocking the baseball universe with its 8-6 victory over the U.S. on Tuesday.

Italy vs. Mexico 2026 World Baseball Classic | Game Highlights

Watch this video on YouTube

Instead, Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino slugged three homers — a WBC single-game record — and six Italian hurlers silenced Mexico’s bats in a 9-1 rout, sending El Tri packing.

As a result, Mexico was eliminated in the first round of the WBC for the third time in the past four tournaments. The loss also ended the team’s chances of participating in the 2028 Olympics, since not enough opportunities remain to meet the qualifying requirements and only the United States is considered a host nation for baseball.

The Mexican club started strong this year, defeating Great Britain 8-2 then routing Brazil 16-0 to position itself in first place in Pool B.

But a 5-3 loss to Team USA on Monday left Mexico needing a win against Italy. However, starting pitcher Javier Assad (Chicago Cubs) came up wanting and after Pasquantino clubbed a round-tripper to lead off the second inning, Italy never looked back.

Mexico struggled to figure out Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, who struck out five in five innings of work. By the time St. Louis Cardinals reliever Gordon Graceffo took over for Nola in the sixth inning, Mexico trailed 6-0.

Mexico managed just one hit over the final four innings, while Italy added three more runs to cruise to victory and claim the top spot in Pool B.

The team’s only run came in the bottom of the seventh when, trailing 7-0, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alex Thomas came up to bat with the bases loaded and nobody out.

Vinnie Pasquantino, Italy No. 9, runs past a Mexican baseball outfielder — Vinnie Pasquantino — No. 9 on the Italian team — blew Mexico out of the water with three home runs. (Liga Mexicana de Beisbol)

Thomas was fooled on a breaking pitch, managing just a slow bouncer to first base that plated Joey Meneses and moved the other runners up a base. But the potential rally was snuffed out as Rowdy Téllez lined out to first and Jarren Duran struck out, ending the threat.

The outcome allowed Team USA to finish in second place and advance to the quarterfinals alongside Italy.

Italy has now defeated Mexico all three times they’ve faced each other in WBC play.

With reports from ESPN, La Afición, USA Today and Al Bat

Time for plan B: Sheinbaum’s electoral reform fails in the lower house

By

MND Staff

-

March 12, 2026

11

Rubén Moreira and Alejandro Moreno at a PRI party press conference — PRI Chamber of Deputies coordinator Rubén Moreira stands with his party's president, Alejandro Moreno, at a press conference on Tuesday where the PRI party announced its intentions to vote against Sheinbaum's electoral reform proposal. (Mario Jasso / Cuartoscuro.com)

Mexico’s lower house of Congress on Wednesday rejected Claudia Sheinbaum’s electoral reform proposal, dealing a significant blow to the president.

While a majority of deputies voted in favor of the bill, the reform proposal required two-thirds support as it sought to amend Mexico’s Constitution.

All told, 259 deputies supported the bill while 234 opposed it.

Submitted to Congress by Sheinbaum last week, the reform proposal had a range of objectives included reducing the size of the Senate, changing the way plurinominal (proportional representation) deputies are elected and lowering election costs, including by cutting funding for political parties.

The bill ultimately failed to pass the Chamber of Deputies as the ruling Morena party’s allies, the Labor Party (PT) and the Green Party (PVEM), didn’t support it as they believed the proposed changes would hurt them electorally. Deputies with the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Citizens’ Movement party also opposed the bill.

Just one of 49 PT deputies voted in favor of the proposal, while 12 PVEM lawmakers — less than one fifth of the party’s representatives in the lower house — supported it.

Sheinbaum’s electoral reform meets resistance on all sides as congressional vote looms

Since the two parties entered into an alliance with Morena in 2018, it was the first time they didn’t offer their broad support to an initiative backed by the ruling party.

Deputy Reginaldo Sandoval, PT’s leader in the lower house, said that his party had “no doubt” that its position on the electoral reform proposal was the “right” one.

Deputy Carlos Puente of the PVEM offered a veiled criticism of Morena’s lack of negotiation with its allies, saying that “reforms must be made by consensus so that the results don’t lack legitimacy.”

The PRI’s leader in the lower house, Rubén Moreira, asserted that the aim of the reform proposal was to establish an electoral system that “guarantees the permanence in power of the official party,” — i.e. Morena.

“What the initiative that we reject seeks to do is establish a single party for Mexico,” he said.

Sandoval, the PT leader, expressed a similar view, saying that his party was against the establishment of a “single, hegemonic party.”

Rubén Moreira flexes and smiles on the floor of Mexico's House of Deputies — PRI lower house coordinator Rubén Moreira, a plurinominal deputy, cheers the defeat of the electoral reform — which would have abolished the very mechanism that gave him his seat. (Graciela López / Cuartoscuro.com)

The PAN’s leader in the Chamber of Deputies, José Lixa, expressed satisfaction that a reform proposal “without dialogue with all the political forces” was rejected.

While one of the bill’s objectives was to establish greater oversight of resources allocated to and used by political parties and candidates, Lixa called on Sheinbaum to do more to stop the influx of “dirty money” into political campaigns.

He also urged an end to “narco-politics,” and to an alleged “pact” between the government and organized crime.

“While bullets and drugs govern, there will be no democracy, no country and no future,” Lixa said.

Sheinbaum’s plan B

At her Thursday morning press conference, Sheinbaum acknowledged that her electoral reform proposal didn’t pass the lower house of Congress and consequently outlined a “plan B” initiative. She asserted that the Chamber of Deputies’ rejection of the bill wasn’t a “defeat” for her, as by submitting the proposal to Congress she “fulfilled” her commitment to the people of Mexico.

The president will now seek electoral reform via changes to secondary laws, which Congress can pass with a simple majority. Sheinbaum said she will submit her “plan B” proposal to Congress on Monday.

President Sheinbaum presents a slide reading "Plan B" outlining electoral reform plans at her morning press conference — President Sheinbaum said she will submit another electoral reform proposal to Congress on Monday. (Gabriel Monroy / Presidencia)

She said that the legislation has three main objectives:

“Reduce the privileges that persist in local Congresses” — i.e. the legislatures in Mexico’s 32 federal entities.
“Reduce the privileges that persist in municipalities,” of which Mexico has almost 2,500, each with their own municipal government.
“Strengthen public consultation” — i.e. give citizens a greater say on important issues, including via referendums, several of which were held during Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency.

Sheinbaum asserted that too much money is being spent on the operation of Mexico’s 32 state legislatures. She presented a table, which, for each entity, showed the population, the number of state lawmakers, the budget for the state legislature and the “cost per lawmaker.”

The annual “cost per lawmaker” — the budget for the legislature divided by the number of state lawmakers — ranged from 34.86 million pesos (US $1.95 million) in Baja California to 5.17 million pesos (US $290,000) in Colima.

Sheinbaum pointed out that the “cost per lawmaker” in Morelos — a state she said has “enormous needs” — is 31.8 million pesos.

She acknowledged that the “cost per lawmaker” is not equivalent to a politician’s salary, as a legislature’s budget is also used to pay workers and things such as electricity and water.

Still, Sheinbaum asserted that state legislatures’ budgets are too high, especially in some states. For example, Baja California and Colima have the same number of state lawmakers (25), but the budget for the legislature in the former state is almost seven times higher than that in the latter.

Sheinbaum shares her next steps after electoral reform setback: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

Sheinbaum said that her “plan B” proposal will seek to establish a “maximum limit” on resources that can be allocated to state legislatures and that savings will be allocated to “the needs of the people.”

Among the other specific objectives of the president’s “plan B” electoral reform are to:

Reduce the number of councilors in certain municipalities that are seen as having too many such officials.
Eliminate or reduce excessive benefits, which, according to Sheinbaum, allow some elected officials to earn as much as 500,000 pesos (US $28,000) per month.
Broaden the range of “electoral issues” that can be subjected to public consultation.

Sheinbaum even suggested that her electoral reform proposal that was rejected by the Chamber of Deputies should be voted on in a referendum.

“The proposal yesterday wasn’t approved. Why don’t we ask the people?” she said.

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

More Mexicans than ever made the 2026 Forbes Billionaires List

By

MND Staff

-

March 12, 2026

0

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú and his son in a crowd at the Mexican National Palace — Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú, formerly the richest man in the world, appeared with his son Carlos Slim Domit at the National Palace to attend Sheinbaum's first annual government report in September 2025. (Moisés Pablo / Cuartoscuro.com)

More and more Mexicans are joining the ranks of Forbes’ richest people, and their fortunes are worth more than ever.

Twenty-four Mexican business people made the 2026 Forbes Billionaires List, which this year featured 3,428 people from around the world. Taken together, the Mexican billionaires had a combined worth of US $267.3 billion, up 61.4% compared to the fortune they had amassed as of last year. That’s more than the Mexico’s entire public sector external debt, which stood at US $234 billion in late 2025.

Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico

Topping the list of the wealthiest Mexicans is Carlos Slim Helú, 86, and his family.

Slim, who was the richest man on earth for four consecutive years between 2010 and 2013, now ranks No. 16 with a fortune that stands at US $125 billion. Slim’s wealth now surpasses that of Bill Gates, who stands at No. 19.

According to Forbes, Slim’s fortune grew 51% in one year and doubled in the last five years from US $62.8 billion in 2021 to $125 billion today.

Slim made his fortune in the telecommunications sector, although his empire has expanded to infrastructure, construction, energy, real estate, trade and finance. He is best known for controlling Latin America’s largest mobile telecom firm América Móvil (which also owns Mexico’s leading phone company Telmex), and his conglomerate Grupo Carso. Slim’s personal net worth is equivalent to 6.7% of Mexico’s GDP.

Germán Larrea

Following Slim is Germán Larrea Mota Velasco, 72, and his family at No. 30. Larrea is worth $67.1 billion, up 134% from $28.6 billion last year, Forbes reported.

Larrea, who rarely appears in public, owns a diverse range of companies across multiple sectors. He amassed his wealth after he inherited the Grupo México mining conglomerate, which has expanded under his leadership to include railway transport companies such as Ferromex, as well as movie theaters (Cinemex) and various infrastructure companies.

Which other Mexicans made the list?

Other notable names include Alejandro Baillères Gual and family at No. 140 (Palacio de Hierro, Seguros GNP), María Asunción Aramburuzabala and family at No. 372 (Grupo Modelo), Carlos Hank Rhon at No. 934 (Grupo Hermés) and Fernando Chico Pardo at No. 1,137, who recently acquired a 25% stake in Banamex.

Aramburuzabala stands out as the only Mexican woman on the list, consolidating her position as the wealthiest woman in Mexico.

Mexico News Daily

Sheinbaum shares her next steps after electoral reform setback: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

By

MND Staff

-

March 12, 2026

0

President Sheinbaum speaks into a microphone at a press conference — Sheinbaum discussed Wednesday's taxi protests, electoral reform and the whereabouts of El Mencho's Tapalpa lover on Thursday. (Gabriel Monroy / Presidencia)

**Today’s mañanera in 60 seconds**

🗳️ Sheinbaum’s electoral reform proposal was rejected in the Chamber of Deputies after Morena allies PT and PVEM withdrew support. She’s now pushing a “plan B” focused on cutting privileges in local congresses and municipalities, and expanding citizen referendums.
🚕 The president sided with taxi drivers protesting at the Mexico City airport, calling their grievance against Uber a “valid argument” — taxistas pay airport fees, ride-hailing drivers don’t. A proposal would move app pickups away from terminals, just three months before the World Cup brings millions of tourists to Mexican airports.
🔍 Sheinbaum said she doesn’t know the whereabouts of El Mencho’s romantic partner, who was with the CJNG leader before the Feb. 22 operation that killed him. She promised an update later.

**Why today’s mañanera matters**

At her Thursday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged that her electoral reform proposal didn’t pass the lower house of Congress and consequently outlined a “plan B” initiative.

The rejection of the proposal — which was effectively dead on arrival in the Chamber of Deputies — is a significant blow for the president, although she asserts that she fulfilled her commitment to the people of Mexico by simply submitting it to Congress.

Sheinbaum is presenting her “plan B” as a strong alternative to her original electoral reform proposal. However, the new bill, if approved, will not achieve the same far-reaching electoral changes she had hoped to make.

Today’s mañanera was important as Sheinbaum offered the first details on her “plan B,” and addressed other highly-topical issues, including the taxi drivers’ protest that took place at the Mexico City International Airport on Wednesday.

Sheinbaum prepares ‘plan B’ electoral reform

Sheinbaum acknowledged that her electoral reform proposal was rejected by the lower house of Congress on Wednesday.

“We already knew they weren’t going to approve it,” she said.

Indeed, many lawmakers with the Labor Party (PT) and the Green Party (PVEM) — both of which are allies of the ruling Morena party — had expressed their opposition to the constitutional reform bill, whose objectives included reducing the size of the Senate, changing the way plurinominal (proportional representation) deputies are elected and lowering election costs, including by cutting funding for political parties. Opposition parties also opposed the reform proposal.

Without the full support of the PT and the PVEM, the bill was unable to pass the Chamber of Deputies.

Sheinbaum said on Thursday morning that her reform proposal also aimed to “reduce privileges in political parties” and the National Electoral Institute, and “strengthen the participation of the people” in democracy in Mexico.

Given that the reform proposal was rejected, Sheinbaum will now submit a “plan B” bill to Congress, as she had indicated she would do.

The president said that her “plan B” has three main objectives:

“Reduce the privileges that persist in local Congresses” — i.e. the legislatures in Mexico’s 32 federal entities.
“Reduce the privileges that persist in municipalities,” of which Mexico has almost 2,500, each with their own municipal government.
“Strengthen public consultation” — i.e. give citizens a greater say on important issues, including via referendums, several of which were held during Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency.

Sheinbaum: Protesting taxi drivers have ‘valid argument’

A day after taxi drivers protested at Mexico City International Airport (AICM) against the operation of drivers for ride-hailing apps at the airport, Sheinbaum noted that taxistas pay fees for the right to work there.

In contrast, the president highlighted, ride-hailing apps such as Uber do not.

She noted that taxistas are opposed to drivers from ride-hailing apps having the same right to operate at the airport without having to pay any fees.

“It’s a valid argument,” said Sheinbaum, who went on to outline an AICM proposal to establish “a space” further away from the terminals where drivers for ride-hailing apps can “safely arrive” to pick up passengers.

She noted that would allow taxi drivers — “those who pay fees at the airport” — to pick up passengers directly outside the AICM’s two terminals.

Several taxi companies operate at AICM, where passengers are required to pay for their trips inside the terminal before getting into vehicles. Prices are fixed depending on the part of Mexico City passengers are traveling to.

Airport passengers towing luggage weave between taxis blocking a road near the airport — Taxi drivers blocked access to the terminals of Mexico City International Airport (AICM) for three hours on Wednesday, demanding that rideshare apps be blocked from the airport. (Rogelio Morales / Cuartoscuro.com)

Still, Sheinbaum said that taxis that operate at airports across Mexico need to “moderate” their prices “to benefit passengers.”

The protest at AICM on Wednesday came exactly three months before the commencement of the FIFA men’s World Cup, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada. Millions of tourists are expected to arrive at Mexican airports during the five-week tournament.

Where is El Mencho’s lover?

Sheinbaum said she didn’t know what happened to the lover of Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, who spent time with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader prior to the Feb. 22 military operation that resulted in his death.

The day after the operation, Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said that authorities determined the location of Oseguera in Tapalpa, Jalisco, after a man delivered one of his “romantic partners” to him. He didn’t identify the woman.

Asked whether she had been detained, Sheinbaum said that her government would report on the matter at a later date.

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

MND Local: Los Cabos’ ever changing tourist economy

By

Chris Sands

-

March 12, 2026

2

For several years now, nightlife in Cabo San Lucas has been struggling, with sales beginning to decline in 2023, then falling precipitously by 50% in 2024, and dropping again in 2025. The reasons for this have been attributed to many factors, from the changing drinking habits of Gen Z to the increasing popularity of all-inclusive resorts, and, consequently, fewer people visiting the downtown center of the Land’s End city.

But now the restaurants are hurting, too, and across Los Cabos. “Our sector has reported a 30%–35% drop in sales compared to last year,” Óscar Morando Villa, president of CANIRAC Los Cabos, the local restaurant association, recently told Tribuna de Mexico. “Many restaurants, as you can see, are offering two-for-one deals, changing their menus, offering brunch — things they didn’t do before — and some are even putting on special buffets,”

Lorenzillo's Lobster House — Lorenzillo’s Lobster House, a long-time fixture on the Cabo San Lucas marina boardwalk, is one of more than 20 restaurants to close in Los Cabos since the beginning of 2025. (Coventur DMC Los Cabos)

For many restaurants, even these measures haven’t been enough. At least 20 restaurants have closed since 2025. Cabo San Lucas, again, has been hardest hit, losing long-time dining spots like Pancho’s, Lorenzillo’s Lobster House and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

But San José del Cabo has been affected by closures, too, and it’s now clear that in some fundamental way, the nature of tourism in Los Cabos is changing. The question is: Why?

The rise of the all-inclusives

All-inclusive resorts are thriving in Los Cabos, and there’s no question that this mode of cashless experience — with all needs attended to — is a significant factor in declining bar and restaurant sales. Twenty years ago, there were perhaps a half a dozen or so all-inclusive resorts in the area. Today, there are at least five times that many, including the recently converted Hacienda del Mar in Cabo del Sol, which switched to all-inclusive from the European Plan last summer.

Not only that, but luxury all-inclusives — properties where the on-site restaurants are comparable in quality to some of the best eateries in the area — are also on the rise, from Marquis Los Cabos, Secrets, Breathless and Le Blanc to Pueblo Bonito Pacifica, Paradisus and Grand Velas. The latter, notably, is home to the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Los Cabos, the Sidney Schutte-helmed Cocina de Autor. All of these properties, save Grand Velas, it bears mentioning, are not only all-inclusive, but adults-only.

Who wants to go to Los Cabos for a vacation that lacks any real experience of the local people and culture? Apparently, a significant number of travelers, and this trend can be seen in other Mexican destinations as well. In Cancún, restaurant sales were down 17% in 2025 and at least 15 restaurants closed there last year.

This all-inclusive trend — and there’s little question at this point that it is an impactful one in the travel industry — has spread beyond Mexico and the Caribbean and is now increasingly prevalent in Europe and Asia, too. It’s global and not going away anytime soon, since young people, Millennials and Gen Z are the ones driving demand for this kind of travel.

Luxury all-inclusives like Marquis Los Cabos are changing the face of travel in Los Cabos. (Marquis Los Cabos)

More reasons bars and restaurants are struggling

The popularity of all-inclusives is real. But that’s hardly the only reason bars and restaurants in Los Cabos are struggling. There are also economic reasons, having to do with the real estate boom that has seen rents for both residents and business owners rise inexorably in recent years. That has shrunk the margins for bar and restaurant owners, and forced them to do things they perhaps didn’t want to do, like raise prices beyond what their local customers, as well as some tourists, were comfortable with paying.

Of course, there’s also increasing competition. Over the last few years, food delivery apps like Uber Eats and DiDi have appeared in Los Cabos. You might think these services help restaurants and they do — but not all restaurants equally. For example, those who live in the heart of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo, who formerly frequented downtown restaurants regularly, can now order food from restaurants that are located in more outlying areas of these cities, and are typically cheaper to boot.

Yes, the more affordable restaurants on these apps are often those outside city centers, where owners aren’t saddled with exorbitant rents to pay.

Is Cabo San Lucas out of step with Los Cabos’ new luxury business model?

The truth is that bar and restaurant owners are being squeezed from many directions, and that includes from Uber Eats and DiDi, which take a cut for their services. It also must be noted that luxury all-inclusives did not arise in a vacuum. They are part of a larger effort to transform cape cities Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo and environs from fishing getaways — which they were in the beginning of their tourist history — into luxury destinations. It’s not a coincidence that Los Cabos now has the most expensive hotel room rates in Mexico. This transformation was very carefully planned.

Downtown Cabo San Lucas, in particular, seems badly out of step with the trend towards luxury. It’s awash in tacky souvenir shops and spurious pharmacies, “amigo massage” parlors and tequila tasting emporiums. The souvenir shops are reflective of the city’s status as a cruise port capital — one coming off a record year, by the way. Not all news is bad. But most of those other businesses are reflective of an older strategy to market to tourists’ basest desires, one that is outdated and no longer in keeping with the new upscale image Los Cabos wants to portray.

Have you ever noticed that all the strip clubs in Los Cabos are centered in Cabo San Lucas? That’s no accident, nor is the fact that the more sophisticated San José del Cabo is by and large free of the sell-anything vendors that proliferate in downtown Cabo San Lucas.

What can be done to save the downtown center of Cabo San Lucas?

Cabo San Lucas, unlike San José del Cabo — a long-time farming and ranching community before the days of tourism — is a port city. It has always been that way, dating back to the pirates who infested its waters hundreds of years ago. In terms of cruise ships, its fishing charters and tournaments, and yes, its tackiness and licentiousness, Cabo San Lucas is still defined by that port heritage.

But if it wants its downtown center to survive, and in particular its bar and restaurant scene — beloved to us that live here — changes need to be made. The remodeling of downtown Cabo San Lucas, currently underway, is a good start. The city certainly needs an aesthetic makeover. Also beneficial is the Camina Cabo initiative, which will widen sidewalks and promote greater pedestrian mobility in important tourist areas of the city along Blvd. Lázaro Cárdenas and around Plaza Amelia Wilkes.

Revitalization efforts

As Tribuna de Mexico recently reported, “Mayor Christian Agúndez Gómez acknowledged that the decrease in visitors, especially foreigners, has impacted the local economy. In response, he assured that the Los Cabos City Council will implement infrastructure improvements and rehabilitate public spaces to revitalize tourism and reactivate commercial activity in downtown Cabo San Lucas.”

Instead of being out of step with what tourists actually want, the city needs to get in step. Today’s all-inclusive guests need good reasons to leave their resorts, and sex and booze, the old standbys in Cabo San Lucas, aren’t working anymore.

Except, of course, during Spring Break, which always seems to arrive just when it’s needed most.

Chris Sands is a writer and editor for Mexico News Daily, and the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He’s a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise and Travel, and Cabo Living.