Saturday, August 16, 2025

Mexico’s water crisis: Day Zero and the looming threat of scarcity

By
Nancy Moya
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11
Drought at the Benito Juárez dam, part of the Mexico water crisis
Mexico is facing an unprecedented water crisis, as climate change and population growth place increasing stress on an already stretched water supply. But what is the real story behind Mexico's water situation, and what is the outlook for the future? (Nemesio Méndez/Cuartoscuro)

Water scarcity, long an impending concern in arid nations across the world, has already arrived in Mexico. “Day Zero” — the day when water resources become irreversibly scarce — is rapidly bearing down upon the country. Here, the crisis is driven by a confluence of factors: inequality in access, pollution and the ever-accelerating impact of climate change.

Water is the foundation of life and a key driver of economic and social progress. Since the dawn of civilization, it has enabled commerce, agriculture, and the growth of communities. Yet few outside specialized fields — like hydrology or environmental science — truly grasp the complexity of this vital resource.

Drought and mismanagement have pushed Mexico’s aging water supply to the limit. (Shutterstock)

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), water stress occurs when demand exceeds supply or when water quality renders it unusable. In Mexico, both issues are at play. Industrial expansion, population growth, and inadequate public policies have deepened the crisis, which is felt most acutely in rural areas and by vulnerable populations. Without immediate intervention — through investment in infrastructure, legislative reform, and robust water management — the situation will worsen, threatening not just the economy but the well-being of millions of Mexicans too.

The reality of water in Mexico

Sarah Hartman, a Mexico groundwater and environmental policy expert at Australia’s National Water Agency, has been sounding the alarm. Speaking with Mexico News Daily, Hartman emphasized the lack of public awareness around water and sanitation issues.

“We have to try to do the best with what we have,” she said, explaining that there are a handful of simple steps that could dramatically improve water quality. “If my water has chlorine in it and some bacteria falls on dust particles into that water, the point of that chlorine is to disinfect to get that bacteria that’s just fallen in. If I keep leaving my water out uncovered, there is going to be a point at which there’s bacteria coming in, that can’t be removed by chlorine plus you have dust into your water…so the solution is to keep your water covered.” 

Contaminated water in Acapulco, part of Mexico's water crisis
Mexico’s water crisis is exacerbated by appalling infrastructure, much of which spoils perfectly safe water. (Carlos Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)

“These are simple things we don’t think about [in Mexico] at all,” she finished.

In Mexico, the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) serves as the country’s premier institution for managing water resources. Recently, CONAGUA released a report through the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) highlighting the overwhelming use of water for agricultural purposes. According to the report, a striking 76 percent of the nation’s water is consumed by the agricultural sector, followed by public supply (14 percent), industry (five percent), and electrical energy production (five percent).

“Water management in Mexico is a challenge, particularly due to its geographic distribution,” said Bernardo Villasuso, LATAM Director of Nalco Water Light, an American company specializing in water, energy, and air solutions for industrial markets. He explained that Mexico’s water supply comes primarily from lakes, rivers, and dams, which are unevenly distributed across the country. Regions such as El Bajío, central Mexico, and parts of the northeast are particularly scarce in both surface and groundwater resources.

One of the most critical ways water is accessed, according to Villasuso, is through wells and underground reserves, which require extensive pumping to extract water from the subsoil. “It’s essential to note that industries don’t directly tap rivers or wells for their water needs,” he added. “Industries do not take water from the rivers or wells, but through municipal networks…this water has prior water treatment by regional institutions.”

Even the cenotes of the Yucatán peninsula have become contaminated by agricultural waste. (Mark Viales)

The scale of the problem is exacerbated by declining water availability. According to data from the World Bank, Mexico’s per capita water availability has plummeted from 10,000 cubic meters per year in 1960 to just 4,000 in 2012. Projections indicate this figure could drop below 3,000 cubic meters by 2030, a startling decline that could have far-reaching consequences.

A recent study from The Employers Confederation of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX) outlines five critical issues driving the water crisis. These include a lack of long-term planning, inefficient agricultural production techniques, and contamination — such as arsenic pollution in areas like Zacatecas, Querétaro, Sinaloa, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí. Rapid urbanization in cities like Monterrey has exacerbated water shortages, while deforestation in regions such as Mexico City, the Yucatán Peninsula, Michoacán, Jalisco and Chiapas further strains the water supply.

The challenges are complex and wide-ranging, demanding coordinated efforts across governmental, industrial, and agricultural sectors. With Mexico’s water crisis deepening, the nation’s ability to manage its most vital resource is increasingly at stake.

Water, climate change and Mexico

A drought at Lake Patzcuaro, part of Mexico's water crisis
The state of Mexico’s water is inextricably linked to the effects of climate change. (Juan José Estrada Serafín/Cuartoscuro)

Mexico’s water crisis is inseparable from the global challenges of climate change. A study by the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS) identifies five key drivers of water quality degradation: population growth, urbanization, industrialization, changes in land use, and human activities. These forces have exacerbated water scarcity across Mexico and much of the world.

Despite government efforts since the 1970s, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.1 billion people globally still lack access to clean water, and 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation. In Mexico, while 92% of the population has access to drinking water, only 14% receive treated water at home.

Victoria Edwards, Co-Founder and CEO of FIDO Tech, a UK-based AI and technology solutions provider currently working with Microsoft to fight droughts across Querétaro, said that 30 to 70 percent of all the clean water produced in Mexico is lost due to leaks.  

“We all waste water, both as individuals and businesses…but the biggest portion of wastage happens before the water even arrives at our taps. This level of waste from the water system is now unconscionable,” she said. 

Protestors demanding clean drinking water, part of the Mexico water crisis
Protestors in México state demand access to clean drinking water. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)

Compounding these challenges, CONAGUA reports that 76% of Mexico’s water is used for agriculture, with just 14% for public supply. Industrial and energy needs make up the remaining 10%. This imbalance puts further strain on the country’s water resources, which are increasingly threatened by droughts and rising temperatures.

A report by S&P Global Ratings forecasts that by 2050, 20 of Mexico’s 32 states could face severe water stress, with 60 percent of the country’s territory likely to experience reduced economic growth due to drought. The picture is bleak but it is not without hope — if swift and decisive action is taken.

Claudia Sheinbaum’s vision for water

Given the importance of a clean and safe water supply, water forms a cornerstone of new president Claudia Sheinbaum’s agenda. As part of her 100 campaign proposals, Sheinbaum has pledged to guarantee access to clean water through a National Water Plan and by revising the country’s existing Water Law.

Her platform includes measures to modernize agricultural irrigation, improve water treatment for industrial and agricultural use, and develop strategic infrastructure to ensure water supply to underserved communities. By 2025, Sheinbaum aims to allocate 110 million pesos from the Social Infrastructure Contribution Fund (FAIS) to water projects in Mexico’s poorest municipalities.

The new Rio Balsas-South Pacific plan in particular will seek to bring clean water to some of Mexico’s most vulnerable communities in the impoverished south of the country. 

However, not everyone is convinced. Mónica Olvera Molina, Director of Systemic Change Strategy at Cántaro Azul, a non-profit organization specializing in water, hygiene, and sanitation, remains skeptical. In a candid interview with Mexico News Daily, she criticized the political landscape surrounding water distribution.

“It’s quite fantastic to have water as part of the 100 points, but this is not sufficient…water is still mainly used for political purposes with some groups of interests,” she said. “This must be focused as part of human rights to include vulnerable communities.”

Olvera noted that regions with influence and financial clout tend to receive more resources. She argued that in many areas believed to suffer from water scarcity, the real problem is a lack of political will to invest in infrastructure, rather than a genuine absence of water.

President Sheinbaum at a press conference
New President Claudia Sheinbaum has identified water security as a key target for her administration. (Cuartoscuro)

Her critique points to a broader issue: the ownership and governance of water in Mexico. She argues that in practice, water belongs to the government, not the people, because the necessary legal framework to guarantee water rights is either inadequate or unenforced.

The future of Mexico’s water: A series on crisis and hope

This article is the first in a series exploring Mexico’s complex water crisis. From arsenic and fluoride-contaminated groundwater to the pressures of industrialization and nearshoring, Mexico’s water challenges are vast. Population growth and foreign investment are driving up demand, particularly in megacities like Mexico City, while pollution and inefficient management exacerbate the situation.

Mexico News Daily will dive deeper into these issues, with contributions from national and international experts. Topics will include the economic and social consequences of water scarcity, the impact of industrial and agricultural activities, and the public and private initiatives aimed at improving water governance.

At stake is more than just economic stability — it is the survival of communities, ecosystems, and the very future of the country. Addressing Mexico’s water crisis will require coordinated action, innovative solutions, and a renewed commitment to safeguarding this most precious resource.

Originally from Texas, Nancy Moya has two degrees from New Mexico State University and the University of Texas at El Paso. With 15 years of experience in print and broadcast journalism, she’s worked with well-known outlets like Univision, The Associated Press, El Diario de El Paso, Mexico’s Norteamérica and Mundo Ejecutivo, Germany’s Deutsche Welle and the Spanish-language El Ibérico of London, among others.

The Canadian who was declared Zihuatanejo’s ‘Woman of the Year’

By
Elisabeth Ashe
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0
Carol Romain
Carol Romain has made it her mission to help educate and support the children of southern Guerrero, through her charitable foundation. (Margaret Reid)

The reasons foreigners embark on a new chapter in Mexico are as diverse as the constellations in the sky. Each story is a unique adventure, often seemingly fated by circumstance. The intriguing tale of Carol and Doug Romain is a testament to this, as they embarked on a journey filled with new experiences and unexpected turns.

The Romains lived for many years in British Columbia, Canada. Carol owned The Ladybug Playcare, an integrated special needs center that offered children before- and after-school care. At the same time, her husband Doug worked in the marketing division for MacMillan Bloedel, a well-known lumber company. In 1997 Doug was sent to Durango, Mexico, to oversee sales. Carol joined him for Christmas and said she nearly froze to death. The locals gave her tequila, her first taste, to warm her up. It was also in Durango where they experienced their first taste of what life would be like in Mexico as an expat.

Carol and Doug Romain
Carol and Doug Romain. (Carol Romain)

But better than that, it was also here that Doug learned how easy it was to help people in his position; he came across a benefit for the company’s employees, which allowed them to upgrade their education for free. Says Carol, “The problem was that no one knew about it until Doug came along, probably because of the language barrier, as the manager spoke only English.” However, the position only lasted three months when the parent company, Weyerhaeuser, sold the Mexico division.

It was during a casual conversation with one of Doug’s clients that the Romains first heard about the beachside paradise of Zihuatanejo. The client, who owned a vacation home in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, spoke so passionately about the area that the Romains were intrigued. When they retired in 2006, they decided to explore Zihuatanejo as a potential new home. They purchased a motor home and set off on a journey that would lead them to this charming coastal town.

Carol says, “We checked out everything from San Carlos to Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Barra de Navidad and Manzanillo before finally landing in Zihuatanejo on January 3, 2007.”

“Zihuatanejo checked all the boxes. A small town feel, everything we needed and nothing we didn’t. Friendly people, plenty to do and a great mix of expats and locals. It was like having an instant family when we arrived.”

Playa El Palmar I y II, Zihuatanejo, Mexico, became Blue Flag beaches in 2023.
Zihuatanejo, where Carol and Doug decided to make their new life. (FEE International)

With Zihuatanejo as the backdrop for their next life chapter, the Romains were motivated by a desire to give back. Inspired by Doug’s impactful experiences and Carol’s childcare background, they sought a way to contribute to children’s education. Fate intervened again, leading them to a conversation with a local expat about a promising new organization, Por Los Niños, dedicated to supporting local education from elementary school to university.

After several attempts to contact someone in the organization, they finally attended a meeting. Almost immediately, the director at the time, the late Lawrence Marbut, bestowed the title of “Donations Chairman” during a fly-by the encounter “in a grocery store no less,” Carol said. She became the Sailfest Chairperson a year later.

Carol’s dedication to her community did not go unnoticed. In 2013, she was awarded the prestigious Immigrant of the Year status for Guerrero state, a testament to her commitment and the impact of her work.

In 2017, Carol took on a new role as the administrator of Por Los Niños, a position she held until a few years ago when she became the organization’s president. Her leadership was instrumental in overseeing important fundraisers, such as Sailfest, which significantly increased the organization’s annual funds. Her dedication and hard work have been truly inspiring, raising from approximately 70,000 pesos a year in its inception to an unprecedented six million in 2023.

Carol Romaine and Jorge Sanchez
Carol and Zihuatanejo mayor Jorge Sánchez celebrate her philanthropic work. (Margaret Reid)

Carol’s philanthropic efforts, combined with the support of the local mayor, Jorge Sanchez, had a transformative effect on the community. The mayor’s donation of 50% of the construction cost needed to build schools was a significant boost to their fundraising efforts.

During this time, fully entrenched in the lifestyle and culture, Carol felt it was important to change her immigration status from permanent resident to full-on citizen, which she did five years ago.

Last year, Carol’s remarkable contributions were recognized when she was awarded the prestigious Woman Of The Year title for the city of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. This accolade is a testament to the positive impact she has made in her community.

When asked if there were any challenges or anything she didn’t like about living in her adopted country, she replied, “No. I came here and embraced the culture and even learned to accept their tardiness. I love everything about living in Mexico.”

The writer divides her time between Canada and Zihuatanejo.

The original Cowboys come from Mexico

By
Chris Sands
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3
John Wayne as a Mexican cowboy
The peak of Americana, the cowboy, actually hides a deep connection to Mexican culture and the development of the new frontier. (Canva)

As early as 1931, Walter Prescott Webb in his authoritative The Great Plains warned of the dangers of myth-making regarding the cowboys of the “Old West.” Soon, he noted, the man “who had to make his living by working on horseback will disappear under the attributes of firearms, belts, cartridges, chaps, slang, and horses, all fastened to him by pulp paper and silver screen.” The true history of cowboys, as wild, pioneering men from Mexico, was under threat even then.

Hollywood didn’t heed the warning. Over the following decades, it did its best to mythologize the cowboy, invariably overemphasizing shootouts for dramatic purposes at the expense of cattle ranching, the cowboy’s true vocation. In the defense of these Golden Age filmmakers, the qualities with which they imbued the cowboy — his work ethic, courage, and resoluteness — were historically accurate.  However, they got a lot of things wrong, too. Black Americans, who accounted for as much as 25% of 19th-century cowboys, have been almost entirely missing from “Westerns” until quite recently. 

Cowboys in Mexico, Once Upon a Time in the West
The cowboys of Hollywood depicted an Americanized ideal of the old West. The truth has a much more Mexican flavor. (Paramount Pictures)

More egregious still is the fact that the original cowboys, Mexican vaqueros, weren’t recognized at all. If Mexicans were cast in Hollywood Westerns, it was typically as bandits — a legacy of both the Mexican Revolution and racism.

How cowboys coopted the language of vaqueros

That vaqueros were the first cowboys is not a controversial assertion. Its truth should be evident from the fact that the language of cowboys was taken wholesale from Spanish via what are called loanwords. Vaquero stems from vaca, the Spanish word for cow; hence, cowboy. The cowboy’s lasso, one of the primary tools of his trade, gets its name from lazo, a Spanish word for rope. Lariat, a synonym for lasso, is derived from the Spanish reata. Rodeo comes from rodear, the Spanish verb meaning “to encircle.” Chaps comes from chaparreras, the Spanish term for the leg-protecting leather worn by vaqueros. Even buckaroo has a Spanish origin: it’s a mispronunciation of vaquero.

The development of vaquero culture in Mexico

The roots of cattle ranching in North America began with the Spanish conquest of Mexico. When Hernán Cortés and the Spanish Conquistadors landed at Veracruz in 1519, they brought horses. Two years later, Gregorio de Villalobos arrived from the Dominican Republic with the first cattle. He didn’t have many: one bull and six cows. But it was enough to start breeding, and the many descendants of these animals include the famed Texas Longhorns. 

The first big cattle drive occurred in the late 16th century when Don Juan de Oñate led an expedition that drove over 7,000 cattle from Northern Mexico into present-day New Mexico. This was before a single English colony had been established in what would become the U.S., and when much of what is now its Western and Southwestern regions belonged to Mexico (Nueva España until 1821). By the early 1700s, there were ranches in what are now Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and cattle were driven, or cattle-derived products delivered to Mexico City.

Cowboys from Mexico
An 1890 photo of vaqueros on Empire Ranch in Arizona.

The culture of the caballero and the vaquero emerged against this backdrop during the 17th century. The former was a gentleman, often the owner of a cattle ranch. Vaqueros, meanwhile, were employed as laborers at these ranches and were responsible for driving the cattle. There were class and racial differences between the two. The caballeros were criollos, born of Spanish parents in Mexico. The vaqueros were generally Indigenous or of mestizo heritage, and their employment evolved out of the earlier Spanish encomienda system when Indigenous people were tasked to ride horses and tend cattle, but without the use of saddles.

Vaqueros did use saddles, of course, and became famed for their superb horsemanship, as they were experts at riding, roping, branding (yes, this practice began in North America in Mexico), and all the other skills needed to herd cattle. Over time, they became independent contractors, able to move from ranch to ranch, taking their horses and other gear with them.

Vaqueros were integral to the early Texas cattle drives

The first big cattle drive in Texas happened in the late 18th century, when the territory still belonged to Mexico. But U.S. settlers led by Stephen Austin began arriving in the early 1820s and by 1836 it was independent. U.S. statehood followed in 1845. This transition provided an opportunity to would-be entrepreneurs thanks to the abundant wild Longhorn cattle found throughout Texas that could be rounded up and taken to market.

Cowboys in Mexico
Vaquero culture is still alive and well in Mexico, although it takes a slightly different form to the one popularized on the silver screen. (Campeonato Millonario Tequila Hacienda Vieja)

However, when important cattle ranchers like Richard King, founder of the enormous (and still operational) King Ranch in South Texas, needed men to spearhead his early cattle drives in the 1850s, he sought out vaqueros and their families in Mexico, bringing them up from Tamaulipas to ensure the safety of his herds. Mifflin Kenedy, another pioneer rancher in South Texas, also relied on vaqueros to drive his herds. These were the forerunners of the many famous cattle drives between 1860 and 1890 when the cattle were driven to railheads like Abilene, Kansas, where they could be shipped to cities in the North and East. 

It was this period that gave birth to cowboy culture in the U.S. — but it was vaqueros that showed the way.

The differences between the two cowboy cultures

This is not to say that the American cowboy didn’t develop an identifiable style. That’s certainly the case with dress, for instance. The Mexican vaquero has traditionally favored the wide-brimmed sombrero, while the cowboy has preferred ten-gallon hats  However, even here the vaquero influence is obvious since the use of the word gallon was likely a misinterpretation of the Spanish galón – a reference to the braid worn around a sombrero as a hatband. 

Simply put, the cowboy’s techniques, his tools, parts of his attire, and his language for describing them were a legacy of the Mexican vaquero. So why isn’t this history better known in the U.S.? According to historian Monica Muñoz Martinez, the erasure of the vaquero from popular U.S. history began in the wake of the Mexican Revolution, when anti-Mexican racism was widespread in Texas and throughout the Southwest. 

Of course, many states in this part of the country (and beyond) — all or parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming — belonged to Mexico before they were lost following the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). This, too, may have played into the elevation of the “native” cowboy at the expense of the Mexican or Mexican-American vaquero. 

But even if these facts are omitted in history books, Hollywood movies, or popular American television shows, the truth remains that the culture and lifestyle they’re celebrating was born in Mexico and flourished there first. 

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

 

Taste of Mexico: Mezcal

By
María Meléndez
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7
Taste of Mexico: Mezcal
(Andy Bardon/Unsplash)

This week’s taste of Mexico, mezcal, can be summed up with a classic idiom: “Para todo mal, mezcal; para todo bien, también; y si no hay remedio, litro y medio.”

“For everything bad, mezcal; for everything good, mezcal too; and if there’s no remedy, a liter and a half”

Actually, better make it two liters. (Shutterstock)

Here at Taste of Mexico, we believe that understanding the history and production process of an ingredient, dish, or drink can enhance your appreciation for it. This was certainly the case for me with mezcal.

My first experiences with mezcal were terrible. Around 10 years ago, mezcal became very popular in Mexico City’s nightlife, and mezcalerías started popping up everywhere, like La Botica which is still open today.

I used to order mezcal due to peer pressure, but honestly, I hated it. I initially found the strong and unpleasant taste of pure alcohol overwhelming, not to mention how much I disliked the bitter aftertaste. My friends insisted it was delicious, and I began to question their taste buds. As it turns out, we were simply drinking low-quality mezcal.

Years later, I was taken to the best mezcal bar, a now defunct speakeasy called Salvajes. They only served mezcal and beer, and the music was spectacular. Someone treated me to a mezcal, and I was blown away by its sweet, smooth, and pleasantly smoky flavor. I asked about the place, and they said, “Ah, güey, El Tigre (the owner) has the best bottles of mezcal.” Who was this Tigre guy, where did he get these mezcals, and what was going on?

 

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The first time I met El Tigre at his new place, he served us a tiny bit of mezcal in the smallest glass in the world from a beautiful bottle. “This is a punta of [a variety I don’t remember], try it,” he said. It was the most flavor packed sip I’d ever had. El Tigre explained what “puntas” were and why they had such an intense taste, and I realized I was completely ignorant about mezcal. I also thought maybe I should hang out more with my new friend El Tigre and start getting into the many intricacies of the mezcal world.

What is mezcal?

El Tigre gave me the most poetic definition: “It’s the juice of the earth.” Mezcal is a distilled spirit made from agave. It maintains much of the artisanal and ancestral process that has been used for hundreds of years. The agave is cooked in underground ovens, similar to a barbecue, and then crushed manually to extract the juices. These juices are collected in fermentation vats and patiently left to ferment with care. The name “mezcal” comes from the agave cooking process. It is the Spanish adaptation of “mexcalli,” a Nahuatl word meaning cooked maguey.

Mezcal Varieties

The agave fields of Mexico are not just destined for tequila production. (Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro)

Think of mezcal like wine. Just as there are different types of grapes, there are different types of agaves. There are around 150 varieties of agave in Mexico, but only a few are used to make mezcal, such as Espadín and Tobalá. There’s also Cuishe, Madre Cuishe, Mexicano, and four types of Cupreata: Barranca, Gutiérrez, Vieyra, and Salinas. Other varieties include Mexicano, Tepesstate, Chuparosa, and Belatobe.

Just like wine, each of these varieties has different flavors. And yes, I think you have to start trying them all to find out which one is your favorite.

Origins and Myths

Like many alcoholic beverages, mezcal is shrouded in legend. One of the most popular suggests that mezcal was a gift from the gods to bring happiness to humanity. Weren’t they the best?

Another theory proposes that a lightning bolt struck an agave plant, naturally cooking it,  allowing ancient inhabitants to discover the taste of an early form of mezcal.

How do you know you’re drinking good mezcal?

I asked El Tigre how I could tell if I was drinking good mezcal, and his answer was straightforward: by tasting it. But that doesn’t mean ending up like a fumigated spider at your favorite mezcaleria. There’s a proper way of tasting it.

Dip a couple of clean fingers into your mezcal glass. Rub your hands together, and bring your palms to your nose. You should be able to smell all the aromas of the agave and the ingredients used in the fermentation process, like fruits, chilies, woods, or spices.

Then take the first sip; you won’t detect much. Until the third mini sip, you will start getting all the notes.

How should you drink it?

“Like your partner, with little kisses,” El Tigre advised us. When it comes to mezcal, taking shots is absolutely forbidden. Considering its high alcohol content, it’s best to have just a few glasses and not the whole bottle.

In some places, they may offer you an orange slice with chili powder to go with your mezcal. It’s best to decline if you’re enjoying a good mezcal, as the orange flavor can overpower your palate and you won’t fully experience the taste.

And always remember, drink responsibly, amigos. Salud!

María Meléndez is a Mexico City food blogger and influencer.

Can you live on US $13 a day? Our CEO’s perspective on Mexico’s minimum wage

By
Travis Bembenek
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18
It is estimated that nearly 40% of Mexico's workforce makes 13 dollars or less per day.
It is estimated that nearly 40% of Mexico's workforce makes 13 dollars or less per day. (Cuartoscuro)

I think many people would be surprised to learn that Mexico’s current minimum wage is around US $13 per day in most parts of the country.

Perhaps more surprising is that this amount represents a significant increase over the past several years. Former president AMLO made a step change in Mexico’s minimum wage a signature initiative of his administration, more than doubling the minimum wage from what it was at the start of his six-year term in 2018. A recent report indicated that Mexico showed the highest increases in its minimum wage of all of the 38 OECD countries since 2020.

Likewise, it is estimated that the number of Mexicans living in poverty declined by nearly nine million since 2020.

Just recently, newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that further minimum wage increases will be an important part of her platform, with a goal of increasing it by an average of 12% per year during her six-year term. She has set a goal for the minimum wage to be 10,000 pesos per month (approximately $500 USD / month) by the end of her administration.

In addition, new legislation has recently been proposed that would ensure that the minimum wage increase each year would always exceed the level of inflation.

Sheinbaum announces her initiative to seek annual minimum wage increases
Sheinbaum said that increases to the minimum wage would be gradual so as to not put upward pressure on inflation. (Presidencia)

For those living in the United States, I understand why there is a natural cynicism around the concept of a minimum wage.

The federal minimum wage in the United States is still only $7.25/hour. Political gridlock has kept the minimum wage at this rate since 2009 — despite significant inflation since then.

As a result, many cities and states in the U.S. have enacted their own laws regarding minimum wage, so the federal rate has become far less relevant. In fact, it is estimated that just 1.3% of all hourly workers, the lowest percentage on record, actually earn the minimum wage.

In Mexico however, things are starkly different.

It is estimated that nearly 40% of the workforce makes the minimum wage or less throughout the country. I will repeat that sentence again as I think it is so important:  nearly 40% of the Mexican workforce makes less than $13/day.

Perhaps this statistic sheds more light on why our team at MND is so passionate about our role in helping to shape the narrative on Mexico, and to help encourage more investment and tourism to the country. There is still a very, very long way to go to reduce the levels of working poor that many foreigners don’t see beyond their all-inclusive hotel, business compound or Expat neighborhood.

Mexican pesos
Minimum-wage workers earn approximately 1,500 pesos throughout a six-day workweek in Mexico. (Spanishandgo)

I have spoken to many businesspeople in Mexico who have expressed cynicism toward the minimum wage as well, but I don’t think their arguments hold weight.

One argument that I have heard is that “the minimum wage is irrelevant and really just a number that the local unions use as a reference point to negotiate their contracts.” Others argue that so many workers in Mexico are part of the informal economy that the minimum wage increases would not benefit them. This in fact is not true and research from several recent studies by the ENOE (National Survey of Employment) and the Coneval (National Board of Social Policy) have shown that as the formal economy minimum wage increases, it puts pressure on the informal economy wages at an even faster rate.

Another more common argument I often hear is that “Mexican workers will not be competitive with other countries (mainly China) if the minimum wage is increased.” I think that this argument is outdated for a number of reasons:

  • China’s cost of labor has risen significantly over the past decade. Most studies now show that Chinese labor is actually more expensive than Mexican labor. Even when taking into account labor productivity, Mexican labor is still less expensive than Chinese labor.
  • In addition to labor costs, companies are now considering many other factors such as supply chain risk, proximity to the U.S. market, shipping costs and timing, etc. that help Mexico and Mexican workers make a stronger case for higher wages than before.
  • Mexico and Mexican labor are increasingly “moving up the value chain” and moving beyond basic low-skilled jobs to ones that incorporate automation, technology, AI and increased training. This improves productivity and allows companies in Mexico to be more efficient, more competitive and improve pay for their employees.

Running a business and hiring staff is not easy.  A careful balance is needed of training and motivating employees, while staying competitive to stay in business. Not getting this right at the individual business level can be disastrous, as I wrote about here.

Not getting it right at the country level can also be a problem. I have previously written about how this can cause a “middle-income trap” that slows down a country’s progression.

Putting aside politics, I think Mexico is on the right path to getting this balance right.

On one hand, the federal government is pushing the minimum wage up from what most certainly is an unlivable level. On the other hand, the private sector is making significant investments in training and automation to ensure that, even with the higher wages, Mexican labor remains cost/productivity competitive.

The balance is not easy to achieve, but what I see at this point indicates that Mexico is on the right path of continuing to attract investment while improving the standard of living of its workers.

Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for over 27 years.

The numbers behind the explosive Los Cabos population growth

By
Chris Sands
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1
Los Cabos population growth
Cabo San Lucas as it looks today. It wasn't always like this. (Los Cabos Tourism Board)

To say Los Cabos is experiencing rapid population growth is a massive understatement. Between 2010 and 2020, the population in the municipality that’s home to cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo grew by 47%, increasing from 238,487 residents to 351,111. To put that percentage in perspective, the population of México as a whole grew by a little over 11% during the decade from 2010 to 2020. 

However, it bears noting that this Los Cabos population explosion pales compared to the one from 2000 to 2010 when the growth rate was an astonishing 126%. Yes, the population in Los Cabos more than doubled in 10 years, growing from 105,469 residents to 238,487. It also pales compared to the decade before that (1990 to 2000) when Los Cabos’ growth rate was a jaw-dropping 140% — as the municipality’s population spiraled from a mere 43,920 residents to over 100,000 (105,469, to be exact).

Cabo San Lucas as it looked in 1960, long before the development of the resort paradise it has now become. (Howard E. Gulick Collection at the UC San Diego Library)

Is this growth sustainable?

These numbers, courtesy of the Gobierno de Baja California Sur’s 2023 Secretaría de Turismo y Economía report on Los Cabos paint a remarkable picture. From 1990 to 2020, the population grew from just over 40,000 to more than 350,000. Nearly half the people in Baja California Sur (44%) now live in Los Cabos, one of five statewide municipalities.

If you’re a long-time vacationer to Los Cabos and feel the destination looks markedly different each time you visit, you’re not alone in this perception. Locals, naturally, can more clearly see what’s happening, as they see it daily. Construction projects now proliferate in the cape cities, and each time we walk or drive by new apartment buildings, hotels and resorts, real estate developments, and golf courses, we see them inching a little closer to completion — with more projects coming up behind them.

Such phenomenal growth begs some serious questions. The first one that comes to mind is this: Is it sustainable? It’s hard to believe it is given that Los Cabos already operates at a deficit in terms of its water supply. According to the Plan Municipal de Desarrollo (Municipal Development Plan) for 2021 to 2024 issued by the government of Los Cabos, local aquifers can’t recharge themselves quickly enough to meet demand. Of course, another major desalinization plant is expected to come online next year, but that brings other problems. For starters, it will kill lots of fish. You know, the reason tourists came to Los Cabos in the first place.

The chicken or the egg? 

Here’s another question: Is the phenomenal spike in tourism in recent years driving population growth through a demand for new workers, or is the reverse true? Is a skyrocketing workforce making new projects more easily achievable? It’s complicated, but the number of tourists is, like the population, spiraling ever upwards. As Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, told Travel Age West, 34% more people are visiting Los Cabos this year than five years ago, and the average daily resort room rates have shot up 60% during the same timeframe. Los Cabos is white-hot in popularity, a fact reflected across the hospitality and construction sectors, where the greatest proportion of local jobs (38.5% and 15.5%, respectively as of 2019) are found.

San José del Cabo continues to expand almost unabated. (Ayuntamiento de Los Cabos)

The demographics of Los Cabos

Where are all the new people moving to Los Cabos from originally? There are fewer from the U.S. than you might think. Despite all the real estate sales and the growth of the digital nomad lifestyle, only 1,452 of the 63,440 new residents from 2015 to 2020 hailed from the U.S. Yes, that’s significantly more than any other country. Cuba provided the second most foreign-born Los Cabos residents during that period, with 144. Still, it bears noting that the expatriate population has remained remarkably stable in recent years. 

Just over 17,400 extranjeros live in Los Cabos (more than 10,000 of them from the U.S.), with another 1,700 from the U.S. in residence on temporary work permits. Thus, U.S. expats account for only about 3% of the local population, and foreign-born residents around 5% overall.

Most Baja California Sur residents (55.8%) moved from other Mexican states. Many undoubtedly came to seek better opportunities and higher-paying jobs in the booming Los Cabos tourism sector. Guerrero, Sinaloa, and Estado de México account for about half of these new arrivals – with the Los Cabos population now boasting slightly more men than women (180,944 to 170,167). This population, generally speaking, is quite young. The top two age ranges represented are 25 to 29 and 29 to 34, as one might expect given the influx of workers from other areas of México.

Which cities or towns in Los Cabos are the fastest growing?

Los Cabos has no shortage of new developments, with new properties springing up on lots across the city. (MLS #24-442)

Although Los Cabos has experienced rapid population growth sustained across several decades, it hasn’t proven consistent for all the towns and cities (there are but two of these: Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo) located within the bounds of the municipality. Smaller communities like Buenavista, Miraflores, and Santiago have seen marginal or, in one case, negative growth. Santiago saw its population decline by 139 residents from 2010 to 2020, dropping from 783 to 684. Meanwhile, the nearby farming community of Miraflores grew by 28 residents during the same decade. Buenavista, on the East Cape, added only 12. 

It’s the cities where the growth is undeniably evident. Between 2010 and 2020, the population of San José del Cabo nearly doubled in size, going from 69,788 residents to 136,285. However, that’s nothing compared to Cabo San Lucas, where the population almost tripled during the same timeframe, soaring from 68,463 to 202,694. Cabo San Lucas, traditionally smaller than San José del Cabo, has now blown by its cape sister in size. 

Will the growth continue?

Los Cabos’ runaway growth shows no signs of slowing down. According to Cuahtémoc Carmona Álvarez, general director of Desarrollo Social (Social Development) for the municipality, the population of Los Cabos, based on current estimates, is projected to reach between 700,000 and 800,000 by 2040. Meaning, the population is going to double. Again.

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

Beauty is in the blue eye of the beholder

By
Sarah DeVries
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16
Casual racism in Mexico, as evidenced by Luis Miguel
Despite racism taking a different form south of the border, Mexicans have very particular dating standards that are closely connected to race. (Luis Miguel)

Want to know what casual racism in Mexico looks like? It’s pretty simple. When my Mexican friends met my ex-husband, they all said the same thing: “I could not believe that was your husband.”

It’s a confession that never comes until after at least a year of friendship. And it only comes from Mexicans.

If you want to look like an “Indigenous” Mexican, you’d better be rich. (Victor Quiroga/Unsplash)

The reason? My ex-husband is very dark-skinned. And for most Mexicans to consider you good-looking if you’re very dark-skinned, you need some other redeeming qualities. A supermodel’s body, perhaps, or piercing green eyes. The visual trappings of wealth are also an immense help, as they are anywhere.

To me, of course, he was very good-looking. And I wasn’t alone in my opinion. When we traveled to the States, my U.S. friends would pull me aside: “Wow, he’s cute!” Finally, some people who understood. They saw what I saw!

When I was talking to some women a few weeks ago for my article on reluctant immigrants, this was a theme that came up among those who’d “returned” to Mexico with their husbands. Many were repeatedly faced with confused questions about why on earth they were willing to come. An incredulous “¿A poco te gustan los morenos?” (So you really like brown guys?) was a common question.

Um. Yes? And also, what is wrong with you?

Racism a la mexicana

Racism south of the border is more heavily class-based than racial, but even so, it can be difficult to totally separate the two. (Edgar Negrete Lira/Cuartoscuro)

Modern racism in Mexico is a little hard to compare to the racism we find north of the border. It is just as real here as it is there and in the rest of the world, of course. But it’s a different flavor, mixed up to a greater degree here in social class.

The North American roots are the same: Europeans kidnapped Africans and brought them to the Americas to force them into slave labor. They ran the show, so society, including beauty standards, was set up in their image. To this day, the more European-looking you are, the better-looking many consider you to be.

One major difference, however, stems from the fact that Indigenous peoples were very nearly wiped out in what’s now the US and the ones that survived were siloed off. In Mexico, however — to put it politely — the Europeans “married” them instead. The ones that survived their initial onslaught, anyway. Were the European boats filled with couples and families or with single men? The answer to that question can give you a lot of clues into how the subsequent societies developed.

There was initially an elaborate “blood-based” caste system here that eventually gave way to “mestizaje” (mixing, I guess?). And as a mestizo country, differences in skin color became more economic indicators than “racial” ones. Those of Spanish descent could afford to give their kids a higher leg up because they of course placed themselves at the top of the social ladder when they took over. And while a few pockets of people of African-descent remain, most joined the mestizo population. Slavery, by the way, was outlawed in Mexico decades before it was in the States. In fact, that was one of the main roots of the fight over Texas, something you won’t ever learn in Texas History.

Mexico’s beauty standards were introduced when it was still a part of New Spain – and are Eurocentric as a result. (Wikimedia Commons)

So, even today, the Indigenous continue to find themselves at the bottom of the barrel. This isn’t because they are brown; it’s because they still belong to ethnic groups that are not part of the “mainstream.” They are the poorest and most isolated groups in Mexico and the ones with the least access to quality education and modern services.

Here, preserving one’s Indigenous roots means not “modernizing.” And not modernizing in Mexico means you’re left behind, basically, to toil for those in charge. While some make a big deal about embracing Mexico’s indigenous roots, it’s notable that those who do so are noticeably far-removed from them in background and social class.

So racism, in Mexico, is more about one’s perceived social class and lack of education. And because different “races” didn’t stay siloed off from each other like Jim Crow laws and institutionalized discrimination caused people to be in the US, markers of distinct culture and language didn’t develop, either. There’s no Spanish version of the “Black vernacular,” for example.

Mexico’s no racial utopia; it’s simply divided up based more on social class and education.

Still, the legacy of colonialism means that, generally, the higher up you go in wealth, the whiter people get. The opposite is also true: the darker and more Indigenous-looking someone is, the greater the likelihood that they’re poor and have had very little access to quality education.

Living with the legacy

Mexican Senator Ricardo Anaya on the Mexican Senate floor, behind a podium speaking into microphones and gesturing with his index finger.
Many members of the Mexican elite, like Senator Ricardo Anaya, seen here, look more Spanish than they do Mexican. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)

So, here we are. Like in the rest of the Americas, white people are grossly overrepresented in positions of power. Any group that forcefully takes over gets to run things and impose its own beauty standards, I suppose.

And that in turn gives us things like mostly white Mexican models, though most Mexicans are much darker-skinned. It gives us things like Mexican TV shows where most principal characters are white, while the only darker-skinned actors play servants. It gives us fetishes for “light eyes” and anything but black hair. It makes people joke that to marry someone whiter than you is to “mejorar la raza” (improve the race).

It gives us the fame of Luis Miguel. Yes, he’s a great singer and performer, but come on. Would he be Mexico’s heartthrob if he weren’t blonde? It gives us the “common wisdom” that men from Guadalajara are the most handsome. Spoiler alert, I’ve been there: they’re not more handsome, they’re just whiter and taller.

So when some Mexicans see white foreigners who, because of this legacy of colonialism, are considered to be at the top of the “good-looking people” list fall in love with those they themselves might write off as too average, they’re confused. Perhaps to them, it looks like Brad Pitt falling madly in love with Rosie O’Donnell. “You could have your pick, and that’s your choice? Really?”

No doubt more than a few assume we’re being taken advantage of too, used for our imagined millions. Casual racism works both ways, after all, even in Mexico.

This is not cool, but it is the reality. Foreigners anywhere are often “othered,” our motivations a mystery. I won’t pretend to know what minorities in the US feel, but being a closely-inspected “representative” of one’s culture is not always fun.

At least my partner gets me.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, https://sarahedevries.substack.com/. 

Worldcoin’s iris-scanning orb — coming to a delivery app near you?

By
MND Staff
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1
A Worldcoin orb, a white device used to scan people's irises and collect biometric data.
Worldcoin plans to expand access to "the Orb" in Mexico via a partnership with the delivery app Rappi. (Worldcoin)

Do you want to order pizza, tacos, or an orb that will collect your biometric data? The latter may soon be an option in Mexico thanks to a partnership between the delivery application Rappi and Worldcoin, a project that uses data-collection globes to construct a database it hopes will one day be used to verify people’s humanity.

In September, Mexico’s National Institute for Transparency and Access to Information (INAI) opened an investigation of a project known as Worldcoin, an eye-scanning orb that records biometric data. Now Worldcoin has announced that, starting next year, “the Orb” will be available in Latin America on-demand like a pizza. Wired reported that through a partnership with the app Rappi, citizens will be able to have an Orb show up at their door to scan their irises, allowing them to sign up for the World Network from their own home.

Over 5 million people have already lined up to stare into an orb the size of a bowling ball and scan their irises is alarming privacy advocates and regulators
Over 5 million people have already lined up to stare into a sphere the size of a bowling ball and scan their irises, alarming privacy advocates and regulators. (v2osk/Unsplash)

Worldcoin arrived in Mexico last year and can be found in 13 locations across the country, from Monterrey to Guadalajara and at least six sites in Mexico City, according to the monthly tech magazine Wired.

Over 5 million people have already lined up to stare into a sphere the size of a bowling ball and scan their irises, alarming privacy advocates and regulators, several of whom have banned its use in their respective countries. In addition, Worldcoin came under scrutiny for allegedly deceptive and exploitative practices in recruiting individuals to scan their irises.

Early last month, INAI demonstrated its concern, announcing it had opened its own probe into the project. The institution is particularly concerned about the potential for misuse of personal information and biometric data, and decided to open an inquiry after receiving complaints from users in Mexico. 

Is “the Orb” collecting biometric data from children in Mexico?

INAI informed the public that anybody who believes their personal information was violated can file a complaint which would be incorporated into its investigation.

Early last month, INAI demonstrated its concern, announcing it had opened its own probe into the project.
Early last month, INAI announced that it had opened its own probe into the project. (Julio López/Pexels)

A few days later, Xataka, a Mexican tech publication, reported that it was unclear if INAI might take measures to restrict Worldcoin’s data collection or if it could ban its use.

According to the project, in addition to receiving online ID verification, users are rewarded 25 WLD, digital currency that is worth about US $115.

However, news agency N+ reported that a significant number of users claimed they had not received the digital currency. In addition, minors have allegedly participated in the project, a violation of Mexican laws banning the collection of biometric data from the underage population.

Defending Worldcoin

Sam Altman, founder of Worldcoin and CEO of OpenAI, claimed that the project — dating back to 2019 — aims to create “a global financial and identity network based on proof of personhood,” seen as essential in an era where artificial intelligence is commonplace.

Altman’s reasoning is that it is increasingly more important for people to prove they are not a bot. The result is iris-scanning technology to generate private tokens that would verify their identities around the world.

However, writes Cointelegraph, since its inception, Altman’s startup “has received significant backlash from influential privacy advocates, including American whistleblower Edward Snowden,” over concerns about how it was storing and using biometric data. 

Project managers insist they neither keep nor catalog the biometric data, but advocates argue that not collating names to data collected is not sufficient to guarantee that personal data is not vulnerable.

With reports from Xataka, N+, Cointelegraph and Wired

US ambassador emphasizes strong US-Mexico ties amid new rules for his position

By
MND Staff
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6
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar speaks at a press conference
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar emphasized the depth of his country's relationship with Mexico at a Thursday press conference in Mexico City. (Graciela López Herrera/Cuartoscuro)

A new rule from the Mexican government will guide, and possibly limit, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar’s contact with senior officials, even as the foreign dignitary emphasized the warm relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.

Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in late August that he had placed the Mexican government’s relationship with the United States Embassy in Mexico “on pause” due to Salazar’s critical remarks about his judicial reform proposal and what he characterized as the U.S. government’s lack of openness about the arrest of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

But Salazar said Thursday that “in reality there never has been a pause,” and declared that the relationship between Mexico and the United States is “very good.”

“I always look at the relationship with optimism,” he told a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.

“The relationship between the United States and Mexico is going very well. … It’s never going to pause, it continues, there’s no pause now and in reality there never has been a pause,” Salazar said.

“The exchange we have is a strong, deep, authentic exchange — very good dialogue,” he said.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada mugshot
The alleged kidnapping of drug kingpin “El Mayo” Zambada and his arrest in the U.S. is one of the issues that has recently caused tension between the U.S. and Mexico. (Cuartoscuro)

Salazar also said that U.S. President Joe Biden is “very happy” with the work the U.S. Embassy has done in Mexico.

“On behalf of President Biden and Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, and on my part, I want to thank the government of Mexico because they’ve opened the doors to us as partners,” he said.

Speaking a day after Mexico’s former security minister Genaro García Luna was sentenced to 38 years in U.S. prison for colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel on drug trafficking operations, the ambassador said that the Biden administration and the Mexican government led by President Claudia Sheinbaum are “aligned” on their actions to “ensure that officials are not corrupt.”

“It’s a part of the [bilateral] agenda,” he said.

Salazar highlighted the security cooperation between the United States and Mexico, noting that the case in the U.S. against imprisoned Los Zetas/Northeast Cartel leaders Miguel Treviño Morales and Omar Treviño Morales is the result of “shared work and cooperation” with Mexico.

He also said that progress has been made on the broader fight against organized crime, including the trafficking of weapons and fentanyl, which drug cartels manufacture in Mexico and ship to the United States, where the powerful synthetic opioid is the main cause of the overdose crisis.

In addition, Salazar said that United States and Mexico have made progress in addressing irregular migration to the U.S.

U.S. President Joe Biden walking with US Border Patrol officers along the U.S. border wall with a border patrol SUV parked in the background.
Since an order from U.S. President Biden limiting asylum claims, migration across the U.S.-Mexico border has plummeted. (File photo)

The number of migrants attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico has fallen sharply since the Biden administration implemented a new border policy in early June.

“The decline in encounters has come amid policy changes on both sides of the border,” the Pew Research Center said earlier this month.

“Authorities in Mexico have stepped up enforcement to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S. border. And U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in June that makes it much more difficult for migrants who enter the U.S. without legal permission to seek asylum and remain in the country.”

Salazar stressed that close cooperation between the United States and Mexico on security, migration and economic issues has continued since Sheinbaum was sworn in as president on Oct. 1. He highlighted that officials from both countries have met on several occasions in the past two weeks.

“In the meetings we’ve had with her cabinet, we’ve worked to advance security, … we’re working on energy, climate change, on the integration of our economies,” Salazar said.

“We’re creating the strongest power in the world in North America,” he added.

Salazar attended the United States-Mexico CEO Dialogue meeting on Tuesday at which Sheinbaum spoke, and returned to the National Palace for a meeting with high-ranking officials on Wednesday. The ambassador, and U.S. First Lady Jill Biden, also met with Sheinbaum the day before she was sworn in as president.

Sheinbaum sets new rules for the ambassador 

Sheinbaum said last Friday that the Foreign Affairs Ministry (SRE) will manage her government’s relationship with Salazar and the U.S. Embassy.

If the ambassador wants to speak about the USMCA with Mexico’s labor minister, for example, he will have to make the arrangement with the SRE, she said.

“A series of general guidelines were established because sometimes the ambassador got used to calling one minister, another minister, another minister,” Sheinbaum said.

“Now we told him: ‘If you want to touch on an issue with the energy minister because there are United States businesspeople interested in investing [in Mexico] … it’s through the Foreign Affairs Ministry,'” she said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente said that the new rules won’t limit interactions between U.S. and Mexican officials, but do create “a much more orderly and clear scheme in the complex [bilateral] agenda we have on multiple issues.”

Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente
Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente said the new guidelines will not limit contact between the U.S. ambassador and Mexican officials. (Andrea Murcia Monsivais/Cuartoscuro)

“… Clear rules, long friendships. Fundamentally, I believe that has been the message,” he said.

“… I’m sure that the relationship will continue being cordial, productive and very diverse,” de la Fuente said.

During the previous six-year period of government, Salazar met with López Obrador at the National Palace on numerous occasions.

Despite the ambassador’s declaration that the relationship between the United States and Mexico is “very good,” it doesn’t appear likely that he will be sitting down to one-on-one meetings with Sheinbaum on a regular basis.

Salazar, United States secretary of the interior during Barrack Obama’s first term as U.S. president, succeeded Christopher Landau as U.S. ambassador to Mexico in 2021.

The Mexico-US relationship at a glance

With reports from La Jornada, El Economista, El Financiero, Animal Político, Expansión and El País

Sheinbaum refuses judge’s order to withdraw judicial reform

By
MND Staff
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13
President Sheinbaum stands in front of a Mexican flag at her morning press conference
President Sheinbaum has argued that the 2024 reforms to Mexico's judicial branch will reduce corruption without compromising judicial independence. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that she won’t comply with a judge’s order to withdraw the publication of a decree that promulgated the government’s controversial judicial reform.

Nancy Juárez Salas, a federal district judge based in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, ordered Sheinbaum and the director of the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) to remove the decree published on Sept. 15, ruling that the government breached a provisional suspension order against publication.

Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador promulgated the judicial reform despite a court in Colima ruling against its publication in the government’s gazette.

In her ruling on Thursday, Juárez ordered Sheinbaum and DOF Director Alejandro López González to eliminate the published decree within 24 hours.

She warned that the failure to do so is punishable in accordance with a law that stipulates that a public official who fails to comply with an injunction can be sentenced to a prison term of up to nine years as well as fined and removed from office.

However, the Reforma newspaper reported that the Federal Attorney General’s Office didn’t proceed against officials who defied court orders during the presidency of López Obrador.

Judge Nancy Juárez Salas
Federal district judge Nancy Juárez Salas ordered Sheinbaum to reverse the publication of the judicial reform, saying that it was published in violation of a previous suspension order. (@mitoteroenredes_/X)

At her morning press conference on Friday, Sheinbaum said that the judge in Coatzacoalcos doesn’t have the authority to order the removal of the decree from the DOF.

She offered three reasons in support of her assertion:

  • “A judge is not above the people.”
  • “What she’s doing doesn’t have any legal basis.”
  • Mexico’s Congress — which approved the judicial reform in September — “ordered the then President Andrés Manuel López Obrador” to publish the decree.

“So we’re not going to take the publication down,” Sheinbaum said.

The judicial reform — the most controversial aspect of which is the provision allowing citizens to elect all judges in Mexico, including Supreme Court justices — will not be stopped by anyone, the president said.

“Not a male judge nor a female judge, nor eight Supreme Court justices can stop the will of the people of Mexico,” said Sheinbaum, who made it known before she was elected in June that she supported all of the constitutional reform proposals that López Obrador submitted to Congress in February.

The president also said that the government would file a complaint against Juárez with the Federal Judiciary Council (CJF).

Rulings against constitutional reforms are invalid, says president’s legal advisor  

Ernestina Godoy, legal counsel to the president, told Sheinbaum’s press conference that constitutional reforms that have been approved by Mexico’s Congress are “exempt” from judicial revision.

She highlighted that the Supreme Court, “in multiple opinions and rulings,” has “rejected” the notion that a constitutional reform can be reviewed in court.

“It’s extremely clear,” said Godoy, who served as attorney general of Mexico City while Sheinbaum was mayor of the capital.

Ernestina Godoy, legal counsel to the president, speaks at a podium with President Sheinbaum standing behind her
Ernestina Godoy, legal counsel to the president, said approved constitutional reforms are not subject to judicial revision. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)

Arturo Zaldívar, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court who is now an official in the Sheinbaum administration, also said that judges don’t have the authority to hand down rulings against constitutional reforms.

Godoy said that the CJF needs to review the conduct of district judges who are “defying the constitution” by handing down rulings against constitutional reforms.

Many of those judges could soon be without a job as the federal government intends to hold a first round of judicial elections in 2025.

Critics of the reform argue that judges sympathetic to the ruling Morena party’s legislative agenda could come to dominate the nation’s courts, effectively removing an important check on government power.

With reports from Animal Político, Reforma, El Financiero and Milenio 

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