UK ambassador Jon Benjamin was fired soon after the April assault rifle incident, according to the Financial Times. (Subdiplomatic/X)
The British ambassador to Mexico was reportedly fired earlier this year after he pointed an assault rifle at an embassy employee while on an official trip to Durango and Sinaloa.
“British Ambassador to Mexico, Jon Benjamin, points a semi automatic weapon at concerned Mexican staff member. In a context of daily killings in Mexico by drug dealers, he dares to joke,” says a message above the five-second clip.
Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported Friday that Benjamin lost his job “soon after the episode in April.”
The newspaper noted that Benjamin no longer appears as the ambassador to Mexico on the U.K. government website, with the former deputy head of mission, Rachel Brazier, now listed as the chargé d’affaires.
The Times said that “foreign officials visiting dangerous parts of Mexico typically travel with armed staff for protection.”
Thus, the weapon Benjamin pointed at an embassy employee likely belonged to security personnel protecting him as he toured northern Mexico, parts of which are notorious for cartel activity.
The U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said that it was aware of the incident and has taken “appropriate action.”
“Where internal issues do arise the FCDO has robust HR processes to address them,” the government department said.
The Financial Times said that Benjamin “remained a Commonwealth and Development Office employee after his removal as ambassador.”
Former U.K. ambassador to Mexico Jonathan Benjamin. (Government of the United Kingdom)
The British Embassy in Mexico City hasn’t publicly commented on the affair.
The Financial Times reported that the @subdiplomatic X account is “apparently controlled by employees of the embassy angry over mistreatment of local staff.”
One post says that the “British Embassy in Mexico has a history of hiding things to the public including how Jon Benjamin’s attitude of being ‘above everything’ has resulted in the systematic harassment of Mexican staff.”
Another post says that the embassy’s Mexican staff members are “terrified of speaking up about these injustices because internal whistleblowing tools are broken and favor British Diplomats.”
“They are afraid to lose their livelihoods if they speak up,” the post adds.
A @subdiplomatic post from last Monday says that the embassy is “apparently trying to cover [up] the [gun-pointing] scandal just a week ahead of the Mexican elections.”
On his LinkedIn page, Benjamin describes himself as a “diplomat of 38 years standing” and says he has been “part of the Foreign Office’s senior management since 2002.”
He previously served as U.K. ambassador to Chile and Ghana and before that had postings in Indonesia, Turkey and the United States.
Benjamin became British ambassador to Mexico in 2021 and frequently posted updates about his activities to social media.
“Entering Sinaloa, the 29th of Mexico’s 32 States I’ve visited so far,” he said in a LinkedIn post last month.
The Financial Times said that Benjamin didn’t immediately respond to its requests for comment on his dismissal and its circumstances. Posts to his X account are currently only visible to approved followers.
More than 10 times as many people have died from heat-related illness os far this year compared to last year. (Omar Martínez/Cuartoscuro)
As many parts of Mexico continued to swelter, the federal Health Ministry reported a sobering statistic this week: 61 people have died of heat-related illnesses so far this year, including more than 50 deaths in May.
The SMN predicts temperatures over 45 C for nearly half of Mexican states in coming days. (Gabriela Pérez Montiel/Cuartoscuro)
Heat-related deaths up over 1,000% compared to the same time last year
By late May last year, the Health Ministry had only registered five heat-related deaths across Mexico, meaning that this year’s death toll is currently up 1,120% in annual terms.
However, 2023 was by no means a mild year. There were three heat waves in Mexico last year, according to the SMN, the longest and deadliest of which occurred last June.
Mexico’s heat-related death toll soared to 421 by the end of the official “hot” season in October 2023. That figure was 10 times the number of heat-related deaths in 2022.
Which states have recorded the most heat fatalities this year?
The Health Ministry said that Veracruz has recorded the highest number of fatalities this year with 16.
Tabasco ranks second with 11, followed by San Luis Potosí (9), Tamaulipas (9), Oaxaca (4), Nuevo León (4) and Hidalgo (4).
Chiapas, Campeche, Guanajuato and Sonora have recorded one heat-related death each.
The Health Ministry also reported 1,346 recorded cases of heat-related illnesses so far this year. Just over 65% of those cases — 881 — were heat stroke, 32% of the total were dehydration and 2.5% were sunburn.
The case-fatality rate for heat-related illnesses in Mexico so far this year is 4.52%, the Health Ministry said.
Japan and Mexico may have more in common than you think, from UNESCO World Heritage Sites to earthquakes. (NASA/MND)
Japan and Mexico might not immediately seem to be very similar countries.
But as this piece by Bethany Platanella revealed, the two countries do have certain things in common, including a reverence for ancient grains — rice in Japan, corn in Mexico — and a penchant for public displays of religious devotion.
In this Japan and Mexico data comparison — the latest edition to our “Japan in Focus” and Mexico in Numbers series — you’ll see that the two countries have some other similarities, as well as some significant differences.
Population
Japan and Mexico currently have similarly-sized populations, but they are set to diverge in coming years.
Population of Japan
The Japanese government estimated in October 2023 that the population of Japan was 124.35 million, a reduction of 595,000 people or 0.48% compared to a year earlier.
The Japanese population has, in fact, been in decline for over a decade as the number of deaths exceeds the number of births.
Japan is home to the world’s biggest metropolis by population (Tokyo, with over 37 million people), but the country’s population has been declining for over a decade. (Wikimedia Commons)
In 2023, Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research said that the country’s population is “projected to decrease to 87 million in 2070,” a decline of 30% compared to the current level.
“According to the assumption of this revision, the total population will fall below 100 million in 2056, a delay of 3 years from the previous projection,” the institute said.
“The pace of population decline is expected to slow down slightly, mainly due to the increase in international migration,” it added.
On World Population Day last July, the National Population Council said that Mexico’s population “will continue growing slowly” in the coming decades before reaching a peak of 147 million in 2053.
Subsequently, “for the first time in history,” Mexico’s population will start to decline, the council said, adding that in 2070 the population is projected to be 141.4 million.
If the projections for Japan and Mexico are right, Mexico’s population will be 62% larger than that of Japan in 2070, whereas it is currently only about 5% bigger.
Area and other geographical data
In area, Mexico is more than five times larger than Japan.
Mexico’s territory covers 1.96 million square kilometers, making it the 13th largest country in the world, while the area of Japan is 377,975 square kilometers, making it the 61st largest country in the world.
Mexico is much larger in area than Japan, which is made up of four large islands and a total of over 14,000 smaller ones. (TheTrueSize.com)
While Mexico is divided into 32 states (including Mexico City), Japan has 47 prefectures including the Prefecture of Tokyo, the national capital.
Japan is made up of four main islands — Honshu,Kyushu, Hokkaido and Shikoku — as well as more than 14,000 smaller ones, most of which are uninhabited. The country’s fifth biggest island is Okinawa Main Island, located south of Kyushu in the East China Sea.
While Mexico can’t compete with Japan in an island-counting contest, it does have a significant number — more than 1,300.
Mexico’s largest inhabited island is Cozumel, located in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Playa del Carmen, but the country’s biggest island overall is Tiburón Island, located in the Gulf of California off the coast of Sonora.
Mount Fuji, a national symbol of Japan, is the country’s highest peak with a summit of 3,776 meters. Located on the island of Honshu, the active volcano commonly known as “Fuji-san” is two-thirds the height of Mexico’s highest mountain, Pico de Orizaba, an active stratovolcano on the Veracruz-Puebla border. Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl, has a summit of 5,636 meters.
The IMF estimates that the nominal GDP of Japan was US $4.21 trillion last year, making the Japanese economy about 2.35 times the size of the Mexican economy. Mexico’s nominal GDP was $1.79 trillion in 2023, according to the IMF.
Wealth, as measured on a per-person basis, is three times higher in Japan.
Per-capita GDP in Japan was US $34,017 in 2022, according to the World Bank, while the figure for Mexico was $11,496.
Earthquakes are common in Japan and Mexico, both of which are situated along the Ring of Fire, described by National Geographic as “a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.”
According to earthquakelist.org, which tallies earthquakes based on data from the U.S. Geological Survey as well as the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, there were 1,839 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or higher in Mexico, or within 300 kilometers of Mexico, in 2023.
Mexico thus ranked second for the total number of earthquakes last year behind Indonesia.
Japan ranked fifth with 903 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or higher.
In Mexico, the 2017 Chiapas earthquake, which measured 8.2 on the Richter scale and claimed around 100 lives, was probably the country’s most powerful quake since it became independent in the early 19th century.
However, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which killed at least 10,000 people, is Mexico’s deadliest temblor on record.
Almost 200 years before that tragedy, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.6 struck the territory now known as Mexico. The 1787 New Spain earthquake, which caused a tsunami, could thus be considered Mexico’s most powerful known earthquake.
The National Diet building in Tokyo. (Wikimedia Commons)
Mexico’s lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, has 500 seats, while Japan’s House of Representatives is slightly smaller with 465 seats.
Voters in Japan, like those in Mexico, elect representatives directly, and via a proportional representation system.
Mexico’s Senate has 128 seats while Japan’s upper house, the House of Councillors, has 248.
Thus Japan has a total of 713 federal lawmakers, 13.5% more than Mexico’s 628.
While Mexican presidents are limited to serving a single six-year term, there is no limit to the number of times a Japanese prime minister can be reelected. A single term for a Japanese prime minister lasts a maximum of four years.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Mexico has a total of 35 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 10 more than Japan.
Contrasting landscapes, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites: on the left, Mount Fuji in Japan, and on the right, the Pinacate desert in Mexico. (UNESCO)
Among Mexico’s UNESCO sites are the historic center of Mexico City, the Maya city of Chichén Itzá, the Pinacate Desert, the Luis Barragán house and studio in Mexico City and the whale sanctuary of El Vizcaíno in Baja California Sur.
Known as the seat of luxury living today, Los Cabos wasn't always the way it is now. (Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort)
To understand how much Los Cabos has changed, one must first understand its past. The name Los Cabos, for example, didn’t even exist before 1981, when a new municipality was carved out for Baja California Sur and dubbed according to the common appellation shared by its two most notable communities: Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. Cabo means “the cape” in Spanish, so the two fast-growing tourist destinations became “Los Cabos.”
Fast-growing, though, isn’t a strong enough word. Not only has there been massive growth in the local population in recent years – the population of Cabo San Lucas nearly tripled between 2010 and 2020, and is ten times more than in 1990 – but luxury hotel brands seemingly can’t build new resorts here fast enough. Four Seasons has built two new resorts here since 2019 and in the interim new properties have been opened for big-name hospitality brands like Ritz-Carlton, Waldorf Astoria, and Nobu. Soho House, St. Regis, Park Hyatt, and Aman are expected to open properties here within the next year.
Casa Fisher, the Carmen Fisher-owned guesthouse that was the first lodging in Los Cabos, circa 1957. (Howard E. Gulick, from the Baja California Collection of the University of California San Diego)
The average hotel room rate has risen to over $500 per night and guests at most hotels and resorts are treated to a level of indulgence far beyond what was typical in the smaller, less polished Los Cabos of 30 years ago. Hard as it may be to believe for first-time visitors, who take the chic accommodations and abundant amenities for granted, it wasn’t always like this. The unique brand of Los Cabos luxury that has now proven so attractive is the result of nearly 70 years of growth and evolution.
Hotel Palmilla and the birth of Los Cabos hospitality
One&Only Palmilla, the modern incarnation of Los Cabos’ most historic and influential resort. (One&Only Palmilla)
Before Abelardo “Rod” Rodríguez Jr. opened Hotel Palmilla (originally Las Cruces Palmilla and now One&Only Palmilla) in 1957, the only other lodging in the area was the small Casa Fisher guesthouse in central San José del Cabo. Rodríguez, the son of a former Mexican President, had something more ambitious in mind. His marriage to Hollywood actress Lucille Bremer had helped draw a celebrity clientele to their Rancho Las Cruces resort when it opened near La Paz in 1948. The formula worked for them at Palmilla, too. Soon after its opening, high-profile guests like Ernest Hemingway, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower were among those inhabiting Palmilla’s 15 rooms across 400 sprawling acres. This was the birth of Los Cabos’ reputation as an A-list getaway destination – even though tourism was still in its infancy. The transpeninsular highway wasn’t completed until 1973, and the Los Cabos International Airport didn’t open until 1977.
The Hotel Palmilla (whatever name it has been known by) has been the region’s benchmark property and a trendsetter throughout its history. The succeeding owner Don Koll convinced Jack Nicklaus to come to Los Cabos to build the area’s first world-class golf at Palmilla in the 1990s. This set the template that continues in Los Cabos to this day. Not only must the best resorts offer access to a golf course from a renowned designer to their guests, but golf courses have also become the centerpiece of every major residential real estate development in the area.
The man who defined luxury hospitality in Los Cabos
Los Cabos’ high-end resorts offer unique experiences, like Las Ventanas al Paraiso’s floating breakfasts. (Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort.)
One&Only Palmilla would also change the quality of cuisine in Los Cabos during the management heyday of the legendary managing hotel director Edward Steiner. Steiner was the first to elevate a Los Cabos resort to world-class status. However, that originally happened at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, which he oversaw beginning with its opening in 1997. A Los Angeles Times writer visiting the property a year later wondered, “This is Cabo?” The $475 per night price tag and the resort’s amazing service and amenities – validated by a AAA Five Diamond status – marked a sea change in the existing fishing-friendly, “party hearty” hospitality model.
Outshone for the first time in its history, the newly rebranded One&Only Palmilla hired away Steiner in 2003 and he remained with the resort until 2012. The expansion of rooms (to 174) took place on his watch, as did the unveiling of a 25,000-square-foot luxury spa to compete with the holistic spa at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, the first of its kind in the area. Spas, naturally, soon became a specialty at every Los Cabos luxury lodging, with an “arms race” to see who could build the biggest, and provide the most pampering treatments. Montage now holds the record for the former, with a 40,000-square-foot wellness center.
One&Only Palmila likewise upgraded its dining options, bringing in celebrated imported chefs like Charlie Trotter and Larbi Dahrouch; an example since followed, and responsible for the Michelin-star quality chefs now notable in present-day Los Cabos – from Martín Berasategui and Enrique Olvera to Sidney Schutte and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Steiner passed away in 2013, but his unique conception of luxury hospitality remains the standard by which all other regional hoteliers are judged. More importantly, by proving that Los Cabos could support a discerning luxury clientele, he laid the foundation for all the high-end hotel brands that would follow.
Barefoot luxury and the value of location and one-of-a-kind experiences
Resort dining at El Farallon, encompassing the modern ethos of beachfront locations and world class eating, that has helped propel Los Cabos to among the world’s most luxurious destinations. (Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal)
Ocean views, beachfront access, pampering spas, swimming pools, and exceptional cuisine became the formula for all new hotels and resorts in Los Cabos – with world-class golf access also a must. However, the “only in Cabo” style barefoot luxury pioneered at Las Ventanas al Paraiso and One&only Palmilla wasn’t just about beautiful beaches and pampering service. It was also about special experiences. As Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, has noted of how the conception of luxury has evolved locally: “Luxury is to wake up and see a whale jumping out from the ocean right in front of you, or sleeping under a sky full of stars with shapes and lights you have never seen before, or savoring a dish of freshly caught fish, offered in the most kind, unique type of hospitality you’ve ever enjoyed before.
Leveraging Los Cabos’ spectacular blend of mountain, desert, and ocean scenery, and its location-specific charms – including marlin fishing, off-road explorations, and bucket list activities like whale watching – has, over time, been integrated into a type of resort experience that is necessarily different than that offered at any other destination. Las Ventanas al Paraiso, not surprisingly, is still a leader in this area, with curated experiences focused on romance and gastronomy. But it has plenty of competition. Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas has curated experiences, as do One&Only Palmilla, Esperanza, and every other upscale property worth its salt-rimmed, pool butler-delivered margaritas.
In 2024, it’s no longer a question of whether guests prefer vacation pampering or an unforgettable adventure. They can have both, from spas as decadent as those enjoyed by Roman emperors to curated desert helicopter expeditions and private yacht excursions. Los Cabos’ best resorts have mastered an elevated approach to personalized and location-specific luxury that legendary figures like Rodriguez, Bremer, Koll, and Steiner would undoubtedly have approved. They helped to create the blueprint, after all.
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.
On Thursday, Mexico's Ninth Naval Region received an emergency call alerting them to the presence of two boats near Isla Mujeres. (@SEMAR_mx/X)
Navy personnel on Thursday rescued 51 migrants in two hand-crafted wooden boats in waters about 4 nautical miles (7 kilometers) north of Isla Mujeres, just off the coast of the state of Quintana Roo.
The Navy Ministry (SEMAR) said its headquarters in the Ninth Naval Region received an emergency call alerting them to the presence of the two boats. The Ninth Region functions as a Coast Guard and is based out of Isla Mujeres.
The migrants rescued by Navy personnel were traveling in two hand-crafted wooden boats in waters about 4 nautical miles north of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. (SEMAR)
Navy ships intercepted the boats, reported the newspaper La Jornada Maya, and pulled the migrants aboard, acting to “safeguard their lives.” The migrants were treated by Navy medics and, upon being taken to land at Puerto Juárez, were turned over to immigration (INM) authorities.
SEMAR did not reveal if the migrants themselves had made the emergency call, or if it came from a third party. The nationalities of the migrants have not been reported, nor is it clear from which country they had embarked or how long they had been traveling.
Upon determining that the overcrowded boat appeared to be in poor condition, the cruise ship executed a rescue and delivered the migrants to the INM offices in Cozumel.
Cozumel is an island off the coast of Quintana Roo about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Isla Mujeres.
In the latter case, the 28 migrants — 18 men, nine women and one unaccompanied minor — were identified as Cubans. The INM provided the migrants with medical treatment before transporting them to Cancún where the adults were provided shelter while their immigration status was resolved. The unaccompanied minor was turned over to Family Protection Services (DIF), also in Cancún.
The arrival of undocumented migrants in Mexico rose significantly last year, surpassing by 77% the numbers recorded in 2022, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The Tourism Ministry reported this week that employment in Mexico's tourism sector increased 3.3% annually in the first quarter of 2024. (Martín Zetina/Cuartoscuro)
According to the latest employment statistics, Mexico’s tourism sector has seen impressive job growth since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global travel industry in 2020.
The Tourism Ministry (Sectur) reported this week that 4,831,000 people held jobs in the tourism sector during the first quarter of 2024: a 7.7% increase over the then-record number of people employed in tourism during the first quarter of 2020. This figure represents 9% of all employment in Mexico during the first three months of the year, Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco Marqués noted.
The tourism sector continues to boost the Mexican economy, with revenues reaching new heights in 2023. (Martín Zetina/Cuartoscuro)
In real numbers, 344,009 more people were employed in the tourism sector during the first three months of this year than were in January-March 2020.
The increase in tourism-industry jobs comes in the context of a steady post-pandemic rebound of international travel to Mexico. More than 42 million international tourists visited Mexico in 2023, a 10% increase over the number of international travelers who arrived in the country in 2022.
Oarfish are a rare sight, as they typically range only in the deep sea. (Pisces Sportfishing Fleet/Facebook)
On Tuesday, sports fishermen in Mexico’s Gulf of California caught a 3-meter-long oarfish, typically found only in deep waters. The creature’s sighting has sparked fascination in nearby communities, as it has a history of association with natural disasters and bad omens.
The oarfish was under attack by five sharks, according to the fishermen, when they spotted it off the coast of Cabo San Lucas. The 141-pound fish was snatched from the sharks by Tony Frasconi, who was fishing with friends identified as Ken and Gary.
Marine biologists took the specimen for further study.
The oarfish family includes three species of elongated fish found in temperate and tropical ocean zones, though they are not usually seen by humans, as they typically range only in the deep sea. Encounters with oarfish likely gave rise to tales of monstrous sea serpents over the centuries, though they are not dangerous to humans. Scientists believe that an oarfish sighting near the ocean’s surface indicates the creature is sick, dying or disoriented.
So far this year, two oarfish have washed up on the coasts of Baja California Sur. The first was spotted in mid-April, and the most recent was in early May in El Sargento. An oarfish was also spotted in the waters of Baja California Sur in July 2020, off the coast of La Paz.
Oarfish can be very large, with a ribbon-shaped body that resembles a snake more than a fish. The maximum reported length of the regalecus russelii species (reportedly the one found by the fishermen this week) is 5.4 meters, though the giant oarfish species can be as long as 17 meters.
The giant oarfish is considered the longest bony fish alive, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Some cultures around the world associate oarfish with natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones and hurricanes, which has earned the animal the nickname “earthquake fish” or “doomsday fish.”
While sightings have coincided with these phenomena in various regions of the world, scientists have not found evidence to determine a relationship between oarfish sightings and subsequent natural disasters.
Oarfish inhabit the Pacific Ocean, with recorded sightings in Japan, the United States and Mexico.
Why is this cat annoyed by a tin can? Find out with our guide to Mexican slang!
Deja de dar lata, en lugar de echarte una pestañita ¡pónte las pilas y aprende español! (Stop giving cans and instead of throwing an eyelash, put in your batteries and learn Spanish). Whaaaaat?
This doesn’t make any sense, right? Well, in Spanish it does.
Just as you do, we have idioms and slang phrases that help communicate our feelings and states in a more accurate way. As humans, we are always searching for new words that can describe us better, even if that means not making sense at all. That’s why languages are so fun to learn!
So today, we are going to learn 3 expressions for three different states: being sleepy, being annoyed by someone or you being that person who annoys others, and to get motivated and start working hard.
What do batteries have to do with working hard? (Ganfeng Lithium)
Echar una pestañita
Explanation: “Echar una pestañita” is a colloquial phrase that means to take a short nap or a quick rest. It literally translates to throwing an eyelash, though the word “pestañita” refers to a little blink, metaphorically representing a brief sleep.
English Equivalent: “To take a catnap”
Examples in Context:
Me voy a echar una pestañita para recuperar energías.
I’m going to take a catnap to recharge my energy.
Estaba muy cansado en la oficina, así que decidí echar una pestañita en mi descanso.
I was very tired at the office, so I decided to take a catnap during my break.
Me eché una pestañita antes de seguir trabajando.
I took a catnap before continuing working.
Dar lata
Explanation: “Dar lata” is used to describe someone who is being annoying or bothersome. It literally translates to “give a tin can” but is understood as causing inconvenience or disturbance.
English Equivalent: “To be a nuisance”
Examples in Context:
¡Ya deja de dar lata!
Stop being a nuisance.
Hola Lupita, perdón que te dé lata a esta hora, pero de casualidad viste mis llaves, las traigo perdidas.
Hello Lupita, sorry to be a nuisance/bother you this late, but did you see my keys by any chance? I’ve lost them.
Ese perro no deja de dar lata ladrando toda la noche.
That dog won’t stop being a nuisance, barking all night long.
Explanation: “Ponerse las pilas” means to get one’s act together or to get motivated and start working hard. The phrase conjures the image of putting in fresh batteries to become more energetic or efficient.
English Equivalent: “To get one’s act together”
Examples in Context:
Si quieres pasar el examen, tienes que ponerte las pilas y estudiar todos los días.
If you want to pass the exam, you need to get your act together and study every day.
Ya me tengo que poner las pilas.
I have to get my act together.
Tienes que ponerte las pilas si quieres mejorar tu condición física.
You need to get your act together if you want to improve your physical condition.
So now you now how to “echarte una pestañita,” “dar lata,” and “ponerte las pilas” in Spanish! Have fun trying them out next time you’re having a conversation.
Paulina Gerez is a translator-interpreter, content creator, and founder of Crack The Code, a series of online courses focused on languages. Through her social media, she helps people see learning a language from another perspective through her fun experiences. Instagram: paulinagerezm / Tiktok: paugerez3 / YT: paulina gerez
An avocado processing plant in Jalisco. Avocado production has become a big business in Mexico, with both domestic consumption and export demand having shot up in the last 20 years. (Fernando Carranza García/Cuartoscuro)
Avocado exports have been spiking, and the amount of land farmers are using to cultivate the fruit — known as “green gold” — has expanded dramatically in the past four decades. A recent study conducted by economists at BBVA bank found that the amount of land used for avocado farming in Mexico more than tripled over a 40-year period.
BBVA Research also reported that avocados have become one of Mexico’s principal commodities for export and domestic consumption. It found that in 2003, avocado farmers across the country earned 22 billion pesos (about US $2 billion back then), whereas in 2022, avocado sales surpassed 66 billion pesos (about US $3.9 billion).
Avocado production by Mexican farmers has grown between 2003 and 2022 from around 900,000 tonnes to over 2.5 million in 2022. One can also track the increasing share of the nation’s avocado production belonging to states like Jalisco and México state. (BBVA Research/Mexico News Daily)
The study illustrates how the avocado has gained increasing relevance in Mexico’s economy by examining the total area used for avocado farming in Mexico, as well as figures for production, sales and exports.
The BBVA Research team found that in 2020, there were 241,100 hectares (596,000 acres) dedicated to avocado production, 268.6% more than in 1980, when that number was just 65,400 hectares (161,600 acres). In 2003, 93,500 hectares (231,000 acres) were devoted to avocado farming in Mexico.
As a result, avocado production increased from just over 907,000 tonnes in 2000 to more than 2.5 million tonnes in 2022. Much of this increase was driven by exports, which grew from 89,300 tonnes in 2000 to just over 1.2 million tons in 2021.
The BBVA economists noted that “although the domestic market continues to consume more than half of the avocados produced, the export market has grown from just 9.8% in 2000 to 41% in 2022.”
That increase by 31.2 percentage points is remarkable when taking into account that domestic consumption also grew by 83% (from 818,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes) during that same period.
Over the last two decades, the number of hectares of land on which avocados were harvested in Mexico increased by nearly 170% between 2003 and 2022. Between 1980 and 2020, the overall percent increase in land use for avocado farming has been nearly 270%.
Avocado sales peaked in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, bringing in 74.6 billion pesos (US $4.4 billion).
The BBVA report also broke down revenues by state, with Michoacán and Jalisco leading the way — not surprising given that these are the only two states in Mexico authorized by U.S. officials to export to the United States, which is by far the biggest importer of Mexican avocados.
83% of the country’s avocado exports go to Mexico’s northern neighbor.
Avocado farming: a recipe for environmental damage?
The increase in land in Mexico used for avocado farming has caused concern for a number of reasons.
In February, six U.S. senators raised concerns about Mexican avocados farmed on illegally deforested land, urging the U.S. government to work with Mexico “to prevent the sale of avocados grown on illegally deforested lands to American consumers.” A November 2023 report by the U.S. nonprofit Climate Rights International documented how forests in Mexico are being illegally cleared in Jalisco and Michoacán to make way for avocado farming, producing avocados that end up exported to the U.S.
Avocado farming is also becoming a water issue in Mexico: last month, Indigenous villagers living alongside Lake Zirahuén in Michoacán dismantled illegal pumping equipment that was siphoning water from the lake to irrigate nearby avocado farms.
The incident occurred just weeks after local and federal authorities had established a joint operation to halt illegal pumping from Lake Pátzcuaro.
Leading presidential candidates Xóchitl Gálvez (PAN-PRI-PRD), left, and Claudia Sheinbaum (Morena-PT-PVEM) both held large events to close their campaigns on Wednesday night. The third candidate, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, also held a closing concert event in Mexico City. (Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s three presidential candidates held their final campaign events on Wednesday, four days before millions of Mexicans go to to the polls to elect a successor to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Claudia Sheinbaum, the ruling Morena party candidate and the clear frontrunner, drew more than half a million people to Mexico City’s main square, the Zócalo, for her cierre de campaña, or campaign closure, according to the Mexico City government.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s event in the Zócalo of Mexico City was reportedly attended by over 500,000 people. (Cuartoscuro)
Her main rival, Xóchitl Gálvez of the three-party Strength and Heart for Mexico opposition bloc, made her final campaign address in her home town of Tepatepec, Hidalgo, but before that she spoke in front of more than 20,000 people at a packed Arena Monterrey in the capital of the northern border state of Nuevo León.
The third candidate, Jorge Álvarez Máynez of the Citizens Movement party, closed his campaign with a music festival-style event at a Mexico City concert venue.
The three candidates criss-crossed Mexico during the almost three-month-long official campaign period, holding countless events in every state of the country and facing off against each other in three debates replete with accusations and personal attacks.
Campaigning is prohibited on the final three days before Mexicans cast votes to elect a new president — most likely a woman for the first time ever — and thousands of other federal, state and municipal representatives.
The three presidential candidates closed their campaigns on Wednesday. Polls show Claudia Sheinbaum (left) has a commanding lead over both Xóchitl Gálvez (right) and Jorge Álvarez Máynez (center). (Cuartoscuro)
Sheinbaum pledges to continue and strengthen the ‘transformation’ of Mexico
In a 40-minute speech from a stage set up in front of Mexico’s National Palace, Sheinbaum declared that López Obrador — her political mentor and close ally — has “laid the foundations and the first story” of the so-called “fourth transformation” of Mexico, but asserted that a “consolidation” of “this true change” is still required.
“That’s why I’ve made the call to build — together — the second story of the fourth transformation of public life in Mexico,” she said.
Sheinbaum, mayor of the capital for five years before officially becoming the leader of the “fourth transformation” political project last September, also pledged to “protect the legacy” of López Obrador, whose six-year term has been defined by the implementation of social programs aimed at benefiting Mexico’s most disadvantaged people, the construction of various large-scale infrastructure projects, the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, record high levels of violence, and, of course, many other things.
“The transformation will continue moving forward and, for the first time in the 200 years of the republic, women will reach the highest honor that our people can give us: the presidency of Mexico. I use the plural because I’m not arriving [to the presidency] on my own, all women are arriving,” she said.
Claudia Sheinbaum (center) was joined by other Morena politicians at the campaign closing event, including Mexico City mayoral candidate Clara Brugada (to the left of Sheinbaum). (Cuartoscuro)
She pledged that her government would be “honest” and “austere,” that it will never be subjugated by any “economic or foreign power,” that it will guarantee people’s “freedoms,” that it will deliver “all” the current social programs and that it will ensure that increases to the minimum wage always outpace inflation.
Among her other commitments, the Morena party candidate said her administration would “strengthen” the “strategic” infrastructure projects carried out by the current government, such as the Maya Train railroad and the Olmeca Refinery, “promote energy sovereignty” and “deepen the strategy of peace and security.”
Gálvez promises to combat crime and to be Mexico’s ‘bravest president’
“There will be no greater priority in my government than your security and the security of your families, your daughters and your sons,” declared Xóchitl Gálvez during her campaign event in Monterrey.
Throughout her campaign, the PAN-PRI-PRD candidate has stressed that a government she leads will implement a tough-on-crime security strategy, and asserted that López Obrador’s so-called “hugs, not bullets” approach to combating violent crime has been a failure.
“You will have the bravest president, who does confront crime,” Gálvez told supporters at Arena Monterrey, a sports and concert venue in the Nuevo León capital.
Xóchitl Gálvez (center left) stood with family members on stage at her final campaign event in her hometown of Tepatepec, Hidalgo. (Cuartoscuro)
Her decision to hold her final major campaign event in Monterrey appeared to be aimed at winning back votes from Citizens Movement (MC), which holds the city’s mayorship and the governorship of Nuevo León.
Gálvez repeatedly criticized MC during her address on Wednesday, and some of the proposals she outlined were squarely aimed at voters in Nuevo León, such as a plan to close the Pemex refinery in the municipality of Cadereyta Jiménez to ensure residents of the northern state have clean air.
The former senator is trailing Sheinbaum by 20 points or more in several major polls, but she asserted that “they’re scared to death in the National Palace” — the seat of executive power and López Obrador’s residence — because she’s going to win.
“They’re shaking in their boots because they know there are more of us good people and we’re fed up,” said Gálvez, who was joined on stage by Monterrey mayoral candidate Adrián de la Garza.
“We’ve grown tired of their lies, of so much death, of so much injustice,” she added.
Xóchitl Gálvez promised to be the “bravest” president of Mexico at her campaign closure event in front of over 20,000 supporters in Monterrey, Nuevo León. (Cuartoscuro)
“Be assured: God is with us, have faith. If God is with me, who is against me? Long live Mexico!” Gálvez concluded before taking a flight to Hidalgo to attend a much smaller cierre de campaña in her birthplace.
“In front of us we have a false idol with feet of clay, who thinks he’s invincible,” she said at that event, referring to López Obrador.
“But like all false idols, he’s condemned to fall,” Gálvez said.
Máynez: ‘It’s not that we’re not interested in politics, but that we’re not interested in their politics’
Jorge Álvarez Máynez — commonly known by his second surname only — held an exuberant event at the BlackBerry auditorium in Mexico City — with beer, live music and marijuana smoke perfuming the air.
The 38-year-old candidate courted the youth vote during the campaign, and there is evidence his strategy was somewhat successful as he finished well above Gálvez, albeit well below Sheinbaum, in a large mock election held across university campuses in Mexico.
On Wednesday — exactly one week after nine people were killed in an accident at an MC event he attended in Nuevo León — Máynez asserted that he and his supporters have showed Mexico’s old political parties and officials that “it’s not that we’re not interested in politics, but that we’re not interested in their politics.”
Jorge Álvarez Máynez (MC) at his closing event in Mexico City on Wednesday, which was dubbed the “Máynez Capital Fest.” (Cuartoscuro)
The MC candidate, a former federal deputy who is in a distant third place in the polls, told some 3,000 attendees of the “Máynez Capital Fest” that “the country will change” under his leadership.
“Never again are we going to have a young person in jail for smoking marijuana or a woman in jail for making a decision about her own body,” Máynez said during a relatively brief speech.
Accompanied by MC’s Mexico City mayoral candidate Salomón Chertorivski, Máynez also pledged to fight for people’s right to adequate housing.
Among the candidate’s other commitments are to increase the minimum salary to 10,000 pesos (US $590) per month, shorten the standard working week to 40 hours and provide students with free access to “concerts, books, artistic shows, theater and dance” performances.
