Wikifarmer is urging Mexican farmers, as well as farmers worldwide, to take its survey. (Universidad Latina de América)
Wikifarmer, the global open-access agricultural knowledge platform, has launched a worldwide farmer survey, calling on the world’s agricultural producers to share their experiences and shape a major global data-driven report on the realities of farming today.
The survey provides an unusual chance for farmers in agriculturally, economically, environmentally and culturally diverse nations to share on-the-ground, region-specific information on more human-related farming issues, such as the impact on farmers of fluctuating market access, climate change and a rapidly changing farming technology landscape.
The wide diversity of Mexican farming
Wikifarmer’s survey will help assess the effects of climate change on farmers and provide more regionally specific data. (Gobierno de Mexico)
From small-scale maize and bean producers to large horticultural operations powering export markets, Mexico’s agricultural landscape is incredibly diverse — and so are the challenges.Issues such as water scarcity, rising input costs, pricing changes and extreme weather events affect Mexico’s widely varied regions differently.
Unlike many global reports on farming — which end up treating countries as monolithic entities — the Global Farmer Survey aims to collect real insights from producers around the world — including the regional-specific information often missing from international datasets. The platform is especially encouraging participation from Mexico to ensure the country’s diverse agricultural realities are represented.
The survey also provides a way for producers to showcase the innovation happening across Mexico’s farms— from drip-irrigation in arid zones to regenerative soil practices and advanced greenhouse systems. Wikifarmer believes that including success storieslike these in its global dataset ensures that future international agricultural discussions will better reflect the country’singenuity, resilience and day-to-day realitiesof farming in Mexico.
In order to encourage busy farmers to participate, the survey is quick — under 3 minutes— and fully anonymous. Participants can alsoenter a prize drawing for US $1,000 in agricultural inputs — redeemable at a certified supply store in the winner’s region and enter to win one of 10 chances at a free online course from the Wikifarmer Academy online platform.
What the survey asks — and why it matters
The Wikifarmer survey is anonymous to take and participants are eligible for a prize drawing. (Fundación Carlos Slim)
The survey explores key issues shaping farmers’ daily lives, including:
Production challenges
Climate pressures
Market access and pricing
Mental health and well-being
Tools, technology, and resource needs
Wikifarmer will use the anonymous data to identify global and regional patterns to inform future guides, reports and educational resources.
These findings, Wikifarmer says, will help farmers, policymakers and agricultural innovators better understand what producers actually need.
“Help strengthen global agricultural knowledge,” Wikifarmer said in a recent press release on the survey targeting Mexican farmers, “starting with your story.”
Irena Vélez is a journalist at Wikifarmer, based in Seville, Spain. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism (Honours) from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and reports on a range of topics, including agriculture, sustainability, and agribusiness.
Even if the home seller finds a buyer in Mexico, real estate agents still earn a commission. (CDR San Miguel)
It happens more often than people imagine. Your home is on the market with a standard listing agreement, usually for a 6% commission split between the listing real estate agent and the buyer’s agent. Then, unexpectedly, you find a buyer yourself. Maybe it’s a friend of a friend, a neighbor’s cousin, or someone who happened to walk by your property and knocked on the door after seeing a for sale sign. The buyer wants the house and you want to sell it. So you tell your listing agent. That’s when some sellers feel a sudden jolt of frustration: why does the listing agent still want a 5% commission?
On the surface, it may seem unfair. If the real estate agent didn’t bring the buyer, why should they receive anything close to the full fee? But in Mexico’s real estate system, the answer has less to do with who found the buyer and everything to do with the structure of the transaction, the legal responsibilities involved and the significant amount of professional work that follows the moment an interested buyer appears.
How selling your home works in Mexico
Real estate agents still do plenty of work and take on plenty of risk, even when home sellers find their own buyers. (CDR San Miguel)
This is not an issue of an agent collecting a fee for doing nothing. It is an issue of the agent stepping into the role of both the seller’s representative and the buyer’s representative at the same time. That remaining 5% is the fee that covers both sides of the transaction, along with all the legal and logistical responsibilities that come with it.
The starting point is understanding how listing agreements work in Mexico. Most professional real estate agencies use an exclusive right-to-sell contract. This type of agreement, widely used across the country, states that the agent is owed a commission regardless of who finds the buyer. The reasoning is simple: the listing agent invests in photography, marketing, online syndication, signage, professional networks and MLS exposure. They are also the person responsible for coordinating the transaction from the moment a buyer appears until the closing is complete.
In an ordinary transaction, where another agent brings in the buyer, the 6% commission is split — typically 3% to the listing agent and 3% to the buyer’s agent. But when the seller finds the buyer, the agent often reduces the fee to 5%. That reduction reflects savings from not having to split the commission; it is not a penalty or a bonus. It is simply the amount required to cover both sides of the transaction.
All the work that goes into facilitating the sale
What many sellers don’t realize is that finding the buyer is only a small part of the process. Most of the work — and the bulk of the responsibility — begins after a buyer is identified. At that point, the listing agent steps fully into the role of the seller’s representative, managing the transaction from beginning to end. This includes verifying documents, coordinating with attorneys and the notary, negotiating terms, ensuring compliance with anti-money-laundering rules, handling escrow and making sure all deadlines are met.
On the seller’s side alone, the agent performs extensive work. Before an offer even appears, the listing agent is responsible for pricing strategy, creating a competitive market analysis, arranging professional photography, writing the property description, uploading the listing to the MLS, coordinating showings, filtering inquiries, providing feedback from potential buyers and marketing the property across various platforms. These steps require time, expertise and often out-of-pocket expenses.
Once the seller has a buyer, the responsibilities intensify. The agent drafts or reviews the offer, advises the seller on the terms, negotiates on their behalf, verifies documents such as the deed, water account history, property taxes, Homeowners Association (HOA) statements, and cadastral information, and coordinates with the lead attorney. The agent verifies the buyer’s funds, opens escrow accurately and makes sure all contract terms are clearly understood and fulfilled.
Listing agents earn their 5% commission by representing both buyer and seller. (CDR San Miguel)
This agent guides both parties through signing the promise of sale, oversees compliance with consequences clauses and prepares the seller for closing at the notary’s office. Even after closing, the agent often assists with the handover of the property, final utility readings and inventory checks.
Your agent also represents the buyer
But when the seller brings the buyer, the listing agent must also step into the shoes of the buyer’s agent. This can be an even more demanding set of responsibilities. The agent must educate the buyer about the purchase process in Mexico, explain closing costs and taxes, coordinate inspections or surveys, guide them through escrow procedures and ensure the buyer understands deadlines, penalties and documentation requirements. Agents must also help the buyer with issues such as obtaining an RFC, setting up a fideicomiso (if the buyer is a foreigner purchasing in the restricted zone) and provide access to the property for any necessary visits.
The agent must keep both sides aligned, informed and on schedule. That’s who is responsible for avoiding misunderstandings, documenting everything in writing and ensuring that no step is missed. If a mistake is made during this process — such as an incomplete document, a missed payment deadline or inaccurately drafted escrow instructions — the consequences can be significant, both legally and financially.
The notary public oversees the legal validity of the closing, but the notary does not act as a transaction manager, negotiator or representative for either side. That role falls entirely on the listing agent when no buyer’s agent is present.
Liability of the listing agent
It is also important to recognize the level of liability the agent assumes. The listing agent is accountable for the accuracy of the listing, the integrity of the process, all communication with attorneys and the notary, and the handling of all contractual deadlines. If something goes wrong, the agent is the one expected to provide explanations, corrections and solutions. The commission is not only payment for service. It’s also payment for risk.
Some sellers, understandably, feel that finding the buyer should reduce the agent’s fee even further. Considering workload and responsibility, the 5% commission is a discount versus the standard model. In the traditional 6% arrangement, the listing agent receives only 3%. In the “seller brings the buyer” scenario, the agent receives 5% but absorbs the workload of both sides. The fee is proportionate to the services provided.
The commission fee doesn’t come from finding the buyer, but from facilitating all aspects of the transaction. (CDR San Miguel)
Removing the agent from the transaction altogether introduces serious risk. Many complications that arise during closing are not obvious to someone unfamiliar with Mexican real estate practices: missing municipal documents, unpaid water accounts, incorrectly registered additions to the property, mismatched identification numbers or a buyer who underestimates the cost of closing. These issues can stall a transaction or put the seller in legal jeopardy. A professional agent prevents these problems or resolves them quickly when they arise.
What the commission fee really covers
Ultimately, the 5% commission is not a fee for “finding the buyer.” It is the fee that covers the full representation of both parties, from negotiation to legal coordination to closing. It ensures a smooth, secure and professionally managed transaction that protects the seller’s interests and guides the buyer through a complex process. When viewed in that context, the commission is not only justified — it is essential to a safe and successful sale.
Glenn Rotton is a real estate agent with eight years of experience in San Miguel de Allende. Originally from Seattle, he has lived in Mexico for twelve years with his husband, Kiang Chong Ovalle, and their dog, Angus. Read more about Glenn here.
President Sheinbaum suggested expanding the USMCA free trade bloc south on Thursday, shortly after U.S. President Trump mused about letting the pact dissolve. (Mario Jasso / Cuartoscuro.com)
At her Thursday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about her imminent trip to Washington, D.C., her first journey to the United States since she was sworn in as Mexico’s first female leader just over 14 month ago.
The main purpose of her trip is to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw, but she said on Thursday that she may get the opportunity to speak about trade with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump didn’t write the whole deal, but USMCA exists because his administration pushed to renegotiate NAFTA. Talks began at his insistence, and the final agreement was signed in 2018. So Trump basically called himself stupid. 🤦♀️ pic.twitter.com/ibzxtRuHaS
Sheinbaum also told reporters that she is confident that the USMCA will endure, even after Trump said on Wednesday that the United States “will either let [the trade pact] expire” next year “or maybe work out another deal with Mexico and Canada.”
“We’re going to use a Ministry of National Defense plane,” she said, explaining that she didn’t have time to take commercial flights because of her schedule.
“We’ll sleep in a hotel in Washington, tomorrow we’ll go to the event at the Kennedy Center,” Sheinbaum said.
She said that “everything seems to indicate” that she will have a brief meeting with Trump and Canadian Prime Minister during the event at which the World Cup draw will take place. Sheinbaum said she could raise trade issues with Trump, who has imposed tariffs on a range of imports from Mexico this year.
At the World Cup draw event, Sheinbaum suggested she will be on stage for just four minutes while it is determined which group Mexico will be in at next year’s tournament, which will be co-hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada.
When a reporter erroneously asked her whether she was excited to participate in the FIFA “tournament” — rather than the draw — the president quickly pointed out that she wouldn’t be taking the field as a player.
She subsequently recalled that she played soccer when she was a primary school and middle-school student.
“I did ballet, that was my main physical activity, but I always liked sport,” Sheinbaum said.
She told reporters that after the World Cup draw she would meet with U.S.-based Mexicans at an undisclosed location.
The “fourth transformation,” or 4T — as the Morena party political project is known — officially began when former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office on Dec. 1, 2018.
Sheinbaum advocates the creation of a larger trade bloc in the Americas
Turning her focus to the USMCA, which will undergo a formal review process in 2026, Sheinbaum said that the North American free trade pact is “very important for the three countries” — Mexico, the United States and Canada.
“It’s the guarantee of the competitiveness of this region of the world in relation to the entire world,” she said.
Sheinbaum added that “our objective” has always been to expand the USMCA “toward the south” — i.e. bring Central American and South American countries into the free trade bloc.
The Americas would thus have “enormous strength” and be in a better position to compete with Asia and Europe, she said.
Asked whether she had a message for the companies that rely on the USMCA, Sheinbaum expressed confidence that Mexico will achieve a good outcome from the review of the trade pact.
“The three countries need each other,” she said.
“The United States depends on Mexico a lot, and on the Mexicans there as well,” she said.
“… The economic integration of the three countries is enormous, and particularly that of Mexico and the United States. So removing that integration would cause a lot of problems for the United States and also for Mexico. Staying together is very important for the region, for our people and for our nations,” Sheinbaum said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
Fires provoked by the ongoing cartel wars have left burnt-out tree trunks where forests once stood in the Sierra Madre Occidental.
(Miriam Ramírez/ on X)
The internecine cartel conflict that has turned large swaths of the state of Sinaloa into a war zone has taken a lasting toll on the forests in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in northwestern Mexico.
Para esta investigación se analizaron 7,397 incendios registrados por Conafor y más de 240 mil alertas emitidas por @globalforests en 24 municipios de la Sierra Madre Occidental. Ambas fuentes coinciden: en el 1er semestre de 2025 se rompió la tendencia de la última década. pic.twitter.com/LHEA7dZHxx
Not only are the forests that span the states of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua states permeated with landmines and improvised explosive devices, but several of the fires erupted after armed clashes and drone attacks deep in the mountains.
During the first half of this year, more than 281,000 hectares of forest burned in the region, more than twice the amount that burned all of last year when 130,000 hectares were destroyed.
By early June, 62 forest fires had been recorded in Sinaloa, 15 more than had occurred during all of 2024, according to the newspaper Noroeste. At the time, only four other states had more acreage affected by fire.
Ramírez’s report analyzed official fire data from the 24 municipalities in the Sierra Madre Occidental between 2015 and June 2025 and found that all three states surpassed previous annual records during the first six months of this year.
In Chihuahua, fire damage climbed from 508 hectares in 2015 to more than 67,000 in 2025, while in Durango and Sinaloa, the damage was even greater.
Durango increased from 463 hectares of fire damage in 2015 to more than 111,000 in 2025, while Sinaloa went from 416 hectares burned to more than 102,000 in the same period.
Even more disturbing, the escalation of violence changed fire patterns.
Between September 2024 and February 2025, the most intense period of the armed conflict, the number of reported fires spiked. An examination of Global Forest Watch fire alerts (fires detected by satellite imagery) showed atypical behavior, occurring during unusually cold months.
Although the fires in Sinaloa were not more numerous, they were far more destructive and the burned area grew precisely in the territories criss-crossed by clashes between the rival gangs.
Habitantes reportan incendios que iniciaron tras enfrentamientos y ataques con drones en lo profundo del bosque. La magnitud del desastre forestal contrasta con el resto del país. pic.twitter.com/F200YcviTW
A forest fire burns in May in southern Sinaloa. Multiple fires burned that month in the mountains around the municipality of Concordia, but firefighting efforts were limited by the presence of landmines.
The 64 fires recorded in the January-June period this year, consumed more than 102,000 hectares.
The devastation was made worse by an ongoing drought in the region that has left the forests dry and vulnerable. Other contributing factors, the report indicates, are budget cuts to the National Forestry Commission (Conafor) and local governments, as well as a reduction of prevention and reforestation programs.
Local communities — destabilized economically by the warring factions — were incapable of battling the blazes even as women and children joined the firefighting efforts.
In Chihuahua, residents say armed men set fires as a strategy to displace communities and seize forest resources, especially timber, as organized crime sought ways to raise funds since some of their criminal enterprises were disrupted by the cartel civil war.
In Durango, bombs were dropped from airplanes in November as the infighting escalated and in May Governor Esteban Villegas acknowledged that the ongoing violence was directly linked to the record number of fires in his state.
Ricardo Monreal, the Morena party's leader in the lower house, stands at the podium of the Chamber of Deputies surrounded by supporters at Thursday's congressional session, where the new General Water law was both debated and approved. As of Thursday afternoon, the Senate had yet to approve the bill. (Andrea Murcia / Cuartoscuro.com)
Mexico’s lower house of Congress has approved a bill aimed at issuing a new General Water Law and modifying the existing National Water Law, legislation that has led farmers to block highways and border crossings between Mexico and the United States.
The Chamber of Deputies approved the bill en lo general, or in a general sense, on Wednesday, ahead of considering individual articles and proposed modifications to those articles. After considering the modifications on Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies also approved the legislation en lo particular.
Zacatecas farmers, pictured, joined protests against the bill’s passage on Thursday, blocking the highway near Zacatecas International Airport. (Adolfo Vladimir / Cuartoscuro.com)
All told, 328 deputies voted in favor of the legislation on Wednesday, while 131 opposed it and there were five abstentions. The numbers were similar on Thursday. The ruling Morena party and its allies supported the bill, ensuring its approval in the lower house.
The vote on Wednesday took place after dozens of farmers arrived on tractors at the Chamber of Deputies in Mexico City to protest the water legislation. They blocked an entrance to the building as part of their protest against the bill, which seeks to impose tighter controls on the use of water.
As the water legislation was being debated in Mexico City, farmers also blocked highways in various parts of the country, including Zacatecas and Guanajuato, and stopped traffic headed toward international bridges between Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas. The blockades on the northern border continued on Thursday.
The approval of the water legislation came after farmers and truckers blocked highways across Mexico last week to protest the water legislation as well as low purchase prices for crops and insecurity that plagues the national highway network.
What is the water legislation seeking to do?
Among the aims of the water legislation are to establish new rules to govern the use of water in productive processes, including in the agricultural sector; to create new regulations for the issuance of new water concessions, as well as for those that have already been issued; and to ensure that water is used sustainably and is available for all Mexicans.
The director of the National Water Commission (Conagua), Efraín Morales, said last week that “the main change” put forward by the federal government in its legislation is for water to cease being seen as a “good” and instead be recognized “as a human right” and a “strategic” resource “for the development of our country.”
He said that if the legislation is approved, the Mexican government will be the only entity authorized to issue water concessions.
Morales also said that the legislation will “strengthen procedures to combat water theft” and increase penalties for that crime. In addition, it will combat acaparamiento (water hoarding or stockpiling), establish regulations for rainwater harvesting and enable the creation of a national water reserve, the Conagua chief said.
If the legislation is approved by both houses of Congress, harsh penalties, including large fines and multi-year prison terms, could be imposed on anyone found guilty of improperly selling or transferring water concessions, or bribing officials to obtain concessions.
Farmers’ concerns
Farmers have asserted that the enactment of the water legislation will have a negative impact of their capacity to produce food both for domestic consumption and export. They claim that their access to water via their existing permits will be reduced and that there is ambiguity about whether they will be able to bequeath and inherit water concessions.
“If it affects the countryside, it affects the city,” read a banner on display at the protest outside the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday.
“It’s a law that threatens production,” Jorge Robles, a farmer from Chihuahua, told reporters outside the lower house.
“The primary sector is the base of the economy … and in this country it appears they want to put an end to the economy,” he said.
Elena Burns, a former Conagua official and now a water activist, said that “the law says that if you don’t use water during two years, you lose the concession.”
“That is also a blow to the countryside,” she said, asserting that there is an “intention” to “take away water from the countryside to put it in reserves for discretional use.”
The newspaper El País reported that critics of the water legislation have described it as “the final nail in the coffin of the Mexican countryside.”
It also reported that the “the core of the conflict” between farmers and the government “lies in the fact that concessions for water use will no longer be able to be transferred between private parties, and must return to the state so that the National Water Commission can reassign them.”
“The justification for this prohibition is to eliminate the illegal market for concessions that has developed in the country. According to the farmers, this will make it impossible for them to bequeath or sell their land, since without the permit for water use, it has no value. This gives an advantage to large companies that will acquire their lands at laughable prices,” El País wrote.
The debate
President Claudia Sheinbaum and Morales have asserted that famers will indeed be able to inherit and pass on water concessions. However, if a farm is sold, the purchaser will not be able to use the applicable water permit if they intend to change the use of the land from agricultural to residential or industrial.
To address farmers’ concerns, some modifications to the water legislation have already been made, while others were proposed. Many of the proposed modifications were debated by deputies on Thursday.
Years of drought and water shortages have taken a toll on Mexican agriculture, with small independent farmers often bearing the brunt of the impact. (Conagua)
A package of 18 modifications that Morena and its allies claimed would address farmers concerns were approved on Thursday via the en lo particular vote. However, opposition deputies asserted that none of the modifications “solve [the problems] they say they solve,” the El Universal newspaper reported.
It remains to be seen whether farmers will be happy with the modified bill, which will now be considered by the Senate. Adán Augusto López Hernández, the Morena party’s leader in the Senate, said Thursday that the bill was on a fast track to Senate approval and would be passed without changes.
Deputies who voted in favor of the water legislation, namely representatives of Morena, the Labor Party and the Green Party, denied claims that it will have a negative impact on farmers. For their part, opposition lawmakers asserted that Morena is seeking to control water, limit its use on agricultural land and use the resource for political purposes.
“You want to steal the water and we want producers in the countryside to have more rights. This reform is dangerous,” said National Action Party Deputy Paulo Gonzalo Martínez.
The Institutional Revolutionary Party’s leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Rubén Moreira, asserted that the legislation could be unconstitutional due to a failure to consult with the nation’s Indigenous peoples and communities on the issue of water before it was drawn up. In that context, he warned that legal challenges against the legislation could reach the Supreme Court.
The bridge, planned since 2006, cuts across the lagoon to reduce the transit time to and from the hotel zone and the city of Cancún by 45 minutes. (Mara Lezama)
The Nichupté Vehicular Bridge, connecting the city of Cancún with its hotel zone, is nearing completion and should be open to traffic by the end of this month, federal transportation officials say.
The long-awaited bridge project was once assumed to have been abandoned, since it was proposed as part of Cancún’s 2030 Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development in 2006 but languished there until construction began 16 years later in 2022.
El Puente Vehicular Nichupté, proyecto prioritario del Gobierno de México, avanza firme hacia su conclusión. pic.twitter.com/yS8op6o25t
But now Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) Minister Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina announced that the bridge is 90% complete and will begin operations in December, though no specific date was given.
With a total length of 11.2 kilometers, including junctions and branches, the bridge will have three lanes of traffic in each direction on its main section, with one of them reversible as needed. There will be a bike lane and a pedestrian path.
The structure is supported by piles driven into the seabed of the lagoon, designed to minimize the environmental impact on the protected natural area of the Nichupté mangroves.
The SICT indicated that by crossing the Nichupté lagoon system, the bridge will reduce transit times by up to 45 minutes. It will also serve as an alternate evacuation route in case of hurricanes or other emergencies.
According to the bidding process, the original investment was just over 5 billion pesos (US $274 million). However, the Budget Transparency Observatory revealed that the amount currently stands at 10.8 billion pesos (US $590 million) and anticipates that, once associated expenses are included, the final amount will reach 11.1 billion (US $603 million).
Mara Lezama, governor of Quintana Roo, Cancun’s state, said that an average of 1.3 million residents, including workers in the tourism industry, and more than 20 million tourists each year will benefit from the project. She emphasized that there will be no toll in either direction, and also pointed out that the bridge will provide spectacular views of the lagoon and mangroves.
As expected, late fall temperatures have been relatively mild in most of Mexico, but with cold front folowing cold front, winter is right around the corner. (Omar Martínez/Cuartoscuro)
Wintry storms accompanying cold front No. 18 are expected to dump snow and sleet on mountainous areas of northern Mexico on Thursday as cold front No. 17 was still causing isolated heavy rains over northwestern parts of the country.
Meteorologists stay on the lookout for advancing cold fronts meeting with atmospheric rivers, which bring water through the air from tropical regions to northern latitudes, often resulting in cold rain or snow. (SMN)
In combination with a cold front, an atmospheric river — a long, relatively narrow corridor in the atmosphere that carries large amounts of water vapor from tropical regions to mid or high latitudes — can reinforce precipitation, increasing the volume of rain or snow that falls. As a result, the SMN has warned of a risk of floods in the northwest, and cautioned residents to be alert for landslides or snow accumulation in high areas.
A drop in temperature is forecast for the aforementioned regions, along with gusty winds and possible snow or sleet in the mountains of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango and Sinaloa.
The SMN said sub-zero temperatures and frost are to be expected during the early hours of Friday in mountainous areas of Baja California, Sonora, Zacatecas, México state, Tlaxcala, Puebla and Veracruz. Residents living in the mountains of Chihuahua and Durango can expect temperatures as low as –10 C.
Gusty winds are expected to accompany the chilly conditions, while the new cold front will extend as a stationary front over the northeast and east of the country, potentially bringing heavy showers on Friday. Particularly windy conditions were forecast for the states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz, as well as across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region
Meanwhile, isolated showers and periods of rain were forecast for Thursday in the central, eastern, southern and southeastern parts of the country, including the Valley of Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula.
A warm to mild day was forecast for Mexico City, but local civil protection officials advised residents to prepare for a cool-to-cold environment from late afternoon through Friday morning.
Low-pressure troughs, combined with moisture from the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, were projected to cause lightning storms in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, the Sierra Gorda region of Querétaro and Hidalgo, the Sierra Alta and Huasteca regions of Hidalgo, and the mountainous regions of Veracruz and Puebla.
The SMN also forecast stormy conditions for the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Quintana Roo.
The Mexican Senate confirmed Ernestina Godoy as federal attorney general on Wednesday, with 97 votes in favor, 19 opposed and 11 abstentions. (Cuartoscuro.com)
Ernestina Godoy, a former Mexico City attorney general and legal advisor to President Claudia Sheinbaum, was sworn in as federal attorney general on Wednesday after the Mexican Senate approved her appointment.
El día de hoy, tras comparecer ante el pleno del Senado de la República, como parte de un proceso democrático, rendí protesta como Fiscal General de la República (FGR). Desde que decidí dedicar mi vida al servicio público, siempre he tenido claro que la procuración de justicia es… pic.twitter.com/AP6CeCt8Nq
Senators from the ruling Morena party and its allies were joined by the six Citizens’ Movement party senators as well as three National Action Party (PAN) senators in voting in favor of the appointment of Godoy to a nine-year term as attorney general.
The final vote count was 97 votes in favor and 19 against, with 11 senators casting invalid votes.
Lilly Téllez and Ricardo Anaya, both of whom represent the PAN, were among the senators who invalidated their votes. “No to the mafiocracy,” Téllez wrote on her ballot.
Before the Senate voted to appoint her as Mexico’s second female attorney general, Godoy presented her vision for the role.
She said that a Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) she leads would have “open doors” and wouldn’t “fabricate culprits” or engage in a campaign of “political persecution.”
“But I tell you now,” Godoy added. “There will be no impunity.”
“An Attorney General’s Office that acts alone is destined to fail,” she said.
“Autonomy is strengthened with coordination, intelligence and the vision of the state,” Godoy said, adding that the FGR would not just collaborate with security authorities, such as the Omar García Harfuch-led federal Security Ministry, but also state Attorney General’s Offices, human rights organizations and commissions, and “other institutions.”
The FGR, however, won’t be subordinated by any authority, she stressed.
She also said that “the conduct” of the FGR “must be humanist” and based on “love for the homeland, honesty, a vocation of service, respect for human rights, professionalism and efficacy.”
The “true challenge,” she said, is to “reestablish citizens’ confidence” in the FGR and the delivery of justice.
“And that’s achieved with transparency, with accountability, with decisions based on evidence, with respect for human rights, with verifiable results,” Godoy said.
She also said that in order to combat organized crime — a huge challenge for the federal government — the country needs an FGR that doesn’t just investigate people, but also “the money trail.”
Opposition questions Godoy’s closeness to Sheinbaum and Morena
Opposition senators asserted that the process to select a new attorney general from the three candidates put forward by Sheinbaum was a “simulation” to install a fiscal carnala, or government-friendly attorney general.
Opposition senators questioned Godoy’s affiliation with Morena, a party she represented in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. She hugged and kissed Morena senators during her appearance in the Senate on Wednesday.
Ernestina Godoy, seen here at a July press conference, was President Sheinbaum’s chief legal advisor until last week, when she resigned to take the position of interim attorney general. She has now been confirmed to lead the attorney general’s office, no longer in an interim capacity. (Daniel Augusto / Cuartoscuro.com)
Godoy emphasized her commitment to holding anyone who has committed a crime to account, and protecting and defending victims.
López Hernández, whose security minister during his governorship in Tabasco is now imprisoned and accused of heading up a criminal organization, was one of the senators who approached Godoy and gave her a hug after she was sworn in as attorney general, the El Universal newspaper reported.
The Reforma newspaper ran a headline that claimed that Godoy is “totalmente Palacio Nacional” (totally National Palace), a play on the “totalmente palacio” marketing slogan of the Palacio de Hierro department store chain.
The implication was that Godoy is too close to Sheinbaum, whose office and residence is at the National Palace in the historic center of Mexico City.
Sheinbaum: Godoy’s appointment will be ‘very good for the country’
At her Thursday morning press conference, Sheinbaum expressed her satisfaction with the appointment of Godoy as attorney general.
“Ernestina is an honest woman, a great professional,” she said before noting Godoy’s experience as attorney general in Mexico City.
Sheinbaum went on to say that she believes that the approval of Godoy as attorney general will be “very good for the country.”
“… There will be a lot more coordination now between the Security Ministry, the Attorney General’s Office, the National Guard, and we also hope that she is a leader that strengthens the relationship with the state Attorney General’s Offices,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that the fact that the FGR is autonomous doesn’t mean there can’t be coordination with other authorities.
“Autonomy means that the [federal] executive doesn’t influence the decisions of the Federal Attorney General’s Office,” she said.
“But we want coordination to guarantee peace and security in the country … and reduce impunity,” Sheinbaum said.
Women's business leadership rates in Mexico are slowing increasing, but major gender parity gaps remain. (Shutterstock)
Under President Claudia Sheinbaum — Mexico’s first female president — more and more Mexican women are stepping into positions of power in government and business. It’s a trend that predates her administration, and that she arguably has benefited from. But while gender parity laws have sped the entry of women into government roles, the change in the business world has been slower.
In Mexico, the number of women on company boards has been slowly increasing. In large companies, 17.5% of current board members are women, according to a recent report by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO). That’s a far cry from the average in other developed countries. Among Mexico’s peer countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an average of 32.5% of major companies’ board members are women.
Hoy presentamos #MujeresenlasEmpresas2025. Aquí el resumen de los datos. Échenle ojo. La verdad es que México, por más presidenta que tengamos, es uno de los países más cerrados del mundo en ese tema. @imcomxpic.twitter.com/SxxF8VUKBD
In countries like France and New Zealand, female board representation exceeds 47%. Mexico also lags behind other Latin American countries such as Colombia, Chile and Brazil.
The IMCO report found that 19% of boards are composed exclusively of men, while 13% have no women in either board positions or other relevant management roles. Furthermore, only 5.5% of independent directors are women — compared to 28% of men — and just 4% of women serve as board chairs.
Although representation of women in financial and legal management positions has advanced, 64% of companies lack female representation in any of their key leadership roles. According to IMCO, women hold only 3% of CEO positions, 15% of CFO positions and 26% of legal positions.
Progress in achieving gender equality in key positions has been consistent but slow, the report found. At the current rate, Mexico won’t achieve parity on corporate boards until 2043.
SMEs in Jalisco include more women than large companies
The report included an analysis focused on the business sector in the state of Jalisco, which is home to more than 365,000 businesses. It revealed that in small and medium-sized enterprises (which make up the vast majority of Jalisco firms) nearly half of the owners are women. However, disparities are greater in large companies.
Jalisco women tend to lead marketing and human resources departments, while men predominate in operations and technology areas. For every four promotions given to women, five are given to men.
IMCO: Mexico needs more women on corporate boards
IMCO noted that Mexico could benefit from having women in decision-making positions, as it not only strengthens competitiveness but also boosts their productivity and innovation. But to elevate women’s economic participation from the current rate of 46% to the OECD average of 67%, Mexico would need to incorporate 18.6 million women into the labor market.
IMCO anticipates that this change could yield significant benefits, potentially increasing the national GDP by 6.9 trillion pesos by 2035.
Edificio Ermita, one of the most distinctive of Mexico City's Art Deco constructions. (Matthew Rutledge/Wikimedia Commons)
As I was writing a piece onthe best vintage libraries in Mexico City, I couldn’t help but wander around Avenida Ámsterdam, in the heart of the Hipódromo neighborhood, to walk its elliptical, tree-lined pedestrian walking path: I wanted to catch a glimpse of the long windowpanes, heavy ironwork and organic forms mixed with geometric patterns characteristic of the most beautiful Art Deco buildings to be found in Mexico City.
As is the case in theRoma area, Mexico City’s Hipódromo neighborhood, carved out of the older La Condesa neighborhood, is one of the inheritors of the Art Deco architectural movement in Mexico City.
Some of the best examples of this design style still stand in Hipódromo, even after withstanding some of the most devastating earthquakes the capital has ever experienced. Here are just a few of the highlights.
Edificio Hipódromo
Edificio Hipódromo is an Art Deco landmark in Mexico City. (Octavio Alonso Maya/Wikimedia Commons)
The Hipódromo neighborhood still follows its original design: a racing track. Yes! Present-day Avenida Ámsterdam saw horses run for first place for over a decade, according to the Museo del Objeto’s (MODO) records.
Founded by the Mexican Jockey Club in 1910 as entertainment for the city’s elite, who preferred more European-style sporting events to the popular bullfighting events, the Hipódromo de la Condesa racetrack only lasted 15 years, ceasing to function in 1925. The area soon became purely residential, with Parque Mexico being built on the racetrack site in 1927 and residential lots popping up for sale around it in the years following.
This new neighborhood within Condesa retained its original name, however,
Hipódromo, now often still referred to by people as Hipódromo Condesa.
The Hipódromo Building on Avenida México, an apartment building constructed in 1929 as part of the change to a residential neighborhood, remains one of the most beautiful examples of Art Deco architecture in this area, featuring broad windowpanes, cantera stone balconies on the first floor, and a marble lobby.
Where: Avenida México 87, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc.
Edificio Tehuacán
Edificio Tehuacán has now been repurposed as a hotel in Mexico City, but retains its Art Deco facade. (Facebook)
Built in 1937 by Mexican architect Ernesto Ignacio Buenrostro — to whom the neighborhood owes much of its visual identity — Edificio Tehuacán is one of Mexico City’s Art Deco jewels.
This building is probably as old as the neighborhood itself: Originally a 14-story apartment building, its facade features typical Art Deco-style geometric patterns. With its name written on its marquee, its main entrance is framed by two matching stylistic iron lamps of the period.
Today, Edificio Tehuacán is open to the public as the Hippodrome Hotel, where visitors can enjoy its world-class suites and terraces.
Where: Avenida México 188, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc.
Edificio San Martín
Originally built in 1931, Edificio San Martín still displays its perfect symmetry. (Keizers/Wikimedia Commons)
Also built by Ernesto Ignacio Buenrostro, the apartment building Edificio San Martín displays a seemingly perfect symmetry, which particularly stands out when you look at its stunning main entrance. With concrete reliefs and heavy ironwork on its exterior lamps, the original iron canopy still covers the main entrance.
Built in 1931, the building fell into disuse in the 1940s. It underwent extensive renovation and restoration in the modern era, finished in 1999. To date, it remains an apartment building, housingroughly 216 very lucky families.
Where: Avenida México 167, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc.
Plaza Popocatépetl
Plaza Popocatépetl and its fountain have been Art Deco classics in Mexico City since 1927. (Keizers/Wikimedia Commons)
Also known as “Glorieta Popocatépetl,” this plaza, built in 1927, is located on the northern curve of the old Hipódromo de la Condesa. Although this is not exactly a building, it certainly is one of the emblematic examples of Mexico City’s Art Deco movement.
Originally designed as a fountain, passersby can enjoy it today as a tiny park, as it has been left dry for over a century, only coming alive with water on special occasions. Delightfully decorated with Talavera mosaics from Puebla, its centerpiece is also a testament to the late Symbolist movement in Mexico.
