Compelling as it is for its static image alone, the mural boasts the added attraction of interactivity via QR codes. (Josefina Rodríguez Zamora/Facebook)
Mexico achieved yet another Guinness World Record associated with the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, this time for creating the world’s largest interactive soccer mural in La Paz, Baja California Sur.
Covering an area of 625.68 square meters, the La Paz mural is twice the size of the previous record holder, a mural of 324 square meters also located in Mexico, in the city of León, Guanajuato.
Baja California Sur Gov. Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío displays the certificate confirming the Guinness World Record for the massive soccer-themed interactive mural created by local artists. (BCS State Government)
The colossal artwork, which blends a passion for soccer with Baja California Sur motifs, stretches along the perimeter wall of the Arturo C. Nahl Stadium.
“The Guinness World Records recognition reflects the essence of Baja California Sur,” Governor Victor Manuel Castro Cosío said at the award ceremony. “Through art and sports, we create spaces for encounters that strengthen our communities and show the world who we are as a state.”
Created by local artists Elti Alejandro, Edel Rodríguez, Lenin Ruiz, Uli Martínez, and Amira Morales, the mural features images of Baja’s deserts, its seas and communities, with soccer as the common thread in the artwork’s narrative.
Beyond the paintings on the wall, visitors can interact with the artwork by scanning QR codes scattered throughout the mural to activate an augmented reality experience where some images come to life on screen.
No city on the Baja California Peninsula is a World Cup host, but the interactive mural is part of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s strategy to bring the World Cup to all regions of Mexico.
“From Baja California Sur, we tell the world that we are ready to play on the field of culture, art, and community,” Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero said. “This mural is our voice, our pride, and our way of welcoming the 2026 World Cup.”
Earlier in March, Mexico received its first Guinness World Record in the lead-up to the World Cup, when 4,757 people gathered in the southern state of Chiapas to create the world’s biggest soccer jersey formed by human figures.
A couple of weeks later, it received its second Guinness World Record for the largest soccer class ever, which included 9,500 people playing soccer at Mexico City’s Zócalo, the country’s largest public square.
On Monday morning, Sheinbaum also raised the possibility that U.S. government agencies, rather than the U.S. president (Bush or Obama), had the idea of launching a "war" on Mexican drug cartels. (Juan Carlos Ramos Mamahua/Presidencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
🇲🇽🇺🇸 Not Trump’s doing: Sheinbaum said she doesn’t believe Trump has personally “led” U.S. interference in Mexican affairs, pointing instead to far-right sectors who want a bad bilateral relationship while reiterating that dialogue between the two governments remains strong.
❓ Obama or Bush? The president raised the possibility that Calderón’s drug war was conceived by U.S. agencies rather than the former president himself — though her suggestion that Barack Obama may have been behind it appears wrong, as George W. Bush was in office when the war on drugs launched in late 2006.
✏️ Teacher talks: Sheinbaum expressed confidence that talks with protesting CNTE teachers will produce progress before the World Cup kicks off June 11, even as she acknowledged some of their demands — including a 100% pay rise — cannot be met on budgetary grounds.
Why today’s mañanera matters
President Claudia Sheinbaum held her Monday morning press conference the day after she delivered a lengthy speech at a rally in Mexico to mark the second anniversary of her election as Mexico’s first woman leader.
In that address, Sheinbaum declared that Mexico “is not anyone’s piñata” as she railed against U.S. interference in Mexican affairs in light of the CIA’s alleged participation in a drug lab raid in Chihuahua in April and U.S. prosecutors’ request for the arrest of Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and various other current and former officials accused of drug trafficking in league with the Sinaloa Cartel.
One significant development at today’s mañanera was Sheinbaum’s statement that she doesn’t believe U.S. President Donald Trump has “led” the United States’ meddling (or alleged meddling) in Mexican affairs.
Also of note was the president’s apparently erroneous suggestion that former U.S. President Barack Obama may have come up with the idea of launching a “war” on Mexican drug cartels almost two decades ago.
Sheinbaum: ‘I don’t think it’s President Trump who has led this offensive’
A reporter told the president that she was “more direct” in the remarks she made about the United States on Sunday, and asked her what “diplomatic actions” she would consider taking to avoid U.S. interference in Mexico’s affairs.
“I confess, she added, “I don’t think it’s President Trump who has led this offensive on different issues.”
Sheinbaum was referring to U.S. interference in Mexican affairs as well as an alleged media offensive against her government that she says is funded and promoted by “national and international conservative sectors,” including sectors of the U.S. media and far-right U.S. politicians.
She said that her administration wants “a good relationship with the United States government” and “all its areas” — i.e., all its departments and agencies.
Yesterday, during the event marking two years since her historic electoral victory, President Claudia Sheinbaum (@Claudiashein) reaffirmed Mexico’s commitment to addressing shared challenges with the United States:
— Embassy of Mexico in the U.S. (@EmbamexEUA) June 1, 2026
Sheinbaum reiterated that there is “a lot of communication” between the Mexican and U.S. governments before adding:
“As I said yesterday, I think there are sectors of the United States far right who don’t want there to be a good relationship, who want there to be a bad relationship with Mexico, who don’t agree with the government we lead for ideological reasons.”
Was Calderón’s war on drugs Obama’s idea? Sheinbaum suggests it may have been — even though the 44th US president wasn’t yet in office
A reporter asked the president whether there were any parallels between Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos and former President Felipe Calderón (2006-12) given the “possibility” that the former violated the constitution by allowing CIA officers to participate in a drug lab raid alongside state forces and the latter “opened the doors” to the “fast and furious” gunwalking sheme, a highly-controversial initiative of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“We’ll always be left with the question of whether the war against the narco was an idea of Felipe Calderón or an idea of Obama because Obama was in government,” said Sheinbaum, somewhat changing the focus of the interaction.
Shortly after he took office in late 2006, Calderón launched a militarized “war” against Mexico’s notorious drug cartels. The U.S. president at the time — and until January 2009 — was George W. Bush, not Obama. Therefore, Sheinbaum’s suggestion that Calderón’s war on drugs could have been Obama’s idea appears to be refuted by the simple fact that Obama was not sworn in as president until more than two years after it started.
On Monday morning, Sheinbaum also raised the possibility that U.S. government agencies, rather than the U.S. president (Bush or Obama), had the idea of launching a “war” on Mexican drug cartels.
“It was the time when the DEA had the greatest opening [to operate] in Mexico, with Felipe Calderón,” she said.
“Complete openness. … Particularly in the period of Calderón, the doors were opened to U.S. agencies in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
“… With [former President Enrique] Peña [Nieto] as well … although [Mexico] was less open. And then when President [Andrés Manuel] López Obrador arrives, he says ‘foreign agents can be here, they can do their work but in coordination with the government of Mexico and they have to have their permits and … it was put into law [and] we took it to the constitution,” she said.
Sheinbaum confident that progress will be made in talks with protesting teachers
Sheinbaum told reporters she is confident that progress will be made in talks between the federal government and members of the CNTE teachers union before the commencement of the World Cup on June 11.
Teachers affiliated with the CNTE have been protesting in Mexico City, Oaxaca and elsewhere as they seek to pressure the government to meet their demands. Those demands include a 100% pay increase and the repeal of the 2019 education reform as well as the 2007 ISSSTE (State Workers’ Social Security Institute) Law, which changed their pension system and will leave them — they say — considerably worse off in retirement.
Sheinbaum expressed confidence that progress will be made in talks with the CNTE even as she highlighted that “some” of the protesting teachers’ demands can’t be met for budgetary reasons.
“I’m confident that the talks will go well,” she said, referring to dialogue between the CNTE, the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Public Education.
“We’re going to place trust in that [process],” Sheinbaum added.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
A steady increase in life expectancy combined with a plunging birth rate is expected to lift senior citizens' share of the Mexican population to just under 25% by 2050, almost double the current 13.2%.
(Camila Ayala Benabib/Cuartoscuro)
The aging population and the low average schooling rate suggest that the population’s make-up will pose challenges for Mexican society.
In eight years, there will be more Mexicans over 60 than under 12, a demographic phenomenon that is considered a turning point with major implications for society. (Unsplash)
The National Population Program 2026-2030 report submitted by Conapo reveals that Mexico will reach a turning point in eight years, when there will be more people over 60 years of age than children under 12.
The picture painted by Conapo warns that in a relatively short time, Mexico will be a long-lived society, with low fertility rates and increasingly smaller and more diverse families.
The study indicates that fertility rates have fallen to 1.6 children per woman while life expectancy has increased by 15 years since 1970.
To illustrate the demographic changes, Conapo pointed out that the population growth rate in the 1970s was 3.21 children while currently it is well below the generational replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.
Falling below the generational replacement threshold is not negative in itself, but it poses a concrete challenge. A population with fewer young people and more older adults requires adapting pension and healthcare systems to support those who reach old age.
Additionally, the reduction in mortality provides other challenges for Mexico’s health system: addressing chronic and cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, malnutrition and various marked inequalities between regions and social groups.
Other findings of the population report
Mexico is the 11th most populous country in the world, with approximately 133 million inhabitants.
Life expectancy at birth is 75.85 years: 79.24 for women and 72.74 for men. In 1970, that figure barely exceeded 60 years for the entire population.
By 2050, it is estimated that nearly one-quarter of Mexico’s population will be over 60, almost double the current proportion (13.2%).
A growing number of women — especially young women — are childless and have no desire to have children. Between 2018 and 2023, the percentage nearly doubled among women aged 20 to 24, rising from 23.7 to 43.2%, while the national average increased from 31.3 to 50.1%.
Women who speak Indigenous languages have an average of 2.51 children, compared to 1.67 among those who do not speak them.
Women who did not reach secondary school have 2.42 children, while the fertility rate of women with upper secondary or higher education is 1.44
Finally, despite the increasing number of Mexicans returning and more foreigners arriving, Mexico continues to experience population loss. Even so, Conapo concludes that Mexico will increasingly become a destination country and a country of permanent return migration.
Chichén Itzá was the most-visited Mexican cultural site in 2025. This year, however, the archaeological wonder was closed from mid-May through June 1 over a labor dispute. (Martin Zetina/Cuartoscuro)
Chichén Itzá reopened to tourists Monday after a two‑week closure that left thousands of visitors unable to enter and caused millions of pesos in losses for the tourism industry in Yucatán and Quintana Roo.
Mexico’s most-visited cultural attraction in 2025 closed May 18 amid a bitter dispute over the relocation of hundreds of vendors — who for years have sold their handicrafts and trinkets within the site, steps away from the ruins — and new regulations for the local tour guides who offer guided visits for a fee.
#YUCATAN Después dos semanas de permanecer cerrada, este lunes reabrió la zona arqueológica de Chichén Itzá. Artesanos comienzan a reubicarse en los sitios asignados por el @INAHmx@CulturYucatan Video AR pic.twitter.com/bJ2dDgMfYt
The shutdown of the archaeological site in Tinum, Yucatán, roughly a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Cancún, Quintana Roo, led to mass tour cancellations and what the Mexican Association of Inbound Tourism Agencies (AMATUR) called a “terrible image of Mexico.”
“Chaos at Chichen Itza with thousands of tourists unable to enter,” beamed a headline in Reportur. The tourism-industry news outlet reported that each day around 9,000 visitors were unable to enter.
Then again, the closure didn’t completely keep people out.
Chichén Itzá’s gates reopened at 8 a.m. on Monday under a deal struck after 13 days of negotiations between the Yucatán government, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), artisans, tour guides and Tinum authorities.
Access is now exclusively through the new Visitor Assistance Center, known as CATVI.
Authorities pledged there will be no evictions and no increase beyond the 666 authorized vendors operating inside the complex.
Some 264 artisans agreed to move into stalls in a new handicrafts market that all visitors must pass through before entering via CATVI. Meanwhile, vendors on the causeway between Cenote Sagrado (Sacred Cenote) and the Temple of Kukulcán, also known as El Castillo, will remain in their current spaces.
Pablo Euán of the Indigenous Governing Council of Pisté said the council will oversee the reorganization of artisans and guide work areas.
In a statement, the council said reopening “represents a relief for hundreds of families” but stressed “the fight continues” for a community economic corridor and respect for collective rights.
Officials insist the closure of the old access, known as Old Parador, is irreversible, even as injunctions and community demands keep the conflict from being fully resolved.
Mexico "is not anyone's piñata," President Claudia Sheinbaum declared on Sunday. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)
Mexico “is not anyone’s piñata,” President Claudia Sheinbaum declared on Sunday as she railed against U.S. interference in Mexican affairs during a large rally in Mexico City to mark the second anniversary of her election.
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) June 1, 2026
“Let it be heard loud and clear, Mexico doesn’t accept interference. We are a free, independent and sovereign country,” she proclaimed, prompting an enthusiastic response from rally attendees, including chants of “you are not alone.”
More than 40 minutes into her address, after speaking at length about government achievements and positive developments across a range of areas including the economy, education and healthcare, Sheinbaum turned her attention to what she called “important issues that we think are essential to share with you.”
“Friends: For some months now, we have been the target of a media offensive and million-dollar campaigns on social media. This is no coincidence,” she said.
“… Behind these campaigns are national and international conservative sectors that have never accepted that Mexico recovered its dignity and chose to fully exercise its independence,” Sheinbaum said.
The president asserted that campaigns against her government — and representing the interests of “foreign and national conservative sectors seeking to recover lost privileges or stop the transformation supported by the popular majority” of Mexico — intensified after the death of two CIA officers and two security officials from Chihuahua in a car accident following a drug lab operation on the weekend of April 18 and 19.
“In light of these events, the Federal Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into possible violations of Mexican law,” said Sheinbaum, who has reiterated that the federal government didn’t authorize or have knowledge of the CIA’s alleged participation in the security operation alongside Chihuahua forces.
“And here we want to be very clear: the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States and the National Security Law establish with precision that no foreign agent may carry out tasks that correspond exclusively to Mexican authorities. Whoever comes to our country must do so respecting our sovereignty, accrediting themselves in accordance with the law and subject to our regulations,” she said.
Referring to the April 29 unsealing of an indictment against Rocha and nine other Sinaloa-based current and former officials, Sheinbaum said that “a few days later, something even more serious occurred.”
“An office of the United States Department of Justice issued an urgent request for the arrest for extradition purposes of 10 Mexican citizens — including a sitting governor, a sitting mayor, and a sitting senator — without publicly presenting evidence to support the request,” she said.
“An action of that magnitude has no precedent in the history of our bilateral relationship,” Sheinbaum said.
“And so we must ask — and it is a legitimate question: Is this a genuine, legitimate interest in helping Mexico? Is it a genuine commitment to combating organized crime? Or are we witnessing sectors of the American far right using our country to position themselves ahead of their 2026 elections? Or perhaps they intend to influence the 2027 elections in our country? These are not rhetorical questions,” the president said just two days after Mexico’s Congress approved a reform that allows the nullification of elections tainted by foreign interference.
“Mexico is not anyone’s piñata,” Sheinbaum added.
The foreign interference reform, approved on Friday, will nullify any election result deemed to have been influenced by “illicit financing, propaganda, the systematic dissemination of disinformation, digital manipulation and the intervention of foreign governments or agencies.” (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The president went on to say that when verdicts of guilt or innocence are “dictated from abroad,” when attempts at “pressuring our institutions from the outside” are made, and when the idea that a foreign country can intervene in Mexican affairs is normalized, “we are no longer talking about cooperation, we are talking about interference.”
“… It is legitimate to question the true motives behind extradition proceedings targeting elected officials. Because — let’s be clear — first they come for some, then for others, until offices of the [U.S.] Justice Department become the primary elector in Mexico. We cannot allow that,” she said.
“Mexico’s history knows where that path leads. Interventions have never delivered justice or well-being,” Sheinbaum said.
“Therefore, we must not fall for the trick. Let this be clear: we will never defend corruption or collusion with crime. Never. That is what Mexico’s state institutions are for: the Federal Attorney General’s Office and the judiciary, she said.
“So firm has our fight against corruption and criminal collusion been that the Attorney General’s Office has proceeded against officials from all political parties when their ties to criminal activity have been proven,” Sheinbaum added.
The president’s remarks on Sunday denouncing foreign interference in Mexico were her strongest statements yet against the United States’ meddling (or alleged meddling) in Mexican affairs. Although she has reiterated that her government won’t protect anyone who has committed a crime, Sheinbaum has been accused by opposition politicians and others of providing cover for Rocha and other Morena party officials accused of drug trafficking by U.S. prosecutors. She has endorsed the Federal Attorney General’s Office’s declaration that U.S. authorities have not provided sufficient evidence to arrest Rocha and his co-defendants.
In addition to strong rhetoric, a commitment to keep collaborating with the US
While Sheinbaum denounced the United States’ meddling in Mexican affairs, she also vowed to continue security collaboration with the Trump administration.
“We believe in cooperation between nations, in the exchange of information, and in joint efforts to tackle shared problems. But cooperation does not mean subordination. Collaboration does not mean submission,” she said.
“The fight against organized crime is a shared responsibility of all states. But that fight cannot be used as an excuse to undermine fundamental principles of international law, such as non-intervention and respect for the self-determination of peoples. We will continue to collaborate to prevent drugs from crossing the border — out of humanist conviction and because we understand the pain that problem causes in U.S. families,” Sheinbaum said.
“… It is better to work together as trading partners, respecting one another and strengthening our shared interests with mutual respect for our sovereignty. But let this be absolutely clear: Mexico does not allow interference in our internal affairs, because we do not meddle in the internal affairs of other nations. That is the constitutional principle of non-intervention,” she said.
Sheinbaum also reiterated that, “to help us reduce violence in Mexico,” it is “essential” that the United States “stop the illegal trafficking of weapons into our country” and “address the serious problem of drug use in their territory.”
Sheinbaum outlines her government’s ‘main achievements’
On a stage erected in front of the Monument to the Revolution in Plaza de la República, the same square where presidential candidate Luis Donald Colosio made a famous speech in March 1994 just 17 days before he was assassinated, Sheinbaum began her address on Sunday by noting that on June 2, 2024, nearly 36 million Mexicans voted in favor of continuing on “the path of transformation begun by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador,” who was in office from 2018 to 2024.
Over 100,000 people gathered in support of President Sheinbaum on Sunday at Mexico City’s Monument to the Revolution. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)
“With that support, I assumed the honor and enormous responsibility of leading the continuation of the fourth transformation of public life — a mandate born of the popular will, of the conviction of millions of Mexicans who stated clearly that “the past of privileges, corruption, decadence, and abandonment of the homeland and the people must not return,'” she said.
“And on that day, something else occurred that will be forever etched in the memory of our nation: for the first time, a woman reached the presidency of the republic. It was a victory for the women of Mexico, but above all, the victory of a people who decided to keep making history,” said Sheinbaum, who now leads the so-called “fourth transformation,” or 4T, political movement founded by López Obrador and supported by the ruling Morena party and its allies.
“Two years after that magnificent and historic triumph of the people, I appear before you again to be accountable, as we have always done — face to face with the people, in the public square,” she said.
On a warm day in Mexico City, Sheinbaum ran through a long list of the government’s “main achievements” since its six-year term began 20 months ago.
Among those achievements — and other positive developments in Mexico — she highlighted an increase in tax collection; record foreign investment in the first quarter of 2026; low unemployment; declining inflation; and a “strong” Mexican peso.”
In addition, the president touted her government’s welfare programs, its commitment to austerity, its support for farmers, its healthcare and housing initiatives, its support for Indigenous communities, its “rescuing” of Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission, its construction of new highways, railroads and water infrastructure, its commitment to making access to water a “fundamental right” and its success in reducing violence in Mexico.
“In 20 months, we’ve reduced homicides by 49% and high-impact crimes by 20%,” Sheinbaum said, referring to data that compares May with September 2024, the final month of López Obrador’s presidency.
“And we will keep delivering results on security — attending to young people and ending impunity — so that all Mexicans can move safely throughout our territory,” she said.
Toward the end of her 65-minute address, Sheinbaum declared that “nothing and no one will stop the transformation of our homeland.”
“That is the new reality,” she said.
“Mexico is a democratic country. It is false that ‘we want to be a dictatorship’ or that ‘we support censorship.’ Quite the opposite. We may well be the country that enjoys the greatest freedoms in the world, because this movement was born of the people, walks with the people, and governs for the people,” Sheinbaum said.
“These are no longer the times of privilege and corruption,” Sheinbaum said before she reaffirmed her commitment to defending the sovereignty and independence of Mexico, pledged to govern in accordance with the will of the people, and wished “long life” to the “fourth transformation of public life in Mexico,” and to “the dignity of the people of Mexico” — and Mexico itself.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
Sit back and enjoy a slice of Mexican history with these on-demand soccer series. (Netflix)
Mexican soccer fever is a real thing. Even if you’re not a passionate aficionado most of the year, everyone in Mexico pauses whatever is going on in their lives to watch “El Tri” take the field. Businesses shut down. Traffic thins out. In many ways, to be Mexican means cheering on the national team when things are good, criticising them when things are bad and following their progress like a religion.
Being half-Mexican, my upbringing was no exception. I still maintain the penalty given to the Netherlands versus Mexico in the 2010 round of 16 was unjustified. I remember exactly where I was and who I was with when Mexico beat Germany 1-0 in the 2018 World Cup. Soccer is a deep part of Mexican culture to the point where I can’t imagine Mexico without it. But it turns out, I’m not the only person who feels that way. There’s evidence to back up this claim.
So, for those who crave World Cup action before the latest edition of the tournament kicks off in June, there’s plenty of great content to watch before Mexico plays in their first group stage game.
Good Rivals
Good Rivals Docuseries - Official Trailer | Prime Video
This docuseries is centered on the intense sporting rivalry between Mexico and the United States. It has gone on for decades, and the show does a great job explaining the cultural impact soccer has had on both nations.
From the pride Mexico feels when beating the United States in their national pastime, to the rise of American soccer in the 1990s, the docuseries makes you feel like you’re right in the action. The interviews with former players, coaches, and journalists provide as sense of perspective and authenticity that often feels missing in sports series of the same nature. What I appreciate most about this docuseries is the fact it makes the case that both nations benefited from playing against each other.
Rafa Márquez: El Capitán
Rafa Márquez: El Capitán | Official Trailer | Netflix
If there’s any one Mexican soccer player who you should familiarize yourself with, Rafa Márquez is it. Not only was he a beloved captain of the Mexican national team, but he also represented Mexico at some of the world’s top clubs, including Monaco and Barcelona. He became the first Mexican to win the Champions League in 2006, cementing his position as an all-time great of the sport.
The docuseries also examines the realities of Mexican corruption, the national tragedy of being knocked out of the 2002 World Cup by the United States, and the controversial “no era penal” game against the Netherlands in 2010.
México 86
Mexico 86 | Official Trailer | Netflix
The 1986 World Cup was by far Mexico’s most successful, based on their performance. It featured some of the most legendary soccer players Mexico has ever had, like Hugo Sanchez, Fernando Quirarte, and Manuel Negrete, who helped lead their nation to the quarter-finals, where they lost on penalties against Germany.
But Netflix’s México 86 will be centered on the untold story of how a Mexican bureaucrat managed to win the rights for Mexico to host the World Cup over the United States.
Releasing June 5, this film is part of Netflix’s long-term investment in Mexican cinema.
Brazil ‘70: The Third Star
Brazil ‘70: The Third Star | Official Trailer | Netflix
1970 wasn’t just the first World Cup Mexico hosted (and the first outside South America or Europe), but it was the first played on color television. The Azteca was beamed around the world in a way no other stadium had been before, and the legendary footage of Pelé being carried out of Azteca after winning his last World Cup is an image that will live on forever in the minds of soccer fans worldwide.
Though Brazil ‘70: The Third Star isn’t about Mexico per se, 1970 was the start of Mexico showing the world how amazing their country was on and off the field.
Are you excited for this June?
After losing in the group stage in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America, the nation is hoping that El Tri will turn things around with a solid performance this June. If history shows anything, it’s that Mexico tends to play better when they’re on home soil — advancing to the quarter-finals the two times it hosted the World Cup.
So, am I optimistic about Mexico’s chances this year since they’re co-hosting with Canada and the United States? All I’ll say is in Guillermo Ochoa I trust.
Ian Ostroff is an indie author, journalist, and copywriter from Montreal, Canada. You can find his work in various outlets, including Map Happy and The Suburban. When he’s not writing, you can find Ian at the gym, a café, or anywhere within Mexico visiting family and friends.
Five civilians traveling on the highway were caught in the crossfire, including the American, a 31-year-old man from California, who died from his injuries. (José Betanzos Zárate/Cuartoscuro)
An American was killed late Saturday and seven others were injured as a result of a running shootout between the Mexican military and armed suspects in Baja California Sur.
The incident began around 11 p.m. when members of Mexico’s army responded to reports of gunfire on the Transpeninsular Federal Highway north of Los Cabos.
When confronted by the soldiers, the convoy of armed civilians opened fire, prompting an intense gun battle.
Five civilians traveling on the highway were caught in the crossfire, including the American, a 31-year-old man from California, who died from his injuries.
The other injured civilians are: a 35-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman, both from Los Cabos; a 14-year-old teenager from San José del Cabo; and a 65-year-old woman who suffered serious leg injuries.
Two soldiers were also wounded. One of them, a 20-year-old, remains in serious condition due to life-threatening gunshot wounds, while the other, a 25-year-old, suffered injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
After the confrontation, the authorities seized four vehicles in addition to five long guns, rifles, loaded magazines of 7.62×39 caliber and 5.56 millimeters, a grenade launcher and tactical gear.
Fuerzas Federales y Sicarios se enfrentaron en Los Cabos, dos Soldados y cuatro civiles fueron heridos, un estadounidense murió (Informacion en el enlace) https://t.co/xYf3Pciguapic.twitter.com/CGwShwZDZO
— Blog del Narco México (@blogdelnarcomex) May 31, 2026
In a follow-up operation conducted by the state police, two suspects were arrested in San José del Cabo and a cartel safe house was raided, leading to the seizure of more tactical gear, drugs and weapons.
By early Sunday, Baja California Sur Governor Víctor Manuel Castro and Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez were leading an extraordinary meeting of the Regional Security Council, during which it was agreed to strengthen the operational presence of the Navy, the National Guard and local security agencies.
“The safety of the public is a priority and we will not lower our guard so that Baja California Sur continues to be a safe place,” Governor Castro said.
The state Security Council on Monday said it is maintaining search and surveillance operations in the area with a special focus on protecting tourist corridors and areas with high visitor traffic.
The Security Council said it is in contact with U.S. diplomatic officials and is providing consular assistance to the family of the American.
A new hotel is coming to San Miguel de Allende, alongside stores, a petition and even a new educational initiative from an online sales giant. (Ria Talken)
Development never stops in San Miguel de Allende, as a former landmark makes way for a new hotel and residences. The city will also finally see the construction of a long-planned Home Depot. Discover all this, and more, in our latest local news roundup for San Miguel de Allende.
Rancho Hotel El Atascadero razed to make way for hotel and new homes
The historic Rancho Hotel El Atascadero is no more. (Rancho Hotel El Atascadero)
The 51-room Rancho Hotel El Atascadero near Prolongación Santo Domingo, east of Centro, has been demolished. Opened by Gloria and Fortunato Maycotte about 70 years ago, it reportedly was San Miguel’s first hotel and had a swimming pool, sauna and tennis and frontón courts.
In its place will be a 1 Hotel & Homes property by Florida-based Starwood Hotels. Scheduled to open in 2027, the new facility will consist of about 97 rooms and 48 residences. The plan includes gardens, pools, a small lake, a spa and an outdoor event space.
Rancho Hotel El Atascadero had most recently been a three-star boutique hotel built around an 1800s hacienda run as a silk factory. The property has a long history, including being operated as a horse-riding club and an artistic retreat.
According to media reports, the hotel was closed earlier this year with the expectation of renovation, and a notice was posted stating that work there had been permitted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
Home Depot store going in next to Nissan dealership
Construction has finally begun on the new store on Libramiento José Manuel Zavala. (Shutterstock)
A Home Depot home improvement store is currently under construction next to the Nissan dealership located at Libramiento José Manuel Zavala 65.
The San Miguel de Allende outlet is reportedly scheduled to open sometime later this year, with additional stores coming to León and Guanajuato. They are part of a total US $1.3 billion investment Home Depot is planning in Mexico through 2030, including 25 new stores.
The Georgia-based Home Depot said that 80% of its inventory sold in Mexico is sourced locally, and that the company plans to achieve a 100% national supply by 2028. In Mexico, Home Depot has more than 18,000 employees working at 140 stores in more than 100 cities.
San Miguel has a number of hardware and home supply stores, including several Grupo Ferretero Don Pedro outlets. The main store is at Carretera San Miguel a Celaya Km. 2.4, with others at Avenue Independencia 4 in San Rafael and Calzada de la Aurora 20 in Guadalupe.
Los Frailes green space petition hits signature goal
Part of the green space in Los Frailes that residents are hoping to protect.
A petition from Villa de los Frailes subdivision residents who oppose condo construction on the largest green space there has hit the goal of 2,500 signatures. As of May 31, the petition on change.org had 2,507 verified signatures.
The petition asks the San Miguel municipal government to acknowledge the original agreements that created the green space. According to petitioners, the legal owner of the property, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, doesn’t want the space sold or developed.
The residents plan to present the petition signatures and accompanying testimonials to Mayor Mauricio Trejo and ask him to declare the area a permanently protected green space.
Volaris adding new flights to Querétaro
Flair and Volaris have announced new flights to the Bajío region. (Querétaro International Airport)
Starting in June, Volaris is adding five U.S. and five Mexican destinations to flights departing from Querétaro International Airport (QRO).
The new U.S. flights will be to San Antonio, Denver, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Orlando, while the domestic flights will be heading to Acapulco, Durango, Mazatlán, Oaxaca and Veracruz.
Specifics on the new routes, including departure and arrival times, can be found on the Volaris website.
Meanwhile, Canadian low-cost carrier Flair Airlines will begin weekly nonstop flights from Vancouver to Guanajuato International Airport (BJX) beginning Oct. 3.
Amazon opens first Latin America educational lab in Querétaro
Querétaro’s futuristic BLOQUE will host a series of Amazon Web Services learning initiatives. (Municipality of Querétaro)
With the stated goal of closing the digital divide in Latin America, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the retail giant’s cloud computing platform, just opened its first Think Big Space educational lab in the region in Querétaro.
Seattle, Wash.-based Amazon said the facility will train more than 1,200 students each year “in the technologies that are redefining the world of work,” such as cloud computing, robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Internet of Things and 3D printing.
The lab is located Querétaro’s BLOQUE municipal innovation center. Starting this month, high school students can enroll through the BLOQUE website in six 20-hour STEM courses for free. The courses, designed and taught in collaboration with UNAM, start in September.
Cathy Siegner is an independent journalist based in San Miguel and Montana. She has journalism degrees from the University of Oregon and Northwestern University.
Whether you're visiting Monterrey for the World Cup, or just because, you'll want to try some of the city's best drinking and dining options. (Jorge Gardner/Unsplash)
Monterrey, Mexico’s northern capital of industry, was built on beef and beer. Those visiting from the U.S. will see much cultural crossover from the Southwest, which, along with this part of Mexico, was considered its own economic and cultural region for many years. Besides business, beef and beer, the city’s other obsession is soccer, and Monterrey will host 4 World Cup games during June in Monterrey Stadium (Estadio BBVA). If you’re coming for soccer and want a taste of classic regional food, drink and ambiance, here are a few recommended places to try.
Meat is always on the menu at La Nacional, and in a variety of juicy cuts. (La Nacional)
Sometimes a classic doesn’t have to be 100 years old, such is the case of La Nacional, which opened in 2003. They are known for taking traditional Regio cuisine and adding their own particular twist. This family restaurant, with its white tablecloths and upscale service, is beloved by the entire city and is a great place for a long, leisurely lunch with family or friends. Menu recommendations include the signature version of fideo seco — plus various ribeyes, flatiron steak, arrachera and burgers. What could be more classic in Mexico’s beef country?
The region’s most famous dish is cabrito — baby goat roasted over an open flame on a cross-shaped spit. It’s served with a bevy of salsas and fresh, hand-patted tortillas and is an iconic Sunday meal for Regios. This is the speciality at El Gran Pastor, a family-style restaurant that opened its first location in 1996. They now have six other locations throughout the city and, along with some of the best cabrito in the city, serve machaca (dried, shredded beef), mollejas (fried gizzards), rib eye and other meaty options. Several restaurants compete for the title of best cabrito in Monterrey, but if you can’t get someone to make it for you in their backyard, El Gran Pastor is my favorite option.
Sierra Madre was one of the first microbreweries in Mexico in 1998 and was a pioneer in the Mexican craft beer movement. No longer a tiny start-up, they have expanded to several locations in Monterrey without losing their deeply rooted local vibe. Purists might say that this isn’t of the utmost historical relevance, but beer in Monterrey is one of its oldest industries, with the founding of one of the country’s first breweries, Cervecería Cuauhtémoc, dating back to 1890. If you have a chance to tour the original factory, “La Cervecería” (now owned by Heineken), or the bottling factory museum, you won’t regret it.
Mercado Campesino
Mercado Campesino is not for the squeamish, with loads of freshly butchered animals, notably goats for the city’s famed cabrito. (Facebook)
This market is not for the faint of heart. Along with fresh fruits and veggies, and prepared foods, there are live animals (in particular, the live goats customers select for making cabrito that are sold and butchered onsite in the nearby butchering room). Despite the intensity, if you want a taste of the region, this is an obligatory food stop. Prepared dishes like fritada de cabrito, asado de cerdo and special regional gorditas stuffed with fillings like barbacoa can be found at the dozens of food stalls here, as well as homemade salsas in recycled bottles, pickled vegetables and herbs floating in massive mason jars, fresh-from-the-farm eggs and fresh local cheeses and honey.
Cafe Iguana is a legendary rock and roll venue in Monterrey. (Instagram)
It might surprise visitors to learn that Monterrey was a formative place for Mexican rock in the 1990s, creating a kind of citywide innovation hub — known as La Avanzada Regia — that produced some of the era’s most innovative bands. While rock has faded as the city’s most prominent music style, you can still get a taste of that vintage vibe at Cafe Iguana, where live rock bands play, and when the stage is empty, the stereo is still blasting. The drinks and food menu here are nothing special — beers and pub grub — but the historic downtown feeling that permeates this place can’t be replicated.
Bar Lontananza
Bar Lontananza is one of the oldest in the state and has reportedly had some famous clientele, including Fidel Castro. (Instagram)
This list would not be complete without an old-fashioned cantina. Lontananza has been functioning as a cantina since 1910 and, while a little dive-y, has a classic, neighborhood ambiance. Reported famous clientele include Fidel Castro and Mexican-Cuban boxer José Ángel “Mantequilla” Nápoles. There’s even a book about it: “Cuentos e Lontananza,” published in the 1990s. The beer is cold, the tequila pours freely and the menu is full of cantina classics like caldo de res, machaca, guacamole and pork chops. It’s an old-school world inside this bar, and it’s recommended that you brush up on your Spanish before visiting.
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based in Mexico City. She has published extensively both online and in print, sharing her insights about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of “Mexico City Streets: La Roma.” Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at mexicocitystreets.com.
MEXICO CITY — Mexico City lawmakers have approved new rules to regulate cell phone use in schools, in what officials are calling a “historic step” toward ensuring students spend at least 5% of class time looking vaguely in the direction of the chalkboard.
The reform, passed unanimously by the capital’s Congress, requires primary and secondary schools to draft policies limiting cell phone use during school hours, while allowing exceptions for emergencies and “educational purposes,” a category students immediately interpreted as “pretty much anything.”
Shhhh! These kids might be “learning.” (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
Under the new guidelines, schools are encouraged to introduce short, structured “phone pause moments,” during which students will place their devices face down on the desk, maintain eye contact at all times, and attempt to remember their teacher’s last name. Some campuses are testing secure phone lockers designed to hold devices, reduce distractions, and provide a safe space for notifications to pile up unsupervised.
Teachers cautiously welcomed the change. “If even three students notice that I am in the classroom, that will be progress,” said one middle school teacher in Álvaro Obregón, adding that she dreams of a future where at least one pupil asks a question that was not generated by an AI homework app.
Parents, meanwhile, expressed mixed feelings, torn between supporting reduced screen time and fearing they will no longer be able to send urgent mid-morning messages on WhatsApp, such as “did you see what I packed you for lunch” and “answer me, I see you’re online.” Authorities stressed that traditional communication tools, like school landlines and crumpled notices at the bottom of backpacks, still remain fully operational.
